Draconic features fully revealed

The warmth of a bed is always hard to leave, especially in a tranquil environment. The occasional calls of crows drift in from outside the window, accompanied by the patter of light rain on the wooden planks of the house. This is nature's lullaby, prompting the slightly drowsy Ortlinde to shift her position and drift back to sleep.

The girl turned over, but the wooden board creaked loudly. She tried to climb onto the soft pillow, but she couldn't find her comfortable spot anymore.

"What's going on...?"

Ortlinde opened her sleepy eyes; the sunlight outside the window was rather dazzling. This wasn't the sunlight filtering through the morning mist, but the midday sun. This puzzled her, as she always had a punctual biological clock; even after a battle the day before, she shouldn't have woken up this late.

But soon something made her feel uneasy. She looked at the two strange marks on the wall and the pillow that was obviously out of place. This made her subconsciously touch her head, and then her fingertips touched a pair of hard protrusions.

"Huh?"

In the distant palace of Skadi, Bai Mo, carrying a huge wine jug, walked out with Da Vinci and the now lively Ophelia. Ophelia was clearly much more talkative than before, chatting and laughing with Da Vinci.

"The decision regarding Miss Ophelia has been unanimously approved by the Chaldea council, and the matter of her previous betrayal is now closed. If you wish to continue Chaldea's Magecraft research, you will need my help when we encounter Singularity."

With Miss Ophelia and Mr. Kadoc around, Ritsuka's stress will be greatly reduced.

Da Vinci handed the report, covered with the document, to Bai Mo. After all, such matters required the decision of the sole shareholder. Bai Mo signed it and then gave it to Ophelia.

In this way, Ophelia's resume is now clean. Unlike Kadoc, Kadoc stubborn nature led him to clearly express his resistance to Chaldea during the Russia Lostbelt, making it difficult for him to pass the "political vetting" process.

Ophelia was much better off. After all, let alone anything like rebelling against Chaldea, in that Northern Europe teeming with monsters and demons, Ophelia felt that it was already quite an achievement that she had survived until the Bai Mo.

In addition, given his indelible contributions in the final battle, he should be entitled to compensation for emotional distress and a bonus.

"Okay, that puts my mind at ease. I'll also talk to Kadoc about the support. That guy is just prone to getting stuck on things because of his own personality; once you get to the point, he's actually quite easy to get along with."

Besides, Mr. Bai Mo doesn't seem to intend to make things difficult for him, does he?

"Your decisions are yours to make. Just show me the final result. I don't know Magecraft, so I won't offer any unwise advice on this matter."

"Oh, such a generous sponsor is really reassuring. At least as an artist, I feel very reassured."

Da Vinci smiled and took back the report. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she placed it on a mechanical bird. The familiar quickly flapped its wings and carried the report to Chaldea. After completing all this, she changed her appearance, looking like an archaeologist.

"Now that the matter of Ophelia is resolved, it's time for an adventure! Hurry, hurry, seeing all those mythical beings on the observation instrument has me rubbing my hands in excitement."

Jormungandr, the Well of Wisdom, and Nidhogg's bones... Hehehe, being summoned by Chaldea is awesome! Where's the guide Skadi mentioned? I can't wait to explore the Northern Europe."

Da Vinci's ten fingers danced excitedly like the legs of a spider, and his fanatical eyes were like those of a starving beast eyeing a piece of fat, drooling uncontrollably.

"Was this really what Da Vinci was like in history?"

"You've already undergone gender reassignment surgery, why are you still asking this?"

Bai Mo answered Ophelia's question with a hint of helplessness. A moment later, Brynhildr descended from the sky. Bai Mo looked at her blood-stained spear tip and the streak of crimson in her hair, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"You weren't the one Skadi arranged, were you? Has Ortlinde not recovered yet?"

"It's me for now. As for this... I'm sorry, Sigurd was too gentle when he straightened my collar as we parted, and I couldn't help myself..."

"Looks like I'll have to choose a new Servant to summon..." Ophelia murmured to herself, looking at Brynhildr.

There are many things left behind in Northern Europe, and having a local would save a lot of trouble. But unfortunately, the whole of Northern Europe is currently in a state of disrepair, so Bai Mo fully accepted the suggestion to have a guide.

At first, he thought it was Ortlinde.

"Ortlinde... she's still unconscious. I want to go see her. If she's alright, I'll leave this task to her. After all... I might lose control on the way... and Sigurd isn't here..."

"Sigurd's Spirit Origin has already been torn off a piece, so please try to let him go."

Bai Mo expressed deep concern about the health of her marriage to a certain dragon slayer, after which everyone went together to Ortlinde's residence.

Upon arrival, Bai Mo saw Gullfaxi lying leisurely in front of the door, basking in the sun. It lay lazily on the lawn, its golden mane fluttering in the wind like a radiant banner. But upon closer inspection, Bai Mo noticed that this magnificent steed seemed to have been neglected for some time, indicating that Ortlinde had indeed not been out.

Upon seeing Bai Mo arrive, it stood up and cried out, seemingly in greeting, which prompted Da Vinci to wave to it repeatedly.

But when Da Vinci prepared to stroke it, the magnificent steed still let out a low growl that warned him not to approach.

"Damn it, even if I burn down the entire resource library, I'm going to research and create a carrot that you can't resist, so you'll be begging me for it."

"Don't waste Chaldea's resources on researching carrots..."

Ophelia was already somewhat worried about what her future work environment would be like. Bai Mo and Brynhildr stepped up the stairs and gently knocked on the door.

"Ortlinde?"

Surprisingly, a response came immediately from behind the door; the voice was somewhat flustered, and there was a clattering sound of something being knocked over.

"Bai Mo, what brings you here... Ah!"

"Ortlinde, what's wrong? Never mind, I'm coming in." Before Ortlinde could refuse, Bai Mo Brynhildr opened the door. Then, both of them stared at the girl sitting on the floor in her pajamas.

The Valkyrie crest on Ortlinde's head had completely disappeared, replaced by a pair of dragon horns the color of black pearls. Lying on the floor, she seemed to be trying hard to cover these horns, and her heterochromatic red-gold eyes were glistening with tears.