Chapter 92: The Great Dragon’s Infiltration (Part 2)

Beneath the starry sky stood Aurina, her small belly slightly bulging. 

She looked like one of those warning scenes in a documentary about pregnant little girls.

She yawned. 

“You little bugs are so slow. You’re finally here.”

Richard glanced at the fish barrel that should have been filled with freshly caught sea fish.

To prepare the offering, they had carefully selected the freshest fish from the local market. 

But since it was already late and the fishmongers had long packed up, they had to rely on a few fishermen who, though believers of the Queen of the Deep Sea, still owed a favor to a local priest from the Alliance of Benevolent Gods.

So the fishermen secretly delivered the fish—half as a sale, half as a gift.

Since living creatures couldn’t be stored inside the dimensional pouch, Sophia had to use divine magic to kill them painlessly, allowing Richard to store the fish barrels for later use.

Richard followed the infiltration manual to the letter. 

It was his first time attempting such an operation, and everything went smoothly. 

No one suspected what they needed the fish for. He even thought to himself that luck was finally on his side.

What he didn’t expect… was that a dragon named Aurina would appear inside the fish barrel—after eating every single fish.

“Aurina!” 

Richard hissed the name through clenched teeth. He wanted to yell, but the first rule of infiltration—no loud noises—was deeply etched in his mind, even though they were far from Larrifa Manor.

“Gah?” 

Aurina sniffed herself. 

She smelled faintly of fish. 

Then, without hesitation, she exhaled fire to clean herself.

BOOM!

The second rule of infiltration—never light a fire at night!

Richard immediately tackled her to the ground. 

Aurina instinctively kicked back, and the two rolled down the slope together, tumbling a dozen times before Richard pinned the squirming girl beneath him.

“Don’t make fire! You’ll expose us!”

“Gah? Isn’t this the back slope?” Aurina muttered. “You’re so dumb, beast of burden.”

“Wherever we are, we don’t light fires during night infiltration!”

“Idiot.” 

Aurina rolled her eyes. 

“Get your tiny body off me already.”

“Do you understand now?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know your memory’s bad.”

Richard finally got off her small body.

Sophia approached, forcing a smile. 

“Aurina, how did you get here? Weren’t they supposed to be watching you?”

“Just a few little bugs.”

Aurina stepped on the fish barrel that had rolled down the hill. 

In front of another beautiful female, she couldn’t help but show off. 

She flicked her crimson hair with a delicate hand just as a night breeze blew by, making her locks dance like flame.

Under the moonlight, her delicate face seemed to mature in an instant—from a little girl into a striking red-haired enchantress.

At that moment, back in the Temple District, in Aurina’s bedroom, a maid lifted the blanket covering the bed. 

Underneath, a ball of fire wriggled, then dispersed into sparks.

The maid screamed, “The dragon’s gone!”

How could they ever keep watch over me? thought Aurina smugly, her golden eyes glimmering as she looked at Sophia.

Sophia suddenly felt Aurina’s small frame stretch taller in her vision. 

Though still a young girl, she seemed to see before her a long-legged, voluptuous woman—beauty as vast as a mountain, herself a mere dwarf standing at its base.

She blinked rapidly, snapping out of the illusion, only to see the small Aurina once again standing with one foot on the fish barrel.

Richard voiced what Sophia was thinking. 

“You have to go back, Aurina.”

“Why?”

“I told you—this mission doesn’t include you.”

“Hmph! You’re going to steal something without me? Forget it! I’m not going back.”

“Then write a pledge that you won’t run off again.”

“You think I’d write that?” 

Aurina said, walking up to Sophia and patting her chest. “Sophia, you carry me back, okay?”

Sophia nodded reflexively. “Alright.”

“Thanks,” Richard sighed. 

“How long will it take you to return? Let’s meet at the same place. Tomorrow morning, once the city gates open, we’ll disguise ourselves as fishmongers, sneak inside, gather intel, and rescue the hostages.”

Sophia thought for a moment. 

“But there’s a curfew right now.”

Richard turned to Aurina. 

“Can’t you change back into a dragon and fly home quietly?”

“Of course I can!” 

Aurina grinned. 

“Sophia, you’re lucky. You get to ride a real dragon, see the city from above, and look down on the sea and the harbor lights.”

“Wait,” Richard interrupted. 

“Why are we flying over the sea?”

Aurina placed a hand on Sophia’s waist. 

“Because I’ll be taking your fiancée for a little scenic flight, that’s why.”

She stared at Richard, expecting anger.

But Richard’s expression was calm—too calm.

“You’re not actually planning to take Sophia back, are you?”

“Of course I am! I swear, I absolutely won’t take her to admire the sea under the stars. Isn’t that right, Sophia?”

She looked at Sophia.

