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“It’s been a while.”
Castian approached with a languid smile. Beside him was a dark-skinned man who was a head taller than Castian, and looking closely, it was Terion.
“Yes! How have you both been?”
“How do I look?”
Castian, who had stepped closer, pressed in close and tilted his head, whispering secretly to me. He was soon pushed away by Cedric’s ironclad defense though.
He shrugged his shoulders. I smiled awkwardly and answered his question.
“You seem to have been well.”
“Correct. I’ve been spending quite intimate time with this guy. How have you been? This one… his face has really brightened.”
Castian glared at Cedric and made a sarcastic comment. Seeing Cedric ask back whether that was a complaint, it seemed like this would turn into another argument, so I intervened.
“By the way, that… was there some progress?”
“Ah. We actually heard an interesting story.”
Something interesting?
When I tilted my head, he looked around.
“It’s not a story suitable for such a public place. If it’s alright, shall we move somewhere for a moment?”
Castian suddenly approached close to my side and put his arm around my shoulders like a buddy. Then he whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear.
“While we’re at it, let’s have a date alone after such a long time.”
I could almost hear Cedric’s blood pressure shooting through the roof, so although it was random timing, I blurted out.
“I have someone I’m dating now!”
“Really? But I don’t mind. Twisted relationships are more fun than honest ones anyway.”
No, this person.
Come to think of it, was adultery a royal family tradition?
“Your Highness.”
Cedric only called out that one word from the side, but even I got goosebumps. His thin voice was very murderous.
While I was reading the mood between the two, Terion, who had been standing like air watching the situation, sighed and said.
“It will definitely include stories that shouldn’t be known to outsiders. I’ll go with you and monitor so this guy can’t do anything improper, so don’t worry.”
“What? I said it’s a date.”
Terion ignored Castian’s protest and moved first, gesturing, so I quickly escaped from Castian.
“Will it be okay?”
Terion looked back at Cedric and asked. Castian snorted with a completely deflated expression.
Cedric also seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
I gestured to Cedric and then followed Terion, asking quietly.
“It’s a story that shouldn’t be known to outsiders, but is it okay to tell me?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s no different from information learned through Prometil. And it’s probably content Prometil already knows.”
So it seemed like whether information was leaked to me or not didn’t matter much since I might be able to get information through Prometil anytime. Keeping secrets was ultimately up to me.
After leaving the banquet hall, we entered a nearby empty guest room that was confirmed to have no guests staying.
When Castian and I sat facing each other on the sofa, Terion sat next to Castian.
In the silence that settled, Terion, who had been lost in thought with his fingers interlaced, quietly murmured.
“Where should I start the story?”
Castian, who was sitting with his chin propped on the sofa armrest and long legs crossed, interrupted.
“You should start with meeting the Sun tribe.”
“Ah, did you meet them?”
“Yeah. But that… they weren’t human.”
Huh? What does that mean, I thought as I opened my eyes wide. As if eavesdropping, Prometil’s voice was heard.
[The Sun tribe is actually the ‘Dragon tribe.’]
…Dragons?
Don’t tell me the dragons mentioned only in legends?
[That’s right.]
Over Prometil’s voice casually giving a shocking answer, Terion’s voice overlapped.
“Do you know about dragons?”
“Only that they’re mentioned in literature…”
“The Sun tribe refers to those dragons. We’ve met those who have lived since far longer than thousands of years ago.”
Terion confirmed it for me.
“Wow… How was it? How did you find them?”
“They could speak human language. Thanks to that, conversation was smooth. However, finding them wasn’t easy. Without the hint of ‘canyon’ that Prometil gave, we wouldn’t have been able to find them.”
Hearing that, Prometil was pleased and proud.
Terion’s words continued.
“They were living in a canyon on the unexplored continent, and that land is incredibly vast. The canyon is also deep and complex… I had some trouble wandering around with this young master.”
“Your stamina is monstrous, Terion.”
“Huh? Wait, the unexplored continent? Your Highness, was it okay for you to go to such a dangerous place?”
The unexplored continent faces the continent where the Nemad Empire is located across the sea, but it’s not only too barren for humans to live in, it’s also dangerous as it’s practically a monster habitat.
Entry is usually impossible, and permission is only granted to Alphas, but even then, if they die after entering, it’s a lawless zone where no protection or measures are provided.
If a prince had an accident in such a place…
“Don’t you trust me?”
“I’m worried about you.”
When I grumbled quietly, Castian chuckled. Soon he put his index finger to his lips and said playfully.
“Promise not to tell anyone.”
“……”
He seemed to know that if this fact reached the Emperor’s ears, he would be forcibly dragged back.
Terion brought the story that had momentarily gone off track back to the original topic.
“Anyway, they roughly told us the locations of Thanatos divine artifacts scattered around various places. Now we just need to find them.”
“They taught you more easily than expected.”
Terion nodded.
Castian added.
“They said it was their duty to provide desired information to anyone who came looking.”
Duty? Why would that be… their duty? As if noticing my curiosity, Castian raised the corners of his mouth.
“This is where we heard an interesting story. About the birth background of how the current temples and divine artifacts came to be.”
“…!”
“Long ago, the gods made a promise with our ancestors, the first humans. To extend their hand when humans needed it. The ones who guaranteed that covenant were the dragons.”
“They live unimaginably longer than humans can imagine.”
Terion added quietly like a murmur. At that, Castian snapped his fingers and continued his explanation.
“They were needed to guarantee the promise between gods and humans, and were a tribe that met the criteria. But apparently, the dragons who directly witnessed the events of that time disappeared long ago due to their age. That’s how long ago it was.”
“Heh. That’s fascinating.”
So that’s how temples and divine artifacts came to be.
By human desires.
“But why did the gods want to help humans? Did those tribe members tell you the reason too?”
Terion answered that.
“Because they loved humans, they said.”
The way he snorted while saying that suggested Terion didn’t seem to believe those words. Well, considering the actions of the god who made Terion an avatar, it would be quite ridiculous.
“Right. And do you happen to know about the Velasia Kingdom, which existed very long ago and is called the first nation?”
When Castian brought that up, I looked back at him again.
“I’ve heard of it.”
“In the mythology that existed when Velasia was founded, there’s a passage that says ‘A kingdom inheriting their blood was established under the gods’ protection.’ It might be related to the covenant.”
Unlike the consistently calm Terion, Castian seemed excited. He looked like a fish in water.
Meanwhile, I casually asked Prometil about the truth, and Prometil casually confirmed it.
[It’s all true. They seem to have found it well.]
But why until now…
[Why didn’t I say anything until now? That’s because you weren’t curious.]
In the first place, you need to know something to some extent to even have curiosity, but Prometil spoke in that way again.
I suddenly thought that if I had wished to become a great sage… the person who knows the most in this world, as he had suggested, I would have known all of this long ago.
[Did you become interested?]
…But let’s stop after all.
Originally, there are many things in the world that it’s better not to know. Cedric had also told me not to make wishes carelessly.
[You always only care about that Cedric guy.]
Well, of course I care about my lover, who else would I care about?
[Ugh.]
It was when Prometil was making strange complaining sounds.
“Oh. Come to think of it… rabbit. I think you said earlier that you have someone you’re dating. Is that the Soliwen prince?”
When the story about recent circumstances seemed to have ended, Castian changed the topic. Although it was glossed over right after it was mentioned, he seemed to want to know for sure.
Since the topic came up, I thought I should speak clearly at this opportunity and opened my mouth.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
