At Ian’s gesture, an attendant swung the doors open. A thick stench of blood immediately assaulted their senses. Akorella, who had been casually perched on a desk, saw Ian and waved cheerfully.
“Ah, you’re here.”
With a cigarette dangling from her lips and her legs swinging back and forth, she looked no different from a common ruffian loitering in some back-alley tavern. Romandro, who had entered with Ian, asked with a look of disapproval, “Why are you sitting like that?”
“Oh, don’t even ask. It was fucking exhausting. What about the coronation? Is it over? I thought I saw people starting to leave.”
“It’s mostly wrapped up. His Majesty has retired to his chambers.”
“Oh, ‘His Majesty.’ It’s finally starting to feel real.”
“And Repin? You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“Of course not. I’m no amateur. He’s in a state similar to being dead, but he’s still breathing. Over there.”
Akorella gestured with her cigarette toward the bed, where a completely exhausted Repin lay like a corpse. Dried blood was clearly visible around his mouth, and upon closer inspection, it seemed he was missing a few front teeth.
As Romandro turned to Akorella in horror, she just shrugged with an air of innocence. “I didn’t do that. He was throwing a fit all by himself, fell over, and broke them.”
It was impossible to know if that was true. Romandro cautiously lifted the man’s upper lip to check the wound, while Ian picked up the report lying in front of her. It was a vivid record of a torture—no, an interrogation session.
“So, what did he say?”
“In my opinion, we should give the other guys the same treatment as Repin. He was spouting so much unbelievable nonsense.” She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, then blew a cloud of smoke toward Repin. “In total, there are about fifty illegally crossbred dragons.”
“What?! Isn’t the number officially managed by Ruswena just over fifteen?”
“Yes. Ten years ago, during the Hyman incident, we estimated it was only a few at most, but the number is unexpectedly large. It seems the government has been actively promoting the breeding, according to that bastard Repin. He said his paternal uncle is in charge.”
“Wait a minute. How many suits of Black Armor can be made from one dragon? Ian, do you know?”
Ian paused at Romandro’s question, then nodded. He was recalling the contents of a report he had read before. The number of suits that could be made from a single dragon wasn’t the most critical issue. They had, after all, had ten years.
“It varies slightly depending on the dragon’s size and the manufacturing method, but on a yearly basis, it’s possible to produce about ten suits of Black Armor per dragon. If there are fifty dragons, that’s five hundred suits a year. If that’s continued for ten years, that’s a total of five thousand suits.”
“F-Five thousand suits of Black Armor.”
Romandro vividly remembered the power of the Black Armor. During the civil war, the Head of the Imperial Royal Guard had been killed by it, and Viviana and Beric had also had a brush with death, had they not?
Ian added quietly, “That would be around five thousand, assuming it takes a year for a dragon’s scales to regenerate. If the regeneration cycle is shortened to a few months, the number would be even greater.”
“This is a-a huge problem, isn’t it? It was armor that even the heads of the Imperial Royal Guard couldn’t face rashly. But if they have thousands of them, oh my.”
This is a disaster! A disaster!
As Romandro clutched his temples in despair, Akorella pulled out a new cigarette, as if to say, Calm down and keep listening, I’m not done yet.
“There’s a bigger problem.”
“There’s, there’s more?”
“Apparently, in the crossbreeding process, dragons are occasionally born having awakened their killing abilities. Like Kkyu.”
“Like, like Kkyu?”
“But they didn’t seem to know that Kkyu was one of them. They just picked a dying one that they’d been harvesting scales from and tossed it our way. From Ruswena’s perspective, the situation is completely absurd.”
Reading Akorella’s report, Ian asked softly, “What is the possibility that they will mobilize those dragons in the war?”
“Considerable. In my opinion, if Bariel uses Kkyu for propaganda, Ruswena planned to use that as a pretext to bring in their own dragons.”
“Wait! So, you’re saying Ruswena anticipated our reaction?”
“They even considered that we might exploit the loophole in the treaty, the one about Kkyu not being a pureblood dragon. Instead, they seemed to have painted a picture where their side has killing abilities, and ours doesn’t. Kkyu has ruined that plan, of course.”
