The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

If it wasn’t for Liszt constantly observing her with the Eye of Magic, he might not have known she had spoken.

“You… hello…”

The voice was extremely soft.

But it was very pleasant and lively, as if just listening to this voice could dispel all troubles and leave only a good mood. Liszt felt this way too, instantly cheered up: “Hello, my name is Liszt Tulip, what’s yours?”

It took a while for the siren to speak again: “Tanaxistie Ulapapni Selaino Liukateya Forekus Buniseis… Cassandra Akerloydes.”

“Pfft!”

Liszt almost couldn’t hold back, the siren’s name was a good hundred letters long, and particularly tricky to pronounce. It made his head spin, and he didn’t remember a thing.

He only remembered the last name, which seemed to be Akerloydes.

“Um, I’ll just call you Ake, if that’s okay. You are a siren, aren’t you, Ake?” Liszt chose to forget that long string of names and asked gently.

“Ake…” The siren had stopped trembling inside the shell, but she was still curled up in a ball, her voice still as fine as a mosquito’s, “Human, Ake is… a sea sprite… who sings.”

A sea sprite?

Liszt raised an eyebrow, if he wasn’t mistaken, sea sprites and sirens referred to the same species in some knight novels. However, those called sea sprites were generally evil creatures, while those referred to as sirens were generally benevolent. But this siren in front of him didn’t seem evil.

Probably siren was just a misnomer for sea sprite amongst humans.

Regardless, he had gained the initial trust of the sea sprite Ake, so he continued the conversation: “Ake, may I know why you have ended up here? Your song sounded very sorrowful, what happened to you? You can tell me. I’m a powerful warrior, and I can help you.”

Ake was in the shell.

Looking up, as if sizing up Liszt, after a long wait, she said, “Ake was… chased by… Dulu Miqita… It wants to… eat… Ake, Ake is scared… scared to go back to the sea.” Her voice was very pleasant, but her Serpent Script was somewhat nonstandard and faltering.

“What is Dulu Miqita?”

“Dulu Miqita… big sea monster… six-headed sea serpent, it eats sea sprites… Ake is scared of it.”

A six-headed sea serpent?

That sounded quite terrifying. Liszt thought that the strongest fighter he had by his side was Paris, followed by Douson. Paris was still in Fresh Flower Town, and Douson was left at the harbor town; he had no one to fight by his side. Moreover, facing a sea monster at sea was not a wise choice.

So after a moment’s thought, inspiration struck him, and he immediately said: “Ake, stay here. What will you do if Dulu Miqita finds you?”

“Ah…” Ake curled up all at once, “Ake is scared… Dulu Miqita wants to eat Ake… Ake hides… Dulu Miqita will find Ake…”

“Yes, Dulu Miqita could find you at any time. Sea monsters are very dangerous in the ocean.”

Hearing him mention Dulu Miqita repeatedly and bringing up the possibility of it finding her, the sea sprite grew even more scared, shaking with fear, almost to the point of crying: “Ake… scared…”

Feeling the time was ripe.

Liszt said loudly: “Don’t be afraid, I, Liszt Tulip, the Landlord of Fresh Flower Town and Black Horse Island, will not allow any sea monster to harm a sea sprite here. To ensure your safety, Ake, I’ll take you to my territory to find you a suitable refuge.”

“Ake… scared…” The sea sprite still did not have complete trust in Liszt.

Undaunted, Liszt continued: “Ake, do you know about the glory of a knight?”

“The glory of a knight, Ake knows, the honor of man… is like… the spirit of the sea… The sea serpents are children sheltered by the spirit of the sea,” she said.

What the spirit of the sea was, Liszt did not know, but since the other party understood the glory of a knight, this would be easy to trick, no, to communicate with.

“I, Liszt Tulip, swear by the knight’s honor, I will protect Sea Sprite Ake from the harm of the sea monster Dulu Miqita!”

Without any hesitation, the vow was made.

Liszt never intended to harm the sea serpent; it was a precious gift awarded to him for completing the Smoke Mission, and he was more than ready to cherish it. How could he allow her to be injured, “Ake, I’ll take you to refuge first. One day, I will slay Dulu Miqita, so you can safely return to the sea, okay?”

In this world, humans always talk about the glory of a knight, as if it’s an inviolable honor.

But there are no shortage of knights that boast about honor and perform sordid deeds in secret.

However, for Sea Sprite Ake, this conduct was full of justice and sincerity, and unnoticed, she slightly opened a crack in the shell. Crouching inside, she twisted her body and stealthily peered out through the gap.

Liszt was half-kneeling on a rock in the water.

His clothes were wet from seawater, and his light golden hair bathed in the first glimmer of dawn, with a faint smile on his face that could melt all ice.

His sapphire-colored eyes, as if they contained countless rotating stars, could captivate any woman’s heart.

Ake observed for a long time, quietly closed the shell, and spoke, “Human, Ake thanks you.”

“Call me Liszt.”

“…Liszt.”

“So, Ake, can you swim to the ship yourself, or shall I call my subordinates to help you aboard?”

“Ake can swim,” said Ake. The giant white scallop floated up from the water, slowly surfacing like a small boat.

Faint magic power could be seen swirling around the scallop, driving the currents.

Liszt held back his pride and stood up, saying, “Ake, I’ll lead the way, follow me onto the ship. I will take you to Fresh Flower Town, which is very safe.”

The sea serpent gave no response.

But the scallop slowly followed behind him.

Kostor and the others, who stood a hundred meters back, watched with wide-open mouths as Liszt brought back the enormous shell, but didn’t dare to speak.

When Liszt drew closer, he simply said, “Row the boat, slowly.” He boarded the wooden boat, looked back, and saw that the scallop seemed hesitant, not daring to come closer.

He reassured her gently, “Ake, come here.”

Only then did the scallop slowly approach and stayed beside the wooden boat, this sea serpent was indeed very timid. Liszt did not tell the sailors what “Ake” was, he merely urged them to row, and soon they had brought the scallop alongside the Fresh Flower Vessel.

Touching the smooth surface of the shell, he said, “Ake, I will get you onto the Fresh Flower Vessel. It’s very safe on the ship, don’t be afraid.”

There was no response from inside the shell, but it did not leave either, which was as good as consent; it seemed the sea serpent was reluctant to speak in front of other humans.

Only then did Liszt relax.

He directed the sailors to cast the cargo net, allowing the scallop to swim into it, and they pulled hard to lift the scallop aboard. One could see the sea serpent inside the shell, curling up immediately after leaving the water surface and shivering with fear at the sight of these strangers.

He had not planned to let anyone know what was inside the shell.

Liszt instructed the sailors in their tasks; once the shell was hoisted aboard, he ordered directly, “Take the shell to my room, and let’s set sail.”