When I opened my eyes, an endless mountain range of rocks greeted us.
It looks like we’ve arrived.
“The Ancient Dragon Mountains… is there really a lair here, Master?”
“Yeah, this is the place.”
Carla looked doubtful. It was a natural reaction for anyone from this era.
The Ancient Dragon Mountains were associated with many dragon-related legends—people say the mountains themselves resemble a dragon, or that it was a place where dragons once lived, or that dragons ca here to prepare for death when their lifespans ended.
There were all kinds of stories about dragons tied to this place, though most of them were probably just rumors with no way to verify their truth.
Still, there are always people who believe in those stories.
When dragons were still alive, there were those who worshipped them, those who challenged them, and those who sought their help. This place was never without visitors.
After the Great War, when dragons were essentially extinct, the lairs were looted by those hoping for a one-ti jackpot.
But that’s all ancient history now.
There are no living dragons left, and no lairs have been found.
Three hundred years is more than enough ti to cool the fervor of devout worshippers and persistent treasure hunters.
That’s why it’s now a place called the Ancient Dragon Mountains only by na, with no one actually believing that dragons live here.
But this is where Fafnir’s lair is.
“More precisely, there’s a transfer gate here that leads to Fafnir’s lair.”
“…A transfer gate? Like a teleport gate, you an?”
“More accurately, it’s a magical artifact that maintains a teleport gate permanently.”
“How is that even possible?!”
Elisha, looking disbelieving, jumped up in surprise. Iris yawned lazily at her student’s reaction.
“Haaa… My student, when it cos to dragons, anything is possible.”
“I know that dragons naturally beco archmages as they age. But no matter how powerful they are, maintaining a teleport gate permanently? And that was before spatial magic had developed as much as it has now!” Ŗ
“What you say is true. But what if it wasn’t just one archmage?”
“…Huh?”
“Archmages are beings who turn the impossible into possible and create miracles, even if only temporarily, with their mortal hands. So if over a hundred archmages put their heads together… would it still seem impossible?”
“Oh.”
Elisha’s mouth fell open as if she had just realized sothing.
In the anti, Iris stretched out her short limbs and continued.
“Yes. Dragons are a species that defy our common sense. You’ve heard of the Dragon Council, haven’t you, Elisha?”
“Yes, it was a self-governing organization that existed when dragons were still active. It’s quite famous, so I know about it well.”
In the ga, it was ntioned in docunts that revealed bits of the past of the Eurelia Continent.
If I recall, it was a minimal governing body created by dragons, who were powerful but highly individualistic.
They captured or killed dragons that suddenly went rogue.
They reprimanded young dragons that blocked important routes and extorted tolls.
They even gave stern warnings to dragons in their pri who only bore half-human, half-dragon children, neglecting to reproduce with their own kind.
Like any group of long-lived beings, the Dragon Council was relatively loose and only mobilized in ergencies… but it was an organization dedicated to the interests of their race.
In fact, they were the ones who decided whether or not to join the War of the Gods.
The Dragon Council appears in everything from fairy tales to history books, so there’s no doubt it existed.
“Do you also know how so many dragons gathered in one place?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. Given that each dragon is on the level of an archmage, wouldn’t they have just found the designated location on their own?”
“If that were the case, it would be no different from a group appointnt. But since it was called a council, it needed authority… or so I heard.”
“You heard? Who told you that, Teacher?”
Elisha’s question made Iris avert her gaze slightly as she muttered.
“…A dragon did.”
“What? I couldn’t hear you. Can you say that a little louder?”
“Eek! I heard it directly from a dragon I befriended during the War of the Gods!”
“What do you an… Dragons went extinct ages ago… Ah!”
Elisha shook her head in disbelief before stopping with a sudden look of realization. Was this the generational gap?
But it was too late. Iris’s cheeks had already puffed up in indignation.
“T-Teacher? It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit older, right?”
“See? Thanks to your wisdom, we’ve learned sothing today. So please don’t be too upset.”
“Uh, well… You look the youngest out of all of us, so isn’t that okay?”
“…Grrr!”
Clearly furious this ti, Iris started hopping around, stomping on Elisha’s feet.
