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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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The Auriga Desert was an alliance of city-states. Established in a barren wasteland, it was less developed than the Empire or other major powers on the continent, but it was still considered a significant force.
While the individual city-states were weak, the alliance was held together by an organization that exerted considerable influence throughout the continent: the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Welcome.”
The Adventurers’ Guild at the border between the Empire and Auriga was the largest and most impressive on the continent.
The receptionist greeted me with a cheerful smile, and I leaned against the counter and handed her the letter I had written.
“I’d like to send this letter.”
The letter contained the time and place where I wanted to meet her. The Adventurers’ Guild, ten days from now.
“Could you tell me the recipient’s name?”
“Lyla.”
“Just Lyla? No family name?”
“No. She should be an adventurer affiliated with the guild.”
Before retiring from the mercenary group, she had told me:
“I’m going back to the desert.”
“What are you going to do there? Eat scorpions? Chew on cacti?”
“You idiot. The desert is my home. And there’s an Adventurers’ Guild there. I can make a living. You should come too, if you’re interested.”
If what Lyla said was true, she should be an adventurer by now. The receptionist checked her records and nodded.
“Yes! We have a Lyla. Rank four adventurer. Confirmed.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still alive. And a rank four adventurer was a veteran. Most adventurers never made it past rank six, even after a lifetime of work.
“And the sender’s name?”
“….”
I hesitated. A rank four adventurer wouldn’t bother with a letter from a stranger. But I couldn’t use my real name.
The rumors of the Saintess’s kidnapping had already spread to the Adventurers’ Guild. While the Holy City hadn’t made an official announcement, the rumors were widespread.
“Poppy.”
I said. The nickname Lyla had given me.
“Why do you fight like a rabid dog?”
“It’s the only way I know how to survive. Got a problem with that?”
“No, I find it quite… satisfying. That’s how a true warrior should fight, Poppy.”
“Poppy?”
“It’s the name of a pet back home. You have similar golden hair. From now on, you’re Poppy.”
“One more time.”
“Hm?”
“Call me that one more time, and I’ll break your horns.”
…
I didn’t like the nickname, but it was the quickest way to get her attention. The receptionist giggled, then shook her head.
“Alright. The letter is ready. It should be delivered within a few days.”
“And I need a room until then. I heard there are rooms upstairs.”
“Yes! How many people?”
“Two, including my younger sister.”
“Our policy is two people per room. Is that alright?”
“It’s fine.”
I turned around, and Ophelia, wearing a mask, stood there.
“It’s done. Shall we get something to eat?”
“….”
“Ophelia?”
Her pink lips, visible through the mask, twitched. As if she wanted to ask something but couldn’t bring herself to do so. It wasn’t unusual.
Ophelia had been like this ever since we left Shadowhold.
“It’s… nothing.”
She finally said.
Ophelia had been observing Elliot for the past ten days. Ever since he mentioned having a close friend in the Auriga Desert.
‘A woman?’
That’s what bothered her. The Elliot she knew was a commoner knight with no connections outside the Holy City. That’s how it was supposed to be.
But he had a friend in another region. A female friend. A girlfriend. And he had been visibly anxious, wondering if she was still in the desert.
“….”
Ophelia felt a surge of irritation. She didn’t know why.
She studied Elliot’s face. He wasn’t bad looking. He had a good physique, and his skills were undeniable.
His personality was terrible, though. But according to Emily, men with bad personalities were usually kind to their girlfriends.
Ophelia recalled the conversation between Elliot and the receptionist.
‘Could you tell me the recipient’s name?’
‘Lyla.’
Lyla. It sounded like a feminine, beautiful name. She must be a noblewoman from Auriga.
Come to think of it, Ophelia was technically a noblewoman as well, being the Pope’s adopted daughter, despite her commoner origins.
‘Does Elliot have a thing for noblewomen? A fetish, perhaps?’
Ophelia had seen the Auriga nobles who visited the Holy City. Women with tanned skin, wearing veils and revealing clothes adorned with lace. Lyla was probably dressed like a prostitute.
Moreover, Elliot had used “Poppy” as the sender’s name. It was clearly a nickname. Perhaps Lyla and Elliot were former lovers.
