No More Guarding the Empire
Originally, Owen had planned to probe the old servant for information on the way back to the house.
But the servant's next words turned his mind blank.
"The Leire family's dragon died twenty years ago."
"Really? No dragon?"
"It's the gospel truth, young master. You've never laid eyes on the family's dragon since the day you were born."
"How can a dragon knight family not have a dragon?"
"We used to have one. Ol' me still remembers when it was alive—it was one majestic beast…."
The old servant's face grew distant, lost in reminiscence.
Owen, frustrated, pressed him to explain the situation quickly.
The servant's wrinkles deepened.
"Twenty years ago, Duke Glendower's rebellion. That's what sparked the Great Purge. Before you were even born, young master."
"The Great Purge?"
Owen's face paled at the explanation that followed.
The emperor who had eliminated him had purged all the dragon knights who followed Owen as well.
"The emperor drenched the Empire in dragon knights' blood, so many fine men perished. That's probably when it started—the Empire's fortunes began to decline…."
Owen had anticipated the emperor would act this way.
But hearing it firsthand after twenty years made his rage boil over.
He stopped in his tracks, biting his lip and trembling with fury.
'Emperor! You bastard!'
To Owen, the emperor was no longer a liege to serve.
He had become a target for vengeance—one he had to strike down by any means.
"Young master, you look pale as a ghost. Are you really alright?"
"I'm fine. Just keep going with your story."
Owen swallowed his seething anger and urged him on.
"Right you are. Our Leire family's dragon was disposed of during the Great Purge too."
"Disposed of? You mean they killed it?!"
"Yes, a tragic affair. The master hasn't smiled since that day."
"Ha…."
No matter how he thought about it, Owen was convinced the emperor had lost his mind.
To dispose of the dragons that guarded the Empire.
Unthinkable.
"The Leire family… no, our family wasn't wiped out?"
"Thank the gods, we only lost the dragon. The master never meddled in politics, you see."
Without a dragon, they could no longer call themselves a dragon knight family.
A sense of despair washed over Owen.
He knew better than anyone the immense pain Logan Leire must have felt twenty years ago.
'Tanares….'
His now-unseen partner came to mind once more.
Reasons for revenge overflowed.
"We're here."
The house was so rundown it couldn't be called a dragon knight family's home.
No, it was more like a rural shack in the middle of nowhere.
Fields stretched everywhere, with only a few dilapidated buildings standing lonely amid them.
It looked like the dwelling of a somewhat prosperous farmer, not nobility.
No sign of a city nearby—it was that remote.
"This is…?"
The old servant nodded at Owen's stunned question.
He explained they'd settled here twenty years ago after losing their dragon.
Exiled to the Empire's outskirts, forced from their original home.
"Many dragon knights ended up like the master."
"Did new dragon knights loyal to the emperor fill their places?"
"No. They say the emperor doesn't care much for dragon knights."
The emperor deemed dragon knights too powerful—and thus too threatening.
So he kept only a token few, favoring mercenary bands of other races and artillery instead.
Groups like dark elves, once classified as humanity's enemies, now served as imperial mercenaries.
Hearing this made Owen's head spin.
The Empire had been infiltrated by other races in just twenty years.
"What a mess."
"Ain't it though? This way."
The old servant led Owen to his father.
Inside the building, a sharp-featured old knight sat alone, sipping tea.
White-bearded, face etched with deep wrinkles.
Owen tilted his head at the sight.
'Is that my father, Logan Leire?'
He'd had a brief acquaintance with Logan in the past, but it had been short.
And twenty years had passed, blurring the man's face in his memory.
But judging by age, it fit.
'Logan Leire is about twenty years older than me.'
Owen had died in his early thirties.
Logan would have been early fifties then.
Twenty years later, the old knight before him matched perfectly.
'He had a late child.'
The boy who'd drowned today must have been born after the Great Purge.
Owen felt a pang of pity inside.
To lose such a precious late son to a river at his age.
'Logan Leire's life hasn't been easy either.'
Pitying him, Owen abandoned his plan to play amnesiac fully.
He didn't want to burden the man further. For now, he'd act normal.
"Father, I'm home. Sorry for the state I'm in."
Dripping like a drowned rat, he apologized, but the old knight clicked his tongue.
Looked like a scolding was coming.
But instead, the knight stood and shouted toward the inner room.
"Hey! Logan! Looks like your boy's lost his marbles! Come out and take a look!"
Owen was bewildered inside.
'Wait, he's not my father?'
Then a plump old knight emerged from the room.
Only then did Owen vaguely recall Logan Leire from his past memories.
"Owen, what happened? Why are you like this?"
As Logan asked, the waiting old servant launched into his tale of woe.
"Aigoo! Listen to ol' me, master! The young master's not right in the head!"
"What?"
The servant spilled the story of the river accident and amnesia.
The mood turned grave instantly.
No more pretending now.
