< 135. There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (7) >
Minjun's gaze became sharp.
"Did you join forces with Inais?"
Her child, or rather, the unhatched egg inside, is also an heir of Lord.
Just as the ancient dragons had made a pact to share the Dragon Heart, is there a similar conspiracy among direct heirs?
Kentius nodded with a blank expression.
"She suggested it first. Inais's child is just an unhatched egg, not even a hatchling yet. She can't go searching for culprits."
That's why, according to her claim, the most promising candidate among her children was Kentius.
'Well, other guardians who have aged wouldn't have much incentive to ally with her.'
Kentius continued.
"Inais also came up with the idea of making a deal with you. Even if she's curious about the tax evasion methods, she would join forces."
However, the subsequent plan was, characteristically for a dragon… extremely dragon-centric.
Minjun was astonished and clicked his tongue.
"So, their plan was to use me and, once everything was settled, Inais would then reveal the method?"
Did they see me as a complete fool?
'This is an offer I wouldn't accept unless I were crazy. But…'
Minjun fell into thought.
Of course, Inais might have been lying, fabricating any excuse.
But if she had intended to deceive him, what reason would there be to share it with the accomplice Kentius?
Moreover, it was specifically this kind of offer. Something that a typical dragon wouldn't even think of.
If one were going to lie, there would be more plausible alternatives.
'What could be the reason?'
Minjun's thoughts deepened.
Ha Eunsung had been busy for the first time in a while.
He was currently traversing New York City in a spirit state. The target was the area roughly indicated by Minjun. He was choosing places with unusually strong exorcism wards for his search.
'I'm visiting a place I could never reach while alive, now wandering around in death.'
It was his second overseas visit after Germany. Though in no sense could it be called a "free travel."
'Hmm? This place is a bit strange too.'
Arriving at a high-end penthouse, Ha Eunsung touched the building wall with his spirit.
A jolt—! A sharply penetrating sensation. This was at the level of a dragon-grade spell. He could now distinguish the levels of exorcism spells. No matter how sophisticated, they couldn't stop him.
Ha Eunsung penetrated through the building.
There, two people sat facing each other. Ha Eunsung's gaze captured their souls. The weight of their presence was on a different level from ordinary beings.
'As expected, dragons. Both of them.'
Following Minjun's instructions, Ha Eunsung diligently searched the surroundings.
After arriving in New York, he had felt magical eyes everywhere. Despite the dragon's attempts to mislead his tracking, he couldn't completely hide his trail.
So, he had released a ghost in the city. Not all dragons have spirit-sensitive subordinates like Chosun. Additionally, by deploying the exorcism wards, he aimed to exploit the psychological barriers to spirit spies. To their common sense, this level of defense was considered sufficient.
'Alright, checked this place too.'
Instead of leaving immediately, Ha Eunsung hid in the ceiling and listened. He could hear the conversation between the two people.
"...Hally, how is it?"
The voice asking this was male.
The woman across from him seemed to concentrate, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them.
She said.
"They're holed up in the residence, and with my familiar's sight, I can't see inside."
"What should we do then?"
"We don't have the luxury of waiting. Since Minjun left the vault, the number of watching eyes has increased. Someone might preempt us."
The woman spoke firmly.
"Stop dawdling, we need to act now."
Act now?
Ha Eunsung's expression hardened.
"It seems everyone is hesitant and reluctant to act. So, this is the opportunity."
Many dragons had witnessed the disappearance of the private vault, but they hadn't seen what Minjun obtained. Cautious dragons thought it would be too late to act after confirming it.
But not all dragons were so cautious. The man and woman currently conversing were not.
The dragon polymorphed into an elven woman, Hallisnaim, spoke.
"The moment they step outside the residence, we'll teleport and snatch them."
Hallisnaim had a talent for designing complex spells despite her age. She was confident in her ability to kidnap her prey and erase traces while avoiding the eyes of other observers. This was based on the assumption that no ancient dragons were targeting the unknown heritage. In a squabble among direct heirs, it was too trivial for an ancient dragon to involve itself.
However, if the location for moving the alien was too close, other competitors might quickly catch up. Thus, a considerably distant location would be ideal, but her magical power couldn't reach that level. Also, hearing that the alien had captured Edeliness alone, she had some concerns.
Therefore, Hallisnaim joined forces with her half-brother, Bogor. As Ha Eunsung had already noticed, he too, polymorphed into a troll, was a dragon.
"I'll handle the spell design, so you just need to supply the magic power."
Bogor asked in a somewhat awkward tone.
"But… are we really not going to find the true killer of Lord?"
Hallisnaim snorted.
"You fool, I've already explained this!"
"I don't understand well."
Bogor was close to borderline intelligence disability by dragon standards.
Dragons who view everything below their ideal standards as abnormal or disgraceful consider low intelligence as a deformity. And deformed dragons, no matter how old, can never shed the hatchling label.
Bogor's situation was precarious. His mother had long debated whether to recognize Bogor as an adult but eventually allowed his independence. Thanks to this, he lived a free life instead of being confined to the lair.
However, many dragons wanted to exploit him, like Hallisnaim.
"Why, do you also covet the Dragon Heart? Don't be greedy for it."
"...Why shouldn't I be greedy? I want it. If I get it... I'll become stronger."
Hallisnaim sighed.
"Think about it.
Repeating an explanation she had given before.
It started with a story that seemed unrelated at first.
"The position of Earth's representative at the committee was recently filled again. It had been vacant for a long time."
Bogor nodded.
