Episode 37
Guardian Dragon’s Nest (2)
“her……!”
As soon as Theo opened the iron door and went in, he let out an exclamation of admiration without realizing it.
A huge common room that could probably accommodate hundreds of people.
A mountain of gold and silver treasures.
Standing much higher along the wall.
The golden light seen through the crack in the door seemed to be all light reflected from these.
but.
What really surprised Theo was the ‘dragon’ lying face down and sleeping in the center of the room.
Tough brown skin like tree roots.
Beautiful, sparkling dark blue scales that look like they were taken from the deep sea.
A giant body that is several tens of meters tall.
And wings large enough to cover it.
There, right there, was an ancient dragon species that had long since become extinct and was now only seen in ancient sacred paintings.
What’s even more surprising is that the ancient dragon is breathing.
‘This wasn’t just a hatchling’s den… …! It was actually the nest of an ancient dragon species.’
An ancient dragon’s nest that is said to have enormous value, enough to feed dozens of generations, if discovered at all.
Judging by its size and the pressure it felt, it was clearly of the Dragon King level.
The moment when Theo opened his eyes wide to a truth he had never thought of.
Flash!
The dragon, which was thought to be asleep, opened its eyes.
Theo’s surprised face was reflected in golden pupils that sparkled beautifully like jewels.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been here,
Theo came to his senses at the sound of the voice in his head and slowly opened his mouth.
“you are……!”
“My name is Lordbroke.”
The ancient dragon, who had revealed its name, slowly began to grow larger.
Kukuku… … !
That alone caused the hall to tremble violently, and a shower of gravel rained down from the sky.
“You, Ragnar, are the masters of this winter mountain range, the ones who call themselves
“… … !”
Theo was more surprised by Lordbroke’s identity than by his massive physique, which seemed enormous just by standing up.
Guardian dragon.
A being that Ragnar’s ancestor, Sigurd, made a contract with before he first established his family in the North.
And… …she was also his lover.
There was a legend that the second head of the family was the ‘half-dragon’ born from Sigurd and Lodbrok.
The reason Ragnar claimed that their blood contained ‘dragon’s blood’.
“I meet my ancestors… … !”
Theo tried to greet her by kneeling down on one knee.
“Hmm? Ancestors?”
However, Lordbroke’s reaction was that he didn’t understand English.
So, rather, it was Theo who was suspicious.
“Isn’t the Guardian Dragon the mother of ‘Friedreif’, who was our ancestor’s companion and the second generation of our family?”
“Who? Me? That bastard’s mother?”
Lordbroke’s head tilted to the side.
“Hahahaha! I see. So that’s what happened. That rascal was up to something.”
Roadbroke suddenly burst into laughter.
The cave echoed loudly.
But Theo couldn’t laugh accordingly.
The negative tone towards the second generation of the family, Friedreif, is also like that.
It was because I felt like the common sense I had known all along was being threatened.
“Child of Sigurd. Will you tell me what legends are told about me in the outside world?”
Theo hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth cautiously.
and.
Phew!
Lordbroke laughed after hearing the whole story.
“As expected. That scoundrel was just trying to gain his own legitimacy.”
Theo was a little at a loss as to how to deal with such a snub to his ancestors.
“Let me tell you one thing. Although I was clearly born with the characteristics of a female, I have never defined myself as a specific gender. The responsibilities I had to shoulder were too great for me to care about such things.”
Lordbroke raised his head high.
The sight was so majestic.
“It is true that Sigurd and I called each other ‘companion’, but it was only a sign of respect for partners, or contract holders with whom we exchanged souls. There was no such emotional exchange between him and me.”
Her voice, somehow reminiscent of the past, seemed to be filled with longing.
“and.”
The corners of Lordbroke’s eyes furrowed slightly.
“I’m a dragon to begin with, and he’s a human. How could we possibly mate when our eyes are different and our perspectives on the opposite sex are different?”
Theo nodded with a bitter smile.
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Actually, that was also true.
Just as humans cannot tell the difference between beauty and ugliness in Lordbroke’s eyes.
The human appearance reflected in Lordbroke’s eyes would also be the same.
“However, Sigurd’s worthless son always wanted to use me. That’s why I got fed up and left you, Ragnar.”
Theo scratched his cheek with an embarrassed face.
“Then, the idea that our clan contains dragon blood was a kind of propaganda.”
