Chapter 79

(79)

There is a limit to suppressing others with ability.

The moment the ability fades, betrayal inevitably follows.

Jeilliris frequently employed power and fear among the various virtues of a monarch to secure loyalty.

In other words, the moment she ceases to be a strong or fearsome presence, the likelihood of betrayal rises infinitely.

She likely wouldn’t have been surprised if I abandoned her when she was injured and fled.

No, she may have even thought I would definitely do so.

But I did not.

“Your Majesty, I—”

“It’s different for knights serving the young prince of a ruined nation. They gain internal rewards by following their beliefs and the former king. Some may dream of becoming high officials through success. But you, you are different.”

Jeilliris looked at me with her golden eyes.

It was an intense gaze that seemed to pierce through me.

“You serve me as if it’s the only thing you should do. It’s… very unfamiliar. Hence, I briefly doubted you. I fear I might not understand a burden.”

However, the emperor continued after a pause.

“But it seems I cannot treat a loyal subject who risks their life for me that way. A monarch must not deny the events that have unfolded simply because they are incomprehensible.”

I casually exclaimed, “I wanted to gain the power of a dragon.”

Jeilliris laughed, as if to say that was nonsense.

“Huh?”

“I wanted to acquire the power of a dragon. I yearned for scales like steel, the realm of the Immortal’s Death Breath and the Venomous Bite of the Dragon, to feast on flames beyond the Circle’s incantation.”

I spoke while grinning like a bandit.

“Isn’t the blood of the great dragon already flowing in the imperial lineage? I thought there would be no reason for me to die without acceptance.”

“What about the side effects of dragon transformation?”

“I believed that your greatness and wisdom would somehow make it happen.”

Jeilliris laughed sweetly.

“I want to tell you not to lie, and I wish I could scold you. How could you, who is so horrifically cautious about your own body, think so?”

I could hardly deny it.

However, Jeilliris did not press me further.

“But you would answer that it is all for the best. In the end, both you and I have survived, and the magical realms have closed. Yes. Until now, I haven’t questioned you about the process or the reasons, only concerned about the outcome. Everything is the seed sown by me.”

I brazenly replied, putting on a thick skin.

“That’s correct.”

“How bold you are.”

She continued with a carnivorous smile.

“Then we shall consider it as such. A greedy bandit duke coveting the power of a dragon. I am curious why you risked your life to save mine, but I will indulge my curiosity. Secrets do not make a man beautiful, but they can make a person beautiful.”

“The emperor is most gracious.”

“However, I want to be one who knows gratitude.”

She poured ‘the Ecstasy of Blood’ into my cup.

“The emperor of the Solletarass Empire vows. You have saved my life once; thus, I will forgive you any sin once. This shall be upheld in my name, wherever it may be in this world.”

Her clear voice resonated within the winter night’s reception room.

I grinned like a bandit and said, “Are you sure about that? My infamy will surely reach new heights.”

Jeilliris gently shook her head.

A satisfied smile lingered on her lips.

“That’s what I have decreed.”

“Ah.”

“All of your misdeeds have culminated in results for me. Once is coincidence, twice is inevitability, thrice is affinity, and four times is destiny. I do not believe in destiny, but I find it sufficient to make you believe in me.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Valenciaunos.”

“!”

The clear voice shook my mind.

It felt like the first time my name had been uttered since my return.

“I, trust you.”

It was the faith of an emperor who had purged hundreds.

It was the faith of the one who became the emperor in my stead.

It was the faith of the one to whom I owed an inescapable debt.

I couldn’t say a word, only looked at her.

She smiled delicately and raised her cup.

I bowed my head and clinked my cup against hers.

The clear sound resounded within the winter night’s reception room.

* * *

Even amidst the blizzards, the guild members and apprentices must report to work.

There were still tasks to be done, even without the guild master.

Moreover, in Sererassie’s guild, there were both the guild master and work available.

