Sarissa stood in a dark room, lit by blue flames lining the walls. The flames moved like they were breathing, casting an eerie glow.
The room was filled with cupboards stocked with various items. There were also statues of Ashtarot, one of which was a doll made by Sorrel as a birthday present.
This gift had resulted in Sarissa giving Sorrel one of Ashtarot's shirts in exchange.
In front of her was a large table covered with glass cases holding numerous items. Her blue reptilian eyes were focused on the objects before her.
"Today's loot is nice," she murmured. "Straw, cup, tissue... Hmm... Which one should I put in this glass case?"
Sarissa scratched her chin, deep in thought. Suddenly, a blaring sound came from a bowl of water on a beautifully crafted small table in the center of the room. Startled, she hastily approached it.
This bowl of water acted like a CCTV, but specifically for monitoring Ashtarot. It had an alarm system that activated when he was nearby.
Sarissa peered into the crystal-clear water and saw Ashtarot in the Engineer Artisan Division—the very division she led.
"Ah! Finally, he's here!" Sarissa exclaimed. In a flash, she teleported to his location, appearing directly in front of him.
"Ashtarot! I'm so glad you're here to meet me!" Sarissa exclaimed as she ran toward him. She jumped up and hugged him tightly.
Being small, she wrapped her legs around his body, clinging to him with no intention of letting go.
Ashtarot, taken aback by her sudden appearance, instinctively placed his hands around her waist to prevent her from falling.
'Akhh!!! He's touching my waist! Sister Sorrel and Sirrush will be so jealous!' she thought to herself, her face reddening with excitement.
"Lady Sarissa, please behave and let me go," Ashtarot sighed, accustomed to her antics.
"NOOOO!!! I'VE BEEN SO HAPPY YOU'RE HERE!!! I won't let go!" she persisted, clinging to him more tightly and inhaling his masculine, minty, and woody scent.
Ashtarot's annoyance grew, veins starting to pop up on his temple. Finally, he pried her off with force. Sarissa dangled from his grip, pouting.
"It's been so long since we last met! Why are you being so rude? I miss youuuuu!!!!" Sarissa flailed her arms and legs, trying to hug him again.
Ashtarot set her down firmly and said, "You are in front of the children! Behave yourself!"
Sarissa knew this but didn't care. To her, the children were just a disturbance to their relationship, insignificant like insects she could barely see.
"Wow, who is that?"
"Why is she so small?"
"Child workers in the dungeon?!"
The children whispered among themselves, curious about Sarissa. She was indeed small, standing at about 150 cm (4'11") with a slender body and a baby face.
Hearing their comments, Sarissa felt annoyed and shot a glare at the children, causing them to avert their eyes.
Ashtarot cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him. "This is Lady Sarissa, one of the three-headed dragons. She is also the head of the Engineering Artisan Division," he explained, making the children gasp.
"Her body may be small, but she is over 5000 years old, so show her respect," he continued.
'Ahhhh~ What a gentleman you are, Ashtarot!' Sarissa screamed internally, intertwining her fingers as she daydreamed about the two of them together.
"Let's continue our tour. As you now know, the Engineering Artisan Division is responsible for creating traps, puzzles, teleportation gates, and other props for the dungeon," Ashtarot explained as he led them inside the division.
The workers were busy below them as they stood in front of the gate that separated them. The children's eyes widened with amazement, watching the mechamites and dwarves working together to build a teleportation gate.
One of the children pointed out, "Aren't the dwarves supposed to be on the human side?" She looked perplexed at their presence in the dungeon.
"Hah! This is why you're just a bunch of ignorant brats!" Sarissa chimed in suddenly.
"What kind of education have you been getting that you don't know the history of the dwarf race?"
She mocked them, still salty about being mistaken for a child and annoyed by the interruption to her time with Ashtarot.
The children's faces reddened with anger, and they began protesting and mocking Sarissa.
"What! You are a child too!"
"You can't be an adult because of your size!"
"You're lying, right!"
Sarissa's face contorted with anger, transforming into a half-dragon with scales and a fiery blue aura. The surrounding area turned cold and frosted over.
But it was Ashtarot who reprimanded them. "You naughty brats! What did I say about respecting her? And what happens to naughty kids?"
He snapped his fingers, and shadows emerged from below him, forming a black wolf with red eyes.
The children's faces lost all color as they stepped back, too terrified even to scream or cry.
"Mr. Ashtarot, this is enough! They will apologize!" Lambert yelled, trying to control the situation.
"These are my friends, the darkness wolves. If you are engulfed by them, you will end up as chimeras! Now, what do you need to say to Lady Sarissa before my patience runs out?"
Ashtarot was bluffing; he would never harm a child. But they needed to be reprimanded for their behavior, as it would be worse if Sarissa were the one to punish them.
Also, the young generation needs to respect their elder! Even when they didn't respect the elder, they needed to know how to shut their mouth!
The trembling children began to cry and apologized to Sarissa with shocked expressions.
"Huhu, we are sorry, Lady Sarissa."
"Please don't punish us!"
Sarissa nodded absentmindedly, her focus entirely on Ashtarot's actions and what she perceived as his expressions of love. Her eyes sparkled as she longed to be closer to him.
'AGHHH!!! HOW CAN YOU BE SO COOL!!! Thank you, brats, because of you, I know that Ashtarot loves me!'
But Ashtarot glared at her and flicked her forehead with an annoyed expression, as she kept interrupting his work.
However, Sarissa misinterpreted this as a form of love, her imagination running wild.