Reincarnated as a Phoenix

Chapter 166 – Odd Circumstances

"Is that... is that two dragons!? No, they can't be, all dragons are different colours"

"Heh, you can't be forgetting something that important Ikarus. They definitely aren't dragon"

(Zeki) "Is that... hahahaha..."

"Are they... Yeah, they're definitely wyverns"

"You can tell that from over here Nat? I guess you did fly them quite a bit"

Still ahead of the party remains the three airships, however, two blue flying creatures have appeared in sight having just exited the airships. It's been way too long since we've come across wyverns, bit strange that both of them are unmanned though.

The odd thing is, the only person who hasn't said anything is Ariza who seems to be a little anxious.

"Uh... Ikarus, can we flee? I really don't want to deal with this again"

"Hahaha, I knew it! It's brother's boyfriend! To think he lives ove- ouch!"

"He's not my freaking boyfriend Zeki! Uhhh, how many times to I have to tell you!?"

Ariza rightfully gives Zeki a quick punch from the boyfriend tease but now I can't help being extremely curious. I always thought that wyvern prince moment would never be brought up again so meeting a royalty of the flying rats sounds pretty cool. Unlike father, I can bottle easily bottle up my dislike of the creatures, should probably avoid calling them actual rats though.

"So, I'm going to assume one of them is the wyvern prince then? Could the other be the fabled wyvern king as well?"

One definitely appears considerably bigger than the other and they both are fast approaching, the other phoenixes don't seem to be worrying about things so hopefully the king won't attack us?

"Uh... huh? Never got around to meeting his father Ikarus, we didn't even speak for longer than an afternoon"

"No idea orangey. All I know is that the prince has a massive crush for brother"

"He doesn't Zeki! He was just thankful for the help; will you please just stop already?"

'Ah, so this is an unrequited love sort of thing? Let's see how this goes then'

Eventually, the two blue flying rats make their way over to where we're at and land right in front of us. If I didn't have to forcibly act like I dislike wyverns, reason being the ol'lizard would be disappointed if I liked them, I'd almost say they look kinda... cute? At least by wyvern standards, sort of a mixture between a puppy and a dragon face.

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Anyways, both of them barely spend any time if those cute forms of theirs before switching into something a little more human friendly.

A boy, the spitting image of Ariza forms from one of the wyverns with a blue suit of armour on and the other, a much bigger, bulkier and manly version of the boy with a crown atop his head. These two are definitely related and judging by how they look, I can see why the prince may have a crush on Ariza. Just imagine how blue the family would look together!

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"Uh, why do I have do this father? You always handle these sorts of affairs"

'He even freaking speaks like Ariza! Even Petra's just given me a wink, she clearly knows what's up! We probably shouldn't get involved'

"I'm not always going to be here boy so best get you started while you're young, all we're really doing is saying hi anyways"

The boy whose probably in his late teenager years but we all know I use kid and boy loosely, sulks from clearly having to do speak with strangers until his eye gleams when he spots one of our party members trying to hide in the back.

"But still father, you said I should enjoy my lif-, wait... is that you Ariza!? What brings you to our part of the world!?"

Almost instantly, the boy's face switches to pure excitement and even a slight fluster appears on his face. There's no doubt about it, he's head over heels for Ariza. I'm not completely sure if she feels the same just down to the fact she's desperately trying to hide from him.

"It's uh... good to see you again prince. How did that injury heel up?"

"Brilliantly! If it wasn't for your majestic hands, I would've lost that wing! The offer still stands by the way"

"*Sighhh*... not this again"

Ariza facepalms, the prince just smiles with joy and the king grins in a sly manner knowing what's going on in his son's head. That offer was presumably about him proposing to Ariza, perhaps? We should probably leave them to it, don't want to be getting in the way of the next potential couple. I do have to admit the prince looks girly as hell though.

"Heh, you're presumably the wyvern king we've heard so much about then?"

