Dragonlord

Ep 135. I Did? (3)

As Raizel tossed another elk onto the pile of animals, the youngling warily eyed her lord.

Serenis was standing at the cliffside with a cold, lifeless expression on her face. A painful gaze swept across the fields, as if the very expanse of snow was somehow hurting her.

“…”

When Serenis seemingly failed to even register Raizel’s returned presence, the youngling lightly shook her lord’s shoulder.

“Lord. You okay?”

“…Oh. Are you back already? That’s quite impressive.”

“I’ve been hunting since I was tiny, a little snow isn’t going to stop me. But are you okay? You seem distracted.”

“I’m alright. It’s…it’s nothing.”

“Hmm…”

Without warning, Raizel then proceeded to pinch Serenis on each of her cheeks, pulling them from side to side with a puzzled gaze. The youngling continued to study her lord for some kind of visible reaction, though they failed to show any.

“Why don’t you actually tell me what’s going on?”

“…I’sh no’ing, child.”

“Really? Because the way I see it, you don’t even like that orange head much. I’m still not sure why you’re even out here helping her.”

“…”

Sighing, Serenis gently brushed off the metal hands gripping her face.

“She may not be my own child, but she’s a child of the kin nonetheless. What more reason would I need?”

“Oh, don’t give me that crap. There’s a hundred others back home and they’re doing way worse. If you cared that much for everyone, then you would’ve gone back to the valley by now.”

“…”

“Something’s bugging you, isn’t it? Spill it.”

Howling winds filled the silence that settled between the two dragons.

Serenis uncomfortably shifted her gaze, avoiding the steel dragon’s eyes. Given Raizel’s usual callousness, the youngling could be surprisingly keen at times.

After a lengthy hesitation, the dragonlord slowly parted her lips.

“Raizel. Do you think that the dead…could return to life?”

“Sure I do.”

“?…You do?”

“Yeah. I mean, look at you. You said you died like, a thousand years ago.”

“…”

There was some truth to the youngling’s words: as Raizel would put it, with her heart reclaimed and her memories intact, Serenis had indeed ‘returned to life.’

Then, there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t occur again to someone else.

There was no one to say that it couldn’t occur again.

“…Child. Have you ever seen Karas speaking into the air?”

“Wha?”

Raizel frowned at the sudden change of topic. She briefly retraced her memories to recall what she could about the professor, but nothing came to mind regarding what her lord had just said.

“Don’t think so. Why?”

“…I just…happened to see him doing so.”

“Meh, guess he was bored. What, did he say something crappy? Is that what’s bugging you?”

“…Somewhat.”

Perhaps he was bored. That would explain why he’d talk to thin air like a madman.

That would explain why he’d entertain thoughts of reviving someone out loud.

…But that still didn’t explain why the professor would mention the Reaper’s name.

Or why it had sounded like saving Aymeia was a stepping stone to reaching another goal.

✧ ✧ ✧

While Serenis and Raizel had separated themselves from the party, Chell had been filled itself with fear and chaos.

In the defense of its occupants, the settlement rarely received guests from outside of Asarda. And currently, the only guest they were expecting was an imperial army looking to invade their land.

“Chief! They’re coming! Looks like Fergus has been taken captive!”

“What do you mean, captive?! Weren’t you just saying one of them seemed to be Lady Aymeia?!”

“That’s exactly who’s holding Fergus right now!”

“…Stars be damned. I’ll see them myself. Hold your positions! Do NOT take up arms until we know what they want!”

Urgus busily pushed his way through the rows of warriors, making his way towards Chell’s wooden gates.

And, soon enough, an audible thumping noise came forth from across. The voice of a hesitant history professor accompanied the knocking.

“…Excuse us.”

“Hmph!”

Urgus slid open the small wooden window by the entrance, just barely wide enough for himself to peek through.

The chief warrior’s eyes warily studied the party that stood beyond Chell’s gates. An unconscious warrior was indeed being held in a peculiar girl’s arms – though, the bird-headed professor standing at the forefront was far too eye-catching to pay them much attention.

“…Soldiers of the empire, I presume.”

“No, no, nothing of that sort. We’re merely here to bring a lost warrior back home.”

“What is it that you want in exchange?”

“…Nothing, really.”

Urgus’ eyes widened in surprise as he heard the professor’s answer.

‘Nothing?’

The chief warrior quickly cleared his throat. But try as he might, he was failing to hide the surge of hope etched into his voice.

“N, nonsense. How can I be sure that this isn’t a ruse for you to enter our settlement?”

Karas let out a soundless snort at the chief warrior’s question. While he dared not say it out loud, he could tear down a wooden wall like this in matter of seconds; in fact, even Light could probably break through Chell’s gates if she were to try hard enough.

But instead of commenting on how underdeveloped Asarda’s defenses were, Karas pointed towards the unconscious warrior in Aymeia’s arms.

“Then…if you’d like, we’ll leave him outside.”

“Uh?”

