The priestess, Asha, is of the clan known as the Half-Dragons. According to the historical records of the Dragonbroods, those of this clan descend from the joining of a Champion and a Dragonbrood, resulting in the descendants to be rather human in appearance. As for how that happened, I'll leave it to one's imagination. Those of the Half-Dragon Clan are incredibly powerful, having inherited the power of their Champion ancestor, making them the apex amongst the race.

That said, being essentially a hybrid of two mismatched species, they suffer from low birthrates and shorter lifespan, living up to just a litter over a hundred at the longest while full-blooded Dragonbroods are capable of living up to three hundred. So far, there has been four generations of Half-Dragons, with Asha being the fifth, and the only one of her current generation. Should nothing be done about it, the Half-Dragon bloodline would end with her.

Being the only one in her generation also meant that she had very few peers to interact with, and with such a difference in appearance and strength as well as prestige in comparison to the rest of the Dragonbroods, she also had few equals, let alone someone she could call friend as most would either revere her, or distance themselves from her. Eventually, this leads to the development of her antisocial behaviors. The pressure of revitalizing the clan then added fuel to the fire. Realizing that should no more children are born this generation, she alone would have to carry the future of the clan on her shoulders. It is a task she has very little care for, but will be forced to take on should nothing change.

This all came to a boiling point when she was ordered by the Holy Serpent, the Keeper that her entire clan had served with devotion, to journey with the Champion and aid him in his current condition. The Keeper mentioned nothing further but Asha suspected ulterior motives. After all, the Keeper did ask her, out of all available priestesses, the one descended from Champion and Dragonbrood, to journey with a Champion of the opposite sex and tasked her with something that requires her to remain in his vicinity at all time. With such a suspicion in her heart, Asha is very much determined to be on her worst behavior. Or at the very least, that is what Seif is guessing to be the case.

"So, you're telling me that she's not usually like this?"

"Oh, by the Holy Serpent, no! She is always like this, just that today she's a tad bit worst than usual."

"I don't like where this is going."

"You don't have to, but unless you plan to go without sleeping at all, you will have to tolerate this."

Deeply, I sigh. Now I only want to get rid of this condition of mine as soon as possible. On the bright side, I guess I won't really have to deal with her for a while once I go to sleep. Which makes me wonder, how is she supposed to help me here? The Keeper said that she is a Shaman, so is she going to be able to summon my soul back to this body? I'd like to ask her about it, but at the same time, I don't really want to go near her right now. I fear that I would only get into something troublesome if I do. Then again, I can't just lay back and let whatever happen to my own body, can I? I need to be sure.

As I mull over what to do, the hunters return, and with them, a huge spoil. What they are dragging behind them appears to be a pair of giant stags, twice bigger than what I know in my world with the point of interest being their glowing horns. Apparently, as Seif is quick to explain, when in danger, their horns would instantaneously unleash a series of bright flashes, blinding any creature trying to attack them. However, their glow also made them easy to spot from a distance, allowing our hunters to take them down with their bows, though they had to make sure they disable the creature with a single shot, else they would just be blinded, allowing the creatures to get away.

After bringing them back, the rest of the warrior gets to work, quickly skinning the creatures, cutting them up and skewering their flesh onto sharpened sticks. Once the meat is prepared, they begin to roast them with their own fiery breaths. They say that when it comes to cooking, none is better than they Dragonbroods, as they are the only race on Elgardia with such mastery over fire. Of course, with the ones saying this being Dragonbroods themselves, I'd advise taking their words with a grain of salt.

After the meal, we have a little break to let the food settle, and by this time, I have already made up my mind.

"Asha, may I have a bit of your time?"

I decided to speak to Asha after all. If we're going to be working together, then not talking to her isn't going to be an option.

"Well, if it isn't our mighty Champion. How could I possibly refuse?"

"I'll take that as a yes then?"

"Isn't it obvious? Or are you just slow?"

From her tone, I can more or less tell that she still holds a grudge over what happened earlier today. Of course, I already realized that we're never going to get along. In fact, I don't really like her all that much either. While she may have her reasons, I am not going to just stand by and let her act spoiled. We are on a mission, and no one here is going to have the leisure to cuddle her all the way through. When push comes to shove, she will either behave, or I'll find a way to make her behave.

"In that case, I like to ask you something. The Keeper said that you could alleviate my symptoms, right? How exactly do you do that?"

"Oh, it is quite simple. Since the issue is your soul having trouble connecting to the body, I will call upon your soul as I would so any souls of the dead. Although, with your soul being from a different world altogether, I do wonder how much of this world's laws it would obey. It could be that I may not be able to help at all."

Alright, that more or less confirms that her abilities are similar to those of the Shaman class in Elysium Online, being able to call upon souls of the dead and all that.

"I see, this has been insightful."

"If it doesn't work, can I just go home? There's no point in me being here after that, right?"

"Well, I mean you could, but... You wouldn't fail on purpose would you?"

I feel like she's a sort of person that might do that, especially if she is the only one who would know if it actually works or not. However, I realize that I really should have kept this thought to myself when the girl suddenly shoots up from the ground.

"How dare you insult me! I'll have you know that I have always performed the tasks given to me with the utmost of my abilities."

I guess I was too honest with her. Still, it's not completely my fault; she's the one who gave off a terrible first impression of being sloppy. Anyhow, I've got to steer this somehow, play if off like I was just making a neutral observation.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought so after seeing how you presented yourself. You even said you went back to sleep after no one came to pick you up, right? So I didn't think you cared."

"I... That's..."

