「I'm right on the money, aren't I?」

The corner of Straf's mouth rises, twisting into a slanted smug grin.

「No! Straf, stop being like one of those people!」

Cycelia vehemently protests in a raised voice, almost shouting.

「Those people?」

「The people who think that because most dragons are evil, so are we! It's rude, hurtful, and not true at all! My grandfather was a kind man, and everyone loved him!」

She insists, looking at Straf with a serious face full of conviction.

「Okay. I believe you.」

Straf nods lightly. His eyebrows are raised, and his eyes bored.

「Good.」

「Not like it matters though, frankly, I'd help you even if the usurper was in the moral right.」

He shrugs, and Cycelia becomes baffled, visibly trying to find appropriate words.

「Straf, how can you even say that!? He killed my entire family!」

「I said if. When he's on the floor and coughing up blood, he'll probably bring up some sob story how his mommy didn't love him. Or, how his daddy, or uncle loved him a little too much. Then, he'll most likely drop some good points on what your ancestors did, and how he has the right to rule, yadda yadda yadda.」

Straf circles his hand dismissively while explaining the cliche to Cycelia. She calms down a little after realizing it's only a hypothetical.

「I can't say for sure my ancestors were faultless, but there is no excuse or justification for what he did. He even killed my little brother, Otto.」

Cycelia looks down at the table and appears sullen again when she mentions her brother.

「So he's a kiddie killer, too? Grim.」

「Yes… I don't understand how someone could be so heartless. He was a bright child, much more capable than I ever was. I was meant to go to the Academy of Magic in a year or two, and our court mage Albus wouldn't shut up about how I needed to study for it. Meanwhile, Otto was half my age and he already knew a lot of spells.」

She doesn't lift her gaze, her voice audibly draining of energy as she speaks further and further.

「So your brother was a bowl-cut, specky magic nerd, huh?」

Straf asks, and Cycelia sharply looks up in surprise.

「Straf, you amaze me sometimes. How did you know how he looks like, if you have never met him?」

She blinks with a slight tilt of her head.

「He was? Wow. Taken before he got his owl. That's sad.」

In response, a mild surprise also appears on Straf's face as he leans his head forward a little. Cycelia nods.

「Yes, it is… But he wasn't as much into learning magic, as he was just into learning. Honestly, Otto was kind of amazing. I have no ambition to rule, so I was going to ask my father to let him rule instead, should something happen, but then the count murdered my entire family. Albus, too.」

Cycelia sighs heavily and shrugs.

「I don't understand why Albus, though. Perhaps he knew he'd never accept his rule? That whole cursed day is just a confusing blur to me. I remember nothing from it, other than the feeling of panic, and that I had to run. I only started to piece things together after a few days, and made sense of it all.」

Her shoulders slump, and Cycelia gets lost in thought as she stares blankly with her emerald eyes at her hands in her lap.

「Hmmm… By the way, didn't you say the uhh… Richard, guy?」

Straf thinks as well, supporting his head on one of his hands while lazily slumped.

「Richard Redwing? Yes, what about him?」

No longer aimlessly drifting through her thoughts, Cycelia blinks as she hears the name, and looks up at Straf.

「Didn't you say he literally got a bunch of peasants killed, so he could summon a demon to go and kill his enemy for him?」

「I- Uh- Um- Well- I did, but- It's not- What I mean is-」

Cycelia stammers, looking aside and brushing her thumbs against one another, grimacing nervously due to Straf's unexpectedly high absorption of her brief history lesson.

「Hey, I'm not judging. I think the defining trait of humanity is being the first one to do stuff that gets a bullet point in conventions and treaties.」

Straf shrugs his hands and scoffs with a diagonal smirk.

「…What?」

Cycelia's confused eyes narrow as the familiar words are used in an unfamiliar context.

「Forget it. Anyway, wasn't that kind of a classic Dick thing to do, though? Isn't that the type of stuff dragons would do?」

Straf asks, once again slumping with his head on his hand.

「…Look, Straf. Those were different times.」

「Oh, humanity loves that excuse! I don't know about the rest of your family, but you're most assuredly one-hundred percent human, Lia.」

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

With a smirk, Straf snaps his fingers with his other hand. Cycelia softly groans, trying to defend her family honor without whitewashing it.

