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"Tch."
Cladiss irritably shoved Insanis's shoulder.
However.
He wouldn't budge.
"Huh?"
"Tell Davian Naohene of Elton Academy that Insanis has come looking for him."
"How am I supposed to know who that is?"
Shaaaa.
The surrounding air grew heavy.
[Tell him.]
Dragon Speech.
Myths tend to be exaggerated.
It's not like in old myths where the listener must unconditionally obey the dragon's will upon hearing Dragon Speech.
But, in any case, it's an overwhelmingly heavy resonance for an ordinary human to bear.
"Y-yes..."
[In person.]
"Yes."
Cladiss turned around.
The man who was on duty with him shouted urgently.
"Huh? Hey! Cladiss! Where are you going!"
Cladiss, a gatekeeper of the city guard.
Always full of complaints, but always diligent in his guard duty.
But he was now,
for the first time, abandoning his post during working hours.
"Hey! Where are you going? Don't you know it's a pay cut if you leave your post during work hours?"
At this moment.
Pay cuts were of no importance to Cladiss at all.
The thought that he could only survive by listening to the black-haired man had completely consumed his mind.
"Let's say you've encountered an opponent or object that can't be cut, no matter how much strength you use or how much aura you surround it with. What would you do to cut it?"
While everyone was hesitating.
Bonita Fortis raised her hand briskly.
Davian turned his head with a surprised expression.
Bonita wasn't usually one to step forward and speak up.
"You need to accurately calculate the position to cut. And swing the sword as concisely as possible with the tip of the sword, not the blade. The sword must be light, and the tip of the sword must draw a perfect trajectory. What can't be cut with the blade must be cut with the tip of the sword."
Leo Martien, the head of the Swordsmanship Department, nodded as if satisfied.
"Excellent. Bonita Fortis."
Leo Martien, raising his sword, ran his fingertip across the sharp blade.
"There's a limit to what you can cut with this."
This time, he tapped the sharp tip of the sword with his finger.
"When you reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship. You'll realize that this is more important. You never know when that moment will come, so keep it in your mind in advance. Real swordsmanship begins here."
At that moment.
An assistant rushed across the training field.
He told the head of the Swordsmanship Department something.
The head of the Swordsmanship Department tilted his head.
"Davian, you have a visitor at the gate."
If a guest has arrived, they should be asked to wait in the guest waiting room inside the academy's main gate.
There's no need to leave the guest outside the gate and rush to deliver the news like this.
"The gatekeeper came all the way to the academy and is causing a ruckus, saying that a great calamity will befall the city if he doesn't come out immediately. Do you know who came?"
I know.
Of course, I know.
A great calamity did befall the city.
"I have someone in mind. May I go out and see?"
After pondering for a moment, Leo Martien, the head of the Swordsmanship Department, nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Yes, Department Head."
The academy's common area, the visitor reception room.
While coming here, Davian felt his hairs stand on end several times.
A month had passed, but.
The scene of the black-haired man walking next to him slaughtering the academy professors was still vivid in his mind.
'In just one month...'
He had melted away all the scales on his body.
He had burned more than half of his bones.
And he had confirmed that even the dragon heart was scorched through.
However.
He reappeared in perfect condition in just one month.
Fortunately, his mind seemed to be intact now.
'If I fight this dragon now, can I win?'
No.
He's the one who slaughtered most of the academy's senior professors with his simple attack pattern while he was half out of his mind.
Davian's carefully prepared trap was evaded in an instant with warp magic.
'No matter how strong a fire elemental magic I prepare, he'll just escape like he did back then.'
No.
It was only because he was half out of his mind that I was able to trap him.
If he were in his right mind, he wouldn't have been buried in the ground in the first place.
'He's too strong.'
The strongest on the ground.
The most noble being in the human realm.
There are three of them living on the Pax Continent.
'Is the expression "three of them" right?'
I've heard that there are just over ten of them throughout the entire continent.
Beings that grow stronger on their own without separate training.
If they had set their minds to harming humans.
Humans would have already gone extinct from this land a long time ago.
"Please sit down."
"It's been a while since I've entered a human's castle. Ah, it was called an academy, wasn't it."
"It used to be a castle."
"I know. This was the first castle of the Alcancia Kingdom. The hometown of Erium Alcancia."
"You're quite interested in human history."
"It's just information I picked up while wandering around from time to time because I was bored in my lair."
Davian swallowed hard.
Let's skip the small talk.
It's rude, but there's something I need to confirm.
The other party is a dragon who lives for thousands of years.
It's better to be direct than to beat around the bush.
"Are you sure your mind is back to normal?"
Insanis stared intently at Davian.
"You're an audacious human."
"I'm a bit like that."
Pfft.
"Yes. Thanks to you."
Thanks to me?
What's that supposed to mean?
"What's the reason you came looking for me?"
"...You're quite hostile towards me."
Well.
You almost wrecked my main quest.
"Wasn't it you guys who suddenly attacked me while I was killing wolves?"
"Because we knew your next destination."
I wonder if he's the type who thinks a lot.
Or are all dragons like that?
