CH 27.1

Clouds drift in the clear, dark blue sky.

A ray of light shines through the gaps between the clouds. Spica walks to the bench and sits down.

She opens her mouth as if to say something but stops herself.

Sun-kun doesn't say a word when he sees Spica's expression. He just looks at her with gentle eyes.

Even if he didn't say anything, she is sure that he is worried about her.

Gradually, she opens her little mouth again.

The sound of air leaks out and a small, faint sound mixes with it.

Facing his back towards her, he stares at the sound from the other side of the wall as if to ease her.

She takes a small breath. There is Spica's small determination to be a person she can be proud of.

So, she opens her mouth again.

This time, she is able to speak clearly.

Like a stream, her voice spills out and overflows with emotion.

While he looks up at the sky, which is a deep blue silently and listens to her.

○○○

(Spica Velvet POV)

The night sky that I can see through the small window is blood red, and for some reason, I have a bad feeling about it.

Spica Velvet, who is sleeping on the hard floor, stretches a little. The strange place and position she slept in caused her body to complain loudly.

This is a settlement of dragon humans, managed by the Velvet clan.

The name of the village is tasteless, the village of the dragon-man, her parents put their foreheads together and said, "You should have a prettier name."... This is a tradition." "...Such a thing should feed to a Hound Dog. "...How about Okoko?”

What a carefree conversation they are having.

As a side note, "Okoko" means pickles.

Apparently, my mother enjoys the pickles she’s having for dinner. I smile at my mother in my memory.

I can't stay like that forever, Spica thought as she stood up.

The space is so small that if I open my arms, no two people will fit.

The books overflowing from the bookshelves are piled up in a heap. In the middle of the room, there is a lamp whose magic has run out, and a large cushion she has brought with her, and a canteen filled with fruits soaked in water. A book is left unfolded near Spica.

A hidden library on the outskirts of the village is where Spica is now.

What she is doing here is to read a book and fall asleep under the excuse that she is studying to become the next head...

The book she is reading is a biographical novel about a man who tries to be reborn into this world.

It's a little secret that even her parents don't know (or so Spica thinks) that Spica enjoys reading books that are not related to her studies in this place that is like a secret base for her.

A yawn escapes her lips.

It is getting late in the evening. She feels like it's too late, but she has to get into bed before they(parents) find out or they'll be mad at her.

--She gets up to go home and opens the door just a little.

Then, she hurriedly closes the door.

She is aware of the scent that makes her fingers tingle and goes numb after just a few breaths.

A sharp scent that makes her brain numb. It is the unique scent of the coneflower, which, when roasted and drunk by humans, becomes a medicine that sharpens and strengthens the body's senses.

But...

What will happen if a creature that has always had keen senses and a superior body takes it?

It's a poison, just as too much alcohol can have a negative effect on the body, disorienting the senses, intoxicating the consciousness, and causing the body to lose its strength.

The blood drains from Spica's body. She understood that something was happening in their village.

She grips the necklace around her neck tightly and swallows the nightmare that is about to hit her. She has to be calm. She gathers her magic into her ears and sharpens them to listen to the sounds outside.

Countless footsteps.

Numerous screaming.

The dull sound of steel clashing with steel.

An attack.

She thought of the two ominous words.