"You've found the Lord's location?"
Raon walked forward, repeating exactly what Gold Dragon Bartius had said.
"Is that really true?"
Bartius had said he would find the Dragon Lord's location, but Raon hadn't expected it to be so quick. He thought it would be more difficult.
-Oho!
Wrath took a deep breath.
-Can I finally taste the flesh of the Dragon Lord? Though old, it should have its own flavor.
He licked his lips as if the long wait had been worth it.
-It was worth letting those things loose to capture him!
'Indeed.'
Raon chuckled while looking at Wrath.
'I'm glad I didn't kill them.'
The dragons' eyes had been different from the ancient dragons he'd seen before, so he'd listened to them with some expectation. And now, they had brought him a reward beyond his expectations.
"No. I haven't actually found him?"
Bartius shattered Raon's expectations and tilted his head as if to ask what he meant.
"Hm? What do you mean..."
"I didn't say I found the Lord. I said I found a path to reach the Lord."
He tapped his ear, urging Raon to think again.
"Indeed..."
Raon narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You did say that."
Thinking about it again, Bartius was right. He hadn't said he found the Lord, but that he'd discovered a path to reach the Lord.
"What do you mean by a path to reach the Lord?"
Raon looked at Bartius and narrowed his eyes to thin slits.
"That... hm!"
Bartius frowned while examining the blue window reflecting his face.
"It's not a place with many magicians, yet the interference waves are irritatingly numerous."
Due to the defensive magic installed inside Zieghart, communication seemed difficult as his figure began to blur faintly.
"To handle this..."
"I guess we need to change the saying that dragons are the absolute masters of magic."
As Raon was about to adjust the flow of mana, Evelyn's voice came from behind.
"Isn't that right, Raon?"
Evelyn walked out of Raon's shadow and smiled brightly.
"E-Evelyn?"
Raon blinked at Evelyn who had suddenly appeared.
"Weren't you sleeping?"
"If you don't sleep, I don't sleep."
Evelyn smiled brightly, saying she had woken up when he did earlier.
-Eeeeeeek!
Wrath screamed while clutching his head.
-Every single word she says gives me goosebumps!
He shook his head wildly, saying he absolutely couldn't get used to it.
"Ah..."
Though not as much as Wrath, Raon felt chills running down his spine and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Evelyn, I need your help."
But now was indeed the time he needed her. Opening his eyes again, he asked her to eliminate the interference waves.
"Sure! Got it!"
As Evelyn moved her hand as if telling him not to worry, Bartius's form, which had been flickering as if about to disappear, returned to its original state.
"I didn't know humans had such sophisticated defensive techniques."
Bartius seemed intrigued by the interference magic Evelyn had installed, stroking his chin.
"You can study that later."
Raon took another step closer to Bartius.
"How do we get to the Lord?"
He gestured with his hand, telling him to speak now.
"First, I need to tell you something. The Lord isn't on the continent right now."
Bartius twisted his red lips upward as if mocking the Dragon Lord.
"The Lord isn't on the continent?"
As soon as Raon heard Bartius's words, his eyes widened.
"That's right. If the Lord was on the continent, there's no way we dragons wouldn't have found him."
Bartius nodded, saying he was certain after completing the search with other dragons.
"Then where is the Lord?"
"Another dimension. One that's certainly newly created."
"He created a new dimension?"
Raon let out an incredulous laugh at the unexpected mention of a new dimension.
"That's right. For a dragon of the Lord's caliber, creating a new dimension isn't impossible."
Bartius was confident that the Dragon Lord could create dimensions.
-Ha! The Lord is in another dimension?
Wrath let out an exasperated breath as if dumbfounded.
-The one who calls himself a mediator abandoned the world and ran away! He's not a lizard, just a rat!
He mocked the very existence of the Lord, calling him utterly pathetic.
"However, he didn't just run away. The Lord is preparing something within that dimension."
Bartius frowned, saying the Dragon Lord wouldn't have created a dimension just to hide.
