Chapter 36: 30k miles to Find a Dragon (I)
Silver Flower City, the sacred land of dragons.
“I wonder how he’s doing.” Genelocer gazed wistfully at the vast darkness of space as he thought about his beloved son far away from him. His study desk was littered with video spheres containing footage of Louis.
“I hope he eats well…” Even while working, all Genelocer could think about was Louis, and he let out a deep sigh.
“Haaah… I didn’t want to leave my son behind even if it meant passing on the elder dragon legacy.”
Although he had been practically pushed out by Louis himself, Genelocer couldn’t stop worrying about leaving his child alone.
“Why is my father gallivanting around during this critical time?!”
He had considered asking Louis’s grandfather, Pamus, for help, but he was also away on some important matter, making him unavailable.
“…Should I sneak out just once?” Genelocer’s face reflected his inner turmoil.
Would it be okay to leave for one day?
To dragons, being an elder meant leading their entire race, which carried immense responsibility and required extensive preparation. Even for a dragon, mastering everything took more than ten years. Despite simplifying the process due to Genelocer’s parenting duties, there remained a mountain of tasks that needed his attention daily.
“Ohhh. What should I do?”
Genelocer struggled with this dilemma for quite some time—his duty to oversee his entire dragon race versus his obligation as a father. It was not an easy decision to make.
After agonizing over it for almost an hour, Genelocer’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“…Yes. I’ll just go for one day!”
Postponing things by a single day would mean having to work harder for the following week, but seeing Louis again would be worth it. With that firm resolution, he rose from his seat to meet his adorable son waiting at home.
Just then…
“Where do you think you’re going?” A voice came from beyond the door.
It cracked open slightly, revealing half of a silver-haired man’s face.
Genelocer sighed heavily. “Karlos… What are you doing here?”
“I’m just visiting.”
“Stop wasting my time and get out of here.”
“Sure thing.” Contrary to his words, Karlos confidently strode farther inside the room.
Genelocer frowned at him. “I thought you were leaving?”
“I saw that you looked bored, so I decided to keep you company.”
“You’re the one who’s bored, aren’t you?”
“Well…yeah.”
Genelocer let out another deep sigh as he watched Karlos act carefree.
Karlos perched on the edge of Genelocer’s desk and twirled Louis’s sphere around while asking, “Were you worried about Louis again?”
“…”
“You were going to sneak out to see him, weren’t you?”
“…” Genelocer remained silent and fidgeted nervously.
Karlos smiled as if he’d expected this reaction from his friend. “You know you’re not supposed to leave during the succession period. What would happen if someone found out?”
“They’ll find out eventually, of course. Nothing escapes the elders’ notice here at Silver Flower City.”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true.”
“Well, it can’t be helped.” Genelocer shrugged nonchalantly.
Karlos couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Are you really that worried about Louis?”
“Aren’t you concerned for your own sons?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean those troublemaking brats of yours!”
“Ohhh, Khan and Kani?”
“Who else could I possibly be talking about?!”
“No one, I guess.”
“Ugh… How did I end up with such a friend?”
Karlos chuckled at Genelocer’s frustration.
Karlos was a dragon who had raised his lightning attribute to zero, and he was also Genelocer’s longtime friend. He happened to be Khan and Kani’s father as well as one of the elders accompanying them on this trip to Silver Flower City for the succession ceremony.
Karlos grinned under Genelocer’s glare.
“Tsk, tsk. Why should I worry about that?”
“…What? You left your kids behind but aren’t concerned?”
“Yes.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s Louis.”
“…?” The nonsensical response made Genelocer raise an eyebrow, followed by even more shocking news from Karlos.
“You know how much our kids adore Louis, right? So, if anything happens to me, they’ve been instructed to go find him.”
”…What did you just say?”
“Louis isn’t just smart; he’s brilliant. Don’t you think Louis would make a better parent than me?”
“You’re bragging about that now?”
“Haha. Let me bask in the glory of having a genius son as my friend! Isn’t it great to have such amazing buddies!”
“Well, uh… It’s true that Louis is indeed gifted.”
“You tend to overly protect your son sometimes.”
“Aren’t all parents with hatchlings like that?”
“Of course, but is Louis an ordinary hatchling? Based on his thinking and actions, I’d argue he’s already comparable to many adult dragons.”
“I-I suppose so.”
“I truly envy you.”
“Why?”
“There’s no dragon as fortunate as you when it comes to parenting. How many hatchlings grow up so effortlessly like Louis? You’re truly blessed!”
“You’re right…”
“So don’t worry too much and focus on your own tasks. Who knows, Louis might be enjoying his newfound freedom without you around?”
Genelocer couldn’t easily dismiss Karlos’s point since he had been nudging him along anyway. He felt both joy at hearing praise for his son and concern over how Louis was faring with the twins. His expression turned peculiar as Karlos’s words reignited his worries.
Louis is indeed intelligent, but those twins can be quite unruly…
The twins had inherited their father’s eccentric personality. Genelocer often marveled at how Louis managed to handle them, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for his son being tormented by them now.
He glared at Karlos.
Hearing this bastard talk only makes me worry more.
Unfazed by the hostile stare, Karlos patted Genelocer on the shoulder. “If you’re that concerned, why don’t you write him a letter?”
“S-should I?”
“I’m not sure if Louis will reply, though. Based on what I’ve seen of his temperament…”
“…He might just toss it aside as too much trouble.”
