Chapter 828

【 FAREWELL AND REUNION 】

At the southernmost point of Dragon Island, on the cliffs overlooking the sea.

More than a hundred dragons, both large and small, had gathered there, gazing at the dozen or so tiny figures standing atop the cliff.

They were the ten players who had come to visit Dragon Island. Beside them were the ten young dragons who had accompanied them, the golden dragon Romanus in his humanoid form, and several other dragons who wished to travel with the players and explore the continent of Seigües.

Among the dragons seeing them off, the Red Dragon King, Hertos, stood at the very front. His enormous head was turned toward the players, especially those who were particularly skilled at card games. A hint of lingering reluctance and unwillingness to part could be seen in his eyes.

“My elven friends,are you really leaving?”

“Well our mission is already complete, so we have to go. But if we get the chance in the future, we’ll definitely be coming back.”

The players smiled.

Looking at them, their luggage already packed and ready to go, Hertos sighed.

Although these elves had stayed on Dragon Island for only half a month, they had brought about earth-shaking changes to the island.

Fun games, delicious barbecue…

The dragons, who normally had nothing to do except sleep, count their treasures, or get into chaotic brawls, had suddenly discovered that life could actually be this colorful.

As the longest-lived race in the world, dragons possessed extraordinarily long lifespans. Yet, those endless years had also caused them to lose many things.

There were very few things capable of stirring their ancient, unruffled hearts and making them genuinely feel happy.

Yet during the half-month these elves had spent on Dragon Island, countless sounds of laughter and joy had filled the island.

“Friends, thank you for bringing so much happiness to Dragon Island. This is my gift. I hope you will accept it.”

Hertos took ten gleaming red dragon scales from his storage space and placed them before the players.

They were his own scales.

When the players saw the crimson, shimmering scales, their eyes immediately lit up.

Although Hertos was a dragon who was afraid of his wife, as an old and powerful Dragon, the scales of the Red Dragon King were undoubtedly extremely rare treasures.

Following the Red Dragon King’s gesture, the dragons who had come to see the players off also began moving. One after another, they left farewell gifts in front of the players.

Dragon scales, rare magic beast cores, mutated magical plants…

Apart from gold and gemstones, there were all kinds of precious gifts. Before long, they had piled up into a small mountain.

Seeing how enthusiastic the dragons were, the players were deeply moved.

“Accept these gifts, friends from the Elven Forest. The gates of Dragon Island… will always be open to all of you.”

The Red Dragon King spoke.

The players nodded and carefully stored away the dragons’ gifts before climbing onto the backs of their young dragon companions.

“Farewell, our fellow dragon friends!”

Li Mu turned around, raised his hand, and performed the elven gesture of farewell.

“Farewell!”

The other players followed his example, their expressions solemn.

Even Demacia, who was usually all smiles and mischief, became unusually serious. There was even a hint of gentleness deep in his eyes.

“Farewell…”

The dragons also lowered their heads slightly, performing the highest gesture of respect their race could offer to a friend.

“We’re leaving! Goodbye, everyone!”

The players waved their hands before turning around.

The young dragons beneath them let out long cries and soared into the sky, carrying the players away from Dragon Island.

Romanus and the other dragons who were accompanying them also returned to their true forms and followed behind.

More than a dozen dragons flew southeast beneath the brilliant sunlight.

As he watched the players gradually disappear into the distance, the Red Dragon King, Hertos, raised his head.

He lifted his long neck and let out a resounding roar toward the heavens.

After him, more and more dragons gradually joined in. They raised their heads and cried out loudly as well.

The overlapping roars of dragons resounded across the sky, continuing until the players’ figures could no longer be seen.

With the elves gone, the gathering of dragons on the cliff gradually dispersed as well.

The Red Dragon King, Hertos, returned to Dragon Valley with a look of reluctance. However, the moment he entered the basin of the valley, the expression on his face instantly changed to one of anticipation.

With a flash of light from his claws, a magnificent and stylish set of cards appeared before him.

Looking at the cards, which were even more beautiful and dazzling than those held by the other dragons, Hertos grinned foolishly.

“Hehehe… So this is the limited-edition set? It’s truly beautiful! That guy Demacia really is a good kid…”

The cards had been secretly given to him by the young man named Demacia before the elves departed.

All his other cards, including the Gwent deck he had sneakily taken from the Ancestral Mother, had been burned by Andrea his wife in the name of “neglecting one’s proper duties for toys.”

