However, contrary to Cale's nervousness, Raon was calm.
"I am indeed a Dragon!"
The blonde Elf's expression became even weirder after hearing Raon's response. To say that another Dragon was not a Dragon was pretty much asking for a fight, but this young Dragon responded back in a cheery manner.
"…Yes, you are a Dragon."
A weak response came out of the blonde Dragon's mouth. Raon nodded his head.
"Yes. And you are a Dragon as well. That is why, nice to meet you! Don't you even know how to greet people?"
"…You're asking me if I know how to greet people?"
Dragons did not greet each other. They might make snarky comments at each other when they met, however, greeting each other? This blonde Elf felt weak after experiencing something like this for the first time in his long life.
Raon extended his front paw to the beautiful blonde Elf. The Elf started to speak after seeing Raon's paw.
"Are you asking to shake my hand?"
"Yeah!"
"Wow. I've never experienced something like this in my almost thousand years of life."
Wow. Unbelievable. What the hell.
The Gold Dragon continued to sigh as he looked at Raon's paw with an iffy expression on his face. After staring at it for a few seconds, the Gold Dragon asked with a serious expression without shaking Raon's paw.
"Hey… is your IQ really low?"
Raon's flapping wings suddenly stopped.
Poke. Poke!
Cale poked Choi Han's back even harder. They looked like they could start fighting at any moment.
Clang.
Choi Han's sword came slightly out of the scabbard.
At that moment, the blonde Elf's gaze turned toward Choi Han.
At least, Cale thought it was directed at Choi Han.
But that was not the case.
'Hmm? Why is he looking at me?'
The Dragon's gaze was not at Choi Han, but at Cale, who was peeking his head just the slightest bit above Choi Han's back.
Cale made eye contact with the Dragon. The blonde Elf started to smile. He had felt the aura of a profession that had disappeared a long time ago.
It was the only enemy to the great and mighty Dragons.
This was an aura that he should only feel from the children of the one family that carried on the bloodline of the profession.
'There should be nobody alive that knows about this aura or this power.'
That nostalgic scent blew by the Dragon's face. At that moment, the blonde Elf's pupils became cloudy.
'Mm!'
His reptilian pupils turned gold and Cale instantly felt like a surging hail was surrounding him.
'Is this Dragon Fear?'
Dragon Fear was said to instill fear in all lifeforms. Although that was what Cale initially thought it was, this was a bit different. He did not feel any fear.
However, his body reacted once he thought about Dragon Fear.
Boom.
Cale could feel his heart beating wildly.
Then, the Dominating Aura, the ancient power that Cale had found in the Dragon skeleton within the black swamp, worked together with the Vitality of the Heart and shot out as well.
"Mm?"
Cale became nervous. He thought that a surging hail was surrounding him, however, it turned into a warm breeze surrounding his body. His body, which was shaking from the cold, as well as his runny nose, all quickly stopped.
'…It is thermal magic and not Dragon Fear?'
Cale was left wondering what that power was from earlier.
A Dragon did something nice.
Cale remained alert at this unbelievable sight and his Dominating Aura continued to get bigger.
"Ah!"
At that moment, Choi Han let out a gasp and turned around. He could see Cale standing straight while making eye contact with the Dragon.
Cale seemed extremely cool and collected, as if he had never been shivering in the first place.
'I knew it. This is the Cale-nim I know.'
In Choi Han's point of view, Cale was someone who always pretended to be a coward, but always stood up against everything with confidence.
Choi Han was amazed by Cale's demeanor once again. A person's influence definitely did not come from just their strength.
At that moment, a black and round blob covered Cale's eyes. It was Raon.
"Hey, Goldie!" (The author uses the English word, 'Gold,' mainly to describe the Gold Dragon, but uses the Korean word for Gold in this sentence. Based on the following thought by Cale, it seems to have been done on purpose. When I see the Korean word for gold to describe the Dragon, I will be using Goldie, since it's the type of thing a baby Dragon like Raon would say. )
Cale wondered for a moment if he had heard Raon correctly.
'What? Goldie?'
"You can't stare at our weak human like that! You know how much of a coward he is?!"