“No. That’s not necessarily true. I shared the ‘dragon’s blood’ with Sigurd through a contract.”
“ah.”
“Sigurd, who didn’t seem human, underwent several modifications there. Perhaps the unique body that you Ragnar was born with is a mutation that emerged there.”
Theo nodded, saying that he now understood the context.
I think I understand why Friedreif’s propaganda worked.
“Well then, I think this brief greeting is enough, so I will begin my duty as a guardian dragon to the chosen one.”
selector.
Theo could tell that it was a word referring to someone who had been ‘chosen’ by the relics of the Great Dragon.
“From now on, I, Lordbroke, will grant the Chosen One who has passed the ‘Test’ the opportunity to ask three questions in accordance with the original covenant.”
Theo’s ears perked up.
“Are you willing to answer any questions I ask you?”
“Is that your first question?”
“… … No. Please wait a moment.”
It’s like talking about mating on your own.
Theo began to wonder if Lordbroke might actually have a mischievous nature, despite his dignified appearance.
‘Come to your senses. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’
Given the circumstances, it was clear that Lordbroke knew the secrets of the various incidents he was experiencing.
So, I had to organize my questions as much as possible to find out as much information as possible.
Theo quickly gathered his thoughts and slowly opened his mouth.
“Then let me ask you the first question.”
“Speak.”
“Why are you here?”
It is said of the family that after the death of his father Sigurd, Lordbrok longed for him and likewise returned to nature.
But in reality, she was building a nest in this remote area where few people visited.
And that too, kept a secret from the world.
That meant there was a reason why she had been hiding for the past thousand years.
“Are you asking fundamental questions to find out as much hidden background information as possible? That’s a good question.”
Lordbroke continued, smiling faintly.
but.
Soon her expression turned solemn.
“It’s because of the
“Nameless monarch… … ?”
Theo felt a strange chill run down his spine.
Even though it was clearly a name I was hearing for the first time.
“It is a ‘monster’ that exists at the very edge of the world, beyond the Maha Sea. I have been staying here for the past thousand years with the mission to protect the world from it. The Winter Mountains are merely an outpost for that purpose.”
There were only two emotions that came from Lordbroke.
anger.
And… … horror.
‘There is someone in the world that the Guardian Dragon fears? This dragon who was the Dragon King a thousand years ago?’
Theo couldn’t understand the situation at all.
Who on earth is the
Could it be the great demon lord of the demon world that I only heard of, or a
But Theo had to suppress the questions that were rising to his chin.
If I ask any more questions here, I won’t be able to ask any other questions.
So, with my curiosity still in my chest, I asked the next question.
“… … Let me ask you a second question. What exactly is this relic of the Taigoryong?”
“The primordial dragon Fafnir split his soul into 31 pieces to protect you humans from the
“… … !”
It’s out again.
The name of the being called
“You have three of them. Soon you will have four.”
Theo’s eyes lit up.
‘You have three? Not two?’
Theo touched Drake’s blade and moonblade with his hands.
In addition to this, he said that he already had another relic of the ancient dragon.
‘… … It’s me.’
It was easy to conclude what it was.
return.
An unrealistic phenomenon that dates back over ten years.
If that isn’t the power brought about by the relics of the Ancient Dragon, then what else could it be?
But there were also questions.
‘In the case of the relics of the ancient dragon, there was always a dragon guarding the relics. But wasn’t there something like that in the ‘regression’ I experienced?’
“Now, this is the last question.”
“Why me?”
“The question is too broad. Narrow it down.”
“Why was I ‘chosen’?”
“Oh, that was the question. I was wondering why it didn’t come up.”
Psik-
A smirk escaped Lordbroke’s lips.
“I guess I should ask the question in return. Why do you talk as if you were the only one ‘specially’ chosen?”
“What do you mean… … !”
“The original covenant was not made to favor anyone. The answers to the three questions are here.”
Lordbroke pressed his lips together tightly.
It seemed like he would never answer any questions I asked him.
Thump thump thump-
Meanwhile, Theo was beating his chest hard with his bat.
‘I am not the only one chosen by the relic.’
In fact, if you think about it, it was an extremely natural thing.
Eddo, Kirshon, and Black Dragon all knew about the relic and were trying to collect it.
So it wouldn’t be at all strange if some of them were already using the relics.
‘Maybe they too are seeing the same message as me, or maybe they have experienced a regression?’
