~ Chapter 43: Rumors in the wind ~

[Alkelios’ point of view]

 When Seryanna left, I didn’t put too much thought in her hasty departure. I knew she had her own things to deal with, including knightly duties of which I had no right to stick my nose into. I wanted to be there for her, to help her if she needed me, but even if at heart I had good intentions, meddling in her work wasn’t the way to show it.

After we made ourselves comfortable at the inn, I realized I didn’t have much to do in my room. Not having a computer to play games or browse the internet was a killer, so I went to check up on Kataryna and Kleo. With a [Purse] ring at hand, it was quite easy to make herself at home, so the silver-scaled dragoness’ room was already looking slightly different, the bed especially, it was a king-sized one.

“I see you are doing some redecorating. Got another one of those?” I asked Kataryna.

“No, but there’s room for two in it.” she smirked.

“No, thank you. I’ll pass.” I shook my head.

“Too bad~.” she giggled.

“So, what are you and Kleo going to do now? I’m quite bored and have nothing to do, so I’m open for suggestions.” I told her.

“I was planning on visiting the city to see how things have changed around here. Last time I dropped by, this place was in the middle of a war.” she shrugged.

“I see. Well, even 100 years could be a lot of time for things to change.” I nodded.

“True.” she smiled.

“Where’s Kleo by the way?” I asked her.

“She went down to the Post Office to send a letter back to her grandfather.” she replied.

“Oh, really?” I said surprised.

“She’s been doing that in every city, town, or village that had one.” she revealed.

“What? How come I never noticed this?” I asked surprised.

“If I said that your eyes were constantly glued on the chest and bottom of a certain redhead dragoness, would you know what I’m talking about?” she asked with a smirk.

“Hm. Maybe?” I replied with a serious look on my face.

Well, Seryanna was a truly enchanting woman, so it was natural for me to behave like this, although I won’t deny the fact that Kataryna also looked good, especially after that time when she got soaked by the rain. The way her clothes stuck to her skin would make any man drool.

“Let’s wait downstairs for Kleo and then go visit the city with all three of us?” I suggested.

“I agree.” she nodded.

I left her room and then took a seat at a table. The silver-scaled dragoness came down not long afterwards and then we began to make a small plan about what to do with our spare time today. Collentra heard us talking and suggested we should go visit the workshops to the South of the city just outside the walls. Apparently, their merchandise was cheaper but by no means inferior to the ones in the Market Area or Workshop Area here in the city.

She made me curious about it, but we decided not to go outside the walls, since we didn’t want to pay the extra coin to get back in. If by chance we ended up spending a long time in Drakaria, I was going to eventually pay that area a visit and see what the dragoness was talking about.

When Kleo returned, we already settled on where to go and what to see. The black-scaled dragoness got dragged outside by us the moment she stepped in. Outmatched and outnumbered, she had no choice but to follow our whims and guide us through the city.

One of the things that interested me the most were the [Purse] rings, so Kleo guided us to one of the shops in the Market Area. Apparently, the only ones who could make these were either Dungeons or a Grand Master Enchanter. For the latter, it was a 1 out of 10 chances of success, and the result would be a very spacious ring. What Kataryna used to carry our bags and other stuff was something only a Grand Legendary Enchanter could try to make, but even he would have a small chance of success.

Because of this, the prices displayed in the shop were outrageous. 100 gold coins was the cheapest one and it wasn’t even spacious enough to hold one of our bags. At most it could store only as much as the mushroom backpack Seryanna made me wear back then. On the other hand, one similar to what Kataryna had was way over 10000 golds coins.

Seryanna did tell us back then that these things weren’t cheap, but by the gods were they expensive!

“There goes my hope of obtaining one.” I let out a disappointed sigh.

“Now you see why my Twin Daggers group prospered so much. By renting out such rings, we could achieve a steady flow of income.” Kataryna said with a smirk as she patted my shoulder.

“Speaking of which, where are the rest of your rings?” I asked surprised.

“After word got out that you and Seryanna exterminated the Twin Daggers bandit group, none of our previous customers dared to reveal that they borrowed those rings from us. Those expensive tools just up and vanished in the wind.” she let out a sigh.

“Didn’t you have a list of those you lent them to or something?” I asked.

“Remember that hole you made in my lair?” she asked.

“Erm... maybe?” I replied.

“Well, guess where the ledger was?” she smiled.

“Oops...” I said.

“Well, don’t worry about it.” she waved it off like it was nothing.

“I wish we could have managed to retrieve at least one of those rings... or Seryanna not return hers.” I let out a sigh.

“Well, if you wish to find one, then who knows? We might stumble onto one of my former clients and ‘retrieve’ it from him.” the dragoness smiled as her tail swayed in the air.

From her gesture, I could only understand that she was going to pummel the poor bastard into the ground and take the ring with his finger and all.

