The ice dragon stood stiffly for a moment, then fell heavily to the ground, its body torn by the pain unable to move, full of anger but powerless to resist.

The dagger was short, so short that it couldn't pierce the heart even if it was all pressed into its body, but the powerful magic attached to the dagger took it away from all its power.

There was a blackness in front of me. It couldn't believe it could be so stupid...... No, maybe it's long overdue to admit that it's really stupid. It has all the weaknesses of humans and dragons, but it has only a handful of strengths, neither smart enough, nor ruthless enough, and he's hellish arrogant.

The little man who looked exactly like Nia came out of the crack in the rock - he was in the same habit of holding the ground with his left hand when he jumped out.

He crouched down in front of its eyes, hesitantly reaching out and touching its scales.

“...... Is?" he exclaimed.

The ice dragon glared at him. It doesn't know what else this guy is trying to do, but it's not a name that anyone can call!

It gasped for breath with difficulty, feeling the little dagger trying to burrow into its flesh as if it had life. The thought that he would die so easily at the hands of a human being, shame and unwillingness completely overwhelmed the fear of death.

It roared, trying to brace itself...... But that was just in vain.

The little man suddenly reached out and pulled the dagger from its chest, then walked away from a safe enough distance and stood there watching it.

"I'm sorry. He smiled apologetically, "I know it hurts, but it'll be fine soon." I said, I don't want to hurt you. It doesn't matter if you're an Is...... But you're Is, right? You know me. ”

He looked at it expectantly, as if hoping to get an answer from it. But the ice dragon just stared at him motionlessly, and made up his mind not to say a word.

The pain seemed to lessen slightly, but it still couldn't move, and it couldn't guess what the guy was up to.

"Nia" lowered her head and rubbed her nose, looking a little sad for a moment. But humans are good at disguise - Nia herself is very good at disguise.

"You don't believe me. He said.

The ice dragon didn't say anything.

“...... But it doesn't matter. "Nia" laughed, but looked a little helpless, "If you tell me now, you're Is." Maybe I won't believe it either...... Maybe you're not, maybe you are, but you're tempted to eat me, because I lied to you and stabbed you. ”

He looked at the bloodless dagger in his hand and shook his head. When he looked at the ice dragon again, his smile seemed to brighten again: "Anyway, it's good to see you again, Is." You're so big...... When you were a kid, you promised you wouldn't grow taller than me. ”

He smiled and pointed his finger at it.

"Liars. He said.

The ice dragon blinked. Surprised. It vaguely remembered that it seemed to have really promised...... It's ridiculous to think about it now, but it was serious at the time, because Nia seemed really sad when she said "everyone is taller than me...... But it regretted it almost immediately, and Nia certainly didn't take it seriously. No one else should know about this, otherwise it and Nia would have been teased countless times......

It didn't know if it would insist on "not saying a word", but in the moment of hesitation, "Nia" had already jumped off the rock and quickly disappeared.

The ice dragon lay there in frustration and stared in the direction he had disappeared - it didn't have the strength to catch up.

That guy is like Nia and not like Niya...... Nia is called "The Kid" by his friends not just because of his short stature. It's also because he's always smiling, and he's as heartless as a child. When he first met Ed, he thought he looked a lot like Niya...... But in fact. Nia is more like Ed and Tess combined, with too much curiosity, and the whole person, including the mouth, can't stop for a moment, sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's annoying......

But this "Nia", his appearance has not changed in the slightest, but his personality seems to have changed a lot, just a little like ...... Scott.

It took a while for it to get up and fly weakly into the sky.

It considered whether or not to tell Scott - it was weird to think about it, and maybe it would be better not to say anything about it for now...... But considering the consequences of the last time it did that, it didn't seem like a good idea.

It flew back to the temple in a state of confusion, only to be unexpectedly told, "Lord Sage has gone to Lockburg." ”

He heard the title "Sage" once and his face darkened once, but the people in the temple bravely persevered.

“...... What is he doing there?" he asked, unconsciously becoming uneasy.

Scott hasn't been to Rockburg since he returned to Tonbuch, so why ...... now?

"His Majesty the King has passed away. The young practitioner, who aspired to become the priest of Nesses, replied respectfully, "The Holy One went and prayed for him." ”

“...... I'm finally dead. He blurted out.

