Chapter 487: In Kargryx, Do What the Kargryxians Do.

Chapter 487: In Kargryx, Do What the Kargryxians Do.

The only way to stop a snitch was to stop them from snitching in the first place. Sadly, in this situation, that wasn’t possible, since the snitch had already snitched me to his older brother and then probably to their father, who then reported it to my mom. What was this, first grade?

It didn’t really matter, I suppose; dragonkin grew up slower than humans, so it couldn’t be helped with how they were acting. Rhekkraxus was still a fledgling, as from five to 100, dragons considered you the equivalent of a teenager or adolescent. Even my older sister and Cernust still had childish aspects to them—the former was an attention seeker who had to be humbled by almost losing her life before she stopped acting like a brat, while the latter took off with the daughter of a viscount and almost got hunted down by her knight brother.

With all of this in mind, what was my best course of action? Stay silent and listen before acting? Yes, this probably was the most sensible choice.

Mom was fair; I knew that part of her personality all too well. She upheld oaths and promises just as well as Kramps, and was able to remain neutral, even with me if the situation didn’t call for my protection. Tactful and cautious, she was used to analyzing situations until she figured if mediating, scolding, or threatening was the best course of action. Calm and refreshing like a cool breeze, but her fury was as swift and dreadful like a howling blizzard. Hatred, especially, was frozen in time forever.

Yet, I didn’t believe I should be sensible. Being an adult sucked and the moment I tried to act like one, some common house gecko tried to bully me! ... This wasn’t counting the many times being mature did improve a situation, but, ahem! I was 16 mentally, 18 as a humanoid, and three as a dragon. Three. I was still a toddler so I had all the right to complain!

It was time to show Mom my childish side!

[“Mom, I healed his wounds as you said. It’s his fault,”] I said the moment we landed, pointing at Rhekkraxus to place all the blame on him, causing him to flinch back.

‘You call that acting a kid?’ Hikari, on the other hand, scolded me for my lack of shamelessness. As if I could be that brazen when it came to Mom! I had my pride as a dragon as well!

Titanic ...

Mom’s large figure gazed down at us as she laid next to Thalaxarus’s skull. Her and the four adult dragon’s shadows hid the melted snow around the entrance, covering up my usage of [Scorching Sun].

“Hey, Vifi, did you leave any meat back at the nest?” While the mood felt awkward, Tasianna and the twins greeted Vifi as the latter jumped off my back. “Ah, I don’t smell any blood on you. A shame. We will have to hunt a mammoth before returning for Lady Hestia’s feast.”

Vifi shrugged, not a worry on hand. “I’ll get on it. Wanna come with me? Beth, give me a ride down south, saw a herd with a weakened member there.”

[“Understood. Brother, I’ll be going!”] With that said, Vifi and Beth quickly took to the sky, leaving me, Shay and Tasianna behind. It was good to see everybody getting used to each other during the one year I missed, but why did they have to ditch me right now?

Giving those two a dejected goodbye stare, I turned my attention back to the issue on hand when Alextraxus let out a massive sigh. It was strong enough to blow away the frame of a house if he wasn’t careful. Whatever his mood was, he turned his head and looked at his two sons.

The taller one stepped forward. [“Siegragxus Thornurakk Thalaxarus. Eldest son of the Dragon Ruler of Ice, Alextraxus, and Rhutuyual. I tuck my tail in front of Frozen Nest’s rising sun.”]

His voice, unlike his brother’s, was more composed and serene, perfect for a lecturer or speaker. Even the manner he introduced himself was perfect, giving his name, family association, and then honoring me like a properly educated human noble. Depending on how old he was, he probably met many of them and copied how they spoke. Was he being considerate for my sake?

Regardless, this was the distinction between the brothers. While Rhekkraxus acted like some college frat boy about to haze a newbie, Siegragxus seemed like an adjusted adult. Even if he had the same misgivings like his younger brother, he made sure to hide it away and put up a front.

How should I act then? Giving Tasianna a look and seeing her nod, it seemed the right choice was to follow my education. “Manners maketh man.” We dragons weren’t brutes ... Yet, how did dragons greet others properly?

For now, I sat down and raised my head, only giving a slight nod to confirm his introduction. [“Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. Third princess of Emperor Eltharion. Daughter of Sixth Empress Melloxtressa. This young scale salutes you, elder scale, with her tail raised.”]

