Chapter 400

Chapter 24 The Legend of the Great Dragon Part I

“Paylor, have you seen my school badge?”

“I put it on the desk with the hair tie last night… how did it disappear… strange…”

The morning at the Royal Academy was tranquil and serene. The warm summer breeze blew in from the tower windows, making the room feel stuffy even with the windows open. The three girls had already gotten up by this time, taking their time to wash up, change into their uniforms, and tidy their hair. Daisy hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet, and Sarah was rummaging through her things, looking for her school badge. As she spoke, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

If you don’t even know where you put it, why ask me?

I don’t want to talk to you…

Last night, I had a dream.

In the dream, I was chasing a very, very large Captain Gray. I ran and ran, trying desperately to catch up, but Captain Gray didn’t want to be caught. It kept rolling, dropping many smaller Captain Grays along the way, hoping to hinder my progress. I caught one and was about to throw it, but then thought better of it and decided to eat it instead. Then I woke up.

When I woke up, Sarah was standing there like a ghost, scaring me, and laughing foolishly. I wasn’t happy about it, so I said something to her, but she laughed even louder, acting crazy. She wouldn’t say anything when I asked what was wrong; she just shook her head. But I knew she was laughing at me, so I felt angry and didn’t want to talk to her now.

After a while, Sarah asked again, “Wait, Paylor… didn’t you hide my school badge somewhere?”

“…”

I looked in the mirror, not saying a word and not turning around.

A white sleeveless pleated dress paired with a matching sun hat looked quite nice… beautiful… humph, I look good in anything.

It’s just that the hem is a bit short, barely covering my knees…

“Paylor? Why won’t you talk to me…”

… Forget it.

It’s too hot outside, so I’ll just wear this… cooler… anyway, I have pumpkin lantern pants underneath.

“Hey… are you still mad? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you… oh, I found the school badge.”

“…”

Behind me, there was some rustling, and then I saw Sarah, wearing her badge, sneakily approach me in the mirror. She raised her little hands above her head, wiggled her fingers, and grinned mischievously. “If you’re still mad, I’ll tickle you!”

“No!”

I panicked and quickly jumped back two steps, crossing my arms in front of my chest and turning to glare at her defensively.

“Hehe.”

Sarah chuckled, lowered her hands, and smirked with satisfaction. “Just kidding! I won’t tickle you, so don’t ignore me either… otherwise, I’ll make my mom bake pea cakes for you next time I go home.”

… Pea cakes?

I immediately became interested. “Are they good?”

“Yes, they’re crispy and delicious.”

Hmm…

I don’t think they have them in the cafeteria, and I haven’t seen any sold outside.

I tilted my head and thought for a moment before nodding agreeably. “Deal.”

Sarah smiled. “Then it’s settled. You can’t suddenly disappear again.”

“I won’t.”

There shouldn’t be much going on these days…

“Let’s shake hands then.”

The Sarah in front of me extended her hand palm-up.

“… Are you treating me like a dog?!”

“Just wanted to shake hands and make peace…”

“…”

Not long after, when Daisy came out of the bathroom, the three of us prepared to head to the cafeteria. However, as soon as we opened the dorm door, we saw two more bouquets of flowers placed on the ground outside.

“Paylor, you’re really popular…” Sarah remarked.

She walked over, bent down, picked up the two bouquets, and found the cards inside. As she walked towards the stairs, she read aloud the contents: “Dear Miss Paylor… uh, Paylor’s name is misspelled… ask yourself, what is the hardest thing to bear in this world… not hunger, nor pain, but longing… I don’t know when my feelings for you began, but now it doesn’t matter anymore; your beautiful figure has taken root deep in my heart… ugh, how cheesy.”

Sarah made a face of disgust and threw the card back into the bouquet.

“How cheesy, you actually read it out loud, disgusting.”

“That’s right…”

Daisy and I followed her,

Three people passed through the circular narrow corridor and went down along the winding stairs.

