Could it be that the dog wasnât trying to run away after all, and it found this thing in order to repay her?
Luya had just started to accept her fate in this world, but once she saw this golden pass to the Empire, her heart was shaken.
The imperial capital had stopped accepting refugees long time ago. The population living in the lower city had exploded, and the living space of the poor was overcrowded to the limit. Even the prisons couldnât accommodate more people. Any criminal was immediately exiled, even for petty crimes like stealing a piece of bread.
Even then, the imperial capital was out of reach for countless refugees. There were also numerous people who tried to cross the boundary at the end of Asdra Continent to reach the continent of the God of Light. They hoped to receive Godâs blessing, but it was still unknown if anyone could pass through the sea of fire to reach the other side.
Did she want to go to the imperial capital? Of course! Who wouldnât want to return to the place where humans lived? Even if life was difficult, as long as you worked hard, you could still get enough food and clothing to live. Wasnât this the point of working 80-hour weeks in her previous life?
But right now, that was a foolâs dream.
The red dragon seemed to have raised her as a pet. How could she possibly convince the red dragon to let her go? She couldnât imagine the consequences of betraying the dragon.
Run away while the dragon is out hunting? That was even more unrealistic. The mountain was brimming with all kinds of monsters, each one more dangerous than the next. It was impossible for her to escape this mountain alive. What would she do after she left? Did she know which direction the imperial capital was? The wilderness was filled with danger, and it would take an enormous amount of luck to reach the imperial capital alive.
Forget it⌠it was better to think about it later.
Luya sighed discreetly. Now that the red dragon was behind her, she absolutely couldnât show any sign of wanting to run away.
For instance, this time when Lu Dahuang ran away, she was about to explode.
In truth, she actually had a pretty good temper, and she was quite tolerant. But after thinking of how well she had treated the dog, given it food, bathed it, and even taken the risk to buy it life-saving medicine, she couldnât bear how the stinky dog disappeared with no conscience at all. If she hadnât liked small animals so much, she definitely would have abandoned it.
Similarly, if she ran away, the red dragon would probably be even more furious. The consequences of drawing the dragonâs anger was unimaginable. Since her life was decent right now, she didnât want to upset the red dragon.
That said, the red dragon probably didnât know what this object was, right? It would be better if she didnât let the dragon find outâŚ
So Luya put that insignia in her pocket and pretended to rub the Shiba Inuâs head. She spoke self-righteously, âI know what you want, but donât run all over the place next time. Thereâs too many monsters here, and I donât need this. Only the red dragon can protect us now.â
The dog looked at Luya with a complicated expression, and she didnât know if it understood her meaning. Finally, after giving the insignia to Luya, it quieted down and started to follow Luya.
âWhatever, letâs go back. Donât do this next time.â
Luya led the dog along and sighed. She then started to examine the things that the goblins had abandoned when they fled.
There was still a piece of unknown animal meat roasting on a bonfire in front of the chieftainâs tent, which looked to be the goblinsâ dinner. The skin had already turned golden, and it was sprinkled with a layer of spices, which gave the meat a mouth-watering fragrance.
Luya swallowed her saliva.
âSince we came all the way here, we might as well see if thereâs anything worth taking. Lu Dahuang, you havenât eaten all day, so come over and help yourself.â
She took the piece of meat directly off the grill, and after blowing impatiently, she bit it and chewed carefully.
She didnât know what kind of animal meat this was. The spices concealed the flavor of the ingredients. Aside from the fact that the meat was a bit tough, it could be considered the best thing she had eaten ever since arriving in this world.
The crucial point was that this roast meat was salty! She finally had something that had salt!
âThe meat is salted! You canât eat it, so unfortunately Iâll have to finish the rest of it for you.â
Luya quickly changed her mind, and started to eat the roasted meat in front of the Shiba Inu. She also asked1Â if the red dragon wanted to have some.
ăNo, youâre too thin. Eat more of it yourself.ă
âŚOh fuck!
Listen, what kind of fairy boyfriend response is this? Luya looked at the red dragon with heartfelt emotion. He was completely different from a certain stinky dog that only made other people worry.
When the Shiba Inu looked at her angrily and started to whine, she comforted it very naturally and said, âDonât worry, thereâs still some slime noodles for you.â
âWhine2â!â
She pretended not to see the Shiba Inuâs angry glare, and she finished the rest of the roast meat by herself. Then she started to search the area for anything interesting.
First she went to pick up the goblin chieftainâs staff. Given that this was a magical world, Luya figured that since she was a transmigrator, it would make sense if she had special talents. There was simply no way that she was just an ordinary person.
So she tried to test if she had any magical talent. She held up the staff and waved it a few times. However, she didnât feel any recovery magic or see any signs of a miracle happening. She waited for a while, and there was no reaction.
âŚShe didnât know if she was incapable, or if the staff itself was ineffective. As a weapon, the bows that the goblins left behind seemed more useful than this, so perhaps sheâd just use the stick to dry her laundry.
Luya confiscated the bows and arrows that the goblins dropped. Although she couldnât actually shoot anything, she could start practicing from today. Perhaps one day she would become the Link3Â of another world?
