Secrets of the Forgotten Empire

The next scheduled gate expedition is tomorrow morning. With some time to kill, I figured I should gather whatever info I could. That's how I ended up at the World Tree University—the only library in the Holy Kingdom. With Terra in tow, of course. Not that there was any deep reason for bringing her along. I just felt uneasy leaving her alone among the elves. Ha-eun is off contacting the Association right now, so she couldn't watch her either. And then...

"So why are you tagging along?"

"...Isn't it uncertain what might happen if dragons wander these streets together?"

"Ugh, this is straight-up stalking."

"...".

Bern here is following me around. Sure, he's an elf too, so he won't stand out, but still.

It bugs me in a weird way.

"What're you staring at?"

"Nah, just thinking the Sword Saint cutie would've been better than some old dude."

"...".

Not a flicker on his face, even after that.

I can't even tell if this guy's antipathy toward me is because I'm a dragon or not. He challenged me to a duel out of nowhere at first. Now he's shadowing me like some guardian. Whatever.

Anyway, once we reached the library, I pulled out stacks of books and started flipping through them.

[History of the Elves]

[Elves in Mythology]

[Mother's Sayings]

[History of Elves and Mushrooms]

Nothing useful about what happened in that gate. Every record casually described Kairan as female, and no mention of the nation or city called Etherian anywhere. Early history even showed this freakish sudden emergence of a prosperous kingdom. Like the front half of history had been deliberately sliced off. Even if history was erased and they crossed worlds, legends or oral traditions should've survived...

Don't the elves notice something's off? Hell, there had to be treasures passed down. Something I could snag.

Thud—

That's when I heard footsteps approaching. I turned to see an elf girl in round glasses stuffing books onto shelves, arms full.

Librarian, huh?

"Humming~ Okay, this one—"

"Hello?"

"Eek?!"

"Uh?"

Crash—

She was so absorbed she didn't notice me right next to her. When I spoke, she yelped and dropped every book. Then she saw my face.

"Gasp—that dragon from yesterday?!"

"Uh... yeah. Did I scare you? Let me help—"

"G-get away, you monster!"

"Oof."

...Yeah, what'd I expect? Unless it's BountifulHarvest or someone close to her, no one's got a good view of dragons yet.

"...You should keep your voice down."

Bern, who'd been standing silently beside me, finally spoke. Only then did the elf girl notice him, jumping in shock again.

"B-Bern-nim?! Eek...".

She looked ready to faint.

"Sorry if we startled you."

I scratched the back of my head and gathered the dropped books, stacking them on a nearby table. Terra followed suit, picking up a couple with her tiny hands and handing them over.

"Here. Take them."

"Uh... th-thanks...".

She accepted hesitantly.

...Figures Terra's better at easing suspicions than me.

"S-so, um... you...? Her...?"

"Yeah, dragon. No plans to hurt anyone, promise. Worst case, this old guy's here."

"...".

His eyes flicked to me at "old guy." What? He is one.

"P-please back off a bit... I can't calm down...".

"Ah, sure."

I stepped back as asked, and she finally took a deep breath. She glanced at me and shuddered again.

...Am I that scary?

"Hey! Cut the crap. I didn't kill everyo—"

"Eep—"

"Sigh...".

Can't even finish a sentence... No helping it.

"Terra, go chat her up."

I whispered to her.

"Pardon? Me?"

"You're cuter than me."

"What kind of...".

She looked exasperated but shuffled forward anyway.

But then...

"Just buy me one package on the way back?"

"Huh?"

"The new 70,000 won one. The contents are..."

It's like that parental guilt when your kid begs for in-game cash. 70k down the drain...

"Oh, no go...?"

Terra looked totally dejected. I sighed.

"Fine, deal."

"Really?! Just give the order!"

She's thrilled. Okay... if she helps solid, 70k's nothing.

"Just chat her up. You know what we need, right? History stuff."

"Understood!"

A university librarian might know more. Could score rare info. Conversation's a tool that shines unexpectedly.

"Pleased to meet you."

"Huh?"

"I'd like to talk. What's the history of this nation like?"

Smack—

I facepalmed watching that.

Dragon girls need high self-esteem and casual speech by default... Ugh, chat's melting my brain.

"History? Y-you like history too...?"

"...Yes."

"W-wait... how old are you?"

"Age? Does it matter...?"

I shot Terra a heated glare from behind: Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it right like we talked.

She peeked at me, face flushing, and mumbled,

"E-elementary schooler."

"Elementary? Dragons go to school too... So young dragons love academics?"

"Yes...".

"Then... how about this? History of Mushrooms and Elves!"

Now the elf girl's warming up to Terra. Cheat-level cuteness. I'm still ghost-level scary, though. She hates it, but whatever.

"B-but that mon—er, that person...? Who's she? Mom?"

"Pfft—don't say that! You wanna piss off Goldie-nim?!"

"Goldie-nim...?"

"Guardian! She's our guardian!"

"Oh... like a big sis...?"

Spouting whatever, she finally looked at me. Suspicion eased thanks to Terra.

"I'm just watching her for a bit."

"Aha...".

"She's into history from all over. Thought it'd be good experience, so field trip."

"If that's it... one sec."

She headed deeper into the stacks. I patted Terra's head.

"Good job."

"...Feels like I lost something important."

"You helped me, so don't sweat it."

Then I noticed Bern fiddling with his scabbard. How's he so quiet?

I muted my mic and called to him.

"You're checking Ha-eun's skills tonight, right?"

"...Yes."

"Come by later if it goes well. I'll grill some beef."

Not my fave guy, but he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠helped, so repay properly. No such thing as free in a gold dragon's world.

"...I'll think about it."

"Teach her solid? Something I can use later."

"...Then I'll tell you one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Her swordsmanship looks forced. Like she was made to learn it."

Forced...? Come to think, Ha-eun never talked about her sword or training, even after meeting me. Kinda weird.

"No idea who taught her. It was awful."

"...So fix her up good."

"I can correct it. But she needs her own foundation."

"Sure. She'll handle the hard part."

I unmuted, shrugged. Then,

"H-here! Try this!...".

The elf girl returned, shoving a book at us.

"This?"

"Unofficial wild histories included. Worth a look!"

"Thanks."

"And this!"

She handed Terra a lollipop-like candy.

"...? What's this?"

"Mushroom candy. Tons in the break room!..."

"...".

"Say thanks."

"Th-thanks."

We thanked her together. She eyed Terra cautiously.

"Um... is that tail real?"

"...? Doesn't it look it?"

"Not that, but... can I touch? N-no weird intent! Just curious!..."

"...".

Swoosh—

Terra clamped her mouth shut and looked up at me, like what now? Looked like she had something in her mouth too.

This could get dicey.

"Haha... Tails and horns are dragon pride. Probably can't."

"Oh... r-right...".

I thanked her once more and headed to a table with Terra. The girl watched wistfully, then vanished into the shelves.

Once she was gone, I murmured,

"Good restraint."

"Dangerous. Breath rose to my throat."

"Kinda rude anyway. Tails are off-limits."

Flip—

I turned a page in the book.

"Oh... this hits."

"Curse?"

Forgetting, curse, blessing. The writer knew something crucial.

But...

What the—? Why's this stuff in here...? Pages got raunchier, my face heating up. Or utterly baffling tales.

She gave this to a kid...? No way the forgetting includes this—

"What's it say? You look serious. That giant dragon from befo—"

"Terra, not kid stuff."

"Pardon? But I—"

"Shh."

"Y-yes...".

Terra looked a bit wronged again today. Separate from that, though.

Solid haul.