Teaser
Raon?
The Dark Elves all looked confused. It was because the word that Cale said with a serious expression after having Choi Han close the door was a word that they were not familiar with.
“It is okay for me to appear?”
The Dark Elf, Shawn, flinched. He heard a young voice coming from next to Cale, but he could not see anything.
“Ho, hoho.”
Shawn turned his head after hearing the mayor laughing. He could see the mayor continuing to laugh as if he was shocked while wiping the sweat off of his palms with his handkerchief.
Was it for real? Was it really a dragon?
He heard the voice one more time.
“Tada.”
It appeared behind Cale.
“Oh my god!”
Tasha covered her mouth with both of her hands.
“Why are you not coming out?”
None of them heard Cale’s voice, as their focus was on the face that was peeking out from behind Cale.
Raon only peeked his head out from behind Cale. Cale let out a sigh before taking a step to the side. As he did that, Raon was slowly revealed to the Dark Elves.
“No, this-.”
Tasha was so shocked that she was struggling with her words. She turned around to look at Shawn. She wanted to ask her friend if she was hallucinating.
However, Shawn was frozen stiff, like he was sleeping with his eyes open. Thinking that she wouldn’t be able to get any info out of Shawn, Tasha quickly turned her gaze to her grandfather.
The Dark Elf mayor was calm. The person who seemed like the one who would be the most shocked in this situation was calm, even if he was still sweating profusely.
“Grandfather-”
Tasha had to stop speaking.
The Dark Elf mayor started to speak to Raon with a pious expression.
“I cannot greet Dragon-nim while standing on my two legs.”
The old man calmly tried to kneel. Cale let out a sigh at the mess in front of him. He knew that Elves were crazy for Dragons, but he didn’t expect the Dark Elves to be the same.
‘But it’s not like I can lie when he said his Elemental has met a dragon.’
Elementals, as creatures that have a strong affinity with nature, were very sensitive to things like mana, and thus were rarely wrong.
If the Dark Elf Mayor’s Elemental has really seen a Dragon and confirmed that there was a draconic aura around Cale, the Dark Elf mayor would never believe him, even if he claimed he didn’t have a dragon.
That was how accurate Elementals were with auras they have experienced at least once. With this being about a draconic aura, Cale had no choice.
Cale looked toward the door to see Choi Han standing there like a guard with an awkward smile on his face. The person who was wearing a robe, so Cale could not tell anything about her, was just standing there like a scarecrow.
At that moment, Raon stood in front of the three Dark Elves.
‘What is he trying to do?’
Cale looked toward Raon with curiosity.
“I am the great Raon Miru!”
‘Aigoo.’
Cale could see Raon puffing up his chest. He took care of his self-introduction very well.
“I am a grand total of 4-years-old this year!”
‘Was there a need to tell them your age?’
“Oh, great Dragon-nim!”
The Dark Elf mayor was already kneeling and responding to Raon’s every word like they were the words of a god.
‘What to do about this?’
Cale was starting to get a headache. However, Raon’s introduction was not over yet.
“And I am taking care of Cale Henituse because he is a weakling!”
‘…I don’t think that’s the case…’
Cale let out a deep sigh.
He walked over to Raon, who seemed like he would continue to share useless information, and petted Raon’s head. Raon finally stopped talking.
Cale looked over toward Tasha and started to speak.
“It looks like you’ll need to help the mayor-nim back up.”
“Ah.”
Tasha let out a gasp like she was finally coming to her senses. The mayor started to speak at that time.
“No, I cannot do that. The Dragon-nim that I met last time said that standing in front of him was like asking for a fight. I do not wish to fight with Dragon-nim.”
‘What kind of Dragon did he meet?’
Cale wondered if the mayor was actually feeling fear instead of respect right now.
“You can stand. I do not like things like that!”
However, the mayor instantly stood up after hearing Raon’s response. Cale raised both hands and clapped once.
Clap!
That clap got everyone’s attention on Cale, who then started to speak.
“Let’s all calm down first.”
Cale pointed toward the couches like it was his office.
“Everybody, please sit down.”
