Chapter 2 — 3류 각본

Part 2, Episode 8

A Third-Rate Script

Elric was studying, a little tense, a paper with an absurdly long title he’d had the resident magus fetch for him.

Kkiyu! Kkiyuuu!

Meanwhile, Red and Black were tumbling around with Mephisto in the back.

『Damn it! Get these brats off me! This king has asked you again and again!』

“Hey, don’t talk to me. I’m busy.”

Mephisto kept interrupting just as Elric was deep in thought, and it grated on him.

He was reading a crucial section.

A thousand years after dragons went extinct, people still sometimes discovered old dragon nests.

And without exception, those nests proved to be packed with the era’s finest gems and gold in staggering quantities.

Which raised a question.

Why did dragons hoard mountains of treasure they hardly ever used?

Perhaps it was some secret urge of the dragon race—the lords of magic and children of wisdom.

A dragon’s love of treasure was so famous it came up in countless folktales and legends.

Elric wasn’t ignorant of that.

He’d simply assumed dragons had a magpie’s hobby for collecting shiny things.

But judging by this, that love was on a whole different level than he’d thought.

‘So those legends about evil dragons raiding dwarf towns and extorting tribute were real, huh?’

Elric went over the dragons he’d dealt with so far.

A Guardian Dragon.

And a Gem Dragon.

Both of them, as the paper suggested, had kept vast hoards.

But they hadn’t had the temperament to bleed their surroundings dry like dragons in storybooks.

If anything, they’d protected those around them.

That was how the title “Guardian Dragon” had come about in the first place.

‘Was it really just collecting for collecting’s sake? But considering the nest’s owner was called the Gem Dragon…’

A thought flashed by: maybe dragons had a compelling reason to gather gems.

On impulse, Elric decided to run a little test. He reached into the Magic Vault—Interlesia and pulled out a fist-sized topaz.

Even at a glance, it brimmed with mana and looked incredibly pure.

“I’d set this aside for magical experiments later…”

A topaz big enough to cover a territory’s operating costs for a year at market price.

Elric held it in front of Gold’s nose—Gold was asleep on his thigh—and gave it a little shake.

And then—

“…”

He waited, tense as a wire.

Fortunately, Gold didn’t react at all.

“Whew!”

Elric, cold sweat prickling under his collar, let out a breath of relief.

A faint smile began to form.

“If he’s sleeping like he doesn’t know the world exists, maybe it really was just a wild gues—”

Chomp—

Gold’s eyes flew open, and he popped the entire topaz into his mouth with a single “whomp.”

Without so much as a chew, he gulped it down whole. Elric’s expression froze.

“Ah…! Aah…!”

Sometimes, when the shock is big enough, words won’t come.

He could only open and close his mouth like a goldfish, looking completely soul-sucked.

So much for “what are the odds”—his worst hunch had been right.

An entire year’s estate budget vanished before his eyes.

Kkiyuuuuuuuu—!

Gold, bright-eyed and thrilled for reasons unknown, let out a long cry.

Then he flicked his tail and started begging Elric for more.

Kkiyu— kkiyuuu—!

Elric felt the world go dim.

‘My chest… I can’t breathe…’

Beside him, Mephisto was grinning like a hyena while Elric sat stunned and speechless.

『He ate it? He ate it! He really ate it! Oho! Ohohoho. Ohhohohoh!』

Still tormented by Red and Black, he felt like he’d just chugged a whole crate of cider.

“You son of a—! Hoo…”

Elric swallowed the curse that jumped to his tongue and asked Mephisto,

“You knew, didn’t… you?”

『Hem? Ahem! This king has no idea what you’re talking—ohohoh! My, I don’t know why I keep—ohohoh!』

“You did know! Of course! It’d be weird if you didn’t!”

Elric clutched his head and howled.

Mephistopheles.

The Demon King who’d stood on the front lines against dragons in the old Dragon–Demon War.

‘No way a guy like that doesn’t know dragon habits…!’

He had to know dragons ate things like gems.

He’d just kept his mouth shut to enjoy Elric’s fluster.

Should I blast him?

The urge surged, but Elric held it back with superhuman patience.

“…What else are you hiding?”

Mephisto shrugged.

His mouth was curled in an unmistakable sneer.

『This king has no idea what you mean.』

“Spit it out, you wretched spook!”

『Heh-heh-heh. Hah-hahaha, heh, khm, kukukuk.』

“Not talking?”

Elric grabbed Mephisto by the collar and shook him, but the demon only kept cackling.

* * *

‘Okay… calm down.’

Elric realized getting worked up wouldn’t help.

He even considered forcing a tap-dance out of him.

‘Do that and he’ll clam up even harder. That’s the kind of guy he is.’

Grit.

His teeth ground together, but for now he had to endure.

“Fine—okay. No using Mantras for the next six months. Deal?”

He thought he was making a generous concession.

Mephisto just folded his arms and sneered harder.

『Do as you like. Why would this king care? Wahahaha!』

He laughed, long head dangling two baby dragons like ornaments. It was a ridiculous sight.

“You damned Demon King…”

Elric swallowed the rising fury. He had to get Mephisto talking somehow.

But he had no idea what bait to use.

‘What does this guy even want?’

He wracked his brain and came up empty—then,

Knock, knock—

A knock and Tasha’s voice came through the door.

“Can we talk for a moment, Elric?”

