The petite, golden-haired little girl took off the gray hood covering her head, revealing a delicate, adorable face that made anyone want to reach out and pinch it.
Under Enya’s watchful gaze, the pair of long, elven ears hidden in Nina’s hair twitched, and then she proudly raised her chin and spoke.
“Hmph, stupid mother dragon, if you have something to say to Nina, then hurry up and say it!”
Enya observed the aura of the Gold Elf before her, who had released her restraints.
Sixth-stage peak magic power.
At Nina’s age, this was already an incredible talent, roughly equivalent to a human reaching this realm at eighteen.
Just a little slower than Enya herself.
In terms of talent, Nina was no less than Sophia, perhaps even surpassing her, but the two were not the same kind of elf, destined to take different paths in the future.
Nina’s personality was not fit to be a leader; she’d likely end up tagging along with Sophia.
Enya looked at Nina, calculating in her mind.
Nina’s strength didn’t surprise Enya much—after all, keeping a low profile wasn’t unique to Enya; others could do it too.
And now that she had Nina, it seemed she wouldn’t need to act personally anymore…
Thinking of this, a slight smile tugged at Enya’s lips.
Letting her subordinates handle things would have a greater deterrent effect, and the stronger her followers were, the more awe and fear people would feel toward her as their leader.
Enya couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Last time you called me mother dragon, so why are you switching back again this time?”
“Hmph, stupid mother dragon!”
At the mention of this, Nina became angry, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at Enya with her hands on her waist, but it seemed she wasn’t planning to explain the reason.
The reason was actually simple—Enya had secretly taken Sophia out to play, leaving Nina behind on the road, so she was angry.
That was why she changed the way she addressed Enya.
“Alright, call me whatever you like.”
Enya looked unconcerned, but then she said, “But every time you call me ‘stupid mother dragon,’ I’m keeping count, you know.”
“Mm, keeping count? Does the stupid mother dragon think that’ll scare Nina just because she’s counting?”
Nina didn’t seem to understand what Enya meant.
With all the pride of a little swan, she kept her neck up, refusing to meet Enya’s eyes.
Then Nina called her special nickname several more times in a row. Enya’s expression remained calm, but inwardly she sneered.
You little brat, if I don’t give you a lesson, you’ll never behave!
Just as Nina was getting into it, she suddenly heard the crisp snap of a whip.
Pa!
Afterwards, Nina’s eyes widened.
She felt a burning pain behind her.
Her lower abdomen instinctively thrust forward, both hands clutching her little butt. Her adorable face scrunched up.
“Ah! Stupid mother dragon, you hit me!”
“Nope. When did I ever hit you, little piggy? I didn’t even move a finger.” Enya looked completely innocent.
Nina’s blue eyes stared at the long tail, covered in iridescent scales, peeking from under Enya’s robe. Her eyes went wide as she cried out.
“It was you! It was your tail that hit me!”
“What tail? I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no tail, really, none at all.”
Enya’s tail was tucked away again.
The robe’s folds returned to normal, not even a hint of swaying, and with her flawless acting as if nothing had happened, it almost seemed believable.
But she was the one who did it.
Rubbing her still stinging butt, Nina sucked in a sharp breath.
She hadn’t even managed to react just now, and even her Protective Magic hadn’t responded.
The pain in her butt didn’t feel like physical pain, but more like a kind of Soul-level Pain.
But… could a soul even have a butt?
Did it? It must, right?
Nina shook her head to rid herself of this odd train of thought and refocused on the bizarre gray-haired woman in front of her.
This woman looked just like a human, and even her aura was human.
If not for the pleasant scent that always lingered around the “stupid mother dragon,” Nina would have thought she was just some other human!
That was what Nina thought to herself.
She squinted, then dashed to Enya’s side, grabbing her robe and lifting the hem to reveal a pair of long legs wrapped in black silk.
Nina reached for where Enya’s tail should have been.
“What are you doing?”
Enya was a little startled, dodging Nina’s little hand, then squinted at her strangely.
If this were back when she was younger, she wouldn’t have minded Nina touching her, but the current Enya was no longer her younger self.
“You, little loli, please don’t do that!”
“Ugh… stupid mother dragon, where’s your tail? Where did you hide it?” Nina circled Enya, who kept turning to avoid her.
Nina tried to look at her back, but Enya just wouldn’t let her.
After a while, Enya finally pressed a hand on Nina’s head to stop the stubborn Gold Elf girl.
Nina looked up at Enya’s face.
