Chapter 95: Despair, Fear, and Sweets

Despite growing suspicion and fear caused by Nio’s plans, everything went close to what Nio expected.

The Empire, the Kingdom of Ortyr, the Theocracy, and several other small kingdoms ceased battles among other things after receiving the letter from "Stelaria." They stopped everything so they could deal with the supposed monster "attack" that was going to happen.

All these places didn’t stop because they necessarily believed an attack would happen, but because the Saint of the Theocracy predicted it, and if that prediction is right, it’s too big a problem to ignore.

The Theocracy has been known for hundreds of years for dealing precisely with this kind of problem, preparing "humanity" with its predictions, which was exactly one of the reasons it grew so much and became one of the continent’s three "Pillars." That’s why the Saint’s authority carries weight, and everyone tends to obey when predictions of this kind occur.

Even the Empire, which is known for never stopping its battles for anything, decided to stop and prepare for an attack, and since everyone is ready for battle, no one would dare use this moment of "peace" to attack another kingdom.

So, for two days everything stopped. The population quickly learned the news, which spread like fire, and fear arose like a truly cold, piercing chill.

Of course, not everything is as Nio expected. Each country decided to defend itself alone, refusing external help from the Theocracy even if it were free. One miscalculation on Nio’s part was thinking these proud rulers would accept help from others just to lose authority.

To all of them, their own authority was worth more than a few lives. Besides, if they manage to handle everything on their own, their own authority will seem even greater, and their people will gain more confidence in their rulers.

Such a miscalculation somewhat ruined Nio’s plan to gain global authority through the fame of being a savior, but the main part of the plan — obtaining the magic of whoever dies, whether monsters or humans — still works, so Nio accepts this result.

However, even though everyone truly prepared for an attack that will happen in just one more day, there are those who used this as an opportunity. Criminals began taking advantage of this moment to obtain resources while the main military forces are occupied.

And Yomo is also taking advantage of this to make contact with these criminals, since his main plan failed. He’s trying to make up for the loss in his own way.

Meanwhile, Nio would normally be super happy that her plan at least mostly worked, and she would be proud of her intelligence in choosing Stelaria as the person who delivered the warning through registered letters.

Of course, happiness and pride aren’t things Nio can feel every time she appears in front of Typhon, which is exactly what happened again. When she went to sleep anxious about the third and final day before the attack, she woke up inside the nightmare.

"..." Nio looks at Nioh while the two of them stand there uncomfortably, staring at Typhon, who sits in her chair with a cup of some unknown liquid, glaring at Nio with a dangerous look.

Not necessarily madness or malice, but a touch of something dark in her gaze, which made Nio not even try to approach.

"Why are you two so far away? This time I made sure to have two chairs," Typhon speaks politely to both of them, gesturing toward the chairs.

"..." Nio takes a deep breath and approaches to avoid problems, while Nioh obediently moves closer, sitting in the chair and lowering her head.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Nio musters the courage to ask while mentally cursing Typhon for ruining her joy.

"...Hmmmmmm..." Typhon breathes deeply, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Your scent is nice. You put an egg in, didn’t you?"

"!!!" Nio turns red with embarrassment at Typhon’s shameless, unfiltered words.

"H-How do you know that?!"

"Your scent changes when you do that. It gets more intense. I personally like it, though I never thought you would do it..." Typhon glances at Nioh.

"She’s the one who tricked you, isn’t she?" Typhon’s ability to deduce that based solely on personality and light context is simply frightening.

"..." Nio looks at Nioh with a certain resentment now that she can actually see her in front of her instead of just hearing her voice, and Typhon finds that amusing.

"Nio, I’m truly sad that you feel bad about this. I know how manipulative and selfish Nioh can be. Honestly, she’s such a wicked girl. You didn’t deserve to be deceived. It’s so... unfair. I think I’ll give you a little present." Typhon pulls a box from under the table and hands it to Nio.

But while Nio focuses on the present, she doesn’t even notice the subtle manipulation. Her heart feels "lighter" because Typhon validated her feeling of injustice, whereas Nioh merely said she wasn’t suffering any injustice.

"...This is..."

"Food. I think you’ll like the taste. We’re in a dream, Nio. I can’t give you real presents..."

"I—" Nioh tries to say something, but Typhon shoots her a look that makes her go completely silent. Her tail and wings shrink back in fear.

"Oh..." Nio opens the box and sees chocolates. She expected something bizarre, but instead received something "generic."

"Nio, I can see from your eyes that you think it’s nothing special, but this chocolate is special. Besides, chocolate is a good thing. You’ll like it." Nio looks at the sweets and then picks one up.

"...A-aah..." She tastes one of the sweets and chews, expecting a strange flavor, but she’s hit by a soft sweetness combined with a sweet, creamy taste that makes her curl her legs and let out a moan.

Typhon finds Nio’s expression of pleasure adorable, while Nioh just stays quiet without saying anything.

"Nio, I don’t think you know much about dragons or about being a woman, do you? I notice you seem a bit anxious. I believe you’re doing something you consider important, so how about I give you a little lesson? That way you can relax a bit."

"After all, we’re wives. It’s safe in here." Typhon speaks while wiping a cloth across Nio’s cheek. Nio looks at Typhon and wonders if Typhon is really as terrible as she seems.

After all, even though she’s heard terrible things, she only heard them. She never saw anything being done, except in the case of the fight they had after the "Invitation" she received, but that was a fight context, not a rule that it would always be like that.

"Sure... I... I think I’d like that..." Nio is still cautious, since even though she doesn’t know for certain, she still deeply distrusts Typhon.