Ram had no time to mourn Grin, because the White Whale was slowly swimming towards her.
"Over there, it seems there's a life signal."
This thought appeared in the White Whale's mind, its mountain-sized snout opened, and thick mist began to gather in its throat.
"Oh no!"
Ram frowned, clutching the magic mirror tightly with slightly trembling hands.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Tiny, sharp squeaks came from underground, and a plump white-furred mouse crawled out of a clod of earth next to Ram.
In the silent night, its faint squeaks were infinitely amplified.
Seeing this, the White Whale stopped its charging motion and approached, turning its body to examine the small mouse with its huge pupils.
The weak rodent seemed terrified by the giant creature in the air, trembling all over as if electrocuted, then stiffly collapsed to the ground.
"So it's a mouse? As light as dust."
The White Whale blew a breath that shook the mouse's body away, then changed direction and went to search for Ram's traces elsewhere.
Ram remained hidden for another half an hour, and only when the White Whale had completely disappeared into the horizon did she begin to move.
"Finally gone?"
Ram's pounding heart finally settled back into her chest.
The surrounding light twisted again, and Ram's figure slowly faded out.
Ram collapsed to the ground, releasing the magic mirror in her hand.
"You little brat, your grip is too strong! My body was almost squeezed out of shape!"
The magic mirror floating in mid-air complained bitterly, condemning Ram's actions.
Ram, however, stared at the scattered wreckage of the dragon carriage and fell silent. After a moment, she stood up and bowed deeply forward.
"Mr. Green Andersen, Ram will forever remember your kindness and thank you for saving her life."
As Ram lowered her head, she happened to see the white-furred mouse that had been stiff with fright.
At this moment, the mouse was standing upright like a human, hands on its hips, its right foot tapping the ground rhythmically, looking as if it was accepting Ram's worship.
Just as Ram was wondering, the mouse spoke.
"Haha, Ram, wasn't this lord handsome just now? So touched, why not recognize me as a godfather or something?"
A hint of surprise appeared in Ram's eyes, then she swept away her previous gloomy mood and smiled as she squatted down and lifted Grin, who had turned into a mouse, into the air.
"Mr. Green? You really are a mouse!"
Grin, whose fate was grasped by the scruff of his neck, said speechlessly:
"You're the mouse."
No sooner had he spoken than Grin automatically dispelled his Transformation Magic due to depleted magic, instantly reverting to human size.
Ram immediately felt the weight in her hands become extremely heavy; she simply couldn't hold him.
Thud!
Grin, having turned back into a human, landed squarely on Ram.
"Ugh!"
Ram winced in pain and strenuously pushed Grin away.
"You hateful white mouse, don't think that just because you saved Ram you can act so rudely."
Grin lay slumped on the ground, panting heavily, and replied:
"Pah! Narcissist, I just ran out of magic, you're the one who lifted me so high. But it's a good thing you were there as a cushion, hehe, almost fell."
Seeing that Grin was fine, the magic mirror plunged into Grin's arms, crying heartbreakingly.
"Master, you were too reckless! Wuwuwu, if you died, what would I do?!"
Grin held the magic mirror, feeling a little comforted.
"I didn't expect you to be quite loyal."
The magic mirror nodded and said, "You can't die, Master, if you die, I will slowly turn into stone too! Next time this happens, we can just throw that brat out as bait!"
Grin's face instantly darkened, and he pressed the magic mirror onto the sandy ground and rubbed it.
"Ah! Master, no!"
The magic mirror wailed, and finally, unable to bear it, transformed into a faint glow and merged into Grin's body.
This old bastard was tough; the gap Elsa had cut into it last time had long disappeared, and every time it was summoned, it was like new.
After the two adjusted for a while, Ram spoke:
"Grin, we need to leave quickly!"
Grin nodded, and he and Ram supported each other as they walked towards the nearest town.
They had to rent a dragon carriage there; without transportation, it would take three or four days on foot to return to the mansion.
But even the nearest town would take nearly a day to walk to.
The night wind was unexpectedly cold, and the endless road made them even more anxious.
Grin had some internal injuries, and even with Ram's support, prolonged walking was starting to wear him out.
Ram's fair forehead was also covered in fine sweat.
"How much longer do we have to walk? Ram, I can't take it anymore."
"We've only walked for about four hours. Shouldn't Mr. White Mouse be more energetic at night?"
Ram's words were never forgiving, but Grin knew she was also nearing her limit.
Their bickering was just to check on each other's status and distract themselves.
The pink-haired demon girl among the Oni sisters was very lacking in physical strength, and every step she took without her horn consumed irreplaceable energy within her body.
After another hour, Ram was completely drained, and she almost fell to the ground when she missed a step.
Grin quickly supported her. Ram, exhausted, leaned on Grin's shoulder, without even the strength to struggle.
"Grin, Ram has wanted to ask you for a long time, can you turn into an Earth Dragon? If you can, please do."
Even Grin, who was also almost exhausted, couldn't help but have veins pop out when he heard this.
"You... I really want to strangle you..."
"If you strangle Ram, the world's cuteness will decrease."
"But I feel like I'd achieve perfect merit immediately."
With that, Grin bent down, swung Ram onto his back, and supported her smooth leg bends with his hands, carrying her.
"Don't fall asleep, Ram, guide the way for me!"
Grin gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay alert. Fortunately, Ram's body was very light, and the soft, fragrant touch on his back also comforted Grin.
"Let's go, Your Excellency Earth Dragon."
Ram smiled wearily, raising her wrist and pointing forward.
Just at this desperate moment.
Rumble! Rumble!
The sound of wheels crushing the earth broke the night's silence.
Grin suddenly looked up, searching around.
Looking back, a dragon carriage was approaching from a distance.
"Heaven never bars one's way! Ram, we're saved, hahaha!"
Grin burst into maniacal laughter, like a traveler in the desert seeing an oasis.
He regained a lot of strength in a flash of lucidity, striding towards the dragon carriage.
First to appear was the honest-looking Earth Dragon, its back a person's height off the ground, with blunt horns on its head and a broad, flat snout like a shovel.
But at this moment, this Earth Dragon looked damn sweet in Grin's eyes!
"Mr. Green!"
A familiar voice came from the dragon carriage. Looking up, the driver was wearing a green robe and a green hat.
"Wuwuwu, Otto! This isn't a dream, is it? Wuwuwu, always asking from you, but never saying thank you, only understanding your hardship after growing up... Wuwuwu, accept my bow!"
Just as Grin was about to prostrate himself, his legs suddenly went weak, and he was instantly drained of all strength by heavy fatigue; his adrenaline must have burned out.
"My body... why is it suddenly so heavy..."
Grin's eyeballs rolled back, blackness covered his entire vision, and he fell to the ground with a "thump," falling into a coma.
"Mr. Green!"
Otto was greatly alarmed and quickly jumped off the dragon carriage to help. Mr. Green was singing and dancing, clearly having a mental breakdown.
After helping both of them onto the dragon carriage, Otto, guided by Ram, drove the dragon carriage back towards the border...