“The princess awaits you.”

“I know the way, you love birds can go have some quality time~”

The fire dragon’s voice thundered over the area, to which Zoemi merely grinned wildly and shooed both the fire and the vile dragons away with a hand gesture.

“You know the way to where? There is nothing here…”

Alan pointed out looking around the clearance in the surrounding trees of which each was wide as a building.

The black-haired man did not say anything back, knowing full well that the young man spent most of the flight with his face stuffed against his chest, so instead of complaining or making fun of him, Zoemi simply grabbed Alan’s shoulders and turned him around.

“O…ooohhh… Yeah, that make’s more sense.”

The young man looked at the white tower piercing into the sky and competing with the surrounding trees with its height and width.

“Let’s go. The inside is quite cozy, the dragonewts are keeping everything clean.”

Zoemi patted Alan’s shoulder and motioned at the tower with his chin before going on ahead.

“D-dragonewts?! The race of draconic people? Aren’t they just a myth?!”

The young man gasped, before looking back towards the direction the two dragons disappeared to and hurrying after the black-haired man.

“I don’t know what’s common for the land of marital artists, you are the one who grew up here. But the dragonewts are very much real. See? Hello, Sove’thar! Good to see you.”

Zoemi shrugged his shoulders and pointed at a humanoid lizard wearing an old-fashioned tuxedo with holes for wings and tail who just walked out of the white tower.

“Lord Banemor! I’ve heard that her highness asked for your presence, but I was honestly doubtful that you would show up considering how you departed…”

The lizard’s wings sprung up happily and the dragonewt called Sove’thar raised his hand to greet Zoemi.

“I apologize for the mess, but her majesty went too far.”

“I understand and don’t think that we haven’t realized how much you held back on our behalf when she impersonated your lover. On the behalf of her highness’s subjects, thank you for not killing our princess.”

Zoemi bowed his head slightly and smiled apologetically, but Sove’thar went on and bowed his back in a full ninety-degree bow, exposing the back of his neck and the base of his wings to show his sincerity.

“Let’s leave the past in the past. Her highness is in her chamber?”

The black-haired man grabbed the dragonewt’s shoulder and smiled at him once he straightened his back, before asking while looking towards the very top of the white tower.

“But of course, she just had her morning tea and is restlessly waiting for you and… oh? You brought a friend this time? Greetings, human. It’s not often that we host one of your kind here. Please tell me, what is your name and what sect do you belong to?”

Sove’thar confirmed with a nod before turning his attention to the very timid young man peeking at him from behind Zoemi’s back.

“Alan Ramis, from the Great Ram sect. Nice to meet you, mister Sove’thar.”

Alan gulped down his saliva and since the spotlight was already on him, he could just as well step into it, so he moved forward and bowed his head to the dragonewt.

“Oh! I see, the Great Ram sect recognized lord Banemor’s perfect mastery of the law of Aries and made him a teacher then? I can’t say I am surprised. Were you two training when lord Nexivroh arrived to pick you up?”

Sove’thar clasped his hands and his lizard face lighted up with a bright expression as he looked between the black-haired man and the reddish-brown-haired young man.

“Almost. More like called me a dark sect member, tried to get me killed by the Heavenly Archer sect, and kind of forced to become a fugitive, hence the different hairstyle.”

“…”

Zoemi shrugged his shoulders and cleared out the misconception the dragonewt had, while Alan lowered his head in shame.

“You, my lord? Forced to do something? Has the princess changed her mind?”

Sove’thar’s eyes widened and he gasped, making it sound as if the hell froze over, more shocked by Zoemi’s choice of words than by what actually happened.

“Pardon the joke, a lot of foolish people must have died and it’s not a laughing matter. Alas, I have my duties and you have the princess to appease. See you around, lord Banemor, Alan.”

The dragonewt cleared his throat and bowed his head apologetically before moving along towards his original destination, waving towards the two humans.

“That was a lot more normal conversation than I expected…”

Alan let out the air that he was holding because of nervousness and pointed out while Zoemi started walking towards the tower’s entrance again.

“Sove’thar is at the sixth star of the law of Aires and the eighth star of the law of Taurus, by the way. Not sure about his other talents but still.”

“!!!”

The black-haired man revealed as if it was nothing while effortlessly pushing the massive door open.

“Sixth and eighth…?! Dragonewts can use star power?!”𝒪𝗏𝔩xt.𝗰𝐎𝐦

Alan gasped in disbelief and turned around widely, staring at the back of the dragonewt disappearing amongst the trees.

“Not only can, but they also have a far easier time mastering the laws than humans do. And that’s not even a secret. You might not have known that dragonewts are real, but about their proficiency. Actually, I am pretty sure that when Rhodes was talking about the monsters with human intelligence capable of using the star power, he was referring to them.”

Zoemi smirked and said keeping the door open until Alan made his way inside the spotlessly clean circular entrance hall with the spiral staircase climbing up the pillar in the very middle of the construction.

“I remember. You weren’t too keen on even letting him finish what he wanted to say, though.”

The young man nodded, reminiscing about the moment.

“That’s because I did not trust him. It’s not required to be a genius to figure out what would people try to do to dragonewts if they were certain that they exist. Still, it’s not like just anyone could waltz right into this place to confirm their existence.”

Zoemi added with a lighthearted shrug while approaching the spiral staircase and beginning the ascend.

“Say… is the princess…”

Alan nodded before raising his head and looking up at the staircase that was definitely far too long for his liking.

“At the highest room of the highest tower. Yes, she certainly is.”

Zoemi finished his sentence with a laugh, happy that he could use the line.

“Oh, and by the way… who in the world is the princess? Is it like, an actual royalty or something?”

The young man suddenly straightened his back and gasped as if he was reminded of something important, which honestly made Zoemi chuckle at the sight.

“I was wondering when you will ask about that.”

He said between the spasms of held-back laughter.

“The princess is the great lord of the forest or the boss monster of the entire sea of trees. She rules over the dragons, who hold the most territory and have the greatest number of weaker creatures under their command. She isn’t actual royalty though, not in the meaning of the word that you and I have in mind, but her family line does seem quite regal. Just don’t get disillusioned once you met her.”

Zoemi instructed, looking to the side quite awkwardly as if he wasn’t sure how to describe the so-called princess, which in and of itself was quite a telling sign already.