Chapter 206: I Came Here Just To Relax, Guys!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The girls accepted the tour guide's explanation easily, with a satisfied expression. They continued watching in glee and tried to count how many dragons there were.
However, Baiyi was less impressed. "That's it? We can't even get closer? 'This is too far away. I can't even tell the colors of their hide, so how the hell will I be able count them?'
'I'm not gonna have my money wasted like this!'
"As you know, sir, dragons are dangerous creatures. If we get close to them just like that… well, it would endanger all of you," The tour guide shrugged. "If you must watch them up close, we should wait till the dragon knights return here from their patrols…"
"Hold on. There isn't a single dragon knight at home right now?"
The tour guide's expression changed immediately at the realization of his mistake. He covered his mouth and shook his head, showing the intention to drop the topic.
'Interesting.' It's common to have dragon knights go on patrols or even sent to battle, but what would be so serious that the entire army had to leave their fort?
'More importantly, everything we have seen so far gives the impression that Gouve is as peaceful as it's always known to be—without the tension of wars, so what else would have required the presence of all of the dragon knights?'
Baiyi eyed the tour guide's expression again and decided to let the topic slide, simply because the tour guide looked more embarrassed—possibly because he had accidentally betrayed some secrets—than outright nervous. 'It was probably nothing too severe. Plus, why should I care about someone else's private matter?'
The Soul Armature was disappointed that the girls would not be able to interact with a real-life dragon up close, neither would they get the chance to feed them. The girls did not seem to share his sentiment, though; they looked very satisfied.
Baiyi was still deep in thought when rhythmic footsteps resounded from the tower. A few moments later, a beautiful belle wearing a long, sky blue gown befitting an aristocrat walked towards the group, holding a tray in her hands.
"My lady! Why are you here?" The tour guide exclaimed, and he quickly bowed in respect. From the looks of it, this beautiful woman with golden hair and azure eyes was someone with a pretty high status.
"I heard that there were visitors, so I decided to share the cookies I was making," the noble lady replied, with an aristocratic smile evident on her face.
Her every action were textbook examples of regal bearing. She looked as if she had come to life from a portrait painted by a most skilled artist.
"Whoa… she's so pretty," Mia couldn't stop herself from exclaiming.
"You're just as beautiful, my dear," the noble lady replied warmly. She brought the tray close to the Mia, showing cookies adorned with animal motifs made with more precision than anyone would have expected. "Would you like to try them?"
Mia was eager enough to quickly grab a cookies that had a bear motif. Other girls quickly obliged her warm offer, enjoying the treats as they compliment the noble lady.
Baiyi was more reserved, however. In fact, since the noble lady appeared, he did not even join in the rapt discussion going on within the Void, neither did he try to talk to her.
He just kept staring at the lady.
Since Baiyi did not attempt to hide his gaze, the noble lady quickly noticed him. She did not seem bothered by his awkward gawking. Instead, she gave a him a polite little smile and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Not really…" Baiyi withdrew his gaze and glanced at the cookies. He added, "I was just thinking that perhaps this trip can no longer be considered disappointing… now that we get to see someone like you."
The tour guide's expression fell, and his previously mirthful eagerness vanished almost instantly. He cautiously moved a few steps closer towards the noble lady.
The girls were puzzled at Baiyi's remark, too. "What do you mean, Mr.Hope? We are not disappointed! This is a beautiful place; we saw dragons, and we got these delicious cookies..."
The noble lady was not surprised, neither did she feel offended, at Baiyi's remark—even if the remark seemed like a catcall. She remained composed, and her smile did not falter. With a sincere tone, she sighed, "You are very clever, sir."
"What are you two talking about?" Mia looked at the two, feeling puzzled.
"Didn't you girls want to see dragons? There's one here." Baiyi gave a curt nod at the noble lady.
"Huh?!"
"Wh-wha--?"
"But how--?"
The girls couldn't help but cry in amazement. They had no idea that this beautiful and noble lady, who had given them these delicious cookies—was, in fact, a dragon!
This schism between expectation versus reality is too large, c'mon!
