“Woah, so you actually managed to track down the rest of the slavers?” I asked, eyes sparkling with interest.

“Kri, that we did. It belonged to a person named Hamil, a thug based in Artorias. That group of slavers gave us the slip when we reached Gransromus, the capital of the Lecartiglio Duchy. We followed them into the Atadoro Kingdom, but, due to how they treat beastmen and saurians, it was hard to do so. Eventually, though, we got them and returned the slaves back to their home in Artorias.”

After our meeting in the mercenary guild of Elyonda, Master Kush’s party led me and my partyaway from the city walls and to the inn they were staying in. Coincidentally, it was at the harbor, in the same neighborhood Adhi pointed us at. What a surprise, right?

And here, in this rather shabby wooden room, I listened to Master Kush’s story of how he became a saint of Xohulotel, and by extension, a blessed of the Pantheon of Water and Plesia. I honestly did not expect him to make it this far in a little less than a year after we parted ways.

Name: Kushlek’zar   Level: 104   Race: Raptorsilian   Age: 65 Years

Job:

Main: Primal Summoner

Secondary: Ravager

Unique: Locked

“I believe it was the month of SpringBloom. I wanted to hunt this Hamil down, but I suddenly received a Divine Message from Xohulotel. It took me a week to fully decipher what he meant. I learned he wanted me south, along a beach. Ahhh, my companions and I were reluctant, for we had to go through Atadoro once again, but how could we deny our god?” Master Kush retelling felt like a grandfather speaking with his grandchildren about old stories.

In any case, Master Kush followed Xohulotel’s guidance and went south, where he kept on wandering along the shores of the Atadoro Kingdom until he finally met Tehmrayn, the naga Champion meditating on his bed right now. Apparently, Tehmrayn had received a Divine Quest from his patron god, Zennithra, the God of Tridents and Divers to wait there for Master Kush.

He led the saurians into the ocean, where they dived into its depths where a dungeon awaited him. To be specific, it was a temple once dedicated to Plesia but was abandoned through the years after some accident happened. There, Plesia gave Master Kush the option to become Xohulotel’s Saint by conquering a trial.

“The trial also acted as a chance for us to train in an isolated place, filled with monsters and traps. Champion Tehmrayn helped us, but this was a trial for us Depth Serpents, so we had to traverse most of it ourselves,” Master Kush explained.

“Not to be rude, Priest Kushlek’zar, but why were you turned into his blessed?” Tasianna asked after we heard his story. “Gods do not choose their Saints and Champions lightly. Even the most pious followers can only dream to become one of the blessed, as the ones chosen all displayed qualities the gods would want, no? Especially a Saint.”

I was chosen by Aurena due to my dream of becoming an idol, as she believed music would bring people together. Eshe was chosen as a Saint due to her kindness and benevolence towards children as their guide and teacher. While I understood those choices, I still wasn’t absolutely sure why Asaka and Saori were blessed by Ilsaphone and Edna respectively.

“Because Saint Kushlek’zar is the most prominent saurian priest on the continent of Altrust.” I turned around, seeing Tehmrayn having finished his meditation and was the one who answered that question for us. His sea serpent tail slithered from his bed onto the ground, and continued as he moved over to us. “God Xohulotel is the second youngest god of the pantheon, only behind Goddess Chihiro. Due to his niche domain as the God of Serpents and Saurians, he also doesn’t have many followers in general.”

Master nodded. “And that is where I come in. The Depth Serpents are a known name in the western part of Altrust, as you could see with the members of the local mercenary guild. My reputation precedes me, even in the more beastmen-hostile nations.”

It was true. Unlike the behavior I saw from the people at the market, the mercenary guild was quite cheery, as most of the mercenaries were sharing a drink with the saurians, especially liking Krim-Slak’s boisterous attitude. There were a couple who kept to themselves, but I saw more people treating Master and the saurians like equals instead of being haters.

“And thanks to my reputation, my god wanted me to spread his name more. He asked Tehmrayn’s patron god, God Zennithra, for aid to train me. With Goddess Plesia even having accepted my qualifications, I was given a test to prove myself worthy. The dungeon was destroyed after numerous months, and I was reborn as a Saint. Mhmmm… I’ve only been back on land for a week now, and I cannot tell you how much I missed it.”

“Hahah! Now that’s an adventure.” I gave Master a thumbs-up, but then sighed at the implications of his last sentence. “And the moment you become a Saint, you receive your second Divine Quest? That is harsh.”

“You may call it whatever you wish, Champion Hestia, but our duty is to the gods, not the reverse. We gain their blessings, unique skills, and also other rewards in exchange for our service. As such, we must do our best to ensure their power and influence.” Tehmrayn sat down on his tail, looking at us with a neutral expression as he said all of that. I couldn’t help but think he’s a bit too much of a preacher, but I guess this was normal for a blessed.

