08 - Incident

A common-looking house on Dragon Roar Mountain.

The girl was also carrying something today.

Water? Meat?

If you pay attention, you'll notice that she was carrying something out of the ordinary.

"Phew..."

A book.

Bringing the office books into another room, arranging them.

A prank?

No, no.

Let them dry in the shade.

The paper Laplace used was made from dragon skin and extremely durable.

It could last tens of thousands of years without incident.

However, if exposed to moisture and insects, it would naturally deteriorate much faster.

That's why it needed to be regularly dried in the shade.

"Hmm, maybe that's enough for today?"

However, the number of books in the study was enormous.

It was impossible to dry all the books in one day.

So every month, she worked on the collection, one shelf at a time.

"Phew! I'm tired..."

Rostelina stretched and patted her waist a few times.

At that moment, a shelf full of books stood aligned before Rostelina.

All the ancient books.

Today, she had the oldest books in the collection on the shelves.

"…"

Suddenly, one particular book caught Rostelina's interest.

"What is this about?"

From what Rostelina knew, Laplace mainly did three things.

Leave, talk with Rostelina, or write something.

Laplace rarely spoke with Rostelina during the day.

Basically, he was always writing whenever he was at home.

As far as Rostelina could remember, Laplace was always writing.

Not eating, not sleeping—constantly writing.

So it must be very, very important.

"Hmm?"

Rostelina was never forbidden from reading the books at home.

Instead, Laplace had given her permission to read them—and even burn them if they got dirty.

"...but I don't understand."

However, the letters written by Laplace were very different from those Rostelina was familiar with.

The writing Rostelina understood was the Human Language.

The common tongue on the continent and used by the Rostelina race.

But this ancient book was written in a different language.

In fact, Laplace said it was the ancient tongue of the Dragon God.

Thus, unreadable.

If it were a more recent book, she could read it.

Because Laplace had begun writing his more recent books in the Human Language.

Probably because he thought it would be easier for the reader to read in Human Language than in a lost tongue.

But why wasn't this book rewritten in Human Language?

Too problematic?

"…Ah"

Only then did Rostelina notice a book she had set aside sideways.

The only one here written in the Human Language.

"Manual for Translating the Ancient Dragon God Language…"

A wise man like Laplace would have thought that providing a dictionary would take less time than rewriting all the books he had written so far.

"Could I possibly read with this?"

Rostelina took a deep breath and picked up the manual. It looked raw, probably one of the earliest writings.

Then, as she carefully flipped through the index, she slowly read the title of the book.

"Dra—go—mm?... Dragon. Oh! General... Mission Part 32."

After struggling for twelve minutes or more, Rostelina managed to decipher the title of the book.

"Dragon General Mission Part 32."

That was what the cover said.

Rostelina had some knowledge of the phrase "Dragon General."

Instead, it had come up in Laplace's history.

The Five Dragon Kings, personal confidants of the Dragon God.

Laplace worked for one of them, Armor Dragon King Dora.

"Hmm?"

But a doubt nagged at Rostelina's mind.

Laplace was subordinate to Dora.

So why did Laplace write a book about his missions and so on?

Shouldn't they be orders?

Perhaps the reason is written somewhere in "Part 1"...

"Hmm... at this rate, it will be dark before I finish reading it."

Just reading the title had taken so long.

After all that effort, she had read only about 10 characters.

Before her lay more than a hundred books.

Forget about reading—it would be difficult even to find the right volume.

"…Ah!"

Rostelina heard the beating of a pair of large wings.

There was only one possible source of such sound near this house.

Yes, the Red Dragon Saleyakt, perched behind the house.

And Rostelina's dear master riding on top of him.

Rostelina leapt out of the shaded room in one bound.

She ran toward the front door just as Laplace had entered the house.

"Welcome back, Master!"

"I'm back, Rostelina. Have you finished drying the books in the shade?"

"Yes!"

"Good, very good."

"Hehe!"

Rostelina was delighted as Laplace patted her head.

