A long sword suddenly pressed against Sagarda’s throat!
Shink!
Sagarda felt blood leaking from a sharp wound on his neck, and he glanced to the side to see Stella looking at him with a hard gaze.
"The prince told you to step back."
"Stella –"
"Step away from the prince this instant!"
Sagarda shook from Stella’s shout, and he immediately took multiple steps away from Jason. But there was still a fire burning in his eyes as he glared at both Jason and Gina. Stella sheathed her sword once more, and she bowed to Jason and begged for forgiveness.
"Please do not be angry at them, my prince. They were shortsighted, but they were only trying to look out for me. I apologise on their behalf."
Jason hummed calmly, and he just waved away the apology. It wasn’t like anyone here could really hurt him, so there was no harm done. But from what Jason had just heard, it was obvious that things had not gone very well during the discussions.
"Does this mean you chose to abandon the Nazin?"
Jason asked Stella this with a slightly disappointed expression, and Stella stood back up and looked away with a complicated look on her face. In truth, Jason had been hoping that Stella would stay with the Nazin, at least until they got to their destination. It wasn’t because Jason didn’t want Stella to be with them, but rather it was the principle of the matter. From what Jason learned, Stella made a promise to the Nazin to protect them, and no matter what happens, a warrior needs to keep their promise. If Stella decided to leave the Nazin to their fate and come with him even after promising to help them, then how could Jason trust that she wouldn’t leave him the moment she finds something else that she thinks she can dedicate herself to? A warrior who could abandon their promises so easily wasn’t someone Jason wanted to put his trust in.
But Jason was surprised when another voice came from behind.
"Do not fret, young prince. Our young Stella has not betrayed your expectations at all. In fact, she has been fighting against me all this time just so she could keep her promise to us."
Jason looked behind Stella, and he was surprised to see an old female Nazin walking up to them with a walking stick. The woman was hunched over and wrinkled, but there was a wisdom in her actions, and Jason could tell that she was most likely the tribal leader. The woman stepped beside Stella and smiled at Jason as she continued.
"Young Stella has been with us for twenty full moons. She has protected us against monsters and beasts beyond our power, and she has fed us when things were too hard during the droughts. She is a wonderful woman and an even better warrior. And when she was faced with the choice to either abandon us or abandon her prince, she chose to keep to her word, and she was more than willing to stay with us until we found a suitable settlement. But I have decided that this is not right."
"You had no right to decide that!"
Sagarda suddenly shouted from behind, and the old woman smacked her stick into the sand and created a small tremor that made Sagarda back down! The woman turned to glare at the younger Nazin, and he grit his teeth and stepped away angrily. The old woman then turned back to Jason and continued.
"Stella has served us for a long time, and in that time, she has done more than enough to repay whatever debt it is that we are owed. So I believe it is time for her to continue on her life journey and find a new purpose in service of her prince. But I only ask this one thing. She might seem like an unbreakable warrior, but she is still only a woman. Please, look after her properly and ensure she does not push herself too far. She is like a daughter to me, and I will only find happiness in knowing that she is happy."
Jason felt a strange feeling of pride coming over him as he heard everything the old woman said, and he looked over at Stella to see that she was still looking to the side with a complicated expression. It was obvious that Stella did not know if she should be happy or not, and Jason decided to make the choice for her.
"Hold your head up, Stella."
Stella turned to Jason in surprise when he said this, and she felt her cheeks grow hot when she saw Jason’s proud smile.
"You’ve done right by these people. I’m proud of you."
Stella nodded to Jason with a wide smile, and everyone around suddenly felt shock pass through them when they felt an intense surge of mana pour out from Jason. Jason raised his hand to the side and called on two of his subordinates, and the entire desert rumbled as a massive Dune worm suddenly burst out from the sand and screeched into the air! The Nazins immediately fell to their asses in fear, and some of them screamed as they turned and tried to run! But they stopped in their tracks and fell down as well when a large dragon appeared from nowhere and let out a mighty roar as it soared into the sky!
"W-What is this!? What is going on!?"
"We’re going to die!"
"The Dune Worm! The Dune Worm is looking at us!"
"It’s a dragon!!"
The Nazins looked like they were going to have heart attacks, but they were all shocked when the two mighty beasts moved toward Jason and bowed obediently to him. Jason pet the dragon on the head with a smile before he rubbed the Dune worm on the side and allowed it to sink back under the sand. Jason then spoke.
"These two are my subordinates. And from this moment on, they will be responsible for ensuring the safety of your tribe both in the air and on land until you can find a suitable settlement for yourselves. I know that Stella was an important part of your fighting force, and I hope that these two will be enough to make up for losing her."
Jason looked over at the old woman when he was done, and he saw her staring up at the large dragon with wide, disbelieving eyes! The old woman couldn’t believe what she was seeing here! It was a dragon! The dragons that she had only heard about in stories were right in front of her! From the things she had heard, she knew that a single dragon was capable of eradicating an entire country on its own, and this man was saying that it was one of his subordinates! Just who had they run into in this desert!?
"Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, matron."
The old woman turned to see Stella bowing her head to her respectfully. The Matron smiled and put her hand on Stella’s head before she muttered a quiet blessing for her.
"May you find happiness in the path you have chosen for yourself, my daughter. Remember that you will always have a home with us no matter where you go."
Stella sniffled as she felt overwhelmed with emotions, and she stood and quickly went forward to hug the matron. The Matron smiled and pat Stella on the back before telling her that they would be alright. Once Stella was done saying goodbye to her matron, she also said her goodbyes to the younger Nazins who had come to fight with Jason. The Nazins were not happy to see her go, but none of them could fight against the matron’s words, so they had to hold back their emotions and say their farewells. The only person who never bothered to say goodbye was Sagarda.