Aside from this deck, there were two other ordinary sets of cards. Those had been given to Tiberia and Agnés.

The two dragons had unexpectedly failed to come and see the players off today.

Even though… they had spent more time with the players than anyone else during these past two weeks.

“I absolutely can’t let Andrea see this deck again.”

The Red Dragon King carefully stored the cards away as though they were priceless treasures.

However, the moment he finished putting them away, he heard the familiar voice of his wife.

“Hertos!”

The Red Dragon King jumped in fright and nearly dropped the cards. He shuddered before turning around and seeing the silver dragon Andrea staring at him with a frown. She seemed to be in a particularly bad mood.

“What are you hiding?”

“Cough, nothing. Nothing at all…”

Andrea: “…”

The Mythical Silver Dragon stared deeply at the Red Dragon King, making him feel extremely uneasy. In the end, however, she did not press the matter.

“By the way, have you seen Tiberia?”

Andrea asked.

“Tiberia?”

The Red Dragon King frowned slightly.

“That little brat still has two months of confinement left. She should be in the rear valley, right? With Agnés.”

“Agnés was knocked unconscious. I asked her, but she doesn’t remember anything.”

The silver dragon’s expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Hearing this, the Red Dragon King froze.

Several seconds later, he suddenly realized something. He turned sharply toward the direction in which the elves had departed and cursed loudly.

“Damn it! That little brat must have sneaked out again! And I was even planning to give her a deck of cards!”

“Hmm? What deck of cards?”

A sharp gaze swept toward him.

“Cough… Honey, you must have heard wrong.”

The Red Dragon King coughed awkwardly and tucked his tail between his legs.

༺⟐༻

“Ah… Our journey is finally ending.”

Riding on the back of a dragon, Demacia turned around and withdrew his gaze from Dragon Island.

The island was already out of sight behind him.

“Demacia, it looks like you really liked Dragon Island!”

Ji Gang said with a smile.

“Of course. The dragons on Dragon Island are both wealthy and simple-minded. The metal dragons in particular, once you earn their recognition, you can truly become their friends…”

“Although the chromatic dragons on Dragon Island have rather explosive tempers, they are surprisingly straightforward and genuine as well. They’re completely different from those evil dragons entrenched across the continent.”

Demacia said.

As he spoke, he sighed with emotion.

“You know what, I’ve actually made more friends among the dragons these past few days than I’ve made among the players over the past several years…”

Hearing his words, the players looked at him disdainfully.

Well, who told you to always cause trouble before?

Under the disdainful gazes of the players, especially several of the female players, Demacia’s face unexpectedly reddened.

He coughed awkwardly and said:

“F-Fine, I was wrong, okay? But… but I’m already changing, aren’t I?”

“By the way, why didn’t that Tiberia come to see us off? Didn’t she say she wanted to return to the Elven Forest with us?”

Demacia changed the subject.

“She was still confined, right? I heard Agnés say that she still has two months left.”

Little Salty Cat answered.

However, at that very moment, a cheerful and resounding dragon roar came from behind the players.

“Ruah! Hey wait for me! You guys are flying way too fast!”

The players turned around and saw a slender red dragon chasing after them.

“Tiberia, weren’t you still not allowed to leave the island?”

Dōngdōng was slightly taken aback.

“Hey! I told you I was going back with you! My contract with Her Grace the Goddess of Life hasn’t been fulfilled yet! Psh, who cares about confinement? That old fart can’t keep me locked up!”

Tiberia looked extremely proud.

After saying that, she widened her sparkling eyes.

“By the way… when we get back to the Elven Forest, are you going to give me a welcome feast?”

“Don’t be too formal. One cartload of barbecue will be enough! I want mine with honey too!”

All the players: “…”

You just want to eat the barbecue from the Elven Forest, don’t you?!

And so, the red dragon Tiberia joined the group as the players flew toward the mainland continent.

This time, they did not take the same route they had used when they came. Instead, they headed directly toward the Elven Forest.

They had been traveling for several months.

It was time to go home.

The players returned from their trip to Dragon Island with a bountiful haul.

By the time they returned to Chosen City, a week had already passed.

At the same time, Zelouan of Maple Moon Free State welcomed a traveler from the north…

“Zelouan… I’ve finally returned to this city.”

Looking at the city along the shore, which was far more prosperous than it had been more than a year ago, Old John was filled with emotion.

