The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 420: Dragon Lair (3)

“By the way, can’t we do something about this height difference? My neck hurts from looking up.”

At Kai’s words, the red dragon let out a sigh.

—Wait...

At the same time, light swirled around the dragon’s massive body and soon a red-haired young man appeared.

“Oh, this is that thing, right? Polymorph, like in fantasy novels.”

“What novel?”

“Never mind.” Kai took out two sofas from his inventory and said while offering a seat to the young man who furrowed his brow, “My name is Kai. I’m the Sovereign Duke ruling over the grand duchy of the Kingdom of Rashion.”

“Hmph. I am Magimus of the Red Dragon clan.” Magimus spoke in a disinterested tone and continued, “Let me ask again. What kind of conversation does a human want with me?”

He was quite impatient, but Kai didn’t want to drag the conversation either.

“Ancient dragons. You know, the Dragon Lord, the elder dragons, the ones with all sorts of titles.”

“What about them?”

“I’d like to meet one. Can you arrange something?”

“Hah!”

Letting out a scoff of disbelief, Magimus shot up. His eyes now glowed yellow like those of a reptile.

“I only tolerated some idle talk because I disliked my nest becoming chaotic, but this is too much.”

“Sit,” Kai said in a calm voice.

“The elders, and especially the most revered Lord, are the great ancestors of the dragon race whom all dragons respect. And you’re asking me to reveal such a being’s identity to a human I just met today?”

“I get it. Just sit first.”

“And you keep ordering me around. If I truly get angry...”

“This is the third time. Sit.”

Kai’s cold gaze locked onto Magimus’ eyes. Magimus involuntarily took a step back and looked down at his own feet.

Did I just feel fear...? Me? To a human?

Of course, this human had cancelled dozens of his spells, which proved him to be no ordinary one. However, the true strength of a dragon came from the endless mana that surged from their own heart. In actual combat, he had never once thought he would lose to the human before him. And yet, the sight of him sitting calmly now felt even more threatening than before.

Magimus gulped and slowly sat down. “I’ll... hear what you have to say. Why do you want to meet him?”

“I don’t think it’ll be a bad thing for the Dragon Lord either. I plan to give him something he’s been desperately longing for."

“Something he desperately longs for?” Magimus tilted his head. “What is that?”

“Well... Come to think of it, how old are you?”

“I am 3,174 years old.”

“How about the Dragon Lord?”

“He has lived for nearly 10,000 years.”

“I see.”

He was one who had challenged a top-tier god and was cast out of the heavens upon defeat.

So he’s lived nearly 10,000 years trapped in a lizard’s body with all memories lost...

Thinking of it that way, he truly did seem pitiful.

"But hey, do you even have direct contact with the Dragon Lord?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What do you take me for... I, Magimus, am the one considered the next head of the dragon clan."

"Then at least pass on the message. Ask him whether he’s curious about his past."

After finishing speaking, Kai leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes.

Magimus, who looked at him suspiciously, replied, "Is that message all I have to deliver?”

"Yes. If he shows no reaction to my words, then I’ll back off just like that."

Dragons were avatars of desire. You could tell just by how they piled up mountains of jewels, weapons, and gold they didn’t even need. And the one who had lived the longest among such dragons was the Lord.

There’s no way he won’t react to a mention of his past.

Of course, he could go against expectations and not react. In that case, well, Kai would just have to find him himself. However, things were going smoother than expected.

“Why...”

As if the communication had ended, Magimus looked at Kai with shocked eyes.

“Finish your sentence. What’s the response?”

“He says he would like to meet you...”

“Where should I go?”

“Close your eyes.”

Kai nodded at Magimus’s words.

Before closing his eyes, he looked at Harley. “Thanks for today. Want to go rest? Or take a walk?”

—If it’s alright with you, I’d like to visit my nest for the first time in a while.

By nest, it referred to the archipelagos in the distant Black Sea.

“Alright then.”

As Kai nodded, Harley quickly flew off toward the sea before Kai could change his mind.

“Let’s get going as well.”

As Kai gestured with his eyes closed, he felt the surrounding mana twist.

Feels similar to using a teleport gate.

However, teleportation often felt rough depending on the caster’s skill level. It could be compared to driving a cheap compact car on an unpaved road. That was why those with weak stomachs often ended up throwing up after teleporting.

But this is different.

A dragon was still a dragon. A smooth sensation, like riding in a luxury sedan on a well-paved road, wrapped around Kai.

“Hm.” Kai unconsciously nodded and slowly opened his eyes.

