Chapter 84
by Need_More_SleepChapter 84: Hello, Lady Saint [4K]
The city of Gerris in the Kingdom of Dia was one of the border cities of the kingdom, and it was the first stop on Naya’s journey. Naya had specifically come here to meet with Lina, and this did not delay her progress in searching for the Earth’s Vein energy.
The bloom of the Earth’s Vein Flower required time to grow. It wasn’t as simple as detecting the energy and then just going over to harvest some treasure. The flower first absorbs the Earth’s Vein energy before it bears fruit.
According to Iris’s spy reports, there was a strong fluctuation of Earth’s Vein energy near Rex City, about 300 kilometers from Gerris. Other Heroes with special abilities were already keeping a watchful eye on the area, waiting eagerly.
Once the Earth’s Vein Flower matured, they would fight for the sacred relics it produced. And by the looks of it, the Earth’s Vein Flower there should bear fruit within a month.
For the dragon race, 300 kilometers was no distance at all. A short flight of about two hours would get them to the destination. So, before the Earth’s Vein Flower bore fruit, Naya had time to visit Lina in Gerris City and then head to Rex City afterward, with time to spare.
Finishing the personal matter this morning meant that she could fully focus on her tasks later on.
By bribing a noble convoy with money, Naya, Iris, Illya, Bella, and Flanna entered Gerris City without going through inspections. By the time they got off the carriage, it was almost evening.
The streets were crowded, as most people were finishing their workday at this hour. Illya held Iris’s hand with her left hand and Naya’s with her right as she curiously looked around the bustling streets.
Because of her height, Illya could only see people’s legs and buttocks. So many legs were moving around that she felt dizzy and, without thinking, blurted out.
“Wow! So many humans! Can we eat them?”
“Illya!”
Naya quickly reached out and covered Illya’s mouth.
What on earth! Illya really had no filter. Wasn’t she afraid they might get suspected?
“Mmm…”
Illya nodded, signaling that she understood her mistake. Only then did Naya release her hand from Illya’s mouth.
At the moment, they were using magic to disguise themselves, temporarily hiding their horns and tails, and even changing their ears to look like human ears.
Despite this, yelling about eating humans in the middle of the street would still draw a lot of unwanted attention. Fortunately, Illya’s careless remark didn’t seem to attract any notice from the passersby.
“Wow! Wow! Wow!”
After receiving a warning glance from Naya, Illya didn’t dare speak carelessly anymore. Instead, she could only let out excited screams when she saw new things. She had never been to a human city before, never seen so many people, nor had she witnessed such a dense collection of shops and street stalls.
Suddenly, Illya let go of Iris’s hand and pointed to a red item at a nearby street stall, her other hand still tugging at Naya.
“Mommy! What’s that red thing? It looks so yummy!”
Recognizing the familiar sight from her memory, Naya couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s candied fruit, Illya. Would you like some?”
“Yes, yes! I want it!” Illya eagerly replied.
“Flanna, go buy five skewers.”
“Yes, Miss Naya.”
Flanna, carrying a thick backpack, approached the stall and bought five skewers of candied fruit. Naya took the skewers and first handed one to Illya.
“Here’s one for you, Illya, and one for me.”
Then she handed one to Iris and turned toward her two maids, Flanna and Bella, who had been carrying the heavy luggage. Smiling, Naya offered them the remaining skewers.
“Flanna, Bella, you’ve worked hard. Here, try out one of the humans’ favorite childhood treats.”
Perhaps she’d been too hard on Illya. After all, Naya had nearly slipped herself, almost calling it a local human delicacy. The two maids glanced cautiously at Iris, and only after she nodded did they dare take a skewer each.
“Thank you, Miss Naya,” they said as they nibbled on the candied fruit while searching for a place to stay for the night.
Drawing on her years of experience navigating human kingdoms, Naya led them into the noble district in the city center, where they found a high-end inn. After checking in and allowing Flanna and Bella to drop off their luggage, Naya retrieved the coin pouch from Flanna, and along with her wife and daughter, they headed out once more.
“Let’s go grab some dinner ~”
Back in her days as a Hero, Naya had lived frugally, never daring to set foot in high-class restaurants. But now, as the Dragon King’s Queen, she was determined to indulge in the human noble experience. They found a restaurant that looked exceptionally upscale from the outside.