Soon, a house servant rushed off on a mule to fetch a doctor from the city.
The doctor arrived by evening, examined Owen, and declared no physical issues.
"Sir Leire, your son is healthy as can be—makes the drowning seem like a joke."
"But why the memory loss?"
"It happens sometimes. Trauma can cause temporary amnesia. Usually, memories return with time. Best to observe for now."
"Understood."
Logan's expression eased at the doctor's words.
No bodily harm was a relief.
"Good to hear you're alright. Rest up."
One might expect anger at such recklessness, but Logan just patted his shoulder and left the room.
Out of concern for his son.
A few days later, Owen's memories began returning in fragments.
It started while staring into a mirror.
The resurrected Owen was a handsome boy with black hair and brown eyes.
His hair was a bit long, reaching the nape of his neck.
A young master who didn't fit this rural life at all.
Staring longer triggered a needle-like pain in his head.
"Ugh!"
Then fragments of the dead boy's memories and emotions surfaced.
'Fascinating. Memories embedded in the body?'
It made adaptation much easier.
"Ben."
"Eek! Young master! You remember ol' me now?"
The loyal old servant's name was Ben.
The dead boy had been especially fond of him.
A warm feeling bloomed in Owen's heart.
"Yeah, you naggy Ben."
"Huh? Naggy? It's all for your own good, blood and bone advice!"
"Hahaha!"
Owen burst out laughing unwittingly.
The dead boy must have laughed like this in front of the old servant.
"Hey now! You takin' that back, young master? I risked my neck to save ya!"
Ben raised his voice, and laughter erupted around them.
With Owen regaining some memories, the household brightened.
He dusted himself off and began exploring.
'Well now… Scratch the surface, and it's no dragon knight family—just fallen farmers.'
But remnants of Logan Leire's past as a dragon knight lingered here and there.
'Old gear. Even dragon scales.'
Tools once used on dragon saddles were now repurposed as farm implements.
"Hoo…."
A sigh escaped him.
Revived with Tanares's power was good, but what now?
His Glendower family was surely annihilated, traces erased.
Thud! Thud!
As he pondered alone, heavy footsteps rumbled from outside.
Unmistakably a dragon's.
Owen, knowing better than anyone, rushed out.
'What's this? They said the family dragon was dead.'
Outside, an old knight rode a small dragon.
'That guy's….'
The one he'd mistaken for his father recently.
From the dead boy's memories, Owen recalled he was Gunter, his father's best friend.
'Right. He kept his dragon during the Purge.'
Not for any grand reason—Gunter's dragon had negligible combat prowess.
True enough, the dragon was round and pudgy, like it wasn't a dragon at all.
Short neck and limbs.
Even its tail was stubby like a pig's.
No wings, size of a small elephant.
Cute enough to roll if pushed.
Big, calf-like eyes.
Still, the small horns confirmed it was a dragon.
The type commonly called "dwarf earth dragon."
Dull in battle but strong as its virtue.
It could haul heavy cannons—ones needing twelve horses—in silence, jaws dropping commanders.
Also used for farming and construction.
Now hauling loads of materials.
Seeing a dwarf earth dragon after so long lifted Owen's spirits.
But then, a strange sight caught his eye.
"Hm?"
For some reason, numbers floated above the dragon.
"Wh-what? Potential?"
Owen could only gape in confusion.
"No way…."
Narrowing his eyes, he soon realized this was part of the power left by his black dragon partner, Tanares.
"Wait… Could it be? I can see potential directly?"
Owen's jaw dropped slack.
If his guess was right, Tanares had bequeathed an extraordinary ability.
The most crucial thing for a dragon knight was acquiring a mount.
But you couldn't tell its growth potential just by looks.
Like human talents varied, so did dragons' potentials.
With this, he could quantify a dragon's possibilities precisely.
'Finding a good dragon is everything.'
Dragon knights had a rumor: a cheap dragon turning out legendary, evolving repeatedly, its rider rising endlessly.
Mere gossip, but seeing potential made it reality.
For Owen, it was now possible.
'Yes, with this, I can do it.'
He needed to test his ability.
Rub his eyes as he might, the dwarf earth dragon's potential was clear as day.
Did it work on others too?
He hurriedly called the servant.
"Ben! Beeeen!"
Shouting, old Ben burst from nearby bushes.
As if he'd been waiting.
"Young master! Your loyal Ben is here!"
"I want to see lots of dragons. Know any place nearby with a bunch of types?"
"What kinda ghost story is that in these backwoods? There's an earth dragon goin' by—gawk at that. Otherwise, pitch in with the farmwork."
"I'm serious."
"Aigoo, ol' me's serious too, but ya won't believe it."
"Ben!"
Owen glared, but it bounced off.
Their bond went beyond master-servant.
As Owen grew anxious, Ben slyly spilled.
Not your typical shady geezer.
"Oh yeah, come to think—there is a way to see tons of dragons."
"Huh? What's that?"