Chelsea furrowed her brow and tilted her head. “Vur?” she asked. After a brief moment of contemplation, her eyes widened, and she straightened her head as her back stiffened. “Golden eyes, brown hair,” she mumbled. She took in a deep breath. “Are you Vur Besteck, the king of Konigreich?”

Vur blinked before nodded. He adjusted his posture to sit up straight but continued scratching the basilisk’s belly with his right hand. It kicked its eight legs as if it were being tickled, and its tail swung back and forth, nearly colliding with the collapsed woman on the ground. “That’s right.”

“Your Majesty,” Chelsea said and curtsied, lowering her head to stare at the ground. Cold sweat ran down her back. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. My grandfather has sent countless letters to you but never received a reply. For you to personally show your face at our family’s auction, I’m sure he would be elated.” She raised her head and stared at Vur, her eyes glistening as if she were on the verge of crying. “After his transcendence, he hasn’t smiled as often as he used to. Please, if it isn’t too much to ask for, would you do me a favor and have a chat with him after you meet him? I understand you’re a busy person, but it would make his day.”

Vur tilted his head. “Sure, why not?” He patted the basilisk’s belly before sliding off. The eight-legged creature rolled onto its side, and Chelsea and Aran covered their eyes when it raised its head lest they be petrified. Vur stared at them for a moment before picking up the cloth that was on the ground. He placed it over the basilisk’s eyes before petting its head. As for tying the cloth to make sure it was secure…, someone else would do that eventually. Vur turned around and cleared his throat, drawing Chelsea’s attention. “I’ll visit your grandpa, but you have to do something for me first.”

Chelsea uncovered one eye and peeked at the basilisk. When she saw the cloth covering its face, she lowered her hand. She glanced at Vur, sneakily but still obviously observing him from top to bottom. A pink tinge appeared on her cheeks, and she lowered her head. “What can I help you with? I’m not experienced in a lot of areas, but I’ll do my best to assist you.”

Vur crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Take me to the Dragon Slayers.”

Chelsea blinked. There was a hint of doubt on her face, but when she raised her head, it was gone. “Currently, everyone is scattered about the town. Earlier, Joseph, the leader of the Dragon Slayers, was drinking at a bar without his companions. It’ll be difficult to locate all of them in a short period of time, but if you’d like, I can arrange a meeting between you and them.”

“That works too,” Vur said. “As long as all of them are gathered.” He turned his gaze onto Aran. The man had such a conspicuous, red sword strapped to his back that Vur was sure he’d recognize it if he saw it again. “Are you part of the Dragon Slayers?”

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“No,” Aran said and shook his head. “I’m Aran, leader of the Red Blade Adventurers.”

“Oh,” Vur said and turned his head away.

“Although you don’t know him, he’s still somewhat related to important events in your life,” a feminine voice said from behind the basilisk. The Recordkeeper walked around the large creature’s tail, coming into view. “The Red Blade Adventurers were the ones who stole your mother’s egg. If they hadn’t done that, you might not have even been imprinted.”

Vur raised an eyebrow and turned his attention back onto Aran. The piercing stare of Vur’s golden eyes caused the leader of the Red Blade Adventurers to swallow and take a step back. Aran dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead against the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Aran shouted. Even though he wasn’t quite sure what was going on, judging by the winged woman’s words, it seemed like Vur was the child of a dragon—and not just any dragon, a dragon that wanted him dead. As for Aran’s pride as a man and a leader of a party not allowing him to bend his knees…, there was nothing wrong with kneeling before a king.

***

A skeletal bird flew over a vast body of water. There wasn’t a speck of land in sight; however, there was a green and silver dragon flying just below a few clouds. The skeletal bird flapped its wings. Despite the lack of skin and feathers, the air didn’t pass through its hollow frame. There were dozens of letters packed neatly within its body, trapped by its ribcage.

Lulu turned her head and furrowed her brow. “Hey,” she said to the cursed elf perched atop her head. “Do you see that?”

Lindyss squinted before relaxing her face. She nodded. “That’s my messenger bird,” she said and held out her hand. Although Lulu was flying at an incredibly fast speed, the skeletal bird was still gaining on her. A few seconds passed, and the bird landed on Lindyss’ arm. She took the letters out of its body, and the bird chirped before hopping off, fluttering its wings and disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

“People write you letters?” Lulu asked and raised an eyebrow. “I thought someone like you wouldn’t have any friends.”

Lindyss slapped the scales she as sitting on. “What would you know about friends?” she asked. “You don’t even leave your house.” The cursed elf cleared her throat. “I’ll admit you’re right though. I have more fingers than I do friends.”

Lulu scratched her cheek. “Are we friends?”

“Yes, of course,” Lindyss said as she read the envelopes. They were letters from the skeletons she left in charge of the multiple kingdoms Vur had dropped on her lap, and to save time, she ordered them to write a brief summary of their contents on the outside. If the summary was interesting, then she’d open the envelope. If not…. An orange flame emerged from Lindyss palm, and the pile of letters were turned to ashes.

Lulu glanced at the ashes that sprinkled off of her head. “Are we really friends?”

“Absolutely,” Lindyss said and dusted off her hands. “It’s very easy to make friends when you’re a dragon. Just ask anything to be your friend, and you’ll find that nothing is brave enough to say no.”

Lulu furrowed her brow. “Why’d you burn those letters?”

“It was all junk mail,” Lindyss said and rolled her eyes. “Nothing important.”