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Side Stories: Chapter 16

“What? Do you have anything left to say? You want to really check my sincerity or something?”

Wesker ignored the man’s sarcastic remarks and said, “I am curious about something.”

“I see. I suppose that’s better than having blind trust. What is it that you are curious about?”

“You are the one who told us to pressure Lara Browning by telling her the damages she caused to her family.”

“There’s no need to thank us for that. We suggested the plan to you because we also had something to gain.”

“But how did you know to do that?” Wesker asked, and the man gazed intently back.

Wesker continued, “A person who knows Lara Browning deeply could come up with that plan. Honestly, I thought the plan would fail.”

That was why Wesker had ordered Feijadiru to carry out the plan. Of course, there was the reason that Feijadiru was the most fitting to bring up the topic of Lara’s family, but a big reason why Wesker ordered Feijadiru to do the task was that he thought that the plan would fail.

“Yet, the plan succeeded,” Wesker said.

“Was it not supposed to?”

“How were you able to guess how she would act based on her personality when even her own family member couldn’t?”

The man replied with a smile, “I’m not your teacher. I don’t have to tell you that.”

Then, the man finally left, leaving only Wesker in the building. Wesker glared at the old, worn-out door.

“…Fine.” His eyes had a chilly glow in them as he murmured, “I’m the one who will win. I don’t know what happened, but whatever you guys do, in the end, you all will crumble before me.”

It is their destiny. He repressed a mysterious sense of anxiety creeping up inside of him.

***

Bam!

A dragon’s body dropped onto the dirty floor. The shock of the impact couldn’t make a dent in the dragon’s hard scales, but the dragon’s body was being treated too roughly considering its value.

The man, Piros Bulington, didn’t care about that. After bringing the dragon’s body from Wesker, he commanded his subordinates, “Let’s begin.”

He didn’t have too many subordinates left after the Karuwimans chased them down, but those who survived that terrible hunt were the true warriors. He looked upon them with deep trust. Piros’ subordinate immediately rushed to the dragon’s body at his command. Although they were touching a rare, valuable item, there was no greed or even admiration in their eyes. Only had a silent rage burned inside them.

“The scales are harder than I expected them to be.”

“It’s the same for its leather skin.”

“It will probably take considerable power to engrave a magic circle onto this.”

“But holy energy seeps into it very easily. This must be the reason why weapons and artifacts from legends are made from a dragon’s body.”

“So, can you do it?” Piros asked. His subordinates looked at each other and nodded.

“We will try.” They remembered their companions who had died pitiful deaths. This was their chance for revenge, and they needed to unleash their companions’ fury on their enemies.

“Very good! Then, let’s start now.” Piros sat down next to the dragon’s corpse.

‘It will start soon.’ The dragon’s body was what showcased their enemies’ greatness. Unlike that foolish Wesker trying to minimize the dragon slayers’ feats, Piros acknowledged their achievements and assessed them highly. Yet, this dragon’s body, which was proof of their valiant efforts, would be key to destroying this festival and causing great harm to Yuras and this city. How would their faces look then? Piros couldn’t hide his laughter at this thought.

He needed to successfully carry out this plan at all costs. His subordinates and he began to process the dragon’s body.

***

When Lara and Hans returned to where they separated from their companions, they saw that their party had increased with one more member.

“Hey, you are back.”

“Sir Zich? What are you here for?”

“Since Lyla, Elena, and Leona left, I was wandering around all alone when I found these guys. I had nothing to do, so I quickly joined them.” The way Zich smiled while chewing on snacks at the table made him look like a happy-go-lucky fellow.

“Why are you uncomfortable? I can leave if you are.”

“Of course not, sir.” Hans and Lara sat in their seats again.

“So, I heard that you guys met Lara’s brother?” Zich had heard from the others what happened, and thus Lara explained to him and the rest of her curious companions what happened inside the room. It was nothing to hide, and when her story reached the point where she handed over the dragon’s body, Chelsea and Pina showed the same responses.

“Are you a pushover or an idiot? Which one?” Although they wanted to say harsher words, they softened their word choice because of the others in the room. Lara didn’t disagree with them. It was a deal that gave her self-satisfaction and peace of mind, but she knew that from an outsider’s point-of-view, her behavior couldn’t have looked anything more than plain stupid. Yet, Zich responded differently from the others.

“I see.” That was all he said. Then, he continued to drink and eat the snacks.

His response was so bland that even Chelsea, who had sworn to only get on Zich’s good side, asked in astonishment, “…Is that all you have to say?”

“If the owner says she’s fine with it, then isn’t it fine? It’s not like she harmed anybody through her actions,” Zich replied.

“But it’s not like she gave away an item that was like one or two coins! It was an item you couldn’t even put a price tag on.”

“Therefore, it makes more sense that she exchanged the item on her own terms.”

“No, but…” Chelsea wanted to disagree, but there was nothing wrong with what Zich said. After all, it was Lara’s item they were talking about, and it was her decision on what she should do with it.

“Stop it. You know he’s someone that our way of thinking doesn’t work on.”

