Chapter 159: I can’t stand frustration! (3)
“”A seal…?””
Closing his eyes at their questions, Deidros racked his brain for a plausible explanation.
“That’s right. Since it was said that it was obtained from the Labyrinth created by the Sage, I wonder if it was a dragon that was defeated by a hero party in the past…It wouldn’t be too strange if they were the ones who vanquished the dragon. How they were able to seal it in the orb is beyond me, but perhaps the Sage had a way of doing it.”
“So what is its condition now, and will it do any harm to Ms. Yuri? Because the orb hasn’t been talking to me.”
Deidros waves a hand in response to Zetto’s concern.
“It only spoke to Yuri because it was connected to her. It’s quite a complicated story, but in simple terms, it’s a mental connection… I don’t know why, but the bond is quite strong, and it seems that Yuri and this Red Dragon are compatible. Zetto, I’m not sure why it couldn’t connect with you, but… In any case, no harm will come to Yuri. Not yet.”
“So I can use it as a normal orb?”
“A normal orb…”
Deidros murmured, echoing Yuri’s question.
He felt guilty at the look of innocence in her eyes but Deidros continued, trying to avoid Yuri’s gaze as she looked at him shyly.
“…It seems that it is still possible to increase the power of magic, but it may be possible to harness the power of this Red Dragon if we can find out its true name, though that will not be easy.”
“…”
At Deidros’ mention of the true name, Zetto’s mouth drops open.
Deidros would not know that Zetto knows the dragon’s true name, which will never be easy to discover, and his own.
“Do you mind if I try to communicate with this dragon for a moment, just to see if I can get it to cooperate.”
“Then do me a favor, if I can harness the power of the dragon, I’ll become stronger, right?”
At Deidros’ suggestion, the sphere’s owner, Yuri, nodded faintly.
“You could become stronger, yes. However, if you do, the bond will be stronger than this, and you will be exposed to the power of the Red Dragon, which may affect you… are you okay with that?”
“How will I be affected…?”
“Well, it’s a Red Dragon so it’s just that you might become a little angrier than usual, and if it’s a little more severe, you might become overwhelmed with rage and have trouble thinking straight…”
“…I suppose I should take that into account, I’m not the only one who pushes herself to become stronger.”
As Yuri replied, she looked at Zetto next to her.
“In that case, I’ll leave you to talk for a while.”
“Uh, but…Orb has been talking a lot less since earlier, is that okay? I mean, he’s usually a big talker and really loud…”
Picking up the orb and standing up from his seat, Deidros frowned at the glass as if it were an oddity.
“Don’t worry about that.”
No wonder it was quiet.
With that thought, Deidros retreated to a quiet room in the mansion.
Closing and locking the door behind him, Deidros tossed the sphere onto a table in the center of the room then immediately placed his hand over the sphere.
His hand glowed, briefly breaking the link between the sphere and the glass, and then connecting it to himself.
It was a temporary and tenuous connection for a moment of communication, unlike Yuri’s connection.
Once Deidros was satisfied that he was connected to the sphere, he let out a single, loud sigh.
“Hah… Answer me if you can hear me.”
Deidros was now speaking the dragon’s native language.
The reason he bothered to use the dragon’s language, which had become unfamiliar to him after so many years of amusement, was because he didn’t want Zetto, who had excellent hearing, to overhear and say anything that might not be good.
[ … ]
But the orb gave no reply so Deidros checked the connection once more.
The orb didn’t answer and pretended that it didn’t hear him. However Deidros’ cold gaze continued and there was contempt in his eyes as he stared down at the sphere.
“An orb? How ridiculous. Did you think I didn’t know what this thing was for?”
[ …… ]
“I could not tell them the truth. I dare not tell them the truth. A soul trapped in a tool for pleasure. How pathetic.”
That’s right.
The sphere was not an ‘orb’.
To a human, it would appear to be an orb, a sphere containing vast amounts of mana, but this sphere was a female dragon’s “masturbation device” that had existed since time immemorial.
A dragon would know since it was so famous that it was rumored to have once been a coveted item among dragons.
Deidros couldn’t quite explain how the soul of an ancient and noble dragon could be contained in a crude tool for self-pleasuring, so he chose to make up a lie.
The plausible lie that it had been sealed by the Sage.
“I did not do this for you, so you need not thank me. Answer me now.”
With those words, Deidros drew a line in the sand at the nameless, stupid female dragon.
Eventually, the orb began to speak, however, it showed no sign of gratitude.
[…Gratitude? Why should I be grateful? Sealing? That’s ridiculous… I’m not weak enough to be sealed by some lowly hero.]
The Red Dragon was furious in return but Deidros, who hadn’t moved a muscle in response, cracked a smile.
“Hah, I thought you knew what I was talking about when you kept your mouth shut, but it turns out you don’t. As for not being sealed by a hero…that doesn’t sound like something a woman whose soul is contained in such a crude tool should say but your answer just confirmed it. You’ve done this to yourself.”
[Ugh…]
Deidros’ words proved correct, and the orb closed its mouth with an eerie groan.
The Red Dragon within the orb fell silent, but somehow the orb began to vibrate and hum.
The orb’s true function as a tool had been activated.
What had triggered it to emit such an unearthly vibration was unknown, but Deidros ears were stinging from the vibrations rattling across the table, and he quickly grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around the orb.
“…What in the world could it possibly be? Aren’t the Red Dragons a bunch of stupid people who can only get angry at each other?”
Deidros, who couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness at the sight of the orb wrapped in a cloth around, snapped.
Ugh…shut that mouth…! I was just curious…]
“…What?”
[That is…what pleasure would be added if this, this tool, became a part of me…]
What a shocking thing to say.
Even though it was said that it was difficult for a dragon to find its mate, it was supposed to be a ‘tool’ designed for that purpose… but this was too much, even for a dragon.
Just to share sensations, she had transferred her soul.
No, does that even make sense?
“…”
Deidros, who had no idea what to expect despite the explanation, shook his head in disbelief.
“…I’ll pretend there was no cooperation from the beginning, and I’ll destroy it right here and now.”
[No way…! I’m too young to die like this…! I haven’t even mated yet!]
Dragons don’t naturally have a strong sexual appetite, so this obsession with mating seemed odd, but at this point, it would be impossible for her to mate forever.
It was then that Deidros realized the purpose of the sensory connections in the orb structure.
“There’s no other way since you’ve already decided that a beast with a head full of lust like yours is a dragon. I can’t be so rude.”
Deidros tightens his grip and was about to crush the orb when it cried out in frustration.
[Wait…! I’ll tell you my true name…I’ll tell you my true name…]
“…True name?”
[I don’t know about you, insolent one, but my master craves power for a reason! She would be disappointed if you destroyed me in such a situation…]
“…Hmph.”
Deidros snorted.
‘She was just playing around, but she really meant it when she said she would tell me her true name…’
As far as dragons were concerned, a ‘true name’ was never something that could be given away easily.
A command or contract with a true name carries a great deal of power and can be easily manipulated by the person to whom it is given.
As such, dragons would reveal their true names when they served someone, or to a lifelong companion, as something akin to an oath.
Even the long-lived Deidros had only given his true name once.
To reveal such an important piece of information to a human he’d only just met was incomprehensible to common dragon sense.
[Hmph. You can’t break it, can you? Besides, it’s not yours. I’ve heard that Gold Dragons are very careful with things they don’t own.]
“…”
Deidros thought as he looked at the orb that had been laughing a despicable laugh.
‘It seems that this stupid bitch has long since lost any sense of pride or self-respect as a dragon.’