“We’ll place the warrior outside the gates here and take our leave. That would work to your favor, yes?”

“Uh…”

It would.

Urgus wracked his head in an attempt to discern the hidden intent lying behind the professor’s words. However, when the chief warrior failed to find any, he let out a small, resigning grunt.

“…A, alright then. Leave him outside.”

“Very well.”

Nodding his head, Karas turned to face the former deity. He relayed the chief warrior’s request loud and clear.

Unnecessarily so.

“Lady Aymeia, it seems they’d rather we leave the warrior here. Let us take our leave.”

Nodding back, Aymeia lowered herself to gently place the warrior onto the snow.

But before his back could touch the cold ground, Urgus hurriedly bashed his fists against the wooden wall, pressing his head against the tiny wooden window to get a better view of the orange-haired girl.

“W, wait! Did you just say ‘Lady Aymeia’?”

“…”

Karas slowly turned his head towards the source of the hurried voice. A warm business smile decorated the professor’s expression as he faced Urgus once more.

“Why, yes I did. This is Lady Aymeia, Deity of the Stars. Have you never heard of her name?”

“O, of course I have! But that’s…actually…? Are you lot her retainers then?”

“Why, yes. How very keen of you to notice.”

While Karas ensnared the chief warrior in his web of lies, Light and Ilias watched on with conflicted eyes. The half girl was beyond ridiculed, and the red dragon was letting out a nervous laughter.

“…Seriously? Now we’re her minions?”

“Haha. Well…sometimes, lying can get you out of tough situations, Light. And it’s a lot easier to do with Raizel gone.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“…Think about it. If Raizel was here, how do you think she would’ve reacted?”

Light briefly painted the steel dragon’s image in her head – of how the grumpy youngling would’ve reacted to being framed as a deity’s minion.

“…Uh…”

For starters, Karas probably wouldn’t be standing on his two feet.

In fact, he’d most definitely not be standing on his two feet.

✧ ✧ ✧

“…I’m pretty sure this is considered sacrilege.”

“Uh…don’t worry, Light. No one will find out!”

“…Ilias?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s what a heretic would say.”

“…Sorry.”

In a matter of minutes, Light and her party had been promoted from ‘damned Akeians’ to ‘Aymeia’s retainers.’ They were now comfortably situated within the Asardan settlement, welcomed as honored guests of their land’s guardian.

Although Chell was nothing to boast compared to developed cities like Partivine, the rows of wooden lodges and walls certainly helped to block out the freezing winds. It was basically a small village, just with added towers, walls, and posts to make it serve as a military outpost.

‘…Then again, I’m pretty sure Ilias could blow up this place in 5 seconds. I don’t even see a single stone building…’

Finishing her scan of the surrounding settlement, Light returned her attention to forward. Having been swept aside with her dragon sister to remain on a wooden bench, the pair were hardly receiving any attention at all.

Instead, all the attention was falling upon the professor – and the peculiar orange-haired girl beside him.

After Karas had sowed the seeds of doubt into Chell’s chief warrior, it didn’t take long for the word to spread – and even less for them to be granted entrance into the settlement.

Karas had already become a divine harbinger of sorts after his lies had taken hold. And although a select few Asardans had questioned the party’s sincerity, the doubt in their eyes quickly melted away before the flames Aymeia summoned as proof.

In fact, Asardans were now swarming over their flame-coated guardian.

“Ahh…! Lady Aymeia! The guardian’s come to protect us!”

“We knew you’d come! We knew you’d never leave us to suffer!”

“…It’s so warm…”

Meanwhile, Aymeia herself remained trapped in place, helpless to escape the ring of her own followers. She occasionally looked to the others for help, but neither Light nor Ilias seemed keen on stepping in to help.

“Um…I’m just…”

“Ahem!”

Clearing his throat loudly to drown out the star deity’s voice, Karas stepped into the crowd’s midst, waving his arm to gain their attention.

“Now, if we could have some quiet here – Lady Aymeia’s come to deliver news regarding the empire.”

After making the sudden announcement, the professor turned to Aymeia, mouthing his next words in silence.

‘As. Practiced.’

“…”

With the crowd’s attention now focused on her, Aymeia retrieved the flames surging about her. She opened her mouth to speak – as practiced.

“…Everyone, I…”

But her voice soon trailed off, lost in the midst of her piling uncertainties.

It wasn’t that the attention bothered Aymeia; in fact, having so many eyes focused on her felt nostalgic in a way.

Instead, what did bother Asarda’s guardian deity were the uncertainties growing within her. Even her own name was but a hazy memory; she had little confidence in herself, words or actions or otherwise. She wasn’t even sure if she deserved to be called their guardian deity when she’d done so little in deterring the empire.

But as if already aware of Aymeia’s troubles, Urgus beamed a reassuring smile towards the stammering guardian.

“Rest assured, Lady Aymeia.”

“…?”

“You may be Asarda’s guardian, but this land is our home as much as it is yours. We shall stand with you against the empire until the end.”

