Chapter 29

The skin under his touch was hot like touching a ball of fire. And this wasn't even the horned tribe known as the flame race. It was strange for any other race to have such high body temperature.

However, like other spirits, the tailed tribe bride candidate didn't know much about humans. Therefore, he couldn't judge whether this was normal or abnormal.

While the tailed tribe bride candidate hesitated in confusion, Kinaine belatedly stepped back.

'I let my guard down.'

No. It wasn't that he had let his guard down. The strong painkiller had slowed his reaction speed. Usually, he could have avoided someone's touch before they could even reach his body, but now he could only react after half his makeup had been wiped off.

'Oh no. After Ramu helped so hard.'

Kinaine swallowed a sigh.

When he had regained consciousness after fainting, Kinaine had been lying in bed. The fever made even opening his eyes difficult.

'L-Lord Nine! Are you conscious? I thought you were going to die like this...'

Ramu had been watching over him with swollen eyes.

'Your fever is too high. I requested medicine from the main palace but they only said to wait... What? You'll participate in the test in this state? Stop joking and lie back down. You're not in your right mind because of the fever.'

Though Ramu tried to stop him, she ultimately couldn't break Kinaine's will to participate in the test. In truth, deep in her heart, Ramu probably wanted him to participate too. The fate of their tribe was at stake.

'Make me look like I have good color. Like I'm not sick.'

As a prince, Kinaine had many teachers and took many tests. However, this wasn't simply a test where you found answers and got scores. It was a test where he had to compete against other bride candidates and win.

Being a human and a recessive omega, without proper backing, if he even looked unwell, he would surely be looked down upon.

Fortunately, the skilled Ramu perfectly fulfilled Kinaine's request. Even Kinaine was surprised when he looked in the mirror.

The man who had looked like a corpse about to die was gone somewhere, and the man in the mirror had a glow to his face and red lips, looking full of vitality to anyone who saw him. He looked even healthier than his usual appearance that seemed at odds with vitality due to his particularly pale skin, making Kinaine marvel at the power of makeup regardless of the situation.

He had barely managed to stand here like this. How could he give up and back down at a few words from others?

"No matter what you say, I have no intention of giving up the test."

"You'll regret those words."

The tailed tribe bride candidate left with an irritated tone. He seemed to realize Kinaine wouldn't give up easily and decided there was no need for further conversation.

"My, Ilya is quite angry."

While Kinaine was clumsily trying to fix his ruined makeup by rubbing his cheeks, someone spoke to him.

Looking up, he saw a man with red hair. He was an extraordinary beauty, and even to Kinaine, who wasn't used to spirit appearances, the two horns on his forehead gave a beautiful impression.

'Wow.'

Kinaine was a bit surprised. His surprise wasn't simply due to the man's beauty.

'He's... tall.'

A common characteristic of omegas was having thin bones and small builds.

However, perhaps because it was a recessive omega body, Hasan's body was taller and more muscular than other omegas. But this man, who seemed to be the horned tribe's bride candidate, was a full span taller than him.

'Come to think of it, all the horned tribe members I've seen were tall. The gatekeeper on the bridge and the horned tribe leader were too.'

Kinaine tilted his head slowly as he recalled the horned tribe leader he had seen on the bridge.

'They look somewhat alike.'

Was it just because they had the same hair color?

"Ah, that one who just picked a fight with you is called Ilya. I'm Prim."

The horned tribe bride candidate, Prim, introduced himself while pointing to himself.

"I am Nine."

While giving his name reflexively, Kinaine realized the horned tribe bride candidate held no particular malice toward him. Though he didn't particularly hold goodwill either.

"They say you're human? This is my first time seeing a human, but you don't look that different from what I expected."

The man who introduced himself as Prim seemed curious about Kinaine.

"I thought the same when I first came to the spirit realm. That spirits don't look that different from humans."

