[Vol. 9] Chapter 23: The Kind One
“Me?”
Miss Blue Dragon froze for a moment, then shook her huge head and spoke in a deep, muffled voice.
“Lady Violet, we dragons usually avoid contact with other races, especially human forces, unless it is necessary. The [Eternal Winter Temple] may call itself under the God of Snow and Ice, but the truth is all the gods disappeared a thousand years ago. What really protects that group is only the so-called [Child of God].”
“And besides, even though I’m already an adult, I only just passed five hundred years old. During the Mythical War three hundred years ago, I was still just a young dragon. I hardly ever left our homeland, so how could I possibly have gone to human cities to meet such groups? What I told you before, I only heard from other dragons when they returned from outside.”
“I see… alright then.”
Violet felt a little disappointed, but she didn’t say much more.
Alexia was the current leader of the Blue Dragons, and also the sister of the Blue Dragon King. To show how much the dragon race valued this mission to support the Human United Kingdom, each of the seven dragon clans had sent someone with strength and position close to, or even equal to, a Dragon King. Among them, the Blue Dragons’ representative was her.
It was said that the Mythical War three hundred years ago had caused terrible losses to the dragons, almost wiping out a whole generation. That’s why today’s seven Dragon Kings were all under a thousand years old.
For pure-blooded dragons, unless it was a special case like Xiao Guang, they normally needed at least five hundred years before reaching the “pseudo god” level of adulthood. So, even though Alexia had just passed five hundred, in truth she wasn’t much different from an inexperienced young girl.
…Maybe?
They continued to watch from the sky for a while longer. But seeing the people below still doing the same thing—walking, stopping, repeating the same strange actions—Violet let out a quiet breath and finally turned her eyes away.
“Forget it, let’s go.”
“Hm? Leaving already? Since you care about it, Lady Violet, why not just go down and ask them what they’re doing?”
Hearing Alexia’s question, which sounded so natural and obvious, the black-haired girl couldn’t help but shake her head with a bitter smile.
“That would be way too pushy. It’s clear they are carrying out some secret mission of the [Eternal Winter Temple]. There’s no way they would simply tell outsiders their secrets. If I suddenly jumped out and asked, the only result would be a fight and completely offending them. And honestly, this isn’t information we must know. Forget it, forget it…”
“Well, you’re right. But since our strength is greater, why bother with the weak…”
Alexia stopped halfway, as if remembering something, then suddenly gave a quiet laugh.
“You really are a kind leader. Even though you have power that makes almost everyone too afraid to disobey, you still want to reason with lower creatures and treat them as equals. You remind me of a respected elder of mine.”
“Oh?” The priestess blinked in surprise, her curiosity rising. “Who?”
The Blue Dragon answered without hesitation.
“The former head of the White Dragons, Her Majesty Dragon Emperor Yolandal White. Ah—and also the mother of our current White Dragon King, Sister Cierlu.”
“Uh…?”
She didn’t seem to notice the strange look that suddenly appeared on the black-haired girl’s face. Alexia kept speaking, her voice full of heartfelt respect and longing.
“I still remember, back when I was very young, I had the honor of traveling with Her Majesty Yolandal. She was the same as you, clearly the Dragon Emperor, yet she never used her status or power to push down others. Even when facing the most humble mortals, she could smile and talk with them as equals. For us dragons, that kind of behavior was almost unheard of, like a strange exception.”
“I could feel that Her Majesty Yolandal’s kindness and gentleness were not fake. From the bottom of her heart, she placed all living beings, including herself, on the same level. Because I could never do that, I respect even more those strong ones who can have such a heart. Maybe… that’s the reason why both you and the White Dragon Emperor are so strong.”
“Come on, let’s not talk about the Dragon Emperor for now, but I definitely don’t count as gentle…”
She only thought that making trouble for no reason would be too bothersome.
Violet hesitated, but in the end didn’t say those words aloud. She had also wanted to complain about “Miss White”, but hearing the longing and admiration in Alexia’s tone, she decided not to break the image in her heart.
Or perhaps, whether for Violet or Alexia, what they knew of Yolandal White was only one part of her, only one side. Life is always full of complexity and contradictions, and real living beings cannot be summed up with just one label. It was just that the different sides of the Dragon Emperor were so far apart, it was almost impossible to see them together in one person.
“Sigh… let’s go. Time to move on.”
……………………………………………
A day later, the vast wings of the blue dragon cut through the layers of snowstorm, and daylight brightened the sky.
The blizzards of the Extreme Cold Zone slowly faded behind them. Ahead, the faint crystal-like sky wall built from the Secret Art: Radiance reappeared in the distance. That meant they had finally entered the true northern lands of the world, the territory of the nations known as the Snow Domain.
Even though the Snow Domain lay north of the Extreme Cold Zone, it was clear the average temperature here was much warmer than the frozen wasteland behind them. At least it wasn’t so cold that water would instantly freeze when thrown into the air. It wasn’t the kind of harsh land where only a few ice-attribute beasts could survive for long.
In truth, the Extreme Cold Zone’s extreme climate and temperature were indeed abnormal. Maybe, as Alexia once said, it really was a miracle left by the God of Snow and Ice to divide the north and south of the world.
By the way, this kind of long, narrow natural barrier cutting across the land wasn’t unique. The east and west of the world were also blocked by a great natural wall, the Saint Bels Mountain Range, which Violet had once seen inside the Holy Empire.
This mountain range stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers, nearly dividing the entire Holy Empire into east and west. To the north and south, it extended into both the far south no-man’s land and the Snow Domain.
When the cold war between the Holy Empire and the Austre Empire occurred, Violet had already noticed that this mountain range crossed paths with the middle of the Extreme Cold Zone. Together, they looked almost like a giant cross embedded into the world’s land. She wasn’t sure if it was coincidence, or if there was some deeper meaning.
Of course, Violet wasn’t so idle as to specially investigate something that only looked strange but had no clues or logic to follow. Her purpose for coming north was, first, to take her dragon on a sudden trip and experience the land and culture here. Second, to complete her deal with the God of Paradox and help find that small being said to be born from the Primordial Flame.
Lastly, it was to see if she could find the third [Key of Three Moons], that strange item that always seemed important, but to this day no one knew what use it actually had. As for those restless people moving in the shadows… she could always deal with them along the way if the chance came up.