Chapter 161: Draconic Lineage.

Chapter 161: Draconic Lineage.

Then, we will be going first, Antonio informed us while he was sitting on the back of his hippogryph, riding Bornelli with his sister Severa. Lady Shrine Maiden, on my honor as a Knight of Artorias, I must thank you wholeheartedly for the aid you and your retainers have given me in protecting our land. I was unfit for this duty, too weak to have done anything worthwhile. Antonio bowed his head, having seen the corpse of the high ogre commander when he came over to investigate the [Solar Beam], the same one I shot into the sky to prevent my core from going into overdrive.

Thankfully, Antonio didnt see me in my dragon form, otherwise I would have had to explain why he should stay quiet about it. That would have been a drag. Plus, him not seeing me in my dragon form was actually beneficial, not just for us but for Cernust, too.

Cernust, I shall be waiting with Severa at the Sparrowhusk Inn in the merchant district of Firwood. Once you have returned and rested, I bid you to join us there for some time, since we need to speak a bit further about your, uh, acquaintanceship with my sister, Antonio said bashfully, looking uncomfortable admitting Severa and Cernust are in a relationship.

I shall wait for you, my Love! Severa declared loudly in contrast to her brother, waving the smug-looking Cernust goodbye with an impish smile.

And I will come, my Spring Sakura! Since he lost one of his horns in the fight with the ogre, Cernusts dragonewt form didnt have that antler anymore, making him look asymmetrical. Still, he was loud as always.

That was a cute nickname for somebody with pink hair Wait, did he say Sakura?

Ahem! Antonio cleared his voice, not sure what to do with the two lovebirds. W-Well, Lady Shrine Maiden, please visit me for your Quest clearance mark. Until then, I wish you and everybody safe travels.

Beating his wings, Bornelli galloped forwards before jumping into the air and taking flight, eventually disappearing into the horizon. The reason why he had to go before us was cause he had to inform the nobles of the Greenveil duchy of this grimgarian battalion, which had been situated just north of Firwood.

As a knight of a different duchy, technically Antonio didnt have a duty to warn anybody in the Greenveil duchy about it; however, he wasnt some schemer or something. Lawful stupid as he was, he was still an honorable man that cared for others. A knight and noble of the Kingdom of Artorias at the end of the day, he understood being underhanded here wasnt to anyones benefit.

And Aurora was here. Since I had already informed Farron about the grimgarian army we had encountered in the Belzac forest, I kinda had the duty as a hunter to inform him about it as well. And then he would have to inform Lord Sirius about it, since the hunters guild branch was responsible for the defense of the city against monsters. So, yeah, Antonio had no choice regardless.

Also, the reason why Severa was leaving with him is cause of Antonios improved opinion of Cernust. Severa was in love with Cernust, and she needed somebody to help her convince her beastmen-hating parents. However, Cernust had to stay behind, as there was something important I had to speak with him about.

Thank you very much for staying, Lady Priestess. After seeing Antonio and Severa off, we returned to our camp where Lucia, Wulf, and Verdiena were recovering. It took us a whole night to prepare our plan, giving Lucia some time to sleep and rest, on the other hand, Wulf and Verdiena looked exhausted and ready to collapse from their restless sleep.

May the goddess bless you, Lady Priestess and your retainers. We would have died if it werent for you, the green-feathered arvisian Verdiena said prayerfully. I had healed her wounds and managed to regrow some of her feathers, kind of like [Major Heal] can with hair, but it would still take some time for her to completely recover her strength.

Yeah, I cant help but thank you all for the rescue. The last thing I wanted to die from was against a bunch of green-skins, Wulf nodded, looking like he attempted to bow for a moment. He then looked over to the unconscious Roosterhead and smacked him on the shoulder. Ill also make sure this little shit here will thank you properly the moment he wakes up. Considering how much trouble he caused you last time, the least he could do is grovel before you.

Wulf! Please, dont hit Leif like that! Hes still injured! Lucia exclaimed.

Yes, please, dont break a bone or something. Otherwise, I will have to do more work, I agreed in a sense. Sighing, I then wandered over to where Raian, the tall human mercenary, and Uno were resting, each having a large scar over one of their eyes. I managed to rescue Unos eye, although the scar will stay, due to the potion's lackluster healing. Still I cant save something thats completely missing. Healing magic has its limits, sorry.

Unos eye was damaged during the rescue mission and he received a healing potion from Saori before I could treat him, causing the wound around his eye to not heal properly and leaving the scar behind. Still, since the eye was there, I managed to prevent him from going blind in one eye.

