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Thief Girl
Ellis opened her eyes. But, there was something strange about her.
She would respond to Mebett and Katie’s calls, but her gaze remained fixed to the ceiling.
“Ellis, I brought Ra-chin”
Reeve had picked up the Land Dragon at the entrance and now placed him down on his master’s chest.
Yet Ellis continued staring at the ceiling.
Ra-chin didn’t say anything.
Claire and Frau finally arrived, moving to Ellis’s side as well.
But the silence continued.
Then suddenly, a stream of large tears traveled down her cheeks and soaked her pillow as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
“My other half is gone…….”
Nobody understood what Ellis meant.
No one except for Ra-chin.
The Land Dragon spoke to Ellis with his actual voice instead of telepathically so that everyone else could hear.
“That’ right Ellis, your other half is gone.
Ellis’s tears kept going.
“Hey, Ra-chin. Shouldn’t you be trying to calm your Dragon Maiden down? Isn’t she with the rest of us?”
Ra-chin crawled up Ellis’s chest and nudged his head against Ellis’s cheek.
“Ellis, you’re my Dragon Maiden. And I am your dragon. So don’t misunderstand. You’re not with us. We’re with you. You are the Golden Mistress. If you have the time to worry about something as boring as this, then recover your strength and think about what to do next.”
In an instant, the other Dragon Maidens and dragons jumped forward in front of Ellis’s face.
“Mistress, the council is waiting for you.”
“Ellis, Ken and the rest are looking forward to one of your sermons.”
“Ellis, the former Hero and former Demon Lord are doing some really interesting things.”
“Ellis, let’s go play at Hope Coast and tease the uncles there nya.”
“See Ellis. You’re going to be busy from now on, so work on regaining your strength.”
Frau gently wiped Ellis’s cheeks after the tears had ceased to flow.
“I understand. Thank you everyone.”
Whispering those words, Ellis drifted off to sleep once more.
“Ra-chin, do you know something?”
“I know you said something.”
“What is Ellis’s other half?”
“You all should just be delighted that President Ellis for the time being!”
Su-chan, Fe-rin, Pi-tan, and Ah-nyan were as uncoordinated as ever, but Ra-chin and the Dragon Maidens had long since gotten used to working with their excitable natures.
“In a way, Ellis was the same as the Hero and the Demon Lord.”
Nobody understood what he meant, so Ra-chin went on.
“You know about Ellis’s ridiculous abilities when it comes to magic tools. That’s probably because of a god bestowing her their power.”
Which of course leads back to how Ellis survived.
“That technique is one that completely saps a person’s mental power, so the user will always die. But one of Ellis’s abilities allows her to use magic tools infinitely. No, maybe it would be better to say it allows her to use magic tools without putting a strain on her mind. Would you agree Claire?”
Claire nodded her head while continuing to listen intently.
“That’s why Ellis was able to survive even after she had summoned Dragon Goddess Gaia. After that, just like with the Hero and Demon Lord, the gift given to her by a god was taken away. That’s the truth behind Ellis’s ‘other half’.”
Everyone understood.
Ellis was saying that she could no longer use her magic abilities.
At least that’s what they believed to be the answer.
Which was why they came to the decision that there was no problem at all.
Ellis was back, and that was the greatest present they could have ever asked for.
“Then I shall go let the guildmasters know that the Mistress has woken up.”
“I’ll go prepare all of Ellis’s favorite foods right away.”
“I’ll go around town and let all the people who are worried about Ellis know what’s going on.”
“Nya~”
The Jewelry Box girls were finally able to regain their usual smiles.
Meanwhile the Mechanized Dragon had rebooted at some point, and without anyone noticing when, it had returned to its usual form as Mebett’s pendant.
“Hey Ah-nyan”
“What Katie?”
“Why did Ah-nyan come back in your pretty form nya?”
“Ah, because back then we were broken down into a bunch of magic particles, so we’re trying to get used to our new bodies. So well, {Change Human} or {Reset Body} will be impossible for a while.”
“I see. Well it doesn’t matter nya.”
“Wrong Katie. You should say it’s fine as long as we’re enjoying ourselves.”
“Yo, Eiji”
Suddenly hearing a voice resounding in his mind, Eiji woke up.
“Who’s calling me?”
“Me, the God of Thieves”
This was the boundary between the physical world and heaven.
And so Eiji remembered everything. That’s right, in order to help the God of Thieves, he had reincarnated into Ellis’s body.
“Ah, I guess I died then?”
“No, you were just pulled out of Ellis’s body by Tenjin along with all the abilities I had given you.”
Hearing the God of Thieves’s easy answer, Eiji found himself getting a little angry. Like this wouldn’t Ellis die?
“So you killed Ellis!?”
