The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 78

“Who are you?”

Who am I? Why is she asking that? I know I’m human, and so does she. There’s only one reason she’d ask such a question out of the blue.

[Claw]

The thing I snatched away, the one she stared at intently for a while, muttering incomprehensible exclamations. It was the only thing that could have shifted her gaze so quickly.

“I don’t know what you use this for… but I’m certain it’s no mere artifact. Because the power imbued in this thing isn’t simple magic. Though I don’t know if you’re aware of that.”

I know. How could I not? She may not know it, but I’m the one who made this not-so-simple thing. Thanks to that, despite this perilous situation, my heart is pounding with a completely different kind of excitement.

Engraving!

The mysterious technique that appeared in my dream one night, ten years ago when I was being dragged to the Terra Barrier [a magical barrier protecting the land], gifting me with unknown memories. It has helped me countless times since.

Even my master, the empire’s greatest mage, couldn’t make progress after years of research. Moreover, even I, the user, only use it based on experience without understanding the principle. But now, that secret might be revealed. And it was.

“This is the power of Dragon Words. Though it seems degraded to the point where it’s questionable whether it can even be called Dragon Words… Still, there’s no way a human could wield such a technique.”

Dragon Words, you say?

I’ve heard of them quite often. Both in the past and present. In the past, in various fantasy novels, and in the present, in various research materials. But the information they both provided about Dragon Words was similar.

The exclusive property of dragons, the source of magic, and something from another dimension. The ability to materialize the very meaning of language. But Engraving is a degraded version of Dragon Words?

“Hey, where did you pick this up? Or, who’s the idiot going around making and dropping something like this?”

“I made it.”

“What?”

“I didn’t pick it up anywhere. I crafted this weapon myself.”

“A weapon? This? You?”

She looked back and forth between me and [Claw], seemingly contemplating something, as if she couldn’t believe my words.

“Use it.”

“Pardon?”

“Use it. I need to see it with my own eyes.”

Is it that surprising? She boasts a lifespan incomparable to humans and must have seen many amazing sights. Yet, she was looking at me with a rather intrigued expression. That sight eased my tension slightly, and I activated Engraving as usual.

“…It’s real?”

“I wouldn’t be so bold as to lie before a great being.”

#

The red-haired woman, a dragon named Serena, was quite surprised by the current situation. She wasn’t showing it—but Renil had already noticed. As a powerful being who didn’t need to be mindful of others, she wasn’t very good at hiding her true feelings—the sight the human before her had shown was something she had never seen before.

‘It’s certain.’

If her eyes and senses weren’t deceiving her, the skill Renil had shown was definitely Dragon Words. Of course, it was cruder and more degraded than the Dragon Words she could use, something that was on a different level from magic and lacking as Dragon Words, but the underlying principle was the same.

‘Even if it’s degraded, how could a mere human…?’

Even if it was degraded, the dimensions were different from the start. If porcelain degrades, it might become earthenware. But could an ant understand and create the method of making earthenware? The answer is no. Similarly, humans could not understand the principle of Dragon Words. That was the common sense that existed in her mind. And today, a being that defied that common sense had appeared.

“Is that all? If you have more to show, keep going.”

And that was quite interesting. After living for hundreds, thousands of years, even the most amazing things become mundane.

The number of amazing things inevitably decreased over time, so this unexpected sight was something she welcomed with open arms. At this moment, a human she had ignored had stepped into their domain, even if only slightly, to the point where it didn’t matter.

Renil accepted Serena’s request and did his best, having sensed that she wasn’t hostile. The higher his level, the more useful Engraving became, but at the same time, research into its origins remained stagnant.

But now, he had not only grasped the origins but might also be able to gain something more. Of course, why he was given such an ability was unknown, but that was secondary.

“Amazing. Was there someone who used it like this? A human.”

“Yes.”

“Who taught you that?”

Renil was momentarily speechless. What should he say to convince the dragon before him? That he experienced it in a dream and was using it in reality based on that experience? Unless the being before him had the ability to detect lies, who would easily believe such a thing? No, even if they had such an ability, wouldn’t they be suspicious?

But there was no way he could avoid telling the truth. It might sound absurd, but it was the truth.

“A dream? You want me to believe that?”

“But it’s true.”

Unfortunately, Serena didn’t have the ability to distinguish between lies and truth. But she hadn’t lived all those years for nothing. Moreover, her senses as a dragon were inherently sharp. Those senses were telling her that there were no lies in what he had said so far.

“Hmm. Then, were there any ancestors who suddenly disappeared? Or anyone with special abilities?”

