Trapped in Another World With No Magic-Chapter 158: Picking Up a Trail

Daniel’s training of firearm usage and safety goes smoothly. No one tries anything dangerous, even though, if anyone is a traitor, their hands have now been on one of Zenkon’s game-changers. Of course, such a person would not have an easy time escaping, since Hekate and Doephluev are creating a magic-proof zone by milling around with the radioactive materials.

It’s possible the spy is aware, but it’s also clear that there is a long game in play, at best.

“May I, Mother?” asks Daniel as the Grand Duchess studies the pistol she has been given.

“Please do,” replies the matron of the Stalvaltan family. Daniel has her aim at the target again, and he gently adjusts her arms and footing. He then has her adjust her grip on the pistol. “Be careful of the slide here…” explains Daniel. He draws his own semi-auto pistol and swiftly unloads it. Once done, he locks the slide back and shows her how it passes over the back of the pistol, and if she holds her off-hand thumb on top of her right hand, she’ll get what is known as a ‘slide bite’. “The slide is going back, whether your hand’s in the way or not.” She nods, adjusting her grip as instructed, and he adds, “Now, aim down the sights, and with them in line, place the front sight on your target.”

“And then, I simply pull this trigger?” asks the brunette, surprised that it’s so straightforward. Rifle shots and other pistols are ringing out as well while the others practice.

“That’s right, Mother. Keep your grip on the pistol, and just try to fire one shot. Whenever you’re ready.”

She trembles a little, but Daniel knows that she is considered a sorceress. She’s not as skilled or powerful as a Stalvaltan Guardsman, who are highly trained battlemages. She’s used to palace intrigue, has been recently nearly assassinated, and has been the ruler of the warriors of her family’s house since her husband passed.

Aramellianna pulls the trigger of the pistol with a great deal of hesitation and caution, and when it reaches the release point, fire and thunder boom forth, kicking the pistol back. Her posture is good, and she manages to keep the pistol under control, bringing it back down to her firing plane again, though she is pretty unstable. “Oh my!” remarks the Grand Duchess. “I feel like I could defeat monsters now.”

Daniel laughs. “That’s the goal.” He then touches her shoulder blades gently, adding, “Make sure you lean forward a little more so your body absorbs the recoil some. This will help you stay on target when you fire more shots.

She nods, taking his advice to heart. “Now, go ahead and fire a couple of times. In a perfect world, all of your bullets will hit the bullseye, but if you can at least reliably hit the target with successive shots, you’ll achieve the main goal.”

“And, what goal is that?” asks Aramellianna, expecting death to be the answer.

“To stop the threat to you.” She looks at him, and he adds, “This is no different from a sword in this way; it doesn’t have to kill your target to the job, but it needs to be capable of killing your target.”

She smiles. “I see…” She aims down the sights, taking a moment, and then firing three shots in fairly quick succession.

Unsurprisingly, the Grand Duchess is able to hit the target on single shots, but she hit a little ways away from center. The second and third shot of her quick succession both missed entirely.

“I see I will need more practice,” remarks the Grand Duchess dryly.

“We all suck at it at first. If you hit bullseye every shot on your first day, I’d accuse you of being a Mary Sue.”

She giggles warmly. “Forgive your dear Mother. I will strive to not suck. At this, at least.” She gives a nymph-like smile, which could be innocent or devious on her beautiful and wise visage.

Daniel gives her a suspicious look. He’s using a slang word he picked up when he was in Mornistae, which he associates with the modern English slang of ‘suck’. But, he didn’t think it had the same meanings. He’s not sure if the same euphemism is supposed to work, but Aramellianna is crafty. She has been regularly studying various things from Daniel’s phone when she can, doing research of her own to try to develop more ways of making money.

Daniel had to talk her out of making adult-rated works for now, since they can be destructive to society in the long-term. The mechanic obviously has his collection for himself, but now he is actually responsible for the potential consequences of that collection, and he has heard compelling arguments for why certain materials can drive the motivation of a society into the dirt.

