25-187

EP.187 [Female Drake?] 

“It’s definitely a drake.” 

A drake appeared. 

The morning after the Red Fox Mercenary Band set up their base camp, the monster scan totem picked up a reaction. Some members of the Red Fox Mercenary Band formed a scouting party to search the area, and using binoculars, discovered a strange creature presumed to be a drake. At this moment, elf Priscilla was on site for final confirmation. 

“It’s amazing. After months of investigating this place, we’ve never directly encountered the drake, but now here it is.” 

Standing behind Priscilla, Victoria-accompanied by Eugene Schneider and Jeanne-couldn’t hide her surprise. Even so, her face appeared calm, but that was just her natural poker face; she was definitely surprised. As Victoria noted, for several months the drake had only left traces, never showing itself-not even a shadow. 

“Also, the fact that it revealed itself at this location…” 

Eugene Schneider, seeming to have some interpretation, spoke up. 

“I think it’s fair to say it’s deliberately making itself seen by us, don’t you think?” 

The timing and place where the drake revealed itself were unusual. It was possible the scan totem picked it up by chance as it passed by. However, after organizing a pursuit team and following it, they found the drake positioned closer than expected, on a cliff, staring toward the special quest team’s base camp. It seemed to have recognized and was aware of the special quest team’s presence. 

“I agree. In an environment like this, the drake’s detection ability would be extremely sharp. There are four experts here now-it must have sensed that power.” 

Priscilla supported Eugene’s view. 

Just as with demons, monsters are influenced by the miasma level in their environment. The most affected trait is energy detection. 

“But it’s unexpected. Based on the drake’s image, I thought it would charge in and cause chaos right away.” 

“That makes it more likely to be female. Females are more cautious.” 

The drake was keeping its distance and watching them, as if frozen in place. Eugene Schneider found this atmosphere strange, while Priscilla analyzed it as proof for her initial hypothesis that the drake was female. 

“And one more thing, if we consider…” 

But Priscilla’s hypothesis wasn’t finished yet. 

“There’s a possibility the drake is curious about someone. That’s possible, but only if this drake is much more intelligent than average.” 

This referred to the drake’s individual abilities. For an ordinary drake, the main reason would be caution, as Priscilla said. But if it were a higher-ranking drake, like a goblin shaman or goblin lord, the story could be different. 

“It’s good to see you all again.” 

Around noon, a welcome face arrived at the drake special quest team’s base camp: the party’s exclusive mage, Elizabeth. She had joined the reinforced Imperial Knights’ follow-up unit and arrived under heavy guard. 

Unlike her previous appearance at the Imperial Knights’ arena, she was not wearing a mask. 

“Elizabeth? Wow... Even your real name is beautiful, and you’re even more stunning than I imagined!” 

She also revealed her real name. Having already gone all the way with her brother, there was no longer any reason to play Anna Parisienne. Marie, who had been hoping to see Anna Parisienne again, was amazed by her unmasked appearance and elegant real name. 

“I heard our elf’s exploits here have been amazing as well. It’s good to see you again.” 

Elizabeth, who had fond memories of the Red Fox delegation, greeted Thomas and Marie warmly. And the elf Priscilla was no exception. Wizards and elves tend to have good chemistry. 

But Priscilla stared intently at Elizabeth for a moment. 

“Um? What’s wrong, elf?” 

Elizabeth tilted her head, surprised by the unexpected reaction. As a mage, Elizabeth was used to anticipating various responses, and she had expected Priscilla’s most likely reaction to be indifference. She hadn’t expected to be stared at like this. 

“No, I’m just jealous.” 

After staring at Elizabeth for about five seconds, Priscilla’s comment was completely out of the blue. 

“Jealous??” 

Even the eccentric Elizabeth was wide-eyed with surprise. At that moment, Eugene Schneider also silently looked at Priscilla. 

‘Hmm... Priscilla...’ 

He seemed to have an idea of what was behind Priscilla’s behavior. 

“My little sister! Come here, let me give you a hug!” 

Beaming! 

After the formal greetings in the center of camp, the three Oblaing siblings shared a personal reunion. Jeanne, who had been maintaining her composure as the mercenary leader, suddenly switched to her energetic older sister mode, spreading her arms wide to embrace her beloved youngest sister. 

