It was very disconcerting to suddenly meet Byblos without any preparation, but thanks to it, Perdes was able to reduce the time spent arguing unnecessarily with Byblos's disciples.
Yeah, let's think positively.
Perdes took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart, then smiled as brightly as he could and greeted him.
"Hello."
Byblos snorted and turned around, inserting a thick key into the door of the laboratory and asking curtly.
“You said goodbye as if you would never see me again, and then showed up less than a day later? And why did you show up so early?”
“There’s something I really want to check.”
“What do you want to confirm? Is it about that magic circle?”
"No."
“Then why did you come?”
“I heard that the Great Sage is a half-human and half-elf. Is that true?”
At the unexpected question, Byblos stopped opening the door and turned his head to look at Perdes.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I heard a strange story.”
“A strange story?”
“They say that the only species that can smell mana is... dragons.”
“...!”
For a moment, Byblos' eyes widened. The pupils inside them vibrated greatly.
While he was hesitating, Perdes quickly closed the distance and approached him, asking again.
“A dragon... is that you?”
By changing the question slightly, he was able to hit the target squarely.
Byblos showed no reaction to this, but it was another positive expression.
He had high hopes for it, but it's really true.
Perdes, who was confronted with being called the strongest living being, let out a laugh and washed his face dry.
“That’s right.”
"...So?"
Boom. The sound of the door closing echoed through the quiet street, somewhat eerily.
Byblos grabbed Perdes by the collar and pushed his face close to his.
The eyes, which had suddenly turned into a diamond shape, flashed dangerously.
“Are you planning to announce to the world that I am a dragon? A being that every wizard wants to meet at least once in their life, a creature that people are so curious about, and are you planning to tell them to come and see it?”
“I don’t intend to do that.”
“How can I believe that? Humans are the kind of people who say no to your face, but then crack pumpkin seeds behind your back.”
There was a deep sense of distrust in his expression and voice.
“Believe me or not, it’s your freedom.”
Perdes, who decided that it was better to act as calmly as possible rather than beg for trust in such a situation, spoke plainly and pulled Byblos' hand away from his collar.
“...”
Then Byblos stepped back, slightly confused.
A gaze mixed with suspicion and distrust searched Perdes' face.
Perdes said nothing and straightened his crumpled collar indifferently as if to show that he was truly indifferent.
“...I don’t understand.”
Then Byblos muttered in a low voice.
“Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to come to me so early in the morning and ask me such a question.”
“I have all of them.”
“If you wanted to know about that magic circle, you were wasting your time. Even if I reveal that I’m a dragon, the fact that I don’t know anything will still remain the same.”
“As I said before, I didn’t come here to talk about the magic circle.”
“Then why did you come?”
“I came here because I wanted to know about dragons.”
To be exact, he wanted to know about the red dragon that was closely related to Duke Leopold, but he couldn't talk about it yet, so he spoke vaguely.
Then Byblos tilted his head as if he couldn't understand.
“If you want to know about dragons, just ask your lover.”
Why a lover all of a sudden?
As Perdes stared silently at the words he couldn't understand, Byblos burst out laughing as if he found them ridiculous.
“What’s with that woman? She revealed my identity, but she didn’t reveal her own identity?”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“What does that mean? It means that your lover is also of the same species as me.”
So, in the first place, he doesn't have a lover or anything like that.
Perdes does have someone he likes, but...
Perdes, who naturally thought of Adele, also remembered that she had been blessed by the red dragon.
Byblos also said that his body smelled like second-rate stuff.
'I think it has something to do with Adele.'
He wanted to check if his prediction was correct, but he was worried that doing so would require bringing up the story of Duke Leopold's family.
When Perdes made a serious expression, Byblos waved his hand in great embarrassment.
“Oh, sorry. Your lover was a man, not a woman.”
What the heck is this nonsense?
As Perdes looked at him in amazement, Byblos tapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I have no prejudice against that kind of thing.”
