Reed and Alisa, from Emeralda’s playful teasing, separate from each other in flustering manner. Because Reed just realized what he just did, he felt a little embarrassed while Alisa’s face is in a blissful glow with a joyous smile.

“Ah, it’s, you know…a…friendly hug? Ahahaha…” Reed stated while leaking out a weak laughter. He turns his sight away from Alisa and let his eyes wander somewhere else.

“F-Friendly hug…” Alisa grimace in dismay at Reed’s words. She just heaves a heavy sigh as once again, Reed threw Alisa into the friend zone game, is all her thoughts are.

Emeralda, who was watching the whole thing, sprouted yet again another grin. In her eyes, Reed and Alisa are already an item she is anticipating to come out but they themselves build a wall in front of each other.

“Rather than calling Reed Chelle dense, at this point, he is now more in his denial phase. His feelings are now laid bare.The problem now lies with the girl. Alisa Hertuclaire is now dense of the lad’s feelings. How complicated, how sweet yet bitter youth!~” Emeralda inwardly said to herself with elevated mood.

“Okay, you two, let’s stop dawdling. I’ll just ask this just in case. Since it seems that the two of you has made up, do the two of you still intend to take this path?” Emeralda voices out the question mixed with her own concern over the two.

“Like I said, Lady Emeralda, I am determined from the very start. It just makes me more concerned about Sig. Even though I’ve known him for a short while, I can attest that he, even as a Hero from thousands of years ago, still have his emotions intact. I feel like I’ve hurt him considerably.” Reed returned a resolute reply.

“Neither I nor Reed is going home at this point, Lady Emeralda. I am determined to bring back Sig too. I know that I am at fault too for showing him how frightened I am for his power incomprehensible to us.” Alisa followed as she clenches her fist while looking straight at Emeralda’s eyes.

“Alright, alright! That was dumb of me to ask! Since there’s no stopping you two, let’s immediately plan this out carefully.” Emeralda said as she beckons the two closer and Reed and Alisa obediently did so.

“First, lad, drop all of your things here. We don’t need anything that will weigh you down. There’s no point in camping peacefully in a place where danger is also apparent at night. Second, be sure to prepare your minds because we are not going to get a single wink of sleep. Third…always…always listen to me.” Emeralda’s voice is tinged with anxiety this time but her third order sounded absolute.

“Leave our things behind, no sleep, and follow your orders. Got it.” Reed simplified everything that Emeralda said as he gently put down his bag full of provisions and camping materials.

“Wait, Lady Emeralda, I understand the first and third rule but…no sleep is practically a huge hurdle, especially for me. Even though I am a Vaster Fox subspecies, I am actually very sleep driven person.” Alisa delivers her worries with knitted brows.

“Oh, now that’s a problem. Reed Chelle, how long do you think you can stay awake?” Emeralda directed her question to Reed.

“I am confident to stay awake at least for two days. If push comes to shove, I’ll carry Alisa in my back if needed to!” Reed declared so as he looks at Alisa as if to assure her.

“Then, Miss Alisa?” Emeralda directed a smirk to Alisa whose cheeks turns a little cerise.

“Ahaha…I…uh…do my best to stay awake for three days! No need to worry about me!” Alisa’s voice cracks a little as she stated it.

Emeralda leers close to Reed and whispers to his ears.

“She can’t. Prepare your back.” Emeralda playfully said.

“Eh…?” Reed struck dumbfounded.

“Well then, since the two of you heard my conditions, we’ll fly until midway. We can just skip climbing from the very base of the mountain since that’s too tedious.” Emeralda announced as two scaly wings sprouted from her back.

“Hmm, now that you said it Lady Emeralda. Couldn’t we just use a Jet or a Heli? I’m pretty sure I can afford about ten of those.” Alisa asked with an innocent face.

“Damn brat! Are you trying to flaunt your wealth or something?! Anyway, those are no good. Before it could even enter the premises of the mountain, a dragon would have launched an attack above the clouds. This mountain, in diameter, is larger than Brent City and as close as possible to the stratosphere. Expect that the oxygen level there is lower.” Emeralda explained calmly even though she was lashing a little at Alisa.

“Then, can’t you just fly towards the summit yourself?” Alisa once again asked a question timidly.

