Chapter Forty Three: A Friend To Fight Along Side With

Deception—such a cruel yet powerful art. It describes the act of fooling or brainwashing another, bending their perception of reality until they can no longer tell truth from lies. A master—or mistress—of deception can gain anything they desire, weaving illusions so skillfully that even the strongest fall prey. To think that someone with such talent could appear as nothing more than a simple girl who doesn’t even understand the proper order of things… what a pity.
“Serila… fancy meeting you here.” Still seated astride Duddul, I looked down and greeted her.
“Don’t give me that crap! How dare you leave without telling me! And what happened to that room you stayed in? It’s a mess!!” Her voice rang sharp and furious, carrying across the street. Unlike the noisy town, the capital wasn’t accustomed to such public outbursts. People stopped to stare, their gazes pressing in on us from every direction.
Annoyed, I averted my eyes and urged Duddul forward, hoping to slip away before we caused an even bigger scene.
“Hey! Wait for me!” she cried, clutching at Duddul’s saddle from behind.
“Rnn!!” Duddul gave a warning cry, raising his leg as though ready to kick her off if I hadn’t stopped him.
Realizing she wouldn’t leave me alone, I sighed, slid down from Duddul, and faced her.
“Tell me,” I said calmly, “haven’t we already greeted each other? What more do you want?”
The truth was, seeing her again lifted a weight I hadn’t realized I carried. Just when I thought I had no one to rely on in the capital, this troublesome girl appeared. Still… knowing her personality, it was best to set boundaries before she trampled all over me.
“Wh-what are you saying?” she stammered, standing there in her long blue shirt, her brown hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. She looked genuinely surprised, as if I should have already understood her intentions.
“You’re here to get Leila back, aren’t you? I came to help too. There’s no way I’d let my cousin keep suffering just because she hates me.”
So that’s how she sees it. My plan had been to act indifferent and make her beg to join me, but I needed to clear something first.
“Leila doesn’t hate you…”
“You’ve got to be kidding! That girl has always treated me like I was inferior, ever since we were children. Just because she was born a little stronger, and with prettier hair, she thinks she’s above me! It was always me who held our bond together. She wouldn’t care if I vanished tomorrow, but I’m not like her—I won’t abandon my family. I want to help her, no matter what.”
Her words were sharp, but the truth behind them was even sharper.
“So you’re the one who hates her, then? Sounds more like jealousy to me.”
“What!? I didn’t say that! How dare you!”
We argued back and forth until, finally, she admitted, “Well… it’s her fault. She always acts like I need protection just because I’m weaker. I can handle myself just fine. I don’t need her playing the big sister.”
“Phew… so you finally admit she was just looking out for you.”
“I’ve always known that,” she muttered, her voice trembling, “but I didn’t ask for her help. Why would she shut me out of everything? Why wouldn’t she let me stand by her?”
Her expression faltered, and for a moment it looked as though tears might spill. She really did want to help Leila.
Ending our debate, I mounted Duddul and extended a hand to her. “Get on. Since our goals are the same, I’ll allow you to help me find Leila.”
Her face lit up instantly. Like an eager pup, she took my hand and climbed up behind me. Duddul didn’t object to her presence, and with her chest brushing against my back from time to time, we set off through the west side of the capital.
As we rode, I asked the question weighing on my mind: “How did you even get into the capital? Did you have a pass?”
“I don’t have one. All I did was walk in confidently while everyone else was getting checked. I traveled with a group from the town and split from them at the gate. Not all of them had passes, so they had to buy new ones.”
“What? You can buy passes?”
“Yep. Ten gold coins each.”
“Ten gold coins!?” My voice broke free before I could hold it back. That’s robbery!
She smirked. “So, yeah—I walked in without one. Didn’t get caught. My magic’s useful, isn’t it?”
“Useful sometimes,” I teased.
“Sometimes!?” She pinched my back hard enough to make me wince. “Of course it is! Still… I was scared they’d catch me and toss me into prison.”
“Just for not having a pass? That’s harsh.”
“Right? That’s why I disguised myself as a noble. Otherwise, they’d have been suspicious.”
I chuckled. “A noble? Why not disguise yourself as the king?”
“Are you insane? If rumors spread that the king was seen at the gate, he’d send his men to investigate. No way am I dealing with that kind of trouble!”
So she does get scared after all. Still, her powers were undeniably useful. Perhaps even more than Leila’s, if used cleverly.
