When I realized those ominous shadows behind the trees were still watching us, my instincts proved right: this was far more than a simple case of theft or banditry.
Turning to Luna, I spoke in a tone just loud enough for the ears concealed within the shadows to catch, and brought up the letter.
Toward the end of my sentence, I let my voice carry a sharper, clearer edge.
“I will be staying there for a while, Luna,” I said.
“You may go your own way now; you are free.
If you wish to part ways, I can give you enough coin to comfortably start a new life for a few years in this new world.
Or…
you can come with me.
If you do, I will help you hone your talents.
Though I am a healer by trade, I know more than a thing or two about the arcane arts.”
The moment she heard the word “training,” Luna’s eyes lit up.
The anxious, tense elf from a moment ago vanished, replaced by a child jumping for joy and raising her hand with an incomprehensible excitement.
“Then that is our next stop!” she chirped, accepting the offer without a second thought.
While Luna cheerfully packed our things for the journey, I turned around and cast a freezing glare toward the bushes where we were being watched.
Retrieving an ordinary vase from my inventory, I slipped several open pouches brimming with gold inside and gently set it on the ground.
I extended my right arm toward the thicket where the men lay hidden, and my left toward the vase on the earth.
At that exact moment, I sensed one of the men panicking, desperately gathering mana into his legs, on the verge of either fleeing or casting a spell.
I breached his mind instantly.
Infusing my voice with pure, raw arcane power, I whispered directly into his very soul: “Freeze.”
The absolute command spell I invoked shackled his mana veins like iron chains, suppressing the spell he was weaving before it could even manifest, choking it within his own pathways.
Sensing no resistance and knowing my work was done, I turned my back.
Walking toward Luna, I snapped my fingers.
“Dispel,” I muttered, completely severing the mana link I had forged.
The onlookers in the shadows remained utterly paralyzed, left frozen without even understanding what I had left behind.
Luna waved at me, shouting, “Master, everything is readyyy!”
I pulled the parchment from my pocket and tore it clean down the middle.
Space warped once more, and within seconds, we materialized near the main gates of the Dragon City.
Sensing the sudden ripple in the local mana caused by our arrival, Velmora glided down from the heavens on colossal wings, landing before us.
The moment her claws touched the ground, she dissolved into a massive cloud of dust, shifting into her human form.
Upon seeing Velmora, Luna hid behind my back in sheer terror.
Her legs shook so violently that she tried to clutch the hem of my trousers, but lost her balance and hit the dirt in a controlled tumble.
I couldn’t blame her; standing before us was Velmora—one of the oldest and most dangerous dragons alive, born of the primeval lineage.
Velmora bowed before me with regal grace.
“Welcome, My Lord.
Lord Ermo awaits you with great impatience.”
Gently lifting Luna from the dirt and dust, I turned to Velmora.
“First, see that this girl is properly clothed, bathed, and made comfortable.
I will find Ermo myself.”
Velmora offered another slight bow and turned her gaze to Luna.
“This way, my lady,” she said, a manufactured smile gracing her lips.
Yet, the suggestive, slightly mocking glance she shot my way did not escape my notice.
Before being led away, Luna grabbed my shoulder in a panic, pulling me down.
She whispered into my ear, her voice trembling, “Master…
I choose the first option from earlier!
Please, I beg of you, do not leave me with this monster!”
Velmora, undoubtedly catching every word with her sharp draconic hearing, cleared her throat softly to interrupt us.
Laughing, I pried Luna’s hands from my shoulder.
“A choice is made but once, little elf,” I said, gently nudging her forward and handing her over to Velmora.
I watched their retreating figures as they walked down the corridor.
Realizing I had been standing there, frozen like a statue for several minutes, I shook my head to snap out of it, quickened my pace, and went to seek out Ermo.
I found him at the military training grounds.
Hundreds of half-breed soldiers were running at a grueling pace, charting figure-eights across the field.
Ermo stood atop a raised, podium-like platform, barking orders until his lungs tore: “A healer must, above all else, be resilient and strong!
Strong enough to never become a burden to anyone on the battlefield!”
The moment he spotted me, he barked a harsh command to his adjutant to ensure the drills continued.
Then, a massive grin breaking across his face, he opened his arms wide and walked toward me.
This was our first true face-to-face meeting since the fateful day we fell into this strange world.
However, my eyes immediately drifted to the small child perched upon his shoulder.
Pointing at the boy, I smirked.
“He’s the spitting image of you.”
Ermo tilted his head slightly and scratched the back of his neck, a weary expression clouding his face.
