Miss Black Dragon Refuses to Be a Mount

Ailolin increasingly felt that something was off. Judging by Vidian's tone, did she want her to leave right now?

Vidian had no intention of hiding it either, and she told Ailolin what she was thinking.

It turned out that she was preparing to leave the Southern Wilderness. She had many friends scattered across the world, and over the years, she had lost contact with most of them. She wanted to visit them again.

After hearing her explanation, Ailolin thought it was actually quite nice. She was happy to see Vidian gradually emerge from her gloom.

"You've learned almost everything you need to learn. I'll help you reinforce and review the rest, and then it'll be time for us to say goodbye."

"Thank you."

To Ailolin, Vidian's teachings during this time had been immensely helpful. It could even be said that without Vidian, Ailolin would have faced considerable challenges just surviving and would have remained ignorant of many things.

By now, Ailolin no longer cared about the Mutual Aid Contract they had signed when she had first met Vidian. She had become friends with Vidian. Even without any contract, if Vidian ever needed help, Ailolin would do whatever she could to help her.

And she believed that if their positions were reversed, Vidian would help her too.

"By the way, Ailolin, I have a request."

"What is it?"

Vidian's expression turned grave. "Never say anything about me in front of other dragons. When you speak with them, act as if you don't know me."

"Uh... I understand."

Looking at Vidian's unusually serious expression, and recalling how Vidian had said she had been expelled from her clan, Ailolin felt there might be some sad story behind it.

But Ailolin was not a dragon who liked gossip. Besides, asking might bring back painful memories for Vidian, so she did not press the matter.

"Oh, and I won't remove the barrier around this house. If you ever come to the Southern Wilderness in the future, you can stay here temporarily."

What Vidian meant was that she was giving Ailolin the right to use the house.

"Thank you. If I ever return to the Southern Wilderness in the future... I'll stay here."

But that was only if Ailolin could already transform into human form by then.

The setting sun hung at the edge of the sky. Vidian felt a little hungry, so she patted Ailolin's body and said, "You should go hunt. I'm heading home to cook too."

"Mm."

Ailolin was feeling hungry as well, but hearing Vidian say she was going home to cook made her incredibly envious.

They were both dragons, yet the difference between them was far too great.

And Ailolin really wanted to know whether, if she transformed into human form, her appetite would change too.

Vidian's answer was, "Don't worry. After transforming into human form, your body consumes less energy. Of course, if you want to eat, you can still consume more than your human-form body weight."

"Uh, then where does all the food go? Does the stomach digest it instantly?"

"You could understand it that way. Haha, you'll slowly figure it out yourself later."

Vidian stretched lazily and entered her house, while Ailolin prepared to find more food before night fell.

Childhood Friends: Working Hard for Their Dreams

"Thank you, Sister Xiya. I can walk the rest of the way by myself."

Likaro stood at the end of the small road leading to Edafalon City and bid Xiya farewell.

She already knew that Xiya was Guoguo's master, and she also knew it was Xiya who had given her the ability to befriend animals.

And now, Xiya had made a little promise with Likaro: she would often take her to play in the forest from now on.

Xiya would do her best to help her recover early from the injuries caused by the Magic Outburst.

After saying goodbye to Xiya and Guoguo, Likaro arrived at the gates of Edafalon City. The clothes that only nobles could wear immediately drew the guards' attention.

Although the City Defense Force had suffered severe losses during the previous magic beast attack, someone still recognized Likaro and hurriedly escorted her to the duke's residence.

"Father! Mother!"

Likaro embraced her father and mother.

Seeing her daughter again, Doris shed tears of excitement. Wilfen did not cry, but his actions proved how he felt.

"Father, you're holding me too tightly. Loosen up..."

Wilfen had spent many years fighting on battlefields. Even now that he was old, his strength was still terrifying.

"Don't crush our daughter." Doris looked reproachfully at Wilfen. He smiled somewhat sheepishly and released Likaro.

As long as their daughter was safe...

"Good girl, talk with your mother slowly. I have things to do, so I'll be leaving first."

Wilfen still had to continue leading the city's reconstruction work. He had much to do.

"Please take care of your health."

"Your father is just that kind of person. He still loves you." Doris held Likaro as she spoke.

"Mm, I know."

"Why don't you tell Mother about what you've experienced these past few days?"

Doris had originally wanted to pick Likaro up, but nine-year-old Likaro was already difficult to carry, so she led her to sit beside the bed.

Only then did Likaro notice that her mother's leg was still limping.

"Mother, your leg..."

"It's fine." Doris stroked Likaro's head. "It just needs some more time to recover. Don't worry."

"Mm!" Likaro hugged her mother tightly. "Before I tell you about myself, can Mother tell me what has happened in the Empire during this time?"

Although she was only a child, Likaro cared deeply about national affairs. When she had been in the Southern Wilderness, she had only learned some things from Vidian. Now, she wanted to learn more from her mother.

After all, if not for this war, Edafalon would never have been attacked by magic beasts, and she and her mother would never have faced mortal danger.

"The outcome of the war is basically beyond doubt. Not even the magic beast attack could destroy the Empire."

The magic beast attack created by the Five-Nation Alliance had indeed inflicted great casualties upon the Empire, but it would not change the outcome of the war at all.

The Empire had known peace for too long, so long that the surrounding nations believed the Imperial army no longer possessed its former will to fight.

The rulers of the Five-Nation Alliance had overestimated the power of the magic beast attack and had thus found themselves in an impossible position.

They were no longer worth fearing. The Empire's true concern was actually within its own borders.

