After zooming past the night sky, Summer dove to a clearing, the grasses wilting at the impact.
There was a peculiar small house before them. The wooden inn settled itself while surrounded by a forest, trees still humming with the vigilant owls and buzzy insects.
With a gesture from Summer, the door slid open at her command.
Then, with a grunt, she threw the white-haired Queen inside, her small body gliding across the interior.
Ciel embraced herself for impact, only to land and roll on a bed, ending with her back crashing against a wall.
Wincing, Ciel chuckled out. "Good throw."
The Dragon huffed, and with a click of her fingers, the room was set alight. Their sources were from fireflies at the ceiling, swarming inside lanterns made of iron and glass walls.
Ciel first marvelled at this sight, at the mattress below her, then at the desk filled with documents at the side closest to her, the uncleaned kitchen at the other.
Her gaze drifted to the tall ceiling above her, the light of the academy cast at the windows.
Even now, it buzzed with activities at nighttime, when shadebeasts appeared the most frequently.
Surprisingly, her first destination was not in an interrogation room.
"My home will be your residence for now. Anyone would be suspicious if I landed you directly at the academy ground, a risk I couldn't afford, either, not knowing if you deceived me about your strength."
Summer said casually as she turned to the kitchen, adorning herself with a pink apron. "Suit yourself. You'll be observed here in a few days before heading there to be dissected."
Ignoring the threat, Ciel observed the small room, then the Dragon again, her golden hair sprawling down the pink apron freely.
A smile bloomed on her lips. "You look like a housewife."
"I will kill you. Right now."
The bloodlust in Summer's voice was unmistakably real, even as she fashioned herself with a wok and a pan.
Ciel chuckled at the Dragon's brewing rage, before busying herself with a certain System panel.
[ Welcome to the Queen's Bane System, Ciel. ]
[ Here, you will become the Greatest weapon against the Queens of Shadebeasts, a hunter for the hunters. ]
The white-haired queen frowned. She wished for a peaceful life, but hunting shadebeasts had no part in it.
Yet the System had an undeniable effect in keeping her clarity attached now, and she would be doomed if she dismissed it so easily.
She hated the feeling of being bound to another greater power, but she didn't necessarily dislike repaying a lifelong favour.
Though her allegiance seemed to always lie with those who wanted to kill or enslave her. How… amusing.
With a nod, a few options soon appeared in the panels.
[ Reward compiling…]
[ Level: 1 -> 4 ]
[ SP - Stat Point: 0 - > 3 ]
[ Starter Skill Selection: ]
Shadow Mastery
Description: Drawing your nature as a shadebeast, any magic related to shadow will have +500% Proficiency. Be warned that your beastly nature will be amplified upon selection.
Ice mastery
Description: Draws upon the power of Ice at your command. Ice Magic will have +100% proficiency.
Moon Mastery
Description: The moonlight will be yours and yours alone. Magic related to Moonlight will have +300% proficiency. However, you can no longer learn any other element until level 25.
Ciel's brows furrowed together, her mind quickly weighing her options.
She rejected Shadow Mastery and Ice Mastery inwardly. The former bore too much risk, while the latter's advantage was nonexistent.
And if there were an academy, she might have to take an exam that Summer forced her to attend. Ciel would know.
She invaded it countless times before, after all.
Therefore-
"Moon Mastery."
Ensuring her safety with enough strength, but not enough to earn Summer's suspicion, was the priority.
A queen could have her own cheat a little, no?
The moment she made her choice, strength streamed up her veins like rivers, her brain suddenly feeling light with a refreshing coolness.
Moonlight exploded in her sharpened vision. It soon folded back to itself, and Ciel could observe its every trace, hue and outline with their deepened connection.
She paused, then peeked at the Dragon, who flipped an egg with a magnificent spin on her pan.
Ciel made an awkward face. But after a moment of Ciel fidgeting with herself, the Dragon merely spun around and walked over, her step careful.
Placing the plate of egg and ham sandwich onto the desk, their gazes finally met.
Summer's green eyes scanned Ciel from head to toe, the ire palpable in the air, as if she had already known Ciel's sudden burst of power.