“But Ms. Acous!” Chelsea began to earnestly plead her case, and Pina half-heartedly listened to her. It was ironic that the two now seemed very close when they were always indifferent to each other when they were with Glen.

“So, your brother bought it?” Rather than Lara selling the dragon’s skin, Zich seemed more interested in Feijadiru.

“Yes, sir,” Lara answered.

“What kind of person is he?”

“Hmm, shall I say that he is the epitome of a pathetic aristocrat?”

“I guess you won’t describe him as incompetent then.”

“Well, I have to admit that he’s quite skilled at sword fighting.”

Chelsea interrupted, “Didn’t you say that you beat the crap out of him in every duel when you two were young?”

Zich answered, “It doesn’t seem like it, but Lara’s talent is one of the best in the world. It’s natural that most people wouldn’t even be able to land a hit on her.”

Chelsea easily agreed. “On second thought, she really was great when I saw her fighting.”

“Windne, what is your opinion of him?”

“What? You’re asking me? Rather than me, wouldn’t Lara know her brother better as part of the Browni…ah, you told me you weren’t going to use your last name anymore.”

“Well, Lara has a pretty naïve side. As a shady and devious person, I thought you might be able to bring a new perspective.”

“…Is that a compliment?”

“Of course not. Well, if you want to think of it as a compliment, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“Damn it!” Chelsea openly displayed her anger. Of course, Chelsea didn’t deny Zich’s words, but the truth hurt more than random insults.

“…I also don’t know exactly. How would I accurately judge a person I just met for the first time? I thought he was a really annoying person to the extent that Browning should add ‘ill-mannered’ as a modifier to ‘pathetic aristocrat.’”

“Hmm.”

“Is there something strange about him?” Pina cautiously asked.

“No, it’s not like that. I was just slightly curious why he asked for the dragon’s body out of the blue. Did he covet it just because it’s a precious item, or is he trying to use it for something else?”

“Sir, should I try to find out?”

Zich shook his head to Hans, who seemed ready to move immediately. “There’s no need. It’s not like there’s anything clearly suspicious about him.”

Zich gulped his beer. As if he really had just asked Lara out of curiosity, Zich didn’t mention this topic afterward and focused on drinking and eating. It was quite late when their meeting was over. After separating from Chelsea and Pina, the rest headed to Yuras. Then Zich said he wanted to play a little more and went off by himself.

Soon after, while Hans, Lara, and Snoc began walking down the street, Snoc said, “Senior, what are your thoughts?”

“What do you mean?”

“About Feijadiru Browning.”

Lara listened in earnest.

“I also don’t really know because it’s my first time seeing him, but I agree with the assessment that he is a rude and pathetic aristocrat. Why?”

“I’m just asking because it’s a bit iffy that Sir Zich showed his interest. As you know, Sir Zich’s sixth sense is quite good at catching things like that, right?”

“So you think that he might be planning something insidious?”

“Don’t you think there’s a high possibility?”

“Yes, that’s true but…” Hans glanced at Lara.

“I’m fine. I told you that I cut off all my ties with the Browning family after passing over the dragon’s skin. It’s better this way, since I ended things early.” If the Brownings really were involved in a conspiracy, Lara sounded determined to punish their misdeeds. It was ridiculous for Hans to keep glancing at her whenever he talked about the Brownings when Lara herself said that she completely ended things with them.

Thus, Hans replied, “That’s a possibility, but we can’t be sure that he’s really planning something. It’s not like Sir Zich’s sixth sense is always right. If he really had an ability no different from prophesying like that, he wouldn’t have worked so hard to find clues about bad guys we’ve encountered so far.”

“Yes, that’s true. He would have just beaten them up right away.”

“No, rather, I think he’ll use that time to come up with a plan to torture that person even more.”

“…That makes more sense.”

The image of Zich grinning and planning ways to torture people vividly appeared in all their minds.

“He might have really acted like that because he wanted the dragon’s body. I mean, to be honest, it’s no ordinary item.”

“So many people asked me to sell it to them at the magical tower as well. Many were willing to even give me all their wealth.” Furthermore, the people who made those offers were incredibly wealthy. It was at that moment did Snoc perfectly understand the value of the dragon’s body.

“Yeah, you must have had a hard time. It’s an ingredient that mages will go crazy for.”

“I got all those offers even while under the Dwayne family’s protection. If I weren’t under their protection, I would have probably gotten dozens of more offers. I’m sure some people would have even tried to take it by force.”

Koo! Nowem cried out to support Snoc’s words.

“Anyway, nothing is certain yet, but since he caught Sir Zich’s interest, if he really tries to do something, Sir Zich will notice. And then…you know, right?”

Snoc and Lara’s expressions became awkward for a moment. Nowem buried his face into Snoc’s shoulder and covered his head with his front paws.

Hans continued, “For his own good, I hope he’s satisfied with just taking the dragon’s body since he is Lara’s brother after all.”

“I really hope that is the case.”

“Yes, I hope he doesn’t get too greedy.”

The three sincerely hoped that there wouldn’t be another one of Zich’s poor(?) victims.

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