6.1

John kept his brows low as he hurriedly retrieved a flyer—since he already decided he would give most of the workshops and mock classes a try. His restless eyes scanned at his surroundings for the girl who gave him the note.

Where is she?

The silver haired girl in question was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard he looked through the crowd he could not find her. Just as he was about to leave, Randolph’s voice reached his ears, “Hey, John, that was awesome earlier! Did you see the professor’s face? That’s what he gets for giving our Scy trouble!” accompanied by Gobbert, Randolph threw an arm over John with great familiarity.

“Huh. I guess so?”

“Aww, John. Don’t go all cold with us, that is supposed to be Scy’s trademark, him and his ‘I apologize profusely’ attitude, ahahaha... Don’t tell him I said that though.”

Gobbert then spoke, “Scywell took a liking to you and so he asked us to let you know. Feel free hang out with us anytime. Of course, you don’t have to if you are busy with other stuff.”

“Shouldn’t Scywell be the one telling me this in per—” John stopped when he looked to the back where Scywell was still busy getting away from a group of overly excited girls. “Right…nevermind. I see why he asked you two to tell me this. I’ll keep that in mind.”

John tried to make his leave once more, but a feminine voice that belonged to neither Gobbert nor Randolph halted him in his tracks, “Please do think about it at the very least, he isn’t as cold as he looks.”

“Oh, Helen? I thought you were going to fight other girls who try to claim your Scy?” Randolph turned towards the petite girl with caramel hair who appeared behind them.

“I trust him. They just like Scywell because of his hero title, and he knows it too, these things happen all the time, I am not as worried as I used to be. Besides…” she threw a glance backwards to where Scywell was, “…he has more important responsibilities to bear.

Helen Crestus, aside from being the mage and advisor of the hero’s party, was a person who selective with the acquaintances she made, word was that everyone who was not in her circle of friends she associated herself with would be disregarded by her without a second thought. But if one were to be close to her such as the hero’s party, she was like an elder sister who took care of you, according to Randolph.

And her she was trying to befriend John.

“Yeah, sure thing Helen, I will think about it. I liked talking to you guys too, so no worries. Thanks for telling me this, everyone.”

“Yes!” Gobbert made a fist pump when John agreed to their proposal, “In that case, join us—”

Helen held out a hand in front of Gobbert, stopping the him before he grabbed John’s shoulders “He has somewhere to go, Gobbert. Don’t be pushy.”

“Huh? John?”

“Y-yeah, I have plans.”

“Whaaaattt? John? What is the meaning of this? You already had plans!?” Randolph blurted out as though his dreams were crushed. “T-then…”

“Can’t it be later?” Gobbert lowered his expression.

“You two…” Helen formed a flat line across her mouth. “He was about to leave and has a note in his hands. It is obvious someone called out to him, no doubt a girl.”

“How’d you know, Helen? I mean, sure. John boy here does have an interesting face, that sable black hair and dark eyes of his sure is mysterious. But…a girl before me?”

Helen placed a hand on her forehead, “I don’t know Randolph, maybe because I happen to be a female myself? If you took your time to read between the lines, perhaps you might have noticed the few people that were interested in you.”

“Wait, wait, you never said anything about girls who liked me. Did you know about this, Gob?”

Gobbert shook his head, “Don’t look at me, I am too busy on the frontlines than to worry about things like romantic relationships.”

Upon realizing he failed to notice chances of having romance, Randolph pulled his hair in agony. “Ahhhhhhh!!! Helen, you could’ve at least told me about it! Who knows, I might be married by now if you had.”

“For starters Randolph, not all of them are female…”

Randolph’s spine shuddered at Helen’s unusually slow reply, “Y-you must be kidding right? N-none of them are female?”

“The females who like you tend to be the ditsy types, just like the ones that flocked around Scywell yesterday. I don’t think they what you want in for a wife, those girls that fall in love with any male they see will fall out of love just as easy.”

“My father did say, a woman that blindly flocks to any man is not worth keeping,” Gobbert added.

“I-if those are your opinions on them, I have no choice but to accept it. The last thing I need is to have someone to nag me to death when I am saving the world with Scy…”

Gobbert nodded, “Until you mentioned it, Helen. I did notice that it is much worse in the academy when compared to our travels. These girls pursue Scywell relentlessly without resting in between, the desperation to have him pay attention to them is surreal. I suppose that is why you were glaring at them yesterday, you must hate seeing these types chasing after him.”

