Chapter 631 - Before She Comes of Age…
Goodenia took a pained glance at Cyril’s front pocket. The pocket watch that Cyril had taken was the most expensive one in his shop. However, he only bowed deeper as he gratefully said, “I will be sure to repay you for your kindness. It’s just that Devoe and the owner of that restaurant…”
“Don’t mention anything about Devoe to me; I’m afraid of being dragged down by him. As for the owner of Mamy Restaurant, if you don’t want to be detained by the Gray Temple again, I suggest you leave him alone. I’ll take care of him for you.” Cyril’s smile disappeared as he made his way closer to Goodenia, and whispered, “Next, all you have to do is keep an eye on Gloria and her little textiles shop, and cause as much trouble for her as you can…”
“Yes.” Goodenia’s expression changed before he hurriedly nodded.
After Cyril walked out the door, the man following him whispered, “Young Master, Goodenia has already been kicked out of the Chamber of Commerce, so surely he doesn’t have any value left to us.”
“Goodenia was released by the Gray Temple. I didn’t pay a single copper coin to bail him out, but that idiot thinks I saved him. He’s earned a lot of money selling clocks and watches these past few years, so he has a few tricks up his sleeve. It’d be perfect to use him to deal with Gloria.” Cyril looked at the gem-studded pocket watch in his hand and tossed it to the man behind him with a smile as he said, “Ask him if he wants to buy this watch.”
In a tea shop, a thin man in black turned to Noya Gould, and asked, “Boss, are we going to do it tonight or not?”
“Of course we’re going to do it!” Noya’s voice rose a few octaves in response, but he immediately lowered his head as he adjusted the brim of his hat. He then threatened in a severe voice, “But you’d better not ditch me again like last night, Luke. Otherwise, I’m going to slap you senseless.”
“I was just buying some breakfast for you, Boss,” Luke said with a smile, but he rolled his eyes internally as he thought to himself, If this guy’s going to be as indecisive as he was yesterday, then I’m ditching him for good!
Noya nodded as he whispered, “Alright. We’ll go a bit later tonight, then. I heard they’re keeping a really alert eye out for criminal activity lately, and if we get caught them, we’re going to get thrown into jail!”
That night, Mag stood at the restaurant’s entrance and looked on as Yabemiya and Sally departed into the distance. He then flipped over the sign on the door before closing the door itself.
A silver figure appeared on a tree branch outside the restaurant before disappearing again in the blink of an eye.
Sally, who was walking on Yabemiya’s right, turned to glance back behind them with a cautious look. However, she didn’t discover anything there, and a confused expression appeared on her face.
“What’s wrong, Aisha?” Yabemiya turned to Sally with a concerned look.
“Nothing.” Sally shook her head before turning to Yabemiya as she asked, “Miya, do you get the feeling that you’re being watched or followed recently?”
“Huh?” Yabemiya faltered slightly upon hearing that. She thought back to the feeling of being watched and followed in that alley the night before, only for Elizabeth to appear before taking her on an aerial ride. However, Elizabeth and Sally didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye with each other, so after a brief hesitation, Yabemiya shook her head, and said, “No.”
Sally looked at Yabemiya for a while before nodding her head. “Good.”
“Aisha, you go on ahead today. I want to stay in the ice cream shop for a while longer.” As they were passing by the ice cream, Yabemiya stopped in front of its entrance as a smile appeared on her face.
“Alright, but don’t stay here too long, and look after yourself on your way home.” Sally took a glance at the ice cream shop and nodded before departing.
Yabemiya pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door before walking into the ice cream shop.
The shop wasn’t entirely pitch-black; there was a small circle of light around the statue of the ice and snow queen. There was also a row of small lamps that lit up the ice cream shop with a warm glow, but wasn’t intrusive in any way.
Miya walked around the statue of the snow and ice queen a few times before looking up at it as she said in a faint voice, “This is my ice cream shop. Can you see this, Mother? This is Miya’s ice cream shop! Even though it belongs to Boss, I’m the manager! If only… If only you were still here with me…”
A tear slid down from the corner of her eye before dripping onto the ground, but there was no sound of her crying.
“It’s her.” On a tree branch outside the ice cream shop, Elizabeth was holding a ball that was emitting a faint golden glow. At the same time, she was looking at the young woman who was soundlessly sobbing in the ice cream shop with a complex expression.
