“Vur, is that you?” Lindyss asked. She walked up to the carriage, but to her surprise, it broke apart into pieces, revealing three figures: a dwarf, Vur, and Stella.

“Hi, Auntie,” Vur said. “I thought I saw you, and it actually was you. What are you doing here?”

“So this is the rumored aunt who’s in an ambiguous relationship with Grimmoldesser?” E asked while rubbing his chin. “She’s … smaller than I thought.”

“What the hell are you telling people about me, you brat?” Lindyss asked, smacking Vur over the head with her hand. Stella yelped as she fell off due to the impact. “Who’s in an ambiguous relationship with Grimmy?”

“Aren’t you?” Vur asked and tilted his head. He laughed as Lindyss stomped her foot. Before she could do anything, Vur stepped forward and hugged her. “It’s nice seeing you again, Auntie.”

“Go die,” Lindyss said with a snort and pushed him away. “Do you know how much trouble you caused me? Why did you contract with an elemental and cause an earthquake? That was you, right?”

“Earthquake?” Vur asked before shaking his head. “I didn’t make the earth shake. But I did contract with Diamant.” He patted the runes on his arms. “Come on out, Deedee.”

“Please don’t call me that too,” Diamant said with a sigh as a brown figure materialized next to Vur. “I greet the aunt. I am a mountain elemental; my name is Diamant.” He nodded at Lindyss before rubbing his chin. “I don’t recall creating any earthquakes, but it’s possible one may have occurred while Vur was testing out my power.”

“Really?” Vur asked.

“That time you forcibly injected me with mana back at the treasury, remember?” Diamant asked. “Nothing happened, but there’s no way nothing could’ve happened with the amount of mana you inserted into me.” He glanced at Lindyss. “Vur also caused the most recent eruption of Mt. Inesia.”

“Can you not cause natural disasters everywhere you go?” Lindyss asked Vur before clicking her tongue. “Ah, why is it you? The holy dragons want to meet the culprit behind the earthquake.”

“The holy dragons?” Erin asked. “You were working for them? They’re the ones that wanted you to kill me!?”

Lindyss swatted down with her hand, smacking Erin away. “You’re annoying, buzz off,” she said. “Why are you even still here? Shoo, shoo.”

“Don’t treat me like a mere insect! I’m Erin Koller, leader of all the fairy queens!” Erin glared at Lindyss before turning towards Stella. “And you! Who are you?”

“Me?” Stella asked and pointed at herself. “I’m Stella.” She landed on Vur’s shoulder and partially hid her body behind his head, peering at Lindyss and Erin.

Lindyss frowned while Erin shook her fist at Stella. “Was it you?” Erin asked. “Were you the one who stole my spring? Do you know how much mana I poured into it? How many years it took to create?”

“No,” Stella said and shook her head. Her body seemed to shrink as she hid even further behind Vur’s head. “Wasn’t me.”

“Oh!” Vur said. “Are you the one who placed the commission for information about the fairy spring? Meeting place, 99 Fairy Drive?”

“Yes,” Erin said with a nod. “Are you the one who undertook my commission?”

“Yup,” Vur said and nodded. Lindyss stared at him before shifting her gaze onto Erin. She knit her brow before taking a step back.

“Well, what do you know about my spring?” Erin asked and crossed her arms over her chest as she hovered in front of Vur’s face. “What happened to it?”

“Polymorph staff first, please,” Vur said and held out his hand.

Erin snorted before reaching into her clothes. She pulled out a stick that was as long as her arm and placed it into Vur’s hand. It was almost as long as his finger. “Well?”

Vur frowned. “I thought it’d be bigger,” he said and scratched his head as he inspected the staff. The number ten was inscribed on its side. He pointed the staff at E and waved it. “Polymorph.”

E’s eyes widened as his body spasmed and fell to the ground. His bones crackled as he contorted and shouted, his screams becoming garbled and eventually turning into a rooster’s warbling. Feathers sprouted from his body as his legs turned into talons, his arms into wings. A bright-red crown appeared on his head and chin while his mouth jutted forward, transforming into a golden beak.

The number on the staff shifted from ten to nine, and Vur nodded his head before smiling at Erin. “The fountain,” he said, “I drank it.”

Erin’s expression froze. Frenzied clucking noises permeated the silence, but she ignored them. “You what?” she asked as her head tilted to the side. “You, you drank my fountain?”

“He drank mine too,” Lindyss said with a snort. She ruffled Vur’s hair. “Why are you like this?”

“Polymorph!” Erin shouted, pointing her hand at Vur.

“Oh dear lord,” Lindyss said with a sigh as she took a step back while turning her gaze onto the infuriated fairy. Vur fell to the ground and sprouted fur while Stella yelped and hid behind him, hiding from Erin’s gaze. Lindyss inhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose with her hand before asking Erin, “Why would you do that?”

“He deserved it!” Erin said, her hands balled up into fists. “My years of hard work! Everything’s gone to waste!” A bushy tail sprung up from Vur’s butt as he finished his transformation into a squirrel. “I’m going to feed him to a hawk!”

“He’s a blue mage,” Lindyss said and snatched Erin out of the air. The fairy queen turned into a porcupine before reverting back to a fairy once Lindyss let go. “Do you know what you just taught him?”

Erin’s face drained of blood as her gaze landed on Vur. Blue scales were sprouting on his squirrely body, and he was swelling in size. Razor sharp teeth filled his mouth as a pair of dragon wings unfurled from his back. The bushy tail elongated and straightened, forming a reptilian tail that gleamed in the sun. His beady eyes widened and turned golden, his pupils forming into slits. A puff of smoke escaped from his nostrils as he continued to grow in size.

“Well, shit,” Erin said as her arms fell to her sides. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Lindyss sighed again and sat on the ground, burying her face in her hands. A deep, yet loud voice boomed in her ears. “Look! Look! I’m a dragon! My scales and wings grew out!” Vur said. His gaze landed on Lindyss, and he lowered his head to the ground. “What’s wrong, Auntie?”

“Congratulations, Vur,” Lindyss said in a monotonous voice. “Nothing’s wrong; it’s just that my future self is crying to me about all the messes she’ll have to clean up in the future.”