Book 4: Chapter 31 |
Leon gave a brief explanation of the whole chain of events and how things had led to this point.
But even after hearing it, the three of them—Nacho, Martin, and Rebecca—still found it a little hard to accept.
“Captain, you’re saying… your status among the dragons and your status among humans… are basically the same?”
Leon scratched at his temple. “I wouldn’t say it’s the same. I can only say… it’s not that far off.”
“And they actually sent you to negotiate.”
“Because they don’t know I’m human.”
“The fact you managed to hide that secret for so long is basically a miracle.”
“Miracle is a strong word. It’s all thanks to my astonishing intelligence and my talent for disguise.”
“Alright, stop talking nonsense.”
He folded his arms and angled his body slightly, letting his gaze slip past Leon to the vast dragon host behind him.
From their formation—and the colors of their tails—it looked like at least a dozen different clans had come.
Nacho pulled his eyes back and stared at the “great human–dragon diplomatic envoy” in front of him.
“So… do those dragons actually listen to you now?”
Leon shook his head. “Not exactly. They’re not ‘listening to me.’ I became the dragons’ representative for negotiations with humanity through the Dragon King summit. Most dragons’ stance on this war is being conveyed to humans through me.”
“Oh~~ got it.” The crazy girl looked like she was thinking hard.
“Mm. As long as you got it.”
“You’re rare!”
“Who are you calling rare?!”
“Martin—make this woman quiet.”
“Okay.”
Martin smoothly hoisted Rebecca onto his shoulder and carried her off to the side.
That scene, of course, was witnessed in full by the dragons behind Leon.
The Goldsand Dragon King Morgan narrowed his eyes slightly. “Tsk… looks like the Silver Dragon Prince Consort just gave those humans a show of force.”
“How so?” another Dragon King asked.
“You didn’t see it? That human girl was forcibly taken aside. That has to be because the Silver Dragon Prince Consort is applying pressure—forcing them to negotiate one-on-one.”
The Dragon King’s eyes lit up. “So that’s what it was!”
Clap—clap—
Morgan began to applaud. “Worthy of being the negotiation representative recommended by that old man Odin. Brilliant—truly brilliant!”
“If it were me, I probably couldn’t pull off the Silver Dragon Prince Consort’s ‘commanding without anger’ negotiation style. I’m sure he’ll secure enough benefits for dragonkind!”
“Exactly! And he insisted on stepping up alone to negotiate—no guards at all. Such courage at such a young age… his future is limitless!”
“……”
Listening to the Dragon Kings showering that dog of a man with rainbow-flavored flattery, Rosvitha couldn’t help but quietly cover her face.
Everyone… that wasn’t a show of force, and it definitely wasn’t some ‘commanding without anger’ negotiation style.
That twin-tailed girl got dragged away because she was roasting Leon so hard he was about to crack!
The queen sighed inwardly, thinking: This must be what it means to be the chosen one—no matter what he does, people automatically slap on a filter that goes ‘Whoa, so that’s what it is! That’s insane!’
“Xiao Luo.” Isha’s voice drifted over from beside her, eerie and low.
“What is it, Sis?”
Isha slowly turned her head, giving Rosvitha a mysterious look—like she was saying, Watch me perform.
“Huh?”
Rosvitha was full of question marks. She had no idea what Isha was about to do.
The next instant, Isha clenched her fist, lifted her arm, and shouted at the top of her lungs:
“LEON CASMOD! THE FUTURE LIGHT OF DRAGONKIND!”
Queen: (ΩДΩ)
“Future Light… yeah, FUTURE LIGHT! Leon!”
“Leon!”
“Casmod is dragonkind’s Future Light!”
“……”
One shout, and it spread like wildfire.
Dragonkind was a race that got riled up easily.
Besides screaming Leon’s name, some dragons got carried away and even spewed a couple blasts of dragonfire in celebration.
Surrounded by the cheers, Rosvitha’s tail and shoulders drooped, helpless and resigned.
If you knew this ‘Future Light’ was the same ‘man in black armor’ from back then, you wouldn’t be yelling this enthusiastically.
……
Dragonfire lit up the iron-blue sky, and Nacho immediately grew wary.
“What’s this? Did they turn on us?”
Before Leon could answer, slogans drifted in on the wind—things like “Leon, my superman,” and so on.
Leon opened his mouth, but in the end he didn’t explain. He just shrugged. “Now you get it.”
Nacho sucked in a cold breath. “So are you the Silver Dragon’s prince consort… or the whole dragon race’s prince consort?”
“Hey! Don’t make ethical jokes! My wife is only Rosvitha Melkvi!”
“Who asked you that?!”
The cheers gradually died down.
Leon dropped his goofy act, and Nacho did too. It was time for real business.
“So what’s dragonkind’s stance on this war?”
“If possible, stop the war immediately.”
“And the terms?”
