Ep 111. Long Time No See. (1)

  “Um…if you’re heading back, it…might be faster to use the mae…”

  “Hmph. You expect human iions to outspeed us? Be thankful we’re not razing your nation to ders.”

  “Erm…”

  While Eliammered to answer, yet another dragon turned away from the human girl with his brethren.

  One by ohe kihe throne room to take into the air – many carrying the formerly imprisoned with them. As the dragoed, the once-crowded chamber quickly regaio its former void.

  And soon, the only ohat yet remained were Serenis, Raizel, Eline, and Theolus…along with Bruton aher.

  The dragonlord threw a curious gowards the elderly couple.

  “…I wasn’t expeg you two to remain.”

  “Haha. Well, someone ought to take our two brethren.”

  Brutoured towards Eline and Theolus. Aether likewise o her husband’s words before answering.

  “Uhe others, there isn’t much reason for us to return to the valley. Ilias isn’t home, and Raizel’s also…”

  “…”

  Aether’s voice drowned out as her eyes locked with Raizel’s. A cold stare met her gaze.

  Ridden with guilt, the elder dragon sunk her head before finishing.

  “…Raizel…I’m sorry. At least when you’d grown, I should’ve told you everything…”

  “Never expected you to.”

  “…”

  Sensing the atmosphere growing heavier yet again, Serenis hurriedly ged the subject.

  “Brutoher. Since you’re both here, could you speak on what exactly happened during the empire’s invasion? Even without a lord, I fail to see how the empire could bring the entire dragonkin to heel.”

  “That’s…”

  After a long sigh, Bruton slowly began to ahe dragonlord.

  “There was nothing to speak arding the empire’s soldiers. Even a hundred soldiers were of no threat to a single dragon. The problem solely lied within their emperor.”

  A heavy shadow crept over the elder’s forlorn shadow. Bruton swallowed down his hesitao tinue speaking, relutly reminisg the events of the past.

  “The emperor…imitated the kin.”

  “Imitated?...In what way, exactly?”

  Bruton stretched out his hand in response, summoning a bck ember into his palm.

  “I’ve been told that magic rests within the realm of thought among mankind. To the kin however, magic rests within the realm of intuition. This is but one example: there is no human magic that replicates these fmes.”

  Serenis nodded her head to the elder’s expnation. Because mankind’s magied on a pletely different basis from a dragon’s, it was loablished that man and dragon could not learn each other’s magic.

  But Bruton began to deny this established truth.

  “However…the emperor was different. A mere gnce was all he o replicate my fmes. In fact, I’m…ined to say that his expertise was surpassing my own.”

  “…What?”

  “And I was not the only one. No matter who he faced, the result was the same. The emperor would imitate and improve upon ic to surpass us every time. It wasn’t long until he was wielding several of icks at once.”

  Serenis narrowed her eyes.

  ‘…Is that even possible?’

  Dragons relied on their sense and intuition to use magic.

  In other words, dragonkin’s spells had no calcution involved, nor could their spells be reduced into formus that humans could use. It was no different than attempting to formute the makings of a soul: the very premise was nonsensical.

  ‘However…’

  Serenis spared a brief gowards the fallen rubble. Not long ago, it’d been a spellbound barrier that prevented entry into the dungeon beyond it.

  If Bruton’s words were true, then the spell that had surrouhe dungeon’s perimeter also made sense – if the emperor had somehow replicated the barrier within Vulka’s grave.

  “Then, what of their physical capability? Surely they couldn’t have ehe dragonkin’s onsught with just magic. A human body would be trampled underfoot with ease.”

  “…He imitated that as well.”

  “What?...”

  Bruton’s expressirim. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.

  Instead, it was Aether who tinued with the expnation for Serenis.

  “…During the empire’s invasion, the kin had elected a temporary leader amongst ourselves. It was a dragon named Ephea.”

  “I’ve heard. What of it?”

  “Ephea ehe emperor in bat on numerous occasions. It’s just as you said: after learning of the emperor’s aptitude in magic, Ephea began to rely on her raw strength. Though she failed to infliy fatal wounds, she successfully drove off the emperor many times. But as our flict tihe emperor was eventually…imitating Ephea’s true form.”

  “Nonsense!!”

  Serenis reflexively shouted back. A short silence had to pass before the dragonlord cleared her throat tain her posure.

  “…Mimig the kin’s magic may be possible under exceptional circumstances; humans do use magic of their own, after all. But a dragon’s true form is a reversion to their natural selves. A human could never simply ‘imitate’ that.”

  As soon as Serenis finished, Raizel’s ent immediately followed to deny any sort of respite.

  “You say that lord, but it clearly happened.”

  “…”

  “I’ve heard things too, you know. It’s why the old bones were so relut about having another leader. The st one had their true form stolen by a human, and things ended in a disaster.”

  Serenis couldn’t say anything to challehe youngling’s words.

  It happened.

  The fact that it had happened made short work of whatever denial Serenis may propose. It was something that had already happened, and the event’s victims were right in front of her; shrugging off the emperor’s feats as an impossibility ure ignorance.

  “Still…is he not human himself? He must have limitations. How…”

  “Um…”

  When Eline cautiously opened her mouth, the dragons’ gaze fell upon her in unison.

  Although the herbalist’s creeping fears ed within her, she forced herself to swallow them down. It was easier when the eyes weren’t so full of rese.

