Lu Qiuchen was startled to recognize the man standing before her—it was Trist from the Brave Justice Adventuring Party.
The Duke of Cethis is about to launch his assault on the royal capital, and this guy, a member of the West family, dares to stay here? Don’t tell me… he’s acting as a mole for the rebels?
Trist’s smile faltered slightly under her openly suspicious gaze, his expression turning a bit helpless and bitter.
“My uncle… I had no idea about Duke Cethis’s rebellion beforehand. I’ve already severed ties with the West family,” he explained.
Lu Qiuchen continued eyeing him with suspicion and shook her head. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’d like to double-check. How about I go report you to the city guards and see what happens?”
With that, she adjusted her coat, as if about to head out.
Trist twitched at the corner of his mouth. She really doesn’t play by the rules, huh? He quickly stepped forward and stopped her. “Don’t go, don’t go! I was just joking to lighten the mood. But seriously—I’ve really cut ties with Duke Cethis.”
“To be precise, it was Duke Cethis who severed ties with the West family first.”
“And actually, the information you asked us to investigate about him… well, we did find something unusual. Back then, we weren’t sure where you stood, so we didn’t share everything. For that, I sincerely apologize.”
Trist turned around and poured a glass of white beer, pushing it toward Lu Qiuchen. Leaning forward, he lowered his voice.
“But now we’ve uncovered a new lead. Would you be interested in having a deeper conversation… Miss Dragon?”
With that, he straightened up again and resumed calmly wiping glasses, as if nothing had happened.
“The Captain’s room is number 2-3-2.”
Lu Qiuchen blinked, leaned against the tavern bar, and slowly finished the white beer. Setting the glass back down, she gave the man in front of her a flat look.
“That wasn’t a very funny joke. And this white beer was heavily watered down—it was barely drinkable.”
With that, she turned and made her way toward the tavern’s exit. A helpless voice called out behind her.
“Hey, at least pay for the drink!”
Watching the girl stride away without even glancing back, Trist let out a long sigh behind the bar, a hint of confusion flickering in his eyes before he shook his head.
“In the end, I still have to foot the bill… And a single white beer costs half a gold coin now? This guild is ruthless.”
*****
Lu Qiuchen arrived outside the room Trist had mentioned and knocked. After a moment, the door opened, revealing the guardian knight Solin, who looked surprised as he held the doorknob.
“Miss Cecily! Please come in!”
Upon entering, Lu Qiuchen saw the party leader York and the scholar-branch mage Phyllis sitting on the couch, their heads buried in books. The rogue Simon was in the center of the room, sorting through a thick stack of documents. Beside the scattered papers on the floor was a clear space—it was obvious that Solin had been helping organize them just a moment ago.
Everyone inside looked up at the sound of the door opening.
York’s expression visibly brightened when he saw her, his voice rising in excitement.
“Cecily!”
Why does he look so thrilled? Lu Qiuchen wasn’t sure, but she politely greeted everyone in the room.
Phyllis puffed up her cheeks and was the first to speak. “You suddenly disappeared last time. Were you not treating us like friends?”
Before Lu Qiuchen could offer the excuse she’d just thought up, York interrupted with a more pressing matter.
“Let’s not get into that right now. Miss Cecily, you’ve seen Trist downstairs already, haven’t you? Then you probably know our purpose here is to protect the civilian Druids. Now, I need to ask you a very serious question.”
“No, I had no idea your ideals were this grand. In a war of this scale, even five Saint-ranked individuals might not be able to protect yourselves, let alone the people of Druid.”
But when Lu Qiuchen saw York showing a rare serious expression, she nodded slightly, signaling for him to go on.
“You once commissioned our party to investigate Archduke Sethys. Is your investigation related to the current rebellion?”
York stared intently into the girl’s eyes, hoping for a definitive answer. Lu Qiuchen had already suspected this question would come, and she nodded without hesitation.
Once she nodded, York’s eyes lit up. He clapped his hands excitedly. “I knew it! Simon, bring the report we compiled yesterday!”
York’s excitement piqued Lu Qiuchen’s curiosity. She took the report from Simon and flipped through it roughly, then gave another small nod.
Phyllis’s face brightened at the scene. She stood up from the couch and said, “With Miss Cecilia of the Dragonkin confirming this, we can release the news that Archduke Sethys is colluding with demons. If we copy and spread these materials among the rebels, then the rebellion will—”
Lu Qiuchen cut her off with a smile and firmly denied, “Phyllis, I never confirmed the accuracy of these documents. And I’m not a Dragonkin. I’m just an ordinary half-dragon.”
Frustrated by the way the two were clearly acting like ‘Go ahead, we’ll take it as fact anyway’, Lu Qiuchen couldn’t continue. A sense of unease grew in her heart. Why are they so sure I’m a Dragonkin? Was there a flaw in my disguise?
Trying to steer the conversation elsewhere, Lu Qiuchen said, “Even if you do that, the rebellion won’t collapse, and the dragons won’t intervene.”