Raian, sadly, lost his eye completely. According to Wulf and Verdiena, a hobgoblin shaman took it and used it as an alchemical ingredient. Healing magic healed your body by improving your natural regeneration, but it wasnt very useful for regrowing lost limbs or organs if you werent something like a troll.

I need to do something about my healing magic. Once again, its showing its limits for something that people consider so miraculous.

Please, do not be so harsh on yourself, Lady Priestess. You being here must be what the Goddess wills. We could not blame you for rescuing us, Lucia reassured me, but I couldnt help but be dissatisfied with myself. It was time to admit it.

My healing spells arent enough. I need to do something about it, either by gaining a new skill or by doing what a magician should do in the first place: Create a new custom spell.

After setting some things up for Saori and Tasianna to begin cooking, I announced that Cernust and I needed to talk in private about something. Saori and Tasianna already knew what was up, but I was surprised to see the adventurers not saying anything. How polite.

Cernust and I walked over to the spot where we had defeated the high ogre. The area was terribly scorched from my [Dreadflare Aura] and a couple of trees had burned down in the process; still, Cernusts ability as a woodland drake managed to help grow back some of the vegetation. For now, the soil was rich in nutrients, so this spot would eventually grow back, stronger than ever.

At least, thats what Cernust said.

As I inspected the vines and trees he grew when we fought the high ogre together, Cernust suddenly burst into laughter. Shit, seeing this reminds me that it will take a while for my head to feel balanced again. I will look like an idiot with different sized antlers, ha ha ha!

Cernust found his severed antler, picking it up before handing it over to me. When I looked at him weirdly, he explained his action, That ogres axe. Thats some really good metal if it could withstand that volcanic drake-type heat. Wooo, I felt it when I was all the way underground; thought I was getting cooked.

The winner gets the spoils. While dismantling the grimgarians for meat didnt yield a lot, since my toxin and fire destroyed most of the edible parts, we were able to scavenge certain sellable pieces as well as their armor and weapons. This included the rings from the shamans, the armor from those orc knights, and, of course, the boss weapon. A boss battle without some good loot wasnt acceptable, right?

The ogre was a very powerful foe, someone I dont think we could have beaten had he not been wounded from the cave flood. Anyways, a victory was a victory, and we earned his axe. Unfortunately, my [Dreadflare Aura] had done more harm to it than I initially thought, as we noticed the wooden handle crumbling into dust while the edge of the axe head had melted. It was a sorry sight for such an imposing weapon, but our party was determined to not let it become complete trash. Thats why blacksmiths existed, right?

A woodland drakes antlers are both sturdy and light, and something I personally used to construct my gauntlets. I had to cut off half of them, ha ha! Cernust showed off his emerald-scaled gauntlets, which I presume were made with his body parts. Dunno why you want to keep that axe, since none of you ladies are axe fighters, but whatever. Call this a tribute to you, your Highness.

Air Shield.

After creating a bubble of air around us to prevent anybody from eavesdropping, I inhaled deeply, preparing myself for our discussion in just a second. How did you know I was a dragon? was my first question.

Huh? Cernust raised an eyebrow. Is that a joke, your Highness?

Oh shit, is this smell Im constantly smelling from him really the damn hint?

No I said a bit flustered, knowing how incredibly ignorant I was about anything draconic. Also, for now, please just call me Hestia. Its shorter and I really dont want to be called that way, especially from an acquaintance.

Cernust shrugged but nodded nevertheless. Got it, Hestia. Well, to answer your easy question, I met you first as a human, then found out you were a dragonewt. Actual dragonewts tend to be too damn proud of their heritage to abandon their draconic features for the inferior humans, while true dragonkin like the two of us need [Humanization] or [Beastalization] to enter humanoid society.

Oh, thats why you acted so weird back then. When we asked him to teach Tasianna alchemy, Cernust did look at me weirdly.

Yeah, but I knew not to speak up about it in front of others. I wondered why you didnt find out about me since we could smell each others scent well. Now that I think about it, your scent does remind me of when I first entered Firwood, Cernust reminisced the day I saw him enter Firwood with Severa. Anyway, I thought you were some normal dragonkin until now, since I had never met a Kargryxmor before. Then when you roared and, fucking hell, my scales stiffened up so much I thought I froze on the spot. Instincts, you know. Thats when I knew you were a Kargryxmor.