The cultivator glanced up at him, his expression subtle, speechless.

"How did you die?" asked Is, slightly curious.

The young man hesitated for a moment before replying in a low voice, "I heard that it is...... Choked. ”.

Ante's face turned purple, his barely closed eyes bulged out a little, and one hand rested stiffly flat on his chest, apparently in a posthumous pose. But that made the whole body look even more weird - his other hand was still stuck in his own throat.

The officials who groomed His Majesty the King had worked hard. But when he heard the sound of Ante's knuckles being broken, the queen, who had just entered the door, screamed and stopped him.

Scott looked down at Ante, a wrinkle of exhaustion and sadness in the wrinkle between his brow. He didn't really care much about his former friend, his murderer, and the unwielding king, but seeing him die like this still felt a feeling of sadness that piled up in his chest.

Moira stood silently beside him. The queen had hidden her innocence and fragility, and had regained the calmness and majesty that had been forced out these days, but the hands clasped in front of her still trembled slightly.

"He strangled himself......" she said hoarsely, "how could that be? Even if he's crazy......"

The guards who rushed in at the sound of the movement claimed that the king had choked to death—the look of rolling his eyes and his hands clutching his throat on the ground and twitching on the ground might have looked like choking, but there was nothing in Ante's throat at all.

It's impossible - someone killed Ante.

Scott could easily guess who it was—Lydia liked it best, abrupt, unreasonable, devoid of logic and reason, dramatized, with a strange, mocking undertone.

But he didn't know why Lydia was doing it. She shouldn't have to worry about Ante revealing any secret that would be unfavorable to her, because she would never have told Ante such a secret at all. If you want to cause unrest...... Rumors say that the king has died many times in various ways, and it really doesn't make much sense to make it happen.

However, speculation about Lydia's motives is usually futile. Of the ten things she did, only one or two of them were more or less considered and had a clear purpose, and the others were either to draw attention or to pure whim.

Such an opponent is more of a headache than a well-thought-out enemy. You can't even guess what she's going to do next...... It is even very likely that she will ruin half of the plan that has been carried out because of her own momentary willfulness and start all over again in a different way.

She had put everyone in danger because of the adventures they had taken together, but he had only felt thrill and excitement.

Maybe it's Lydia who really went crazy...... But in some ways she's thoughtful—she's always been able to protect herself, while others, even if they're "allies" or subordinates, probably don't care if they're dead.

Sometimes Scott simply regretted not killing her when he had the chance...... But she also let him and Iss go. If she hadn't been sure there was no danger, she wouldn't have let herself be discovered by him at all.

Even if she appeared in front of him now...... He probably still couldn't just kill her.

He pressed his forehead, a little weak, and suddenly missed Calebryne - it seemed that only the cold half-elf priest could see through Lydia's tricks.

But he didn't have to let Moira know that.

The queen looked at him silently. She no longer begged Scott to save Ante—she might have thought he didn't have that power, and he hadn't brought the innocent dead Vala back to life......

But she probably still hoped that he would find the real murderer.

"Prepare for the king's funeral. He whispered to Moira, "Leave the rest to me." ”

The queen looked at Ante's body in distraction.

"But my brother said now was not the time. "He said we had better conceal the king's death until the unrest was over," she whispered. ”

"And what does your father mean?" he asked.

The old Marquis Walter Carlos was a man of respect. Integrity, frankness, open-mindedness...... It's just a little impatient.,And it's not very polite to anyone.。

Moira hung her head: "He said let me decide for myself." ”

“...... So what about your decision?"

Moira was silent for a few moments.

"We will prepare for the funeral. She said, "The king's death will also be made public." But unless the killer is found...... The king will not be buried. ”

She spoke quickly and didn't look at him, as if fearing that Scott would object, but her tone was firm.

Scott couldn't help but tug at the corners of his mouth slightly.

"So be it. He said.

He didn't know Lydia's purpose, he didn't know how to parry her endless tricks, and he didn't want to exhaust himself from chasing her. So now, maybe that's the best way to do that -- to act in the most ordinary, normal, and common sense way.

Without something that can shade the sun, there will be no shadows that breed darkness.

(To be continued......)