The look on the old man's face told me all I needed to know. He was sure of what he was saying, but it would be foolish to jump to conclusions.

I was trained better than to do that. First, access the whole situation. Then, act accordingly. Simple.

Perhaps I wasn’t being proactive enough about his statement, but I had seen my fair share of convinced humans. This old, wrinkling, and almost frighteningly calm human, only sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

His statement should have prompted a shocked expression from me, but the context of his statement in regular terms would have been too outrageous to hear at first glance.

That's what I was holding onto.

A dragon? Please, I was absolutely positive that I hadn’t done anything to prompt such accusations. After all, it hadn’t been my second official day yet of being here. What would that say about me?

It would just further prove how useless I was. And I held myself to a little more respect than to fall that low.

“What do dragons have to do with me?” I scoffed, crossing my arms, and glaring at the older human, whose eyes seemed to pry at mine.

He chuckled, waving his hand in the air as if he were amused, “Ah. I mean nothing offensive, Guard Asta. Really, believe me.”

Make me believe you.

“Then what did you mean?” I raised my eyebrow, tapping my boot against the floor. Truth is, if this old human did know about my identity for some reason, then I’d have two people to kill tonight.

Not like I’d be troubled by that, but it would be harder to maintain my position at the estate. That was something that I would not be eager to risk. That being said, it’s not like I wouldn’t.

Actually, I’d bet to say that I assume he knew that too. My intentions were obvious. I made no attempt to hide them in the first place. Why would I – in the face of such a weak creature?

The old man sighed, getting up with his stool, and walking around the potion stand. The scent of herbs was almost overbearing, as he came closer to me, resting his hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off, scrunching my nose. He shook his head, turning around to stare at an old photo hung over some stacks of scrolls.

A faded image of a group of younger boys stood smiling in front of the Trane castle, all of them holding wooden swords in their hands.

“It seems that you have not realized how notorious your troop is,” He spun around with a warm smile, eyeing my torn uniform, “Dragons.”

In my short time here, I understood the power of being a guard from a basic level. I’ll admit it carried influence, even the gate guards addressed me with formalities.

But dragons? It was my first time hearing the association.

“Excuse me?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes at the old potion master, who seemed to be taking a trip down memory lane.

I didn’t have time for that.

“Back in the days of the evil dragon, your troop was first formed to train to be on the front lines of the battle against the Demonic race. It was back in the days of my father, who had grown up constantly retreating from the outward lands.” The potion master recalled, telling of the horrendous deeds of the dragon right in front of him. Me.

Evil dragon, huh? Had a catchy ring to it. I’d accept it.

“Though, your troop never slayed the actual evil dragon. They earned a fearsome legacy from assisting ARC in the initial pushback of the demons. The first generation of the troop had garnered, which is why the kingdom refers to them as dragons. For their fearsome loyalty, dedication, fiercely tempered…,” He peered over, before stammering to add, “and of course, their legacy in the war.”

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Ironic, wasn’t it? Truly, what deities did I piss off to land myself in such a predicament?

On that note, how refreshing to learn that I was in a troop that helped push back my own army. Really, it was rich, laughable, and slightly pathetic. But I suppose that I had no room to talk. It was only another cruel reminder of my own failures. Did it matter anymore?

Still, it was relieving to know that I hadn’t been exposed prematurely if anything. If I played my cards right, I would live here for the time being without a problem. Considering my current luck, who knows?

“I didn’t come here for a history lesson,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, “First off, what did you mean by saying you heard about me?”

He gave a dumbfounded expression like I was foolish for asking. But I had only been working in the castle for a day, if you didn’t account for what happened today. To any competent individual, it was a genuine question.

“Young man, you’re quite infamous. It’s not every day that Sir Serlon, himself, appoints a new guard in his troop, much less a sixteen-year-old boy. Not to mention your slaying on the two intruders on your first night, how you walked into the estate with the Crown Prince, and the younger maids-in-training have quite the fancy for you.” he explained, heading back over to sit in his stool.

Live a quiet life on the estate. Bullshit. I should have given up on that the second I found out that blonde bitch was the crown prince.

“…Right. You could have left out the last part.” I mumbled, not sure what to say.

Heh. I was just too talented to not leave an impression it seemed. I’m kidding. For the most part, I suppose I had just underestimated how incapable and weak humans were.

It was a lack of application and knowledge that landed me here.

