āYou said none of you saw his face, right?ā (Anos)
āRight.ā (Ramon)
āAnd the ring he was wearing, did it look like this?ā (Anos)
I showed him the Selection Pledge Jewel I had obtained at Everastanzetta.
āY-Yeah, Iām pretty sure this was the one. I think his was a little brighter, but it had the same gemstone.ā (Ramon)
Since I hadnāt formed any pact with any god, my Pledge Jewel didnāt contain any flame.
Nonetheless, there was no doubt that his ring was a Pledge Jewel.
Which meant that the one who offered the dragon to the Royalists was one of the Selected Eight.
But was it Ahid or someone else?
āDid he say anything else?ā (Anos)
āNo, nothing in particā Ah, come to think of it, Zerceus-sama said that the familiar was a falcon.ā (Ramon)
When it came to familiars, demons preferred to use owls while humans favored falcons.
However, that wasnāt to say that sufficiently skilled tamers couldnāt use any other sorts of familiars.
āIf thatās all, then itās nothing unusual. Or is there something else?ā (Anos)
āā¦Ah, no, itās just to say that we donāt know anything yet. But apparently, he thinks heās seen that falcon in Gairaditeās royal palace beforeā¦ā (Ramon)
After the war with Azesion, Zerceus, along with Erio and Melheis, had visited Gairadite several times to negotiate with the humans.
So he may have visited the palace during those times.
āBut still, no one is normally capable of telling one falcon from another, so I wonder if that wasnāt just Zerceus-samaās imagination.ā (Ramon)
āHmm. Good work. Tell him to let me know if he finds out anything else.ā (Anos)
āGot it.ā (Ramon)
Ramon left, looking relieved.
He had become quite obedient. Which meant that his collar was working just fine.
āHey⦠Didnāt he say something kind of distressing just nowā¦?ā (Sasha)
Sasha was grabbing her own head, looking dismayed as she foresaw incoming trouble.
āAre the humans from the palace and the draconids working together?ā asked Misha, who was standing next to me.
āI donāt know yet, but it looks like weād better find out. Lay.ā (Anos)
Lay, who was with Misa, turned to us with his refreshing smile.
āLetās go to the palace. Hopefully itās still worth something.ā (Anos)
āSure.ā (Lay)
I called Eleonore and Zeshia back to us, and cast the <Transition Gatom> spell.
We reappeared in Gairadite.
Right in front of the royal palace.
āShould we proceed like this? We use both <Illusion Mimicry Lynel> and <Concealed Magic Power Najila> to sneak inside and investigate whatever we can.ā (Eleonore)
After casting <Illusion Mimicry Lynel> and <Concealed Magic Power Najila> to hide our appearances and magic power, we skipped past the gatekeepers and walked through the main gate.
After entering the palace grounds and proceeding for a while, I heard a certain sound and stopped.
āWhatās wrong?ā Sasha asked as she turned around curiously.
āListen.ā (Anos)
She replied with a gesture to show she was listening.
A faint, high-pitched screech echoed.
āIsnāt thatā¦ā (Sasha)
āA dragon cry.ā Misha said.
āIt looks like the main building and underground land of the royal palace have now become a dragon domain.ā Lay said as he looked around the palace with a grim gaze.
Though he was trying to scan the interior with his Magic Eyes, the dragon domain was blocking his vision.
āWhat does this mean? That thereās a dragon nest right under the palaceā¦?ā (Sasha)
āMaybe. Weād be lucky if that was all.ā (Anos)
The royal palace was reluctant to subjugate the dragons.
I thought it was just out of incompetence, but I never expected it was anything less likely.
āPerhaps they keep dragons in here.ā (Anos)
āIn the royal palace?! But the humans suffered from dragon attacks, right? What are they trying to accomplish by risking them attacking their own peopleā¦?!ā Sasha exclaimed in shock.
āItās still only a possibility.ā (Anos)
āAhh, but maybe we should give up on the hide-and-seek, then. Weāll be fine if they find us, but if they were to release any dragons on the city of Azesion, thenā¦ā Eleonore said in a grave tone.
Assuming that the royal palace was keeping dragons, there was no guarantee that they would resort to desperate measures if cornered.
āBut we canāt just turn back, can we? If the palace does keep dragons in here, we need to find the culprits.ā (Misa)
I nodded to Misaās words.
āThere is a way to get through the front door.ā (Anos)
My eyes met with Layās.
As the Hero Kanon, the royal palace would welcome him with their heads down.
āā¦I donāt think Iām going to like this, but I suppose this is no time to complain.ā (Lay)
āThen letās leave at once.ā (Anos)
Using <Transition Gatom>, I teleported us to the main auditorium of the Hero Academy this time.
At that same moment, I cast <Illusion Mimicry Lynel> and <Concealed Magic Power Najila> on ourselves.
āNow go talk to Headmaster Zamira.ā (Anos)
Lay nodded.
āHopefully, heāll accept to show me around the palace.ā he said while walking through the door.