Chapter 564

“Oh? It’s not that different from an ordinary city.”

Ar exclaimed as she followed Leo through Dragonia’s streets at night.

Just as she said, the nighttime streets were no different from those of any other city.

The streets bustled with people as though a night market were underway, filling the city with vitality.

It was an utterly ordinary and familiar sight.

“I expected Dragonia to be incredible, so this is a little anticlimactic.”

“What did you expect it to look like?”

“I thought everything would be gigantic!”

“Ah, I was kind of expecting that too.”

Leo let out a hollow laugh as he listened to Ar and Lunia.

'What do they think dragons are?'

Even dragons did not remain in their true forms at all times.

“But everyone here is a dragon, right? Isn’t that incredible when you think about it?”

Chelsea poked her head out from behind Leo.

Even Hero Candidates praised as the future of their respective races would rarely encounter several dragons in their lifetime.

Moreover, entering Dragonia was impossible unless one was a hero who had accomplished extraordinary feats.

“When you put it that way, this really is an incredible experience.”

Lunia murmured in wonder.

Just then, Leo noticed someone was missing.

“Where’s Driana?”

“Ah, there she is.”

Ar pointed toward Driana, who was speaking to a girl carrying a basket through the street.

“You’re exceptionally beautiful.”

“...?”

“I’m walking the path of art, you see. I would like you to model for me.”

“...?”

“Preferably in the nude—”

Thunk—!

“What are you saying, you pervert?!”

Lunia drove her elbow into Driana’s head.

A moment later, however, Lunia clutched her elbow and rolled across the ground.

“Lunia, as I have told you before, lashing out with violence first is a bad habit.”

“You’re... the one... who makes me... resort to violence.... Ugggh! You stone head...!”

“That will never be enough to stop my artistic resolve. Strike me as much as you please!”

“Oh? Really?”

“I was joking. Please spare me.”

When Ar asked with a smile, Driana immediately surrendered.

No matter how sturdy dwarves were from birth, Driana could not engage in pure hand-to-hand combat with Ar, a beastkin.

“Are you all right? You must have been startled. It may be hard to believe, but despite how they look, these people are harmless.”

Chelsea comforted the frightened girl.

“What do you mean, despite how we look?”

Lunia rubbed her elbow and grumbled quietly, but she could not argue further.

One of them had suddenly asked a stranger to pose nude, while another had responded by driving an elbow into that person’s head.

It was more than enough to terrify anyone unfamiliar with them.

However, the girl still looked bewildered.

Her reaction made it seem as though she could not understand what they were saying.

Chelsea began to look flustered when Leo stepped forward and spoke.

An unfamiliar language flowed from his lips.

The girl appeared to understand him. Her eyes widened, and she bowed slightly toward Leo.

“What language is Black Rabbit speaking?”

“That is Dragon Speech. Lunia, surely you studied Dragon Speech?”

“I studied it because of magic, but not enough to hold a conversation that fluently.”

“Well, Dragon Speech is an extremely complex language. Leo never ceases to amaze me. Is there anything he cannot do?”

“Ahem!”

“Why are you the one acting proud?”

Driana stared at Chelsea in disbelief.

After finishing her conversation with Leo, the young dragon carefully approached the four girls and removed the cloth covering her basket.

It was filled to the brim with flowers.

She handed a flower to each member of the group in turn.

When she reached Lunia, she hesitated before carefully placing a white flower in Lunia’s hair.

Lunia’s eyes widened.

The young dragon said something.

When Lunia glanced toward Leo, he translated.

“She says thank you for rescuing her from an awkward situation. She loves the heroic tales about Luna and wants to support you, the One Who Chases the Nebula.”

Lunia looked deeply moved.

The young dragon hesitated briefly before smiling shyly and extending her hand.

“She’s asking if you’ll shake her hand.”

“Of course!”

Lunia smiled and took the girl’s hand.

They soon parted ways, waving goodbye to one another.

“That was unexpected. I thought every dragon could speak the Continental Common Language.”

“Dragons certainly guide heroes, but that doesn’t mean every dragon is a Guide.”

Leo looked at the dragons passing through the streets.

“So dragons have ordinary lives too? That makes sense.”

Driana nodded thoughtfully.

Leo silently gazed at Dragonia’s streets.

In a sense, this was also the life Lysinas had wanted for the dragon race.

'During the Age of Gods, dragons were a race chosen by the gods.'

Back then, every dragon had devoted everything they possessed to protecting the surface within their respective domains.

Lysinas had also said that she spent her childhood being forced to live according to the duties of a Black Dragon.

'Choosing to save the world was entirely my own decision. But that doesn’t mean every dragon is obligated to do the same, does it?'

That was why Lysinas had wanted many dragons to enjoy ordinary and peaceful lives after the Age of Calamity.

'Guardslone’s culture clearly had an enormous influence on the dragons.'

The dragons born in Guardslone had interacted with many different races.

Even in the present day, dragons continued to preserve the culture that had existed since the Age of Gods. They were also the only race that did not use the Continental Common Language, instead speaking their own native tongue.

'Even so, this ordinary scenery resembles Guardslone.'

Leo smiled faintly.

'It turned out just as you wanted. Your race has finally laid down the burden it once carried.'

“Leo, how does it look?”