“Yeah, who knows. Although what I really wish for is to obtain a skill with a similar effect to that of the [Purse] ring.” I said and then sighed again.

“By the way, when are you going to give back my sister’s bags? She left without them, I think?” Kleo pointed out.

“If she comes by and asks for them, I will take them out for her. No problem there.” Kataryna replied with an indifferent shrug.

“That reminds me, back in Toros, I completely forgot to ask you to take out some of our things.” I said.

“I also didn’t realize this until after we checked in at the inn.”

“Yup.” Kleo nodded.

“Speaking of which, what’s the name of our current inn?” I asked.

“Hm, sister never said, did she?”.

“Nope.” I shook my head.

“It’s called Brekkar’s Inn or Inn Brekkar, however you wish to call it.” she replied.

“Ah, so from here the connection to that old dragon.” I nodded.

“Yup.” she smiled.

“Or more like they used the name for its fame, and he didn’t mind it at all.” Kataryna smirked.

“Yup.” Kleo nodded.

After our small talk and the failure of acquiring a [Purse] ring, we looked around various stores that sold armors and weapons. Thanks to my skill [Identificus Processus Juridicus], I was able to see the quality and enchants all of them had. Because of this, I felt like I was walking through an end game town in a MMORPG. All of this stuff was downright crazy! No, it was ALL high-end stuff, but most dragons here treated it as average.

Kataryna took interest in swords, while Kleo looked around at spears. I had no idea what to look for, so I just wandered around hoping to see something that caught my eye. However, let us not mention the part where Kataryna accidentally turned a very sharp sword into a boomerang, and Kleo accidentally cursed one of the spears. We quietly left before anyone could point us out as the culprits.

While we were looking around for stuff, I happened to hear several rumors that were circulating around the market.

“Hey, I heard someone who works at the Palace say that the King isn’t doing too well...” a dragon merchant whispered.

“Yes, I heard the Queen was seriously ill too. I never heard her make another public appearance after the festival 12 years ago.” a buyer replied.

“Maybe giving birth to twins was a bit too much for her?”

“Who knows? I just hope that rumor about her having been poisoned by a human isn’t true.”

If that’s true, then I hope I’ll never meet the King any time too soon. He might kill me before I get a chance to introduce myself. I thought and gulped.

Half an hour later, we happened to stumble upon two soldiers who were talking about something that piqued our interest. We all turned an ear towards them and listened in on the conversation as we pretended to look at something on the opposite stand.

“The new general sure is strict.” said one of them.

“He’s not a general yet. The King will make him one after the tournament next year.” the other said.

“He might as well make him now, because there’s no one else for the job. Besides, Sir Brekkar will die soon because of his illness... It’s a shame, but we can’t let the army go to waste like this.”

“True as that might be, I still hate it... We were part of the Third Princess’ faction, now we’ll be in the Sixth Princess’ faction... or is it the Doesya Ducal Family faction?” he scratched the back of his head.

“It’s called a party not a faction because they don’t fight for the throne. When they will, it will be called a faction.” he corrected him.

“Don’t they mean the same thing?” he asked.

“Erm... I don’t know, maybe?”

“Then why use a different word for it?”

“Who knows, it’s a noble thing. I would honestly prefer to stick with the term faction.” he shrugged.

“Noble thing? I don’t get it...” he shook his head, and the two of them walked away.

Looking back at Kataryna, I asked her “A noble thing?”

“To put it simply, a party is a group that backs up or shows favor towards a certain noble or royal family member who declares that they won’t try to aim for the seat of the ruler. The party is also an indicator of their potential political power, meaning that they are more valuable inside the country than outside of it. On the other hand, a faction is a group who backs up or shows favor towards an individual who aims for the seat of the ruler. In this case, when the appointed time comes, the one with the strongest faction wins.” she explained.

“So basically, it’s a political game?” I asked.

“Yes.” she nodded.

“I see... Then does this mean that the Third Princess’ party is weakening?” I asked.

“If what we heard is true, then most definitely.” Kataryna said as she looked in the direction of those two soldiers.

“That’s worrying... The Third Princess’ party is the one Seryanna should be a part of.” Kleo pointed out.

“What happens if the support of a party reaches zero?” I asked.

“Then... that individual, in this case the Third Princess, will have absolutely no political value within the kingdom.” Kataryna replied.

“Could we join her party?” I asked.

“As a Breakthrough Awakened, I can, but you can only join if you marry Seryanna, but even then, you won’t be considered of much value in their world. On the other hand, Kleo has a lot more political power as the fiancé of a Paladin trained by Brekkar himself. Both of them are nobles, so their status is far higher than yours. Then again, you are a human, so your status could even be seen as a negative one by some, in other words, enemies.” Kataryna offered me a rather detailed explanation.

“For some reason, this bums me out.” I let out a sigh.