“They said that after the ceasefire, they hope to return the clan territories that were lost because of the Empire and those traitor Dragon Kings’ conspiracy. Likewise, dragonkind will return part of the resources.”
Leon added, “I checked the materials they prepared. The land-and-resource exchange is very reasonable. We can accept it—no loss on our side.”
Nacho nodded. “No problem.”
“Hah. That easy? You’re not going back to ask your higher-ups?”
“……”
“Then may I ask, Leader Leon—are you satisfied with the terms you just proposed?”
“Satisfied.”
“Good.”
Nacho let out a long breath of relief. “Then… negotiation finished?”
“Wait. Not finished yet.”
“What now?”
Leon’s expression turned serious as he stared straight at Nacho.
Nacho also sensed something even more important might be coming, so he sobered up and asked quietly,
“Is there something you need me to operate on the Empire’s side?”
“Oh, no. Not that.” Leon said. “I just think we should keep standing like this… for five more minutes.”
“……W-why?”
“Because it makes us look really cool while we’re negotiating.”
“……”
Nacho rolled his eyes in speechless disgust.
Were the Empire’s strongest dragon-slaying squad really all like this from top to bottom?
A psycho twin-tailed girl, a blank-faced support mage, and a chuuni captain.
Nacho could only marvel inwardly: Thank god I wasn’t assigned to the Dragon-Slayer Army’s front-line unit back then. Otherwise I’d definitely have turned into this kind of lunatic too!
“By the way—how did you end up dealing with Kant?” Leon asked.
“Like you said. After we interrogated him, we handed Kant over to the public for judgment. The verdict was: first a public parade, then execution by beheading.”
“Good. A king that incompetent and depraved has no need to keep living.”
Leon had never felt pity for a man like King Kant.
“So did you get anything valuable out of him?”
Nacho frowned and shook his head. “No. Even magic that peers into memory didn’t work. It’s like there’s some kind of barrier in his mind—no magic can probe into it.”
“A barrier? Insurance from the Royal Arcanist Corps?”
“No idea. And also… we still haven’t found Elizabeth’s whereabouts.”
After the final battle in the Empire, King Kant was captured on the spot, but Queen Elizabeth vanished without a trace.
“We thought the queen just hid in the chaos. But after this long—after carpet searching—we still haven’t found her.”
Nacho paused, then changed the subject.
“But—we found an interesting letter in the queen’s study. We planned to send it to you by messenger dragon, but since you’re here today, we’ll hand it to you in person.”
As he spoke, Nacho pulled out an envelope from his pocket and passed it into Leon’s hand.
Leon opened it. The contents ran on for thousands of words.
It read like a lyrical essay—no clear focus, even borderline incoherent.
Of course, Leon wasn’t paying attention to the body of the letter.
His attention locked onto the very first words at the top—
“To: Lord Shadow.”
…
Footnotes:
- hú zhōuPinyin: hú zhōu
Explanation: To make things up / spout nonsense / fabricate shamelessly—often used for playful, unserious “bullshitting.”
- xià mǎ wēiPinyin: xià mǎ wēi
Explanation: Literally “dismounting intimidation.” A display of authority meant to shock, pressure, or establish dominance right from the start—like a warning shot.
- cǎi hóng pìPinyin: cǎi hóng pì
Explanation: Internet slang meaning over-the-top flattery—praise so exaggerated it’s like “blowing rainbow farts.”
- wā càoPinyin: wò cào
Explanation: A common exclamation online and in speech—roughly “holy crap/what the—,” expressing surprise or shock. Can be vulgar depending on context.
- gǒu nán rénPinyin: gǒu nán rén
Explanation: A teasing insult meaning “that damn man / jerk,” often used in a half-joking, half-affectionate way (especially in romance-comedy tones), not necessarily literal hatred.
- zhōng èr bìngPinyin: zhōng èr bìng
Explanation: “Second-year middle school syndrome.” A joking term for people who act theatrically edgy, overly dramatic, or self-styled like they’re the protagonist of a fantasy—used humorously.
- chǔn yúPinyin: tiān rán dāi
Explanation: “Naturally airheaded/spacey.” A character trope: someone innocently clueless or slow in a cute, unintentional way.
- fēng pīPinyin: fēng pī
Explanation: Internet slang describing someone “unhinged/crazy (in a fierce way)”—often for a wild, unpredictable personality with sharp aggression or chaotic energy.
- niú bīPinyin: niú bī
Explanation: Colloquial slang meaning “awesome/badass/insanely impressive.” Can be vulgar depending on register, but widely used informally.
- yáng yáng sǎ sǎPinyin: yáng yáng sǎ sǎ
Explanation: Describes writing that flows at great length—copious, expansive, and unrestrained, often implying “pages and pages” of text.
- bù zhī suǒ yúnPinyin: bù zhī suǒ yún
Explanation: An idiom meaning “to not know what someone is talking about”—i.e., incoherent, rambling, unclear in meaning.