In just one short year, the filthy and disorderly harbor had nearly doubled in size. Guards clad in fine armor patrolled the streets constantly, and everything was orderly.

The streets were straight, and the roads were cleaner than he remembered. The pedestrians coming and going all looked healthy and full of vitality, completely unlike the listless and impoverished citizens in the various cities of the Empire.

Their eyes were filled with vigor.

The beautiful city, the happy residents, and everything before him left Old John in a daze.

It had only been a year, yet Zelouan seemed to have become completely different from the cities of the Empire.

This place truly looked like a paradise from a fairy tale.

Old John carefully stepped off the ship. He tightened his grip around the keepsake the elves had given him, suppressed his excitement, and walked into the city.

The city was even more prosperous than he had imagined. Carriages streamed continuously through the streets, while crowds came and went amid a lively and bustling scene.

The sight made Old John feel as though he had stepped into another world.

At the same time, a deep question began to grow within his heart.

Why… why had this city, despite being famous throughout the region a year ago, still not been all that different from the other cities of the Empire? And yet, in the span of just one year, how had it changed so dramatically?

Old John knew that the Church of Life was responsible for these changes.

However, he could not imagine what it had taken to restore vitality to a city that had suffered through war and completely transform it within such a short period of time.

He stood nervously at an intersection, suddenly unsure where he should go.

Then, a guard wearing armor noticed him and approached.

Seeing the guard walking toward him, Old John’s heart tightened and he instinctively prepared to flee.

There was no helping it…

This was practically a reflex shared by every commoner in the Empire.

Sure, the city guards did maintain order within the cities, but they only protected the interests of nobles and wealthy merchants. For commoners without connections, getting involved with the guards usually resulted in one of two things: either bullying or extortion.

However, just as Old John stood there nervously, overwhelmed by anxiety and fear, the guard patted him on the shoulder and gave him a friendly smile.

“Hey there, you don’t look very well. Have you run into some kind of trouble? Do you perhaps need some help?”

Seeing the guard’s friendly smile, Old John was slightly stunned.

That smile felt strangely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

Gradually, the guard’s appearance began to overlap with the image of someone from his memories.

It was a refugee Old John had met while fleeing from the south. The two of them had shared a boat, and that refugee had eventually disembarked here in Zelouan.

Old John clearly remembered that the refugee had been gaunt and sickly, with a dispirited expression and dull eyes. Yet the guard before him had a healthy complexion and a lively spirit, while his bright eyes were filled with light.

Could… could this really be the same person?

Old John was no longer certain.

“…Jason? Is that you?”

He widened his eyes and asked uncertainly.

“Hmm?”

The guard froze.

A trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

“Do you know me?”

“It’s really you?! I… I’m John!”

Old John said excitedly.

“…John?”

The guard frowned.

After carefully examining Old John’s face for a while, the guard’s expression gradually turned to one of pleasant surprise.

“It’s you! John from a year ago!”

“That’s right, it’s me!”

Old John’s voice trembled.

“How… how did you end up looking like this? I didn’t recognize you at all…”

The guard asked in astonishment as he looked at Old John’s somewhat aged appearance.

“Ah… it’s a long story. I’m also curious about what you’ve been through. You look like an entirely different person.”

Old John sighed with emotion.

Hearing this, the guard’s gaze gradually softened.

As though he had remembered something, his expression became extremely fervent and devout.

He drew the symbol of the Scepter of Life over his chest and said with a smile:

“All of this is thanks to Her Grace the great Goddess of Life, and to the benevolent Lady Sophia…”

“John, do you remember what we talked about on the ship back then?”

The guard asked.

Old John’s expression became slightly distant. He nodded.

“Yeah… Of course I remember…”

Of course he remembered.

When he had first met the man, John had been at the lowest point of his life, having lost his family and everything he held dear, completely disheartened.

It was during that period that meeting Jason and having someone with whom he could share his feelings had gradually helped him climb out of despair.

At the time, however, Old John had been a devout follower of the Eternal Church, while Jason had already abandoned his faith in the Eternal Lord.

In the end, the two had gone their separate ways here in Zelouan. One converted to the Church of Life, while the other continued northward.

But now, the two of them had met again.

And Old John, once a devout follower of the Eternal Church, had become a confused man without faith.

“John…”

The guard Jason’s eyes were filled with light.

“We once talked about why this world was so dark, where hope could be found, where our future truly lay… and where the dawn that could pierce the darkness of the night was…”

“Now… I’ve found it.”

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