“By today, we need to have the conclusion for the ten runes and the production prototype of the scroll. Do you think I’ve been idle during my month off? You’re not coming out just because you want to learn lightning magic, are you? Are you not writing your thesis?”

The sharp-tongued magician stabbed the hearts of the apprentices and disciples with her verbal needles.

“Guild Master. I’ve brought the improved magic formula this time. The experiment shows that we can raise the casting speed by over 11%.”

“Get rid of this trash from in front of me right now. The mana efficiency has dropped to 18%, and the reagent efficiency to almost 25%! Why are you so obsessed with speed? Did you have many duels at the academy?”

The disciple widened his eyes.

“How did you know?”

Sererassie sighed.

Those who had many duels at the Ivory Tower were the same, obsessed with speed.

“How many years ago did you study tactical doctrines? That’s an ancient relic, not just outdated. Nowadays, magicians cast powerful spells while being protected by knights and elite soldiers, even if it takes longer.”

“But isn’t it okay for the warlocks?”

“Do you think battle magicians don’t wear armor? How do you plan to face those who cast multiple layers of defensive spells with this inefficient magic formula?”

The disciple’s shoulders drooped.

Sererassie patted his shoulder and said, “Raise the casting speed decrease to 20%, while reducing the mana efficiency drop to single digits and the reagent efficiency decrease to 10%, and I’ll consider commercialization. Or how about shortening the casting speed by about 80%, even if the mana or reagent efficiency is shattered? That would be better for your thesis.”

“!”

The disciple instantly prostrated himself.

“Th-thank you.”

“Go work. I need to get back to work too.”

As I watched all this from the side, the moment the disciple stood up, I handed him a paper bag.

“Go share it. It looks like your sister hasn’t eaten for about three days either, so she wouldn’t have prepared your meals.”

Inside were steaming hot bread and smoked ham wrapped in greased paper.

We do this to make a living, so we should take care of them.

He deeply bowed in appreciation and turned to leave.

“Don’t unnecessarily worry about me. It spoils me.”

“If you do that, you might get stabbed in the back.”

“I pay you quite a bit, you know, more than 50% of other guilds.”

“Isn’t 50% of 0 still 0?”

“How can you have such a horrifying thought? You’re truly like Valencia.”

“Your sister’s words are so pleasant to hear.”

“Enough already. Hurry up and take off your clothes. You’re the one who said you wanted to test your new abilities.”

I nodded and removed my red sash, white jacket embroidered with gold thread, and shirt.

“Sit in front of the mirror.”

Sererassie shouted toward the back of the lab.

“Can a few people come over here and write some numbers?”

The apprentices and disciples rushed over.

“I’ll do it.”

“Please let me do it!”

“What are you disciples doing, not going in to study?”

Ultimately, the last one left standing beside me, holding the chart and quill, was a black-haired apprentice who seemed to have lived quite diligently at the academy.

She glanced at my body, her face turning red.

Standing before the mirror, I thought my physique had significantly improved since the time of my return.

My pale skin and fine muscles were the same as before, but now my back, shoulders, and chest had noticeably become more solid.

“I hadn’t noticed because I only saw you in uniform every day, but you’ve got quite a good body, huh?”

It was rare for Sererassie to offer a compliment.

If I grow like this without ruining my body, I could reach a high level in this life.

“Even after drinking so much, this is impressive. What a waste of a body.”

She wouldn’t just leave it at that.

“Stop glancing and just look. You’ve heard the rumors. There’s someone who would enjoy those looks of yours tremendously.”

Sererassie said to the apprentice, who gasped and denied it, while Sererassie grasped her staff.

“Then let’s get started. I’m curious about how powerful the dragon’s blessing really is.”

She flicked her staff, causing blue currents to crackle.

“Tell me how much it hurts based on your perception.”

“Sister. Wait a minute. You’re not going to draw blood for experiments, are you?”

“Why else would I tell you to take off your clothes?”

“Isn’t that against research ethics?”