“I was not! I was just weary of foreign spies— Oh, John, sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you here, don’t keep the other person waiting. Thanks for standing up for my Scywell earlier.”

John left the trio from the hero’s party as they to resume their heated conversation with a wave, then went towards the meeting place with the blue eyed girl.

He arrived at the proposed meeting place not long after passing through countless hallways and rooms. If he did not know any better, he would have searched the entire place, knocking on occupied rooms one by one just to find the room she was in. Fortunately for him, this intersection that connects East Wing and the Art Gallery was practically deserted, not a single soul could be seen walking in the hallways.

Ever since the implementation of the teleportation devices in the academy from a decade ago, places like this became unknown to many students, let alone frequented by them.

The possibility of being eavesdropped was impossible in places like these. He understood immediately that why she proposed such a place.

Based on people’s reaction towards his genuine question about dragons earlier, what he might learn from her was most likely contradictory to popular belief. And if word got out that dragons were in fact as powerful as he learned them to be, the credibility of the academy’s pool of knowledge might be in jeopardy.

He moved to a room which had the highest possibility where that note had indicated to. Unlike the others that were empty and filled with dust, this one had a strong presence to it.

He knocked and announced his presence, “I’ve got your note.”

“Come in,” the response from inside was quick, a bit too eager to reply to his voice.

With that, he moved pass the door and was greeted with the evening draft, his eyes adjusted to the sudden stoop of brightness and once it cleared, his body to a freeze.

Her silver hair…

Embodiment of the moon’s light, weaved into fine strands, all of it adorned as the hair of the girl before him, she had the same encompassing blue eyes which he got a close look Purefold town, the white silk dress fluttered lightly in the small wind that blew from the window as she turned to his direction.

“You are quick,” a blissful expression appeared on her soft face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was expecting you to arrive later. Nonetheless, I am extremely delighted that you responded to my note, John.”

She proceeded to lift the hems of her white silk dress, lowered her head slightly to portray an amiable demeanor before she introduced herself.

“I am Ephinelyth, a female Elder Dragon. Pleased to meet you.”

“What!?”

After running his mind over what the girl said to him in that polite stance, it was the only word that he could find to describe what she had told him.

An Elder Dragon? Like the one back then?

His heart palpitated at the reminder of the creature he encountered in Reperane Woods. Before him was a young girl of his age, not only her presence was soft and welcoming, she had zero physical resemblance to the domineering creature he met. But more importantly, he was shocked by her lack of features that distinguished herself to be even related to dragons.

“But you have no tail? Where are your horns?”

The girl was strong, he had expected her to belong to a powerful race from the very beginning, perhaps a wyvern so powerful that was able to manifest a human form, or even powerful spirit in the best case scenario.

But an Elder Dragon, the most extreme and powerful versions of dragons? It never crossed his mind.

“Even more so, what is that name? Ephinelyth? Is there a shorter version, something like Evie maybe, would be nice if it was shorter—” he bit his tongue before he voiced out anymore unfiltered thoughts.

In the world of dragons, their names were held in high in regard, it came to a point where only those who are important to them were allowed to use it when speaking to them. Otherwise, anyone who called them with their given name will be treated as a direct insult to said dragon.

And for John to so carelessly to criticize Ephinelyth who graciously revealed her birth name to him in hopes of a friendly relationship was nothing short of disrespect.

“Wait, wait, wait, I didn’t mean any hostility by that, I was just…”

Before John could correct himself, the dragon girl giggled, “Ufufu. You have no reason to apologize. So be it, call me Evie as your heart desires, that is a good name.”

She’s not angry but amused? The tension built up in him disappeared when he saw her crinkled face.

“Epinelyth, regarding—”

“John, I insist you call me by the nickname you’ve granted me.”

“Evie, regarding you being an Elder Dragon, how would I know that is true and not just empty words?”

“Hmm?”

“Because you look…like this!?” he gestured his hands towards her whole body, indicating his point that she had the looks of a young girl. When looked closely, it was more than that, not only her face was beautiful, her body was also—

He shook his head and snapped himself from letting his mind going of course.

