"Thank you. Are you keeping the immortal's claws?"

I take a while to answer. It's not my fighting style. I'm about to say we should sell them. However, it's +2 to Strength and +2 to Constitution—that's a lot. And the truth is, the Queen Mother's sword gives me its bonuses as long as I carry it, so I could use these claws and channel spirit magic through them.

That would mean learning to fight with claws, which, considering they're weapons with less reach than a sword, would require me to get closer to enemies. But I have my earth element channeling to protect myself. Right, I get that I need more mana to be able to use all that. I'm going to have to buy some item with wisdom or raise that stat when I level up.

Hmm… I don't know…

"Come on, I'll keep them," I decide. "I'll ask Catrina to teach me the mastery, and if I don't like it, I can always sell them myself and buy another item."

I pick them up from the chest and put them on. They're like sharp metallic steel claws mounted on a steel and leather structure. They have a couple of leather straps to secure them to my wrist and forearm, and a metal bar that I grip by clenching my fist when I put them on. I try a couple of slashes and, honestly, I look super clumsy. I take them off and store them in my backpack.

By the way, Vincent has put on the cloak. When I notice and see how well it fits him, how that pure white brings out the gold in his hair and eyes... well, I'm suddenly painfully aware of that kiss we still need to share. I feel my cheeks burning. He catches me staring and realizes it. But he's such a sweetheart—he smiles at me gently, doesn't get cocky. Even knowing that I'm admiring him and find him extremely attractive, there's not a trace of arrogance in him.

As for the rest of the loot, we decide that Ronan should keep it. We'll settle accounts and divide everything up back at the academy.

"My lady, it is a shame we only have two of the three pieces from the frost set. We could run the dungeon again to see if the third one drops. It would be much simpler and less dangerous, since we know exactly what we are facing. And maybe these same pieces will drop again."

I smile.

"Count on it. Especially if we get commissioned for the troll components. Or the yeti's. We have plenty of time to make it back for lunch at the academy. We turn in the eggs for the missions, stop by the points shop to show we've completed them, and dive it again tomorrow. How's that sound?"

"That sounds good to me, my lady."

"I'd love to, but first I need to make sure Theodore and Alistair don't mind continuing without me," Vincent tells us.

"Speaking of which, let me check." I approach him and position myself behind his back to examine the wound he has from being slammed against the wall during the yeti fight.

"I refuse to let you heal me before healing yourself," he says seriously, turning to face me.

"I'm sure the spell levels up better if I heal someone else. Besides, mine wasn't that bad. I could even take a potion, but I'd prefer to wait until I sleep."

And as for mana, the dungeon is finished. I have 4 MP left—spending 1 on a heal is no big deal. I'd still have enough for three minutes of shadow wolf in case some unexpected danger arises. And I say unexpected because the other divine beasts still can't locate him, so that doesn't worry me for now.

"Then thank you, Bianca," the prince agrees.

I don't know if I convinced him with the whole "healing others makes the spell progress faster" argument, or if he knows how stubborn I can be. In any case, I ask him to take off his armor and shirt. The shirt, which had been pristine white, is now stained with blood. Though it's not necessary for me to touch him, I brush my fingers across the skin of his back until I reach the area that took the brunt of the impact. It's swollen and there are spots where the skin has broken. I cast low healing and watch as it heals, leaving not even a scratch. That means he was missing 3 HP or less. I leave my fingers resting on his skin for a moment. It's warm and soft, yet strong.

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"Thank you, Bianca," he says, somewhat uncomfortable.

And this is the prince, a supposed seductive heartthrob?

He got flustered because I stayed there like an idiot, touching him. No… I think my expectations of what an eligible prince in an otome game should be like don't match reality.

"Sorry."

I withdraw my fingers without hurrying and turn toward Ronan while Vincent puts his shirt and the upper part of his studded leather armor back on.

He's finishing storing the chest's contents.

"By the way, Ronan, I don't know what you're planning to do with the yeti's corpse, but they won't let you take it out of the dungeon. Have Bob and the others extract the blood and hide if they want. And another thing… can you explain to me how Myrthaxya managed to get down here?"

"Well, my lady, the truth is she had to force her way through with brute strength on the stairs. That's why it took her so long."

Looking somewhat dejected, Ronan orders his trolls to set the yeti down on the ground. We leave the three skeletons harvesting materials from the boss's corpse and retrace our path. For a moment, when we defeated the boss, I thought a portal would open back to the beginning or the dungeon exit, but that wasn't the case.

When we reach the first stone mouth, it's no longer there. Instead, fragments of the sculpture lie scattered on the ground. The dragoness isn't too big—standing on all fours, she's only a head taller than me, and if she folds her wings, she can fit through places narrower than would initially seem possible. However, she couldn't fit through that narrow mouth. So she destroyed it. Same with the other one further ahead. And when we get to the stairs to the second floor… There are claw marks gouged into the rock and pieces of the railing that have been directly torn off to clear a path. I also see areas without ice and with scorched rock. It looks like she also fired some kind of beam.

She's incredibly strong.

I wonder what she eats.

"Ronan, do your skeletons eat?"

He turns and looks at me strangely.

"My lady, they are dead. They do not need to eat. They also lack stomachs."

"Then how do they maintain their strength?"

"Magic," he shrugs, and his tone is like he's stating the obvious.

Well, your mana sure is powerful… I think to myself. Mine doesn't last that long.

We continue walking, now through the forest on the second floor. It's snowing gently. Some wolves attack us, a small group. After defeating them quickly, I watch in bewilderment as one of the trolls approaches one of the corpses and takes a bite from the belly area. He chews, gives a thumbs up, swallows, and takes another bite.

"What's this about?" Vincent asks Ronan.

"What my lady asked me earlier. Skeletons do not eat, but I just confirmed that zombies, who still retain their stomachs, can if they want to."

I can't help it. I burst out laughing at the expression on Vincent's face. When he sees me, he smiles.

Ronan tells us he's given orders to Bob, Tom, and Joe, who have already finished with the yeti and are heading this way, to make a stop to skin these wolves. He leaves a couple of trolls as protection (if there are wolves, they could attack the skeletons) and we continue on our way.

Can you ask her about the demon king's chamber? I mentally request of my friend as we head toward the forest area where we buried her.

She's currently flying over the trees. Since we're inside the dungeon, their mental link should work. It would be different if we went outside and she didn't.

I already have, my lady. She was, indeed, the mount of the demon king whose sarcophagus we found. He was the last demon king that humans fought against, before the gods' withdrawal. That final battle took place in these lands. In fact, it was all the spilled magic that created the dungeon's core.

The battle—the humans won it, right?

That is what we have been told, my lady, but I believe Myrthaxya has a different version. It also seems long. Shall I ask her?

Another time, thanks. Right now I want to get back to the academy.

The truth is, I don't feel like remembering the otome's lore right now (which I barely know anything about) or starting to unravel the mystery of what happened hundreds of years ago and what I'm supposed to do as the future demon queen. Knowing it might force me to make decisions I don't want to make. I know it's selfish, but I'd rather keep going like this—getting stronger and making friends, enjoying the life this world offers me—before diving headfirst into the reason I was brought here. Into why I have a contract with a divine beast. Into whether I have to choose between killing the pup and living a quiet life, or giving up all my friends except Ronan and becoming what I don't want to be. Because I like Vincent. And I don't want to hurt anyone either, much less become a dark queen. I want to keep thinking there has to be a way out of this mess while staying true to myself and helping everyone. And something tells me that Myrthaxya's story might take me away from that goal.

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