Montihall de Kairos
“The man I saw at the market.” Vidion confirmed Bagan’s face and immediately recalled their encounter from a few days prior. Bagan felt oddly pleased that Vidion remembered him.
“What do you mean? When did you meet?” Gion asked, demanding an explanation.
“Ah, we crossed paths once at the market. I was trying to help some fallen goblins when he mistook me for a remnant of the underworld syndicate. It caused a minor misunderstanding.”
“So that’s what happened.” Gion nodded, looking somewhat dazed.
Now that Bagan had arrived and seen Vidion, the restless feeling in his chest gradually settled. He had come this far, so everything would work out.
“Sit down, then.” Montihall spoke, addressing the still-standing Bagan and Gion, who had shown no interest in the conversation until now. He was a middle-aged man with the same vivid red hair as Lilia. Like her, he was a Dragonian—a descendant of the Red Dragon.
“Right. Let’s sit.” Gion grabbed Bagan’s hand and guided him to a seat before taking his own. It was the seat immediately to Montihall’s right. Vidion and Lilia sat to Montihall’s left, while Bagan sat beside Gion.
“Since I invited you at the request of my dear younger brother Gion, the least you can do is introduce yourself.” Montihall requested an introduction without prejudice. Bagan cleared his throat and organized his thoughts while looking at the four people in turn. The food had not yet arrived, so there was no worry about it getting cold.
“Greetings. I’m Bagan, an adventurer. Though I’m only Gold rank, as you know, that’s only because I haven’t been at it long. My real strength is far greater, as you’ve probably heard.” Bagan spoke, assuming Gion had explained everything. However—
“As we’ve heard?” The reaction was cold. (He even dropped the honorifics. He must be angry.) Sally’s voice added to the mix, making Bagan feel awkward.
“Bagan, are you really not going to use honorifics? He’s royalty, you know.”
“Didn’t I already say I wouldn’t?” Gion had never imagined Bagan would act so oblivious even in a situation like this. It left him in an uncomfortable position in the middle.
“Gion, an explanation seems necessary.”
“Haa, big brother, this guy has always been like this. He’d speak casually even if a god appeared. And once he makes up his mind, there’s no changing it.” Gion said things he would never say to Bagan’s face. Bagan shot him a glare.
“You explain the rest.” Gion leaned back against his chair with an expression that said he was done.
“Fine. Due to circumstances, I won’t use honorifics. I hope you understand.”
“Hah~! Very well, then.” Though dumbfounded, Montihall accepted it for now. At that moment, the food arrived at the perfect timing.
“The meal is ready.” Jipri used magic to bring over one dish after another. They were all high-class dishes made from ingredients one could never find at an ordinary restaurant. Notably, there were many meat dishes, which made sense given the races gathered here. Though all of them were omnivores, both Dragonians and Lycans preferred meat, so most of the steaks were cooked rare. Bagan didn’t dislike meat either, so the dishes suited him well.
“Let’s eat first and save the introductions for later.” Montihall was the first to spear a piece of meat with his fork and begin eating, followed by others picking out whatever they wanted. Watching them, Bagan thought that aside from the location being a mansion, it wasn’t much different from eating at a regular restaurant. He also took his share of the food last and tasted it.
“Mm, the food is really good. I don’t usually pay much attention to how meat is cooked, but eating it like this is delicious.” Since he had come to eat, complimenting the food was a necessary step. Most of it was rare, so it might have been unfamiliar, but the chef’s skill was exceptional—everything was easy to eat, and none of it tasted bad.
“Hmph, eat as much as you like. Do you enjoy drinking?” Montihall asked someone he had just met whether they liked alcohol. It was an odd question coming from royalty. Just then—
“Dad! I told you to stop drinking!” Lilia’s sulky voice rang out. Her effort to speak without spitting out the food in her mouth made the atmosphere oddly comical.
“Pfft!”
“What! Are you laughing?” Lilia’s scolding reached even Bagan. He smiled without a care, finding Lilia’s cute side and the happiness of this family endearing.
“It’s just heartwarming, so I laughed.”
“Mocking royalty—do you not realize this isn’t the time for that?” Even Montihall’s sharp remark didn’t faze Bagan. He had no pride tied to royalty in the first place. Montihall was testing him with these words.
“If you’re testing me, you can stop. It’s easy to see that the royalty of this kingdom is different from that of other kingdoms.”
“Testing you, huh… If that’s how it felt, then I apologize. Ahem… It loses meaning if done in secret, but you’re quite perceptive.” Montihall revised his evaluation of Bagan. He was no longer just an ordinary adventurer who had caught Gion’s eye, but someone with something more.
“At this point, I’m curious. Gion told me you came looking for me?” At Montihall’s words, Bagan looked at Gion. Gion nodded, signaling that Bagan should say what he wanted. From what Bagan had seen of Montihall so far, he seemed like someone who could handle hearing the truth.
“Hoo. Then I’ll say it. I’m going to liberate all the slaves in the Sog Kingdom—and beyond that, all of Pangea.”
Clack! Montihall set down his fork with food still on it. The atmosphere grew heavy as he stared at Bagan with fierce eyes.