“I-Ian! In that case, we can’t take the dragon to the battlefield, can we?”
Ian just shook his head slowly. Ruswena already intended to bring dragons with killing abilities, in addition to the Black Armor, to the battlefield. In that case, with or without Kkyu, they would surely deploy their combat dragons depending on how the tide of victory turned.
“With Ruswena’s national fate on the line, if they feel they are being pushed back, they will use every means at their disposal to turn the situation around. For a Ruswena without mages, it is a weapon they cannot afford to give up.”
“Oh, our poor soldiers. This is a real disaster.”
Black Armor on the ground, and dragons rampaging in the sky. Ian neatly folded Akorella’s report, tucked it into his inner pocket, and gestured for them to leave.
“Lord Romandro. I need to meet with the heads of the Imperial Royal Guard. We need to discuss the Black Armor.”
“Ah, of course! I’ll send word at once.”
“Akorella, you clean up here and then handle the other Ruswenan delegates.”
“Yes, as you command.” Akorella gave a playful salute, placing her hand over her chest. “But aren’t we leaving tomorrow? We’re moving with His Majesty, aren’t we?”
“That is correct.”
“Ah. So, finish the work by then? Yes, yes. For a moment, I almost let myself relax. I’ll write up the new reports and be right there.”
“Akorella.”
“Yes?”
Ian, who had been about to step outside, paused and looked back at her, as if to remind her of something just in case.
“Make sure you pack enough Mana Amplifier and Recovery Potions.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ve got enough to make us sick of them.”
Due to the coronation, the mages’ stamina was not what it used to be. For the next few days, they would likely do nothing but rest while traveling with the procession. Akorella made an ‘O’ with her fingers, telling him not to worry.
As Ian and Romandro left, she stubbed out the rest of her cigarette and stood up.
“Alright, then—”
She stretched her arms wide! Her injured ankle made her lose her balance and wobble for a moment, but she then shouted cheerfully.
“Let’s bring in the next Ruswenan test subjects!”
“Yes, I’ll bring them at once.”
“Alive. And fresh. Excellent!”
After live experimentation, the side effects of her potions were often improved to a surprising degree. The only problem until now had been the lack of suitable subjects. Everyone was so keen on protecting their precious bodies, always running away!
“Oh, there was a mage, too. What should we do with him?”
“A mage? Ah.”
“Were there no special instructions?”
“Ah, no. There were no specific orders.”
“Is that so? A pity.”
Though he belonged to Ruswena, a mage was a mage. Beings connected by the love of a god, were they not? Jaira and the other mages who had naturalized from Ruswena had offered to persuade him, but it seemed they had failed. Akorella tousled her hair, looking genuinely disappointed.
“Tsk, tsk. Bring him, too. In a way, it’s for the best. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on a mage.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The attendants scurried out, and Akorella stared quietly at Repin, who was sprawled on the bed. A smile touched her lips for a moment. Then, with all her might, she grabbed his mustache, tore it out, and shouted.
Rrrrip!
“Get up! Stop lying around!”
***
It was night. A true night, for the first time in a long while. Everyone in the Imperial Palace realized the coronation was over as they looked up at the sky. The White Night, when the sun had never set, had been wondrous and fantastical, but the night that came after the long day was also sublime and beautiful.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
Neigh!
Ian’s carriage arrived in front of the main palace building. Jin’s residence had been moved from the Crown Prince’s Palace to the main palace, and the Imperial Royal Guard had always been quartered nearby. Ian naturally ascended the stairs and entered.
“Is His Majesty asleep?”
“He has been awake for nearly two days, so it is likely.”
“In that case, I will meet with Commander Jeirutt first.”
“Yes, I will guide you this way.”
A palace attendant bowed his head slightly and led the way. Come tomorrow, the Emperor himself would be leaving the palace and heading to the battlefield. Everyone was busily preparing for the deployment. The fact that the members of the Imperial Royal Guard were all gathered in the main building rather than the training grounds was proof of this. They were spending their last night in the palace, each busy with their own preparations.
