A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Brother, get to it,” Nong commanded as he shoved Illvenus’s headless body to Taim. Throwing away the latter’s heart like a wet tissue, he turned to me, causing me to wince as I saw his draconic head let out a deep sigh.

“Nongramos, you—!” Taim cursed before turning to the body, casting a black magic circle around it as a purple hue started to surround it. Taim then closed his eyes before pulling out what looked like a rosary made out of bone ornaments. “I give praise to the deep black abyss. I give praise to the tamer of all beasts. I give praise to the daughter of reincarnation. For I will overstep the boundary of your domain, beseeching you with prayer for my right as a lichdragon. I beseech the daughter of death with prayer for this soul’s time. I beseech the daughter of necromancy for your miracle to stop this soul’s early departure. Lock this soul’s passage to the eternal circle, for a moment to zero. May my shadow nourish you, Goddess Ilsaphone. Prayer over, Lich’s Book.”

As the magic circle dissipated, Taim suddenly grabbed the air above the body and pulled it close to his eyes. I didn’t need [Soul Vision] active to know that Illvenus was impossible to bring back at this point. It happened too fast.

“Nong, wh—” I wanted to speak, but stopped when I saw Nong straighten his back and look down at me.

My body shook as Nong and I locked eyes, causing my tail to smack the ground as if it was trying to tell me to calm down. I could feel my teeth and scales clattering, and not just me, as it seemed Tasianna and Grimnir were feeling it as well. We three were paralyzed by his aura attack.

“Do you have the information, Brother?” Nong asked Taim without looking away from me. He kept me right in front of him, like a wolf glaring at a little rabbit, telling them that running away would only hurt more.

[Fear (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]Getting hard to breathe!

“I have, you skink,” Taim replied as he gently laid Illvenus’s body onto the ground, squinting his eyes as purple gas started to seep from his scales. “Have you forgotten that we aren’t to attack each other? Move towards Hestia, and I can show you why age matters a lot to us siblings.”

Hearing the threat, Nong finally looked away from me, causing me to groan as breathing felt easier again. As my lungs expanded and shrank, Nong walked over to Taim, wiping the blood off his hands before he crossed his arms.

“Oooh? What is this now? Trying to threaten your older brother before he can turn into his minor form?” Taim said with a deadpan tone, like always. The purple gas started to solidify into white bones, forming a skeletal head, before it started to grow like a living mass of multiplying flesh to end up in the shape of a dragonewt’s skull. “Though I guess I can just tell Father that we were sparring, right? We have Hestia here for healing to really drive it home. ‘The little birdie got rambunctious about staying as a bird for so long, so I got him to unwind.’ Sounds fair?”

Nong huffed before turning around to me, though he didn’t take a step forward as Taim had commanded. “Little scamp, you will not join us in the upcoming war.”

“… What did you say?” I tilted my head, pulling my pointy ears to check if I had so much earwax that I couldn’t hear properly.

“You will remain in your mother’s nest during the course—”

“That was a rhetorical question!” I yelled, mostly to reorganize my emotions after Illvenus’s murder and Nong’s uncharacteristic animosity towards me. “Be frank, why are you telling me this? Is it because you see me as weak?”

“Yes, you are pathetically weak for the trials ahead of us. It has been made clear to me three times, now,” he replied. “First, your inability to even contend against Dragon Ruler Maustoovaka, leading to the deaths of multiple dragonkin on both sides, including those who wished to protect you out of loyalty to the imperial family. Ryranakus was also injured to protect you.”

Urrrgh…

“Second, the glacial expedition had taught me that you are showing the growth needed to stand with all of us; what you lack is your rank A. Your stats, skills, and [Battle Frenzy] have long hit the wall all of us have faced, at least, once. They are stagnating. And it seemed like it had happened a long time ago, but due to your, frankly, crazy numbers of unique skills, blessings, and that ridiculous divine blessing usurpation ability, you could simply brute force through them despite your body’s clear limitations.”

I could feel my nerves popping. What did this peacock just say?