Maybe Eshe spoiled me a bit too much, but then again, she had her preachy moments, too.

With his first impression settled after our meeting in the mercenary guild, I knew this person was probably as stoic as Grazlahta. Both thought of themselves as warriors who must pursue strength and uphold their duty. They very much contrasted Yorshka, in this case, who was extremely lax for a knight.

“Ha ha ha,” Master Kush suddenly began laughing. “Forgive him, my apprentice. Champion Tehmrayn is, as he said, a depth’s adjudicator. They are the elite warriors amongst the Depth’s Guard, which you could probably compare to a knight, but more prestigious. He has been serving as a Champion for 28 years now, so he can be a bit thorny when he communicates.”

“Service for that long?” Mother looked slightly impressed at the naga. “I heard Champions of the Water Pantheon are notoriously known for dying during their service. Plesia’s subordinates are monstrosities from the depths, after all. The strongest Origin Goddess, ruling over a cabinet of leviathans. Wars and duels between Champions are quite common between these ill-mooded divines. You seem to have fared well.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” I looked at Mother with a confused head tilt. “Do you mean to say that they kill each other? Like a lot? Instead of, you know, working with each other?”

“Our gods are all former monsters. Rivalries do not end once you become gods, they intensify since everybody is immortal.” Tehmrayn cast [Create Water] into a cup and drank from it to refresh his throat, telling me how casual this was for those blessed who serve Plesia’s pantheon. “If the Depth Goddess requires something, we blessed listen to her before our patron god. But outside of that, the sea is massive, and Caedhul is only one part of it. There are many smaller tribes and communities underwater, spread around the many oceans. Unlike the softer Light Pantheon, we fight each other to not only expand our god’s influence but also to empower ourselves.”

Did he just take a jab at Aurena? Uhm, hello? I might not be that super committed to being a Champion, but that didn’t mean he could say that while I was around.

The mood was worsening, mostly between Tehmrayn and myself. He was ignoring my glare, but I knew he understood exactly what he meant with his words. I didn’t care how strong and old he was, this was still annoying to hear.

“N-Now, now, everybody. Lady Hestia, Champion Tehmrayn, we are all allies in this manner. Weren’t we brought together here for a similar Divine Quest?” Tasianna tried to calm everything down, but it was to no avail.

“Wrong. Saint Kushlek’zar and I were sent here to protect the shrine currently imprisoning Karhalantheel,” he answered bluntly. “As we would be coming here either way, Goddess Plesia asked us to aid you in your mission to defend the festival of Yeostar. However, I couldn’t care less who gets chosen as Yeostar’s champion. I am only here to make sure that you do your duty correctly, Champion Hestia. That no lowlife or such gets their hand on the blood. Otherwise, you would do well to learn how to perform your tasks by yourself.”

“That—” I wanted to say something against him, but even now, he wouldn’t give me a single chance as he finished his drink and stood up.

“Saint, I shall await you at the port. Bring Goddess Aurena’s Champion with you. We might as well show her Yeostar's greatest feat for her own education.” And with that, he left the room.

“… What a douche!” I shouted after the door closed quietly, breaking the shock of his sudden departure by shooting up my chair. “What the hell is that guy’s problem?!”

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“Now, now, Hestia,” Master looked conflicted as he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down. “I meant it when I said he can be quite rough when he speaks. Do not take his manner of speech too personally.”

“Didn’t you see how much he ignored me? As if I wasn’t even here! I get you two have a different objective, but does he really have to be like that?”

“Oh, my sweet child, that was tame compared to what you would have experienced if you had spoken with a jealous dragon. Each word is like a challenge to a duel,” Mother rebuked my irritation with something out of left field, something the twins agreed very much with.

[“I have gotten into an argument against another wyvern once over a hunting ground. I had won the fight, but he managed to escape with his tail tucked behind his legs. The next day, he brought his egg siblings with him and almost killed me,”] Shay retold a story of his past in the Avitor Peaks.

Beth nodded, even adding more to the story with her involvement in it. [“Brother came back in a similar fashion as his rival. When he called for my help, we managed to kill two of them the next day, but were still forced to retreat, since a group of griffons came in to interrupt our fight. We have been enemies with both groups ever since.”]

Jeez, getting third-maned in real life! That really has to suck.

“But that still doesn’t really excuse his behavior. Even if he was ‘holding back,’ it felt weird to have to listen to all of that. Haaaaaaaaa, whatever.” I slumped on the table, prompting Mother to stroke my back in encouragement. “Did you arrive today, Master?”