We continued our tour of the city, visiting as many other stores as we could without going too quickly through them. We wanted to enjoy our little tour. At the same time, I was keeping my eyes open for any suitable locations that could be used for a future date with Seryanna. Unfortunately, there weren’t that many places that could be considered romantic or interesting. There were no such things as malls in this world, as for cinemas or theme cafes, those were nothing but a pipe dream.

However, while looking around for a good place to bring my redhead dragoness on a romantic date, I did notice something else...

“Is it just me or do the dragons here act a little different towards each other?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Kataryna asked.

“Those two over there... Why is the fat guy acting like that?” I asked as I pointed at a fat dragon with little green wings on his back scolding a younger-looking dragon with big blue wings.

“Ah, those two...” Kataryna let out a sigh when she saw them.

“Huh?” I was a bit confused.

“The fat guy is a noble and the other one is a commoner.” she explained.

“But why is he looking down on him like that?” I asked.

“Haven’t you noticed it in the previous cities?” she asked.

“Huh? Not really...” I shook my head.

“Well, we were together with sister, a knight who doesn’t judge others based on class.” Kleo pointed out.

“True...” Kataryna scratched the back of her head. “Now that I think about it, your chances of interacting with nobles from a commoner’s point of view were... almost non-existent.” she shrugged.

“With a Breakthrough Awakened and two noble women traveling with him, who would?” Kleo raised an eyebrow.

“That could be a reason.” she nodded.

“I don’t get it...” I repeated myself.

“Well, you see. In this society it’s normal for nobles to act like that. Honestly, from a moral point of view, the fat guy might be in the wrong, but legally, he has every right to look down on the commoner who is supposed to always bow down to the nobles. Even if you are really talented in a profession, unless you reach Legendary rank or become a Breakthrough Awakened, chances are you will be treated like dirt by the majority of nobles. More so if they find out you aren’t just some Unawakened dragon but an actual human. There might be some who would even go so far as to try to kill you on the spot.” she explained.

“Ouch... I would rather avoid that.” I nodded.

“That’s why I believe that the moment other nobles find out that Seryanna fancies you, they will try to remove you. Killing a human is by no means a serious crime in Albeyater or any other Dragon Kingdom.” Kataryna pointed out.

“Great...” I sighed.

“Well, you do have one good point. The fact that you healed Brekkar and even gained his approval is enough to keep you alive at least, but in the end... it all depends on the King if it’s off with your head or not.” Kleo let out a sigh as well.

“That’s why I hate politics, and my advice is to never get yourself involved in them. Those idiots who flaunt their noble status can’t even see the end of their tails let alone judge someone by their true worth.” Kataryna growled, showing her disgust towards such individuals.

Now that I thought about it, her own experience with politics wasn’t a very good one. She lost a good friend to the schemes of politicians who didn’t desire the existence among their ranks of a Breakthrough Awakening of a Superior Draconian of a High Element, basically someone like Seryanna.

Gulping, I made a wish in my heart just in case... Whatever happens, I wish that I will be able to save Seryanna if she will ever end up in danger because she is a Superior Draconian of High Flame.

With that being said, we continued our exploration of the city, but as we went on, we began to hear more and more rumors about this new general.

Apparently, he was stationing the Brekkar Army outside of the city’s walls in wait for the tournament he was organizing. There were many who claimed he was a new genius just like Brekkar once was, while others claimed that he was only a cheat and a shrewd individual. The latter blamed him for the fact that many soldiers were threatened to be fired, while others were promised to be risen in rank if they did well in the tournament. Brekkar apparently valued command, leadership, and the tactics employed by each squad more than the individual power of each soldier. As such, weak commanders with good leadership skills would often have strong soldiers under them. The way Draejan wanted to do things would mean the opposite.

We also heard more than once that the party of the Third Princess was weakening with each passing day. Right now, it was rumored that she only had one Royal Knight left, which was Seryanna. If nothing changed in the next couple of years, she would lose all favor and may end up married off to a ducal family or someone from the foreign royalty, like a Prince of the Embryger Empire.

If rumors reached even the common folk around us, then it was clear that she wasn’t doing too well, and this in itself was causing me to worry about her. I was beginning to feel more and more like I made a terrible mistake back there in Toros, that I should have just accepted Seryanna as she was or at the very least show a reaction. Well, it couldn’t be helped that my flag wasn’t raised, but I could have just stopped her from leaving the following day... Wait, no, doing it in that merchant’s house would have been very rude, but... at least I could have told her that I didn’t mind what I saw and even if I failed once, I wanted to try again and again until the flag was able to rise up high with pride and might!

Instead of reassuring her that I wouldn’t give up on her, I acted like a fool. I said nothing. I did nothing. I didn’t even try to go for a grope when we were in the tent alone!

There’s something wrong with me... I shook my head.

