Olysylvia Academy East Campus, Olivia Wizard Academy Social Activity Area, Latimore Business District, Saint Zachary's Magic Tools Shop.
The Black Dragon Race Princess, Clariss, was diligently performing her daily routine as she arranged the shelves inside her shop. There weren't many customers though that wasn't because of the pricing as, like all the other magic tool shops, Saint Zachary's prices were also fraudulent.
The main reason for the spa.r.s.e customers was its remote location. In the end, the shop sold restricted magic tools, so it was better to be out here. Most of the people who knew about it were old customers, and almost none of them were good people.
"Princess Clariss, how are you today? I'd like to inquire as to whether you possess the Departed Spirits' Overture grimoire?"
"Departed Spirits Overture? We don't have the original, but we do have copies! Would you like to buy one?"
A feminine voice, filled with warmth and softness, attracted Clariss's attention. She saw a golden-haired beauty walk into the shop. This female mage was wearing a robe from her rival, Princess Isabel's, shop. She could recognize that Silver Dragon's wares at a glance.
However, this girl knew the Royal Dragon Language which left Clariss surprised. There were very few humans who knew the dialect, and this simple fact raised Clariss's goodwill toward her.
"Hey, big sister, what's wrong? Is there something weird about my clothes?"
Bella originally wasn't trying to impersonate a mage, and furthermore, mage's robes were prohibited from being worn by non-mages. However, who told those a.s.sa.s.sins to completely ruin both her school uniform and her knight armor? Isabel's shop didn't stock any knight gear at all, so Bella was forced to make do with mage's robes.
Bella had disguised herself for this trip to avoid garnering attention. To this end, she hadn't brought anyone else with her beside Princess Isabel who had guided her here. Serena, Sylvia, Ariel, and Elena had all stayed back at Isabel's shop. They could also act as a deterrent for Prince Louis if he came back to look for more trouble.
Black Dragon Race Princess Clariss was slightly taller than Bella and her hair was naturally the purest black color. However, her eyes were a vibrant red. According to her nemesis, Princess Isabel, Clariss was of mixed blood.
As Clariss made her way over, she gave Bella a measuring look, making Bella feel a little nervous. The Black Dragon race specialized in dark magic as well as physical attacks, cultivating both magic and might. As such, they were very sensitive to the darkness attribute, which made Bella worry if Clariss was able to see through her true ident.i.ty as the Demon King.
"You… You're wearing clothes from Isabel's shop, aren't you? I remember that stupid girl's habits: she always likes to use that particular perfume. Also, human mages don't wear that style of clothing."
"Oh? This really is from her shop, I…"
"Clariss, that's too much! Do you have a problem with my perfume! This brat has no feminine sense at all; she doesn't even understand how to appreciate perfume."
Isabel came storming inside. She was worried that Clariss would give Bella trouble, so she decided to check on her. The sign above the door that said "Kind customers are not welcome" was mostly just for show, and you could still enter as you pleased.
Isabel diverted Clariss's attention because she didn't want her nemesis to discover her secret. The clothes that Bella was wearing right now had been forcefully stripped from her own body earlier.
"So you've come here too. You're not here to buy, are you? Then you're not welcomed here."
"You think I want to come to your black shop? Bella, I'm going to go outside and wait with your friends. Don't stay for too long as this store is too depressing!"
After saying so, Isabel left quickly as if she couldn't stay even a second longer. Clariss gave her a long look before turning to Bella, her gaze warming up considerably.
"What's wrong, Big Sis Clariss, did I do something wrong? You have a strange look in your eyes!"
"You're on pretty good times with Isabel, that stupid girl. She spends all her time with her head buried in books and barely has any friends. Come with me, I'll take you to see the books."
Clariss was wearing a pure black set of warrior armor, yet the armor was extremely revealing. Following her, Bella found herself unable to calm her heart. Looking down on Clariss's bare shoulders, she discovered that there were no straps. This Black Dragon Princess actually wasn't even wearing a bra!
Princess Clariss was obviously much more mature than the last two dragon princesses that Bella had encountered. Furthermore, she got the sense that Clariss was the type of girl that enjoyed seducing people. Being so close to her, Bella could even smell a strange sweetness emanating from Clariss. It didn't smell like any perfume, rather, it was her innate scent.
There wasn't a restricted section inside St. Zachary's shop, rather, the entire store was a restricted area. The magic scrolls here contained forbidden magics outside of the standard attack magics such as hypnosis and corrosion scrolls. These kinds of scrolls were definitely banned products.
According to Isabel, the Departed Spirits' Overture should be one of the Death G.o.d's divine artifacts. When the Death G.o.d died a true death in the former Great War, the original Book of Departed Spirits had also disappeared with him. The Departed Spirits' Overture was merely a portion of the original: the first part.
While Bella was lost in thought, there was a sudden cras.h.i.+ng sound as she walked straight into Clariss. Clariss, due to not hearing anything from Bella for a while, had turned around to check on her, only for Bella to ram directly into her chest.
In that instant of collision, Bella felt as if she had collided with a pair of soft and surprisingly bouncy "sponges". She was actually bounced aside, and if it weren't for Clariss's quick reactions, she might have encountered an even more awkward fate.
"Big Sis Clariss, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. You… This is…!"
Right as Bella was apologizing, she realized that Clariss wasn't actually mad. Clariss held Bella firmly in front of herself, holding her with a warm gaze. There wasn't a hint of embarra.s.sment on her cold proud cheeks.
"Bella, you're really too cute. If you weren't Isabel's friend, with how clumsily you were walking around, I would trick you into my bed… cough cough, I'd have already played with you three times."
