An ordinary-looking house on Dragon Roar Mountain.
The girl was also carrying something today.
Water? Meat?
If you paid attention, you will find that she was carrying something different than the usual.
"Phew..."
A book.
Bringing the books from the study to another room, putting them in order.
A prank?
No, no.
Letting them dry out in the shade.
The paper Laplace used was made from dragonskin and highly durable.
It could last tens of thousands of years without incident.
However, if exposed to moisture and bugs, it would naturally deteriorate much faster.
That's why it needed to be regularly dried out 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 every book in one day.
So every month, she would work on the collection one shelf at a time.
"Phew! I'm tired..."
Rostelina stretched, knocked on her hips a few times.
At present, one bookcase worth of books was lined up before Rostelina.
All old books.
She had the oldest books in the collection out of the bookshelves today.
"..."
Suddenly one book in particular caught Rostelina’s interest.
"What’s this one about?"
As far as Rostelina knew, Laplace mostly did three things.
Head out, talking with Rostelina, or writing down something.
Laplace rarely chatted with Rostelina during daytime.
Basically always writing whenever he’s home.
As far as Rostelina remembered, Laplace has always been writing.
Neither eating or getting any sleep, constantly writing.
So it must be very, very important.
"Hmm?"
Rostelina was never forbidden from reading the books at home.
Rather, Laplace gave her the go-ahead to read, and to burn it if it gets dirtied.
"...but I don’t understand it."
However, the letters written by Laplace were very different from those known by Rostelina.
The writing that Rostelina understood was Human Language.
A language common on the continent and used by Rostelina’s race.
But this old book was written in a different language.
Indeed, Laplace said it was the ancient language of Dragon God.
Therefore unreadable.
If it's a more recent book, I can read it.
Because Laplace had begun to write the more recent books in Human Language.
Probably because he thought it would be easier for the reader to read in Human Language than in a language that was already lost.
But why wasn't this book rewritten into Human Language?
Too troublesome?
"…Ah"
Just then, Rostelina noticed a book she had lined up on one side.
The only one here written in Human Language.
"Ancient Dragon God Language Translation Manual..."
A wise man like Laplace would have thought that providing a dictionary would be less time-consuming than rewriting all the books he wrote thus far.
"Is it possible for me to read with this?"
Rostelina took a heavy breath and picked up the handbook. It looked to be in rough shape, probably among the earliest written.
Then, while carefully leaving through the index, she read the title of the book little by little.
“Dra-- go--- mm?... Dragon. Oh! General... Mission Part 32.”
After struggling for a dozen minutes or more, Rostelina succeeded in deciphering the title of the book.
"Dragon General Mission Part 32".
The content of the book according to the cover.
Rostelina had some knowledge of the phrase “Dragon General.”
Rather, it came up in Laplace's story.
The Five Dragon King, Dragon God’ personal confidants.
Laplace worked for one of them, Armor Dragon King Dora.
"Mmm?"
But there was a question in the mind of Lostellina.
Laplace was a subordinate of Dora.
Why did Laplace write a book about their missions and so on?
Shouldn’t it be orders?
Perhaps the reason is written in "Part 1" somewhere...
"Hmm... at this rate, it's going to get dark before I find it."
Just reading the title took a long time.
After so much effort, she only read about 10 characters.
Before her lied over a hundred books.
Forget reading, even finding the right volume would be a difficult task.
"…Ah!"
Rostelina heard the flapping sound from a pair of large wings.
There’re only one possible source of sound near this house.
Yes, the Red Dragon Saleyakt that roosted behind the house.
And the dear master of Rostelina that rode on top of him.
Rostelina jumped out of the shaded room with a bounce.
Running toward the front door as Laplace was just entering the house.
"Welcome back! Master!"
"I’m back, Rostelina. Have you finished drying the books in the shade?"
"Yes!"
"Good, well done."
"Hehe!"
Rostelina was happy that Laplace stroked her head.
But suddenly she recalled her question.
"Hey, Master, there’s something I was wondering about."
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
Rostelina explained what she saw earlier in response.
"All the books on the bookshelves were written by Master, right?"
"Indeed."
"Master was working under Dora-sama, so why was it called Dragon General Missions? Shouldn’t it be Dora-sama’s orders instead?"
"Wow, Rostelina. You can read the ancient Dragon God Language, very impressive!"
"Oh, Rostelina is growing every day!"
She answered proudly puffing her chest, conveniently omitting her use of the handbook.
“Fufu… Since you read it, then you should know already? I wrote it all down in there.”
But her little white lie was immediately exposed.
"Ehh... I'm sorry. Actually, I only read the title using the translation manual.”
"Hahaha, I thought as much."
Laplace laughed as he walked toward the back of the house.
After putting the luggage he brought up from the valley on the bed, he sat down on his chair.
He encountered Rostelina to sit in a nearby chair.
"Let's eat together sometimes. I'm hungry after a long time."
"Yes, please leave it to me, Master!"
Rostelina began to prepare the meal with delight.
Serving food to Laplace, who rarely ate, was one of Rostelina’s secret pleasures.
Because Laplace only eats if he’s truly hungry, he always says how delicious it was.
While Rostelina busied herself over the stove, Laplace’s voice came from behind her.
"I'll answer your question while you work."
A tinge of nostalgia in his voice.
Of joy, of regret, full of struggles.
Full of pride, but also shaded by darkness, Laplace began.
“When I started writing the books, I was one of the Dragon Generals.”
An ancient story of Laplace began.
Far away, a story from a mythical era.
■■■
Where should I begin?
Ah yes, let’s start from there?