But then she remembered her question.

"Hey, Master, there's something I've been wondering about."

"Oh, really? What is it?"

Rostelina explained what she had seen earlier.

"All the books on the shelves were written by the Master, right?"

"Indeed."

"The Master was working under Dora-sama, so why is it called Dragon General Missions? Shouldn't it be Dora-sama's orders?"

"Wow, Rostelina. You can read the ancient Dragon God Language, very impressive!"

"Ah, Rostelina is growing up every day!"

She replied proudly, puffing up her chest, conveniently omitting that she had used the manual.

"Hehe... Since you read it, you should already know? I wrote it all there."

But her small lie was immediately exposed.

"Eh... I'm sorry. Actually, I only read the title using the translation manual."

"Hahaha, I thought so."

Laplace laughed as he walked toward the back of the house.

After placing the luggage he had brought from the valley on the bed, he sat in a chair.

He found Rostelina sitting in a nearby chair.

"Let's eat together sometime. I'm hungry after such a long while."

"Yes, please, leave it to me, Master!"

Rostelina began preparing the meal with joy.

Serving food to Laplace, who rarely ate, was one of Rostelina's secret pleasures.

Since Laplace only ate when extremely hungry, he always commented on how delicious it was.

While Rostelina was busy at the stove, Laplace's voice came from behind her.

"I'll answer your question while you work."

There was a touch of nostalgia in his voice.

Of joy, of regret, filled with struggles.

Pride, but also shadowed by darkness, Laplace began.

"When I started writing the books, I was one of the Dragon Generals."

Thus began one of Laplace's ancient stories.

A story from a far-off, mythical time.

■■■

Where should I begin?

Ah yes, let's start there.

"Laplace,"

During those peaceful days, one day I was summoned by Dora-sama.

She was always busy, flying everywhere, so she rarely had time to visit the Kayos training fields on Dragon Roar Mountain.

When she came, she would immediately summon me for combat training.

To ensure I didn't neglect regular training... and so on, but mainly because there weren't many capable of being her sparring partner.

Fortunately, I was strong enough to match her.

"Shall we train today as well?"

"Alright, sorry for taking your time."

In those days, I would leave the work to my subordinates and go to the training field with Dora-sama.

And let her beat me as much as she wanted.

I always ended up tattered.

Even if I could hold my own… it still wasn't enough to defeat one of the Five Dragon Generals.

However, by regularly fighting with Dora-sama like that, I slowly grew stronger.

I don't mean to brag, but until then it would have been impossible for a normal Dragon Warrior to compete with me.

"I have something to discuss with you..."

Usually, once combat training was over, the day would end.

But that day, Dora-sama spoke in a mysterious tone.

Of course, I had no reason to refuse.

We decided to find a convenient place to talk near the flight training field.

Why did we have to talk just for conversation now?

I felt that whenever Dora-sama and I talked, it was always at the Dragon God's mansion or somewhere similar.

I chose this place because it offers a panoramic view of the city of Kayos.

"I'm so impressed with your recent discoveries."

"That's due to Dora-sama's teachings."

"No, you're doing well even in things I didn't teach you. The other day, Maxwell complimented your work highly."

"I'm honored."

"If you continue like this, you may soon fulfill your responsibilities."

In this case, those responsibilities were two of the three reasons the Dragon God adopted me.

In other words, reducing the hostility of the Dragon Race toward mixed blood and improving relations with the Demon Race.

Certainly, the task of recycling dragons was becoming very important.

It might even be possible that, as the training method improves, the whole concept of "recycling" could one day become unnecessary.

What I did was important.

"I have a request for you."

I was surprised by the request.

After all, she had never asked me for anything.

"Of course, what is it?"

"Of course," I replied.

I lived for Dragon God-sama, but Dora-sama had taken very good care of me as well.

Moreover, a request from Dora-sama would certainly be for the sake of Dragon God-sama.

I had no reason to refuse.

"Leave your current role and take my position for a while."

