Chapter 164 - Sanctuary and Snake Eyes (4) (1/2)

In front of me, a clothed rat and an ornate snake stared at each other.

It was as if the one who looked away was going to be eaten.

With such a tense atmosphere, Alba and Clay faced each other, glaring at each other.

Alba Germain, the wise rat, showed no emotion at all, while Clay, the snake, grinned happily as they looked at each other silently for a while.

It was Alba who looked away first.

“I’m sorry I’m late. It took me a while to detect your non-dragon presence.”

As he said this, Alba lightly jumped down from the rock where he had been standing and came to my feet.

“Aoi and your brother are very worried about you. Oh, don’t worry. They’ve arrived at the tomb of King Dailan without any trouble. Prince Atol is probably taking them to a safe place right now. I’ll get Aoi to come pick you up later.”

“… Aah.”

Alba smiled and stood on my lap, acting as if Clay did not exist.

“Well, to do that I need to go back to Aoi and let her know where you are, but it’s not safe to leave you with this snake. Let’s get rid of it.”

Alba turns around and looks at Clay.

I felt a slight irritation in his voice.

He was not the aloof Alba he usually was.

He didn’t have his usual irritating attitude where he treated people with contempt.

“Hmm.”

Clay pulled his head back to observe me and Alba.

The gesture of looking at the whole thing together was like that of a predator trying to catch its prey.

“You’ve been taking very good care of him, haven’t you? That’s unusual. It’s unusual that you, who has no interest in anything other than dragons, would try to protect something as weak as a human.”

Clay was still smiling.

As usual, I have no idea what’s so interesting to me.

The only thing I feel is discomfort and disgust.

“Can you please stop talking about me as if you know me? It’s very unpleasant.”

“I know. Yes, I do. In fact, who else but me could possibly understand you?”

Clay said and began to circle us.

The black snake undulated around us, giggling, or rather, hissing.

“Hey? My brother.”

“Huh?”

I was the one who reacted to the words.

Brother? Who?

“… Please stop. I’ve never once thought of you as my older sister. We were just born in the same place, okay?”

Alba jumped off my lap and began to circle around me as Clay moved.

I knew this wasn’t his normal attitude.

He’s been keeping an eye on the snake in front of him, Clay.

Are these two really siblings? Are there really siblings who are so bitter?

Shouhei and I are really close, so I can’t imagine it.

I mean, first of all, how can a rat and a snake be siblings?

How can a snake’s brother be a rat?

“Is that so? I think of you as my brother, but a bad, bad, bad brother. Didn’t you almost kill your own sister when a bad woman took advantage of you?”

“Stop.”

Alba held up his staff.

He pointed it at Clay and glared at him hatefully.

The tone of his voice was heavy and did not contain any of Alba’s usual lightheartedness.

“Don’t you talk about Seraphy. Shall I destroy you once again, this time completely?”

Who the hell is Seraphy?

Wait a minute.

I really can’t keep up anymore.

There were so many incomprehensible things going on that I had no time to calm down at all.

“You still have feelings for that gloomy bitch? That’s the spirit. I don’t know what made you do it. Oh, even though I hurt you, it looks like you got the better of me. Well, it’s not your place to hate me. It’s her fault for picking a fight with me in the first place.”

“How dare you? You can’t say that. If Seraphy hadn’t risked her life to stop you, there would be no life in this world today. I never thought I’d see you again after all these years. I had no idea you were still alive. The way you look, you look so worn out that you can’t even keep your form without clinging to your little life. It’s disgusting, but it seems we’ve both been through something similar.”

“Oh, this look? I like it, actually. I’ve been secretly watching you borrow the flesh of a dying rat. There’s nothing you can do that I can’t do. Besides, my original body was torn to pieces by that woman.”

“You got what you deserved, didn’t you? It’s a small punishment compared to what you’ve done. I’m honestly surprised you’ve managed to live this long without me noticing. I guess you could have done it if you were persistent. I knew I should have looked for you carefully back then.”

“Haha, even so, I had a hard time. I’ve been struggling to find a way to regain my original power. Well, from the looks of it, you’re no different. That’s why I’ve been able to live until now.”

“Now, what have you been cheating on and who have you been screwing over to stay ugly? If you call me your brother, why don’t you tell me, sister?”

“Well, I wonder. I don’t think I’m the kind of person who would expose his hand even to his only family member. After all, my foolish brother still seems to be trying to kill me.”

“Of course. I really want to kill you right now. The only people who can completely destroy you, an immortal, are the same, me and Seraphy.”

“Don’t say things you can’t do.”

“It’s not impossible. It’s nothing I can’t do, as long as you keep me company for a month or so. But you’ll run away, won’t you?”

“Yes, I’m running away. I don’t want to die either. I’ve got things to do.”

“What makes you think I’ll let you do that?”

Alba and Clay exchanged words in a defensive posture, both of them biting at each other’s words.

Clay kept his head pointed at Alba, and Alba kept the tip of his staff pointed at Clay, never looking away from each other.

Wait. Really wait.

Somebody explain something to me, even just a little bit.

Just tell me something that I can understand!

“Boy, what are you?”

Clay looked at me sideways.

“I set it up so that when I interfered with the transference, you would come right to me. But this kid disappeared from subspace once and then shifted to a place where I couldn’t detect him. That’s impossible. There is no way that my eyes could lose sight of something once it has been captured. Except for that one place.”

“… What are you talking about?”

I know.

Even I’m an idiot, but I kind of get it.

So that place where I was just now, is it a place that Clay shouldn’t know about?

Mom, no, the place where the white girl and the two fairies were.

The milky white sky and the tattered stone stage in the deep green forest.

There is something in that place that Alba is trying to hide.

It means there is someone who needs to be hidden, right?

Then I won’t say anything.

If I’m stupid enough to blurt out something about that place, I’ll never be able to get it back.

It’s just a hunch I have.