REFDL 95

[Did the Ilba Archipelago give us a fake map?]

“Firmus’s surveyors drew the map. I sent them undercover with the initial delegation.”

[……Then it really is strange.]

Did they get caught and bribed by the Ilba Archipelago? No. That’s a bit too much.

Kaelus looked down carefully with a serious expression and frowned.

“I see islands that aren’t recorded, and some recorded ones seem to be missing.”

……Were they really bribed?! People’s circumstances vary, after all. Maybe someone had a reason to risk their life to betray the Empire.

“I’ll have to check when we return,” Kaelus muttered gloomily.

He looked like an office worker who just received extra work at 5 PM that he couldn’t finish without overtime.

I felt restless as we finally arrived at the central island.

Unlike the islands we’d seen so far, the central island looked like a city we were used to seeing. The residential area took up a lot of space, but there were proper mountains and forests. There were even two lakes in the suburbs. The city was generally clean and well-maintained.

However, the situation at the island’s edge was the same.

Shanties that looked like barnacles packed the island’s left side. A castle wall was erected between the slums on the left and the city center. It looked like a defense meant to stop the barnacles from spreading.

For the record, all the natural environments I saw earlier, including the forest, were inside the wall. If you went through the city toward the right, you’d find the rest of the island’s edge.

It was different from the left side, which was buried under wooden planks. On the opposite edge, there were proper brick ports, beautiful beaches, and fancy villas scattered atop the cliffs.

Perhaps it was because I looked down from above, but the wealth gap and the resulting discrimination were even more dramatic to see at a glance.

[It’s not a very pleasant sight.]

“…….”

I quickly scanned the city’s view, and then landed on the agreed spot.

There were no problems until then.

***

“……What did you just say?”

Even though Kaelus’s voice was filled with murderous intent, the old man across from him remained calm.

It was the transcendent composition characteristic of one who fears not death. He once again clearly stated his demands.

“I want the egg.”

“…….”

“Give me the Kremlis Dragon’s egg, and I’ll give you the artifact you want.”

“…….”

Schling.

Kyaaaak?!

Immediately after we arrived at the abandoned pier on the central island, which the Ilba family designated as the landing site.

I didn’t go down right away. I took a lap around the island’s edge first.

The eyes and fingers of the people who spotted me all pointed upward. I felt awkward under their gazes, which were a mix of alertness, surprise, shock, and curiosity.

This was normal back at the Forest Village, but I guess I’ve grown used to life in the capital.

I looked for the guided landing spot and slowly descended.

As I did, I passed through the surrounding area.

That’s when I saw the Aros.

It wasn’t my first time seeing them. I saw two or three resting at the Empire’s southern port before we left.

But I’d never seen this many. There were over thirty of them visible just on the beach.

Every boat that traveled in front of the central island had an Aro.

They wore harnesses similar to yokes and pulled the boats diligently as they moved between the water’s surface and the depths.

There are no roads in the sea, but they moved in a smooth cycle as they created their own paths. Their paths crossed at times, but they never collided.

Maybe it’s not that there aren’t roads in the sea, but rather that there are roads only their eyes can see.

They spotted me just as I spotted them.

“Uh. Uhhh?!”

“What’s going on? Why did the boat stop?”

“The Aros are doing something…….”

Their reaction was similar to the Aros at the southern port.

To be precise, it was the same as the dragons who saw me for the first time.

They stopped all movement and stared at me as if they were dolls. Their animal eyes, which looked even glossier because of the water, seemed to want something. Or perhaps they looked like the eyes of loyal servants who waited for an order.

I was the one who looked away first. I didn’t think much of it back at the Richmond breeding facility…… or even when I received the Pensiltas’ stares in the capital.

But after Anax, I felt like I was being pressured every time they did that.

Fulfill your duty.

It’s alright to delay it. But don’t turn away.

The time will come.

Then you will…….

“Yuram!”

[……!]

