Chapter 33: Taking Responsibility and Unraveling the Panic
The tension in the air was palpable. The adventurers behind Cleo dropped into combat stances, while Luna, Mei, and Sheila behind Dion readied themselves as well. Gina floated up, perching nervously on Dion’s shoulder. But before anyone could make a move, Dion stepped straight up to Cleo and grabbed her by both shoulders, his grip tightening slightly.
"Why did you blow up my watchtower?" Dion demanded.
"Ow... I thought that tower artifact was attacking me! Just look at the blast crater!" Cleo argued, pointing toward the sizable hole carved into the earth where dirt had sprayed everywhere.
"Grr... That was a warning shot! It fires whenever an unidentified stranger steps into its target radius. It was just doing its job, you didn’t have to obliterate it!" Dion growled, his eyes welling up with tears as he remembered the precious materials he had poured into building it.
"Ow... I see. My bad then," Cleo replied casually, a faint smirk crossing her face.
"Why do you sound so completely unremorseful?! Do you make a habit of destroying local property whenever you enter a new territory? What on earth did your parents teach you?" Dion raised his voice.
"I already said I was sorry... Besides, look over there," Cleo said, pointing at the shattered watchtower.
Dion turned around, and everyone followed his gaze, including Gina on his shoulder. A pillar of magical light was emanating from the base of the watchtower, displaying a floating progress bar that read: [Self-repair in progress]. Sigh. Dion let out a long breath, releasing Cleo’s shoulders and stepping back. Cleo brushed off her shoulders with her hands before speaking up.
"Done throwing your tantrum?" Cleo asked.
"What’s done is done... Throwing a fit won’t change anything. Besides, it turns out the tower repairs itself anyway, so... whatever," Dion answered, regaining his composure.
"Great. Now it’s my turn," Cleo said suddenly, her voice dropping to an ice-cold register.
She took a step forward, letting her staff clatter onto the grass. Grip. Her hands shot out and grabbed Dion by his collar, dragging his face inches from her own. Gina scrambled onto Dion’s head in terror, while Luna, Mei, and Sheila gasped in shock. To any bystander, it looked like Cleo was about to kiss Dion, until she unleashed everything bottled up inside her.
"Do you have any idea why I’m here?! Because you flew off on that little creature on your shoulder, I got kicked out of the kingdom! My position was given away to Fergil, and now I’m stranded out here in the middle of nowhere! Do you understand what you’ve done to me?!" Cleo screamed right into Dion’s face. Her face flushed bright red, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and her lips trembled violently as she pointed an accusing finger at Gina.
"Kyuu?" Gina squeaked, tilting her head and pointing a tiny paw at herself in total confusion.
"Ooh... I see. So someone actually spotted us... even though it was pitch black at night," Dion noted casually.
"Do you have any concept of what I went through?! I had to explain why there’s suddenly a shortcut connecting Lutherias and Minatheras, why the ancient seal vanished, and why Gemmeth was spotted flying north! Do you think any of that was easy?! Do you have any idea how terrified I was?!" Cleo yelled, venting every last drop of frustration.
"Okay... okay... I’m sorry. But remember when I offered to go with you to the palace to explain everything? You turned me down! If I had just talked to your king and shaken his hand, none of this would’ve happened," Dion reasoned, raising his hands with a strained, forced smile.
"What?! If you had gone, you would’ve been executed on the spot! Don’t forget, you pulverized a mountain, unsealed Gemmeth, and took the calamity dragon home with you! If they executed you, they would’ve executed me right alongside you! Do you get it now?!" Cleo raged, her face practically burning red.
The adventurers watching from behind scratched their heads in awkward silence, exchanging baffled looks. Meanwhile, Luna, Mei, and Sheila stood frozen in place, slowly lowering their weapons.
"Now you have to take full responsibility for my life! I lost my job, my title was stripped, and I have nowhere left to go! Take responsibili-tiiiies!" Cleo shrieked, accidentally spraying a bit of spit onto Dion’s face.
