Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Dragon's God
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Was it from the moment I obtained the Mythic Blacksmith trait?
My body often reacted before my own will could catch up.
Among the people in front of me, who possessed the qualities to become a hero, and what weapon they should wield.
All those calculations assembled themselves in my mind not as thoughts, but as something closer to instinct.
That must have been why.
Even when I handed Balmung to Lady Elysia, I didn't feel the need to explain that this sword was the weapon that suited her best.
My body and mind were both telling me, This is it.
But.
The lady had merely become the wielder of Balmung.
She was not yet a "completed hero" capable of drawing out its full power.
"Power comparable to the founding head of the Valenhardt Family..."
The white ancient dragon muttered in a dry tone.
"However, in the end, you're still human. Just as I imagined."
"Urgh...!"
Lady Elysia gritted her teeth.
She gazed down at Balmung's blade, now faintly cracked, forcing her breathing to steady.
Just from that sight, I could sense it instinctively.
This fight was already lost.
The ancient dragon called the god of dragons.
Its level was far beyond what we'd anticipated.
So, there was only one thing left.
Death.
Somehow...
I gritted my teeth.
I have to save the lady and Miya, no matter what.
But reality was harsh.
I couldn't fight.
I was a blacksmith who could only wield Mythic weapons by forging them, not using them.
What could I do in this situation?
Could I at least serve as bait?
As I thought that and opened my mouth to say something—anything—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"...?!"
"Park... su?"
"...What are you doing?"
Suddenly, the white ancient dragon was clapping with apparent satisfaction.
The reason records of the dragon's territory varied so wildly was simpler than expected.
Some texts described endless blue fields stretching out, others spoke of blizzards harsher than the outside world.
Still others called it a bizarre land where seasons changed several times a day.
And none of those records were wrong.
Because this realm never maintained a single "weather."
A barrier completely isolated it from the outside world, and the environment within was managed solely by the ancient dragons.
Every century, the ancient dragon in charge of this land's skies, winds, and seasons would rotate.
The ancient dragons had lived so long that even their sense of time differed from humans'.
To them, a hundred years was merely a suitable cycle for changing custodians.
"Even among the same dragonkin."
The white ancient dragon said calmly.
"To us, ordinary dragons are seen the way you humans distinguish nobles from commoners."
Miya asked cautiously.
"...So, like bugs?"
The ancient dragon shook its head.
"That's too harsh. At best, since they're the same species, they're like adorable pets."
No one could argue with that.
Five ancient dragons who had spent far too much time lingering solely within the dragon's territory.
Each oversaw the color of a season, designating zones where the dragons born from them could roam.
They treated every hundred years as one cycle: four departed for the heavens or beyond the continent, leaving one behind.
And the custodian for this century.
The one chosen for that role was the white ancient dragon standing before us.
He slowly lowered his gaze to us.
"I am the one who governs the color of life, white. I am called Aurelion."
Lady Elysia bowed her head cautiously.
"Elysia von Valenhardt."
"I'm Miya..."
"...Kim Jinwoo."
Aurelion merely nodded, showing no particular reaction.
"I see."
His voice was flat, as if confirming a foregone conclusion.
"I'll remember all three of you clearly."
From the moment Balmung cracked, I'd thought it was truly over.
This fight ended here, and only death remained.
Yet.
...What's with this sudden atmosphere?
Aurelion, who had clapped toward us as if impressed.
With a curt "Pass," he withdrew the murderous aura that had seemed ready to tear us apart moments ago.
A subtle change came over his face.
Definitely softer than before.
And as if nothing had happened, Aurelion naturally took the lead.
Acting as our guide himself.
To sum up the current situation.
We'd clearly arrived at the near-final boss zone of the frigid north, where massive gales howled.
Yet before our eyes stretched a literal blue meadow under a sunny sky, where young dragons frolicked without a care.
"That area is the communal breeding ground where hatchlings under a hundred years old learn flight and flame control. Mostly where the young ones play."
"I... I see..."
A bit further, and the scenery shifted again.
"That is the memorial ground where dragons who have reached the end of their lifespan or fallen in battle lay down their bodies and return to the earth, leaving only bones for posterity to remember them."
"Ah, yes..."
By now, the thought hit me.
Anyone would think we were tourists on a guided tour.
