◈ Episode 254. Call It a Legend (1)
Antonium, capital of the Empire.
Imperial mage Nash William looked up at the sky.
The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, but he still shivered.
Once again, no matter how hard he tried to control himself, he couldn’t help it.
“I guess little brother can’t imitate big brother…….”
A dragon appeared.
He knew he couldn’t even hit a rock with an egg.
But he couldn’t sit on his hands.
So Nash moved quickly.
To prepare for a possible dragon attack.
But when he came face to face with the dragon.
Nash froze.
The title of imperial palace mage was unworthy of him.
This is why I don’t have the honor of seeing His Majesty the Emperor, brother…….
“Surely, if it were you…….”
……who always vowed to rise above the fire dragon!
Even in front of that dragon.
You would have been unstoppable.
Of course, that fire dragon wasn’t a real dragon.
Even if someone pointed that out.
It was no comfort to a dejected Nash.
“What are you thinking about?”
“!”
Nash’s self-deprecation was interrupted by a voice.
It was his lord, the Emperor.
At the sound of the Emperor’s voice, Nash quickly bowed his head.
“I am disgraced, Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean, disgraceful?”
“Regrettably, I have failed to fulfill the responsibilities of an imperial mage. I have become overwhelmed by the dragon and forgotten my duties.”
The Emperor turned to Nash wordlessly.
“……?”
He patted Nash’s shoulder in confusion.
“It’s only natural, Nash. To be unable to hold your head upright in the presence of a true King. You have no need to ask me for forgiveness. I was never able to look straight at the sky in the first place.”
The Emperor’s gaze shifts from Nash to the window, to the view of Antonium.
A capital city that fended off not only the demons but also rebels.
Despite the exuberance it had generated.
Antonium was as silent as a mouse.
The emperor’s lips twitched bitterly.
“So there’s nothing to forgive, nothing to blame. For now, just be grateful. Although I can’t see why……. be glad that they have retreated.”
” …… I accept, Your Majesty.”
Of course, I know it won’t be easy.
It’s probably why Antonium is so quiet at this moment.
The cause of the dragon’s disappearance.
It was anyone’s guess.
The Dark Dragon.
Tales of dragons are told throughout the Empire. But most of them are simply written legends passed down from mouth to mouth.
So the only one that can be called true is…….
‘Of course, the Dragon Magic War.
The war between the magic tower and the dragon.
The few records left in the imperial palace were the only thing the previous emperors received in return for their friendship with the Magic Tower.
Hundreds of magic tools were given to the Magic Tower for nothing more than a few pieces of paper.
One might say that the Empire’s pretense is a lie.
‘Even I once thought so.’
But now that I’ve seen dragons with my own eyes.
The few records of the Dragon Magic War would be an invaluable barometer for the Empire, and not long ago, he found himself poring over them.
But.
‘An existence not even the Magic Tower knows about.’
There was no mention of Dark Dragon in the records of the Dragon Magic War.
The Emperor was troubled.
The Dark Dragon hadn’t even appeared in the Dragon Magic War in the distant past.
How could such a being have such an effect on dragons…….
“I am deeply puzzled.”
Suddenly, the emperor looked at the floor of the imperial palace.
To be exact.
Beyond the floor, he gazed into the basement of the imperial palace.
『The Imperial Library』.
There it is.
If the answer to a question exists on the Arcana Continent, the Emperor’s Library is the place to find it. If you ask about the existence of the Dark Dragon, you’ll be able to resolve your question right away.
However.
“…….”
The Emperor asked himself.
‘Is this truly the time to use it?’
‘There are many who know of the existence of the Imperial Library.’
Nash and other ministers, as well as Harkon, who is now in the world of adventurers, must know about its existence.
But only the Emperor himself knows of its existence, and that it requires a price.
And so it is.
All this time.
The only ones who have used it are the Emperors before him.
‘……What shall I do, Harkon?’
The Emperor shook his head in anguish.
Suddenly, the warmth of the sunlight in the palace was gone.
The Emperor exhaled and was stunned.
“……?”
Maybe it was about to rain.
If not.
It was the dragon again.
Either way, he should be surprised.
But it was neither.
“……Your Majesty?”
Nash stammered.
It wasn’t a dragon blocking the sun, or a dark cloud holding a shower.
A familiar airship.
The Iron Castle of the Dwarves.
And so a question crossed the Emperor’s face.
“How did the dwarves get back to ……?”
He didn’t expect them to stop in Antonium for a while.
Was there some sort of emergency?
The emperor turned to Nash.
“Prepare to receive them, Nash.”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
Nash soon found himself face to face with the dwarf leader, Chainwalker.
The Emperor’s guess was half right.
Chainwalker spoke urgently.
“I have come back to the Empire with urgent news.”
Well, the news was urgent in a different way.
“Empire, you don’t even have time to be this fearful. Move as quickly as you can to restore the Empire’s power and restore it to its former glory!”
“What does that mean, Dwarf? You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you? Dragons have appeared. How can you say such things when the people are still in shock?”
“Because it’s not something to be shocked by.”
” ……what is it?”
“Because it is nothing to be afraid of.”
“What do you mean, it’s nothing to be afraid of?”
To the questioning Emperor, the Chainwalker speaks up.
“Dark Dragon.”
.
.
. . .
Chainwalker was convinced.
“My lord would not want the continent to be filled with fear.”
The last survivor of Akshan.
He should know better than anyone that negative emotions give demons power.
He should know better than anyone.
Right now, humans and demons alike are trembling before the dragon…….
“Demons are a race that knows no subject matter.”
Foolish demons are a race that forgets to fear.
This peace can never last.