"However, the appointed ancient race's identity was the princess of Endelion. That's why the ancient dragons were in an uproar."
"...Really?"
Even if she were not a princess, no dragon would willingly associate with a tentacle monster, and most of the invited ancient dragons reacted with displeasure at the mere meeting.
"There were even remarks that Cabaites would be better. Those worms can't even be in the same place as dragonkind, so they wouldn't even be invited, right?"
The severe dragon allergy of Cabaites is famous. At the end of the war, desperate dragons suppressed their pride and used dragon blood to create biochemical weapons.
"Anyway, I heard that some of the ancient dragons suspect she is deeply involved in recent events on Earth."
"What... events?"
"Originally, we were supposed to be discussing the agenda in Hong Kong! The illegal residency dragon case, the attempted smuggling of related evidence, the Chosun incident, and the mutant dragon case."
Ha Eunsung, hiding in the ceiling, widened his eyes at the unexpected revelation.
He was aware that the tentacle-shaped floating island that recently appeared in Hong Kong was an alien.
But… that monster is connected to the Chosun incident?
"A species notorious for its aversion to primates sending a princess to a dimension full of primates. Doesn't it suggest some dark intention? The timing is too precise to be a coincidence."
Hallisnaim shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.
"There's no way Lord wouldn't have thought of something other ancient dragons could come up with."
"But Lord entrusted the corpse to that tentacle creature."
"Perhaps it was intentional?"
"...Why?"
"This is where opinions diverge. My speculation is this. Think about it. Is it really something as trivial as a treasure that you could trust so openly to the enemy?"
Hallisnaim speculated that there was a secret hidden in Lord's corpse, more specifically, in the Dragon Heart.
This part was similar to Jenkins's opinion.
But as she delved into specifics, the interpretation diverged completely.
"Lord must have done something to the Dragon Heart before he died. It's strange that he insisted on waiting for 99 days. I think the Dragon Heart undergoes some change after that much time. That heart is likely… a kind of time bomb."
"A bomb?!"
"I don't believe in Endelion's oaths. The princess would have already stolen the heart from the corpse. Without even knowing if it's a bomb."
"...What?!"
"Lord thought the committee would kill him and planned to take revenge using his own corpse."
This was a guess mixed with speculation.
Young dragons viewed Endelion's oaths as agreements that could be broken.
For greater gain and power, dragons might break their own vows, so why would promises from other species be any different?
"Lord thought it better to harm the committee than to leave a legacy for his children. It's really strange for a dragon to be so obsessed with worldly affairs after their death."
Hallisnaim spoke with no trace of sorrow over losing her father.
"Anyway, let go of the Dragon Heart. That's not something we should touch. Instead, let's focus on intercepting the legacy Lord left to Minjun."
She said in an irritated tone.
"Why on earth did that old man have so many children? He can't even take care of the Dragon Heart, and yet he divided the remaining assets into 17 parts. It's not like he'll have enough to live on. He even scattered crumbs to non-direct dragons and all sorts of trash-like species... I've disliked it from start to finish."
The two dragons prepared to move. Their destination was where Minjun was.
Bogor spoke.
"Can't we just kill them and take it? Do we really have to kidnap them?"
"Of course not!"
Dragons know he is a convict. If they kill him or damage him so badly that he can't perform his duties for an extended period, he will be wanted for destruction of property.
But they understood that the committee wouldn't intervene for slight mistreatment beyond that scope.
Meanwhile, Ha Eunsung, hiding, gave up on further searching. He needed to return to Minjun's residence and inform him of the situation, just as he had when he discovered Kentius's intrusion.
He crossed the sky at high speed, thinking.
'Dragons are… ugh, so repulsive!'
They were already billionaires, and they were set to inherit even more wealth.
These affluent individuals, enjoying such abundance, are trying to steal even what Minjun has obtained.
Where does such endless greed come from? Even with so much, they act as though they can't be satisfied without more. It was incomprehensible. He didn't want to understand it.
Feeling his aversion to dragons deepen, Ha Eunsung arrived at the residence in no time.
"Hmmm, really?"
Minjun nodded after hearing Ha Eunsung's explanation.
"I did expect they'd start making moves one by one."
Still in his penguin suit with a dagger embedded in his ghostly form, Ha Eunsung spoke with a worried expression.
=Agent, what should we do? There are many dragons watching from all around besides those two I saw. I haven't even found all the ones you mentioned yet.=
The agent spoke in a flat voice.
"What to do? There's only one way."
=Should we just kill them all?=
He knew that Minjun had played a part in killing Chosun. But at that time, another ancient dragon had been with him.
=Are you going to call Chairman Jenkins?=
Minjun shook his head.
"He's busy right now. And what if we kill all the young dragons just because of this? It would be a waste."
=······?=
"That would be like cutting open the goose that lays golden eggs. Even when fishing, you release the young ones back into the sea."
Ha Eunsung was confused by Minjun's mixed references to his past and present self.
What? A waste?
Golden eggs... a goose? And fishing?
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Minjun corrected himself.
"What I mean is, killing dragons carelessly would make the aftermath very troublesome."
Just as dragons can't kill Minjun casually, Minjun couldn't do the same to them.
=So, what do we do?=
"We shouldn't kill them but we need to handle them properly."
If left unattended, several of them would follow around and cause trouble.
It's better to nip it in the bud.
But he didn't need to do it himself. Minjun thought of a way to handle it without getting his hands dirty.
"Fortunately, a suitable player has conveniently come our way."
< 135. There Are No Evil Dragons in the World (7> End