“Sis~! I missed you so much!” 

Hug! 

Elizabeth, now wearing the Imperial Knights’ officer badge, rushed into her strong second sister’s arms. No matter how eccentric or brilliant she might be, Elizabeth was just a cute youngest sister in front of her older sisters. 

“Ah... this is nice.” 

Eugene, standing to the side, folded his arms and watched with satisfaction. He was the man who had slept with both siblings just three days earlier, but what could he do? It really was a heartwarming sight, so he smiled with genuine affection. 

“You’re really amazing, sis. I’ve always cheered for you, but honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be easy. But seeing you here like this, I can’t help but feel proud and amazed.” 

Elizabeth was indeed someone capable of doing the most shameless things with Eugene Schneider. 

Honestly, Eugene Schneider was keeping quiet now. When he’s having sex, he goes wild, but when he’s not, he’s about 50% normal. Because he’s aware of having slept with both sisters, he’s careful not to slip up in conversation. 

But the crazy Elizabeth, without a flicker of guilt, wore her usual expression and acted perfectly as if she hadn’t seen them in months. 

“Wow! Hearing you say that, it really hits me. Our Elizabeth. I’m so happy.” 

Hug! 

Again, keep in mind that two of these three had sex next to Jeanne just three days ago. Unaware, Jeanne hugged her beloved youngest sister even tighter, feeling happy. 

Jeanne, who was at a loss for words, probably wanted to say how proud she was of her talented sister. She wanted to be a proud second daughter among her talented siblings. In a way, this moment was the first time her long-held dream was coming true. 

“Based on the updated information I received on the way, my assessment matches Priscilla’s.” 

With the arrival of the Imperial Knights’ follow-up unit, the drake special quest party was now in full swing. The camp was reinforced and defenses strengthened. After a hard day’s work, the formal drake special quest party meeting was held, now including mage Elizabeth. 

First, the Imperial Knights’ special quest team deputy commander, Farnese, gave a briefing summarizing the current situation. Elizabeth then mentioned Priscilla’s assessment and agreed. 

“It’s a highly intelligent creature. That’s why it’s been able to avoid detection for months. It’s likely it triggered the scan totem on purpose-to test us and gauge our reaction, or out of curiosity.” 

Elizabeth had considered the possibility of a highly intelligent drake before, but as a perfectionist, she hadn’t mentioned it without strong evidence. Now, the drake’s response to the scan totem convinced her. 

“If the drake is intelligent, what specific disadvantages does that give us, mage?” 

At that moment, Eugene asked what variables a smart drake might create. 

“In close combat, it won’t make a huge difference. It’ll just fight more strategically. But the real difference is in magic. The difficulty of the spells we use will go up.” 

Elizabeth explained. A drake can’t cast spells as complex as a dragon, but defending against magic is a different matter. There are many mechanisms for resisting magic, but intelligence is one key factor. The lower a monster’s intelligence, the simpler the spells and materials needed to affect it. 

“So does that mean we need to completely rethink our original subjugation plan?” 

Victoria asked seriously after hearing Elizabeth’s words. 

From top-tier monsters and up, especially in party battles, magic is the core. Buffs, debuffs, and other preparations are done with magic before close combat begins. Since magic is so central, Elizabeth’s words basically meant a complete overhaul of their tactics. 

“We’ll have to see. We’ll need to probe the drake and find out.” 

Cautious as always, Elizabeth emphasized the need for reconnaissance. 

-Roar! Roar!- 

After the meeting, Eugene was training with his greatsword at night. 

And Priscilla was watching him, apparently checking his Sword Expert mana status as usual. 

“Hey, Priscilla. Can I ask you something?” 

Eugene suddenly stopped swinging his sword and looked at Priscilla. 

“What is it?” 

Priscilla answered with her usual indifferent expression. 

“I can understand most of what you said, but I was puzzled by your comment that the drake might be curious about someone.” 

As the mercenary leader’s vanguard, Eugene was deeply invested in the situation. He asked about Priscilla’s statement that he couldn’t interpret. 

Priscilla looked at Eugene for a moment, then replied, 

“I think it might be curious about a human with demon blood.” 

A truly meaningful answer.