Instead, he believes she has been learning English in order to translate videos, since she can’t simply have untrusted mages have access to Daniel’s phone.

The mechanic has asked Xyreko to calculate a method to clone his phone, down to the electron, and she explained to him that it would cost about as much mana as the war so far, due to the high level of precision required. So, for now, it’s out of the question.

Regardless, Aramellianna may have a fluent understanding of English, down to some of the euphemisms, given the content she has access to when she’s studying for her schemes.

“I didn’t take you for the type to make such jokes sober, Mother,” replies Daniel finally.

She snickers. “Oh, am I caught?” She straightens her posture and aims again. “My darling Yaandrestar was fooled every time.” She focuses, and a sudden glow appears in front of the pistol, with similar glyphs appearing along the slide. She is casting magic without chanting, which is moderately common, since it’s tedious to need to alert enemies to the spell about to be cast. That said, it is still a skilled level of casting, and Daniel watches as the Grand Duchess pulls the trigger as fast as she can. She empties the remaining ten bullets from the pistol in quick succession, and Daniel watches a hole appear and grow at the bullseye of the simple paper target she’s firing at.

An unexpected side-effect of the spell causes the shell casings to hang in midair, as if caught suddenly in a magnetic field strong enough to lock them into place. It’s something that Daniel would guess is only possible with magic, since the same ‘magnetic locking’ created by a superconductor in a magnetic field preserves momentum, while the shell casings have halted at roughly the same distance away at slightly different spots, with some of the shells bunching together. When she releases the spell, the shell casings fall to the side, and Aramellianna fumbles with the empty pistol, recalling how to eject the magazine to feed another one into the bottom of the pistol.

The Grand Duchess is smirking confidently, and she looks at Daniel with a strange grace that only she can exude even while holding a smoking pistol. “How’d I do, your Imperial Majesty?”

Daniel laughs. “Where I come from, magic is cheating.”

“It was only a simple spell to keep me on target, your Grace,” replies the Grand Duchess with one hand on her cheek, amplifying her innocent expression.

The human mechanic isn’t fooled. He had no idea the Grand Duchess actually does have any combat ability.

“I’m impressed. Have you been practicing in secret, Mother?”

She giggles again, adding sincerely, “Not at all. This is my first time having the privilege of using a ‘demon wand’.” She turns a little more serious, saying gently, “However, my family was not wealthy towards the end. Before our marriage, Yaandrestar used to help me practice magic, in case I ever needed to protect myself, since the Phenglegorn’s could no longer afford to keep guards to protect me.” The Grand Duchess loads another magazine into the pistol, and then she brushes a lock of hair behind her ear. “I am not my husband, nor am I my daughters. But, I have never been so afraid of my weakness.” She smiles at the Earthling mechanic. “I spent every minute of my bedrest reading up on magic. I’m glad my very first created spell seems to work.”

“M-Mother!?” asks Wenlianna, having approached and overheard that part. Aramellianna turns and smiles at her eldest daughter, who is soon joined by her second. “My sweet daughters…”

“Y-Y-You created magic?” asks Wenlianna, surprised.

The Grand Duchess smiles proudly, and Daniel signals to Treia, who is the next highest ranking ‘range officer’, having spent the most time practicing firearms with Daniel. She jogs over, and Aramellianna offers to teach them the spell.

“Need something?” asks Treia chipperly.

“Do you mind just safety-watching them, please? I need to speak to Aoloan briefly.”

“Oh! Sure. I-If that’s alright, your Grace.” The last part was for Aramellianna, who looks at Daniel with a serious expression, thinking. She then pastes on her Grand Duchess smile, and she replies, “Of course, your Grace Treia. Thank you for your instruction.”

“I’ll be back shortly,” replies Daniel.

Yanidere teases, “Hurry back, Daniel. Wenlie will be too distracted to learn if she’s thinking about you.”

“Yani!” snaps Wenlianna with rosy cheeks, and Treia bursts into laughter.

Daniel excuses himself and makes his way to Aoloan, who is resting on a chair with a juice drink.

