I had a similar dream to the one I experienced from Mary's memories and also got another useful language skill.
The information Mary had about this world, Aegis, came mostly from books and what her mother taught her.
On the other hand, Sylphy has lived in the Oak Leaf Kingdom for a long time and, because of her job as an envoy, she also knows a lot about this kingdom.
It is obvious who's info would be much more precise.
A fact I confirmed is that Ember truly is talented. It normally takes a lot of years or even decades for normal beasts and monsters to get a human or demihuman form.
Most of them don't make it as they are the most hunted races in the entire continent (apart from animals).
The best place for them to have a chance of acquiring that power is the Lionheart Kingdom.
This is because intelligent beasts and even some monsters tend to be admitted into cities and towns there.
It also depends on how many citizens they killed before gaining intelligence though. They won't let a bloodthirsty monster go near their friends and family after all.
As for the girl I saw at the end of the dream, she is the eldest princess of the Lunaria Kingdom.
However, the appearance she had in my dream was from the last time Sylphy saw her, about ten years ago ...
'You awake? Are we even now? ... Hahaha, if you are ignoring me this much, I think you got a pretty good harvest.' (Sylphy)
'Eh? ... I am sorry, Sylphy. I was going through what I learned thanks to you.' (Usagi)
'Nevermind that ... It was a truly mysterious experience. I felt as if I was and wasn't myself at the same time ... I can even remember what "I" did after telling you it was ok to use that ability of yours ... ' (Sylphy)
Chuckle! 'Well, we are on the same boat though. I don't think I will ever "get used to" being another person.' (Usagi)
'I can relate to that feeling somehow ... Overall, it wasn't bad. I might let you do it again in the future, hehe.' (Sylphy)
She smiled shyly. I could feel that the trust between us was growing.
Also, her words made me feel grateful. I didn't check her status out of respect, but I am pretty sure I can learn more useful skills from her.
'Thank you, Sylphy ... ' (Usagi)
Ember was still asleep. Her sleeping face was really cute, so I didn't want to wake her up just yet, but we had things to do.
Thinking like that, I returned to Ember's side.
'Ember~ ... Ember~ ... wake up. It's morning already ... ' (Usagi)
I tried to wake her up with the gentlest tone I could but to no avail.
'Mmm ... Nnnn ... Master? ... I want to sleep a bit more ... I will leave it to Master ... Zzz' (Ember)
Sigh. 'It can't be helped ... I don't know how she learned to activate Assimilation on her own though ... ' (Ember?)
I slowly got up from the bed and put on "my" shoes. After that, I washed "my" hands and face by creating a water ball with magic in front of me.
I also grabbed a comb from a nearby dressing table to fix "my" messy hair as well as I could. Sylphy probably noticed already that it was "me" in here.
"So Wolf Girl will sleep for some more?" (Sylphy)
"Yeah ... About yesterday, you haven't given us a treasure yet ... " (Ember?)
Our conversation got sidetracked a lot by Sylphy's interesting speech ...
"Sorry about that, hehe. It's a bad habit of mine. Let's to the treasure room." (Sylphy)
She beckoned me to follow her. This time, she didn't use her shapeshifting ability and was just flying close to me.
We went through the same corridor as yesterday, so I took the chance to look at it more closely this time.
A few paintings were hung here and there in the white walls, however, there were no windows anywhere. It seems that this place is either underground or hidden inside a hill.
"To be honest, this is the first time someone has cleared my dungeon. If you were just some petty humans, I would give you something randomly without even showing myself. But ... I already consider you as my guests. I would feel bad if I gave you some garbage." (Sylphy)
" ... " (Ember)
It was now my turn to smile shyly. Certainly, there were some ups and downs, but I had fun yesterday. I could feel that the other "me" also thinks the same.
"This is it." (Sylphy)
I didn't get impressed this time.
This "treasure" room was just a small and dusty storehouse with a few slightly rusted weapons and armor pieces hanged on the wall while a wooden chest was sitting atop a table at the back.
Maybe it showed on my face, but Sylphy looked at me displeased.
"Heh. Hehehe, you won't be able to maintain that nonchalant attitude for long." (Sylphy)
Her displeasure transformed into mischievousness.
"See those rusty weapons? Those are the garbage items I was talking to you about." (Sylphy)
No surprise there. They were only a bit better than what the elite goblin used.
'Hmm? She said she wouldn't like to give me any weak item though ... ' (Ember?)
"Huhu. You see, the 'real' treasures are over there!" (Sylphy)
She pointed her tiny index finger to the chest over the table.
'I can't feel anything special about it though ... ' (Ember?)
With "my" enhanced senses, I should be able to detect something if its contents were something special ...
As if reading my thoughts, Sylphy started laughing with a proud expression on her face.
Chuckle! "It's normal that you cannot feel anything special about it. After all, we pixies are masters of disguise! Reveal your true form, my treasure box!" (Sylphy)
She waved her hands at it and I felt overwhelmed. The seemingly "normal" wooden chest was covered in bright white light and started releasing a majestic aura as if what was contained within was a real treasure.
'What is this?! I couldn't feel anything from it before!' (Ember?)
The surrounding light finally disappeared and a white wooden chest with a golden lock was revealed.
Its aura had already withdrawn itself, however, my senses told me that it was just hiding within.