“That’s what you’re worried about? It looks like you didn’t notice, but both your and Ellis’s souls had been inhabiting that body. Didn’t you ever feel uncomfortable with being able to suddenly write in a different language or the fact that the way you spoke morphed into how a young child would talk?”
Now that he mentions it….
Eiji realized that when Dragon Goddess Gaia had asked him if he was prepared for death, he wasn’t the only one who had answered. Ellis had said yes as well.
So then, they’d been together piloting that body this entire time.
“If that’s true, then Ellis is still alive then.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. The Land Dragon is there protecting her as well.”
“I see, that’s fine then.”
Eiji was relieved. As long as Ellis was alive, then it’s fine.
“Hold on, the story’s not over yet.”
“What?”
“Thanks to your meritorious deeds, you’ve been promoted. You’ve been moved on up from the deceased course to the reincarnation course. So, where do you want to reincarnate?”
“Wait, what meritorious deeds are you talking about?”
“You could’ve run away, with the overwhelming power of the Hero and Demon Lord, it only would’ve made sense for you to abandon them to their devices. Instead your actions brought about a never-before-seen result. Now we have to keep an eye on that world. It’ll be very interesting watching how that world will develop from now on. And Tenjin is furious with the God of Warriors and God of Mages cheap intervention there.”
“I see. That’s a shame. But so I get to decide where I reincarnate?”
“Either your original world where you were killed by a trailer, or the one ruled by the Dragon Goddess Gaia.”
Eiji was a little troubled. There was a convenient square box in his original world that made everything easier. Meanwhile the other world had almost no technology to speak of. But, because of that, he had sat around in that world doing nothing until he eventually died. So Eiji thought about his answer until finally coming up with a decision.
“Well, the world with Ellis in it”
“Got it. But the timeline will end up skewed, and your memories will sink deep into your soul.”
“Good, then I’ll be able to enjoy my next life from start to finish.”
“Haha, good answer. Well then, I wish you luck”
No sooner had the God of Thieves wished him well than Eiji had once again lost consciousness.
Back on the ground, various changes were rapidly taking place after the turmoil with the angels.
The first piece of news that shook the country was the ascension of King Gray.
People in the surrounding area had their worries about the decision like whether this idiot was fit to rule, or whether this mother-con was fit to rule, or whether this gutless coward was fit to rule. But it seems that he had massive support from the people who lived in Skycastle.
Next was the change in lords for the Citadel City Marsfield and the Pottery City Ceramics. Sir Chaffee became lord of Marsfield and Stewart took over the lordship of Ceramics, so the cities were able to adjust, but this did put their wives into a bit of trouble. The lord of Wheat Grace Leopold Lorenburg’s two oldest daughters were married to the new lords of Ceramics and Marsfield. There was also the fact that his third daughter was one of the Dragon Maidens of Warren, and his granddaughter was the user of the Mechanized Dragon.
“Won’t the Lorenburgs come to control the whole world soon?” became the common rumor, but the people themselves didn’t care about that. The Teaser Eel did have to pull back from Warren for a while, but that was only because it was soon harvest season for the famous Lorenburg tea leaves. No, the true issue that plagued Gurre and Bizon was the fact that with their new husbands’ positions and their own new responsibilities, they were forced to live far from Warren and were quite dissatisfied with how often they were allowed to visit.
Back in Warren, the former Demon Lord Berudeus wandered around the city with a high and mighty attitude as if he had been a citizen here since long ago. Berudeus was impressed by the heating facilities, financial system, and wealth distribution that Ellis had developed. Although they were a little naive and simple, it was precisely because of this that they were so easy to understand and replicate. There was no need to horde the information or argue about rights like this. So now that Ellis had lost her power, Berudeus decided he would take care of these systems on her behalf.
On the other hand, in Freedom Promenade, dozens of couples had been formed during Ferdinand’s banquet between the Wheat Grace soldiers and daughters of Warren. As a result, numerous girls had moved to Wheat Grace to become brides. And so now Freedom Promenade is once again facing an employment crisis. At least, it was until numerous demons who had heard rumors about Marcosia rushed onto the scene to fill those positions.
“Really, for it to have turned out like this”
Machel muttered to herself before giving Marcosia some new instructions.
“Marcosia, you’ll be present during every interview we have with a demon.”
“Yes, Master Machel”
Marcosia would naturally go on to become the leader of the demons.
Katie had kept the promise she made back when she had first helped rescued him, and now the former king Joe J Skycastle lived in a sunny corner room at a resort hotel. Any trouble he has is taken care of by the wonderful catgirls and sealgirls who work there.
For Joe, the cat’s soft fur and seal’s fluffy fur offer a fresh feeling. There’s no ecchi actions going on though, just some tender loving care. He repeatedly went sunbathing at the shore while allowing himself to regain his strength with Hope Coast’s numerous specialty dishes. Now he was able to move from his room to the beach without needing anyone’s help.
