Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Tyrant Dragon: Peria Alperatz (1)
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The eldest daughter of the Marquis of Alperatz's house, Peria Alperatz, had been chasing rumors of dragons ever since she was a child.
A ferocious, destructive beast that brought calamity.
Yet, there were countless people captivated by its nobility who sought out the dragons of legend.
And Peria was one of those who had wandered for so long in pursuit of those legendary traces.
She scoured every shop in the city to buy books related to dragons and even took carriages to regions said to have sightings of them.
Peria had spent her entire life chasing traces of dragons.
Even if the rumors she heard were false, and the records she bought were nothing but absurd fabrications—.
Peria Alperatz had never stopped searching for dragons over those long years.
"You know, I want to meet a dragon someday."
There was only one reason the marquis's eldest daughter had gone to such lengths chasing dragon traces.
It was because of her half-brother, Philip Alperatz, who admired dragons so deeply.
A bastard child. The marquis house's headache.
And an abandoned genius.
The boy, burdened with all those labels, was confined to a sickbed in the marquis house.
"Philip. How are you feeling today?"
From within the annex set aside just for Philip Alperatz, Peria's eyes gazed upon her brother.
Eyes that had lost their spark and grown gaunt.
Lips parched and cracked.
Golden hair turning brittle and dull.
The boy who had once been recognized for his talent and allowed into the marquis house was withering away, stripped of the golden luster that was the pride of Alperatz.
And whenever Peria acquired anything related to dragons, she would visit her brother to give it to him as a gift.
"I've brought a novel about dragons for you today, Philip."
"...Sister Peria."
From the bed bathed in bright sunlight.
A voice wrung from him with what little strength remained echoed forth.
The boy looked up at his sister with hollow eyes.
There was no trace left of the brilliant genius he had once shown.
For a boy once heralded as the one who would revive House Alperatz, his voice was pathetically frail.
"Thanks as always. It must be tough for you."
"Don't worry, Philip. At some point, I started loving dragons too."
Peria looked down at her brother with complicated eyes.
There had been a time when she irrationally resented her family because of him.
She had even envied her little brother for his shining talent.
But over time, those feelings had washed away like water.
Now, all that remained was a foolish noble lady wandering in search of dragon rumors on behalf of her dying brother.
"Sister. I heard you went to the south recently."
"Yes. I heard a rumor about a sea dragon living down there."
"A sea dragon? Did you find it?"
"Unfortunately, I didn't see it with my own eyes. Thinking back now, it might've just been some fisherman seeing things."
Peria exchanged stories about dragons with Philip.
Tales of the legendary dragons were the siblings' greatest shared interest.
It had been that way since Philip was just a little kid, the two of them gazing up at birds in the sky and chatting.
Philip Alperatz loved dragons.
Like any child his age, he dreamed of venturing on adventures to chase the dragons of legend.
There was even a time when he declared he would become an archmage and create a spell to control dragons with his own hands.
Until the sudden illness shattered his future completely.
"Well, yeah, that figures. Dragons aren't the kind of thing you just stumble across easily."
And now, Peria was carrying on that dream, seeking out dragon tales to continue Philip's journey in his stead.
"True. But don't worry too much. I'll definitely find one someday."
"I hope so. I believe in you, Sister Peria—you'll find one."
Philip gave a bitter smile as he looked at his sister.
It was nothing more than childish fancy from his youth.
Because she had chased after her foolish little brother's dreams for so long, Peria had neglected high society entirely in her dragon hunts.
However, even watching this scene wouldn't last much longer.
Philip Alperatz's dream would soon end unfulfilled.
"You probably know this too, Sister... but it looks like I won't make it past this year."
"...Philip."
"Maybe even if you find a dragon later, I won't be around to hear the adventure stories."
Peria's sparkling golden eyes illuminated the sickroom.
Swish—.
Philip pulled out a book from beside his bed.
It was the spellbook he had begun crafting as a child when he first entered this mansion, with a young heart full of dreams.
"Wait a sec. There's something I want to show you."
The magic's name was Tyrant Dragon.
An absurd name to attach, but delving into its substance revealed it to be a terribly crude spell.
It was merely a small toy born from young Philip's dream of controlling a dragon.
A miniature crafted by a child who idolized something grand.
That was Philip's magic.
"Philip. Did you create a new spell?"
Nod—.
In response to Peria's question, Philip quietly nodded.
"It's not that impressive. But I wanted to achieve my dream, even if just like this."
Philip had spent most of the past year on his sickbed tinkering with that grimoire.
Of course, since the spell was crude from the ground up, no amount of fixing could produce anything remarkable.
Even so, it had been an immensely joyful time for Philip.
Even that shoddy result was his one and only dream while bedridden.
"—[Grimoire] activation."
Fwaaah—!
The grimoire in Philip's hand began to glow.
The spell recorded within reacted to his mana, forming a small lump in front of him.
A structure of blue mana pieced together haphazardly.
However, looking closely, it gave a faint impression of resembling a dragon.
"Philip, this is......"
"It's a spell I named Tyrant Dragon. It's pretty crude, but I managed to make it move with some effort."
Swish.
As Philip quietly moved his hand forward, the mana construct he created began toddling ahead slowly.
Waddle, waddle—.
Peria couldn't help thinking it looked like a duck walking, the way it couldn't keep its balance.
It was hardly a spell anyone could call well-made, even as empty flattery.
Yet Philip watched his creation with eyes full of affection, as if it were the most precious thing.
"It's ridiculous, right? I know. I wanted to make something better, but I guess I just don't know enough."
"......"
