“Haah…”
Freya, who had just spoken with Penril, the boss of the long-awaited Red Fang, let out a sigh filled with even more anguish than before she left.
She sat in her office, pondering her predicament.
It was a debt formed through a harsh agreement, yet the Count Evergarden’s family had to immediately repay the accumulated interest this month.
Repaying that interest was essential for continuing their plans and securing the necessary funds.
The only viable solution was to sell the expensive stolen goods occupying their mansion to the Red Fang organization.
Currently, without an independent route or any large merchant guild willing to buy such goods in the Evergarden territory, there was no alternative but to turn to the Red Fang, which had established its own route.
The meeting with the boss had been arranged, and initially, the conversation seemed to flow smoothly, but then…
“Dragons… Dragons… Is it true they really exist…?”
Suddenly, the topic of dragons emerged, derailing the negotiation.
There was only one path leading to the Evergarden territory.
In the past, multiple routes had been maintained, allowing numerous visitors to come to Evergarden.
However, roads needed constant upkeep to serve their purpose.
Over the years, the funding for maintaining the paths leading to the territory had gradually diminished, and after Dariann became the head, the situation worsened to the point of neglect.
If Evergarden had been a strategically important route close to other territories, merchants would have willingly invested money into road maintenance, but it was neither significant geographically nor rich in specialties, and the taxes were exorbitantly high.
Thus, merchants opted to leave rather than invest.
Now, the only way into the Evergarden territory was through a single decent mountain road.
However, rumors of a dragon’s appearance and reports of attacks on carriages had effectively blocked access, including the Red Fang’s routes.
Freya knew that to escape the territory, they needed to uncover hidden routes or pathways to other territories, but they were stuck, which also gave Penril a headache.
It was also unclear if a real dragon had appeared.
Despite reports of damage, there were strangely few casualties, mostly related to food supplies, raising questions about whether it was genuinely a dragon or simply bandits, and if it were bandits, why were they only stealing food?
To address this, they deployed capable members to investigate various locations, but even dragon scales were not found.
Therefore, disguising themselves as merchants and hiding their members in carriages proved ineffective, as dragons seemed to avoid showing themselves during such times.
The rumors spread, damages were reported, but their true identity remained unknown, leaving even Penril in a state of constant frustration.
In a fit of anger, he considered leading his subordinates to hunt down the dragon, but that could lead to their headquarters being overrun by rival organizations, and the conclusion reached was how to even defeat a dragon in the first place.
As a result, even if Freya offered to sell goods, Penril’s refusal stemmed not from negative reasons like “it’s not beneficial,” but rather from the realization that they were in no position to assist.
“Gordon, what’s the situation?”
“Yes, there are indeed rampant rumors about dragons in the territory these days. Merchants and mercenaries who have suffered losses all claim they saw a dragon.”
“If there really is a dragon, can we hunt it down?”
“No, we cannot. Even if the swordmasters and the headmaster of the academy, as well as the pope of the goddess church, were to intervene, we cannot guarantee victory.”
“This is quite a headache…”
“According to Hanhee, dragons aren’t supposed to appear until at least a few years from now, so it seems unlikely. But then, how do we explain this commotion?”
If Felix’s words held true—that there were indeed two important dragons in the narrative of the world Freya inhabited—one was the White Dragon, Lux Dias, a guardian dragon protecting the imperial family and a part of the founding myth of the Empire.
The other was the Black Dragon, Tenebris Nox, a ferocious destroyer spreading eternal black flames, opposing the guardian dragon.
Lux Dias was said to be spending this period beneath the imperial palace, which left Tenebris Nox as the only possible dragon appearing now.
However, if that fearsome dragon really had emerged, why was it simply attacking passing merchants and stealing food?
The premises were flawed, so no clear answer would emerge, yet the persistent incorrect premise hindered her goals, causing immense frustration.
“…Gordon, the information about there being no casualties or injuries, is that certain?”
“Yes, that is correct… My lady, could it be…?!”
“Yes, that’s right. We can’t remain in this situation any longer.”
After much contemplation, Freya stood up and addressed Gordon.
The founder of the Hanil Group and Freya’s grandfather always offered her various pieces of advice.
One such piece of advice was that if no clear methods emerged after repeated efforts, stick to a singular path.
“Let’s tackle this head-on.”
Sometimes a simple approach could yield a clear solution.
“Quickly gather the soldiers. At this rate, we must resolve the issue, even if it means overturning the mountains…”
Just as Freya decided to confront this unknown entity directly, a knock echoed at her office door.
“Come in.”
Pausing her speech, Freya allowed entry.
“Ma… Madam…!”
“You are… certainly in charge of my daughter, Rosaria…”
“I, I am…! Ba, Barnett…!”
The maid entered the office, panic-stricken, kneeling immediately as Freya recognized her face.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale, and what happened so suddenly?”
“Miss! The lady has vanished!!!”
“…What?”
“And the young master has also disappeared…! No matter how thoroughly I searched the mansion…!”
“Hyik?!”
Barnett, breathless from delivering the news that both Rosaria and Felix had disappeared from the mansion without a word, inadvertently looked up at Freya.