"Laplace,"
During those smooth-sailing days, I was summoned by Dora-sama one day.
She was always busy, flying everywhere, so she rarely had time to visit the Kayos training grounds on Dragon Roar Mountain.
When she did come, she’d immediately summon me for combat practice.
To ensure that I didn’t neglect regular training… and so on, but mostly because there’re not many capable to be her sparring partner.
Fortunately, I was strong enough to be her match.
"Are we sparring today as well?"
"Right, apologies for your time.”
On such days, I left the work to my subordinates and headed to the training ground with Dora-sama.
And let her beat me up to her heart's content.
I was always left tattered.
Even though I could be a match… it wasn’t enough to beat one of the Five Dragon Generals.
However, by fighting Dora-sama like this on a regular basis, I slowly grew stronger.
Not to brag, but by then it would have been impossible for a regular Dragon Warrior to compete against me.
"I have something to talk to you about..."
Usually, once combat training ended the day was done.
But Dora-sama said that day 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 ground.
Why so far just to talk?
I felt like whenever Dora-sama and I talked, it was always at Dragon God’s mansion or there.
I chose this place since it offered a panoramic view of the city of Kayos.
"I'm so impressed with your recent breakthroughs."
"This is due to Dora-sama's teaching."
"No, you're doing well even on things I didn’t teach you. The other day, Maxwell appraised your work very highly."
"I'm honored."
"If you continue like this, you will be able to fulfill your responsibilities."
The responsibilities in this case are two of the three reasons that Dragon God adopted me.
In other words, reduction of Dragon Race’s hostility towards mixed blood and improving relations with the Demon Race.
Certainly, the task of retraining dragons was becoming very important.
It might be possible that as the training method improves, the whole concept of “retraining” might become unnecessary one day.
What I did mattered.
"I have one request for you."
I was surprised by the request.
After all, she never asked me for anything.
"Of course, what will it be?”
Of course, I answered.
I lived for Dragon God-sama, but Dora-sama took great care of me as well.
Moreover, a request by Dora-sama would certainly be for the sake of Dragon God-sama.
I had no reason to refuse to hear it.
"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 grounds in the Dragon World.”
"Why do you ask?"
"Soon, the spawning season will come, and I will lay eggs."
The Dragon Race has a long life.
Living for tens of thousands of years.
Not quite immortal, but certainly a long-lived race.
In exchange, our spawning season was infrequent, occurring once every few thousand years.
Therefore during the spawning season, all Dragon Race of breeding age were obligated to prioritize making the next generation.
"That's... congratulations"
"Thank you."
"Who is the other party?"
It takes two to make a baby.
Fufu, this story might be too stimulating for Rostelina.
"Dragon General Crystal. Our spawning season just happened to overlap... Dragon God-sama expects a strong child to be born from us.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t know any children of the Dragon Generals.
The concept of familial relationship was thin among the Dragon Race.
Parents do not hatch or raise the eggs once laid. In the spawning ground, there are nurses who took care of incubation.
Of course, even though records exist, children of Dragon Generals do not receive special treatment.
It seems that Dora-sama had already had some children, but they were all fully grown, working as Dragon Warriors or Dragon Trainers. Some even died during combat with dragons.
However, this seemed like the first child between two Dragon Generals.
Strong parents beget strong children, so these two were paired together.
A child of Dragon Generals.
Full of expectations.
"So, I want to leave the training grounds to you during the spawning season. Will you accept?"
Acting on Dora-sama’s behalf and working directly under Dragon God-sama.
I was never so honored.
I felt teary on the spot.
I didn’t realize Dora-sama valued me so highly.
"I am honored to have you select me."
Of course, I gave the highest salute on the spot and accepted the task.
■
Thirty years passed since then?
Dora-sama successfully conceived and moved to the spawning ground several dozens of kilometers south of Kayos.
I accompanied her on the move, it was a very nice place.
It looked like a beehive.
There were several private rooms lined up where pregnant women lay their eggs.
The temperature and humidity were kept constant in the private room, allowing the eggs to incubate on their own.
After they hatched, the rooms were converted to the children’s personal nurseries
However, for the Dragon Race, the pregnancy was very long.
It was a race that lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
The egg stayed in the belly for 50 years, and the egg took 50 more years to incubate after laying.
And as is common to all races, pregnancy strongly affects the mother.
Dragon Race women are especially vulnerable during pregnancy.
That is why there’s a dedicated facility, far away from the usual living quarters, so they can safely deal with pregnancy.
The change was particularly dramatic during fertilization.
Dora-sama had become particularly ferocious by the time she entered the facility.
Everything she saw… she couldn’t stay calm, so every little thing triggered her and she’d send everything flying.
It was not unusual for me to be hurt by Dora-sama, but it was my first experience seeing Dora-sama so unreasonably violent.
I gained many new scars during those thirty years.
Still, I was able to successfully carry on Dora-sama's work.
The task of supervising all the dragon training grounds in the Dragon World.
I rode on Saleyakt for my work trips.
Until the end, that grumpy Red Dragon was only fond of me.
For me, it was also convenient to visit the training ground everywhere with Saleyakt.
Saleyakt could converse with other dragons.
He's good at persuading dragons who otherwise won’t listen.
He was able to find success no matter the training ground.
To be honest, it might be because of him that I could successfully supervise the training grounds.
Being the person in charge, my name naturally spread in the Dragon World.
The genius who raises excellent dragons.
As the name spread, fewer people looked down at me.
On the way back to Dragon God’ mansion, some people gave me the utmost salute.