"If only I'd been a little healthier... I could've made a cooler dragon—. I think about that sometimes."
Eyes steeped in bitterness turned to Peria.
Philip, her one and only brother, spoke his wish to the golden-haired girl.
"It'd be nice if, before I die, I could see the coolest dragon in the world."
And Peria Alperatz fell silent.
* * * * * *
"Hey, noble miss. You should pull yourself together."
Flinch—.
Peria, walking down the vast corridor, snapped to attention at the sound of someone's voice.
Lifting her head, she saw a middle-aged mage standing before her, gripping a staff.
Creighton Lukbart.
The man who had introduced himself as the chief mage of the Magic Corps was currently guiding Peria through a grand library.
"What're you thinking so hard about? You're the one who said you wanted to see the magic dragon in the library."
"Ah, uh... sorry. I was just remembering something from yesterday."
The library they were traversing was called 'Celestia, the Phantasm Library.'
It was managed by the great Archmage Johan and served as a treasure trove of knowledge housing countless spells.
And just now, Peria had obtained permission from the library's archmage to enter its depths.
—A magic dragon.
She had gained the right to face the dragon hidden deep within the library.
"Is there really a dragon hidden in this library?"
Step, step—.
Following Creighton, Peria asked the mage ahead of her about the dragon.
Peria had been adventuring in search of dragons for years.
As such, she had encountered countless absurd dragon rumors.
She once chased a "dragon-summoning spell" only to find it was a magic tool making a lizard breathe fire.
Or bought what was touted as an ancient dragon record, only to discover it was a novel penned just a few years ago.
She had been through endless such mishaps.
That's why Peria never took dragon tales at face value.
She dismissed them as mere rumors until she saw them with her own eyes.
The library's magic dragon was no exception.
"Well, there is a dragon. But it won't be the kind of sight you're expecting, miss."
"...The kind of sight?"
Yet Creighton assured Peria of the dragon's existence.
Though he added a small caveat afterward.
What sort of dragon could elicit such a reaction?
The question bubbled up in Peria's mind.
"Is it maybe... much smaller than a real dragon?"
What if the dragon was too tiny?
Peria posed the possibility to Creighton.
"It's enormously large and majestic. I fell for it at first sight myself."
"I-I see......"
Creighton merely gave a faint smile in response.
Snicker—.
His face radiated considerable leisure.
For some reason, Peria found that smug expression familiar.
The noble ladies of the capital wore the same look when discussing fashion trends with her.
"Miss Peria. He made it sound like library access was no big deal, but we've essentially hit the jackpot."
"......"
"It's absurd luck. A chance you might not get once in a lifetime. Feel free to think you've been chosen."
Creighton described it to Peria as 'luck.'
Absurd luck.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
With those words, Creighton halted before a massive stone door.
And as if to show her why, he quietly raised his staff toward it.
"Don't be too shocked."
"...Yes."
Tap—.
Creighton's staff struck the stone door before them.
A clear echo rang through the corridor once.
Rumble, rumble, ruuuumble—.
Immediately after, the massive stone door shifted, revealing the scene beyond.
"Whoa......"
Beyond the stone door that stretched endlessly upward like it pierced the heavens.
Peria let out an involuntary gasp of admiration upon spotting something there.
A vast plaza with stone pillars soaring without end.
In its center existed what Peria Alperatz had sought for so many years.
—A magic dragon.
It was unmistakably a dragon.
A colossal dragon shrouded in black aura lorded over the plaza's midst.
"A dragon... here—."
Peria's eyes scanned the dragon that had appeared before her.
Beautiful scales reflecting light.
A sleek, elongated body.
Sparkling eyes brimming with mystery.
Pitch-black energy enveloping its entire form.
All the way to its lavish wings flapping with enough force to blanket the sky—.
Not a single flaw in the dragon standing there.
The ideal dragon Peria Alperatz had envisioned in her dreams over countless years.
Such a dragon had been hidden deep within the phantasm library.
"But......"
However, the dragon she faced had one problem.
The magic dragon, perfect from head to toe, confronted a single issue.
Namely—.
"Why is the magic dragon getting beaten up?"
The massive magic dragon right in front of Peria's eyes was taking hit after hit without respite.
Peria's bewildered gaze took in the scene unfolding before her.
Before the magic dragon, seated nobly amid swirling darkness.
A silver-haired mage was unleashing a barrage of ice.
Boom! Bang! Bwoom—!
With every flurry of the mage's hands, icy spears rained from the sky.
Crack, craaaack—.
A whirlwind of frigid air.
The freezing spell that roared forth encased the magic dragon in ice in an instant and pressed on.
"—Freeze."
Craaack! Crunch—.
The solidly frozen magic dragon cracked under the mage's assault.
Yet the silver-haired mage didn't stop there.
Mana laced with chill swirled everywhere.
Amid it, the girl continued pouring spells onto the magic dragon.
Craaack! Bwoom!
Craaack, craaack! Cruuunch—!
The colossal magic dragon repeatedly froze and shattered.
Every few seconds, the surging cold refroze the fractured dragon.
"......"
Peria's gaze blankly watched the magic dragon crumbling away.
How should she even describe this spectacle?
No fitting words came to mind for the scene before her.
It was so shocking she could barely find her voice.
Her bewildered eyes kept watching the magic dragon endure the onslaught.
And before such a Peria, Creighton raised his staff with a pleased expression.
"Go on and say hi. It's a target for magic practice."
"Tar...get......?"
Peria's troubled gaze fixed on the magic dragon once more.
Her first day in Celestia.
Peria Alperatz would return home bearing quite the memorable experience.