“You’re coping with that statement, Big Bro… brute force? That’s a pretty mean way to demean my efforts when I’m trying to do what is needed to survive against people stronger than me. The real definition of ‘brute forcing’ is what you can do with your speed. Why do you need to think about anything when you can simply blast through everything with your speed and higher strength? That’s the ‘tyrant’s way’ to do it as a scion of Kargryxmor, no? That’s brute forcing, you birdbrain!” I snapped. “I’m okay with being called weak, but don’t fucking insult my efforts as ‘brute forcing!’ You—”

“Fuck! Asshole!” I heard a shout coming from behind the door, revealing it to be Vifi. Still in a patient gown, unlike Nong, who made clothes using his scales, she slammed her fist against the door frame with a fury-filled grimace. “Teleporting all around the damn subspace, just to confuse me, huh? As—you really are a bastard, Prince! Thought you had enough of hearing him, but you really just wanted to buy some time to kill that elf, huh?”

Were they both listening in?

Each prison room was technically a separate space with no hallways, so they probably listened in from another room. Neither Grimnir nor I closed the doors since we never had to worry about eavesdroppers. That’s how Nong heard everything. Open a door portal and don’t enter it, and you could just listen in. I was the master of my [Room] subspace, and I could know whatever was happening inside, but I was too distracted by Illvenus’s mad rambling.

No, wait, that isn’t what’s—

“Third,” he growled as he suddenly appeared right in front of me, causing purple gas to shoot out of my shadow, creating a nauseating-smelling gas wall to appear before me. It wasn’t my corrosive gases, as I couldn’t breathe them, and even if I tried to do it, my body was actively rejecting the mana inside.

“Bear with it, Hestia. My dark mana isn’t too good for a holy dragon, so hold your breath,” Taim stated, prompting me to do as I was told. “Nongramos, I thought I had told you not to move. Your wind won’t be able to blow away gassy dark mana, and I don’t suggest you breathe it in, as well.”

“One day I will,” Nong snarled. “I will become the next wind dragon to achieve true wind mana.”

“Ambitious as always, you little tyrant.”

“But maybe that is needed to teach our youngest here the gap between us,” he said. “You didn’t notice me appearing before you, Hestia. You only noticed when I became ‘visible.’ Quasdrakeen is fast enough to do that even without using mana, and even with mana, I was too late to help you in time. My mind saw, but my body moved too late. If it had been even a moment later, you would have died! That’s the third time; that’s the damn third time I had to think of you as ‘weak!’ Tell me, if you can’t protect yourself, who will you rely on when the war happens?”

I turned silent, looking over at Tasianna, Grimnir, and Vifi, before turning to Taim and Nong, who were still staring down at me. That was my answer.

“Correct. You must rely on others while you support them with your spell songs, just like how you did during our battle against the elemental emperors. You performed your duty correctly, but you can only do that if you are safe. If you are too far away, or if somebody stops your sound transfer, everybody will lose your ‘voice.’ If you were stronger, more durable, or capable enough to dodge attacks in a typhoon of claws, breath attacks, and magic, then I could imagine you fighting in the upcoming war between dragons and leviathan. I could.” He shook his head as his crossed arms fell. His expression softened, with his eyes drooping. “Little scamp, if one of our empress-mothers had a child, and you became an older sister, would you involve that child in a war? A conflict where you can’t assure they would survive?”

And then it dawned on me. That was his answer to my “why?”

If I became an older sister? If I became like Neill or Wendriosa? What would it feel like as an older sister, watching a new life move? To be honest, as a single child who only just recently learned of her huge family, such a question was difficult for me to answer.

Family was family. I had a duty to protect them all, even if it sounded arrogant to say so towards legendary ancients like Father or my mothers. I witnessed Kahalameet’s spectacular mana control and his evolved form, understand that an even larger gap was created between the two of us. Yet, I didn’t really despair, as I had already learned from my time with Saori and Tasianna.

We were family. Our individual strengths bolstered everybody, allowing all of us to overcome challenges far beyond us.