At the end of the day, I defaulted to what I learned from the first scalekin I met in this world—the lizardmen in the Belzac swamp. Seeing as Master Kush never complained about it and I never practice etiquette with Mom or Sis, it was all I knew.

So, what was with this reaction? Everybody was silent while Mom had her eyes closed, almost as if she was contemplating something.

[“Dragons aren’t too strict when it comes to etiquette, Hestia, especially if you are an imperial. Free like the conquered skies, Kargryxmors have no restriction when it comes to how they conduct themselves. All you need to know is that family treats family well while offering loyalty to both their liege and retainers. Oaths must be kept,”] Mom taught me. [“Sorry, I didn’t explain this prior since it wasn’t necessary. Maybe I should have.”]

[“Correct, the greeting we had just a moment ago is exactly how you should act, little one,”] Guyulthanos explained. [“Not overly attached, but also not too dismissive if we are allies. To strangers, act aloof, even threatening to show your might if you believe they aren’t overwhelmingly stronger. Show respect then. Against a foe, well, that should be obvious.”]

[“... So, did I do it wrong? That’s how I learned it when I met other scalekin,”] I asked.

Rhutuyual shook her head. [“Nothing egregious, really. Honestly, you didn’t have to include the fact he’s an elder scale, as he is supposed to show respect to you, his princess. Dragons respect age just like any other scalekin, but there is no need to mention it in a formal greeting. You are not showing strength. Strength is what matters to us dragonkin. Remember that, you must show you are stronger. If you are weaker, you yield and show respect.”]

What a far cry from everything that I’ve been doing amongst the humans. Elegance, prestige, and wealth was what the people of Artorias, Estralia, Yeos, and Aureolis valued, while etiquette wasn’t as important for the dwarves of Ankor-Nazta, preferring an energetic greeting followed by mead and a feast.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care about it, but actions spoke louder than words for them. Loyalty and candidness were paramount for dwarven culture, but to list out reasons for why you should be trusted wasn’t as impactful as protecting somebody with your body.

Meanwhile, Peolynca was all about strength. The lineage of your dragonkin ancestor may be imperative, but that didn’t matter at all if you were weak. Even a Kargryxmor could be insulted and demeaned, like I was just a moment ago, with that reason. And then these dragons used my blood relations to Mom, someone who was technically a lower rank than the current Ruler of Ice even if she was stronger, to mock me even further.

Yet, what was happening now? Rhekkraxus had his head lowered before me, not even attempting to look me in the eyes. I had shown that I was superior to him and this was the result. I didn’t know what his elder brother was thinking, only that he wasn’t intending to start a fight here.

[“That sounds toxic,”] I stated, surprising the adults. [“Why am I expected to act in such a manner? If you pardon me, auntie, I think I’ll listen to my mom about being a bit more lenient with the introductions. It doesn’t hurt to be friendly.”]

[“Even if the recipient is plotting against you?”] Alextraxus questioned, eyeing me as if he was trying to look into my soul. He was clearly testing me, or trying to learn about me.

I smiled and shrugged. [“I’ll take uncle Guyul’s words for this. If they are my allies or friends, I will treat them to the best of my abilities. If they are strangers, I will show respect because you can’t earn respect unless you show it to others. If they still bow their head, that is fear or reverence– not something that I want. For my enemies, well, try touching the sun and you’ll know exactly what I do to those trying to mess with me. Or, ask the people lying in the ground for how I reached rank B as a three-year-old ...”]

Mom nodded. [“Good point, you two. You should start eating like a glutton dragon, Hestia! Mommy will make plump and chunky!”]

[“And ruin my idol career? Never! Idols have to worry about their figure!”] I rebuked.

[“You burn through calories like I do through time, you’ll be fine!”] Mom shot back. [“Tasianna! Vifi! Bring out the first pieces! My little hatchling needs to be plumper than a hydra ready to lay her eggs!”]

What sorta metaphor is that!? Mom, why are you being weird!

Once the food was out, my eyes widened when I saw Mom take out a giant teapot from her [Storage Magic]. Looking at it, it was large enough for me to drink out of as a dragon, and the tea inside was still piping hot. She explained she had it readied about four months ago for my eventual awakening, causing me to giggle awkwardly at the sound of it.

Well, nothing can expire in storage, so who cares? I probably have some things in my storage that are still around from my Belzac days.

The giant mammoth steak was pretty tough as the muscles were thick enough to hold up a gigantic beast like that, but the fatty juices oozing out of the meat kept my tongue wanting for more. Although only plainly seasoned with salt and pepper, it made my ten course breakfast from before seem like an appetizer.

