Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Diplomacy (1)
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“Master, forgive me, but what do you mean by revealing your identity...”
“It means exactly that. Not right away, but once I've handled what must be done first, I intend to step out of the shadows and reveal myself rather than continue hiding.”
At the Absolute Ruler of Darkness's words, all five swords of Kalan harbored the same doubt.
And rightly so, for their master had never once wished to show her face up until now.
Thus, they were curious about what change of heart had come over their master, but rather than seek to satisfy that curiosity, they all bowed their heads in unison and replied.
““Understood.””
To them at least, their master's words were as good as the will of heaven itself, and they sought to follow her decrees without question rather than doubt them.
“...Then, may I ask what this task is that must be done before revealing your identity?”
And so Loriell inquired about what lay ahead.
“First, from the inside. I plan to clean up those who harbor enmity toward me.”
With that, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness began assigning tasks to Kalan's five swords.
And shortly after, once they had heard her words and departed the underground cavern...
‘...In the end, he didn't accept me not just because of my infamy, but because of those who stand in opposition to me.’
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness once again recalled the plan she had reviewed dozens of times up until yesterday.
‘First and foremost, not an external purge, but an internal one.’
‘Drag out those inside who oppose me, reform them or eliminate them.’
‘Once the inside is fully purged, only then will I reveal my identity and step outward—’
“And deal with all those outside who oppose me.”
Rin muttered as she clenched her fist tightly.
“...”
In truth, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness could have continued as before, manipulating the Kingdom of Kalan from the shadows to eliminate those opposed to her.
No, that would actually have been more convenient for her.
Yet despite that, the sole reason she chose to step into the light and make herself a target was one.
“...”
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness gazed at the 'Epithet Change Ticket' gripped in her hand.
The memory replayed naturally the moment she saw it.
‘Oh, come to think of it, I remember you hated that epithet,’
Grit!
The instant she recalled it, Rin ground her teeth without realizing.
She felt so pathetic and foolish for having thrown a tantrum that hurt his feelings. Tears threatened to spill.
Thus.
‘I shall prove it.’
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness resolved.
‘With actions.’
By making her epithet echo across the world.
‘I shall prove it without fail.’
That she took pride in the epithet he had given her.
‘And once I've proven it, with this—’
Squeeze—!
...Rin stared intently at the Epithet Change Ticket.
‘I shall make it final.’
Soon after, she gripped it tightly, and moments later, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness's full-scale activities began within the Kingdom of Kalan.
“...So.”
Adria spoke after hearing the full story from the guardian.
“To sum it up, the great one was the hero of Lartania's lord ten years ago, right?”
“That's right.”
“And the lord of Lartania, who vanished ten years ago and seemed gone for good, has returned... and you're thrilled about it.”
Adria glanced at the photos filling the room as she spoke.
“...Exactly.”
Adria watched with fresh surprise as the great one blushed and shyly nodded.
She had seen it before when the lord first met her, and later with others, but this was the first time she'd witnessed such a range of emotions and expressions—positive ones at that—right before her eyes.
Thus.
“Then our next step is clear.”
“Huh?”
“You should go meet him directly. The lord of Lartania.”
Adria suggested, but...
“N-No way!”
At the Crimson Scale Dragon's immediate retort, Adria replied with a face full of questions.
“...Why not?”
“B-Because... the master might hate me.”
“...Isn't that something you can only know for sure after meeting him?”
“E-Even so, it's scary... H-Honestly, I'm content like this...”
The dragon clutched the photo in her hands, her face tinged with melancholy.
“But you can't stay like this forever, can you?”
“W-Well, even if it's forever... uh, it might actually be okay...?”
“?”
“I-I can see the master like this... In ph-photos, he's always smiling... I can watch from afar... hehe...”
Adria unconsciously made a strange face as she watched the dragon smile creepily at the photos she'd plastered everywhere.
“No matter what, don't you want to go back to him...?”
“B-But I've done so many wrong things...? What if he tells me to my face that he hates me...”
Adria hurriedly spoke as tears began welling up in the dragon's eyes just from the thought.
“Th-Then instead of rushing off right now, how about subtly probing to gauge the lord's feelings first?”
“Probe... the master?”
“Right! He still doesn't know you're connected to the great one, so we can test the waters discreetly, don't you think?”
At Adria's words, the Crimson Scale Dragon blinked away her tears and nodded, but soon her face fell again in gloom.
“B-But even if we probe now, I can't go out anyway...”
“Huh? Wait, why not?”
“...I have to stay here for another year.”
“What? Why?”
“It's the condition for shedding my half-human, half-dragon bloodline and becoming a full dragon.”
Adria blinked in confusion at the Crimson Scale Dragon's explanation, then recalled what Lartania's lord had said.
He knew no dragons, only 'half-human, half-dragons.'
But Adria felt doubt.
The Crimson Scale Dragon before her looked far more dragon than half-breed to anyone.
Unlike half-dragons with no horns or just one, she had two horns, and despite her human form, she bore a dragon's tail absent in true half-breeds.
Thus, as Adria opened her mouth with a puzzled expression...
“I-It's a contract. With the Dragon Lord.”
“...Dragon Lord?”
“Yeah, right now I'm undergoing a ritual using 'Dragon Tongue' to become a full dragon instead of a half-breed.”
“Then this space...”
“Is where the ritual is happening. You humans can't see it, but I can't leave here for at least another year. That's the 'restriction' that comes with becoming a dragon... Well, there are other things too.”
The Crimson Scale Dragon muttered while glancing at her wrist, then whined softly.
“...If I'd known it'd be like this, I never would've tried becoming a dragon in the first place.”
Adria questioned the gloomily muttering dragon with a doubtful look.
“If you didn't think you needed to become a dragon, then why...?”
“Half-dragons can't use... dimensional magic... So that's why...”
“Dimensional magic?”
“Humans might not know, but... I heard full dragons can use it. That's why I made the contract...”
“And the reason you want to learn dimensional magic is...?”
“The Dragon Lord said the master might be in another dimension... So,”
“...You plan to go to another dimension and beg forgiveness...?”
“Huh? N-No, not that...”
“Then...?”
“If I can open a gate to another dimension, I can watch him... Th-Then I can watch without hearing anything unpleasant from the master.”
“...”
Adria unconsciously shut her mouth at the dragon's casual words blending obsession and creepiness so perfectly.
A short while later, Adria clutched her slightly dizzy head and nodded.
“Alright. I've got the gist of the situation.”
“Yeah...”
“But you can't keep this up forever, right? Even after becoming a dragon in a year, avoiding the lord would be a bit much.”
“Just watching is fine for me...”
The dragon said with lacking confidence.
Adria hummed thoughtfully at her, then lit up with an idea.
“I-I heard that ten years ago in Lartania territory, there were other heroes besides the great one. They might stick to the lord instead... Wouldn't that leave the great one feeling unfairly sidelined?”
Adria spoke to give a spark of courage to the endlessly shrinking dragon.
However.
“Th-Those crazy bitches aren't worthy of standing by the master's side...”
“...???”
Adria's face turned utterly baffled at the sudden dark words from the dragon.
“Eek...! The m-master was so good to them... And they looked at his gifts like they hated them... If I see those girls, I'll kill them all—”
Adria quickly interjected as murderous intent slowly filled the dragon's pupils amid her outburst.
“Th-That kind of situation would be unfair too, so let's build up some favor over the next year...!”
“Favor...?”
“Yes! You can't go out right now anyway, and the great one revealing herself immediately would be burdensome, so we'll slowly build favor instead. I've got plans for everything.”
Soon, the dragon began to lean in, gradually focusing intently on Adria's words.