The restaurant owner immediately grabbed the distressed Sigmund and began to spew information about Romiya.
Sigmund, with a throbbing headache, looked at the restaurant owner in disbelief.
‘What on earth is this guy babbling about?’
Not only was the owner seeing him as a beggar, but he was also entangling the great dragon with the trifles of insignificant humans.
It was absurd, but he had no energy to respond.
This wasn’t solely due to the horrible taste of the food.
Sigmund was growing increasingly tired of humans’ actions that constantly exceeded his expectations.
‘Are there really any decent humans left? Why on earth do those old men find such people charming?’
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand. To his eyes, humans merely appeared primitive.
The restaurant owner was even concocting reasons for why Sigmund had fallen to a beggar’s state.
“Nowadays, it’s chaos because of that damned priest. I know this well. My sister’s friend dumped her entire fortune into the temple. Seems like your situation isn’t all that different. Who could it be? You don’t look like someone who should believe in a god.”
Sigmund contemplated revealing his true identity to the endlessly imaginative restaurant owner but ultimately decided against it.
‘Even if I reveal myself, he wouldn’t believe me. He might believe it if I showed my dragon powers, but…’
He felt no desire to even try. It felt like boasting about his wealth to a passing rabbit.
Moreover, the restaurant owner’s nonsense wasn’t entirely baseless. Anyone could see that he looked a complete mess. It was somewhat understandable for him to be mistaken.
‘The elders are probably watching me in this state as well.’
With a faint sigh, Sigmund pressed his throbbing temples.
Undoubtedly, Kaiten and the elders were watching Sigmund roll around in the human world with great interest.
They were probably eagerly anticipating the moment he revealed his identity to stop the restaurant owner’s nonsense.
A dragon flaunting the powers of a transcendent being while appearing like a beggar before such insignificant beings.
‘It’s horrifying. Truly horrifying.’
Sigmund clicked his tongue and leaned his head back against the chair. It seemed he was slowly reaching a state of enlightenment. He closed his eyes, letting the restaurant owner’s ramblings flow in one ear and out the other.
“So, let me tell you about Lady Romiya…”
* * *
“To have the great Black Dragon come to such a humble place, I am truly at a loss for words.”
Count Shulmir deeply bowed, adopting a posture of perfect submission.
“If there’s anything you wish, just say the word. This humble servant will do anything.”
Surprisingly, the restaurant owner’s nonsense had helped him a little. While hearing about the human woman named Romiya, such a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
‘If I could make a noble my pawn, it would certainly make things easier for me.’
As far as he knew, the human world was a thoroughly class-based society.
To ignorant humans, a dragon they might only see once in a lifetime could be less frightening than a noble right in front of them.
Moreover, a noble would have likely received higher education.
There was even a chance they might recognize him as a Black Dragon.
Sigmund’s prediction proved correct.
The ruling Count Shulmir’s eyes widened the moment he saw Sigmund.
“W-wait, golden eyes? Could it be…?”
It was a fact he learned belatedly, but Count Shulmir had studied at the Mage Tower in the past.
Though he had too little innate magical power to pursue the path of a wizard, he could still sense a bit of the opponent’s magical energy because of that experience.
Count Shulmir had sensed Sigmund’s true identity because of this.
The high-purity magical power, like waves of gold, and the golden eyes that contained that very power.
There was only one answer.
“I am honored to meet a great being.”
From that moment on, everything proceeded smoothly.
Count Shulmir immediately welcomed Sigmund as a distinguished guest. He summoned all the servants from his estate to kneel before Sigmund.
“I will prepare a welcome feast at once! What are you doing? Hurry and bring out all the treasures from the storeroom! There must be no neglect in hosting a great being!”
The treasures, which had been gathering dust in the storeroom, were finally brought to light. Precious ingredients hurriedly gathered from various places in the territory piled up in front of the kitchen.
Sigmund was moved as he looked at the sparkling banquet hall.
‘Who would have thought I would be touched by the hospitality of insignificant humans…’
This was something he could never have imagined before, but here it was. The feast prepared by Count Shulmir was not particularly grand. To a dragon like Sigmund, the Count’s treasures seemed more pitiful than dust. However, he was delighted to have finally met a human who made sense.
‘Now, things are starting to clear up.’
Seeing Count Shulmir, who promised to obey any order, Sigmund smiled with satisfaction.
What pleased him most was that there was no need to find a ‘guide.’
‘Are you watching, Kaiten? I did suffer a bit for coming to the human world unprepared, but I can adapt just fine without your advice.’
Had there been no eyes watching, he might have scoffed in Kaiten’s direction.
It was indeed a rather petty emotion, but he didn’t care.
His resentment towards Kaiten deepened day by day.
On the day he returned to the world of transcendents, he would surely collect all his debts.
During the banquet, Sigmund spoke to Count Shulmir.
“I’ve heard that the priests’ misdeeds have gone too far. I intend to strictly control them, the ones who are disturbing the human world.”
“The priests, you say?”
“That’s right.”