"As a substitute?"

"Yes, I want to ask you to supervise all the dragon training fields in the Dragon World."

"Why do you ask?"

"Soon the breeding season will come, and I will lay eggs."

The Dragon Race has a long lifespan.

They live for tens of thousands of years.

Not exactly immortal, but certainly a long-lived race.

In return, our breeding season was infrequent—occurring only once every few thousand years.

Thus, during the breeding season, all dragons of reproductive age were obliged to prioritize the next generation.

"That is... congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Who is the other party?"

It takes two to make a baby.

Hehe, this story might be too stimulating for Rostelina.

"Dragon General Crystal. Our breeding season ended up overlapping... Dragon God-sama expects a strong child to be born from us."

Unfortunately, I didn't know of any offspring of the Dragon Generals.

The concept of familial relationships was tenuous among the Dragon Race.

Parents neither incubate nor raise the eggs after they are laid. In the breeding area there are nurses who take care of the incubation.

Of course, although there are records, the children of the Dragon Generals do not receive special treatment.

It seems Dora-sama already had a few children, but they were all grown up, working as Dragon Warriors or Dragon Trainers. Some even died during battles with dragons.

However, this seemed to be the first child between two Dragon Generals.

Strong parents produce strong offspring, so the two paired up.

A child of the Dragon Generals.

Full of expectations.

"So, I want to leave the training fields to you during the breeding season. Will you accept?"

Acting on behalf of Dora-sama and working directly under Dragon God-sama.

I had never felt so honored.

Tears welled in my eyes.

I had no idea Dora-sama valued me so much.

"I'm honored that you chose me."

Of course, I made the highest salute on the spot and accepted the task.

■

Thirty years passed since then.

Dora-sama successfully conceived and moved to the breeding grounds, several dozen kilometers south of Kayos.

I accompanied her on the journey—it was a very pleasant place.

It looked like a beehive.

There were several private rooms lined up where pregnant women deposited their eggs.

The temperature and humidity were kept constant in the private room, allowing the eggs to incubate on their own.

After hatching, the rooms were converted into personal nurseries for the children.

However, for the Dragon Race, the gestation period was very long.

It was a race that lived for hundreds of thousands of years.

The egg remained in the womb for 50 years and took another 50 years to incubate after being laid.

And as is common to all races, pregnancy takes a heavy toll on the mother.

Dragon Race women are especially vulnerable during pregnancy.

That is why there is a dedicated facility, far from the usual lodgings, so that they can handle the pregnancy safely.

The change was particularly dramatic during fertilization.

Dora-sama became especially fierce when she entered the facility.

Everything she saw... she couldn't keep her composure, so every little thing set her off and she sent everything flying.

It wasn't unusual for me to get hurt by Dora-sama, but it was my first time seeing her so violently.

I gained many new scars over those thirty years.

Even so, I managed to successfully continue Dora-sama's work.

The task of supervising all the dragon training fields in the Dragon World.

I traveled on Saleyakt for my work trips.

Until the end, that ill-tempered Red Dragon only liked me.

For me, it was also convenient to visit training fields everywhere with Saleyakt.

Saleyakt could talk to other dragons.

He was good at persuading dragons who otherwise wouldn't listen.

He managed to succeed regardless of the training field.

To be honest, it might be because of him that I was able to successfully supervise the training fields.

Being responsible, my name naturally spread throughout the Dragon World.

The genius who creates excellent dragons.

As my name spread, fewer people looked at me with suspicion.

On the way back to the Dragon God's mansion, some people gave me the highest salutes.

Of course, there were still some who didn't like me for being half-demon.

But everyone was beginning to recognize my ability.

Wake up in the morning and fly to the training field.

Inspect the corridor with Saleyakt and occasionally tend to a dragon that wouldn't listen.

Occasionally jumping on Saleyakt and moving to another city.

More or less the same in every city.

Except trying to show my face more in new places.

When I returned to the mansion, Lunaria-sama and the servants treated me to a warm meal.