“Ouch! That hurts, Teacher! I’m sorry! I won’t ntion your age again, so please stop…!”
Thud, thud, thud.
Even as Elisha begged, Iris’s punishnt didn’t stop.
As it seed like this would go on forever, I grabbed Iris by the waist and lifted her up.
“Master! Let down! I must show Elisha the dignity of a teacher!”
“There’s no dignity that could be damaged by sothing like this.”
“Y-yes, Master spoke well! There’s no way your dignity as a teacher could be tarnished by sothing like this! I still deeply respect you!”
I said that to question whether there was any dignity to be damaged in the first place, but she interpreted it in a different way.
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
Instead, I gently rocked the growling Iris. Instantly, her body went limp, calming down.
Elisha looked at her teacher with a complicated expression, but I continued on, ignoring it.
“So, where were we? I explained that the Dragon Council was a respected institution among dragons, right? So, what’s the best way to show authority?”
“Usually, it would be through grand titles, a crown, a fearso army, an imposing castle, and vast wealth. But that’s…”
“Right. Dragons can have all of that if they want. So, what the Council chose was sothing so great that not only dragons, but even the gods wouldn’t dare touch it.”
“What could be so grand? Please tell already, Brother.”
I thought Helena wasn’t that interested because she had been quiet, but it seed she was just deeply focused.
Her golden eyes sparkled as she urged to continue.
“…Helena, couldn’t you just ask the Righteous Radiance about it?”
“Ah, well, right now, my Lord is busy discussing this recent raid with the other gods.”
No, she’s probably mostly bragging about and throwing in a little warning about the danger.
Though I was itching to say it, I didn’t feel the need to test Helena’s faith, so I got straight to the point.
“In simple terms, a group of archmages worked together to create a space where no one without permission could enter.”
“…Is that really so impressive? It sounds like a kind of locking spell or barrier.”
“Didn’t I say they ‘created’ a space? It’s not about restricting access to an existing space; they made a new space with special laws.”
At this, Helena’s face hardened.
Creating a space akin to the act of creation itself. It’s no wonder she was shocked by the idea of achieving that with magic. But…
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s a space that could only be maintained by 100 ancient dragons burning through massive amounts of mana in real ti.”
That’s right. The dragons succeeded in creating the space but failed in maintaining it.
Of course, even that feat was enough to be compared to the gods who established their own sanctuaries… but the problem was that it had been 300 years since they went extinct.
“The Dragon Council is closed. Unless 100 archmages gather and burn through 100 ancient dragon hearts, it will never open again.”
“Um… Master? Then why did we co here if the Dragon Council is closed? I don’t understand the point of coming to a sealed transfer gate.”
I handed the limp Iris over to Carla, who awkwardly received her while flustered.
Chuckling, I continued speaking.
“I did say there’s a transfer gate here, and it’s true that there’s a path leading to the Dragon Council. But I never said we were going to the Dragon Council.”
“Huh?”
Carla tilted her head, clearly confused, as if I had just said sothing completely absurd.
Well… platypuses are carnivores, so they don’t eat plants, but never mind that.
“I told you, opening and maintaining the Dragon Council is hard. That’s why all 100 elders need to gather to open the council. The problem is, dragons, being long-lived, have a skewed sense of ti.”
Even if one dragon arrived early, they couldn’t open the council eting alone; they would just have to wait for others to show up.
And in all that waiting, it sotis beca necessary to step out briefly, return to their true forms to stretch their stiff bodies, or even find so entertainnt to pass the ti.
“Naturally, a kind of plaza ford, and to make traveling easier, they set up transfer gates that led directly to their lairs.”
To put it simply, they didn’t create a parliant building, but rather a parliant station.
Incidentally, the reason this place was called the Ancient Dragon Mountains was that, before the transfer gates were built, dragons would occasionally fly all the way here.
People who saw that must have thought this mountain range was ho to many dragons.
“We’re heading to that plaza now. From there, we’ll use the transfer gate to go to Fafnir’s lair.”
Of course, there’s probably nothing left there.
I still don’t know why the system sent here. It must be trying to give sothing, but what?
I don’t expect much.
Honestly, just a set of dragon materials would make happy.
Seriously, I an it.
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