There was a slight change in the movement in the air before its nose, which woke the Dragon whose alias was the Platinum Dragon Lord â Tsaindorcus Vaision â from his light slumber.
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What filled its  waking consciousness was the emotion of surprise. It would not have been a stretch to call it shock, even.
The keen sensory abilities of Dragons far exceeded those of humanity. Even if their foes concealed themselves or tried to deceive them with illusions, Dragons could instantly sense their opponents from far away, even when they were sound asleep.
As a Dragon Lord, his senses were more acute than that of the average Dragon. That being the case, anyone who could come this close to himself must be possessed of incredible abilities.
Even a long-lived being like himself only knew of a few beings with such abilities. First were its fellow Dragon Lords. Then, one of the Thirteen Heroes who was no longer in this world, the assassin Ijaniya. And then, there wasâ
As he sensed the person his mind was sketching, Tsaindorcus Vaision â Tsa, for short â quirked up the corner of its mouth and slowly opened its eyes.
To the eyes of a dragon, the darkest night was as the brightest day.
In front of the presence which he had sensed was an old human woman standing proudly, with a stylish by her waist. She had evaded his keen senses and come all the way here â a pranksterâs smile spread over her age-wrinkled face.
âItâs been a while.â
Tsa did not answer, simply regarded the old lady.
Her head of white hair showed how long she had lived. However, her face overflowed with a childish vibrance on her face which did not match her years.
Age might have made her skinny and weak, but it had not changed her heart.
Tsa compared how she was now to how she had been in her memories. The old ladyâs brows stood up, at a dangerous angle.
âWhatâs this? Canât even spare a greeting for an old friend? Oh my, to think even Dragons could go senile.â
Tsa bared his fangs and laughed amiably.
âForgive me. Seeing an old friend moved me so much that I shuddered, so I was unable to speak for a moment.â
It was hard to believe that such a gentle voice could come from such a massive frame. In contrast, the old ladyâs reply was exactly as Tsa had expected, full of sarcasm.
âOld friend? My old friend is that empty suit of armor over there⌠beaten up though it might be.â
In the past, Tsa had travelled with the old lady and her group by controlling an empty suit of armor as a substitute for himself. Therefore, when his true identity had come out, his companions had been furious about being tricked. The resentment from back then still had not died out, and she was still making digs at him until now.
On the one hand, he hoped that she would give him a break. On the other, he felt that being able to banter with an old friend like this was a joyous thing.
Their usual conversation brought a smile to Tsaâs face, and then it noticed the old ladyâs finger.
âHm? The ring seems to have vanished. Where did you put it? I recall nobody should be able to take anything from you⌠but that is a powerful magic item beyond the domain of humanity. I hope it hasnât reached the hands of dangerous elements; particularly the Black Scripture of the Slaine Theocracy.â
âTrying to change the topic, are we? Still, your eyes are sharp; is that the Draconic treasure sense at work⌠oh well, thatâs fine. I gave it to a young man. Donât worry about it.â
That item was not something that could be simply given away.
It was a magic item made through the use of Wild Magic. The power of magic today was polluted and distorted, so making another such item was very difficult. As one of the rare few practitioners of Wild Magic, it wanted very much to ask her where exactly the ring had gone.
However, it trusted its friends implicitly.
âReally now. Well, since you decided to give it away, I doubt youâd have gone wrong⌠right, I heard that you were an adventurer once, am I correct? Are you here on business?â
âOf course not. I came to look up a friend to have fun. Iâve already retired, and Iâm no longer an adventurer. Donât ask a little old lady like me to work so hard; Iâve turned my duties over to that crybaby.â
âThat crybaby?â
Tsa thought for a while and then a flash of inspiration struck.
ââŚYou mean her?â
âYes, little Miss Inberun.â
âAh~â
Tsa sounded dumbfounded.
âYouâre probably the only one who can call her little.â
âOh, really? Youâre even more qualified to call her little. Iâm about the same age as that girl, but you ought to be older, right?â
âThat is true⌠still, I canât believe that girl would be willing to be an adventurer. What kind of scheme did you use?â
âHmph. That crybaby went on and on and wouldnât stop, so I said, âIf I can beat you, then youâll have to listen to meâ, and then I smacked the crap out of her!â
The old lady went âkakakaâ. Her laughter seemed to come from the bottom of her heart.
ââŚI think youâre the only human who could beat that girl.â
Tsa sounded like it had broken out in a cold sweat, and shook its head. At the same time, it recalled another one of its old friends â one who had fought the Demon Gods by its side, who had performed great deeds in the battle against the Vermin Demon God.
âWell, I had friends helping me out. Besides, if you know the undead, you know how to beat the undead. If you canât defeat the power of the Earth, you can still exploit elemental affinities and compatibilities to turn the tables in your favor. Crybaby is very strong, but others are stronger than her. For instance, you could easily beat that girl. If you didnât limit yourself, you would be the most powerful being in this world.â
The old ladyâs gaze shifted to the suit of  platinum armor. The old lady imagined she would have received a casual answer, but Tsaâs voice was grave.
âI donât know about that. The power that pollutes the world might have started moving once more.â
There was a hole on the armorâs right pauldron, like it had been pierced by a lance.
ââŚHave the hundred-year aftershocks come? They arenât on the side of this world like Leader was?â
ââŚIt might have just been an unfortunate encounter, but I feel that Vampire was of an evil nature. Speaking of which, while I guessed that it would be about time, I donât know if itâs good luck or bad that actually brought me into contact with someone who could verify the other side.â
âPick whichever side of the coin you like. Oh yes, Iâve mentioned this before, but why not ask the other Dragon Lords for help?â
âThe answer is still the same; itâs very difficult. After all, theyâre all people who didnât fight in the war with the Eight Greed Kings. For instance, I feel the Heavenly Dragon Lord â who only knows how to fly around in the sky â or the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord  â who hides in that massive underground cave doing who knows what â wonât possibly help us.â
âReally now. Arenât there others like the Brightness Dragon Lord, Dragon Lords who had children with humanity? Try talking to them; who knows, things might turn out well, you know?â
ââŚPerhaps. But I personally feel that it would be better to wake up she who sleeps in the bottom-most levels of the city which floats upon the sea for help. Youâd have better chances for success.â
âSheâs âwaiting in the land of dreamsâ, huh? If only we had preserved all of Leaderâs knowledge, things would not be so troublesome. He died too young.â
âIt canât be helped. He⌠killed a comrade (Player) he had spent his journey with, and it got to him. I can understand why heâd decline the resurrection. Rigrit, you were shocked too, right?â
The old lady looked into the distance, and she slowly nodded with a pained expression on her face.
âAye, yes⌠itâs true⌠youâre right.â
âRigrit, I apologize for asking this of you even though youâre no longer an adventurer, but can I beg a favor of you?â
âWhat is it? Iâve got a pretty good idea, but I want to hear it from you.â
Tsaâs eyes went to a sword. The sword did not look suitable for slashing, but its edge was sharp beyond comparison. It was of a standard that modern magic could not possibly make.
This sword â one of the eight great weapons which the Eight Greed Kings left behind â was the reason why Tsa could not leave this place.
âIâve been doing this until now, and I hope you can lend me a hand. Iâd like you to collect information about magic items that can rival that sword over there⌠that can rival Guild Weapons. Or perhaps, special items from YGGDRASIL like the strengthened armor which Red Drop â adamantite-ranked adventurers of the Kingdom â possesses.â