Count Shulmir seemed taken aback by Sigmund’s words and looked at him without saying a word.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Sigmund observed.
Count Shulmir quickly plastered a smile back on his face and resumed his enthusiastic demeanor.
“Oh, in fact, I too have been appalled by the priests’ misdeeds. Many of my subjects have suffered at their hands. Even….”
Count Shulmir trailed off.
“I too lost my family because of them. I had resolved to root them out one day, but…”
A deep sorrow clouded Count Shulmir’s wrinkled face. He sighed heavily and continued.
“My power was insufficient. Their roots were so deeply entangled… It wasn’t something that could be handled by a mere noble’s knights. I tried to confront them and ended up being attacked by the followers instead. I couldn’t very well slay them with a sword…”
“I see.”
Sigmund listened with great interest to Count Shulmir’s story. Hearing that Shulmir had experienced something similar to his own ordeal made it all the more engaging.
He found himself liking Count Shulmir quite a bit. Seeing the man tear up at the thought of harming innocent followers made him feel that way even more.
‘He may be insignificant, but he has a sense of responsibility. I believe I’ve chosen well. I should stay in Shulmir’s castle for a while and help him. I need to deal with the priests he hasn’t been able to handle.’
By combining Shulmir’s knowledge of the human world with Sigmund’s strength, it would be possible to save even the followers brainwashed by the false god.
The day of his return to the world of transcendents was not far off, and he smiled with satisfaction at that certainty.
* * *
“The great being will be staying in my castle? Is that really true? Ah!”
Upon hearing Sigmund’s decision, Count Shulmir shed tears of joy. He prostrated himself, showing his submission to Sigmund.
“Yes. I intend to keep an eye on the humans here for a while.”
“Thank you! Lord Sigmund!”
Count Shulmir was so overwhelmed by Sigmund’s decision that it felt as if his deceased family had been brought back to life. Watching him, Sigmund felt a strange mix of pleasure and unease. It wasn’t merely that a human was kneeling before him.
In fact, Sigmund didn’t care whether humans showed him submission or not.
To submit meant that the other party acknowledged his power.
Sigmund didn’t need the acknowledgment of humans.
No matter what insignificant beings might say, his strength remained unchanged.
With a single gesture, he could kill hundreds or thousands of humans. He simply chose not to.
‘Is this why the elders care for humans?’
Sigmund observed Count Shulmir, who was shedding tears. A decision that seemed trivial to him had shaken the life of one human. It affected the lives of all the humans in this territory.
‘Is this akin to raising a pet?’
Sigmund couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. Calling them pets seemed completely mismatched, considering that he appeared at least thirty years younger than Shulmir.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t think of another word. The sight of humans desperately trying to change their fate by relying on his grace made it seem fitting.
‘Fine. Since it’s come to this, I’ll have to help them properly.’
Thanks to the Count’s hospitality, Sigmund, feeling magnanimous, resolved to extend his goodwill not just to Shulmir but to all the humans belonging to him.
Until someone came knocking late that night.
* * *
“I am honored to meet a great being.”
Count Shulmir’s niece, Romiya, arrived close to midnight. Her visit was utterly unexpected from start to finish.
From knocking on the door of a dragon without any warning to hiding her face under a hood, her audacity was remarkable. And on top of that, she was trembling.
“What’s the matter?”
Had it been another ill-tempered transcendent, she might have bled to death already. Sigmund was taken aback but decided to let it slide.
He didn’t enjoy killing just to flaunt his power, and besides, she was Count Shulmir’s niece.
Earlier, Sigmund had resolved to help the humans of Shulmir. Romiya was one of them.
“First of all, I must apologize. I should have come to see you earlier, but I’m truly sorry for visiting like this now. I have no words even with two mouths.”
Romiya prostrated herself before Sigmund as she spoke. Her long brown hair spilled out from under her gray hood.
“I heard you were unwell.”
Romiya hadn’t attended the welcome banquet for Sigmund. Count Shulmir had urged her to come several times, but to no avail. Even when he simply asked her to show her face briefly, only a maid returned, causing Shulmir to turn crimson with anger.
Anyway, Romiya, who claimed to be bedridden, had come here.
Sigmund glanced at her hands, which were clasped tightly together. They were pale and trembling with desperation.
He raised his gaze casually, looking at Romiya as she lay prostrate.
“Speak of your purpose first.”
“O great being, I…”
“I don’t like to beat around the bush. Just tell me what you want.”
He merely interrupted her lightly, but Romiya’s body froze like ice.
He could feel her tension even from beneath her hood; she seemed unable to breathe.
She was even trembling.
‘Is she this scared over something so trivial?’
Sigmund was astonished. He hadn’t exuded any dragon aura; he had simply said he didn’t like to mince words.
‘Why are these humans so different from the others?’
She didn’t seem like the same kind of human who had rushed at him demanding his eyes when they were blinded by the power of a dragon.
‘Humans really are unpredictable.’
Sigmund shook his head and decided to speak in a relatively softer tone.
“There’s no need to be so afraid. I merely meant to say that there’s no need to waste time. Just tell me why you came here…”
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