Some people were nobles of the Empire, yet under the temptation of profit, they had not hesitated to collude with the enemy against the Empire.

Emperor Pete had already launched a purge, arresting every Imperial traitor whose guilt had been firmly established. Among them was even Falon, commander of the Imperial Guard Legion.

This was something Emperor Pete had never expected. His former brother and comrade had actually betrayed him.

However, Pete was not a cruel ruler. He treated suspicious individuals with great caution and tried his best to avoid wrongful killings.

This war had caused the Empire considerable losses, but the vast majority had been caused by the magic beast attack.

After part of the Wilderness Legion was recalled, the magic beasts within the Empire were swiftly exterminated. Even the smaller magic beasts that had originally lived in those areas suffered along with them.

At present, Emperor Pete had decided on two things. First, the Five-Nation Alliance would feel the Empire's wrath. Second, once everything had settled, he would launch a magic beast subjugation war against the Southern Wilderness.

In the magic beast subjugation war, the Imperial army would no longer remain entrenched within fortresses. They would take the initiative, enter the Southern Wilderness, and eliminate every aggressive magical creature.

The purpose was to control the number of magic beasts in the Southern Wilderness and perhaps even reduce the occurrence of Magic Beast Tides.

This was something that should have been done long ago. However, Emperor Pete knew that subjugating magic beasts would consume enormous amounts of money and manpower. Many large magic beasts possessed combat power far beyond that of ordinary humans, and eliminating them required paying a tremendous price.

But now was the perfect time. If Emperor Pete had wanted to subjugate magic beasts in the past, he would certainly have faced unanimous opposition from everyone in the Empire, from nobles to commoners. But now, the shadow left by the magic beast invasion hung over every one of them. Even knowing it would exhaust the people and drain resources, mainstream public opinion supported it.

Emperor Pete was very satisfied. He was already old and often worried that after his death, the Empire would slowly decline. But once these two wars ended, he believed the bloodiness and resilience of the people of the Empire would be awakened once more.

One thrives in adversity and dies in comfort. Perhaps the Empire rebuilt after the magic beast attack would become even more powerful than it was now.

Doris told Likaro everything she knew. An ordinary child would probably have fallen asleep listening to such tedious matters, but Likaro listened with great interest instead.

In that regard, Likaro was very much like her two older brothers. But Doris was not the biological mother of Wilfen's two sons, so if one traced it further back, it all came down to Wilfen.

All three of Wilfen's children had personalities very similar to his.

After listening to her mother's account, Likaro began telling her own story. Vidian had previously asked Likaro not to reveal any information about her, so Likaro mainly spoke about Xiya, since both her mother and father knew Xiya.

After hearing about the effects the Magic Outburst had had on Likaro's body, Doris hugged her tightly.

"Mother, my body will slowly recover."

"My poor child, I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you then..."

"It's all right. In the future, I should be the one protecting Mother."

Likaro comforted her mother instead.

"It seems my daughter really has grown up..."

"So, has the swordsmanship instructor Mother found for me arrived?"

How could Likaro forget something so important?

"Eh? You're still thinking about that? Wait until your body has recovered first."

"No!" Likaro began acting spoiled again. "Mother can't go back on her word! You promised to find me a swordsmanship instructor!"

Although Likaro's current constitution did not allow strenuous exercise, she still wanted to learn swordsmanship.

It did not matter if it was more tiring than normal, because she believed she could endure it.

Doris was somewhat troubled, because her daughter's health was her first concern, while her daughter's wishes came second.

But if she refused her daughter, it would make her very sad.

It truly put her in a difficult position.

PS: It must be said that there will soon be a rather large time skip. The protagonists' childhood years are about to end~

Childhood Friends: Toward the Future (End of Volume)

When Ailolin opened her eyes, she realized the surroundings were unusually quiet.

In the past, Vidian would always wake her up beforehand.

Ailolin seemed to have a guess in her heart.

She went to Vidian's house and called out a few times toward the inside.

There was no response.

Then Ailolin noticed that the stone slab used for studying at the entrance displayed the word farewell.

Tch, why did Vidian leave without even saying goodbye?

After confirming it again and again, Ailolin was certain that Vidian had truly left.

It surprised her. She had thought there would at least be some sort of farewell scene.

She really did not know what Vidian was thinking.

Feeling a little hungry after waking up, Ailolin flew to the nearest area where herbivorous magic beasts gathered, casually caught one unlucky magic beast, and then feasted on it.

She had long since completely accepted raw meat, and now she could no longer remember what cooked meat tasted like.

Now that Vidian had left, there was no need for Ailolin to remain here any longer.

During these days, Vidian had taught Ailolin a great deal of knowledge, while Ailolin's own combat experience had steadily improved through fighting magic beasts.

Vidian had been both her friend and her teacher.

Now Ailolin began to think about where she should go.

According to Vidian, the Empire was not located in the central region of this continent. If one kept flying east, there would be many more countries.

However, an immense chain of mountains separated the eastern border of the Silver Eagle Empire from the other nations. The eastern mountains were extraordinarily vast, and there was simply no road through them.

Therefore, it was impossible for humans to cross the mountains. But Ailolin could fly over them through the advantages of her race, so they were no obstacle to her at all.

Image: "A random map, no rivers", location: "Images/1595758540-100182536-105709668.jpg"

Ailolin decided to set off now. She hoped to reach the Dragonkind habitat Vidian had mentioned as soon as possible, then ask for information about her parents.

If she truly had parents in this world, she still wanted to meet them. At the very least, she wanted to thank them for giving her life.

Ailolin determined the direction of east by the position of the sun, then flew that way.