ATPL 20

There was only one thing Anais wanted to say in response to the dragon’s words.

“Does Anais really have to take on such an important task?”

Elliot nodded.

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“It’s not exactly really, but…”

Elliot squinted and glanced at Anais. The meaning in his eyes was clear.

If you don’t want to do it, you can die.

Anais eventually threw a fit, collapsing onto the sofa and letting out a scream.

“Why is this sofa so hard?!”

“The Black Dragon Knights avoid extravagance.”

“Yes, it certainly seems that way….”

Anais muttered, on the verge of tears. The fabric-covered sofa was so poorly padded that she felt her backside was directly pressed against the hard wooden frame underneath.

And that wasn’t all. The castle of the Black Dragon Knights, where she sat, was truly… something else.

“It looks like the castle of a king who hasn’t collected taxes in a hundred years…”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”

“Did you notice?”

Elliot sipped his tea without changing his expression. Anais looked at him in amazement.

‘He drinks that bitter tea so well?’

The tea Elliot was drinking had been served by a servant as soon as Anais entered.

If it could even be called tea, Anais thought it was an insult to the many tea trees in this world.

The same could be said for the castle. Quisac Castle, the stronghold of the Black Dragon Knights, was a mandatory stop before approaching Mount Fortuna.

But Anais thought it was a stretch to call this place a castle.

Aside from its extremely restrained style, the stone-built structure was, to put it nicely, a testament to the centuries-old history of the Black Dragon Knights.

To put it bluntly?

It was old and decrepit.

Even the tapestry hanging behind Elliot was faded.

It would be nice to tear it down and hang velvet curtains instead… When was that tapestry made? Over a hundred years ago? Getting too close to it feels like I might catch a disease.

While Anais rolled her eyes, Elliot spoke.

“I don’t like to say these kinds of things, but…”

“Then don’t say them.”

Anais quickly responded. Elliot frowned.

“But there’s also the phrase ‘nevertheless.’”

“And when that phrase is added, it’s usually not good news for Anais.”

Anais blinked a few times, then belatedly realized, ‘Oh right, my eyelashes are burnt and gone now’.

‘Tsk.’

If she could blink her long, pretty eyelashes and give a look like “Oh, Anais doesn’t know?” most gentlemen would smile and take care of her troublesome tasks for her.

But without eyelashes, she couldn’t pull that off.

Of course, it didn’t matter much, because Elliot Resaloniki in front of her would never be the type of man to take over her tasks, even if she had her eyelashes.

“Life isn’t full of only good things.”

“Nevertheless, can’t you respect Anais’s wish to fill it with only good things?”

“I would love to do that, but—”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m sincere.”

Anais blinked a few more times. Elliot raised his eyebrows and replied.

“I have served the dragon for many years, so I strive to uphold the dragon’s dignity and honor as much as possible…”

“Can you keep it short?”

“I’m concerned that someone as delicate as you might not understand the rough world of knights, which could make it difficult to mend the rift…”

“Anais has a brain too.”

Elliot sighed deeply, then folded his arms and leaned back.

“What I mean is that working with you will be fraught with difficulties, and I don’t like that.”

“Why don’t you like it?”

“But since it’s inevitable to work with you according to the dragon’s will, I don’t want to give you reasons that will make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s already uncomfortable, so it’s fine.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Anais also folded her arms and leaned back, mimicking Elliot.

Elliot sat in front of the knight commander’s desk, and the chair he leaned against was just as old as the tapestry behind him.

In other words, it was old-fashioned and decrepit.

But at the same time, such worn items had a way of making the person sitting in them look imposing.

In short, Elliot Resaloniki sitting there looked very annoying. Of course, what he said didn’t help.

“Ladies from noble houses who have grown up sheltered for nineteen years are wise in household matters but utterly clueless about the world outside.”

Anais glared at Elliot Resaloniki.

“Are you saying, in so many words, that I’m going to act foolishly?”

“It’s to be expected, so it’s alright. The real problem is the unpredictable actions they take when faced with unexpected situations.”

“It would have been nice if you had denied it at least once.”

“I’m sorry.”

He didn’t look sorry at all. Anais felt her anger rising but held it back. Getting angry wouldn’t help.

Anais might have complained as soon as she entered the commander’s office, but in any case, she had to accomplish that great task with the Elliot Resaloniki in front of her.

Yesterday, the dragon had spoken to Anais in the Great Cave of Fortuna.

<Look here, child. Both you and Elliot said that the 33rd possessor settled in you and then fled. If that’s true, it’s clear that you must feel quite wronged. But unfortunately, I cannot fully believe those words.>

Aren’t you a dragon? Shouldn’t you be able to tell at a glance if there’s a possessor inside me or not?!

Anais looked at the dragon with such an expression. The dragon snorted.

<You have the face of “Shouldn’t you be able to tell at a glance if there’s a possessor inside me?” Unfortunately, I don’t have that ability. Though I was created by the gods to act on their behalf, I am still just one of their somewhat superior creations. I cannot see into your souls.>

Anais, who had been panting after picking up her bonnet that had flown off due to the dragon’s snort, was dumbfounded by what she heard.

<However, I did clearly smell salt, so I cannot let you go just like that.>

The dragon turned to look at Elliot.

<Therefore, I will give Elliot two tasks. One is to restore the world’s flow on my behalf.>

“I will obey your command.”

Elliot knelt on one knee.

Seriously, are you saying “Sure, I’ll do it” and kneeling even after hearing that they have to outsource because it doesn’t want to work?

Anais looked at Elliot in disbelief. The dragon continued.

<The other task is to find the whereabouts of the 33rd possessor. Of course, Lady Fleur will also want to find that person.>

“…I don’t think so….”

<Aren’t you curious about the whereabouts of the nineteen gifts and your fortune?>

At those words, Anais instinctively clutched her bonnet.

Yes. The 33rd possessor had turned all the money earned by conning into jewels and hidden them somewhere.

She definitely intended to pay off the debt, but since the means to pay it off seemed distant, finding that money was the only way.

Of course, she was also extremely curious about the nineteen birthday gifts!

<And if you find the possessor who stole your body and a year of your time, you can take revenge.>

Anais’s eyes widened.

Revenge!

A word she had never considered pierced her mind. Anais clenched her fists, filled with an unrefined resolve.

When I find the possessor, I’m going to beat them up! Beat them up a lot! I don’t care what Anne says!

The dragon explained that since the rift existed, the 33rd possessor would still be in this world.

So if she wanted to clear her name, she had to work with Elliot. Anais accepted immediately.

But, normally, after a night’s sleep, no matter how strong the resolve, it tends to wane.

Moreover, the lodging given to Anais after leaving the Great Cave of Fortuna was a bedroom in this decrepit Quisac Castle.

Elliot had given her an empty room in the quarters used by the knights of the Black Dragon Knights last night.

No need to mention how dusty and uncomfortable that lodging was for Anais.

After lying on the bed, which looked over a hundred years old like everything else in the castle, and mulling over the list of ways to mend the world’s rift that the dragon had mentioned, Anais ended up here.

“Yesterday, you wanted revenge, didn’t you?”

“Anais thought about it, and Anais likes peace. So do we really need to continue the chain of horrible things with revenge?”

Elliot, who had been watching Anais for a while, sighed and replied.

“…I also agree that the tasks we must do for that revenge feel quite pointless.”

Anais slightly revised her assessment of Elliot, which had been that he was old-fashioned and rigid.

Pointless. The fact that he could describe the list of tasks to restore the world’s flow given by the dragon as merely pointless made her envious.

Because that list was really strange and bizarre!