"I am indeed. I also presume you two are the phoenix queens sparking so much interest as well, Petra and Ikarus? I've already heard too much about Ariza and Zeki from my sap of a son, I am a little surprised four phoenixes are travelling with a royal knight and priestess of the empire though"

(Charlotte) "The reason is a little personal if you don't mind us not sharing"

(Nathan) "Yeah, we're not really willing to go into it"

"Don't worry, I wasn't asking. Just surprised more than anything"

And of course, this guy seems to know way too much, shouldn't be that surprised considering all leaders except us have eyes and ears everywhere. Surprised both Nathan and Charlotte aren't willing to share but they have always been a little suspicious of strangers I suppose.

"If it's not too much though, I would like to ask why you were in that accursed place? The strench of death still reeks over here"

'Ah, now the awkward bit. How do we explain ourselves here?'

Sure, this guy probably isn't an enemy, would be slightly hard to be considering his son won't stop pestering Ariza right now, but is he trust worthy enough to tell him the truth? Eh, it's not like dungeon hunting requires a license or anything, what's the harm is saying why?

(Ikarus) "We were dungeon hunting and that place just so happened to be on our list. Don't ask on the reason why though"

"That lighthouse was an entrance to a dungeon? No wonder why everyone who entered it died, you six must've completed it then? Get anything nice for the reward?"

"Not necess-"

"Eh, not really blue guy, this stick looks pretty cool but seems useless. Stabbing is great, but fire is always the way to go"

Zeki cuts me off in the most obnoxious way he can showing off his new toy, that being Ares spear. Despite him saying it's useless, he seems oddly proud holding it there. The reaction from the wyvern king is astounding really to Zeki showing off his 'spear', I know what I'm doing...

"Hah! By the Gods, you've been granted Ares's spear! To think such an item was residing in that place, well done!"

There wasn't a hint of malice, jealously or envy is what he said so maybe this wyvern king is more trustworthy than I'm giving him credit for? I guess my father has slightly skewed my thinking on this considering how much he used to go on about how he despises him back in my younger days, just father being pointlessly grumpy I suppose.

"You know of the Gods and Ares?"

"Of course we do, Queen Ikarus. You don't live long in Maladonia without knowing the stories of the pantheon, list them off for me boy"

"Uh, I'm not doing that father. They really don't care enough for me to list off all twelve. If you want the stories and myths, we have books everywhere back in the city"

'Huh, I've just realized we've already had encounters with five of them, that being Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Hephaestus and of course Dio. Could count Zeus as well but he is still trying to kill us after all'

...

A slight awkward silence ensues when none of us figure out how to continue this conversation. By now, we normally get invited to something so the fact they haven't done it yet is strange. Wait, I guess I could ask that...

"Erm... outta curiosity, what are you actually king of? Land wise I mean, it's obvious you own those airships but"

It's an odd question that gets half a facepalm from Petra but all I know is his title after all, not if he actually owns any human land. For I know, it could be meaningless like how I'm apparently queen of the jungle. I can see why Petra did that though, who goes up to a king and asks 'what do you actually do?'

"Ah, that'll be this land you currently stand upon and all wyverns, even those enslaved by the empire"

(Nathan) "Using enslaved seems a little much when tamed works better. You must know a wild wyvern is dangerous around humans?"

"While that may be true knight, wyverns and dragons lived perfectly fine in that area until humans starting sticking their faces in places they shouldn't. Best not discuss that sort of thing otherwise, it'll just cause needless argument, we won't agree on anything related to your empire"

(Nathan) "Agreed"

Eh, it does make sense why Nathan would defend such an action, he was a flying knight once upon a time. At the end of the day, humans do cause more harm than good everywhere they go, it's not hypocritical despite me once being one as it's just the way of things. Humans are destructive, not as much as me but you get my point.

(Ikarus) "How does that even work though? The airships I mean, you'd think technology like that would be a dwarven thing"

"Funny you should mention that, the information to create such a thing was bought from dwarves using a special sort of gas to keep it in the air. I can't really go into specifics but you can take a closer look at it if you all want"

"Okay, we're definitely doing that"

So, just the dwarfs just doing dwarf things, it could be pretty cool to have those flying around on our islands but it's not a huge focus. I'm pretty certain the gas he's referring to is helium, no idea how they've even able to extract it but as if I care about such a boring subject. I like our citizens but no way am I building airships for them.