“Oh. So this is the one.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Magimus, who had acted arrogantly in front of Kai earlier, now knelt on one knee and offered the highest form of respect.

The dragons I read about in fantasy novels were all solo types.

So there was no such hierarchy between them.

An old man with white hair, the one whom Magimus was bowing to, smiled warmly as he said, "Hehe. I don’t know what book you read but it seems accurate. In fact, dragons don’t have a strong sense of hierarchy."

Wait... Did he just read my thoughts?

"That’s right."

As his thoughts were read again, Kai showed a displeased expression.

“I apologize if that bothered you. It’s been thousands of years since I last saw a human,” the old man quickly apologized.

Well, it’s not that unbelievable when considering Beoruk’s Supreme Sight.

Virtual reality games read the player’s brainwaves. In other words, the game stored data on what thoughts a person held. From a developer’s perspective, it was easy to let a dragon read that data with a simple setting.

However... Even considering that, this ability is special.

Even most gods of the celestial realm couldn’t do such a thing. Perhaps this dragon had possessed a similar power back when he was a god

"Alright. You’ve done well so you may go now."

"But my Lord. This human’s combat power is far stronger than expected. I will stay by your side and guard you."

At Magimus’s praiseworthy offer, the old man simply chuckled. "I appreciate the gesture, but if you can’t even properly see the person in front of you, what use are your eyes?"

"Pardon?"

"This human carries a strong scent of the Solarian God."

"A god?" Magimus immediately scowled in displeasure.

Come to think of it, Shimizu mentioned this once.

Dragons generally disliked gods. It could be a biological instinct encoded into their genetics, or perhaps it was because humans had chosen to believe in invisible gods over the dragons themselves.

"If you were worried about my safety, then you shouldn’t have brought this human to me in the first place." The old man, having instantly assessed Kai’s level, waved his hand dismissively. “It’s already too late to worry about me. Go on now.”

“C-couldn’t other dragons of our kind be called instead...?”

“Fortunately, it seems this old man’s life won’t end today,” the old man muttered while looking at Kai with his deep sunken eyes. “I wish to speak with him alone now. Leave us.”

Magimus looked back and forth between the old man and Kai, then finally bowed and disappeared.

The old man tapped the area over his heart and his temple as he said, "Apologies. Youngsters these days tend to act from here, the heart, rather than up here, the head. They’re still immature."

"My name is Kai."

"I know. The hero who saved the Kingdom of Rashion. The strongest human on the continent. The man who returned from the Demon Realm."

He knew far more than Kai expected.

"It’s unfortunate I have no name to tell you."

"You mean... you don’t have one?"

The old man nodded. "I have always been called Lord since the moment I became mature. That became my name, and my symbol." The Lord offered Kai a seat and slowly began to say, "I heard you mentioned the past of this old dragon."

Kai gave a single nod. "I certainly did... but I have a question. May I ask what your very first memory is?"

"My first memory, you say." the Lord exhaled softly and closed his eyes. “Dragons are clever beings. Though 10,000 years have passed, that day’s memory still remains unusually strong.”

He placed his hand over his heart. "That day was one of pouring rain. Right. My first memory was looking up at the gray sky as rain fell. I was standing in the forest, looking up blankly and getting drenched, and I felt this unbearable emptiness as if I had lost something. I don’t know why, but I was crying then."

"Tears..."

Was it because of the anger from being cast out of the celestial realm? Or was it the sense of loss from being trapped in the body of a mere creature?

"Do you know something about my past by any chance? No, of course you wouldn’t..." the Lord asked in a desperate voice but soon shook his head as if giving up. "It has been 10,000 years. I traveled the world before human kingdoms even existed, trying to find my past."

"Were you able to find anything?"

"Nothing at all."

"I see..."

"I thought I had given up, but hearing the word 'past' again after so long seems to have stirred me up. There’s no way a human of this era could possibly know anything about my past."

At this point, Kai grew even more curious.

What could it be? Just who was the god he once defied?

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Kai asked, "Would it be alright if I briefly looked into your memory?"

"My memory, you say...?"

"Yes. The fragments of a shattered past, ones even you cannot recall. I can read them."

At Kai’s words, the Lord’s throat moved with a large gulp.

"From what I’ve seen until now, humans tend to turn into sharp blades whenever making a deal. What is it that you want from me in return?"

"Nothing." Kai reached out his hand as he said, "What I want and what you want are the same."

His hand soon rested on the Lord’s wrinkled forehead.

"Your distant past. What we both seek is surely hidden there." Kai mumbled, “Memory Dive.”