No one knew Louis better than Genelocer. Knowing Louis, he’d likely throw away any mail rather than bother replying.
Yes, no news is good news. Let’s quickly finish our business here and head back.
As Genelocer resolved to do just that, Karlos continued in his lazy drawl:
“Oh, and you don’t need to worry about my children bullying your son too much. Did you think I’d let them loose without any instructions?”
“…Then what did you tell them?”
“I told them to listen well to Louis.”
“They’re sure to obey him perfectly.”
“Right? Even I think so! Ha-ha-ha!”
“…” Genelocer glared at the back of Karlos’s head, thinking how satisfying it would be to smack its shiny silver surface.
But Karlos wasn’t done yet. “And one more thing.”
“…What now?”
“If there’s trouble, I told them not to handle it themselves but to call out for Louis instead.”
“…”
“If our subordinates handled the aftermath themselves, wouldn’t that just cause more trouble? Wouldn’t Louis take care of it efficiently without any issues?”
“…”
“Wouldn’t this be considered perfect training for him?”
Karlos seemed to expect praise from Genelocer. As soon as Karlos finished his sentence, an ominous energy surged from Genelocer’s body.
“What? What’s wrong with you?”
“You piece of shit…”
“What did I do?”
“…The only way I’ll feel better is by cracking open your skull and checking what kind of garbage is inside.” With clenched fists, Genelocer charged at Karlos.
“A-ahh! Yanma! P-Put that down! Ow! Don’t throw it! Those are the elder succession papers… Ugh!”
Screams continued emanating from Genelocer’s office for quite some time afterward.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Louis’s companions were…
“Louis, Louis!”
“Lo-ou-is!”
“…Stop calling him already, you two.”
“But if we don’t, Louis won’t pay attention to us!”
“That’s right!”
“You brats…” Louis frowned at the twins chattering and circling around him.
“Can you give me some space?”
“Nooooo!”
“We love Louis!”
“I don’t like it, though.”
“We do!”
“Sigh… What did I do in my previous life to deserve this…?”
As their father Genelocer and Karlos had been preoccupied with each other, Louis was busy bickering with his siblings when…
“Sir Louuuuis!”
“Louis, sir!”
A carriage approached from afar, accompanied by loud voices.
“Louiss!”
“And me too, Louiis!” The twins joined in again, much to Louis’s dismay.
The twins resumed their bickering, much to Louis’s chagrin.
“…I’ll have to seriously discuss changing their names with my father when he returns.” He sighed heavily.
Haaaaahhh.
Before them stood a sturdy snow carriage pulled by a thickly furred snow horse, complete with its own tent.
Pablo sat on the driver’s seat, and Fin flapped her wings above his head.
“Sir Louis, as you requested, everything is ready!”
“Yes, good work,” Louis replied half-heartedly before climbing inside the carriage. The twins followed closely behind without further prompting.
“Move over!”
“Nope, no way!”
“Rooooooy!”
Their squabbling continued audibly within the carriage.
Louis’s resigned voice soon followed. “Pablo… Let’s move out.”
“Yes, sir…”
Formerly the chief of a stealth unit, Pablo had been reassigned as a coachman due to unforeseen circumstances. He cracked his whip toward the snow horses.
Crack!
Hee-haw!
The two snow horses began moving westward.
Swish, swish.
The carriage with skis and wheels glided smoothly over the snow, pulled effortlessly by the hardy draft animals bred for this harsh winter environment.
Inside the carriage, Louis was sandwiched between the twins. It looked like children huddling together for warmth, but that wasn’t quite the case.
“Why do you have to be so close when there’s plenty of space?!”
“But it feels best right here!”
“That’s right! Louis smells nice!” The twins giggled as they nuzzled against him.
Though visibly annoyed, Louis didn’t push them away.
Hmph… I guess I can tolerate this for now. They still need looking after.
Despite his appearance, he was actually the one who needed care the most at present. Soon, one of the twins stopped fussing over Louis and fell asleep with her head on his lap.
Louis turned to face forward and asked, “Pablo.”
“How long will it take us to get to Luftghagen from here?”
Luftghagen was a bustling port city located on the westernmost edge of the Winter Continent. It had active trade connections with the Autumn Continent.
Louis planned to sail from Luftaghagen to Autumn Continent.
Pablo answered Louis’s question. “At this speed, it’ll take about half a year. However, frequent blizzards can slow us down… So you should expect twice that time.”
“…That’s too long.”
This meant he would spend one extra year of his ten-year journey in Winter Continent alone. Considering travel by ship and potential unforeseen circumstances, it could end up taking even longer than double the estimated time.
“Hmm…” After pondering for a bit, Louis asked, “Is there any way we can get there faster?”
“In this snowy winter on the continent, the snowcat is the fastest mode of transportation available. It’s difficult to shorten the travel time any further.”
“Tsk.” Louis pursed his lips.
Conversation ceased inside the snowcat for a while until Pablo cautiously addressed him.
“Um…Sir Louis?”
“What?”
“If I may ask, can you not contact other dragons?”
“Huh?” Louis blinked in surprise.
“I mean, if you know another dragon, couldn’t they fly us home instead?”
“…!” Pablo’s question struck Louis like lightning.
This chapter is translated using Omni Translator, Omni's state-of-the-art novel machine translation LLM, and corrected by human editors. If you'd like to read ahead, you can try using our translator webapp to translate the raw text or link for free.