Sometimes even Dragon God-sama.

I would report what I had done that day.

Come to think of it, it was basically a family gathering.

Those thirty years were truly peaceful.

No battles, no training, no frustrations—just hard work and spending the days in a soothing manner.

But those peaceful days didn't last.

A turning point comes for everyone.

Few people can follow a single path to the end.

Not for me either... No, not for the entire Dragon World.

A turning point had arrived.

A major turning point.

It was around that time that the news arrived that Dora-sama was about to lay her eggs.

An obituary circulated in the Dragon World.

The death of one of the Five Dragon Generals, Dragon King Crystal.

■

Dragon King Crystal was located at the very north of the Dragon World.

Found near the nest of a Golden Dragon, his limbs had been torn off and crushed, and his skull drained.

No matter how tough the Dragon Race is, they cannot survive in such a state.

He was already dead when discovered.

Around him were his Dragon Warrior escorts and the remains of a Golden Dragon.

At first glance, it appeared that they had fought against the Golden Dragon and lost.

However, Dragon General Crystal was not so weak as to lose to a Golden Dragon.

It was a mysterious incident.

The death of a Dragon General.

It is hard to overstate how important this was for the Dragon World.

The Five Dragon Generals were recognized by the Dragon God as the strongest Dragon Warriors.

Their powers were immeasurable compared to the average of the Dragon Race.

Taken seriously, they would have the power to easily bring down one or two mountains.

Even if my strength were comparable, I could not expect to defeat them.

I used to be Dora-sama's training partner, but if the situation arose, she could destroy me in an instant.

So powerful were the Five Dragon Generals.

One of them, Crystal, had died.

Everyone was wondering.

Who did this? How?

Only a handful of people could kill a Dragon General.

In the Dragon World, only the Dragon God or another Dragon General could do it.

Or perhaps following the rabbit hole of mutant monsters...

No matter how vile and powerful a monster might be, I didn't think it could kill a Dragon General.

First of all, if there were such a vile monster, there would certainly be rumors about it.

For some reason, monsters only appear where living beings gather.

In light of the crisis, the Dragon God organized a meeting.

He summoned what remained of the Five Dragon Generals.

I was a bit surprised when I heard about it.

I had always assumed that the Dragon God would decide everything on his own.

However, when a major event occurred in the Dragon World, it seemed traditional for a conference like this to be held.

The meeting was held in the Dragon God's mansion.

I also attended as Dora's proxy, since she was still on maternity leave.

I knew there was a room in the Dragon God's mansion with a large stone table and six chairs, but it was still inspiring to witness the assembly there.

Even with two of the Five Dragon Generals missing.

Dragon General Szilard, with emerald silver scales and ephemeral eyes.

Dragon General Chaos, with black-silver scales and deep eyes.

Dragon General Maxwell, with blue-silver scales and steel eyes.

And with immaculate silver scales and all-encompassing eyes, the great Dragon God.

It felt out of place to me just sitting there.

"…"

Everyone stared at the one empty seat, waiting for the Dragon God to break the silence.

The chair where Crystal was meant to sit.

"It's hard to believe… that Crystal really is dead."

But it was Chaos who spoke first.

He was a bit odd to me and had the reputation of being a stubborn man.

He had forged the Dragon Race's weapons under the orders of the Dragon God.

The weapons of that time were rather simple things.

Armor made of dragon scales, single-edged swords, or spears made from dragon fangs.

Do you think that's rather poor?

Ah, compared to our world today, that might be true.

However, the very claws and scales, infused with Dragon Touki, were far more reliable.

"I don't think a Golden Dragon could kill him. A monster, perhaps, but I think there's more to it."

Next to speak was Maxwell.

Small and fickle.

That was everyone's first impression of Maxwell.

In fact, Maxwell was much smaller than the average Dragon Race member.

Moreover, he always had that miserable smile and spoke rather gruffly.

Why would a person like a Dragon General behave that way?