I quickly gained altitude in an instant. I almost hit the lighthouse. My tail brushed the top of the lighthouse by a narrow margin.

I heard cheers, it seemed the people of the archipelago thought it was an intentional performance.

My neck felt stiff and I started sweating.

I almost caused a major accident as soon as I arrived. It wasn’t just any accident; it was a disaster that could’ve easily turned into an international issue.

Kaelus didn’t say anything. He just patted my neck a couple of times. …That actually made me more nervous.

‘I told you not to cause any trouble! Aaargh!’

In my head, Professor Nitan clutched his neck and passed out. I flinched and concentrated. I had to pull myself together.

Fwoosh!

I stirred up a strong wind as I landed and took a look around.

I could see why they chose this place as the landing spot.

It was wide and open.

If you passed the small empty lot where goods moved up and down in the distance, you’d see large, sturdy buildings that served as warehouses lined up side-by-side.

The way they were positioned in a semicircle as if they were surrounding this spot made them look like a fortress.

And there’s water behind us.

So, while this place was convenient for a giant dragon to land, it also had the geographical features to be a perfect place to face a dragon in an emergency.

[…….]

Well. I shouldn’t think too deeply about it.

Nitan did say there was an exchange between the continent and the archipelago, but he didn’t say they were friendly toward each other.

The closed port was in the outskirts, far from the main district. Naturally, it was quite a distance to the Ilba family’s mansion, which was located right in the center of the district.

The family sent people to meet us.

They greeted us with the utmost politeness.

“Welcome. You’ve worked hard on your long journey, Duke Irelion. It’s an honor to host Your Grace. We’ll guide you to the mansion.”

Kaelus nodded and glanced at me.

I immediately shrunk my body.

The people who came to meet us flinched when they saw me, but they soon regained their composure. They seemed to already know that I could transform.

It wasn’t particularly strange. We didn’t [visit our site]intend to hide it in the first place. Kaelus didn’t say much when I shared that thought, and Nitan actually encouraged it.

Nitan probably thought it would be better to show that I’m unique.

Anyway, the mansion we arrived at was an old house with a classic charm.

Naturally, the worn pillars and corners handsomely showed the traces of time and the mansion’s history.

Maybe it was because it was well-maintained, but I didn’t think it looked shabby.

The interior was also excellent.

Portraits of the past lords of the house and their families hung on the hallway walls at precise intervals. The floor was carpeted, and the decorations placed here and there were all artifacts. It seemed the mansion’s owner, the head of the house, was obsessed with tradition and old things.

Even to someone like me who didn’t know much, these items looked like they belonged in a grand museum rather than a hallway like this.

Though I don’t know if museums even exist in this world

“It’s here.”

Two knights in uniform stood with their hands behind their backs on either side of a massive door. They looked straight ahead, but I could feel their nervousness as if they were conscious of Kaelus.

Kaelus’s fame had even reached the archipelago, which made me feel proud. Meanwhile, I observed the carvings on the door with interest.

A brilliant sun.

Beneath it stood a giant Aro.

Waves depicted in the carving covered the Aro’s belly and lower body.

There was a person on top of the Aro’s head.

It was a saint with a halo around his head.

His clothes were a wavy dress. He held a compass in one hand and a flag with the Ilba family’s crest in the other.

That was the left side of the door. On the right side, there was a crowd bowing down to worship those two.

“Master. The guests from the Empire have arrived.”

“Very well.”

The door opened with the announcement. The saint on the Aro and the crowd on the door split to both sides.

“Welcome. You’ve worked hard on your long journey.”

Just as Nitan described, the Ilba family’s head was an elderly man.

He applied oil to his dry white hair visit our siteto force a shine, but his body was as withered as a winter tree regardless.

His eyes were cloudy. I don’t know what he was like in the past, but I couldn’t find any ambition or purpose in the old man standing here now.

He just looked exhausted.

It seemed he was only here out of duty as the head of the house. He didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding that, either.