Ep 111. Long Time No See. (1)

Ep 111. Long Time No See. (1)

Ep 111. Long Time No See. (1)

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

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

“Erm...”

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

One by one, the kin left the throne room to take into the air – many carrying the formerly imprisoned with them. As the dragons departed, the once-crowded chamber quickly regained to its former void.

And soon, the only ones that yet remained were Serenis, Raizel, Eline, and Theolus...along with Bruton and Aether.

The dragonlord threw a curious glance towards the elderly couple.

“...I wasn’t expecting you two to remain.”

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

Bruton gestured towards Eline and Theolus. Aether likewise nodded to her husband’s words before answering.

“Unlike the 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 changed the subject.

“Bruton, Aether. 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 answer the dragonlord.

“There was nothing to speak of regarding 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 hesitance to continue speaking, reluctantly reminiscing the events of the past.

“The emperor...imitated the kin.”

“Imitated?...In what way, exactly?”

Bruton stretched out his hand in response, summoning a black 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 flames.”Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

Serenis nodded her head to the elder’s explanation. Because mankind’s magic functioned on a completely different basis from a dragon’s, it was long established 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 glance was all he needed to replicate my flames. In fact, I’m...inclined 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 our magic to surpass us every time. It wasn’t long until he was wielding several of our magicks 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 calculation involved, nor could their spells be reduced into formulas that humans could use. It was no different than attempting to formulate the makings of a soul: the very premise was nonsensical.

‘However...’

Serenis spared a brief glance towards the fallen rubbles. 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 surrounded the dungeon’s parameters 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 endured the dragonkin’s onslaught with just magic. A human body would be trampled underfoot with ease.”

‘It’s time. I should...’

Just when the dragonlord was about to dismiss them, Raizel widened her eyes, voicing 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 pant 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 sorting, Karas took a brief moment to tap the side of his head several times.

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

“Come 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, stretching her arms and back. Although the books were hardly heavy, being holed up sorting books in a library was boring, 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 an empty table, reading the thickest tome she’d ever seen.

Ilias skipped along to wrap 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 glance to 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 wanna eat? We could go get donuts together?”

“...I’m fine. I ate already.”

“Oh. Uh, y, yeah! Okay. Then, let me know if you change your mind!”

“...Okay.”

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

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

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

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

“’Advanced Synthesis Formulation Theorem.’”

“...??? What?????”

“An old textbook.”

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

“Not in the slightest. In fact, the class 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 in another book into the shelf, Karas threw his gaze over towards Light’s direction. Before, she hadn’t been able to sit for a single hour reading her textbook. But now...

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

“...Who knows?”