A Dragon Idol’s Reincarnation Tale

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! KYAAAAAAAAAAHH!”

“H-Hestia?!” As I was taking out the few ingredients I had in my [Storage Magic], I snapped my attention over to the lake after hearing a girlish shriek.

As if she was a rocket, Hestia bolted right past me all while yelling from the top of her lungs. In the fading sunlight, it didn’t take long for her silhouette to slowly melt into the depths of the forest, only her crimson hair was visible as it fluttered around in a panic like a flickering fire.

My arm was stretched out in the direction she ran and my voice tried to utter, “Hey, where are you going?” but I quickly closed my mouth. My attention shifted to my [Prediction]’s warning, back to the lake. From the shadow of the water geyser Hestia just caused, a long, slippery tongue shot out like a bullet.

“Tch!” Clicking my tongue, my body tensed up and my mind slowed down my perception of time.

Everything felt slower as my senses went on overdrive to understand what was currently happening. My awareness of my surroundings was slowly being processed, quickly identifying the target of the attack and how long the tongue would need to reach it. Reflexively, my right arm jolted upwards, claws ready, and sliced the tongue just a few centimeters away from hitting its mark, the flying Tasianna.

"Eek!" Tasianna flinched back. Her shock face told me she wasn’t aware of the attack before I intercepted it.

Blood sprayed out of the tongue’s opening, showering the ground red while its tip fell onto the ground with a thud. The pained groanings of something large echoed through the forest as the rest of the tongue retreated where it came from.

“Miss Tasianna, would you please go find Hestia? I believe you will be safer at her side,” I suggested. My eyes didn’t meet hers, as I was cautiously glaring at the new threat, but she understood me nonetheless.

Although she hesitated for a moment, she eventually nodded. Knowing she could find Hestia with the party bracelet’s search function, Tasianna began chasing after our dragon girl after saying, “Please, be careful, Madam Saori.”

Despite not having any real tracking skills, she flew with confidence and efficiency as she kept her eyes on the blue party screen projected by her bracelet. I did hope Hestia didn’t run too far away, otherwise, Tasianna’s probability to encounter another ambush would be all too high.

I wanted to find Hestia, too, but most of the food I collected was currently sprawled on the ground. Wasting food was sin, in my book. Thankfully, I was confident that nothing would happen to Tasianna while she was with Hestia. As such, it was my task to make sure that our food wasn’t stolen from us, since Hestia’s growing appetite was a hard mistress to satisfy.

Identify.