“That’s also impossible. Before the summit, a Mythical Dragon resides. Lustrous jet black scale and overflowing with magical energy. Sigrun referred to that dragon as Fafnir. It will be our greatest enemy if we are not careful.” Another warning came from Emeralda.

“Just how many of these are you going to tell…?” Reed muttered as he grew impatient.

“Wha-?! Now my warning is plain annoyance?! In the first place, it is the two of you who wanted to come here impromptu! We could have planned this out properly, you know! Geez, whatever! Let’s go!” Emeralda swiftly scoops Reed and Alisa and carried them both on her shoulders.

“Eh?!” “Wait!” Reed and Alisa both shrieked as they were both carried unprepared.

“And GO!” Emeralda shouted as she flapped her wings and she takes off sounded like a boom.

Cutting the air with her wake, trampling the sound barrier, and blasting off like a mad rocket, Emeralda flies higher, however, her diagonal direction that seemingly preventing to fly higher than needed, she stops as she arrives at the point where clouds started covering their visibility.

She carefully and gently lands on a rocky path covered with tall trees. The starry night sky disappears from their sight as only clouds blankets above them and the frosty coldness covers the bark of the trees a little icy.

“We’re here.” Emeralda said as she brought Reed and Alisa down on the cold rocky ground. “See? The flight wasn’t too long.” She added with a smile.

However, her words reach no ears as Alisa and Reed just sit there in a daze.

“Hey, are you two okay?! Hey, earth to two moronic lovers!~” Emeralda tried to shake their minds with a little tease but it was ignored.

Seeing that their minds still haven’t caught up yet, she just sat down on a slab of stone and waits.

“Hmm, maybe the sudden change in the atmosphere shocked their bodies? Or they’ve gone a little groggy from the burst of my flight? Anyway, this is a little fun to observe.” Emeralda tried to come up with a conclusion but gave up as she watches Alisa and Reed.

“Ah…” “Muh…?” Reed and Alisa simultaneously came to their senses.

Both blinked several times while looking at each other. Assessing that they are looking right into one’s eyes, they turn around and looks at Emeralda with disheveled appearances.

“I…I was used to using wind magic to fly but…that was something else…kind of shocking.” Reed absentmindedly muttered.

“I…think I wet myself a little…” Alisa, like-wise, muttered the first thing that came to her mind.

Emeralda’s eyes widen a little from the reaction she got from the two. Feeling a little satisfied with what she saw, she stood up and approached the two.

“Hey, let’s go. We’ve got all day and night with us, or the two of you prefer to rest first?” Emeralda asked as she places one hand on her hip.

Snapping out, Reed and Alisa jolted from the ground as the coldness seeps into their skins. In much of their panic, they straightened their backs and immediately gave Emeralda an answer.

“Let’s immediately deploy!” Reed answered livelily.

“All hands are ready!” Alisa, like-wise, gave a weird response.

“Are you guys really okay? Well, no matter. Before we proceed, pour this all over your body.” Emeralda handed them a gooey flask with a clear colored fluid inside. Its content is enough to be poured all over.

“Um…what is this…Lady Emeralda?” Alisa asked, as out of the two of them, she felt slightly uncomfortable while Reed started applying the fluid.

“That erases your odor. It won’t come off unless you wash. In short, you won’t produce any odor or anything.” Emeralda explained as she started applying the same stuff not only to her body but to her clothes as well.

“Umm…” Alisa tried to say something else until she got cut off.

“Forget about your delicacy as a girl. From here on out, it will be survival of the fittest. If you don’t want to die, do as I say, remember? Or do you want to back down? It’s not too late yet.” Emeralda gave Alisa a side glance while she threw a question.

Alisa turns towards the flask and grasps it firmly. She heaved a deep sigh before opening the flask and pouring the content onto her body.

“Euughh…” Alisa leaks out a disgusted voice as she applies the liquid all over her body. The slimy and gooey fluid taking all over her body, the sensation that makes her a little hot, and the slouching sound that it makes made her so disgusted.

And so, the three of them finished applying the x-substance that removes body odor.

Beckoned by Emeralda, they ventured further through the foggy uphill of the mountain, however, their positions are reversed. Instead of walking right in front of them, Emeralda positioned herself behind Reed and Alisa.