“But didn’t the Kingdom of Tara sign a pact with the dragons? Why would you say that?” Phyllis ignored Lu Qiuchen’s denial and pressed on with confusion.
Oops. I accidentally leaked something again, Lu Qiuchen realized, forcing a smile and choosing not to reply, though she was starting to lose her composure.
Guardian Knight Solin, who had been leaning against the wall, seemed to realize something. Looking a little disheartened, he said, “No, Phyllis. The Dragonkin are different from us. They can’t interfere in the kingdom’s civil wars.”
Phyllis turned to Lu Qiuchen, but didn’t get any reaction. She looked both disappointed and puzzled.
“But we’re sure there’s a demonic influence behind Archduke Sethys. The demons are the enemy of the entire continent, so—”
“So not only must we spread the news, but we also have to hold off the rebels long enough to force the demons behind Sethys to reveal themselves!” York had reached a similar conclusion. Unless the demons showed themselves, this rebellion would remain just an internal affair of the Kingdom of Tara, and the pact clearly stated the dragons couldn’t interfere in internal conflicts.
But with the capital’s current defenses, there was no way they could repel the rebel army. Even if other countries or the Church believed them, mobilizing armies would take time. And clerics from the Church weren’t easy to persuade, especially before any demons actually appeared. By the time any reinforcements arrived, the capital would already have fallen.
That ran completely counter to their goal of protecting Druid.
“So, how are we supposed to stop Archduke Sethys’s army?” Everyone in the room was left troubled.
Lu Qiuchen snapped her fingers sharply, drawing everyone’s attention. Pleased with herself, she smiled. Ever since I failed the last time, I practiced snapping for a whole week when no one was around. Finally, it paid off.
“Alright, everyone. I can give you a method to stop Archduke Sethys. But if you want the answer, you’ll have to tell me something first—when did you figure out my disguise?”
She wasn’t going to pretend anymore—it was time to come clean! Since they’d already seen through her disguise, continuing to act would only add to the awkwardness. She might as well admit it outright.
Back in the tavern downstairs, when Trist had suddenly called out her true identity, Lu Qiuchen had been surprised, but managed to keep a calm expression. That calmness, in turn, had made Trist doubt his own judgment.
Once they entered the room, Lu Qiuchen had already mentally prepared for their suspicions—but what she hadn’t expected was how York and Phyllis stared at her with that look of “we know but we’re not saying,” filled with a strange affection that nearly broke her composure. Though by now, she had basically given up on hiding anything anyway.
When York heard Lu Qiuchen admit her identity, a subtle expression crossed his face. He simply said, “Just now.”
Lu Qiuchen froze for a moment. A mix of regret and irritation bubbled up in her heart as she wondered if York was just teasing her. Her expression shifted rapidly.
York noticed that his vague comment had been misunderstood by the dragon girl in front of him and quickly explained:
“Earlier, we couldn’t be sure you were truly from the dragon race, but we had a strong suspicion.
“After we returned from Londo to Druid, the Lightning Griffon, the Guildmaster, and our party went to the Imperial Adventurers’ Guild. There, we reported the situation at the Londo ruins, and the Guildmaster submitted a report with information about you. They also suspected that you were the one who helped the Church wipe out the demons. But without your direct confirmation, they couldn’t be certain.
“After the report, the Lightning Griffon stayed in the Empire, and we returned to Druid with the Guildmaster just last week. We didn’t expect to hear about Duke Cesis’s rebellion the moment we got back.”
Naturally, the “Empire” here referred to the only empire in the southern continent—the Letachino Empire. It was located in the central part of the continent, far from the northeastern Tara Kingdom. After mentally calculating the distance and speed, Lu Qiuchen figured the timeline roughly added up and nodded in acknowledgment.
‘This doesn’t count as my disguise failing… They had concrete evidence already,’ Lu Qiuchen told herself defensively. But she soon realized that this kind of thinking was flawed—she had been too relaxed and complacent lately. This wasn’t the relatively peaceful Earth. If she truly wanted to change the world’s fate of destruction, she needed to correct her mindset and remain vigilant and disciplined at all times.
After her brief self-reflection, Lu Qiuchen remembered the rebellion that still needed to be addressed. She looked seriously at the people before her and said, “Before there’s any foreign interference, we absolutely cannot take action. That’s what the contract dictates. But we also don’t want to see the Tara Kingdom fall into the hands of the demons. On this matter, we share the same goal.”
“And my method… is to introduce an external force so that the dragon race can intervene.” Lu Qiuchen smiled faintly and, ignoring the curious gazes, continued, “Bringing in that force isn’t something we can do. But you can.”
The group had considered this idea before but hadn’t come up with any solid plans. After all, any force willing to get involved might not arrive in time, and the nearby small nations lacked the strength to pressure the demons into revealing themselves.
Among the four, Phyllis was the most impatient. Seeing that Lu Qiuchen was still keeping them in suspense, she urged her to just say it.
Lu Qiuchen, unfazed by the prompting, maintained her calm demeanor and slowly said, “This force is powerful—and all of you are familiar with it. That force is…”
“The Adventurers’ Guild!”