Of course, there remained some who disliked me for being half-demon.
But everyone was beginning to recognize my ability.
Wake up in the morning and fly to the training ground.
Inspect the hallway with Saleyakt and occasionally take care of a dragon who won’t listen.
Occasionally jumping on Saleyakt and moving to another town.
More or less the same in every town.
Except making the effort to show my face more in new places.
When I returned to the mansion, Lunaria-sama and the servants would treat me to a warm meal.
Sometimes Dragon God-sama as well.
I would report what I did that day.
Thinking back, basically a family gathering.
Those thirty years were truly peaceful.
No battles, no training, no frustration, just hard work and reassuringly passing the days.
But those peaceful days did not last.
The turning point comes for everyone.
Few people can walk a single path until the end.
For me as well... No, for the whole Dragon World.
Such a turning point came.
A big turning point.
It was around the time when the news came 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 northern end of the Dragon World.
Found near a Gold Dragon’s nest, his limbs ripped 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 he was discovered.
Surrounding him were his Dragon Warrior escorts and the remains of a Gold Dragon.
At first glance, it looked like they fought the Gold Dragon and lost.
However, Dragon General Crystal wasn’t so weak to lose to a Gold Dragon.
It was a mysterious incident.
The death of a Dragon General.
It's hard to overstate how important that was to the Dragon World.
The Five Dragon Generals were recognized by Dragon God as the strongest Dragon Warriors.
Their powers were immeasurable compared to the average Dragon Race.
If they got serious, they had the power to easily collapse a mountain or two.
Even if I was comparable in strength, I couldn’t hope to defeat them.
I used to be a training partner for Dora-sama, but if push came to shove, she could demolish me in an instant.
So Powerful were the Five Dragon Generals.
One of them, Crystal, had died.
Everyone was wondering.
Who did it? how?
Only a handful of people were capable of killing a Dragon General.
In the Dragon World, only Dragon God, or another Dragon General.
Or maybe following the mutant monsters rabbithole...
No matter how vile and powerful a monster was, I didn’t think it could kill a Dragon General.
First of all, if such a vile monster existed, there would surely be rumors about it.
For some reason, monsters only appear where living things congregate.
In light of the crisis, Dragon God hosted a meeting.
Summoning what remained of the Five Dragon Generals.
I was a bit surprised when I heard about it.
I always assumed that Dragon God would decide everything on his own.
However, when a major event occured in the Dragon World, it seemed traditional for a conference to be held like this.
The meeting was held at the Dragon God’s mansion.
I also participated as a substitute for Dora, who was still in pregnancy leave.
I knew that there was a room in Dragon God’s mansion with a large stone desk and six chairs, but it was still awe-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 profound eyes.
Dragon General Maxwell, with blue-silver scales and steel eyes.
And with unblemished silver scales and all-encompassing eyes, the great Dragon God.
It felt out of place for me to just be sitting there.
"..."
They all watched the remaining empty seat, waiting for Dragon God to break the silence.
The chair where Crystal was supposed to sit in.
“It’s hard to believe… that Crystal has really died.”
But it was Chaos that spoke up first.
He was a bit of a stranger to me and had the reputation of a stubborn man.
He forged the weapons of the Dragon Race under Dragon God’s order.
Weapons of those days were fairly simple affairs.
Armor made with dragonscale or single-edged swords or spears made from dragon fangs.
Think that’s rather shabby?
Ah, compared to our present world, that may be true.
However, one’s own claws and scales, pumped with Dragon Touki, were much more reliable.
"I don't think a Gold Dragon can kill him. A monster, maybe, but I think there’s more to it than this.”
The next to speak up was Maxwell.
Small and flighty.
This was everyone’s first impression of Maxwell.
Indeed, Maxwell was much smaller than the average Dragon Race.
Besides, he always had this wretched smile and spoke rather crudely.
Why such a person as a Dragon General?
There were many who spoke ill of him behind his back, Dora-sama once said.
But those who knew him well never mocked him.
Because, despite his looks, 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 Dragon Race were killed by monsters.
Maxwell was the person in charge that went to the scene of the corpse and examined it for clues.
While other investigators were convinced of 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 person to speak up.
Leader of the Five Dragon Generals, he was responsible for the entire Dragon Race.
His responsibility varied widely, but he mostly worked within the city.
In fact, he managed the Dragon World on Dragon God’s behalf when Dragon God was away.
It was fair to call him the Second-in-Command in the Dragon World.
Szilard was always calm, decisive, and of good judgment.
It was usually up to him to summarize the opinion of the Five Dragon Generals to Dragon God and offer his best judgement.
"Impossible!"
"No way!"
But not this time.
Maxwell was provoked by Szilard’s words, and Chaos also showed his discomfort.
However, Szilard observed his counterparts calmly and continued his analysis.
“It would be impossible for a Gold Dragon.
If a monster capable of killing Crystal appeared, the damage would have been more extensive.
The only natives in the Dragon World capable of killing Crystal are Dragon God, or one of us.”
Szilard glanced toward Dragon God.
As if intent to say, “It goes without saying that if for whatever reason Dragon God deemed necessary to kill Crystal, we’d accept that decision and action.”
Dragon God shook his head with a troubled expression.
Dragon God would never kill Crystal, who was like his own child.
Even for the leader of the Five Dragon Generals, to even insinuate as such would be a great disrespect.
Of course I kept my silence, for I had no right to speak in this meeting.
It was my role to listen as Dora-sama’s proxy and convey to her every word.
Dora-sama wouldn’t allow me to make any irresponsible remarks.
“Of course, we the Five Dragon Generals would never betray Dragon God.