"What is that something?"
Raon narrowed his eyes with the question.
"The Lord isn't a fool. If he's hiding in another dimension, he's certainly creating something that can threaten you humans."
Bartius shook his head, saying one shouldn't underestimate the Dragon Lord.
"I've never underestimated the Dragon Lord."
Raon placed his hand on Heavenly Drive.
"That hypocritical dragon never shows up when he's in danger, or he's the first to run away."
A pathetic creature like the Dragon Lord wouldn't turn the Five Kings into enemies without any preparation. Apart from trusting Derus Robert, he was certainly preparing something else.
'As Bartius said, it must be something harmful to humans.'
The Dragon Lord and ancient dragons not only dislike humans but consider them mere insects. Seeing him prepare something while hiding in another dimension, it was likely magic of bizarre power.
"How do we enter the space where the Dragon Lord is hiding?"
Raon gestured with his chin toward Bartius.
"You know the method too, right?"
"If I didn't know that, I wouldn't have come here."
Bartius snorted slightly.
"I formed a hypothesis based on information I obtained by insincere flattery to the ancient dragons. No, it's not a hypothesis but certain information."
He nodded, saying it was something already discussed with other dragons.
"The Dragon Lord isn't currently managing his dimension."
"What?"
Raon slightly lowered his eyebrows.
"Didn't you say earlier that the Dragon Lord opened a new dimension?"
"No matter how exceptional a magician the Lord is, it's impossible to complete special magic while managing his own dimension. Currently, that dimension is being maintained by three ancient dragons whom the Lord trusts most." (E/N: meaning, Dragon Lord is busy doing something so he needs someone else to take care of the dimension)
Bartius raised his fingers, saying there were three ancient dragons maintaining the dimension where the Dragon Lord was hiding.
"I discovered traces of the same dimensional magic on three ancient dragons, which confirms that the Lord is preparing special magic."
He clenched his fist, saying three ancient dragons were managing the dimension while the Lord was preparing unknown magic inside.
"It's definitely magic that will greatly affect this world. They seem to have forgotten that they're mediators."
Bartius gritted his teeth so hard that veins appeared on his jaw, saying it was beyond pathetic and utterly disgraceful.
"So to open the dimension leading to the Lord, we need to catch those ancient dragons first?"
Raon placed his fingertips on Heavenly Drive.
"Not kill them, but convince them to give us the key to open the Lord's dimension. However..."
Bartius's eyes turned coldly serious.
"If I use the ancient dragons' mana, I might be able to unlock it."
He pressed his lips, saying it was fine to kill the ancient dragons.
"Good. Then there's no problem."
Raon nodded, gripping Heavenly Drive firmly.
"Will you go immediately?"
Bartius licked his lips as if he was already fully prepared.
"I'd like to go right away, but before that..."
Raon looked toward the main building, relaxing the strength in his hand.
"I need to report first."
***
"The weather is nice."
Glenn bit his lip firmly while looking out the window where warm sunlight was streaming in.
"Why are you biting your lips when you say the weather is nice?"
Sheryl tilted her head while looking at Glenn.
"Well, perhaps my heart is still dark."
Glenn let out a low breath as if lost in deep thought.
"Ah! It's because yesterday Raon and Sia only paid attention to Rector! I can really see what you're thinking now, Head of House!"
Sheryl nodded vigorously as if she had completely figured out Glenn.
"Hmm..."
Glenn didn't say anything, but his quivering lips showed that Sheryl was right.
"Sigh, they say the older you get, the more childish you become..."
Sheryl sighed, saying she never thought Glenn, who was called the Destructive King of the North, would become like this.
"Whether I'm the Destructive King of the North or the Sword God, in the end, I'm just a human for whom family is most important."
Glenn shook his head, saying he had only recently realized this himself.
"Still, wouldn't it be better to show a composed demeanor now?"
Sheryl slightly lowered her eyebrows while looking at Glenn.
