The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 251: Everyday we sip on a spilled tea and learn new things

Chapter 251: Everyday we sip on a spilled tea and learn new things

[It’s Nightmare!]

"Nat!"

I waved at the group of demons walking through the hallway as I went back from the research tower. Zia said she wanted to visit the library, so I bid her goodbye--and Jade jumped onto her shoulder--before approaching the group that was stopping at my call.

Natha smiled and reached out his hand, which I took delightfully. He kissed it, like a charming prince, and made me giggle slightly, before remembering there were other people there.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, but did not pull my hand away, because Natha told me I should get used to it. "Umm, where are you going?"

"The warehouse," Natha took my hand and we started to walk again. "Would you like to come with me? We’re sorting out the stuff we will bring to Gluttony."

To Gluttony! Our next trip! Oh, well, not exactly a trip, but a journey to seek for an answer--or so Eruha told me. I nodded in enthusiasm; going around with Natha while he was working made me feel like the time we had the regional tour, and it was quite fun.

"Were you coming out of the research tower?" Natha asked me as we crossed the bridge connecting the main castle to the logistic warehouse.

"I have to keep motivating my worker," I grinned, and he smirked in response.

"That’s right, you have to remind them who pays for their wages," he said.

Uhh...not exactly that, but okay. Oh--I suddenly remembered what we were talking about earlier and turned my head to look at Natha with intrigue. "Nat, do you know anything about dragons?"

"Dragons?" Natha raised his brow and looked down. "Where’s this coming from?"

"Oh, we were talking about mount earlier, and our conversation naturally steered toward that," I explained, before stepping up my curious gaze. "So? So? Do they really exist?"

Zia said there were stories about dragons roaming around during the Ancient Days, when the Primordial One was still on the throne. But after the big catastrophe--which I guess was the period when the Primordial One destroyed the world--the dragons vanished. People believed they got wiped out during the big catastrophe, but some accounts were claiming they had seen dragons from far away.

All it gave me was an itch of curiosity.

Natha laughed at my eagerness for an answer. "Well, if you’re curious, the answer is yes, they exist."

Oh? Oh!

"But if you want one as a mount, you’ll be disappointed,"

"Why? What kind of dragon are they? I mean..." I glanced at the back, where Lesta was tilting his head inquisitively, and pulled on Natha’s slave to whisper quietly. "Are they closer to a fantasy beast or like some kind of high being?"

Because...you know, there was a variety of dragons in fantasy books--from one that was almost like a God, and one who would throw a tantrum and destroy cities--and we could never really be sure about it.

Natha smiled mysteriously and answered with one simple word. "Both"

"...huh?"

"There were dragons who were basically beasts, and used as a mount," Natha said. "A war mount."

Oh! With armors and such? That sounded cool!

"But like any other creature, dragons could gain knowledge, and they have a very long lifespan, so some of them managed to learn enough to evolve, transcending," Natha continued. "These being, the dragon that managed to transcend their outer husk, was called Archdragon."

"Archdragon..." I muttered the word. "So they are the one closer to a higher being?"

"Yes," Natha nodded before continuing. "They lead the other dragons to war, and taught the dragons to transcend like them. Eventually, they made a colony on an island separated from this continent."

"A colony...like a kingdom?"

"No--well, in a sense, it was like a kingdom, but not quite. It was more like a religious movement; they erected four sub-temples to manage the dragon colony, and one main temple to oversee them."

Huh...that was a whole civilization there. They wage war and had religion? But...

"Who were they worship?"

"The first dragon to ever transcend; a Sacred Guardian appointed by the Primordial One."

I almost paused as my eyes blew wide. So there were other beings getting worshipped other than the three Gods. That was an interesting tea. "So what happened to them?"

"I don’t know what exactly happened during the big catastrophe, but at the end of the era, before the Primordial One... disappeared, the High Priest of that era decided to seal the island and kept all of the dragonkin inside."

Ah...so that was why no one saw them again. "Is there anyone trying to find them? Contact them?"

"Perhaps other Sacred Guardians," Natha shrugged. "But mere mortals like us would not be able to get past the barrier. We would just end up lost on the sea without even managed to catch a glimpse."