Some dragons would occasionally transform into humans to enjoy games, wanting to erase the boredom caused by their long lifespans. If Renil had dragon blood mixed in him during that process? If that blood was manifesting in this way?

He shakes his head.

“No.”

If that were the case, the Dragrenil family wouldn’t have remained a small noble family on the outskirts of the empire. As the possibilities she was putting forward were blocked one by one, Serena’s headache was getting worse.

‘What should I do with this?’

She had found an interesting fellow after a long time. Despite being human from head to toe, he freely wielded Dragon Words, albeit degraded. It was fair to say that he had surpassed the limits of the human race.

‘It would be a waste to let him go like this.’

She had found an interesting fellow after a long time. Of course, from her perspective, it didn’t matter what happened, but the question of ‘how a human is using Dragon Words’ could be a source of amusement for her, allowing her to pass the time.

Normally, she would have kidnapped him immediately and taken him to her lair. And she would have conducted various experiments as she pleased. Regardless of Renil’s life or death, although she would have kept him alive until she had satisfied her thirst for knowledge.

However, without knowing the cause, she couldn’t rashly lay her hands on him. What if she kidnapped him rashly and he lost his abilities when she tried to start the experiment? That would remain a permanent puzzle, tormenting her.

“Hey, I’ll take this for now. And stay here. If you’re not here when I come back, not only will this city be destroyed, but all the humans will die too. Got it?”

In the blink of an eye, Serena took [Claw] and left the room without even listening to Renil’s answer. The only one left was Renil, who had received an absurd order.

#

“Haa. Haa.”

After confirming that the dragon had disappeared, I collapsed into a seat. My legs gave way, making it impossible to stand. At the same time, the words she left behind as she disappeared like the wind came to mind.

‘Kill everyone here?’

An arrogant, outrageous statement. Who could utter such words in the capital of the empire? But it was also a statement that couldn’t be dismissed as mere boasting. Because she had the power to do just that.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what kind of spectacle would unfold if she unleashed her full power, considering that even a fragment of her power was enough to cause such a reaction.

‘Can we resist?’

Could we resist if we gathered all the empire’s forces? A brief moment of contemplation followed, but I shook my head. No matter how I thought about it, it was a difficult task.

I didn’t think there was a big difference between me and my master. If so, even if we gathered our strength, it would only amount to four people of similar level to me and others who didn’t reach that level. Her mere presence was enough to restrict movement, so I knew the result without even trying.

“…That’s too much.”

Of course, one could say that it was fortunate that she didn’t immediately kidnap me and use me as a test subject, but the situation where I had no choice but to be led around by her was quite frustrating. At the same time, even her declaration that she would casually take the lives of countless people.

Unlike the monster I faced in the Land of Monsters, she could speak, but in another sense, we couldn’t communicate at all. To think I would feel the difference in species so deeply, even though she had a human form but wasn’t human.

“Damn it.”

#

As she had assured, no one knew that she had come to see me. Not even my master, who wasn’t far from me. It was an absurd thing. But on the other hand, it became an opportunity to rekindle my will.

Titan [a powerful magical artifact].

A mere Titan wouldn’t be enough. But if I could utilize the Dragon Heart, and if my own level could advance another step, I might be able to gain the power to resist her, even if it took some time. At least, I could avoid being led around helplessly like now.

I still had a long way to go, but I felt like I had a milestone to aim for as an intermediate goal.

“Alright, so when should we set the date?”

“Already?”

“What do you mean already? Considering your ages, it’s best to get married as soon as possible. Besides, you two like each other, so there’s no reason to postpone it.”

Sigurd, unaware of the behind-the-scenes circumstances, was hurrying the wedding between me and Signe quite a bit. To the point where I was taken aback.

“Have you contacted Marquis Ziek?”

“Marquis? You can call him father-in-law now.”

There wasn’t enough time for Marquis Ziek to be contacted and receive a reply.

“Even if we contact him… I don’t know if he’ll be able to come. By the time he returns, winter will have arrived, and that place is especially dangerous during winter.”

“Still, we should contact him. Even if he has circumstances, it’s up to His Excellency to make that decision.”

“…My brother-in-law is right. I almost did something I shouldn’t have because I was too hasty.”

Although there were some minor setbacks, the process itself was progressing smoothly without any major problems. As time passed, one day, when the weather was favorable, the troops who had left the capital to punish the rebels who resisted to the end under the emperor’s command began to return to the capital triumphantly. And that story was synonymous with the resumption of the blood purge that had been temporarily halted.

< The Second Son of a Baron – Episode 78 – > End