Chapter 3: The Previous Dragon King
Ruri returned from Lydia’s domain and headed off to see Jade. She was anxious about meeting him face-to-face, but it was to gain permission to go into the city. She peeked inside of his office, where he usually was, but he was nowhere to be found. She searched all around until she managed to find him in his personal quarters.
“Oh, so this is where you were, Jade-sama.”
“Ah, Ruri. Just in time. I was just about to send for you,” Jade said, his cheeks pulling up into a tender smile.
His expression seemed much sweeter than usual, but perhaps her newfound knowledge about the meaning behind the dragonheart she’d received influenced her perception. She still wasn’t prepared to accept that meaning at face value, though. Although her heart was in disarray, she pretended to be none the wiser.
“What for?” Ruri asked, cocking her head. Then she noticed an unfamiliar man sitting across from Jade. His hair was somewhere between silver and white, shoulder-length and glistening, and his eyes were a deep purple that practically sucked you in. The coloring of both only emphasized his almost inhuman beauty.
(Holy cow, he’s so handsome. Neck and neck with Jade-sama, in fact. Who is he?)
He made eye contact, and the corners of his mouth rose into a sweet, soft smile—like an angel. Ruri bowed her head slightly, in lieu of a verbal response, as her heart began racing. The man rose from his seat, took her hand, and gently kissed the back of it.
“A pleasure to meet you. Your name is Ruri? Might you be the Beloved?”
Ruri silently nodded, cheeks flushed. She was completely taken in by the man before her. Jade, on the other hand, grimaced in displeasure and rose from his chair, yelling, “Master Quartz!”
Despite Jade’s tone, the man paid him no mind and smiled playfully. “Oh, come now. Where’s the harm? It’s not as if she’s your mate, right?” he said, hitting the nail on the head and silencing Jade. Jade was determined to put up a fight regardless and profusely wiped the back of Ruri’s hand.
The man watched Jade in great delight, nodding to himself as if he comprehended something. “I see. I see. You’ve finally found yourself someone good, haven’t you, Jade? Oh, is that thing around Ruri’s neck a dragonheart? Boy, it was just the other day you were yea high, but look at you now—all grown up.”
“‘Yea high’? And when was that, pray tell?” Jade quipped.
Wanting to skirt around the topic of the dragonheart, Ruri quickly interjected, “U-Um, excuse me! Sir, who might you be?”
Both of them looked her way at the same time.
“Yes, I still haven’t properly introduced myself. I am Quartz. It’s a pleasure,” Quartz said, presenting his hand and flashing an angelic smile charming enough to captivate all the ladies of the world.
Ruri took his hand out of instinct. She assumed he was a dragonkin based on his handsome features, but the only thing she knew was that and his name. It wasn’t until Jade elaborated further that Ruri’s eyes went wide in surprise.
“Master Quartz was the Dragon King before me,” Jade said.
“Huh? He is a Dragon King?!” Ruri blurted.
“Former,” Quartz corrected. “I left the Nation of the Dragon King for quite some time, but I came back once I heard news of a Beloved. And it seems that doing so has proved unexpectedly insightful. I actually planned on leaving again once I met you, but I think I’ll stay around for a while longer instead.”
“Oh, really?!” Jade asked, looking extremely happy. There was an innocent charm to his joy, almost like a puppy fawning over its owner. It seemed he was being more straightforward with his emotions than usual. Perhaps that was just how much Quartz meant to Jade. Nevertheless, Ruri recognized this slight change in Jade’s attitude. In fact, it vaguely reminded her of a certain someone.
“Really. I have a feeling that things might get amusing,” Quartz said, bouncing his eyes from Ruri to Jade with a playful wink. “Speaking of which, didn’t you come here for some specific reason? You were looking for Jade, weren’t you?”
“Oh, right! I almost forgot. I wanted to get permission to go out into the city.”
“For shopping?” Jade asked.
“Yes, technically shopping. I plan on buying some land to build my hot spring.”
Realizing that Ruri’s plans weren’t just empty talk and she was actually going to go through with it, a look of exhaustion crossed Jade’s face. “So, you were serious about that, huh?”
“Of course I’m serious! I’m going to popularize hot springs in the Nation of the Dragon King!”