Raon then continued to speak inside Cale's mind
– Human, you looked as strong as my front paw right now, but there is no need to be scared or nervous. I will protect you.
Raon then continued on.
– Goldie over there stared at you, so I debated fighting him, but he seems like a decent guy since he used thermal magic on you.
The Gold Dragon, who did not hear any of this, looked toward Raon with complete disbelief.
"He is indeed weak, but more importantly, did you just say, 'our,' about a human? Are you really an idiot?"
Cale could see Raon's wings stop once more. Raon then looked back toward the Gold Dragon. The Gold Dragon had called Raon stupid twice already.
'Will they start to fight?'
Cale felt cold, even with the thermal magic surrounding him.
At that moment, Raon started his rebuttal.
"I do not have a low IQ, I just have high sociability. I'm not like you, you socially awkward Golden Dragon who doesn't even know how to shake hands." (He uses a third different word, so Golden it is here. )
'Golden Dragon? I guess he is a gold colored Dragon.'
Cale knew that Raon wasn't the type to lose an argument without even trying.
Cale felt an odd sense of pride. There was a benefit to raising Raon into a strong little boy.
Cale could hear Pendrick's voice while he was thinking about that.
"My goodness, two Dragon-nims chatting peacefully without getting into a fight! This is the type of thing I should be recording. I never expected for such luck to fall upon me. I've always thought of myself as a cursed Elf because I could not see Elementals. I can't believe I get to witness two Dragon-nims, the stars of the natural world..."
The Elf healer, Pendrick, kneeled down and clasped his hands. Cale watched the Elf kneeling on the white snow and mumbling to himself as he came to a conclusion.
'This one isn't normal either.'
All of the lifeforms around him had something odd about them. Cale thought that this was a really difficult environment for a normal person like himself to survive.
Cale slowly moved a step away from Pendrick.
Thanks to that, he could once again see the Gold Dragon, who was still in the blonde Elf form, who had been covered by Raon. The Dragon seemed to be full of disbelief. Raon confidently shouted while looking at the Dragon's look of disbelief.
"Did my greatness shock you, Golden Dragon?!"
The blonde Elf let out a sigh-like laugh before nodding his head with a relaxed expression.
"Yes, I was very shocked because of y, cough!"
'…What the?'
Cale became nervous.
The blonde Elf suddenly covered his mouth and started to cough. Fluids started to spill out from between his fingers.
Raon's shocked voice quickly shot out.
"W, what is wrong?! Golden Dragon, blood! Don't cough up blood!"
A Dragon was coughing up blood.
Drip, drip.
The drops of blood that traveled through the blonde Elf's hand and fell down started to dye the white snow red.
Cale became anxious while looking at the red blood.
'Isn't it something serious at this point?'
"Cough, ugh, cough!"
The blonde Elf hunched forward because of how much he was coughing. Raon flew over and supported the Elf up as he continued to cough up blood.
"Ha, haha."
"Golden Dragon, do not laugh!"
The blonde Elf started to laugh while looking at Raon. The Gold Dragon continued to speak, even as he was coughing. (I really don't like how the author goes back and forth between Gold Dragon and blonde Elf, but I'll stay true to what is in the text. )
"A Dragon worrying about another Dragon. Cough."
"Stop talking! Goldie!"
The blonde Elf's golden pupils lit up for a moment. That golden light caught Cale's attention, even though he was a bit of a distance away. At that moment, Pendrick started to run toward the Gold Dragon.
"Eruhaben-nim!"
At the same time, the Gold Dragon named Eruhaben, officially introduced himself.
"Little kid, my name is not Goldie. It is Eruhaben."
"Is that so? Nice to meet you. But I am not a little kid."
Raon, who was saying that he was not a little kid in a grumbling voice, continued to support Eruhaben up.
Eruhaben watched Raon with an odd expression in his eyes.
Watching the two of them like this, Cale felt like the two Dragons would not end up fighting. That was why he patted Choi Han on the back.
"Let's go."
Of course, Cale still had Choi Han stand in front of him as they walked.
Cale stopped in front of the cave that shot up to the top of Mount Yellia. The cave was pretty wide, with a staircase heading down at the end.