"That's true. But when I see Raon, it doesn't work well."
Glenn sighed with his hand on his forehead.
"Even now I miss him, which is truly ridiculous. To think I'd become like this."
He let out a hollow laugh, saying he never knew he'd become such a doting grandfather.
"Honestly, even now I just wish Raon would come right away... hm?"
Glenn suddenly flashed his red eyes, quickly straightened his clothes, and sat on the throne. Not in a comfortable position, but with shoulders squared, back straight, and even his expression hardened with dignity.
"H-Head of House?"
Sheryl blinked while looking at Glenn.
"Why suddenly..."
The moment she expressed her confusion to Glenn, a knock came from the audience chamber door.
"It's the Light Wind Palace Master. May I enter?"
Raon's voice came from outside.
"Ahem!"
Glenn made a sound too clear to be a cough and nodded.
"Enter."
As he finished speaking, the audience chamber doors opened and Raon entered.
"I greet the Head of House."
Raon stood in the center of the audience chamber and bowed toward Glenn.
"Yes."
Glenn stroked his chin with calm eyes as if he hadn't been waiting for Raon at all.
"What brings you here?"
"Yes. I came to pay my respects and to report something."
Raon nodded with a bright smile.
"Paying respects..."
Glenn's lips trembled with emotion, not at the report mentioned later, but at the words 'paying respects.'
"I see. I slept well."
He tapped the armrest of the throne with his fingers, saying his condition wasn't bad.
"You must have held a sword for the first time in a while; how are you?"
Glenn asked about Raon's condition in return.
"I'm fine too. In fact, I'm even better since I just heard some good news."
Raon mentioned the 'good news' to lead into the main topic.
"I'm glad you're fine. Still, you mustn't be careless. Even transcendents are ultimately human, and the body needs constant care. Always get sufficient food and sleep."
Glenn once again missed Raon's signal and only spoke about physical condition.
"Y-yes, that's right. Please make sure to eat properly too, Head of House. I'm not hungry because of the good information I received."
Though flustered, Raon tried once more to hint about the information to Glenn to move the conversation forward.
"Then shall we eat together? You've been eating outside food for a while, so it wouldn't be bad. I'll give special instructions to the Lord's Manor chef..."
Glenn again showed no interest in the information and focused solely on Raon coming to pay respects in the morning, making a strange expression as if trying to hold back laughter. He truly seemed envious of Rector from yesterday.
"Ah, yes..."
Raon blinked while looking at Glenn.
"Sigh..."
Sheryl held her head and approached Glenn.
"Raon has something to report! Stop interrupting and listen!"
She raised her voice, telling him to come to his senses.
"Ah, hmm..."
Glenn realized he had gone too far and subtly rolled his eyes.
"I see. It seems I got a bit excited since it's morning."
He took a slow breath, but his eyes didn't seem particularly different.
"Very well. Speak."
Glenn leaned back on the throne, telling him to state what he needed to report.
"A little while ago, when I was about to train, Gold Dragon Bartius whom I met before appeared."
Raon told Glenn and Sheryl about the conversation he had with Bartius in the morning.
"The Dragon Lord is hiding in a new dimension and preparing something?"
Sheryl let out an incredulous laugh.
"Lizards. No, even the word 'lizard' is too good for them!"
She frowned, asking what kind of mediator acts like that.
"If the Lord entrusted dimensional keys to ancient dragons, they must be the leaders of each clan."
Glenn lowered his gaze with a calm expression as if he had never been excited.
"The clan leaders possess strength on a different level from other dragons. Can you handle it?"
He narrowed his eyes as if asking whether it was alright to entrust him with this task.
"As I am now..."
Raon placed his hand with visible veins on Heavenly Drive.
"I believe I could cut down not only the clan leaders, but even the Lord himself."
Not confidence, but certainty. He nodded with relaxed eyes as if he were going to suppress mere bandits in the back mountain rather than the Dragon Lord or ancient dragons.
"Please leave this to me."