Her body decayed slowly — so slowly that monsters did not dare approach for many years.
Even in death, she protected the egg.
I returned and claimed Meteora's nest as my own.
The other dragons mocked her for consorting with humans.
It always angered me.
It always ended in a fight.
They provoked me until I beat every last one of them.
After a while, no one dared challenge me.
That is how I became the strongest Fire Dragon.
That is how I earned the title of Dragon Queen.
The title never mattered to me.
But since it meant no one dared speak Meteora's name with mockery again, I decided:
Fine.
Let me be the Dragon Queen.
The other egg, however, did not hatch.
Centuries passed.
I had almost given up on it.
Then… three hundred years later, one day a strange sensation rippled through my heart.
An unpleasant, unsettling vibration.
I didn't understand what it meant.
So I went down to visit my mother's resting place.
Only Meteora's skeleton remained.
But that was not what shocked me.
It was the egg.
It had hatched.
After three hundred years.
And that was eight years ago.
Why did fate choose for my little sister to hatch so late?
I believe it is because the time has come for a new Hero and a new Demon King to shake the world once more.
Firestorm's resolve
But my little sister was weak.
Timid.
I didn't understand why.
I became strong because the other dragons mocked me and Meteora.
So I mocked her too.
I prodded her.
The others did as well.
But she did not grow stronger from it.
One day, she fled the nest.
She headed toward human territory.
Since we both hatched from Meteora's eggs, we share the same blood.
Our hearts have been connected from the beginning.
So I thought:
Let her go.
Perhaps her fate is to grow stronger at the side of humans.
And so it happened.
Barely a few days had passed since she ran away, and already her power had awakened.
This feeling…
This flame…
I have not felt anything like this in three hundred years.
And my little sister has now experienced it for the first time.
I miss Meteora.
I miss her stories.
The Dragon Nest is dull.
I want to go adventuring too, just as she did!
I want to see the world!
I want to take part in the battle between the Hero and the Demon King!
Perhaps I, too, will find a human worthy of becoming a Dragon Knight through my blood.
Yes…
Endless adventures await!
I have even decided what name I will give my little sister.
New Meteora!
Or Meteora Two!
Or… Blazeflame Meteora!
Alright, I still need to decide that.
Now that I look closely…
this year a lot of dragonshrooms have grown around the entrance of my nest.
Dragonshrooms explode violently from even the smallest flame.
I don't care.
I won't be coming back for a long while.
If the whole nest blows up, then let it blow.
Time to head for human lands!
Meteora's old stories about the Hero had awakened Firestorm's longing for adventure.
And so the Dragon Queen took flight from her nest and set her course toward the Kingdom of Riel.
More precisely:
she set out after her little sister, who had found a home in the lands of Wolfwood.
Return to the Base
Fireburp, Lili, and Xaba finally made it back to the military base being built among the old ruins. The tension slowly eased, and Xaba let out a long breath, as if he could finally breathe again.
"Well, we're finally back at the camp. I have to stay here — I can't return to the castle with you — but for safety's sake, I'll assign two Wolf Knights to escort you."
Fireburp scrunched up her nose.
"Why do I need an escort? I can roast twenty goblins at once!"
Xaba rubbed his forehead.
"And you can also set twenty trees on fire at once, which would cause a forest fire. Unless absolutely necessary, don't use flames that big in the forest. You even nicely scorched the side of the Old Wolf‑Oak. That tree is practically a natural treasure for Wolfwood."
Lili immediately presented her "solution."
"We'll just say the goblins set it on fire."
Xaba burst out laughing.
"Lili, you're already as sly as a real maid."
"Don't show the mushrooms to anyone — give them straight to Anita. And make sure to mention that I helped with her little project."
Fireburp shrugged.
"Fine, fine, you want your praise too."
Trouble at the Gate
The two girls were escorted back to Wolfwood by two Wolf Knights.
The knights accompanied them only as far as the entrance to the Forest of Wolves — from there, the children already knew the way.
But at the castle gate, someone was already pacing impatiently.
Noelle.
Her arms were crossed, her foot tapped irritably against the stone, and when she saw them, her voice cracked like a whip.
"Well, well, if it isn't the two little runaway birdies!
Start chirping — where on earth have you two been?!"
Fireburp immediately raised her hand.
"Wait, Noelle, I can explain! We were on a secret mission."
Lili enthusiastically pulled out the sack.
"Yes! Look, we brought you a present!"
Inside the sack lay the eight enormous Amorcap mushrooms.
Noelle's expression first turned confused…
then recognition flashed in her eyes…
and then fury.
"Are these…? Amorcap mushrooms?!
Don't tell me that idiot Anita sent you to get them!
I swear I'll kick her so hard my footprint will shine on her backside for weeks!"
The two little girls swallowed hard at the same time.
Their secret mission had just become truly dangerous —
and not because of the goblins.
Noelle's Wrath
Lili waved her hands in desperation, as if moving faster would help her explain faster.
"No! I just overheard that you wanted to bake even tastier scones, and that there's a secret ingredient — the Amorcap — that makes them even more delicious. We went mushroom‑picking in secret so you'd praise us!"
Noelle's face first tightened… then slowly, very slowly twisted.
"Oh, I see… I understand.
Amorcap is… well…
It's a mushroom that doesn't make food special because of its taste, but because… ahem… it has a very strong aphrodisiac effect.
It makes men and women so fired up they spend the whole night doing naughty things you two are far too young to understand."
Fireburp's jaw dropped.
"Then we can't even eat any?!"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to bake scones with it, so no one will eat any."
Lili blinked in confusion.
"But we went all the way to the Old Wolf‑Oak for them… and you're not going to use them?"
Noelle sighed, and for a moment she actually seemed sincere.
"Believe me, I'd like to… but I really don't dare."
Fireburp scrunched up her nose.
"I didn't know you were a coward, Noelle!"
The air froze.
Noelle turned her head toward her very slowly.
"Oh, really?
You ran away from the castle without permission…
So you're getting punished!
One hundred spankings!"
Lili went pale.
But Noelle continued:
"However, since your intentions were good, Lili will only get ten instead of a hundred."
Fireburp jumped up indignantly.
"What?! Why is Lili's punishment reduced?
I mean, come on! I defeated twenty goblins all by myself, hahaha!"
Noelle's eyes narrowed.
"Is that so?
If you're that strong, you can take twenty more on top of the hundred."
Fireburp turned white.
"You're joking… right…"
Noelle was not joking.
Chaos in the Kitchen and the Lab
The half‑elf girl grabbed the two children and hauled them into the kitchen.
The punishment was quick, efficient, and… memorable.
Lili and Fireburp learned their lesson well:
No secret missions without Noelle's knowledge.