One day while preparing to sunbathe at his usual spot, an awfully gaudy couple showed up. Joe tried not paying them any mind, laying down on his beach chair alongside two beastmen who had accompanied him, but the couple wouldn’t leave him alone.
“Yo bro, I heard you were here trying to regain your stamina and your strength below your navel too.”
The crude joke was coming from his brother, the former king Jack.
“I’ve grown past those kinds of desires at this point. Meanwhile I’m sure ‘Death from sex’ will end up scrawled across your tombstone.”
In the end, the former king Jack J Skycastle ended up following through with his abdication and retired to a home on the beach. Hanging on his left arm was Marilyn, the former member of the Thieves’ Guild’s entertainment division and the so-called ‘Antlion’ who finally gave in after numerous nights of unmatched combat.
For this reason, Hope Coast eventually became a retirement spot for numerous members of nobility and royalty alike.
Gise was eventually rejected by Aiful. Or rather, Aiful ended up marrying Buzz before Gise even had a chance to confess. But for Gise as he was now, it didn’t matter. He had found a better place for himself.
“Is the manager in?”
“Welcome. I’m afraid she’s away at the moment, but I can help you.”
“I see, then it’s my turn to buy something today. I’d definitely like some new sexy underwear for Margherita.”
*WHACK!*
Margherita’s hand immediately slapped Berudeus’s cheek.
“At least try to pick out your words a little more carefully! Look, don’t you realize everybody’s staring at you now?”
“Shut up! I don’t care about anyone else! I just want to see you in your new bewitching panties stepping on me!”
“Dear customers, if you’re going to fight, please take it outside.”
This was the Masquerade boutique.
Plum, who was just enjoying an afternoon tea break with Aiful, returned to the store just as the other two were leaving.
“I’m back. My, did something happen with Margherita?”
“Welcome back. The two of them started another quarrel, so I asked them to leave.”
“Those two never change.”
As they spoke, Gise gave Plum a kiss to welcome her back home.
Yes, Gise quit the Skycastle Thieves’ Guild and moved to Warren so he could marry Plum. His right hand had always been enough for him, and he had a left hand for Plum. Meanwhile Plum was hooked on how cool Gise was.
And just like that, a year passed.
This was the Skycastle royal palace.
It was the first time Ellis had come to visit in a long time, and she was here now to bless the baby born to King Gray and Queen Marionetta.
“It’s been a long time King Gray, Queen Marionetta.”
Frau greeted their majesties on behalf of the rest of the group. Ellis hid shyly behind Frau’s leg.
“There’s no need for any formalities or titles here. But Ellis, are you scared of me?”
“I’m not scared.”
Ellis grabbed Reeve’s hand and did her best to look as strong as she could.
“Well, over here please. If everyone could give their blessing.”
Marionetta guided the five girls and the dragons that were sticking close to them over to a basket where a baby was resting.
Everyone peered into the basket, and inside was a tiny little baby that looked like it had just settled down. It was making an adorable expression as it snoozed away.
…………….
“Ei………ji……..?”
…………….
Ellis suddenly and unconsciously muttered aloud a name she didn’t know while looking into the baby’s face.
“Eiji? Like A to Z?”
Reeve repeated aloud Ellis’s mutterings.
“So like the beginning and the end?”
Frau immediately voiced her impressions on the name.
“From the beginning to the end, so AZ would cover everything.”
Claire compounded the impression and then built upon it.
“Agee sounds like a cool name nya.”
You could say that Katie was the sensible one here.
Gray and Marionetta were quick to react.
“It’d be nice to give the prince a name thought up by the Dragon Maidens themselves.”
“I also like the sound of Agee. So it’s decided then.”
And so the name of a prince was decided in an instant.
Marionetta picked up the baby from the basket and whispered to him while holding him up close to her cheeks.
“Your name is Agee, the prince of this country. But, it’ll be up to you if you’re going to be king.”
Gray, having already done away with the hereditary system of who will rise to be king, nodded his head.
And, at that moment, the baby’s face warped as a smile spread across its face.
A smile that pierced the heart of all five Dragon Maidens when they saw it.
A nostalgic smile like a demon’s that had engraved itself into the very depths of their memories.
“Hmph”
And yet it was only the Land Dragon who had snorted as if he had realized everything.
A few short years later, a young boy would gain the backing of the young Dragon Maidens, have dragons singing his praises, and even have the daughter of Duke Marsfield, wielder of the Mechanized Dragon, supporting him.
A few years after that, his name would become known far and wide, not just across the Almerian continent, but across every continent and island across the world.
The Dragon Master Agee Almerian I.
But that is another story.