Late at night, in a mountain mansion near Silver City.
The local lord had made significant contributions to Silver City and was thus granted this estate by Duchess Pascal. However, he hadn't anticipated that the mansion was not only haunted but also burdened with enormous tax arrears.
The lord explained his situation to the local Chief Druid.
The Druid's advice was—more money needed.
The lord was a reasonable person.
So, the mansion has remained abandoned until now.
In the deepest cell of the mansion.
"Yaaawn~" Patunasankus gently covered her mouth, tilting her head back as she yawned.
The evil dragon looked at the cage where the ferocious beast had imprisoned her, extended a small hand, and lightly touched the iron bars, feeling the sensation that came back.
Iron, very soft.
With just a bit of force, she could twist this iron bar into a twist and stroll out.
Patunasankus could do this, but if she went out, how would she explain her miraculous escape to others?
What would Latifa do if faced with a similarly awkward situation?
Patunasankus wondered.
Given her personality, she would likely narrow her left eye, make a peace sign with her right hand against her cheek, deliberately say some cute expressions, and then try to slip by.
Patunasankus looked around.
Mold-covered stone walls, withered trees hung with tattered dresses like countless hanged ghosts, and twisted, strange black wax figures in the marble bathtub.
The walls, covered in cobwebs, were carved with bizarre writing.
An eerie, terrifying aura continuously seeped out from the pool water, the walls, and the depths of the mansion.
...No matter what, it wouldn't work.
With nothing else to do, Patunasankus decided to study the strange writings on the stone wall.
[No one bathes with you, your towel can never dry your filth, never hope to see your reflection in the mirror.]
"I see, I see..." the evil dragon nodded slightly, her golden ahoge bobbing up and down.
She rubbed her chin, seriously contemplating the inscribed stone wall for a moment, then extended her slender index finger.
Her rosy fingertip embedded into the stone wall like the sharpest knife. Patunasankus's finger moved up and down, left and right.
Mission accomplished.
She clapped her hands, stood proudly with her chest out, and looked satisfactorily at her masterpiece.
Thus, below the wall full of bizarre writing, a crooked line of text abruptly appeared.
[No one bathes with you, your towel can never dry your filth, never hope to see your reflection in the mirror.
—Patunasankus was here.]
The evil dragon truly had nothing to do. After the ferocious beast gently threw her into this cage, it flew off to who knows where.
The supposedly haunted mansion was very quiet. In the distant lawn stood several tombstones, a desolate scene. The central marble bath continuously emitted strange bubbling sounds, as if brewing something.
How cozy.
Patunasankus hugged her knees against the wall, looking up.
The moon hung in the sky. Silver City was backed by undulating peaks, the mountain edges floating with silver-white.
It felt just like being back home.
And in stark contrast to her contentment.
Two silhouettes moved quickly along the forest path, one pink, one white, treading on the moon-dappled ground. Their pace grew faster and faster, faster and faster...
Thump thump!
Thump thump thump!
Loranhir's heart pounded from the intense exercise. She was having a bit of trouble keeping up with Elaphia's speed.
She silently cursed, wondering why this person was running so fast, but thinking that the other might also be eager to rescue the princess, she gritted her teeth and sped up to follow.
Thankfully, she had done plenty of farm work before, so her stamina could barely keep up. Otherwise, she would have been panting heavily and collapsed on the ground long ago.
Thump thump!
Elaphia listened to the loud Heart of the Red Queen behind her, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She felt that the other's desire to rescue the princess grew increasingly urgent as each minute passed.
If the wind completely dispersed the princess's scent, she would perish at the hero's hands.
Hearing such a strong Heart of the Red Queen, Elaphia unconsciously accelerated again.
And as Elaphia increased her speed, Loranhir cursed again silently, then had to hurriedly speed up to follow, accompanied by an even stronger Heart of the Red Queen.
This was a strangely absurd cycle of escalation.
Just as Loranhir was internally screaming that she couldn't go on anymore, Elaphia finally stopped.
"How did these guys end up here?" Elaphia said.
Before she could catch her breath, Loranhir saw a team of torch-bearing adventurers appear before them. This was the adventure party composed of the holy knights and war clerics who had tried to enter the mansion when they were guests at the Duchess's home.
Though just a village girl, Loranhir, having spent some time at royal banquets after becoming a hero, recognized them.
The holy knights of the Layang Empire were rigid in their ways, and each was a racial knight, but their strength was undeniable. They would never act against their oaths.
In theory, if your eloquence was good enough to successfully entangle these straightforward types in your logic, you would undoubtedly be invincible.
Of course, the prerequisite was that you had to be a normal human. Unlike the Dawn Kingdom, the Layang Empire equally discriminated against all non-human species.
They always felt that the Dawn Kingdom, which allowed humanoid species to establish independent cities, was a bit too urbanized.
And the Dawn Kingdom also felt that the Layang Empire, constantly shouting about holy light and inherently evil creatures, then charging forward with war cries to cut people down, was not much better than the neighboring Skic orcs.
Couldn't they sit down and engage in some free trade?
The two nations had always viewed each other with disdain but had never gone to war.
Because the Dawn Kingdom paid too much tribute.
Elaphia's expression grew serious as she pushed up her glasses.
Ahead were holy knights, and as a vampire thrall, she felt considerable pressure.
After all, who knew if they would simply shout "Holy Slash" and with a bang, put her in her place.
With holy knights ahead and a hero behind, she was truly in a desperate situation.
Elaphia thought about trying to negotiate, thinking that with the hero behind her, they might give her some face.
"Are you also looking for the ferocious beast? I think we could cooperate..."
However, the holy knight was unmoved by Elaphia's words and spoke to her in an almost emotionless tone, "My lady, my faith does not allow me to cooperate with evildoers. I wish to use Evil Detection on you. Do you consent?"
Elaphia clicked her tongue in annoyance.