“So lucky!”

Phil and the young mages who had been at the magic school since Leah first founded it shouted excitedly.

“I want to go camping and adventuring too!”

“Wow… I heard no one has ever been to the contaminated lands before, and you get to go first?”

“My grandmother said there are lots of monsters there. It’s dangerous.”

“Chirp. Chirp.”

“Chirp, chirp.”

Chirpy and the other hatchlings howled proudly, showing off.

‘That’s why we’re going. The silver human said we’ll be fine.’

‘Right. Guardian said humans are too weak to go.’

‘We’ll purify it first, then you weak humans can come visit later.’

“……”

The young mages’ faces crumpled.

Though they were used to the dragons’ naturally boastful way of speaking, this time it really stung.

“I’m going to become stronger!”

Phil shouted.

“I’ll become so strong that contaminated lands won’t be a problem for me! I’ll become an Archmage and do everything too!”

Everyone was somewhat surprised to hear this from Phil of all people.

“Chirp?”

“Phil, you’re already the strongest among us, aren’t you?”

“Hmm.”

“That’s right. Tower Master said you might become the youngest Archmage ever.”

“No, I’m not good enough.”

Phil spoke with determination.

“Don’t you all remember the last war? We went to help Tower Master, but we were so surprised and scared that we couldn’t do anything.”

“……”

“That was a real shock to me. I thought we could finally help Tower Master who saved us… but in the end, she had to save us again.”

“Chirp.”

The hatchlings, who had also been saved by Leah, nodded solemnly.

In the somber atmosphere, Phil reaffirmed his commitment.

“I’ll become stronger! Strong enough to be Tower Master’s right—no, left arm!”

“Chirp!”

Chirpy stomped his tail on the ground in outrage.

‘That’s my position!’

Chirpy was serious too.

‘I already lost the right arm to the silver human, and now you want to take the left arm from me too?!’

“Both of you, quiet down.”

A muscular man with steam rising from his body entered.

A cute pretty-boy face with large puppy-like brown eyes, mismatched with a rock-solid physique—it was Karai, who was growing increasingly obsessed with training.

“For now, I am Tower Master’s left arm.”

“That’s not fair, brother!”

“Chirp!”

Phil and Chirpy protested, but Karai didn’t budge.

“If you’re upset, become the shield of the Magic Tower instead.”

He had now truly become the vanguard defender of the Magic Tower.

‘What? Protect Leah? You think you can do that with such a scrawny body?’

‘I’ll protect my master with magic barriers!’

‘You youngster, you think magic can block all physical attacks?’

‘……’

‘Let’s see if your precious magic barrier can block my sword. I won’t even use sword energy—just ten strikes. Try to block them.’

After nearly dying from eleven strikes with a scabbard from Ruyan.

Karai had trained like a dog under Ruyan. When he returned to the Magic Tower, thinking he could finally protect Leah properly, Helix was waiting for him.

‘What? You can only protect one person, Leah, with your magic barrier? Are you in your right mind?’

‘Well… in emergencies, if you provide me with mana like during the war…’

‘Get out if that’s your mentality.’

‘……’

‘Leah is now the head of the Magic Tower and a Dragonlord. She’s in a position where she must protect many people. Someone who can’t properly serve her has no place in this tower.’

He thought he would die training his defensive barriers, freezing and shrinking under pressure.

After enduring all that hardship, Karai could now surround the entire Magic Tower with his magic barrier. Impressed by his achievement, Leah gave him the title “Shield of the Magic Tower.”

Recalling his struggles, Karai shuddered.

“If you want to become Tower Master’s left arm… defeat me first!”

Phil’s jaw dropped.

“…Brother, are you crazy? What if the tower’s barrier gets destroyed?”

“That’s why I’ll remain Tower Master’s left arm.”

Looking at the triumphant Karai, Phil muttered:

“Wow… I knew you were unfair, but this is really unfair.”

“Chirp.”

Chirpy agreed.

“You should suffer like I did. Life is unfair, kids.”

“Whatever.”

“Chirp.”

***

“…So I’m planning to take the hatchlings to purify the contaminated lands next week.”

“You’re going during the hottest time of the year.”

Leah looked at Helix with worried eyes.

“Leah, I’ve rechecked the cooling magic system in the Twin Towers so you and the tower residents won’t suffer. It won’t be necessary by the time I return, but…”

The plan was simple: select a suitable location beyond the Hel Mountains in the contaminated lands, set up camp, complete the purification around that area, and return to the Magic Tower.

Since the dragons were still young and information about the contaminated lands was limited, they planned to work within a small area. There was nothing to worry about or overexert themselves for.

