Chapter 448: Return (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 448: Return (4)
[...Did you marry a dragon?]
Alon was left speechless by the Golden Dragon Rainisius’s question.
Swallowing his bewilderment, he barely managed to ask back.
“What did you just say?”
[...Exactly what I said.]
Rainisius looked puzzled in return, as if wondering why Alon was so surprised.
“...Huh?”
“Since when...?”
Penia and Evan, who had been listening to the conversation from behind, each blurted out fragments of sentences in shock at the unexpected turn of events.
Alon let out a deep sigh.
“I’m sorry, but I’m completely lost. I’d appreciate it if you could explain from the beginning.”
Rainisius looked reluctant and, for some reason, shifted his body back slightly. It was the posture of someone trying to avoid something.
While Alon wondered at the gesture, Rainisius spoke.
[It is not a particularly special story. We dragons basically mark each other with our scent once we have found a mate.]
“...A scent?”
[Yes. To make it clear to other dragons.]
Marking someone with a scent on purpose.
“I suppose dragon marriages are held quietly, then?”
[Not at all.]
“...Hmm?”
[Most of the dragon race attends a wedding... Why would you think such a thing?]
“I thought the scent was to inform others, since you went to the trouble of marking them.”
Rainisius nodded at the logical deduction.
[Well, it’s not quite like that. As I said, the whole race gathers to celebrate a marriage. Even so, the reason we mark each other with scent is because, occasionally, complications arise.]
He continued with a somewhat strange expression.
[As you know, dragons are beings blessed with mana, and the Polymorph we use is incredibly precise. So much so that even dragons cannot recognize one another.]
“I see.”
[And about a thousand years ago, it was popular among dragons to polymorph into humans and enjoy the world.]
“...?”
Rainisius fell silent.
Alon felt a sense of doubt, but then—
“Gasp...”
A sharp intake of breath came from Penia, as if she had realized something.
Soon after, the answer clicked in Alon’s mind as well.
“...No way.”
[Yes. There were a few... unintentional affairs. That is how the culture came to be.]
Rainisius cut his explanation short, seemingly unwilling to reveal any more of his race’s embarrassments.
After a brief moment of understanding, Alon returned to the main point.
“...So, if I piece your words together, you’re saying a dragon’s scent remains on my body?”
[Yes. Especially around your waist. Quite a lot of it.]
Alon tilted his head while looking down at his waist.
It made sense, considering he hadn't met a dragon recently...
“Ah.”
As the thought reached its conclusion, Alon let out an involuntary groan.
Come to think of it, there was one other dragon Alon had met besides Rainisius.
“...You’re talking about Arculainisis, aren’t you?”
At Penia’s question—she had clearly thought of the same person—Alon nodded and looked down at his waist.
That girl, who did nothing but cry, had always wrapped her tail around his waist.
Having roughly identified the source of the scent, Alon took a light breath to see if he could smell it.
[You cannot smell it that way.]
“Is that so?”
[And...]
Rainisius looked at Alon with a look of distaste.
[I feel I must say this.]
“What is it...?”
[A dragon’s life is different from a human’s.]
“? I know that.”
[What...?]
Rainisius looked shocked by Alon’s response. For some reason, the contempt in his eyes deepened.
[...You know?]
“Well, I know the lifespans are different.”
[Yes, they are different. Even if a dragon has lived for thirty years, by human standards, they are still a child. In other words, an immature specimen.]
“Right?”
[...And you married her knowing that? An immature dragon?]
When Alon answered immediately, Rainisius asked back as if he couldn't believe it.
“Gasp!”
“...Lord Alon?”
[Hic!]
[Kyu?]
Evan, Penia, Basiliora, and Blackie were all equally shocked.
No, why are you guys acting like this too...! Alon thought, but then—
[I knew Magi had peculiar tastes, but to think you did it knowing that—]
“Listen, I’d appreciate it if you could throw that bizarre assumption about me being married far, far away before you continue...!!”
Alon closed his eyes tightly after hearing Rainisius’s direct accusation.
Thirty minutes passed.
“I keep telling you, over and over. I did not have a wedding with a dragon.”
[...I see.]
Only after Alon had painstakingly explained his relationship with Arculainisis was he able to escape the dragon’s suspicion.
“...Whew...”
He felt dizzy from the fatigue washing over him, even though they hadn't even gotten to the main point yet.
Rainisius, watching Alon sigh, finally spoke.
[So, the reason you came here... is it to keep your promise?]
He gestured with his chin toward Blackie.
“...Do you think he has built up enough strength to keep it?”
[Did you come here without even knowing that?]
“I also had things to ask. Like how much stronger Blackie needs to get to fulfill the promise.”
Rainisius gazed silently at Blackie.
