The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 5 - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Kidnapping

If all that the Spirit of Darkness said was true, Jade needed to return to question Quartz immediately. Unfortunately, he had some unfinished business to attend to in Yadacain. While he was relieved to know that the abducted dragonkin were safe with Joshua and the other reconnaissance operatives, Rin and the other supreme-level spirits still wanted to get rid of the Spirit Slayer magic.

Since Jade couldn’t talk to the queen, he set up a meeting with the nation’s delegates and demanded they cease all use of Spirit Slayer magic moving forward. He added that they were to destroy all weapons and tools enchanted with Spirit Slayer, such as their ships and cannons, as well as any and all documents related to its creation or use.

The delegates were reluctant. They were witches, and they’d lived with Spirit Slayer magic their whole lives. There were going to be issues if they could no longer use it. Nonetheless, Jade couldn’t back down either, what with Rin and the others being so insistent. If they couldn’t accept these terms, the Nation of the Dragon King would have to take appropriate measures.

Jade told them that his soldiers could subdue all of Yadacain, but if they accepted Jade’s demands, then Yadacain would be allowed to continue being Yadacain. He was threatening them.

The delegates realized that Jade’s threats weren’t idle—he was serious. Their faces turned pale, but they asked him to give them time to speak with the other witches, possibly because they couldn’t make the call on their own despite being delegates.

According to Joshua’s report, the people of Yadacain didn’t have much direct relation with Spirit Slayer in their daily lives. Essentially, the only people who used it were the witches. However, there were other things that benefited from Spirit Slayer, like their ships and weapons.

There were no spirits in this country. Normally, the land would dry up and become uninhabitable, but Yadacain was self-sufficient and able to maintain regular plant growth. That was because they used Spirit Slayer to absorb mana from the world and return it to their land. The delegates argued that Yadacain would become uninhabitable without Spirit Slayer since there were no spirits.

Honestly, though, everyone from the Nation of the Dragon King thought they were getting their just deserts. They’d been creating all sorts of things, researching with no signs of stopping, while the world around them explicitly told them of the dangers. After all, the witches were the ones who made the land uninhabitable for spirits. But even though everyone thought that, they couldn’t just ignore the nation.

The Spirit of Darkness proposed a solution to this problem, stating that he would bring in other spirits to compensate so long as the Spirit Slayer was destroyed. He said that spirits would naturally gather wherever a supreme-level spirit resided and that he planned on staying in the nation so long as the current queen was alive. Even when the queen died, the spirits would have settled in by then, meaning there should be no issues. It wouldn’t affect the livelihoods of the people if Spirit Slayer were removed.

The question now was whether the witches would abandon the magic they’d been using for so long. If they said they couldn’t, Jade would have to consider taking the nation with weapons, just as he’d declared to the delegates. Jade didn’t want to do that, but the same issues would arise if things were left unchecked.

Rin and the other supreme-level spirits wouldn’t be too pleased either since they originally said they wanted to destroy the magic themselves. Although they were deferring to Jade for the time being, if Yadacain continued using Spirit Slayer, then Rin and the others would step in themselves. If that happened, there was no telling how much they would lay waste to Yadacain. There would be less damage if Jade were to just take control of the nation by force.

Despite Jade’s desire to hurry back to the kingdom and confirm things with Quartz, the proceedings weren’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped. As he waited impatiently for the witches’ decision, he ordered his troops to prepare so they could make a swift return. Things could take a lot longer, though, depending on their choice. He only prayed that they would make a wise decision.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, the delegates once again entered the room. They had decided to accept all of Jade’s terms—albeit rather reluctantly. It was the obvious choice in Jade’s mind, since he had only told them to stop using Spirit Slayer and not their brand of sorcery altogether. But for the witches, it must have been an arduous decision. They decided to agree to his demands rather than let the Nation of the Dragon King subjugate their nation.

After the delegates agreed, Jade immediately set out and destroyed the Spirit Slayer magic that had a hold over the entire island. With it gone, they could now use their magic. Next, he had the nation surrender all Spirit Slayer-related documentation and tools, such as their weapons and ships. Jade also mobilized all of his men to search the castle from top to bottom, just in case they had some secret storage.

The Spirit of Darkness helped with that. Since he’d lived in the castle for so long, he was familiar with where the documents were stored and where all the hidden spots were. All of the queen’s documents had already gone up in flames with the lab, so they weren’t a problem.

Jade’s men gathered all the tools and documents, and Heat burned them with his flames. Doubts remained about whether this was really all of it, but from now on, the Spirit of Darkness would be taking responsibility and keeping a watchful eye to ensure Spirit Slayer was never used again. They could trust the nation if the Spirit of Darkness was watching. Spirits didn’t tell lies.

