The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 82

“Well, that’s that. Let’s work together on something.”

“Work… you mean?”

“Yes, work.”

Work together? With me? Her? Why?

Her unexpected words made me freeze. What kind of grand scheme is she thinking of that would make someone like her, a dragon no less, want to work with me?

She was a dragon straight out of legends. Not some subspecies that a decent knight could handle, and certainly not some fool I managed to defeat. These words came from a being capable of destroying a kingdom single-handedly, so it couldn’t be anything ordinary.

But as unexpected as her offer was, the details were even further from what I imagined.

“You’ll have to learn Dragon Words from me.”

“……Pardon?”

What did she just say? I couldn’t believe my ears. Did she realize how absurd that sounded to a human? Or perhaps she realized it was too sudden? Whatever the reason, she repeated herself.

“What’s wrong with you? You were fine before, why can’t you understand? I said you need to learn Dragon Words.”

Let’s skip the unnecessary remarks. So, if I understood correctly, she’s telling me, a human, to learn Dragon Words, the exclusive domain of dragons? No more, no less, Dragon Words? Putting everything else aside, is it even possible for a human to learn Dragon Words?

“Ah, don’t worry too much. I could use them moderately from birth. It would be impossible for a normal human even after hundreds of years, but since you’re already using something similar freely, you’ll be presentable after about a hundred years of hard work.”

“A, a hundred years? More importantly, why do I need to learn Dragon Words?”

Her sense of time is absurd. In a hundred years, I’ll be almost one hundred and thirty. No matter how much I can slow down aging by manipulating mana, I can’t transcend the lifespan of a human. What good are Dragon Words when I’m on the verge of death? It’s not like learning Dragon Words will turn me into a dragon. But from the start, my reaction didn’t seem to matter to her.

“So, you refuse?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

She was a tyrant. A tyrant who didn’t care about the circumstances of those beneath her. She must have had everything her way since birth, but I, as her subordinate, had my own circumstances, so I couldn’t just be dragged around as she said.

Calm down.

What could I say to persuade this tyrant? The opponent was a variable, capable of any sudden, unexpected action. To get the result I wanted, I needed to lead the conversation at my own pace. For that, a cool head was essential. Just as I was trying to calm my trembling heart through the imprint, she exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

“That’s it!”

The intensity of her face, so close and sparkling, was hard to ignore. She didn’t react this much last time. What on earth happened to her in the meantime?

“That’s it. Not Dragon Words, but not magic either! That ambiguous something! Unlike that old man, I could see it! The potential. From now on, you only need to think about one thing: wielding Dragon Words as a human. If you show that, that old man will be shocked!”

“Show… Before that, who is this old man you speak of?”

It was hard to grasp the context of the conversation. Every time she opened her mouth, two or three new pieces of information popped out. I roughly understood the overall picture, but the details kept changing, so what could I do but watch and wait?

“Well, fine. To achieve my goal, you need to work hard, so you deserve an explanation. I’ll explain it only once, so listen carefully. Where should I start?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, please start from the beginning.”

“From the beginning? Let’s see… You humans know that what you call magic is actually Dragon Words modified for you to learn, right?”

I asked her to start from the beginning, but wasn’t this too far back? Still, more information was better than less. Besides, the speaker was a dragon. Having lived for a time that humans couldn’t even fathom, she might reveal information crucial to humans.

“Yes, that hypothesis exists.”

“It’s not a hypothesis, it’s a fact. But that’s not the important part. Why was it done?”

“……Wasn’t it because humans couldn’t use Dragon Words?”

“That’s right. That was the limitation of the human race. Because of that, we… no. It’s already thousands of years ago, so it’s a story from a previous generation for me too.

Anyway, they say they worried a lot. They had to survive as creations, but they had no sharp claws or teeth, were weak, and not even agile. Compared to the dominant creatures of that time, their only advantage was that they were a little smarter. After much deliberation, they decided to teach them how to manipulate mana, along with effective ways to use it. That’s the origin of the magic you wield.”

