Episode 97. first meeting (3)

Polymorph, the transformation magic developed to closely observe mankind, an eternal challenge of dragons, gradually improved its performance as it passed through dragons studying anthropology.

Among the many versions of polymorphs developed so far, Dana’s magic formula is considered to have the highest level of perfection.

The concealment performance was particularly outstanding enough to completely hide even the dragon’s unique magic that shook the mana of the surrounding area.

‘… Even though I’m a magician who developed magic, I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t be able to recognize me right in front of me.’

quiet afternoon.

Kegar, who was reliving his meeting with Dana, frowned at the annoying headache that had been running through his head from earlier.

“… I guess this is a downside.”

Laplace members currently living in hiding in human society were also using polymorphs developed by Dana.

Her polymorph not only has strong mana concealment, but also has the most delicate human senses among all previous polymorphs, allowing her to experience taste, touch, and even pain at the same level as humans.

The raindrops that had fallen like crazy now remained on the blades of grass like dew, shining in the sunlight.

Kegar looked at the scenery beyond the window expressionlessly.

‘What if God is actually a lump of mana? Still, God is God.’

Buried by the sound of the train by the green window, he pondered Dana’s response as she struggled to stop the storm.

‘What if the melody of music is actually nothing more than a quiver in the air? Does that value change?’

giving meaning. Humans arbitrarily assigning value to something.

The feature they point to was the only one in the world.

‘Dana has been humanized.’

Kegar recalled his first impression of Dana, which was far beyond his expectations.

‘I wanted something strange from the beginning.’

Why is she playing cards in front of Professor Ian, what the hell is the meaning of the crude objects on the table… . At the time, Kegar could not comprehend the situation in front of him at all.

In the hope that the girl who didn’t recognize my identity might be acting as a human alien, I called in rain and wind to reveal her identity indirectly… .

Dana still wrapped her arms around Ian.

“… It’s completely gone.”

He frowned and pressed his temples.

A deeply unpleasant feeling, felt deep out of reach. It was the first time I had suffered a migraine in human form.

Deep in thought alone in an empty train car, he was able to deduce the cause of this nervous headache only after a while.

‘Is it because of Dana’s humanization? That’s not all.’

Of course, her humanization came as a great shock to him.

As much as she had the expectation that she would not lose her identity as a dragon even among humans, the disappointment that came was great.

Excluding those who were expelled from the ‘Tower of Truth’ due to death or disappearance, Dana was a dragon who experienced human society firsthand for the longest time.

Unlike most dragons that communicated directly with humans, losing their faith and disappearing within 20 years at most, she has been polymorphing for over 100 years, wandering around various regions and observing humans.

It has been 2 years since he suddenly settled down in Kiruna after wandering around as if searching for something for a long time and writing a journal of human observation.

Because she has consistently shown a cynical attitude toward humans, her humanization was so sudden that it felt inevitable.

“… Not too long ago, there was no sign of that at all.”

Kegar took out the Human Observation Report that Dana had written in the Tower of Truth just a year ago and skimmed through the introduction.

‘… Divinity derived from the blessing of the guardian spirit is deeply rooted in the spirits of all races except humans, but at the root of the human spirit is desire. Exactly, the survival instinct takes its place.’

‘They give various values to the act of survival and try to forget the emptiness caused by the absence of a guardian spirit. They believe that learning is for wisdom, that there is love in marriage, that the soul can be purified in a church, and so on. However, their education is just an investment to get a better job, marriage is a compromise between the desire to procreate and the maintenance of community, and the church is just a refuge to forget the fear of death that will come someday.’

… The subsequent narratives were also cold. In other words, even at this time, her view of humanity did not change.

In just one year, I don’t know what happened to Dana to open her heart to humans.

What was certain was that Ian was her direct variable.

The fact that Ian and Dana were sitting so far away from the other professors suggested that he must have had a lot of influence on her.

The time he was appointed as a full professor was last winter, so it overlapped with Dana’s humanization.

A man who broke all of Kegar’s expectations and expectations.

The more he thought of Ian, the more his headache got worse.

‘He’s a man you can’t predict where he’ll bounce. They don’t know what they want, and they don’t obey authority.’

That bothered me very much.

It had been less than a year since he had been drafted from the front line and appointed to Kiruna, and it was full of questions that a military professor who was even punished by wizards had become one of the most talked about professors in the imperial family.

However, Kegar, who was not informed about his personality… . I had never imagined that he would not bow his head even in front of Rubedo-level scholars who run the Imperial Academy, or that he would reject the recruitment proposal of Princess Seryl, the influential member of the Imperial Family, with a single stroke.

He was very different from the usual Kiruna professors.

To Kegar, Ian was just a weak human being, and he had an overwhelmingly high social status classified in the way of humans… .

Even when he recalled those facts, the strange uneasiness felt from Ian, who continued to move unexpectedly, was not easily erased.

Yes, he is like an unpredictable variable.

I don’t think that only humans can stop the plan.

However, if your calculation is wrong due to an unexpected variable.

As a result, if it splashes filth on the target you want.

That would be very unpleasant.

“… After all, I can’t just sit back and watch it.”

Eliminating unpredictable variables is one of the great principles of all experiments, and it was the dragon’s instinct.

“… .”

Kiruna research results presentation that will continue for a week.

It was a long enough time to break a human.

* * *

“Are you gone? went? Did you go?”

“I guess so.”

“Whoa… !”

“… .”

Kegar left, and Dana, who confirmed that the storm he had brought had stopped like a lie, fell face down on the table.

When the tension was released, the strength of the whole body went out.

‘I really thought we were all going to die together… !’

Dragons don’t age, but they don’t live forever.