The succubus perks up when she sees Daniel approaching. “Ooooh, Daniel? I suppose you have to be nice to the lowest ranking consort occasionally, hmm?”

“I wish you didn’t feel that way, Aoloan,” replies Daniel. “If you’d like, you can have my arm when we meet with the Mattarglos council of lords.”

She smiles a moment, before disheartening just as suddenly. “Oh… Then, I guess it’ll be Doephluev…”

Daniel sighs. He knows exactly why she’s saying that.

“Why… Why are you all gambling against her?”

Aoloan blushes and fidgets. “She’s… so convincing. It starts with friendly competition, and before you know it… She has wagered for anything and everything to do with you, including time.”

Daniel sits on the ground and leans against her chair. He groans playfully. “Ugggghhhhhh…” Daniel offers his hand, and she gently places hers on his, allowing him to grip her fingers gently. He kisses the back of her hand, saying warmly, “I’ll handle it. I’ll have you both escort me this next time.”

Aoloan blushes a little, asking, “You’d do that for me?” Her expression is cute and seductive, but Daniel has become used to his various companions and their strategies to sweetly ‘persuade’ -prounouced ‘manipulate’- him. He usually gives in anyways, but he is aware of his weakness.

“Of course. I’m juggling a lot of things, not least of which is treating everyone at least somewhat fairly. Sorry if you feel like I care about you less.”

Aoloan sighs. “It sounded so much simpler when you captured me and made me a warbride.”

Daniel is just about to correct her, but he pauses for a moment. Aoloan was the fourth person he woke up among his self-proclaimed warbrides after Kera’tai, Shek, and Skloe. She also was the least mischievous about that point.

The mechanic smiles and replies, “You’re right. I offered.”

Aoloan smiles, but her gaze casts downwards, and her eyes seem to search the ground for a moment.

The human hugs her waist and lays his head into her lap, catching her off guard. “Do you think you can try casting hypnosis on me, Aoloan? I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately.”

“S-Sure,” replies the succubus. “Though, I don’t know if I have enough mana to work on you.”

“Mm… True. I don’t have much mana, even after continuing to grow it.”

Interesting… I didn’t think Aoloan was that suspicious, other than we probably are the least close… But, isn’t this just sloppy?

She pets his head affectionately, reminding him that, in spite of anything else, she has been gentle and kind since they met.

No, it’s not that simple then…

“Did you ever figure out how you expanded your mana?” asks the succubus innocently.

But, she’s not unrelated. I can’t believe I’m in this situation… Espionage and intrigue… I’m a nobody mechanic… Give me back my blue collar!

Keeping his thoughts to himself, though he only now realizes that Kaeralegier probably heard it, he shifts on her lap. “I have. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, though.”

She giggles, teasing, “Oh really? Don’t tell me you get more mana for every woman you ‘put into a motherly way’.” She snickers playfully, pinching his cheek affectionately as her long, slender tail coils around his forearm.

“H-How did you know?” replies Daniel with embarrassment in his tone. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to feign the embarrassment. He feels like it’s a completely idiotic idea, and his companion goddess lets him know about it.

“{Seriously, Daniel? Is this some Z-tier weebsterbating manga or something?}”

Please don’t rub it in. I’m ashamed that my eyes have seen such unseeable things.

His mission is successful, as Aoloan is completely disarmed and surprised, staring at him in shock.

There’s only one reason she would ask about the mana, right?

“{Yes. God forbid someone be curious of someone they care about, am I right?}” jokes the sword-bound goddess in his mind.

She’s missing memories.

“{What do you mean?}”

I didn’t suggest the warbrides, and I’ve always been adamant against it. And, she should know that I have no mana right now. Something’s off with her.

“{Mmm… Interesting. Any thoughts?}”

Daniel thinks for a long time as Aoloan stammers and whimpers, trying to form embarrassed words, since he is still comfortably resting on her lap.

I can feel the affection there was when we parted originally. I think she’s a pawn, but…

“{Not entirely under her own cognizance.}”

Yes.