Thousands of years ago. Such a backstory existed behind the discovery of mana, humanity’s great first step. I might be the first human to learn the truth, apart from the people of that era.

“You seem to have developed in your own way, but in the end, an imitation is an imitation. No matter how strong a drake becomes, it’s still a drake.”

“Are you saying that no matter how much magic develops, it can’t match Dragon Words?”

“It’s a matter of different origins. Different class, different level. Well, someday it might reach a similar level. An imitation isn’t forbidden from surpassing the original. However, even if magic has that potential, does the human race have the ability to elevate the potential of magic to another dimension?”

It was a very interesting story. Like she said, even including those unknown, the number of mages who created the seven circles wouldn’t exceed one hand, but she was saying they had to go beyond that. It was bound to be a skeptical story. But what she wanted to say wasn’t about the potential of magic. What was more important was what she wanted to convey through this story.

“But then you showed up.”

“The imprint… you mean?”

“You call it an imprint, I guess? Anyway, your level is quite impressive among humans, but to us, it’s all the same.

But among those mediocre guys, there was someone who was clumsily imitating us. This is the first discovery in thousands of years since we taught you mana. But at the place where I was about to boast about my unprecedented great discovery, that old man dismissed my great discovery as nothing. How could I not be angry? I was shocked when I saw it, but if he says it’s nothing, what does that make me?”

“Ah… So, the reason you told me to learn Dragon Words is to get revenge on that old man?”

“That’s right!”

What kind of reaction should I show? If there was one thing for sure, it was that she was a completely selfish, capricious tyrant who could only be satisfied by doing things her way. And if there was one more unfortunate thing, it was that, unlike that old man, I wasn’t someone who could remain unaffected by her whims.

“I understand why you’re telling me this.”

“Good. Then let’s start today without wasting time. First…”

“But I’m afraid it will be difficult to follow your wishes.”

“……What? Say that again.”

“I’m afraid it will be difficult to learn Dragon Words from such a great being.”

But that didn’t mean I would be swayed like a reed in the wind.

Kuooh…

My hands and feet were tingling. I had openly rebelled against a tyrant who had always had her way, so it was obvious how she would react. But it was an expected reaction. Especially since she hadn’t killed me as soon as I opened my mouth.

So, I had to speak. It was hard to breathe, and my mind was blank, but I didn’t draw my sword to be clueless. If I didn’t have a plan, knowing how the other party would react, I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. Of course, there was no guarantee that everything would be fine just because I had a plan.

“Will you listen to my story?”

Was it my imagination? It seemed like bright red flames were erupting behind her. It was a sight that went well with her red hair, but it was unbearably hot for me, who was facing it head-on.

“Interesting. Knowing who I am, you still said that. You better speak carefully. I’m in a very bad mood right now.”

#

“First, there’s time. You spoke of a hundred years, but it’s uncertain how long it will take to reach the level you desire. My case, and teaching Dragon Words to a human, is unprecedented. It could take hundreds of years, or even over a thousand.”

It might be shorter than that, but that wasn’t what I needed to persuade her, so I’ll leave it out.

“A hundred or a thousand years might not be a long time for you, but it’s close to a lifetime for me, a human. A hundred years, not ten or twenty, is too long to give up for someone else’s ambition, no matter how great that being is.”

She listened to my story in silence until I finished speaking. That was fortunate. If she had done something, I wouldn’t have been able to say the reasons I had worked so hard to come up with.

“The second reason is that the reason for wielding Dragon Words has nothing to do with me. I don’t have grand goals like world domination, and I’m satisfied with my current life. What good will it do to spend a hundred years mastering Dragon Words? Even if I’m alive, I’ll only be one step away from death. Thirdly…”

How much had I been talking? I could only close my mouth when it became dry. And fortunately, until then, my head and body were not separated, and I was breathing through the connection called the neck.

“For these reasons, I cannot obey your command.”

Fortunately, still, my head was not separated from my body. This was the strongest evidence that my expectations were still correct.