[From what I can see, your Shadow Spirit Dragon is already at a level where he can release me from the seal.]
“...Really?”
[Though he is not yet an adult... strangely, he possesses power beyond that.]
When Alon looked at Blackie on his shoulder, the little guy tilted his head cutely and let out a "Kyu?"
“Blackie, if you would.”
When Alon spoke to him, Blackie nodded as if he understood the meaning and moved toward Rainisius.
Soon, black smoke began to pour out of Blackie’s body as he climbed onto the dragon.
And then—
Whooooosh!
The black smoke instantly enveloped Rainisius’s body.
At the same time, the ink-black spears that had been pierced into the Golden Dragon began to dissolve into black smoke and scatter.
Fwaaaa!
A change began to occur in Rainisius, who had been waiting for the day of his death without a shred of hope.
Fwaaaa!
The scales that had only emitted a dull brown light took on a fierce golden hue.
His hollow, brownish eyes were filled with a brilliant golden light.
Rumble, rumble!
Simultaneously, a vast amount of mana, enough to cause goosebumps, raged throughout the entire space.
At the final moment.
ROAAAAAR—!!!
A thunderous sound erupted.
Alon witnessed it.
[...Ah, it has been a long time.]
The true form of the Golden Dragon, draped in brilliant golden light.
But that wasn't the end.
With the advent of the Golden Dragon, the overwhelming mana that had spread in all directions instantly took the form of chains, connecting Alon and Rainisius.
Before Alon even had time to be surprised by the sudden situation—
[Since you have kept your promise to me, I must keep my promise to you.]
At Rainisius’s voice, dozens more layers of chains were created, linking Rainisius and Alon.
Finally, when they merged once more into a massive, unbreakable chain—
[I, Rainisius, in accordance with the Great Covenant, shall serve the being before me as my master until the moment he vanishes into mana.]
Rainisius’s words echoed through the cavern.
The chains that had been created rushed toward Alon all at once, and it was finished.
[I look forward to working with you.]
Alon had obtained the Golden Dragon.
* * *
Alon gave the Golden Dragon a brief explanation of what had happened so far.
[...So, to summarize, the Shadow Spirit Dragon has become able to absorb and use the power of those things called Divine Blood?]
Alon nodded at the conclusion Rainisius had drawn.
The dragon pondered for a moment before speaking.
[It is difficult even for me to grasp exactly how this happened.]
“...Is that so?”
[However, I have a few ideas. If you give me some time, I will investigate.]
After Alon nodded, he asked.
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
[Me?]
“Yes.”
[What do you mean? You have become my master, so I intend to follow you. Is there a problem?]
As soon as Rainisius asked back, he nodded as if he had realized something himself.
“I see—it might be inconvenient for both of us if I move around in my true form.”
He immediately began to gather mana in his body.
At the same time, Rainisius’s form began to shrink.
After some time had passed.
“...Shit.”
Evan’s curse was heard from behind.
It was a truly sudden curse.
However, Alon didn't bother to comment on it.
He knew. He knew exactly why Evan had spat out such harsh words.
“Isn't this an enemy of humanity?”
It was a violent mutter, as if the world were unfair.
Alon found himself nodding involuntarily.
In truth, the face of Rainisius polymorphed into a human was so stunning that even a handsome elf would have felt like slapping him.
“Ah—O Heavens, why did you give birth to me, and then give birth to Elivan and the Golden Dragon?”
“? That’s just bullshit.”
Penia, who had immediately turned cold at Evan’s lament, frowned strangely as she looked at the Golden Dragon.
“...Honestly, I find it unpleasant because he’s too handsome.”
Alon could somehow understand that sentiment as well.
“Ah.”
In the meantime, Rainisius, who seemed to have finished his polymorph, spoke.
After checking his voice several times—a low tone different from when he was a dragon—Rainisius spoke to Alon’s group, who were staring at him with dazed faces.
“This reaction hasn't changed even after a thousand years.”
“Wow, he’s so full of himself...”
Penia whispered quietly as she watched the handsome man shrug his shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Anyway, after the brief commotion, Alon left the Great Cavern with Rainisius.
Two months passed after that.
After leaving the Wasteland, the group headed straight for Palantia without stopping anywhere else.
Upon arriving in Palantia, Alon—
“...Evan.”
“Yes.”
“What is that?”
He asked a question the moment he saw the sight before them.
Evan, who was also speechless at the spectacle before his eyes, trailed off.
“Uh...”
He stared blankly before uttering a single phrase.
“...The Demon King’s Castle...?”
No other expression came to mind to describe it.
A massive floating island hovering in the sky above Palantia.
...What on earth happened in the last six months...?
Confusion filled Alon’s mind as he returned home after so long.