More Precious Than Gold (2)
Drrrrr...
Inside the Immigration Office, where every last person had been frozen in place, dozens of desks and chairs began slowly rising toward the ceiling.
Nathan, Incansus, and Hailin watched Elaine's gentle psychokinesis in silent awe.
"My word. So this is the fabled psychokinesis. It's as though an invisible hand were moving everything."
But Elaine didn't stop there. With a slight flick of her right hand—
Click. Click.
—the cube resting on the floor began to rotate, slowly aligning its colors one by one.
A feat that demanded the most exquisite, delicate precision of force imaginable.
The psychokinesis Elaine had once wielded—a thing of nothing but destruction and recklessness—was gone without a trace.
"...So Minister Carton Grayson's report was true."
Incansus, who had watched it all, tapped his tail against the floor with a sharp crack.
"We have confirmed enough. Please withdraw your power now, Your Highness."
He stepped one pace toward her and spoke with careful courtesy.
"...Hnngh."
But the moment Elaine lowered her arm, she took a step back and planted herself at my side.
Wearing a wary expression, she floated a word card into the air.
ROYAL CASTLE. RETURN. REFUSED.
She had assumed they'd come to drag her away, and she shook her head vigorously.
Yet here, too, something had changed from before: Elaine was not simply lashing out with raw power.
Noticing this, the Royal Proxy stood still for a moment before shaking his head and speaking.
"That is not why we have come, so please do not worry. The royal decree still stands—until your period of penance is complete, you may not return under any circumstances."
"...Hmph."
Only then did Elaine narrow her eyes and turn away behind my back.
"Central Officer."
"Yes."
He looked down at me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You have truly found the way. You accomplished what we ourselves could not."
Come to think of it, that was exactly what he'd said when he first bound me with his Dragon's Vow—entrusting something to me, asking me to find the way.
I wondered what he meant back then. So that's what he was talking about.
I shook my head.
"I didn't do anything. Elaine accomplished it all by herse— ah."
Damn it.
Too used to this, I'd gone and called the princess by her name right in front of the Royal Proxy.
"..."
"Ho-ho..."
Both of them stared at me, having caught every word.
"H-His Highness the Princess did—"
Just as I hurriedly tried to correct myself,
Poke.
Elaine jabbed my side with her fingertip.
"Your Highness? What on earth is the matter?"
[Elaine.]
She spoke in a small voice, as if sulking about something.
"I mean, the Royal Proxy and the Director are here right now..."
[Elaine.]
There was nothing I could do.
"...Forgive the discourtesy, Royal Proxy. As you have witnessed, Elaine has now mastered her power completely. And that is something she achieved entirely on her own."
Eyes squeezed shut, I called the princess by name without a shred of hesitation—right in front of the Royal Proxy himself.
Incansus and Hailin turned to look at each other in perfect unison.
"Somehow this seems to be turning rather entertaining, Royal Proxy."
"We shall add it to the list of matters for later discussion."
So that's what it sounds like when my list of disciplinary offenses grows by one.
But my trials were not over yet.
"By the way... surely there is more than this, is there not?"
Hailin wore the expression of a man who already knew everything.
It was true that there were things I hadn't reported yet.
"There was... an attempted smuggling of an unregistered artifact recently. It had been modified into a bomb. Fortunately, the princess..."
Poke.
"...Elaine, and the border guards, ensured it never detonated."
I hadn't formally reported it yet, but there had been people at the scene that day—the rumors were bound to have spread.
Yet Hailin only tilted his head.
"Oh? Something like that happened? Well, that's news to me. Much obliged for telling me."
I shouldn't have said anything.
"Might I ask what news you actually came to hear, sir?"
"We wished to meet the noblewoman known as Menassil Terenas—a phantom resident, or so I'm told."
Ah. So that was the real purpose.
"You knew everything before you came, didn't you?"
"..."
"..."
Neither of them answered. But that was answer enough—I had a gut feeling about who had tipped them off.
Melanie Lacroix.
So the news came from the Intelligence Department.
It made sense. A dragon was never something that could stay hidden forever.
For all they talked of protecting her identity, keeping her entirely concealed from the Royal Castle was never feasible.
Besides, Melanie had told me once before: the Royal Proxy visited the Intelligence Department frequently.
The silver lining is that he didn't come alone.
Bringing not just anyone but the Director of the Immigration Office himself meant they intended to discuss matters with the office before reporting to King Rio.
Which was no doubt why they'd come to see with their own eyes.
Because Incansus was a dragonewt.
As if reading my mind, the Royal Proxy spoke.
"Lead us to your home."
A faint hope mingled with a gnawing anxiety in those words.
Home sweet home.
"This is my residence."
"Ho-ho. So real estate truly is cheaper in the south."
Coming home in broad daylight was a strangely novel feeling. Not to mention this was the first time I'd brought guests—two of them, no less.
"I'm home."
Before the words had even left my mouth, the reply came flying back.
"The Central Officer returns! Coming back at this hour—could it be you missed me already?"