As Clariss talked, she suddenly cupped Bella's chin in one hand, lifting her face to look directly into her red irises. Seeing that Bella's blue eyes had already sunken into a dazed state, Clariss stopped teasing her and let go of her chin before turning around and continuing onward.
Bella was dazed because this was the first time she'd encountered such a bold girl. She was even the big sister type. The biggest shock was that today, she was the victim of teasing. Black Dragon Princess Clariss was actually the type to actively tease someone, and if Bella were a ditzy little girl, she might have actually been tricked into Clariss's bed.
In St. Zachary's shop, the more expensive and valuable books were located deeper within the store. Since these books were often rather fragile too, this was a fairly logical practice.
"What's wrong, Bella? Are you still recalling that feeling from earlier? Would you like another taste!?"
"Hmph, Big Sis Clariss, you're too evil! How could there be a princess like you, teasing people so much…"
"That… it's embarra.s.sing but I'm actually into girls. Do you think I'm weird? None of the men in the tribe can put up a good fight. How could they compare to the fun of bullying girls!"
The area where all the bookshelves were kept normally had very little visitors. It was very quiet back here and very suitable for telling secrets. Seeing the lack of people, Clariss ended simply telling Bella her true thoughts.
This Black Dragon princess was actually a fellow member of the Girls Love Alliance; Bella almost shook her hand but restrained herself at the last moment. Seeing her earlier actions, Bella thought that Clariss was like herself, a dominant. This might be a bit difficult. If they were both S (s.a.d.i.s.ts), then there might be some trouble getting along.
"I don't think you're weird, but when we talk about the price of the book, you better give me a good deal!"
"Bella, you're too… too easy to talk to! There won't be a problem with the price! This is my shop, so the price is whatever I say it is!"
Clariss didn't suspect Bella's ruse of being a clumsy little girl at all. Seeing her innocent expression, Clariss immediately agreed. Bella secretly let out a sigh of relief. She had successfully tricked Clariss. Now she just needed to prevent Clariss from finding out that they were both S, otherwise, there wouldn't be a good end to their story.
Olysylvia Academy East Campus, Olivia Wizard Academy Activity Area, Latimore Business District, Henrietta Magic Tools Shop, Main Hall.
Prince Louis was already camped outside the front door with a large entourage. Normally, mages were prohibited from using magic on the streets, this business district included. If Ariel were to come outside, she wouldn't be able to use magic without repercussions which was why Louis had decided to wait outside for them.
"That a.s.shole dragon-knight. I'm going to beat her until she can't even ride anymore. After that, I'll see what kind of excuses that wench Isabel can use to refuse me!"
"Has anyone seen that female knight come out yet? She's wearing a set of knight armor!"
"My prince, we haven't seen her yet. On my way here, I only saw Princess Isabel walking with a female mage. I didn't see anyone else."
Louis's underlings had all arrived relatively late, missing the scene of Bella's ambush. Added to the fact that most from the Dragon Race couldn't tell one human from another, they completely missed Bella who had simply donned a mage's robe. They still thought Bella was inside the shop!
"Also where did Isabel run off to? I should go catch her too, after all, I am her fiance. If I let her run around as she pleases, wouldn't I lose face?"
"Prince Louis… Your Highness's fiance has run off to Black Dragon Princess Clariss's shop, what do you think…"
"Clariss… Why didn't you say so earlier! My feet feel a little numb. Let's just stay here and wait for Isabel to return. Her dragon knight is still here too, so she wouldn't stay away forever."
When Red Dragon Prince Louis heard that Isabel had gone to visit Clariss, his facial expression changed instantly, from his normal arrogance to a stiff expression that froze on his face. The atmosphere became quiet and awkward.
Clariss's strength places her among the top three in the Dragon Race's younger generation of royals. Not long ago, she had felt that Louis was a sore sight so she cornered him in a remote canyon on Dragon Island and gave him a thorough beating. He was beaten so hard that he developed a psychological fear. Let alone revenge, he would surrender at the mere sound of her name.
Trying to fight Clariss for revenge was out of the question. In the entire Dragon Race, the only one that could face her head to head was Princess Laceman, who had mysteriously disappeared recently. Of course, Louis didn't dare to seek her out. He'd rather stay and wait to teach Bella a lesson.
He could see the silhouettes of Bella and her four companions through the window of the shop's main hall. Louis waved for his underlings to stand guard, and the entire group settled down to patiently wait.
At another shop in Latimore Business District, Ariel, Elena, Sylvia, and Serena were gathered. They had escaped long ago. The figures inside Henrietta's Magic Tool shop were "anthropomorphic" puppets created by Elena.
"Master, can you please tell me your name?"
"Master, can you please tell me what your relations.h.i.+p is with Bella?"
Serena and Sylvia spoke with very respectful tones. Elena's puppets had already reached a level of realism that could fool the Dragon Race.
"You don't have to call me master. Bella and I are in the same Society. If you two want to understand more, come give our Rose society a visit!
"OK, let's part ways here as Bella already explained the plan. Also, Sylvia, Bella said that there was still something she wanted to ask you this weekend. She said to meet at the old place, and that you'd remember it."
Elena didn't actually tell her name for the same reason as Ariel who was standing next to her. The reason being that they only planned to let Bella know their true strength. Elena and Ariel left first, leaving Serena with a wors.h.i.+pful and Sylvia with a complicated expression.
They had already agreed that after taking a short break here, they'd regroup with Bella. Bella had left them a magic detection stone in order to find her. As for a certain low IQ Dragon Prince, he'd probably end up camping outside Henrietta's Magic Tools Shop until midnight.