It wasn’t certain whether the queen approved of this situation, but the Spirit of Darkness said that he would keep a close eye on her. She had gone through the sorrowful process of losing her fiancé, but that still didn’t excuse her for involving other people in her methods. She was unapologetic, and he’d like to chastise her more, but given her state, it was better to just let sleeping dogs lie.

The Spirit Slayer had been removed entirely. Jade was impatient to get back home as soon as possible. He gave his men express orders to proceed with their departure. But just as he was about to board his ship, he spotted a man and a woman arguing with one of his soldiers on the side of the boat. They were both dressed in Yadacain clothing, so they were presumably from here.

Jade contained his impatience and walked toward the dispute.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

The soldier looked relieved, but then he arched his eyebrows and explained, “Your Majesty. These people are asking to be taken to the Nation of the Dragon King on our ship.”

The woman, who seemed to be in her forties but had neither young nor old features, looked at Jade’s face. She blushed and excitedly said, “Oh my, what a hunk! If all the dragonkin men are handsome like this, then they’re my dream race! You are especially hunkier than the rest.”

Jade watched her, bewildered, as she squealed.

The slightly nervous-looking man with her tried to contain her outbursts. “Calm down, Riccia. Besides, he called that man ‘His Majesty.’ He might be the king of the dragonkin.”

“What?! No way. Really?” the woman asked, leaning over in surprise.

Jade found himself shrinking back. “Well, yes, I am...”

“Eeek!” the woman shrieked, so loudly that the soldiers dropped their preparation work and turned to see what was happening.

“Omigod, this person is the handsome Dragon King that Ruri mentioned in her letter, isn’t he? He really is a handsome one. He’s giving me palpitations. Oh, this is no good. I’m a married woman.”

“Ruri?” Jade repeated, surprised to hear her name.

That was when Rin came flapping over. “Oh my, so you were here after all.”

“A clione? It’s so big, and it’s flying!” said the woman, staring at Rin curiously. The man was also shocked at the creature’s very un-clione-like size.

“It’s me, Rin,” she greeted.

The woman’s eyes widened once she heard her name. “Oh my, you’re Rin? As in, the spirit Rin-chan? It’s been so long. I didn’t recognize you because you didn’t have that body when you came to see me.”

“Jeez, what have you been doing all this time? Ruri was worried about you.”

“If you’re asking us that question, you’re barking up the wrong tree,” the woman replied. “But I’m glad we met up again!”

Still surprised from hearing Ruri’s name, Jade looked at the woman’s face once again, his adrenaline running high. Platinum blonde hair and blue eyes—features that reminded him of someone he adored. In fact, upon closer inspection, he could see a vague resemblance.

“Are you both Ruri’s parents?” Jade asked. He’d been so hyper-focused on returning home that he’d forgotten that he’d also come to Yadacain to find Ruri’s parents.

“Indeed we are! I’m Ruri’s mother, Riccia, good sir~!” said the woman.

“I’m her father, Kohaku,” added the man, greeting Jade politely with a bow.

Unlike Ruri’s mother with her cheerful personality and similar hair and eye color to Ruri, her father was rather subdued yet slightly high-strung, and he had black hair and dark eyes. Since both bore a vague resemblance to Ruri, Jade could see that they were indeed her parents.

“Oh, so you did come to Yadacain after all, then?” asked Jade.

“That’s right. Before we even knew what was going on, we ended up at Yadacain’s castle. There were no spirits around, and we were positively lost,” Riccia explained.

“The queen must have conducted a summoning and dragged you here. Did they do anything harmful to you?”

“No, they didn’t. The people at the castle treated us very courteously. But when I wanted to go to the Nation of the Dragon King right away, they told me that I couldn’t leave the island since their borders were closed and they had no relations with other nations. They said the only way to get out was to buy a ship and leave ourselves. So that’s why we came here and worked for half a year, but we couldn’t save any money. And figuring out when we’d make it the Nation of the Dragon King was becoming an issue.”

“If that’s all, you can hop on the boat with us.”

“Really? That’s great. Now we can finally see Ruri!” Riccia exclaimed.

“Ruri’s grandfather is already back at the kingdom.”

“Oh, dad already made it there? I was worried when we got separated. Then again, dad can survive no matter where.”

“Yes, he’s apparently been on a rather leisurely journey this whole time.”

Riccia followed Rin onto the ship, leaving Kohaku behind. Jade met his eyes and Kohaku said, “I apologize for my wife being so all over the place.”

“No, it’s fine. She seems to have a very different personality from Ruri.”

