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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Dragon Priestess Jane, from behind, tried to stop me, grabbing my shoulder and asking what I meant, but I continued speaking.
“However, let’s make sure we have the facts straight.”
“The facts?”
I nodded slightly at the question from one of the elders.
“Yes, about the pirates.”
It was hard to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside me.
The reason they were being so unreasonable was probably because they themselves knew the weakness of their own logic.
Therefore, I decided to strike at the core of the issue they so desperately wanted to hide behind their stubborn veil.
“Were they truly human?”
Already knowing the answer, I moved on to the essential question.
You wouldn’t know, would you?
That one of my childhood friends had already once sunk all those pirates into the dark depths of the sea.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the oracle chamber. If I had to use an analogy fitting for a building reminiscent of a dragon, it felt like something was caught in its throat.
In any case, the elders’ gazes were raw and predatory.
It meant they were ready to sink their sharp teeth into me at any moment.
If I hadn’t caught it, the dagger called the Dragon God’s Wrath might have been flying towards the space between my eyebrows this time.
“What… what do you mean?”
The Dragon Priestess, the only one at the round table who didn’t even grasp the truth of my words, asked in a trembling voice.
“I heard they were pirates led by the Pirate Lord. Are you saying they weren’t human?”
“The Pirate Lord is indeed human. But my question was whether the pirates were comprised solely of humans.”
The Dragon Priestess murmured softly, as if she understood.
“You mean there could be dragon-kin among the pirates.”
Immediately, an elder shouted defensively.
“The one called the Pirate Lord was born and raised in the kingdom’s lands. I heard those who follow him are also humans who have been with him for a long time.”
“They are outlaws who roam the entire continent. It wouldn’t be strange if they picked up any kind of comrade or slave along the way.”
One of the elders cleared his throat and bluffed.
“What does it matter? We’re demanding compensation for the damages caused by the pirates.”
“You’ve changed your words. You were referring to ‘humans’ just now, and now you’re saying ‘pirates.’”
Perhaps because they were lizard-men, they subtly changed their word choice like snakes.
The elder who spoke coughed awkwardly, as if something was caught in his throat, and averted his gaze.
“If the damage was caused by humans, we’ll compensate you, but if it was caused by pirates, that’s different. That’s your negligence.”
If they were simply comprised of humans, it would be fine to refer to them as ‘humans,’ but if there were dragon-kin or other races mixed in with the pirates, the responsibility couldn’t be shifted to us.
As far as I knew, the pirates were a mix of not only humans but other races as well. Humans were the majority, but there were dragon-kin, elves, dwarves, beast-kin, and more.
By their logic, they would have to demand compensation from all races for the damage caused by the pirates.
It was absurd, and the proud dragon-kin would never accept it.
“They were humans.”
Just then, a heavy voice struck my ears.
The elder leading the oracle clasped his hands and placed them on the round table.
It felt like a sign that they would firmly maintain their position.
“You’re saying they were humans?”
“Yes, they were definitely humans. That’s what we were told.”
“Alright then. We will also conduct a minimal on-site investigation and prepare the compensation immediately.”
I couldn’t just back down like this.
It was clear as day that they were lying.
He furrowed his brows slightly and closed his mouth for a moment, but there were still eleven other elders.
One of them, who seemed to have a strong personality, questioned me.
“Are you saying we’re lying right now?!”
“You are demanding a considerable amount of compensation. It’s only natural that we cannot simply hand over that amount of money based on your words alone.”
“How can you say that in front of the dragon-kin who were murdered for no reason? In front of their graves, brutally killed by your pirates!”
“That’s precisely why we need to investigate thoroughly. For the victims. To appease their souls.”
I subtly released my anger, telling them to shut up, and the elder who had been questioning me gasped and leaned back. He almost fell out of his chair.
“Fine, you have our permission.”
Was it because I made it clear that I wouldn’t back down any further? In the end, the elder leading the proceedings slowly reached for his gavel.
“However, you will need an escort, so Cardinal Theosander will accompany you.”
“As you command.”
Cardinal Theosander immediately placed his fist on his chest and bowed his head.
Eve and Sen behind me made disgusted faces, but we couldn’t refuse this.
“I will also accompany you!”
The elder’s gavel, about to declare the session closed, stopped as if blocked by the Dragon Priestess’s sharp cry.
The elder seemed to ponder for a moment, but Cardinal Theosander’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed,
“There’s no need to worry with me there. Escorting the Dragon Priestess is my duty.”
“If that is the Cardinal’s will, then so be it. Let the Dragon Priestess also accompany them.”
Bang, bang, bang-!
The gavel fell, and the oracle was closed.
As if they no longer wanted to see the Dragon Priestess’s face, the elders all stood up at once, turned around, and left.
“……”
The Dragon Priestess, who remained for a moment, also glanced at Cardinal Theosander, turned sharply as if she couldn’t stand him, and left.
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The day after the 729th oracle.
We set off towards the sea regions that had reportedly suffered damage, accompanied by the Dragon Priestess, her escort, the Cardinal, and several other guards.
It would have been nice if we could have traveled by warp, but I heard that the warp markers in both regions had been destroyed by the pirate attacks, so we decided to travel by carriage.