The dragon origin was emanating a slightly scorching heat in her hand. This was the last verification method her father had left to her, and was also the only foolproof method.
After standing on the tree branch in silence for a while, Elizabeth put away the dragon origin in her hand, and disappeared from the tree branch. In the next instant, she had appeared in the ice cream shop, standing behind Yabemiya.
“Giant dragons don’t cry,” Elizabeth said in a cold voice as she looked at the weeping Yabemiya. Her voice was just as cold as her expression.
“Huh?” Yabemiya faltered slightly before turning around. She stared at Elizabeth, who had appeared behind her completely without her noticing, and said, “H-how did you in here? I made sure to lock the door!”
“That door can’t stop me.” Elizabeth shook her head in response.
“Then… do you want to eat ice cream?” Yabemiya wiped the tears off her face and looked at Elizabeth with a concerned expression as she said, “Boss says you can’t eat ice cream at night before bed. Otherwise, you’ll get a stomach ache. If you really want to eat ice cream, you can come back tomorrow during the day.”
“Huh?” It was Elizabeth’s turn to be taken aback now. She looked at the serious and genuine expression Yabemiya’s face, and suddenly felt as if the conversation was developing in a direction different from the one she had anticipated.
“I know that ice cream is really delicious, but it’s very cold, and it really isn’t a good idea to eat it before bed,” Yabemiya continued in a persuasive tone.
Is she looking out for me? Elizabeth’s heart shuddered as an indescribable feeling welled up deep within her. She furrowed her brows as a frosty aura emanated from her body, dropping the air temperature in the ice cream shop to a freezing point as she asked coldly, “Is the ice cream even colder than I am?”
“So cold!” Yabemiya exhaled a big puff of white breath as she hugged her own shoulders and began to shiver.
A hint of a smile flashed through Elizabeth’s eyes, but she didn’t immediately withdraw her frosty aura.
Yabemiya looked at Elizabeth with a smile as she said, “Even though you can make your surroundings even colder than ice cream, you have a warm heart; I know that for sure.”
Her vibrant smile was like a sunflower blossoming amid a vast expanse of ice and snow, making it impossible for Elizabeth to look away.
Before she knew it, the air temperature in the ice cream shop had risen slightly.
“You see? I was right, wasn’t I?” Yabemiya’s smile grew even more exuberant as she looked at the slightly stunned Elizabeth.
“The heart of a giant Frost Dragon is also cold.” Elizabeth gave an awkward cough, but her expression had already eased significantly. She looked at Yabemiya’s glorious smile, and her heart rate began to accelerate for some reason. It had been a long time since she had experienced this kind of feeling.
“Perhaps you’re an exception.” Yabemiya shook her head in response.
“I’m here today to ask you a question.” Elizabeth looked at Yabemiya with a serious expression, and asked, “If you had a choice, would you become a giant dragon soaring in the sky or continue to remain here as a waitress?”
“Didn’t you already ask me this yesterday? Of course I’d continue to stay here as a waitress. Also, I’m already a manager now,” Yabemiya replied without any hesitation.
“Alright.” Elizabeth looked at Yabemiya’s innocent smile in silence for a while before nodding as she turned to leave.
“Wait,” Yabemiya suddenly called.
“Hmm?” Elizabeth turned back to look at Yabemiya.
“You don’t look like the type of person who would go to bed this early, so I’ll sneak out an ice cream for you. You can put it on my tab.” Yabemiya jogged into the kitchen and switched on one of the ice cream machines. Soon, a vanilla ice cream was ready, and she handed it to Elizabeth with a smile as she said, “I recall you ordered the vanilla flavor last time.”
“Thank you.” Elizabeth looked at the ice cream in her hand and nodded, upon which a white light flashed beneath her feet before she disappeared from the ice cream shop.
“What an interesting woman. Giant dragons aren’t so cold and aloof, after all,” Yabemiya murmured to herself with a smile as she turned back to the kitchen.
“Father, if she wanted to become a giant dragon, then I would do my best to make her the chief of the Golden Dragons. However, this is her choice, so I’ll protect her before she comes of age.” Elizabeth appeared on a tree branch outside the ice cream shop. She looked at the figure busily scurrying about inside the shop, and took a lick of her ice cream, upon which a gorgeous smile appeared on her face.