-Please ! I beg of you because of a circumstances that I cannot explain we cannot afford to drop the egg and lose it ! It may be incredibly selfish of me to demand such thing as risking your life for this egg,but please we need your help I will reward you and your companion heavily if you do this for me !
The golden haired beastgirl pleaded her sudden outburst momentarily surprising me as we flew through the skies at high speed,the look in her eyes was clear and without and sort of deceit she sincere that much I could tell,but even clarity and sincerity wouldn't shake my core,after living here for the past days I knew exactly how harsh this place could be after all only decisiveness and coldness could let you survive in this kind of environment a sort of decisiveness and coldness that this clear eyed beastgirl obviously didn't have that would suggest her being someone malicious and cunning.
If she really was that kind of person she would have already tried to threaten us or capture the hawk instead of negotiating with me while mid escape with her head bowed down.
Other then looking completely out of place with this position and situation it was idiotic to think that the other party would even remotely consider putting their lives on the line just for a unknown reward with no other assurance other then she would reward them "Heavily".What was heavily ? Was it a lot ? Did I even have any use for that in first place because I already had tons of gold and gems from the previous pick ups involving the orcs and the lamia and a little few in between.
Trying to convince me with something material in exchange of my life was just too naive and short sighter...every person on earth would prefer their own lives over any kind of treasure after all it was the nature of any living being to preserve and survive excluding a few weirdos like blondy of course,doesn't she have those kinds of feelings on her own ? or is she simply more concerned about something else ?
I thought in my head momentarily lost in what to say to this girl as there were just too many things I wanted to say and ask most of which involved complaining or really just swearing at her for getting us into this situation,but because of her two friends next to her and the first exchange we had since getting onto this wild ride I kept my tongue to myself to avoid any more pull outs.
On other hand.
The basilisk which was still hot on our tails wouldn't give up it was only a matter of time until we needed to either stop because of exhaustion or start fighting amongst ourselves because of the egg that this group of beastmen obviously wouldn't let go.
I wanted to sigh,but because the situation was really tense and because of some light paralysis that was still present from the
I grinder my teeth,If this little princess couldn't convince me I wasn't sure if these two would just let it go like that knowing the look in their eyes and comparing it with the girls I was sure that they would take the matter into their own hands instead getting doomed by a few simple words,they were loyal after all and they would do everything in their power to protect the person they were loyal to even wylniva and red hawk were the same way even though we just calmed everyone from not fighting each other the situation didn't change one bit it was as if everyone was pointing their weapons towards everyone else,but instead of using their actual weapons they were using their eyes,sharp as blades itself and maybe even more deadlier then the blades on our bodies...
Just who were these people ?!
I wondered,which in itself was also just a waste of time in the end,this wasn't a friendly introduction this was a matter of life and death and looking at the golden princess in front of me even she could guess what my answer would be to her offer,the golden light in her eyes dimmed for a moment as we stared into each other she almost bit her lower lip after seeing my frosty stare knowing what would come next.
At least she wasn't that innocent after all.
After seeing me exchange with the princess like both whity and blacky respectively started to hold onto their weapons a it more stronger seeing them once again hold on their weapons both wylniva and red hawk started to get violent on their own a conflict may have been inevitable since the beginning,I could feel both flames coming from red and wylniva respectively getting more intense wylniva especially almost changing completely into her demonic self.
The sun was up high,the wind was strong brushing hard between our bodies as the giant dark green snake bellow continued to chase its target in the sky with extreme speed and flexibility that allowed it to avoid all of its obstacles,we were flying straight the entire time at this rate it wouldn't be strange if we would clash with the rest of blondies friends that were most probably still in the camp decisions needed to be made fast,but what I wanted the most was to avoid conflict out of all else not because I feared that I would be defeated by these beastmen,but because I feared that if we slowed down for even a single second while fighting mid air the basilisk would catch up instantly and kill us all making the fight in the very first place meaningless since we would just end up causing our mutual destruction in the end.
