< 151. There Are No Evil Dragons in This World (23) >
After reading the letter, Min-jun fell into a brief silence.
"Min-jun?"
The voice of Jenkins crackled in his ears. Min-jun was shocked by how much more Lord had understood than he had anticipated.
'You have already unraveled the secret and have been struggling alone.'
Min-jun could not fathom the depth of the agony and solitude Lord must have experienced.
Some types of torment turn a person's mind into hell. There are no visible bloodbaths or blazing fires, but it is a kind of dark, personal torture happening just beneath the skin or scales.
At the same time, Min-jun felt a deep respect for Lord's courage.
It must have been a fear so paralyzing it froze his brain. He did not turn away from it or share the burden with his kin. Instead, he sought what he could do. He devoted much of his life to it and made sacrifices. Although it was also for himself, upon closer inspection, the altruistic motive stood out. Unusually, very unusually, for a dragon.
"······."
Meanwhile, as Min-jun, the prisoner, felt these emotions, his other half was reacting in stark contrast. His old self was utterly bewildered.
It was understandable. It was an unimaginable situation.
What emotions should one feel when a once-consumed, now sentient beast sends a letter asking not to be eaten?
Min-jun felt that the time was approaching when he would have to confront his delayed thoughts.
'If my revenge is realized. If the day comes when all of this ends.'
The day when his kin wake up and everything returns to its place.
'What should we do about dragons?'
If it could be regarded as a matter of choice or preference, the situation would be different.
But Min-jun's memories and sensations spoke otherwise. This was not merely a matter of preference. Min-jun swallowed dryly.
His throat felt sore and as if it would split.
"Min-jun?"
Jenkins called out to him again. Min-jun turned his head and met the dragon's gaze. Despite being in polymorph form, Min-jun felt the dragon's true gaze in his friend's eyes. It was a mix of reality and memory.
The dragon's clear eyes.
He asked himself.
'Can I eat Jenkins?'
It was a question without value. He cannot.
'Why?'
Because Jenkins is his friend.
'Then, can I eat a dragon who is not my friend?'
Is it justifiable to base the criteria for whether a dragon can be eaten on his emotions?
A dragon is a dragon. Is it right that their fate and their opportunity to gain dignity should be subject to Min-jun's attachments? Is it right that some dragons survive because of Min-jun's interest while others are eaten because they do not?
Min-jun did not know.
And so he decided.
He would not have solidified his resolve if he had not read Lord's letter. The plea using 'human language' moved Min-jun. The only reason given in the letter for not eating dragons was the emotion it evoked. The fear Lord felt upon realizing that dragons could be consumed. That proud dragon had openly shown its fear and begged not to be eaten. It argued the reasons why dragons should not be consumed.
'At least, I must try to find a solution.'
Recovering more memories might provide a clue.
Unlike when the ancient species fell asleep, dragons had regained sentience.
And after reading the letter, Min-jun saw a possibility from Lord. It was the same kind of possibility he felt from Jenkins.
Thus, Min-jun set a principle for how he would act when that moment in the distant future arrived.
He would search for it.
A way not to eat dragons.
An orc asked.
"So, did the future you saw today change at all?"
The seer replied.
"Nothing has changed. It still shows the same scene."
Kavaite Gedwick was still burdened by the ever-increasing workload even after his promotion.
He was reviewing a report delivered by the new aide. It concerned Dimension #33-790. The report indicated that tensions were escalating among three herbivorous species and one carnivorous species living together in that dimension.
"Turn the page."
The carnivorous species was numerically inferior. The herbivorous species considered consuming animals a barbaric act and despised and discriminated against them. Even though the carnivorous species did not eat sentient beings but only beasts akin to cows or pigs on Earth, the herbivores felt a profound revulsion toward their dietary habits.
As a result, the carnivorous species was treated as second-class citizens in their countries and suffered from blatant wage disparities. However, they continued to elect politicians who represented their voices and fought to protect their rights. The balance of society hung precariously.
But recently, the situation had changed rapidly.
"Attacks on the Ketmas— I mean, the meat-eating species— have increased."
The belief that herbivores are weaker than carnivores is a prejudice.
"Public killings are occurring, and their homes are being burned down. But the media is not reporting on it at all."
"It's absurd. Killing to eat is wrong, but killing without eating is justifiable?"
"The extreme groups among herbivores claim that killing them saves more animal lives."
The politicians representing them had been entangled in conspiracies, removed, or imprisoned. Now they had lost hope of surviving in their homeland. Eventually, they were looking for a dimension to seek asylum, and the committee was doing its best to meet that demand.
"We've finally been contacted."
"Yes, they hope to migrate as soon as possible."
Of course, the dimension's inhabitants would never know. If one traced back the routes of the support flowing to the groups that engaged in extreme actions against the carnivorous species, it would lead to the committee.
The carnivorous species and their elected political groups had anti-committee tendencies and were unlikely to change their minds. They seemed to have an instinctive sense for something. Some species have an unusually good sense.
Whatever the reason, Gedwick knew an age-old method for dealing with hostile groups. Shatter them, scatter them. Cut off their alliances and dilute their identity as a group.
Under the pretext of practical constraints, it would not be possible for them all to migrate to a single dimension. The migration would be gradual and split among several destinations.
In a reality where simple solutions like species cleansing were not feasible, this was the most useful tactic.
"So, where are the candidate locations for their migration?"
"Here they are."
The aide handed over floating strings of text. Gedwick, looking at the list of dimensions that appeared, said with dissatisfaction.
"Wait, why is Dimension #93-111 on this list?"
The aide hesitated and could not answer. Kavaite missed the Earth's Dotes.