'Let's go up to the airship then...'

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'Status'

[Name: Wyvern King | Species: Wyvern | Level: 701]

[Health 50,150/50,150]

[Stamina 40,451/45,000]

[Magicka 8,522/10,000]

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[Name: Wyvern Prince | Species: Wyvern | Level: 255]

[Health 17,250/17,250]

[Stamina 14,672/16,000]

[Magicka 3,511/5,000]

'Really? Both their names are literally king and prince? This isn't going to be one of those clichés where only I have the power to name them, right?'

While we're hitching a ride on the wyverns up onto one of the airships, thought it could be a good second for a quick status check. Checking stats is mostly pointless for me now but when there's nothing else to do on the fly over, might as well just for the sake of it. Seeing their names like that proves it wasn't worthless.

[<Aesa should advise Ikarus this may not be a topic worth bringing up. Think about it, if wyverns in the empire can have names and these two don't, maybe it's by choice?>]

'Ah, I get what you mean, it could be a touchy subject'

Hearing the slight bit of conversation between Nathan and the King earlier, it's probably best not to pry too much into that. Maybe they see names as a reminder of the wyvern slavery? Let's forget about it really.

Still riding on the back on the King alongside Petra and the other couple, it seems the Prince wants to converse about something while carrying Zeki and Ariza. Please be a love confession...

"Ariza... have you been up to anything un or interesting recently? It's been ages since we last met and I've missed you a lot"

"Will you just stop trying to flirt with brother!? We all get you like her already; you don't need to do say stupid shit like that!"

"I'm not flirting! I was just curious really, jeez..."

Zeki's sends the hopes and dreams out of the Prince, thankfully Ariza is intelligent enough to ignore Zeki like everyone else does. Maybe he's trying to protect his sister's heart or something, but this kid really isn't somebody he needs to worry about.

"Uh... not that much, I think? We did help out keep the empire safe when the last emperor died, I guess we helped around the island a little... Oh, I finally found a way of staying female and even got my own clinic! I also died for a bit as well but I'm fine now"

'I like the fact she's so causal on dying, I literally used a revive on her!'

"I'm so happy for y-, wait... you freaking died!?! How the hell did that happen? Are you okay now!? Does it hurt anywhere!?"

"*Sigh*, it's fine now, just got cornered by a demon lord and needed some help getting back up"

"A demon lord!?! You were cornered by a demon lord? What happ-"

"Brother clearly doesn't want to talk about it so just shut up bluey!"

"He's just being curious Zeki, it's honestly fine. What happened was..."

Heh, I don't know whether to laugh or cry for Ariza's sake right now if this is who the other half is going to be. It's bound to happen, right? This world is pretty consistent when it comes to potential lovers, the flying rat will somehow find a way to woo Ariza's heart. I'm not sensing she's into him at all right now but love always has a way.

He definitely seems to be lapping up Ariza's retelling of the story, bet he likes carrying her as well as even I know the joys are carrying your partner. I really never help myself.

'It's a shame we won't be here long enough to see what might happen'

Hmm... could we stay here and fix the ongoing tensions in Maladonia? I remember that grey haired woman saying that not all the countries get on, maybe that's a reason fo-, No Ikarus, we're not going to go off on a side quest bringing peace when Dio is still imprisoned, it would only be as an excuse for seeing if Ariza likes him or not.

The thing is, I'd like for Ariza to find someone she likes but not at the cost of wasting too much time, she may just continue to find him a little much though. Eh, I've already said once before I won't meddle in someone else's relationship so if something happens, it happens...

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"Hang on, what the actual fuck are you doing here!?! You massive hypocrite!"

The infrastructure inside this airship is spectacular, large metallic catwalks surround the hull and follows the centre of it like a spine, living quarters for all the wyverns that seems to contain actual plumbing. I can't really do it justice because how does one describe the interior of a steam punk looking airship? Maybe something like a older interior to a submarine perhaps? Just much more spacious, fat and open.

