Chapter 208: Recuperation (1/2)
”Ugh…” Sera complained while sinking into the outdated couch which adorned the dorm's living room. ”I'm so tired, I don't think I could move another muscle. Tal, you'll have to carry me.”
The elf gave her a blank look, not bothering to dignify that statement with an answer.
Mike looked at the pair while scratching the back of his head, ”In her defense, she has been up all night…”
This just earned him a cold glance from Tal, but he could tell that she was just playing along with the mood, at least as much as her condition allowed her to. Audra was sitting on her shoulder, occasionally shooting scathing glares at him. Ever since he'd let her out of the bag, in the literal sense, she'd been avoiding him.
He'd already apologized through his mental link, and it felt like she'd understood his motivations, but his familiar had still refused to have anything to do with him. Even though he'd done it for her safety, the little dragon's attitude made him feel a bit lonely.
He had to admit, though, he'd enjoyed Sera's reaction as Audra flew past her and attached herself to the elf. Watching the Oracle's momentary expression of surprised delight morphing into confusion, then indignation, and finally depressed resignation, was quite entertaining.
Perhaps understanding his feelings, Tal leaned down and started whispering to Audra. This went on for a while, before finally the little dragon gave a nod and took to the air, landing on a chair near Mike. She fixed him with a slightly angry stare for a moment before turning and facing the other direction.
[Is she pretending to ignore me?] He thought, having seen similar behavior in his family's pet cat back on Earth. Perhaps he could solve the problem in a similar manner.
Tal was looking at him expectantly, evidently hoping that he'd understand. He reached into his bag and pulled out an orange mana core about the size of a softball. As soon as he did, he noticed the little dragon's gaze fix on it, her intentions clear, so he lowered his hand.
She immediately pounced on it, devouring it with quick, crunching bites. When she was done, she gave him an odd stare, before scrambling up his arm and curling up on his shoulder with an affectionate chirp.
There was a few seconds of silence as Mike paused to enjoy the feeling. The moment was broken when a series of soft snores started filling the room.
Sera apparently wasn't joking about being exhausted, since she'd fall asleep almost immediately after sitting down. Knowing that someone would have to do something about it, he picked her up and carried her over to her room, depositing her safely in bed. Tal followed after him, indicating that she would keep an eye on her.
Once he'd closed the door again, Mike shook his head with a wry smile. It had been a long day already, and it was barely past lunch. There was still a lot for him to do, but he'd wanted to make sure that his party members were settled in first.
In that line of thinking, he decided to wander over to a section of the dorm he hadn't visited yet.
William the butler answered the door after his quiet knock. The man was pale, and had a bandage wrapped around one side of his head where the abductors had struck him prior to making off with Lily. Despite his injury, he was obviously relieved to have his charge back home.
Upon seeing who it was, the old man smiled. ”Sir Mike! I can't thank you enough for rescuing Lady Lilliana. Although you may not believe it, she is s rather delicate. The mere thought of what she might have suffered without your intervention…” He shuddered.
”I'm glad I could help.” Mike replied with an awkward smile. He tried to associate the word delicate with the woman, and just couldn't bring himself to do it. ”Anyway, how is she doing?”
”With the exception of her wardrobe, which failed to survive the kidnapping,” The butler's face crimped, as if the thought bothered him a great deal, ”she is well. In fact, not long after your acquaintance brought her home, she was already working on her next project. Apparently, she's become fascinated with the fabric of that suit you made for her.”
William frowned, a little disapprovingly. ”I know it was likely a difficult situation, but was there not some other, more…appropriate form of dress available?”
”Ah…well, it was a bit chaotic, to say the least. I was a little more focused on her survival. Anyway, I'm glad she had no issues after we separated.” Mike answered, deciding that it was perhaps time for him to make his escape, lest the butler engage in some other lines of questioning.
Thankfully, Lily herself provided him with the perfect excuse. A small explosion rocked the dorm, and he could see a thin plume of smoke wafting from one of the rooms behind the butler.
William sighed, ”I must go attend to that. If you would be so kind, please pass along my thanks to Miss Selene. Her assistance in bringing Lady Lilliana back home was most appreciated.”
”I will express your sentiments the next time I see her.” He said before making his way out of the dormitory.
Once outside he looked over at the sprawling mass of draconic flesh that was currently lazing in the afternoon sun, and sighed.
Figuring that any advantage inherent to hiding his identity had largely vanished after the Tenundians attempted to kidnap a member of his party, Mike decided that the time of secrecy had passed. This way, he could employ his reliable dragon mount as a guard to prevent such a thing from happening again. Or so he'd intended. It was a little difficult to imagine the creature in front of him being capable of guarding anything in his current state.