“Do you think this is the academy? At the Imperial Magic Guild, there’s no such thing.”

Zing!

The staff touched my back and fell, and I instinctively flinched.

“How painful do you think that was? Express it on a scale from 0 to 10.”

“It wasn’t as painful as I expected. About a 2? Just a slight sting?”

“2? Alright, I got it.”

She whispered a few numbers to the apprentice.

The apprentice’s face turned ashen.

“Lady Sererassie, did you just discharge enough current to kill a giant beast?”

?!

“Shh. Be quiet. You almost got caught.”

“It’s not that I almost got caught; I did!”

“Shut your mouth. There are several tests to run.”

I asked, feeling anxious, “What else do you want to test?”

“How much high power can you endure? How long can you last? Can you withstand flames, winds, destruction, poison, dark magic, or the energies of the ancients? Are you merely not feeling pain, or has your body genuinely grown stronger?”

“Shouldn’t we test the last one first?”

“Come here and contribute to the empire’s magical advancements, you bandit!”

“Ugh!”

Sererassie grilled me for two days, and as a result, I learned many things about my changes.

I still felt the cold, but it was clear that I could endure it far better than before.

“Firstly, you have cold resistance.”

Thinking back, I had walked here in a uniform on a blizzard day without feeling cold.

“It would be funny to say that a fire-breathing dragon feels heat. At this level, it should be effective against Circle 4? 5 Circle should deliver effective hits.”

I had, in effect, become immune to heat and warmth.

I could even jump into normal fire and walk out completely unscathed.

I also completed tests for various elemental resistances.

“I’m almost completely immune to poison; pure physical attacks have some effect, but my scales must rise to be effective against mana blades.”

“What happens if you get hit before that?”

“Then it’s over. All elements like earth, wind, and electricity below Circle 3 are essentially completely immune. It’s similar for energies of the ancients. I feel like my resistance has dramatically increased? Curses or mental waves probably won’t affect me anymore.”

“Oh.”

“However, since this isn’t cross-verified, I can’t tell if this is due to the dragon’s blessing or just from drinking and coating myself in dragon blood. Moreover, it seems like the transformation is already happening since the scales don’t take effect consistently…”

“?!”

I let out a small sigh.

The idea that I might have garnered results without any accomplishments was suddenly suffocating.

Moreover, dragon transformation—a situation almost indistinguishable from corruption.

“First of all, flames and incantations are definitely the results of the blessing… No. It’s fine. I have no regrets. Without this flame, I would have died unless you had extracted my brain and sealed the magical realms.”

Tremendous tentacles continued to erupt from the core.

Only after incinerating them could Jeilliris wield her aura blade.

“You have a good mindset. So, for now, this much knowledge has been revealed. As for the incantations… I think I need to test myself first. Come again later.”

“Alright. Thanks for making time for me. I’ll jump over the moment the scales start to sprout.”

“Then I must report to His Majesty the Emperor.”

I replied with a bitter smile and donned my white uniform once more.

“Where do you intend to go now? Back to drinking and singing?”

Sererassie asked.

“Something like that. Well, I need to go back to what I was doing.”

* * *

Inside an upscale tavern’s private room in the red-light district, a man packed tobacco into a pipe.

It was obvious that the tobacco he was using was not sold by the church, and it was no simple hallucinogen.

It was meant to expand consciousness and connect with beings beyond this world.

“Please, grant me a miracle.”

Just as the man was about to ignite it, the door swung open wide.

“This is the place. Thank you.”

“Not at all.”

A man wearing a white suit embroidered with gold thread and a white paper mask entered the room, along with a woman wearing a red fox mask.

The man hastily shoved the tobacco pipe into his pocket and tried to flee.

“Cough!”

Thud!

Valenciaunos lightly tripped the man, knocked him down, and wrestled the tobacco away.

“Your miracle will only be survival!” he growled, grabbing him by the collar with his translucent dark-red scales.