I wouldn't say it's exactly cosy but if you're looking for something to fly over a place and conduct war from, this would be the perfect staging area for sending swarms of wyverns from. None of this is what has caused me to swear though.

What I've noticed is something at the bottom the airship during the beginning of our brief tour. Lounged out lying on a gigantic table is a creature capable of huge destruction. If anything, it just shows the sheer size of these flying fortresses when there's literally a dragon lying down inside one...

<Hmph, why are you looking at me like that for little one? You look like you've seen a spirt or something>

Lying down receiving what appear to be a massage from several wyverns all using their claws and wings to provide comfort, of course I'm going to be shellshocked! Forget receiving a tour from the King and Prince of this place, the lizard who despises wyverns is currently being touched by multiple!

"Father, all day long you talk about how much you despise wyverns, yet you're literally on an airship filled with them! This is madness!"

(King) "Ah, I probably should've mentioned your father comes here time to time. Believe me, we've all heard about his hatred about our race"

(Prince) "Uh, it's honestly boring at this point, all day long he goes on about flying rats and all that. I think he just likes the sound of his own of his own telekinesis"

<Hatred isn't hard to overcome little one when the rats do have some redeeming qualities, one being is that they're extremely suitable for serving superior species. Every couple of months or so, I forcibly get the birds to give me some relaxation>

"Forcibly? We fight every few years or so and it always ends in a draw, there's only one person who's getting forced to do anything around here, reptile Dermakvar"

<Hmph, disgusting wyvern king>

To think my father and the wyvern King had such a relationship. Wait, he mentions how he despises him, of course it's something like that!

"Are you two like bickering brothers or something?"

<No!>

"No!"

Both of adamantly seem to deny that fact, at least it makes sense why he can't stand him so much, it's like that rivalry siblings can sometimes have. To think all this wyvern hatred was an afront for father getting massages and sparring with the wyvern king, I'm hugely disappointed in him for this.

During all this confrontation, Petra's trying not to chuckle, Zeki looks ashamed of my father and everyone else is and confused as ever. Except Ariza, she's just trying to get away from the prince in love over there.

"Does mother even know about this father? It seems like something she'd be heavily against you being touched by other female hands, or paws, or whatever it is wyverns have"

I'm pretty certain the wyverns massaging father are female, you must know what I'm worried about. That very old cliché about masseuses providing extra 'services' to clientele, with father I'm unsure if his wyvern hatred or cheater instinct would win.

<Your mother was the one who suggested I do this little one, she said it may take the stress off and give me a few extra years down the line, she was right unfortunately. Oddly enough, I've stopped being unfaithful since getting these done as well, strange coincidence, is it or not?>

'Oh God, I think I interpreted that in a wrong way, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though'

Still unable to confirm whether father is getting extra services or not from the wyverns, another question has presented itself. Why would wyverns even need an airship? They have an entire city to the northwest that we're just yet to see if these are the lands the wyvern king owns.

"I've got to ask, what actually is the point of this place? Are you looking to wage war on the world or something?"

"War? Of course not Queen Ikarus! It just never hurts to be prepared after all; we never know when enemies may come to our land. Prime example being your father, he first came to these lands looking for my head before we came acquaintances. You never know when threats may arise"

<Hmph, as if your little boat and rats could stop me or anything credible. Against the humans, you'd be alright, until they shoot you down>

"You underestimate the strength of this thing reptile but we're not discussing this again"

Trying to sense anything amiss, it appears the King was telling the truth about using it only for defence. It matters little if they do use it for attack as it would prove no challenge to bring it down but I guess for humans, it's a daunting challenge fighting a flying fortress.

"Heh, you should be alright from the jungle at least, the darkened martial artists shouldn't be attacking first"

Petra is correct, they didn't seem like they wanted to wage war despite the brief interaction with their leader Dara, that time we got drunk again.

"Well, that may be true Queen Petra, but things can easily change in a moment, let's stop discussing Maladonian politics any further. Now, back onto the tour, I'll show you everywhere else except the engine room, let's move back on..."

'Eh, I guess me and Petra only wanted to know some more lore but if he doesn't want to discuss it, then fair enough. Let's just continue this tour, then head back to the ground...'