Chapter 82
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Fiery Visitor (2)
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Two days later, in the Intelligence Division of the Crossroad Kingdom.
"Send a letter to the Desert City Union. Tell them we're joining the volcano investigation team."
Melani issued orders to her agents with weary eyes.
"How many of our agents are currently deployed to the western border?"
"A total of twenty-five."
"Dispatch at least twenty more. In times of chaos like this, more information will leak from the city union."
She had been up for two straight days without sleep, working overnight to assess the damage in the west.
Only after her final orders did she finally lean back in her chair.
"Haa... Just when things were wrapping up in the north... now the west is the problem."
A deep sigh escaped her.
Lamia's hand absentmindedly drifted toward the communication orb.
And as she thought of the Central Officer and prepared to infuse it with mana—
"Oops."
She quickly pulled it back.
'He's probably busy right now too.'
Whenever she was this mentally and physically drained, she used to often contact Nathan to vent.
But that was in the past.
With refugees endlessly pouring in from the west, an excuse like "I just want to see your face" wouldn't fly.
She didn't want to disturb the man who was already swamped.
So Melani suppressed the impulse deep inside.
That was when it happened.
One of the informants came rushing into the office, clutching a letter.
"I-Intelligence Chief! Urgent dispatch from the Magic Academy!"
"From the Magic Academy?"
Melani frowned for a moment.
'What reason would the academy have to contact us at a time like this?'
Normally, they sent letters requesting access to ancient texts or ruins.
But right now, they were at the highest alert level—Code Red.
'Unless it's something huge, there's no way an agent would bring the letter like this.'
She took it quickly.
And was stunned, nearly fainting.
The western border's aerial defense magic was breached for approximately 8 seconds by an unknown force, then restored. Requesting investigation authority.
"...What?"
There are unbreakable laws in this world.
One of them is that once magic is broken, it cannot be restored.
The mana disrupts the moment it's breached, so it must be recast from scratch with a new ritual.
Yet this letter directly contradicted that truth.
Melani reread the phrase in disbelief.
[Breached for 8 seconds, then restored.]
In other words, someone had analyzed the defense magic enveloping an entire side of the nation, temporarily disassembled it, and reassembled it perfectly.
And in such a short time.
"Th-this is impossible."
And there was another reason it couldn't happen.
"That defense magic is cast at 1 kilometer in the sky!"
A spell cast at an unreachable height, out of anyone's reach.
A ritual constructed by the genius founding president of the Magic Academy.
"Who... how could anyone break that!?"
Unless it was some monster with wings, it was absolutely impossible.
The same day, late at night.
- Thud, thud.
Finally done with work, on the way home, I spoke up.
"You two really worked hard today. It must have been much busier than usual."
The replies came from both sides.
"Ahaha, ahahaha..."
"Uuuu..."
Erzena and Elaine gave weak laughs in voices devoid of any energy.
The vibrant, bright energy they usually showed was nowhere to be found.
'Can't blame them.'
The border was at highest alert.
On top of that, the Immigration Control Office had three times the usual number of departing travelers today—it was practically hell.
Erzena had spent nearly six hours in the recovery room pouring out holy power, leaving her utterly drained.
And Elaine had discreetly used her psychokinesis to restrain the terrified refugees and rowdy travelers.
'But this won't end today.'
Natural disasters don't subside in a single day.
I said it to encourage them.
"Let's just push through a bit tomorrow too."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
The two, now looking almost as ragged as the five sense officers, just glared at me like I was the enemy instead of answering.
A gaze I'd never gotten from them before.
In the end, even I had to shut my mouth.
And about five minutes later, home sweet home finally came into view.
Standing guard at the door like an iron bastion was a three-meter golem.
"Border Guard Captain."
- Grind.
The statue immediately bowed its head to look at the three of us.
- Clank.
With a stiff reply, he stepped aside from the door.
Erzena pouted, clearly unhappy with something.
"I told you to drop the 'former Saintess' title. Just Erzena is fine."
Her title was slashed in an instant, leaving her mouth agape.
"V-village maiden... You don't have to go that far..."
I couldn't help but smile faintly at how she was now casually chatting with the golems.
'She could pass for one of us now.'
The two entered the house first, and just before I followed, I paused.
'Come to think of it, we've owed the Border Guard quite a bit.'
Starting from the pilgrimage group, to hiding the princess's abilities.
We would've struggled a lot without them.
And yet, I'd never even said thanks.
"Lately, I've had much to thank you for. As the border's overall supervisor, I offer my deepest gratitude."
So stiff.
"Soon, I'll ask the Magic Academy to inspect the mana cores of the entire guard. At least accept that much."
But no reply came.
Unusually long silence.
