After Fespanrei left, Angel continued driving the Gondola towards the distance.
The smoke in the air had started to thin out, allowing a view of the conditions below from the high altitude. However, the ground was nothing but dry Scorched Earth, devoid of any scenery, and staring at it for a long time could actually tire the eyes.
Yet, for Dangross, there was no such issue. It clung to the edge of the boat, the eye in its palm staring intently at the desolate land below. Even the boundless Scorched Earth seemed as beautiful as a first sight to it.
Angel, on the other hand, rested his cheek on his hand, quietly watching Dangross across from him.
Initially, Angel was lost in thought, but later his gaze involuntarily focused on Dangross’s palm, feeling increasingly something was amiss as he observed.
"You look like you’ve gained some weight today?" Angel eventually couldn’t resist asking.
Dangross shifted its gaze from overlooking the earth to Angel: "I haven’t gotten fatter, you must be mistaken."
Angel originally asked casually, but Dangross’s reaction was a bit odd, its eyes darting around, not daring to meet his gaze. Angel squinted his eyes and said, "No, I’m sure you’ve gotten fatter."
As Angel spoke, he even dragged Toby into the conversation: "Toby, take a look."
Toby chirped, and although Dangross couldn’t understand what Toby was saying, it saw Toby gesture with its wing at its belly, indicating that Dangross’s "palm" had indeed grown larger.
After Toby chirped, it glanced at Dangross with small eyes, showing a disdainful look.
Dangross didn’t understand why Toby was giving it such a look. It felt that it had barely gotten closer to Toby and didn’t want to ruin that over these trivial matters.
Dangross hurriedly explained, "I’m not fat, I just plan to leave the Region of Fire for a while and needed to bring some luggage."
Angel showed a suspicious look: "So, what’s in your belly is luggage?"
Dangross still wouldn’t look at Angel, and after a good while, it lowered its head and said, "Sort of, and also some gifts from Teacher Magu."
Angel squinted without speaking, and Toby made a disbelieving face.
Dangross feared Toby’s gaze the most. After hesitating for a moment, it couldn’t hold back anymore and opened its mouth, spitting out a black-and-red crystal.
Angel looked at the familiar crystal, recognition shining in his eyes: "Is this Magu’s and Midir’s core flame crystal?"
Dangross nodded and lowered its head, not daring to look at Angel: "This, this was given to me by Teacher Magu. The teacher saw you didn’t want it, so, so gave it to me."
Dangross’s tone was uncertain, with a little stutter. Combining this with the fact that it didn’t dare meet Angel’s eyes, Angel could deduce that there was definitely a difference between what Dangross said and the real situation.
Indeed, the truth was, this crystal wasn’t handed over to Dangross by Magu, but Dangross had actively asked Magu for it, with the reason being... it could pass the crystal to Angel.
Angel: "Really?"
Under Angel’s gaze, Dangross shivered slightly, hesitated, and said, "Probably true?"
Dangross’s mind was actually very simple. Seeing Dangross dodging the topic, Angel basically deduced the truth. The crystal was definitely not meant for Dangross, and upon reflection, understood the general trajectory.
Magu likely intended for Dangross to pass the crystal to him.
"Whether it’s true, shouldn’t you be the one who knows best?" Angel reached out and took the crystal from the table, playing with it in his hand.
Seeing Angel’s gaze, Dangross understood that its lie had definitely been exposed.
Dangross lowered its head with dejection: "I just thought it looked nice. If you don’t want it... I want it."
Angel chuckled softly, not saying anything.
Toby also chirped scornfully following Angel’s laughter.
Toby’s chirp felt like a sharp thorn piercing Dangross’s heart. Embarrassed, it lowered its head further, nearly having its entire hand flop onto the table, saying with full remorse, "So, sorry, I shouldn’t have secretly taken it for myself..."
Dangross’s sudden admission of error slightly surprised Toby. It hummed twice and slowly retracted its disdainful glance.
Angel still didn’t speak but played with the crystal a bit before finally handing it back to Dangross.
"This thing is yours."
In Dangross’s bewildered gaze, Angel slowly said, "Mr. Magu knows you better than I do; in giving you this crystal, he probably anticipated what you would do."
If Dangross were to pass the crystal to Angel, and Angel accepted it, that would be best.
If Dangross hid it, Magu wouldn’t feel it a loss either, as it was used on a beloved student. Of course, with Magu’s understanding of Dangross, he likely knew Dangross couldn’t hide it.
Once Dangross let the truth slip, the choice returned to Angel. Whether to accept or not remained Angel’s decision. Moreover, this time, regardless of any decision Angel made, the crystal would be difficult to return to the original owner.
Angel clearly understood Magu’s intention. He had declined initially and didn’t intend to accept it now.
Even though Magu’s fire and Midir’s fire were excellent, Angel wasn’t a fire element Wizard, so his need and research on special flames were minimal. Therefore, he could restrain his emotions and Desire.
Dangross didn’t think this deeply. Seeing Angel handing the crystal back, it instantly felt joy, and its eyes towards Angel showed a touch of closeness.
Looking at Dangross’s delighted look, Angel thought for a moment, then used the fire shaping technique to remove the useless parts and modified the exterior of the fire crystal.
The previously solid chunk of crystal quickly turned into a new shape under Angel’s spiritual power.
A ring with black as the base and red as the dark Pattern.
"It’s uncomfortable hidden in the belly, wear it on your finger instead."
Happily, Dangross accepted the change to the crystal and wore the ring on its middle finger.
Angel looked over, his eyes flashing with a strange color. One had to admit, although Dangross was just a severed hand, the entire hand was very fair, and the fingers were beautifully long. Ignoring the eye and mouth in the palm, it was even more perfect than the hands of many women who love maintenance.
Now, paired with this ring exuding an unusual fiery aura, even a detached hand seemed a bit elegant and noble.
Of course, this was Angel’s opinion after becoming accustomed to Dangross over time and gradually accepting such a setting.
If an ordinary person were to see a severed hand running around, they definitely wouldn’t think it elegant or noble, but would instead be scared half to death.