“Gah!!!”
Feeling her food slipping away, Aurina let out a roar that wasn’t too harsh, stomped her feet, and lunged her head toward the potato-faced doppelgänger.
Like an ox pulling a plow, she reached for the doppelgänger with both hands.
The potato-faced doppelgänger dodged backward but couldn’t escape Aurina’s grasp.
Aurina seized her wrist, pulling it toward her mouth, scaring the doppelgänger into shouting, “Stop her! Quick!”
Aurina gripped her, ready to bite, but Richard grabbed her dragon horns, yanking her back with force.
Aurina snapped at her “food” several times, always just shy of reaching it.
Terrified, the potato-faced doppelgänger dropped her disguise, reverting to her true form, and shouted, “Don’t bite! Don’t bite! I’m just a monster!”
The black-bearded harp-wearer spy cheered from the side, “Bite her! Kill her!”
Aurina yelled, “Self-walking octopus is delicious too!”
Richard didn’t dare let go—if he did, Aurina would surely bite off the doppelgänger’s head.
He shouted, “Aurina, let go, or I’ll punish you!”
“I said I can eat it!”
Aurina struggled against Richard’s grip, saying, “Dare hit me, and I’ll drag Sophia over to whip you hard, gah!”
With that, Aurina yanked the doppelgänger’s wrist, throwing her off balance into Aurina’s body.
Aurina let go and grabbed again, this time catching her forearm.
As the doppelgänger’s arm drew closer to the dragon’s mouth, she nearly cried, shouting at the black-bearded spy, “I’m sorry for offending you earlier! Believe me, I didn’t kill your companion!”
The black-bearded spy said, “Too late for apologies now.”
Richard’s head was pounding—his two companions were utterly undisciplined.
One was a dragon, the other an impulsive ranger.
But in critical moments, Richard’s mind worked faster.
“Quick! Turn into a houttuynia plant!”
“I can’t just turn into anything I want!” the doppelgänger screamed. “She’s getting closer! Save me!”
“Then turn into a houttuynia person!”
“Is that even a thing?”
The black-bearded spy chimed in, “Dear dragon, you could just grab her hand and start eating from there.”
Richard shouted, “Stop talking!”
Aurina, head tilted back, her eyes lit up.
“Thanks, little insect! I’m eating potato-octopus head!”
With that, she yanked the doppelgänger’s hand toward her mouth.
“Aaaah!” the doppelgänger screamed.
As her hand neared Aurina’s mouth, her survival instincts kicked in, and the hand about to enter Aurina’s mouth turned into brownish-yellow, segmented houttuynia.
Aurina, tasting the houttuynia flavor spreading in her mouth, gagged at the revolting taste—a pungent stench, like biting into a live stinkbug.
She instantly let go and kicked the doppelgänger. “Get lost! Stinky thing!”
The doppelgänger rolled several times across the floor, barely alive, gasping, “I… survived.”
“Aurina!” Each syllable was paired with a thwack to her head.
And each thwack was met with Aurina’s cries, “Gah! Gah! Gah!”
She clutched her head, her golden eyes teary, looking up.
Drawing on her latest understanding of the “little girl incantation” pose, she gazed at Richard, reciting in the perfect tone for the spell, “I’m just a kid, only greedy.”
It nearly melted Richard’s steel resolve.
He unclenched his fist, placing his hands at his sides, sighing.
“She’s still alive, and she’s important to us. Plus, you ate yesterday and just now.”
The black-bearded spy, watching the whole scene, sighed.
“I finally get why you’re so harsh with such a cute little girl. She’s truly a humanoid dragon. But really adorable. If my daughter were still alive, she’d be just as cute.”
Richard said, “You know the struggle of raising kids. If you’d helped me just now, it would’ve been great.”
Aurina rubbed her head several times, looking at the doppelgänger with regret.
“Potato-octopus covered in stinky grass can’t be eaten.”
The last time Richard tried to get her to eat vegetables, he gave her a houttuynia salad.
It was the first time Richard smelled Aurina’s vomit—not too bad, with a hint of dragon ambergris.
“Right,” the doppelgänger said, a smile creeping back onto her face.
“I can stay a houttuynia person until I die of old age.”
The black-bearded spy drew his short sword.
“I’m tired of this so-called game! You’re right—I’m scared I’ll have to let you go, so I’ll do what I’m best at.”
Richard raised a hand.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t stop me.”
“If I’m not mistaken,” Richard said to the doppelgänger, “it was Aurina who beat you back to your true form?”