「…What I mean is, those were very violent and turbulent times. The demon lord's armies were ravaging just about every place in the world, vampires were at the height of their power, humanity was in shambles… It just wasn't a good time to live in, Straf.」

Cycelia speaks with a troubled face and hushed tone, not wanting to appear as justifying the further violence.

「And what you're saying is, the old Dick was just another page for the history books?」

「No, Straf. It's true that he did what he did. But his demonology research wasn't born out of hunger for power. Not for the sake of rulership. He wanted to find a way to stop the demon lord.」

「Eh? And what was his big idea? Fight fire with fire? Sic demons on demons?」

「No, the demon lord wasn't the type of demon you think of, Straf.」

Cycelia shakes her head.

「How come? Why call him the demon lord then?」

Straf raises his hand in confusion, squinting with one eye.

「We were surprised to find this out as well. There are two types of demons, so to speak. One type forms from negative feelings and thoughts that intelligent creatures might have, like humans. Wishing someone ill, thinking about murder, so on… All of it contributes to the formation of demons. Or rather, their release from the mana hollows.」

She takes a deep breath and sighs.

「The bigger problem is the other type. The mana hollows are a part of our world, much like the water or the sky is. The demons of this type aren't from the mana hollows, but from another world entirely. They're enticed by the promise of souls, and they're extremely powerful. Luckily, they can't sustain themselves in our world for long.」

She spreads her hands as she explains. Straf's brows furrow.

「So what's the difference? It sounds like just a different flavor to me.」

「The difference is, as ridiculous as it sounds, that you can perhaps bargain or reason with the demons from our world. The outsider demons are utterly evil. They will torture for fun, they will kill in the most painful ways available to them, they will seek out naturally good people to torment. The demon lord wanted subjugation or death for humanity. Outsider demons want only death.」

「Huuuh. Ever thought about summoning a hero from another world? Y'know, kind of like the demons?」

Straf grins, barely managing to hold back his laughter.

「Yes, there were attempts. But, unfortunately, all of them failed.」

Cycelia nods and sighs again.

「Wait, you did!?」

Straf perks up, trying his best to suppress his chuckling. Cycelia's head shakes a little in confusion.

「What's so funny, Straf?」

「No no no, nevermind me. Go on. How'd you solve the demon lord problem?」

Straf waves his hand in front of his face, attempting to twist his amused grin back into a neutral expression.

「Well, lucky for us, a hero appeared. In our own world. He was supposedly blessed by the goddess, and wielded an unbreakable sword that could cut through most anything. My grandfather said his father almost met him, but he missed him by only a few minutes. He killed the demon lord with his companions after a long battle, and then disappeared after spreading the news.」

「What happened to the sword?」

「Huh?」

「You know, the cool hero sword. What happened to it?」

「Ah… Well, the hero allegedly thrust his sword into a stone near a lake. He just somehow forced it in. Coincidentally… There is a little town not too far from here, that's famous for having a sword stuck in a big stone. The legend says, whoever pulls it out is fated to take on the hero's mantle and solve the world's problems.」

「Oh yeah, nice. His name wasn't Arthur, was it?」

「Hm? No, the hero's name was lost to time. There were a lot of scumbags claiming to be him afterwards. But those who have met him said that none them were the real one, though.」

Cycelia says, then covers her mouth with a loose fist and starts to softly giggle.

「What?」

「Ah, nothing. I just thought that if someone were to pull it out, it would most likely be you, Straf.」

「Yeah, that's next on my list. Let's go there when I milk the tournament dry.」

Straf nods and states matter-of-factly. Cycelia's giggles turn to outright laughter. She covers her mouth with both of her hands.

「Straaf! Stoop!」

Cycelia shakes her head and waves her hand once, still laughing. Straf looks for the innkeeper.

「Hopefully before it milks me dry… It's getting kind of tiring. Nothing kills pacing harder than staying in one place for too long without timeskips. Hey! Baldie! We're done here, where's our rooms!?」

He lifts his arm and snaps his fingers. The innkeeper slams the plates down on another table, with very little to no regard for them, and begins sprinting towards Straf and Cycelia…