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A week later, Riku was chatting with Jibril when he suddenly froze, then stood up with a sharp gleam in his eyes.
"Master? What is it?"
"Husband?"
"Riku...?"
Jibril, Fia, Zhu Bi, and even Shinku all turned to him in confusion.
After recovering in the beastman village, Riku had let Shinku's kin go, telling them to gather the other forest elves. Shinku had been surprised—she thought he'd keep them here. Riku had always seemed so domineering.
Now, though, she was genuinely curious. Just who was this man? What was he hiding?
"I have to go somewhere. Just stay here and wait for me," Riku said, looking seriously at each of them.
"Master, where are you going?" Jibril asked.
"Honey, you know it's not okay to carry burdens all by yourself," Fia said, full of concern.
"Riku said he'd always stay with Zhu Bi," Zhu Bi added quietly.
"Actually... not long ago, I had a fight with a Dragonborn. I'm trying to get them to join the alliance. I'm going to meet the Wise Dragon, Reginleif," Riku finally explained.
"What?! The Wise Dragon?!" Jibril, Fia, and Shinku all gasped. Even Zhu Bi froze for a second.
"Ohoho, so Master fought with a Dragonborn, huh? Now I'm really curious! But... meeting the Wise Dragon isn't exactly a safe move," Jibril said with a crazed grin, which quickly turned serious.
"Honey, don't be reckless. Sure, if we can get the Dragonkin to join the Alliance, that would seriously boost our strength… but this negotiation is way too risky," Hatsuse Fia said worriedly, her face full of concern.
"If you're going, take me with you," Zhu Bi suddenly said, her words completely different in tone.
"This time… even the Dragonkin are involved?" Shinku was completely shaken. But those proud, high-and-mighty Dragonkin—how could they possibly join the Alliance?
"Relax, I'm pretty confident. Even if I can't get the Dragonkin to join, I can at least get out of there in one piece. And if they try something… I won't mind knocking them out of the game early," Riku said calmly, like it was no big deal.
"Take down the Dragonkin early...!" Shinku gasped when she heard that, staring at Riku in shock. She couldn't understand what kind of power he had to say something that crazy.
Maybe before, she would've thought Riku was just bluffing. But after spending the past week with him, she knew he wasn't the type to talk nonsense. Clearly, he had something up his sleeve.
"Ehehe~ So you were holding back when you fought me, huh, Master? Now I'm really curious!" Jibril's eyes lit up with excitement. "Master, please take me with you this time—I want to see your brilliance in action!"
"Ugh..." Hatsuse Fia opened her mouth, then shut it again. She wanted to go too, but someone had to stay behind and protect the others.
Besides, Zhu Bi, Jibril, and Riku all had spatial abilities, which made it easy for them to escape if something went wrong. If she went, she might just slow them down.
Of course, she could ask Jibril to teleport her along. But begging that lovestruck pervert of a Flügel who was constantly fighting her and trying to steal her man? That would be more painful than death.
"...Fine." After hearing Jibril's request, Riku thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright, Jibril and Zhu Bi will come with me. Fia, you stay here and protect the clan. Shinku, help her out."
"Yes, I understand. Please be careful, my love," Fia said seriously, giving him a nod.
"Understood, Master," Shinku said, clearly uncomfortable but still nodding.
"Alright then, let's go."
Riku then shared the spatial coordinates with Jibril and Zhu Bi.
In a flash, the three of them vanished from the room, leaving Hatsuse Fia and Shinku silently staring at each other.
Thousands of kilometers away, in a secluded mountain valley, Riku and the others suddenly appeared.
"As expected from the Dragonkin's lair… what a stunning sight," Riku muttered as he looked around at the towering mountains piercing the clouds, and the dozen or so Dragonkin soaring in the sky.
"Riku, I don't remember you saying anyone else was coming..." grumbled a voice below Riku's feet.
That's right—because the coordinates Riku set were on the horn of a dragon named Zhuyue, they were currently standing on her head.
"Ehehe~ If it isn't Zhuyue! Long time no see! I really want to fight you again!" Jibril teleported to hover in front of Zhuyue's massive dragon eye, brimming with battlelust.
"Hmph, I knew that aura felt familiar. It's you, you idiotic Flügel," Zhuyue glared at Jibril in annoyance. "What the hell are you doing here? And why are you so small now?"
"Your power's so weak now, and you still have the guts to stand in front of me? You think I won't just eat you in one bite?" she growled, eyes flashing with killing intent.
"What a warm welcome. But I'm not here to challenge you today," Jibril shrugged coolly. "I'm just tagging along with my Master to talk alliance business with the Dragonkin."
"...Master? Riku's your master? You lost to Riku too?" Zhuyue blinked in surprise, then reacted in shock.
"Ohhh? So it was you! I heard Master fought a Dragonkin, but I didn't expect it to be you!" Jibril said, clearly intrigued. "As you can see, I lost to Master and became his spoils of war. Also, because he likes my cute little-girl form, I decided to look like this for now~"
"Spoils of war… likes you looking like a child..." Zhuyue gave her a weird look.
"You dumb Jibril, stop ruining my reputation!" Riku couldn't take it anymore. He popped up in front of Jibril and flicked her hard on the forehead, annoyed.
"Ow! Why do I get scolded for just telling the truth?" Jibril pouted and grumbled, looking all sad.
Riku ignored her theatrical whining and turned his gaze to Zhuyue.
"Taming this crazy Flügel... you're really something, Riku. Though, I guess it had to be her. No one else could be tamed like that," Zhuyue sighed, shaking her head.
"....."