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“Don’t look at me like that with those eyes. They were adopted.”

“Adopted children?”

“The children became orphans for various reasons, but I adopted them. Actually, there were other people who acted as their actual parents.......”

Still, the children were a shining beacon in his memories.

During the Dragon Demon War, Azell had seen a lot of tragedy. During this time, he had adopted children whose fate brushed against his, and he had sent them to the lands owned by him, Marquis Karzark.

After he had killed Atein to end the Dragon Demon war, he was slowly dying from the curse. Thus, he had retreated back into his territories for two years.

During that time, he had made a lot of memories with his adopted children. They were like a real family during that time.

He rode horses with them. They raced across the plains, and they found secret locations where other people wouldn’t even dare to visit. He had also taught them martial arts... There was once a time when he had lived in such a way.

Enora, who had been listening without interruption, spoke.

“Sir Azell must have been a noble.”

“Is that so?”

“Unless you are a noble, the activities you described is impossible. Moreover, it sounds like your family was prosperous. You really can’t remember the details?”

“Yes. I really want to remember it all.”

“If I really turn out to be a noble, Ms. Enora has to treat me well?”

“Mmm. So I just have to stop calling you ahjushi?”

“You are pretty quick on the uptake.”

Azell couldn’t help, but laugh when Enora looked up at him in a cute manner.

3

After purchasing the items, they visited a clinic. When they returned to the place they were lodging at with the healer, the sun was setting.

Enora spoke in an excited manner.

“Wow. I want to always shop with someone like Sir Azell.”

“So you want a strong servant?”

Azell grumbled.

As they walked, she had bought necessary travel items and ingredients for food. The amount she bought wasn’t a joke. These items would be divvied up between the horses during the travel, yet he currently had to hold it all by himself. Azell held a burden that was bigger than the size of his body. He acrobatically held it with both hands, which caused a spectacle. People in the street stopped to watch him.

Giles was surprised at the amount of luggage Azell had brought.

“You carried all of this by yourself... Maybe we should have gone too?”

“I didn’t know she would buy this much.”

He couldn’t tell Giles about Enora’s cold assessment of him, so Azell gave an ambiguous answer.

Enora and the healer went to meet Arrieta, and Azell went out to the garden in the back of the inn. Since this place catered to the nobles, the building was luxurious and had a pretty large garden.

“Hmmm.”

He found Kairen there. The man had taken off his armor and had hidden his horn, ears, and Dragon Demon stone. Kairen sat in an outdoor table disguised as a human, drinking alcohol.

Azell spoke.

“That’s quite the disguise.”

“If I show my real appearance in such a crowded place, it would be annoying to operate in that location.”

Unlike Arrieta, who had basically been a propaganda tool for the throne, Kairen often worked under the radar. This was why he had spent a lot of his money making this personal magic tool that disguised his outer appearance.

Kairen queried.

“Did you bring a healer?”

“Yes. Ms. Enora created a big fuss asking for a female healer, so it took some time.”

“She is young, but she is quite good at her job. Do you want a cup?”

“I won’t refuse, but... Do you think I can ask you a question before that?”

“By the way you are speaking, it seems your words will make me lose appetite for alcohol... What if I say no?”

“Then I won’t ask.”

“If you are meekly backing off like this, then it must not be anything important.”

“No. I’ll just give up on getting a glass of alcohol from the duke, then I’ll pursue the matter by myself. They seem to be outstanding at hiding themselves, but if I chase after them myself...”

“.......”

In a flash, the atmosphere froze.

Azell looked at him with a smiling face, and Kairen glared back with a rigid expression on his face. The pressure emitted by him was so enormous that the air started to vibrate a little bit.

However, Azell sloughed it off nonchalantly.

Kairen spoke.

“...You are quite adept at fending off my pressure. You’re like a ghost, and it’s putting me in a foul mood.”

“I’ve had many occasions where I received such pressure. If I’m flattened by this, then I would have been dead long ago.”

“You are really too impudent. Normally, a person would be too afraid at the prospect of dying.”

“If you are someone I could deal with by being polite, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. To tell you the truth..."

Azell sat across Kairen without asking for permission.

“Shouldn’t I be a bit suspicious? There are unseen beings circling around us. Our party members don’t know about their existence, yet their presence disappeared after meeting with you.”

“.......”

“It hasn’t been too long since we were monitored and chased by the Dragon Demon King worshippers. I believe I have valid reasons to bring up this issue even though it might sour your taste for the alcohol.”

“Hooo.......”

Kairen tossed the rest of the alcohol into his mouth as if he was annoyed. Then he glared at Azell.

It was at that moment.

「Dragon Demon magic.......」

Azell flinched. Between the trees of the garden, he heard a voice that was akin to whispering children.

‘He was this close to me?’

The voice was coming from a location only 20 meters away from Azell. How could he not realize that someone had gotten so close to him?

「You are a human, yet... The well of Dragon Demon Magic...」

He was sure a single person was speaking, yet it had sounded as if multiple people were whispering at the same time. It was a very strange voice. He would be a great subject in a horror story for the masses.

