Ferris silently observed the girl, her red hair flowed outward due to the winds, making them look like a raging flame.

But there was a calm yet fierce gaze in her dark eyes.

He said nothing, deciding it was safer not to stir things up at all.

Ferris stood there, unsure what to do, but after seeing how destructive she could be back at the waterpark, a faint worry settled in his chest.

There's no way he could dodge. If she decided to burn him to a crisp right there, it would've been over.

Swallowing his dry mouth, Ferris waited for a response to his empty reply.

Miraculously, the girl gradually cooled herself off, though Ferris didn't know the reason why.

Maybe she knew that Ferris was in his weakest state, so she could use him for whatever she liked, interrogation or torture or both.

Or perhaps there was another reason for her strange behavior.

Despite her much larger area, thanks to her wings, she walked through the blazing winds as if it was a light breeze.

But she wasn't aiming to come close to Ferris, as she pushed him aside like a ragdoll.

Her focus was solely fixated on the egg, she stared with an unnaturally sharp yet melancholic expression.

Ferris had no idea what was going inside her mind. However, he knew that if he took his chance to escape now, he would die, because there was a hint of bitterness that he felt emanating from her very being.

"Were you feeding them?" she asked, but not with a polite tone.

Artemis faced Ferris with a glare that pierced through the winds.

Ferris almost stepped on his own tongue when he heard her sudden question, however, he managed to compose himself.

After careful deliberation, he finally spoke. "Did I look like I was?"

Artemis opened her mouth slightly, a bit shocked, then pursed her lips as she held a confused yet disgusted face.

"I thought you were a lying bastard, but you're telling the truth now?" she hissed.

As an Eidolon-type blessing user, her strange biology naturally gave her enhanced senses.

Even if her blessing turned her into a wyvern, it didn't mean she was completely different from the dragon species.

Just like humans who share more DNA with certain animals than others, wyverns share a lot of their DNA with dragons.

But compared to their intelligent counterparts, wyverns were more cunning and animal-like, with senses that far surpassed those of lower species.

Even as a trained knight, he could only control so much of his bodily functions, so even the occasional fright would make Ferris slip a little.

But that little slip was a big one in front of Artemis.

However...

I'm surprised she fell for my trick that one time. Even if she has good senses, maybe she's not good at reading them?

As Ferris was about to open his mouth, he was suddenly stopped by a pointed finger against his lips. It was as if his entire jaw was paralyzed, but that was only due to the sharpness of her claw-like fingernail.

"Be my porter for a bit," she ordered.

???

The gods must want me alive, he thought happily.

Better to die later than die now. If being a porter would buy him even an hour of time, he would do it without hesitation.

It meant he was an hour closer to whatever prodigy the prince was going to send through the tiny gap on the barrier.

"Follow me." Artemis turned around, allowing Ferris a full view of her defenseless back.

But the act of backstabbing did not appear in his mind, but even if he did, he lacked the thrusting power to penetrate her scales, let alone the parts of her body that were human skin.

Ferris followed her closely from behind, but he still maintained his alertness.

While walking, there was an interesting concept he remembered about the draconic race.

Dragons are extremely territorial, and their lesser counterparts such as the wyvern inherited those traits, which means—

If someone attacks them now, would the wyvern lady protect him?

That doesn't sound so bad... Ferris laughed, but the idea of being owned didn't sit right with him.

Although knights traditionally had lords or masters to serve, the knights of his era had undergone a complete cultural shift.

The people were now their lords.

And a knight must protect their lords, so in a way, a knight is like a guardian or hero.

. . .

Dozens of minutes passed, and Ferris was still following her.

Haven't we walked this aisle before? Ferris became more and more confused.

She keeps sniffing the air like a dog. It's so obvious.

He couldn't help but cover his mouth, holding back a chuckle.

She definitely came here for another reason other than finding me. But what's taking her so long?

"Hey, it's our second time meeting. I haven't gotten your name yet," Ferris said to pass the time waiting.

