Published at 26th of June 2021 3:45 pm

Chapter 150 Need for Chance (3)

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‘He is monitoring me using my voice, magic, and biometric responses.’

Ian was certain of this not because Fran could not read the letters written on paper. He was currently taking doses of the ‘stone heart potion’ that uses the mystic herb ‘stone heart mushrooms,’ which grew only on the underground graves of the Greenriver Palace, which he had previously used to avoid the interrogation magic spells from the Ivory Tower.

‘My biometric responses are within a certain range, and he cannot observe any emotional ups and downs in me.’

Ian had not uttered a word, let alone use magic. As a result, Fran could not respond to Ian’s call through letters, which showed that he had limits.

‘This might be a trap.’

Ian could not ignore the possibility that Fran was intentionally playing dumb. However, limiting his actions based on that would block Ian from doing anything.

‘Now’s the time to act daringly.’

Ian had calculated the base estimates and theories through a few experiments, and now was the time to move forward based on what Ian had learned.

‘I have to avoid using at least magic, my voice, aura, and showing emotions.’

The conditions were particular but not impossible. Ian stood up. He had first to meet his ally, who would negotiate with the dragons in his place, the Fairy Queen, for his future plans.

‘While we did build trust between us, they obey the dragons first, so we cannot trust them completely.’

Therefore, Ian needed to talk to them about having met the dragon and know for sure their thoughts on the problem between the dragon and Ian and their preferred responses to confirm his plans.

‘This is a chance I have to take since we now have a way to communicate.’

Writing on paper and the stone heart potion would be enough. Ian went out of the library. The Fairy Queen did not come out of the room Evantus was resting after he was rescued.

She was evidently taking care of him. While she could be prickly on the surface, she held deep affections inside. She seemed to especially fear her old comrades permanently ceasing to exist after she lost the soldier Spartoi.

Ian knocked on the door to Evantus’s recovery room and went in after waiting for a few seconds. The first thing he saw was Evantus, who was sleeping like he had drunk Ledio and Douglas’s special sleeping drought.

Ian did not see Evantus’s children, Hernelia and Maliotus. Only the Fairy Queen sat on the table idly.

[What?]

“I wanted to see if he was all right.”

[This late in the night?]

“I was unable to sleep.”

[I heard that the age for mating for human beings was around nineteen, and are you one of them?]

“What…”

The Fairy Queen’s jokes came like a punch, and Ian could not hide his surprise at being told he was ready for mating.

[Why, did I hit a nerve?]

“Where did you learn jokes like that? Who would…”

However, Ian was not that much surprised and actually thought this was an opportunity. While his mouth spoke of jokes, his hands were doing something else. He asked the Fairy Queen to be quiet with his hand and gave her the stone heart potion.

“… say something like that to you? You seem to have remained in human society too long.”

Ian’s hands asked her to drink it, and the Fairy Queen understood his intentions. While she did not know the reason, she felt it would be right to play along.

[Just say the word, and I’ll return to my abode. Do you think I like being here?]

The Fairy Queen held the medicine bottle with an aloof response and drank the potion quietly.

“We still have problems. I will help you return when everything goes back to normal. While I cannot tell you when the day will be, it’s not far.”

Ian continued to speak while he placed yellow parchment and a quill pen on the table to communicate by writing.

[Words are easy to say.]

The Fairy Queen approached the parchment with a scoff, signaling that she was prepared to have communication by pen.

“So, how is Evantus? I saw Ledio and Douglas working hard.”

<I found the dragons and met them. They will be watching me from somewhere, and it was a black dragon named Atar Haka.>

They spoke innocently by mouth and conversed with the necessary issues by pen.

[…Don’t worry, he’s getting better every day.]

<What are you talking about?>

The Fairy Queen hurriedly turned into her human form and grabbed the quill pen. She seemed to stifle words that were about to pour out of her mouth.

“That’s a relief. I heard that you had taken excellent care of him, and Evantus would be grateful for your efforts.”

<I cannot speak in detail because another being is watching over me. Do you know about the First Mage?>

The Fairy Queen’s eyes widened when she heard the words First Mage. She knew about him but had not expected to hear of him at this moment.

[Grateful? It would be a relief if he did not pick a fight with me. I just want to break apart from you guys who gave me nothing but trouble.]

<I know of him. I had heard stories from my elders but had not met him face to face.>

It was true that Fran Page and the kin had gaps in their time and place. Fran Page would have been less crazy and had gone into hiding to begin his research on gaining a dragon’s body when they were young.

“I think you don’t need to return. I connected your nest and here by a portal, so you can remain here until whenever you want.”

<He is behind everything. I’ll help you meet the dragon family, and you can hear the specifics from them. However, I want to listen to what the Queen has to say. I have no intention to cause any inconvenience for you whatever your answer is since you have helped us so much.>

Ian spoke calmly and wrote the letters down surely. While he seemed to be scribbling, his handwriting was pleasant to read.