While we ate, Mom began talking about my meeting with my father. In a week’s time, we would travel over to the mainland where my “debut” would happen. I might call it a social debut, but it was just meeting my siblings, my dragon father, and, if possible, the other empress-mothers. In addition, she also wanted me to visit Loatryx for all the formal paperwork.

[“There is bureaucracy when it comes to me being on Kargryx?”] I asked, bewildered.

[“The dragon areas are undeveloped when it comes to societal progression, however, that is why we have Loatryx. They handle everything we dragons hate to do,”] Mom explained.

“You remember when I told you Frozen Nest has a hunter’s guild?” Vifi reminded me. “That’s the same thing. Dragons sometimes go to the southern harbor city to get Quests from the guild. They earn Davi or buy other goods. It’s the same thing with all the dragon traders—a favor for an exchange, and dragons love collecting stuff. What’s better, all they have to do is kill something.”

Tasianna continued, “We filled up all the forms to make you a full citizen of Kargryx, Lady Hestia. These forms are used to help His Majesty, Emperor Eltharion, in handling the dragon population with the aid of the dragonewts. Actually, the other empresses are responsible for these tasks, but I digress. What’s important is to set up your guild documentation.”

[“Mage’s and adventurer guild, you mean?”]

Tasianna nodded. Even in this place, the mage’s guild from Aleistunum had some influence even if it was lacking compared to on Altrust. The reason for this was that dragonewts dominated its list of members, meaning, even if a human guild representative was sent, the dragonewts listened to dragons.

Regardless, I still had a duty as a mage’s guild member to register my presence here. I guess I could use their information network for when I had to figure out a permanent cure for Raffarson’s Debilitation.

Can’t believe I’m finally a citizen of somewhere. Always been a vagabond up until now.

[“Also, dear, don’t you want to go shopping with your dear mother?”] Mom smiled. [“Clothes, food, not to mention, weapons, armor, and maybe some nice potions that will make your scales shine better!”]

[“I’m in!”] I immediately agreed. [“Mother-daughter day, I’m totally for it! Better than having to bond over killing stuff.”]

[“What? Come on, we should hunt as well! Nothing beats rapport building than killing something and then eating the prey afterwards.”]

“Couldn’t be closer to the truth.” Vifi showed a thumbs up, prompting Beth to do the same with her wing.

Well, I couldn’t disagree. That was how Saori and I got so close.

After this discussion was done, my curiosity got the better of me so I decided to ask what Mom and the others talked about when I was fighting Rhekk. Most of it revolved around how I would adapt to my new home and role as a dragon princess, which led to the adults wanting to lecture me on Miononbolax and the imperial family.

[“You need to understand the different dragon flights—‘flight’ is the word we used to describe a subrace of dragons from the same elemental alignment,”] Mom explained. [“Particularly, for you, it would be the ice, holy, fire, and lava dragon flights, well, lava drake ‘wake.’ There are very few lava dragons compared to drakes, since they evolve from earth drakes. They will be your supporters during the succession crisis, specifically, the former two.”]

[“Because I have you as my mother and the fact that being blessed by Aurena makes me a fire-holy aligned dragon,”] I answered, causing Mom to nod.

“Which prompted our next topic, my lady. Do you remember the different tiers of elementals?” Tasianna asked, prompting me to nod. “Lesser, greater, kings, and then emperors. Elementals grow in power as they develop, similar to a monster. I talked with Empress Melloxtressa if something was possible for fairies, and according to her, it might work.”

[“To explain, I think we can use the fact she’s elementally aligned to ice to our purpose. She can’t copy how elementals grow, since she’s not one, but there is another way to make Tasianna stronger.”] Mom then pointed at my core. [“Dragons have elementally-aligned organs inside us and she is planning to do the same.”]

[“... And there is no place better for an ice mage to—”]

“—train than in Frozen Nest! North of it, in fact, is the coldest region of the continent and probably the entire world!” Tasianna finished my sentence. “It’s nothing too special really, but it will involve my alchemy skills. The ‘organ’ I am trying to make will be similar to a catalyst, which means I will require specific ingredients.”

I gave her an enthusiastic clap. [“Nice ... but what does that have to do with the ‘next topic.’ Don’t get me wrong, that’s awesome, but didn’t you guys mentioned your talk involved me?”]

“That is the point! Lady Hestia, we are planning on awakening your ice dragon bloodline.”

... What?