Well, I guess that does make sense. I didnt know that sweet smell was that. Verdammt!

So, how long have you been on your adulthood pilgrimage, Hestia? Cernust suddenly asked. Severa already told you how long I was away from Kargryx, so no need to ask me.

Oh, yeah, I thought so. It did sound weird that you would just leave because you were bored.

Huh? Oh, no, I really was bored. Come on, you gotta agree, theres no semblance of society in the Kargryx part of Miononbolax. When I learned [Beastialization], holy shit, I entered the Loatryx part immediately and I was hooked by the concept of society ever since. I came a year late to my adulthood ceremony, just cause I lost track of time while I was partying with a few dragonewts and levianewts. Oh yeah, beats sitting and sleeping inside caves and mountains.

Being late by a whole year isnt losing track of time! Thats some major procrastination!

But being the straight man in this situation wasnt really important, as I had a different question in mind. Whats Miononbolax?

You tugging on my tail now, right? As if you dont know the name of the continent we were born in. Come on, you probably want to say something serious, so stay serious for a moment. Let me be the fucking jester here. Come on, Ill stop joking around, just tell me how long youve been on your pilgrimage and then its your turn. Cernust looked more confused than irritated, scratching the spot where his severed horn should be.

I mean, I have to reveal it somehow

Furthering this discussion without revealing a bit to Cernust was impossible. I could have played dumb as much as I wanted, but I had zero information on Kargryx and dragon culture; I couldnt even speak Draconic, my supposedly mother tongue. It probably would have been revealed even sooner if Cernust had enough sense to put two by two together.

So, I revealed my origins. Of course, not the part about my reincarnation and Aurena. That was absolutely not needed to explain any of it, but where I was born, when I was born, and that I was completely alone just about a year ago.

Cernust was baffled at first, unable to understand how I was able to survive long enough without any help, even as a dragon whelp. Now, I was sure he would ask even further if I revealed I was born a G rank newborn and that I made it to B rank in less than a year, so I had to gloss over that part unless I wanted to baffle the poor guy even further. Although, he did tell me that, as a Kargryxmor, I should have been born as a C rank [Young Black-Wrath] dragon.

It did pose the question of why I was a G rank whelp when I was born, but I guess Aurena did mention I was born a bit earlier than she expected. I guess you could say, I wasnt fully developed by then Damn, that just makes everything worse.

Holy shit, honestly, I cant imagine being alone like that. I cant remember shit when I was born, but you are still not a year old yet?! Cernust exclaimed with widened eyes.

Well, I have my birthday on the 25th this month, so yeah, not even a year old just yet.

Jeez, but then again, even as a whelp, you are a Kargryxmor, your bloodline is stronger than mine, so I cant be so surprised. Although, I do wonder why youre so patient though. Dragonkin whelps arent known for being very quiet or selfless, Cernust said it while trembling a bit. What did he experience?

Just saying, I do have my special moments, so youre not completely off base, I agreed, since the incidents with [Battle Frenzy] and Shiternos interference happened. I mean, if it werent for my past memories, I was sure I would be far more arrogant. Anyway, now that you know that should explain why I have no idea about anything, right? I had no idea about this smell thing, your roars, or even about dragonkin culture. Nothing.

Cernust nodded out of pity. Mhmm, that is a shitty situation. Still, you are alive. That is all that counts. You somehow also learned some basic dragon stuff like our lineage name and the adulthood ceremony, so dont beat yourself up too much, Hestia.

He then scratched his head for a moment as he seemed to have remembered something. You know, all Kargryxmors descendants are born with black scales and are bipedal, or so I heard from my parents. Your red scales, so similar to a fire dragons, coupled with the fact you walk on all fours really didnt help me figure it out. Your aura and roar, on the other hand, gave me the sense to kneel. If you want to hide from other dragonkin, then I suggest you hide those parts, since you cant hide our distinctive smell with stuff like perfume or mud.

When I asked her if anything changed, she simply smiled and said, Just wait for the surprise~ before activating her evolution. I had no idea what she chose, but at the very least, I knew our party finally had another B rank combatant.

Stronger. Aurora must become stronger.

A note from AbyssRaven

A bit late since Mother's Day was yesterday, but, hey, mention of Hestia's helicopter dragon mom! Yay!

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 15 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

If you guys enjoyed this chapter then, please follow the story. If you guys want the story to grow, then giving it a rating or a favorite will do wonders: Rawr

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2021 2:27:34 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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