Fuck...was I really forced to help them after all ?
I considered and at one moment as I considered my once again time was as if it stopped,my eyes directly locking into the eyes of the golden princess in front of me looking at her,I could instantly see that she didn't desire conflict as much as I did and while staring at her I realized another very crucial point in her eyes which made me realize something.
-Can you really just decide the fate of your friends so easily ?
-Huh ?!
The question was very sudden and unexpected coming from nonetheless since I was never the sort of person who would hesitate at crucial moments if,it wasn't for someone important for me,but because this was a issue of importance rather then being decisive I couldn't help,but ask this question on top of that hearing me not instantly deny their little princess on the spot the two beastmen started to get a bit more careful and hesitant about drawing their swords at a wrong moment they also felt a bit struck by my question and stared at their golden princess for a slight second as if expecting her to answer immediately which wasn't the case.
-What..what do you mean by that ?
She asked in return showing a anxious face while staring at me too,seeing her beautiful face getting even more strained then before,I felt a bit guilty for confronting her like that so suddenly,but at the same time I also felt as if I was doing a favor for her instead which why I didn't hesitate don't continue.
Feeling my hair flutter to the side I never left eye contact with the golden princess for even a second neither did she,I didn't know if this was just her trying to be strong,but in either case the misty look in my eyes never changed as I spoke.
-Those two beastmen next to you they are your friends right ? Very close friends in fact I can see it,they would give their lives in exchange of yours the loyalty they have is strong which bonds you with them heavily,now what I am asking you is can you really just decide the fate of your friends like that without a hesitation going out as for as sacrificing them towards your goals ? Can you be so cold blooded I am asking you
-...
-...
-...
The golden princess was speechless for a moment wide eyed really including everybody else who was present as they heard my words towards the girl,throughout this entire conversation I was also keeping wylniva and red hawk in the know telling them what I was talking about through the transmission link,their reaction this conversation though was very different instead of being speechless like these 3 they some amount of pride and superiority instead through a single question a moment silent truce started to build,both black and white haired beastmen now staring at the golden princess with a worried look in their eyes.
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The golden princess in return only stayed quiet she was frozen deeply contemplating about the words I had just said silently inside her head while feeling the strong wind blowing through her sides impressively no one was losing their balance in this entire endeavor,they weren't even holding onto anything while crouching on top of red hawk the only person who was swaying was blondy though as even though laid flat onto the back of this giant hawk couldn't keep balance since she was unconscious luckily the person who was holding her the entire was the golden princess who was the closest to her in a way she must also feel very indebted towards blondy since she was also someone protected by her spell from the basilisk.
After a few more seconds of complete silence the black haired beastman was getting increasingly worried about the golden haired beastgirl which is why he suddenly started speaking,holding his fist onto his chest in a very formal manner as he bowed to the golden princess respectfully.
-Princess,we were born to serve you and you only our lives wouldn't anything without your grace,I have already served for 17 years,but to this day I am still not able to repay you my debt nor am I going to disappoint your royal father and mother swearing to protect you with my life the most I can do is give this petty life of mine in exchange of your survival so if you are prepared we could right now...
-Silence belore
The golden princess suddenly snapped telling the black haired beastmen to shut up for a moment,her snapping like this all of a sudden was unexpected and listening to the black haired beastmans words just now was also a bit surprised as I seemed to have heard some very big sort of news which made my eyes go wide with surprise while staring at the golden princess which sort of seemed quite literal at this point and not just a nickname.
The princess in question had her eyes shut at the moment she finally seemed to have come to a conclusion as she slowly opened them while staring at me resolutely.
-Valkrive give this man the egg
-But princess leona !
-Don't argue with me I already decided what to do...
She said firmly reprinting back onto the black haired beastman called belore,the white haired beastmen on the other hand only sighed after hearing the words of his princess he didn't participate in this conversation the entire time and simply acted more as a carrier for the egg,In the end I wasn't really surprised for the girl to give me this readily after all she only needed one wake up call to realize what was important and what was not and in way I was also very glad that she chose the latter then the former.
