[Volume 6: Royal Ring Secret Realm]
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That morning, the city was bright.
Warm sunlight spilled across the streets of Llynun, painting the wide roads in shades of soft gold while a refreshingly cool breeze drifted through the city from the distant water. The heavy atmosphere left behind by many of the recent events had finally faded, replaced by something much lighter and left a lingering high in the air. Vendors shouted from the roadside, children ran through the streets laughing, and countless people moved about their daily lives beneath the clear blue sky.
Along one of the busier streets near an outer district, two men walked side by side, talking casually.
"I'm telling you, it's really real!" one of them insisted in a faltering voice. "They really found it! That strange shop, they tracked it a few days ago to a place near the western streets near the split!"
"A shop near the split?" the other asked skeptically.
"Can those old buildings even be bought? I thought they were off limits?"
"Mm! Yeah, it's true! Apparently, they sell all kinds of medicine and weird items. I heard one guy bought a magic heater shaped like a duck, and a friend of mine even told me he found the medicine he needed to save his daughter!"
"…Why would anyone buy that? The duck I mean…"
"I don't know! But I also heard they're recruiting maids, and the whole place is filled with them!"
"Tsk! For a place near the split, what a sharp contrast! Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
The conversation drifted as the camera smoothly slid further down the street—
Then landed on Petra...
Right beside the road, beneath the warm sunlight, a very serious operation was underway!
A small wooden table had been set up beside a large stone tub filled with water, alongside a series of brushes, large cloths, bottles of strange soap, and several super suspicious-looking cleaning tools that looked more appropriate for a laboratory experiment than 'washing a pet'.
In the center of it all stood Petra!
And beside her, a gigantic white wolf—the Calamity Wolf!
The Calamity Wolf currently stood nearly three meters tall, its enormous body towering over the little green-haired lolita beside it. Its snow-white fur rippled softly beneath the sunlight while faint traces of black could be found on parts of its claws, tail, and teeth. Two curved, crystal-like green dragon horns extended from its head, and pale mist drifted faintly from its mouth every time it breathed.
Most annoyingly, its size kept changing every few days!
It had originally been ten meters tall, but after the transformation a few months ago, its size was compressed to that of a normal dog. Unfortunately, this joy didn't last, because its size began to fluctuate, sometimes appearing as tall as a house and sometimes as small as a cat. This also seemed to be uncontrollable, which gave Petra a headache.
"…So troublesome…" Petra muttered, her little face scrunched up into a ball.
She wasn't complaining about the unpredictable size of this pillow, no, she was complaining about the unpredictable level of difficulty in cleaning it!
The wolf lowered its head innocently.
He really couldn't help it!
He also had no idea what he was, because the Calamity Wolf had long evolved from a 'fake lifeform' to a 'normal lifeform,' then to something that definitely shouldn't exist! The name 'Calamity Wolf' was quite befitting, because he himself felt as if his mere existence was a walking calamity, an uncontrollable entity that didn't know if he would wake up breaking the bed or drowning in a puddle…
Life was hard…
Nearby, Wind sat beneath a shaded area reading a newspaper with an irritated expression, while Soryn lazily leaned against a nearby wall, drinking something cold and refreshing. Wind wore a casual sundress sewn by the recovering Lilly, and Soryn wore a pair of black sunglasses that Petra found very cool!
They both watched Petra patiently.
Petra, properly prepared, pulled over a tiny stool, then climbed up onto it…
She looked up, then stood on her tiptoes—
Then paused!
"…Ah?"
She had forgotten the soap…
Whoopsie!
Petra proceeded to climb back down, her little legs flailing, then walked over to the large bucket beside the tub. She scooped up another brush on the way, then carefully dipped the little brush into the water before ringing it out.
Soryn watched as she used her mental energy to grab an alarming amount of custom-made soap, then casually swaggered all the way back to the small stool.
She climbed the stool again, belatedly balanced herself, and finally resumed scrubbing the giant wolf with a very serious, disturbingly deep expression.
"Wash-wash~ fluffy-fluff! Hum-hum~ Ha-ha! Big doggy~ nice-nice~!"
The wolf's tail wagged heavily behind its large body, nearly knocking over a nearby table.
Several passing pedestrians slightly slowed down, staring at the bizarrely peaceful scene.
The weather today was especially refreshing. The sunlight wasn't too harsh, the breeze carried a faint coolness, and even the city seemed slightly calmer. Combined with the sight of a tiny girl seriously washing a gigantic wolf while humming to herself, the entire scene felt strangely healing.
But! Just then—
Slip!
"Waah—!"
Spin!
"Waaaaaaaah—! Bonk!"
Petra's foot slipped, and she lost her balance on the wet stool!
She slipped, spun, then disappeared into a mountain of foam that had appeared at some point, undoubtedly caused by the unreasonable amount of special soap she had used.
The giant wolf blinked, then turned its head in confusion…
What was that sound?
A second later, Petra slowly sat back up from inside the bubbles, completely covered in soap from head to toe. Her little face looked sour, like she had eaten a large lemon.
"…Mmmgh!"
She rubbed her little head with both hands while pouting.
The amount of soap surrounding her was, quite frankly, unreasonable! One might even think it was possible to drown in it if they didn't know any better! And in all fairness, Petra's 'homemade soap' was extremely concentrated and extremely expensive, as well as slightly toxic, erm… but just a bit! But that didn't matter very much because everyone around her was already highly resistant to poison!
