“Are you sure that is what the Void Territory wants?”
Upon hearing his younger sister’s report, Ion’s expression remained unchanged. Erin nodded in response, gazing at Ion through the magic illusion anxiously. She reported all the progress and result of the earlier negotiation to her big brother and was, in fact, feeling somewhat depressed deep down in her. It was due to the fact that the Country of Darkness had as though suffered a double loss: among the four legendary generals, one was dead and another gravely injured. Not only that, but the Country of Darkness also had to hand over the ‘Astral Telescope’, known as a national treasure. On the other hand, what did the Void Territory contribute? Nothing. At the very least, they would stop looking into the matter of the Country of Darkness invading the Void Territory earlier on. But the problem was that the incident didn’t cause any huge damage to the Void Territory apart from the uninhabited forest being destroyed and becoming a total mess. There was neither any building in the Land of Atonement damaged nor civilians implicated or dead due to the ‘accident’. On the other hand, the Country of Darkness ‘sacrificed’ several squads of elite troops and even Balende’s arm was left behind… This didn’t seem like a fair transaction at all. The Country of Darkness had suffered a huge loss.
If this were to happen in other places, perhaps the ruler would be forced to step down from office soon. If it happened in the Country of Light, maybe the people would start protests on the streets, holding up banners to rebuke the ruler, before staging a sit-in in the plaza and eventually landing themselves in a clash against the guards that arrived to maintain order. Then, the opposition party seized the opportunity to wantonly criticize the foolishness and incapability of the ruler and gather all people together to overthrow the weak, useless ruler… But it was a pity that such scenarios were rare in the Country of Darkness. Perhaps some undead creatures were also discontent, but they would never sway the prestige of Dark Dragon Ion.
This was the case, at least for now.
“… What made you make that decision?”
Ion didn’t express any emotion to Erin’s report and one couldn’t decipher if he agreed or disagreed. However, Erin didn’t have many choices as she was pressured from both sides. The prestige on the other side was tough for her to manage, but what about here? Erin knew that her big brother was an unyielding man. Even though Erin felt like the result of the negotiation wasn’t unacceptable, she wasn’t the Dark Dragon, after all. She wasn’t confident if Ion would accept the suggestion wholeheartedly. After all, apart from substantial losses, the most unbearable was the damage to Ion’s ‘reputation’ and her big brother was one who regarded reputation highly. Even though he wasn’t that on edge about reputation, Erin felt like he wouldn’t be able to accept this result so easily after being ‘slapped on the face’.
“This was what happened, Big Brother. There was an important reason that affected my decision-making and that wasn’t due to His Majesty Rhode…” Erin said and quickly read the intelligence she gathered about the young lady. She had no intentions of flattering or belittling the young lady but instead, she stood on her own point of view and told everything she felt about the young lady to her big brother. After hearing her narration, Ion’s expression changed slightly for the first time. He blinked, gazed at Erin, and asked, “Are you sure? Erin, based on what we know, there couldn’t possibly be a second Creator Dragon in the Void Territory.”
“I’m sure, Big Brother. I don’t know if she’s a Creator Dragon, but I’m sure that she exudes a massive aura stronger than His Majesty Rhode’s.” This time, it was rare that Erin didn’t speak the truth. Perhaps it should be said that she was smart enough to not compare the young lady to her big brother. Of course, this wasn’t a lie either. The young lady’s dragon’s prestige was indeed stronger than Rhode’s. But… Erin didn’t mention before that Rhode’s dragon’s prestige was weaker than Ion, that is.
“Couldn’t that young lady be him? You know it, Erin. If it were him, it wouldn’t be strange that he dresses up as a woman.”
It seemed like Rhode’s certain ‘rumor’ had spread all over the continent. No one knew what sort of expression Rhode would display when he knew about this.
“Their temperaments were entirely different and besides, it was obvious from their body figures. This young lady was slightly shorter than Rhode. Even though there was a chance that he used illusory spells, those spells aren’t effective on me. Moreover, I don’t think this would benefit him in any way.” It was apparent that Erin had already made such guesses. Although illusory spells existed in the Dragon Soul Continent, they were meaningless in the face of one of Erin’s caliber. After all, they were high-level beings who grasped the rules. Perhaps illusory spells were able to deceive the eyes and senses, but they couldn’t trick the rules themselves. Furthermore, for Rhode to purposely turn himself into a woman just to negotiate with Erin… Erin didn’t think that it was too possible because she was clear that Rhode hated it when others treated him as a woman. It would be bizarre if he were to turn himself into a woman.
