“Yes. We are half elves. We share the blood of humans and elves so our natures resemble both species. Our father is a human who is a noble of this kingdom. Our mother is his mistress so our standing is fairly low. We were living in Elca until I was ten and my brother was twelve but our father told us to come live with him in Colchis.”

“You guys were part of the migrators?”

She smiled wryly. “Yes. We used that chance to come live with our father. If not for the regulation that the king implemented then we’d have been forced to grow up without a father. We enrolled into the academy immediately after we came to the kingdom. But things have been rather hectic.”

“Fia, don’t talk about these things with a guy you just met.” Marcus said with his head still turned.

“I apologize, elder brother.”

The train went under a tunnel. The inside of the cabin was lighted up by the lamps. Silence loomed over us.

‘They grew up without a father huh…’ Fiana had a sad expression on her face. I knew it was the same for Marcus even if his face was turned away.

Larkus seemed to sense the thick atmosphere and looked at me.

“So, Clyde!”

‘Stop screaming for god’s sake.’

“Where are you headed!?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing. Your luggage seems a little too much for a short stay at a relative.” Fiana pointed at my backpack.

“I’m going to the Holy Kingdom.”

“Huh? That’s a little far, isn’t it?” Larkus asked. “What’s there?”

“I’m going to see my family.” I answered.

The train finally came out of the tunnel a minute later.

“Wait, you’re from another nation too? Or did that relative move there?”

“Well, it’s complicated. I’m going to visit my sister. I want to head to this city called Salvesteer first. Hopefully she’s still there.”

‘I want to see my uncle too if the bastard is still alive.’

He was the whole reason George was kicked out of the family’s lineage. In the process he caused the Astley clan to perish as well. We were no longer worthy of calling ourselves the vassals of the Luxembourg family.

“Salvesteer is a pretty dangerous city.” Larkus added. “Many nobles fall from grace because of the excessive crime and twisted politics.”

“You’ve been there before?” I asked Larkus. He nodded. He rubbed his bald head before speaking.

“I lived there before coming to the kingdom. That was how I met Marcus and Fiana during all this chaos of the Divide. I’m ashamed to mention our family household so I apologize for keeping it a secret.”

“No. It’s fine. Can you tell me what I need to look out for?” I wasn’t particularly worried. I had the insignia of the academy on my being. Most people would run away or lose interest. Only the crazies would mess with a student from the academy that taught magic arts.

“Well, you need to worry about what’s crawling in those forests first. There are multiple wyrms that usually roam the entrance of the path leading to Salvesteer. So look out for them. Well, they wouldn’t be a threat individually but keep your guard up if there is a group of them. Goblins, orcs and trolls are also a big problem for the city. They usually come in the night to kidnap wandering women and children.” Larkus scratched his cheek. “I’ve been taken by them quite a few times when I was a kid. I enjoy walking around late at night, after all.”

I glanced outside and noticed that we had travelled quite the distance. I could see the Draconic Kingdom far into the horizon. There was a mountain a little further away which was shaped like a dragon’s body.

Larkus’ words went through one ear and out the other. I wasn’t paying attention anymore. If trouble arose then I’d just blast the enemies away.

‘Edna should’ve met the Elder dragon by now. Hopefully she got the answers she was looking for.’

The Elder Dragon was a dragon who had lived ever since the First Age which was the beginning of the Holy Era. He had seen the Demon Battle God Rodion, the battle between the angels and devils, etc…

Surely he had met one Dragon Lord before in his life? I wasn’t completely certain that day I agreed to let Edna go and meet him.

“You know, they say the Elder Dragon is dying.” Fiana’s voice came from beside me. She seemed to have seen me looking at the kingdom from here.

“He is? It can’t be old age, can it?”

Fiana chuckled. “Is there even an age limit to an ancient dragon’s lifespan? He had seen five generations of kings of that kingdom so it’s hard to guess how old he really is. Probably tens of thousands.”

“Did they say what is causing its death?” I asked.

“The Elder Dragon lacks a second heart. Being as old and mythical as he is, he cannot live without one. In the battle against the otherworldly being who invaded the dragons’ planet, he was forced to fight against his kind. As a result of the fight, a dragon lord took his first heart. This was more than a millennia ago.”

“You seem quite knowledgeable.” I smiled.

“Haha. I love to do research in my spare time. Anyway, as the Elder Dragon is dying, it must be decided who must inherit his will.”

“His will?”

“It refers to the duty of protecting the kingdom of dragons and bearing the title of Lord. As he wasn’t born in the royal bloodline, he cannot inherit the title so someone suitable must inherit it. Say, one with the potential to become a dragon lord.”