The noble lady was not flustered about her identity being exposed. She smiled and explained, "I heard what you said to the tour guide, and I agree. We should do everything in our power to satisfy our visitors' request. That's why I came here… I just didn't expect anyone to discern my true identity this quickly! So many before you had failed to do so."
"I… am Aya," The noble lady formally introduced herself.
' This name… is a bait to unleash my lambasting tirade…' Baiyi eyed her a few more times, checking off every item on his "list": no cowlick 1 on her head, breasts are as full as the mountains, satisfactory cooking skills. 'Not someone else I had in mind.'
After his mental scrutiny, Baiyi finally said, "I'm Hope."
A flash of surprise crossed to Aya's otherwise composed face. "I cannot believe this. It's—you! Please, do come in for a chat."
"Gosh, information sure spread fast nowadays," Baiyi muttered.
Aya flashed him a demure smile, but she did not reply him.
Moments later, Baiyi was led by the noble lady to a special room for visitors in one of the military camps. Along the way, Baiyi noticed that many stop and bow respectfully when Aya passed by as if she was their Lieutenant.
On their way to the room, Baiyi took the chance to explain the reason behind the bows to the four very confused girls. Aya was an elder dragon, imbued with the ability to manipulate mana, and because of this, she could take the form of a human.
Elder dragons were different from other lowly dragons for a number of reasons: they possessed keen wisdom as the wisest of all creatures, and they possessed powers most creatures have no access to. To rule over other dragons was, therefore, their birthright. They were truly the proud representative of the dragonkins.
As aforementioned, elder dragons possessed the ability to utilize mana, so they were privy to many unique, special magic spells. One of the spells granted them a human form.
This was the reason why many Voidwalkers had experience interacting with the elder dragons/ The most notable experience was the Soul Armature Practitioner's intimate relationship with a belle of the elder dragon tribe.
Not only was Aya an elder dragon, but she also appeared to be so fully accustomed to her human form, that Baiyi almost couldn't tell. That very mild sense of otherworldliness, however, betrayed her secret.
Now that she had admitted to her true identity, Baiyi no longer had any question as to how the dragon knights managed to tame the ever majestic beasts, which were famed for their hubris. They had done it with the aid of the elder dragons.
If an elder dragon was helping, then all the trouble that one would usually face when attempting to domesticate a dragon would become non-existent. i
Maybe the ancestors of these dragon knights had saved an elder dragon, and in gratitude, the dragon turned into an adorable maid who then formed a deep, close bond with them?
As soon as the group entered the special room for visitors, they were about to start up a conversation when a young girl in a red dress, spotting a golden horsetail braid, burst in and hopped into Aya's embrace.
"Mom—" the girl cooed in the sickly sweet voice that a typical loli would possess. "I did all of my homework…"
'Hold it. Does she have a child? Yet, everyone still calls her 'Miss'? Was this child born from relations with a human? Was there no reproduction barrier… even physical ones?' Baiyi's mind was thrown into a chaos at that revelation.
He even began to wonder if the Soul Armature had a child with his romantic partner…
However, Aya was oblivious to Baiyi's thoughts. She gently smoothed the child's head as the latter turned her attention to the visitors, and her eyes widened in anticipation.
"She's my daughter, Mordred. Would it be alright if your girls become her playmates for a while?"
"Uh, alright…" Baiyi was surprisingly reluctant to answer. The child's name sounded like bad news to him for some reason.
Mia and the girls were not too worried, which was evident by how quickly they warmed up to their equally adorable playmate. The kids left, leaving only the two adults in the room.
"Ma'am, I..." Baiyi had barely begun talking when Aya shook her head disapprovingly.
He paused, and corrected himself. "Miss."
'She already has a child, yet she still goes by the title 'miss'? Was the child conceived out of wedlock? This… this is quite slutty!' Baiyi thought to himself, and he considered waking the Third Walker so that he could lecture this imprudent dragon 2 .
"She's adopted," Aya explained briefly. "She just feels so close to me that she calls me 'mother'. Whenever she takes the form of a human, she chooses to look almost like me."
