73. The Postscript of the Magical Beasts and the Desert
In the barren desert, both beasts and humans seem to have evolved into tenacious and robust beings, perfectly adapted to their harsh environment. Just a week ago, Cairo was flooded with sorrow, having lost homes and belongings to an unexpected deluge. However, thanks to the swift decisive action of the newly stabilized government, the city has now made an impressive recovery, leaving no trace of the catastrophe behind.
“The craftsmanship of the Stone Dwarves is simply the best in the world!”
— And let’s not forget the fairies’ magical engineering, right? The fairies suddenly popping up from the wondrous tower of Sumer must have helped rally everyone to Cairo?
“I can’t believe I’ll witness a day when Cairo and Sumer interact! Hey, old turtle, you’ve lived for over a thousand years. Do you feel anything special about the current situation?”
— I’m saying this because my relations with fairies have improved. But truth be told, I’ve got a soft spot for pointy ears. Their skinny bodies are a pleasant sight, and the plump Dark Fairies are a feast for the eyes, but when it comes to fairies, it’s the original emaciated ones from Sumer that steal the show…
“Bah, you’ve thrown away your ears. What’s so great about those stick-like fairies?”
— I thought the same until I was three hundred. But aging changes your perspective, buddy! Ugh, I can’t even have a decent conversation with someone clueless about fairy trivia. Go, drink some more milk!
Once the dam holding back the floodwaters opened, it was as if rapid currents rushed through a barren desert, creating an unstoppable wave of change! Day by day, the city transformed right before our eyes.
I squinted as I witnessed dragons, boys, and fairies zipping back and forth, riding on gryphons soaring through the sky.
— It’s packed! There’s no room to breathe!
“This just means everyone has been yearning for this warm and peaceful atmosphere. Of course, not everyone is thrilled, but at least I am.”
Azidahaka, the Fire Dragon, accepted a flower from a little Stone Dwarf girl, a wide grin spreading across her face.
“Thanks, little Stone Dwarf! A flower made of copper? It’s beautiful! Is it a desert rose?”
“Yup! I heard dragons love jewels. It’s not a jewel, but I made it myself!”
“An impressive piece! Rare craftsmanship is just as valuable as any gem. So, I guess I need to repay you properly… let’s see…”
Azidahaka reached into her red dress, pulling out a glimmering scale that shone like a ruby.
“It looks like this is all I’ve got.”
“W-What! A dragon’s scale…!”
The little Stone Dwarf girl’s eyes widened as she held Azidahaka’s scale. After all, it’s not every day that one receives a scale from the legendary Fire Dragon!
The girl bowed profusely, thanking Azidahaka until she was out of sight.
I glanced at Azidahaka who seemed intrigued by the copper flower beyond her tiara.
— So, a flower made of copper and a dragon’s scale in return? Inflation is bound to hit! Can you just give away such precious scales like that?
“Hey now, didn’t you throw around twenty gold coins’ worth of thorns all over the place? Especially handing them generously to the little girls?”
— Well, that was because they were short on materials for making clothes for the disaster victims… Ahem. Oh, there’s Leaf over there.
I redirected the conversation towards Leaf, who was approaching with skewers of meat in both hands, a banana-like fruit dangling from his mouth, clearly in the midst of enjoying the festivities.
— Of course, he’d be here! Following the necklace is a foolproof plan, right, Yingyi?
— Guiying!
The necklace of my teeth hung around Leaf’s neck, vibrating with a hum as it swayed.
“That’s quite handy,” Azidahaka noted, casting a sidelong glance at it. Although it belonged to Leaf, she seemed reluctant to let it go.
— So, which place has the best food? Do you have any recommendations?
— No clue; they all taste great to me!
— What would I ask you for? If you’d enjoyed the festival, I’d expect some useful information by now!
Leaf fell into deep thought, and just as he looked like he was about to say something, he shouted with sudden realization.
— Oh! They’re performing “The Adventures of Yingyi” over there!
— Really? They’re doing that?
— But there’s no seating left! The audience is packed!
