The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 83

Though I called her a tyrant, I wouldn’t have dared to say such things if she were truly a reckless and unrestrained despot.

However, her intelligence far surpassed that of a human, and from our conversations, her understanding of humanity was quite profound.

At the very least, she understood the differences between dragons and humans. I didn’t expect her to meekly submit, but I believed there was room to at least present my opinion. That was my thought.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes.”

“You seem to misunderstand something. I didn’t make you an offer; I issued an order. I didn’t give you a choice.”

“Wouldn’t I at least have the choice to obey or defy the order?”

“Even if the price is your life and the utter destruction of everyone here?”

*Swish.*

A tail with striking red scales emerged from her waist and began to coil around me. It moved slowly enough that I could have easily avoided being completely bound with a little effort, but I didn’t. As if everything until now had been a game, the force she exuded was tremendous enough to shake this entire area. Yet, the fact that no one noticed this was even more astonishing.

‘Hot.’

Terra’s Barrier [a magical shield] was one thing, but the circumstances weren’t so dire that I needed armor even in the Imperial capital. It wasn’t as if my clothes were ordinary, but even they couldn’t protect me from the heat emanating from the tail coiling around me.

It wasn’t just the tail. Two horns protruded above her ears, and I could faintly see scales, along with eyes that were vertically slit like those of a reptile. With every breath, flames spewed out, relentlessly pushing against me.

“I’m too preoccupied with my own problems to worry about others unrelated to me. But if I obey the order, wouldn’t a future worse than death await me?”

“Shouldn’t you survive first? That way, you’ll have at least a slight chance of escaping me. Besides, I have no intention of interfering with you once I achieve my goal. Whether you become a king of humans with what you’ve learned or live quietly, it’s up to you.”

“Thank you for the offer, but this moment is more precious to me.”

“Even though everything will disappear if you die now?”

The tail tightened as if it would crush me at any moment. But it’s okay. She won’t kill me. It’s not impossible, but I think it’s more likely that she won’t.

“In that case, wouldn’t the great being also be remembered forever as ‘an immature brat who made a fuss over nothing’?”

*Squeeze-*

I almost crossed the line. But I didn’t. The red tail coiling around my body exerted a bit more force, but the fact that I could still endure it proved that it wasn’t unbearable. The pressure was immense, and the heat was intense, so it was inevitable that my body would be strained.

“Insolent… I could kill you right now and make you obey my every word.”

Lich [an undead being resurrected by magic].

Her words were by no means empty threats. With her abilities, it would be easier than breathing for her to do so. But she wouldn’t. It would just be a tantrum.

“Even if you did, the result would be the same. Even if I were resurrected with the memories, experiences, and emotions of my previous life, I would no longer be ‘human.'”

The strength of her desire to achieve her goal was no exaggeration in determining whether I lived or died. And I believed that she had such a strong desire that she would come to me again and teach me Dragon Words. Moreover, she possessed a reason stronger than instinct, capable of suppressing emotions for the sake of her goal.

“You needed to transcend the limitations of the human race, didn’t you?”

“Then your life will also end today. If the result is the same, I should at least relieve my frustration by killing you for defying my mood.”

“In that sense, if the great being could concede just one step, we could find a path that benefits both of us.”

“Are you trying to play tug-of-war with me?”

Killing me and failing to achieve her goal would only be a lose-lose situation for both of us. Shouldn’t we find a conclusion that is win-win for each other?

“Please accept it as a process to achieve the best possible outcome.”

It was easier than I thought to get this far. According to legends, red dragons have personalities as fiery as their color. Perhaps it varies from individual to individual. Either way, it wasn’t a disadvantageous situation for me, so it was fortunate.

“I will obey the order. Until I reach the level that the great being desires, but instead…”

“Instead?”

“Three hours. I don’t think I can do more than three hours a day.”

#

‘What should I do?’

Serena was contemplating how to deal with the impudent human who was trying to negotiate with her. Normally, she would have killed him the moment he mentioned a deal, but the human’s words kept bothering her.

‘An immature brat who made a fuss over nothing…’

At the same time, a scene flashed through her mind: the image of her own kind, with indifferent faces, driving her out with the words ‘get lost.’

‘I can’t let that happen.’

This was a matter of her pride. Besides, it was quite interesting. As long as she lived a long life, her existence would inevitably become monotonous without these interesting events that appeared from time to time. It would be a shame to miss out on this.