We would rather tear ourselves apart limb-by-limb and tear out our own hearts as an apology to Dragon God, than ever consider such a thing.
By process of elimination, then only the possibility is outsiders.”
"So you’re certain it’s the demons?"
"The Demon Race has long been hostile to us. It wouldn’t be strange if they came up with some measure to kill Crystal"
“How could the demons ever 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 defeated. Or have you failed to consider the enemy’s capabilities?”
Chaos fell into silence.
The Eight Demon Kings were the demon counterparts to the Five Dragon Generals.
By the way, it was from one of them that I barely escaped from back in the day.
The Demon Race is not as powerful as the Dragon Race.
They’re slower than the Dragon Race, and did not have hard scales.
But their durability was near-immortal, and they had greater affinity to magical control.
The second most powerful race of the six worlds.
Even Crystal may have found the demons difficult to handle.
If it was the Eight Demon Kings, even the Five Dragon Generals would have difficulty with coming out unscathed.
Or so I thought.
“If the demons have completed the technique to cross the “boundary” and used it without permission for this…”
"..."
Boundaries separate the worlds from each other... like walls.
Crossing the border means moving to another world.
Back then I didn't know what that meant...
At that time, people were researching disappearance incidences all over the world.
Yes, it's a study of teleportation magic.
...Of course, back then teleportation magic wasn’t completed yet.
Even if it had been completed, its use would have always required the permission of the gods.
Gods of both the origin world and destination world.
"If they had a way to cross the border, that would be a terrible situation. But at the moment there is no way to confirm that, not even a clue or a way to retaliate against who killed Crystal… ”
Szilard said, looking troubled.
After all, a killer was out there that murdered one of the matchless Dragon Generals.
Be it monster or demon, without assembling a strong search team, retaliation would be impossible.
"Please leave it to me, Chaos, to avenge Crystal!”
"It would be me to do that kind of work."
The two dragon generals declared their resolve, but it wasn't for Szilard to decide.
One man held the decision-making power of this meeting.
“What do you think, Dragon God? Of course, if you leave it to me, I’ll surely apprehend the criminal and reclaim the honor for the Dragon Race.”
Then Szilard looked at me.
Until then, I kept silent and busied myself taking minutes.
"But how about letting Laplace do this?"
Those words echoed in the meeting room.
"Blasphemy! Maybe if it was Dora, but you will have the mixed blooded demon be in charge of the investigation!?”
It was Chaos that screamed.
Staring me down with his cavernous eye, bearing his fangs.
Chaos was, how should I say... a stubborn man.
Once he began to consider Demon Race the enemy, he’d always hold ill feelings toward them.
“There’s a limit to your jokes! Even as the adopted son of Dragon God, could he really apprehend the suspect that killed a member of the Five Dragon Generals?”
"We won’t know without trying.”
Szilard took the anger like a cool breeze.
As if the shouting Chaos was but a daily occurance.
I was frightened though.
Mad Dragon King Chaos was a very scary person.
“I heard from Dora that, even if immature, he had the strength to match the Dragon Generals. It’s a waste of a Dragon Generals or Dragon God’s time to investigate for suspects that might not even exist. It’s better to assign the work to someone else with comparable strength for now.”
Claiming that I could match up against the Five Dragon Generals felt like an exaggeration.
I wasn't very confident at the time.
“Even if he did find it, he’ll just get himself killed for nothing.”
“Maybe, but as a member of the Dragon Race, he can at least send back some information.”
"Ugh, it’s useless to talk about this! Maxwell! You say something as well!"
As if breathing fire from his mouth, Chaos expressed his anger as he spoke to Maxwell.
Hoping that Maxwell would feel the same.
However, Maxwell said simply.
“Well… Why not? It’s worth a shot.”
He said instead.
"What? What are you saying? That’s not like you at all!"
Maxwell was even more martial than Chaos.
When a situation occurred, he was always the first to jump into the breach.
That's why Chaos thought Maxwell could never give up that role.
There’s always honor in being first.
"Do you know how serious things are?! We've been together since ancient times, and now one of us is dead!?"
"Oh yes. Chaos, who do you think will die next?"
"Who’s next...?"
“I've been thinking about why Crystal specifically. If the criminal wanted to systematically get rid of the Five Dragon Generals, they’d try to get rid of us one-by-one."
Chaos seems to have understood what Maxwell was trying to say.
Chaos may be martial, but he wasn’t stupid.
If the criminal's aim 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 for the rest of them.
“If Dragon Generals move, it’s better if we move in pairs.
However, that’s impossible with Dora absent.
Of course, we can’t have Dragon God on the frontline, so better be someone else.”
Maxwell proudly presented his reasoning.
As if looking for confirmation he glanced toward Szilard.
It doesn't matter if I die?
Well, considering my work at the time, it’d cause the least disturbance.
Better than losing another Dragon General.
"I see. The question then is, does this kid have the power to carry out his mission?"
"You must believe Dora's words."
Chaos deeply nodded to Maxwell’s conclusion.
It's hard to tell how much they trusted Dora-sama's words.
"So what do you think?"”
However, it was not Szilard who had the decision-making power here.
They entrusted the judgment to a man who had been silent for a while.
"..."
The meeting fell into silence as they awaited Dragon God-sama’s judgement.
Dragon God-sama glanced around expressionlessly.
He looked at Chaos, Maxwell, and Szilard in order, then finally looked toward me.
"Laplace. Can you do it?"
"If you order it!"
When asked by Dragon God-sama, I could never say no.
Truth be told, I was not confident at all.