Mm, at least, 'everyone' in terms of her own people…
Petra grumbled quietly while sitting inside the bubbles, her hands unconsciously stirring her surroundings—
Suddenly, she paused.
"…Hm?"
Not far away, Wind's irritated voice could be heard.
Petra turned to find that a short distance down the street, Wind stood facing a tall red-haired man.
Upon closer inspection, this man had similar horns to her big white dog, meaning that he could only be a dragon, or more specifically, the Red Dragon from the group of five that came from overseas!
Unlike the others, he had appeared alone, without any attendants or escorts to ruin his mood. One might think that, while on a 'diplomatic mission', one might need them to handle many of the subtleties, but his arrogant expression made it very clear he thought he didn't need them!
No, perhaps he just didn't care about creating good relations at all…
His clothes were expensive, his posture was lazy, and his smile was extremely irritating!
Petra wouldn't normally care about this kind of person, as long as they didn't block the road, but unfortunately for him—
He was currently hitting on her little Wind!
Damn it!
Courting death!
Petra's cute and innocent expression instantly turned bloodthirsty, and she immediately launched herself out of the basin of bubbles, beginning her slow trot towards this troublemaker!
-
Ahem! On the other side—
"…Come now," Rifrit said casually, reaching toward her hand. "Why so cold? We met before, didn't we?"
Wind's face immediately darkened.
"…Move! I don't know you!"
The dragon completely ignored her refusal, seemingly not even hearing it.
His hand had already reached closer, and he grabbed her wrist like one would pick up an object.
Wind's ears twitched violently, settling in an upwards pointing position as if enraged!
Slap!
She smacked his hand away—
Except it didn't move at all!
Wind slightly froze, inwardly shocked by the resilience of his physique!
Not only could she not even move him an inch, but a sharp pain spread through her palm instead.
The dragon race possessed terrifying physical strength even without cultivation, so a Red Dragon, a war species among the already monstrous dragon race, and one with a fifth-order realm at that, could only be said to be a walking mountain! If Wind knew that Rotell had managed to knock back his hand despite the same two-realm difference, she would be shocked!
Even among the monsters surrounding Petra, there were probably only a few that could do it!
Mm, 'a few' as in those around her who cultivated the Mage Pathway…
Rifrit's smile faded slightly.
For a brief instant, a flash of annoyance crossed his face, and Rotell's rejection from before suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
"…Tch!"
Rather than backing away, he stepped closer instead.
Seeing this, Wind's expression became even colder.
Just as she was about to start a world-destroying fight in the heart of the capital—
Tug-tug-tug! Tug-tug-tug!
The red dragon paused in place...
"…Hm?"
He looked around, but no one was there…
"Hm…?"
Then—Tug-tug-tug!
The same feeling came again, but this time he looked downwards.
Petra stood behind him, only her small size was initially missed when he turned around…
Rifrit then looked down, only to discover a tiny child, covered in bubbles and still holding a brush, politely tugging on the back of his clothes.
The dragon frowned immediately.
"You're interrupting my morning!"
On one hand, this small shrimp reminded him of his naughty little sister, but on the other—
"…Where did this little rat come fr—"
Slap!!!
Petra's tiny hand smacked directly against his buttock, causing his face to turn green.
For a single instant, and before he could even react, a black light erupted from her small hand...
BOOM!
The dragon vanished in a roar of shredding space!
He was violently launched through a spatial tunnel that Petra lazily opened, but unlike her normal discretion, she made sure to send him away in the most explosive way possible!
Hmph!
Keep your scaly claws to yourself, damn reptile! Petra cursed in her mind, but even she didn't realize that, despite also having a dragon bloodline, she seemed to have an innate dislike for the dragon race hidden in the recesses of her mind.
Anyways…
He was teleported somewhere else in the city without a word of warning, and the street fell silent.
Petra clapped her hands together proudly, then nodded to herself in satisfaction.
"…Conflict resolved! Tehe!"
-
Time passed—
After sending away the annoying guest, everything else went well…
Once she was done bathing the Calamity Wolf, Petra packed everything up and prepared to return.
The little table was folded away, the washing brushes were tossed back into the bucket, and the mountain of suspiciously toxic soap was sucked up and sealed inside several glass containers before anyone accidentally touched it. To be completely clear, dear readers, please remember that 'slightly toxic' meant something 'very different' when related to Petra…
Nearby, Wind still looked annoyed while rubbing her sore hand, and Soryn quietly laughed to herself while helping move the supplies.
The two silver sisters continued to help in the background.
Meanwhile, the Calamity Wolf had somehow shrunk in size again during the cleanup process and was now only slightly smaller than Petra herself, infuriating Petra to the point where she wanted to beat it to death! Why couldn't it have done that before she washed it!
After being scolded, it could only carry the empty washing tub on its back while walking beside her.
By the time everything was finished, the sky had already begun to darken.
The lively atmosphere from earlier gradually calmed down as many shops began closing early for the night, leaving the roads quieter than before.
Petra walked along the street with a small satchel hanging over her shoulder, humming softly to herself while the wolf followed closely behind.
The breeze brushed through her twin tails as she made her way through the familiar streets of Llynun.
Eventually—
She stopped in front of a strange little shop tucked between two larger buildings.
Warm light spilled through the windows, and above the entrance hung a slightly crooked wooden sign.
'Poppy's Potions!'
Petra looked up proudly for a moment, nodded, then pushed open the door and walked inside...
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