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chapter 77
There is a joke all mages make.
“If you want to learn magic, learn it from a dragon.”
It’s a cliché, like saying “If you want to learn how to fall, ask a landslide,” or “If you want to learn how to shine, ask the light.” Humans call mages arrogant, but dragons’ pride makes that arrogance look like humble courtesy.
Besides, they are extremely dangerous, impossible to control, and consider humans such lowly creatures that even associating with them is disgraceful.
Forming a master–disciple relationship with a dragon is fundamentally impossible. But every mage believed one thing: if you could learn magic from a dragon, you could become the greatest mage on the continent. So they often joked bitterly that if only they could learn from dragons, they wouldn’t have to suffer like this.
So normally, Glinda would have been furious hearing what Isabelle just said.
To a steadfast mage who had never once treated magic as a joke, the sentence “I’ll let you meet a dragon” was more insulting than any curse with the same number of letters.
But this time, the one who said it was none other than Isabelle. And because of that, Glinda needed to confirm it.
“…Even as a joke, that’s too much, Priestess.”
Evan, who had been staring in shock at the glass windows shattered by Glinda’s magical pressure, sensed something was wrong and quickly turned his attention to her.
“To say I’ll meet a dragon—maybe Priestess thinks lightly of those words, but to us mages, that is deeply insulting—”
“Huh? Insulting? Why?”
Isabelle blinked, truly clueless.
“Then… are you saying that seriously?”
“Yes! Don’t you want to meet a dragon, Madam Mayor?”
“Dragons live in the northern canyon of the continent… Wait. Even in this city—”
Glinda turned to Evan, eyes cold.
“I know there is a pathetic knight who stormed into a dragon’s lair, got beaten, fled disgracefully, and has been hiding ever since. Isn’t that right?”
Evan quietly stepped in.
“Mayor Glinda, Sir Galtan came out of hiding to fight in the Golem defense. Please refrain from such remarks.”
“…I did not know. My mistake, and I hope he won’t take offense. Anyway—Priestess Isabelle. What exactly do you mean you will let me meet a dragon?”
“That’s what the angel Smiell said!”
Evan’s eyes widened.
“Just now—was that a message from the angel himself?”
“Yes! Smiell said he’d let Mayor Glinda meet a dragon if she assisted with rebuilding Castletina and helped search for Elder Sister Erika! I was the one who added the extra request about examining Judith!”
Tio ground her teeth. She wanted to yell that such ‘concern’ was unnecessary. Meanwhile, the others replayed Isabelle’s bombshell in their minds.
They already knew Isabelle found the holy sword because of an angel’s instruction. Meaning, this offer carried the same weight as Smiell’s earlier divine command.
Evan realized he might be standing in a historic moment. The mere fact an angel cared about restoring Castletina was a blessing beyond comprehension to a bishop.
While Evan wept with emotion, Glinda was breaking out in cold sweat for the first time in her life.
Ask a dragon for guidance? No, she didn’t even hope for that.
That was far too much.
Just meeting one was enough. Oxir, mayor of Oz Tina and master of the mage tower’s highest floor, was known as the only human who regularly interacted with dragons.
So even if it sounded undignified, Glinda had always dreamed of exchanging a few words with a dragon.
Magic originated from dragons. Magic—mana controlled through magical power—was invented long ago by them. Human mages merely imitate.
There are six dragons known to live in the northern canyon, including the Dragon Lord.
Humans possess magical power in their bodies, but dragons are magic. Their breath, their heartbeat—everything that makes them alive is pure magic. The oldest magical beings, the origin of all magic. If she could meet such a being—if she could speak with one—
“I might be able to win…”
Glinda thought.
She could win. Who? It didn’t matter. Monsters, humans, spirits—those condescending old men of Oz Tina, even that arrogant child prodigy Kayjokun—she could defeat them all.
Her solo magic research had hit a wall. Experience and theory were complete, yet something was missing.
Meeting a dragon might fill that emptiness—an opportunity to reach a higher realm.
“…I can’t believe that’s true.”
Feigning calm, Glinda continued.
“How exactly will you arrange a meeting with a dragon?”