[Wouldn’t I need to be tied to this stuffy human house? Stop, since I’ll leave immediately when I get the chance.]

<Say what you need to say. I’ll give you my honest answer if I can meet them.>

The Fairy Queen also wrote fast, and she looked excited at the chance of meeting a dragon.

“While you’re saying such things, aren’t you staying here longer than your abode?”

<Then, I’ll also be honest. The First Mage and the dragons are enemies.>

“There are many people in the manor, statues that can fight with invaders, and a portal I opened for you to travel freely.”

<The reason the dragons suddenly disappeared had to do with the First Mage. The problem is that I’m in the middle of their antagonistic relationship.>

Ian’s quill pen did not stop moving, and it was more difficult to move his mouth and hands separately than he had expected.

[Stop saying nonsense.]

<Explain in more detail.>

The two became silent for a moment since it would feel artificial for a conversation to go on endlessly. However, they did not stop writing.

<I do not have enough time to give you a detailed explanation, and the situation is too urgent. However, I gained power that can put me on the same level with them in the past few days. Therefore, both the First Mage and the dragons are keeping me in check, and I would be thrown away like a hunting dog who has served his purpose whichever side I take if things proceed like this.>

<Like a hunting dog who has served his purpose? That’s not true. While I do not know how the First Mage would act, the dragons will not betray a trust. I’ll confirm this, and if you had gained power that matched them as you said, they would have asked for help.>

The Fairy Queen took the dragon’s side, but Ian had a crucial problem at hand, which was the reason he was wary of the dragons and worried about them throwing him away.

<I’m his son.>

<What?>

<I was told that the First Mage’s blood flows in me. Thus, the dragons would have to treat me as a potential threat that should be removed.>

[……]

The Fairy Queen’s mouth shut at this sudden revelation, and her hand stopped writing.

<The reason I’m telling you this is simple. I’m asking you to be the proxy for the negotiations between the dragon and me->

<I’ll do it.>

The Fairy Queen gave her an answer before Ian finished writing, but he wanted to emphasize certain aspects.

If the negotiations between the dragons proved to be difficult, Ian would have no choice but to side with the First Mage, and that meant the Fairy Queen would become an enemy. However, it might not be necessary since the Fairy Queen looked like she finished preparing to become Ian’s stand-in.

<I do not know for certain since your explanation lacks some details and the information had been too sudden. I would have to hear more from them, but if you want to have a conversation with the dragons, I’ll gladly act as your messenger. That means I’ll help you to convince them.>

The Fairy Queen’s reaction was more favorable, then Ian had expected. While Ian knew that she held affection for Ian and those around Ian, especially his mother, Ian had not thought she would be this passionate in her response.

<You, Ian Page, had been a wily and small-minded human being who just wanted happiness for those around you without any clear and deep goals.>

While she seemed to be grabbing the chance to criticize him, Ian focused on what the Queen was writing.

<You are a person who will be fully satisfied if that condition is met. In other words, your limits are evident, and I know that you will use your powers only for those around you. Therefore, I’ll help and tell them that you are not someone they have to be cautious about.>

Ian could be trusted because he was small-minded. While it seemed like wordplay, the Fairy Queen was not saying anything wrong. Fran Page was such an example. He had dreamed of something no human beings could achieve, and in the end, became everyone’s enemy.

However, Ian knew his limits and how much he could hold.

<It’s the first time me being small-minded amounted to something. You gave me a rare experience.>

Ian laughed while he scribbled and continued writing.

<And, thank you.>

Ian could only give her sincere thanks at the moment.

***

Ian found a stable way to communicate with the dragons while avoiding Fran’s surveillance. She was the ‘Fairy Queen,’ despite the fact Fran might also be watching her. Therefore, the fairies at her abode would be in charge of meeting the dragons face to face. The fairies could communicate by telepathy from far away, and it would be like the Fairy Queen meeting them directly.

‘The next is…’

However, things had not ended, and there was much to do. Communicating often with the dragons was only the beginning, and there were nine days left and so many things to do.

‘I need to find a way to endure the Immortal Troops.’

Ian decided after much contemplation that he would leave the ‘Immortal Troops’ that Fran had made as a safety device to the ‘present humanity.’ However, Ian would have to provide a way they could fight against immortals.

Fran had mentioned that there were different kinds of immortality. If what Fran said was right, the Immortal Troops did not revive using the souls they had stacked. Since they were undead who lost their identities and only possessed immortality, the cause and limits would be clear-cut.

While Ian could not know what the limit was, he could only think of ‘black magic’ as the cause. Another factor would be ‘alchemy.’

The dragons had estimated that immortality would be closely related to alchemy. Ian also had experienced the past thousands of years ago through alchemy and had entered the deepest places in the inner world.

‘The key is there.’

Tis I again, the proofreader that uses green text.

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