“How much longer until we reach the phoenix nest?” Vur asked a dwarf who was riding in a carriage beside him. He was lying down on Lulu’s forehead with his head turned to the side. A day had passed since the phoenix matriarch was beaten back, but his mana still hadn’t recovered. When he inspected why his recovery was so slow, Sheryl had apologized and said she needed a lot for her evolution.

“About three days at the pace we’re going, Your Gloriousness,” the dwarf said. Since Vur had transformed into a dragon and defeated the phoenix matriarch by himself, the dwarves accompanying him stopped referring to him as a substitute. Some even chose to believe he was actually a dwarf who enjoyed polymorphing himself into a human.

Vur grunted, causing Lulu to cross her eyes and look towards her forehead. “Will you recover by then?” she asked.

“Yes,” Vur said. “I only need a few more hours. My mana should’ve came back after sleeping yesterday, but it was borrowed.”

“Sorry!” Sheryl said from the yellow runes on his shoulder. They were brighter than before with hints of feather-like patterns inside the sun. “But your mana capacity will definitely increase when I become a volcano elemental. Your fire and heat resistance will increase too!”

“Oh,” Lulu said and sighed. “Then why’d it take you two weeks to wake up last time you became a dragon?”

“That was a regular nap,” Vur said.

“Oh,” Lulu said again. “Makes sense. Darn. I made this potion that recovers mana, but I have no idea how it’ll affect someone if they drink it. I was hoping you’d be desperate enough to test it out.”

“Huh?” Stella asked from where she was sitting on Vur’s chest. “You made a potion that recovers mana, but you don’t know what it’ll do? How do you know it recovers mana?”

“Well,” Lulu said scratched her ear. “I put in ingredients that recover mana and mixed them together, and the cauldron didn’t explode. If the individual parts all recover mana, then the final product should too, right? But sadly, that’s not how the real world works, and things can change when mixed with other things. Which is why I want a test subject.”

“Have you considered drinking it yourself?” Stella asked with a snort. “Dumb lizard.”

Lulu blinked. “Someone’s in a bad mood,” she said. “Woke up on the wrong side of Vur’s chest, did you?”

Stella snorted again, but she closed her eyes and didn’t respond, crossing her arms over her chest. Vur frowned at the fairy queen and poked the back of her head, causing her to yelp and fall over face first. “What’s wrong?” Vur asked. “Hungry?”

“A woman’s anger is not always due to hunger,” Stella said and shook her fist at Vur before sitting up and fixing her hair that had fallen over her face. She sighed and lowered her head, biting her lower lip. “I’m just upset. Memories of my previous self keep coming back, but there’s something missing—something very, very big that explains why I’m so angry all the time.” She raised her head, meeting Vur’s eyes. “What happened to me, Vur?”

“You nearly destroyed the world,” Vur said as he sat up, catching Stella with his palm before she could fall off his body.

Stella blinked. She squinted at Vur’s face before tilting her head. “I didn’t know you knew how to make a joke,” she said. “Doesn’t that count as a lie?”

“Dragons don’t lie,” Vur said with a nod.

“We don’t?” Lulu asked from under him. “Are you sure about that? Luke deceives Mom all the time when he runs off to see his girlfriend.”

Vur acted as if he hadn’t heard her, keeping his gaze on Stella. The fairy queen scratched her cheek. “I was that amazing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why’d I give up the memory then?”

Vur rubbed his chin. “You gave up the memory?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

“The price for reviving is some of your memories,” Stella said. “Fairies get to pick and choose which ones. No one else does.”

“Elementals too,” Sheryl said. “I think it’s because we’re frequent visitors to the Wisty.”

Diamant grunted in agreement.

Vur nodded. “Then your previous self gave up those memories for a reason,” he said. “Isn’t it better to make new ones than try to remember what happened before? The past is the past; it’s meant to be forgotten.”

“Uh, no it’s not?” Lulu asked, raising an eyebrow. “People keep historical records to help the people in the future remember the past.”

Vur ignored the silver dragon again, smiling at the fairy in his palm. Stella glanced at Lulu before meeting Vur’s eyes. She nodded and hugged his thumb, curling up into the fetal position around it. “Then I’ll trust you, Vur,” she said. “If you think it’s better for me to not know, then I won’t try to find out. But do you know why my children are here? I sensed their traces on the phoenix. And I’m very upset about that.”

“Really?” Vur asked. “I didn’t notice.”

“That’s because you fainted,” Stella said, drawing circles with her finger on the back of Vur’s thumb. “It was faint, but I knew a fairy had come into contact with the phoenix. And fairies are not fire-retardant!”

“Isn’t that weird?” Vur asked, tilting his head. “Why would your children cross the ocean to come here? Maybe Auntie would know.”

“Right!” Stella said, sitting up straight. “Is there anything going on between me and Lindyss?” She bit her lip and lowered her head. “Sorry. I told you I wouldn’t ask about my past, but I just did.”

“You used to be good friends with her,” Vur said.

Stella blinked. “But it seems like she hates me?”

Vur grunted. “Stuff happens.”

“Oh,” Stella said and scratched her head. She nodded before lying down again, snuggling against his thumb and closing her eyes.

Vur lowered his palm and lied down on Lulu’s head again. The clouds passed by as Lulu continued plodding along, matching the pace of the dwarves who were systematically capturing the elves. A hint of red light appeared on the horizon, causing Vur to furrow his brow. “Forest fire ahead?”

Lulu stood on her hind legs, peering over some tree tops. She shrugged. “Maybe.”