As soon as they stepped in, Naya was greeted by the sound of a beautiful violin, and she silently admired the elegance of it all. In the center of the restaurant, musicians performed on a stage, while waiters in suits served Naya’s family and seated them in a prime spot to enjoy the performance.
Naya ordered several meat dishes—steak, abalone, crispy pork, squid, and crayfish—making sure to pick the most expensive items. Then, the long wait for the food began. Thankfully, the performance helped pass the time. Otherwise, it would have been unbearably dull.
When the dishes finally arrived, before Naya and Iris could savor them slowly, Illya had devoured them in just a few bites.
Staring at the empty plates, Illya held a fork in one hand and chopsticks in the other. She licked her lips and, with wide, innocent eyes, asked, “Mommy, when will the main course come? I’m so hungry!”
“The food you ate was the main course,” Naya replied.
“Huh? That was it?”
Illya felt like she hadn’t eaten anything at all, like her stomach was still empty.
Naya waved over the waiter. “Excuse me, please add a few more dishes.”
She had underestimated the portions at a noble’s restaurant. As everyone knew, the higher-end the restaurant, the smaller the portions, especially for expensive dishes like the steak, which hadn’t even been the size of half Naya’s palm.
Back when she was a Hero, she had never dined at such fancy places, so she didn’t know that noble dining prioritized ambiance over quantity. In the end, Naya had to spend ten gold coins just to fill Illya’s stomach.
For perspective, an ordinary person could eat a decent meal for a few silver coins.
When it came time to pay, Naya’s heart was bleeding.
Though she knew this amount of money was insignificant compared to the Dragon King’s vast wealth, her former Hero’s values still lingered. This sum was almost equivalent to half a year’s salary for a Hero!
Every coin a Hero earned was through blood and sweat.
Besides, during her stay at the castle, Naya had never had to spend a single coin herself.
She wasn’t used to the freedom of spending lavishly as a Queen. Watching so much money flow out of her own hands for this meal, Naya was on the verge of tears. What was meant to be a small indulgence had ended up costing a fortune.
But Iris didn’t seem to mind.
On the way back to the inn, Naya lowered her head and looked at Illya.
“Illya, how was the food here? Was it delicious?”
“It wasn’t tasty. Not even close to what you make, Mommy. It was way too bland! What kind of food was that? I never want to come here again!”
“What about you think, Iris?”
“The same.”
“At the very least, wasn’t the music nice?” Naya asked with an awkward smile.
“No, it was way too noisy. What was that even? It was so harsh, really awful!” Illya pouted in protest.
“Agreed,” Iris nodded in support.
With mother and daughter in perfect sync, Naya was rendered speechless.
This time, she really had spent money just to suffer.
Back at the inn.
Since they weren’t in the Dragon Palace and Naya didn’t feel comfortable letting Illya sleep in a room by herself, they booked a family room, which had an extra small bed for Illya.
Not only that, but the room also had a magical bathtub. Once filled, the water could stay warm indefinitely.
Magic in this other world was truly convenient.
That night, after the family of three finished their baths, Naya, as usual, told Illya a bedtime story to help her fall asleep. She had already finished telling the story of the Hero fighting the Dragon, so now she was telling “The Nightingale and the Rose.”
The nightingale was a bird demon, and the rose symbolized a princess.
The story was about a spoiled princess who had her freedom restricted by the king. She was forced to learn royal etiquette because she was soon to be married off to a prince from a neighboring country. The princess was always miserable about this, but one night, a nightingale flew to her window and sang to her, describing the joy of flying freely through the skies as a bird. The princess was deeply envious of the nightingale, and as she listened to the nightingale’s song of freedom, she imagined herself as the bird, soaring through the skies. Over time, the princess grew fond of the nightingale.
Illya listened intently.
“Mommy, is our next destination the royal capital? I really want to meet a human princess.”
In the stories her Mama told, there wasn’t a single human princess who truly had freedom.
Illya thought these princesses were very pitiful.
She wanted to be a Hero for a human princess.