"Eruhaben-nim, are you okay?"
Pendrick was using healing on the Gold Dragon Eruhaben as he supported him back up. Eruhaben nodded his head and took a handkerchief out of his spatial dimension in order to wipe the blood off of his mouth.
"Yes, my coughing seems to have stopped. Pendrick, I haven't seen you since you were little."
"Yes sir, it is an honor to meet you again."
Cale thought that Eruhaben was quite warm in the way he treated Pendrick. That warmth surprised Cale, making him quietly observe the Gold Dragon and the Elf.
At that moment, Eruhaben's gaze turned over to Cale's group.
Lock, Rosalyn, Ron, Beacrox, On, Hong, and Choi Han. Eruhaben's gaze swept through all of them before landing back on Cale and not moving away.
'What now?'
Cale got anxious because he could not figure out why the Gold Dragon had stopped his gaze on him. He really did not do anything this time.
It was at that moment.
"Stop looking at him!"
Raon quickly flew over and stood in front of Cale to block his view.
"I already told you our weak human is a coward! You cannot stare at him with such an intense gaze!"
'…I may be a coward but not such a coward that I would faint because he looks at me…'
Cale wanted to stand up for himself but ended up not doing so, as he didn't really have a desire to look at Eruhaben anyway.
That was why he could only hear what Eruhaben was saying, without being able to see his expression.
"…He is a coward?"
Eruhaben sounded intrigued.
"How interesting."
Cale started to feel a sense of uncertainty. What was funny? Couldn't Eruhaben share that information with all of them?
Clang.
Choi Han took a bit of his sword out of the scabbard again. Cale could also see Rosalyn warming up to cast magic should the need arise.
An odd sense of nervousness filled the air.
However, it soon disappeared.
The blonde Elf, Eruhaben, stood up straight as he started to speak.
"Follow me."
Eruhaben started to walk into his lair as he said one more thing.
"This is all part of fate I suppose."
Cale was invited into Eruhaben, the Gold Dragon's lair. He put the interested Raon and the serious Choi Han in front of him as they stepped into the lair.
***
"They are aiming for the World Tree?"
"Yes. Based on what Cale-nim has heard, they may have the support of a kingdom or an organization with a similar level of influence."
Eruhaben and Pendrick were having a serious conversation in what seemed to be decorated like an office.
However, Cale could not hear their conversation.
They were currently all sitting around a large oval table, with the Gold Dragon sitting on a chair that was one level higher.
But Cale did not care about that either. Something else was catching his attention.
'They did say he was a Gold Dragon.'
Cale looked down at the table and the chair that he was sitting on. The chair was completely made of gold except for the cushion, and the table seemed to be made with gold and shiny jewels.
There was even a fancy chandelier hanging on the ceiling. He had expected just a cave as the lair was inside a cave, but he was wrong.
'This Dragon must be rich.'
Cale's expression turned odd. At that moment, Eruhaben's voice reached Cale's ear.
"You don't know the real nutjob that runs the secret organization?"
'Wow, nutjob?'
The Dragon's choice of words was amazing. It was fitting for a Dragon.
Cale could see Pendrick seriously nodding his head.
"Unfortunately, we do not."
Tap. Tap.
Eruhaben tapped on the table with his finger.
"…Odd."
Eruhaben's questioning tone made Cale subconsciously look toward him. The Gold Dragon explained what was weighing down on his mind.
"There is no way that such an organization hasn't been around for a long time. If they managed to take control of the Eastern continent's underworld, they would have had to prepare for tens of years. Something feels fishy."
"Eruhaben-nim, could you please share what you are thinking?"
Eruhaben crossed his arms and started to answer to Pendrick's request.
"I don't know the situation in the continent because I have not left my lair for about a hundred years, but it is impossible for an organization that is only made up of humans to create such ruckus in both the Eastern and Western continents."
"Then you think there are non-humans?"
Pendrick cautiously asked, but Eruhaben did not answer. He just rubbed his chin with his hand like he was deep in thought.
Pendrick recalled everything that had occurred until now. They were cruel beings that had thrown the world into chaos. There was a race he thought of as he thought about the chaos of the world.