An ordinary-looking house on Dragon Roar Mountain.
The girl was also carrying something today.
Water? Meat?
If you paid attention, you will find that she was carrying something different than the usual.
"Phew..."
A book.
Bringing the books from the study to another room, putting them in order.
A prank?
No, no.
Letting them dry out in the shade.
The paper Laplace used was made from dragonskin and highly durable.
It could last tens of thousands of years without incident.
However, if exposed to moisture and bugs, it would naturally deteriorate much faster.
That's why it needed to be regularly dried out 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 every book in one day.
So every month, she would work on the collection one shelf at a time.
"Phew! I'm tired..."
Rostelina stretched, knocked on her hips a few times.
At present, one bookcase worth of books was lined up before Rostelina.
All old books.
She had the oldest books in the collection out of the bookshelves today.
"..."
Suddenly one book in particular caught Rostelina’s interest.
"What’s this one about?"
As far as Rostelina knew, Laplace mostly did three things.
Head out, talking with Rostelina, or writing down something.
Laplace rarely chatted with Rostelina during daytime.
Basically always writing whenever he’s home.
As far as Rostelina remembered, Laplace has always been writing.
Neither eating or getting any sleep, constantly writing.
So it must be very, very important.
"Hmm?"
Rostelina was never forbidden from reading the books at home.
Rather, Laplace gave her the go-ahead to read, and to burn it if it gets dirtied.
"...but I don’t understand it."
However, the letters written by Laplace were very different from those known by Rostelina.
The writing that Rostelina understood was Human Language.
A language common on the continent and used by Rostelina’s race.
But this old book was written in a different language.
Indeed, Laplace said it was the ancient language of Dragon God.
Therefore unreadable.
If it's a more recent book, I can read it.
Because Laplace had begun to write the more recent books in Human Language.
Probably because he thought it would be easier for the reader to read in Human Language than in a language that was already lost.
But why wasn't this book rewritten into Human Language?
Too troublesome?
"…Ah"
Just then, Rostelina noticed a book she had lined up on one side.
The only one here written in Human Language.
"Ancient Dragon God Language Translation Manual..."
A wise man like Laplace would have thought that providing a dictionary would be less time-consuming than rewriting all the books he wrote thus far.
"Is it possible for me to read with this?"
Rostelina took a heavy breath and picked up the handbook. It looked to be in rough shape, probably among the earliest written.
Then, while carefully leaving through the index, she read the title of the book little by little.
“Dra-- go--- mm?... Dragon. Oh! General... Mission Part 32.”
After struggling for a dozen minutes or more, Rostelina succeeded in deciphering the title of the book.
"Dragon General Mission Part 32".
The content of the book according to the cover.
Rostelina had some knowledge of the phrase “Dragon General.”
Rather, it came up in Laplace's story.
The Five Dragon King, Dragon God’ personal confidants.
Laplace worked for one of them, Armor Dragon King Dora.
"Mmm?"
But there was a question in the mind of Lostellina.
Laplace was a subordinate of Dora.
Why did Laplace write a book about their missions and so on?
Shouldn’t it be orders?
Perhaps the reason is written in "Part 1" somewhere...
"Hmm... at this rate, it's going to get dark before I find it."
Just reading the title took a long time.
After so much effort, she only read about 10 characters.
Before her lied over a hundred books.
Forget reading, even finding the right volume would be a difficult task.
"…Ah!"
Rostelina heard the flapping sound from a pair of large wings.
There’re only one possible source of sound near this house.
Yes, the Red Dragon Saleyakt that roosted behind the house.
And the dear master of Rostelina that rode on top of him.
Rostelina jumped out of the shaded room with a bounce.
Running toward the front door as Laplace was just entering the house.
"Welcome back! Master!"
"I’m back, Rostelina. Have you finished drying the books in the shade?"
"Yes!"
"Good, well done."
"Hehe!"
Rostelina was happy that Laplace stroked her head.
But suddenly she recalled her question.
"Hey, Master, there’s something I was wondering about."
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
Rostelina explained what she saw earlier in response.
"All the books on the bookshelves were written by Master, right?"
"Indeed."
"Master was working under Dora-sama, so why was it called Dragon General Missions? Shouldn’t it be Dora-sama’s orders instead?"
"Wow, Rostelina. You can read the ancient Dragon God Language, very impressive!"
"Oh, Rostelina is growing every day!"
She answered proudly puffing her chest, conveniently omitting her use of the handbook.
“Fufu… Since you read it, then you should know already? I wrote it all down in there.”
But her little white lie was immediately exposed.
"Ehh... I'm sorry. Actually, I only read the title using the translation manual.”
"Hahaha, I thought as much."
Laplace laughed as he walked toward the back of the house.
After putting the luggage he brought up from the valley on the bed, he sat down on his chair.
He encountered Rostelina to sit in a nearby chair.
"Let's eat together sometimes. I'm hungry after a long time."
"Yes, please leave it to me, Master!"
Rostelina began to prepare the meal with delight.
Serving food to Laplace, who rarely ate, was one of Rostelina’s secret pleasures.
Because Laplace only eats if he’s truly hungry, he always says how delicious it was.
While Rostelina busied herself over the stove, Laplace’s voice came from behind her.
"I'll answer your question while you work."
A tinge of nostalgia in his voice.
Of joy, of regret, full of struggles.
Full of pride, but also shaded by darkness, Laplace began.
“When I started writing the books, I was one of the Dragon Generals.”
An ancient story of Laplace began.
Far away, a story from a mythical era.
■■■
Where should I begin?
Ah yes, let’s start from there?