Her face turned a sickly shade of blue.
“…Gordon?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Can we prepare to go out immediately?”
“Right away.”
“It seems I’ll need some discipline after a long time. Hehe.”
With a smile, Freya announced her intention to go out to Gordon, but her eyes did not share the same joy.
“Hey, you crazy girl! Where do you think you’re going? Let’s turn back now!!”
“No, I don’t want to?! You can just follow along! What’s the problem?!”
At that moment, outside the Evergarden mansion, a carriage clattering down the path away from the mansion was filled with raucous noise.
“That story of his, that development you mentioned, you said there are no dragons, right?”
“Exactly! At this time, Tenebris Nox shouldn’t even appear, yet rumors of dragons keep surfacing. Something is definitely happening!”
The unfolding situation was as follows.
Felix, a fan of the story “The Star of Dawn” and privy to its plot, heard the rumors of a dragon appearing in the Evergarden territory, despite the story not even having properly begun.
Initially, he thought it was merely a simple rumor, but as more people began to claim they had seen the dragon, even the servants working at the Count’s house started to discuss the matter, which worried him greatly.
To be exact, Felix couldn’t shake off the unease stemming from the unknown information and his insatiable curiosity.
Eventually, he resolved to head towards the rumored location, crafting an escape plan carefully.
The plan involved using magic manipulation to stealthily leap over the mansion’s high walls.
Although he wasn’t yet proficient enough to fly freely, he believed he could manage to lift himself up and lower himself down sufficiently.
So, each morning, Felix would avoid Dariann, who was going out to exercise, and stealthily made his way to the mansion’s side wall.
At that moment, Rosaria, still shaking off her military demeanor, woke up early and inadvertently caught sight of Felix’s actions from the window, leading her to rush and change clothes, heading towards him.
Rosaria soon dashed out of the mansion, reaching the high wall where Felix was.
What she saw was her brother, floating in the air as if nothing was there, ascending toward the sky.
Still unaccustomed to magic, Rosaria couldn’t even think to recognize what he was doing as magical.
She was startled and attempted to pull him back, but somehow, she ended up floating along with him, inadvertently crossing over the wall.
Staring back at the stone wall she had just crossed with a bewildered expression, Rosaria saw Felix hurriedly pursuing his goal and felt compelled to follow after him.
“Thank goodness I brought two robes just in case; otherwise, I would have gotten caught. My black hair makes it so obvious.”
“Oh, you think there are many white-haired people?”
“Better than black hair!”
“Was it even necessary to sneak out? You’re not a kid anymore; you could just ask to be let go!”
“Maybe for Mom, but Dad would never allow it. He’d say it’s too dangerous.”
“You actually know that… sigh… Come on, let’s turn back now.”
“I said no?! If you want to go back that badly, you can go alone!”
“Really? If I go back alone, Mom and Dad would definitely throw a fit at me, so how could I return alone!”
“You’ll just stand by and watch your younger sister make a fool of herself, right? When I set off fireworks, didn’t you also get in trouble?”
“What are you talking about… right now, I’m the older brother.”
“Is this girl for real?!”
Knock-knock—
“We’ve arrived.”
As Rosaria, worried about the situation, stepped down from the carriage after Felix called out, she looked around.
The white expanse before them stretched endlessly, and without a single tree in sight, it felt like stepping into a vast desert.
“Yoo-hoo! Is there really a dragon here?!”
“No, this isn’t the place! We’re at the wrong location!”
The two of them came to a stop.
Despite having felt the change in air that marked the presence of the dragon, the surroundings seemed mundane.
“Wait, just hold on! There should be something here, right? Are you sure there’s a dragon?”
“How can you be sure of that?! Didn’t you say there was no dragon?!”
“What? That’s not what I meant! Even if there’s no dragon, isn’t it true that there’s been damage? A clue must be hidden here, just think about it, alright?”
Felix stood in a trance, realizing that despite lacking proof of a dragon’s existence, the suspicion itself was enough to spur him forward.
“Alright! Just don’t let your guard down. We don’t know if it’s dangerous.”
With trepidation, Rosaria followed Felix as they began to venture further into the white expanse.
“I don’t know either~ That’s why it’s so ominous, but with this rumor spreading, it’s nice to be able to earn money like this, so I hope the rumor lasts as long as possible.”
“…Hmm…”
“Then I’ll come back in half a day.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
“Are you really going to the store?”
“Be quiet!”
“Haha… Such a good couple… We’re not even a couple?!?!!… Ahem, anyway, you seem to get along well. Let’s see each other later.”
The coachman, having arrived at the destination, exchanged a few words with Felix, then drove away with a slightly bored expression, soon becoming a small dot in the distance.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean? We have to search thoroughly.”
“…Hey, I took a long time even when I searched through a place narrower than this for shell casings.”
“Do you think dragons and bullets are the same? The sizes are different.”
“…Ha.”
With the means of leaving gone, Rosaria asked Felix about their future plans with a feeling of despair, but the answer that came back was enough to make her expression even grimmer.
“Hey, what’s that?”
“This? We didn’t even have breakfast. I thought this might happen, so I packed some food from the restaurant before we left the mansion.”
