Late Evening - Early Winter : Central Valtivar, Siratha

- Leif Vilulf ~

"Haah..." I let out a foggy breath as I looked out my office window at the people in the courtyard below. -What design shall I give the balcony...-

My thoughts were quite rudely interrupted though. "I-it's.. not my fault..." It had already been close to half an hour since I sent Miss Ragnarok outside with a maid to view a few specific documents, but Alva still couldn't come to terms with her actions.

It was honestly starting to get on my nerves. "Alva." I glanced back at her with a look of disdain. "Our Lord has spared you twice now. Are you really going to continue to let yourself waste away after receiving his grace?"

Her guilt worsened immediately. "I..I-"

"I know how you feel. That inexplicable, looming sensation that you could be killed on a whim." I slowly turned back to the window as I spoke. "It's a sensation we do not feel often as apostles..." My expression slowly darkened with anger. "But even if you feared our lord during that initial moment, the instant he gave you mercy, you should have kneeled at his feet like a slave begging for forgiveness."

Her face paled as she looked over and noticed my face in the reflection of the window.

"If the Lord didn't have plans for you, I would have killed you myself. Now I suggest you straighten your act before he comes back."

She nodded hastily as she tried to calm her shaking hands.

"Haah..." -It seems having her meet Miss Ragnarok was what the Lord wanted from her... I wonder if he will spare her again...-

*knock-knock* A familiar presence knocked on the door while I idly thought to myself.

"You may enter."

*Click* Quickly opening the door was a familiar face, Oda Ashild, my closest friend and personal assistant. [1]

"I didn't expect to see you here, Oda. Shouldn't you be training Liv right about now?"

Hastily coming inside and closing the door, Oda gave a shallow bow to Alva and promptly turned to me. "Yes, but there was something I wished to bring to your attention."

-Hoh?- "What would that be?" Finally turning around, I noticed her anxious state.

"Although I personally didn't see anything, Miss Liv said she saw a dragon land in the canopy above the estate and cloak themselves."

-Another dragon? Could they be with the Lord?- After taking a second to think, I walked back over to the window and set my hand on it. *chink-SHATTER*

Both Oda and Alva stared at me with wide eyes as I finally stepped on the window seal and stuck my head outside.

*crunch* Quickly looking up in the canopy, I saw a single, nearly 40-meter-tall dragon looking down over the estate while cloaked in light magic. [2] -Sure enough...-

For a second, I continued to question what their purpose was, but eventually, I decided to take matters into my own hands. "I will be right back. Oda, you may return to the training hall."

*thump* Immediately vanishing from the window seal, I darted up the tree and abruptly stopped next to the rogue dragon.

"Sir, may I ask what your purpose here is?" I tried to act somewhat polite at first, thinking they could have been guests of the Lord.

But that possibility vanished quite quickly. "You must be Leif Vilulf." Seeing me nod, he continued arrogantly. "We simply need to meet with a dragon in your estate."

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-'We'... So he's not alone...- Thinking it would be easier to dig for information if I complied, I continued playing along. "What would their name be?"

But he kept pushing the limit. "Asimi Ragnarok. Could you bring her to us?" His arrogant grin made me want to hit him more than anything.

"She is unavailable currently, but I can relay a message if you wish."

"Ah, thank you, but that won't be necessary. They will eventually come to us."

-What?- "They? Is there someone else you are looking for?"

He slowly glanced at me with a greedy smile. "Ah, although we are unsure where he is, there was a black dragon that came here with her. Assuming he is her slave-"

*BANG-CRUNCH* The dragon's leg snapped like a piece of wood the instant I kicked it, sending pieces of bone, scales, and blood falling to the ground below. "You dare call our lord a slave?!" Immediately leaping up onto his back, I saw him getting ready to fire a spell at me, and grabbed his wing.

"You crazy bi*ch!" *tsk-FWOOOSH* A huge wall of indescribably hot and dense flames appeared in an instant, but it just showed me he didn't know who he was fighting.

*SNAP* Casually snapping his wing in half, I folded it back over his body and used it to block the fire.

"AGGH!"

Throwing the wing out of the way the instant his breath stopped, I darted over his head.

He immediately realized there was nothing he could do to defend himself as his eyes went wide and his pupils dilated.

*CRACK-CRUNCH* His scales shattered, and his skull cracked as my punch drove his head into the side of the branch we stood on, promptly knocking him out.

*skkshhh-fwoosh* Like a dead body, he limply slid off the branch and fell toward the courtyard below.

Everyone in the surrounding area stared with wide eyes as they looked to see what the commotion was and saw a massive dragon falling out of the canopy, but they all understood once they saw me jumping down behind it.

*THUUUD* The impact of the dragon shook the whole treant and immediately grabbed everyone's attention.

It worked out quite well for me.

*tap-tap-tap* Casually walking up onto the dragon's body, I looked toward the gates that were now crowded with people. "This should serve as a warning to those who dare to insult our lords!"

Many people at the gate wore confused expressions after hearing me, as being isolated or punished by those around you was an obvious result of insulting our lords.

But there were a select few who turned pale.

-This is for them...- I had never considered enforcing something like this on the dragons before since there was generally no reason to, but now that our lords had returned, that all changed. "All manner of beings are welcome to live here, but as of now, you must accept our Lords as your own! Belittling, insulting, and threatening our lords will now be punishable as a national offense! Additional priests will now be stationed in cities, and now, even smaller towns will be eligible to receive funding to build a Hall of Prayer, along with the clerics required to take care of it! An announcement will be made soon regarding the details!"

Many people in the crowd had already pulled out their quills and begun writing down what I said, but it was what I wanted. -It seems I need to adjust my schedule...-

Feeling exceptionally motivated to get started on the new policies, I swiftly hopped off the dragon, snapped its two hind legs, and made my way back up to my now-broken office window.

Miss Ragnarok was waiting for me the moment I got there though. "It seems I have missed something..." She seemed quite upset.

"That dragon insulted the lord, so I punished him."

"You seem to be misunderstanding something." She looked at me with obvious hostility. "That announcement you just made..."

I already knew what she was thinking. "I don't support the things Alva has done, or the things the dragons using her were likely planning, but you cannot tell me that there aren't already countless other dragons living as elves and demihumans all throughout Siratha. Honestly, I am not against letting them live here as dragons, without disguising themselves, but that doesn't mean they can do whatever they want." Seeing her anger not subside, I continued. "Since you came with the Lord, I have treated you with respect, but do not believe for a second that you have free reign here." Instead of sitting at my desk, I continued to walk up to her. "This is not your nation. Your opinion of my decision means nothing."

"But when your decision involves dragons, it no longer involves only your nation..."

-She must be kidding...- "Miss Ragnarok, I suggest you take a deep breath and think about the implications of what you are about to say." My aura surrounded her like a cloud of blades. "I am simply telling the dragons in my nation to worship a powerful living god or leave and continue to cling to their ever-fading hope that theirs will return."

The room fell into silence immediately.

Finally turning around, I walked back to my desk. "I believe it's best to take a good look at our lord when he returns, and question whether picking a fight with us is worth fighting him." *puff* The moment I sat down, I reached for my quill. "He has plans for us, so listen to him and stay in your lane."