Cale avoided the chair reserved for the mayor and walked over to a three-person couch before he sat down. The mayor followed behind Cale with a calm expression. He was also no longer sweating. He then started to speak to Raon.
“Dragon-nim, please sit over here.”
It was the seat Cale had left open for the mayor. Cale looked toward the mayor in disbelief as Raon responded to the mayor.
“I don’t want to. You sit there!”
Raon flew over and sat down next to Cale. He then put his head on Cale’s knee, as if it belonged there. The mayor immediately sat down to listen to Raon.
Cale finally felt like things were calming down, so he asked Shawn.
“Can you bring me a cup of water? I am thirsty.”
“I will do so right away.”
Shawn looked like he was the calmest person in the room, but he was the palest one as well. Cale put a hand on Shawn’s back and started to speak.
“The Dragon is a secret.”
“A secret.”
Raon echoed from behind Cale. Shawn bowed his head and responded back.
“I promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret.”
A Dark Elf promising on their relationship with Elementals was similar to a vow of death. An Elf who could not interact with Elementals would have to live in despair for the rest of their lives.
Raon looked toward the mayor and Tasha, who then made the same vow.
“Dragon-nim, I promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret.”
“…I also promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret.”
Cale finally seemed to be relieved, as he leaned down into the couch. Shawn soon brought, not just a glass of water, but a fancy snack tray.
The mayor took a sip of tea before he started to speak.
“My name is Obante.”
“My name is Cale Henituse.”
The mayor was still being very formal with Cale. He had no choice, since Cale was with a Dragon. Furthermore, they seemed to have a pretty close relationship with each other.
The Dragon that mayor Obante had met in the past was a temperamental one who was very egotistical. That was the only experience Obante had with Dragons.
“Young master Cale, does Alberu know?”
Seeing the mayor call the crown prince’s name so casually helped Cale understand that it was very likely that the mayor was related to Alberu.
“His highness does not know.”
“Ho- Alberu got to know such a precious person while keeping me in the dark. I’m guessing we cannot tell even Alberu?”
“I will take care of that.”
Cale was telling Obante to keep his vow. Obante looked disappointed, but still nodded his head and continued to speak.
“Of course. I will definitely keep my vow. Young master Cale, I heard that you haven’t been given a thorough explanation of what the item is.”
“That is correct.”
“For your reference, it is in the shape of a bracelet.”
His 521 years of experience must be worth something as the mayor got right to the point, unlike Tasha and Shawn, who still seemed wary of Raon.
However, unfortunately, Cale had no intentions of learning more.
“Mayor-nim, I do not need to know.”
His face showed that he had no desire or curiosity about the item. That expression made Obante speechless. Cale then asked Obante a question.
“Is it okay for multiple humans to touch it?”
“…Why do you ask?”
A suspicious gaze appeared on Obante’s face.
“One of the people with me is able to give the God of Death’s blessing.”
Obante’s expression quickly brightened. Cale noticed this, so he started to smile as he added on.
“I hope to bless that bracelet every day until I can hand it over to his highness. That is why there will be at least two people who will need to touch it.”
“I must thank you if it is for that reason. It will reduce the chances of Alberu getting caught. It will also give him an opportunity to escape if something dangerous happens.”
The excommunicated priestess Cage’s blessing was not weak. Even though the Church of the God of Death did not have a Holy Maiden or a Saint, Cale estimated that Cage’s blessing was probably just as effective as the Sun God twins’ blessings.
“Might as well prepare thoroughly.”
“Of course. I will leave it to you, young master Cale.”
Obante explained the current situation to Cale.
“The item will be completed tomorrow.”
“Then we should be able to leave any time after tomorrow.”
“That might not be possible.”
Obante had an awkward expression on his face.
“Hmm? Grandpa, did something happen?”
Tasha, who wanted to leave as quickly as possible, spoke up to ask.
“Young master Cale, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there are two times a year that dead mana rises through the sand. The timing of it is always changing to the point that even we only become aware of it as it gets closer.
The Underground City’s ceiling, which was supporting the desert, allowed the Dark Elves to find out about the dead mana a few days in advance.
“Is it that time?”