“Are you mocking me with words you can’t take responsibility for?”
At that moment, an unexpected person backed Bagan up.
“Uncle, I don’t think those words were lies.” It was Vidion. Having roughly grasped what kind of person Bagan was and sensing something extraordinary about him, Vidion couldn’t dismiss Bagan’s declaration. Empowered by Vidion’s support, Bagan spoke clearly to Montihall.
“Responsibility? Do you really think it’s impossible?” The situation had reversed. Bagan released his Dragon Fear.
Fwoosh! It wasn’t meant as a threat. Dragonians ultimately carried dragon blood. Those who wielded the same power would inevitably recognize it. Still, the situation was undeniably shocking. The man they had thought was human was emitting Dragon Fear, leaving them bewildered. Everyone at the table—Montihall, Vidion, Lilia, Gion, and even the butler Jipri standing by—was startled by Bagan’s aura.
“Stop!” Gion shouted. As a Lycan, he could no longer endure it. The aura was especially unpleasant to him.
“I was only making you understand. Explaining it a hundred times would just hurt my mouth.” The oppressive aura dissipated, and the air returned to normal. Gion and Jipri, who had been struggling to breathe, regained their composure.
“Hmph, interesting. You possess the aura of our kin despite not being one of us.” Montihall had finally found something intriguing about Bagan.
“What are you?” It was not “who are you,” but “what are you.” He was asking about Bagan’s essence. Only Montihall, who had lived for a very long time, could sense it. Bagan looked human, and while many races resembled humans, he was clearly not one of them.
“A homunculus. A lifeform created by a dragon.” There was no response to Bagan’s words.
“Kahahahaha!” Montihall burst into hearty laughter. It was a powerful laugh that seemed to sweep away all worries and concerns.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I laughed because I’m happy.”
“Happy?” Bagan couldn’t understand why Montihall had laughed. He couldn’t comprehend it.
“Do you know the history of the Seiros Kingdom?” Bagan had no way of knowing the history of the Seiros Kingdom, which hadn’t even appeared in the game. It wasn’t recorded in any books, not even in the vast library of Demeca.
“I don’t, so tell me.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you. To start, you need to know the history of the Dragonians.” Bagan already knew that much. He had studied everything related to the race. He had combined the vague information he had heard with what he had learned directly and stored it in his mind.
“They’re the descendants of unions between dragons and humans. The dragon blood is so strong that its concentration never thins.”
“Yes, that was our ancestor.”
“That’s as far as I know. I don’t know the history of how the kingdom was founded.” Bagan had no choice but to focus on the past. It was a way to learn new information and an opportunity to build a connection with them.
At Bagan’s words, Montihall quietly closed his eyes.
“Our ancestor, Naimos, was the first Dragonian. A human who inherited the dragon’s lifespan and some of its abilities.”
“Wasn’t it Pelion?”
“My brother and I were not the first.”
“I see. What happened to Naimos?” He must have died, but Bagan asked anyway to hear the story.
“He harbored hostility toward Palamus and died in vain.”
“He held hostility toward your father?”
“Hah, father? You know what kind of being Palamus is. Naimos knew it too. He understood that Dragonians were ultimately defective products born from experiments.” Montihall’s emotions surged as he spoke of things he had never told even his own children.
“Have you ever felt the sensation of your very existence being denied? Have you ever known the feeling of watching the one you thought was your mother being cruelly abandoned, unable to decide whether to grieve or to rage?” Bagan had felt that sensation once before—when Barret died.
“Having grown stronger through the grief of losing his mother, Naimos fought a final battle against Palamus.” It wasn’t a story Bagan was hearing for the first time.
“It wasn’t a fight. He was defeated unilaterally. Even the moment of his defeat was decided by Palamus. After enduring immense pain, our grandfather, who had retreated, wanted to show Palamus—who had called him a failure—what he was capable of.”
“What did he want to show?”
“He wanted to show what possibility truly means. Even if he couldn’t win, he wanted to demonstrate what could be achieved through that possibility.”
“So that’s why the kingdom was founded?” Montihall nodded.
“When did he plan to demonstrate that possibility?”
“My brother and I pondered endlessly to fulfill Naimos—our grandfather’s—long-cherished wish. As a result, we grew stronger through the technique called Dragon Blood.” Dragon Blood, the secret art of the Dragonians, was a technique that transformed them into dragon form to draw out even greater power.
“With Vidion here, we wanted to show that possibility to Palamus. We wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. But at some point, Palamus disappeared without a trace.” Bagan could guess the timing. It was when Palamus had been researching ways to overcome his lifespan limit, studying black magic to create a homunculus and transfer his soul. However, Bagan still had a question. He still didn’t understand why Montihall had laughed so heartily.
“Still, I don’t get why you laughed.” Gion, Vidion, and Lilia all agreed with Bagan’s words. Montihall looked straight at Bagan and spoke.
“I said I laughed because I was happy. Because I saw you, who spoke of our possibility in our stead.” Montihall’s senses told him clearly. A homunculus possessing the power of a dragon. In other words, there had to be a reason why Bagan, who was nothing more than a dragon’s creation, possessed that power.