“Well, since that’s how her mother acts, Ruri grew up well-adjusted to compensate. How is she, by the way? Is she doing well?”

“Yes, she’s doing just fine,” Jade replied. “She was very worried about the both of you. But I’m glad you’re both all right. Now then, please step aboard.”

“Thank you very much.”

Jade hadn’t gotten this impression from Riccia, but it seemed that life here had been rough judging from Kohaku. He looked somewhat fatigued, but he also looked relieved to have met someone willing to help like Jade.

This development was sure to make Ruri happy. Jade was pleased to have such a fine present to give to her, but once he remembered that he needed to speak to Quartz, his mood grew dour. Nevertheless, he had to speak to him—as Dragon King and as someone who knew Quartz well.

After a final check to see if everyone had boarded, Jade and the others left Yadacain.

As they sailed along with Rin’s powers pushing them through the seas, Rin suddenly yelled, “What do you mean?!” Her outburst echoed on the deck of the ship.

“What’s the matter, Lord Rin?” Jade asked Rin, feeling an unusual sense of concern. Heat was furrowing his brows as well. Just then, the ship started to go even faster than before. Everyone stumbled in place. “Lord Rin?”

“This is bad. We need to get home quickly. Blasted Kotaro, what were you even doing? I swear,” Rin cursed.

“Lord Rin, did something happen?”

“Ruri has been kidnapped. By that Quartz guy!”

Jade had no idea what he was hearing for a second. “What do you mean?”

“It’s as I just told you. He made off with Ruri. Kotaro is looking for her, but he can’t find her.”

“Ruri was kidnapped...?” Jade repeated, clueless.

What was Rin even talking about? Where would he have taken her and for what purpose? What in the world was the meaning of all this? What was going on?

Before Jade could ask any of these questions, Rin said, “I’m going to concentrate for a while, so don’t talk to me.” She focused on increasing the speed of the ship, so Jade couldn’t get any more information out of her.

Heat was also scowling, looking very much like he wasn’t in the mood for conversation.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Jade and his men returned to the Nation of the Dragon King at breakneck speed. He left the unloading up to the others and rushed to the castle. It was faster for him to turn into a dragon and fly from the port straight to Sector One than to run all the way there. He let Rin and Heat hop on his back and took off.

When they arrived, the inside of the castle seemed no different than usual—nary a sign of disturbance. Jade was telling himself that it must have been some sort of mistake, but he never once slowed his stride. He followed Rin, who was leading the way, and they arrived at Ruri’s room. The window had a big hole in it. The room was a mess, and right in the middle of it was Kotaro, his eyes closed and concentrating. Chelsie, who was sitting in the chair beside him, stood up once Jade and the others came in. Ruri was nowhere to be seen.

Jade asked, “What happened to Ruri?”

Chelsie turned her eyes away, awkwardly.

“Where’s Ruri?!” Jade shouted, unable to contain his panic.

Kotaro finally opened his eyes, only to be met by Rin rushing him.

“How could this happen while you were here?!” she yelled.

Kotaro lowered his tail. His whole body slumped, and he replied, “I’m sorry...”

Jade, however, just wanted to know about Ruri. “What happened here?”

“The previous king took Ruri away.”

“Why? How did it come to that?”

“Ruri was worried about you and couldn’t calm herself down, so Quartz offered to brew her some tea,” Kotaro said, going on to explain what had transpired.

It had all happened while Jade was on his way back from Yadacain. Ruri had been restlessly pacing around the room, fearing for Jade’s safety. Chelsea had told her to calm down, but she couldn’t, which prompted Quartz to offer to make tea. Ruri had been more interested in the tea Quartz was making than whether she should be letting the previous king do such a thing, so she’d gladly accepted the show of goodwill. Once Quartz came back, he’d placed the tea in front of Ruri and Chelsie. He had even prepared some for Kotaro, and he placed his cup on the floor to make it easier for him to drink.

The vibrant color of the tea amazed Ruri. “It smells great,” she said.

“I also brought some snacks. Eat as many as you’d like.”

“Thank you very much, Quartz-sama.”

“Chelsie, feel free to help yourself as well.”

“Aye, thank you very much,” Chelsie replied.

After Ruri took in the fragrant aroma, she took a sip—but she noticed something was amiss and paused. “Hm?”

“What’s the matter, Ruri?” Quartz asked.

“Oh, no. It’s just that this seems to be more than just black tea. There’s some sort of...aftertaste?”

“Ah, yes. Possibly the herbs. I placed some herbs only in your cup to help calm your nerves, you see,” explained Quartz.

“Oh, is that so? I very much appreciate that,” Ruri said, impressed by Quartz’s meticulous care as she took another sip.

