Dragon Maken War - Chapter 46

Chapter 46 - Dragon Demon Duke (3)

Azell asked a question.

“Didn't you already hear about me from the princess??”

“I did.  This is the first time I've seen the child be so chatty.  This must mean you must have left a big impression on her.”

Arrieta, in Kairen's memory, was a girl of few words.  Moreover, she hadn't shown much interest in anyone except her family.

Arrieta, who was such a girl, showed a surprising amount of interest towards Azell.  She excitedly spoke about Azell like a regular girl her age.  From Kairen's perspective, it was a really weird experience.

Kairen spoke.

“Arrieta is a very good judge of character.  I've taught her how to assess others, while excluding her feelings.  However, when I hear about you from her, she is telling me some stories that are hard to believe.”

“What do you mean?”

“For example… The part where you have partial amnesia?”

Suddenly, he felt a strong overpowering feeling coming from Kairen. If he was a normal person, he probably would have stopped breathing. It wouldn't be strange if a normal person passed out from the pressure.

The scary thing was the overpowering feeling was only focused on Azell.  Azell admired him, when he realized Kairen wasn't affect anything else in his surrounding.

‘He's good.’

Azell had been very disappointed after he woke up in this age. He hadn't met anyone, who had properly cultivated one's ability through actual battles.

The exceptions were his enemies, Niberis and Duran.  Niberis had the skill to back up her claim as a high rank magician, and Duran was a properly trained Spirit Order Practitioner.

Kairen also presented himself to Azell as being comparable to Niberis and Duran.  He possessed strong Dragon Demon magic, but he also used high level techniques as if it was nothing.

Kairen was surprised more than Azell.

‘What kind of a person is this bastard?’

He had poured out enough pressure to kill a human yet Azell didn't respond at all.

It wasn't as if Azell was countering his pressure.  It was as if the pressure didn't exist at all, and Azell was letting it all flow past him.

Kairen was over 100 years old, but he had never seen someone respond to his pressure this way.

Still, this one move revealed Azell possessed enough skill, and it made Kairen interested in him.

Azell replied.

“Didn't you hear an ample amount of explanation from Arrieta?”

“I heard it.”

“So why are you being so suspicious of me?”

“No matter how I see it you are hiding too many things.”

Kairen had spoken to Arrieta.  He had also listened to Giles, Boar and Enora about Azell. He heard all that had happened since Azell had been discovered inside the Balan forest.

The more Kairen listened to the story he realized he knew nothing about him.

He wasn't suspicious as to whether Azell was an enemy. Azell's attitude up until now gave a clear-cut answer. Kairen was worried since he couldn't understand Azell's true character.

Azell asked a question.

“What do you think I'm trying to hide?”

“A lot of things. First, it's your Dragon Demon magic.”

When Arrieta first saw Azell, she had wondered why a human had the scent of Dragon Demon magic. Moreover, the scent of the Dragon Demon maggic given off by Azell was much stronger than before.  Kairen was able to detect it since he was sensitive to the smell.

“Moreover… I heard about the story detailing the Dragon Slayer's Ritual.”

“Yes.”

“I'll just ask you a point-blank question. Did you kill the Dragon?”

“…….”

Azell didn't immediately answer the question as he kept his silence.

4

After glaring at Azell for a moment, Kairen continued speaking.

“I've fought with Dragons before.  I've fought 3 of them.”

It was very rare for a Dragon to show up in human territories.  When they did show up, it mostly led to catastrophes.  

When Dragons and humans fought, humans had always come out victorious.  However, humans had to insert a massive amount of troops.  It was a hollow victory that required massive sacrifice and damage to the troops.

Kairen had the ability to contain such a situation.  When the calamity called a Dragon appeared, Kairen gladly stepped forward to minimize the damage.

“If I see through the prism of my experience...  I find it hard to believe you killed a Dragon.”

He acknowledged Azell possessed superb techniques as a Spirit Order Practitioner.  

However, one cannot kill a Dragon with just techniques.

Even if an old man could master a technique to defeat a healthy young man, could he destroy a castle wall with it?

Azell queried.

“Did you hear my explanation regarding that incident?”

“You said another Dragon appeared to kill the Dragon.  Isn't that what you said?”

“Yes.”

“Since the Dragon is dead, that must be the most compelling answer. It's impossible for you to have killed the Dragon.  Therefore, you drew the attention of the Dragon then you desperately ran away. Then you entered into a different Dragon's territory, and the Dragons started to fight...”

Azell thought along the same line, so he had given such an excuse.  The story was a bit too fantastic, so it was a dubious explanation.  However, who could argue with the result of what had happened?  It wasn't as if Azell was making up a story to distinguish himself. What can someone say when the story entailed a Dragon killing another Dragon?

Kairen spoke.

“I've heard about the Dragon Slayer's Ritual from somewhere before.”

“Is that so?”

“I just didn't know what it was.  No one in my acquaintances know what it truly means.  There aren't any decent records left.  Whenever I saw it mentioned, it was 'Someone had initiated the Dragon Slayer's Ritual.'  That was the extent of what was recorded in the records.  I can only guess the ritual entails killing a dragon because it says so in the name.”