Urgus briefly scanned the surrounding crowd, unaware of the misunderstanding he was building. The chief warrior’s confident gaze met each and every warrior’s within Chell.

“Is that not right, men?! For we are Asarda’s pride – and we shall protect our home with our own two hands!”

A chorus of affirming shouts and roars rang throughout the small settlement. Aymeia may be their guardian, but no Asardan wished to be a burden to their deity.

…And because of the crowd’s overwhelming response, Aymeia once again faltered in giving her answer.

It took a few additional minutes – and quite a bit of courage – for Asarda’s guardian to tell her people that their roaring determination was in vain.

✧ ✧ ✧

“The imperial army’s…fallen?”

“That’s right. They’re already…”

“…”

Finding himself at a loss for words, Urgus slowly brought a hand to his forehead.

The imperial army had already fallen.

In other words, there was no need for so many warriors to be stationed at Chell. The creeping fear of war, their determination to protect their homes, all of it had been in vain.

But even so, the chief warrior was far from disappointed.

It was a reckless battle to begin with: while Aymeia’s appearance had given them some semblance of hope, it did little to change the fact that their defenses were hopelessly weak in comparison to the Akeian empire’s might.

Aymeia’s news was unexpected, but it was nonetheless a welcome one – enough to make the chief warrior’s lips curve upwards against his will. Though Urgus quickly hid his smile beneath his sleeves, another series of celebratory shouts sprang forth from behind him.

Asarda’s guardian had protected her people – and that alone was enough for Chell’s inhabitants to celebrate. Another series of shouts sprang forth, the voices filled with blessings and appreciations.

Watching the crowd thanking their guardian on their knees, Urgus soon joined their ranks, bending down to his knee in a respectful gesture before his land’s guardian deity.

“Thank you, Lady Aymeia.”

“…Wait, I hardly did anything. I merely…”

Slept.

And while she was unconscious, the others had destroyed the imperial army, killed their emperor, and defeated the deity that supported them.

But before Aymeia could bring such truths to her lips, Karas preemptively placed a hand on the former deity’s shoulder, interrupting her bout of honesty with another show of his business smile.

“You merely did what you had to, yes. But Lady Aymeia, too much humility is no different from an insult at times.”

“What? No, I-“

Hearing the professor’s words, Urgus threw his head back in a bout of loud, hearty laughter.

“Haha, yes, indeed! There’s no need to be so modest.”

“No, listen, I…”

“Lady Aymeia. While it may have been small work for you, what you’ve done for us today is the biggest blessing Asarda could’ve asked for.”

“…”

“An occasion like this ought to be celebrated under your name…it’s a shame we’re so short on supplies.”

Unfortunately, just because a war failed to break out didn’t mean that a shortage of supplies would somehow solve itself. After all, Urgus’ first and foremost concern had been having everyone starve to death before the empire would even step foot into their soil; it was simply impossible to hold a celebration when they weren’t even sure if they’d have enough food to last tomorrow.

Though, the chief warrior’s worries were soon answered by a giant, heaven-sent shadow.

“And you call yourselves warriors? Not even the mightiest creature can accomplish much without food to eat.”

“…?”

Urgus narrowed his eyes, doubting his own hearing. A woman’s voice was seemingly echoing down from the heavens.

…Though, as it turned out, that was exactly what was going on. The chief warrior raised his gaze to beholds a giant white dragon, fluttering her wings above his head.

“What…the…”

“Careful now.”

Following the dragonlord’s echoing voice, the body of a large elk was sent falling down before Urgus’ feet.

Various other wildlife soon followed, forming a small mountain of prey before the chief warrior. Aside from the fact that their skulls were cleanly demolished, the animals were in a most ideal state.

With widened eyes, Urgus continued to glance up and down between the giant dragon and the mountain of fresh meat.

“Who…how…? Even one is tough to find in these parts…”

“Not at all. It was quite easy.”

…Is what the youngling on her back had said, just a while ago.

And it’d been easy for Serenis as well, having done nothing but watch Raizel spring to action.

Though, now, said youngling was looking rather dissatisfied about the whole situation. Raizel grouchily poked at Serenis’ back, speaking into her lord’s ears.

“Hey, I caught them all. How come you’re the one boasting?”

“…If you’d like, you’re more than welcome to go down there yourself, child. You can tell everyone how hard you worked to catch these beasts.”

“…No.”

“Why not? It’s the truth.”

“You want me to say I hunted to feed humans? What am I, a joke?”

Among all the dragonkin out there, Raizel was the least likely one to admit to such things.

In the steel dragon’s head, her kin were still the proud and mighty creatures that cared little for the well-being of others. They were not to mingle with humans, and they were not to show compassion or affection for lesser creatures, lest they be seen as weaklings.

Truth be told, that was how dragons were often presented – both within and outside of their valley. Behaving in such ways was almost considered a virtue among elder dragons.

But little did she know, most Asardans didn’t even know what a dragon was.