  “From what I’ve heard, his majes…I mean, the emperor’s frequently struggled with mana ah issues in the past. He’d often pin about being born human. And the solutiouro was…”

  Eline’s gaze slowly drifted over towards the dungeon. Though the dragons were no more, spoils of their impriso were still pin to see.

  “…He sought to make the dragonkin’s abilities his own. Their scales were crafted into items, blood into elixirs, and…I…believe he also ed their hearts on several occasions.”

  “Then, the dungeon’s spoils are…”

  “…Ingredients. For his own use.”

  “…”

  A long sigh followed as the dragonlord closed her eyes.

  She couldn’t evehered to question what this emperor’s motives were. Whatever it was, the method he was using to approach it was nigh insanity. Or perhaps it was because he was ihat Akeia was able to achieve such feats.

  Serenis sed the throne room once more. Except for the elderly couple, not a single kin who’d arrived from the valley remained.

  Partially, it was because Serenis had vihem to prioritize saving their imprisoned kin over razing the empire. But the dragonlord’s words hadn’t been the sole deg factor.

  No, what had really made them leave was Eline’s admittahat the emperor may be returning here at any point.

  Afterwards, even the most vengeful of the kin had turheir back to head home – as if challenging the emperor wasn’t even an option.

  ‘…To think the kin would flee from a lone human…’

  At this point, learning about Aymeia and Kedor had bee sedary objectives. Finishing unfulfilled duties of the past was important – but as she had said to her kin, the present took priority over the past.

  Even now, her stomach ed at the thought of her kin suffering in the dark for over a tury.

  And its perpetrator would suffer just the same. If not worse.

  Watg the dragonlord quietly seething in anger, Bruton likewise shut his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.

  “My apologies. I’m afraid this is the extent of what we know.”

  “…It’s alright. What you’ve all told me is invaluable. I wouldn’t have known anything about the emperor otherwise.”

  Although it was still a mystery as to how the emperor was ‘imitating’ the dragons, that was no reason for Serenis to turn away. She couldn’t let an individual like this roam free.

  His prized prisoners had escaped. Doubtlessly, he’d e after them once more – and history would repeat yet again.

  ‘It’s time. I should…’

  Just when the dragonlord was about to dismiss them, Raizel widened her eyes, voig her sudden thought out loud.

  “Wait, there is one. He’d know more about this stupid emperor than anyone.”

  Curious gazes fell upon the youngling. And among them, Eline was the first to speak.

  “Do you mean…the court mage? I believe he’s already…”

  “Huh? No, I don’t even know who that is. There’s someone else…a scum who was very close with the emperor.”

  Raizel felt a slight pang of guilt, but the youngling didn’t mind the feeling much. It wasn’t like she’d promised him to keep it a secret.

  And if Serenis beats him to death because of this, then…well, good riddance.

  ? ? ?

  “…My ears are burning.”

  Putting down the books he’d been s, Karas took a brief moment to tap the side of his head several times.

  Ilias, who’d been watg the professor from the shelf’s opposing side, quizzically tilted her head.

  “e to think of it…professor, where ARE your ears?”

  “That’s a secret.”

  “? That’s an odd secret to have.”

  After aligning her own pile of books onto the empty shelf, Ilias audibly groaned, stretg her arms and back. Although the books were hardly heavy, being holed up s books in a library was b, tedious, and most importantly, mentally exhausting.

  “Blegh…we’re not even close to finishing. I don’t know how librarians do this all day.”

  Soon, the red dragon gave herself a small break, turning away from the remaining book piles. After passing down several rows of unassorted bookshelves, she could see Light sitting at ay table, reading the thickest tome she’d ever seen.

  Ilias skipped along to her arms around the studying half girl. However, the returning response was rather…lukewarm.

  “Light~! Are you reading again?”

  “…Oh…yeah, I am.”

  Soon, only the sounds of flipping pages filled the ambience. Unlike what Ilias had hoped, Light didn’t even spare a single go her sister, her eyes were firmly fixed onto her book.

  Wearing a bitter smile, Ilias let go of the half girl, gently tapping her on the back several times.

  “Hey, uh…get up and walk around sometime! Sitting too long is bad for you.”

  “…Okay. I will.”

  “Is there something you wa? We could go get donuts together?”

  “…I’m fine. I ate already.”

  “Oh. Uh, y, yeah! Okay. The me know if you ge your mind!”

  “…Okay.”

  After their versation came to a close, Ilias awkwardly turned around, leaving her little sister aloo read.

  At first, the red dragon had tried to read together with Light. But the half girl’s books quickly grew thicker and plex, being filled with jargons beyond Ilias’ uanding. Now, eveitles were practically alien to her.

  Returning to Karas’ side, Ilias quietly whispered to the w professor.

  “Hey…professor. What’s Light even reading? It’s like, over a thousand pages long!”

  “’Advanced Synthesis Formution Theorem.’”

  “…??? What?????”

  “An old textbook.”

  “Wh…why’s she reading that? Is it fun?”

  “Not in the slightest. In fact, the css that used the book was abolished because no one ever signed up for it. I was quite surprised when she asked me for the book.”

  “Okay, but why’s she reading that then…?”

  After sliding another book onto the shelf, Karas threw his gaze over towards Light’s dire. Before, she hadn’t been able to sit for a single hour readiextbook. But now…

  A quiet sigh escaped the professor. Strangely, he found it difficult to wele the studious student Light had bee.

  “…Who knows?”