The journey back to Black Stone Territory was silent.

Not until they had returned to Black Stone Castle did Raylo finally speak.

"Sun, you were too reckless this time."

Raylo’s voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

Sun’s massive golden head turned toward Raylo, and he answered in a deep, booming voice.

"I was patrolling the border of Black Stone Territory while training those Sky Dragons. That human happened to be passing by the edge of our territory."

"He had a certain scent about him."

A flash of disgust crossed Sun’s golden eyes.

"It wasn’t a human scent. It was the stench of rotting blood and a fallen soul, all mixed together. It was faint, but there’s no way I could have misjudged it."

"So I followed him." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Sun continued.

"All the way to Silver Moon Territory. I saw him putting on a cunning and persuasive act in front of that Baron, and I saw the deep-seated greed in his eyes when he looked at that girl."

"I could not tolerate such a filthy scheme unfolding before my very eyes. So, I purified him."

’So that’s how it was.’

Raylo nodded in understanding.

Sun’s actions, while reckless, were in line with his nature to despise evil.

’Since I chose Sun to be my Knight, I have to accept everything about him.’

’If I’m to enjoy the peace his immense power brings to Black Stone Territory, then I must also accept the minor troubles caused by his pride and his over-the-top sense of chivalry.’

"Your judgment was correct, Sun. You did indeed solve a major problem for Silver Moon Territory."

Raylo’s tone softened.

"But your methods are... questionable."

Seeing the hint of confusion in Sun’s eyes, he continued.

"In the future, when you encounter a similar situation, don’t be so quick to kill. And especially, don’t use your Dragon Breath to burn someone to the point where nothing is left."

Sun’s massive golden head lowered slightly, a flicker of bewilderment in his draconic eyes.

"Only by burning them to nothing can evil be thoroughly purified. Ashes can no longer spread corruption."

"That’s true in principle."

Raylo sighed. Sun’s argument was remarkably similar to that of Bishop Augustus from the Light Holy See.

He walked up the castle steps, bringing himself level with Sun’s head.

"But in the world of humans, sometimes a living sinner is more useful than a handful of clean ashes."

He organized his thoughts, explaining in the simplest terms he could manage.

"If you had only subdued him instead of burning him to death, we could have interrogated him to find out who his accomplices are, where their lair is, and what other plots they have."

"We could have used him as evidence, presented him before all the nobles, leaving Baron Kailan with nothing to say and making everyone understand the threat of Vampires. That way, we would have had a legitimate reason to purge the dark forces from all of Silver Moon Territory, and even follow the trail to find more hidden enemies."

"Now that you’ve burned him to ash, Baron Kailan is certainly afraid, but he’s unlikely to be truly convinced. The other nobles who don’t know the full story will only think that I, from Black Stone Territory, am being overbearing, using a dragon to arbitrarily execute a prospective heir on someone else’s land. This will bring us a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future."

Sun fell silent.

A Giant Dragon’s way of thinking was direct and pure. Good and evil, life and death—the lines were clearly drawn.

He had never considered that in human society, such a complex gray area could exist between the two.

His nature, which belonged to the side of order, told him that Raylo had a point.

Purifying evil was certainly important, but maintaining a greater order seemed to require more thorough methods.

"I... don’t really understand these rules of you humans."

Sun admitted in his deep, booming voice, which for the first time carried a hint of frustration.

"It’s alright if you don’t understand. You can learn."

The corners of Raylo’s mouth curved into a smile, like a hunter finally seeing his prey step into a trap.

He turned and gave an order to Ed, the Personal Guard Captain, who was waiting at the castle gate.

"Ed, go and fetch Evan the Scribe."

"Yes, Lord."

Ed accepted the order and hurried away.

Sun’s golden eyes blinked. An expression approaching "bewilderment" appeared on his massive head. ’Learn?’

’Learn what?’

Soon, Evan, the skinny Scribe with a monocle, came jogging over, clutching a thick ledger in his hands.

"Lord, you were looking for me?"

"Evan."

Raylo pointed to the mountain-like Golden Dragon beside him.

"Sun is not yet familiar with the laws of our Human Kingdom or the common protocols among nobles."

Evan followed the direction of Raylo’s finger and met the gaze of those enormous, molten-gold eyes.

He wasn’t very brave to begin with and was more accustomed to handling administrative affairs in his office. Being stared at from such a close distance by Sun, even though he knew his Lord’s Knight companion wouldn’t harm him, still made his knees go weak. He nearly dropped his ledger, only managing to steady himself by quickly grabbing a nearby stone pillar.

"Y-yes, Lord."

"Therefore, I order you."

Raylo’s tone became cheerful.

"Go to the library and find a few of the most basic books on the laws of the Human Kingdom, the common tongue of the Continent, and history... Hmm, in short, prepare a copy for Sun of everything a qualified Knight ought to know."

Evan’s monocle nearly slid off his nose.

His jaw dropped. He looked at Sun’s massive maw, which looked large enough to swallow three oxen in one gulp, then back at the smile on his Lord’s face, and swallowed hard.

’Give a dragon... lessons?’

’Has anything this ridiculous ever happened on the entire Continent?’

"Lessons?"

Sun finally realized Raylo’s intention. His voice suddenly shot up an octave, so loud that it made the plaza in front of the castle hum.

"Me? A Golden Dragon! Learn your human formalities, as numerous as ants? I refuse!"

The Giant Dragon’s pride made him instinctively reject the suggestion.

"Sun."

Raylo’s voice grew heavy. He looked Sun directly in the eyes.

"You swore an oath to me of your own free will, to become a Knight of Black Stone Territory. Is that correct?"

"...Yes."

Sun answered, somewhat reluctantly.

"Do you remember the Eight Virtues of a Knight?"

"Humility, Honor, Sacrifice, Valor, Compassion, Honesty, Spirit, and Justice," Sun recited almost instantly. "It is a creed etched into the very bloodline of all Metal Dragons."

"Good."

Raylo nodded.

"What is the first one?"

"Humility."

"Then, is not admitting one’s own shortcomings in a certain area and humbly learning new knowledge—so as to better fulfill one’s duties and protect the territory and people you’ve sworn to defend—the greatest expression of the spirit of Humility?"

Raylo’s voice was not loud, but every word was clear and irrefutable.

Sun’s enormous draconic mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t utter a single word in rebuttal.

Raylo had countered all his arguments, and he had done so using the very code of chivalry Sun himself was so proud of.

’This felt even worse than getting a face full of Dragon Breath from that Black Dragon.’