“The Adventures of Yingyi” is a popular fiction performance featuring the pint-sized Cloudring Yingyi as the protagonist, loved by the citizens of Cairo. It’s so popular that even the actual model cannot find a spot to watch it!
I headed towards the theater to see what on earth could have them so excited.
Outside the circular building, resembling a tiny coliseum, there was a long line of audience members waiting to get in, growing so long it felt suffocating!
Azidahaka inspected the sign in front of the theater and gasped.
“325 people in line, estimated wait time, 4 hours! Looks like all these citizens are here for the performance. We’re going to have to queue at the end of this line, too.”
— Four hours?! Honestly, I don’t want to work that hard for a show.
The thought of being stuck waiting here for so long made me uneasy. There are plenty of other things to see and do during this ‘First White Fur Magical Beast’ festival!
I spotted several children carrying dolls shaped like me, and balloons resembling Yingyi.
— Let’s go somewhere else! We could check out the doll shop over there.
— No, let’s watch the play! I want to see it! Don’t you, Yingyi? You want to see it!
Leaf whined childishly, hugging Yingyi tightly.
Yingyi responded with a cheerful “Guiying,” seeming eager to see the play where she’s the star.
— We can wait for four hours!
— Then you can stand in line while we go play somewhere else and come back in four hours.
— No, that doesn’t sound fair! Ugh…
Leaf frowned, torn between the long, sluggish line of waiting people and my face in alternation.
— Ugh, fine…
Just as Leaf seemed about to open his mouth to make a decision, someone shouted.
“Isn’t that the White One?”
— White Fur! That woman beside her is the Fire Dragon Azidahaka, and over there is the little girl Yingyi, Princess Leaf. It’s definitely them!
“Look, it seems the companions of the White One have come to watch a play!”
— Awesome! Come, stand here! I’ll let you in!
“My spot is closer to the entrance. Stand right here. I’ll step aside.”
— Since you bled for us, this is the least you could do.
The crowd recognized us and welcomed us with cheers and applause. While it’s a bit burdensome to be in the spotlight, receiving cheers and validations is somewhat nice, to be honest.
After all, everyone desires to be acknowledged by others.
Raccoon Leaf scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.
— Hehe, what luck! Now we can stand in the front row…
Power does have its perks, allowing us to skip hours of waiting to see something everyone else has to struggle for.
— What do we do now?
In response to my question, Azidahaka coolly looked at the enthusiastic crowd and shrugged.
“When you stand at a high place, you must learn to accept kindness. So that reaching out won’t make you feel embarrassed.”
I half-expected Azidahaka to firmly say, “But rules must be followed,” so this was a pleasant surprise!
However, seeing her shimmering scale tail swaying beneath her red dress indicated that she, too, hadn’t been averse to the idea of viewing the performance.
When Leaf wasn’t around, she took care of Yingyi, perhaps curious to see how she’d perform in the play.
That’s how we managed to enter the theater ahead of everyone else.
The small theater, where just thirty or forty people seemed likely to fill it, had black curtains blocking the light, and several luminous stones scattered around creating quite an atmosphere.
When all the seats were filled and some time passed, the bright glow of the stones was covered by curtains until the place was pitch dark!
— Looks like it’s starting!
At Leaf’s little shout, I shushed him.
The theater went silent, with only the breathing of the audience and the sound of popcorn crunching filling the air, as gentle music began—a stringed serenade playing somewhere.
As the curtains opened, a vividly painted forest scene materialized, crafted with skillful care.
Could this be The Ancient Nest?
I pondered that until suddenly something burst forth from the underbrush.
— Guiying.
‘What in the world.’
I felt a giggle bubbling up. The white, fluffy figure with a childish voice could only be Yingyi herself!
Naturally, it was likely a beast or a Stone Dwarf dressed in a fluffy white costume.
— Guiying, Yingyi!
The oohs and aahs from the crowd erupted as the charming figure emerged.
I turned to see that not just me, but even Azidahaka and an excited Leaf were completely absorbed in this spectacle!
