Dragon Poor

Since Ophelia disliked Edda, every time a situation like this came up, Kim Seon-Hyeok couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat. 

“Father! Father!”

Just as Ophelia was opening her mouth to say something, Victorius screamed as he ran into his father’s arms. Because of that, Ophelia sighed before closing her mouth.

No other son could be as filial and devoted as Victorius. 

If he hadn’t opened his mouth right then, Kim Seon-Hyeok would’ve been in trouble for a long time. 

“Let’s see how big Victor got!”

Having escaped the crisis from the unexpected help(?), Kim Seon-Hyeok lifted the child up high.

“Ooh, so heavy. My Victor’s grew up again.”

He wasn’t saying empty words.

Victor really was growing day by day. He was only three years old, but he was growing too quickly. There was no need to talk about how he was taller than a normal six-year-old and that he was speaking as fluently as an adult that it was difficult to say that he was simply an outstanding child. 

At first, Kim Seon-Hyeok thought it was because he had inherited the Adenstein bloodline with the curse of short-life engraved into the blood. But that wasn’t it. Even Ophelia had been equally perplexed by the rapid growth of her child.

In the end, there was only one reason left.

The dragon blood flowing in his father’s body must’ve affected the child in some way.

“Hm.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok didn’t show what he was thinking.

He didn’t want his intelligent son to notice his father’s anxiety even by chance. He suppressed his complicated feelings and smiled broadly at Victorius who was burrowing into his arms.

“Do it again, Father!”

As exceptional as his development was, Victorius’ physical strength was also unique. Usually, the Dragon Knight wouldn’t get tired, but he was getting tired from playing the same thing with his son over again and again.

“Victor, it’s time for a nap.”

If Ophelia hadn’t intervened at the perfect time and taken Victorius away, Kim Seon-Hyeok really would have run out of energy.

After being held in his mother’s arms for a while, Victorius fell asleep and the waiting nanny came and took the sleeping prince away. 

“I’m afraid that he’ll suddenly become an adult. I wish Victor grew up a bit slower.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed as he watched Victorius being led away in the nanny’s arms. 

He had spent so much time running around outside the Empire so he hadn’t been able to properly watch his son grow up. So now, he wanted to be by his side, doing his duty as a father. But, seeing how even that wasn’t easy, he couldn't help but feel troubled.

“So what if he is an adult or a child. The fact that Victor is our son does not change either way.”

Understanding his heart, Ophelia came up to him and tried consoling him with words that weren’t exactly comforting.

“Shouldn’t you be in the middle of meetings, right now?”

Belatedly realizing that she should be busy taking care of business, he looked at her with a puzzled look. He knew better than anyone else that she wasn’t one to miss a meeting simply because she wanted to see her child.

“I have something I need to tell you.”

As if she had a reason for coming, she began speaking with a stiff face.

“The war chief of the nomads of the North…”

If it was the war chief of the nomads of the North, then it was Darun who Kim Seon-Hyeok shared a deep friendship with him and his fellow brothers in the short period of time they spent together. 

Kim Seon-Hyeok should’ve been happy after hearing the news of his war buddy, but for some reason, his face darkened instead.

After the massive blue-furred wolf appeared in the North, relations with the Northern nomads had gotten twisted and complicated.

The wolf was a Divine being that the nomads considered and served as a Messenger of the Sky. That Divine being was Voltecino, one of the Transcendentals who had once ruled the world long ago. 

The moment Voltecino appeared again in the world, it gathered the nomads of the North into one. The gathered wild men continued to head south and even invaded the adjacent borders of the Empire. 

Kim Seon-Hyeok knew the strength of the powerful Northern cavalry better than anyone else, so he quickly sent a message to prevent the border guards from fighting against them prematurely before heading north himself with Edda. 

There, Seon-Hyeok saw a wolf as large as a mountain as well as familiar faces, including Darun.

***

“I’m sorry. It is the clan’s long-cherished dream to rule the world with the Messenger of the Sky. I cannot pretend to be ignorant of the clan’s long-cherished wish.”

They were no longer the magnanimous men he knew before. They were no different than aggressors who were driven by the giant wolf’s will and were threatening the Empire’s borders.

“Please, step back. I beg you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok entreated them, but Darun and his cavalry didn’t listen to his request.

Aroooooooo.

The wolf had been roaming and glaring at Edda, but when it howled, the nomad’s eyes, including Darun’s, gleamed like those of an animal.

Countless cavalry began to rush forward at once. 

There was no choice. Kim Seon-Hyeok knew how cruel they could be if necessary, and he had seen countless times the battlefield turned into ruins without a single blade of grass left after they fought.

In the end, Kim Seon-Hyeok stood in front of Darun and his men with a look of anguish on his face.

Aroooooo

Just as the leading cavalrymen were about to come within range of Edda’s breath, the wolf howled again. Then, as if it was all a lie, the cavalry who had been viciously racing towards him all turned around and retreated beyond the border once more.

[Since the blue wolves never give up their prey, they’ll be back soon.]

The wolf continued to watch him and Edda long after the nomads disappeared. When even the wolf was no longer visible, Edda’s voice entered his mind.

***

It had only been a year since they drove out the Northern cavalry that had been heading south. But now, he was hearing the name Darun again. Kim Seon-Hyeok’s eyes were already full of worry as he looked at Ophelia. 

“It seems like the war chief of the northern nomads has changed.”

Without even realizing it, Kim Seon-Hyeok jumped out of his seat. 

