Black Badger - Chapter 379



Only Noblemtl

379. Wings (1)

The dragon didn’t immediately explain why.

Instead, he started talking about people he knew.

The names of life forms that live less than a thousand years do not easily reach their ears, living a life close to eternity. It was not enough to simply be outstanding. It had to shine brightly enough to dominate a generation and obscure the light of other stars.

“For your information, I call everyone in the Empire and here humans. I won’t make a complicated distinction, so just understand.”

Then, he accepted the cocoa that Ami offered and continued his story.

He told stories of those he had known in the Empire. The vast lands and the cool areas where no human foot had set foot. There, he had been lazy and had not paid much attention to the lives of humans.

He knew the names of only a handful of humans.

Emperor. The eldest of the great wizards. The first to become a child of the World Tree.

The first to kill a dragon. A chieftain who lived in a snowy field covered in ice.

Kisses.

Kairos.

“We are told that he was the first human to serve a dragon.”

The dragon met Kairos’ eyes and smiled.

A smile appeared on the lips of the man who had not shown any particular expression until now.

Kairos bowed his head politely.

“It is an honor.”

“You lost your eyes to poison.”

The dragon said, sipping his cocoa.

“What were you trying to do?”

“It’s closed.”

As Kairos answered politely, Bingryong’s hand holding the cup stopped for a moment.

The creature, slowly putting down the cup of cocoa, was still smiling.

“You must have lost your eyes because you did it even once. You were the first to serve the Dragon Clan. There’s a reason why your name is known to us.”

“thank you.”

“And the yellow-eyed archmage.”

“Are you talking about Cecil?”

“Yes. There are three yellow-eyed sword masters.”

The dragon finished speaking, looking down at his large mug.

“Kyle. Ray Renouard. And finally, you. Hildebert Taleb.”

It seems like my name is stuck in the middle of such a strong field.

The dragon let out a small laugh, wondering if his thoughts had been revealed.

“When those blessed by the World Tree walked the path of the sword, you wouldn’t know that we had arranged a tea time for the first time in a long time.”

For a moment, I didn’t quite understand what he was saying.

“Are you saying that you and the Ice Dragons had tea time because of us?”

“How many Swordmasters were in the Empire?”

“There are ten people.”

Five in the Empire. Five outside the Empire.

Those who were in the non-Imperial territories lost their lives one by one before the world was covered in pollution and fire. Some went missing, some were defeated by illness, some died in the duels between Swordmasters, and some were caught up in the flames of war.

“I only knew the names of the four of them. The man who was considered the most outstanding among the Sword Masters, and the three who had golden eyes. We kept an eye on the exceptionally outstanding ones among the children of the World Tree. Sword Masters are those who can overthrow a country. The children of the World Tree are also the same. And the ones with yellow eyes have even become Sword Masters.”

“I had no idea. To my shame, I only just found out that polymorphism is possible.”

“Because we hate interference. Only those who lack the arrogance typical of humans and are skilled in magic and monsters know that Bingryong is different from other dragons.”

A cup of cocoa was placed on the table.

We listened to the dragon’s story in silence. Now, the seniors’ bodies were much more relaxed. The tension and worry they had shown when they rushed into the base were gone.

There is still no answer to the question Yoon posed.

The dragon spoke leisurely.

“Actually, from that time on, I was most interested in you.”

I can’t even guess why.

“May I ask why? Of all the people mentioned, I seem to be the least interesting.”

“The only child of the twisted world tree. He was blessed, but did not try to use it. He grew up in the temple and inherited the holy sword, but he cut down the sacred tree with it.”

Ah. Are you curious about the unique misfortune?

Just as I was about to understand, the dragon smiled faintly.

“Your story was told that way during tea time, but I was more impressed by your battle that another dragon brought to the crystal ball.”

Is that possible?

My swordsmanship is definitely inferior to Kishi’s.

Kyle and Ray have always been about the same level of skill… .

“Your swordsmanship is beautiful.”

I blinked.

“Like the wings of a pure white bird.”

Blood rushed to his face.

I could tell my face was flushed without even looking in the mirror.

I looked down, trying to keep my composure so as not to stutter like an idiot.

“thank you.”

“What I’m asking for is nothing special.”

After a small greeting, the dragon finally answered.

“I’ll just do two things for you. First, when your condition improves, can you show me that swordsmanship in front of my eyes?”

I was surprised at how easy the request was.

I raised my head and answered.

“Of course.”

“Good. I sometimes think of your swordsmanship. Each dragon has different tastes, but I think your swordsmanship is the best swordsmanship I’ve seen in three thousand years.”

You shouldn’t show that you’re too happy.

It seemed like a miserable failure. It had been a long time since I had received praise for my sword, so I had difficulty controlling my facial expressions.

I’m kind of happy.

Even though I’ve seen people say that I’m good at swordsmanship or react in awe to my swordsmanship, I usually don’t even know what swordsmanship is.

There were now only three people who knew. Seunghyun Lee, Yehyun Lee, and Jonathan Kudo.

The rich man was practically my disciple, so he had no place to praise me. Jonathan and I were extremely careful about evaluating each other’s swordsmanship. First of all, our swordsmanship was very different. Jonathan’s sword was much more delicate and sophisticated than mine.

A technique that emphasizes sharpness rather than strength. A sword technique that is not used in the Empire, and that cannot be walked on the path of the Sword Master. I thought his sword technique was also good. Jonathan is a good swordsman. He does not neglect his training and it seems that he loves the sword.