Unfortunately, Sophia’s face didn’t show the reaction she wanted. 

Aurina had expected embarrassment, longing, maybe even a hint of temptation—how a woman might feel when the world’s most magnificent being invited her out.

But instead, Sophia’s face looked… strange. 

The air around them even smelled faintly sour.

Richard said flatly, “She won’t keep her word.”

Sophia sighed. 

“I… don’t think I can make her go back.”

As expected. 

They can’t control me anymore.

Aurina imitated Richard’s tone. 

“How boring.”

“What?” 

Richard frowned.

Aurina turned away, perching on the fish barrel, tail in her arms, gazing wistfully into the wind.

If it were before, thought Sophia, I’d probably already be pregnant by now.

Sophia looked at Richard. 

“Can’t we wait until morning? Once the gates open, we can take her back properly and make sure she’s guarded.”

Richard shook his head. 

“If we delay, we’ll have to prepare again. The dimensional pouch keeps things fresh, but the fish won’t last much longer. Re-preparing could lead to all kinds of problems…”

So we’ll have to bring Aurina along? 

Sophia wanted to say it but bit her tongue.

“Exactly!”

Aurina jumped down, balancing atop the fish barrel like a circus acrobat. 

“You need my wisdom and leadership, especially you, the strongest bug!”

She patted Richard’s shoulder. 

“Listen to me, and you’ll have piles of gold and silver.”

“We’re here to save people.”

“What’s the difference?” 

Aurina blinked her golden eyes. “Just trade treasure for people. Take them back! You’re such a dumb dumb dumb bug.”

As she spoke, she began to sing, her voice lilting.

“Dumb little bug, dumb dumb dumb bug!”

She danced around Richard atop the fish barrel, singing in perfect rhythm—a full 360-degree surround performance.

Sophia watched in disbelief. Aurina’s voice was beautiful—almost as mesmerizing as the mythical mermaids.

“So, what’s your plan?” 

Richard asked, eyes following her back and forth. 

“I was going to disguise us as fishmongers, sneak past the night guards and duck sentries, then locate the hostages. Once we find them, we’ll pull out our gear from the dimensional pouch and strike fast.”

“Little bug.” Aurina snorted.

“Can’t you see in the dark?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Fine, strongest little bug. Don’t tell me you’re like the others—blind at night.”

“I can see just fine. What’s your point?” Richard frowned. 

“You mean we should use our night vision and attack at night? But the guards might be half-demons—they’ll spot us.”

“Still, most of your little bugs can’t see in the dark, right? So a night raid’s better!” 

Aurina said excitedly. 

“I’ll turn into a dragon, fly you right over the manor, and dive straight down! They won’t even know what hit them! SWOOSH!”

Richard hesitated. 

“But how do we know where the hostages are? They’re not treasure—you can’t locate them with appraisal magic. And we don’t have a seer.”

“Ha! You simple bug. You can’t comprehend the genius of this king!”

Aurina stomped on the fish barrel, making it tip upright, then leapt gracefully atop it so she was eye-level with Richard. 

“Don’t you have that blue slime that turns red? We can grab a few guards and interrogate them! Time’s short, but it’ll be enough. They’ll never see us coming, never know what happened! And if we set a little fire, even better!”

“No burning,” Richard said firmly, stroking his chin. “We could hurt innocent people.”

Still, he couldn’t dismiss her so easily. After all, she had managed to sneak in here through a fish barrel.

Sophia watched the two of them strategizing—unable to get a single word in—and stomped her foot in frustration.

“It seems… this is our only option.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” 

Aurina beamed. 

“Let’s do it!”

“But you must follow my orders,” Richard said. “Actually, never mind—you’ll just agree and then ignore me anyway.”

“Fine, fine.”

“You stay by my side.” 

He’d learned by now—the only way to control Aurina was with an iron hand.

“Of course! I’ll ride my beast of burden into battle!”

“The noble dragon doesn’t let bugs ride her back.”

Aurina smirked from atop the barrel, looking down at the two of them.

Based on past experience of stealing lovers, she briefly thought about letting Sophia ride on her back instead—give her the honor of a true dragon, while Richard was dragged by her claws like luggage.

Simple. Humiliating. Effective.

But the thought fizzled out. Richard’s unbothered face and Sophia’s strange demeanor killed her motivation.

“So, I’ll just grab you both with my claws.”

“You sure you can even hold us?” Richard asked. “Your dragon form’s only about the size of two bulls.”

“Gah gah gah!” Aurina’s laughter crackled like fire. Her body flashed red, expanding, scales gleaming.

“You didn’t expect this, did you? As long as I eat well and sleep well, I grow stronger and stronger! My power’s been soaring, swelling, skyrocketing these days!”

Sophia and Richard blurted out in unison, “You’re so fat!”