After this little drama ended for us the white haired beastman finally gave me the egg or wylniva in this case since I was too weak on strength to actually be remotely able to hold the egg in my arms.
I wasn't going to drop it immediately doing so wasn't going solve anything the basilisk wasn't obligated to stop chasing us just because she had her egg back.
No what I really needed to do was to make the basilisk have no choice,but to go back with its egg and I knew a very good way on how.
-Can I please know your name sir ?
The princess suddenly asked,her question was quite unexpected not gonna lie I wasn't really keen on having any further relation towards these people,but not answered seemed quite rude and with this kind of event knowing the other party was going to be inevitable.
Breathing out lightly I gave the golden haired girl in front of a tired smile through my lips the cold mist in my eyes was still present while staring at her,but now more condensed then before as it seemed to have made a bit mesmerized by the unique look in my eyes as I answered her.
-Sorron...I live here and next time you come please don't challenge a basilisk if you know that you can't fight it in the first place if you continue to do that people will start to call your race dog brained and I doubt you would want that right little princess
Hearing me say that to her the golden haired girl couldn't help,but getting slightly embarrassed she think this through entirely as it seemed she was very young after all so were her precious companions,she would need to experience more if she wanted to be able to get somewhere high and in a way I had given a very important lesson today.
-My name is leona waldir
She quickly replied showing a firm look on her face while speaking her name with pride even though I didn't even ask her name,but either it was good to know.On another note wylniva who was carrying all this time seemed to have reacted to something all of a sudden when leona spoke her last name in particular which seemed to have made her surprised or baffled actually.
-Waldir ?
I wanted to ask what was the problem,but because I didn't want the thing behind us chasing anymore I silently told wylniva to get back on track she also came back from her thoughts pretty quickly and looked at me and the egg wanting to know what sort of plan I had with curious eyes that lightly gleamed from her demonic change,her look was always a bit hideous compared to her succubus self,but it was still strangely exotic to me as I didn't mind it too much compared to the other forms I had seen already.
-Fly down I want you to land onto of tree !
I ordered hearing my order wylniva was instantly surprised she didn't expect me to say something like this much less so since the obvious danger to this was that we could get killed from the basilisk if weren't careful enough,but wylniva still agreed to me even though she didn't know my plan she still followed it showing a firm look in her eyes as she flew down at lightning speed while carrying me and the egg.
Red hawk and the other 4 had a different destination then us,I told them to go ahead and head to blondies camp instead to wait for us,red hawk was a bit worried about what I was trying to do,but didn't complain as he probably knew that he couldn't just shake my thoughts that easily he didn't know anything better either which is why he couldn't argue anything and just flew off leaving us two behind for the basilisk that charing ahead.
The 3 beastmen looked at us as they flew off straight the way they looked at us was complicated,but thankful none the less as leona fully expressed that through her eyes as they flew off into the distance at no time at all.
-Well maybe I do have some amount of super hero inside of me...
I mumbled to myself facing towards the basilisk staring it directly into its blood red eyes as it ruthless charged forward now simply choosing to ignore the obstacles as it saw an opportunity to strike again,the blood that came from the corner of its mouth was still there and even though the petrification effect the eyes gave off didn't work on me I still felt a rigid stiffness upon staring at it,wylniva who was by my side didn't even try to stare at the beast too much she was nervous thats without saying,but she also refused to leave just like this and believed that I could do something.
Which I could obviously.
-STOP!
I instantly shouted out at the same invoking my
Quasi-mist was gather around me like a storm the pure cold elements of the dark ice started to come forth,with frost literally gathering upon my fingertips even though I still suffered from the mana burn this entire time I was luckily still able to recover some amount of mana with my insane mana recovery not enough to hold the basilisk like before of course.
But still capable enough to freeze a single egg into millions of icy shards.
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