Aurina’s eyes lit up, and she lunged forward in a sprint, but Richard’s hand was faster.
“I’m sorry!”
The doppelgänger’s resolve collapsed entirely.
Exhausted, she didn’t want to experience another near-death dragon encounter.
“Ask me anything, I’ll answer, as long as you sign to guarantee my safety. I’d rather die than watch myself get eaten alive.”
“How could you?”
Aurina said indignantly.
“Being eaten by this king is an honor, becoming part of the greatest, greatest dragon in the world!”
At that moment, several people with weapons arrived.
“What’s going on?”
Richard said, “Please explain, maybe with a little white lie. Thanks. And find a convenient place for a proper interrogation, bring paper and pen.”
The black-bearded spy lied to his companions, calling it a secret, saying they’d found a doppelgänger volunteer who caused a minor conflict, but all ended well, and the volunteer was willing to risk everything for justice.
The seasoned harp-wearer spies rolled their eyes at this insult to their intelligence but said nothing.
One by one, they entered the field of truth, confirming they weren’t doppelgängers or Thousand Crows’ Eye’s minions.
Then they began preparing for Richard’s interrogation.
There was no execution room, so they used a temple confession chamber for the interrogation.
The interrogation went smoothly, with the longest task being Richard drafting the contract.
The last time, a dragon-slaying contract with the emperor went wrong, burdening Richard with a 50,000-gold-coin debt, making him overly cautious about contracts now.
Finally, he signed his name, stamping it with his colored holy emblem.
The doppelgänger felt at ease, knowing and trusting Richard would honor his oath.
She and her accomplices had once mocked Richard as foolish for taking on a 50,000-gold-coin debt over a piece of paper.
But now, that “foolish act” made this paper feel incredibly secure.
The only thing unsettling her was the red-haired young dragon perched on Richard’s head, scribbling in a notebook, occasionally glancing at her, her pink tongue licking her lips.
As if the doppelgänger were a steaming delicacy.
During the interrogation, the doppelgänger sat calmly, feet together, answering every question.
Richard asked, “Where are the assassin’s families?”
“At Larid Manor in the suburbs, quite conspicuous, surrounded by open land. They clear trees and bushes regularly, so approach carefully,” the doppelgänger said. “You could disguise yourself as a porter. Oh, can paladins disguise themselves?”
“The order doesn’t forbid it.”
The doppelgänger said, “Good, next question.”
At that moment, Aurina glanced up at her.
The doppelgänger trembled, suddenly remembering something.
“Wait, I thought of something. If you pose as a fresh seafood seller, you’ll be welcomed. But watch your accent. If you infiltrate at night, the manor has ducks, and beware of ravens in the trees…”
She was thorough, fearing Richard’s failure, speaking quickly and clearly.
Richard’s hand scribbled furiously in the notebook, while Aurina, on his head, scribbled in her own.
She was noting Richard’s weaknesses, drawing a picture of him rolling on the ground as the greatest, greatest dragon held Sophia aloft, chanting the fiancée incantation.
Foolish little insect, this king is sitting on you while recording your fatal weaknesses on your head.
Aurina thought, her battered pride from failing to eat the potato now rapidly recovering, even overflowing.
Richard’s voice came from below.
“…Alright.”
“…Oh, my mother’s name is Karanna, I usually live in a rich person’s nest I took over with my companions, my real height is 1.78 meters…” the doppelgänger said.
“Can I go now? I’ll report everything’s fine, calm, and that the poison’s been fed to the dragon. I swear, I’ll do it.”
Richard said, “And per—”
“Report in person every three days at most!”
“If you break the agreement—”
The doppelgänger cut in, “I’ll be marked for breaking my oath. You’ll hunt me worldwide, with a dragon to eat me. I swear, I won’t. I’d never give up the city’s luxuries to live a hard life in some backwater village or wilderness, always looking over my shoulder…”
Richard nodded—this was the most cooperative spy he’d ever met.
“Good.”
“Can I leave now?” she said.
“Or turn into a houttuynia person. Honestly, I like houttuynia—I’ve eaten a lot, so it’s probably in my flesh and bones.”
The field of truth turned red for the first time.
“You can go.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving my life.”
The field of truth stayed blue.
Transforming back into the red-haired matron, the doppelgänger practically sprinted out the door.
“Snap.”
Richard closed his notebook, the foggy situation now clear, a smile spreading across his face.
“Snap.”
Aurina closed her notebook too, brimming with satisfaction, a confident, arrogant grin stretching ear to ear.