"Laplace,"
During those smooth-sailing days, I was summoned by Dora-sama one day.
She was always busy, flying everywhere, so she rarely had time to visit the Kayos training grounds on Dragon Roar Mountain.
When she did come, she’d immediately summon me for combat practice.
To ensure that I didn’t neglect regular training… and so on, but mostly because there’re not many capable to be her sparring partner.
Fortunately, I was strong enough to be her match.
"Are we sparring today as well?"
"Right, apologies for your time.”
On such days, I left the work to my subordinates and headed to the training ground with Dora-sama.
And let her beat me up to her heart's content.
I was always left tattered.
Even though I could be a match… it wasn’t enough to beat one of the Five Dragon Generals.
However, by fighting Dora-sama like this on a regular basis, I slowly grew stronger.
Not to brag, but by then it would have been impossible for a regular Dragon Warrior to compete against me.
"I have something to talk to you about..."
Usually, once combat training ended the day was done.
But Dora-sama said that day 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 ground.
Why so far just to talk?
I felt like whenever Dora-sama and I talked, it was always at Dragon God’s mansion or there.
I chose this place since it offered a panoramic view of the city of Kayos.
"I'm so impressed with your recent breakthroughs."
"This is due to Dora-sama's teaching."
"No, you're doing well even on things I didn’t teach you. The other day, Maxwell appraised your work very highly."
"I'm honored."
"If you continue like this, you will be able to fulfill your responsibilities."
The responsibilities in this case are two of the three reasons that Dragon God adopted me.
In other words, reduction of Dragon Race’s hostility towards mixed blood and improving relations with the Demon Race.
Certainly, the task of retraining dragons was becoming very important.
It might be possible that as the training method improves, the whole concept of “retraining” might become unnecessary one day.
What I did mattered.
"I have one request for you."
I was surprised by the request.
After all, she never asked me for anything.
"Of course, what will it be?”
Of course, I answered.
I lived for Dragon God-sama, but Dora-sama took great care of me as well.
Moreover, a request by Dora-sama would certainly be for the sake of Dragon God-sama.
I had no reason to refuse to hear it.
"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 grounds in the Dragon World.”
"Why do you ask?"
"Soon, the spawning season will come, and I will lay eggs."
The Dragon Race has a long life.
Living for tens of thousands of years.
Not quite immortal, but certainly a long-lived race.
In exchange, our spawning season was infrequent, occurring once every few thousand years.
Therefore during the spawning season, all Dragon Race of breeding age were obligated to prioritize making the next generation.
"That's... congratulations"
"Thank you."
"Who is the other party?"
It takes two to make a baby.
Fufu, this story might be too stimulating for Rostelina.
"Dragon General Crystal. Our spawning season just happened to overlap... Dragon God-sama expects a strong child to be born from us.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t know any children of the Dragon Generals.
The concept of familial relationship was thin among the Dragon Race.
Parents do not hatch or raise the eggs once laid. In the spawning ground, there are nurses who took care of incubation.
Of course, even though records exist, children of Dragon Generals do not receive special treatment.
It seems that Dora-sama had already had some children, but they were all fully grown, working as Dragon Warriors or Dragon Trainers. Some even died during combat with dragons.
However, this seemed like the first child between two Dragon Generals.
Strong parents beget strong children, so these two were paired together.
A child of Dragon Generals.
Full of expectations.
"So, I want to leave the training grounds to you during the spawning season. Will you accept?"
Acting on Dora-sama’s behalf and working directly under Dragon God-sama.
I was never so honored.
I felt teary on the spot.
I didn’t realize Dora-sama valued me so highly.
"I am honored to have you select me."
Of course, I gave the highest salute on the spot and accepted the task.
■
Thirty years passed since then?
Dora-sama successfully conceived and moved to the spawning ground several dozens of kilometers south of Kayos.
I accompanied her on the move, it was a very nice place.
It looked like a beehive.
There were several private rooms lined up where pregnant women lay their eggs.
The temperature and humidity were kept constant in the private room, allowing the eggs to incubate on their own.
After they hatched, the rooms were converted to the children’s personal nurseries
However, for the Dragon Race, the pregnancy was very long.
It was a race that lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
The egg stayed in the belly for 50 years, and the egg took 50 more years to incubate after laying.
And as is common to all races, pregnancy strongly affects the mother.
Dragon Race women are especially vulnerable during pregnancy.
That is why there’s a dedicated facility, far away from the usual living quarters, so they can safely deal with pregnancy.
The change was particularly dramatic during fertilization.
Dora-sama had become particularly ferocious by the time she entered the facility.
Everything she saw… she couldn’t stay calm, so every little thing triggered her and she’d send everything flying.
It was not unusual for me to be hurt by Dora-sama, but it was my first experience seeing Dora-sama so unreasonably violent.
I gained many new scars during those thirty years.
Still, I was able to successfully carry on Dora-sama's work.
The task of supervising all the dragon training grounds in the Dragon World.
I rode on Saleyakt for my work trips.
Until the end, that grumpy Red Dragon was only fond of me.
For me, it was also convenient to visit the training ground everywhere with Saleyakt.
Saleyakt could converse with other dragons.
He's good at persuading dragons who otherwise won’t listen.
He was able to find success no matter the training ground.
To be honest, it might be because of him that I could successfully supervise the training grounds.
Being the person in charge, my name naturally spread in the Dragon World.
The genius who raises excellent dragons.
As the name spread, fewer people looked down at me.
On the way back to Dragon God’ mansion, some people gave me the utmost salute.