No, not former. Current lovers, perhaps.
‘Is he a womanizer?’
She didn’t know. But according to the cheap novels sold at the stalls in the Holy City, a bad-tempered man with a lover was a womanizer. That was the best conclusion Ophelia could reach with her limited knowledge.
He was a bad guy. She decided that. She gritted her teeth and took a large bite of her bread.
Elliot, sitting opposite her, looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you sulking again?”
“I’m not sulking!”
“You clearly are.”
“Mind your own business.”
Ophelia glared at him, and Elliot shrugged. She stirred the bland porridge in her bowl.
“This tasteless slop is disgusting, and now we have to go to that filthy desert? My hair is going to get ruined by the sand.”
Ophelia’s voice echoed through the inn, but no one dared to interrupt.
The Auriga residents in the inn had tried to confront Ophelia for her insults over the past few days, but they had all been defeated. The inn was practically Ophelia’s kingdom.
“It has all the necessary nutrients.”
“There’s no meat.”
“Are you a child? Complaining about the food?”
“Call me a child one more time, and I’ll break your neck.”
“Sigh.”
Ophelia continued to eat her porridge, albeit with poor table manners. She wouldn’t have touched it in the Holy City, but she had no choice here.
The desert was barren. The ingredients available were limited.
“It’s not fair.”
Ophelia whined, her voice filled with resentment. Elliot tilted his head.
“What’s not fair?”
“I don’t know anything about you.”
“…You followed a stranger?”
“Yes.”
She admitted it readily. Elliot’s eyebrows twitched.
“I don’t know you. But… you know everything about me. From Belwin. How I grew up, what I did at the educational institution… everything. Even my embarrassing secrets.”
That was Ophelia’s main complaint over the past few weeks. A more important issue than Elliot’s supposed lover. Ophelia knew almost nothing about Elliot.
Her assumptions about the tragedy in Loren were just that, assumptions.
Elliot had neither confirmed nor denied them. She hadn’t even known he had a lover. For three years, he hadn’t told her anything personal.
Yet, he seemed to know everything about her. The imbalance of information. That’s what angered her.
“Were you sulking about this for the past few weeks?”
“Damn it! I told you I’m not sulking!”
Ophelia yelled, and Elliot smiled, a rare sight. He looked at her like a doting older brother.
“What’s with that creepy expression?”
“….”
Elliot didn’t respond and rested his chin on his hand.
“Well, we’ll be together until we defeat the Demon King, so I suppose it’s strange that you don’t know anything about me.”
“Hmph.”
“I’ll tell you.”
Ophelia’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.
“It’s nothing special.”
Elliot cleared his throat and began, “I…”
“This bastard is a commoner-born slave.”
A stranger interrupted before Elliot could continue. A massive, scaly hand, with long claws, landed on Elliot’s shoulder.
“….”
Ophelia stared at the newcomer, or rather, the new species, speechless.
He was incredibly tall, his body covered in scales, with vertically slitted blue pupils. He had wings and a tail, and a large horn protruded from his head. So…
“A dragon…?”
“A dragonoid, to be precise. Though he looks more like a lizard than a dragon.”
Elliot said. The dragonoid laughed boisterously and slapped Elliot on the back. Elliot was tall, but he was dwarfed by the dragonoid. Elliot’s body swayed with each slap.
“Haha! Poppy, long time no see!”
“Indeed.”
A dragonoid. A half-human, half-dragon hybrid. An incredibly rare species.
Ophelia blinked, then realized something. The dragonoid had called Elliot… Poppy. So…
“Are you… Lyla?”
The dragonoid grinned and leaned forward. The table tilted, and the porridge spilled. But he, or rather, she, ignored it and declared,
“That’s right. I’m Lyla, the rank four adventurer!”
Ophelia looked at Elliot, dumbfounded.
“You said she was a woman…”
“I said she was female. Furthermore, dragonoids are regarded as human from both a social and biological standpoint.”
“….”
Ophelia’s shoulders slumped as she realized how ridiculous her worries had been. But there was one more thing she had to confirm.
She looked at Elliot, a disgusted expression on her face.
“Don’t tell me you have a thing for… that?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m still new to translating as this is my second novel to pick up, so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
He totallyyyyy does