“You can be happy. You have become the first human to persuade me.”

#

Although I succeeded in persuading her, not everything was resolved. To be precise, a new challenge arose as soon as the previous one was resolved.

“No, why can’t you do this? You said you would do your best, but you’re being lazy from the start?”

A familiar feeling washed over me. It was no surprise, as I had experienced this before. It was exactly like when I first started receiving teachings from my master. A dullard cannot understand the genius’s senses. I was frustrated because I was doing my best, but there was nowhere to complain.

“Now, what did I say is the most important thing for handling Dragon Words?”

“Willpower.”

“That’s right. Dragon Words can be said to be the realization of my will to change the world. But I don’t understand why you keep drawing on magic power. I’ve told you many times that magic power is merely a tool.”

No, to solve everything with willpower? What kind of outdated spiritualism is this? If it could be solved with a few words like that, there would be no reason for it to remain in the unknown realm since the birth of humanity, no reason why we couldn’t even glimpse a mountain that has never allowed anyone’s footsteps.

Filled with resentment and frustration, I sat on the chair and looked at the red cat scolding me.

“What are you looking at? Not concentrating?”

With the following scolding, I closed my eyes again and burned the willpower she was talking about. I had no idea what she meant by the realization of willpower.

The reason she had transformed into a red-furred cat was simple: because I asked her to.

I had to train with her for three hours a day. As long as she was in human form, no matter how well she hid it, rumors would inevitably spread, and strange stories could arise. Even so, I couldn’t reveal her identity, so I would only be frustrated.

So, I changed her appearance to that of a familiar [a magical companion or creature bound to a mage] so that even if others saw this scene, it would appear as if I were training alone. It wasn’t strange for a mage to have a familiar.

“Concentrate!”

Of course, I wasn’t just focused on training that was close to a waste of time. The Titan Project was still ongoing, but the loss of three hours a day was a surprisingly big blow, so the aftermath had no choice but to be passed on to Armin.

After Armin laid the foundation, I would examine it, modify it if there were any modifications, and proceed if there were no problems. Naturally.

“Y-you want me to do this alone?”

“You’ve seen it a lot so far. I don’t want much. Just lay the foundation. You can always come and ask if there are any parts you’re stuck on.”

“T-then what about Renil?”

“I have something to do during that time.”

“Ugh.”

Armin’s groaning grew even louder, but originally, it was the subordinates who suffered a little more in these situations. If we go a little further, we’ll be able to get the basics down, and then we’ll be able to fill the personnel.

“So, let’s try a little harder?”

#

“Even an orc would do better than you here!”

The three hours of training a day continued, but there was no progress. The teachings were so ambiguous, and from the beginning, it wasn’t an easy goal to achieve in a day or two, just as she had expected a hundred years.

‘Why can’t you do this?’

So, as time went by, she only became more frustrated. She wanted to see his surprised face as soon as possible, and although a hundred years would disappear in an instant once she started sleeping properly, she had never felt this long.

But the biggest problem was that she didn’t even know what kind of teachings to give Renil. Everything was new, and she couldn’t understand Renil. It was like a lion in the prairie not understanding why a fish in the sea couldn’t breathe on land.

‘Is there no good way?’

She stopped scolding the dull human for a moment and fell into thought. Looking at what he was doing, it seemed impossible to achieve results in the short term. She had to come up with an even better method.

“…Ah!”

After days and weeks of 고민 [Korean word for ‘worry’ or ‘contemplation’], she let out a small exclamation with a realization. With this, even that dull human would be able to fully understand her teachings.

*Fumble, fumble-*

Her hand entered the subspace and began to take something out.

#

“What is this?”

“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s a wine glass.”

I knew it was a wine glass. It was a slightly fancy wine glass, but that’s not what I was asking. I was asking why she had taken out a wine glass that I hadn’t seen before. When I looked back and forth between her and the wine glass with that meaning, she said as if asking what I was doing.

“Do I have to explain everything from A to Z? Move.”

“Yes?”

“Try moving it.”

It’s not a difficult task.

The water in the wine glass was floating in a circle as if it were in a zero-gravity space. But the floating water fell helplessly to the floor with her shrill voice.

“Who told you to move it with magic power! Anyone who can’t do that is out there! With willpower, with willpower, move the water in the wine glass!”