Of course, there remained some who disliked me for being half-demon.
But everyone was beginning to recognize my ability.
Wake up in the morning and fly to the training ground.
Inspect the hallway with Saleyakt and occasionally take care of a dragon who won’t listen.
Occasionally jumping on Saleyakt and moving to another town.
More or less the same in every town.
Except making the effort to show my face more in new places.
When I returned to the mansion, Lunaria-sama and the servants would treat me to a warm meal.
Sometimes Dragon God-sama as well.
I would report what I did that day.
Thinking back, basically a family gathering.
Those thirty years were truly peaceful.
No battles, no training, no frustration, just hard work and reassuringly passing the days.
But those peaceful days did not last.
The turning point comes for everyone.
Few people can walk a single path until the end.
For me as well... No, for the whole Dragon World.
Such a turning point came.
A big turning point.
It was around the time when the news came 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 northern end of the Dragon World.
Found near a Gold Dragon’s nest, his limbs ripped 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 he was discovered.
Surrounding him were his Dragon Warrior escorts and the remains of a Gold Dragon.
At first glance, it looked like they fought the Gold Dragon and lost.
However, Dragon General Crystal wasn’t so weak to lose to a Gold Dragon.
It was a mysterious incident.
The death of a Dragon General.
It's hard to overstate how important that was to the Dragon World.
The Five Dragon Generals were recognized by Dragon God as the strongest Dragon Warriors.
Their powers were immeasurable compared to the average Dragon Race.
If they got serious, they had the power to easily collapse a mountain or two.
Even if I was comparable in strength, I couldn’t hope to defeat them.
I used to be a training partner for Dora-sama, but if push came to shove, she could demolish me in an instant.
So Powerful were the Five Dragon Generals.
One of them, Crystal, had died.
Everyone was wondering.
Who did it? how?
Only a handful of people were capable of killing a Dragon General.
In the Dragon World, only Dragon God, or another Dragon General.
Or maybe following the mutant monsters rabbithole...
No matter how vile and powerful a monster was, I didn’t think it could kill a Dragon General.
First of all, if such a vile monster existed, there would surely be rumors about it.
For some reason, monsters only appear where living things congregate.
In light of the crisis, Dragon God hosted a meeting.
Summoning what remained of the Five Dragon Generals.
I was a bit surprised when I heard about it.
I always assumed that Dragon God would decide everything on his own.
However, when a major event occured in the Dragon World, it seemed traditional for a conference to be held like this.
The meeting was held at the Dragon God’s mansion.
I also participated as a substitute for Dora, who was still in pregnancy leave.
I knew that there was a room in Dragon God’s mansion with a large stone desk and six chairs, but it was still awe-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 profound eyes.
Dragon General Maxwell, with blue-silver scales and steel eyes.
And with unblemished silver scales and all-encompassing eyes, the great Dragon God.
It felt out of place for me to just be sitting there.
"..."
They all watched the remaining empty seat, waiting for Dragon God to break the silence.
The chair where Crystal was supposed to sit in.
“It’s hard to believe… that Crystal has really died.”
But it was Chaos that spoke up first.
He was a bit of a stranger to me and had the reputation of a stubborn man.
He forged the weapons of the Dragon Race under Dragon God’s order.
Weapons of those days were fairly simple affairs.
Armor made with dragonscale or single-edged swords or spears made from dragon fangs.
Think that’s rather shabby?
Ah, compared to our present world, that may be true.
However, one’s own claws and scales, pumped with Dragon Touki, were much more reliable.
"I don't think a Gold Dragon can kill him. A monster, maybe, but I think there’s more to it than this.”
The next to speak up was Maxwell.
Small and flighty.
This was everyone’s first impression of Maxwell.
Indeed, Maxwell was much smaller than the average Dragon Race.
Besides, he always had this wretched smile and spoke rather crudely.
Why such a person as a Dragon General?
There were many who spoke ill of him behind his back, Dora-sama once said.
But those who knew him well never mocked him.
Because, despite his looks, 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 Dragon Race were killed by monsters.
Maxwell was the person in charge that went to the scene of the corpse and examined it for clues.
While other investigators were convinced of 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 person to speak up.
Leader of the Five Dragon Generals, he was responsible for the entire Dragon Race.
His responsibility varied widely, but he mostly worked within the city.
In fact, he managed the Dragon World on Dragon God’s behalf when Dragon God was away.
It was fair to call him the Second-in-Command in the Dragon World.
Szilard was always calm, decisive, and of good judgment.
It was usually up to him to summarize the opinion of the Five Dragon Generals to Dragon God and offer his best judgement.
"Impossible!"
"No way!"
But not this time.
Maxwell was provoked by Szilard’s words, and Chaos also showed his discomfort.
However, Szilard observed his counterparts calmly and continued his analysis.
“It would be impossible for a Gold Dragon.
If a monster capable of killing Crystal appeared, the damage would have been more extensive.
The only natives in the Dragon World capable of killing Crystal are Dragon God, or one of us.”
Szilard glanced toward Dragon God.
As if intent to say, “It goes without saying that if for whatever reason Dragon God deemed necessary to kill Crystal, we’d accept that decision and action.”
Dragon God shook his head with a troubled expression.
Dragon God would never kill Crystal, who was like his own child.
Even for the leader of the Five Dragon Generals, to even insinuate as such would be a great disrespect.
Of course I kept my silence, for I had no right to speak in this meeting.
It was my role to listen as Dora-sama’s proxy and convey to her every word.
Dora-sama wouldn’t allow me to make any irresponsible remarks.
“Of course, we the Five Dragon Generals would never betray Dragon God.
