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Mary used a towel to wipe the sweat off her brow as she walked through the forest within Vur and Tafel’s residence. Since the red-haired woman wasn’t actually related to any phoenixes or dragons, she thought it’d be awkward for her to stick around while Vur was getting to know his great-grandfather. Now that the dragons flew away, it wouldn’t be strange for her to scrounge around the place for some food. Tafel usually pulled it out from her portals, but some rations had to be kept around somewhere for the regular people.
The smell of coffee caught Mary’s attention. It was something numerous members of Virtuous Hand had drank in the morning along with their breakfasts. Mary’s eyes narrowed as she turned towards the smell and followed it. If there was coffee, there was probably food too. After walking for a short while, it was as she suspected. An old-looking man was sitting at a balcony, down on a branch that had been molded into a chair, and on the brown table in front of him, there was a cup of coffee along with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and butter.
Mary took a seat by the table, causing Jeffery to flinch. The melon-shaped egg and ant pupa seemed to twitch as well from their spots on top of the table. Mary reached forward and picked up a pancake with her bare hand before placing it into her mouth. She glanced at the spread on the table before grabbing the pinkish ant pupa.
“Wait,” Jeffery said and cleared his throat. “That’s not food. It’s Vur and Tafel’s pet.”
Mary paused, her mouth an inch away from biting into the pupa. She glanced at it before placing it back where she found it. The pupa trembled as if letting out a sigh of relief. Mary picked up a piece of bacon and glanced at Jeffery. Her brow furrowed. From what she could tell, there was nothing special about the man in front of her. It wouldn’t be wrong to call him a regular, old dude. Then again, one didn’t have to be strong to babysit eggs and unmoving pupae.
Jeffery watched as Mary devoured the breakfast he had prepared for himself and the baby bugs. “You must be hungry,” he said.
Mary glanced up at him and swallowed. “I’m not hungry, but I have to eat to get stronger,” she said and grabbed a handful of eggs with her gauntleted hand. Without any grace, she pressed her face into her palm and devoured the eggs like a piranha stripping meat from a bone. She licked her lips before looking at the food remaining on the table. “Make some more.”
Jeffery raised an eyebrow before standing up. “Sure,” he said as he made his way inside, leaving the entrance to the balcony unblocked. Honestly, retirement was a little boring. Without work, he found himself with much more free time; so much so, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it all. Making breakfast for one of Vur’s guests was as worth doing as anything else. “The egg is Vur’s pet too, so I’d avoid eating it.”
Mary nodded and sat back in her seat. Since Vur removed the regulations involving advancing in the tower, she could finally start adventuring with her best friend, Tafel. They’d climb the tower and grow stronger together; then, they could achieve their dream of slaying Grimmoldesser and saving Mary Jr.’s soul! Of course, Vur probably wouldn’t like it if Grimmoldesser died, so Mary would have to be satisfied with becoming strong enough to defeat the evil dragon and giving it a good spanking that’d teach it to never misbehave again.
***
Fern frowned as he flew faster, catching up to Volearden. “Hey, are you really going to go along with Vur’s plan?” the yellow dragon asked. “I really don’t think it’s going to work. Even if dragons and phoenixes join forces to fight against an external threat, the two groups won’t be all buddy-buddy once the threat’s gone.”
Volearden shrugged while flying. His wings weren’t flapping as he soared through the air. The armored dragon simply held his wings open, and a few metal nodules sticking out of his wing guards were propelling him forward by shooting out jets of flame. “It’s better to let him try than and fail on his own rather than me telling him he can’t do it,” Volearden said. “Besides, what if his plan does succeed by some sort of miracle?”
“Then all the dragons who’ve died while fighting the phoenixes will go unavenged,” Fern said. “The dragons following you will think you’re a coward, and they’ll probably form a separate faction outside of your control. They’ll fight phoenixes anyway, and phoenixes will hate them along with us for not stopping them.”
Volearden stroked his chin before shaking his head. “Hopefully, everyone will be able to look past their hatred and see it’ll be better for everyone involved if dragons and phoenixes work together instead of trying to kill each other all the time.”
“That’s called wishful thinking,” Fern said and clicked his tongue. “I know it’s nice to believe your great-grandson can create miracles, but I always have a plan for when miracles don’t pan out; it’s why you hired me.” The yellow dragon nodded. “Rather than working together with the phoenixes to defeat the Oebu Sin, what if we let the phoenixes fight the Oebu Sin, and attack the big birds while they’re distracted? It could solve our phoenix problems for good.”
Orange and purple lights danced along Volearden’s armor as he squinted his eyes underneath his helmet. If the phoenixes were gone, dragon lives within the tower would improve greatly. They wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed if they went out alone, and there’d be more resources overall if they could control a second tower. “Vur’s wife wouldn’t like that.”
Fern nodded. “That’s true,” the yellow dragon said. “Vur probably wouldn’t like it either, but there aren’t any solutions with outcomes where everyone’s happy. No matter what we do, someone’s going to be upset.”