“...It’s your freedom to think strange thoughts, but I’d like you to refrain from including me in them. It’s unpleasant.”
“Oh, no?”
“No. And there is no such thing as a lover.”
“Then what is this smell coming from your body?”
It smelled. Perdes buried his nose in his arm and sniffed, but there was no smell.
“Do I really smell like second-rate stuff?”
“Yes. Besides, it’s common knowledge that only dragons can sense the scent of mana. Since you heard that, I assumed you were of the same species.”
...Was the smell coming from my body not Adele but Gnosis?
No, that can't be. Gnosis was a perfect human being, beyond doubt.
And the one who gave that information to Gnosis was a man believed to be Adele's father.
So, it was right to see this information as being related to Adele.
“So, what do you want to know about dragons?”
“If I ask, will you answer?”
“I’ll listen to it and decide, so just ask.”
It was a vague answer, but it was better than a clear rejection.
“The questions will be asked by someone other than me.”
“Someone else? Who is that?”
“Adele Leopold.”
If Byblos was to be taken to Adele, it was inevitable that he would have to mention her.
Adele also said that she would like to meet Byblos if he really is a dragon, so he guess he can say this much.
“Leopold... you say?”
Byblos' eyes widened for a moment, then became thin like a flounder.
He looked at Perdes with sharp eyes and asked.
“Hey you, what is your identity?”
He mentioned Adele's name, so there was no reason why he should not reveal his identity.
Perdes said, putting his hand on his heart.
“Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Perdes de Vincent Athanasius, fiance of Duke Adele Leopold.”
Since the counterfeit gold coin incident broke out, meetings have been held every two days, but no proper solution has yet been reached.
It was because the nobles who thought of their own interests first were busy fighting each other.
“How many times do I have to tell you that in this case, it would be better to just print new gold coins!”
“Who will pay for the printing of those gold coins? And what will happen to the existing coins when the new coins are issued?”
The nobles were busy biting and tearing at each other again today.
I was a little worried that the nobles might come to their senses and join forces, but my worries were for nothing.
I watched the nobles bickering like someone watching a fire across a river, then turned to look at the Crown Prince sitting at the highest seat.
Originally, the Emperor was scheduled to attend, but something suddenly came up and the Crown Prince attended instead of the Emperor.
And the Crown Prince has been sitting as still as a sack of barley since the meeting began.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, please say something.”
“Hmm, well. I guess it’s all true...”
He wanted to suppress the anti-imperial nobles, so he showed an ambiguous attitude even though he secretly gave them hints, so the anti-imperial nobles groaned and pounded their chests.
Even if the Crown Prince is not very perceptive, he is not a fool who cannot tell friends from the enemy, so why is he acting like that?
In the end, this meeting was also fruitless, and while they only expressed their antipathy towards each other, the Crown Prince, who had been silently listening to the nobles' stories, opened his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I think it would be a good idea to issue new gold coins.”
"Your Highness!"
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
When the Crown Prince raised his hand in agreement with the opinions of the anti-imperial nobles, the pro-imperial nobles called him out in excitement.
The anti-imperial nobles also looked at each other in bewilderment.
“To cover the cost of issuing gold coins, we need to collect a lot of taxes, and the lives of the people of the empire will become even more miserable than they are now!”
“That’s right! Even now, if you go out on the streets, many people are suffering because of rising prices, so it doesn’t make sense to collect more taxes!”
“Please think of the people of the Empire, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
It was funny how they didn't think about the people of the empire at all, but they were begging the Crown Prince to think about them.
It was also fun to see the Crown Prince digging his own grave.
Although the imperialist nobles all shouted in unison that it was not possible, the Crown Prince did not change his mind.
“Of course, it may be difficult right now, but when you think about the future, I think it would be better to issue a new one.”
“However, Your Highness...!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The golden eyes, a symbol of royalty, flashed meaningfully for a moment.