… But what if one of my family members couldn’t help? What if their individual strength would only hinder the safety of the entire party? What if it were better to exclude them from the plans and simply handle it yourself? To keep them safe?

Well, if that happened, then I would call it a regression of what I had learned. I had learned to rely on others and to trust them even if I deemed them “weaker than me.” It was the same when I gave Grimnir my answer.

However, what Nong was asking me was to imagine the person I had to protect to be similar to those orphans I met in Artorias’s capital, Griffonpeak. Those kids who called me “big sister.” Those very kids whom I had to save from those slave auctioners.

Would I bring them to war?

[“… I would push them away. Far away from the conflict, so I can stop worrying about them. If I let emotions distract me in a battle, then it would only create a weakness,”] I answered.

“Correct. Why would I protect a weakling I want to protect? Stay in Frozen Nest, and let the adults handle this. Don’t participate in the war or the retrieval of that demonic item. Taimatrak read the soul of that traitor, so we—Huh?” Nong paused to look down, noticing white “stone” had burst through the wooden floor, fully encasing his feet and tail.

He tried to break through them, but this was a subspace. The ground was indestructible unless the subspace master deemed it otherwise.

[“You’re right here. I can’t argue against you about it. I am weak, and I think I’m starting to… really understand what it feels like to be unable to do anything and having to rely on another to do the heavy lifting. I can’t flee as I used to do when I knew I was weaker than somebody, nor can I see a way to totally bridge the gap between a rank B and a rank S in time, unless the leviathans gave us three or four years for me to evolve and grind levels like a game-addicted basement-dweller. I would need the gods to grant me so many Divine Quests that it would make Plesia mad, to raise my stats and Job levels without relying on overhunting Frozen Nest,”] I admitted, but still decided to push that fear to the back of my mind. This wasn’t the time to accept staying weak. [“But, you made a real mistake trying anything inside my home, Nong. The [Room] is the base of Aurora, and I am its master. This is for killing Illvenus without my approval when he was my prisoner. Nongramos Eluccierra Kargryxmor, get the hell out of my subspace and stay out of it for the next ten days.”]

“Wha—Arrgh!” Nong screamed as the ground pulled Nong towards the door and threw him out of the subspace entirely, leaving him stranded inside our mansion in Coral Beard.

Haaa, guess I have to ask Mom to deliver the subspace runes outside. Would be too awkward to go out and meet Nong after what I said. Should put some time into fixing the wooden floor since I broke it. Might as well do some carpentry after soooo long.

“What a drag,” Taim said as he dispelled the purple fog around me. He then pointed at Vifi. “Tasianna. Master Dwarf. Could the two of you explain the last bit of information to her? Just in case she didn’t understand why we have to go into the abyss.”

Both of them turned to me for a moment before reciprocating my nod. Once the two of us were alone, Taim let out a deep sigh before picking up Illvenus’s head and stitching it back onto his body with the black mana strings he conjured from his fingers. He then pointed at the donut hole in my doctor’s chest, including the heart. Understanding what he wanted, I started fixing Illvenus’s body for his burial or cremation.

“That stone is quite useful,” he said during the… emballing process?

“Only if I react in time. I am master of my subspace, but the moment an enemy enters, I won’t have full protection, even with this indestructible, dungeon ground-like material. Somebody fast enough can blitz me before the ground captures them. Nong was distracted. It isn’t a good trap. That’s why I don’t want people to enter it,” I explained.

“Ahhh, that’s why you entered Caedhul. Mhmm, yes, inviting enemies into your nest would be dangerous. You never know what can happen.”

“I have to give them permission, yes. Even if it’s temporary and disappears the moment I throw them out, if they somehow leave something behind, that would be problematic. Living beings need permission, but non-living things can enter without me being aware of it.”

“So the undead would count as non-living?”

“Yes. You needed permission, so you are alive, Bro!”

Taim groaned. “At least your sense of comedy hasn’t dulled with what Nongramos did… he wasn’t wrong.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“I know.”

