236. Dragon King (1)
#236
【Our king wishes to see you there.】
“What? king?”
Ronan raised his eyebrows. Suddenly I wondered what this meant. The dragon lady continued.
“yes. You have been keeping an eye on this place since the battle with Orsay took place. Of course it still is. “It wasn’t much of a fuss.”
The overbearing voice became much calmer. Like Orsay he seemed to change his tone depending on the time and place. Suddenly Adren’s advice on political issues crossed my mind.
This is not a good situation. Ronan who turned his sword around and held it asked sarcastically.
“What is the purpose of such a high-ranking person looking for me?”
“I heard you were impressed by your performance in the battle with Orsay. “I think he wants to praise me for my merits.”
She said that Ronan was communicating with the Dragon King throughout the fight with Orsay. That’s why I only intervened at the last minute.
“I am equally impressed by your sword skills. Even though he was in a polymorph state a human could compete with a sword on equal footing with a demon dragon. “It is no exaggeration to say that he went beyond reason.”
“Well it wasn’t a big deal.”
The woman sent a sincere compliment. Ronan scratched the back of his head shyly. It was good up to this point but I felt like there was more to it. He asked in a doubtful tone.
“That’s it?”
“That’s what I heard.”
The woman nodded her head. It was hard to tell whether she was intentionally not talking about Navarre or whether she really didn’t notice. At least she would have noticed this woman. After thinking for a moment Ronan opened her mouth.
“What happens if I say no?”
“It will be recorded in Adren’s history as a very rude act. “But I know she wouldn’t do such an unreasonable thing.”
“On what basis?”
“Because her colleagues are at the tower first.”
Ronan’s face hardened when he heard that he was a colleague. The woman was still looking at her with a dry expression. Her white-blue eyes were as calm as a lake on a windless day.
“what?”
“That’s literally it. One person was in the library and the other was near Sky Tower. “We have confirmed that you are Ronan’s colleague and brought you here.”
The location where the two people were found matched the area assigned by Ronan. It didn’t seem like blackmail.
Suddenly Ronan realized that this woman knew his own name. She tightened her grip on the hilt of his sword.
“If you did something to those two people….”
“I didn’t do anything other than take you to the living room. I don’t have much time so I hope you can answer quickly. Would you like to go to Sky Tower with me now?”
It was interrogative but it didn’t feel like a question. In fact it was no different from a threat. Ronan who was thinking about something cursed under his breath.
‘Fuck you.’
No matter how much I thought about it the only answer was to attack head-on. Having no choice is what they say about a situation like this. Ronan sighed and nodded at her.
“Okay let’s go.”
****
Her name was Sonia Naran. Introducing herself as one of the five dragons guarding her king she led Ronan to a high tower in the center of Adrien.
“I guess I can at least say hello.”
“Please just hurry.”
Before following her in earnest Ronan exchanged brief greetings with the people at her site. Meanwhile servants who had been dispatched were restoring the streets destroyed by Orsay.
The corpses of soldiers who died during the battle were scattered throughout the empty back alleys. All of them were cut into pieces or torn to shreds leaving almost no trace of their original form.
The only thing left intact was the corpse of the blue dragon Larathasian. It was funny to be treated like that even though both his hands were blown off and there was a hole in his chest that even a deer could walk through.
Laratasian was still laying his huge body on the shattered alley. Suddenly the figure of an old man came into Ronan’s field of vision. It was Judge Vanartier who polymorphed back into a human.
“Examiner.”
He was looking at his comrade’s body with his back turned. Ronan came to the side. Vanartier opened his mouth without turning his head to her.
“I hurriedly tried to provide first aid but it was impossible. “It seems like Orsay created a weapon that shouldn’t exist.”
Instead of answering Ronan looked at the blue dragon’s corpse. The cuts on his arms and the hole in his chest were burning black. Ronan said glancing at Naransonia.
“I see. “I would have caught it even if no one had bothered me.”
