Promising

"So, you're saying I must have the current Dragon King's consent?"

"Yes. Without it, even if you capture those sub-dragons, they would be nearly impossible to tame. Furthermore, it would easily provoke the collective wrath of the dragon race."

Once the investiture ceremony was complete, even without any formal contracts, both knew the matter was settled.

The two had shifted from guest and host to sovereign and subordinate.

Ligeia naturally and calmly stepped into her new role, offering counsel to the Highness before her who possessed such grand ideals.

Her first suggestion was to bolster their fighting force.

And the only way to quickly increase their combat power was to replace the ordinary horses with new mounts, turning all the temple knights into temple dragon knights.

"But... that won't be easy, will it?"

"No. The dragon race resides on an island in the far south. Meeting the Dragon King is no simple task."

Then wasn't all this talk just a waste of time?

What was the point of saying all this if we couldn't even go there?

Seeing the troubled expression on the Saintess's face, Ligeia wanted to observe her a bit longer, but she decided against it since she had just become her subordinate.

She couldn't be too excessive right from the start.

"Your Highness does not need to worry about meeting the Dragon King. Although I am merely an elf, I had the honor of visiting Dragon Island once out of personal interest. I met the Dragon King and even left behind a communication frequency. As long as Your Highness wishes it, I can contact him at any time."

"Hm? Are you serious?"

"Of course. However, Your Highness... gaining the Dragon King's consent is no simple matter. You must be prepared to pay a price."

"That goes without saying. There is no such thing as a free lunch. I don't expect handouts."

"A free lunch?"

Ligeia paused, looking somewhat surprised by the Saintess's blunt metaphor.

But then, she suddenly burst into a light laugh.

"What's so funny? Did I say something wrong?"

I looked at Ligeia blankly, noticing the joyful smile on her face.

Did I misspeak?

I thought about it for a long time but couldn't find anything wrong with what I said.

"Your Highness really is interesting. I'm starting to feel more and more that agreeing to this was truly worth it."

Fine, as long as you find it interesting.

"Speaking of which, Ligeia, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, but I haven't had the chance."

"Does Your Highness wish to ask about the dragon calamity? I've been prepared to tell you about that for a long time."

"What is the dragon calamity?"

"...Does Your Highness know of the evil dragon?"

"An evil dragon? What evil dragon? Does it have something to do with the dragon calamity?"

I was quite concerned about this. After all, this dragon calamity affected the development of the entire Kingdom of the Moon.

"Of course it does. One could say... the cause of the dragon calamity lies with this evil dragon."

"What do you mean? A dragon calamity caused by a single dragon?"

"No, it involves all dragons. Although I don't know everything, from what I've experienced, this evil dragon is the sole leader who incites all dragons to start the calamity."

As Ligeia spoke, a hint of memory surfaced in her eyes.

"I have seen that evil dragon. It is easily the most terrifying creature I have ever encountered..."

"What does it look like?"

An evil dragon? This classic fantasy trope actually existed in this world. My interest was piqued instantly.

"It... it looks like a creature from hell. Its entire body is pitch black and covered in scales, with searing lava flowing between the plates. Every breath it takes can reach temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees. A single flap of its wings can blow down houses. Every time it appears, it leads countless dragons to destroy everything in their path on the continent."

"It is no exaggeration to say that the Calamity Dragon alone is enough to trample the Kingdom of the Moon."

I have to admit, this information left me feeling a bit hopeless.

How could we fight such a powerful existence?

"Your Highness, it is impossible to face the Calamity Dragon with human strength alone, but I do have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

At a time like this, I couldn't let even the slightest chance slip away. Although I didn't know the full story of the Calamity Dragon, Ligeia's description made it clear that the Eight Nations of the Holy Church were no match for it.

"In truth, every time the Calamity Dragon appears, the dragon race loses a large number of its kin. Therefore, the Dragon King hates it to the bone. Your Highness might as well use this point to cooperate with the Dragon King. Perhaps if he is pleased, he might actually allow you to have a dragon knight unit."

"Allied with the dragon race? Is that reliable?"

"It is. The current Dragon King is also helpless against the Calamity Dragon. Every time it appears, many dragons with weak wills are influenced by it and lose their sanity. So..."