Azell glared at the location with sharp eyes.

“Is he a specter?”

The other person wasn’t a human. He was sure of it.

The person had on a similar outfit as those from the Dragon’s Shadow. He had a white robe with a hood covering his face. The shadow casted by the hood obscured his face.

That wasn’t the only oddity. Below the robe, Azell couldn’t see his feet and no hands were protruding out from his sleeves.

‘How strange. Is there a real body underneath the robe?’

Azell furrowed his eyebrows, then awakened his magic. He moved slowly so his opponent wouldn’t realize it. He stealthily...

‘Yet this.... This feeling isn’t wholly unfamiliar. What is this?’

The faceless specter’s presence agitated some memory in Azell’s mind. He was sure this was the first time he’d seen this being, yet he felt a sense of déjà vu.

At that moment, Kairen spoke.

“Stop it. He isn’t an enemy.”

“...Do you really think I would believe those words?”

Suddenly, another being could be detected by Azell’s senses. He had appeared like a ghost, and he had the same outfit as the first specter. The only difference was the size of their bodies. One was small like a child, and the other was a giant over two meters tall.

As they glided across the floor, they spoke in their whispering voices.

「Is he a defender of the prophecy... No.......」

「Still, he has it. The Dragon Demon magic...」

「Strange.......」

「Very strange.......」

「This kind of human hasn’t existed for a long time.......」

Azell couldn’t see their faces, but he knew they were speaking about him. He could feel their gaze. Their eyes bore into Azell...

Kairen spoke.

“Stop there. If you approach any further... This friend might attack you.”

「We won’t die easily.......」

“However, it isn’t as if you can’t be killed. Don’t you have unfinished business? It would be best if you don’t do anything that might result in you losing your strength.”

「He isn’t... He isn’t strong enough to harm us.......」

「However... He has Dragon Demon magic.」

「He is hiding it.......」

「Maybe we aren’t reading him correctly.......」

「A human... There used to be.......」

「Really......?」

「A long time ago.......」

They babbled as if they weren’t sane. However, they circled around at a distance of ten meters and didn’t approach Azell any further.

Kairen spoke.

“That’s surprising. I’ve never seen them show so much interest in a single person.”

“What are they?”

Azell asked in a nonchalant manner. Of course, he circulated his magical energy inside so he could attack at any given moment.

Kairen spoke.

“Guardian Shadows.”

“...You just gave me their name and I still have no idea what they are.”

“It would be difficult for me to tell you anything more. The fact that you even know about their existence... It makes me wonder what I should do with you.”

The specter who had kept his silence since he first appeared spoke.

「You can tell him.......」

“What?”

Kairen was surprised. This meant the specter’s words was quite out of the norm.

「He isn’t connected with us... Maybe the prophecy.......」

“The prophecy? What is that?”

Kairen frowned as he asked the question, but the specters kept their mouths shut. Moreover, when the specters’ babbling stopped, a very ominous silence descended on them.

“Mmmm.......”

Kairen didn’t like it, but it was pointless to glare at the Guardian Shadows. A common sense approach didn’t work with them in the first place.

Eventually, Kairen gave up and gave an explanation to Azell.

“They are like a suppression system that prevents the Dragon Demon King worshippers from operating out in the open....”

“The Dragon Demon King worshippers can’t reveal themselves because of these things?”

“Didn’t you think what you experienced this time around was a bit unusual?”

Kairen answered a question with another.

Azell queried.

“What do you mean?”

“The people who ambushed your party were very powerful. Each individual had a massive amount of power that is rarely seen. They easily used monsters as disposable soldiers. Why would those bastards with such power try so hard to hide their activities from the eyes of the people?”

“I’m not sure. Isn’t it because they were just a small elite unit inside the secret organization?”

Truthfully, Azell didn’t entirely grasp how everything operated in this era, so he didn’t get the point Kairen’s question was trying to make. If one possessed powerful strength, then one could cause chaos in the world even without the help of others. However, it seemed the Dragon’s Shadow were trying to look out for their own safety. What was weird about that?

Kairen put on an expression as if he couldn’t believe what Azell had said.

“Are you really dumber than I thought or did you really lose your memories?”

“It is the latter.”

“If you don’t have anything worth saying, then at the very least, think a little bit harder. If those bastards rampaged through the countryside, do you think anyone could stop them?”

“Mmm... There will be a massive loss of lives. Only after they caused massive damage will anyone with strength hear about it. Only after the fact will anyone chase after the culprit.”

Azell slowly understood what Kairen was trying to say.

Still, the power of the Dragon Demon King worshippers were a bit too strong for him to accept his explanation as the only reason.

Either Niberis and Duran could be considered a one-man army. The members of the Dragon’s Shadow from the first ambush had enough power to demolish a small town in the countryside.

‘Moreover, they recruited the help of a dragon.’

They were capable of taking care of their own business. However, they had used some method to train monsters to act as their hunting dogs, and they had been used as disposable soldiers. Moreover, a dragon was enticed to move on their behest.

“Now that I hear your words... They seem to be excessively cautious. However, isn’t it because they are worried about the aftermath?”