“I personally would like to skip out on all of this battling and conflict. That’s why I never supported my nest’s wish to make me an heir candidate. Archeology and finding out about the past of the world is far more interesting to me, and I can avoid all the nuisance of being a prince of Kargryx if I fled to Altrust for a few months.” He sighed, massaging his temples when we finished restoring Illvenus’s body. He then starts wrapping his mana threads around the body. “Did you know that Wendriosa took care of me during my whelpling and fledgling years?”

“Something of the sort, yes.”

“Kahalameet and Phsothophus were always too busy. Wendriosa is only 31 years older than me, and she told me she noticed the signs when she was supposed to go on her Adulthood Pilgrimage, and decided to delay it even longer. She was right, and my Mother laid an egg. I was born from it,” he explained, halfway through mummifying Illvenus. “She shouldn’t have needed to. Mother was overjoyed with my birth and had placed many of her responsibilities of the clan on her cousin. It caused some friction with our Dragon Ruler, but he was quickly reminded that you really shouldn’t separate a mother from her hatchling, otherwise it will get messy. As such, I wouldn’t need the company. Kahalameet and Phsothophus were already over 100 at that point, so they could train me if needed. Yet, Wendriosa stayed, because she was worried neither of them could spend much time with me.”

“Your tone has finally started to shift, Bro. It seems you respect her a lot.”

“Sacrifice deserves some sort of recognition, no? It would be utterly unfair, otherwise.” He nodded by himself, as if to tell himself he was right. “I do. She spent 20 years with me, so her pilgrimage only started when she was 50. I personally believe that was one of the reasons why she had to rely on leviathans to grow her faction. While our eldest grew in power and influence, Wendriosa was seen as a sycophant because she wasn’t able to outgrow her hero worship for Kahalameet until she finished her pilgrimage. We dragonkin have good memories. The people remembered. She changed now, but by acting as a good older sister to me, she placed herself on a bad footing.”

I sighed, feeling bad for Wendriosa. “… Do you think she regrets that? It seems like she keeps trying to push and push. Fight until the last moment. She’s imposed on herself a very difficult task, and that situation is escalating due to Quasdrakeen’s influence. If Quasdrakeen wasn’t aiming for my mother, Wendriosa could have allied with her to kill Kiedaceus.”

“No. I don’t think so. You have to understand that Father wasn’t always like this. He made sure to instill the concept of family into our three oldest, and Wendriosa taught the rest of us how to be a family. Maybe she does have some regret, but I think she has already accepted them and decided to instead focus on her future. That, though, is something I can’t agree with her on,” Taim said in a sour tone, almost in a biting way. “Kahalmeet wishes to grow the empire and keep it safe, similar to Father. Phsothophus believes in our eldest’s dream, not to mention, he is far too focused on succeeding his mother’s role as the Minister of Economy. Wendriosa wishes to break that mold. She believed that I would join her, as I owe her, but I rejected her request on the day after our family dinner.”

“I assumed as much. It might have been short, but I got to understand a bit of your personality when we visited Sacred Nest. You don’t like changes, right? To be fair, I have that part in me as well, although only when it comes to negative ones. Well, even then, you have to try your best to push through the pain.”

“Words well said, if you wish to make a change. I am not the type of person, even if I am into the sciences. I want to maintain the status quo, and I’m usually quite apprehensive about major changes. I am okay with your manatech invention, but I completely disagree with how we’re currently doing the heir succession,” he said as he finally finished preparing Illvenus’s body. He patted him on the shoulder twice, then closed his eyes, mumbling under his breath before opening them again. “Do you have anything to say to him? As a criminal, he will be cremated in an oven. Dragon fire or a pyre would be too good for him. We will send a notice to Kel’Thun to inform them of his death, so his relatives, if he still has any after Nongramos’s rampage, can be notified.”

I shook my head. “We weren’t close enough. Still, it does feel bad to see him die like this after he helped me understand my body better. Hikari needs help this time. I want to understand why our body is even able to perform such a massive biological change. I can eat rocks and minerals as Hikari, but I can’t endure much volcanic gases in my silver dragon form. So many things are reversed.”