“Hot Springs, eh?” Quartz said. “I’ve taken a dip in the ones in the Nation of the Beast King. They’re mighty fine. Makes you feel great. But is there a spring in the Nation of the Dragon King?”
Quartz was the first dragonkin to show a positive reaction, and it boosted Ruri’s excitement level. She was glad to have gained the backing of a like-minded individual. After all, the Nation of the Dragon King’s people wouldn’t understand the wonders of hot springs even if she explained it to them. They’d always reply that it was easier to clean themselves with magic. Although Ruri worried whether a nation like this would be receptive to hot springs, she was sure there were people who would be charmed by them like Quartz.
“I can apparently make it happen with the power of the spirits. I’d like to build it in the best spot in town so everyone can use it,” Ruri explained.
Unable to fully comprehend the appeal, Jade remained totally indifferent. “Well, the idea has merits and I don’t necessarily mind, but I’m assigning security to you if you’re going into town.” Even with Kotaro’s barrier in place, Jade needed to make sure she didn’t walk around by herself willy-nilly.
Ruri didn’t protest; she knew this would be a given. “In that case, maybe I should ask Joshua.” Since Joshua wasn’t really a stickler for following security to the letter, she knew she could enjoy herself without feeling cramped.
Jade, however, opposed the idea. “No, Joshua can’t.”
“Why is that?”
“He’s currently on a different assignment, meaning he’s not in the Nation of the Dragon King at the moment. If you’re going to pick, I’d suggest Ewan since Finn is most likely tied up with preparations for the tournament.”
“Oh, Joshua’s not here?” Despite all that pleading for some time off, Joshua was already out on a different task. Ruri could just picture him now, down in the dumps after throwing a fit over his predicament. Despite all his quibbling, he ultimately couldn’t get out of work. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break.
“Then I will ask Ewan,” said Ruri.
“Yes, do so,” said Jade.
“If you get the spring up, let me know,” Quartz added. “I’ll come take a dip.”
“Yes, sir,” Ruri replied. Then she left the room and headed toward Sector Five to meet Ewan.
Passions were running higher than usual at the Sector Five training grounds. It wasn’t Ruri’s imagination either; there was definitely more blood flying through the air than usual. She had gotten used to the sight of the dragonkin training, but even she felt the urge to about-face and leave. Everyone was probably getting fired up over the forthcoming tournament.
Ruri scanned the training grounds until she found Ewan and walked over to him.
“Ewan, I have a favor to ask. Do you mind?”
“What? I’m busy here,” Ewan snipped.
“Well, you sure don’t look it,” Ruri replied. Ewan didn’t seem to be doing anything aside from looking on as the soldiers trained. To be frank, he looked totally free.
“I’m supervising. These guys are getting way too riled up with the tournament around the corner. They’re likely to destroy the castle if they go out of control, so someone has to be here to jump in and stop them.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Ruri said. The carnage unfolding throughout the grounds convinced her of the merit in his role.
“So, what’s this ‘favor’?” Ewan asked.
“I want to go into town. Jade-sama said I could as long as I have security, so I’d like it if you came along.”
“Why don’t you ask Joshua or someone else?”
“He’s out at the moment. Apparently, he’s on assignment.”
“He’s always coming and going, huh? Where’s he off to this time?”
“Not sure,” Ruri said. She had only been told that he was out.
That was when Finn, who was also supervising the training grounds, joined the conversation. “If you’re talking about Joshua, then he went to Yadacain.”
“Yadacain?”
Ewan explained, “It’s the small island nation across the sea from the Nation of the Dragon King. It’s ruled by witches—users of sorcery passed through the ages. It’s also a nation forsaken by the spirits—at least, by all accounts, that is.”
The ominous words sprinkled throughout Ewan’s explanation caught Ruri’s attention. “What do you mean ‘a nation forsaken by the spirits’?”
“I’m sure you remember the Spirit Slayer magic,” Finn said. “The witches of Yadacain created it. The Spirit Slayer wiped out so many spirits that the world deemed it taboo, but the witches of Yadacain persisted in using it. Therefore, spirits stopped going near Yadacain, and it’s now known as a nation forsaken by the spirits.”
Spirit Slayer—the magic that tormented Ruri up till now—and the witches who crafted it... Only one thing popped into Ruri’s mind.
“Hey, do the witches and the Spirit Slayer have any connection with the Church of God’s Light?”