“Stupid mother dragon, you took Nina’s money, but only let Nina see your face. You don’t keep your word—you’re so mean!” “Not true, this is still a mask.” “What?”
“This is just a skin I put on, not my real appearance.”
Enya explained to Nina.
She hadn’t broken her promise. Since she said only Nina could see, then only Nina would see.
“Ahem, there are a lot of people in the city, and my real appearance isn’t convenient. So I had someone make a mask. As long as I wear it, I look human, and it can even hide my tail and wings.”
“Wow, that’s amazing?!” Nina’s eyes sparkled when she heard this.
“How much is it? Nina wants to buy it!”
What Nina was thinking was that she didn’t want to be short anymore—she wanted to be as tall as her Sophia-sis and experience what it was like to have those heavy fruits like the Forest Elves.
“Not for sale.”
Enya turned away, refusing flatly. At this moment, Nina took her chance to try to touch Enya, but Enya brushed her hand aside with a slap.
Nina stared at her hand, now smacked away, falling into a thoughtful silence.
Why?
She couldn’t believe Enya could so easily deflect her hand—after all, she could even catch her with her fingernails before.
And when she thought about Enya not letting her touch, she angrily shouted at Enya’s back.
“Stupid mother dragon!”
“Counting, counting,” Enya said lazily as she sank into a chair, her gaze shifting to the door.
She called out, “Come in.”
The door was pushed open.
In came Sophia, and by her side, Wendy the Forest Elf, who had recovered some of her magic.
Sophia first glanced at Nina, then set her gaze on Enya.
Enya signaled her with her eyes to take a seat.
Sophia did so, leaving Wendy standing nervously at the door.
Wendy was fixed in place by Nina’s gaze.
After realizing she couldn’t deal with Enya, Nina decided to vent her frustration elsewhere.
It couldn’t be on her Sophia-sis, but this Forest Elf had appeared at just the right time!
The little Gold Elf darted straight toward Wendy.
After all, she didn’t like listening to the stuffy conversations between mother dragon and Sophia-sis that elves couldn’t understand; it was better to play with this Forest Elf.
Wendy, startled by Nina’s fierce approach, tried to turn and run, but before she could, Nina caught her.
“Yaa…”
Wendy had just started to cry out when Nina clamped a small hand over her mouth.
Then Nina closed the door, dragging the now limp-with-fear Wendy toward the side room, her eyes darting to Wendy’s chest.
Forest Elves were generally bigger than Gold Elves—by a landslide.
She’d even asked the Saintess before why Forest Elves were so big.
But the Saintess had never answered her.
“Hey, you coward, how come your chest is so big?” “Huh?”
Wendy was completely dumbfounded by the question.
Meanwhile, Sophia took a seat beside Enya.
After hesitating a moment, she finally voiced her doubts. “Senior, what exactly are we doing?”
Yes, what were they doing?
All these events seemed unrelated, but Senior acted like everything was under control, yet Sophia just couldn’t see the bigger picture.
That Sharon, the two who came earlier, even the strange spending at the auction—what was it all for?
Seeing Sophia’s genuine confusion, Enya decided to offer an explanation.
“Sophia, do you know what it means to stir things up?” “…No.”
After thinking for a bit, Sophia answered.
Enya squinted at the window not far away, where a cool breeze was already drifting in, tinged with the scent of rain.
She continued in a calm, unhurried voice.
“In White Stone City, who hasn’t worked with the Lord of Mist Church? Actually, more or less, everyone has profited from them.”
“But now, with the Lord of Mist Church in decline, none of these people are saints. When they smell blood, they can’t help but bare their fangs.”
“Especially that Sharon—the Golden Town behind her is probably the most deeply involved with the Lord of Mist Church.”
Why were there elves at the auction?
Wendy had been captured by the Lord of Mist Church, but eventually ended up in Sharon of Golden Town’s hands.
Why did they attend the auction?
It was all Sharon’s arrangement—so there were elves at the auction.
Why such an arrangement?
Because Enya and Sharon had deliberately revealed that Sophia was an elf.
Sharon wanted to test Enya, to see if she was worth cooperating with.
But Enya didn’t fall for it—instead, she took the initiative to provoke Ronald.
After hearing this, Sophia quickly digested it and asked Enya, “Senior, so we’re about to show our strength?”
Enya gave a positive answer and stood up, walking slowly to the door.
“Sophia, you’re up for the first round. Do your best. Don’t embarrass Eliph.”
“Yes, Senior!”
Hearing Enya directly mention the Saintess, Sophia swallowed nervously, feeling a bit anxious about the coming “demonstration match.”