Sen, who had been looking forward to riding a wyvern again, was quickly disappointed, but her eyes lit up when she saw that the carriage wasn’t being pulled by horses.
It had a sharp appearance, unlike a horse, and instead of hooves, it had three thick toes like a wyvern.
It looked like a small, wingless wyvern.
“It’s a Drake, a special species created by crossbreeding horses and wyverns. It’s a rare animal you can only see in the dragon-kin’s land.”
“Horses and wyverns?”
When I asked, imagining something grotesque, Eve nodded, looking at the Drake with pity.
“Of course, they didn’t… directly mate… It probably wasn’t born by choice… Compared to horses, they’re slower but much stronger.”
“Was there a need for that? Couldn’t they just raise horses to pull carriages?”
When I asked if there was a need to create such a strange special species, Eve nodded slightly and whispered,
“After the Dragon God Shakarim fell asleep, the dragon-kin made obsessive efforts to differentiate themselves from other races. Especially with dragon-related themes. Buildings resembling dragons and Drakes are proof of that.”
“……I see.”
Rin from the second iteration had already told me that Shakarim was pretending to be asleep. That he was disappointed in the dragon-kin and had turned his back on them.
And in addition to that…
“Please load this.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Dragon Priestess Jane, calmly loading luggage in the distance, also knew that the Dragon God was awake.
My top priority was to talk to her separately and arrange a private meeting with Shakarim, but…
“Could you step back a bit?”
“I am the Dragon Priestess’s escort. I cannot leave her side.”
Cardinal Theosander stuck close to her side as if to flaunt the fact that he was her escort.
Just now, he had asked another guard to load the luggage, but he immediately snatched it and loaded it himself.
Eve, who was watching this with me, murmured in a deflated voice.
“I’ve read many books with this kind of couple combination.”
“Combination…?”
I wondered what she was talking about, but Eve continued as if telling me to just listen if I didn’t understand.
“A princess and her knight, a saint and a paladin, an actress and her bodyguard, and so on. I’ve seen many different variations of this story, but reality is colder than I thought.”
“Well, I can see that Theosander is passionately courting her.”
“Right? Actually, the standard trope is the opposite. The escort grumbles and acts indifferent, but he’s actually caring, and the princess’s heart is swayed! I wanted that kind of atmosphere…”
Eve crossed her arms, looking disappointed, then suddenly looked at me in surprise.
“Wait, isn’t this Daniel’s story?”
“What?”
What was she talking about all of a sudden?
“He pretends to grumble and be indifferent, but he’s actually caring, and hearts are swayed…? That’s totally Daniel’s method!”
“Don’t say such strange things! What method?”
Eve was saying that I intentionally seduced women. I tried to come up with a counterargument, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Eve, looking up at me, warned me with a slightly menacing aura.
“Don’t give the Dragon Priestess any strange ideas. Okay? Don’t make her suddenly say something like ‘I want to go with you too!’ when we’re done and about to leave!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Just be careful! Especially when I think it’s my turn, and you’re flirting with other women!”
“Ha, that will never happen.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I want to believe you, but I’m so worried.”
Eve sighed and pointed her index and middle fingers at my eyes.
“I’m watching you.”
“That will never happen.”
“If you break your promise, it’s 100 punches. Not forgiveness punches, but real punches! I’m not forgiving you!”
“Ha, do whatever you want.”
Eve’s puffed-out cheeks were full of distrust towards me.
Arriving at the Royen Sea region, we unpacked our luggage. I wondered if there were any accommodations nearby, but since there were hardly any buildings left standing in Royen, we had to set up tents.
“The sea breeze is strong.”
Dragon Priestess Jane quietly approached me as I was staring blankly out at the sea, pretending to be looking for something.
Naturally, the Cardinal followed, clearing his throat.
As if the quiet atmosphere had been completely shattered by that cough, the Dragon Priestess made a displeased face.
It seemed that she now disliked the mere presence of Cardinal Theosander. It seemed like a rather difficult love.
“Is this your first time seeing the sea?”
“No, I see it quite often. The academy I attend is in a port city.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Dragon Priestess nodded slightly.
She seemed to have something she wanted to say but was hesitating, so I lightly started the conversation again.
“But every sea seems to have its own characteristics. The waves here are quite strong. The smell of the sea is also stronger and saltier.”
Elgrid, called the city of trade, wasn’t actually a place that felt like the sea.
Perhaps because it was so developed, the salty smell was only faintly noticeable along the coast.
“Is that so? Every sea has different characteristics… I’d love to experience that someday.”
The Dragon Priestess, with a faint smile on her face as if a fog had lifted, was about to speak cautiously when Cardinal Theosander interrupted from behind.
“You, explain why you’ve come to the Royen Sea region.”
“Cardinal!”
“Your Holiness, we must clarify this. Isn’t this why you sought him out?”
“That’s… Even so, we should ask at the appropriate time. And it’s not good to be so forceful. He is our guest. Don’t lower the dignity of the dragon-kin.”
“He’s not a guest. He’s here to pay for his sins.”
“Ha…”
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