Azell listened carefully to Kairen's words.  He was giving out precious information.

‘He had killed dragons before yet he doesn't know about the Dragon Slayer's Ritual?  He isn't even human.  He is a Dragon Demon with over 100 years under his belt yet...  Hmm.  From which point in time did the chain of knowledge break?’

Now Azell could surmise the severance of knowledge couldn't simply be explained by a historical event.  From the conversation he had with Niberis, he could surmise the Dragon Demon King's worshippers had intentionally engineered such a result.

Kairen continued to speak.

“Yet you knew all about it.”

“Yes.”

“Moreover… The Dragon's Shadow's female magician, Niberis, made a big deal about you knowing this fact.”

“She did.”

“This is why I'm suspicious of a possibility.”

“What possibility?”

“The possibility that you might have a hidden backer.”

“A backer?”

Azell was a bit taken aback, since he hadn't thought Kairen would come up with such an explanation.

Kairen spoke.

“What if there is a hidden backer powerful enough to slay the Dragon?  What if this was all planned out by him, and he sent you to Arrieta?"

“…do you like conspiracy theories?”

“I don't like it.  However, akin to the Dragon Demon King's worshippers, there are hidden evil forces, who try to influence the world from the darkness..”

Kairen didn't suspect Azell being a pawn of the Dragon's Shadow.  The main reasoing being Kairen already suspected the reason behind the Dragon's Shadow attempted kidnapping of Arrieta.

If he was right about the reason behind the abduction, Azell had no reason to protect her.  He would have struck from behind early on.

“Still, it doesn't guarantee you aren't part of some dangerous plot.  You might be affiliated with another organization of Dragon Demon King worshippers, who is competing against the Dragon's Shadow.”

“Mmmm. How should I say this…….”

Azell scratched his head.

“If you think about everyone in those terms, then you should be suspicious of every person in the world.”

“Do you think you are in the same category as everyone else?”

“If you insist there are hidden hands that work without the notice of the entire world, I agree it does make me look a little bit more suspicious.  However, no matter how I try I won't be able to shed your suspicions.  Even if I die in the process of protecting the princess, I wouldn't be able to shed the suspicion on me.  I might be treated as someone who died by mistake while trying to hatch a plot.”

“It's been awhile since someone had the guts to make sarcastic remarks in front of me.”

“I guess you prefer men, who empty their head, and agree with everything the Duke says.  Men who would agree with you even if you said the sun rises from the west.”

Both of them were laughing, but the atmosphere worsened.  The pressure emitted by Kairen was kicked up a notch. However, Azell took it nonchalantly, and he started baiting Kairen. It was as if Azell was telling Kairen to try hitting him once if Kairen's temper got the better of him.

Kairen was the first one to back off.  He withdrew his pressure, then he relaxed his expression.

“…well, all right. My words were a little harsh.  I'll acknowledge that.”

“That was unexpected.”

“Mmmm?”

“I thought you would at least hit me once as a test.”

“Then you would send a counter, while saying 'I got you, you bastard'?  You purposefully showed a hole in your defense.  You also have a very twisted personality.”

“It isn't something I want to hear from you. I've heard from princess that you are famous for having a twisted personality.”

“You are arrogant. You are a pup, who doesn't know how scary the world is.”

Kairen snorted. He had a youthful appearance, but Kairen naturally acted like an old man.  It wasn't just because he was over 100 years old.  He held a position that was respected by everyone.

Suddenly, Kairen put on a serious expression.

“Just know this.  I'm currently in a position where I have to consider every absurd conspiracy theories as if it might happen in reality. The actions of the Dragon Demon King's followers can't be understood by conventional means, since they are lunatics.”

Azell now knew why Kairen insisted on hiding their conversation from Arrieta.  He didn't want to force his suspicions on her.

After a brief silence, Kairen spoke.

“I hope you can share one thing with me.  Tell me about the Dragon Slayer's Ritual.”

“Didn't you already hear about it from the princess?”

“A human and a Dragon fights one-on-one to the death.  Then the winner takes something from the defeated side.  The human gets the Dragon's strength, and the Dragon gets the human's wisdom.”

“Correct.”

“How does that make any sense?”

Kairen couldn't accept it.

Each region had rituals with some spiritual meaning behind it.  They were a product of the region's environment and history.

Such cultural rituals gained significance between the gap in knowledge within society.  

It was quite absurd to Kairen that there existed a ritual between the humans and Dragons.  It would have made sense if a magician and a specific Dragon performed the ritual after making a contract.  However, this was a shared ritual where unknown number of humans and unknown number of Dragons can participate in it unconditionally.  How could such a pact exist?

Azell stroked his chin.

“Hmmm. If I give you an explanation regarding the topic, then what will you give me in return?”

“You dare ask for something back when you are just answering my question?”

“I trust you are a fair person, since you are princess' teacher. There is worth to knowledge. Isn't that so?”

Kairen furrowed his brows as he let out a sound of frustration at Azell's words.