“Don’t even ask, Kaan…
Things happened.
Velmora and I had a child.
Don’t ask for details; it took everything we had just to get permission for this marriage and the child from the Ancient Dragon Council.
I’m exhausted.
And his grandfather raids the palace every other day.
The council elders just can’t seem to understand how the council director could neglect official duties for such ‘trivial’ family matters.”
As we spent a long time catching up on old times and cursing the plague of bureaucracy, the soldiers on the field finally completed their laps.
A towering half-dragon stepped forward and offered a crisp military salute.
“The Red Legion, Sirius Company, at your command!
Order us, Commander!”
Ermo paced slowly among the ranks, his voice rising until it echoed across the entire grounds.
“You did well today!
But from this day forth, this man is your absolute commander on this field!
He is one of the few individuals in this world whom I respect and endorse.
I will treat the slightest disrespect or disobedience toward him as a direct insult to myself!”
While Ermo delivered his solemn speech to his army, I noticed the little boy on his shoulder staring at me with curious eyes.
I couldn’t resist; I began pulling ridiculous faces, playing the clown behind his father’s back.
Seeing my antics, the child burst into joyful laughter.
Ermo, hearing his son’s giggles, realized the mischief unfolding behind him and was forced to abruptly cut his speech short.
“Dismissed until dawn tomorrow!” he concluded, ending the day.
As the soldiers filed off the field one by one, Ermo turned to me.
“Kaan, normally this boy doesn’t take to any stranger in the palace easily, but it seems he already likes you.”
I smiled.
Ermo turned to the guard behind him and handed the boy over.
“Take the boy to his mother.
And follow us from a distance, without losing visual contact.”
When we were finally completely alone, Ermo placed his hand on his hip and exhaled a deep sigh before speaking.
The cheerful, friendly warmth had vanished from his face, replaced by the heavy gravity of a leader.
“Kaan…
You know that dragons are the absolute protectors of this realm.
They are the sole power that has shielded us from demons and reckless gods for centuries.
But now, crippled by their own internal corruption, they are incapable of protecting us.
This race possesses an absolute loyalty to hierarchy and power—you know this as well as I do.
Yet lately, many of the younger dragons are thirsting for blood.
They intend to unilaterally open the border gates and declare war upon the gods.
Their foolish arrogance hands a massive lever to the dark forces who wish to manipulate them like puppets from the shadows.
Even though the current Dragon King is cautious and peace-loving…
you know that in this universe, anything can come at any moment, from anyone.”
I had already figured out where this conversation was heading, and what he was about to ask of me.
Ermo looked me dead in the eye.
“What I’m trying to say, Kaan…
is that we need those relentless golems of yours.
I know you loathe sitting down to craft and work.
But you’ve seen it yourself; we cannot defend this realm or forge a true army with these useless healers who know nothing but how to mend their own wounds.”
In truth, manufacturing the golems wasn’t a particularly grueling craft for me.
The real issue lay in the fact that I couldn’t single-handedly control a massive golem army numbering in the hundreds.
To make them autonomous, we had to implant a synthetic yet powerful consciousness into each of them.
And in this world, creating a high-tier golem consciousness was bound by an absolute rule: it required the soul of a living being.
I turned to him, my voice turning grave.
“You know what this entails, don’t you, Ermo?
For an army of this caliber, we will have to trap the living souls of other races inside those steel chassis.
Personally, I have no qualms with it—morals mean nothing to me.
But you are a proud and just man.
Are you truly ready for this?”
Ermo turned his back, fixing his gaze upon the distant horizon.
“I have a family and a people to protect here, Kaan.
If necessary, I will cast both pride and justice aside.
My only request is that you forge as many golems as you can, as quickly as possible.
You can still give your military lectures in the mornings, or if you’ve taught Luna enough of the basics, she can even take over the classes; it makes no difference to me.
Just bring me those golems.”
I struck Ermo firmly on the shoulder.
“Don’t sweat it, man, we’ll handle it.
But first, I’m going to need solid, forged steel chassis for those golems.
For that, we need our guy Enwoybi.
Do you know how he’s faring?”
The tension in Ermo’s face eased slightly, and a smile broke through.
“I’ve already sent him a secret missive.”
I laughed, running a hand through my hair.
“I see…
So you’ve planned everything out.
Fine, I’ll get this done.
But once Luna and I finish this golem business, I intend to find a beautiful spot to take a vacation and clear my head.
Surely our grand Dragon Prince can arrange a little sponsorship for an old friend?”
Ermo let out a booming laugh.
