"‘Survivor of Aksion? Righteous Massacrer?’"
Let’s say Survivor of Aksion was a title earned from sothing that happened in the past. But what the hell was Righteous Massacrer supposed to an? First of all, just attaching the word righteous to massacrer made it sound completely off. No way he’d earned that kind of title from killing just one or two people. And it didn’t seem like he’d slaughtered anyone on a battlefield either—if he had, he’d probably have been hailed as a hero.
"Granted, he does go around spouting stuff like ‘I’ll cut off your head’ or ‘string you up’ all the ti..."
When Ayra looked over at Bloom again, he was scooping up a handful of snow from the ground to clean off his blade. Since the blood of the ma-beasts would naturally dissolve over ti, neither of them bothered wiping the blood off their clothes. Setting aside the discomfort she felt about the weird title, Ayra began gathering the mana stones. She handed about half of them over to Hera.
“Hm? Compared to what you did, my part was just finishing things off. Are you sure I should take this much?”
“I’m giving it to you as a sign that I’ll be relying on you from now on. You can use it when you build your newlywed house.”
Hera accepted them with a broad grin, without hesitation. Afterward, Ayra handed half of the remaining stones to Bloom. Bloom, who had just been absentmindedly watching Hera walk off with her share, flinched hard.
“N-No, my lord! I’m fine. Really.”
“You’re the knight commander—you need at least enough for so maintenance expenses. Treat your n to sothing good every now and then.”
Ayra forcibly poured the mana stones into Bloom’s hands. Flustered, he quietly began stuffing them into his pouch. He looked deeply moved.
Before leaving the area, the group took another look around the massive pit but found no particular clues. The ma-beasts had run wild and trampled everything so thoroughly that even the traces that might’ve been there were now long gone. It definitely wasn’t natural terrain.
‘Could this be sothing Bolni or Sobletz did?’
If they had a dungeon mage, digging a pit like this wouldn’t have been impossible. The hard part would’ve been luring that many ma-beasts in. Ayra couldn’t help but wonder—how the hell could you get enough ma-beasts to fill a pit this huge?
‘Still, I got lucky again this ti.’
Thanks to Hera, they were able to approach the ma-beasts unnoticed, and the beasts had been neatly gathered in the pit—almost as if soone had set them up for Ayra to take out. Whoever was behind it remained unknown, but at the very least, she could rest easy knowing no ma-beast horde would be storming the lord’s castle anyti soon.
After spending the night in Hera’s cabin, they returned to Solar. On the way back, Ayra collected a few Morunka flowers. Supposedly, they erased body scent—definitely sothing worth testing as a ma-beast researcher.
As soon as they arrived in Solar, Ayra opened the map window. A red dot was blinking in Janus’s house. He had finally returned. Smiling brightly, not even feeling her exhaustion, Ayra turned to Bloom and Hera.
“You both worked hard. Go get so rest.”
Bloom looked pleased with how things had gone. Stroking his horse’s mane, he suddenly paused and asked:
“My lord, aren’t you returning to the castle?”
“Nope, got a stop to make first.”
“In that case, I’ll go ahead. See you at the castle.”
He clearly didn’t love the idea of leaving her behind, but after hearing “insubordination” enough tis, the knight commander had learned to keep his mouth shut on most orders. Bowing politely, he took the remaining two horses and headed for the castle. Hera, watching him leave, let out a low chuckle and held her hand out to Ayra.
“Well, that was a good workout after such a long ti. If sothing like this happens again, don’t hesitate to call .”
As they shook hands, Hera leaned in as if going for a hug and added,
“By the way—about the knight commander. Judging by the way he swung his sword, he’s got a bit of a temper. Keep an eye on him so he doesn’t cause trouble.”
With that aningful warning, she gave Ayra such a hard slap on the back that it made her gasp, then turned and left. After hearing even Hera say sothing like that, Ayra felt even more uneasy about Bloom’s title. Once things settled down, she decided she’d definitely dig into his past.
She opened the map window again—Janus was still ho. Heart pounding, Ayra stood at ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) his door and reached out for the handle.
But before she could even touch it, the door flew open.
“Finally, I get to see my sweetheart.”
That lazy voice, that handso face—Ayra realized just how much she had missed him. Of course she missed him. He was a damn dragon. She tried to downplay her feelings, but the mont Janus opened his arms, she instinctively dove right in.
Or maybe... maybe it was just the warmth she really missed.
Still holding her in his arms, Janus turned and shut the door. The house, having been empty for days, was so cold it practically radiated ice. Shivering, Ayra found herself snapping.
“You said you’d be back in a week. Why’d you take so long?”
“Sorry. I ant to co back quickly, but it’s been so long since I slept in a real bed, I accidentally dozed off.”
