I need to hear how the selection ceremony is conducted first.
Of course, the original story I read never mentioned the Dragon Lord falling, so I had no clue about the term “selection ceremony.”
I need to know what it’s about to decide whether I should stay trapped here or just run away.
“Do you know how the selection ceremony works?”
“… I don’t know either.”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
“You don’t know?”
“I’ve never seen it done even once… I never learned about it.”
So, she really knows nothing at all.
Still, it’s shocking that Gemma, who is the most likely candidate to be the next heir of the Dragon Lord, is clueless.
Of course, the selection ceremony is to pick a dragon to temporarily take the place of the absent Lord, so it’s different, I suppose.
I wish I knew the ins and outs; it would be wise to do some groundwork, but knowing nothing is quite unfortunate.
“But you shouldn’t worry too much. I just received confirmation from Mother a little while ago. If it’s me or her, we won’t be held to a heavy responsibility.”
Not being held to heavy responsibility… Does that mean we just won’t be questioned at all?
Mortal beings and immortals have different sensibilities, so even if a punishment isn’t much for them, it doesn’t inspire trust.
They could very well say something like, “Stay locked up for 50 years” as the lightest punishment.
To them, 50 years is just a blink of an eye.
If that happens, I’d definitely run away without looking back.
“Does that mean your uncle is also in the running?”
“Me, my mother, and Uncle are the three candidates.”
I was half-expecting it, but it turns out Sal Aurum, the Lord’s brother, is also a candidate.
So, there are three candidates in total?
If Sal stands in as the Lord, it could lead to all sorts of bad situations.
Not just for me, but for the other dragons as well.
“If a candidate can’t participate in the selection ceremony, does that mean they lose their eligibility?”
“I… I don’t know that either.”
Without knowing the exact rules of the selection ceremony, Gemma couldn’t give me a definitive answer.
‘What to do, I have no idea, but for now, let’s try to reduce the variables.’
Do you think there’s a chance?
Is it possible that an unfortunate incident occurs overnight, preventing one of the candidates from participating?
…
…
…
I wondered how many dragons would come down to the underground at midnight, so I decided to return to the Academy first.
As soon as I arrived back at the mansion, I noticed someone rolling around on my bed.
“Huh… Atlas?!”
The person rolling around turned out to be River.
“Cough… You’re late. You said you’d be back soon.”
“Things got a bit tangled up. Did any other dragons invade while I was gone?”
“Nothing like that happened.”
Though nothing has happened yet, it wouldn’t hurt to bolster security among the mages at the Magic Tower just to be safe.
…
…
…
River looked quite sad about having to go back soon due to the complications.
It’s unfortunate, but all I can do is resolve this as quickly as possible.
“Master.”
“You only just got back after sunset? I thought your neck would stretch from waiting.”
“It’s not over yet. Do you know anything about the dragons?”
“Dragons? I know how to dismantle them well.”
I had a hunch, and it turns out he knows nothing at all.
He gets around a lot, so I thought he might know more than me, but just because he gets around doesn’t mean he’s well-acquainted with dragons.
Most dragons he probably meets are evil ones.
“So, you’re saying you went to visit the Dragon Lord and got into a spat? Good on you. Dragons understand their place better when they get hit. Even the Dragon Lord changed his character after being thrashed by his Master before becoming the Lord.”
“That’s a new story to me.”
“You’d think so. The Dragon Lord keeps that as a secret. I heard it from the previous Commander.”
The previous Commander mentioned here must refer to the one who existed before the current Commander of the Royal Knight Order.
It seems it’s a story passed down orally among the Commanders.
I was curious why the Dragon Lord treats the Masters well, but with that reason, I can certainly see why.
‘Right, I can just ask a dragon, can’t I?’
At that moment, someone crossed my mind.
With no time to lose, I immediately stood up, but my Master grabbed my arm.
“Hey, you’re leaving already? Stay a little longer.”
“I’ll be back by tomorrow.”
I gently pulled my arm free and used teleportation.
It’s not like I enjoy wandering around like this.
…
…
…
I urgently moved to the Cathedral of the Church Country.