In the chieftainâs tent, she rummaged around and found some herbs, fruits, some unknown seeds, and blocks of salt.
Even though these were just goblin items and there wasnât anything good, she still stuffed everything that she could fit into a snakeskin bag. She didnât even spare the pots and pans.
She was more like a bandit than those goblins. Fortunately, Luya still had a conscience, and she didnât let the dragon burn everything down. The main reason was that Luya felt like this could become a renewable resource. She figured that she could come back here later on to see if there were any new stuff to loot.
âThis is such a good haul! Lu Dahuang, you found quite a nice place, so Iâll count this as your apology and forgive you.â
Luya completely forgot how angry she was before, and she happily rubbed the dogâs back.
The Shiba Inu finally seemed to realize that âLu Dahuangâ was referring to him, and he suddenly looked back at Luya in surprise, as if he couldnât believe it.
âWhatâs wrong? Do you like your new name? Iâm Luya, and youâll have my last name4Â starting from today.â
Luya was totally oblivious. After tightening the snakeskin bag, she carried the dog who was staring at her unhappily onto the dragonâs back. She rode the dragon away triumphantly with her new trophies.
When they returned to the dragonâs lair, it had just reached nightfall.
The dog was extremely uncooperative. It was surprisingly strong, and no matter how she pulled, it wouldnât budge. Luya spent a lot of effort trying to pull the dog into the cave, and eventually she couldnât only give up and let it go. But at that point, she realized that the Goblet of Aqua of Pura was already full of water.
Oh, letâs give it a taste!
She tried to give it a sip, and the water was cold and sweet. It was absolutely delicious.
That was really great. Now, their water situation was guaranteed.
Luya breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the old demon hadnât sold her any counterfeits. Otherwise, sheâd definitely have the red dragon take her back to complain.
Consequently, she grabbed the dogâs water bowl, poured some in, and called the Shiba Inu over to drink. Then she started another fire, and boiled some slime noodles for the dog.
She didnât know if the Shiba Inu was angry at Luya for eating all the meat. It finished the water, but it kicked over the bowl of slime noodles. Then it broke free of Luyaâs leash and rushed into the dragonâs lair.
Luya was very sad. As an office worker who worked 80-hour weeks, she ordered takeout on most days and didnât cook. To her, wasting the food that she made was inexcusable.
But what could she do? She was also upset!
So she picked up the goblin chieftainâs staff and rushed into the dragonâs lair, chasing the dog for a while. However, the dog was too fast, and it was extremely agile. She could tell right away how this dog had been able to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. In the end, Luya slumped down out of breath, even though the dog still had plenty of energy. It provocatively sat on the grand some distance away from Luya, staring at her contemptuously.
Heh⌠ruthless! Stinky dog!
Finally, Luya dropped her staff, and looked at the Shiba Inu who had laid down after she admitted defeat. She leaned against the red dragon and fell asleep.
After going through such a thrilling day, she was exhausted.
That night, Luya had another dream.
However, this time the dream that she saw was different. It wasnât a memory of her body, but rather a vision of something that had never happened before. The protagonist of the dream was herself.
She didnât know what was going on with this strange dream. In the scene, she was in the center of a pure white shrine. A group of humans in priest robes had forced her to kneel at the altar, and they accused her of being the god-slayer in the prophecies. She was the witch who fornicated with the evil dragon, and the sinner who would one day bring destruction to the Grandina Continent.
Luya had no idea what was going on, and she kept yelling that they were mistaken and it wasnât her. But they all ignored her, and no one listened to her voice. They kept kneeling and chanting their incantation, praying that their all-powerful God of Light would descend from heaven to punish her. They hoped that the witch would meet her demise by execution.
Luya struggled desperately, and she tried to lift her head. However, she was confronted with the sight of an impossibly beautiful man whose gorgeousness couldnât be described with words. The manâs long golden hair flowed like water, warm like the dazzling sun. His pale blue eyes were crystal clear and divine. He calmly sat in front of his own statue, and looked at Luya with compassion and mercy.
âPerhaps we should give the sinner a chance.â
His voice was very pure, like the sound of the sky itself. It resonated in the depths of their souls, stimulating a faint warmth and ache in their hearts. When he spoke, his believers all calmed down, and some of them groveled on the ground piously. At the same time, Luya suddenly felt like there was a creepy smile on the corner of the manâs mouth.
No⌠this wasnât rightâŚ
âAs long as you offer your soul to the light, you will be cleansed and saved⌠Isnât that right, my fallen Favored one? The witch of the evil dragonâŚâ
Authorâs notes :
There are fewer and fewer comments!
You guys canât trick me into releasing more chapters!
I accidentally spoiled the volume title, but I quickly deleted it. You guys arenât allowed to see what I saved up.
In my stories, gods generally arenât good things.
Translatorâs notes :
Asked (莨弽ĺ°éŽ) : She asks in a manner trying to curry favor with the dragon. Whine (ĺ) : âWoooâ Link : The main character of the Legend of Zelda video games.Luyaâs last name is Lu (衯), meaning âroadâ. Technically, her first name is Ya.