Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Good News (3)
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"To dragons... no, more precisely, to all races with two or more true forms, there's another name besides their true name..."
"Hold on. Two true forms... you mean polymorph, right?"
"Including similar abilities as well. For those born with such traits, a nickname carries special significance."
Igni continued her explanation, her tail playfully tapping my waist or forearm.
Whether it's a bloodline ability or a racial trait, those who can naturally take on two or more forms struggle to define their true essence.
That's why they create a new name for their other self and entrust it to someone else.
It's a way of proving their existence through another person.
"The true me can only exist when called by thee."
Of course, they don't grant such nicknames to just anyone. Only to family, or those equivalent.
"Thou must take responsibility for me now."
"...No, I was just shortening Ignatus to Igni. Did that carry such weight?"
I blurted it out in disbelief. Igni giggled, her tail patting my back.
"Of course, most of it is exaggerated old lore. I made it sound grand, but there's no actual magical effect. If anything... it's closer to psychology or mental illness."
"Mental illness?"
"Indeed. A person's identity wavers with mere changes in nationality. Now imagine if, from an immature childhood, their very race keeps shifting."
"Ah..."
"I see thou understands. Correct. Without considerable training, they all suffer some form of mental affliction. And what they need most then is..."
"Someone close who affirms them, no matter which self it is. Right?"
"...Thou speakest as if from experience. Spot on."
"Stuff happened back in Calypso Territory."
As a child, it was my mother and brother. A bit older, the orphan crew. Now, the people of House Zahav.
With Earth's memories, I'm forever a stranger here, but they made it possible for me to stand and live on this land.
"I wanted to burden thee heavily this time, but alas."
"That was the most burdensome thing you've said all day."
"Then my goal is achieved."
Igni giggled softly, then wiggled closer, plopping down beside me.
With that newfound leisure, her tail slid from my arm and back to teasingly tickle my nape as she continued.
"Anyway, that's the gist. Even knowing nicknames lack magical meaning, we withhold them from just anyone out of custom. Note: no returns."
"What is this, hard sell? What law do I sue under?"
"Heh. Useless. In the Mage Tower, I am the law."
Igni puffed up smugly. I shook my head at her display, but only for a moment.
Something suddenly clicked, and I reflexively spoke.
"Come to think of it, you're an orphan too, Igni."
"...? What brought that on?"
"Your mother passed on the Night of Tragedy a thousand years ago, right?"
"Indeed."
"Your father gathered forces to fight the God of Tragedy... but fell to the Authority of Blindness, resurrected as an undead, and became the West's calamity."
"He fought valiantly to the end. Oh, just to clarify: post-undead, he's no father to me. I'm speaking only of his living days."
"I know. And even if you saw the Death Dragon Mortheus as your father, it wouldn't matter."
"Hm?"
"Your dad. I killed him again with these hands."
"...Isn't that phrasing a bit too crude?"
I spoke to the incredulous Igni in a serious tone.
"The point isn't the phrasing. It's that you and I are both orphans."
"I've lived for ages, yet this is the first time I've felt so flustered. So? Why is that important?"
"Because it means you can join my orphan crew."
"Orphan... crew?"
Igni blinked in confusion. Yeah, it'd throw anyone off. But to me, it was a big deal.
Not long after the orphan crew formed, we were already Calypso's hot potato.
Backed by black mages, we toppled an alchemist's workshop, smashed a couple human trafficking rings tied to Ellis, shook off an assassin guild's pursuit—and even landed a sneaky counterpunch.
We were at the center of every incident. Naturally, plenty tried joining such a crew...
Most dropped out from the unexpectedly dangerous life, or turned out to be plants from rival groups.
In the end, only four remained, myself included.
Through that filtering, we learned one thing.
The infiltrators all had parents—or surrogates filling that role.
Makes sense. Spies follow orders, and who exploits kids? Birth parents, or crime bosses gaslighting orphans as foster figures.
I still remember my first words when we caught the last one, sleep-deprived and on edge.
'One of you has parents.'
After that, we stopped taking new members.
But that was only in Calypso.
We scattered briefly, but I'd soon reunite with the others besides Ellis.
If they think like me, we'd reform the crew in Zahav, not Calypso.
Activities wouldn't be much... but for a fresh start, adding one new member sounds good.
"You. Become my family."
"The first proposal I've received in a millennium. Couldst thou make it more romantic?"
"What? It's a gang recruitment."
"???"
Igni's face screamed utter incomprehension. Eh, details can wait.
"Anyway, I think I've shared enough. What's this important thing you mentioned, Igni?"
"Whoops. Nearly forgot. Enoch, talking with thee shocks me—good or bad."
Igni gave a wry smile, retracting her tail from my collarbone and sitting up straight, serious.
"Enoch. Dost thou recall what happened after thou felled my father... the Death Dragon Mortheus?"
"Not the blackout, so... you mean when I yanked out the Dragon Heart at the last moment and chucked it across the valley?"
"Correct. After thou left, I and the Mage Tower scoured Death Valley to its depths with all our might."
The Wild Hunt vanished, but death qi lingered thick in their valley haunt.
Normally impassable, let alone investigable... but Igni and the Mage Tower fought death's legions for a millennium.
Not the Hunt itself—just their traces—mere minor hurdles.
We achieved our goal faster than expected. First objective, at least.
"We found the Dragon Heart."
"Oh."
"But we couldn't retrieve it."
"Don't tell me it's what I think."
"Ah, my fault for misleading. No new body formed or anything. Thou heard from the emperor: Wild Hunt's core isn't undead or death qi."
"...Blindness."
"Right. The God of Tragedy's shredded, separated powers. Blindness burned the Dragon Heart as fuel to spawn a temporary domain."
"A real god's domain sounds risky."
The Nightmare God never fully birthed, so its domain was half-baked. It barely covered the academy at first, conjuring mere dream-monsters from sleeping students' collective unconscious.
Even at its end, it shrouded the capital in darkness—but forced nightmares only on me, the first eyes it met.
The God of Tragedy is different.
A full-fledged deity with established divinity, once nearly ending the world.
Dangerous.
Small mercy...
"Temporary, you said. So it'll fade on its own?"
"Indeed. Roughly a century, and we can claim the empty Dragon Heart."
"How many... years?"
"A century. Once a Dragon Lord, fueled not by mana but a millennium of death qi. Divine power is mighty, and thy flames consumed most... but it'll hold a century. Perfect compatibility made him a forced familiar postmortem, after all."
"Gonna lose my mind. Can't we just leave it be?"
"It'll find a new vessel by then. Blindness will return as fresh calamity in new form."
"...Bringing this up means you've got a solution, right?"
"Thou seest it."
Igni spoke with a hint of apology and worry.
"Thou and I. We must breach the domain and retrieve the Dragon Heart."
"Huh?"
Listening, it felt oddly familiar. I snickered.
"What? It's exactly the favor I was gonna ask."
Dungeon delve to smash the presumed Sin Authority host. Breach Blindness domain, snag Dragon Heart.
Not much difference.
If anything, latter's easier. Blindness lost its anchor Mortheus; it's in death throes.
"Fine, let's do it."
If I can't handle this, the dungeon's doomed anyway.
"Plow through Blindness Authority, smash the Dragon Heart. ...Wait."
"Indeed. Any issue?"
"Dragon Heart's like a dragon's life organ, right?"
"Like a knight's aura core or mage's circles. Not directly life-tied, but equally precious."
"So these hands kill your dad again..."
"...Please mind thy words?"
Igni squeezed her eyes shut.
Too harsh.