Daniel is glad that Kaeralegier doesn’t require him to have mana to be able to communicate with him. For all he knows, she’s using some strange form of quantum entanglement to read and implant her voice directly into his auditory complex, or even precision wind magic to project her voice directly to his eardrums. As a goddess in hiding, she can probably do just about whatever she wants, except free herself from the sword Nemaisol, apparently.

“{So, what will you do? It’s unlikely that her puppeteer, assuming there is one, would easily reveal themselves.}”

Actually, I think I have a decent idea who we’re looking for.

“Hey Aoloan,... Have you noticed any suspicious behavior from anyone?”

Caught off guard by the sudden serious question, Aoloan hesitates. “Suspicious?”

“Yeah. I feel like that fake maid candidate had too much information about us. Almost like someone is selling inside information.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Oh… Oh my…! D-Do… Do you suspect me?” asks the succubus.

“No. If anything, the problems started when Doephluev was revived.”

Aoloan is quiet for a moment, and Daniel adds. “Though, she shouldn’t be able to contact anyone, since we’re watching her the closest. Plus, she sold out the maid fairly quickly before any damage could be done.”

Aoloan nods when Daniel looks up at her. She replies softly, “I don’t know. I guess… Some obvious candidates would be the women who you haven’t taken to bed, since that is private time when they could manipulate you or hurt you.”

“Mm… You’re right…” replies Daniel. He didn’t pick up any red flags, though, until very recently. Of course, his repeated near deaths, and one of them being a curse, has him a little more paranoid than ever before.

“Interesting… So, Vae, then?”

He is paying attention for it, but he nearly misses it all the same.

“No. I wouldn’t think so. Lady Vaergraes had to flee the Covenant. The Uhl’tall are refugees as a result. She can’t afford to jeopardize that, and she wouldn’t have any contacts in the Covenant.” Aoloan gives it some thought, adding, “Maybe it’s someone who’s related to one of your consorts. Or, one of the knights…”

“You’re right,” replies Daniel gently.

Her words are a little quicker, and she started with a declarative ‘no’ before adding explanations.

And, what Daniel felt when he said Vaergraes’ nickname was a small twitch in Aoloan’s thigh muscle.

He adds sincerely, “Thanks for helping me brainstorm. Let me know if anything stands out.”

She smiles and pets his head. “Of course!” She teases playfully, “I’m your Succubus Princess, right?”

The human can’t help but laugh lightly, and he grips her tail when her idle playing causes it to cross his palm. She twitches and squeaks, blushing cutely from the motion.

That said, Daniel’s gears are turning even more than before.

Interesting. She has laid low for so long, and she truly has mastered the art of innocence.

“{The hot milf demon?}” asks Kaeralegier’s voice cheekily, which causes Daniel to squeeze his hand into a partial fist and flex his fingers.

No… If I’m not mistaken… Her sister.

***

“Hekate? Where are you?”

“I’m here!” calls out Hekate’s voice. It sounds strange, though. Her voice is deeper, and it has a longer, somber tone behind it, like the sad howl of a wolf.

“Hekate? Is… Is that you?”

“W-What are you talking about, Daniel!? Of course it’s me!” Hekate tries to approach him, but he recoils in terror, his face twisted in an expression she has only seen once.

When he looked at Brosjak, the archoneldwyn assassin who hurt Ryuogriar, Geirahoel, Magnir, and Roeta and tried to duel Daniel for the Citadel.

It is a look of absolute hatred and disgust.

Her heart skips a beat. How could Daniel look at her that way? They’ve been through so much together. He promised they’d be together forever.

The next thing Daniel does is draw his rifle. Hekate herself has seen this weapon take down a feldrok, let alone all of the other creatures he has defeated with it with carefully placed shots.

Fear grips Hekate’s heart as he aims it at her, and she cries out, “W-Wait! Please! I…” When she looks to the side, her heart completely stops.

She has no idea for how long.

The reflection she is seeing on the surface of water nearby nearly frightens her from the sheer terror of the creature she’s looking at; the most heinous and ugly monsters in the world.

