"Don't worry, I didn't come here to take you to the Supreme Council at this moment. In fact, I've been observing you for a few days, girls, and I must say, you're really in a tough spot. Hahahaha."
Without taking note of the mental and emotional state of everyone in the cabin, Nala displayed her typical cheerful and playful humor. She initially looked at Cristhine, but soon burst into laughter and turned to Felicia, who was also nearby.
"Where should I start... You failed in your training and succumbed to the Blood Frenzy; you killed over 200 people you were supposed to protect; you ran away instead of surrendering..."
As Nala spoke, she took slow steps toward Felicia. Once close, she leaned in and took Felicia's chin between her fingers. She stared directly into Felicia's eyes for a few seconds before chuckling and saying,
"And lastly, you didn't stabilize your Aura and handle the Blood Frenzy properly, risking succumbing again and causing another tragedy."
After she finished speaking, she released Felicia's face, straightened up, and looked around. She noticed Nendula trying to hide Gregory. With another sarcastic smile, she remarked,
"I can't blame you for the last one... I guess it was just bad luck, Hahahaha."
The scrutinizing gaze on Nala's face became even more pronounced when she noticed Gregory's condition. However, she didn't spend more than 3 seconds looking at him before turning her attention back to analyzing all the girls.
"Hmm... Uh-huh... I see... How interesting."
After a few moments of silent observation, Nala concluded her assessment of them all. She then briskly walked out of the cabin.
"Let's go outside, girls, it stinks in here."
As she spoke, Felicia and Cristhine also started walking slightly behind her, perhaps out of fear or just trying to end this depressing situation as quickly as possible.
"Lady Nala... Gregory... He..." Nendula hesitated a bit before attempting to ask a question. However, she couldn't finish speaking, both out of fear and anxiety.
"Leave him there. I doubt he can escape in his current condition."
Nala understood what Nendula wanted to ask almost immediately, but her response was short and blunt. No more words were exchanged. They all exited the cabin, moved a bit away, and then stopped where Nala had landed.
The Great Dragon Lady Nala Diguard had no sympathy for cowards, and everyone in Bordium with eyes and ears knew that.
After a wave of her hand, Nala began conjuring, seemingly out of nowhere, chairs, a table, various types of food, pens, and paper. Similar to what Aglaya did with the picnic basket, but Nala didn't have any kind of basket or bag.
Cristhine immediately recognized this as Spatial Magic. Nala was literally pulling things from an alternative space, as if it were a room within the fabric of space-time.
All the girls knew this was simple for her but extremely complex for anyone else attempting the same magic. Felicia, Nendula, and Cristhine understood the difficulty.
There are only two ways to learn Spatial Magic, both luck-dependent. Either you are born with an affinity, or you find a Siderium stone to help you gain affinity. There is no other way to learn Spatial Magic.
Once everything was organized, with a table, six chairs, and food arranged on it, they all sat down. Nala took the head of the table, and the other three sat beside her.
"Help yourselves. You must have survived on just Aura until now; the least I can do to ease tensions is offer decent food."
The girls didn't hesitate; it had been weeks since they had eaten something decent. They couldn't hunt, buy food, or even ask someone to bring them food.
As Gregory was likely not being sought as a criminal, he was a valuable resource to be used wisely. He could pass through detection points several times before being tracked. They sent him on two missions before he could be located and had to flee.
One was to deliver a letter to Lady Tatiana Petrova, and the other to Lady Irina Alphard. He failed and had to escape hastily without sending the messages.
The second and last mission, while they were in this cabin in the Dead Forest in Nenvia, was to attempt a meeting with Lady Inessa to seek mediation between them and the responsible Council, in this case, the Supreme Council. But he also failed.
At this moment, they were hungry, fearful, and desperate, but at least one of their problems was about to be solved.
After Nala gave permission, they took their plates and began serving themselves food and drinks. Once their plates were filled, they began eating and drinking until they satisfied their hunger and thirst.
It was good to have something to rejoice about, at least once before dying. That was the mutual thought among them.
While they ate, Nala seemed to watch every move they made, as if looking for some sign. Occasionally, she filled her jug with juice and drank, but then returned to observing the girls.
This continued until they satisfied their hunger and finished eating. Nala had to replenish the table twice before they were satisfied, but she seemed not to mind.
"I hope you are satisfied," Nala said once she noticed the girls were already content. She waited for a positive nod from each of them before continuing.
"Alright... So... who's going to tell me the details? I hope I won't be forced to interrogate any of you. Believe me, you won't like that." With a smile on her face, Nala gently pressed them for answers.
The girls looked at each other to decide who would go first. Once they decided, they began detailing what had happened and everything they remembered from before the incident up until now.
Cristhine was the first to start...
"About 13 months ago, I felt ready to begin the preparations to request my ascension to Dragon Lady. I felt confident and had prepared myself well, even delaying a few times to make sure everything was ready.
I wanted to pass the preliminary exams brilliantly, giving 120% of my potential. Only then would I make my mistress proud and show what I was capable of.
And I did it; I passed all the exams and preliminary tests with flying colors. My mistress was even there and said I had the potential to ascend in less than 20 years if conditions were favorable.
This filled me with expectations... Ascending before 350 years is something many of us only dream about. And I was living that dream. So I had to prepare myself not to let that dream slip away.
Officially, I had 5 years before I could start the official tests. And another 5 years before I could take the final tests. After that, only the Aura synchronization level and combat skill tests remained.
In my calculations, I would be ready to ascend in less than 20 years, and I wanted to make it happen. I wanted to meet expectations and surpass my goal in a masterful way. But for that, I needed to train like I've never trained before."
The average age for ascending to Dragon Lady is 419 years in Bordium. It is quite common for individuals to ascend before 400 years. There are also cases of individuals who cannot ascend before 500 years.
But those who ascend before 350 years are special. These individuals are considered Ingenious and are recognized as such. Something highly regarded in Dragon society.
Every ingenious has much more chances and opportunities to gain investors and partners. They also have the chance to choose any territory to take possession of, even strategic territories.
Besides, they receive numerous opportunities to expand their list of important contacts amid a flurry of invitations to parties, balls, dinners, etc.
That's all a young Dragon Lady wants and needs: investors, contacts, and partners to raise capital and turn their plans into reality.
If everything went according to plan, Cristhine would ascend before 350 years. An incredible feat that would guarantee the resource stability her sorors needed to ascend more quickly as well.
Nala understood that this was a golden opportunity. Something she had witnessed happen before and knew not to underestimate the weight of being recognized as an Ingenious.
As Cristhine finished speaking, sadness and melancholy engulfed her. Regret, guilt, and remorse were visible in her expression. Even her posture resembled a withering flower, on the verge of falling without bearing fruit.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hope you can help me correct any spelling errors in the chapters.
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