The guy who'd been a top-tier boss mob just moments ago was now casually dropping formal speech, patiently explaining his home's layout.
As that awkward vibe dragged on,
"Um, excuse me, but can I ask why you're suddenly acting so friendly?!"
Truly, ignorance breeds boldness.
Miya's question, blurted out purely from curiosity, oblivious to how rude it was.
Objectively a disastrous choice, but strangely, Elysia and I both mentally gave her a thumbs-up at that exact moment.
Because—
Honestly, it was exactly what we'd been dying to ask.
"...Was it that strange?"
Aurelion tilted his head.
"I was merely trying to mingle with you all by observing proper etiquette."
"Even if it's etiquette..."
"Who'd be happy with the guy who was trying to kill us moments ago suddenly stepping up like this? It just makes us uncomfortable!"
Starting with Miya, perhaps because the tension had eased,
Now everyone was firing off retorts without holding back.
Aurelion listened silently, then seemed lost in thought for a moment—
"...I see."
His face showed sudden understanding.
What was there to "I see" now? This dragon, seriously.
His reaction—clapping as if it all clicked—only made it more absurd.
So I decided to clarify things once and for all.
"Why did you let us into the dragon's territory in the first place? You know what our purpose is."
"Weren't you here to warn us not to target the Valenhardt Duchy?"
This time, Aurelion spoke first.
"To exploit the weakening hero bloodline of Valenhardt, where the ducal lady can't summon her holy sword, and under the pretext of an engagement, advance from the north back into the human world."
"...You knew that."
"And still let us, your operatives, inside?"
For a moment, all three of us froze in stunned silence.
But the real shock came next.
"I had no choice."
Aurelion said matter-of-factly.
"The dragon who sought to take Elysia the ducal lady as his wife... that was me."
"...Huh?"
"Wha..."
"What?!"
Ancient dragons.
Beings among dragons too ambiguous to simply call "dragons."
Same species, yet not treated as such.
Quite literally, the gods their kind revered.
Even during the countless wars between the Valenhardt Duchy and dragons in the past,
They merely watched from the skies, never intervening unless their own domain was breached.
If even the ancient dragons had targeted the duchy, there'd be no debating heroes or anything.
Humans can't defeat gods.
Yet one of those bystanders, Aurelion, had personally targeted Lady Elysia? To take her as his wife?
A being who'd lived at least tens of thousands of years, eyeing Elysia, freshly graduated from the academy and just come of age?
Honestly, it made no sense no matter how I thought about it.
"Think about it carefully."
Aurelion said calmly.
"The red and blue dragons who first tried to take Elysia the ducal lady. Weren't they both greater dragons, the ones who issue commands among dragons?"
"Th-that's true, but..."
"And among dragons, who can command greater dragons at will—"
He paused briefly, then added as if it were obvious.
"Only we ancient dragons, of course."
...I knew that.
Theoretically, it all made sense.
Yet it still felt off.
An ancient dragon, who should have no interest in worldly affairs, was meddling directly like a god descending into the mortal realm.
For personal reasons, no less.
"Don't beings like you usually just watch from afar?"
I asked cautiously.
"Even if you intervene, it's with tests like earlier, or a light touch at most... This feels like straight-up 'politics'."
A god descending to shake the human world directly.
That fact left all three of us, Elysia included, speechless for a moment, but such bewilderment meant nothing before a god.
"Why...?"
Lady Elysia asked.
"Why did you target me?"
Aurelion pondered briefly, then said nonchalantly.
"I could say it's for the dragons' advance into the north."
A brief pause.
"But that's just the pretext."
His gaze turned blatantly toward Lady Elysia.
"Lately, I've just felt like raising one."
"...Raising one?"
The corner of Aurelion's mouth twitched ever so slightly upward.
"A being born with half the power of an ancient dragon and half the power of a hero's lineage."
As if catching his breath, he added the final words.
"I want to try making about ten of those hybrids."
"Wha..."
"By the way, this isn't a request. My guiding you, Elysia the ducal lady, and even these lowly slaves here with such kindness is, shall we say, my final mercy."
Time limit: one day.
"Decide within that. Accept my words, save those two, and come willingly into my arms... Or. After I kill those two, be dragged into my arms by force."