That’s not it! She is a human girl no matter how you look at it!

“This is but a form I have assumed, does it bother you that I look like this?”

“That’s not what I meant. I admit you look nice, but…” he was starting to question himself as to why he was so worked up over something so trivial. He was able to accept her having a human form, but for some reason, when the word Elder Dragon was attached to Evie and her appearance, he found it difficult to take in her lack of tail and horns.

“I am in complete control over my appearance, this is the form that I choose to appear in front of most. Of course, if you really wanted proof…”

Evie raised one of her hands, her delicate fingers then formed into sharp claws, her porcelain skin replaced with white scales and her limb resembled more of the reptilian arm that dragons had.

“...Then there is also this.”

A white tail extended from Evie’s behind, it slithered to John then gently set itself to his waist, lifted him slowly off the ground and pulled him to her side. She then lowered her head and showed him a pair horns atop her silver hair.

“Convinced?”

“Yeah. Somewhat. It does make sense why you sent that note earlier given that you are a dragon yourself,” when John nodded, she snapped her fingers and all of her dragon traits disappeared along with the smile on her face.

“R-right, the note, you are here for that… Firstly, I need to ask you. Do you think it is possible for a hero like that human who keeps lackeys to even come close to dragons in terms of power? Let alone an Elder Dragon.”

“Lackeys—” John stopped at that but decided it was her way of speech and continued. “No, not at all. Scywell does not come close to the adventurers I have seen. Maybe a small fraction but it is still a big no. Maybe when he will be when he is more experienced?”

“Are you aware that there are two other beings that can only be considered equal in power of the dragons?”

“By that, you mean demons and gods?”

“Precisely. The subordinate of gods are angels and subordinates of demons are devils. Unlike them, the dragon society at large have three hierarchies instead of two. Mainly, dragonborns, dragons and Elder Dragons. Dragonborns are what is classified as beastkin belonging to the dragon race, they follow orders that come from the hierarchy above. Just like those you have seen chasing me in Purefold Town.”

“Ah, so it was you then!” John hit a fist onto his palm.

His victorious stance caused Evie to bite her tongue out of embarrassment “Y-yesh… I admit we’ve met long before today.”

“But weren’t they lizardman? I remember no one could see them. And how did I see all of you back then when everyone else couldn’t?”

“Those were simply disguises in case their presence were caught on by others. Regarding you seeing me, isn’t that your own ability? You even saw through the [Presence Erasure] spell that was casted by an Elder Dragon like me, that was why I was more surprised then.”

“So you admit it was not the first time you ran away from me yesterday night?”

“I… That’s mean of you to phrase it like that. I can’t help that I am shy at times.”

“Shy? You are one of the strongest beings alive.”

“…Maybe you would think so, but it is not every day you would find something worth your time,” Evie looked away from him before the redness on her cheeks were evident to him.

“So being an Elder Dragon means that you are centuries old, and you are still shy after so long.”

“How rude! I am only 18 in human years! If anything, you are older than me!” the dragon girl made a pout in protest to his accusation.

“H-hang on, how’d you know I am older than you?”

“I… That’s o-only natural! I can know it from just how your mana flows! For your information, you look and smell old, John, not me!”

“Pfft, everyone knows you don’t base age of looks. I personally know a few centuries old elves and they look like they are in their twenties for crying out loud.”

An unspeakable silence formed as they stared each other off while they argued about the topic of aging.

Evie was the first to break the silence with a giggle “Hehehe, you may be older than me but you act so much like a child.”

“Imagine a being little girl who thinks herself to be mature, when in fact she is extremely sensitive about her age.”

“I-I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea! You assumed that I am old, I had to say something! And you implied me being shy is unnatural…”

John had his two hand in front of him, “Hey, I am not the one who claimed to be an Elder Dragon. Anyone one with a logical brain would associate the word elder with old people.”

“That is not true!” she stomped a foot on the ground at him.

“Not. Shy. Ahahaha, okay, now you are acting your age, Miss Elder Dragon.”

“Arghh, stop teasing me…” flustered by his comment, she shut her eyes in embarrassment.

“Fine, fine, let’s go back on topic on why you are an Elder Dragon?”

Evie calmed her breath, eased her shoulders, and straightened her face, once she composed herself she continued to explain.