Many spoke ill of him behind his back, as Dora-sama once mentioned.

But those who knew him well never mocked him.

Because despite his appearance, he was talented, hardworking, and loyal.

He was in charge of exterminating monsters that appeared throughout the dragon world.

It was thanks to his hard work that few of the Dragon Race were killed by monsters.

Maxwell was the one who went to the corpse and examined it for clues.

While other investigators were convinced it was the work of a monster, it was Maxwell who judged that it was not possible.

Knowing the power of a Dragon General, he couldn't believe that Crystal was killed by a monster.

"It must be the work of demons then."

Szilard was the last to speak.

Leader of the Five Dragon Generals, he was responsible for the entire Dragon Race.

His responsibilities varied greatly, but he mainly worked in the city.

In fact, he managed the Dragon World on behalf of the Dragon God when the Dragon God was away.

It was fair to call him Second-in-Command in the Dragon World.

Szilard was always calm, decisive, and sensible.

It was generally up to him to summarize the opinions of the Five Dragon Generals to the Dragon God and offer his best judgment.

"Impossible!"

"No way!"

But not this time.

Maxwell was provoked by Szilard's words, and Chaos also showed his discomfort.

However, Szilard calmly observed his colleagues and continued his analysis.

"It would be impossible for a Golden Dragon.

If a monster capable of killing Crystal had appeared, the damage would have been greater.

The only natives of the Dragon World capable of killing Crystal are the Dragon God, or one of us."

Szilard looked toward the Dragon God.

As if to say, "It goes without saying that, if for any reason the Dragon God deemed it necessary to kill Crystal, we would accept that decision and action."

The Dragon God shook his head with a worried expression.

The Dragon God would never kill Crystal, who was like his own child.

Even for the leader of the Five Dragon Generals, to imply such would be a great disrespect.

Of course, I remained silent, as I had no right to speak at this meeting.

It was my role to listen as Dora-sama's prosecutor and relay every word to her.

Dora-sama wouldn't allow me to make irresponsible comments.

"Of course we, the Five Dragon Generals, would never betray the Dragon God.

We'd rather tear ourselves limb from limb and rip out our own hearts as an apology to the Dragon God than even consider such a thing.

By the process of elimination, then, the only possibility is that it's someone strange."

"Then you're sure it's the demons?"

"The Demon Race has been hostile to us for a long time. It wouldn't be strange if they devised some means to kill Crystal."

"How could the demons hope to defeat a Dragon General?"

"Well, Chaos, it's certainly true that the Five Dragon Generals are strong. But compared to the tenacity and ingenuity of the Eight Demon Kings, even our strength can be overcome. Or have you not considered the enemy's capabilities?"

Chaos fell silent.

The Eight Demon Kings were the demonic counterparts of the Five Dragon Generals.

By the way, it was from one of them that I barely escaped back then.

The Demon Race is not as powerful as the Dragon Race.

They are slower than the Dragon Race and do not have rigid scales.

But their durability is almost immortal and they have a greater affinity for magical control.

The second most powerful race of the six worlds.

Even Crystal might have found the demons hard to control.

If it were the Eight Demon Kings, even the Five Dragon Generals would have difficulty coming out unscathed.

Or so I thought.

"If the demons perfected the technique to cross the 'boundary' and used it without permission…"

"…"

Boundaries separate worlds from one another... like walls.

Crossing the boundary means moving into another world.

Back then, I didn't know what that meant...

At that time, people were investigating cases of disappearances all over the world.

Yes, it was a study of teleportation magic.

...Of course, back then, teleportation magic hadn't been perfected yet.

Even if it had been perfected, its use would always require the permission of the gods.

The gods of the originating world and of the destination world.

"If they had a way to cross the boundary, it would be a terrible situation. But at the moment there is no way to confirm this, not even a clue or a means to retaliate against whoever killed Crystal…"

Szilard said, looking troubled.

After all, there was a murderer out there who had killed one of the incomparable Dragon Generals.

