Chapter 21: Town Turmoil

And that was that. She patted her bulging little belly, feeling perfectly satisfied, and continued wandering around this small town.

The market in this town was incredibly lively, with an array of stalls that dazzled the eyes.

Though Yisela claimed the market was just so-so, her body honestly betrayed her, drawn to those shiny little trinkets.

“Wow, this hairpin has sparkles!”

“That necklace looks like it’s made of copper. It should be nice to bite!”

Yisela stopped in front of a miscellaneous stall.

The stall owner was a kind old grandmother. When she saw this adorable girl with silver hair, silver eyes, and a little tail trailing behind her, her eyes squinted into slits with a smile.

“Little girl, what would you like?”

“Grandma has freshly woven flower crowns here, and pretty stones too.”

Yisela blinked her big eyes, scanning the stall until her gaze locked onto a thumb-sized, sparkling blue glass fragment.

It wasn’t a gem, but under the sunlight, the way it refracted light perfectly hit the silver dragon’s aesthetic.

“Grandma, how much is this?”

Yisela asked in a very grand manner.

“Oh, that? It’s not worth anything.”

The old grandmother laughed kindly.

“Since you’re so cute, I’ll give it to you to play with.”

“No!”

Yisela immediately became serious, puffing out her little chest.

“This princess always pays for what she buys!”

“It’s a matter of principle!”

Saying that, she reached into her money pouch and fumbled around.

She had been too satisfied eating gold coins earlier, so now she had little sense of metal value.

She dug and dug, pulling out a pure gold coin as big as her little hand.

With a thud, she slapped it on the table.

“Keep the change!”

Yisela declared with an air of dominance, as if she had just bought an entire city.

The old grandmother froze.

The passersby around them also froze.

This single gold coin was enough to buy the entire stall.

“This! This won’t do, little girl!”

The old grandmother hurriedly tried to push the coin back.

“It’s too valuable! I can’t make change!”

“Can’t make change?”

“Then give me everything!”

Yisela’s eyes lit up. She waved her hand grandly, pointing at all the shiny things on the stall.

“These, these, and that piece of scrap metal—I’ll take them all!”

So, a few minutes later, Yisela was holding a pile of messy treasures: a few colored glass pieces, two copper rings, a string of beads made of some unknown material, and a gear that looked like it had been abandoned.

She walked down the street contentedly, feeling like a triumphant queen.

Sure, some human brats had mocked her, but she was the Silver Dragon Princess with money power!

Just then, a commotion came from the square ahead.

“Look!”

“It’s the Saintess’s Guard!”

“I heard the Saintess herself went to the Borderland. These guards are going to support her!”

Curious, Yisela stood on tiptoe. A squad of knights in silver armor was riding tall horses across the square.

Sunlight spilled over their armor, reflecting dazzling metallic light.

“Wow!”

In that instant, Yisela’s eyes turned into starry eyes.

Not because the knights were handsome, but because that armor looked really, really tasty.

Especially the lead knight’s breastplate—it was polished so shiny, clearly made of top-grade steel. It would definitely crunch nicely when bitten.

Gulp

Yisela swallowed subconsciously, nearly dropping the abandoned gear in her arms.

‘Hold on, Yisela!’

‘You have to hold on!’

She roared in her heart.

‘That’s the Saint Sister’s people. I can’t touch them!’

‘Besides, it’s worn on people. It would be rude to snatch it!’

‘Probably.’

Though she wanted it badly, Yisela had principles. She looked away.

Clutching her treasures, she turned and walked into a quiet alley.

Here, away from the noise, only a few stray cats were sunbathing on the wall.

Yisela found a clean step and sat down to inventory her loot.

“This glass piece can be set into my throne.”

“This copper ring is a bit small, but it can serve as a chew toy.”

“As for this gear—”

Yisela picked up the rusty gear, examining it left and right. Suddenly, it seemed oddly familiar.

This looked like part of some mechanical device?

In that instant, the gear suddenly vibrated, emitting a faint click.

Yisela was startled, then her eyes lit up.

“Could it be?”

“Is this an ancient divine artifact?”

“Or some kind of sealed magical device?”

She excitedly brought the gear closer and muttered softly.

“Come on, tell me your secret!”

“Do I just need to drop a drop of blood to bind it?”

The gear didn’t respond.

Unwilling to give up, Yisela extended her tongue and licked the gear.

“Blech!”

“What a rusty taste!”

She threw the gear aside in disgust, convinced she must have been driven crazy by those kids to have any fantasies about this junk.

“Whatever. I’ll just go back to find my sister.”

She dusted off her bottom and was about to stand up when she suddenly sensed an unusual presence.

It wasn’t the aura of a monster or a human. It was a cold, sticky gaze, as if from the abyss.

She jerked her head up and looked toward the shadowy end of the alley.

No one was there, except a black cat squatting silently. Its red eyes stared fixedly at her.

That black cat’s gaze wasn’t that of someone looking at a human girl; it was like looking at prey.

Instinctively, Yisela tightened her grip on the abandoned gear, and the scales on her tail stood up slightly.

‘Sister said not to go too far from the Holy Temple!’

She swallowed, a little creeped out, but she forced herself to look calm.

“What are you looking at?”

“Haven’t you seen a beauty before?”

She bared her teeth at the black cat, then hugged her treasures, and with her short little legs, she ran as fast as she could toward the Holy Temple.

The black cat didn’t chase. It just watched her retreating back, a very eerie smile curling at the corners of its mouth.

‘Found you.’

And Yisela, who was running, knew nothing of that.

As for that strange gear and that black cat—well, they were probably just little episodes on her adventure, right?

After all, she was the future Holy Light Dragon God (though she only appointed herself that this morning with Saint Sister), so why would she be afraid of such cheap tricks?