They live exactly 1,000 years, and Dana, who has lived less than 400 years, is one of the youngest dragons.

Because they do not age, youth is a weakness rather than a privilege for dragons.

Since experience is the only factor that determines the rank and strength of dragon individuals, the longer the dragon, the stronger it usually is.

Ironically, the closer the dragon got to death, the more powerful it was able to wield… .

‘I just knew about that. I never thought I would experience it myself! Do dragons ever fight each other?’

Everyone has zero sociability to the point that they rarely communicate with each other, and they operate under the common value of searching for the truth… .

In a way, it is only natural that there have been few precedents of dragons colliding with each other in the long history of dragons.

Each individual is a species that can bring natural disasters.

If the dragon had been warlike, the world would have been ruined long ago.

‘Fighting dragons… . I thought that kind of thing only happened in stories in the imagination of humans.’

Dana’s battle of strength, which she experienced for the first time in her life, ended with Dana’s complete defeat.

Shaking the mana around the area, she tried to block Kegar, who ran out of control as if he was about to topple the entire train, but she couldn’t stop Kegar’s wind and rain.

A cold sweat broke out on her back as she thought that she was in a hostile relationship with a being of a completely different level.

‘Did you say Kegar? I think I’ve lived more than 800 years… !’

A race without rivals and the master of the sky, the dragon.

If Dana’s prediction was correct, Kegar was among the strongest among them.

And Ian seemed intent on confronting him… .

It must have been a decision made without knowing the identity of the opponent.

No matter how Ian is, a human challenging an old dragon is no different from an ant challenging a tiger.

Perhaps knowing that he almost died, Ian left a comment in a calm voice.

“You must have been a special person.”

“… Juniors, how about we just go back to school? I feel so bad.”

“Are you feeling bad?”

“It was obvious that I would just keep hooking up with him. Rubedo-level scholars aren’t usually powerhouses, so how do you know what we’re going to do under the pretext of not cooperating with Princess Seryl’s push for mana reduction research? Now we are stepping into the next battle for the throne!”

In fact, political warfare and the ambitions of the first princess were out of her interests, but Dana was not confident enough to handle Kegar.

The opponent is someone who can lightly summon a typhoon. Even so… .

‘Is there any way to stop the insane dragon?’

Ordinary dragons are never deeply involved in world affairs. This is because dragons regard everything in the world as a subject for study.

Arbitrarily changing or damaging the subject of experiment or observation should be avoided as a researcher seeking the truth, so ordinary dragons do not move the world according to their will.

‘I don’t know anything else, but the principle is not to intervene in politics… .’

A dragon who is taking over the society with the support of the princess who is in control of the imperial family.

To Dana, it seemed so bizarre that it sounded like the sound of a stone moving.

“No matter how you think about it, it is too dangerous. Let’s just go back, okay?”

Wanting to avoid spending a week in the same building as the mad dragon, Dana clung to Ian almost begging.

but.

“I will stay.”

“Brother… !”

“I understand your concern. But Professor, if I run away from this place, it will only make matters worse.”

Ian looked straight into her quivering eyes and said.

“As long as I’m involved with Princess Frill, I can’t get out of the fight to become the next emperor.”

“that’s… . That’s right.”

“In other words, I am bound to collide with Princess Cheryl. Because he won’t be watching the growth of Princess Frill. The same goes for the scholars of the Imperial Society who follow Princess Seril.”

“… .”

“If it is an ordeal that you will have to face someday, wouldn’t it be better to grasp the situation as soon as possible and actively respond?”

It was a theory.

Furthermore, if he does not attend this presentation without permission, his reputation within the imperial family will deteriorate, and the achievements he has worked hard to build up to now will fade.

If his position collapses, he will not be able to respond properly when Cheryl checks Frill someday, and it will be difficult to protect the other students around him.

Because he could not leave his pupil or frill alone, Ian did not run away even though he knew that he was going to the enemy camp.

“You don’t have to worry too much. The professor and I are the main players in charge of the pond research that the emperor is directly conducting. It would be difficult for even Princess Cheryl to lay her hands on me or the professor.”

“still… . Aren’t you scared? I might really die.”

“Of course I am afraid. A lot of people overestimate me, but I’m not particularly strong-hearted. I just… .”

Looking at his smile, Dana’s heart ached.

“I just want to do what I have to do.”

He has always risked his life for his responsibilities as an educator.

Although she had vaguely known it before, Dana really realized it this time.

‘… Have I ever risked my life on anything in my life?’

Of course there never was. It is strange that a dragon would risk its life for something.

It wasn’t until she felt the threat to her life from Kegar for the first time that Dana knew a little bit about how terrifying and noble it is to risk one’s life.

‘I’m a professor too.’

Until now, Ian has been fighting for his life against the school, the princess, and even the strange creatures in the pond to fulfill his responsibilities as a professor.

Looking back now, it was a time when there were no supporters, and it was a day when there was no match for recklessness.

All of them were trials enough to swallow Ian, but he faced them with only one sense of responsibility.

It’s a completely different look from Dana, who felt a wall from Kegar and tried to run away.

When I realized this, various emotions that I hadn’t felt when I watched him from behind began to rise.

‘If you run away to school like this… . I can’t keep my head straight in front of Charlotte.’

Now that she has a student to take responsibility for, I could understand Ian’s behavior for the sake of the students.

Humans cannot stop dragons. Only a dragon can kill a dragon.

In other words, only Dana could stop Kegar at the moment.

“… Professor Dana?”

“sorry. junior.”

“Yeah?”

“Now I will stop talking weakly.”

Before Ian could say anything, Dana gave him a wide smile.