“……”

Yet the thought of being separated from Leah weighed heavily on his heart. Helix’s hand hovered near her sullen cheek.

How could he leave Leah like this?

If he had his way, he would abandon the purification plans altogether.

‘I can’t.’

He steeled himself.

‘For Leah to use magic freely in a safer world, we need to purify the contaminated lands and properly educate the young dragons.’

Unlike in the distant past, today’s dragon hatchlings were learning social skills through group living. They were also learning to be considerate of weaker beings by interacting with young mages at the Magic Tower.

‘But it’s still not enough.’

Setting aside their inherently self-centered and arrogant tendencies, the young hatchlings needed to better understand how their powers affected their surroundings.

In that sense, purifying the contaminated lands would be the perfect method for educating the hatchlings about dragon nature.

“Leah.”

Helix said.

“This is for your future.”

“I don’t like that.”

Leah grabbed his hand, rubbing it against her cheek while speaking sulkily.

“Say it’s for our future.”

His heart ached at her slightly pouty expression as she looked up at him. Unable to resist, Helix embraced her.

“…I wish I could take you with me.”

“Me too.”

Leah hugged him back and said.

“If there were a shrinking spell, I’d hide in your pocket and secretly go with you.”

“That wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

Kissing her innocent forehead, Helix said seriously:

“What if you’re so cute that I want to put you in my mouth?”

“Um… couldn’t you just go ‘walalala’ and spit me back out?”

“Would you really let me put you in my mouth?”

He opened his mouth, pretending to bite her head. She giggled at the ticklish sensation. Feeling her light trembling against his chest, Helix almost squeezed her tightly without realizing it.

“…I definitely can’t leave you behind like this.”

“Huh?”

“Leah, I just remembered something I need to take care of before leaving.”

“What is it?”

She tilted her head curiously.

“Is there still something left to do?”

“Do you remember what I promised before?”

He said.

“I mentioned that in Azura’s treasure vault, there might be magical armor perfectly suited for you.”

“Oh…?”

Leah blinked.

“You want to look for that now?”

“Yes.”

Helix was serious.

“I need to at least outfit you with that before I leave, so I can have peace of mind.”

***

The two descended to Azura’s lair connected beneath the Magic Tower.

“The secret door should be around here.”

Following Helix’s memory, they searched the lair until they found the entrance to the hidden treasure vault. His face hardened as he felt along the top of the secret door.

“Helix, what’s wrong?”

“…The locking mechanism is disabled.”

Surprised by Helix’s words, Leah gripped his hand tightly.

By now, she understood something about dragon habits.

Dragons were creatures with extremely strong desires and self-awareness. Their unquenchable desires typically centered around magic and treasures, so dragon lairs were usually filled with layers of gold and magical artifacts.

‘A treasure vault is like a dragon’s heart.’

The fact that the magical locking mechanism of such a treasure vault was disabled…

“…Do you think Azura is dead?”

Helix remained silent at Leah’s trembling voice. His expression confirmed death.

‘How complicated and troubled his feelings must be.’

She released his hand and clasped her own together.

Then she closed her eyes.

“May the great dragon rest in peace.”

“…Leah?”

She gestured for the confused Helix to follow suit, then closed her eyes again.

“Even if you’ve passed away, I can’t forgive what you did to Helix and how you deceived me, so don’t rest too peacefully. As compensation for the damage, we’ll take possession of this lair, treasures, magic books, and magical artifacts and put them to good use for thousands of years.”

“……”

With her eyes still closed, she continued mumbling.

“And while it was truly wicked of you to try manipulating Helix and me, thanks to that, my handsome, virtuous, physically gifted, and kind Helix became my lover, so ultimately it was an extremely profitable deal for me. I’ll let it slide. Still, good results don’t excuse all the means, so I’ll keep some resentment.”

“……”

“Though it may not be much consolation, the dragon eggs you were so worried about have grown into healthy hatchlings. Helix and I will raise them well so they can clean up the contaminated waste that Azura’s household abandoned in the northern lands. We’ll raise them to be good dragons who clean up the garbage their ancestors left behind, so please understand. Isn’t this all karma?”

Having said her piece, Leah opened her eyes and clapped her hands twice. She turned to Helix, suggesting he join her.

He let out a small laugh and put his hands together as she had done.

The couple bowed their heads with their hands clasped together.

“Farewell then.”

“…Goodbye.”

***

With a lighter heart, Helix pushed open the secret door.

Azura’s treasure vault opened for the first time in centuries, emitting a brilliant light. Leah was astonished.

“…A gold garbage dump?”