─Correct. And spirit guardians are mostly the elves of the Great Forest,
never humans.
─Then, what is the man before us?
The three dragonborn quickly exchanged telepathic messages.
The spirits' rampage was calmed by a human man. No matter how calm
they tried to appear, they couldn't help but be puzzled.
With each passing second, their doubts grew. Finally, one of the dragonborn
broke the silence telepathically.
─Perhaps the spirits weren't rampaging in the first place?
─Foolish words. You can tell just by reading the flow. The traces of the
spirits' rampage are still there.
─But Gromon, a human?
─I've heard of rare humans with high affinity for spirits. But even for those
humans, their affinity would only allow them to communicate with spirits,
at best.
─…
The telepathic conversation among the dragonborn paused for a moment.
Just because they spoke the same language didn't mean they were
necessarily close. On the contrary, realizing their differences could push
them further apart.
But to go beyond communicating with spirits to actually calming them? It
was truly an astonishing feat.
─Could it be that the 2nd Princess prepared this person on purpose?
It was a plausible speculation.
The dragonborns had demanded that the Princess show them the "potential
of humans," and the scene unfolding before them was certainly an
unexpected possibility.
After a moment of silence, Gromon slowly spoke telepathically.
─It's clear that humans like that are rare on the continent. Judging by his
skills, he seems quite capable.
─So what do we do from now on? If we can obtain the 2nd Princess's soul,
it would sell for a high price.
─Hm…
Gromon and his group had thoroughly exploited the desperation of those
preparing for the Ascension Ceremony, reaping immense profits from soul
transactions.
Hedera was a rare case, having gained the power of a dragon despite being
born human. If they could obtain her soul, it would yield enormous profit.
Gromon quickly made his calculations.
─We should use that man instead.
A firm telepathic message.
─Use him? I don't understand the plan yet.
─Exactly three days ago, Recon completed a soul transaction.
Recon, the one positioned furthest to the left among the three dragonborns.
─A useless guy who, within three days of the transaction, made significant
progress. If Recon overwhelms the human, the Princess will see the
necessity of the transaction.
─Understood.
It was a simple and straightforward plan, and they all nodded in agreement.
Their course of action was decided.
Inside the Royal Treasury vault, the spirits were calm.
─Jaekiel, be careful next time.
─That's right. We were all at risk of freezing and disappearing.
─By the way, your cold aura never feels human.
─I'm not a pillow! Get away from me!
The spirits, having regained their composure, began to chatter. They were
extremely timid, but once they started talking, they never stopped.
'It's always like this with spirits.'
Jaekiel thought. It was never intentional.
The elemental energy humans usually handled had an artificial flow unique
to them, but Jaekiel's cold aura was closer to something raw that the human
body found hard to handle.
This was the result.
The spirits were always afraid of Jaekiel's cold aura at first, but once they
got used to it, they welcomed him.
Meanwhile, Tether bowed to Hedera first.
"I-I-I greet the Princess…!"
But Hedera's gaze was fixed solely on Jaekiel. While everyone else was
bewildered by this meeting, only Jaekiel remained calm.
Hedera glanced at the pile of Sun Grass.
"…It seems you've forcibly lowered your cold aura."
That worried the Princess.
His health was already not good, and he must have overindulged in Sun
Grass to calm the spirits. The thought of that made her uncomfortable.
"I'm fine. It was enjoyable to chew on plenty of Sun Grass."
At the man's calm reply, Hedera looked around.
The holy relics were all intact without any damage.
…She had received help again. She started to ponder if there were any
additional holy relics she could give him.
"Thank you for taking care of the holy relics. If not for you, the entire first
floor could have been damaged. I'll reward you."
"Is that necessary? I'm satisfied with making a spirit friend."
…Was it a mistake?
It seemed like the spirit stone just trembled.
At that moment.
Suddenly, the dragonborns stepped forward in front of Hedera.
"We meet an unusual human. Nice to meet you."
"A d-dragonborn!"
Tether quickly bowed her head.
Jaekiel gave a modest nod.
'Tether's reaction is correct. They are truly dragonborns.'
Dragonborn were beings born between dragons and humans.
A species born with tremendous magical talent. They usually never leave
the celestial realm, but they had come to the human realm.
'…Suspicious.'
Suspicious. That was all Jaekiel felt.
Upon reflection, it was quite obvious.
Those satisfied with life in the celestial realm would never leave it. There
must be a reason for visiting the human realm they so despised.
Either they were truly remarkable, or they were the dregs of the celestial
realm.
Just as there were great and inferior humans, so too with dragonborns. It
was true that dragonborns were born with high magical prowess, but lazy
ones were easy to spot.
Those were the dregs.
"No need for detailed introductions, right? Knowing where we came from
should be enough."
The dragonborn glared at Jaekiel, but he just brushed it off calmly.
He had had been through all sorts of hardship.
He wouldn't be afraid, even if a real dragon came.
"You seem to be acquainted with the Princess. What is your relationship?"