The mayor nodded his head at Cale’s question.
“We expect it to happen two days later for a total of three days.”
It was dangerous for humans during that time. It would be fine for Tasha to cross the desert, but it was better for Cale’s group to leave after about a week.
“Is it in liquid form?”
“It is a gas.”
That made it even worse, since the dead mana would be floating around everywhere.
Not only was it not healthy, it could be seriously dangerous if they inhaled the dead mana into their bloodstream.
“Mm.”
Cale let out a groan and started to think. Obante seemed apologetic after seeing Cale’s expression. Cale then started to speak.
“Then I guess we have to play for a week.”
“Yes, thank you for your under- excuse me?”
“Do you have a tourist map of the Underground City?”
Obante, who was looking at the casual Cale with disbelief, finally nodded his head after a while.
“…Of course. I will tell Shawn to be your guide.”
The Dark Elves had made a map for the visitors when they created the inn. Cale nodded his head before he looked toward the corner and asked.
“By the way, who is that person?”
“Ah, that kid is-.”
The human wearing a black robe was quietly sitting in the corner.
“That child is the one who is creating the bracelet.”
She was a human who was making an item with a dark attribute. Cale held himself back from smiling.
‘Found one.’
He had found a human who was an expert on the human body and death.
“I called her to explain about the item.”
Obante could not continue to speak. He seemed to be hesitating. He slowly peeked toward Tasha, which let Cale know that the mayor had something to talk to Tasha about.
It was at that moment.
“What seems to be the problem?”
For a moment, Cale thought that a god or an emperor was speaking. It was said in that kind of tone. Cale lowered his head only to see a dragon trying to look majestic while sitting there with his head perked up.
However, he was still so short that he did not look majestic at all.
“D, Dragon-nim, you see.”
Obante still did not dare to speak.
At that moment, someone else started to speak.
“I am curious about the world.”
The voice was indifferent without any emotion, like the voice of a GPS.
It was the person wearing the black robe. Cale’s gaze headed over to the black robe.
“I wish to see the outside world.”
“… What?”
However, her words shocked both Shawn and Tasha.
“Sigh.”
Obante let out a sigh and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. He looked like he had instantly turned about a hundred years older.
Tasha started to speak at that moment. She seemed to know the black robed person.
“Mary, what are you talking about?”
Mary seemed to be the woman’s name. Tasha looked toward Obante with an angry expression.
“Grandfather.”
She seemed to be angry, however, she flinched after taking a look at Cale and Raon. She bit down on her lips, as this would seem like they were preventing someone who wanted to go outside from going out.
But it wasn’t a lie.
Shawn started to speak.
“Mary. You know that it is dangerous.”
The black-robed woman responded back.
“That is why I plan to go alone.”
“You definitely cannot go alone!”
Tasha jumped up and raised her voice. Mary could be in danger even if she was with her, so how could she let her go alone? Absolutely not.
Silence filled the room after her outburst. Nobody was able to speak. However, a confused voice filled the room.
“Why can’t she go? That human is very strong. She is even stronger than a mage I know.”
‘Ho.’
Cale was amused internally.
‘This girl is stronger than Rosalyn?’
Mary raised her head. Of course, they still couldn’t see her face as she was wearing a robe with a large hood. Mary turned to look toward Cale and Raon.
She then started to pull her sleeve up.
“Mary!”
Shawn reached out in shock, but she was faster.
Mary managed to pull one of her sleeves completely up before Shawn stopped her.
Her arm appeared underneath the light.
“Mm.”
Choi Han, who was at the door, let out a groan.
“Sigh.”
Shawn put his head in his hands. Tasha looked back and forth between Cale and Choi Han with an anxious expression.
Cale’s eyes couldn’t help but become cloudy as he looked at the arm that was revealed.
The arm and hand that were revealed seemed to be covered in what seemed to be burns or black lines that looked like spiderwebs.
It was a terrible scar that would make anyone flinch.
Cale just stared at the injury.
He was now certain that she would be able to make an arm for Ron.
She was really a necromancer.
A black spiderweb human.
That was the term that people used for the necromancers in the past. [1]