Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 373: Arc 5, - 67: In Between Part I

"Thud."

"Found a good novel or learning a new spell?" Jotou uttered as she approached the dining table.

Upon it landed several books varying from thick to thin. The blonde’s eyes scanned the bookmarks and the colourful sticky notes poking out of the pages.

Hotaru puffed a breath from her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips, "This is everything I could get about dragons, wyverns, flying serpents—from fairy tales, to recorded rumours and historical records."

Jotou placed a few fingers on the edge of the table, "Nice work. Where d’you get all of these?"

"Mostly from Dolpool Library. They also have an old archive and like any archive, there were thousands of legalese, and forgotten tomes and records. Not much access for the public, but the name of the Azure Firefly certainly carries weight," her fangs glistened.

Jotou rounded around the table and sauntered her way behind Hotaru.

The wolf-girl opened up her journal bound in leather with a button and turned it to some middle page. Out the journal itself stuck out a few bookmarks.

Eyeing the journal, Jotou rested her chin on Hotaru’s shoulder and nuzzled her head against her neck. "I’ve categorized them into fake information, possible information and fact."

"And how much of it’s facts?"

"Not much at all," the redhead sighed. She absentmindedly stroked the side of Jotou’s cheek while holding the journal open, "But I summarized everything that could be useful."

"How do you know which one’s useless? The useless could be useful," the blonde hugged and hung her arms around Hotaru’s waist.

"Guesses mostly. But that’s why I marked anything that seemed important. I’m sure you or Fumeko can go through everything and figure something out if I missed it."

"You’re giving us homework...?" she pouted.

Her crimson ears flickered, "If you think what I’ve found is inadequate."

"Let’s hear what you’ve found first then."

"Uh huh, thought so," Hotaru side-eyed the blonde before she skimmed through her own notes. "For the most part, wyverns are like you said. Venomous, stout and they have a total of four limbs, wings included.

They do in fact exist, just endangered. I’m sure I can go into a lot more detail, but they’re essentially just large reptilian beasts. Their hide was sought after for its toughness, the barbs on its tail for ivory and its venom for some ancient medical uses."

"Isn’t ivory teeth? Also, the barbs would still somehow have whatever they use to transfer the venom," Jotou knitted her brows.

"Well, many texts described methods of removing the system of how the venom’s jabbed. The barbs aren’t exactly teeth or like ivory either; they were softer. I’m in no way an expert in biology, but I can say, historically it’s a special kind of ivory—much rarer."

"Got it. They were hunted down and where’s all that ivory and hide now? Some billionaire collector’s property?"

"Lost in circulation. After manufacturing them, it was sold for high prices in name—not difference in quality. There’s no easy way I’d be able to find out where they are," Hotaru chuckled. "Wyverns have been endangered for the past few centuries.

Their natural recorded habitats were around Burnetrout, the Malecise Regime and in the western regions of the Trailon Regime. Their most common encounters with people in the past were near coastlines and ports, often stealing fishermen nets before dawn."

"They live near water then?"

"That, I couldn’t find anything on. Even though people have rarely encountered them, they don’t live in a lot of records or history.

Everything I’ve found is dated either now or in the past few centuries, but who knows when it actually went into record—it could be even older; they don’t mention sources beyond hearsay."

"Okay, someone would have to be ancient to know it firsthand. But, if they were hunted and do still exist... When was the Adventurers Guild established?" Jotou queried.

"Huh," Hotaru’s ears pricked in realization. She turned and gave a little peck to Jotou on the side of the head with a smile, "Around the start of this era, in the first couple of centuries. Which means they might have actual records on wyvern-related commissions."

Jotou hummed with a small smirk. "Not that that’ll help us much, but if we ever face a wyvern again."

"And it’s something of a lead."

"Lead us to what silly?" Jotou let out a laugh.

"Something... to research."

"Ah, so homework then."

The hand that gently held Jotou’s face, pinched her cheek softly instead. The blonde muttered in protest till Hotaru let go. Jotou moved her jaw in a circle, "Anyway, what about dragons?"

Hotaru’s gaze fell back on her pages, "Many non-fictions and even some academic papers state that dragons are just a myth created by people for stories or are actually misinterpreted sightings of wyverns."

"What’s the Azure Firefly’s consensus?"

She took a breath, "There’re a lot of rumours and contradictory accounts, but from what all the things I could find, it seems most likely the dragons are extinct, rather than a myth.

Since no one actually has seen or has evidence of one in the past however many centuries and beyond, it feels more like a belief that they existed rather than fact. Besides, one massive library could only know so much."

"We did, for a fact, face a dragon. Or at least I did, with the head of one."

"You have to think about transmutation magic," the redhead replied. "If the shapeshifter can transform into so many creatures, does that mean they’d have to see or examine the creature? Or could they just see a piece of art and transform into it?"

Jotou pondered, "As I fought them, they could transform individual limbs into different things—a mashup of them. You’d need some serious expertise for that.

You can have the wildest imagination, but one wrong bone placement in reality and your entire form could crumble or have a massive disadvantage. Then again, I’m applying science to magic."

"It’s not about possible or not—it’s happened," Hotaru frowned.

"Self-proclaimed new gods," Jotou jerked her eyebrows up. ’We’ve seen how powerful they are. If the shapeshifter transforms into a tortoise from time to time, does that mean they’ll live much longer?’

