Mid Morning - Late Spring : Kingdom of Zan x Kaelallan Border

"Have you asked him anything yet?" Father gave the half-breed a look of spite, not even bothering to hide his aggression.

-That expression… Did the meeting not go well?- "All I asked was if the tower was the one funding the rebellion."

"And his answer?"

"He said they were."

Father's demeanor changed instantly, allowing a wide smile to creep onto his face. "How perfect." His eyes were full of greed.

"So, what did the elders end up saying?"

Getting pulled back out of his thoughts, he backed up and looked at me. "Ah yes, sorry. I forgot to mention it." He paused as he turned to face me. "I was just told the other dragons can't move until we get some 'concrete evidence'." He uncaringly rolled his eyes. "I was basically told that we were on our own."

-How stingy…- "But if that's the case, couldn't you use this guy as evidence now?" I gave the halfie a look of disdain.

"It's possible. It just depends on whether he actually knows the information we are looking for or if he’s just lying to save his own neck."

-I'ma lose it if he's lying...- Although I felt somewhat confident that I could cleanse the Tower myself, I didn't want to act on it since a part of me believed my confidence was coming from naivety. "Either way, do you want to talk to him here? Should I move him? What do you want me to do?"

"Ah, I need to think about that, actually." His face turned troubled. "I will likely have to bring him back to Bahamut, but I need to figure out if he’s usable first... Just go play with Ilios or something until I finish." He paused for a minute as he glanced at Ilios. "That is Ilios, right?"

"Haha, of course! Who else would it be?"

"I was just.. checking." Father was still struggling to believe the reality of the situation.

-But I'm sure he will come to accept it eventually…- "Hooh..." Letting out a quick breath to shift gears, I looked back at Ilios with a playful, but competitive smile. "Hehe~!"

As if he knew what was about to happen, his tail started wagging and kicking up a massive plume of ash behind him.

-This'll be our first time playing after dragon sleep... Let's see how much you've grown, Ilios!-

*Crunch* The ashen ground cracked beneath my feet as I leapt after Ilios.

I closed the distance between us almost instantly. -Got ya!- But as soon as I reached out to tag him, he disappeared. *fwoosh*

-Huh?- I couldn't believe my eyes for a second. "You got that much faster?!" Seeing him confidently dashing around me, a competitive gleam appeared in my eyes. -I don't need to hold back now!-

"Woof!" Ilios stopped for an instant to give me a happy hop, showing both his excitement and confidence.

"Oh, you think you can win this time, huh?" Lowering myself to the ground and spreading my wings, I disappeared from where I was and appeared behind him. "It seems I'm still faster!"

Getting cocky, I slowed down at the last second, which gave Ilios just enough time to escape. *fwoosh*

A huge wall of ash was created as he darted across the clearing.

"Woof!" He sounded like he was provoking me with his bark.

-Oh? Do you really think you’ve already won?- My adrenaline finally started to flow as I got ready for the real chase. "Don't get too comfortable!"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

*FWOOOSH*

- Oliver Kaelallan ~

"Haah.. what are we going to do..." I could do nothing but stare at my bedroom ceiling as sharp pains in my head kept me in a daze.

"I'm sure they will be fine… Don't worry..." Helen was trying to comfort me as she sat on the edge of the bed and reapplied the ice artifact to my forehead.

"Thank you..." My voice was slow and lethargic even though I had been resting all day. -It must be the stress that's eating away at me...- Thinking back to when Osto came by, I felt a shiver pass down my spine. "You saw the look in his eyes, didn't you? What if something bad really happened to Vasilias?"

"Either way, we aren't in the position to worry about them..."

I gave her a desperate look for a moment before turning away. "I guess.. that’s true..." The image of Osto's rage-filled eyes popped into my mind again. "I just can't help but worry after putting myself in his position..."

"But there is a difference between us and him… If he was taking care of Lucy, he would have the power to stop her... There was nothing we could do once Vasilias set his eyes on those Nation ranks." She clenched the bedsheets as a look of guilt came to her face.

A mix of sadness and guilt filled my mind when I looked at her, but there was nothing I could do. "Would a father care about that?"

"..." Helen's complexion darkened as she couldn't refute. "All we can do is pray that they are alright… We need to trust Vasilias's confidence."

The room went silent for several minutes before I decided to change to a less depressing topic. "Have you checked on the shelter yet?"

"Yes, I have…" She paused to let out a deep breath and calm her nerves. "It was a complete mess. The vault was still open, the ground and walls were cracked, and most of the artifacts and weapons within the vault were more fragile than glass…"

"Ah.. I didn't even think about that... To think the mana suction was strong enough to pull out the mana used to strengthen them..."

"It was indeed quite an experience to see a sword crumble like sand with a slight touch..."

Although I grimaced as I thought about the ridiculous expenses that just popped up, that was the least of my worries currently. "So, what did he end up taking?"

"Just the core and that old greatsword."

"HE DIDN'T BRING AN ARTIF- Ack!" When I tried to yell, an awful swelling-like pain filled my head. It felt as if my brain was being crushed.

Helen's face drained of color immediately as she used ice magic on my chest and forehead. "Please just relax..." Her face was washed with fear. "We have already talked about this. You can't make any sudden movements until you get better… I don't want your condition to get any worse than it already is, so..." Tears started to well in her eyes. "Please don't do that..."

A pang of gut-wrenching guilt filled my stomach when her tear landed on me. "I'm sorry, honey. But please don't worry... I might be in a little pain, but I'm sure it'll heal with enough time. We just need to be patient."

She gave me a look of fear before taking a deep breath to try and calm down. "Haah... R..right."

There was another moment of silence before I decided to continue. "Back to what I was saying... He didn't bring any artifacts?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, not that I noticed at least... At least he brought a sword though.. at the very least, it's better than nothing..."

"I.. guess..."

"I'm not sure whether he just doesn't like them, or doesn't know how to use them, but when I took him into the vault before, he didn't even bat an eyelash towards the stronger artifacts..."

I could only nod my head slightly in agreement. "He’s 10.. That should be expected."

"Yeah, but even though he's 10, he's a dragon with more mana than half this city combined..."

"..." Thinking that dwelling on the issue wouldn't do us any good, I just remained silent.

Helen gave me an odd look for another moment before eventually standing up. "I will take care of all your work, so please rest... No matter what happens, I will still be supporting you in any way I can..."

I wanted to laugh, but I knew it would hurt. -When was the last time I heard that...- Before I could finish reminiscing, I turned back to her. "Thank you, sweetie..."

Helen gave me a light kiss before she finally left the room, turning off the light artifact on the wall as she left. *Click*

Looking up at the dark ceiling, I let out a deep breath. "Haah..." Once again, I was left alone, with only my thoughts to keep me company. -We can only choose to believe Vasilias now.. there's no use in continuing to worry...-

In an attempt to ease my stress, I thought back to all of my interactions with Vasilias.

We never really talked that much, but during our limited time together, it was made abundantly clear that he wasn't an ordinary child.

Whenever I would talk with him, I felt like I was talking to some sage with a mountain of knowledge I'd never understand.

At first, I summed it up to him just being a dragon, but the feeling was far beyond what I felt whenever I talked to Osto.

-I just need to commit. If he dies, so will we; but if he manages to win, it'll create a massive opportunity…- Giving the idea a bit more thought, I eventually decided to advance some old plans and take advantage of the possible golden opportunity.

-All I can do at this point is trust Vasilias, so I guess it's time that I prepare the military for a trip to Zan.-