"That's too much, meow! How could he be so cruel even to someone like Little Jibril?"
Inside the steaming Cave Hot Spring, Azriel flapped her aching arms as she tried her hardest to press herself against Jibril, complaining all the while.
"Bubble, bubble..."
Jibril submerged the lower half of her face completely in the comfortable hot water, sending up an endless stream of bubbles as she pushed Azriel's approaching body away in distaste.
Their situation did not mean Roland had actually stewed them like mushrooms. In fact, after Riku arrived, Roland, having accomplished his objective, abandoned his drum-beating behavior and brought them back to the Kingdom of Elkia.
With Imanity's expansion over this period, most people had returned to living aboveground. Naturally, Riku had dedicated the cave that once supported their survival to Roland as a holy site, with a research base as a secondary function.
Roland had taken the opportunity to place Azriel under house arrest here. There was still some time before he finished uniting the other races and sounded the call for the decisive battle. Rather than let Azriel return home to do nothing, he might as well have her contribute something.
Having suffered a crushing defeat both mentally and physically, Azriel was quite happy with this arrangement.
For Jibril, however, this was hardly good news. Her senior pestered her all day, yet she could not hit her too hard because she was an important test subject who would determine whether Jibril could obtain a Spirit Garment. Even hiding in the hot spring for some peace had failed to escape Azriel's notice.
Lord Roland shouldn't have unsealed her power. Being able to track me down in natural surroundings like these with only an ordinary human's strength must count as quite an impressive talent, right?
Jibril reached out