“Of course I can, you bastard!
Just name the place, that’s all.”
This golem project was the greatest secret that would dictate the future of this realm, and it was to remain strictly between the two of us.
Just as Ermo began to walk away, he paused abruptly, asking in a voice laced with suspicion, “Kaan…
it’s just an observation, but don’t you think Luna is adapting to everything in this world, to the mechanics of magic, far too quickly?
It strikes me as a bit strange.”
I brought my hand to my chin, pondering.
“Actually, I noticed that too, but I hadn’t dwelt on it.
It’s highly probable that something incredibly intriguing lurks within that mysterious elf girl’s past.
I won’t press her for now; I only hope that one day, she will reveal everything to me of her own free will.”
Exactly five months had passed since that conversation…
Time had flowed like water.
In the mornings, Luna had completely taken over the lessons at the military camp; she had mastered military discipline and basic healing theory, keeping the soldiers in absolute line.
As for me, I spent the daylight hours subjecting the golems I crafted in the hidden laboratory to merciless trials.
At noon, the three of us would gather to share a warm meal and talk about old times.
In the evenings, before retiring to bed, I would visit Luna and explain in detail what she was to teach the soldiers the following day.
Once she drifted off to sleep, I would slip back to the lab, refining the golems until dawn.
Because Enwoybi had secretly channeled the finest dwarven blacksmiths from the underground to my aid, the supply of chassis proceeded without a hitch, accelerating my work immensely.
When the final colossal golem successfully passed all its trials, I went to Ermo’s chambers.
I informed him that the task was finished and the army stood ready.
Ermo himself had been suffocatingly busy of late; the Dragon Council was exerting constant political pressure on him regarding the education and future of his half-breed child.
Throughout these five months, their young son, Kyso, had frequently dropped by my laboratory.
We would play with the discarded golem parts on the floor and have fun.
Though his name sounded a bit peculiar in the tongue of this realm, I had grown attached to the boy very quickly.
Whenever Kyso caught sight of me, he would come tearing down the corridor, leap into my arms, and excitedly demand to know what I was building.
Yet, the council kept pushing to tear this high-born child from Ermo’s grasp to raise him under their own rigid doctrines.
Leaning against the desk in Ermo’s study, I said, “It’s all finished, my friend.
Now is the perfect time to remind you about that vacation we discussed.”
Ermo turned his weary eyes toward me.
“I understand, Kaan.
I am keeping my word.
I have arranged a place for you in the lands of the Ice Elves—a completely isolated, luxurious estate that an ordinary elf could only ever behold in their dreams.
You may stay there as long as you like; all expenses are on me.
Furthermore…
this vacation will serve as an excellent experiment to gauge Luna’s reaction toward her old acquaintances there.”
Caring absolutely nothing for the bewildered stares of the surrounding guards, I stretched out on the large leather sofa in the room.
“You can summon the golems to the field whenever you wish, Ermo,” I remarked, and after conversing a bit more on golem tactics, I exited the room.
As I was walking down the corridor, I saw Velmora approaching Ermo’s chambers with Kyso in her arms.
The moment Kyso spotted me, he tried to wriggle out of his mother’s grasp.
“Uncleee!” he shouted, sprinting toward me.
I caught him swiftly, hoisting him into the air and cradling him.
He cupped my face with his tiny hands.
“Uncle, uncle!
What are you doing?”
While gently stroking his hair, I adopted a solemn expression and whispered into his ear: “I’m going away on vacation to a distant place with your Aunt Luna for a while, Kyso.
Now, listen to me carefully; after a certain age and under such heavy stress, people get very tired.
And if they get too tired…
they could die at any moment.
Take good care of your father while I’m gone, don’t wear him out too much, alright?”
Kyso’s eyes widened as if he had just received the most sacred military directive in the world, and he nodded firmly.
“I understand, uncle!”
As he slid down from my arms and rushed toward his father’s room, Velmora called out anxiously after him, “Slow down, son, you’ll fall!” She then offered me a respectful nod of her head and followed her son into the chamber.
I quickened my pace to return to Luna, who was waiting for me at the inn.
However, just as I was about to exit through the palace’s rear gardens, I sensed a ripple of mana nearby—a completely foreign, incredibly dense, and dark presence, the likes of which I had never felt in this palace before.
My brows furrowed.
I slowed my steps until they were utterly silent, cast my highest-tier invisibility spell over myself, and vanished completely from sight.
I crept silently toward that isolated corner where the mana originated, gliding toward the window of the palace’s old archive room.
Peering inside, I could scarce believe my own eyes…