While sitting and sipping the tea Malon had poured for her, Etia realized she hadn’t seen Jaida. 

When she asked about it out of curiosity, she was quite surprised to hear that Jaida was suddenly packing her things.

“It seems you haven’t heard the news yet. Additional conscription orders have been issued for the battle at the Land of Fire. Naturally, mages are included. Jaida will be assigned to the Imperial Army and will participate in the battle.”

“Oh my. They’re already calling for additional conscription when the expedition hasn’t been gone that long?”

“Yes. It appears the situation isn’t going well. Especially considering they’re pouring money into requesting the mages’ active cooperation—it seems the knights alone aren’t enough. It is the Land of Fire, after all.”

“Oh dear… This is truly serious.”

Etia had simply come to discuss Rose’s matter and introduce Mieva, but hearing such grave news made her mood plummet from what it had been initially. 

She couldn’t help it since this concerned the Land of Fire—the war Derek was fighting in. Seemingly reading the atmosphere, Malon sent Rose out of the room.

“Actually, I was thinking of participating myself, but I can’t just leave Rose alone. I only recently took her on as my apprentice, so it wouldn’t be right for me to leave. But I can’t take Rose with me either, so I’ve decided to stay. The tower also needs a mage to handle its affairs.”

“I see.”

“To be honest… I haven’t completely let go of the idea. I know the Land of Fire is dangerous, but it’s also a dream destination for mages.”

“Then are you thinking of participating?”

Etia, whose expression had darkened with worry for Derek, looked at Malon with surprised eyes at his words that suggested he was considering participation. He scratched his head again and took a moment to choose his words, but what he said was something she hadn’t expected at all.

“That’s not it. I’m not planning to go to the Land of Fire—I’m planning to go to Sylvester.”

“Sylvester?”

“Yes. Do you know about this? There’s still a Dragon’s Lair there from long ago when dragons lived. After dragons went extinct, the Dragon’s Lairs were also destroyed by human hands, but the only one remaining is in Sylvester.”

“…Pardon?”

Malon moistened his throat by taking several sips of the tea in front of him, seemingly indicating this would be a long story. However, Etia was somewhat flustered by this story she was hearing for the first time in her life, while Mieva focused on Malon’s words with sparkling eyes.

“There’s a majority opinion that, given Sylvester’s terrain, the lair is located in such a treacherous place that there was no need to deal with it. However, since Dragon’s Lairs are originally created in places humans cannot find, that theory lacks credibility.”

“…”

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. Ahem—you know there’s a possibility that a dragon might be living in the Land of Fire, right? The allied forces also set out to confirm that fact while subjugating the monsters showing abnormal behavior. Of course, common people only know about the latter reason.”

“Yes. I’ve heard about it.”

“I suspect that dragon might be the owner of the lair remaining in Sylvester.”

“…”

The more Etia listened to Malon’s story, the more complicated her mind became. A Dragon’s Lair? In Sylvester? 

However, he remained calm, and Etia got the feeling he wasn’t just talking nonsense. She barely organized her jumbled thoughts and asked him a question.

“Do you think something remains in the lair?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it just a nest anyway? If the dragon already abandoned its nest, it would have become a useless space.”

“That’s also correct. But because that dragon had offspring, it doesn’t become just an abandoned nest.”

“…Offspring?”

At the increasingly serious conversation, even Mieva, who had been sparkling with excitement just moments ago, became serious and listened to their conversation. Malon took another sip of tea and continued his story.

“It’s extremely rare for dragons to reproduce. They believe themselves to be perfect beings, so they think there’s no reason to leave behind the impurity of children for future generations.”

“Yes. I think I’ve read about that. That’s why one theory about why dragons went extinct is that they believed themselves to be perfect beings and couldn’t unite with each other. On the other hand, humans united for the goal of survival and won because of it.”

“Correct. That’s why they don’t reproduce. They consider dragons that reproduce to be imperfect beings. Yet dragons continued to maintain their lineage because their lifespans are incomparable to humans. Among those individuals, there would occasionally be cases of bearing offspring, and if you add up all those lifespans, it would exceed human imagination. That’s why they appear to maintain their lineage continuously.”

“That makes sense.”

“As you know, for mages, dragons are extremely important beings. They’re indispensable. Since the source of mana is the dragon itself, how could they not be important? That’s why now that dragons are extinct, the mana remaining in nature is becoming increasingly scarce, and magic is also declining to the level of magical theory. Because of this, nobles no longer consider mages competent and look down on them even more.”

“That’s…”

“I’m not trying to blame you, my lady. I’m just explaining a general phenomenon.”

“…Yes. Please continue.”

The tea in the cup Etia was holding had long since gone cold. However, none of the three people sitting there thought to heat the water as the story continued.