And when a scoff slipped from the dragon's lips, Ciel was sure Summer found out her System, before-
Flop! Her body wobbled with a pyjama slapped onto her chest, the fabric heavy and oversized for her tiny frame.
"Wear some damn clothes."
Ciel's brows raised, hugging the warm fabric closer to her chest.
Her heart skipped a beat. It must be a sign of shame, she lied to herself.
"That…" Ciel pointed at the meal. "Was for me?"
"In your dreams."
Summer picked the two soft, thick breads up, the egg glowing soft and creamy over the hams, witnessed by the green firefly lanterns from above.
"I haven't eaten since I needed to rush to a Queen Ascension Site." Summer glared at the Ciel, whose lips were glazed with saliva. "So stop that creepy look. Your act disgusts me."
Act? Ciel's shoulders fell, then realised the logic behind Summer's guess.
Shadebeasts bore no emotion. They knew slaughters but bore no joy, knew tearing flesh apart but harboured no disgust.
The same could be said for Ciel, however. She counted those she killed at one point, until she just forgot one day, and moved on.
Time wore out everything, till even her heartbeat sounded dull.
Yet-
"I'm willing to die for the sandwich."
Ciel muttered out, before smiling with her confidence brewing.
"One bite. Please."
Her small hand clung stubbornly to the large bag of clothes Summer offered, eyes glimmering with a sincerity that the dragon winced at.
"...is this a new mutation of mimic or…" Summer let out a huge sigh before clutching hard onto her throbbing head. "Alright, don't look in my general direction for a few minutes. You can have your damn sandwich."
Summer paused, realising how weak she sounded, before repeating. "I merely lost my appetite. Say a word, and I will throw you outside to sleep in the cold."
Ciel's eyes beamed, her small figure swaying with a heat bubbling up her cheek.
Her heartbeat felt a little fuller now.
After sliding her body into the huge pyjama, Ciel ate the sandwich Summer offered, sleeves fluttering loosely beneath her wrists.
Her teeth bit into the soft bread, as the taste of egg and ham exploded inside her mouth, causing her eyes to glimmer.
Ciel then paused before putting back a poker face to enjoy the meal. She couldn't afford the Dragon suspecting her 'act' again.
After finishing, her tongue unconsciously licked at her lips, savouring every sprinkle of crust she could find.
Summer's face now flickered between softness and caution; the Dragon didn't know if she should pity or scorn the little Queen.
For 'pretending'? Not quite. Ciel's fakeness was fickle yet undeniably an act of self-preservation. Flip it, and the dragon easily missed which side of her was real.
Eying the two wounds on Ciel's knees, the dragon kneeled with enchanted mutterings at her tongue.
The spell painted the red gush back to a healthy pink, the gnashes slowly closing themselves.
Ciel was about to thank her before something warm and thick gushed out from her throat. With a few coughs, blood spilt from her lips, stealing a few crumbs of reddened bread she just eaten.
The wraiths of ancient dragons lingered in the form of wounds, revealed only after a peaceful meal had settled into something more.
A frown flashed by the Dragon. With a glowing palm pressed onto Ciel's chest, the insides, twisted and mangled, reshaped themselves anew. Slowly, Ciel finally caught a few steady pants in between her coughs.
"That sandwich." The dragon looked away, her gaze distant. "Was not for you. It must have been overcooked."
As the air settled back into her lungs, Ciel breathed out a chuckle, eying the blood-saliva that pooled at her thighs, the tip of her clothes coating a faint red.
"...at least it didn't stain much."
Ciel's hand stretched for the wet mess before a hurried hand caught her wrist.
Growling, the dragon muttered out a chant again. The sloppy saliva flowed freely upward before melting into the fabric of space, leaving only traces of smoke behind.
Three dragon chants. Just to heal and sanitise her.
"Thanks-"
Ciel's gratitude was met with an annoyed grumble.
She would laugh, but upon reevaluating her choices, a flat seriousness washed over her expression.
If Miss Dragon thought even her thanks were irritating-
"As an apology, could you allow me a walk outside?"
Then how about compensation instead?
Because she had a few ideas about what to do with the other System's rewards.