Book 1 Chapter 569

Starting from the entrance of Dragonia, Leo, tracing his memories, arrived at a ruin that had been recreated to resemble Dragonia of the past.

"Black Rabbit! Is this ruin supposed to be a place to visit?"

Arga wore a puzzled expression as he entered the deserted ruins.

The students of Wisdom had already returned with Enkinia.

"This place is complicated, so I'll guide you," Melina stepped forward.

"Since we've come all the way to the ruins of Dragonia, how about a field trip?"

"I don't feel like it," Arga shook his head.

"How about a field trip?"

"I said I don't feel like it…"

"We're having a field trip, aren't we?"

"…"

Arga couldn't help but nod as he saw Melina thrusting her face right in front of him.

"I'm all for it! These ruins are a must-see spot where you can see the beautiful architectural style of the Dragon race from the Age of Gods!" Driana clenched her fists enthusiastically.

"It's an opportunity to reinterpret this beauty with my own hands."

"I'm being serious. Don't do it. You might actually get cursed by the dragons." Arga gave serious advice, but Driana didn't listen.

Watching her, Lunia clicked her tongue.

"No matter how I think about it, she needs to meet Lord Dueno one more time."

"If she meets him one more time, Dueno will probably smash Driana's head."

"That's exactly what I mean. It's better that way." Lunia was very serious.

"By the way, Leo. What are you looking for in these ruins?"

Arga followed Leo because he said he had something to do, but he hadn't heard the exact purpose yet.

"I'm planning to find something that Ricinas hid in Dragonia long ago."

"Something that Lord Ricinas hid?"

"What? Is it a powerful divine artifact? Then that would be amazing!"

"Even if it's not a divine artifact, anything left by Lord Ricinas must be something incredible!" Lunia and Chelsea's excited voices rose.

"What are you guys talking about so interestingly?" Arga suddenly poked his face between Lunia and Chelsea.

Seeing Arga like that, Lunia and Chelsea feigned ignorance.

"About what?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

Arga's eyes narrowed as he looked at the two.

"You guys are keeping a secret, aren't you?"

"Not at all."

The fact that Leo was the hero of the beginning, Kyle, was still a secret.

No matter who Arga was, they couldn't reveal the secret unless Leo told them.

"Black Rabbit! What kind of secret are you hiding?"

"Don't bother Leo oppa."

"Right, look here instead." Lunia brought something like a foxtail from somewhere and shook it around.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!"

"Tsk, it didn't work." Lunia clicked her tongue, failing to distract Arga.

Seeing Lunia like that, Arga glared.

"Do you think I'll be distracted by such a flimsy toy…"

*Clink-*

"…nya!"

*Thud-*

As Leo took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and shook them, Arga unconsciously swung his hand towards the keys.

"…"

"…"

Lunia and Chelsea looked at Arga with disappointed eyes.

"Seriously! Stop treating me like a cat!" Arga hissed and grabbed Leo, shaking him violently.

Driana, without the slightest interest in what was happening behind her, was busy admiring the building ruins.

Melina smiled at the sight.

'These children are the future of the world.'

She wasn't doubting Leo's choice. Not at all…

'Will they be okay?' Melina, with a slightly worried expression, led them inside the ruins.

***

*Whoosh-*

The party had arrived at a high ground in the Dragonia ruins from where they could overlook the entire Dragonia.

Time had flown by, and it was already late dawn.

"Soon the morning will break."

"Hwaaaaam! I think we've seen enough of the area."

"Walking around these vast ruins all night." Lunia mumbled, crossing her arms.

Arga rubbed his eyes with a yawn, and Chelsea patted her legs, shaking her head.

Leo stood a little apart from the group, silently gazing at the entire landscape of Dragonia.

"What are you thinking about?" Melina approached cautiously and asked.

"Old memories." Leo looked at the prosperous Dragonia.

"5000 years ago, when I first came to Dragonia, this place was literally hell."

"…"

"That was the first time Ricinas showed weakness."

"Dragons love their homeland, don't they?" Melina understood what Ricinas must have felt at the time.

"So, I made a promise with Ricinas. I'd help rebuild Dragonia, even if it took a lifetime." Leo smiled bitterly.

"Well, in the end, we couldn't do anything. But if he saw Dragonia prospering like this, he would surely be happy."

"How can you say you couldn't do anything? The world exists today because of you great heroes!" Melina said firmly.

Leo nodded at her words.

"By the way, it's surprising. Given Luna's free-spirited personality, I thought you'd be adventuring the world after peace was restored. How did you manage to settle down in Dragonia?" Melina asked curiously, to which Leo replied as if asking what she meant.

"There's no way that wildcat would settle down in Dragonia? She had an obligation to revive the elves. Well, if she were alive in the first place, she probably would have left everything to Berkia and gone off to have fun herself."

"As expected." Melina nodded at Leo's words, then suddenly felt a strong doubt.

"Didn't you say you'd help Ricinas rebuild Dragonia?"

"I did."

"So Leo is in Dragonia alone, and Luna is traveling the world?" Leo nodded.

'What is it? Leo and Luna are supposed to be lovers, so why aren't they together?' Melina looked bewildered.

'Maybe it's because both of them have such free-spirited personalities? But even so…' If Leo's words were true, didn't Leo and Ricinas seem more like a couple?

It was when Melina looked perplexed.

Leo, who had been silently gazing at the ruins, muttered as he saw the rising sun.

"Ah, I remember now."

"Yes?"

