Choi Han might as well have been jogging along a flat plain, even as he vaulted across rooftops with Cale on his back.
This is comfier than a carriage, Cale thought, admiring Choi Han’s perfect stability. All the while, he savored each hunk of apple pie that Raon popped into his expectant mouth. The aroma and the texture of the apples, along with the pie’s delectable sweetness, relaxed him significantly.
Upon finishing a slice, Cale licked his lips. Much better. The Fire of Destruction’s only downside was the extreme hunger it left in its wake. This went way better than that time at the Ten Finger Mountains. I didn’t cough up any bloo—
A spasm seized him mid-thought, and he coughed violently. Blood seeped into Choi Han’s clothes.
Damn it. Seeing that he was hacking up blood after all, Cale made a connection. There’s always blood when the Energy of the Heart works in a hurry.
The same thing had happened during the Plaza Terror Incident, the events at the Ten Finger Mountains, and the recent uproar in the Empire when he deployed the shield. Whenever he exerted significant strength, the Energy of the Heart cranked into overdrive to restore his health. This invariably resulted in a single bloody cough.
But I feel leagues better now.
He always felt refreshed afterward. Cale glanced at Raon, relieved that he hadn’t spit up blood with a mouthful of apple pie. That would’ve been a disaster.
“What are you doing?”
“…Nothing, human.”
A piece of apple pie floated away like dust in the wind. At the same time, a poisonous mist exuded from the two cats. Disconcerted, Cale patted Choi Han’s back. I should at least apologize for getting blood on the guy, right?
“Sorry.”
“It’s not a problem,” Choi Han responded at length. Cale had to assume that Choi Han had taken a moment to suppress his irritation at the bloodstain on his back; Cale would’ve been disgusted if he were in Choi Han’s place, after all.
Cale didn’t want to be anywhere near an angry Choi Han. Now that he’d filled his belly with apple pie, he could probably walk on his own. “I should be okay to get off now. Put me down, and we can keep going.”
“…Forget it, sir.”
“Forget it”? Cale thought, baffled.
“It’s like carrying a broom on my back,” Choi Han hastened to add. “You’re lighter than a bundle of straw. Besides, I can move more efficiently and covertly than you can, Mr. Cale.”
Did he just compare me to a broom and a bundle of straw? Cale knew Choi Han was merely being honest, but he couldn’t help feeling offended.
“Listen to Choi Han, weak human,” Raon said, offering him another piece of apple pie.
“But—”
Raon stuffed the pie into Cale’s mouth. Cale gaped at Raon in disbelief, but the black dragon’s face was unyielding.
“I don’t care what you have to say, human. Listen to us this time.”
What’s that supposed to mean? Cale was flabbergasted, but he swallowed the rest of his retort with the piece of pie. Well, that makes things easier for me. He relished in being carried and fed as they headed up the hill to the duke’s ivory residence.
Below, the streets of Bago buzzed with growing chaos. Cale peered down at the maze of roadways. Though it was late, the city teemed with life. The wooden post still burned, but there was no more laughter or music. Everyone was looking in the same direction: toward the lake of legend. They couldn’t see the basin from here, but the fire shooting into the sky loomed large in the distance.
A nobleman who’d been enjoying his meal in a VIP room stumbled onto the terrace in shock. “Th-there’s a pillar of fire at the l-lake!”
The noble no longer had attention to spare for the wooden post in the city center—not when that giant pillar of flame was practically poised to decimate the plaza. He broke into a nervous sweat, recalling the red thunderbolt that had descended onto the lake. It was as if…
“It’s a god.”
To him, that fire resembled a god’s rage. The noble’s hands trembled at the thought. Our god left that lake behind. Why would it bur—
He never finished his thought.
“Aaaah!”
“F-f-fire!”
The noble looked down at the people below the terrace. Previously stupefied by the unexpected turn of events, they were finally reacting. A tableau of responses played out before his eyes: Some fled, while others fell to their knees in prayer. If the plaza descended into chaos, people could end up getting hurt.
And yet, the nobleman wasn’t worried about that.
Psssh.
Steam billowed into the air as the plaza fire was doused. The mages had poured water on the pole, leaving only charred wood behind. At the sound of the flames being smothered, people stopped moving.
A booming voice amplified by magic echoed throughout the plaza. “Fire can be extinguished.”
At last, Duke Rok Seca had made his appearance. Earlier that day, the nobleman had learned that the duke would be visiting the wooden post in the plaza. He looked over to see the man standing on a terrace, addressing the crowd below. The people still venerated him as the Guardian Knight.
With a resolute expression, Rok continued his speech. “This is Faern. Fire cannot defeat our kingdom.”
Faern was in the coldest region of the continent. This had little to do with subduing the flames; in fact, Faern’s dry climate actually made it more susceptible to fires. Nevertheless, hearing this from the man they believed to be the Guardian Knight soothed the people’s fears.
“Fire can never triumph against water.” Rok pointed at the wooden post. “Listen to the knights, everyone. The fire will soon be contained.”
With help from the duke’s personal knights, the forces stationed at the plaza quickly dispersed among the people and restored order.
Watching all this as he passed by, Cale said, “That’s a relief.”
He meant it, and he was a little surprised to boot. I didn’t know the duke would come to the plaza. He’d expected some noble or other to placate the crowd, but he’d never imagined it would be the duke himself.
“This makes things more interesting.”
Staring intently at Cale, Raon asked, “Human, why are you smiling like that again?”
Choi Han startled, already picturing the look on Cale’s face. Cale paid him no mind, too preoccupied with the duke’s final proclamation. “The fire will soon be contained,” Rok had told the crowd, as if it were an irrefutable truth.