Book 3: Chapter 35 (1/2)

Lindyss sighed as she wrapped her blanket around herself tighter. Everything around her was white, and a shivering fairy with damp hair was clinging to her neck. Lindyss kicked her foot against the black surface beneath her. “How many times do I have to tell you not to fly through clouds!?”

Grimmy snorted. “You can tell me as many times as you want, but if it gets too hot when I’m flying, I’m going to dip into the clouds to cool off. You knew what you signed up for when you wanted to tag along.”

“Who wanted to tag along, damnit,” Lindyss said, pulling the blanket around herself tighter. She sneezed and sniffled a few times before wiping her nose against the fabric covering her shoulder. “I was perfectly happy sunbathing on a beach until you came along and whisked me away for no good reason.”

“Eh, when you put it that way, you make me seem like I’m the bad guy,” Grimmy said. “I’m the one carrying you across two oceans like some kind of cheap transportation. You’re not even paying me.”

“I didn’t want you to carry me,” Lindyss said, narrowing her eyes. “We’ve been flying for over a day now. I haven’t eaten or slept or used the bathroom. What kind of transportation won’t stop to let someone use the bathroom?”

“What, you want me to just float atop the ocean or something?” Grimmy asked. “Dragons aren’t great at hovering, you know. Circling around at high altitudes is much easier.”

Lindyss sighed. “Forget it. Just hurry up and fly.”

Grimmy clicked his tongue. “Someone’s grouchy.”

“I have every right to be grouchy. Why are we even going to check out this devil summoning? What is a devil anyway?”

“A devil’s a being from another dimension,” Grimmy said, rolling his eyes up to look at Lindyss. “They don’t have conventional forms, and the rules governing their abilities are different from ours. Back when I lived in the southern continent, a group of people tried to get rid of all the dragons using devils. Long story short, those pesky people failed and everyone died, rendering the whole continent uninhabitable. Then—”

“I remember you mentioning you destroyed the southern continent,” Lindyss said, lowering her head to meet Grimmy’s gaze.

“Did I?” Grimmy asked. “Let’s ignore the minor details, alright? Anyways, it’s not like I exterminated everyone. Clearly, someone must’ve escaped to the western continent. How else would knowledge of devil summoning appear?”

“You think the person summoning devils is trying to get rid of the dragons again?” Lindyss asked. “It makes sense why’d you want to investigate.”

“Yup,” Grimmy said. “Who knows, it might even be someone I’m familiar with.”

“You get along with people other than me?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow.

Grimmy snorted. “What, you thought you were the first person I experimented on?”

“I’m not?”

“No, but you’re the only one that I like,” Grimmy said. “All the other people swore to get revenge on me for some reason. Sheesh, after all I did for them too. Well, not like it matters—thousands of years have passed since then, so they’re all probably dead.”

“I told you he’s evil,” Erin whispered from Lindyss’ neck. “It’s not too late to jump off and hide in the ocean.”

“No, no,” Grimmy said. “It’s far too late even if you do that. No matter where you go, I’ll know where you are thanks to those souls planted inside of you.”

Lindyss frowned. “…Really?”

“How do you think I found you to take with me?” Grimmy asked, raising his brow.

“That’s … kind of creepy,” Lindyss said. “No, that’s seriously creepy.” She paused. “Does that mean you were just ignoring me for all those years before I found Vur and met you again?”

Grimmy scratched his snout. “Eh…, dragons are very busy individuals, you know?”

Lindyss sighed. “Sure. If you say so.”

“I wouldn’t ignore you for years,” Erin said with a pout.

“Please do.”

Erin snorted. “Maybe it really is too late for you to be a good person anymore.”

***

Mary sat with her arms and legs crossed, her cheeks bulging outwards like a chipmunk’s as she glared at Tafel. Tafel smiled at the pouting empress. “Glaring at me won’t change the fact that you lost.”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone as wishy-washy as you,” Mary said, the tension in her face relaxing. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, her chin tilting towards the ceiling. “This round doesn’t count. We agreed that only Apollonia could spectate as a judge. Outsiders interfered.”

“You should’ve said something when Tafel and Alice came into the room,” Vur said. “By not saying anything, you agreed to let them spectate. Besides, even if they hadn’t come, I would’ve won anyway.”