‘So, I thought I adapted to this world already…’
*
— Wait a minute, is it just me or is the entire dialogue “Guiying, Yingyi!” and “Grrr!”? Are the ones saying this truly more popular than me?
After the performance ended and the egresses were flooded with departing spectators, I voiced my thoughts on what I’d just seen.
— There wasn’t much to it.
As I grumbled, Leaf, still cuddling Yingyi, frowned.
— There wasn’t much to it! It was so moving!
“Indeed. In the final scene, where the white beast sacrifices itself, even I felt tears spring up a bit. The acting was incredible! I wondered if they’d recruited a Cloudring from somewhere.”
— Wait, that’s what the play was about?
— Guiying.
Yingyi squirmed in agreement, clearly pleased, while even Azidahaka praised the performance. I scratched my head in confusion.
— Goodness. Sure, the acting was fine, but…
As I twisted my head with mixed feelings, I spotted something crawling out from behind the theater, where a fluffy white figure wobbled out.
Could it be the actor who played Yingyi in the adventure?
Wobble, wobble.
As I curiously gazed, the fluffy white figure removed the silly costume they had on and stretched with a yawn.
A big boy situated between their large bosom handed over a towel.
“Lingling, your performance was fantastic just now!”
— Hehe, it was no big deal if you caught me like this, Isaac.
— Mine was rough, Lingling. I felt no soul in the performance.
— Keep it down, Rivino. Can’t you see Isaac is uncomfortable? Let go!
— No way. If you’re wronged, you should hug back!
‘What a scene.’
As the fluffy costume came off, what was revealed was a familiar semi-translucent yellow skin…
— That’s the Poison Desertling! And beside them is Isaac, the son of the Dark Fairy’s chief, and the dragon Rivino.
The Poison Desertling I had met atop the rocky mountains of Sinai was now behind the theater, shedding their woolly costume, holding a long pipe.
— Hey, good to see you! The Desertling is back!
— Ugh! It’s the White One! Prepare to get eaten…!
Upon catching my eye, the startled Poison Desertling bubbled in surprise and quickly hid behind Isaac, clutching a glass bottle at his waist.
“Ah, it’s an honor to meet you, White One! Congratulations on everything!”
— Good to see you too, have fun!
I waved a front paw at Isaac and Rivino before sinking into thought.
‘No wonder the Guiying sound seemed exceptional… So, they’ve left their sinister cult life behind for a performing career now?’
I lifted my head high, contemplating the many facets of life present in this world.
The sky turned to a ripe crimson like a ripe fruit. Similar to that, the festival was reaching full swing, its heat and lively atmosphere escalating!
━. ━. ━━.
The songs of pilgrims and travelers, speaking in unfamiliar languages.
Barefoot fairy dancers moving rhythmically to the beat, warm winds generated by the flapping of gryphons, and dragon scales reflecting the flickering flames of bonfires.
Stone Dwarves, red-faced from drink, jovially mixing with playful beasts, while budding flowers began to sprout atop the sandy city and stars sprinkled like milk across the dusky sky…
Fwoosh!
Winging high through the shining stars, a small, snow-white gryphon soared away into the horizon. From head to tail, it appeared like a fallen star or perhaps like an angel.
— That’s Chino.
“Today’s newlywed. Isn’t she lovely?”
— She’s dyed completely white, just like you, White One.
— The ceremony will start soon; we should get our seats! Today, the buffet is free!
— Jack, we’re going together!
The crowd started to surge towards the path the white gryphon had taken.
Boom!
I turned my head towards a thunderous sound that seemed to come from a distance, gazing at the dark horizon.
— What are we waiting for, White One! We need to head out! You’re the star of today!
“Bah, a wedding? It’s important to move away from such archaic customs. This is simply a political event, and absolutely no more significance should be assigned to it than that…”
— Guiying.
But my thoughts were short-lived as I felt everyone nudging me along, moving towards where the crowd, citizens, and the feather-clad desert princess awaited!
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