Chapter 47
(Raiga’s Perspective)
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In the guild’s backyard, there was a stove. I filled the large pot I had received with water and placed it on the stove, which Lil had ignited with magic.
“Step back a little, okay?”
Lil raised her staff and chanted a spell. A pillar of fire enveloped the pot, bringing the water to a rapid boil. Magic really is convenient. I can understand why the Mage Guild runs the world.
“Is this… also a dragon egg? It looks totally different from a fire dragon egg…”
Leila poked at the fist-sized snake dragon egg she had washed with water. Fire dragon eggs were like oversized chicken eggs with hard shells, but snake dragon eggs had soft, jelly-like shells.
“It’s still a dragon. It doesn’t have wings and moves like a snake, and the egg looks like a snake’s, so it’s called a snake dragon,” Stephan explained.
“You can eat it whole after boiling,” I said, tossing the egg into the bubbling water.
The semi-transparent egg began to wiggle in the pot, gradually turning white and floating to the surface. Once it did, it was done. I scooped it out with a ladle, placed it on a dish, and handed it to Leila.
“Eating it whole with a little salt is the best.”
“Wow, thanks!”
Leila grabbed the egg with her hands but quickly let go, saying, “Hot!”
“…How greedy can you be? Even I, a werewolf, would wait a little longer,” I said, exasperated.
Leila pouted but replied, “I’ll wait.”
I placed dishes for myself and the others. Once the steam had settled a bit, Leila grabbed hers with one hand and took a big bite.
“—Delicious… It tastes richer than a normal egg! And the center is soft and runny, which is perfect.”
As always, she described the taste with a happy expression. …Makes it worth making. Even if all I did was boil it.
Then I noticed Stephan was staring at Leila, seemingly observing her. Maybe seeing her eat so deliciously made him want to try some too.
“Stephan, eat some too,” I said, pushing the dish toward him. Stephan made an obvious disgusted face.
“Watching Leila, you can tell it’s good,” I said, patting his back. Hesitantly, Stephan took an egg and bit into it.
“How is it?”
“…Well… yeah… maybe it is good,” he said, and he was already on his second bite.
Typical picky eater. I grinned.
At that moment, Natasha tapped Stephan on the shoulder.
“Stephan, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Yes. That’s fine.”
After shoving the remaining egg into his mouth, Stephan told me, “I’ll be back,” and walked off.
In the corner of the backyard, Stephan and Natasha Theodore were talking about something. …I know Stephan is generally more reliable, but lately, this has been happening often, so it’s been on my mind a little. I eavesdropped from a safe distance.
“—About Leila, her healing magic—”
“I see… then I thought so.”
It’s about Leila! I stepped in between the three of them.
“Is it bad if I hear this?”
“Raiga!” Stephan looked surprised.
Well, I’ve left troublesome matters to Stephan up until now, so I understood his expression. But—this is different. Leila’s matter is separate. Even if it was by circumstance that we ended up acting together, I couldn’t help being concerned about her.
“…It’s not bad.”
“Then it’s fine. We’re allies, so I can listen.”
The three exchanged glances and nodded.
“It’s about Leila’s race. Considering the amount of magic, she’s not likely a half-dwarf. Stephan and I thought she might have elven or demon blood.”
“Eh—but her ears are short.”
I don’t know what demons’ ears look like, but elves are supposed to have very long ears, right? I’ve never seen one though.
“Well… these past few days, I’ve been talking with her about the role of priests—prayers and healing magic. First, she cannot use healing magic. She says she can’t sense spirits.”
Theodore said this with an extremely troubled expression.
“And?”
I didn’t really understand magic.
“It’s said that elf and demon ears help detect the presence of spirits. Their skill in magic compared to humans is thanks in part to those ears. So, in Leila’s case, her magic is so strong, yet she cannot perceive spirits, which is odd…”
Theodore spoke with some difficulty.
“In Leila’s case, I think her ears were cut off.”
“Cut—off? Her ears?”
I glanced back at Leila, who was talking with Lil. She was completely ignoring the tense atmosphere, happily munching on eggs she held in both hands.