"What is the demographic composition of that dimension?"
The aide stammered in response. Kavaite was further annoyed by his subordinate's lack of understanding. He was not asking because he didn't know. Some questions do not require an answer. They require self-reflection and reconsideration.
"Don't you see the problem?"
"······."
Kavaite shouted.
"Isn't there a lack of humans? Humans!"
"What?!"
"Recall carefully. When we arranged large-scale group migrations, what was the demographic composition of the dimension that would become their new home?"
"Ah!"
The aide understood late.
"But it's not explicitly stated in the manual..."
"Even if it's not in the manual, there are reasons why everyone does it that way. Reorganize the candidates."
"Yes, understood."
As the dejected aide disappeared, Kavaite made a gesture akin to a deep sigh for a human.
It was at that moment.
"What a perfect timing."
A message had arrived from the old subordinate he missed.
Gedwick had sent Dotes to Earth. Officially, he was to assist Princess Endelion of the Earth's new administrative center. But Gedwick had given him a secret mission. He felt the need to keep one of his own people by her side.
As Gedwick reviewed the message, he muttered with a serious tone.
"I need to report this immediately."
He requested a face-to-face meeting with his direct superior, a high-ranking member of his own race, and it was quickly approved.
"I have urgent news. It's a report from Earth."
Shortly afterward, Gedwick stood before the Grand Representative Kavaite.
"What's the matter, Gedwick?"
"The Princess Endelion is engaging in unusual activities."
Gedwick relayed exactly what his subordinate Dotes had observed.
The report detailed that after the death of the Dragon Lord of Earth, the Princess had become quite involved in managing his remains. The Earth's dragons were unaware, but in reality, this involvement was not part of her official duties but rather a personal engagement. She had not reported it to higher authorities.
The Grand Representative clicked his tongue in response.
"···Engaging in pointless activities."
His tone was unusually harsh, which puzzled Gedwick.
"What has the Princess officially reported?"
Although her activities as a caretaker of the deceased dragon were personal, reports concerning her role as an Earth administrator should have been submitted to the higher-ups.
Kavaite projected the contents into the air. It detailed the movements related to the death of the Dragon Lord on Earth. The Grand Representative also noted information related to the high-intensity tax investigation target 'Asif-666.' The document was a straightforward account of publicly known facts about the Earth dragons.
"Did the deceased dragon leave an inheritance to Asif-666 as well?"
"Apparently so."
"And the dragon most likely to become the next Dragon Lord is..."
"A fire dragon named Jenkins on Earth."
The Princess's analysis of this was quite credible. The Grand Representative, after carefully reading Jenkins' profile and history, suddenly asked.
"Do we have any of that dragon's blood secured?"
Gedwick was slightly taken aback by the sudden question but checked the data and answered.
"No, we do not. However, we might be able to obtain the blood of the previous Dragon Lord, who is already deceased. If we contact the Princess..."
"No, do not contact her. We do not need any more of that dragon's blood."
Gedwick understood the implication in the words.
Not needing it meant they already had it.
The committee collected dragon blood for research purposes to monitor hypothetical enemies. However, Gedwick knew that some of this was diverted for other uses by Kavaites. It was something that should never be disclosed to other races like Endelion.
Even if he wanted to leak the information, he couldn't. Although he knew the high-ranking members of his race did so, he didn't know the reasons behind it.
"May I ask one thing?"
When Gedwick raised an old question, the Grand Representative answered without hesitation.
"What are we doing with that blood?"
He chuckled softly.
"Now that you've been promoted, I believe you're ready to clearly differentiate between yourself as a member of the committee and as a member of your own race. What do you think?"
It was a question about whether Gedwick was prepared to delve deeper into a secret that should never be disclosed to other races forming the committee.
Gedwick answered with confidence.
"Of course, I am prepared."
The Grand Representative seemed satisfied.
"Very good. Because from now on, I have a task for you, not as a directive from the Grand Representative but as an instruction from one of the first awakened of the Kavaites. And to carry it out properly, you need to know something."
He projected an image into the air.
"Look here."
Gedwick turned his head. The image created by the Grand Representative showed the very center of the dimension, the deepest origin.
"Oh, this is!"
Gedwick exclaimed in awe. And with a trembling voice, he said.
"It's so... beautiful."
A rift had formed in the middle of the black void of space. From it flowed the most beautiful light in the universe. Before it dispersed and evaporated, the minting tools prepared by the minting office gathered it. It was the equipment commonly known as a mining device.
Gedwick could hardly take his eyes off the dazzling brilliance.
The Talant.
"Yes, it is beautiful. Beautiful and... incredibly valuable."
The Grand Representative spoke of the reason Gedwick knew.
"It is beautiful blood that guarantees us a life close to immortality."
He added lightly.
"It is fortunate that we obtained it. For our remarkable race... isn't it too wasteful to live a shorter life than dragons and simply die?"
However, it was only a life close to immortality, not immortality itself. And the process involved considerable sacrifice.
"But we know the secret of true immortality."
Gedwick agreed.
"The primordial race..."
"From now on, what I am about to tell you must not be disclosed to any race other than the Kavaites."
"Understood."
"Gedwick, have you considered what the secret of the true immortality they enjoy might be? There can be no permanent organs. Just as there are limits to immortality using Talant, machines require constant refueling. So what is the fuel that grants the primordial race their unending life?"
Gedwick could not answer. His mind could not come up with an answer.
The superior provided the answer.
"So we focused on what they might have eaten to sustain themselves."
The Grand Representative smiled.
< 151. There Are No Evil Dragons in This World (23) > End