Unfortunately, I had no idea what, and as we were returning to the inn, I couldn’t help noticing something else... No matter where I looked, the Unawakened dragons were looked down upon by all the Awakened ones. It didn’t matter if they were nobles or not, the gazes were the same... In their eyes, not having Awakened as a Dragon was the same as still being a child no matter your physical or mental age.

“Not being Awakened is a big deal for dragons, isn’t it?” I asked with a low voice.

“Yes...” Kataryna nodded.

I let out a sigh and tried to look away. Today I learned a great deal of new things, but most of all, I was once again confronted with the truth that said this world was very different from the one I came from. Most importantly, I once again came to realize that dragons were a completely different species from humans. They chose their life partners based on the elements they possessed and were considered adults not when they reached a certain age but when they Awakened. I also learned that people never took the Unawakened ones seriously, unless they held a high position in their society, like Seryanna held the status of a Royal Knight.

At the same time, I learned that although Earth was different from this world in many aspects, in the end, they were both ruled by the cumbersome laws of politics. The games of the cunning ones within the state could shift the balance of power or even mean the difference between the life and death of certain groups or individuals.

I was unaware or maybe I just ignored it because I was afraid of it, but the truth was that I was a Human in a Dragon Kingdom when both species were at war with each other. More so, I was in love with a dragoness who served as a Royal Knight for a Princess whose power was declining... One wrong move, and it was off with my head. Worse even, it could be off with Seryanna’s head as well...

I shivered in fear at the very thought of it, and my heart tightened from these conflicting thoughts. I had no power... no say in this country’s course of action. I could do nothing to stop or save Seryanna from ending up accused as a traitor or even get sentenced to death.

As we stepped inside Brekkar’s Inn, we were greeted by two soldiers wearing typical chainmail armors and carrying a sheathed short sword at their waists.

“Are you the one who goes by the name of Alkelios?” one of them asked.

“Erm... Maybe?” I replied.

“Answer with yes or no.” he glared at me.

“What’s this about?” Kataryna asked calmly.

“We have received orders to bring a message to the one named Alkelios.” declared the other soldier.

“Alright, yes, I’m Alkelios... What’s the message?” I asked letting out a sigh.

“You are summoned at the Palace together with Kataryna Greorg and Thrarher... Tahar... The young lady of the Draketerus family. You are to present yourself at the gates tomorrow at sunrise. That is all.” he said, butchering Kleo’s name.

“It’s Thraherkleyoseya, you dolts.” the girl glared at them.

“My apologies.” he said, but he didn’t seem to take it as an offense.

“Who summoned us exactly?” I asked since according to those details, the person in question could have even been the Palace’s toilet scrubber.

“You are being summoned by Milord Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya!” he declared proudly.

Ah, not the toilet scrubber, but close enough... great. I thought.

So far, my impression of this dragon wasn’t a very good one. From what I heard, he was making a total mess of Brekkar’s Army and even organized a tournament which sole role was to make an even bigger mess out of it.

I let out a sigh and then nodded.

“I think I will decline.” I said with smile.

“What? How can you decline Milord’s summon? Are you mad?” he asked.

“Erm... but I don’t know any whatever his name is.” I shrugged.

“If you dare disrespect Milord’s name, I will have no choice but to skewer you!” he declared.

“Would that be alright if... let’s say, I really am his guest?” I asked with a smile.

“Urk...” the dragon stopped and sheathed his sword.

“Very well... Milord foresaw such a possibility, so in case it happened, he ordered us to tell you that Sir Seryanna’s honor is at stake. If you do not wish to spit on her name, you better accept the summon.” he said with a smirk.

I narrowed my eyes at him and just as I was about to move, I felt a strong grip on my right shoulder. Looking back, I saw that Kataryna was the one who stopped me.

“We’ll be there.” she said in my stead.

“Very well.” he nodded.

“But do tell that whatever his name is. If I find out this summon is a joke, I will make sure that he will PAY dearly for this... rudeness.” the dragoness declared with a cold glare in her eyes.

Before the soldiers had a chance to retort anything, they were shivering from the cold air that surrounded them.

“W-We will...” the soldiers replied with a nod.

“Good.” she smiled and let them go.

After they were gone, I let out a deep sigh.

“It was a good thing you stopped me...” I said.

“You would have acted like a fool, Alkelios. I know you care about Seryanna, but you don’t have any strength to back you up. You would need to at least have reached the Breakthrough point to be taken into consideration.” she showed me a smile and hugged me from behind. “But don’t worry, I won’t let anyone take a bite out of you... if anyone, that should be me.” she giggled, but instead of feeling relieved, I felt a chill run down my spine.

What she meant by ‘taking a bite’ was by no means in a pleasing manner, she was referring to actually... harming me.

Maybe that’s just my imagination? I wondered.