Juno walked up to Greg, chattering away:
"I was planning to explore the festival with Vivian, Sarah, and the others after the Final Defense, but they all left so quickly that I couldn't find them."
But the slight hint of dissatisfaction in her voice was soon replaced by excitement:
"Still, I'm pretty happy to go with you instead! Because I really like your scent!"
No sooner had she spoken than someone stepped between her and Greg.
Victoria stood between them, her face expressionless. She looked Juno up and down, a hint of wariness in her voice. "Hold on, who are you?"
Juno looked so different now from the clever-looking girl in glasses at the Exchange Meeting that Victoria never connected her with that genius from the Ember-Eyed Tower.
She turned to Greg with a slight frown. "And what did she mean by your scent?"
Greg was just about to explain when Juno leaned toward Victoria.
Tilting her head like a curious little animal, she sniffed near Victoria's shoulder, then took a step back in mild disgust:
"Stinky. There's a smell I don't like."
Victoria's face instantly flushed red. "What nonsense are you talking about?! I don't smell like anything, okay!"
"You definitely do. Lying to dragons is a bad habit." Juno shook her head earnestly.
"All right, quiet down, genius. I've never smelled anything strange on Victoria, so stop talking nonsense."
Greg hurried to smooth things over. After stopping Juno, he continued to Victoria:
"The 'scent' Juno's talking about isn't what we normally mean by a smell. It's probably because Dragonfolk have different senses from ours, so they can perceive things we can't understand. Just think of it as a metaphor."
Greg sounded so certain because he really had never smelled anything strange on Victoria. On the contrary, he had