It has black, spiky-looking fur with a faint blue glow, large, triangular ears protruding from its head, massive claws and terrifying spears for teeth, and a bushy black tail. Great wings spread from its back, making it look somewhat like a dragon in profile, but far more powerful in magical potential and physical strength.

It is none other than a feldrok, one of the few things on Zenkon that Hekate is afraid of.

It is truly hideous and terrifying.

And, worst of all…

It’s Hekate.

~~~

“AAAAAAAGGHHHHHH!!!!”

A piercing scream fills the room, as if the ghosts of all the fallen souls of the world cried out at once in sheer terror.

Pain fills her chest as her heart pounds endlessly.

A young teen glances around frantically, unable to make sense of anything as sweat soaks her bedding and trickles across her skin. Tears are pouring from her eyes, and the weight of the darkness is squeezing in on her.

“DANIELLLLL!!!!” screams the young woman. It’s the first word she can think of when she needs help; the first and only person she can truly rely on.

It only takes a few seconds before light appears in the room near the door, and a tall, dark-haired human man appears, jogging out of the light. Without hesitation, he runs to the side of her bed, calling out as he hugs the young ravenette, “Hekate! What is it!? What’s wrong?”

“DANIEL!” wails the young feldrok as she clings to him, bawling as everything pours out of her.

Only seconds more pass before the door bursts open, and all three dragon empresses rush into the room. “Hekate! We’re here!”

Ryuogriar, specifically, rushes onto the bed as well, embracing Hekate and Daniel together. “We’re here, Hekate. Everything is okay. You’re safe.”

Reignleif and Geirahoel approach more gently, and they end up hugging the trio to help reassure Hekate, who is still sobbing into Daniel’s chest and unable to form coherent words.

It would normally be embarrassing, but the young feldrok can’t even be bothered to care about that right now. She is terrified and emotional, clinging to her rock in the dangerous world that she has been able to ignore for the last year or so.

Daniel pets her back and hums softly, “That’s it, Hekate. We’re all here to look after you. So, please calm down. I won’t go anywhere until you’re comfortable…”

“P-P-Promise!?” whimpers Hekate.

“Yes, of course. But, if you had a nightmare…”

“You have to promise!” screams the little girl, startling everyone. “You have to promise you’ll never leave me! Ever! Not for any reason! E-Even if I do something bad! O-Or I make a mistake! Never ever!”

Daniel hugs the young teen tightly, trying to insist, “I promise, Hekate. Short of powers outside of my control, you’ll always be my family, and I’ll always be with you or come back to you.”

Her wails continue as she clings to him, and Reignleif asks, “If… you tell us what your nightmare was, then maybe we can…”

Hekate’s ears droop even more than they already were with her crying, and Reignleif deflates a little. She tries petting Hekate’s head, apologizing gently, “I… I’m sorry.”

Hekate shakes her head, finally cocking her head against Daniel’s collar to look at the blue dragon. “No… I… It’s…” Hekate droops solemnly. “I was… a monster…”

There’s a moment of silence before Daniel finally blurts out, “You’re already a monster.”

Hekate tenses, and the dragons gasp in shock. However, the human mechanic pets his fox-eared companion’s head gently. “Hekate, you’re one of the most powerful beings in this world. You could probably erase a city in an afternoon. You could probably erase an Earth city in that same amount of time. If that’s not a monster, I don’t know what is.” The mechanic hugs her close. “Does it worry you when people call me the Harbinger of Calamity?”

“N-No?”

“Mm-hmm. And, I distinctly remember you asking for an evil-sounding nickname as well.”

Hekate squirms, humming when she’s becoming sheepish.

“So, just because you don’t have a nickname yet, that doesn’t make you any less powerful. You are the Empress of the Fievegal. If just anyone could be, then the Citadel would have been claimed long ago.”

Sensing the tone shifting, Geirahoel agrees with Daniel. “Yes, Hekate. If those weaker than us call us monsters, it should be nothing less than a compliment. They fear us, and rightfully so. When the name Hekate spreads across the whole world, all will know to bow before your just by a glimpse of your cute ears and your bushy tail.” The orange dragon emphasizes her point by touching Hekate’s soft tail briefly, which causes it to twitch from reflex.