Chainwalker made a decision.
“Isn’t this what an oath is?”
To use this as an opportunity to reverse the negative emotions of the continent.
It didn’t take much to make it happen.
One word was all it took.
The emperor loomed over Antonium’s landscape.
The people of Antonium stare at him, their faces filled with concern.
Chainwalker stepped aboard the Iron Castle once more and scanned their faces.
Wallswale asked.
“Chainwalker, did we get the message right?”
The Dark Dragon that dragons howled for.
He was Hoyeol, the last survivor of Akkshan.
As far as he could tell, he hadn’t been told…….
The people, of course.
Isn’t the emperor’s expression too serious?
Chainwalker let out a small laugh at that concern.
It was a futile worry.
“Walshwale, don’t you think you know?”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“How legends are passed down.”
“……?”
Walswale’s face crumpled at the enigmatic words.
He was as impatient with anything else as he was with being stuck in front of a hot furnace. Chainwalker got straight to the point.
“No matter how legendary an event or being is, in the end, it cannot be called a legend without passing through the human world. In the end, it is up to humans to elevate something to a legend.”
“……!”
It was like that.
No matter how great something was, it couldn’t become a legend unless it was widely known, and it was up to the humans to make it known.
“I see…….”
Even if they were used to being isolated.
Because dragons or elves were not the ones to spread something widely.
Chainwalker watched Antonium with satisfaction.
“What our Holy War Alliance needs is a reversal, and a dramatic one at that, Wallswale. We need a big one, one that will turn the fearful Arcana continent upside down.”
Walswale asked.
“Is this quenching for that?”
Chainwalker nodded grimly.
“That’s right. And it won’t be the usual kind of quenching. The weight of the legend will change depending on whose mouth it comes from.”
Chainwalker chuckled.
“In that sense, who better to start it than the Emperor!”
.
.
.
The Emperor spoke.
“I know what you fear.”
Even as he speaks, he sounds shameless.
He speaks as if he has never been afraid.
In front of the demons.
In front of rebels.
And in front of dragons.
Because he was the one who was afraid.
“…….”
So the silence now was not unreasonable.
At the sight of his people looking up at him.
He didn’t expect respect or awe.
He had proven nothing as Emperor.
“If I were not ashamed, I would be the Demon.’
The Empire was vast.
But for now, the only territory that counts is the capital city, Antonium.
And Frost, which had been rebuilt in the Adventurers World.
Without the rest of the lands and its people, he knows he can no longer be called Emperor.
And yet.
“Therefore, I speak in the name of the Emperor.”
He desperately needs to play the Emperor.
Yes, even if it’s only an empty one.
Because his words had power.
Because that power had to be given to ‘him’.
“You shall not fear the Dark Dragon.”
In times like these, the education he received as a prince when he was young was helpful.
His vocalizations and speech were thoroughly practiced.
It seemed to be more than enough to rouse the frightened people.
But the emperor knew.
‘It is not I who will truly awaken them.’
He knew that he was only a stepping stone.
That’s why he spoke so majestically.
It was a voice he could never have uttered if he wanted to exalt himself.
He spat out a majestic emperor’s voice.
“You already know who the Dark Dragon is.”
“……?”
“Same goes for you.”
The Emperor’s gaze fell on the survivors of Dredsen.
They were the first to recognize the implications.
They were the survivors of the village of Dredsen..
Dredsen, on the edge of the Empire.
A mountain village where no news from the Empire ever reaches them.
Moreover, they had only recently settled in Antonium.
However, we already know of the existence of the Dark Dragon……?
“……!”
Lansha muttered to herself.
“Seriously?”
Yes.
As if that were true.
The Emperor spoke.
“The Dark Dragon, he is the savior of the Dredsen.”
“And the hero of Antonium.”
“The Infinite Deep Darkness.”
The Emperor’s words confirmed the legend.
“And so it is. Lee Hoyeol, the adventurer. He is the Dark Dragon!”
“……!!!”
*
……My ears are tickling.
Returning to Magic Tower.
My ears are tickling as soon as I sit down at my desk.
This is not a good sign.
But to flick my ears with my pinky finger in Grandfell formality.
It was unacceptable, even in death.
I ignore the itch and move my eyes to the desk.
The first thing that catches my eye is the application to travel.
No, to be precise.
It was the cat’s paw stamped on the application form to enter the tower.
Marcelo had said.
Is this what the Tower Master was supposed to do, review applications?
I looked at the approved applications and muttered.
“I see your sincerity.”
But that…….
However, there is something called mana consideration.
Such was the favor of the current Tower Master.
I’m Grandfell, and I can’t live in debt to anyone.
‘So I can’t say anything bad about it.’
Really, you’re a cat’s tax collector……!
No, not even close.
What do you expect me to do when you’re stamping my permit like this?!
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to make it right.”
I don’t know if I’ll ever trust that cat again.
Of course, it was all due to Grandfell’s demanding nature.
I mumbled to myself.
‘For this personality, giving and receiving is best, yes.’
In that case, I would like to make a request to everyone.
‘Everyone, please refrain from thinking about doing anything for me.’
I’ll be the one to suffer the consequences.
By the way, let’s hurry up.
There’s a lot of work to be done before the day is over.
As I said, the goal of the class quest.
I have to be diligent in my physical training.
Let’s hurry up and revise the application form first.
‘So.’
I flicked the feather pen.
I’m sorry.
Unfortunately.
I’m afraid I’m going to have to reject your application as well.
Bensch William Senior.
.
.
.
[The legendary system is opened.]
[Acquire the legend, ‘Dark Dragon Lee Hoyeol.’]
[Your legend becomes reality.]