"So, to prevent the extinction of the dragon species, the Dragon King also wants to kill the Calamity Dragon?"

Ligeia smiled slightly.

"Exactly. Your Highness truly is clever. You catch on quickly."

"Hmm... give me some time to think."

I tapped my forehead lightly.

The news Ligeia brought had both good and bad points, and the most important one was the issue of the Calamity Dragon.

Her previous mention of the skysoar dragon was likely a carefully considered suggestion.

Using an alliance against the Calamity Dragon to build a relationship with the Dragon King and then expanding into dragon cavalry.

This wasn't something that could be thought of on a mere whim.

Ligeia must have put deep thought into this before choosing this path.

In fact, she might have thought about dragon knights long ago, or perhaps they really did exist in the past.

"Ligeia, what is the probability that the Dragon King will agree to an alliance?"

"If it were the Pope or any other Saintess, I would only have about a thirty percent certainty. But if it is you, Your Highness... I am ninety percent sure!"

I looked at Ligeia in surprise, but she only gave a knowing smile.

"Your Highness, the Pope and the other Saintesses are merely beings who inherited a title. No matter how strong they are, it doesn't matter much. But you are different... you are the one who could contract the original document tablet. You are favored by God. Even the Dragon King does not possess such a capability. Therefore, I am certain the Dragon King will agree out of respect for God."

So that was it. Besides granting titles, the document tablet had other hidden benefits.

"Is that really how it works?"

"Yes. True dragons have always been proud. Even the Pope and the Saintesses are just slightly stronger humans in their eyes, not even on the same starting line. But you are different. By contracting the document tablet, you represent the true God. Your status will be accepted by the Dragon King, whereas others would be rejected."

Speaking of this, Ligeia let out a somewhat helpless sigh.

"The dragon race... as powerful as they are, they are far too arrogant. They feel they are invincible beneath the gods. While that is mostly true, it also makes it hard for true dragons to accept other races. They look down on everyone, even refusing to acknowledge some demonized beasts with dragon blood in the sub-dragon family."

"The sub-dragon family?"

"Yes. The classification of dragons is primarily based on their species. Generally, they belong to the Great Dragon Class, but there are many branches within it."

"What are the differences?"

This was the first time I had heard someone classify the dragon race this way.

"Of course there are differences. Although the dragon race is one large family, there are many distinctions when you break it down."

As she spoke, Ligeia pointed to the skysoar dragon in the dragon encyclopedia.

"Please look, Your Highness. This skysoar dragon belongs to the Great Dragon Class, True Dragon Order, sub-dragon family, Wyvern Genus, small species, skysoar dragon tribe."

Ligeia then flipped to a previous page.

"This is a Great Dragon Class, True Dragon Order, True Dragon Family, Wyvern Genus, giant species, red dragon tribe. And this one is a True Dragon Order, True Dragon Family, earth dragon genus, medium species, flame dragon tribe."

Looking at this thick encyclopedia, I finally understood why Ligeia had so few classes despite being over a hundred years older than Camilla.

She likely spent most of her energy on research, so she didn't dabble as much in different classes.

Since there was a True Dragon Order, there was naturally a False Dragon Order. I flipped through the pages and saw that the False Dragon Order didn't have many branches and they were all at the level of demonized beasts.

They were only named 'false dragons' because their appearance was very similar to the dragon race.

"What species is the current Dragon King?"

I was curious. After all, I would definitely have to deal with him next, and I couldn't just ignore the matter of the Calamity Dragon.

Ligeia looked up at me with an enigmatic smile and flipped to the very first few pages of the book.

"Right here. Please look, Your Highness."

As the pages turned, an illustration spread across two pages, forming a massive golden dragon.

Great Dragon Class—True Dragon Order—True Dragon Family—Wyvern Genus—super giant species—golden dragon tribe.

This super giant species... its body length alone exceeded five hundred meters, making it as large as a small mountain.

"The Dragon King... is actually that big?"

"Yes, Your Highness. The Dragon King is of the golden dragon tribe. From what I've seen of the golden dragon tribe, their size is rarely under a hundred meters even during their growth period. I haven't seen any in their infancy because the golden dragon tribe is extremely protective of their young. It's difficult even for their own kind to see another dragon's hatchling."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't speak, instead studying the golden dragon tribe closely.

