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A meeting with the dragon-people was in full swing.

And of course, the topic of discussion was a stone tablet engraved with ancient dragon language.

With her ascension ceremony approaching, Hedera had suddenly decided to descend to the mortal realm and was given the task of deciphering this tablet.

‘Is it a failure?’

The Second Imperial Princess Hedera still had her hand on the tablet. In the past, she felt that her mana was responding and that the decoding was progressing, but recently there was no more response.

‘…Am I unable to concentrate? Me?’

Surprisingly, it seemed so.

The cause was likely the ominous mana she had sensed from the Imperial Treasury. No, if the Imperial Treasury had been the usual treasury, she wouldn’t have cared at all. What was rising to the point of interfering with Hedera’s concentration was a person.

The Inspector, Ezekiel.

He was probably in the Imperial Treasury now. And Hedera was probably unable to focus on interpreting the ancient dragon language because of him; to be distracted from concentration due to thoughts of someone.

…It was an astonishing thing.

Even in the presence of three dragon-people watching her intently, the failure was evident. No movement was seen on the stone slab, and disappointment flashed across the dragon-people’s faces.

“…The interpretation seems to be difficult.”

At Hedera’s words, the three dragon-people sighed.

“Your dragon language skills are excellent, but ancient dragon language is the problem, it seems.”

“…Yes.”

The difference between the ordinary dragon language and the ancient dragon language was enormous, from the difficulty level to the power it possessed. Even real dragons needed to master it before they could use it.

“Didn’t the tablet respond last time?”

“It did.”

“Your power hasn’t weakened, has it?”

“Absolutely not. My condition is not good today.”

Though she answered calmly, Hedera was also frustrated.

‘This is bad.’

In Hedera’s life, there had never been an event she had prepared for as meticulously as the ascension ceremony. Yet now, with little time left, this was happening. It made her uneasy.

Ancient dragon language.

She needed to master this perfectly to pass the ascension ceremony without any opposition…

Clank─

Just then, someone put down their teacup with a loud clunk.

There were three-dragon people who had come to visit Hedera today. And among them, the one who was the center, the one with a noticeable white beard — the name of this elderly dragon-person was Gromon.

“Second Imperial Princess, your progress with the ancient dragon language is slow.”

“I’m ashamed.”

“There is no need for shame. Rather, it’s time to take swift action. It seems the only way for you to pass the ascension ceremony is through a soul trade.”

Hedera slightly furrowed her brow.

“I appreciate your advice, but I don’t want to rely on a soul trade yet. I’ll try with my own power.”

Soul trade.

A deal where one sells their soul to a dragon in exchange for power, but in return, must labor as a spirit in the celestial realm after death.

Hedera had absolutely no intention of trading her soul.

To be tempted by easy power for a while and then spend the rest of her life polishing dragon scales and serving them as a maid after death? It was something that her pride and beliefs would never allow.

Gromon heaved a deep sigh, “Princess, haven’t I emphasized this over and over again? The more you struggle with human strength, the further you’ll be from becoming a dragon. Just make one trade and you’ll never have to worry about the ascension ceremony again.”

The other dragon-people began to chime in one by one.

“Gromon’s soul trades are already well-renowned. Haven’t they produced countless successful candidates? Such an opportunity doesn’t come very often. You should seize it.”

“Thank you, but I’d like to think about it a little more.”

“Think about it? You’re just wasting precious time…”

One of the dragon-people sighed; it was an outright expression of contempt.

“……………..”

Behind her mask, the princess clenched her jaw; the reasons she had to endure such reactions were clear.

First, there was little time left until the ascension ceremony, and any disturbance or delay would be disadvantageous to Hedera.

Second, since she hadn’t passed the ascension ceremony yet, the dragon-people’s status in the celestial realm was higher than Hedera’s.

Dragon-people were, as the name suggested, hybrids born between dragons and humans. Until Hedera passes the ascension ceremony and becomes a true dragon, she could never look down on them.

The problem was that their demands were quite unreasonable.

‘They’ll probably demand something outrageous in exchange for the soul trade.’

Hedera wasn’t a fool.