Only after a long time did Insanis open his mouth again.
Davian also didn't urge the conversation.
"You're a peculiar human. Davian Naohene. Well, that's why you were able to ignite such a flame."
"You seem like a peculiar dragon too."
"Have you ever seen a dragon before?"
"No, it's my first time."
"Then how do you know I'm peculiar?"
"It's just a feeling."
After another moment of silence.
Insanis laughed loudly.
"Interesting. Davian Naohene."
"Yes."
"You are my benefactor. I almost met my end as a mad dragon. Thanks to you, I was able to end my life as a complete dragon."
"Are you going to die soon?"
Insanis tilted his head.
"No."
"I thought you said you were ending your life."
"A long time from now. You..."
Davian felt a pang of guilt inside.
An uncomfortable and terrifying being.
The desire for Insanis to disappear quickly slipped out of his mouth without him realizing it.
"You want me to disappear."
"Well, it's not like that necessarily."
"I'm thinking of spending some time with humans for a while."
"If it's the will of a noble dragon, then you must do so."
"That sounds sarcastic."
"It's not."
Insanis chuckled.
He was expressionless at first.
But the frequency of his chuckles is gradually increasing.
"Since Davian, you helped me withstand the weight of death. I've decided to add yours to the weight of death that I will bear."
Davian was startled.
"Are you going to kill me?"
Pfft.
"No. I intend to watch over your death by your side. By doing so, I will add your weight to the weight of death that I have experienced. My benefactor, and the strongest human I have ever met."
Davian now clearly understood the reason why Insanis had come looking for him.
'I knew it. I had a feeling that something annoying was going to happen...'
"I'm still young, so it's going to take a long time."
"How long is that long time? Five hundred years? A thousand years?"
Ah.
The dragon's time is different from that of humans.
"I was able to escape the madness of the black dragon thanks to humans. Therefore, I, the black dragon Insanis, will not harm a single human from now on. And, until the moment my friend Davian Naohene falls into eternal sleep, I will live among humans in human form."
Who decided we were friends?
Right then and there, Insanis bought a mansion right near the academy's main gate.
It was clearly a mansion where people were living.
I don't know how he chased them out and took it over.
I can only hope that he gave them a good amount of money to get them out.
Anyway.
He settled down in that mansion.
He recruited a bunch of servants to serve him and is living there.
Rumor has it that a suddenly rich man appeared and started living in a mansion.
One day, he went to a jeweler and a weapons dealer and bought a lot of expensive things that he liked.
One day, he showed up at a magic shop and clicked his tongue, saying, "Why do you only have trash here?" and disappeared.
"Davian Naohene. Where are you going?"
"Ah! You surprised me! When did you suddenly show up?"
After that, whenever Davian left the academy.
He started following him around like a ghost.
At Davian's words to hide the fact that he was a dragon if he was going to follow him around.
Insanis readily agreed.
"So, this mister who keeps following us is the new friend you made, Davian?"
"Y-yeah."
To the suggestion of changing his name.
Insanis readily refused.
"He took his name from the mad dragon Insanis."
"Even if he was going to take a name, why did he take the name of such a crazy dragon? There are many other cool dragons."
"Huh?"
Davian was startled and looked at Insanis.
Fortunately, he was busy talking to Belus and didn't seem to have heard Liber's words.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a human with such a high spirit affinity."
"Ah, yes? Thank you..."
"How many spirits have you contracted with?"
"A little over forty..."
"Amazing. But you haven't contracted with a proper high-ranking spirit yet. Did they refuse to contract?"
"Ah, no... I'm still too busy contracting with the spirits that come to me first and getting to know them..."
"Spirits come to you first?"
"Yes."
"You're an amazing human."
Belum nudged Davian's side.
"But why does that mister talk like that? He's handsome and well-groomed."
"Ah, I don't know. He's a bit peculiar. I heard he lived in seclusion for a while."
Latia, who was holding her arms, crossing them because it was still autumn but she was cold, opened her mouth.
"I don't like that mister."
Davian turned his head.
'Latia. She's not the type to say who she likes or dislikes.'
Come to think of it.
She's been shivering all the time.
'Ah!'
It's because of mana affinity.
He concealed his aura as much as possible by polymorphing into a human.
But it seems that Latia, who has an abnormally high mana affinity, is feeling Insanis's mana.
Davian tested Latia.
"Are you scared?"
"What?"
"Are you scared? Of Mister Insanis."
"S-scared? What's there to be scared of!"
"Then why are you shivering so much?"
"J-just! It's cold!"
Latia quickly grabbed the blanket that was on the sofa and wrapped it around herself.
'I guess... it's going to take some time for everyone to get used to it.'
At that time.
Thump thump thump.
Mons, who was on the second floor, ran down the stairs so hard that they almost broke.
"Young master!"
"Mons, what's wrong? What's going on?"
"The head of the family... the head of the family!"
"What is it?"
"Count Edward has been kidnapped!"
Count Edward Naohene.
The head of the Naohene family.
Davian's father.
"Sigh..."
Davian's expression twisted.
"Again?"
Ting.
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