The girl kept sniffing around a certain bunch of museum pieces and artifacts, then stopped after a few seconds.

"You don't deserve to know my name, and remembering your name is too much of a hassle," Artemis replied.

That's just mean.

"Porter, carry this one."

She pointed at a familiar piece of vase, it was the same one he saw before that depicted dragons.

This time, Ferris somewhat knew what it might be.

Another burial jar? It's way bigger than the one I tripped on.

Ferris carried the vase by its arm and showed it to the girl.

But Artemis didn't bother looking at it again as she continued to walk in another direction without telling him anything.

. . .

They passed by several artifacts—containers, small chests, and even old swords so worn down they looked more like stones than weapons.

With all the things Ferris carried, walking grew harder and slower, which clearly annoyed Artemis.

"Humans are so weak," she snarled, the pain delivered equal to being stabbed with a poisoned dagger.

It's almost a hundred kilos. I'm practically deadlifting this!

Yes, it was heavy, but the act of balancing it proved to be a greater challenge.

You're a human too! Is that wyvern blessing affecting your mental state?

Unaware of his complaining, Artemis stopped before a turn. "Stay behind me."

She unfurled her right wing so that it would cover Ferris's entire body once they stepped into the blazing winds.

Ferris carefully followed her because of the stack of fragile things he was holding, which blocked his vision.

Thud.

"!!!" Oh no!

Ferris accidentally bumped into Artemis's wings when she suddenly stopped.

If one of them falls, she'll kill me!

In that split second, his mind went into overdrive, which gave him a chance to save himself from doom.

Catch.

That was close... Ferris sighed death away as he looked at the miraculous stack he was holding.

Ferris tilted his head to see what was up, and he met Artemis's gaze.

Despite acting as if she knew what she was doing, Ferris could still tell that maybe... she was doing everything according to her instinct, much like genetic memory.

Artemis closed her eyes during the eye contact and opened them to reveal that her attention was now fixed on a tiny chest that was on top of the stack.

Using her tail to grab it, she settled it down before her hands.

Although Ferris couldn't see what was going on, he could still see the red mist flowing out near her chest area.

The mist flowed gracefully until it touched the egg, then dispersed around it, covering the entire shape with a red glow before disappearing.

She repeated the ritual until there was only the vase remaining.

Ferris did not resist when she took it away from him.

Due to the larger mass of the vase, there was a much more intense burst of that red mist, and yet...

"It's not enough. Porter, come with me," she ordered him again.

More hours passed, and unfortunately, this time there was a presumed lack of things that appealed to Artemis's scent.

They walked around longer, but there were fewer stops.

Eventually, Artemis disregarded her futile efforts of trying to keep a graceful appearance. Now she was literally throwing and thrashing things around with her tail and claws before sweeping them away with the flip of her wings.

"Damn this museum, it's so barren!... Huh?"

A scent made its way into her nose—it was the right one!

"Porter, help me find it!" she barked, moving away from him before blowing a hole into one of the sections with her fire, just so she could search from the other side without needing to walk all the way around.

Hmm...

"It's here, and I know it!" she screamed.

"I found it, miss." Ferris stood up, making eye contact with her through one of the gaps between the large shelves.

There, he showed her a bottle-sized vial of intricate design.

Artemis smiled. "Good job, servant!"

Servant... heh. Ferris found it amusing, but he wasn't impressed.

Quickly, Artemis yanked the vial from Ferris's grasp before walking away without saying anything.

Seeing that she was happy, Ferris knew that the job was done.

It's not that heavy compared to the last one... Ferris checked his stack of artifacts, which was easier to hold.

Everything I'm holding should be worth tens of millions... right? Ferris began to worry he might drop something.

Cough.

Cough.

Cough.

He suddenly started coughing, enough to make Artemis turn around.

"Don't you dare get your filthy fluids on those," she snapped, her tone fiery.

Ferris returned a weak smile. "I won't, I promise."

I would never.

At that moment, Ferris couldn't help but think back to his old life—when he met the King of Dragons.

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