While it was true that Gromon had produced successful ascension ceremony candidates, those who entrusted their souls to him were still wandering the celestial realm as tormented spirits. She had no intention of meeting such an end, so why should she offer ridiculous treasures for such a fate?

“There’s still time before the ascension ceremony. I’ll dedicate myself day and night to push my own limits.”

“That’s out of the question. Why don’t you understand that it will be too late once you’ve pushed yourself to the limit? Also, Gromon is not a man who has the time to meet whenever you want.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ve never seen or heard of a case where a human has achieved something through their own strength. Even if there were such cases, I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it. Just make the trade.”

Hedera struggled to maintain her composure.

Was she not the Second Imperial Princess of the human world? Didn’t their words just imply that the human race itself was inferior? Their behavior had already gone far beyond the bounds of courtesy.

But regrettably, she couldn’t point out such behavior now. If it led to any disadvantages in the ascension ceremony, it would ultimately be Hedera’s loss.

For any being, the ascension ceremony was a one-time event.

Just once. There were no second chances.

Therefore, she had to pass it on the first try.

“I’ll get back to you after my training.”

“No, today is the last day for this offer. Every time we meet, we go back for the same reason, so I think it’s time to put an end to this conversation today.”

Gromon stepped in firmly.

“Princess, you’ve always sent us away saying you’ll try with your own power, that is, with human strength.”

“Yes.”

“Then this time, at least show us the possibility of human potential. If not, consider the letter of recommendation we discussed earlier off the table.”

“…………..!”

Hedera clenched her fist on her thigh.

The letter of recommendation was an additional point in the ascension ceremony. This was blackmail, holding it hostage, and it was clear that they were determined to close the deal today.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be you personally, Princess, but you must at least show potential that we dragon people can acknowledge. That’s what it would take for us to be convinced.”

Just as Hedera was about to say something—

“Second Imperial Princess! Second Imperial Princess!”

Suddenly, an urgent voice rang out.

And Hedera immediately opened the reception room door.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Imperial Treasury! There’s a problem in the Imperial Treasury!”

“The Imperial Treasury…?”

Hedera’s voice trailed off.

She had sensed an unusual mana earlier, and sure enough, it seemed an incident had occurred.

What worried her was that Ezekiel was there.

“The elemental stones inside the Imperial Treasury, that’s the problem! The elementals are suddenly rampaging en masse!”

Hedera was about to give calm instructions, but—

A voice cut in even faster.

“…Elemental rampage?”

It was Gromon.

He didn’t seem at all displeased that the conversation had been interrupted. Rather, he stroked his beard with interest.

“Princess, it seems we should go there immediately. If elementals are rampaging, it must be a serious matter.”

Hedera nodded as well.

“Yes. Then let’s continue our discussion later.”

Since it was a conversation she wanted to avoid anyway, this seemed preferable. With that thought, she was about to leave, but—

“Princess.”

Gromon stopped her, as if unwilling to let the matter drop.

“I’m curious about your recent progress with Dragon Speech. I believe a good opportunity has just presented itself.”

“………….!”

Hedera’s eyebrows twitched momentarily.

To casually disclose Hedera’s level of skill in front of the person who had just reported the incident was extremely rude.

Despite sensing Hedera’s obvious discomfort, Gromon continued nonchalantly.

“I’d like to see you subdue the elementals with Dragon Speech. Wouldn’t that be one way to demonstrate human potential?”

No, Dragon Speech cannot control emotions.

It might be possible to subdue the elementals by making them rigid with commands like ‘Stop’, but winning their hearts and calming them was an entirely different matter.

The dragon-people gathered here were well aware of this fact. They were simply making an unreasonable demand despite knowing it.

Hedera calmly suppressed her anger before speaking.

“…Let’s move for now.”

~~••~~••~~

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Imperial Treasury.

“Can you really subdue them like this…?”

Tether looked at Ezekiel with bewildered eyes.

— End of Chapter —

Translator’s Note :-

I have changed the word ‘dragons’ with ‘dragon-people’ to fit the context more. I believe Dragon/s will be used only to refer to True Dragons. Lets see.

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