“Oh, isn’t it Minister Ian Hielo? Good evening.”
“Yes. You’re all working hard.”
“Are you here for Beric? He’s getting punished out back right now.”
“…No, I’m here to see Commander Jeirutt.”
“Is that so? Well, you’ll have to head that way anyway, the heads are all over there. I can guide you from here.”
The guard member gestured to the palace attendant to let him take over, and the two followed him. Romandro, who had been quietly observing, couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, why is he being punished today?”
“Ah. He was having a light spar with Commander Jeirutt earlier. They agreed not to use weapons, but he drew his sword first. Got his head smashed in and has been on his head ever since.”
“Hah! Goodness, he does it every other day, it’s driving me mad. If getting punished were a job, that Beric would have a medal.”
“Hahaha. That’s right. He got a proper scolding not long ago, too, didn’t he?”
“That dragon thing, yes. I was right there, I thought I was going to die of shock.”
In the distance, they could see Beric, literally on his head. Around him, other members were sitting freely, polishing their swords and maintaining their armor, focused on their preparations for departure.
“Head! The Minister of the Ministry of Magic is here.”
“Are you busy?”
“No. Well, aside from my mind being a mess because of one crazy dog, I’m fine.”
“Iaaaaan!”
Jeirutt muttered, glancing at Beric, who was on his head, managing to roll only his eyes. Ian just smiled, as if to ignore him.
“Please, have a seat. You worked hard at the coronation.”
“Yes, everyone worked hard.”
“But, what brings you here?”
“We’ve just received intelligence from the Ruswenan side. It’s regarding the Black Armor, and we estimate their numbers to be considerable.”
Swoosh.
Ian handed over Akorella’s report. Jeirutt reacted instinctively at the words ‘Black Armor.’ He stroked his chin, looking troubled.
“Five thousand suits.”
“Commander Jeirutt, you know better than anyone that ordinary soldiers cannot face them.”
“Yes. I know. How could I forget?”
“We have no choice but to rely on the mages and magic swordsmen to stop them, but I came to hear if you had any suggestions. We won’t be facing them tomorrow, but once we cross the border, it is a danger we could encounter at any time.”
“…Based on past experience, it took myself and six of my members striking simultaneously with two blows to break a helmet. We have not been idle in our training, but if the Black Armor has also been improved during that time, it’s a different story—”
“The scales of the tribute dragon were severely damaged. If the quality degrades with each harvest, we can expect the quality of the Black Armor to decline as well. But, yes, I cannot say for certain until I see it for myself.”
“The tribute dragon, you mean the one Beric was riding? Does it have a name? The Ministry of Magic is in charge of it now, so I was meaning to make a suggestion. Unlike the mages who are skilled at flight, the magic swordsmen are limited in their vertical movement—”
“They call him Kkyu, I believe.”
“Pardon?”
Jeirutt asked in surprise. At the same time, Beric snapped his head up to look at Ian. The other members of the Royal Guard passing by did the same.
“It seems Akorella named him that.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Iaaaaan! What did you just say? What’s his name?”
“…Kkyu?”
Ian looked back at Beric, quirking an eyebrow as if he had asked a ridiculous question.
Beric flipped over, clutching his stomach, while the other Royal Guard members pretended not to have heard and continued on their way. Romandro, too, clapped a hand over his mouth and froze.
“Ian, what was that? Kkyu? Kkyuu?”
“…”
“Shit, I can’t believe I lived to see the day he’s making ‘kkyu kkyu’ sounds! Oh man, I’ve lived a full life! I can die happy now! Bwahahahak!”
“…”
Ian realized Beric was making fun of him. A bright smile spread across his face as he casually tossed a single pebble.
“Huh?”
“As you were. Continue, Beric.”
“What’s this for?”
For the sake of Beric, who was looking back and forth between the pebble and Ian with a clueless expression, Romandro explained, holding back his laughter.
“Uh, Beric. Don’t put your head on the ground. Put it on the pebble. Yes, yes. Diligently. With all your might.”
Sigh. You really need to learn to read the room!