The Crown Prince glanced at the nobles looking at him with various emotions, then smiled.
“I hope everyone here can give me some strength."
Yeah, let's think positively.
Perdes took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart, then smiled as brightly as he could and greeted him.
"Hello."
Byblos snorted and turned around, inserting a thick key into the door of the laboratory and asking curtly.
“You said goodbye as if you would never see me again, and then showed up less than a day later? And why did you show up so early?”
“There’s something I really want to check.”
“What do you want to confirm? Is it about that magic circle?”
"No."
“Then why did you come?”
“I heard that the Great Sage is a half-human and half-elf. Is that true?”
At the unexpected question, Byblos stopped opening the door and turned his head to look at Perdes.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I heard a strange story.”
“A strange story?”
“They say that the only species that can smell mana is... dragons.”
“...!”
For a moment, Byblos' eyes widened. The pupils inside them vibrated greatly.
While he was hesitating, Perdes quickly closed the distance and approached him, asking again.
“A dragon... is that you?”
By changing the question slightly, he was able to hit the target squarely.
Byblos showed no reaction to this, but it was another positive expression.
He had high hopes for it, but it's really true.
Perdes, who was confronted with being called the strongest living being, let out a laugh and washed his face dry.
“That’s right.”
"...So?"
Boom. The sound of the door closing echoed through the quiet street, somewhat eerily.
Byblos grabbed Perdes by the collar and pushed his face close to his.
The eyes, which had suddenly turned into a diamond shape, flashed dangerously.
“Are you planning to announce to the world that I am a dragon? A being that every wizard wants to meet at least once in their life, a creature that people are so curious about, and are you planning to tell them to come and see it?”
“I don’t intend to do that.”
“How can I believe that? Humans are the kind of people who say no to your face, but then crack pumpkin seeds behind your back.”
There was a deep sense of distrust in his expression and voice.
“Believe me or not, it’s your freedom.”
Perdes, who decided that it was better to act as calmly as possible rather than beg for trust in such a situation, spoke plainly and pulled Byblos' hand away from his collar.
“...”
Then Byblos stepped back, slightly confused.
A gaze mixed with suspicion and distrust searched Perdes' face.
Perdes said nothing and straightened his crumpled collar indifferently as if to show that he was truly indifferent.
“...I don’t understand.”
Then Byblos muttered in a low voice.
“Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to come to me so early in the morning and ask me such a question.”
“I have all of them.”
“If you wanted to know about that magic circle, you were wasting your time. Even if I reveal that I’m a dragon, the fact that I don’t know anything will still remain the same.”
“As I said before, I didn’t come here to talk about the magic circle.”
“Then why did you come?”
“I came here because I wanted to know about dragons.”
To be exact, he wanted to know about the red dragon that was closely related to Duke Leopold, but he couldn't talk about it yet, so he spoke vaguely.
Then Byblos tilted his head as if he couldn't understand.
“If you want to know about dragons, just ask your lover.”
Why a lover all of a sudden?
As Perdes stared silently at the words he couldn't understand, Byblos burst out laughing as if he found them ridiculous.
“What’s with that woman? She revealed my identity, but she didn’t reveal her own identity?”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“What does that mean? It means that your lover is also of the same species as me.”
So, in the first place, he doesn't have a lover or anything like that.
Perdes does have someone he likes, but...
Perdes, who naturally thought of Adele, also remembered that she had been blessed by the red dragon.
Byblos also said that his body smelled like second-rate stuff.
'I think it has something to do with Adele.'
He wanted to check if his prediction was correct, but he was worried that doing so would require bringing up the story of Duke Leopold's family.
When Perdes made a serious expression, Byblos waved his hand in great embarrassment.
“Oh, sorry. Your lover was a man, not a woman.”
What the heck is this nonsense?
As Perdes looked at him in amazement, Byblos tapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I have no prejudice against that kind of thing.”
“...It’s your freedom to think strange thoughts, but I’d like you to refrain from including me in them. It’s unpleasant.”
