Chương 83: Chapter 81: Experiments

Because the destruction of the city-state of Cirelith had erased all the teleportation circles, the journey back had been a tedious trek through a neighboring kingdom. But finally, the group arrived back in Crimvane. Arveth was a sea of golden light and rising steam under the morning sun, its streets already thrumming with the vibrant vitality of a capital city.

"Whoa… you guys live here? Awesome!" Viselle spun in a slow, dizzying circle, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the towering spires.

"This is just one part of Crimvane. We have two more: Eryndor and Aurelyth," Noa added, his hands tucked into his pockets as he scanned the horizon.

"Looks like Eryndor's connections are pulling in a lot more merchants."

"Yes, some cut their ties with us during the transition." Vionette closed her eyes for a moment, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she leaned slightly into Noa's space.

"But we received more requests than we lost—both from Aurelyth's side and Eryndor's."

"Good morning, Lady Vionette, and also Lord Noa," an elderly woman tending a flower stall called out, her face crinkling into a genuine, toothy smile as she dipped into a respectful curtsy. Noa and Vionette returned the greeting with easy smiles, their pace steady as they marched toward the towering silhouette of the castle.

"Good morning, sir!" A young boy darted through the crowd, his small hand reaching out to deliver a playful high-five against Noa's palm before he ducked back into the sea of legs.

"Trying to get a reward from Lady Vionette today too?!" his voice dropped into a mischievous stage-whisper before he vanished into the crowd entirely.

"And what if I am, you damn brat?!" Noa shouted back, spinning around to shake a fist at the empty space where the boy had been.

"These people need to teach their kids how to behave." Oh yeah?! Who do you think they learn from, you moron?! Rose's brow twitched as she walked behind him.

"Hey, Dad," Viselle leaned closer to Noa, her palm shielding her mouth as if sharing a state secret.

"Why is everyone paying attention to us? Are you guys some rich, famous people here? And why are we… walking towards the castle? To meet the king?" Rose smacked a palm against her face, the sound echoing her internal scream. And here's some new girl who suddenly appeared as their 'daughter' and doesn't even know their status.

"That's because she's Vionette Crimvane." Noa pointed a lazy thumb toward Vionette.

"Huh!?" Viselle suddenly leaned into Noa's personal space.

"Really? Cool! Then, I'm a royal too? Do you guys have big parties? What kind of room will I get? I want one next to Mom!"

"Ask one by one." Noa pushed her face away with his palm. Maybe I gave her a bit too much personality. … Slowly but surely, the group reached the castle gates. The architecture was a seamless blend of white stone and crimson accents, and high above, the new Crimvane flags snapped in the wind—a white serpent coiled around a crimson sword, set against a void-black circle.

"Your Majesties, you're back." Numael stood by the oak doors to the castle, offering a disciplined bow. He glanced at Kaelen and offered a second, more subtle nod of respect, which Kaelen returned in kind.

"Yeah, everything going well here?" Noa asked, stepping into the interior of the entrance hall.

"Yes, everything is as normal as always," Numael replied, holding the door open.

"Please have some rest after the long trip."

"I don't think I need to. Thanks for offering, though." Just as he took the first step, Noa paused, a sudden memory flickering in his gaze.

"By the way, what did you do to those guys who bothered Lina at the festival?"

"Umm… about that." Numael scratched his cheek, looking uncertain.

"Lady Lina and Lady Elina stopped us from killing them and asked us to hand them over, saying that… they wanted to do some experiments?"

"Experiments? What the hell are those two up to?" Noa turned around, raising a brow.

"Where are they right now?"

"They are in the royal garden."

"Let's go there first, then." Vionette turned around, offering a silent signal to dismiss Rose and Kaelen. …

"What… the fuck?" Noa and Vionette stood frozen in the middle of the lush royal garden, their eyes half-closed in a mixture of disbelief and exhaustion. Next to them, Viselle glanced back and forth between their expressions, her own features twisted in confusion. Elina was reclined on a wooden chaise lounge, positioned in a sun-drenched patch of the garden. Her legs were crossed, while one hand grasped a glass of orange juice presented by a butler beside her.

Her amber eyes were hidden behind dark, round sunglasses, and her draconic tail swished rhythmically, betraying the satisfied smugness radiating from her face.

"Mmm~ this is so good," she hummed, taking a slow sip and gazing up at the clear blue sky. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"This too. Eryndor's maids definitely know how to make delicious drinks." The reply came from Lina. She was also lounging on a wooden chaise directly beside the dragon. One hand was busy adjusting the square sunglasses slipping over her blue eyes, while the other held a glass filled with a vibrant blue mojito.

"Lina, Elina, what the hell is this?" Noa asked, closing the distance with a tilted head. A mist of blue mojito sprayed through the air as Lina jumped up, her relaxed posture shattering instantly.

"B-BIG BRO?!" Coughing twice, she let out a low, nervous laugh, her eyes darting everywhere but Noa's face.

"Y-you guys are back?"

"Huh!?" Elina nearly choked on her juice. Her amber eyes widened in panic as her sunglasses slid down the bridge of her nose. Without missing a beat, a butler standing next to Lina reached for a silk handkerchief tucked under his coat. Stepping forward, he deftly dabbed the stray blue droplets from her chin with practiced grace.

"And who the hell are these guys?" Vionette asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the three butlers hovering near the little duo.

"I don't remember assigning you any butlers."

"Exactly!" Elina, recovering her bravado, pointed a finger at Vionette with a triumphant smirk.

"You didn't give us any, so we made some."

"Oh my god, don't tell me…" Vionette let out an exasperated breath, rubbing her temples as the realization hit.

"Yes, they're the people who bothered us that day." Lina nodded enthusiastically, as if presenting a great, noble achievement.