Sarah said again, “But this is written for you, yet you surely won’t read it. Out of goodwill, I want at least to let you hear what others have to say about you… Sigh, this is another fool who has fallen in love deeply.” Daisy, do you think we Peylo still need to lock up so many such fools…”

“Hehe.”

Daisy didn’t speak; she just smiled, and I didn’t know what she was laughing about.

“Throw it away.”

I said expressionlessly.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and turned around, “Not even asking for the name?”

“Why should I ask?”

“Yes, how pitiful…”

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and then took out the card from the second bouquet of flowers, “Eh? This one isn’t for you.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s for Daisy…”

“Ahh!” Daisy covered her mouth and exclaimed in shock.

“Hold on, let me read it out loud for you…”

“No…”

Daisy’s face turned red, and she tried to grab it, but Sarah read it out before her, “You are the softest girl I’ve ever seen, I like your fullness… Pfft, hahaha, this… Hahaha… What kind of straightforward head is this… Huhu… Too much, huh… Hahaha oops! Daisy, you’re hurting me…”

“Give it to me…”

“Huh? You, do you want to take it?”

“Not… Ugh! I’m so annoyed…”

The three of them laughed and descended the stairs. At the entrance of the tower, Daisy still had a look of shame and anger, almost on the verge of tears, gritted her teeth, tore up the card addressed to her, and threw both bouquets of flowers into the nearby trash can. Fortunately, she had a good temper. If it were me, I would have definitely found the person who wrote this letter or was teasing her maliciously, and given him a good beating.

After breakfast at the cafeteria, Sarah went to buy me a small bag of boiled peas, which I put in my skirt pocket, planning to eat them during class. Then, together with Sarah and Daisy, we headed towards the teaching building—neither of them had classes that morning, but Sarah insisted on accompanying me, saying that lately, the academy had been under close scrutiny, and she wanted to be my guard, chasing away any scoundrels who dared to approach. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, seemingly looking forward to something, while Daisy… she was simply bored.

However, no one disturbed us on the way.

At the teaching building, the two of them left, and I went alone to the sixth floor, entering a stone classroom with a stack of books. Ignoring the glances and whispers from the surrounding students, I followed routine and found an inconspicuous corner by the window, untied the square handkerchief from my wrist, wiped the table and chair, removed the sun hat from my head, placed it aside, adjusted my skirt, sat down, and placed the book on the table. My palm brushed over the cover where a few gold-embossed words were printed: *The Wondrous Lives*.

Soon, an elderly man with white hair walked into the classroom and stood on the podium.

“Today, we will talk about dragons.”

The old man was a renowned scholar from Isenbel, whose name I couldn’t remember. All I knew was that he had dedicated years to studying alien species and life sciences and was highly respected in the royal academy.

He spoke slowly, with slightly slurred speech but clear thoughts: “Dragons… are one of the oldest species in this world, their origins tracing back to the beginning of the world when gods granted life to the barren earth. They are beings equal to or even higher than the immortal race.”

“As recorded in the Holy Church’s *Revelation*, dragons possess immense strength capable of sweeping armies, impenetrable scales, flames that can incinerate everything, and the ability to soar freely in the sky. They have extremely high self-esteem, viewing humans as inferior beings. They are proud, greedy, and arrogant, and even among their own kind, they rarely form groups…”

“Regarding the lifespan of dragons, scholars have debated for millennia, and to this day, no definitive conclusion has been reached. Some believe they can live for a thousand years, while others say ten thousand. The most concrete examples, you should all be familiar with, such as the demon Nidhogg, who caused the World Tree to wither, the dragon Fafnir born from a curse, the ancient evil symbol Agi Takhaka, and the bloodthirsty Kreubray… These dragons, known for their power and evil, have been around since the earliest times humans knew of them. From their fall or expulsion to the Dragon Realm, it spans thousands of years. Even today, no one knows if they are still alive…”