Chapter 24

I continued on after diving into the shadows. And then the mansion I infiltrated in the afternoon came into view.

It was the only enemy base that I knew the location of.

“…I can’t sense anyone here.”

It was the same during the day. Nothing on the outside had changed.

And I couldn’t see any light coming from within.

I had left hair in several places, such as between the front door, and they were still there.

I spread my senses to the surrounding area, but it didn’t seem like anyone was watching me.

“So, it really is abandoned after all.”

I couldn’t help but feel that way now.

The lady had said that there were others.

So they had moved their base of operations then.

I had already checked all the rooms before, and they were empty.

Maybe they were preparing to sell the house.

Well, if no one was using it now, I could take advantage of that.

With some preparation, I could lure the enemy out.

As I had nothing else to do there, I returned to the dormitory.

“…So, you were waiting here all this time.”

When I reached the dormitory garden, I sensed something right below my room.

It was her.

“Of course, I have. …And? How was it?”

“I don’t think this can be cleaned up quickly. But I do have a plan. Though, I’m not sure if it will work.”

“You have to hurry. The reinforcements will arrive.”

“That’s not really my concern… But I’ll start tomorrow. I guess it all depends on what happens then.”

“Hmmm. And what are you going to do?”

“It’s a secret. It’s nothing big, but I don’t want any information to get out.”

“Hey, are you saying I would betray you?”

“It’s more that if you act while knowing what the plan is, it will be easier for the enemy to speculate. And you can’t act if you don’t know.”

“I suppose.”

“The school entrance ceremony is the day after tomorrow, I so I’d like to finish things quickly. Well, we’ll talk again if I fail. Maybe I’ll have to take care of these reinforcements as well as the present issue.”

“…Very well. It really is troublesome to have an enemy that can easily slip into the castle. So you must put an end to it.”

“I will give it my best shot… That being said, why are you supporting the Left Hands so much? I know that you all serve Her Majesty together, but your groups aren’t exactly friendly towards each other. Everyone should protect their own territory.”

“It’s a bit of a sore spot, but there is a reason for it.”

“Will you tell me?”

“Would you be surprised I said that someone in my family was a Left Hand?”

Yes. A little.

“There are Right Feet and Left Hands in your family?”

“Yes. My grandfather is a Left Hand of the Queen. But I’m no good with combat, and so I chose this path.”

She said as she tapped her leg.

In other words, her family was just like mine.

The family passed down the role of Shadow. However, not everyone in the household knew.

I heard that in the royal capital, there were a lot of ways to support without taking an official position.

And so she started in that direction and proved to be very skilled.

She had an alias in spite of being so young, after all. I believe it was Swarm Cloud.

It was kind of an odd name.

“I see. Well, I will try my best tomorrow.”

“Please do. I’m counting on you. Goodbye.”

Her presence disappeared… No, I could still feel it faintly. She wasn’t very good.

Well, she was probably considered very good for a Right Foot.

I had a bad habit of comparing others to my brother in law.

“Seeing the others really reminds me of how my father and brother are anomalies.”

Both of them were incredibly good at hiding their presence.

When they did it in front of you, it was hard to tell where they went and at what speed.

Even if you were a Right Foot, it took immense training, willpower and inherent qualities to reach that level.

“I should go too then.”

And so I melted into the shadows before anyone noticed me.

It was a bit much to return to your room like this, but it was the easiest way.

The next morning, I bought a sandwich at the school store and took a walk around the school. Then I saw Thane and Marty walking in the opposite direction.

“Pretty early for taking a walk, isn’t it?”

Marty said with a smile.

“I could say the same for you. You only came back yesterday, after all. Did something happen?”

“We were at the Dragon Stable. We wanted to see how they were doing after being out for so long.”

“I see. I heard that dragons were tough. Were they fine?”

“Yes, there was no problem at all. I’m sure mine could run the same distance today if I wanted.”

“That’s…”

They were tougher than I expected.

“We both have small dragons. Still, a horse is nothing compared to them. You’d think I’d be used to them by now, but I’m constantly surprised while riding.”

Marty’s was a running dragon and Thane’s was an earth dragon.

There were three types, running dragons, earth dragons, and flying dragons.

Rarely, there were dragons that belonged to none of these categories, but they could generally be separated like this.

Running dragons were very fast.

A distance that would take a day by carriage could be covered in two hours.

Not only that, they had the toughness to run for long distances, which meant you could go from one corner of Ryukoku to the other in one day.

Of course, riding for that long would be tiring for the Dragon Master.

So Marty was likely to be a great help to his merchant family.

“Yours is an earth dragon, isn’t it, Thane? Was it fine too?”

“Yeah. In fact, it seemed like it was restless for more action. I think it’s mad it didn’t get to use its claws as much as it wanted to.”

“…I see. Well, it’s probably a good thing such opportunities don’t arise.”

Earth dragons were especially suited for battle.

They had strong defenses and had elongated, thick scales on their neck, which protected the rider.

When it came to battle, the rider of an earth dragon would rarely die.

Its claws and fangs would tear enemies apart and its feet would crush them.

As Thane was from a military family, he and his dragon would have gotten along very well.

“What about you, Leon? What kind of dragon do you want?”

“Me? I haven’t really thought about it.”

“That’s unusual. Most people fantasize about their dragon as soon as the mark appears.”

“Perhaps. But I was so busy helping my family, that I didn’t have time to think. I can barely believe this is happening to me even now.”

“That is strange… What does your family do?”

“We have a bakery in the town of Sol. It’s always been my dream to be a baker.”

“I see. …Well, baking will just have to be a hobby for you now.”

“Yes, I’ve accepted that.”

“Giving up your dream, huh? As someone who has the weight of my family’s expectations on me, I understand how you feel. But I can see now that you’ve dealt with your family sincerely. And I’m happy to see someone like you become a Dragon Master.”

Thane said with a smile.

I had thought of him as being a bit grumpy, so this was a surprise.

“Thank you. I’m going to try my hardest from tomorrow on, so I can become a good Dragon Master.”

“By the way, the ceremony is tomorrow, isn’t it? You know the place, I hope? It’s on the other side of the school.”

“Yes. I heard about it when I came here.”

The ceremony would take place at the Royal Academy on the other side.

I heard it was because it was too much of a hassle to have a ceremony for just 30 students every year.

And they didn’t want to let so many outsiders into the school grounds.

You never knew what kind of strange people might try to get in.

“Be careful. Some of the students of the Royal Academy will be looking to become a Dragon Master’s patron. So don’t agree to anything you’ll regret later on.”

Marty said with a wink.