“That’s a relief. I’m really hungry. We can’t do anything about it now, so let’s eat first.”
When Rosaria asked about the basket Felix was holding, she smiled at his comment that he had even packed a lunch, clutching her growling stomach.
“Should we? Then let’s sit down in the bushes and eat! It feels like we’re on a picnic, which is fun!”
“If it were just a picnic, how nice would that be? You should have said we were going on a picnic instead.”
“Ah.”
“How on earth did you get into Seoul?”
In the midst of everything, Rosaria couldn’t fathom how Felix, who had no intention of making up various excuses, managed to get into Seoul National University.
Felix had a brilliant mind like Freya’s, but when it came to other areas, he resembled Dariann, completely clueless.
“Ah… I don’t know! I don’t know! Let’s just eat first!!”
“Sigh…”
Despite various problems, Felix brushed them aside and unfolded the mat, while Rosaria began to take out the food from the basket and set it up.
“Huh? What’s this? Why is it still warm?”
“Oh, that? Haha, it’s a long story, but I created a kind of heat preservation magic. I surrounded a layer of air with magic to make an invisible wall, and then I wrapped the weak heat that comes right before the fire magic activates around that wall…”
“That’s enough. Oh… hot sandwiches? I said I wanted this.”
“That’s right. Honestly, breakfast has been too heavy until now. I liked this one too.”
“I don’t know, all the nobles here are Westerners. I mean, what’s with roasting turkey for breakfast? Anyway, let’s eat and talk.”
Thus, Rosaria and Felix held hot sandwiches filled with warmth thanks to Felix’s magic.
“Let’s eat well!!”
Just as the two were about to take a bite of their sandwiches, a loud bang erupted.
Boom—
“Ah?!”
“Wow?!!”
In an instant, the siblings felt their bodies lift lightly off the ground, startled and screaming, while a deafening sound surrounded them as if their eardrums might burst.
“W-What…?!”
“Is it an earthquake? Why is there an earthquake all of a sudden…?”
While the siblings were flustered, trying to figure out what was happening, they heard a voice.
Who dares to invade my territory!
“…Huh?”
“Wait, what, uh, huh…?!”
It seemed as if the sky had been painted with food.
With a body so huge it could easily leap over modern buildings, thick and sturdy claws like those of a bunker, and sharp fangs that could crunch through stone like sugar, the black wings of the dragon roared as they stirred up fierce winds.
Humans! Do you think you can invade the territory of Tenebrix Nox and come out unscathed?! This black flame dragon, Tenebrix Nox, will guide you into eternal night surrounded by pitch-black flames!
“Hey hey hey hey hey… It’s really a dragon!!!!”
“No way… I-It’s really Tenebrix Nox…?”
As the shark-like jaws opened, revealing a hideous and fierce mouth that could not even present a business card, the sound welcomed them with a rumble that shook the earth.
As the dragon truly appeared, Rosaria, perhaps still in disbelief or accustomed to seeing dragons often, pulled on Felix’s clothes, who was sitting in shock closer to a state of panic than fear.
Felix, realizing that Tenebrix Nox had shown up and the story was taking a turn, was just as flustered.
If you run away now, I will spare your lives! You insignificant creatures are nothing more than flies, and killing you would be no fun!
“Hey, hey, if we run away, it says it’ll spare us! Let’s go! Quickly!”
While Rosaria pulled on Felix more insistently, he remained firmly planted in place.
At that moment, Felix, who had been staring blankly at the dragon, started to show signs of curiosity.
“Uh, uh, Tenebrix Nox! Why are you staying here?!”
…What?
“Hey! You crazy woman! It says it will just let us go! So let’s hurry up and run!”
“W-Wait! You, the one who seeks out powerful opponents to fight with while terrified of your own strength and committing wars, slaughter, and massacre, why are you here…?!”
Then, he began to ask Tenebrix Nox questions in reverse, and Rosaria thought, “This crazy person is really insane. Oh no, we’re going to die. Mom and Dad, I’m sorry,” as that feeling began to swirl in her mind.
Didn’t I just say to run away! You insignificant mortals!! I’ll just kill you!? Huh?!
“Please tell me! Why are you here?! Logically, you should still be deep in sleep…”
Y-You… insignificant mortal!!!!
Boom—Boom—Boom—
“Ahhhhh!!!”
“Ugh! Mom! Dad!!! I’m sorry!! This useless son will go first!!! I’ll see you in hell, you crazy woman!!!!”
As Tenebrix Nox continued to shout for them to run away, Felix kept throwing questions at the dragon, who raised its hand high.
Then, at that moment, a thunderous sound rang out as if lightning had struck right next to them, and Felix and Rosaria screamed, embracing each other.
“…Gah…! Eek…!”
“Ugh…! Ugh…!”
“….Uh?”
“….Huh?”
After about two minutes of shaking in fear, the two siblings slowly opened their eyes, unsure of what was happening since nothing had occurred.
Then,
Um….
“…Yes?”
I’m, I’m really hungry, so… can I have some food?
Tenebrix Nox pointed to the sandwiches lying on the mat where they were sitting with its sharp, clawed fingers.