“At this point, it would be just better to make Tasianna your personal alchemist. Have her learn surgery techniques from the mana surgeons. She’s educated, well-read, and willing to learn. All good traits to have for a woman of learning,” he said, prompting me to nod. “In any case, I have to say, I fully agree with what you told Father during the family dinner. The democratic process is too large an undertaking. Local governments. We should have started there.”

Taim then activated his party bracelet and started scrolling, before he told me to turn on the streaming function. Once I did it, he gestured for me to come to him, pointing at the three streams currently active. Two of them were inside Frozen Nest—one was our usual news anchor, while the second was a… rally?

“One of the damn fish candidates threatened and almost killed our princess! Clan Liandsee has seen and heard of it when they were in Lecullius to trade! Not only did they poison our reef, but they are now even threatening our princess! Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, who led the defence of Frozen Nest when an elemental emperor attacked our land when the ancients were away, defending our honor and land from the leviathans!”

“Coward!”

“She’s not even a fledgling, yet!”

“Right! And all this while the damn succession crisis is happening! Enough is enough! Why hasn’t there been a response from the Senate or the imperial family yet? We want answers! What will Frozen Nest do to protect our Empress’s only child!”

Viewer Count: 28941 “It’s already over half of the current peak of my concert,” I commented, feeling a bit envious.

“By request of the imperial family and our father, the digital media are contracted to expand their production of the video recorder and also the construction of various information towers to fully establish the ‘Kargryxian Information Infrastructure.’ In the two days you were resting inside the clinic, the imperial support had arrived. My mother and your guild master, Mr. Jadhund, have started the construction of the Coral Beard information tower,” Taim explained. “The tower isn’t fully established yet, but the technology needed to allow video recording, streaming, and video archiving has arrived inside Coral Beard’s mana barrier. While Frozen Nest and Coral Beard aren’t connected yet, you can access the two cities’ streams and videos through your subspace. Convenient for us.”

I scrolled down, noticing the third stream was actually inside the capital of Loatryx.

“Support for Prince Kahalameet has risen due to the recent news of our youngest imperial child being attacked by the second candidate of the Caedhulen Event Quest. Although she had broken the law, critics have expressed that it is not Princess Hestia’s fault in this matter. To blame a whelpling merely curious about the world outside our home would be too cruel, they say. Especially members of Storm Nest and Thunder Nest express that the fault lies with Princess Wendriosa for enabling such behavior, as she was the eldest when they visited Lecullius.”

It’s a reporter, and they’re a dark dragonewt, I noticed.

“This brazen attack on a young whelpling is a clear declaration of war! An ancient like Quasdrakeen would have easily noticed the scent of a whelpling, not to mention that she is a Kargryxmor. Do not support Princess Wendrios! This is the world she is planning to create once she becomes the empress! A world where our hatchlings and whelplings must constantly be in danger! A world where dragons and drakes must respect the laws of the leviathan, when it must be they who respect ours when they live in our land and under our sky!”

“Prince Kahalameet has successfully gained the support of the Dragon Ruler of Earth through his brother, Second Prince Phsothophus, and Fifth Prince Ryranakus. Quake Nest’s clans, wyvern wing, and dragonewts will fully support our great prince Kahalameet! The black star who will protect Kargryx from all foreign threats!”

I chusped. “Aiya… so we already have political reporters?”

Viewer Count: 89456 Come on, what the hell!

“Frozen Nest cannot watch any of the streams over in Coral Beard, right now. Neither can the other nests. Only citizens of Coral Beard may, and the Loatryxian capital is massive, as you know yourself. 89 thousand is still quite low, but I guess not everybody is invested in using the technology,” Taim explained.

“Yeah… Earth has a graph called the ‘Innovation Mode.’ The early adopters are the ones who use the technology first and spread its reputation, which leads to the early majority snowballing the interest in the tech to a critical mass. From there, you can be sure it would spread without needing the help of the innovators. Guess that’s why I got beat by a reporter.” I sighed. “So, why did you want me to watch this?”