“no. In fact I think it’s fortunate that I didn’t pursue too much. As Naransonia said animals that are cornered become more violent.”
He explained that if Orsay had disarmed Polymorph and fought the damage would have been dozens of times greater. Vanartier turned to face Ronan.
“Thank you. Even if you are Navardose’s representative you would never have thought that your life would be saved by a human.”
“It’s okay. “With something like that.”
Ronan waved his hand. Suddenly Vanartier’s voice rang in his head.
[sorry. I certainly did not expect His Majesty to notice.]
Ronan shrugged his eyebrows at the unexpected sound. The regret dripping from his tone seemed to indicate that Ronan was feeling guilty about having his identity discovered.
‘It’s also polite.’
It seemed like not all dragons were assholes like Navardozena Ir. Ronan closed one eye to indicate that he was okay. It was not difficult to see that he had not sold himself out.
[If something happens and you need to escape Adren use the sewer to move to the northern drain of the island. I will bring the boat there.]
“you….”
[All of Adren’s sewers are connected. It’s probably the same under Sky Tower.]
Ronan’s eyes widened. This was really valuable information. Naransonia who had been waiting quietly called him.
“Ronan.”
“Oh okay let’s go now.”
Because she urged him with her eyes Ronan had to leave quickly. Vanartier’s voice came from behind.
“See you next time. I will definitely repay your debt. “Agent of Fire.”
“What is your situation? See you next time.”
Ronan walked with his back to the ruined street. The thick bloody smell was mixing in the cool night breeze. A lot of people died.
Now that I think about it I can’t see the old man who owns the house. Did he collapse from the impact of the bar being smashed? Even though he asked people around him they didn’t know his whereabouts so he had no choice but to just ignore him.
‘It’s a shame.’
The remains of the bar he ran were still laying on the Blue Dragon’s head. Ronan savored him. He was a really good brandy.
.
.
.
Ronan who was walking along Naransonia soon arrived in front of the Sky Tower where the Dragon King resides. No matter how much I tilted his head I couldn’t see the top of him.
“…It’s so damn high.”
Ronan was slightly impressed. The huge cylinder connecting the sky and the city had been erected since the time Adren was built. A long thick shadow stretched beyond the city limits and onto the surrounding clouds.
The entrance to the tower was also a sight to behold. The ridiculously large gate seemed to have been made based on the dragon’s true form. Ronan stopped in front of the door and sighed.
“When will this shit come up again…?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. “First say hello to your colleagues.”
“ok?”
Ronan tilted his head. At the same time Naransonia opened. Looking closely there was a separate small door above the gate that humans could pass through.
It was the moment they crossed the doorway. A space so splendid and luxurious as to make even the lobby of the imperial palace look like a cabin unfolded before my eyes. Naransonia said.
“We have arrived. “This is the drawing room.”
“…This is why I hate magic.”
Ronan laughed. It felt like a ghost was pulling out the hair on his legs. Is it some kind of space magic? As Ronan slowly looked around the living room the sight of two young men came into view.
“you.”
Asher was reading a pile of books and Schlieffen was sitting cross-legged and meditating. The two people who encountered Ronan stood up.
“Ro Ronan! “You’re safe!”
“…Was it really a lie?”
Judging by his fine demeanor it didn’t look like he had been harmed. Anyway the reaction was very strange. Why do people say things like “you’re safe”?
Ronan stood facing them. Clap clap. Sonia who was behind her clapped her hands twice.
“Then we will move to the throne room in 10 minutes. All you have to do is open that door and come right out.”
She stretched out her index finger and pointed to a door in the corner of the drawing room. And she went out again through the door through which she had entered. After confirming that there was no sign of anyone around him Ronan opened his mouth.
“You idiots what happened to this? Are you safe?
“Well… the dragons suddenly came and said you were in danger if you didn’t come quickly. so….”
“Same.”
After hearing Asher and Schlieffen’s answer Ronan touched his forehead. It felt like I took a hit.