“So mages are desperately searching for traces of dragons. Many mages hope dragons haven’t died, and many hope they’ll be resurrected even if they’re already dead. It’s absurd, but that’s how important dragons are to mages. I’ve also been continuing research on dragons for that reason.”

“So that tapestry…”

“Yes, well. That was just me showing off, but it’s similar.”

“Ah…”

“Anyway, Jaida and I have been researching dragons for a long time, and one of those subjects was the lair remaining in Sylvester. As we researched, we began to suspect that the owner of that lair had offspring.”

“Why is that?”

“First, when humans waged war against dragons in the past, the dragon of Sylvester disappeared. The dragons that were alive at that time never hid themselves or ran away even when dragons living elsewhere died. They simply thought the dead dragon was weak and met a shameful death. They believed such a thing wouldn’t happen to them.”

“But that dragon hid itself, you mean? And you think it was to protect its offspring.”

“Yes. Besides that, if you look at the testimonies and records of residents living in Sylvester at the time, animals disappeared frequently. Also, monsters were hardly seen. I’m speculating that it might have needed food to feed its offspring.”

“…”

“Of course, it’s all just speculation. I’m just fitting together the context by looking at records. That’s why I thought I should go see that lair myself. I’ve been there once before, but it was so treacherous that I returned without any findings.”

“But you’re thinking of going again? Even if you could find it, it might not help with the war.”

“There might be something that could give us a weakness of the dragon. Like traces of a dead offspring, for instance.”

“Are dragons beings swayed by emotions?”

“…Not really, but I have to try something. If I just sit here doing nothing, my colleagues will die meaningless deaths.”

“…”

Whether that was the end of Malon’s story, silence descended upon the room. None of the three knew what to say, and when the long silence continued, Malon spoke again.

“Actually, I was going to ask the Duchess for help.”

“Help? Is there something I could help with?”

“Aren’t you fluent in the ancient language of dragons, my lady? If there are magic circles or records remaining in the lair, they’ll all be in the dragon’s language. Of course, dragons aren’t beings that record things, but if it’s a magic circle, there’s a possibility. So I wanted to ask if you could come with me.”

“That’s…”

Even Malon, who had been speaking calmly, seemed to think this request was unreasonable and became awkward again. Mieva looked back and forth between the two with a surprised expression.

However, no one seemed as flustered as Etia. 

Malon’s intention to participate seemed greater than she thought, and she was surprised by the lengthy story she was hearing for the first time in her life, but with this conclusion, she didn’t know what to say.

Etia simply hoped this war would end quickly and Derek would return. She had no way to help make the war favorable, and all she could do was sit quietly and pray at the temple, which made Malon’s story all the more bewildering.

“But didn’t you say earlier that you couldn’t leave Rose behind?”

“Haha… I’m embarrassed. If you were to permit it, my lady, I was going to ask another mage at the tower to guide her for the time being.”

“Even so, I couldn’t possibly be of help. I’m not even good at the dragon’s language, and I… I mean…”

Etia kept fiddling with the teacup in her hand, hesitating. She could just refuse, but somehow the words wouldn’t come out. In the first place, Etia couldn’t find a reason why she should refuse this proposal.

In her heart, Etia also wanted to go with Malon. She wanted to see with her own eyes what a Dragon’s Lair was like, and she wanted to help Derek even a little.

Moreover, above all, she wanted to live up to Malon’s words that her meager ability would be helpful. 

She didn’t know if she could really be of help, but when a mage recognized her ability and asked for help, she wanted to at least try, even if it turned out to be nothing special. Etia wanted to prove her ability that way.

However, Etia was a noble. No matter how much she had always lived a life apart from her family with opposing tendencies, a noble was a noble. 

She had no choice but to learn noble etiquette, live among them, and naturally, what was familiar to her was the nobles’ way, not the commoners’.

Could such a person abandon a soft bed, sweet foods, and peaceful days to just leave? Etia imagined it for a very brief moment but lacked confidence. That’s why she could neither refuse nor accept Malon’s request, only remaining frozen.

“Could I… think about it a bit more?”

“Of course. I know very well that I’m making an unreasonable request. It’s not a path the Duchess can easily take. It’s fine if you refuse. I would have been more surprised if you’d accepted in the first place. So please don’t feel burdened.”

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. I’m more grateful.”

Afterward, fortunately, they spent peaceful time talking about Rose and Mieva. Even though she must have been alone while only the adults remained, Rose was still bright and lovely when she returned. Etia found her admirable and patted her head several times, but that didn’t completely improve her mood.

In the carriage on the way back, the two were silent until finally Mieva spoke first after quite some time.

“Don’t think too hard about it, my lady. Your whereabouts and movements can only be decided by you. You’re the Duchess, no less. Who would dare oppose your affairs?”

“Thank you, Mieva. But I lack confidence. I have to worry about Rose, and above all, I need to keep monitoring His Highness the Crown Prince’s affairs.”