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Tafel let out a groan as her eyes fluttered opened. The bed underneath her was soft, and the fur that brushed her arm when she turned over to the side felt like she was being embraced by a giant rabbit. How long had it been since she had slept in a bed this comfortable? The inns that she stopped at with Alice and Vur were usually made of sheets covering a wooden board. She sighed and mumbled, “If only Alice weren’t so stingy.”
“…The hell are you saying?”
Tafel’s eyes shot open. Alice was at the side of her bed, staring down at her with an expression that said, “Can you believe this girl?” Tafel cleared her throat as she sat up, her face red. She avoided Alice’s gaze by looking away and furrowed her brow. “Where are we?”
“We’re in Apollonia’s servants’ quarters because her main mansion was wrecked.” Alice frowned at Tafel. “You don’t remember anything? Like, say, being absolutely destroyed by Mary?”
A shiver ran down Tafel’s spine as her face went pale. Images of a blood-red sword cutting through a portal flashed through her mind as she clenched her fists, crumpling up the blanket between her fingers. She took in a deep breath through her nose. “What happened after that?”
Alice scratched the back of her neck as she sighed and looked down at her lap. “Well, Vur got super mad and tried to crush Mary, but Alora stopped him. Apparently, dragons have an agreement to not kill the emperor or empress of the lands as long as their territory is left alone.” Alice raised her head, an odd expression on her face. “So now, they’re competing in another way; they’ve been going at it ever since you fainted over a day ago. If Vur wins, then Mary has to give up the throne so he can deal with her without breaking the agreement. If Mary wins, then she gets to keep one of Vur’s scales as a trophy.”
Tafel bit her lower lip. “How are they competing?”
“I think it’s better for you to see for yourself,” Alice said with a wry smile. “Can you walk? You should be able to since Vur healed you while you were out.”
“Yeah,” Tafel said as she climbed out of bed onto her feet. Her robes had been changed. It was a nice robe, but … the colors…. The top portion was bright orange while the lower part was a deep green and purple mixture. “Thanks for changing my clothes. They look … nice.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “You think I did that?” she asked as she led the way out of the servants’ quarters. “It’s your husband who lacks a fashion sense. He’s the one who changed you.”
“Figures,” Tafel said with a sigh. She left the building and shielded her eyes from the sunlight. Across a field, the broken mansion looked like one of those collapsed ruins she used to explore back in the northern continent with the Swirling Winds. “I hope we don’t have to pay for that.”
“And I’m the stingy one?” Alice asked, clicking her tongue. She turned her head and met Tafel’s gaze. “Be honest. How are you feeling right now?”
Tafel sighed and lowered her head. “I mean, you’re acting like I’ve never lost before. When you’re with Vur, inferiority is like your best friend. You get to know the feeling so well. I’m fine; don’t worry.” She raised her head and gave Alice a weak smile that only lasted for a brief moment. “Sure, I’m frustrated, but I don’t feel like I completely lost, you know?”
“No, you did,” Alice said. “You were completely and utterly dominated. What were you even thinking when you tried to compete with her in a contest of strength when you saw she was able to enter a pushing contest with Vur without backing down?”
Tafel pursed her lips. “You’re not even going to try to console me?”
“You said you were fine,” Alice said and slapped Tafel’s back, causing a loud sound to echo through the field. The demon jumped and flinched before scowling at Alice. “So? Why did your brain turn off during that battle? Didn’t you defeat an actual holy dragon to solidify your position as Vur’s wife?”
Tafel grunted. “I messed up,” she said, shaking her head. She raised her hand in front of Alice’s face. Tafel’s skin turned translucent as a golden rune appeared on her forehead. Flames danced within her palms, entering and exiting the boundaries of her skin until it seemed like her hand had turned into fire. A moment later, she clasped her hand into a fist, and the flames dispersed. “I recently learned how to turn my body into flames, but I’m not exactly proficient at it yet. I thought it’d work in actual combat, but she was too fast and I couldn’t transform until after I was already knocked down into the earth. Do you ever get that feeling when you know what you’re supposed to do, but when the time comes to do it, you screw it up? It’s like practicing something a few times, getting it right, then showing it to a friend but failing instantly.”
Alice’s eyes widened as she drew her head back and covered her mouth with her hand. “You have friends?”
“That’s not the part you were supposed to comment on!” Tafel said, glaring at Alice. “Of course, I have friends. There’s Vur, Auntie, you, Mr. Skelly, Emile, Susan, uh, maybe Stella? See, that’s more than the number of fingers I have on one hand. And stop acting like Mr. Skelly.”
“Four of those were family, that doesn’t count,” Alice said. “And who’s acting like Nate? I’d never take after his deplorable behavior.”
Tafel stared at Alice with lukewarm eyes. “Yeah, sure.” She sighed as she raised her head, continuing down the field towards the ruined mansion. “And I didn’t expect her to know how to nullify magic. Isn’t that a complete cheat?”
“Your husband’s a cheat. You’re not allowed to complain, Mrs. Phoenix.”
“Hey…, just because I’m a little more special than some people doesn’t mean there aren’t people even more special than me, alright?”
Alice rolled her eyes. “My name is Tafel. I have the imprint of a phoenix. Anyone weaker than me isn’t worth my time. But anyone stronger than me is a cheater.”
“I don’t sound like that,” Tafel said, biting her lower lip. “Are you still mad about the genie thing? I said I was sorry, didn’t I?”
Alice snorted. “It wasn’t a very sincere apology.” She slapped Tafel’s back again, causing the demon to let out a yelp. “Even if you did turn into flames, couldn’t Mary cut you anyways with her null magic? She completely broke your portal by the way, you know, just in case you forgot.”
“Your consolation sucks,” Tafel said while rubbing her back.
“Why didn’t you just teleport yourself away instead of using a portal?”
“When you’re being rushed at that fast, you don’t think, alright? Portals have always worked for blocking attacks, so I tried to use a portal to block hers.” Tafel slapped Alice’s back in return, causing the diminutive woman to fall over. “I screwed up, alright? I’ve already thoroughly reflected on my loss. It’s not going to happen again.”
Alice picked herself up off the ground and glared at Tafel while spitting out a clump of grass. “You’re taking your loss a lot better than I expected.”
Tafel snorted. “Didn’t I already tell you? If losing were a person, he’d be my best friend. I’m not one of those people who mope and give up because of one or two losses and lose myself to alcohol while losing all will to fight and eventually pick up the sword again because a promising young person wants to seek out a teacher and, while I’m training her, I reflect back on my time as an adventurer and miss the feeling of the sword. Then, while my disciple is overcoming her hardships, I overcome my own and together we move on with our lives—she, overcoming the challenge that forced her to seek out a master, and me, learning how to look forward after a loss. That kind of inspirational story is called a story for a reason. I have to be practical.”
Alice stared at Tafel. “You have a pretty weird imagination.”
“Do I? I think I’m normal though.”
“All crazy people think they’re normal.”
“I knew it. You’re really still mad about the genie thing, aren’t you?”