"Eruhaben-nim, then, maybe, is it the demonic race?"
'Demonic race?'
Choi Han, Rosalyn, and the rest all turned grim. It was the typical reaction to hearing those words. They all looked toward Cale with shock in their eyes.
Then they all relaxed.
Cale was looking at Pendrick with an expression that seemed to be asking what this nonsense was. Choi Han, who relaxed after seeing Cale's reaction, noticed that Eruhaben was looking at Pendrick with a similar expression.
"…Pendrick, you've always had a vivid imagination."
"Then it is not?"
"Of course not. If the Demonic race starts to move, the gods give us a revelation."
"Then?"
Eruhaben answered back with indifference.
"As you all already suspected, they either built up the organization with a kingdom at the center, or unknown forces of nature are working with them. It could even be both."
Hmm. Eruhaben casually added on with an expression that was full of confusion.
"How interesting."
And Cale just happened to make eye contact with Eruhaben at that moment.
'Why is he saying how interesting while looking at me?'
Cale suppressed his discomfort and quickly moved his hand. He could hear Raon's voice.
"It feels nice, human!"
Cale was caressing Raon's round head. Raon was laying down on a comfortable couch next to Cale. Raon, On, and Hong were all laying around this extremely luxurious looking couch.
'This should prevent him from making me do anything, right?'
He continued to pet Raon's head, hoping that Eruhaben would remember that Raon was by his side.
He had no choice but to do so.
Most novels have Dragons making the humans who found their lair do their bidding, saying something like, 'go find out their identity.'
Cale continued to pet Raon's head, as he wanted to avoid such a situation. At that moment, Raon's voice filled Cale's mind.
– Human, will my future villa be like this too?
'Crap.'
A new type of danger had surfaced.
A young Dragon had seen a real Dragon's lair. Cale looked down at Raon. Raon must have seen something in Cale's eyes, as he sighed before fluttering his wings.
– It's okay, human. Do not worry about the money. I will earn the money to build it. You just wait.
Cale wanted to laugh.
Where would a little kid who earned 10 silver coins as allowance go to earn that much money? Cale ignored the part where Raon said that he would earn the money himself. Plus, that was not the problem right now. Cale, who peeked back over at Eruhaben, flinched. Eruhaben was still staring at him.
'Is he really going to make me do it?'
Cale watched Eruhaben slowly start to speak with anxiety.
Eruhaben finally started to speak.
"Well, it's not my problem."
'Hmm?'
"I'm getting very weak in my old age. It's annoying to step in. Not my business whether they argue, fight, or kill each other."
'Oh. I like this Dragon.'
Cale had a better impression of Eruhaben for the first time. Maybe it was because he was an ancient Dragon, but his personality was not bad.
Eruhaben looked toward Pendrick and continued to speak.
"But it looks like we will need to strengthen the magic shield around the World Tree."
"Yes, Dragon-nim."
"I will also make a magic device to install in your Elf Village, so take it with you."
"Thank you very much, Eruhaben-nim."
Pendrick thanked Eruhaben with awe on his face, while Eruhaben received the thanks like it was natural before turning his gaze away.
Yes, he was looking back at Cale once again.
'Why does he keep staring at me?'
Now both Raon and Cale were curious.
"Eruhaben, I already told you our weak human is also a coward!"
"Little kid, you should call me Eruhaben-nim. I've lived hundreds of years longer than you."
Raon started to frown after being called a little kid again. Cale started to worry, as the way Raon was looking at Eruhaben looked like he was about to do something bad.
However, he didn't need to worry about that anymore after hearing Eruhaben's next words.
"What an odd human. No, should I say amazing?"
'I'm odd? No, amazing?'
Cale looked toward Eruhaben with confusion. The Gold Dragon continued to speak.
"How are you still alive after having obtained so many ancient powers?"
'…Hmm?'
"Most people would blow up and die."
'…What?'
Cale became extremely focused after hearing those words that it swept his concern about Raon causing trouble away. He could hear Raon's urgent voice.
"What?! Hey, Goldie, what did you just say?!"
Raon was shocked.
Cale was also shocked.