It was deep into the night, so it was all dark, but relying on the dim candlelight, I was led down to the underground.
“McKinto!! McKinto McKinto McKinto McKinto McKinto!!!!”
[Shut up!!!]
As I yelled into the dark chamber, an irritated voice erupted, and a wave of intense heat rushed toward me.
Then, amidst the darkness, bright red flames flickered as the Red Dragon McKinto revealed himself.
[What the hell do you think this is, making such a ruckus at this hour!!!]
“I know it’s not yet time to sleep.”
I was already aware that it wouldn’t be two hours before McKinto could rest, as I’d barged in more than once before.
He was probably just annoyed that I burst in unceremoniously.
McKinto scratched his brow with his front paw and replied.
[Let’s wrap up the noisy chatter. What brings you here?]
“Well, you see….”
I quickly summarized everything that had happened up until now.
…
…
…
[… Are you saying the Lord hasn’t woken up?]
McKinto seemed most surprised that the Dragon Lord was unable to awaken.
When I told him I had battered Sal, he brushed it aside, saying something like, “Well, he deserves it.”
What concerned me was what was happening with the Lord.
“Is that really such a surprise? Maybe he’s in shock and can’t pull himself together.”
[It doesn’t make sense that he can’t wake up for merely psychological reasons. Dragons aren’t that weak.]
If they aren’t that weak, shouldn’t their mental stability be much stronger?
It seemed like McKinto overestimated dragons, but then again, he has seen dragons for hundreds of times longer than me, so I decided to say nothing.
[There are three dragons in the Lord’s nest, excluding his bloodline. One White Dragon and two Green Dragons, right?]
“Yeah.”
I can confirm that the three are the White Dragon Nix and the two Green Dragons, Jade and Smaragd.
[If my memory serves me right, one of the Green Dragons is exceptionally skilled in healing. If someone like that can’t do anything, it’s definitely not a typical symptom.]
If it’s one of the Green Dragons, then it’s probably not Jade.
I can’t imagine Jade having any such abilities.
“Maybe he just fell into a deep sleep. He might wake up when the time is right?”
[You’re underestimating this matter. Someone could have attacked the Lord, leading to this scenario!!]
It seems McKinto suspects that the Lord has been attacked and hasn’t awakened because of that.
If the Dragon Lord has indeed been attacked, it would definitely be a major incident.
I can’t deny that I’ve thought about it, but there’s a clear reason why I can’t just leap to conclusions.
“But the Dragon Lord is a Gold Dragon. How could anyone pull a fast one on him?”
The Gold Dragon is the closest creature to a deity.
The powers coursing through their bodies are akin to Holy Power, circulating like blood throughout their systems, granting them strong resistances against curses, poisons, and magic.
To think there’s a method to keep such a being as the Gold Dragon from waking up, and I can’t even begin to guess how—now that’s intriguing.
[Nothing in this world is perfect. If there were perfect beings, they wouldn’t be walking this earth. Even Gold Dragons have their weaknesses.]
“Is it something like ‘stab the heart and you die’ or ‘chop the neck and you die’?”
[….]
Though dragons are the closest to the divine, they’re not immortal.
Having killed dragons a few times, when I hear the word ‘weakness,’ those are the kinds of things that come to mind.
Like ‘if you chop off their head, they die’ or ‘if you extract their Dragon Heart, they die’—those are just the common facts.
However, judging by what McKinto just said… it feels like there’s something he’s keeping secret.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking of, but you won’t tell me anyway, and worrying about it is pointless since I wouldn’t understand. Let’s get to the point.”
[Are you referring to how you pummeled the Lord’s sibling until they could die? That personal dispute is something for the two of them to resolve, not something for me to hear about.]
“You didn’t even listen to the last part. I’m saying that since the Dragon Lord can’t perform his duties right now, we plan to give temporary authority to another dragon as a substitute until he wakes. What the heck is this selection ceremony that even Gemma knows nothing about?”
[So you were curious about the selection ceremony? You should’ve said so earlier. The selection ceremony is….]
The truth about the selection ceremony that McKinto revealed was downright unbelievable.