The fox-eared girl blushes, finally revealing her face. “But… In my dream… D-D-Daniel…”

“Then that wasn’t me, Hekate. If you finished the dream, it would have been revealed to be an imposter.” He teases as he pinches the angular point of her ear, “You should know all about imposters, hmm, Hekate?”

She shrinks herself even more, blushing in even more embarrassment in spite of the tears still forcing their way out of her eyes. She just recently tried to trick Daniel to treat her like a woman by disguising herself with magic as Doephluev. Daniel saw through the trick immediately because he pays attention to everyone’s small mannerisms, and Doephluev explained to her afterwards that Hekate’s behavior was too innocent to have been the archoneldwyn mistress.

“What did you do in this dream that might have made imposter-Mukori show you anything but love?” asks Ryuogriar, still petting Hekate’s head gently.

The feldrok girl hesitates for a long time.

“I… I was… i-i-in my… t-t-true form…” replies the sheepish little girl.

This again casts a spell of silence over the group for a moment, broken only by Hekate sniffling. It’s no secret to any of them that Hekate is ashamed of her heritage, and many of the dragons are the reason for that self-loathing.

Finally, Daniel breaks the silence. “I see.”

He shifts out from under the group, and Hekate watches him with worry, while the dragons show concern as well. The mechanic leaves the room, and Hekate whimpers, “D-Daniel…?”

Geirahoel bolts to her feet, thinking it’s a joke being made in poor-taste. She growls, “Grraaaah! Mukori!” She storms towards the door, but Daniel bumps into her just as she’s about to walk through. He catches her, saying, “Oh! Geez! Sorry. I distracted myself trying to remember. Thankfully, I brought them with me.” Daniel shows a roll of papers, and Geirahoel looks at them. He guides her back to Hekate’s bed, and they rejoin everyone in a seated position. Daniel even pulls Hekate onto his lap to hold her, and he hands her the roll of papers. “Take a look, Sweetpea.”

The feldrok girl cautiously glances over her shoulder at him, but she nods, wiping her eyes and nose with her forearm. The ravenette unrolls the papers, and she winces at the inside-most one that is now the first one to be seen.

Ryuogriar and Reignleif both gasp when they can see it. Geirahoel is the only one who doesn’t seem to be surprised at all.

Daniel helps spread out the sheet more to make the image more clear for all of them.

While it is far from the most detailed and proportionally correct image in the world, it is very obviously a picture of the Feral Feldrok, Lugrae, as he fights a large drake; a scene both Daniel and Hekate witnessed first hand, though Hekate has very little memory of it because she blacked out from fear.

Still, she recognizes the form with ease; terrifying teeth in a wolf-like mouth, huge, triangular ears like a fox, massive black wings, razor sharp claws, and a long, black, furry tail. The image clearly focuses on Lugrae, demonstrating his impressive power and shape against the drake.

“Y-You drew this, Mukori?” asks Reignleif’s voice softly.

Daniel scoffs lightly, and Hekate’s ears finally perk up to listen intently.

“I did. I’m far from a master, as you can see, but I like to sketch things when I can. In ways, it’s easier to sit down and start sketching than it is to write, since I have to do a lot more thinking to write.” He takes the first sheet from the top, revealing another image of a feldrok, but this time, a scene that no one has ever seen out of the group. This feldrok is perched on a rock overlooking the lake.

“I…” starts Hekate, not understanding why Daniel would draw the monstrous creatures.

With the first sheet in his hand, Reignleif snatches it to study it even more, and he chuckles softly. Knowing that Hekate is looking for an answer, he hugs her gently. “Hekate, I drew them because I think feldroks are cool. Lugrae was one of the most majestic and impressive things of any kind I have ever laid eyes on. He was big, and I like his appearance. Every scar of his told a story, his teeth are among the most powerful weapons in the universe, and his jet black fur tinged with the faint blue glow of magic… I was truly in awe when I saw him.”