‘Doesn’t this mean Edna has a chance to become one of them?’

She was a full royal. Whatever that meant. Maybe the royal bloodline referred to those born from the seed of the Dragon God?

“There is only one candidate for that role.” Fiana said.

“…One?”

‘Someone other than Edna?’

No one knew of her existence. Well, except Damian and Charlotte.

“The princess of the Draconic Kingdom, Stella Litus Dronia. She who is the bearer of the shape-shifting weapon. When the Elder Dragon dies, she must eat his heart in order to complete the ritual. No dragon lord has come forth to say otherwise so everyone agrees that she is the most suitable.”

‘Edna is literally the child of a dragon lord. How is this Stella person the most suitable!?’

I wanted to argue but that would look stupid. So Edna was the last living dragon lord of the new generation, after all.

‘I hope you succeed in convincing the Elder Dragon of your worth, Edna. This might be your chance to find Sapphire.’

If she gained the title of lord then that would put her one step closer to her mother.

We passed by the kingdom a few moments later. It would probably be a while before I arrived at my destination.

I closed my eyes in order to rest. No one tried to strike up a conversation again.

◇

The train passed by many regions in the next few hours. I got to see places I didn’t see before in my life. None of that would’ve been possible if I hadn’t ridden the train.

‘The World Tree looks smaller than usual…’ I looked towards the right side of the train and saw a majestic tree come into view.

Maybe it was because it was on the verge of dying but it had shrunk from the last time I saw it. The roots of the tree that reached all the way where we were was black and dead. The same could be said for the landscape outside of the Elca nation’s forests.

It was like there wasn’t enough nutrients for the World Tree’s roots to grow any further.

“Ah…We’re here…” Fiana opened her eyes and yawned. She also looked out of the window. “Elder brother, we’ll be arriving shortly.” She shook Marcus’ shoulders.

“Ehehe~ Miya, we’re still not married yet~” Marcus was in his own dream world. He awoke a moment later from Fiana shaking him. “Ugh…”

He groaned as if he didn’t want to wake up from his sleep.

‘That’s weird. Why did he dream about Miya?’

I looked at him intently and got lost in my thoughts.

‘I wonder if he has a spiritual bond with her as well?’

That was probably impossible. Miya and I were already soulmates. We were basically made for each other. I don’t mean like in a weird way but rather our magic was so similar that we just fit together. I had never bonded through my magic with anyone else before.

‘Could it be that she also has the ability to do a contract with a monarch spirit?’

I felt like that could be possible. She was the only high elf–other than her mother–who was able to use Lesser Monarchs in battle. That alone made her a genius born every decade or so.

Undine told me that I could also use Lesser Monarchs if I wished since they were easier to control than her and Ifrit. However, I wasn’t interested because that would mean I was betraying what made Miya special as a high elf.

‘There’s no way Marcus could have a bond that’s the same as ours.’

She was a high elf while he was half of what an elf should be. He was more human than he was elf. Plus, Marcus used arcane magic unlike Miya who was a pure spirit elemental user.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Marcus seemed to have caught me staring.

“Ah, sorry. It’s nothing.” I averted my eyes.

I felt the train slow down at that moment.

—Attention all passengers, we are approaching the territory of the elves so we will need to come to a stop here.

A voice announced to us.

“It seems we’ll be getting off here.” Fiana said. “It was nice meeting you, senior. I hope we can meet again soon.”

She bowed to me and picked up her bag. Marcus only harrumphed and walked out of the cabin. Larkus gave me a big thumps up and flashed a toothy grin.

I waved the three of them goodbye as they headed out of the room.

After they left, I stuck my head out of the window to see what was blocking our path. It seemed that they forbid us humans from stopping in front of their kingdom’s gates. Although they allowed us to build tracks in their territory, it was only to pass by. Not linger around.

The train was blocked from proceeding any further by a gigantic wall of mana. Several knights, including a captain, came towards the train. I saw Marcus, Fiana and Larkus walk up to the elves that came out of the tower next to the wall of mana.

They were wearing robes instead of the armor the knights wore.

‘Is that Camilla?’

I saw a dark elf maid take all of their stuff and welcome them. She had blonde hair and the most beautiful chocolate skin I had ever seen. Her big eyes were a bright green color which suited her cute face.

Fiana looked up at the train one last time and waved at me. I waved back and smiled.

They headed for the tower afterwards. It was ten minutes later that we were allowed to pass through again. I closed the window and sat back down.

The train began moving after clearance had been granted.