“Because I want you to see the growth of the technology you created. The good it will lead to, and the consequences that will inevitably always appear. You thrived on the recorder’s blessing, but this is what it can also do. Report information. My mother and Empress Yuilengreill already told you that you must commit yourself more to the political sphere. The people of Frozen Nest need answers. Stream more, yes? Control their anger before it explodes,” he ordered, despite how nonchalant he tried to make it sound. He then picked up Illvenus’s mummified body and swung it onto his back, holding onto it with a single mana thread. “Hestia, how would you describe me?”

“Eccentric with your taste,” I immediately replied, unnerving Taim enough that he almost let go of the corpse. Seeing his annoyance, I giggled. “But, you are nice. You got along really well with Sanzaphon despite how much your mother despised holy dragons. I am blessed with a really nice family. I wish I could get to know you better, and—”

“Yes, I get that, but we don’t have much time.”

I frowned, unsure why he stopped me like that. “Then you shouldn’t have asked, haaa. Right, there is much to do. Do you want me to give you a quick summary of what happened when Wendriosa and I gave our reports?”

He nodded, so I did just that.

“… I disagree with Wendriosa’s ambition, but the idea she gave isn’t too bad. If our magnanimous grandfather agrees with it, then how are we, his humble grandchildren, to disagree?”

Poor Kramps.

“Fine. I dislike the idea of you participating in the battle, but with Quasdrakeen aiming for you and Melloxtressa, then we should simply use that information to our advantage. Quasdrakeen and Kiedaceus are still enemies, even if they wish to ally to fulfill their respective goals. Once either of them becomes too weak, they will pounce on the other to complete the Divine Quest. Wendriosa understands that well enough,” Taim praised. “As such, I will join you. Not to crown Wendriosa, but to protect our home and you.”

“Thank you, so what—”

“I want you to stay out of the demon chase, though,” he interrupted me, again. Before I could even ask him why, he continued.“Tell me, Hestia, on Earth, do they also have deep-sea fish?”

“Yes.”

“How do they survive?”

“I don’t know. I never learned it. However, I do know that the deeper you go, the more different the pressure will be, to the point that humans will get crushed if they go too deep. We need specialized underwater vehicles and diving suits to visit and research the abyss layer.”

“Yes, correct. While you can’t explain the actual process, you understood the primary problem: pressure difference. So, how do our beasts and aquatic humanoids survive? It is because of mana and that their biological adaptation in the form of a water sac works with it,” he answered. “The water sac stores pressurized water created through their body, allowing them to maintain their buoyancy, similar to a swim bladder, but also to equalize the internal pressure to fit the outside one. After all, they have to survive in the depths and submerge when needed. That requires trained mana control.”

He really is a scholar. He talks just as much as Illvenus when he has to go into the details.

“Leviathans and adamantoises are not fish. They are dragonkin. So they breed in shallow water, creating lairs close to the surface to allow their children to learn mana control before they can dive into the abyss zone, where many dungeons exist for them to train inside. What I am trying to tell you is that unless you have a water sac, you require spells, enchantments, or runes to survive. A simple [Marine Lungs] won’t suffice. That is why your smith must start making diving suits. That is also why Nongramos made me obtain the information for the underwater cave’s location, because I do not need a water sac to survive in the abyss, for where there is darkness, we dark elemental dragons can survive in the world of Marsven. You cannot.”

I mean, sure, but it isn’t like we need to figure this out now. There is still time… I hope.

“In any case, I have a favor to ask you, Hestia. I help you, and you help me, right?” Taim said with a suppressed smile. “I want you to help Kahalameet become emperor.”

I squinted. “Are you telling me to commit to one side? You do know what that means, right?”

“Yes, and I know that isn’t what you want. If you said the word, Frozen and Sacred Nest will support Kahalameet. The moment he secures Inferno Nest, he will have four of the eight nests on his side. He would be in the perfect situation to win. However, that isn’t what I want you to do for me. Don’t commit your forces. What I want from you is to support his side when the altercation between Kahalameet and Maustoovaka begins,” he said. “Have the holy dragons heal the injured, and have the ice dragons freeze the flames and lava. Kahalameet wishes for Arkanator’s support when our eldests fight Maustoovaka, and I want you to ensure that.”