He said that like it was nothing. Ayra glanced over at the crappy straw-stuffed mattress. Compared to the plush bed in Nilma Argan’s annex, of course this one was uncomfortable. But even so—blaming it on sleep? That was kind of la.
“I was supposed to stay even longer, honestly. But I had a weird dream, and it woke up.”
“A weird dream? What kind of dream?”
Ayra casually asked as she pulled out one of the bigger mana stones from their recent haul and tossed it into the fireplace. Flas flared to life. Janus, now seated on the bed, pulled her into his lap.
“It was like... sothing annoying kept hovering near , so I ate it. I don’t usually dream, but this one felt way too vivid. I keep thinking about it.”
“Well, dreams are like that... So? Was it tasty?”
“Not really tasty... more like...”
Janus, unusually, fell into deep thought. His red eyes wandered. Ayra watched him wet his lips unconsciously and flinched.
Thankfully, he soon shrugged and said he couldn’t rember. Apparently, the vague mories of a weird dream couldn’t compare to the temptation of a steamy reunion. He leaned in and playfully bit the back of her neck. It hurt more than usual—his teeth felt oddly sharper.
“You sll like you’ve been rolling around in the woods. That herbal scent’s kinda strong.”
“Mm... I had a bit of ti, so I went poking around the hills out back. Rember that mutated Stredia subspecies I found before? I was thinking maybe other ma-beasts might have mutant strains too, so...”
She wondered if her excuse sounded suspicious, but Janus didn’t question it at all. In fact, before Ayra could say anything else, he was already kissing her. His lips, soft and plush, moved slowly against hers—stoking up long-forgotten heat in her belly. By the ti she ca to her senses, she was already halfway on top of Janus, pinning him to the bed.
“We can talk about everything later. First, let’s get the reunion out of the way.”
Janus’s red eyebrows curved, amused. Clearly, he’d let himself get “pushed down” by his physically weaker lover. Ayra didn’t hesitate to smother him with heated breath and a hungry kiss.
It was a perfect ending to a damn good day.
❄
“Mmm, nice weather.”
Ayra humd to herself, gazing out the window in contentnt. She took a warm sip of tea, and from behind her ca a timid voice echoing her thoughts.
“Y-Yes, it really is.”
Ayra turned around with a friendly smile.
“You think so too, Administrator? Feels like the perfect weather for a date, right?”
Her tone was light, and her expression practically glowed. It was her best day in Solar yet. Everything had gone off without a hitch.
More precisely—it was all thanks to the smooth resolution of that annoying military embezzlent case.
Jinas had proven himself a competent administrator once again, quickly uncovering the full truth behind the Graffni military funds scandal. According to his report, a handwriting analysis led him to the guilty official who had authored the false records. After that official took over, the procurent prices for military supplies were quietly manipulated. Once Bloom sent his n to investigate the forge, the culprit—clever enough to sense danger—panicked, submitted a resignation letter, and ran off.
Ayra gathered everyone in the lord’s castle and shared the results of Jinas’s investigation. Since everyone knew how ticulous Jinas was, no one doubted the findings. That didn’t an everyone agreed on what to do about it, though—soldiers and bureaucrats had very different opinions.
"Just because another man committed the cri doesn’t an the administrator holds no responsibility!"
"Who will be held accountable for the stolen funds? For the wounded and starving soldiers?"
"The administrator must be punished severely! Who’s to say this won’t happen again?"
The knights, furious over the embezzlent, demanded harsh punishnt. But...
"Let’s not forget Graffni has worked faithfully for over thirty years."
"Technically, he didn’t commit the cri himself..."
"A few months of suspension should be enough, don’t you think?"
The bureaucrats—grateful for Graffni’s past help and bonded by their own sense of elite entitlent—argued otherwise. This left Ayra with a headache. She wanted to fire him outright, but then the Spirit Pebble popped up with two unappealing options:
[1. Dismiss Graffni and punish him harshly: Bureaucrats' approval and efficiency drop. Overti increases. :( ]
[2. Do not dismiss Graffni and issue a mild punishnt: Soldiers' approval and efficiency drop. Security weakens. :( ]
In the end, Ayra put the punishnt on hold and started by posting recruitnt notices for new administrators. While reviewing the applicants through her stat window, one particular individual stood out—a sharply high Intelligence stat caught her eye. The mont she identified who it belonged to, a lightbulb went off in her head: This is it!
The next day, Ayra summoned everyone again. Standing before them, pale and worn from a few days in prison, was Graffni. Ayra delivered the verdict:
“Ran Graffni has failed in his duties as administrator and neglected his subordinates, thereby enabling the military funds embezzlent. He is hereby dismissed from the position of administrator.”
Graffni’s head drooped low. The bureaucrats sighed in disappointnt. But Ayra wasn’t finished yet.
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