That’s why they kept a tacit respect for each other’s swords and didn’t say much.

In other words, it had been a long time since he had heard praise for his sword.

That too, is praise from someone who has seen all sorts of swordsmanship for 3,000 years… .

“It is an honor.”

“No way. I’m the one looking forward to it.”

“What is your second request?”

I tried hard to continue the conversation without being taken in by the compliments.

The dragon smiled brightly.

“Oh, that’s not too hard. Can you take a picture with me?”

“Yes? Is that what you want?”

“Please, please upload the pictures you took to my account.”

her?

This time I really didn’t understand what he was saying.

I must have had a stupid face. I saw other people come to their senses first and ask questions.

Amy said.

“Is this your DK account?”

“yes.”

“Is DK coming back?”

Amy put down her cup of cocoa.

“Are you reuploading the video?!”

“I think I slept well during the day.”

“I’m sorry to ask, but I think I’ll have to go back to Center Core and check if they can grant your request.”

Surprisingly, it was Kairos who joined the conversation.

I turned my head and saw a red-haired man standing near me, holding his backpack. The minister was looking down at the minor-looking dragon with a friendly smile.

“Because I have to go through DK’s reputation verification process. I know it may be unpleasant, but I ask for your understanding. It is a mandatory process… . I will also need approval from Black Badger.”

“okay?”

I made a stupid sound.

“Do I have to be that careful? I took a picture of you and uploaded it without permission.”

“If you’re going to be on a million-follower account, you have to be careful. Don’t worry. I’ll ask my old manager to figure out if it’s okay to post it. Reputation management is important. You have a high profile.”

“Am I still well known?”

“There’s also a Hilde fan page!”

Huh?

At Ami’s words, I turned my head towards her.

I was about to ask how I could have a fan page when I’m not a celebrity, influencer, or sports star, when ARMY shouted at me.

“Fan page followers exceed 100,000!”

“How come I have a fan page? I don’t even use social media and I’m not a public figure.”

When asked again, Ricardo and Yoon suddenly let out a heavy sigh.

why.

What did I do wrong again? I rolled my eyes in confusion and looked at the two seniors.

Naturally, they seemed to have no intention of explaining anything.

Both of them looked up into space as if to say, “That’s what happens when that kid does that?”

Meanwhile, the dragon was not offended.

“My account reputation isn’t that bad. My offline shows are always sold out. It’s not like I disappeared because of a problem.”

“Is that so?”

Kairos looked at Ami and asked.

Ami shut her mouth and tilted her head to one side.

“I don’t know… I just watched the videos that came up sometimes. I just know that they disappeared at some point.”

“Go back and look for it. There’s nothing that would be a problem.”

“But why are you stopping?”

If your goal is to bring up the topic, wouldn’t it be more meaningful to take a picture with Kairos rather than me?

The dragon rested his chin on his hand and smiled, perhaps understanding the words that were not spoken aloud.

“I don’t know anything about F1. I know that the author is famous enough to know the name Blackjack even though I don’t know anything about it, but I like you more for becoming famous by risking your life to save a small human being.”

“…thank you.”

It’s so well-made it’s embarrassing.

“You can go back and answer the photo question.”

To dragons, whose lifespan is virtually indefinite, humans are ultimately a short-lived species.

Even if there were those who did not age, it was the same. The dragon made his position clear without revealing his real name. He liked my swordsmanship and liked me saving small beings, so he would help me restore the leaf veins. But that was as far as it went.

I’ve heard that there’s been some internal strife among the Sword Masters, but I’m not that curious about it.

“thank you.”

After greeting politely, he stood up from his seat.

Then he looked back at his seniors who were about to get up from their seats and said.

“Can I go alone?”

The badgers stared at me.

I smiled bitterly as I met the gazes flying towards me.

“The pain doesn’t go away just because you’re by my side, right?”

“I can hold your hand.”

Amy said quietly.

“You don’t want to show that you’re sick?”

“yes.”

When I answered firmly, the corners of Ami’s eyebrows drooped.

I wanted to pat her head, but Ami didn’t like having her head patted. So I just smiled apologetically.

The seniors each have an expression on their face as if they are holding back what they want to say.

Kairos turned his head and looked at me.

“It would be really horrible.”

“I tasted it a little while ago and it was like that.”

“I’m waiting.”

The minister smiled sadly and made way for me to go down the hallway.

“You just have to hold out for about 10 hours.”

10 hours?

It all felt like a distant memory.

Isn’t it too long?

***

Hildebert was horrified when he heard that it would take ten hours and insisted on receiving the mana infusion somewhere other than his bedroom.

The point was that if he were toiling away for 10 hours straight, wouldn’t they have nowhere to sleep?

Hildebert threw a tantrum about moving the bed to another room until Ricardo, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up in a sharp voice.

Finally, Ricardo shot back:

“Are you telling me to just sleep while you’re sick? I know exactly how you view us~….”

Hildebert tends to be particularly intimidated by Ricardo.

The man with the golden eyes surrendered immediately.

“sorry.”

After mumbling, I went to the bedroom obediently.

“Then I will go and get treatment.”

It’s been two and a half hours since I went in for treatment.

From the beginning, those who came to Antarctica had no intention of granting Hildebert’s request.

Ricardo got up from the chair he had been lazily reclining on.

“I’ll be back soon… .”

It was something said to Yoon, and Yoon did not stop it.

A man walks out into the hallway, carrying a small towel.

Ricardo walked into the room where the dragon and Hildebert were.