Chapter 462: The Scapegoat

The victory banquet was forced to pause.

The brilliant firelight in the sky alarmed the guards of Deepwater City, and before long, a large contingent had gathered around the area.

Deepwater City truly lived up to its reputation as one of the foremost jewel-class cities—far larger in area than Storm City, Jade City, Blazing City, and Axe Beach combined.

Yet a vast territory also meant more soldiers and guards were needed, and managing public order was a headache.

On that point, Deepwater City still did a decent job.

The guards sent to investigate operated in squads, each squad fielding at least two mages. Though their ranks weren't high, a mage's methods often saved a great deal of trouble.

Case in point—

At first, plenty of people assumed Rod had come to cause trouble, or guessed he was an obsessive fan of Layla Starwhisper.

Until the mages cast a lie-detection spell and questioned the dust-covered dragon-slaying heroes outside the tavern—within half an hour, the whole affair was sorted out.

Fortunately, there were quite a few capable fighters among the crowd; they had all noticed something off about the crystal ball, they just hadn't reacted in time.

Since it had nothing to do with them—

And these were a band of heroes who had just slain a dragon—the Deepwater City authorities had no wish to invite trouble, and quickly let them go.

Rod and the halfling Lily, hearing the guards start releasing people, couldn't be bothered to linger and set off together for a stroll along the street.

"Another green dragon, huh?"

Lily's expression grew grave.

Rod didn't hide anything and told her everything he had seen.

But, sadly, the others only half-believed him.

Probably because they doubted that Rod, as a Spiritual Warrior, could not only see through a scrying spell but also backlash it, achieving a spell-reversal effect.

Even a proper mage would struggle to pull that off.

Regarding what he had seen, the official mages offered another on-site assessment: that it had been an emergency illusion conjured by the crystal ball to avoid detection.

Of course, the testimony that another green dragon had been scrying would also be recorded, to be left for more specialized personnel to judge.

However—

The halfling Lily believed him right away.

"Is it some kind of peak season for dragons lately? I've spotted them several times these past few days."

Rod didn't think too much of it. Watching the shops along the street—some lit by dwarven lanterns, others hiring light sprites for illumination—he wondered what local specialties he could buy to bring back to the girls.

The explosion hadn't caused much impact on the locals; once the alert was lifted, the streets quickly buzzed with life again.

"There's no such saying, really. It might be due to shifts in extraplanar space, but I'm not a mage who specializes in exploring other planes."

Unlike those obsessed with cosmic beings, Lily was clearly the type more focused on the material plane.

As they spoke—

The two stopped in front of a stall selling charcoal-grilled snake-chicken beast egg custard.

Lily ordered a sea-salt flavor; Rod, who liked his food heavy, went with spicy—and added extra numbing pepper and extra sour.

The halfling girl picked out the egg yolk with a wooden fork as she said:

"Deepwater City really has been through a lot lately. We just took down one green dragon, and another one's already got its eyes on the place."

"Mmph—I'm afraid it's had its sights on Deepwater City for quite a while. That crystal ball's magic was fused with the stage's backdrop—it would've taken over a year."

Rod scooped out a big mouthful of snake-chicken beast egg custard and popped it in.

Good grief—heavy on the chili but no heat at all, only the sour and the numbing came through.

Looks like the peppers around the Sword Coast don't pack much punch.

But it was plenty smooth and tender—even more so than Vivian's cheeks—and he rather liked it.

"Oh? Over a year?" Lily seemed to suddenly think of something and fell into thought.

"What's wrong?"

"Something feels off, Rod. That green dragon you saw just now—did it have any distinguishing features?"

"Features? I haven't seen many live green dragons… Oh, it seemed to be constantly chewing on something."

Lily's face changed abruptly.

After a long moment, she let out a deflated sigh.

The dragon-slaying excitement she'd been carrying until now drained away in an instant.

"Right, no wonder I kept feeling the ones we've been hunting these past few days were a bit young."

She gave a wry smile. "To be honest with you, Rod, I suspect today's green dragon was just a scapegoat. The real culprit of the fraud case—the one you spotted—is probably still behind the scenes, patting itself on the back."

Rod was stunned for a moment, not expecting this kind of development.

"Uh… so what will you guys do, keep hunting it?"

"No good. That thing is cunning beyond measure. It's seen our methods, and now that it's been spotted today, it definitely won't show itself easily again—you can tell from how it immediately blew up the scrying crystal ball."

She sighed. "I'll let the brothers in the League of Heroes know about this. It's a shame—the League really needed this case to establish itself in Deepwater City. Now that the main culprit has escaped and the green dragon took the fall, it's going to hit us pretty hard."

"Can you just not say anything?"

Rod had an odd feeling that his good intentions had backfired.

Lily shook her head. "We're chasing fame too, but we won't let the real truth be buried. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be unfair and irresponsible to the fraud's victims—our own consciences wouldn't let us live with it either."

"Somehow, I feel bad about it."

The girl grinned coolly. "What's there to apologize for? I should be thanking you for helping us uncover the truth!"

As she spoke, she stuck her wooden fork into the half-eaten snake-chicken beast egg custard—apparently she didn't plan to eat any more.

Halflings really don't have much of an appetite.

Rod leaned over. "Can't finish it? Can I have it?"

"Huh?"

The night wind blew, and he had just drunk some wine.

The halfling's cute, round face was flushed red, slightly flustered: "But I've already eaten."

"It's fine, don't waste it."

"Then if you want it, take it."

"Thanks."

Rod didn't mind either; he carelessly took it and swallowed it all in two or three bites.

Lili felt a bit embarrassed.

This halfling girl actually looked more like a boy; there was no romantic feeling in her heart, or perhaps it had not yet been unearthed.

At this moment, glancing at his lips, she felt a strange sensation she had never experienced before.

"Is it that delicious?"

"Not bad. Shi Ying Town doesn't have eggs of this thing; it's novel to eat."

"Actually, I can make snake-chicken beast egg custard too, though it's just ordinary soy sauce flavored. If you like it, I can try making some."

"Really? Then I'll buy more snake-chicken beast eggs. After we return to Shi Ying Town, make it for me a few more times."

Lili was amused and laughed: "I'm not your cook."

Just as they were speaking.

Tally jumped out from the shadows; she had been feeling faint from the meal earlier and had been sleeping in the shadows.

Seeing Lili, she paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Yo, big-breasted midget."

"..."

The halfling girl's corner of the mouth twitched.

Rod directly gave Tally a sharp flick on the head; she let out an "Ouch!" and, feeling aggrieved, hugged Rod's arm.

"Sorry, I'm hungry, Master."

"Today's ration has already been fed enough; wait until tomorrow."

"Ah? Don't~~"

Lili teased from the side: "Raising a single succubus for over half a year, Rod, you are the first person I've ever seen."

Rod laughed heartily, feeling quite pleased and proud.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard someone calling from behind.

Turning his head, he saw the agent of that superstar cloud elf, Layla Starwhisper; she was panting heavily and waving at Rod.

It looked like she had chased over from behind.

(End of this chapter)