‘What now?’

Judging by her serious tone, she wasn’t here to visit the hatchlings.

Elric shelved the Mephisto problem for later and rose to his feet.

* * *

“You’re joking.”

“It’s an urgent message from my house.”

“…Hah!”

For a second Elric thought he’d misheard and had her say it again.

But the answer was the same.

Zeraitz’s death was that hard to believe.

“Because of that, the capital’s in an uproar.”

“Ha… unbelievable.”

Elric was baffled by the absurdity of it.

Even deposed, Zeraitz had been the Crown Prince. Who would’ve thought he’d die that easily?

‘No. Maybe it’s the obvious outcome.’

Tasha explained:

A few days ago, Zeraitz was found assassinated.

Witnesses said there had been frequent quarrels between Zeraitz and a valet on his way into exile on the frontier.

But after his deposition, Zeraitz’s tyranny had been so bad no one paid it much mind.

Eventually, when the valet left the convoy on a pretext and failed to return for a long while, the escort captain checked the prince’s tent and found the murder scene.

A pursuit party went out, but the valet had already fled and vanished without a trace.

The crown prince who once shook the continent and empire had died a dog’s death.

‘The Crown Prince—of all people—assassinated and the culprit still at large? With the Inspectorate in place? Come on.’

Whatever the reason, Zeraitz’s assassination was not a matter to take lightly.

Just when the political mess seemed to be settling. Now here came another headache.

Elric pressed his fingers into his brow, feeling a migraine coming on.

“If you’re going to die, die quietly. What a pain.”

Tasha nodded, then said,

“So I need to return to my house.”

“Mm. Can’t be helped.”

She tilted her head at Elric brushing his hair back.

“You’re not coming with me?”

“No. Not really interested… and I’ve got work to do.”

“What kind of work?”

“Raising dragons. And I need to sort out the remaining family arrangements.”

To complete the spring arrangement, Elric had to bring Shina’s Sigil into its Spring phase.

But he wasn’t worried about that.

Now that he knew dragons ate gems, a destination came to mind.

The Forest of Gems.

It lay along the border where the empire’s south met the lands of the Allied Kingdoms.

Rich in all kinds of ore, it was often disputed by neighboring realms.

Which made it perfect for raising hatchlings.

“No helping it, then.”

Tasha’s eyes held genuine regret that Elric wasn’t coming with her.

To be precise, she regretted parting with the dragons that would be going with Elric.

But she knew how to separate business and pleasure. She quickly let it go and shook his hand.

They’d built enough of a bond between Neresta and Merbinger—she’d have plenty of chances to see the hatchlings again.

Creak—

Flinch.

Tasha, who’d been about to leave with a cool farewell, hesitated, turned back, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem, still… you’ll come see Neresta when your business is done, right?”

Elric couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course. I need to pay my respects to my masters as well.”

* * *

Even at the moment of departure, Tasha couldn’t shake her attachment to the hatchlings and hovered by the carriage instead of climbing in.

“Um, the baby dragons…?”

“Oh, they’re sleeping soundly, so I left them…”

Her face fell at his answer.

Seeing she might never leave at this rate, Elric hurried to wrap things up.

“Then I’ll see you next at the Neresta main house.”

“When you come next time! You have to bring the baby dragons! Promise!”

“Closing the door now.”

Rattle, thunk!

Hanabi quickly shut the door, since Tasha’s lingering made departure impossible.

Neigh!

Elric waved as the Neresta carriage rolled away.

『That woman’s not all there either, tch tch. Of all the things a young lady could be obsessed with, dragons?』

“My thoughts exactly. Why is no one around me normal? I feel like I’m the only sane one.”

Mephisto looked at Elric, who’d just said something unbelievable with a straight face, like he was actual trash.

Elric didn’t notice.

“Let’s head out too.”

He climbed into his own carriage and ordered the driver to turn south.

Just as they were about to roll, Mord hurried up.

“Elric, sir, about your decision…”

He was so tense he looked as stiff as a board—almost pitiful.

Elric didn’t seem to care either way and answered blandly,

“Let’s go.”

“Sir?”

Because Elric answered so easily, Mord was the one thrown off.

“I said let’s go. It’s on the way anyway.”

“R-really?”

Mord’s face lit up like it had never been grim.

“It’s not because I like you lot. It’s the God of Camellia that’s bothering me.”

“Even so—thank you! Truly, thank you!”

“For the record, I never said I’d definitely help you. I said I’d look first and then decide.”

“I understand! I’ll take you there at once!”

To be honest, Mord had expected a refusal. Even he couldn’t think of a reason Elric should help them.

But he’d held onto a sliver of hope—and he was glad he’d stayed.

‘Chief, just a bit longer. Please hold on.’

Mord took the reins himself.

“Hyah!”

Neigh!

And the Merbinger carriage rolled out—away from Neresta’s road.

Mord’s fists tightened on the leather.

Watching his back, Elric thought,

‘Didn’t Cromhel say his first act as crown prince would be hunting down the Hyung clan?’

It reeked.

‘And in the middle of this, Zeraitz is killed and the culprit slips away clean, leaving no trail…? You expect me to buy that?’

It stank to high heaven.

A third-rate script even snot-nosed kids wouldn’t believe.

Elric decided that if he ever met the hack who wrote it, he’d rip their head off on the spot.

The Magician Who Devoured Talent