"The location of Ricinas's house. I just remembered."

Leo arrived at a small house.

In the case of ruins, since it was rebuilt based on Dragonia's blueprints left from the Age of Disaster, it's unknown who lived there.

*Creeeak-*

Leo opened the door and entered.

*Thump- thump-*

The group followed him.

There was no furniture, but it was a small and cozy-feeling room. It was a historical site recreated exactly as it was in the Age of Gods.

"This is?" Chelsea asked with a puzzled expression, and Melina answered after glancing at Leo's back.

"It's estimated to be the house where Lord Ricinas lived in his childhood."

At those words, everyone's eyes widened.

"This is the house where the King of Wisdom lived as a child?"

"It's amazing!"

"Such a place remains! Dragonia is truly something else!" Melina smiled at the excited students.

"Yes. Of course, it's a place restored according to records left after the Age of Disaster, so it's not actually the house Ricinas lived in. However, it's true that Ricinas's house was in this location, and it was built to look the same as it was then." Although Melina explained step by step, Melina herself was the most excited at the moment.

'I must maintain my composure, but… ah. Truly.' Melina looked at the interior of the house with trembling eyes. This was the place where the King of Wisdom, whom all dragons respected immensely, lived as a child.

While everyone was busy looking around the house, Leo entered one of the rooms. Recalling the ruins from the depths of his memory, Leo knelt in the center of the room and swept the floor.

'Is it here?' A faint magical power, only detectable by Leo, was felt.

Leo activated his magic. A magic circle appeared on the floor. It was a seal that, under normal circumstances, could only be opened by Ricinas. However, the seal responded definitively to Leo's magic, imbued with Ricinas's mana essence.

Startled by the sudden magical reaction, the group rushed into the room.

"Black Rabbit, did you find something?" Arga asked excitedly.

Leo put his hand into the magic circle. In the subspace beyond space, he grabbed a small wooden box. Leo took it out. Even after 5000 years, the wooden box looked exactly as Leo remembered it, thanks to being stored in a subspace.

"Did Ricinas leave this?"

"A grimoire? Is it a grimoire?"

"Open it quickly, Leo!"

"Now, now, everyone calm down." Melina smiled calmly, seeing the girls gathered around Leo. Of course, she desperately wanted to urge Leo on, but she suppressed that desire.

Leo opened the wooden box.

*Click-*

Inside the wooden box was a thin shard, like obsidian. Seeing it, Chelsea blinked.

"What is this?"

"This… it's a dragon's eggshell. It's from a black dragon… Could it be?" Melina's eyes widened.

"The eggshell where Ricinas was born?"

"Huh?"

"T-that's still here?" If that were true, it would be an incredible discovery.

As everyone was stunned. Leo picked up the eggshell and turned it over. Then he chuckled.

'It's here, the slave contract.' The image of Ricinas writing his name, playfully and wickedly, flashed through his mind.

"Hmm. It's Dragonic."

"What's written on it?"

"It's written in Dragonic, the names of Lord Kyle and Lord Ricinas. Judging by the handwriting, the name Ricinas seems to have been written by Lord Ricinas." Ricinas's handwriting was relatively famous, as he left behind a lot of knowledge for later generations.

"Then this was written by Lord Kyle?" As Driana tilted her head, looking at Kyle's name.

"T-this…?" Melina's trembling voice was heard. Everyone's eyes turned to Melina.

Seeing Melina's face filled with shock, Lunia asked, "Melina-nim, why are you like that? Is this something very special?"

"I-it's special… Yes! T-to us dragons… it's a very… very special item." Melina's voice trembled. She looked at Leo with indescribable eyes and opened and closed her mouth.

At that reaction, Leo frowned.

"What is it?"

"Writing one's name on the eggshell from which one hatched… it's a contract between those who will be together for life."

At those words, everyone fell silent. Chelsea opened and closed her mouth and asked, "T-that means… so… this is…"

"I-if it's genuine… it's a marriage vow between Lord Ricinas and Lord Kyle."

Everyone's faces were filled with shock.

"What kind of bullshit is that? This is a marriage vow?"

"Black Rabbit! What kind of language is that to Melina-nim!"

"Why are you so excessively agitated?" Arga and Driana scolded Leo in dismay.

"It's our dragon tradition. A tradition passed down from the Age of Gods… before the Age of Disaster."

At that answer, Arga said, "Wait a minute! Wasn't Lord Kyle clearly in a relationship with Luna? Then why is this here? Could it be a love triangle?! Is Kyle two-timing?"

"Hmm… if that's true, then Kyle is definitely a bad person," Driana said seriously, crossing her arms. Recently, Luna, the progenitor of the Nebula who descended, declared her love for Kyle, the hero of the beginning. Now, a marriage vow between the King of Wisdom and the hero of the beginning has appeared. This reality, far beyond imagination, was enough to stimulate the girls' imaginations.

"Wait. But if there's a marriage vow… is Luna the second?"

"Do you want to die! You stupid cat! Who do you think you're calling second with such a blasphemous remark! Should I burn your brain out along with your head?"

"B-but! It's strange! What on earth happened?" As they sank deeper into the mire, Melina looked at Leo with complex eyes. On one side of her eyes, filled with deep respect, there was a flicker of disbelief for some reason.

Leo looked at Lunia and Chelsea. Their eyes were not much different from Melina's. Leo looked at Ricinas's contract in his hand with trembling eyes.

'You damned lizard. You're trying to scam me with this kind of thing!'