"...Border Guard Captain? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Something felt off.
Golems rarely stayed silent.
- Grind.
The captain slowly raised its head to the sky.
And then the words came.
[Anomalous mana flow detected. Southern border aerial defense magic has been breached.]
"What!?"
A bombshell out of nowhere.
[Unidentified flying entity approaching. Time to surface impact: 3... 2...]
"W-wait a second...!"
[...1.]
The moment the words ended, the captain scooped me up in its arms.
And exactly one second later.
- Boom!
Something enormous and heavy dropped from the pitch-black sky.
Right in front of us.
With the moonlight at its back, its form was shrouded in shadow.
"I-intruder!?"
- Shing.
The golem stepped in front of me and drew its greatsword.
The intruder spoke from the darkness.
"Are you... the Central Officer, Nathan Kell?"
The words pierced directly into my mind.
A chill ran down my spine at the content.
'It knows my name.'
That means it's targeting me.
After waiting exactly three seconds, the golem charged at the intruder without hesitation.
"W-wait! Border Guard Captain!"
Too late.
The captain's sword thrust toward the shadow.
No, the moment it tried to—
"Puppet, stay as you are for now. I have no time to spare for you."
A complex magic circle drew itself in the air.
And then—
- Crackle!!
A massive spark erupted from the golem's mana core, freezing it in place.
"B-Border Guard Captain!! Are you okay!?"
- Sizzle, sizzle...
Sinister sounds accompanied small sparks flying from all its joints.
The golem spoke in a calm but slightly faster tone than usual.
But I couldn't move. Like prey before a beast, my legs were frozen solid.
"..."
Because I'd seen it.
It happened so fast, but I definitely saw it.
Eyes burning like fire.
- Thud, thud.
Finally, the being hidden in the darkness stepped forward into the moonlight.
"M-my God..."
My gaze climbed endlessly upward.
And I saw it.
Beautiful scales softly reflecting the moonlight, fangs as thick as my arm.
Wings vast enough to blanket the night sky, a tail whose end was invisible even in the light.
I know what this is.
A creature from the mythic age, a natural disaster made flesh.
I uttered it aloud.
"Dragon..."
It spoke.
"Help me."
Is this a dream?
Or am I hallucinating from overwork today?
Or did I drink?
My head couldn't keep up.
My heart pounded wildly.
'A dragon.'
This being was calling out to me, right in front of me.
'F-first, let's think calmly.'
No, impossible.
How can I stay calm with a dragon bigger than my house right here?
On top of that, the most reliable Border Guard Captain was disabled with a single gesture.
'Damn...'
Forcing my mind to focus, I shouted as loudly as I could.
"Wh-what do you want!?"
"..."
No answer from the dragon.
In the suffocating silence, only its blazing eyes like a forest fire looked down at me.
But something was off.
- Sizzle...
A faint sound like something burning reached my ears.
And a fishy, metallic blood stench slowly spread.
- Gasp... gasp...
A grim, rasping sound accompanied the dragon's breaths.
I slowly lowered my gaze.
"...!!"
And only then did I see it.
"Y-you're injured!?"
Hundreds of wounds etched across its belly, wings, forelegs, neck, and back.
Blood pouring endlessly from cracks between its scales.
- Sizzle...
The burning sound was its hot blood drying in the air.
The dragon finally couldn't hide its pained expression.
"I... no longer have... much time..."
What the hell is going on?
Then, the western supervisor's words flashed in my mind.
- Something happened to the volcano's master.
No way.
I asked ever so cautiously.
"C-could you be... the master of the volcano?"
"Indeed... I am."
My ominous hunch hit the mark perfectly.
'Damn it.'
A dragon alone was enough to make me faint.
But the culprit behind the western disaster was right here.
'Why?'
I had no idea.
No, I just couldn't comprehend.
'I was just doing entry screenings and came home late. That's all.'
What's wrong with the world to throw this trial at me?
But one thing was clear: this mythic being was dying.
Squeezing out every ounce of courage, I asked the dragon.
"Help you how, exactly?"
"..."
The master of the volcano stared at me silently for a long while.
- Thud.
Then, it pulled something from deep within its bosom and placed it between its forelegs.
Something all too familiar, oval-shaped.
"...An egg?"
It was too big to call an egg.
Even the largest bird's egg in the world would pale in comparison, and calling it a kraken's egg wouldn't explain the heat.
But it was definitely an egg.
The dragon slowly opened its mouth.
"I wish to entrust... my descendant to you."
Did I hear wrong?
What is this?
Why give me your child?
Seeing my expression full of hundreds of questions, the dragon added curtly.
"Raise it."
My questions multiplied to thousands.
"...Pardon?"