“We are only called Elder Dragons because our powers increase in exponential amounts with age.”

“Oh? So you are saying when you’ve become an old hag you would be able to take over the world?”

“T-that’s not it! That kind of power only exists under special conditions…” her voice faltered, becoming softer and much more inaudible, it was equivalent of a child muttering a precious dream of theirs out loud. “…you know, the purpose that we are born with or the path we chose to take on…”

“Evie. About what the professor said earlier and what people assumed. About the Elder Dragon being slain by a hero, was it false?”

“…”

“Because according to how everyone perceived it, it seems to carry some truth.”

Her blue eyes became distant, sunk into their sockets while she looked away from him. After a few seconds of unnerving silence, she spoke, “I wish it was false. Unfortunately, only the part where a hero was involved was falsified. My mother—An Elder Dragon indeed died years ago,” the skies darkened as she spoke in earnest, reflecting what most likely was her inner emotions regarding that manner, about the immutable fact that she was separated from the maternal figure who nurtured her ever since she was but a child.

When she faced John again her expression was like the dark clouds outside, lonely and fleeting as the wind dispersed them to a faraway place where none could reach.

What would John do if he were her? When someone he loved died, would he mourn? Would he rage at himself for not being able to do anything? Would it hurt as much when Raina chose to let him go?

He moved to stand beside her and did the best he could to muster up something that he had been thinking for the past months.

“I… I used to think that I know how my future will turn out to be… But that is not how reality is, no matter how much I wish to return to a time where it was possible for me to mindlessly wonder about senseless things like ‘What type of food will I be eating today?’ or ‘How can I slack off on the next job that I am assigned to do.’ But that is no longer the case.”

“John…”

“For reasons that are out of my control, my life is no longer as it was before,” his voice cracked ever so little, but he steadied onward with his words. “But that’s why I keep going on…i-in the hopes that one day I will be in the same happy spot that I used to be in, even if it’s a little. I don’t think it is the same as your mother’s death…but if it means anything, I understand where you are coming from.”

A’vetheas becoming a thing of his past? He tried to convince himself that all this time, to make peace with it and move on without letting obstructing his new life. But the truth is, somewhere deep within him, he wanted to climb back to the Elven Palace and lived his life back there.

Alas, the throbbing sensation in his heart still remains whenever he dug up the incident of exile, but instead of letting it get the better of him and drag him down, he accepted them as another emotional scar that would heal with time.

This is a pain I will carry for myself. I accept.

Not a moment after John spoke Evie wrapped herself around him, head buried in his chest.

“Evie?” he uttered her name out of surprise, they have gotten to know the other today, but she was now attaching herself onto him like a long lover whom she made an alibi with.

“Thank you…”

They remained in such a position for a long moment, with John standing there as Evie hugged him like a pillow. When she was done, Evie slowly removed herself from him, lifted his lowered head to look in her direction.

“This certainly proved your time’s worth, did it not?” her mood was visibly improved from their embrace, so John made no comment on her sudden attempt to hug him. If anything, he was still surprised at the large soft sensations that were pressed on his torso moments ago. As someone who was not too fond of being embraced by others, especially

“I benefitted a lot. In more ways than you think…”

“Is that so?” she spoke teasingly. “Was my embrace that comfortable?”

“In any case! Turns out what you’ve told me sparked more questions that I anticipated. Like, why would people cover up the fact that heroes are weaker than dragons, let alone an Elder Dragon? That doesn’t sit right with me, no matter how you look at it.”

“Even at the face of uncomfortable truths, you ponder over everything, how commendable. But I agree, there is much more than meets the eye, I was just as confused as you were when the professor spoke of my kind in a trivial manner.”

“I blame you for my curiosity, Evie.”

“I simply provided the knowledge you sought, you were the one who has a curious personality, ufufu,” she let out a giggle when John rolled his eyes and tried to ague back. “What do you say to keep these moments to ourselves and keep meeting with the other?”

HIs face lit up at her proposal, “For real? You would tell me more? About other things like demons and all that?”

Her face blushed at how excited he had become, “Knowledge is the least I c-can share with you. I-if y-you are interested…I can show you how I use my magic, and t-teach you if you want to?”

“Yes, Evie! I would love to.” his reply was determinant.