Chapter 223: A Familiar Face

Chapter 223: A Familiar Face

Early Morning - Early Winter : Elder Hall, Northern Bahamut

*CrUnCh* The noise of teeth shattering echoed through the courtyard as I slowly turned around to see the kid, a third my size, biting on my tail with bloody chunks of his teeth falling to the ground. -You.. can't be serious...-

The silence that followed the terrible crunch was genuinely excruciating.

But it didn't last long.

"AHHHH!" The kid let out a terrible yell as he fell to the ground and noticed the bloody chunks of his teeth falling out of his mouth.

A part of me wanted to laugh seeing his unfathomable arrogance backfire, but I sadly didn't get the chance to.

"What is going on here?!" A large, nearly 60-meter-tall dragon covered in armor came running up with a concerned look that quickly shifted to anger. "Sir, it is a grave crime to fight here."

His reaction made my urge to laugh vanish in an instant. "I wasn't the one to start it, sir." -This.. feels like it will get troublesome...- "The kid was mad at me for something that happened a few years ago, and when I ignored his threats about forcing me to become his servant, he got mad and bit my tail." I gave the knightly dragon an unamused look, expecting him to continue to defend the kid.

But surprisingly, confusion slipped into his expression instead. "I..is that so?" Turning back to the kid, he leaned down and looked him in the eye like a parent would. "Sir Aetos, is that true?"

But instead of simply agreeing and letting things end simply, the kid looked back up at me with fiery eyes. "HE MADE FUN OF FATHER'S DEATH!" He screamed through his tears as his expression only turned more distraught.

-You have to be f*cking kidding me...- The serious look I was trying to maintain quickly shifted to one of annoyance.

But someone else spoke up before I could. "No, he didn't." Her voice was smooth and elegant but carried deep displeasure.

-Who?- Looking toward the voice, I noticed the dragon who was with Amara walking toward us.

"Young Aetos, do you understand what troubles you could have given this man with such a lie?" The intimidating woman gave me a judgmental glance as she walked by, but eventually turned back to the kid. "You seem to not understand the weight of your words."

Her ruthless tone made his already visible worry and fear worsen, finally dissipating his lingering anger. "U..uh..." Hastily looking around as if to find someone to help him, he finally noticed the disappointed and annoyed looks on everyone's faces. "I... I-"

"Quit looking for someone to save you. Even if your grandfather was here, he would have to show me respect." Although her words sounded arrogant, her tone made me believe it. "Now, apologize."

The kid's fearful eyes slowly drifted over to me before he anxiously lowered his gaze.

Her imposing posture quickly relaxed once I greeted her. "Haha, my name is Vounó, Vounó Chalkos. I thought my daughter was crazy for forcing me to come help you out, but it seems like she has a good eye." Her smile was a bit greedy, but I surprisingly didn't mind it.

-She speaks much more elegantly than Amara.. I'm surprised they're even related...- Looking over toward Amara again, I saw her walking toward us.

She wore a refreshingly familiar smile. "I didn't recognize you at first, I'm glad I saw Ilios."

-Ah...- I wanted to laugh realizing I nearly forgot Ilios was still sleeping on my back. -Maybe that explains some of the odd looks.-

"So you two do know each other?" Vounó gave Amara a curious glance.

"We're good friends, Mom. We met in Siratha a few years ago."

"Oh, I see." Turning back to me, her smile turned sly. "What do you think of my daughter, Vasilias?"

-What's with that look?- "She's an irreplaceable friend." Seeing her sly grin widen, I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I didn't expect to see you here, Amara."

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story. I wanted to leave a proper message for you and Yolanda, but.. was in a bit of a rush..."

"Don't worry about it. Yolanda calmed down after a bit, and I figured you had your reasons."

"Y..yeah... In any case, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, I'm just here to meet with my gr- I mean, with Asimi Ragnarok."

Both Vounó and Asimi raised their eyebrows as they caught my slip-up, but neither of them mentioned anything. "So were you not summoned here for the 'case'?"

-Hm?- "Case? What case?"

They both glanced at each other before awkwardly standing up. "Asimi is busy inside currently, so why don't we.. go somewhere more private to talk?"

Slowly standing up with them, I carefully watched their expressions become complicated. -Is it something that serious?-