“Yiluo Enya, hold on to me.”
“Fixed-Point Teleportation!”
A flash of white light passed before their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw birds flying in the sky and drifting white clouds…
Or rather, under their feet…
Σ(°口°|||)
‘Why is there nothing beneath our feet?!’
“Waaah——!”
Zhu Qiu had successfully teleported herself and Yiluo Enya below the clouds where the Dragon Race Imperial Palace was located, instead of above them.
The two of them thus serenely began a game of free fall in the air, attempting the “elbow-strike-the-ground” challenge.
“Zhu Qiu! What do we do now?!”
Yiluo Enya was genuinely panicking.
‘What kind of sane person teleports into the sky?!’
This was practically risking their lives.
“Wuwuwu～ I don’t want to die yet! Mother, come save me!”
“Mother——!”
That cry of “Mother” pierced straight through the clouds beneath the Dragon Race Imperial Palace and reached the ears of Zhu Xiaxia, who was working on the second floor.
At that moment, she was handling documents sent from the easternmost city district—the district where Xia Li resided.
Document contents:
“Her Majesty the Queen, for the safety of the Dragon Race, Xia Li requests an increase in defensive forces for the Eastern Dragon Territory. I hope for your approval.”
That’s right, this document was from Xia Li.
Although the defensive power of the Eastern Dragon Territory was important, Xia Li had requested 1,000 gold coins!
1,000 gold coins!
In Zhu Xiaxia’s view, merely 1,000 gold coins was completely insufficient. At least 10,000 gold coins was needed. Why? If she approved it, Xia Li would certainly believe the defensive force was sufficient and end up complacent with the status quo.
1,000 gold coins could at most hire a Dragon Race member slightly weaker than Xia Li. What use would that be?
Against a formidable enemy like the Demon King from last time, they couldn’t defend. Against ordinary enemies, they wouldn’t be needed.
Therefore, this document had to be rejected and a proposal sent back, waiting for her to reapply. Decision made.
Just as she was about to reject it, that cry of “Mother” endured eighty-one tribulations and finally reached her ears.
“Not good! My precious daughter is in danger!”
Her expression instantly turned serious. Discarding any concern for appearances, she leaped from the window, transformed into her Dragon Form midair, and dove toward the source of Zhu Qiu’s voice.
The two in the air had already been in free fall for a while.
They had gone through shock, panic, loud crying, oxygen deprivation, and finally unconsciousness.
When Zhu Xiaxia arrived, she saw both Zhu Qiu and Yiluo Enya at the same time.
She had no time to think it over. Catch them first, talk later.
Even though she didn’t know who Yiluo Enya was.
Time flickered by, and it was the next day.
Zhu Qiu, who had been unconscious in bed for a day and a half, groggily woke up.
When she opened her eyes and saw this familiar place, she was instinctively startled.
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu pinched her own cheek. “How did I get home? Didn’t I remember bringing Yiluo Enya back to her house? How…”
With that, her eyes began darting around wildly, sweeping over everything around her, not missing a single detail.
As a result, apart from the birds outside the window, she didn’t see anything with any signs of life.
“I’m doomed!”
Zhu Qiu clutched her head on the bed, letting out a cry of shock.
“Yiluo Enya, she… she didn’t… she didn’t fall to her death, did she?”
Remembering that it was her teleportation accident that sent them both into the sky, Zhu Qiu became even more convinced.
Without realizing it, she caught sight of her hands, which were covered in many small red patches.
She hastily rolled up her clothes and discovered there were many on her belly too.
Zhu Qiu suddenly recalled a book she had read in the Human Race before.
It said that after a person dies, livor mortis appears.
So these must be livor mortis.
“Wuwuwu～ Yiluo Enya, you died so tragically! I couldn’t even find your complete body. It’s all my fault, wuwuwu～”
Thinking of this, Zhu Qiu cried even more sorrowfully.
Just as she was grief-stricken, Yiluo Enya opened Zhu Qiu’s door.
“Zhu Qiu, I heard you crying upstairs from far away. What are you crying so sadly about?”
“Yiluo Enya?”
Zhu Qiu could hardly believe her eyes and immediately wiped her tears clean.
“So your body is intact after all! How wonderful! I never thought we’d meet again, whole and complete, in heaven.”
Zhu Qiu inexplicably became happy.
But in Yiluo Enya’s eyes, Zhu Qiu was a complete idiot. It was hard not to suspect she had smashed her head in the fall.
“Zhu Qiu, actually, we’re both still alive.”
“Still alive? That’s impossible. We fell from such a high place; we must be dead as doornails.”
Zhu Qiu was deeply convinced of her own death.
“We’re really still alive.”
Just as Yiluo Enya didn’t know how to explain, Zhu Xiaxia also walked in.
“My precious daughter～ You’re finally awake. Come, let Mother give you kisses～”
She rushed over without rhyme or reason and started kissing every part of Zhu Qiu’s body.
At first, Zhu Qiu resisted, but once she remembered she was already dead, she stopped caring.
‘Kiss away, then. If you want to kiss, I’ll indulge you and let you kiss your fill.’
Faced with this sudden scene, Yiluo Enya immediately ducked to the doorway, choosing to temporarily excuse herself.
After Zhu Xiaxia had kissed her fill, she slowly began explaining to Zhu Qiu how she had saved them.
The moment she thought about how she had let Zhu Xiaxia kiss her, and with Yiluo Enya watching, Zhu Qiu wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.
But there was no hole in the ground, so Zhu Qiu dove under the covers.
Suddenly, she felt this was worse than death.
Dying of embarrassment was still dying.
“Alright, alright, my precious daughter needs to be good. School starts tomorrow. Do you want Mother to take you tonight, or tomorrow morning?”
“Tomorrow?”
Zhu Qiu poked her head out from under the covers.
“Isn’t it still the weekend? Why is school starting so soon?”
“Because my precious daughter was sound asleep for a day and a half.”
“Huh?”
‘Slept for a day and a half?’
Then the plan to take Yiluo Enya home that she had promised… wasn’t it ruined?
Breach of promise list +1.
“Correct. Since you’ve come back after so long, Mother has some things to tell you.”
Zhu Xiaxia glanced toward the door.
Yiluo Enya, who had been hiding and peeking, understood instantly and slunk downstairs.
She even walked over to the door to check once more before closing it.
“Zhu Xiaxia, what’s with all the secrecy?”
This directly piqued Zhu Qiu’s curiosity.
At this, Zhu Xiaxia put on a serious expression.
“Mother wants to ask: has anyone been bullying you at school?”
“Bullying me? I don’t think so. After all, my entire class has only one student—me. The teacher treats me well.”
“I don’t want ‘I don’t think so.’ I want the real, honest truth.”
“Is there, or isn’t there?”