About two hours later, the sound of beating wings drifted through the forest canopy.
I looked up from my book just as Kyoko descended gracefully into the clearing, her massive wings stirring leaves and loose dirt into the air before folding neatly against her back.
Yura, Shina, and Hera climbed off carefully.
"Looks like you finally made it back," I said lazily without looking up from the page. "Find anything interesting?"
"There's a dungeon a little north of here," Yura replied, dropping her satchel beside the firepit. "Looks abandoned, but the magic around it felt strong."
That immediately got my attention.
I closed the book slowly.
"A dungeon already? This forest just keeps getting better."
"Or worse," Shina corrected.
"Depends on perspective."
Hera crossed her arms nearby, eyeing me suspiciously.
"I thought you were supposed to be gathering meat." Her lips curled slightly. "Let me guess. You gave up halfway?"
I placed a hand over my chest dramatically.
"You wound me, Princess."
Then, with a flick of my fingers, a dark purple ripple opened beside me.
The body of a massive Lathegin crashed onto the ground with enough force to shake the clearing.
Silence.
Hera's expression froze instantly.
"You…" She stared at the creature. "You killed a Lathegin alone?"
Shina looked equally horrified.
"What kind of monster are you?! That thing's enormous!"
I shrugged casually.
"Technically there were four."
"…FOUR?"
"I only kept one though." I rested my arms behind my head. "I don't like killing animals unless I have to, so I healed the others."
Hera narrowed her eyes immediately.
"I bet you didn't fight it yourself."
"Hm?"
"You probably relied on your dragon."
Kyoko's tiny head snapped upward instantly from my shoulder.
The air pressure around her shifted slightly.
"You doubt my master's strength?" she hissed sharply. "He would not need my assistance for prey that weak."
Hera blinked.
"…Your dragon talks."
"Only when offended," I replied.
"Easy, Kyoko."
The dragon huffed but settled down reluctantly.
Still glaring.
I smirked slightly toward Hera afterward.
"If you doubt me that much, I can always prove it."
Her emerald eyes sharpened instantly.
"You're challenging me?"
"If that's how you want to interpret it."
A grin slowly spread across her face.
"I accept."
She reached behind her back and pulled free her silver bow in one smooth motion.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Yura sighed heavily.
"Oh no."
Shina quietly stepped backward.
Smart woman.
I stood slowly and stretched once before walking into the clearing.
"Since you seem confident," I said casually, "I won't even use my hands."
Hera's eyebrow twitched.
"You're underestimating me."
"You're free to prove me wrong."
Wind began gathering around her feet.
"I am the future queen of the Elven Kingdom," she declared proudly. "We are the master race."
"…You people really say that out loud?"
Three arrows launched simultaneously.
Fast.
Very fast.
I slipped between them without slowing down.
The first brushed past my cheek.
The second missed my shoulder by inches.
The third—
I tilted my head slightly and felt the arrow split a strand of hair before embedding itself into a tree behind me.
Then I reached her.
One smooth pivot.
One sweep of my leg.
Hera hit the ground instantly.
"With reactions like that," I teased while stepping away casually, "you're not touching me."
Her eye twitched violently.
Yura was trying not to laugh.
Shina was failing miserably.
Hera rolled backward and sprang to her feet again immediately, magic gathering around her bow.
This time the arrow glowed green.
Compressed wind mana.
Interesting.
She fired.
The projectile exploded forward like a sniper round.
I sidestepped casually.
Then tripped her again.
More aggressively this time.
"You—!"
Her pride finally snapped.
Wind erupted around the clearing violently as green mana spiraled upward into the sky.
Leaves scattered everywhere.
Even Kyoko lifted her head with interest now.
Hera raised her bow high.
"As princess of the elves," she shouted proudly, "I call upon the winds themselves to strike down my enemy!"
Magic circles spun beneath her feet.
"Wind Storm!"
A miniature tornado exploded around me instantly, shredding the earth while violent winds whipped trees sideways.