“B-B-But… W-Weren’t you… scared!?” asks the young feldrok sitting in the human’s lap, and she twists desperately to face him and clutch his shirt’s chest.

“Of course I was. On Earth, there are only a handful of creatures that grew as large as a feldrok or a dragon, and all of those are docile creatures normally. Here, anything larger than me felt like it was going to try to eat me. My heart was racing, but the swiftness of his attack on the drake… It was breathtaking.”

Hekate stares up at him in shock, unable to form words.

Daniel ruffles her hair, adding sincerely, “I am fully aware of where your feelings come from, Sweetpea, and I know it’s not something you can simply turn off. I have plenty of insecurities of my own. And, trauma digs deeper.” He kisses her forehead, causing her to finally twitch and regain her focus a little.

“Your cuteness will always exceed the coolness of any feldrok, even yourself. But,...” He takes her hand, finishing his thought, “I would guess your coolness will exceed anyone else’s as well.”

Hekate’s eyes water, and she flings herself into another hug as the three dragons behave like vultures, claiming the drawings ‘ravenously’ so that they can study all of them. Daniel has eleven drawings that he sketched, and they are very rough sketches using charcoal pencils. But, he’s perfectly happy with his average talent in a talent-heavy field.

The fox-eared girl sobs again, and Daniel holds her as Ryuogriar remarks, “These are truly majestic drawings, Mukori. We should have these framed and displayed.”

“Mm-mm,” disagrees Reignleif’s soft voice as she shakes her head. “They should be preserved as national treasures. Privileges for us.”

“I have a question,” declares the haughty voice of Geirahoel as she looks at Daniel with her fiery expression. He laughs softly. He immediately knows what she’s going to say.

“Where are your drawings of us?” growls the youngest Dragon Empress.

“Who said there are drawings of you?” asks Daniel playfully, and her eyes narrow into a murderous scowl.

“How much is it worth to you?” asks a new female voice from the door, and all five of them look. Doephluev is standing in the doorway. In her hands, the archoneldwyn is holding a stack of papers of her own, though with the first one facing the group, depicting a similar charcoal sketch of a dragon breathing fire. Unlike the sketches of the feldroks seen so far, there are splashes of color in the flames, making them look even more impressive.

Everything starts to feel static as Geirahoel slowly rises by magic, levitating into the air. Her hair and dress all float with magic swirling around her.

Daniel asks, “Doephluev… Where did you get those?”

She cocks her head innocently, unintimidated by the orange dragon ready to pounce her. “Isn’t that obvious, my Love?”

He stares at her for a moment, trying to think. He finally remembers, and he sighs. Doephluev, in her attempts to ‘move up the ranks’, regularly tries to obtain or steal Daniel’s intimacy at any chance she can get, including sneaking into his bed when he’s sleeping, in the off-chance no one else is spending time with him at the moment.

Sensing that he got it, she smirks devilishly, adding, “I saw you retrieve these from your magic bag filing system, and you left the specific bag out.” She cups her cheek with her free hand, wobbling the pages around teasingly, “I noticed that I’m the only one you drew naked…”

There’s a flash, and Geirahoel appears instantly in front of Doephluev, who expresses a little surprise.

Daniel is probably the only one that isn’t surprised by the suddenness.

She just teleported ten feet in order to close the distance on the archoneldwyn former-assassin.

The dragon snatches the stack of papers while the surprised mistress stumbles back. But, Geirahoel isn’t done yet. She grips Doephluev’s dress collar, pulling her close. “I don’t appreciate anyone knowing Mukori’s secrets that I don’t know. But,...” She leans closer, whispering so only Doephluev can hear.

Daniel is a little worried, but given the change in the ambitious servant’s expression from surprise and fear to one of smugness, the mechanic is confident a clandestine deal has been struck.

Realizing that now is a good time to speak to the needed and most trusted members of his inner circle, Daniel gently urges Doephluev and Geirahoel back inside, and he closes the door. He then withdraws one of his 20mm polonium rounds for the dragon slayer, holding it between all of them, which makes the women nervous. freewebnσvel.cøm