“You’re very good at making tea, aren’t you, Quartz-sama?”

“Heh, heh, heh, flattery will get you nowhere.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Seraphie liked it. So I had a lot of practice.”

“Wow, your mate sure was a lucky woman. Someone as kind and gentle as you must have fawned over her.”

“Yes, well, I’d be happy if she thought so.”

The genial conversation continued. Ruri took another sip of her tea, oblivious to Quartz staring at her.

After a while, Ruri noticed that her body felt strange. “Huh?” she uttered. Her fingertips felt prickly and numb. She thought it was her imagination at first, but the numbness gradually started to spread from her fingers to her arm to her entire body. Eventually, she couldn’t hold the cup anymore and it fell from her hand with a loud crash.

“Hey, what are you doing, child?” Chelsie asked, under the assumption that Ruri’s hand had simply slipped. However, soon after, Ruri went limp atop the table. Warning flags waved in Chelsie’s head. “Ruri?”

She stood up and reached over to her, but someone swatted her hand away—Quartz. Chelsie looked at him, demanding answers, but Quartz just smiled. It was the same smile as always, but there was something vaguely sinister about it this time around.

Ruri was clearly conscious, but her body was completely immobile. Quartz pulled out a dagger. Chelsie swallowed her breath, and Kotaro bared his fangs. Fortunately, Kotaro still had a barrier up, so it was impossible for Quartz to hurt Ruri.

In the next instant, Quartz foiled that saving grace by saying, “Would you mind taking down the barrier around Ruri?”

“There’s absolutely no way I would do that.”

“I’m not going to harm Ruri.”

“Like hell I believe you. Away from Ruri, you scoundrel.”

Without so much as flinching at Kotaro’s snarls, Quartz let out a sigh. “Are you sure? If you don’t, Ruri will die.”

Kotaro and Chelsea both gasped in surprise.

“I fed Ruri poison. If I don’t give her the antidote, then she’ll soon die. But I’ll give it to her if you agree to lower your barrier.”

“You what?” Kotaro asked, incredulous.

“Come now, Ruri is a goner if you don’t hurry,” Quartz said. His unchanging angelic smile looked eerie given the situation.

Kotaro looked at Ruri. She wasn’t moving. He didn’t know how much he could trust Quartz, but if he was telling the truth, Ruri would actually die. Kotaro made the arduous decision to drop the barrier.

“There. I’ve lowered Ruri’s barrier. Hurry and cure her.”

“Yes, I certainly will. After I’ve made my getaway, that is,” Quartz said, turning into his dragon form. He picked Ruri up with one of his claws and took to the skies.

Kotaro had tried to chase after him, but Quartz’s words stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t follow after me. If you want to ensure Ruri’s life, that is.”

And with that, Quartz had carried Ruri off.

“You moron!” Rin screamed, tackling Kotaro between his eyes with all her might. It was a critical hit.

“I’m sorry,” said Kotaro.

“Why would you ever follow his orders?!” asked Rin.

“Because if I didn’t, Ruri would have died.”

“You didn’t know if the blasted poison was even real!” shouted Rin.

Chelsie came to Kotaro’s aid, saying, “But what if it was real? If it was really poison, then Ruri would have died if Kotaro had interfered. I tried to stop him as well, but Master Quartz lives up to his reputation. He left me with no opportunity. So Kotaro is not the only one at fault.”

“Grr...” Rin grumbled, stopping herself from saying anything else.

“I also thought I could get her back right away,” Kotaro said. “I figured he was only a dragonkin, so I would be able to get her back once I spotted an opening. But as I was following him via the wind, he abruptly vanished.”

“Vanished? What, Spirit Slayer again?” Rin asked.

“No, that stuff emanates an unsettling aura when you use it. You can tell where it’s active because any place that uses it winds up being invisible to us. No, what he did was different. His entire presence just vanished.”

“You can’t find him with your wind powers? Well, aside from Spirit Slayer, I don’t know of any other... Aaah!” Rin shouted partway through her sentence, as if something had dawned on her.

“It’s Light. Now that I recall, Darkness said that Light had been with that man. With Light’s powers, he’d be undetectable even to you, Kotaro.”

“So this is Light’s doing...” Kotaro said, comprehending the situation.

Jade, who had been listening to the conversation, cut in. “You won’t be able to find Ruri?”

“Light’s barriers are impervious to our powers. Not even Kotaro’s wind powers can search for her,” replied Rin.

“That can’t be... Then what do we do to save Ruri?!”

Kotaro and Rin didn’t offer any response.

“Ruri...” Jade muttered to himself, standing stock-still inside the room as wind poured in from the broken window.