The rain stopped, the sky cleared, and the dark clouds broke open a gap, falling on Frostsilver’s silver unicorn horn.
She had no expression; she always had no expression, from the beginning until now.
But Richard didn’t know if it was an illusion; he always felt that Frostsilver’s melon-seed face seemed even more sour.
“No,” Frostsilver denied.
“I am not a true dragon.”
“Not a true dragon, but you still have a dragon voice.”
“I don’t have one.”
“Gah,” Aurina said. “Like that—this king thought you had the earthy ‘he’ dragon voice.”
Frostsilver looked at Aurina’s guardian and said, “I don’t know what low-intelligence, ignorant, full of fantasy, non-professional, foolish, hearsay education you’ve given her.
Making her exhibit a kind of ignorant barbarism.”
A series of modifiers spilled out.
“…. Obviously, she needs more professional and wiser education; her talent is very good.”
Richard felt that Frostsilver made a lot of sense and planned to compromise a bit, letting Frostsilver act as a tutor or something.
He was just about to speak.
Frostsilver interrupted first:
“Of course, I know that you weak, kind people definitely see so-called goodness as more important than anything, even if it wastes her excellent talent, leading to a failed dragon life. So I plan to stay in this small, broken stone city for a while. If Aurina wants, she can come to me anytime, to experience food and wealth.”
With that, she waved her hand and said, “Disembark, and bring your coffin along. Also, if you don’t want unnecessary bloodshed in this small, broken city, go to the local Hand of Tyr knight order and tell them not to provoke us.”
Richard said, “If you can abide by the local laws and regulations.”
The inconspicuous gnome hellknight said, “We only abide by laws guaranteed by branding irons and thorn whips.”
The two people and one dragon pulled the coffin of Haisha City’s commander, disembarked, and headed straight to the local Hand of Tyr garrison.
He busied himself for a few days, handling the funeral, going to see the orphanage dean—in a certain sense, his mother—and finding a stonemason to carve a stone coffin for him.
At the funeral.
White candles were burning, and the plainly dressed paladins had sorrowful faces, standing on both sides of the stone coffin.
On the stone coffin, a statue of Haisha City’s commander lying down was carved.
Aurina stood beside Richard, watching from not far away, watching the priest loudly praising the deeds of Haisha City’s commander in life.
Aurina’s tail swung impatiently; all the little bugs around were taller than her, making her very uncomfortable.
But there was no choice—who told the pack animal to beg her, in this so-called serious occasion, not to ride on his head anymore.
Seeing his eyes wet—how pitiful.
Sigh, only this king is so powerful, with a mere young female juvenile body, able to suppress Richard, making the strongest little bug beg and plead.
The priest above was still mourning: “…. He was a good person, beneficial to justice, a faithful follower of Tyr; his soul will surely go to the Lord’s kingdom of justice…”
Richard lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.
Little bugs are fragile, dying just like that.
Aurina thought, and she suddenly thought of something, reaching out to tug Richard’s clothes. “Richard, Richard.”
Richard lowered his head and asked her, “Hm?”
“He is a little bug, and you are also a little bug,” Aurina said. “Will you lie in the stone and die later?”
“Probably,” Richard said. “Pharasma watches over strong souls and won’t easily let them return to the mortal world.”
Aurina pointed to the stone coffin again and asked, “How old was he?”
“Forty-six years old.”
“And you?”
Richard said, “Twenty years old.”
How much difference between them?
Aurina lowered her head, spreading her ten fingers and also spreading her ten toes; between her legs, her red dragon tail lifted its head.
All numbers saluted her.
Aurina calculated and sucked in a cold breath. “Twenty years.”
Only one less than the supreme number twenty-one.
One age is one year; anyway, the time is very short.
“So,” Aurina said. “You’re also going to die soon—gone.”
Richard’s eye twitched, and he said, “I’m still young; although it’s a late marriage, I’m far from dying of old age.”
“He died,” Aurina said, pointing to the stone coffin. “If you die the same way as him, wouldn’t you die suddenly?”
Richard said, “I’m satisfied with this way of death, if it falls on me.”
“Aren’t you the strongest little bug?”
“I’m not a little bug, nor the strongest human.”
“No, you are,” Aurina said. “Only the strongest can defeat the strongest.”
“I’m starting to understand what Frostsilver meant by red dragons’ nature admiring strength.”
Aurina said, “So even the strongest you can’t escape the fate of entering the stone box?”
“Everyone must die.”
“But so fast?”
“Otherwise?”
Aurina prided herself on having world-shocking wisdom, but she humbly thought she wasn’t smarter than everyone.
No choice—who made her naturally strong, no need like weaklings to use brains to easily win, and win again.
Now she discovered a flaw in her world-shocking wisdom.
That is, the time for her plan was a bit long.
Dragons aren’t in a hurry; she defeated a very strong long-eared bug, that was by sleeping—waking up to find that very strong long-eared bug already skinny; rush up a few slaps and it could be knocked away.
If before she found the strongest little bug’s weakness, mastered the fiancée spell, and could completely enslave Richard, he enters the stone coffin—what to do?
Aurina anxiously slapped her tail on the floor.
Thinking, with her weak female body, defeating the strongest little bug.
Thinking of voluntarily confessing her identity, making Richard astonished; after a fight, she ruthlessly tramples Richard with her feet, teaching him pain, teaching him he can only stay in the dragon lair, continuing to serve her.
Thinking these might all be gone, because by then Richard would have entered the stone coffin.
Damn, really too damn.
Aurina then tugged Richard again and said, “Don’t die so fast.”
Richard rarely smiled and said, “I have a long way to go before death.”
Clearly very short.
After holding the funeral, Aurina unusually didn’t run to “eat in the east and sleep in the west,” running to Frostsilver’s ship to feast.
Instead, riding Richard’s head, she returned together to Sophia’s family mansion.
Those called Sophia’s relatives and friends were chattering; Aurina didn’t hear a single word.
But Richard seemed to care; he quickly returned to the room.
After arriving, Aurina was very quiet; she got off the pack animal, feet on the ground, and then said, “Give me a few books—this king wants to use them; thick ones, with lots of knowledge.”
Richard was shocked. “You actually want to read books voluntarily.”
“Of course.”
Richard happily went to find Sophia; Sophia wasn’t that attentive, but still helped a bit.
Three thick books were delivered to Aurina’s hands.
“Encyclopedia”
“The Lord’s Miracles in the World”
“A Sailor Born in Marburg Had an Incredible Amazing Life; He Was the Only Survivor on a Shipwreck, Survived Alone on a Desert Island for Thirty Years, Finally Rescued by a Merchant Ship; Narrated in First Person”
Richard said, “Study well; I’m very happy.”
Aurina nodded, holding the books and walking to the desk.
Richard closed the door; Aurina put the books on the chair to pad it, then jumped up sitting on the three books; on the desk, she spread her secret plan notebook, thinking how to quickly defeat Richard, speed up her great plan.