“Phew… it really has been eventful.”
Freya leaned back in her office chair after wrapping up the whole black dragon incident and returning home.
She had intended to lead the troops out but ended up going to deal with her children’s troubles instead, only to find that the source of the rumors had come along with them.
“So… what’s Tene up to now?”
“Yes, she seemed fatigued, so after finishing her meal, she immediately fell asleep in the prepared guest room.”
Tene.
The black dragon Tenebris Nox was the new name for Kang Chanho.
After bathing with Rosaria, they had a discussion during their mealtime about what to call her from then on.
Since there was no way to return yet and they had to live in this world, the name Kang Chanho stood out too much, and using the name Tenebris Nox outright was also too conspicuous.
So, they decided to give her a new name, and after some brainstorming, several options came up.
Black. Rejection reason: Is it because she’s a black dragon? It seems too hastily chosen.
Bled. Rejection reason: Is this really any different from Black? In fact, it seems even more lame.
Kkamangi. Rejection reason: Sounds like a neighborhood puppy’s name. No, everyone’s just teasing me, right?
N-Word. Rejection reason: Brother! Isn’t it a bit much to be like that just because I glanced down earlier!?
Raven. Rejection reason: Isn’t this cool? The pitch-black raven striding through the night, right? You say it’s cringy? No, it’s cool…
Hybrid Saemisosa Rioleivy. Rejection reason: …I’d rather just live as Chanho.
Despite the variety and uniqueness of the names (except for one), when the subject herself firmly rejected them, they simply took the first two letters from Tenebris and decided on Tene.
“By the way, a dragon… a dragon. It feels so unreal. To look at her, she seems just like any other girl her age.”
Freya muttered as she recalled both the recent black dragon incident and the girl sleeping soundly in the guest room.
Isn’t it too human-like to be considered a dragon, a being that people fear so much?
Of course, this was considering that a modern high school boy was inside the body that originally did not belong to him, but to Freya, it didn’t seem to pose any threat at all.
…At least until she witnessed the scene of Gordon effortlessly shattering a sword with a carefree swing without sustaining a single injury.
Since coming to this world, Freya had been able to act somewhat comfortably largely thanks to Gordon’s presence.
Gordon, who devoted himself to the Count Evergarden family, was practically a jack-of-all-trades.
He usually took care of most of the affairs within the mansion, was skilled with paperwork, possessed great physical strength, and seemed to have ears everywhere, gathering all sorts of information.
He was, in every sense, the perfect butler.
However, even though Gordon had been easily neutralized, it was bizarre that the perpetrator was a girl who seemed flustered after breaking a sword, causing Freya to feel a significant sense of dissonance.
“What does Gordon think?”
“Are you asking about me?”
“Yes, you were the first to notice, right? So I’m curious.”
While Freya was pondering, she asked Gordon, who had firsthand experience colliding with Tene, for his opinion.
Freya and Dariann hadn’t even noticed that the cute girl-like being was a dragon, but Gordon had taken up a combat stance faster than anyone.
“May I ask what you think of dragons, my lady?”
“Hmmm… I can’t quite recall a precise definition, but maybe something untamable? A top predator? That kind of feeling.”
Gordon, who had pondered over her question for a moment, reversed the inquiry, prompting Freya to recall media related to dragons from her time in the modern world.
She thought of various words that symbolized dragons, even with just a simple recollection: powerful monsters, something noble and neutral, final bosses.
“This is my first experience with a dragon as well. Numerous sightings and stories have been passed down through history, but as you know, dragons are beings that are almost mythical to humans.”
“There’s even a story in the founding legend of our Obina Empire that a guardian dragon helped the first emperor establish the empire during the conquest war a thousand years ago. So, dragons are indeed beings capable of unimaginable feats beyond human wisdom.”
“In other words, if Tene wishes, it’s possible she could destroy the empire just as the guardian dragon helped build it.”
“….Huh. So, she just looks like a cute girl on the outside?”
“Please forgive my rudeness, but my lady, while you may not feel it, I am feeling an enormous sense of dissonance from the fact that you treat Lady Tene like a human.”
