“Cirri.”
Kael called out.
A portal formed around him and an absolutely adorable creature flew out, instantly resting her soft body on top of her father’s head.
“Nyuuu~”
She let out an adorable voice, as if she had just woken up and was now stretching her body. Yes, even in front of the King, the little Dragon didn’t give a damn.
And the King took no offense.
Heck, he stared at Cirri, wide-eyed, his body pretty much frozen.
“I-It really is a Dragon…”
The King then stared at the Hero and,
“A Dragon chose you…”
“Chose me?”
Kael tilted his head, unable to understand why such words were used. After all, he shouldn’t know anything about Dragons.
“Dragons…”
Alden began explaining. It was along the lines of what Veylara said. The conversation continued for a while, with Kael asking all the questions he asked Veylara to avoid any suspicion.
“So the reason you were hiding your power…”
“I didn’t know what would happen if I revealed Cirri to others, especially when there are traitors amongst the higher-ups. I thought it would be too dangerous.”
At those words, however, the King just grinned.
“You worry too much.”
Kael narrowed his eyes as the King walked towards him and placed his hand on his shoulder,
“I will protect you.”
The King smiled. Cirri, however, didn’t like how the King had gotten close to her, so she glared at him with her amber eyes. The King’s body flinched as he automatically stepped back.
‘Even a newborn is no different…’
He stared at Cirri for a moment before turning back towards Kael and beginning with a stutter,
“W-What I am saying is, as long as you are here in Drakthar, you have nothing to fear. Even if there are enemies who wish to harm you, you have far more allies than you imagine.”
Kael nodded at those.
“So Cirri…”
“You cannot hide her, Kael, and you have no reason to.
You are a Dragon Tamer. It is something to be celebrated, not hidden.”
The King spoke with a wide grin on his face.
“As for the enemies in the shadow, let me worry about them.”
Alden then stared at Kael and,
“Shine, Hero.
Shine so brightly that there are no more shadows left for the enemies to hide in!”
The King laughed.
He seemed to have become a few years younger the instant he heard the news, almost as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
“A-Alright.”
Kael nodded, somewhat taken aback by the King’s reaction.
“Is there else you wish to talk about?”
The King questioned.
“Shouldn’t we be… hurrying to the meeting?”
“Bah! I am the King, you are the Dragon Tamer, they will wait for us for days if they have to!”
Kael blinked. The King looked… a little too happy…
Wasn’t he worried about his influence rising a little too quickly because of his Dragon? After all, the Dragons haven’t chosen the Dragonborns for the past three generations, yet they chose him…
In the end, Kael decided to ask.
“Dragons, I wish to know more about the Dragons.”
He requested.
“Right, the books you read wouldn’t have any information regarding them.”
The King realized and nodded without stopping.
“Worry not, I will have servants deliver books with much more accurate information regarding the Dragons. Everything you wish to know will probably be mentioned in those books.”
Kael frowned at those words.
“Those books? There is more than one?”
“Of course. We are the Dragonborns.”
Alden laughed,
“We worship Dragons. We know everything there is to know about them. All Dragonborns do.”
The King seemed quite prideful when he mentioned that, and Kael couldn’t help but inwardly grin at his ability to steer the conversation.
“If you know so much…
Does this mean… you have seen a Dragon before meeting Cirri?”
“I have.”
Alden nodded.
“Quite a few of them, actually.”
Kael’s eyes widened in surprise. He waited for the King to continue; he wanted to know if he would reveal the truth,
And the King didn’t disappoint.
“Haven’t you ever wondered? Drakthar does not have the greatest warriors, neither do we have the strongest mages. We do not possess the most gold, neither do we have zealous devotees who would happily give away their lives if told to.
Then…
Why do you think Drakthar is hailed as the strongest force in the entirety of Nerathis?”
“…because Drakthar is the most balanced Kingdom? Warriors, Mages, Gold—we have that all.”
The King laughed at those words,
“Zephyria has Warriors, Mages, and Gold as well.”
“Then…”
Kael was confused.
“We have Dragons.”
The King revealed, and once again, Kael widened his eyes in surprise.
“You have… Dragons?”
“Indeed.”
The King’s grin widened. His pride couldn’t be hidden.
“Dragons have blessed our lands. If we ever face a threat that might annihilate us, we have a few Fully Grown Dragons who would appear and level the threats to the ground.”
Alden then stared at Kael and,
“Kael, keep this in mind: Dragons are Absolute. They have always been. Their strength cannot be challenged. And since we have Dragons,
No force, no matter how strong, developed, or rich, ever dared to bare their fangs against us.”
Alden declared proudly.
Seeing the look on his face, Kael was slightly overwhelmed. Then, however, a question appeared in his head.
Yes, he had begun trusting the King, so he was asking questions he planned to ask Veylara when he had more time.
“If our authority is absolute, then why don’t we ban the use of Energy of Dawn and force other nations to respect our ban?”
“And how do we do that?”
“We send delegations to all the nations of Nerathis, make them use Verdant Omen to find the corrupted or half-corrupted beasts. If we find any, give the delegations the power to execute the culprits on behalf of the Drakthar Kingdom.
Our delegations will send us monthly reports. If the cases of corrupted humans in a certain nation increase past a certain number, that nation will be put on a red list. Their higher-ups will be examined using Verdant Omen, and if they are found corrupted, they will be executed as well.
I am sure we can root out corruption this way.
Who knows? If we are fortunate, we might even find information about Twilight.
After all, if we take over the entire world,
Where are they going to hide?”