“Don’t worry, I just need a quick and dirty way to reveal what I learned earlier,” whispers Daniel quietly.

Hekate and Doephluev both perk up, and the feldrok girl asks, “You figured it out?”

“Not for certain,” replies Daniel. He knows the Dragon Empresses have been kept out of the loop to a degree only because he’s afraid they’re burn first and then burn again, never asking a single question if Daniel jumps the gun.

He knows they’re not that dramatic, but he is worried Geirahoel, specifically, would struggle to hide her feelings if she knows to be suspicious of certain individuals.

“I believe the traitor in our inner circle is using Aoloan,” whispers Daniel.

“I knew it!” replies Hekate, and Doephluev nods in agreement.

“Aoloan?” asks Ryuogriar, a bit surprised.

Daniel quickly adds, “I think she’s a puppet, ladies. Please don’t make any moves yet.”

“But…” starts Hekate, and Daniel pets her head.

“My suspicion is only that. But, I think we may need to keep a closer eye on Thymeria.”

This causes a grim silence to fall over all of them. Daniel can understand. The younger sister of the former Demon Queen is gentle, kind, and never has a harsh word for anyone.

However, she’s also in a perfect position to have orchestrated global war by puppeteering the queen of the demons. She also would be presumably powerful enough in magic to remotely puppeteer weaker thralls. Daniel doubts Aoloan was a thrall beforehand, meaning she is exactly what he was concerned about; a disposable pawn.

“You really think it’s her?” asks Doephluev, thinking.

“She has helped us with a lot of background setup of Fievegal methods and procedures,” adds Reignleif, a little hurt. As a fellow bookworm, Thymeria and Reignleif are fairly close.

Geirahoel says confidently, “I’ll question her.” Everyone in the room can feel murderous intent starting to build, and Daniel grips the orange dragon’s hand, immediately extinguishing the metaphorical fire threatening to ignite the room.

“No, not yet. I don’t know the right move to make… But, we can’t simply accuse Thymeria. Vaergraes won’t take it well, and she’s likely very powerful. We have to corner her when she can’t escape.”

“But, we can’t ignore her!” replies Hekate.

“And, if she’s suspicious that you’re getting close… What happens to her ‘puppets’?” asks Doephluev. “I can tell you what my former masters would have done, and I only ever glimpsed the middle-man who communicated with Brosjak. You know, Brosjak who thought he was the puppeteer of the Covenant after Vaergraes was deposed?”

“I don’t think Aoloan’s controller is going to pick up on the answers I got,” replies Daniel. “That said, inform Gold to come down with a sudden case of nest-guarding protectiveness and to ‘kidnap’ all of the eggs to protect them. Worse than our children being killed would be…”

“For them to be enslaved by our enemies…” fills in Ryuogriar, revealing one of her biggest fears that seems to have already been on her mind.

Daniel nods in agreement. “If she does so, I’ll prioritize what I promised her as soon as we get back.”

“What about the Princesses and Princes?” asks Hekate urgently.

She’s referring to the goblin children, and Daniel nods. “I didn’t forget about them. But, the advantage they have is that they’re half-goblin children with a father possessing no mana. Their only strategic value is that I will suffer if anything happens to them.” He takes a moment to steady himself, because hearing it out loud makes it real, and the fear starts to creep into his heart.

“Xyreko’s subordinates are already watching over them, just in case, and she has orders to lock down the Citadel completely if even one of them goes missing.” He adds distantly, “We know who to start with, even if my guess is wrong.”

The women are quiet for a moment out of respect of Daniel’s solemn expression.

Ryuogriar finally asks gently, “How did you discover this suspicion?”

Daniel nods, beginning his explanation in case any of them have any thoughts to reinforce or counter his current suspect.

While everyone still has doubts, Daniel included, the only other believable possibility with his evidence would be Illianna.

For now, they have to clear their slate of commitments, starting with the monsters of Mattarglos.

***