“Well, princesses usually live in palaces, just like in fairy tales. They generally don’t go out, so unless we engage in international diplomacy with a neighboring kingdom, the king wouldn’t let the royal family meet with foreign diplomats. Otherwise, it’s very unlikely we’ll see a princess.”
“That’s so sad for the princesses. I want to help them.”
“Alright, alright. If you want to help, do it in your dreams. Now, time to sleep, Illya.”
“Mhm, goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Mother.”
Illya obediently closed her eyes.
Now that she thought about it, the fairy tales Naya had heard back on Earth also treated princesses as little more than tools. Other than being married off, their fate was just to be married off again.
After putting Illya to sleep, Naya returned to the double bed and nestled into Iris’s arms.
But once the lights were off, Naya could clearly feel someone’s hand starting to misbehave.
“I want to hear the nightingale’s song too,” Iris whispered in Naya’s ear.
“Yeah, right. Go to sleep!”
With Illya only three meters away on her little bed, there was no way Naya would let Iris have her way.
She forcefully pried Iris’s hand off.
But Iris was persistent.
“Illya sleeps very soundly. She won’t wake up.”
“No.”
Naya squeezed her legs together, giving Iris no room for further mischief.
The disappointed little bee, having found no nectar, had no choice but to give up.
Snuggling back into the warm, soft bed, Naya let out a yawn. She nudged Iris’s arm with her elbow.
Eventually, she couldn’t fight the sleepiness any longer. Closing her eyes, she drifted off as the moon, gently covered by clouds, also went to sleep, accompanied by the stars.
“Ah… mmm…”
Naya woke up to her internal clock.
Faint morning light seeped into the room, and the person beside her had also woken up early and was watching her tenderly.
“Today, we need to go to the cathedral to meet Lina.”
“Is that the first thing you say when you wake up?”
“Ah! What—what are you doing? Let go of me!”
“I’m jealous.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve said good morning first.”
Realizing her mistake, Naya didn’t push away Iris, whose arms had been around her like a cloud covering the moon all night.
“Good morning, Iris. I love you a little more than I did yesterday.”
Still pouting, Iris said, “I’m jealous.”
“Stop being jealous. Let’s hurry up and have breakfast.”
“I’m jealous. I need something else to balance out this sour taste.”
“Iris!”
After scolding Iris, she finally let go.
Naya turned her head and kissed Iris on the cheek.
“I’m really sorry. I won’t do that again next time.”
From now on, she would make sure to say good morning to Iris first thing every day.
Naya threw off the blanket and got out of bed, heading to the washroom. She drew some hot water from the basin to wash her face.
As she closed her eyes and wiped her face with a towel, she felt a slight tug at her waist.
“I’m jealous.”
“Sigh…”
There was nothing Naya could do when Iris, the Dragon Queen, acted like a child when jealous. She turned around and gently pushed Iris away.
Then, lifting the sheer nightgown from her body, Naya blushed as Iris’s face, previously sour like a bitter melon, blossomed into a peach flower under the gentle breeze of spring.
Naya’s cheeks flushed as well, both their faces glowing like peach blossoms, sharing the same warmth.
…
The price for all this?
Iris had to agree to let Naya meet Lina alone.
With Iris thoroughly won over, she was more than happy to comply.
In the afternoon, Linnevia finally had time to meet Naya.
Naya entered the cathedral, feeling a mix of awkwardness and anxiety as she stepped into the grand hall.
There she saw a figure, both familiar and distant, dressed in a pure white gown, her head covered in a white veil. She stood beneath a towering statue, as graceful and solitary as an ethereal fairy.
Bright lights illuminated the surroundings, but it seemed as though she wasn’t bathed in the light—rather, she was the source of it.
“Hello, Lady Saint,” Naya addressed the old acquaintance.
It was still the same familiar face, but her hair had turned snow-white.
“Greetings, traveler from afar.”
With a soft smile on her lips, Linnevia gazed into Naya’s eyes, her unblinking stare reaching deep into Naya’s soul.
Naya couldn’t help but feel a chill down her spine.
Even though she was wearing colored contact lenses to make her eyes look like those of a normal human, Linnevia’s gaze still unnerved her.
“You seem troubled, are you not?”
“Yes, Lady Saint,” Naya replied, bowing her head—partly out of respect and partly to hide her flustered expression.