That familiar voice drifted down from the second floor.
Click, click.
Before long, Menassil in her crimson dress descended to the first floor.
"Hmm? You've brought guests again, I see."
The moment Incansus laid eyes on her, his entire body went rigid.
Tsssssss...
His scales were trembling.
"You are... Menassil Terenas?"
At the sight of a dragonewt she had never met, Menassil narrowed her eyes.
"For a guest, you are quite the rude one. Child of thin blood."
Thin blood.
The instant he heard those words, Incansus drew in a sharp breath. Then, straightaway, he tore off his veil and dropped to one knee.
KUOOM.
"We stand in the presence of the Great Ancestor, Sovereign of the Volcanoes."
"..."
"I am one who inherited the blood of the Wingless Dragon, who ascended to the heavens."
"The Wingless Dragon... so you are a descendant of Bernui."
"...!!! It is so! Truly, it is!"
His voice shook with emotion. At the mere mention of the ancestor's name—a name he had never spoken aloud—he bowed his body even deeper.
"I am beyond relieved to find you alive! We feared what misfortune might have befallen you, Ancestor, when you left the volcano and vanished."
"Rise. You distress the keeper of this nest."
"...The keeper of the nest, you say?"
"It would be rather unseemly to behave this way in front of the Central Officer."
Incansus turned his head, looking back and forth between Menassil and me.
Going along with the rhythm is the correct answer here, I suppose.
"...I am the keeper of the nest."
The instant my words landed, the Proxy was in my face.
"Central Officer. I must hear the full account."
KWAHAAAAAK.
Wrenching my shoulder nearly out of joint, Incansus growled.
"Why does the Ancestor dwell in your home? Tell me everything, from beginning to end, sparing not a single detail."
"Well, you see..."
How do I put this? It's... a long story. And I'm the victim here, for the record.
It took roughly half an hour to relay the story in condensed form.
When Incansus had absorbed every word of everything that had happened between me and Menassil, he muttered as though stunned.
"The Final Ancestor... and an egg to carry her line forward. This goes beyond a matter of gravity—it is an affair that will ripple across the entire continent."
Somewhere along the way, Menassil had retrieved the egg from the second floor and cradled it in her arms.
Watching her, the Proxy seemed to reach a decision, and he spoke to me.
"Central Officer. You have rendered a great boon to us. This is a debt owed not by me, Incansus, alone—one every dragonewt alive must repay."
"What you mean to say is..."
"From this moment forward, I shall attend the Ancestor myself."
Beyond his veil, those faintly smoldering eyes burned with conviction.
But before I could answer, Menassil spoke first.
"No. That won't be necessary. I am staying here."
A blade-straight refusal, delivered without hesitation.
"Ancestor, this place is not safe. Should the day ever come when your survival—and the existence of the egg—is revealed to the world, we may act then. It will not be too late."
Incansus rebutted her calmly.
"This is for the sake of the Final Ancestor, and for what comes after her."
Menassil studied the dragonewt for a long moment at those words.
"Incansus Vermotem, was it?"
"It is so."
"'Rock of the Desolate Plain,' hm... It truly suits you, that name. Unshakable as stone, and yet solitary in your loneliness."
Her voice was tinged with bitterness.
"Incansus. Is there anything you hold dearer than gold?"
Something dearer than gold.
The moment I heard it, I understood what she was really asking.
For a dragon, gold and treasure rank second only to life itself—an inheritance clutched close for an entire lifetime. So for a dragon to pose such a question meant: do you possess a value you cherish as dearly as your own life?
Incansus, grasping the meaning just as I had, gave a slow nod.
"...My Dragon's Vow."
"What manner of vow?"
"I swore upon my heart, in the distant past, that I would devote everything to this kingdom and to King Rio."
"I see. I can see your soul bound to this land. And bound most firmly, at that. No doubt you have spent nearly half your life in service of that vow."
Menassil narrowed her eyes, then continued.
"And yet, there appears to be one more."
She pointed a fingertip at me.
"You seem to have made a promise to the Central Officer as well."
"...How could you possibly know that?"
"I can see that you two are connected by your souls as well—albeit very faintly. Speak. Tell me."
"...'I, Incansus Vermotem, do believe in the Central Officer, Nathan Kell.'"
"There is your answer, then. Then believe."
"Ancestor!"
For the first time, Incansus raised his voice in open agitation.
"This is not a matter of trust! It is a matter bearing directly upon the survival of our entire race! This place is not safe. Why—why on earth would you refuse?"
On that point, I agreed with him.
It only looked safe because the secret held for now. Should the information ever leak, the nature of the border itself meant we would have to guard against an endless stream of intruders.
So why would Menassil turn down a proposal from Incansus—a dragonewt who shared her blood, who was trying to shelter a dragon on racial grounds, no less?
"I once asked the Central Officer a question. I told him: if he would only guard my egg, I would give him anything he desired."
She stopped stroking the egg and looked at me.
"Had he coveted wealth, I meant to reveal the location of my nest and grant him my hoard."