“No, can’t be…”

Darun had gotten overwhelming support from the young warriors both inside and outside his own tribe for his god-like horsemanship and broad-minded personality. So when Seon-Hyeok heard that Darun had been replaced and a new war chief had been appointed, he felt an ominous feeling welling up.

“Do not worry. He is safe.”

Ophelia shook her head as she looked at Kim Seon-Hyeok. 

Even if he didn’t have a choice but to meet as enemies, that didn’t mean his friendship with Darun disappeared. So when he heard that, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“They said that he willingly stepped down from the position of war chief. No, if we’re being accurate, he lost to the new war chief and gave up his position.” 

What on earth was this now? Kim Seon-Hyeok’s eyes widened. 

Darun stood out among the fierce Northern cavalry. Although he had never shown his talent outright, he wasn’t worse than Marquis Reinhardt. No, even Marquis Reinhardt couldn’t be a match for Darun if he was on a horse. 

But someone like that had been defeated. Darun had guffawed as he promised to hold the position of war chief for a hundred years, but now, his claim had become irrelevant. 

“Black hair and black eyes. That’s the appearance of the new war chief identified by the Imperial spies.”

“A foreigner!”

Unintentionally, Kim Seon-Hyeok exclaimed.

Since the foreigners had been summoned into this world so that the Transcendental beings could find a proxy, it wasn’t strange that Voltecino had placed his proxy in the position of war chief.

[Is it so odd that while you had been fighting against Chaos and handling the mess the Lord of Divinity caused, the others were preparing to bring the Transcendentals they had contracted within into this world?]

“Oh, come on! It hasn’t even been that long since the war finished!”

Edda took it a step further and said that it was only the beginning.

Of course, it wasn’t like Kim Seon-Hyeok hadn’t expected it. He had expected that since the boundaries of the world blurred, other Transcendentals and their proxies would be appearing at any time.

However, the problem was that it had affected Darun, someone who had a relationship with him. 

“So how many more are there like that? What other guys haven’t come out yet? Why can’t you let me know in advance…”

Kim Seon-Hyeok had been sighing out his words when he suddenly shut his mouth and turned his head.

“Ah.”

Ophelia was staring at him. He had forgotten about her while talking with Edda. 

 “I was talking about the relationship between the wolf that appeared in the North and the new war chief…”

“Did I say anything?”

Belatedly, he started making something like excuses to her, but by then, it was too late and Ophelia was already hurt by her husband’s actions of talking with another Companion when she was in front of him. 

“Well, finish your conversation. I have to go back to the meeting.”

With those chilling words, Ophelia disappeared without giving him the chance to stop her.

[You caused a quarrel by speaking when you didn’t particularly need to.]

“Oh, come on!”

***

“If you notice anything strange, fly right back to me.”

After that day’s conversation, Kim Seon-Hyeok summoned Redvern and asked him to not only look for signs of Chaos but also look for signs of other Transcendentals.

Squawk.

Although it was questionable whether Redvern, who had oddly low intelligence, would be able to carry out his mission properly, there was no one else except him who could travel freely all over the continent.

“Will he become a bit smarter if he fully regains the power he had in the past?”

[Don’t get your hopes up. He wasn’t that different from what he is now…]

Kim Seon-Hyeok had asked in hopes that Redvern would become more dependable after being released from his exile, but Edda’s response was firm.

“Still, if you release him, won’t he be a bit better?”

[Even if you were sympathetic, the sins they committed aren’t something that can be pardoned. The reason the Master of the Mountain and the Lord of the Deep Sea had been forgiven was because they had been properly dealt with. It was never because your words held the same weight as their sins.]

Kim Seon-Hyeok shrugged when she spoke words that were almost reproachful. He himself knew that his words had been a bit presumptuous. 

“Ugh. So in the end, I have to either wait for Redvern to get lucky and find signs of them or wait for them to show themselves.”

Although the Empire’s intelligence department was searching for information on the foreigners and based on their location, trying to find a link to the Transcendentals through their class. But based on their immediate findings, it was impossible to achieve any results.

But then, an unexpected helper came.

[Finding something is what I am most confident in.]

It was the Fairy Dragon that Kim Seon-Hyeok hated because of her characteristic insidious behavior. Because of that, she had been neglected while the other dragon sub-species were slowly approaching completeness.

“Ah, that’s true. I got your help in finding the other subspecies.”

As the self-appointed guardian of mystery, the Fairy Dragon had an extraordinary ability to discover anything that even Edda had arranged for her to guide him to his Companion. In that sense, the Fairy Dragon was the perfect being to search for traces of the other Transcendentals.

“I’m guessing that what you want is the glory of the past, right?”

The Fairy Dragon didn’t answer his question. However, he got his answer when he saw the blatant longing that didn’t match her sparkling jewel-like eyes.

“Hm…”

He looked straight into the Fairy Dragon’s eyes and then fell into deep thought.

The Fairy Dragon’s past sins were greed. Her excessive greed and desire to collect things didn’t match her small physique and that excessive desire made her covet the very mysteries and taboo she had to protect. And with the mysteries thus obtained, she put other races to the test and encouraged them to walk the path of destruction and annihilation. Her crime couldn't be compared to the other sub-species.

He was reluctant to let her absolve her sins merely by completing a scavenger hunt mission.

[Seems like you have a plan.]

“There is. But can Geheimnis do it?”

[If I could wash away all the sins of their past, what wouldn’t I do? You who have pledged yourself to the Dragon, please do not hesitate to tell me.]

After staring at the prostrating Fairy Dragon for a long time, Kim Seon-Hyeok finally opened his mouth. 

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