Theo had a sudden thought, but quickly shook it off.
‘No. Each relic had different abilities. Like Drake’s dungeon, and Griffin’s Moonlight Sword. My regression may have been due to the relic’s unique ability.’
But this too was just a guess, so I couldn’t be sure what was certain.
‘So what happens when you collect all 31 relics? Will the Ancient Dragon come back to life?’
So why was this arrangement established?
‘To kill the
One question after another.
“You have a worried face.”
“Actually, that’s true.”
“This is also one of the hardships you must endure. Too much information only limits the chooser’s ability to decide what to do next.”
Roadbroke looked as if he was wary of something.
So Theo didn’t bother asking any more questions.
However, the question remained as to whether he was still a nameless monarch or had multiple choosers.
Still, he was satisfied with just having a clue as to what exactly the First Dragon’s relic was and why he was going through this.
‘You will learn more details as you continue to collect other relics. Even if you sit on the throne, you will eventually find out these facts.’
“Still, I like this selection because it seems like it’s definitely going to end. If it were the guys before, they would have been busy making a fuss, saying, ‘What kind of Zen question is this?'”
Theo nodded.
Certainly, if it was the Ragnar he knew, even if he was a guardian dragon, if there was something he didn’t like, the authors would have caused a ruckus.
“Okay, now that all the quests are finished, it’s time to get your rewards.”
Lordbroke shouted, spreading his wings wide.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed Tutorial Quest #15.]
[Rating: A+]
[You have the chance to obtain the ‘Artifact of the Ancient Dragon’ as a reward.]
“As you can see, this nest is full of treasures I have collected from all over the world during my past life. I will give you one of them. What do you want?”
Theo clenched his fists.
compensation.
It was a word that made my ears perk up every time I heard it.
How much more valuable would it be if it were a treasure bestowed directly by the guardian dragon of the family?
“Gems? If you sell just one of these, you can easily buy a large city. Grimoires? They will give you great strength. How about elixirs? They will raise you to a higher level. There are also secrets. They are things that will make you stand above everyone else in the near future.”
Theo looked around Lordbroke’s room at the mountains of gold and silver treasures and the high vaults that reached to the ceiling.
“How about the sword? You Ragnars have proven yourselves with the sword, so there is nothing better than this.”
Gems, magic books, elixirs, secret weapons, weapons… … .
All the treasures that have made the world cry were here.
“Just say anything and I’ll give it to you.”
An attitude that seems like he can give you whatever you want.
There was no devil’s temptation.
‘That’s why Black Snow was able to choose Amon here.’
Perhaps the rumor that it was called the ‘Hatchling’s Lair’ was a deliberate fabrication of information by Heukseol.
Information manipulation to hide the existence of the Guardian Dragon.
They probably intended to take this fruit for themselves.
‘Then what do I choose?’
Theo considered choosing Amon himself, but soon shook his head.
He actually doesn’t know the exact details about Amon.
What if it’s something that’s toxic to growth?
There could be no greater disaster than that.
But even without Amon, there are many items here that will help Theo grow right away.
I had to find those things.
“Yes. You must be worried. In that case, feel free to roam the nest until you make a decision. Then call me when you’ve decided.”
Lordbroke tried to be considerate of him, though.
Theo, however, was in no position to accept Lordbroke’s advice.
Even at this moment, the flowering ceremony will be in full swing.
If you were away from your seat for too long, you could arouse the examiners’ suspicion.
‘Then what should I choose…?’
At that moment, Theo suddenly had this thought.
Lordbroke apparently said that ‘all’ the treasures of the world were here.
He said he would give anything for it.
then.
Wouldn’t it be possible to have a treasure that is ‘out of the ordinary’?
After much thought, Theo raised his head and stared into Lordbroke’s eyes.
“Oh, have you decided?”
Lordbroke’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Can I really get whatever treasure I want?”
“Of course. All the words a dragon spits are bound by the spirit of words. It can never tell a lie. Of course, it cannot give away items that are not in this nest, but if it is not something like that, it can give away anything.”
“Then there is just one thing I want.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
Theo said, staring at his reflection in her golden eyes.
“I want a roadblock.”
“……hmm?”
Lordbroke blinked for a moment, wondering if he had heard wrong.
Theo spoke again, his face expressionless and blunt.
“I told you I wanted a treasure called Lordbroke.”
「… … !」
How the bastard of the Return Sword Family lives