Lunia asked as she played with the flower in her hair.

“It suits you.”

Lunia smiled brightly at Leo’s answer.

“Black Rabbit, watch out! She’s got a flower in her hair! She could pounce at any moment!”

Ar hid behind Leo and shouted.

Lunia’s expression instantly vanished.

She charged at Ar, who promptly fled.

Chelsea watched them and said,

“Wouldn’t that dragon regret giving Lunia the flower if she saw this?”

“She didn’t see it.”

Chelsea nodded at Leo’s answer.

“How far did those idiots run?”

Driana sighed as she watched the two disappear into the crowd.

“They’re not children. It’s not like they’ll get lost.”

“Hmm. True.”

Driana nodded at Leo’s words.

“By the way, Leo, did you not come out here because you had some business to attend to? What are you looking for?”

“There’s something I need to find.”

It was the contract Leo had signed 5,000 years ago after defeating Erebos, promising to help rebuild Dragonia.

'Lysinas left it behind in Dragonia that day.'

It was a fragment of the egg that had once contained Lysinas.

That fragment alone could serve as a key to entering Lysinas’s World.

As long as the Hero Record existed, Leo could enter Lysinas’s World whenever he wished.

The same was not true for others.

'There may be times when I’m not around.'

It would be best to find the key in preparation for such situations.

“Let’s head to the entrance first.”

Searching his memories, Leo made his way toward Dragonia’s entrance.

===

“Where are we?”

“We got lost because of you.”

“How is this my fault? You’re the one who ran away.”

“I ran because you were chasing me like you wanted to kill me.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have mocked me. Besides, who said I was trying to kill you?”

“Then what were you planning to do?”

“I was only going to make you wish you were dead for a little while.”

“That’s even more vicious.”

Ar narrowed her eyes, but Lunia merely scoffed.

“Anyway, where are we?”

Not another person was in sight.

Dragonia was so vast that even the interior of its central citadel was enormous.

However, its residents did not inhabit every part of the city.

The outer regions were more like ruins where the scenery of Dragonia from the Age of Gods had been reconstructed.

As a result, the alleys on Dragonia’s outskirts were as complicated as a labyrinth.

There was no danger, but finding a way out was difficult.

Lunia looked up.

“They said barrier magic covers the skies above Dragonia. If we fly up, the dragons will come to us.”

When Lunia suggested that simple method of finding their way, Ar shook her head violently.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Then that perverted dwarf will find out we got lost.”

Ar scowled.

“She’ll definitely look at us like we’re complete idiots.”

“...I don’t want that.”

Lunia furrowed her brow.

She certainly could not tolerate being treated like an idiot by Driana.

The three of them were the successors of Luna, Arron, and Dweno, recognized by the Dragon Lord herself.

'Leo also recognizes us as the successors of the Great Heroes.'

Ar and Driana might not know the truth, but to Lunia, who knew Leo’s true identity, his acknowledgment carried special and profound weight.

Because they stood as equals, they could show one another their true selves. That was also why they had grown close so quickly.

'We can be honest with one another, but that only means I can never afford to lose to them.'

“Then how are we supposed to find our way back? Do you have some method?”

“Heh.”

Ar raised her right hand beneath her chin, spreading her thumb and index finger.

“Stop trying to look cool and tell me your plan.”

“Who do you think I am? I am Ar Tune, the next Student Council President of Azonia!”

Thump—!

Ar proudly struck her puffed-out chest and pointed at her nose.

“We can follow the scent!”

Lunia exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow! You really are like a dog!”

“I’m a cat!”

Ar’s tail shot straight up as she snapped at Lunia.

Just then, four people emerged from the alley.

Lunia and Ar looked at them curiously.

“You two are Lunia El Lunda and Ar Tune, correct?”

The boy leading the group asked the question.

Lunia folded her arms and tilted her head.

“That’s right. Who are you?”

“Look carefully, Lunia. They’re wearing something like uniforms.”

Ar examined the four newcomers’ clothing.

The boy smiled at her observation.

“We’re Guide candidates.”

“Guides?”

Lunia’s eyes widened.

Guide.

It was the position held by dragons who guided heroes.

“I’ve heard about this. There’s a place in Dragonia where dragons with exceptional potential study to become Guides.”

“That’s right. You can think of it as the dragons’ Hero Academy. My name is Riden. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Riden stepped forward and offered his hand.

However, Lunia and Ar merely stared at it.

“Aren’t you going to shake my hand?”

Riden looked puzzled.

“We would like to.”

Lunia smiled gently.

“But when you stare at us like you’re appraising merchandise, it puts us in a rather unpleasant mood.”

Riden scratched his cheek.

“If I offended you, I apologize. As Guides, we will be responsible for leading heroes. But this is our first time meeting Hero Candidates, so we had high expectations.”

Riden smiled brightly.

“Your reputations have already spread throughout Dragonia. Especially yours, Lunia El Lunda. You’ve already reached the rank of hero, haven’t you?”

“So?”

“We came because we wanted to test how capable the two of you truly are.”

“Hmm.”

The corners of Lunia’s lips curled upward.

Ar’s tail swayed as she spoke.

“There’s only one person qualified to judge my potential as a hero.”

“What? Who is it?”

Ar smiled at the bewildered Riden.

“Leo Plov.”

***