"Had he coveted glory, I told him to slay me and gladly bear the title of Dragonslayer."
"Had he coveted knowledge, I could have taught him every spell in the world and set his feet upon the path of the Archmage."
Menassil was recounting the conversation we'd shared on the second floor that day.
"But do you know what he said?"
Incansus stared silently at the finger pointed at me.
"He said he needed none of it. Not a king's fortune, not a king's destiny, not the knowledge of ten thousand heavens. None of it. There was only one thing the Central Officer asked of me: to go through the entry procedure. That, and that alone."
"..."
"For that alone, the human called Nathan Kell swore to protect me and my egg."
I remembered it well—what I'd said to her, as she dangled every reward imaginable before me.
The only thing I require of you is one thing. If you seek aid, then become an entrant.
If you submit faithfully to the entry examination, I will likewise employ every means at my disposal to protect the safety of you and your egg.
A soft smile crossed her lips as she murmured.
"In a thousand years, the first words ever spoken to me by my own kin were given to me by a short-lived species I had only just met."
Incansus said nothing for a long while.
"My time is short regardless. At most... about the span of a human lifetime, I should think. And you are already bound body and soul by your vow. Attending to me as well would be far too much for you to bear."
"...We shall attend you regardless. That is my racial duty."
"Do not behave like a child. You have already made your oath—do not go bartering it away. If you chose to serve your nation, then forget the dragon."
Her words struck dead center. The Royal Proxy stared at her, dazed and stunned.
"Noblewoman Menassil Terenas. That is my name now—the second life granted to me by the Central Officer and his women."
Menassil turned her head and looked at me.
"I intend to enjoy this life for whatever time remains to me. Trusting in the Central Officer's word that he will protect me."
A profound, unshakable trust radiated from her.
Sweep.
Gently, firmly, the noblewoman took my hand.
"Central Officer. Do not worry. I shall not go anywhere. I am certain—certain—that at your side is the safest place in the world for me."
"Lady Menassil..."
Something welled up from the depths of my heart.
This burning feeling—one I hadn't felt in a very, very long time.
And so, carrying that feeling, I said:
"Why won't you go?"
"...Hm?"
Menassil jerked back so hard she nearly dropped the egg. Eyes wide as saucers, she stared at me.
"C-Central Officer? What on earth are you saying?"
"I mean, why won't you go? It wouldn't just be me protecting you—the nation would be."
"Eh? Eh?"
But Menassil wasn't the only one caught off guard.
"C-Central Officer. What you are saying now is... that you refuse?"
For the first time, Incansus's jaw dropped open as he stared at me.
"I apologize, Royal Proxy. But Lady Menassil has been a public menace more times than I can count."
"A—a menace! I could not possibly have wronged you so!"
"Couldn't you? Shall we go through the list?"
I have plenty to say.
"That dawn, when I was already dead on my feet from exhaustion, you appeared out of nowhere and wrecked the road all over again. And what do you have to say about putting the border garrison commander into a shutdown?"
"Urk."
"What about the food bills? You eat four servings a meal, do absolutely nothing, and just fiddle with your egg all day. Are you not the least bit sorry that Hannah has developed chronic muscle pain in her right arm because of it?"
"Th—that's why I offered you treasure, did I not!"
"You left every last piece of treasure in your nest, and the volcano collapsed on top of it. How exactly were you planning to retrieve it?"
"..."
Come to think of it, I'm pretty worked up about all this.
"Incansus has agreed to maintain confidentiality, the Royal Castle is safer than the border, and they promise to keep your phantom identity intact. And you still won't go?"
Besides, wouldn't she feel safer staying with someone who's actually a dragonewt, rather than with me?
The Immigration Office is, literally, an office—a regulatory agency. It has no authority to wield force proactively, and I myself lack the power to protect her and the egg in a true crisis.
The Royal Castle, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
Was it really acceptable to kick away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this?
I turned to Incansus with absolute firmness.
"Take her. I give this my unqualified approval."
For security's sake, for moral reasons, for reasons of kinship—every argument pointed to her going. Why on earth would she refuse?
"Y-you are too much!!! Was all the time we spent together meaningless to you!?"
"How many times did I tell you not to sneak into my room at night?! You cannot make requests of that nature to a civil servant—there will be consequences!"
"Urk."
When every objection had been thoroughly blocked, Menassil turned to the dragonewt.
"Child of thin blood. You—say something too!"
"..."
But no answer came.
"You spent time... with the Ancestor? A... human...?"
Because the Proxy's face was a churning mix of shock, disbelief, and utter bewilderment.
"And before that—the Ancestor attempted to seduce a human...?"
I truly had no idea that a face hidden behind a veil could wear so many different expressions.
After a long silence of roughly fifteen seconds:
"...I need some air."
With those parting words, the Royal Proxy walked straight out of the house.
Just before the door closed behind him, he murmured in a low voice:
"Ancestor Bernui... the dignity of the dragon race is crumbling before my eyes..."
That day, I saw every last facet of Incansus the man—all of it, in full.