Not bad.
Actually impressive for her age.
I recognized the structure immediately though.
Chanted magic amplification.
Twice the power output.
Three times the mana cost.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Then smiled.
Darkness spread beneath my feet.
My body dissolved into shadows completely.
The tornado ripped through empty space.
A second later, I reappeared sitting casually atop a nearby tree branch.
Hera's eyes widened.
"You can use darkness magic too?!"
"Little bit."
"How are you this skilled?!"
Honestly?
I wasn't sure myself anymore.
The more I fought...
the easier things became.
The more natural magic felt.
Almost like my body remembered things before I consciously understood them.
I raised one hand calmly.
"Oh, water," I chanted softly, "bring forth the storm and purge my enemy."
Blue magic circles bloomed across the air.
"Tidal Wave."
Water erupted from seemingly nowhere.
A massive torrent crashed downward instantly.
Hera barely managed to raise a wind barrier before the attack smashed into her completely, launching her backward across the clearing.
The princess emerged several seconds later completely drenched, coughing violently while her soaked hair clung to her face.
I hopped down from the tree afterward.
"Well?"
She pointed her bow shakily toward me again.
"Again."
"…Seriously?"
"I haven't landed a hit yet."
I grinned slowly.
"Alright then."
---
The spar continued until sunset.
And somehow...
Hera never quit once.
Even after being disarmed.
Even after being knocked down repeatedly.
Even after exhausting most of her mana.
She kept standing back up.
Arrow after arrow.
Spell after spell.
Pride refused to let her lose quietly.
Honestly?
I respected that.
"She's ridiculously stubborn," I muttered while kneeling beside her unconscious form later that evening.
"She's an elven princess," Yura replied. "That's basically their defining trait."
I placed a glowing hand gently against Hera's shoulder.
Golden healing magic flowed through her bruises slowly.
My Dragon Eyes flickered faintly for a moment during the process.
Instinctively analyzing.
Repairing.
Understanding.
The ability disappeared before anyone noticed.
Probably.
Hopefully.
The girls carried Hera into one of the tents afterward while I helped prepare dinner.
Or rather—
they prepared dinner while I was aggressively educated on proper monster butchering techniques.
"Not there," Yura sighed.
"You're wasting meat."
"How was I supposed to know fantasy dinosaurs had specific cuts?!"
Shina laughed softly while fixing my mistakes.
Eventually the smell of cooked Lathegin filled the clearing completely.
We ate beneath a sky overflowing with stars while firelight danced across everyone's faces.
It felt...
warm.
Comfortable.
Dangerously easy to get attached to.
Then the tent flap rustled softly.
Hera stepped outside quietly.
She'd changed into simple sleeping clothes, her long mint-colored hair still slightly messy from the earlier fight.
She looked awkward standing there.
Unsure.
I gestured toward the remaining food.
"Go ahead. I'm not a big eater like those two."
"HEY," Yura protested immediately with food still in her mouth.
Hera hesitated before slowly sitting beside the fire.
Then—
to my surprise—
she lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry."
The clearing went quiet.
"For what?"
"For what I said earlier." Her fingers tightened slightly against her knees. "You're… very capable."
Yura and Shina looked stunned.
Apparently Elven royalty apologizing was rare enough to qualify as a natural disaster.
I smiled faintly.
"No need for that."
Hera looked up slightly.
"I became strong because I was weak once," I said quietly. "And honestly? I still am sometimes."
The fire crackled softly between us.
"But a princess shouldn't bow her head so easily."
I pointed toward her dramatically.
"Heads held high, remember?"
For the first time since meeting her—
Hera smiled naturally.
Small.
But genuine.
"…You're strange."
"I've heard worse."
With that, I stood and stretched once.
"Wake me up if the forest tries to kill anyone."
"Comforting thought," Shina muttered.
I waved lazily before heading toward my tent.
Behind me, laughter quietly filled the clearing beneath the stars.