The potion master shrugged, showcasing a smirk, “Just trying to help you out…”

“Please refrain from doing that,” I begged, shaking my head at the thought of mating with such a vile race. No way in the seven seas. I’d rather have all my scales plucked out one by one while being chopped apart from the inside out.

Forget this. There were bigger issues to get to now. Actually, it was the reason that I came here in the first place.

“Damon. Who is he? Where can I find him?” I went straight to the point, not bothering to hide the malice in my eyes.

“Will I regret telling you, Guard Asta?” He asked, his tone serious and questioning. It was obvious what I meant by such a question, and I could tell he knew it too.

I scoffed; my expression was unsettling.

“Potion Master, will you regret not telling me?” I challenged, my tone icy. The malice in the room, so thick that you could choke.

He let out a huge sigh, “Calm down. I know that it’s in my best favor to tell you. I just want to know why. That’s all.”

He was smart. I’ll credit him with that much.

Because of that, I lowered my malice but did not dare to let this human fully relax. However, it stood, the remaining fact was that I needed to maintain my upper hand in this situation.

“Fine,” I raised my hands, smirking, “I guess I was tasked with this anyway. Damon sent someone that has some value to me inside demon-infested woods. You know, the ones surrounding the kingdom. The heavily demon-infested ones?”

Yeah, those ones. The ones that were causing so many problems on my day off.

“God. Damon was always quite rude, but I never expected him to send the new person to their death. Was the body found?” He brought his hands up to his head and rubbed his temples.

If this was the type of person that he trained, then I understood where his wrinkles and balding head came from. Off-topic, but it was fascinating how humans shed their hair with age and stress. They were like overgrown cats… not the point.

“Lucky and unlucky for him, I dragged Jamie back alive, myself. He got grazed and lost some blood, but overall, he’s fine.” I explained.

I mean, he looked as pale as a ghost when we got back, but if he couldn’t survive that much then I had no use for him. It was fine. Right?

This statement seemed to pique the curiosity of the old man, whose eyes seemed to glimmer at the statement.

“You were in the forest? Did you see any demons?” he asked chipperly, nearly jolting himself off his stool that wobbled from his excited reaction.

There was no point lying. I had no idea what Jamie would end up telling the potion master when he returned to work and asking him to lie would raise red flags.

“We ran into some demonic dogs. They ambushed us in a pack, but luckily, we were able to escape.” I briefed the sparkly-eyed man, feeling queasy at his hopeful stare that screamed… tell me everything!

If lucky meant brutally killing the whole pack, then yes. We were quite lucky.

“Goodness! I’ll have to get Jamie to write a report on what they looked like then…,” He mumbled like a lunatic, before clearing his throat, seemingly recollecting himself, “Anyway, I’m glad you were able to save my new worker.”

“…Anyway. Damon actually went home for the day. I’ll write down his address for you then,” He paused, peering up at me, once more, “…You know murder is illegal, especially from royal guards.”

“I’m aware.” It had been in the rulebook, after all. Forgive me if I forget the exact section, it was written in. But believe me, it was there.

“But you’re not planning on letting him out of this alive. Isn’t that right, Guard Asta?” He finished writing the address, withholding the paper till he heard my response.

“I think you already know the answer to that question, old man,” He slid the note onto the table, and I picked it up and stuffed it inside my pocket, I glanced up, “What’s it to you?”

I eyed him, waiting for his answer. Anyone could tell what would happen if he answered wrongly. The potion master had lived long enough to understand this himself.

I’d go as far as to say that he understands the whole situation clearly.

The old man seemed too calm, considering the gravity of the situation. Although he was not covered in the metallic scent of blood, I have no doubt that he had blood on his hands.

He acted like it.

People in these positions didn’t get here on clean means. This was a fact that was true in all races with a hierarchy of some sort. The demonic race just did it openly. Call us bold, but everyone else was just hypocrites.

He exhaled, “Oh. Don’t get me wrong, it’s just going to be troublesome finding a new person to work here, that’s all. Remember to stop by in the future, Guard Asta.”

Doubtful.

I turned towards the door, pausing at the entrance, “Oh that reminds me. If Jamie asks, make sure to keep quiet that I was here. Understand, you damned old man?” I waved, closing the door behind me.

I didn’t need to wait for an answer. The laughing that was heard from the potion room was enough to confirm his response.

What a strange old man.

Pulling the slip of paper, I held onto it while glancing up at the high sun that shone through the tall windows of the estate.

120 West Corner Avenue, Room 12.

The day was still young…