“So where’s Rhode then?”
“I haven’t met His Majesty Rhode recently. According to Miss Marlene, he left to run some errands, which was why the young lady took his place to negotiate with me. I didn’t feel anything strange at first because His Majesty Rhode often does such things.” Erin didn’t feel like anything was out of place regarding this matter. In the past, she personally witnessed the difference between Rhode and her big brother in the Deepest Labyrinth and learned that Rhode was a ruler who enjoyed roaming about. Therefore, she didn’t suspect Marlene’s explanations too much. If there was anything worthy of being doubted, that would be the appearance of the young lady being too timely. This was because in the past, no one had ever heard of her existence around Rhode, and not even his closest subordinates were aware of her. However, the thought of another formidable person suddenly emerging around Rhode and no one knowing about her seemed too mysterious.
“…”
Ion didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he shut his eyes and pondered in silence. Upon seeing his expression, Erin solemnly waited for his response. No matter if he agreed or not, this perhaps would be an extremely challenging task to her. But after a few moments, she witnessed her big brother opening his eyes gradually which glinted with determined gaze. Erin tensed up instantly. She knew what this meant. He was about to make a decision that would never change.
“I agree.”
Erin heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing his reply. A few moments ago, she was worried that he would object. If that happened, Erin would need to mention the other condition despite its chances being even higher, that is. But now, since her big brother had agreed, she didn’t need to worry about things that wouldn’t happen anymore. However, she didn’t expect him to continue speaking.
“But I have a condition.”
“Condition?”
Erin’s expression changed slightly, gazing curiously at her big brother and sighed in her head. Big Brother sure is competitive.
Even though Ion had agreed on the surface, he definitely wasn’t feeling great inside. Perhaps he was about to come up with ideas to vent his frustrations. But even so, Erin didn’t have any solution to deal with it and could only helplessly let him be. Upon hearing his younger sister’s query, Ion nodded.
“Yes, I can give them the Astral Telescope since they want it. But, they have to come here and get it themselves!”
“This…”
Upon hearing Ion’s response, Erin knitted her brows. But shortly after, her eyes glinted in a flash and the corners of her lips perked up to form a gentle, yet cunning smile because she understood why her big brother mentioned this condition and his intention behind it.
“Okay, Big Brother. I will be sure to pass the message for you.”
Of course, Erin knew what Ion was plotting. He wanted to personally take a good look at the young lady and confirm her true power, which Erin would also be glad to see happen. Once Ion and the young lady met, he could sense her powerful prestige and through this way, he would surely reconsider his plans. Although Ion was unyielding, he wasn’t foolish. If he knew that there were two powerful Creator Dragons in the Void Territory, he would definitely hold back. In this aspect, Erin felt rather confident. If not, Ion would have started a war with the Country of Law a long time ago. It was due to this reason that with the intention to watch a good show, Erin was spontaneous in handing the ‘invitation’ over.
***
“… Is that so? Alright, I understand now.”
After hearing Erin’s message, the young lady maintained a calm, gentle smile, quietly gazing at the moon princess. After a few moments, she nodded slightly.
“Please inform His Majesty Dark Dragon that I accept his invitation. Alright then, let’s set the meeting to be two days later. I will head to the Darkness Capital on the day of three full moons.”
“…”
Upon hearing her reply, Erin was deeply startled even though she didn’t say anything in response. This so-called ‘day of three full moons’ was when the three moons entered the state of full moon at the same time. On this day, in the Country of Darkness, the strength and vigor of every being including the Dark Dragon would rise dramatically and the nation would be considered to be in an invincible state where even the twin dragons had to avoid them. However, Erin didn’t expect this seemingly-kind young lady to be so persistent. It was apparent that she understood why she was invited, so wouldn’t it be a problem for her to initiate heading to the Country of Darkness during this day?
“I got it, Your Majesty. Alright then, I’ll head back to report to His Majesty Ion now. The Country of Darkness will welcome your arrival on the day of three full moons.”