“Just by looking at her, I feel as though I’d be crushed under that pressure, like I could die instantly, and that a monster capable of extinguishing the lives of everyone living in this mansion with just one finger is putting on this ridiculous act of wearing a human guise.”
“In my younger days, overflowing with youthful vigor, I once dreamed of becoming a dragon slayer straight out of a myth, but when I faced Lady Tene today with a sword, all I could think of was death. I can’t even fathom how to win against a hundred, a thousand, or even tens of millions of people like me. No, it’s impossible to even say I could win…”
“It’s alright, take a deep breath for a moment.”
“…I apologize.”
“Well, this certainly gives me a lot to think about.”
Freya had already given Felix a bit of a heads-up about the existence of dragons before asking Gordon.
She had heard that most of the Empire and the demon races, as well as some supporting characters in this story, could only be subdued after the protagonist had almost lost their life.
Considering that by the climax of the story, the protagonist was known as the strongest human in human history, one could understand how formidable they were.
Thus, Freya came to the conclusion that Tene equated to a nuclear bomb in her mind.
Nuclear bomb.
The pinnacle of modern humanity and a weapon that could be called humanity’s sin.
Just possessing one could suppress wars; its power transcends imagination.
However, merely having such a powerful weapon made it impossible for one to escape considerable pressure.
And the being who was theoretically even more powerful and uncontrollable than that nuclear bomb was Tene.
“Gordon, this is just a hypothetical. Really, just a hypothetical. What do you think would happen if it became known that dragons exist?”
“…I think it would be the end.”
“The end?”
“Literally the end. As long as dragons exist, no one in this Empire could threaten that existence…”
“…Whether it’s a coup, declaring independence to become an autonomous state, or consuming the Empire, no one would be able to stop it.”
“Ordinary humans would lose their will to fight the moment they witnessed a dragon, and even the upper echelons of the Empire wouldn’t dare to attempt anything.”
“What should we do? My head is starting to hurt.”
Freya’s brow furrowed as she listened to Gordon’s explanation.
After resolving issues related to managing the territory, a problem had now arisen that was almost unmanageable.
‘It might be fortunate that Tene’s real personality is still that of a clumsy student. If she were to commit crimes and remain unfazed… that would be terrible.’
Fortunately, the fact that this powerful and fearsome dragon was actually a regular high school student was quite a relief.
Despite possessing the strength capable of engulfing the world, what she had done so far was merely threatening merchants to fill her belly.
In blunt terms, if someone else had possessed the dragon’s body instead of Chanho, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to storm the Evergarden territory and sweep everything away.
“Gordon, first, please keep the fact that Tene is in this mansion a secret. No one must know.”
“Yes, understood.”
‘Looking at her personality, she seems just like a diligent and kind girl of that age, so let’s just keep an eye on her for a while.’
Freya, who had organized everything she could do in her mind if she were in Chanho’s position rather than his, eventually made a decision.
For now, there was no other way but to let her stay in the mansion and watch the situation unfold.
“Next, there’s a more pressing issue.”
Having set aside matters related to Tene, Freya lifted a piece of letter paper that was on the table.
The letter paper, clearly different from ordinary administrative correspondence, had an antique feel that anyone could recognize as coming from a noble.
“It seems they are finally starting to make their move.”
The sender was a letter from Baron Bjorn, stating that he would visit the Evergarden territory.
The Baron, who had been secretly scheming until now, was beginning to act in earnest to devour the Evergarden territory.
“Perhaps he intends to collect the debts he has accrued until now during this meeting.”
“I would expect as much.”
The letter was filled with formalities about wanting to meet to wish for peace and well-being among the families, but Baron Bjorn was unlikely to come just to discuss such matters.
However, Freya wasn’t someone who had simply idled about until now.
“Please deliver this letter to Penril.”
As she casually tossed Baron Bjorn’s letter into the fireplace for kindling, Freya handed Gordon a letter sealed with the Evergarden family crest that was placed on the desk piled high with documents.
“Now then, shall we start receiving the rewards for handling the request?”
Having resolved the rumors of the black dragon as per Penril’s suggestion, it was now time to collect her due from Penril.