"We were originally going to kill them after the experiments, but they asked to serve us when we were done, so we accepted."

"And these experiments were?" Noa sat on the edge of the chaise lounge, pulling Lina up to her feet.

"For starters, we wanted to see how much someone's Aether Core could handle when a dragon pours Aether into it," Elina began, wearing a confident smirk.

"Then we wanted to test if their body could become 'unbreakable' if subjected to constant, micro-impacts."

"So we used swords to create tiny, needle-like bursts of pressure and pelted these guys with them for three days," Lina finished, raising a finger while Elina nodded beside her.

"Then we wanted to see—""Enough, enough." Noa raised a hand, cutting off the morbid tale before turning toward the three butlers.

"Are these guys even fine with this after surviving that?"

"Yes!" The black-haired butler placed a hand over his heart.

"My Ladies bestowed upon us the great honor of being tortured by them, and now have even granted us the privilege of serving them." Blissful tears streamed from his eyes.

"This is the greatest blessing we could ever hope for!" Dumbfounded, Noa stared at him.

"…What? Did your brains get damaged or something?" he asked, throwing his hands up in sheer irritation.

"Like, just HOW?!"

"Don't worry about it. No problem at all!" Lina walked over and hopped onto Noa's lap. As she did, she finally noticed the strange figure lingering behind him and pointed.

"Wait… Hey! Who is this?"

"Ah, this—this is Viselle." Vionette gestured gracefully toward the new girl.

"Get along with her, you two." Viselle was currently inspecting Elina, skipping from one vantage point to another. Occasionally, she formed a square with her fingers and peered through them with one eye, as if framing a rare specimen through a camera lens.

"Are you a dragon? A real one? Man, I've seen so many before, but it's my first time seeing one like this." Reaching out boldly, she poked Elina's scaled tail.

"Whoa~ It is real."

"H-hey! Don't touch that!" Elina snatched her tail away, her face flushing bright red.

"My apologies," Viselle laughed it off. She stepped back and swept into a bow—a fluid, theatrical motion like a professional jester performing for a royal court.

"I was just surprised to see a dragon here." After the elegant bow, she walked toward Noa and Lina on the wooden chaise. Crouching slightly, she inspected Lina, then looked up at Noa with a perplexed expression.

"Dad, who is this?" she asked.

"This is my—" A second mist of blue mojito sprayed into the air.

"'Dad'?! What the hell?!" Lina's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"B-Big Bro… Big Sis…" She looked at Noa, then at Vionette in horror.

"Did you two…"

"No, no, no. We did not." Noa quickly planted his palm flat on top of Lina's head, grounding her wild imagination.

"You could say… she's adopted or something. Anyway, Viselle, this is my sister, Lina."

"Your sister? But your colors…"

"I am also adopted."

"Ahhhh… makes sense." She leaned dangerously close to Lina's face, a warm smile spreading across her lips.

"What a cute sister you have."

"H-hello." Lina, feeling incredibly uneasy beneath the piercing gaze of the strange girl's mismatched eyes, forced a shaky, polite smile.

"Nice to meet—" In an instant, the playfully curtsying Viselle was gone. In her place, towering over the seated Lina, stood Jain. Her hands were thrown up beside her ears, and her delicate features were twisted into a classic clown expression.

"Booooh!" At the sudden jump scare, Lina let out a piercing screech, scrambling backward against Noa's chest.

"Okay then, we'll be going," Vionette stated, turning her back to the chaise lounges. She glanced at Viselle over her shoulder.

"Viselle, you're in charge of these two. Take care of them."

"H-huh? Why are we getting babysat?" Elina shouted indignantly at the retreating backs of Noa and Vionette.

"Yeah! Why are we getting babysat? And why by her, of all people?!" Lina joined in, shouting even louder.

The castle was quiet, the moon casting long, silver shadows across the stone corridors. Having just returned from a long soak in the royal bathing pool, Noa stepped into his bedroom, drying his hair with a fluffy white towel. At last. Nothing feels better than the bed at home. He tossed the towel aside and flopped onto the massive, plush bed with a deeply satisfied groan, extending his arms wide as he sank into the luxurious mattress.

"So comfy. Even if Augmented Lifeforms don't need sleep, this is irresistible~" He slowly closed his eyes with a gentle smile. A deafening explosion erupted inside his room, rattling his eardrums and shaking the tiles below.

"What the hell is it now!?" Noa snapped his eyes open and roared, his voice laced with irritation. He stared at the massive, smoking crater that had just been blasted through his bedroom wall, pulverized brick and mortar raining down onto his pristine bedsheets.

"You… come here!" A melodic laugh echoed back.

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

"Tier 2 Magic: Ember Fang!" He watched, deadpan and frozen in disbelief, as three figures came hurtling into his room through the smoke, clashed in mid-air, and then blasted out through the opposite wall without even acknowledging his existence. It was Elina, Lina, and Viselle, engaged in a destructive brawl in the dead of night. Elina darted around using her wings, still in her human form but sparking with draconic heat.

Lina swung her sword to strike the exact same target—Viselle, who was laughing maniacally as she spun effortlessly through the air, hurling pitch-black playing cards edged in glowing violet energy. Yet, Viselle seemed to be holding back one special card—a dark slip she used only for close combat, refusing to throw it. Etched into the center of the card in brilliant violet was a crown with three asymmetrical spikes—the same tattoo resting on her left forearm.

"Okay, I'm done with this shit." Noa let out a sigh, the last shreds of his patience evaporating into the night air. He climbed out of his ruined bed, crunching over the shattered stone, and peered outside through the gaping hole in his wall. Scanning the chaotic courtyard for a few seconds, he muttered, "I'm going somewhere else to sleep." [Blink]