'Oh, that's the reason, huh? Hmm… An unmarried woman having to take care of a child alone… must be pretty challenging, right?' Baiyi thought, before shaking his head sideways.
'She's a dragon! You can't apply human standards to the affairs of dragons.'
"I'm more curious about why you live as a human," Baiyi stated plainly. He couldn't find an answer to this from the Voidwalkers' memories, especially the Third Walker's, who never took any form other than his proud, majestic dragon form.
"It's a very good way to live, don't you agree?" Aya replied calmly. "It's convenient; it costs fewer food resources, and it allowed me to blend in with the knights."
Baiyi decided not to pursue the topic. "I did not expect a powerful elder dragon to reside with the dragon knights. Your rider must be very powerful!"
"Oh, no." Aya shook her head. "I don't have a partner. I'm only here just to lend some help aids."
"Oh, I see." Baiyi's mind raced with thoughts. 'That's an elder dragon for you. They wouldn't possibly let a human ride them.'
'And I meant it both literally and euphemistically. Yep.'
"You've asked me two questions, so I shall return the favor," Aya started. "Why are you here, Master Hope? Shouldn't you be back in Isythre, meeting your new worshipers?"
Not only was she very informed, but also her information was very accurate, too. Of course, as she was someone of esteemed ranks, that wasn't surprising.
"This realm is beautiful, so I brought the kids over for some sightseeing," Baiyi admitted. "As we toured, we witnessed a little incident, so I told them about the knights, and they got so interested that taking them here seemed like a great idea."
Surprisingly, a look of relief and gratitude dawned on Aya's face.
"You truly are as formidable as the Church says you are—The Mighty Hero Who Saved the World. You can even detect the smallest signs of instability," she replied, with genuine admiration evident from her words. "You came here to offer your help, yes? Truly grateful... Master Hope, we are truly indebted to you. Please, forgive us for every inconvenience and trouble. I am sure you can already tell… we require urgent aid…"
The noble lady took a deep bow, oblivious of how deep her collar was as she did.
Baiyi was very confused.
'Do dragons follow a different logic than humans or what? This dragon-woman just created a fable out from thin air? Mighty hero? Who saved the world? The Church really put on their best game in making bombastic titles, huh?'
'And what was with this idea of 'instability'? I didn't even detect a single shit! How did our conversation derail from a relatable context—'the challenges of a single parent who has a kid to raise'—to me taking up a summer job as a 'hero'? Weren't we just talking about our private lives?'
'C-ca n't we just chat about the funny things of forming families and other wholesome topics?'
However, Aya wasn't wrong in her assumption. She was facing some trouble at the moment, but suddenly, that famous man who had helped saved all the realms, whom the Church had relentless talked about, had come to her. Naturally, she automatically took it as a sign that the man had come to help her, instead of believing in Baiyi's version of things.
"Okay, just… Tell me what's going on."
'Can't be helped. She had been so civil and cordial. The least one could do is listen 3 .'
"For the past few days, the beasts have grown more… excited—" Aya began.
"Are you sure it wasn't because of, well, that season? It's gonna be autumn soon, right? The time of harvest…."
"Not that," Aya blushed a little. "Even if it's the mating period, these creatures still clearly know where not to breach, yet our safe zones had been intruded far too many times to be classified as mere coincidences. It started with the common beasts, then the magical beasts, and now, the dragons themselves had joined in. To maintain peace, the knights now have to go on patrol every day, at every second…"
"No wonder they had appeared so quickly back then," Baiyi vocalized his thoughts.
The most common form of transportation had to be the skycruising ray. That thin piece of meat pie had multiple ways to die if it ever met a predator. This meant that the people who used the rays to transport themselves could only depend on the dragon knights' timely rescue if they ever meet with danger.
That was the reason why all the dragon knights had to leave the fortress. However, the safety zones were too vast. Unfortunately, there weren't many knights in the first place already, so they had to patrol every cranny of the area, night and day, without much help.
Yes, this truly was a very strenuous activity.