Volume 6 Chapter 74
by Golden DragonVolume 6 + Chapter 74: Welcome To Molent
Xia Yi watched as Balan, like a devout believer, made his way forward to a tree, spoke incomprehensible words, and wept tears of joy.
After a blinding flash of green light, Balan disappeared.
She thought there was no way he could have escaped right before her eyes…
Then she realized something was wrong.
“Balan’s presence is still here!”
Xia Yi could clearly sense that Balan’s presence remained in this spot. He had not left.
But no matter how she looked, there was only this tree. Nothing else.
How had Balan managed to leave his presence behind while his body vanished…
Wait.
Body?
Vanished?
Thinking this, a chill ran down Xia Yi’s spine, and her heart grew uneasy.
She stared fixedly at the tree, raised her hand, and slowly reached out.
Many guesses surged in her mind, but from a rational perspective, they seemed too insane.
Yet the moment her fingertip touched the bark, she clearly felt Balan’s presence.
The little princess’s mind buzzed as if it had exploded.
“Could it be… that Balan’s soul has merged with this tree!”
Xia Yi stepped back several paces.
This completely subverted common sense. Although the elves were naturally attuned to nature, a soul merging with a tree was something she had never heard of, not even in rumors.
“Balan? Can you hear me?”
Xia Yi tried talking to the tree.
“Has your soul merged with the tree?”
“If you can hear me, give me a response.”
She spoke to the tree for a good while but received no reply.
Perhaps her guess was wrong, and this was just some trick of Balan’s?
The cunning bard had infused his presence into the tree and then hidden himself by some special means, trying to make her paranoid and drive her mad.
…It was not impossible.
After all, she had threatened Balan. It would be natural for him to flee in fear.
“Am I going mad? Actually talking to a tree and expecting it to answer?”
Xia Yi shook her head and sighed softly.
“Maybe I’ve been affected by the strange atmosphere. I feel like I’ve become a bit unhinged after entering the Elven Kingdom.”
Still, since she had successfully entered the Elven Kingdom, Balan had fulfilled his duty as a guide.
As for his escape…
Oh well, she couldn’t be bothered to pursue.
“I should go find an elven town nearby… Huh? Isn’t that a carriage over there? Am I seeing things?!”
Xia Yi spotted a carriage in the distance on a road, with someone sitting on it.
After entering the Elven Kingdom, she had finally seen other people!
“Things are looking up.”
Xia Yi smiled, ran toward the carriage, and waved as she called out.
“Hey there, you elves over there~ Hello~~”
“…”
After the silver dragon loli had run down the slope, the tree that had been motionless all along stirred, actually turning to face the direction of Xia Yi’s retreating back.
…
“Hello there, elf~”
Xia Yi raised her hand and proactively greeted the approaching carriage.
But when she saw the person on the carriage, she froze.
The one driving the carriage was not an elf, but… a human?!
“Hmm, what is it, young dragon lady? I’m not an elf. Are you looking for the wrong person?” The middle-aged human man stopped the carriage and asked.
“…Why is there a human here?” Xia Yi asked.
“What do you mean, why? I live nearby,” the man replied. “What’s the matter, young dragon lady? Do you need a ride into town?”
Xia Yi’s mind was in turmoil.
The man did not seem to be making fun of her.
Judging by his clothes, he was an ordinary human.
He said he lived nearby… but wasn’t this the Elven Kingdom?
Although elves had trade relations with many outsiders, they never allowed outsiders to settle in the Elven Kingdom.
“Getting on?” the man asked.
“Oh! Yes, yes. Thank you!”
Xia Yi smiled, jumped onto the carriage, and sat down.
The carriage was loaded with farming tools. It seemed the man was a farmer.
“Aren’t you… afraid of me?” Xia Yi asked curiously.
An ordinary human would have been scared half to death upon seeing a dragon, let alone engage in such a leisurely conversation.
“Why would I be?”
“I’m a dragon.”
“So what if you’re a dragon?” the man countered.
“Huh?”
That truly stumped Xia Yi.
“Dragons are rare, but it’s not like I’ve never seen one. There’s a dragon in town who runs a pastry shop. Business is booming. I’ve taken my daughter there several times.”
“Huh??”
Xia Yi’s cheek twitched.
No matter how you looked at it, even if he were making up a story, couldn’t he have made it more believable?
A dragon running a pastry shop outside the Dragon Kingdom?
Who would dare to go in and buy anything?
A dragon-owned shop would surely go bankrupt in no time.
…
“Here we are, young dragon lady. If you want to enter the city, take the main gate. I’ll be going to the side entrance.”
The middle-aged man stopped the carriage.
“Okay, thank you so much, mister!”
Xia Yi got off the carriage and expressed her gratitude.
Even though she thought his story was absurdly far-fetched, since he had helped her, politeness was still in order.
After bidding farewell to the man, she walked toward the city gate.
At the gate, human soldiers stood guard.
“It seems a battle is unavoidable. They’ll surely attack me without question.”
Xia Yi knew the dragon race had a poor reputation among humans. She was mentally prepared for a fight at any moment.
“Hello, young dragon lady. If you wish to enter the city, please register.” The human guard spoke to Xia Yi without any surprise.
“…Eh?”
The guard’s attitude was unexpected.
Why were the humans here not afraid of dragons?
“Young dragon lady, are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Xia Yi asked the question again.
“We are merely performing our duties. Why would we be afraid? If you are in trouble, feel free to tell us. If not, please do not obstruct our daily work,” the guard replied.
“So I can enter the city?”
“After you register, yes.”
“…Very well. You said it. No taking it back!”
Xia Yi registered as the guard instructed.
The registration method here was different from elsewhere. Besides writing down her name, she also pressed her handprint on a large magical stone.
The magical stone lit up, displaying Xia Yi’s portrait and handprint, changing from a forbidden red to a permitted green.
“Welcome to Molent, young dragon lady.”
After Xia Yi registered, the guard truly let her through.
Xia Yi felt as if she were dreaming. She had entered so easily, without the fierce battle she had imagined.
Given the conflicts between humans and dragons, it should have been a life-or-death struggle. Such normal interaction was the rarest of exceptions.
She passed through the city gate and stepped into the city called Molent.
“Th-this, how can this be!!”
The scene before Xia Yi’s eyes made her silver pupils tremble, causing her to doubt once again whether she had… truly lost her mind.
[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]
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