Whether monster or demon, without assembling a strong search team, retaliation would be impossible.

"Please, leave it to me, Chaos—avenge Crystal!"

"I'd be the one to do that kind of work."

The two dragon generals declared their determination, but it wasn't up to Szilard to decide.

One man held the decision-making power in this meeting.

"What do you think, Dragon God? Of course, if you leave it to me, I will certainly capture the criminal and reclaim honor for the Dragon Race."

Then Szilard looked at me.

Until then, I had remained silent and took a few minutes to think.

"But how about letting Laplace do it?"

Those words echoed in the meeting room.

"Blasphemy! Perhaps if it were Dora, but you'll have the half-demon in charge of the investigation!?"

It was Chaos who shouted.

Staring at me with his cavernous eye, baring his fangs.

Chaos was, as I must say… a stubborn man.

Once he began considering the Demon Race as the enemy, he always harbored ill feelings toward them.

"There's a limit to your jokes! Even though he's the adopted son of the Dragon God, can he really capture the suspect who killed one of the Five Dragon Generals?"

"We won't know without trying."

Szilard accepted the outburst like a breath of fresh air.

As if Chaos's shouts were just an everyday occurrence.

I was scared, however.

Mad Dragon King Chaos was a very intimidating person.

"I heard from Dora that, even when he was immature, he had strength equal to the Dragon Generals. It's a waste of time for a Dragon General or even a Dragon God to investigate suspects who might not even exist. It's better to assign the work to someone with comparable strength for now."

To claim that I could face the Five Dragon Generals would have been an exaggeration.

I wasn't very confident at the time.

"Even if he found them, he'd be killed for nothing."

"Perhaps, but as a member of the Dragon Race, he could at least send some information."

"Ugh, it's useless to talk about that! Maxwell! You say something too!"

As if breathing fire, Chaos expressed his anger while speaking to Maxwell.

Hoping Maxwell would agree.

However, Maxwell simply said,

"Well… Why not? It's worth a try."

Instead he said,

"What? What are you saying? That's not at all typical of you!"

Maxwell was even more stubborn than Chaos.

When a situation arose, he was always the first to jump to the front line.

That's why Chaos thought Maxwell would never give up that role.

There's always honor in being the first.

"You know how serious things are?! We've been together since ancient times and now one of us is dead!?"

"Ah, yes. Chaos, who do you think will die next?"

"Who's next...?"

"I've been thinking about why it was specifically Crystal. If the criminal wanted to systematically eliminate the Five Dragon Generals, they would try to take us out one by one."

Chaos seemed to understand what Maxwell was trying to say.

Chaos may be stubborn, but he wasn't stupid.

If the criminal's goal was the total annihilation of the Five Dragon Generals, then the murder of Crystal was just the opening shot.

A trap sufficient to kill Dragon General Crystal.

We don't know what the trap was, but it could work just as well on the rest of them.

"If the Dragon Generals move, it's better that we move in pairs.

However, that's impossible with Dora's absence.

Of course, we can't have the Dragon God at the forefront, so it's better to have someone else."

Maxwell proudly presented his reasoning.

As if seeking confirmation, he looked at Szilard.

Does it matter if I die?

Well, considering my role at the time, it would cause minimal disruption.

Better than losing another Dragon General.

"I understand. So the question is: does that guy have the power to complete his mission?"

"You must trust Dora's words."

Chaos gave a deep nod at Maxwell's conclusion.

It's hard to say how much they trusted Dora-sama's words.

"So, what do you think?"

However, it wasn't Szilard who held the decision-making power here.

They entrusted the judgment to a man who had remained silent for a while.

"…"

The meeting fell silent as they awaited the judgment of the Dragon God.

The Dragon God looked around expressionlessly.

He looked at Chaos, Maxwell, and Szilard in order and finally looked at me.

"Laplace. Can you do it?"

"If you ask!"

When the Dragon God questioned me, I could never say no.

Truth be told, I wasn't confident in the slightest.