Finn’s face tensed as he replied, “That I do not know. However, His Majesty suspects there is some sort of connection with Yadacain, hence why Joshua has gone off to investigate.”
Joshua must have been entrusted with investigating Yadacain because he had firsthand knowledge of the incident in the Nation of the Beast King.
“But brother, will Joshua be all right?” asked Ewan. “I doubt he’ll be able to do much espionage in Yadacain.”
“What do you mean?” Ruri asked.
Ewan elaborated, “In the past, we had diplomatic relations with Yadacain. But ever since they began using Spirit Slayer and closed off their nation, we’ve ceased all interaction with them and severed our ties. We’ve sent a few of our intelligence operatives into Yadacain, but they’ve all complained about not being able to gather much information. Their people are extremely wary toward strangers—a possible result of prolonged isolation. That’s why we barely know anything about Yadacain as it is.”
“Doesn’t that mean they’ll suspect something if they find Joshua?” Ruri asked. “He’s an outsider to them, so that can’t be all right, can it? What if something bad happens to him?”
Joshua would most likely be able to manage considering who he was, but that wasn’t absolutely certain. That nation produced Spirit Slayer magic, making them a dangerous threat—even more so given their possible ties with the Church of God’s Light. The fact that no one had any idea what the nation was like due to the sparsity of information also spurred concerns.
“It will be all right. Joshua is an excellent intelligence operative. He’ll be coming home looking just as aloof as usual in no time,” Finn said, reassuringly patting Ruri on the head. “So, you’ll be going into town, yes? Ewan, keep a good eye on Ruri.”
“Of course, brother. No one will lay a finger on her with me around!”
“Right, I’m counting on you.”
Ruri noticed that Ewan, brother complex extraordinaire, practically wagged a nonexistent tail in joy. She pondered over the sense of déjà vu she got from looking at Ewan’s expression until she placed it—she had seen that exact same face not even a moment ago.
“Oh, it’s Jade-sama.”
“What’s the deal with you? What about His Majesty?” Ewan asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that I met the former Dragon King, Quartz-sama, a moment ago. The reaction Jade-sama had with him resembles you when you interact with Finn-san,” Ruri explained, noting that their absolute faith in the person they admired came across in their attitudes to an egregious degree.
“The previous Dragon King? I heard he just made his return. I’ve never met him before, though.”
Ewan didn’t seem to be very familiar with Quartz. Finn, however, flashed a wry grin. “His Majesty is like Ewan, is he? I suppose that comes with the territory. Master Quartz is to His Majesty as I am to Ewan. Due to the strength of his mana, His Majesty wasn’t adept at controlling his power. But since controlling mana is Master Quartz’s forte, he essentially took care of His Majesty. Because of that, His Majesty adores Master Quartz like an older brother.”
“Oh wow...” Ruri said, now comprehending the situation.
Jade would probably grimace to be compared to someone with such extreme brotherly adoration like Ewan, but the way he looked at Quartz indeed fit the bill. He wasn’t as blatant as Ewan by any means, but it was still apparent.
“If Quartz-sama is the former Dragon King and Jade-sama is the current one, then that means Jade-sama beat Quartz-sama in the tournament, right?” Ruri asked, thinking about how she would have liked to see that fight.
However, Finn denied her assumption, replying, “No, the two never fought.”
“But the winner becomes the next Dragon King, don’t they? Jade-sama said that a Dragon King’s entry is their duty.”
Finn frowned, but Ewan didn’t notice it and went on to explain, “His Former Majesty didn’t have a complete reign. In other words, he abdicated the throne without ever entering the tournament. So the two never faced each other in battle, and His Majesty won the tournament, becoming the next Dragon King. Apparently, His Former Majesty then left the nation and went to parts unknown until now.”
“Why did he abdicate the throne?” Ruri asked.
“Who knows? That was before I started working in the castle. Brother might know, though,” Ewan said, looking over at Finn. That was when he finally noticed the displeased expression on his brother’s face. “Brother?”
“Well, let’s just say things were complicated with Master Quartz. Very complicated.”
Both Ruri and Ewan looked at each other in confusion. However, suspecting that something had happened, and that Finn would rather not speak about it, they decided they shouldn’t pry any further and both ended up keeping their mouths shut.
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