“Oh, no?”
“No. And there is no such thing as a lover.”
“Then what is this smell coming from your body?”
It smelled. Perdes buried his nose in his arm and sniffed, but there was no smell.
“Do I really smell like second-rate stuff?”
“Yes. Besides, it’s common knowledge that only dragons can sense the scent of mana. Since you heard that, I assumed you were of the same species.”
...Was the smell coming from my body not Adele but Gnosis?
No, that can't be. Gnosis was a perfect human being, beyond doubt.
And the one who gave that information to Gnosis was a man believed to be Adele's father.
So, it was right to see this information as being related to Adele.
“So, what do you want to know about dragons?”
“If I ask, will you answer?”
“I’ll listen to it and decide, so just ask.”
It was a vague answer, but it was better than a clear rejection.
“The questions will be asked by someone other than me.”
“Someone else? Who is that?”
“Adele Leopold.”
If Byblos was to be taken to Adele, it was inevitable that he would have to mention her.
Adele also said that she would like to meet Byblos if he really is a dragon, so he guess he can say this much.
“Leopold... you say?”
Byblos' eyes widened for a moment, then became thin like a flounder.
He looked at Perdes with sharp eyes and asked.
“Hey you, what is your identity?”
He mentioned Adele's name, so there was no reason why he should not reveal his identity.
Perdes said, putting his hand on his heart.
“Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Perdes de Vincent Athanasius, fiance of Duke Adele Leopold.”
***
Since the counterfeit gold coin incident broke out, meetings have been held every two days, but no proper solution has yet been reached.
It was because the nobles who thought of their own interests first were busy fighting each other.
“How many times do I have to tell you that in this case, it would be better to just print new gold coins!”
“Who will pay for the printing of those gold coins? And what will happen to the existing coins when the new coins are issued?”
The nobles were busy biting and tearing at each other again today.
I was a little worried that the nobles might come to their senses and join forces, but my worries were for nothing.
I watched the nobles bickering like someone watching a fire across a river, then turned to look at the Crown Prince sitting at the highest seat.
Originally, the Emperor was scheduled to attend, but something suddenly came up and the Crown Prince attended instead of the Emperor.
And the Crown Prince has been sitting as still as a sack of barley since the meeting began.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, please say something.”
“Hmm, well. I guess it’s all true...”
He wanted to suppress the anti-imperial nobles, so he showed an ambiguous attitude even though he secretly gave them hints, so the anti-imperial nobles groaned and pounded their chests.
Even if the Crown Prince is not very perceptive, he is not a fool who cannot tell friends from the enemy, so why is he acting like that?
In the end, this meeting was also fruitless, and while they only expressed their antipathy towards each other, the Crown Prince, who had been silently listening to the nobles' stories, opened his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I think it would be a good idea to issue new gold coins.”
"Your Highness!"
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
When the Crown Prince raised his hand in agreement with the opinions of the anti-imperial nobles, the pro-imperial nobles called him out in excitement.
The anti-imperial nobles also looked at each other in bewilderment.
“To cover the cost of issuing gold coins, we need to collect a lot of taxes, and the lives of the people of the empire will become even more miserable than they are now!”
“That’s right! Even now, if you go out on the streets, many people are suffering because of rising prices, so it doesn’t make sense to collect more taxes!”
“Please think of the people of the Empire, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
It was funny how they didn't think about the people of the empire at all, but they were begging the Crown Prince to think about them.
It was also fun to see the Crown Prince digging his own grave.
Although the imperialist nobles all shouted in unison that it was not possible, the Crown Prince did not change his mind.
“Of course, it may be difficult right now, but when you think about the future, I think it would be better to issue a new one.”
“However, Your Highness...!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The golden eyes, a symbol of royalty, flashed meaningfully for a moment.
The Crown Prince glanced at the nobles looking at him with various emotions, then smiled.
“I hope everyone here can give me some strength."
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