"Hmm, perhaps that's because we share the same roots? Since both spirits and humans were molded by the gods!"

After finishing his words, Prim suddenly leaned in close and examined Kinaine carefully.

"Wow, you put on really thick makeup? Isn't it uncomfortable? Well, I suppose you'd be concerned when all your competitors are dominant omegas."

Someone else might have taken it as provocation, but Kinaine didn't feel particularly bothered since he knew Prim held no malice. It was true that his makeup was thick, after all.

More than that, what was his name - Ilya? The tailed tribe bride candidate seemed to have immediately noticed something was strange, but Prim showed no sign of noticing even looking this close. He seemed either unobservant or unconcerned with others.

Kinaine felt he had somewhat figured out Prim's character.

"It's not particularly uncomfortable."

In truth, Kinaine was in a state like having one foot in a dream. Because of the strong painkiller, he could barely feel any pain. If he couldn't feel his body burning up, how could he feel how much powder was on his face?

Though he didn't notice it himself, for this reason his words and actions were slow, making him appear completely composed to those who didn't know the circumstances.

"Really? I find makeup really uncomfortable. But I'm lucky since I was born with good looks, I only need to wear a little bit!"

"Is that so."

"More importantly, what do you think about this test? Ilya hates it, and I can never tell what Biche is thinking, as usual."

Biche must be referring to the scaled tribe bride candidate. From how he spoke, they seemed to know each other somewhat.

While assessing the situation with his sluggish mind, Kinaine looked at the empty dais where Asad had been. Perhaps because the test content had changed so suddenly, they needed time to prepare on that end as well, making the waiting time longer.

"I don't know about the others, but I quite like this test. I agree that strength is beauty! The dragon's bride should naturally be strong. In that aspect, I'm definitely the most suitable!"

Prim spoke confidently. His rambling didn't seem to particularly require an answer.

"What about you? Do you think you're qualified?"

However, as if seeing through Kinaine's thoughts, Prim asked.

Kinaine turned his head to look at Prim again.

Though unwanted, after becoming accustomed to black magic's energy, Kinaine could sensitively detect others' negative emotions.

So he could tell Prim was asking sincerely. This beautiful omega with red hair was asking purely out of curiosity.

Qualification...

Kinaine recalled the virtues that a dragon's bride candidate was supposed to possess.

He wasn't particularly beautiful, nor wise, nor good. If anything, he didn't possess any virtues.

But.

"I will win."

His desperation at least wouldn't lose to anyone here.

"..."

At the bold answer, Prim was momentarily speechless.

Kinaine thought Prim might mock him. However, after staring blankly at Kinaine for a moment, he burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha! You've got amazing spirit at least! Good, do your best! Though of course, I, Lord Prim, will win in the end."

Just then, Jet reappeared and their conversation ended without continuing further.

Jet was carrying a ceramic jar in his arms. The surface of the black jar, about the size of a newborn baby, was densely covered with glowing letters.

"Ahem, magical beasts are sealed in this jar."

Jet began his explanation.

Opening the jar's lid would release the sealed magical beasts. And because barriers were placed around the dragon's palace, the magical beasts couldn't go beyond the set boundaries. The time limit was one week.

"The magical beasts' bodies are marked with scores. Ten points is the highest, and one point is the lowest."

When a magical beast was successfully hunted, fireworks would be launched into the sky to let everyone know.

The fireworks' colors differed by score. Red for ten-point beasts, white for one-point beasts, and so on.

"Also, bride candidates may receive help from the guards they brought for this hunt. You may take whatever weapons you need from these."

Just then, servants laboriously dragged wooden boxes full of various weapons in front of the dais.

After finishing his words, Jet distributed small glowing orbs to each bride candidate.

"These orbs contain Lord Dragon's magic. Use them immediately if the situation becomes dangerous. Breaking these orbs will return you here, but you will be considered to have forfeited the test."

Jet raised the jar high.

"Then, let the test begin!"