The Dragon King’s men brought them in under the pretext that Ronan was dangerous. Asel read Ronan’s expression and sighed.
“Ho have we been deceived? After all you shouldn’t have followed me right?”
“it’s okay. “What should I do when this has already happened?”
Ronan shook her head. If you think about it carefully it wasn’t entirely wrong to say that fighting Orsay was dangerous. If I had refused anyway I would have dragged him away by force. They’re like clever reptiles.
“So were there any useful cases?”
“I’m sorry…there wasn’t much in the library.”
Asher bowed her head. He said he searched the library everywhere but could not find any information about Nebula Clage. Still it wasn’t that there was no result at all.
“It’s hard to say that I’m a great minister but I learned some magic that could be helpful in the investigation.”
“That’s good. great job.”
Asher told me that he learned some magic including invisibility from books. He wondered if it was possible to learn magic that way but Ronan knew that he shouldn’t try to understand a genius.
In any case there was a high probability that invisibility would be helpful. After patting Asher on the shoulder and encouraging him he turned to Schlieffen.
“Did anything happen to you?”
“There was one. “They say they saw humans wearing white robes wandering around the tower fifteen days ago.”
“As expected…what?”
Ronan and Asher’s eyes widened. His voice was so calm that I thought he was saying that he had not achieved much.
“Are you sure? “Who did you hear it from?”
“He is a merchant who runs a store near Sky Tower. Some drunkards were acting out so I kicked them out and they thanked me. “He didn’t seem to be lying.”
“…under.”
Ronan clenched his fists without realizing it. I felt like I had discovered the tail of an incident that I couldn’t even fathom.
It was a car where he was trying to say something. Squeak…Suddenly the door in the corner of the living room opened of its own accord. Asher was scared and took a step back.
“Hey! “What?!”
“You have a very impatient personality.”
Ronan narrowed his eyes at her. She looked up at the clock and saw that exactly ten minutes had passed. He brushed her bangs away and spoke to the two of them.
“Let’s go first. “Let’s just stay calm.”
“Uh yeah. I hope nothing bad happens….”
“And listen to me carefully. “If things seem to go wrong…”
I couldn’t run away once I got this far. Ronan who had whispered emergency measures to Asher and Schlieffen took the lead.
Golden light was pouring out from beyond the wide open door. There was something unusual about the energy coming through.
It was the moment they entered the door. The sound of metal clanging echoed beneath my feet. The three people’s eyes grew so big that they seemed to pop out.
“Fuck. “What is this?”
“Woo wow….”
“That’s amazing.”
No one could contain their admiration. Gold and silver treasures that I had never seen before covered an endless space. The large gold coins that one would risk one’s life for were no different from the pebbles used to pave the floor here.
I wondered if even if I robbed all the banks in the empire I would get this amount of money. They were advancing over a golden desert. Grumbling…! Suddenly the voices of a man and a woman rang out accompanied by a vibration that felt like the earth was shaking.
【at las-】
【Are you here?】
It was a voice as solemn as a pulsating volcano. Sigh! The golden hill in front of them collapsed. Two giant dragon heads appeared on top of the collapsed peak.
“Hee hee hee…eup!”
Both were gold dragons covered in golden scales. The neck which had been rising endlessly curved only after the head touched the ceiling.
Asher made eye contact with the dragon and covered his mouth with both hands. Schlieffen who always maintained his composure also shrugged his shoulders.
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out that one of them was the Dragon King. Ronan mumbled his curse forgetting that this was the throne room.
“Oh my god….”
It was my first time seeing such a huge creature since Navarre. It was impossible to even guess the size of the body buried in the treasure. The length from the neck to the head alone was equivalent to the full body length of a decent dragon.
Ronan was wondering which of the two was the Dragon King. The four heads that were rolling their eyes opened their mouths at the same time.
【Nice to meet you. I am the dragon lord who rules over Adren-】
【Ajida Hakata.】