"In any case, I did actually find some interesting things. Like dragons used to be worshipped in the past as protectors of early civilizations.

That they were sought after by heroes in the past for honour and glory. That there are multiple types of dragons, varying in scale colours, shape, size, wing patterns and so on—some of them reverent, some arrogant and some evil.

It’s understandable why people these days would think dragons are myths and fairy tales; it all sounds like a made-up fantasy creature to sell children’s books."

"It works on Kineko," Jotou smirked. "I’m sure it’s also a marketing scheme, but there’s some realism in fantasy. Art tends to depict life in one way or another. And if you asked me in my old world if elves or part-humans existed," Jotou raised a brow.

"That’s true," Hotaru gave a smile. "Luckily, I think dragons did at some point exist. They seem to be reptilian creatures as expected, but they seem to be elemental in nature."

"That tracks, I fought against fire and ice with the shapeshifter."

"Dragons are much more colourful than wyverns and tend to have equal or more limbs than wyverns. They’re also said to be much bigger than them. Even then, they come in all shapes and sizes, adapted to their environment and element.

Most notably, while they had flight, piercing claws and teeth, and resilient scales, they had their elemental breaths, like breathing fire; it was said to be their deadliest weapon.

They apparently had glands that condensed mana and formed it into their elemental breath."

"You’re telling me that dragons could use magic?" Jotou cocked her head slightly.

"It’s like a spell, in a way. Even some animals today use mana, it’s everywhere after all. Like arrow rabbits."

"I’m sorry, what?" Jotou squinted.

Her ears bristled, "I’ve never seen one myself, but they’re small little rabbits that burrow very quickly using magic."

’Then I wonder how many creatures, magical in nature included, does that shapeshifter know?’

"In a way, you can think of a dragon’s breath like an affinity that can only do one spell. In fact, it’s been theorized to function as such," she turned a page.

"From the glands, the mana not only transforms into the elemental genetics of the dragon, but also temporarily coats the organs and insides of its body and snout to be immune to its own breath.

A similar type of transformed mana is present in the dragon’s genes. Which is spread across its scales in little amounts to be resistant to their own elements, making these creatures inherently magic in nature.

It’s not what it exactly said, but I simplified it. In other words, magical creatures like dragons, have more primal or natural mana that’s different from an affinity. All in all, it makes sense they did exist based on these explanations."

Jotou took her chin off of Hotaru’s shoulder and moved back, "Not an expert in biology you say?" she teased.

The redhead gave a little glare, "It’s magical biology and I found it interesting, hmph." Her tail was much freer to move without the blonde trapping it now.

Jotou giggled.

"Spiteful little housecat," she shook her head.

"Well, I’m certainly spellbound," Jotou leaned in and gave a quick kiss onto her lips.

Hotaru held a modest smile as she folded her arms, "I don’t think a kiss was worth this much effort."

"You’re right, but it’s a kiss from me~" Jotou stuck her tongue out and gave a wink.

"And that changes what exactly?"

"Oh you hurt me so, my heart will never recover," Jotou put on an accent and a pout while she idly flipped the pages of a book Hotaru had borrowed.

’Dragons coat their insides before breathing fire—or whatever their element is. My spell sort of does the same, doesn’t it? Could I spark my insides... and protect it as much as the outside?’

"Another thing to note," Hotaru continued.

Jotou looked up.

"I’m unsure of how true this is, but many accounts say dragons also possessed the ability to shapeshift into a humanoid form."

To that, the blonde’s brows knitted tighter than usual, "You’re not implying... But the shapeshifter took on more than humanoid forms, even different elemental dragon forms," she denied.

"I wouldn’t know," Hotaru’s voice carried concern... "Who’s to say they couldn’t?"

"I seriously doubt it."

Just then, the door to the house opened up and they both swivelled their heads to it. "An amazing day was had!" Kineko, wearing her school uniform, ran into the house with her arms wide out.

"Aunty Wred-Wolf, Aunty Spauky-Eyes, look, look, look! I got the goldest gold staur for intwoducing myself the bestest!" she pointed to the little sticker of a gold star on the back of her left hand.

"Nice job Kineko," Jotou beamed.

"You did so well!" Hotaru cheered and approached.

"Yipee!" she scrambled up the stairs, with her shoes on.

Meanwhile, through the door came the other person they were expecting. With a flip of her hat and a click in her step, she bounced into the door with her face filled with pep.

She flourished her wand up in the air and spun, fluttering the strands of her hair. Illusory white sparkles haloed around her through the door, with one leg sprung up, she beamed as bright as day!

"Look who succeeded once again, behold my scores on papers from pen!" Asobi announced and lifted up a sheet of paper to the two of them.

Hotaru plucked the paper and checked. Her fangs shined and her tail wagged, "Congratulations Sobi. Looks like we can move on to Year 2 now."

An illusory record scratched around them, "Oh yeah, there’s ten more of these..." all the illusions fell like broken bits of metal and glass before shattering onto the floor.

Jotou took a glance at the report card, "You didn’t too bad, I’m sure you can do the rest just fine." ’Though the fact that she got a mix of A’s, A-’s and B+’s on an exam made for four-to-seven-year-olds is concerning...’

"Hmh!" the elf regained some of her vigour as the broken bits of illusion floated up and formed a pair of angelic white wings around her—that blocked the incoming Kazuo Namora on the other side with Kineko’s schoolbag. "I’ll do my best!"