Online Game: My Hidden Class Is Dragon Sovereign!

--Chapter 40--

Title>> The Chief’s Decision.

The interface disappeared as quietly as it had appeared.

However, Xavier didn’t answer immediately even after picking the last option.

Instead, his gaze returned to the woman standing before him.

Now that she was closer, the signs were much harder to ignore.

The slight shift in balance every now and then. The tightly controlled breathing, as if she was underwater.

Then there was the way her left hand remained just a little too relaxed beside her waist, as though she was deliberately avoiding unnecessary movement.

These were subtle clues only a trained eye or a gamer who gambled on the most minimal of margins would notice.

One thing was certain though, the injury wasn’t life-threatening as of now.

But it was getting worse even as she stood like a mountain of interrogation.

Xavier sighed inwardly. He could pretend he hadn’t noticed anything.

Truthfully...that would probably be the smarter decision.

After all, he’d known this woman for how long?

Maybe a minute or less.

Pointing out the condition of someone currently surrounded by seemingly oblivious armed guards wasn’t exactly the best survival strategy.

Yet...

Watching someone act like an idiot by ignoring an obvious injury had never sat right with him.

Especially one that looked responsible for everyone around her.

’Don’t doooo it...’ Xavier chorused in his head, but his lips seemed to have a mind of their own.

Instead of answering her question, Xavier blatantly asked one of his own.

"How long have you been injured?"

His tone was neither threatening nor submissive.

Yet it carried a wave of silence that Xavier himself couldn’t understand.

And the silence itself came with subtle but immediate effects.

The hands of several spear bearers tightened around the lengths of their weapons.

A pregnant female fairy somewhere to his right took half a step toward Fiona before stopping.

Among them, one of the archers drew the string of her bow just a little farther.

But in the end, nobody understood why an outsider would ask such a question.

Nobody...

Except the woman herself.

And for the first time in a long while, something shifted behind her unreadable expression.

It wasn’t surprise. Merely a reassessment of the situation before her.

She studied him for another long moment before speaking.

"...Explain."

Xavier nodded as he raised his body off the ground slightly.

"You’ve cleaned the blood from your armour. But not well enough."

Pointing a shaky finger in her direction, he continued.

"You’re favouring your right leg. And your breathing?"

He paused as if he was re-evaluating her.

"It’s too perfect not to be intentional."

All the while he spoke, his voice remained calm and matter-of-fact.

It was like he was describing the weather rather than exposing someone else’s weakness.

"Pretending it isn’t there would only make it a bigger problem," he concluded.

The garden fell quiet one more time. But none of the fairies lowered their weapons.

If anything, Xavier’s words had only made them grip them tighter. As if he was at the center of a witch hunt.

Fiona remained where she was.

Her expression didn’t freeze, but it was definitely more difficult to read.

For a brief moment, Xavier wondered if she’d simply ignore what he’d said altogether.

Instead...

She took one slow step forward. Then another followed.

After a few more strides, she stopped when she stood just outside arm’s reach of Xavier.

At this range, Xavier could clearly see the full extent of the injury, which actually looked worse than he thought.

But Fiona...the woman simply refused to acknowledge it.

"So...!"

Her emerald eyes stayed fixated on Xavier’s deep dark pupils.

"You can observe. Good."

Her voice carried a silent authority that lingered somewhere between praise and mockery, but Xavier couldn’t tell which was which.

She leaned in slowly, her breath misting against his black hair, and she asked again.

"Now tell me, how did a dragon enter my village?"

"Dragon."

That single word immediately answered a question Xavier hadn’t thought to ask.

It almost caused a crack in his composure but it also gave him a clear understanding of who she was.

This woman was no pushover and she knew it and parts of him too.

Maybe not everything about him like his dormant side, but enough for her to realize he wasn’t entirely human. He only looked the part.

Xavier seemed to have been lost for words when another interactive interface appeared.

[Interactive Dialogue has been initiated.]

[How will you respond?]

[Option A – I am a traveller and I got lost.]

[Option B – I don’t know what you’re talking about.]

[Option C – Other.]

Xavier barely glanced at the interface that seemed more potent this time than before.

His finger drifted to the same option he had clicked a few seconds ago.

[Other]

He had to admit the present options were becoming easier to ignore.

"I was being hunted," he answered without hesitation.

"The only way left to escape was over a cliff."

He paused intentionally, as if making sure she could process what he was saying.

"That’s the last thing I remember before I woke up here."

Xavier said the truth. Nothing more. Nothing less.

After all, the whole truth was none of their business.

They didn’t need to know about V or the Wanderer’s Compass. And most definitely not Vagabond.

Some truths were better spent only when they bought something valuable in return.

Fiona, who was just inches away from his face, remained quiet.

But her eyes did all the talking.

They remained fixated like glue on Xavier, searching his face meticulously for any hint of hesitation.

But much to Fiona’s surprise, there was absolutely none.

She couldn’t say she believed him, but she had to admit his story seemed too straight and well put together to be rehearsed.

That was added to the fact that he looked like he had slept under an abusive rock.

After several long seconds, she finally pulled her fair, beautiful face back and spoke.

"Search him," she ordered calmly.

The fairies moved immediately the words left her mouth.

Two stepped behind Xavier while another carefully relieved him of any weapons that remained on his person.

One searched the pouches around his waist. Another inspected the torn Dread Cloak before quietly setting it aside.

Xavier braced himself for some abuse and planned his retaliation but, much to his surprise...

There was none.

He’d expected them to kick and bruise him as a way to get back at the person who had been a nuisance to their leader.

They simply made sure he wasn’t hiding anything capable of threatening the village.

Xavier offered no resistance.

The Healing Pill might have been able to fix most of his minor injuries.

But Xavier knew little was to be gained by jumping headfirst into another battle.

Besides...

He was learning far more by watching than by struggling.

As the search continued, his attention wandered beyond the gathering.

Looking further than the armed fairies and instead focusing on the surroundings.

Almost instinctively, his Alchemy skill responded.

A cluster of pale blue flowers shimmered softly beneath a nearby root.

[Moonbell]

[Mana Stabilizer]

His eyes shifted again.

A creeping vine wrapped itself around a weathered fence.

[Iron Creeper]

[Natural Binding Agent]

He looked to another. A patch of tiny crimson mushrooms grew beneath a fallen log.

[Ember Cap Mushrooms]

[Catalytic Reagent]

One plant after another quietly revealed itself.

Xavier’s heartbeat slowed.

He’d read countless player discussions claiming that hidden fairy villages were among the finest places in Arillion when it came to alchemy and potions.

Truthfully... The community hadn’t exaggerated.

If anything...they’d undersold it.

This right here was an alchemical marvel.

Xavier couldn’t help but grin inwardly, he wasn’t happy because he was safe.

And definitely not because the fairies had lowered their guard.

But because beneath all the danger...

He had just stumbled upon his first real opportunity since entering Arillion again.

--End of Chapter--

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