CH 398

A day had passed since the group had arrived in Baachsburg. Yuki and Nell had already departed, leaving the rest of the gang to discuss their plans amongst themselves.

“It will take the two of them a few days to return. What would you like to do in the meantime?” asked Leila.

“I think they’d have lots of fun at the one place! We made it just for tourists, and it’s got lots of super interesting things,” said Emyu, who had joined the group.

She and Leila had spent the previous night chatting and catching up to their hearts’ content.

“What kinda things? Are they really neat?” asked Illuna.

“Or fun?” asked Shii.

“I’m excited,” said Enne.

“You should be excited! Because there’s lots of super fun and neat things and I’m sure you’ll all like them!”

Emyu was already getting along with the other girls, even though it had hardly been an hour since they first met. But such was normal among kids their age.

“Then let us pay it a visit. I remain certain that Yuki and Nell also intend to do the same, but they shall be able to do it on their own, upon their return. It is an opportunity for a date.”

“Yeah, Master ain’t the kinda guy to miss an opportunity like that, so I guess we should go ‘head ‘n enjoy it without him.”

Leila nodded. “Okay. Then to the museum of natural specimens we go.”

***

The group headed towards one of the buildings that made up the town’s centerpiece as the sheep-horned pair gave a quick lecture of the town and its history. The girls were impressed almost immediately upon entering the building.

“Woah! That skeleton is amazing! It’s huge!” said Illuna.

“It looks tasty!” said Shii.

“Mhm. Strong too,” said Enne.

Before them stood a massive skeleton belonging to some sort of monster, and it wasn’t the only one. Even standing in the entryway, they could see countless others lining the halls. The whole experience was taken a step further by the way the building was set up. It was made to emulate the environment that the monsters had lived in, with mountains and forests and other ecosystems strewn throughout its various parts. There was even a flowing river.

“This is a facility that we put together to wring money out of travelers,” said Emyu, with a smug smile. “We’ve been working on it for decades!”

“Emyu, you’re not supposed to say it so… directly. You need to work on your presentation.”

“Errk… umm… okay, then it’s a place that’ll make people feel good about throwing their money away.”

“Good job. That’s much better,” said Leila.

“I fail to see a difference between the two…” said Lefi.

“Y’know, I was always thinkin’ that it was just Leila, but now I’m startin’ to see that all sheep-horned demons are kinda strong willed,” said Lyuu.

The dragon and the wolf girl exchanged a pair of wry smiles.

“That is just what happens when the clan is made up almost entirely of women,” said Leila, 

“Let’s hurry up and get inside!”

“Very well. Leila, what is the fee requisite for entry? Yuki has left me with some funding, and it is unlikely not to suffice.”

“You won’t need to pay because Emyu and I are here with you,” said Leila. “We happened to be involved with some of the projects on display.”

“Leila made and donated a lot of really beautiful reconstructions, so she gets to enter for free forever. I helped with some of them too!” said Emyu.

“Wow… that’s amazing!” said Illuna.

“I want to see what you made!” said Shii.

“Me too,” said Enne.

“Then I shall gratefully accept your generosity,” said Lefi. “And I too wish to see the exhibitions that you have constructed.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you were good at this kinda stuff, Leila. I was always thinkin’ you were more of a books and magic kinda gal,” said Lyuu.

“That is generally what I specialise in, but I’ve been curious about a few other things here and there and dabbled in them on occasion.”

“That ain’t any different from how you are back at home then.”

They moved through the building as they continued to speak.

“This is where we keep the exhibit for extinct and endangered monsters, once we’ve finished our initial research.”

“I am surprised that they do not ascend as members of the undying,” said Lefi.

“We have a barrier in place to make sure that no negative magic will be able to get to them.”

“It sure is terrifyin’ to think that they might turn undead one day though,” said Lyuu. “Wait, ain’t that one over there somethin’ we ate just the other day?”

“Oh! It totally is! It’s one of the ones Yuki, Enne, and the pets hunted!”

“It was tasty,” said Shii.

“Mhm. Very,” said Enne.

The casual conversation led Emyu to freeze up.

“R-really? This monster is practically the thing of myths. You’ll almost never find them, and they’re said to be incredibly strong…”

“There certainly are a number of them living in the Wicked Forest,” said Leila. “Looking back, that place certainly is rather anomalous.”

“Indeed. It is quite the strange domain,” said Lefi. “…This monster is another that I have seen. I engaged one of its kind in battle roughly two hundred years prior. A nostalgic incident indeed.”

“That thing is meant to be a walking, civilization-ending catastrophe… Though I guess it does make sense, seeing as how you’re the Supreme Dragon,” said Emyu.

Being observant and curious as they were, the whole clan had already more or less figured out Lefi’s identity. A number of them had already spoken to her on account of their curiosity winning over their fear. That, however, was not to say that the young scholar was unfazed. Her eyes were distant as she spoke, as if her mind had been shattered by the scope of what it had to process.

“If you associate with this group for long enough, Emyu, you’ll stop being surprised by most things.”

“I believe that is only the case because you are not often surprised to begin with,” said Lefi.

And so, the group continued to idly chat about all sorts of various topics as they moved their way from exhibit to exhibit.