He shook his head. “Yesterday. We arrived in the evening and rented out rooms. Afterward, Champion Tehmrayn and I booked a boat to the shrine for today. We went into the city this morning to see if we could find some information on potential threats.”

“Who exactly are you looking for?”

“Well, you should know them, the demonkins, of course.”

I tensed up. I had already given Master Kush a quick summary of what happened after we parted, especially my Divine Quest with Aurena after we reached the inn. Only the details, like Eshe and so on, weren’t mentioned.

“Did Goddess Plesia or God Xohulotel mention them?” Considering the situation, I needed to make sure I understood the whole situation.

However, Master just shook his head. “Not entirely, but the signs Xohulotel sent me were pointing deep south! To the lands of the demonkins, I am sure. I understood little else, but being wary is common sense, no? Wars spread far, not only through violence, but also through subterfuge, my apprentice.”

“We’ve met demonkin sympathizers and agents before. The Church of the Edjurl is the most prominent organization,” Tasianna noted, causing Master to write that name down. “If we’re talking about mercenaries, then the Yanderu Eluesess could be around, too. They’ve been working with Hamil all this time, after all.”

“Eithalr…” That name was seared into my mind. One of the people responsible for Eshe’s death and the attack on Griffonpeak.

“Calm now, my whelpling.” Mother touched my shoulder with her slightly cold hand, causing me to realize I was releasing my [Draconic Aura] unconsciously from remembering that Yanderu bastard. “You really have your sights on that person, I see. However, do remember that your sun core still needs a week more to fully regenerate. Until then, don’t go around provoking people, hehe.”

Mother was partly correct. At this very moment, my sun core was functional and I could fully use my solar abilities without any issue. Meaning, I could enter overdrive mode with [Solar Beam] and would have no problems keeping [Symphonie des Feuergottes] activated. However, where she was correct was that it wasn't fully grown.

If I compared it to the size of my former core, my current one was definitely smaller, but from testing it yesterday on the boat, I could feel it having the same capacity as my last one. In other words, it was growing in strength. Mother explained it was similar to my scales. The more I shed it, the more the new one would be infused with my mana.

Obviously, of course. I was still a growing dragon, so having the same core wouldn’t be feasible. With how often I was losing old scales and claws, I wouldn’t be surprised if my horns and fangs would need to regrow into their “adult” form later on as well.

This did give my party some options, though. I could shed my core and hand it over to Grimnir or Tasianna to make something out of them. We were already planning on using my old one for a catalyst or something, but Tasianna still didn’t know for whom she should make it for. Catalysts had to fit their owners.

“In any case, Master Kushlek’zar.” Mother turned away from me to face Master, eyeing him expectantly like a predator. “Whether the enemy is inside the city or not doesn’t matter at this point. The tournament, after all, hadn’t even started yet. I personally believe it would be better if you and Hestia concentrate on the source for Yeostar’s blessing, first.”

“Oho, as expected of the Sixth Empress of Kargryx, you are absolutely right, Your Imperial Majesty.” Understanding the intention behind those words, Master pulled the topic towards this country itself. “However, this reward, the ‘blood of Yeostar’ as the Yeosians call it, can only be produced by Yeos’s royal family. As you have probably experienced inside this city it would be impossible for me to gain access as a saurian. Even if I explained I am a Saint of the Depth Goddess, I do not know if they will let me in.”

“That’s fine, I can get in, no problem,” I suggested. “Princess. Champion of Aurena. Priestess. And also a local hero of Griffonpeak, if the news is widespread enough. I even showed the guards my ID, so 100% an envoy from the royalty will come. I will ask for permission then.”

“Yes, absolutely. It would be for the best if you also explained to them about your Divine Quest. Coming from you, they should believe it,” Master stated before widening his eyes as he remembered something. “Ah, while on the topic of you being a princess, I do apologize I couldn’t tell you your last name back then, my apprentice. Ha ha ha, I haven’t learned much about Kargryx, you see.”

Farron was the first person who called me by my family name, Kargryxmor. Although Master Kush knew I was a dragon princess, he couldn’t figure out how dragon’s named themselves.

“Well, if we start talking about princesses and so, Master Kushlek’zar, would you possibly know anything about Hestia’s half-sister?” Mother suddenly asked, causing Master to tilt his head.

“Half-sister? There is another exalted daughter of Emperor Eltharion?” Master placed his hand on his chin, stroking it as he thought about it, but shook his head in the end. “No. I can assure you, if she were around, we would have probably heard about them at the mercenary guild. Rather, who exactly is your sister, Hestia? Would she be hard to deal with? If so, then somebody probably would have known about her.”

“I don’t know. Haven’t met her yet, really.”