This tribe shared a common trait with all dragons: an interest in shiny things.

Specifically, the golden dragon tribe had an abnormal obsession with gold.

"Is this Dragon King... easy to talk to?"

"He is. Back then, it only cost me ten thousand gold coins to meet him."

Ligeia said those words so casually that they made my heart ache.

"Ten thousand!?"

"Yes. Your Highness possesses vast lands and abundant resources. A mere ten thousand gold coins should be nothing to you, right?"

Ligeia looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to suddenly turn into a golden fountain and start scattering coins everywhere.

Ten thousand gold coins just for a meeting?

Then how many tens of thousands would it cost to form an alliance?

I suddenly felt like I didn't want to meet this Dragon King anymore.

"I think I know how to deal with this Dragon King now."

What else was there to say? I'd just have to throw money at the problem.

Others couldn't do it because the dragon race looked down on them, but I was different. Just as Ligeia said, since I could contract the document tablet, these dragons would view me as an equal.

Therefore, throwing money would be effective.

Since others weren't even seen as equals, no amount of money would work for them.

It seemed that in this world, money might not reach the gods, but it could certainly reach the dragons.

But how much would I have to throw in to scrape together a dragon cavalry regiment!

It already cost over four million gold coins a year to maintain these knights. If I added these costs, I might have to spend at least twenty million gold coins every year in the future.

Just feeding those dragons would be a massive expense.

But... money that needs to be spent must be spent.

Even if I have to suffer a bit, I have to pay!

"Fine. I'll make preparations. Once the reinforcements from the other nations arrive, I will formally set up a meeting with the Dragon King."

There was no other way. I didn't have that much cash on hand. The money was in the other countries. The nearest ones, the Kingdom of the Sun, the Snow Country, and the Holy See, would take at least a month to reach Brilliant City.

The money was with them.

"Ligeia, you should... come back with me tomorrow."

"To Brilliant City?"

"Yes, back to Brilliant City. I'll allocate funds for you to build a mage tower. You can keep this one as your villa."

Ligeia simply smiled.

"Your Highness need not worry. This mage tower is mobile. Although it moves slowly, it shouldn't be a problem to reach Brilliant City by tomorrow morning."

"This mage tower can actually move?!"

"Of course. Otherwise, did Your Highness think I built a new mage tower every time I moved?"

This... didn't this mean the mage tower could be brought to the battlefield at any time?

It might be slow, but it was definitely a super mobile fortress!

"However, I must disappoint Your Highness. I will not easily participate in war. Unless your life is in danger, please don't think about sending me to the battlefield~"

"Uh... why?"

"Does Your Highness want the truth or a lie?"

Good grief. I just pulled that move on her, and now she was doing it back to me.

It seemed Ligeia was a bit petty after all.

But as a ruler, I had to be tolerant of my subordinates' small flaws.

"What's the lie, and what's the truth?"

"The lie is... I'm really not strong at all~ I'm so scaaared~"

Ligeia suddenly put on a helpless, girlish act, looking at me with a timid expression.

"Stop! Don't use that cutesy voice. Speak normally, okay? That was the lie, so what's the truth?"

"The truth is... I don't want to use magic to kill people."

"Just simply... you don't want to?"

"Yes. Does Your Highness find anything wrong with that?"

Ligeia asked in return, leaving me speechless.

There was nothing wrong with it. Not wanting to kill was a genuine feeling from the heart.

"And if it's absolutely necessary?"

"Your Highness, I said I don't want to kill, not that I can't kill."

As she said this, Ligeia's expression turned noticeably dark, and her voice became somewhat raspy.

I didn't know what had happened in her past to make her reject killing so strongly, but it didn't matter. Her value didn't lie in her combat power anyway.

"Ligeia, you said you've done quite a bit of research in botany and zoology, right?"

"Yes. Does Your Highness have something in mind?"

"I do. Can you help me research our current crops to see if we can increase their yield?"

"If it's that, I do have some ideas. In fact, I've already achieved some research results in that area."

"Really!?"

Hearing this, I stood up in excitement.

"Of course. Please follow me, Your Highness."