After calming her nerves, Erin nodded in response. Since this young lady had specially chosen to head to the Country of Darkness on that day, it proved that she was more than confident to deal with the Dark Dragon in his peak form. Since that was the case, it seemed like Ion’s plans were going to be fruitless this time around too. But to Erin, such small ‘failures’ were what she loved to see. This was why she didn’t say much and instead, bowed respectfully and turned around to leave.
“I didn’t expect this at all. Just like the saying goes, ‘to travel far and wide looking for something, only to find it easily’.”
Rhode spoke, drifting in midair leisurely and gazing at the shrinking back of Erin. Earlier on, he tried to come up with some reasons to send his younger sister to the Country of Darkness to ‘entertain’ the Dark Dragon. It would be ideal if she could enrage him into a stroke. But back then, he was only imagining it. After all, he didn’t have any reasons to wander around the Country of Darkness. But now, since Ion came knocking on his door, he didn’t mind accepting this feast.
“I’ll leave it to you to settle him. I have high hopes for you, okay?”
“Of course, Big Brother. Leave it to me.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s words, the young lady showed a warm, gentle smile and nodded.
“I know what the heir of the Dark Dragon is thinking. It seems like our Void Territory is being looked down upon. But this time, I will make the heir understand the rules.”
This is truly her mighty aura.
After hearing his younger sister’s words, Rhode sighed in his head. Just look at how she called Ion the ‘heir of the Dark Dragon’. She didn’t put him on the same level as her at all. He felt as though she was like the older generation look down at the high-spirited younger generation and lamenting, “Yes, not bad. No wonder that’s the heir of XXX.”
If the Dark Dragon were to hear how Rhode’s younger sister addressed him, would he rage and be driven to desperate actions? Rhode would be truly delighted. But…
“You have to be careful. After all, you’re not in perfect condition, so don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t go if you can’t take the stress, since it’s not like we can’t afford to lose that man.”
That’s right, just like what Rhode was worried about, his younger sister’s power was gradually declining. Even though they swapped places after the ‘contrast’ transformation, the change in power wasn’t too huge as only a partial of Rhode’s power was forcefully transferred to his younger sister. It was due to this reason that his younger sister possessed more powerful prestige than him. But as time passed, her power would slowly return to him and after this process was completed, Rhode would return to this world.
Although Rhode was sure that Ion wouldn’t resort to shameless tactics with his personality, he knew how annoyingly powerful the Country of Darkness would be on the day of three full moons. The thought of sending his slowly-weakening younger sister to a place full of ‘drug addicts’ didn’t feel safe to him. If she couldn’t handle it, he would rather her not go. Anyway, Rhode didn’t care much about his reputation. As long as there were practical benefits, he wouldn’t mind being looked down upon since there was nothing for him to lose.
“It’s fine, Big Brother.”
His younger sister shook her head and assured him.
“The Astral Telescope is a very important device. For safety, it will be better for me to check it out. Even though I don’t think the heir of the Dark Dragon will meddle with it, a long time has gone, after all, and no one knows if it is still in perfect condition. I have initially thought of looking for it myself and since I was invited, we shouldn’t miss this chance. Besides…”
Suddenly, the young lady revealed a cheeky smile, narrowed her eyes, and gazed slyly at Rhode.
“Have you forgotten, Big Brother? I told you that if you’re lucky, you may even bring back a holy sword spirit.”
“For some reason, I feel like it isn’t something great after seeing this expression of yours…”
Even though this was inspiring news from his younger sister, Rhode didn’t feel excited at all because he knew his younger sister was a peculiar person. Although she was clever and sensible most of the time, she was hard to deal with when it came to her teasing others. And now, even though this expression of hers seemed adorable, Rhode knew clearly that this was the first step of her watching a good show from the sideline. Anyway, it would be Rhode who would be summoning the holy sword spirit, so naturally he would be the one to get into trouble, wasn’t it?
“… What funny ideas do you have in your mind?”
“I don’t, Big Brother. The holy sword spirit is well-tempered, so I believe you two will get along well.”
For some unknown reason, Rhode felt like this sentence was full of danger.
But before he managed to learn the truth from his younger sister, the day of three full moons had arrived.
And he would be joining his younger sister in heading to the Darkness Capital to meet the Dark Dragon.