“People will see it otherwise. Not to mention, it will only cause even more problems between Frozen Nest and Inferno Nest. That is a favor I can’t fulfill with just an ‘okay,’ Brother.”

“Good answer.” He smiled properly this time. Was he testing me? “Okay, here is the actual favor. I need you to only send the holy dragons and prioritize keeping all the fire and lava dragons alive. We will need them for the battle against the leviathans. For the ice dragons, I need you to completely fortify your home. Turn it into a fort. Arm your dragonkin with those dwarven cannons as you did in the previous disaster. Do whatever you can to make them war-ready.”

I gulped, breathing deeply as this was an even harsher favor.

“… You’re trying to lead the war away from the mainland and to Frozen Nest, right? Because Quasdrakeen will, without a doubt, target us.”

“Divide and conquer, in a way. Separate the two candidates to weaken the total strike force. Help Quasdrakeen’s army grow, weakening Kiedaceus, which will allow those still loyal to Wendriosa to betray him, weakening him well enough for her to land the decisive strike. For that, though, we need you and Melloxtressa to survive against Quasdrakeen’s assault.”

“… So you want me to do a tower defence? Protect my island home from a sea blockade and siege.”

“Yes. If you want more details, ensure the holy dragons help Kahalameet, okay? Oh, and, for you, make sure you start streaming more, Hestia. Seriously. Stream more and make sure everybody knows your name. Good luck.”

And with Illvenus’s body, Taim left the subspace, leaving me to mull over whether I really wanted to follow along with his plans. I was sure Wendriosa and Kahalameet had their own, so would it be smart of me to follow Taim here? Then again, the tone he had was like a general giving out an order I couldn’t refuse. Or maybe it was more accurate to call him a strategist? After all, he didn’t exactly look like a burly warrior, unlike Kahalameet and Phsothophus.

Yeah, he looks more like a shaman with that floating skull head of his.

After I explained what Taim told me to my party, Grimnir decided to heed his advice and start the forging of specialized gear for our future trip.

“I didn’t want to do this, but I won’t be able to finish everything in time with just me and the lad. I’ll get some helpers.”

“I still can’t get paid by the digital media guild since we need to use most of our capital on expanding it, so instead of asking dwarven smiths to help, come over to Frozen Nest already and contract our local one. I’m pretty sure they would be pretty happy to see you work,” I said.

“Paaah, you’re still trying to persuade me here? No… but I guess we have a goal now. I’ll leave behind Daichi and Haruka to watch over our home here, and they can keep using the subspace to help me out. The railroad guild will help out once I explain everything, so send over the fastest flyer you have. I’ll meet you in Iceskale.”

“It’s a plan, then.”

With this solved, I decided to also listen to Father for a moment and continue my training. Pass Mom’s trial, and then he would train me to master [Battle Frenzy]. Nong and Taim were worried for a reason, but I had to disagree about how the former saw my efforts as the mere “wailing” of a fledgling. Sure, I couldn’t level up any more outside of my Jobs, but there were still ways for me to get stronger.

The most important one was to reach [Battle Frenzy (Major)]. The next was to master my silver dragon abilities. And the third was to level some of my skills to level ten, including mastering holy magic.

Training with Mom? Sure, that sounds like real fun. I thought after informing one of the attendants to give my subspace runes to Mom. With that last bit done, my party and I exited the subspace to return to the mansion in Iceskale.

The cold biting my scales felt almost normal at this point. It was still a bit cold without a coat, but I didn’t need to shiver to keep myself warm.

I will protect you, Iceskale. Frozen Nest.

“Princess Hestia!”

Though it seemed I might have forgotten a bit when I opened the door in my room, only to see a bunch of dragonewts kneeling before me, including Rhekk, Kylu, and Fehrkatruk.

“Please, make us your retainer!”

… Have these guys been camping in the hallway outside my room for these last two days? I just got home!