Since she is taller and her eyesight is far better than the two of them, she deemed that it is the most optimal way to tread along. She is the least concerned about her back so she feels a little relieved watching Reed and Alisa in front of her.

After walking for half an hour, the fog clears up.

“You two, come closer to me. We’ll hide under the blankets of the trees.” Emeralda said in a low and almost inaudible voice.

As per her command, Reed and Alisa walk closer to Emeralda and slowly, they began to move from trees to trees.

But the situation, the changed in the atmosphere, the sudden attack of wild and powerful magical energy, made Alisa and Reed gulp their saliva.

“L-Lady…Emeralda…this is…” Reed tried to say something.

“Observe, sharpen your senses. Any questions, I’ll fill it as long as we survive.” She briefly replied, exuding her vigilant to the highest degree.

“It is…as Lady Emeralda said…this world…is connected…yet not. Even the magical energy is too abnormal that even the trees around that supposed to freeze, are healthy and brimming with life.” Alisa kept her thoughts inside her mind.

Straight out from a book where Gods lived, the scenery behold to them is nothing short of breathtaking.

The time should be around night time, however, the sky shows nothing but a hue of both nighttime and daytime, as if the moon and sun have met from each side of the world and brought their ray of light down into this place.

Nothing sort of starry sky, they felt like they are actually staring at the streak of the galaxy across the universe and turbulent calm aurora fiddles here and there.

Up above the sky, floating rocks, no, islands set sail in the air and unmovingly stills there. Being dissonant with reality, they felt like another world has opened up to them. Large dragons hovering the sky far above of differing types roared.

But, even as they looked up, the summit is nowhere to be found.

As Reed and Alisa burn the mythical scenery right before them, Emeralda suddenly pulled them down with her hands covering their mouths.

As confusion ensues, Reed and Alisa look at Emeralda as if looking for an answer.

“……” In response, Emeralda knitted her brows and shook her head.

BAM!

BOOM!

Loud noises suddenly entered their ears. In curiosity, Reed and Alisa peek their eyes out of the thicket they are using as their blanket from the sight of the monstrosities in this frontier land.

“BRUAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” A huge ogre standing seven meters tall shouts a battle cry.

The ogre has a yellow skin and hard toned body. Its distinguishable feature is its distorted face with lower jaw teeth protruding from its mouth. In its hand, a large stone ax is being dragged.

In front of the enraged ogre is an ashen rabbit the stands at one-meter height. Contrary to normal rabbits the would run away from a dangerous situation, this rabbit stares cautiously at the Ogre.

A chill suddenly ran down Alisa and Reed’s spine as they watched the spectacle.

In a flash, the ogre swung its ax towards the rabbit downward. As soon as it landed on the ground, a streak of stone pillars are erected.

“Magic?! So Lady Emeralda is serious! And that magic is clearly abnormally overpowered!” Reed’s mind is in tatters. The magical beasts in front of him clearly defy any logic. He imagined if he himself fought the ogre, he guarantees that he will die.

Even so, the attack didn’t hit the rabbit. The ogre tried pulling the ax from the ground but it was a beat slower.

SWISH!

The rabbit that dodged the huge stone ax and rapidly approached the ogre and did a somersault kick to its chin. The kick was so strong that the ogre’s head was blown away upward.

Seeing how a rabbit took down a terrifying ogre, made Alisa and Reed trembles in fear. It was then replaced with horror as the rabbit started nibbling on the ogre’s dead body and making crunching sounds.

“Lies…lies…lies…this is not what I expected…!” Alisa’s mind falls into a complete panic. She would have shrieked in utter fear if Emeralda wasn’t holding her mouth.

THUD

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted in front of them with splattering sound.

Alisa and Reed both strained their eyes to see what just landed. To add fuel to their chaotic state of mind…

The decapitated head of the ogre lands in front of them.

Emeralda tightly held their mouths so they won’t leak a single ounce of their voices. The two younglings in her embrace, leaning on her body, are trembling in fear.

Alisa couldn’t help but cry in a horrid state of the head while Reed clenches his teeth to still any strong emotions that may erupt.

“I hope you two understand it now.” Emeralda thought to herself.