This wasn't their final destination; they only paused for a mont beneath the giant tree before moving on.
Miss Capet couldn't help but marvel to Jenkins. Though it wasn't her first ti in this forest, the great tree never failed to leave her in awe. Because of her bloodline, she could sense more keenly than most what a miracle this forest and its central tree were. This only deepened her curiosity: could the Believers of Lies, who had brought this forest into being, also be descendants of elves?
"Well, we can at least confirm the Williams family has no other descendants,"
Jenkins said vaguely, his eyes fixed on the inverted shadow beneath the great tree.
"Co on," he added, "the dragon is waiting for us."
He could vaguely sense a subtle connection between himself and that shadow—sothing he had never felt before.
The dragon, Nidhogg, resided in a cave carved into the cliff face on one side of the Evergreen Forest's valley. When it had nothing better to do, it would soar leisurely above the forest or lounge all day in its cave, living a life that Chocolate would find utterly enviable. On occasion, when the Church required its aid, the dragon would assist the humans, a service that had left it severely wounded several tis in the past six months.
Its last injury occurred three months ago during the descent of an angel. The red dragon claid to have suffered an attack that struck directly at its soul, dealt by a slaughtering angel. The wound was so grievous that it required a long period of convalescence, and so, it hadn't erged from its lair in a long ti.
Normally, people kept their distance from the dragon's cave, and there were no guards posted nearby—the notion of protecting an adult red dragon was laughable, after all. Jenkins and Miss Capet climbed a rope ladder to the cave entrance, called out a couple of tis to announce their arrival, and then stepped inside.
To be honest, the sll inside the dragon's cave was rather pungent; the great beast probably wasn't in the habit of bathing regularly.
The dragon greeted them while sprawled on the floor of its cave. It cautiously eyed the cat peeking its head out of Jenkins's pocket, then carefully swept its collection of "treasures"—gathered from the material world over the past six months—behind it with the tip of its tail. Only then did it turn to the matter at hand.
"I was the one who invited you, and you've arrived so quickly. I read in the newspapers that the human royalty has acknowledged your identities. I assu you both are now aware of your elven heritage."
How a dragon that had only been in the material world for half a year had managed to learn the common tongue of this era was anyone's guess.
"In truth, I've known about your elven ancestry for so ti now."
The dragon exhaled two plus of white vapor from its nostrils. "But there are so things I cannot be the one to speak of. It would bring ill fortune."
It explained this in a slow, deliberate manner. Seeing that the two were still listening intently, it finally concluded its rather long-winded preamble and made its announcent:
"There is one matter about which I have been dishonest. No, not dishonest, precisely. Let's just say I haven't revealed the complete truth. When I was first discovered by the Church and we... reached a mutual understanding for cooperation..."
In reality, it had been forcefully subdued by the Church and had no choice but to remain in Nolan instead of running amok.
"I claid to have arrived in the material world by accident, which isn't entirely false; I certainly didn't expect to leave my ho in such a manner. However, my journey to the material world was decided long ago. It was a mission given to by the High God, and now, it is ti to see it through."
The term "High God" was expressed in the draconic tongue, translating roughly to "God of Gods" in the modern language. Jenkins ntally equated it to "Overlord."
"Your mission to the material world... it has sothing to do with us?"
Miss Capet inquired.
"You could say that, but it wouldn't be entirely accurate. The High God foresaw that this epoch in the material world would draw to a close. Fate has chosen certain individuals, and one among them was destined to have a connection with dragons. Therefore, the High God appointed to guide the human connected to dragons and bestow upon them a small gift. Yes, I originally believed that person to be the human girl with the surna Knight."
Jenkins and Miss Capet exchanged a glance.
"So, you've summoned us here to..."
"Later, I realized I had likely misunderstood the High God's aning. When He spoke of a human with a connection to dragons, it didn't refer exclusively to soone with dragon blood. In fact, any human with any sort of connection to dragons would qualify. Son of the Sage, I know of your involvent with the ancient silver dragon..."
It winked at Jenkins, a gesture ant to convey that it would keep his secret. But given the dragon's imnse size, the wink was anything but subtle.
"I don't have any connection to dragons, do I?"
Miss Capet asked, bewildered. She was unaware of the legends of the Saviors and thus couldn't grasp what the red dragon was alluding to, leaving her puzzled as to why she was here.
"Yes, yes, that is so. But while you may not have a connection to dragons, you must still take part in this competition. These are not my rules—they were established by the High God."
"The Tree Soul... it couldn't be with Miss Capet, could it?"
The dragon's strange deanor aroused Jenkins's suspicion. He shot it a questioning look, and the massive creature imdiately averted its gaze, refusing to et his eyes.
"I have devised a little ga. The victor will receive sothing called the 'Dragon Soul' from . Since everyone is short on ti, the ga will begin in ten minutes and end before sunrise. That gives you about twelve hours, which I think is just right. So, will you participate?"
As it spoke, the dragon raised its right claw, around which was wrapped a small, golden pocket watch to keep ti.
"Who are the other participants?"
Jenkins asked.
"That girl with the surna Knight, and a stranger who crept into my lair in the middle of the night two days ago. He was holding a dragon's token and claid to be from an organization called the Tree House,"
the red dragon said.
"I'm in,"
Jenkins declared, raising his hand imdiately.
"Then I'll participate as well,"
Miss Capet said.
"Whatever the Tree House is up to, it must be stopped."
"Very well, then. The rules of the ga are simple. We all know of Nolan City's special status at the end of this epoch. Because of this, all sorts of strange and unusual events occur frequently within its limits. While ordinary ghosts, spirits, or even spontaneously occurring supernatural phenona aren't particularly challenging for an Enchanter, the sa cannot be said for ordinary people.
The objective is this: using only your own power, you must find and resolve as many anomalous incidents within the city as you can in a single night. You cannot create these incidents yourselves; they must be entirely unrelated to you. Return here before dawn. The one who has handled the most incidents will be the winner.
But be warned: do not tell the Church about this. If you do, you will be disqualified imdiately."
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