Whoa...I was sure this one was not mentioned in a book, otherwise, Zia would have known about it, surely. But how did Natha know about all of this? It wasn’t like he was there at that time...

Ah...

"Did your teacher tell you this?"

"Yes," Natha smiled in satisfaction; perhaps because I could figure out the source of his intel. "She was the one who told me how to make a guardian contract with elemental birds, but the one who taught her that was the High Priest who sealed the island."

My! Doesn’t that mean the High Priest was the reason why I could have Jade as my familiar?

"I heard the dragons are even better at elemental magic than the druids, although they couldn’t do purification," Natha added.

"Do you think...the High Priest is still alive?" I asked carefully. I mean...it had been...what--close to two millennia, wasn’t it? But I could never tell the lifespan of the resident of this world, so...

"Unless all dragons cease to exist, he would be forever chained to his throne," Natha suddenly said in a solemn tone, before smiling and changing it to a casual one in the end. "That’s what my teacher said, so...who knows? Ah, we’re here."

Could you believe we just talked about something people weren’t privy about casually in the open while having a leisure walk to the warehouse? Wow, I need to write this down in my journal once I get back before I forget. I wondered if I could ask Natha’s teacher more about this.

But one thing for sure; there would be no dragon mount for us, or for the Hero, for that matter.

Natha led me inside the warehouse building, which was divided into different sections. Arta was there too, of course, because the whole warehouse was under her jurisdiction, and she jumped at me the moment we stepped into the room where she was at.

"Young Master!" she pinched my cheek lightly, laughing in delight. "This is a nice surprise, are you here to visit me?"

"No, he’s here because he wants to walk with me," Natha said, peeling off Arta’s hands from my face.

"Tsk--can you humor your subordinate for a bit, my Lord?"

Isn’t it nice that they could still act casual even during work hours? I giggled and patted her shoulder. "It’s true that I came because I want to walk with Natha, but I’m happy I can see you too, Arta."

Arta gasped and covered her mouth dramatically. "Young Master, you should never let yourself get corrupted by His Lordship, okay?"

And then, as if she hadn’t just dissed her boss in front of the boss himself, she took out a box of very nice assorted cookies that I like and put it on my palm. "You can have this while His Lordship inspects the goods, Young Master."

Yaay? I laughed and opened the box, even though it wasn’t tea time yet. But Natha did not stop me, so I ate them lightheartedly while following him and the twins.

In that room, there were dozens of chests, each filled with various kinds of food; from raw ingredients to ready-made ones. There were three chests only for fruits, which were all exotic kinds that could not be obtained in the middle of winter except by special means. There was chest upon chest carved in spells that maintained a low temperature, filled with rare meats of various kinds of beasts--you know, kind of like a cooling box. Spices. Glistening, fresh vegetables. Grains. Processed Food. Carefully cultivated herbs.

"It’s all...food?" I tilted my head as Natha moved between the boxes to inspect the goods.

"Well, it is the Realm of Gluttony," Lesta said. "We have to come with rare and high-quality ingredients if we want to be treated well."

"Even though he’s a Lord too?"

"There’s a different between being treated as a guest and as a friend," Lesta chuckled and leaned closer to whisper. "Also, the Lord of Gluttony is prone to throw a tantrum, so it’s always better to be in her good grace unless we want to get annoyed for the rest of our stays."

Huh...so it was more like...a bribe? A peace offering? Kind of like when Natha gave candy and jelly to Jade so the little bird would stop making a fuss about how he stole my time.

I giggled at the image, right as Natha came back and patted my head. "What do you think?" he asked Lesta. "Is it enough?"

"For three days, I think," Lesta tapped his chin in contemplation. "No, since it’s winter and high-quality fresh ingredients are hard to come by, I think we’ll be safe for a week."

Natha nodded in satisfaction. "A week is enough. I’ll go and visit Teacher with Valen on the third day, so you and Eruha can manage the business for the next three days."

"That’s fine," Lesta nodded. "But I think it’ll be better if we add two crates of the southern mead. Eruha said it’s her current favorite."

"Good. That’ll give you free access to some places, I reckoned," Natha said while Lesta nodded in response. And all I could do was look at them in confusion.

What kind of currency is this?