She appears to be lost for words. I think I got her to understand, that she's the one who made me think of her that way.

"I couldn't get up in time, alright! The old hag's summons came to me in my sleep to and it took a while for me to react! I can't help it if I'm nocturnal, alright!"

She yells at me, her face all red with veins budging violently. She appears to be both angry and embarrassed to have to admit that. I guess I ruined her attempt to appear aloof. Maybe. I mean, that what the kids think is 'cool' and 'hip' nowadays, right? I wonder if it's the same with her.

"So Seif, is that true?"

I decide to confirm the fact with the ever stealthy Seif lurking in my shadow.

"Some Dragonbroods are nocturnal, yes, and that is true for most of the Half-Dragon Clan."

"See!"

Asha chimes in to agree with aggression, apparently displeased that I couldn't take her word for it.

"Alright, I get it. I'll be counting on you, Asha."

"That's LADY Asha to you."

"Of course, Lady Asha."

Puffing a snort of anger from her nostrils, Asha pulls away from me, sitting back down at the campfire set up for her. I too, take the same action, I think that's enough interacting with her for today.

"Good work, Lord Oro, she's sufficiently motivated now. Lady Asha is vain and prideful, and so she must succeed so that you would not accuse her of not trying hard enough."

"That really wasn't my intention, I just wanted to talk."

"And that's what so great about you, you get the best of results with the best of intentions. Truly you are our Champion."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Seif. Besides, that's not always the case; I screw up too, especially when I needed to succeed the most."

"If you're talking about that battle atop the mountain, it really can't be helped. No one saw it coming. Who would have thought that they would set up an ambush for you on the least likely of paths to travel on? The one who came up with it must either have been a genius, a mad man, or some special kind of moron."

"I hope he's a moron, I really do."

"If only all of our enemies are morons, how easy this would all be, eh?"

"If only, Seif, if only."

***

"Oro! Oro! Please! Don't let it end like this!

I stared down at my own cold, almost lifeless body as she, as Corona held me in her arms. I realized at that moment, that my soul had left the body and most likely, I was going to die. I tried to talk to Corona, to comfort her, to tell her that everything is going to be fine, but she couldn't hear me. I tried to hold her, I tried to embrace her, but as a phantom, she couldn't feel my touch.

I must be dreaming again, of that time when I had fallen, no, kicked off into the valley after my fight with the Beastkin's Champion. How many times does this make now, the times I've dreamt about this?

Following Corona, the remaining Dragonbroods, the survivors of the Beastkin Champion's attack arrived. They had been searching for me, believing that I might still be alive, they searched, even though they should have no idea where I had fallen or if I had fallen at all. It was mere luck that they found me, luck that they decided to search for me at Corona's behest, lucky that they found me soon enough to resuscitate me with healing magic. Speaking of which, who was it? Who was it that revived me? I tried asking around before, but no one seems to remember. All they told me is that it was someone in the unit, though they are not quite sure who it was. They said that they were likely in shock at the time since their memories were all rather vague. I wonder, if I keep watching this dream, will I find out?

Another hand gently placed itself upon my body, even as Corona cradle my cold body, even as the surviving Dragonbroods watched over in shock, someone came over to me and once again, my body began to be filled with warmth. Whose hand is this? I can't remember, I can't see. It's all a blur. No, I think I can recall it. Horns... Curved, spiraling horns. The healer had a pair of those, and it felt familiar. I have a feeling that I've seen them before, somewhere I am very familiar with. Could it be...

***

I spring up from the ground gasping for air as if I had just been revived. Was I dreaming again, about that time under the valley? I have a feeling that I might be, though the detail I can recall is fuzzy.

"Finally awake, are we? Took you long enough."

I turn towards the condescending voice beside me to find the priestess of the Holy Serpent, Asha, staring at me with her sleepy eyes, her hair more of a mess than it was before. At this rate, I think she might as well cut it to avoid the hassle, but I doubt she'll appreciate anything that comes out of my mouth the same way I would prefer her to keep her thoughts to herself.

"How long was I asleep?"

"For all of the night and some part of the morning. Now that you're awake, can we finally go? I wish to get this over with quickly and return home. I miss my bed already."

Coming to my side, Nibal and Seif help me up from the ground where I slept, knowing that I am rather weak upon waking up ever since my condition. As they support me, Seif leans into my ear and starts to whisper.

"The lady has tried to call upon your soul since dawn, not even having breakfast. I expected her to announce that it was pointless and give up, but she hung in there and made it work. It seems that your talk with her yesterday paid off."

"Is that so? I guess now I have something to apologize about."

"What are you two whispering about?"

As if she instinctively felt that we are talking about her, Asha calls us out while glaring daggers at us.

"He's just asking me if I want breakfast. I know it's a little late, but I rather not journey on an empty stomach, don't you agree."

Asha's glare does not become any gentler, but, begrudgingly, she nods in agreement.

By the time we finished breakfast, the sun had almost reached its zenith. It's a late start, but with my condition, I guess it can't be helped. I suppose someone could carry me, but that'd just slow them down and I'd be dead weight in the case of an ambush, especially now that we're out of the forest. Apparently, remnants of Mankind have been spotted lurking on the outskirts. What they are planning, I do not know, but they shouldn't have the strength to do anything. The Dragonbroods said that they crushed them quite thoroughly. Still, it is rather worrying that they chose now of all times, when we're launching an all-out attack on the Beastkins, to show up here. I best hurry, the sooner I restore my condition the better. I have a bad feeling about things to come.

***

End of Chapter 54