We would rather tear ourselves apart limb-by-limb and tear out our own hearts as an apology to Dragon God, than ever consider such a thing.
By process of elimination, then only the possibility is outsiders.”
"So you’re certain it’s the demons?"
"The Demon Race has long been hostile to us. It wouldn’t be strange if they came up with some measure to kill Crystal"
“How could the demons ever 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 defeated. Or have you failed to consider the enemy’s capabilities?”
Chaos fell into silence.
The Eight Demon Kings were the demon counterparts to the Five Dragon Generals.
By the way, it was from one of them that I barely escaped from back in the day.
The Demon Race is not as powerful as the Dragon Race.
They’re slower than the Dragon Race, and did not have hard scales.
But their durability was near-immortal, and they had greater affinity to magical control.
The second most powerful race of the six worlds.
Even Crystal may have found the demons difficult to handle.
If it was the Eight Demon Kings, even the Five Dragon Generals would have difficulty with coming out unscathed.
Or so I thought.
“If the demons have completed the technique to cross the “boundary” and used it without permission for this…”
"..."
Boundaries separate the worlds from each other... like walls.
Crossing the border means moving to another world.
Back then I didn't know what that meant...
At that time, people were researching disappearance incidences all over the world.
Yes, it's a study of teleportation magic.
...Of course, back then teleportation magic wasn’t completed yet.
Even if it had been completed, its use would have always required the permission of the gods.
Gods of both the origin world and destination world.
"If they had a way to cross the border, that would be a terrible situation. But at the moment there is no way to confirm that, not even a clue or a way to retaliate against who killed Crystal… ”
Szilard said, looking troubled.
After all, a killer was out there that murdered one of the matchless Dragon Generals.
Be it monster or demon, without assembling a strong search team, retaliation would be impossible.
"Please leave it to me, Chaos, to avenge Crystal!”
"It would be me to do that kind of work."
The two dragon generals declared their resolve, but it wasn't for Szilard to decide.
One man held the decision-making power of this meeting.
“What do you think, Dragon God? Of course, if you leave it to me, I’ll surely apprehend the criminal and reclaim the honor for the Dragon Race.”
Then Szilard looked at me.
Until then, I kept silent and busied myself taking minutes.
"But how about letting Laplace do this?"
Those words echoed in the meeting room.
"Blasphemy! Maybe if it was Dora, but you will have the mixed blooded demon be in charge of the investigation!?”
It was Chaos that screamed.
Staring me down with his cavernous eye, bearing his fangs.
Chaos was, how should I say... a stubborn man.
Once he began to consider Demon Race the enemy, he’d always hold ill feelings toward them.
“There’s a limit to your jokes! Even as the adopted son of Dragon God, could he really apprehend the suspect that killed a member of the Five Dragon Generals?”
"We won’t know without trying.”
Szilard took the anger like a cool breeze.
As if the shouting Chaos was but a daily occurance.
I was frightened though.
Mad Dragon King Chaos was a very scary person.
“I heard from Dora that, even if immature, he had the strength to match the Dragon Generals. It’s a waste of a Dragon Generals or Dragon God’s time to investigate for suspects that might not even exist. It’s better to assign the work to someone else with comparable strength for now.”
Claiming that I could match up against the Five Dragon Generals felt like an exaggeration.
I wasn't very confident at the time.
“Even if he did find it, he’ll just get himself killed for nothing.”
“Maybe, but as a member of the Dragon Race, he can at least send back some information.”
"Ugh, it’s useless to talk about this! Maxwell! You say something as well!"
As if breathing fire from his mouth, Chaos expressed his anger as he spoke to Maxwell.
Hoping that Maxwell would feel the same.
However, Maxwell said simply.
“Well… Why not? It’s worth a shot.”
He said instead.
"What? What are you saying? That’s not like you at all!"
Maxwell was even more martial than Chaos.
When a situation occurred, he was always the first to jump into the breach.
That's why Chaos thought Maxwell could never give up that role.
There’s always honor in being first.
"Do you know how serious things are?! We've been together since ancient times, and now one of us is dead!?"
"Oh yes. Chaos, who do you think will die next?"
"Who’s next...?"
“I've been thinking about why Crystal specifically. If the criminal wanted to systematically get rid of the Five Dragon Generals, they’d try to get rid of us one-by-one."
Chaos seems to have understood what Maxwell was trying to say.
Chaos may be martial, but he wasn’t stupid.
If the criminal's aim 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 for the rest of them.
“If Dragon Generals move, it’s better if we move in pairs.
However, that’s impossible with Dora absent.
Of course, we can’t have Dragon God on the frontline, so better be someone else.”
Maxwell proudly presented his reasoning.
As if looking for confirmation he glanced toward Szilard.
It doesn't matter if I die?
Well, considering my work at the time, it’d cause the least disturbance.
Better than losing another Dragon General.
"I see. The question then is, does this kid have the power to carry out his mission?"
"You must believe Dora's words."
Chaos deeply nodded to Maxwell’s conclusion.
It's hard to tell how much they trusted Dora-sama's words.
"So what do you think?"”
However, it was not Szilard who had the decision-making power here.
They entrusted the judgment to a man who had been silent for a while.
"..."
The meeting fell into silence as they awaited Dragon God-sama’s judgement.
Dragon God-sama glanced around expressionlessly.
He looked at Chaos, Maxwell, and Szilard in order, then finally looked toward me.
"Laplace. Can you do it?"
"If you order it!"
When asked by Dragon God-sama, I could never say no.
Truth be told, I was not confident at all.