Mother nodded, too. “Neither have I. However, I do know her mother. An S rank kirin by the name of Yuilengreill.”

“A lesser dragonkin?” I was surprised to hear one of my stepmothers was a kirin.

Mother had only told me about Forminaxtrass, the lichdragon and the third empress. Although Mother kept talking about how she was on good grounds with my dragon father’s other wives, and how she would like to talk about them with me, she never really did. I guess her time with me was more valuable, considering she even contested Kramps for control of my time.

“You never really talked about her. I thought there was a stigma between lesser and true dragonkins?”

Mother shrugged. “Well, yes, but what does that have to do with an emperor’s libido? Many dragon families were dissatisfied with Eltharion’s decision to take on Yuilen as his fifth consort. But, that stubborn unicorn horse still challenged him head-on like a true dragonkin despite all the complaints. She impressed him in battle, and that earned her the right to entwine her tail with his.”

That last part was a bit too much detail. Or is that just a way to say they got married?

“Then again, there were even complaints when I went before him and challenged my future partner. From the empresses, too. But, complaints are just that — words. Before power, it all doesn’t matter. A male seeks strong females to sire strong whelps, and a female seeks strong males to protect her children. Didn’t I have this talk with you before, Hestia?”

“You can cut it out with the ‘birds and the bees’ talk, please.” I placed a hand on my head and sighed in exasperation, slightly flustered, which seemed to cause Mother to giggle. I really didn’t want her to talk about how dragon sex worked, again.

“Hmm. I am seeing you in a totally new light, my apprentice.” Master Kush joined the teasing group, nodding as if he just learned something rare. “I am glad to see you reunited with a parent half. Happiness is important to keep the mind of a mage stimulated and away from the more ruthless path you could have gone down.”

“Urgh…”

“Hiehie, isn’t it wonderful we met Priest Kushlek’zar again, Lady Hestia?” Tasianna rubbed my back to soothe me, but even she wasn’t letting this moment go to make fun of me. Only Rajah, Shay, and Beth were my allies!

In any case, after everybody had their fill of teasing me, we returned to the previous discussion about finding my half-sister. Fargryneill Qilinus Kargryxmor was her name according to Mother. She was a half-kirin, half-dragon hybrid who inherited her mother’s ability to use something called “dragon paths” and the black flames of my father.

Mother didn’t know too much more about her, since none of my half-siblings spent too much time in my dragon father’s home, deciding instead to roam Miononbolax to either train or just to enjoy themselves. As a result, all Mother knew were their mothers. To Mother, our meeting with my half-sister Fargryneill would be their first encounter.

In the end, Master Kush had to go ask the other saurians if they had heard anything about her, but, sadly, they had nothing to say. I even went back to the beastman tavern from before, surprised to see Adhi was still around. I asked him as well as the other patrons, but none of them had anything to add.

In the end, we only had one person left to ask. Probably, we should have asked him first to save us time. Then again, Kramps and Mother liked to argue with each other, so maybe it was for the best that this was our last option.

“… Is that what Kargryxmor said?” Mother frowned disappointingly when I told her what Kramps told me.

“Hmm. I had heard the God of Dragon was quite dissatisfied with his descendants. I had not thought he would be this outraged. I can only imagine his tone when he spoke to you.” Master sympathized with me. Little did he know, Kramps could get even madder.

“Regardless, your opinion on the girl doesn’t matter, Kargryxmor. Tell us already where she is. Hestia should meet her. Even if you can’t command her, you can look through her eyes.” Impatient and irritated by Kramp’s answer, Mother pushed the God of Dragons to answer the question properly.

Whether he was used to it by now or if he was just not interested in an argument, Kramps scoffed at her before giving us a proper answer.

“She wants to join the tournament? Does she know what the prize is?” I asked.

Is that so? Hmm.

My parallel minds suddenly brought something up that I heard offhandedly when I was about to duel Charleslyt, the former duke of Equevanna’s son and demonkin conspirator, in the Griffonpeak’s arena. That some horned girl defeated him once during one of the tournaments. Could that horned girl have been Fargryneill?

Regardless, my half-sister still needed three more days to reach Elyonda. That meant there was nothing I could do about her for now except fly over to meet her right away, but after contemplating on it, I decided against it.

Instead, there were a couple of things I wanted to do first. For example, it would be best if I learned more about this city and then maybe dived into the dark side of the city. Maybe I could get Shaturein to do that part for me. I couldn’t possibly form a plan at this very moment.

“Okay,” I said before picking up Rajah from the ground and turning to Master. “I would like to see this shrine off the shores, if that would be possible, Master.”

He nodded with a smile. “Yes, let us go. Tehmrayn had waited long enough for me.”