Chapter 134

I nodded at Mirisa and looked away. Around her, children were chattering excitedly.

"I'm good at sword fighting!" "I'm a verbal fighter! And it says my hair is great!"

The children were happy to receive personalized praise. The parents in the audience were also satisfied reading the compliment notes in their sweets. Among them, the most excited were the Emperor and Marquise Hayne.

"It says, 'Your warm heart is the light and salt that will shine in all the world,'" the Emperor read, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth, even though he was trying to act like an emperor.

"You have both a child and an adult's sensibility, that's wonderful! It says so!" Marquise Hayne said, overjoyed by the unexpected surprise.

It was a fun class for both children and adults. As I expected, a beautiful night sky and a little bit of praise seemed to be a recipe for success.

Just then, as I looked around proudly, an exhausted voice that only I could hear echoed from the podium.

"It was a job well done. Can I go back to the sword now?" "I'm tired. I can't wait to return to my precious mansion in the sword!"

They were the two demons, today's silent contributors. I looked down and tried to pet them, but for a moment, I wondered. Isn't it odd that they're not a cruel and vicious demon, but just a slave to work who wants to go into the sword to rest after professionally performing their mission? And... wasn't it me who sealed you? Why do you want to go back to the sword?

If I thought about it any more, I would feel a strange unease. I shook my head and looked around again. But today was a great success. The twinkling luminous stars that created the night sky and the compliment notes that imitated fortune cookies were all perfectly showcased. I smiled contentedly, looking at the still-noisy surroundings. Everything was going as expected, like a well-written script I had created.

I laughed and turned my head back. As expected, there was a suspicious person in the audience who has now disappeared. Thinking of his face, I lowered my eyes and then opened them.

A black-haired man standing like a professor in the farthest seat from the Marquis and Marquise of Padel. He had a plain and ordinary face, but he was a person without a shadow. He had to be one of the watchdogs the Pope had assigned to keep an eye on me. And he was definitely going to tell the Pope about what he saw today.

I raised one corner of my mouth and laughed. It must be the Pope. He seemed to want to analyze my strength, so I thought he would come to class today. I had predicted this when all the people known to be in my circle were invited to his first feast. He wanted to fully grasp my power and analyze it. But if he was going to put a spy on me, shouldn't I also use that spy in reverse?

I can analyze his power too.

I asked the Winter Moon Demon for more than just help with the lecture. I had asked the demons to analyze the power of the Pope's spy during my lecture. I asked in a very low voice so that only the two demons sitting on the sword could hear me. "How did you feel about that person?"

I had omitted the subject, but the demons seemed to have understood my intention.

"Oh, that's right!" the Winter Moon Demon trembled and stood up, moving wildly. Seeing the cute demon in an apron biting his lip, something more serious must have happened than I thought.

"I'm sure you guessed right," I said, looking down at the demons.

The Winter Moon Demon pretended to be proud and touched his horn. "The Ancient Demon's Curse Enchantment a long time ago triggered the contract between you and Dominic. Only ancient demons, or beings with more power than them, can even touch the contract a little, right?"

Not long ago, I had predicted that it was no coincidence that there was a problem with the communication when approaching the Pope. I had gathered information that only ancient demons could tamper with Dominic's contract with me. So I predicted that there might be some kind of connection between the Pope and the demon world.

"I investigated that spy, and as you expected, he was using a magic technique with the power of a low-level demon!"

I looked down at the demons with a piercing gaze. The Spring Demon, who had tapped his friend on the side, finished the serious conversation. "To sum it up, the Pope seems to have some connection to our demon world, all in the name of worshiping God."

I thought quietly. He has divine power, blessings, golden arts, and now a connection to demons... What is it that the Pope ultimately wants? I was no longer afraid of the dinner party. Now I'm curious too. I was beginning to have a genuine curiosity about his existence.

After the lectures were all successful, the president of the academy immediately handed over the library keys he had promised as a reward. Finally, I opened the door to the secret library of the academy.

"Where is it?"

The empty bookshelves felt gloomy and dark, as if there were a ghost. I took an oil lamp in my hand and staggered into the deep, quiet room. As expected of a secret library, I saw many books dealing with different races. I stood inside the library and stared at the books on display. At the top, I saw old books with gold leaf on their leather covers. However, there were very few books about dragons. Most of them were about the history of various races.

Where should I start? I worried about it for a moment.

Just then, a strange, chilling feeling crept down my spine. At that moment, a book rolled from the ceiling to the floor with a thud. It's as if it's saying, 'Read this book!' I reached out, staring intently at the cover of the book that had fallen near the lantern I had just put down. The untitled cover with its gorgeous gold leaf felt like it was tempting me.

I began to turn the pages one by one. First, I checked the preface and table of contents. To my surprise, it was about dragons. The brief information written in the preface caught my attention. After reading the preface, which can be summarized as "dragons are the beings closest to God," I flipped through the pages like a person possessed.

I continued to read, but I thought I wouldn't get much from it. Then the table of contents titled "Dragons and Imprints" caught my eye.

"Imprint..." As soon as I saw those words, I remembered the time when the dragon had just woken up from its egg. She looked at me with her blue eyes and shouted, "Mom." I remembered that day as clearly as if it were yesterday.

I read the section about imprints. "Does the dragon that wakes up from the egg recognize the first human it sees as its mother...?" A close bond is established between the two. That is called a temporary imprint. At this time, the dragon wants to proceed with the final imprint with the human it met for the first time. Through this, he wants to share his abilities with the human.

"For the final imprint to be completed..." I closed my eyes deeply and opened them again. "I should give the dragon what it wants?" The puzzle pieces were slowly beginning to fit. From the book, it seemed that the baby dragon had a temporary imprint with me without anyone knowing. When he asked for what he wanted, he might have been saying that he wanted to imprint with me.

I began to read the next sentence slowly. It said: Some dragons may want knowledge, some may want affection, and some may want jewels. However, all dragons want one thing.

"What the dragon ultimately wants is the infinite affection of the one who imprinted it, and a gift filled with that affection?"

After reading the last sentence, I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that I had a vague idea of what the little baby dragon wanted.

"I'm not sure yet..." After flipping through the book a few more times, I put it on the shelf without much new information. Then, holding the lantern in my hand, I turned away from the bookshelf.

"Is it affection?" Is the little dragon in a state of incomplete imprint with me?

"Then should I give you a gift with my attention and affection?"

I had found the first clue to catching the Pope.