“I know where one is!”
“The northern canyon—”
“No! Very close! There’s one living in Athena in human form!”
Glinda’s pupils shook violently. Athena? That close?
“…Can you guarantee this?”
“Yes!”
“Can you swear on your name, the angel’s name, and the church, that this is not a lie?”
“Of course!”
Silence.
That day, in the Castletina church—
None of them knew that day would remain forever in Glinda’s memory.
*
In The Ancient Tale, five dragons appear besides the Dragon Lord Kernelzrión: the twin dragons Orthodox and Southpaw, Carrasco who defeated the Galtan Knights, Pinhead who communicates with Oxir, and…
The only dragon who lives as a human through polymorph—
Opera.
Even right before the event known as “The Dragon Betrayal,” where all six dragons turned against humanity, Opera lived calmly among humans.
Only Isabelle—because she is on her second life—knows Opera exists. At this point in time, likely no other human knows.
Opera is friendly toward humans—by dragon standards, anyway. To her, humans are simply “talkative animals.”
Even the proud Glinda would abandon all arrogance if she became Opera’s student.
It won’t be easy to persuade Opera, but not impossible. As a regressor on her second run, both I and Isabelle have a few tricks.
And above all, Glinda would be thrilled just to meet Opera—even if Opera slapped her in the face.
So I sent Isabelle a message again:
Tell her there’s nothing to worry about, because the angel guarantees it.
Isabelle, cheerful as always, proudly proclaimed the guarantee. Good girl. Bright and lively as ever.
“Angel, do you know you’re kind of annoying?”
Yuga muttered, pouting. I tilted my head. Annoying? Where did that come from?
“You know you’re capable, and you know that you know. It’s irritating.”
“Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?”
“Figure it out yourself. How can you not tell?”
“I can’t tell. I’ve never been called annoying before.”
“… In your life?”
Hm. That might have been a slip. It sounds strange for an angel to say in my life.
I thought briefly about how to cover it up, then decided to ignore it.
No need to respond to every nitpicky comment.
“But is the city really safe now?”
“What do you mean?”
“We have no guarantee something won’t happen again. You know that, right?”
Yuga threw the question, then lay down, bored.
But I couldn’t take that question lightly.
The situation moved fast. I was distracted. I didn’t think about it.
Who did this?
I’m certain: in the first timeline, this disaster never happened. If it had, The Ancient Tale would have recorded it.
Without Isabelle, Castletina would have been destroyed. Rister would remain a stubborn extremist, Galtan would still be hiding, and the knights and chains would have no real strength. How could they defeat a steel golem like that?
But no matter how I think, I can’t see the cause.
What changed?
Because the holy sword and demon sword appeared earlier than they should have, the world shifted?
The demon sword being known is one thing, but news of the holy sword would certainly reach the Demon King’s army. Did they attack to kill Isabelle?
Now that I think about it… Dorothea had a powerful mage among her followers.
Brain, was it? That one-legged undead who used surprisingly advanced magic. Could he have done this?
A normal human mage has no reason to massacre Castletina. And this never happened in the first timeline.
So logically, Dorothea must have sent Brain to destroy Castletina because she learned the priest who found the holy sword was here.
…
No. That’s not quite right.
Dorothea hated Brain. She treated him like trash.
In The Ancient Tale, there exists the ultimate undead—Tio. Dorothea’s masterpiece, indistinguishable from a human, immune to holy power.
But before creating the masterpiece, she made three failures:
Brain, Heart, and Brave.
To earn the approval of the mother who abandoned them, they act on their own will—pitiful undead known as the “ultimate failures.”
So perhaps Brain decided killing Isabelle was the way to be recognized by Dorothea—and acted on his own.
If that’s true… they’ll try again.
I don’t think an undead can kill the current Isabelle. But better safe than sorry. I should warn her later:
An undead might come for you. Keep holy power active around you.
Brain would likely attack with magic from afar, so it might not help much—but there could be other undead targeting her. Precautions never hurt.
Whew.
Maybe I used my brain too much. It aches.
I hope things continue this smoothly from here on.