"Okay... okay... calm down... Just breathe... Let’s head inside... So, uh... who are they?" Dion asked, desperately trying to redirect her attention.
Cleo spun around sharply to glare at her adventuring party, who flinched as soon as their eyes met hers. She then turned back to Dion.
"They’re my adventuring party and a group of slave refugees from the Thetor Kingdom that I brought from Millfrost City," Cleo answered.
"Ooh... I see," Dion replied in resignation.
Hearing Cleo mention the slaves, Luna, Mei, and Sheila immediately turned their attention to the group of roughly thirty refugees, a mix of adult men and women, young children, and the elderly.
"Hmm... Very well. We have plenty of space for them here," Luna assured Cleo.
"Yes, we’ll take care of them, so don’t worry," Mei added gently.
"Hmm... Alright. I’m Sheila, nice to meet you," Sheila introduced herself.
"Thank you. I heard back in Millfrost City that there was a slave settlement out southeast, which is why I brought them here," Cleo explained, letting go of Dion’s collar and turning to face the three girls.
"You came all the way from Millfrost?" Dion asked.
Cleo whipped her head back toward Dion so fast and sharply that he flinched. She grabbed his collar once again, yanking him close.
"Now... what did you do this time?" Cleo asked in a chilling voice.
"Huh...? What did I do?" Dion asked, genuinely confused.
"Did you visit the capital of the Thetor Kingdom recently?" Cleo pressed sharply.
"Yeah... I went shopping there a few days ago. Why?" Dion asked.
"Did you ride the Calamity Dragon Gemmeth... or whatever its name is?" Cleo demanded, pointing back at Gina’s confused face.
"Oh... her name is Gina," Dion introduced, holding the little dragon out in front of Cleo.
"I didn’t ask for her name! Did you fly into the Thetor Kingdom on a dragon?!" Cleo clarified, her voice booming.
"Hmm... Yeah. I went shopping there for materials to build that watchtower. I figured taking Gina would be faster and make hauling heavy goods easier. Why?" Dion asked innocently.
Cleo went completely still. She bowed her head until her wide-brimmed hat slipped off and hit the grass, then looked back up at Dion with pure, unadulterated fury.
"Do you realize the entire Thetor Kingdom is currently under total lockdown because of you?! They spotted a calamity dragon in their airspace and placed the realm on Defcon 1! Not a single merchant has been able to enter or leave the city since yesterday! Do you have any concept of the chaos you caused?!" Cleo screamed.
Dion paused to think. He was absolutely positive nobody had seen him land deep within the western forest or walk out toward the western gate. Furthermore, he was certain no one had spotted Gina since she was stowed away inside his backpack. He looked at Cleo in disbelief.
"Are you sure? Isn’t it just a massive miscommunication on their end? Maybe the King of Lutherias sent an unnecessary warning letter to the King of Thetor?" Dion suggested casually, clearly missing the point.
"Aaargh... I want to blast your head open and see what kind of brain you have in there! Whatever... I’m already here, and whatever happens over there isn’t my problem anymore. You’re taking responsibility for me, my life is in your hands now. And don’t you dare ask me to work, because I am officially retired as a Royal Mage!" Cleo yelled in frustration, completely defeated.
"Okay...okay...geez," Dion replied.
Meanwhile, while Sheila and Mei simply listened on and exchanged puzzled glances, Luna stood beside Dion and Cleo, her mind piecing everything together. She suddenly slapped her own forehead.
"So yesterday’s mass panic... was really caused by us going shopping?!" Luna muttered under her breath, realizing the truth behind the kingdom-wide emergency as her face darkened but flushed bright red with embarrassment at the same time.
"What did you say, Luna?" Mei asked, overhearing her whisper.
"Yeah... why is your face turning so red?" Sheila added, thoroughly confused.
"It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it!" Luna squeaked, quickly turning her red face away.