"Just an auditor of the Imperial Tower."
Hedera quickly answered. She seemed to want to say more, but Gromon
didn't give her the chance.
"Then that means the Princess appointed you based on her judgment. You
seem quite capable, and we have a dragonborn here who has just started
training."
Gromon pointed to the dragonborn on the far left with his chin. It was
Recon, who completed a soul transaction just three days ago.
"A dragonborn who completed a soul transaction based on my judgment,
and a human chosen by the Princess. How about we have a magical
exchange? It would be very educational."
"This wasn't planned at all…"
"Princess, you never know. We might see the potential of humans in this
exchange."
Gromon cut off Hedera's words.
It was clearly rude, and Jaekiel's expression became subtle.
'They want to embarrass the Princess.'
They were pushing for a magical confrontation without understanding the
situation, clearly with bad intentions.
They even thought it through. A confrontation between subordinates, not
the main parties, which could later be justified as an exchange.
'Let's watch a bit more.'
While it was true that a princess appointed Jaekiel as auditor, it was Solana,
not Hedera.
Jaekiel didn't bother to explain that.
He was curious about their suspicious intentions.
"A magical exchange…? A sparring match…!"
Tether murmured in disbelief.
While embarrassment showed on Hedera's and Tether's faces, Jaekiel, the
person involved, remained indifferent.
'I've smoked too much Sun Grass anyway.'
His cold aura was extremely low. He felt it was worth trying.
Jaekiel spoke leisurely.
"Princess."
When Hedera turned her head, Jaekiel nodded quietly, indicating he would
accept the exchange.
Meanwhile, the conversation from the dragonborns was clearly audible.
"Gromon, can I end it in one go?"
They didn't seem to have any intention of lowering their voices. Perhaps
they were confident in their victory.
Jaekiel looked at his opponent. He seemed simple-minded, but the aura he
emitted was fierce.
Gromon nodded.
"It would be disrespectful to hold back. Recon, give it your best."
"Then, with respect, I'll finish this in one move."
Finally, Jaekiel and Recon faced each other.
The wide space at the entrance of the Royal Treasury vault had
unexpectedly become an impromptu arena. A duel with a dragonborn, no
less.
'It's been a while.'
Jaekiel's current self was built on countless experiences, including facing
dragonborns.
How skilled were these guys?
The guards and guardians who had gone to report were now back and
watching. Somehow, the participants had ended up surrounded by an
audience.
"What's going on? What about the spirits?"
"Be quiet! There are important people here!"
"You're right! From the Princess to the dragonborns?"
"They're having a magical exchange… I wonder how it'll go!"
Amidst the growing commotion, Jaekiel slowly spoke. For once, he didn't
have Sun Grass in his mouth.
"You claimed you could finish me in one move."
"Don't take it the wrong way. It's not a joke; I really can't control my
power right now."
The other two dragonborns quietly moved to Hedera's side.
"Recon completed a soul transaction just three days ago. His power is
growing at an unbelievable rate, so it's hard for him to control it. Please
understand if the Auditor gets hurt."
"Soon, you'll realize the greatness of soul transactions."
With his heightened hearing, Jaekiel heard their conversation and laughed.
Their goal was the soul transaction.
Now that he knew their vile intentions, there was no reason to hold back.
Whoom.
In the next moment, the air distorted.
No, the air wasn't distorting. It was Recon's first attack—an invisible wave
rushing in.
Ka-ga-ga-ga-gak!
A fierce sound echoed as the air was torn apart.
An immense force.
He gained such power just three days after a single transaction.
Could someone who just started learning magic produce such power in
three days?
Absolutely impossible.
He would grow even more powerful in a week or a month.
No wonder many were tempted by soul transactions.
However.
'He's clumsy. He can't control his own power.'
Power that couldn't be controlled becomes poison.
Sssshhhhh.
Jaekiel quickly summoned his cold aura.
"…Hm?"
Was he surprised that something manifested before his attack even landed,
or was he shocked by the unexpected cold aura?
Probably both.
Confusion spread across Recon's face.
"Restraint…? He was hiding such a cold aura!"
Kaaaaang!
Recon's energy wave collided with an ice barrier. The defense itself was
smooth, but Jaekiel didn't intend to end this duel with a mere ordinary
victory.
An overwhelming victory. A profitable victory.
To achieve that, he boldly reached out his bare hand to the energy wave.
"…!"
"Reckless! Putting his hand on a raging energy wave!"
An incredibly reckless act.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
Cheojeojeojeojeojeok.
Jaekiel's hand froze the entire energy wave.
Recon's previously invisible energy wave froze instantly, revealing its form.
A swirling shape of ice, frozen in mid-air. It was so perfect, it could be
mistaken for an art piece.
"You dared to mention 'one move.'"
As shocked gazes fell upon Jaekiel and Recon.
Finally, Jaekiel put Sun Grass in his mouth.
"Keep going. I'm curious to see how many times you'll try before you give
up."
The dragonborn's mouth hung open in astonishment.