“Then why don’t you use that trick on the innkeepers? Convince them to give us a room.”
She stiffened, clutching my shirt lightly. “I… I could do that… I guess.”
Her guilty tone told me everything. She didn’t like the idea.
“Forget it. I’ll just find somewhere else to sleep. You can register at an inn with your magic.”
“I said I’ll do it!” she insisted softly. “I… I want to be useful.”
Her voice carried quiet determination, but I couldn’t let her burden herself for my sake. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll manage. If only there were mountains or abandoned houses around here…”
That’s when she perked up. “There aren’t any mountains inside the barrier. But behind the dungeon, there should be deserted houses. Low-ranking nobles used to live there, but most left to avoid being called ‘low-ranking.’ We’ll definitely find something empty.”
“Really!?” My heart leapt. I turned toward her to confirm.
Our faces nearly touched—just centimeters apart. She flushed red and quickly averted her gaze, her ears twitching nervously.
“Yes…” she whispered.
“Then let’s go!”
Duddul surged forward toward the dungeon.
The structure towered before us, its colossal black walls swallowing the sky. Not stone, not metal—something far stronger, engraved with ominous carvings. A single massive gate stood at the base, yawning open, yet the interior was veiled in shifting black mist. A staircase of obsidian steps led the way up.
“That veil you see—it’s the dungeon’s door,” She explained. “It’s a teleportation system. Once you clear a floor, the door sends you to the next uncleared one.”
“Woah… that’s incredible! Who could’ve built something like this!?”
She groaned. “You really don’t know anything, do you? The Demon Queen, of course.”
The name struck me like a spark to dry wood. The whole city whispered about her, about the war raging in the human state. Yet unlike them, whenever I heard her name, warmth surged inside me—an ache I couldn’t explain, a memory just out of reach. I couldn’t let anyone know. Not here. Not now.
As we circled the dungeon, my gaze caught on a poster that froze me in place.
It was me. My real face, without the mask.
The words beneath read: “Be wary of the Demon Queen’s subordinate.” Torn and weathered, but still clear enough to send a chill crawling down my spine.
I forced myself to move on, but the cold in my chest wouldn’t fade. Meila noticed too, though she said nothing.
We pressed on until the manors came into sight—twenty sprawling estates spread across an open field. The west edge of the capital. Quiet. Isolated.
“This is it,” Meila said.
My pulse quickened. Could Leila be here?
She shook her head gently. “No. That noble is of much higher rank.”
Disappointment settled in my stomach, but I pushed it aside. The area was silent, eerie even. We peeked into several homes, spotting signs of occupancy—furniture, faint movements, even a low growl from one guarded estate. But at the very end stood a grand house, its gate cracked open.
Duddul, against my orders, walked straight inside.
“Wait! We’ll be caught—”
But the silence inside the grounds was deeper than outside. No footsteps. No voices. Just stillness.
“See?” Meila smirked. “You should trust your dragon more. Red dragons are intelligent.”
Maybe she was right.
And then she did something odd—tearing a strip from her treasured blue shirt. She tied it to the gate, her face smug with pride.
“What are you doing? That fabric is your treasure!”
“Not anymore. With this material, the house is invisible to outsiders. No one will even realize it exists.”
I froze, stunned. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope!” she grinned triumphantly.
She wasn’t wrong—it was the perfect hiding spot. Still…
“If only we’d confirmed it was empty first!”
“Oops…” She pouted cutely.
Inside, the manor was vast—long hallways, numerous rooms, a wide living room with a fireplace, a fully stocked kitchen. It felt lived in, yet abandoned. Strange.
As we explored, Meila stumbled upon glittering jewels hidden in a drawer. She held them up with sparkling eyes.
“They’re beautiful,” I admitted, “but put them back. We only take what we need.”
She scowled, offended, but obeyed.
Eventually, I claimed a bedroom for myself and gave Duddul his share of food, while Etis’s packed meal kept me fed. Serila, of course, devoured more than the both of us combined.
Exhausted, we drifted into an uneasy nap.
When I woke, the night had fallen. Meila slept soundly, half of her shirt riding up, exposing more than I dared look at. I tore my gaze away and stood.
Duddul’s golden eyes gleamed in the lamplight, watchful and loyal.
I smiled faintly, gripping my sword.
“It’s time,” I whispered.
Time to return to the Sacred Land. Time to find Leila.