I had a serious expression on my face and "my" wolf ears were perfectly at ninety degrees pointing to the ceiling.
Whatever items are stored inside that thing ... they are not simple.
"No need to be so stiff, Little Rabbit! If you continue to make expressions like that while in Wolf Girl's body, I won't be able to keep my promise not to tease you, you know?" (Sylphy)
Shiver! Sylphy's mischievous smile brought me the chills ...
My face instantly became expressionless ...
"That's not better, hehe. If you don't smile as she does-" (Sylphy)
Giggle! (Ember?)
This time, I laughed and spontaneously made the brightest smile I could while using Assimilation at full power.
"Wow ... if you always acted like this, I might really think I was talking to her and not to you ... " (Sylphy)
Now she was the one with an odd expression on her face.
Sigh. "Forget it, let's just open this box." (Sylphy)
Click! As if waiting for her words, the treasure chest slowly opened and the items inside were revealed.
There was a total of three of them.
The first was a longsword with an elegant black hilt in a luxurious black scabbard.
The second was a light brown shoulder bag with an adjustable strap.
The last one was a black steel breastplate for women. It had some characters written in an ancient Elvish language on its back that I could recognize, but not understand ...
"If a group of people cleared the dungeon, I would give an item to each one ... But since you both count as 'one', I should give you only one treasure ... " (Sylphy)
"Eh? Is that true? That's a shame ... " (Ember?)
"My" ears were drooping again ... It can't be helped if those are the rules ...
Sylphy had a thoughtful expression on her face or so it seemed until a corner of her lips began to curve.
"Hahaha! I am joking. If you didn't show me you existed yesterday, I would have done just that though!" (Sylphy)
Sylphy certainly likes to deceive others. As expected of a pixie ... Her liveliness makes me smile though.
"I will give this sword to you, Little Rabbit. This breastplate will be for Wolf Girl. As for this bag ... my emergency savings are on it, but I will entrust it to you both. Will you come with me to the capital? I will appropriately reward you once I receive my pay. I can't always use shapeshift and carrying it like this is a hassle ... " (Sylphy)
I started thinking about the pros and cons of going with her ... Maybe this is the "adventure" I was waiting for ...
' ... Good morning, Master! I heard about the talk just now!' (Ember)
'Took you a while to wake up. I know that you are still in your growing period, but you shouldn't really oversleep ... ' (Usagi)
Well, she probably hasn't slept this comfortably in a while as she was just a weak wolf trying to survive in the wild before, so ... I will let it pass this time.
"Good morning, Wolf Girl. What do you think of my proposal?" (Sylphy)
'Do you want to go with Sylphy? It would be harder before, but now you can pass as a Demihuman and enter human towns.' (Usagi)
"Humans ... I still haven't forgiven them but ... I will go! I know that Master wants to go, after all!" (Ember)
Her words touched my heart. She definitely is a good girl. I long for the day I can pat her head with a hand I can call my "own".
"I see ... You were just a wolf till recently, right? Don't you have a pack? Should we go say goodbye to them?" (Sylphy)
"Yes ... They didn't treat me as a true member of the pack, but the Alpha Wolf still took care of me since my parents were gone ... " (Ember)
'I saw your memories ... It must have been hard ... ' (Usagi)
Ember and I were starting to sink into a depressive mood. Sylphy, on the other hand, clapped her hands twice and told us.
"We have no time to lose. There is a town nearby where we can get something to eat ... Wolf Girl, wear that breastplate. It might look a bit too big or heavy for you, but you don't have to worry about that." (Sylphy)
"Yes." (Ember)
"Also, no need to be so stiff around me. I will let you call me Big Sister." (Sylphy)
Nod. "I understand ... Big Sister." (Sylphy)
Ember blushed slightly and did as Sylphy said. The breastplate shined with blue light for a few moments and I could vaguely feel that it was adjusting itself to match Ember's chest size.
It also didn't come with straps or something to keep it in place, but it was somehow glued to Ember's black dress.
As for its weight, it was too light to the point where I wondered if it would even protect Ember properly.
"Similar to your clothes, that thing is a piece of magic armor. Did you see those strange characters on its back? Those represent the functions it has. Apart from the hardening and weight reduction effects, this one can only auto adjust though." (Sylphy)
She didn't seem to regard this breastplate highly, but it was still pretty amazing to me.
"I don't have a waist belt that you can use, so just put that sword inside the shoulder bag for now." (Sylphy)
I thought that a sword that long wouldn't be able to fit in there. However, I was proved wrong.
The black hilted longsword surprisingly went inside.
"I am sure that Little Rabbit is curious about that bag by now. It is actually enhanced with space magic and can carry a lot more than just a sword, you know? These three items were given to me by the King of this kingdom." (Sylphy)
'Wow ... I wonder if that sword is also special ... I can't wait to try using it!' (Usagi)
'When the times comes, Master can use my body to practice as much as he wants, hehe.' (Ember)
'Oops, my thoughts leaked out ... Thank you, Ember.' (Usagi)
I got too excited for a moment there ... Calm down, my "heart"!
I honestly appreciate the promise Ember made to me though.
Ember finished adjusting the magic bag to her right shoulder and Sylphy nodded with a smile.
"Well then, let's go eat something tasty!" (Sylphy)