Chapter 15 - The Gorgon's Head
Dominic looked to the Guard nearest to him for an explanation, as he had no idea what or where the Gorgon Head was.
"It's a popular Inn inside the Noble District, next to the clock tower and the Magitech Pistol vendor, if you know where those are. The food there is outstanding, but it's almost impossible for regular folk to get a seat without reserving weeks in advance.
There is a private room for use by the Royal Family, so Princess Josephine will likely set us up there." The Guard explained.
"Do you have a change of clothes? They have a dress code, and even coming in with a lesser Princess, wearing your combat gear might cause issues." The Royal Guard whispered in response to Dominic's concerned look.
Dominic shook his head, but Elanor smiled. "That's fine. The guards will have packed a spare clothing gem in the wagon. They always do when there are Royals going out of the Palace.
You can have it as a reward for agreeing on such short notice to come with me today. I know you were supposed to be at work and all."
Dominic resisted the urge to question what exactly might have been prepared for a trip with the Princess. But, it might be an item gem with a somewhat generic magical clothing outfit or uniform, and part of the Royal Carriage's standard equipment.
They were rare and exceptionally expensive, but the carriage was prepared for a member of the Royal Family, and they likely had someone on staff who could just make them as needed.
He hadn't seen any such thing since he was a small child. But for a formal dinner with the Nobles, he might not have a choice but to wear whatever was provided.
Showing up as he was currently dressed was definitely not going to work. He had been thrown out of half the shops in the noble district for his appearance already. Getting banned from the restaurant during his first attempt at a high-class meal was not on his to-do list.
The guard closest to Dominic tapped him on the shoulder, and Dominic accepted the small gem that the man offered.
Once he had it in his hands, Dominic realized that it wasn't quite as strange of an outfit as he had expected. The outfit was all black with gold embroidery, from what he could see in the gem's miniature display, and didn't look like it was childish or excessively feminine in cut.
Given the Princess's age, he had feared the very worst about how the spare wardrobe would look.
Dominic quickly gave thanks to the creator that it wasn't a dress. The Guards would laugh every time they saw him if he wore one of her dresses to dinner.
Even if some of the noblemen did find such things fashionable.
"Princess, might we escort you back to the carriage?" One of the senior class students asked hopefully.
His high hopes for the day had dissipated when he realized that their chance to impress the youngest member of the Royal Family had ended with a resounding defeat and that the day was being cut short due to the surprising number of Goblins they had found and the tunnel network that would need to be properly investigated.
"It would be a pleasure, I'm sure." The Princess replied, extending her arm to set it on his, while his classmates quietly cheered him on.
The carriages had been brought to only a few dozen metres away in preparation to take the Royals back to the city, but the young man was over the moon with excitement at the opportunity that it represented, and Dominic hung back while the nobleman took his chance to speak with the Princess.
Unfortunately for him, all he chose to talk about was money and status, and neither of those things was going to impress her from what Dominic had learned of Eleanor's personality.
He was about to follow the Princess into the carriage when one of the students stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"You're her friend, right? Where did Don go wrong? I can already tell she wasn't into him." He whispered.
"Did he really think that a junior Princess who put so much effort into becoming a Paladin would be into long talks about money and status? He picked all the wrong topics." Dominic whispered back, then stepped forward to follow the other two Princesses and the procession of Royal Guards back toward the carriages.
"We should change before we reach the city limits. The Academy will have staff waiting there to welcome me back, and I told them that I was only going to observe and cheer on my sisters." Elanor informed Dominic with a wink.
"Oh, sneaking out to go fight Goblins. You rebel you. But that should be fine, as long as this outfit fits." Dominic agreed, making Princess Elanor laugh.
Then he froze as the words he had just spoken sank in. This was a bad idea. A 'get his head removed from his shoulders for bringing doubt about the Royal Family's honour' sort of bad idea.
He was about to exit the vehicle to change when Eleanor spoke again. "I've never seen a gem equipped item not fit, so I think you're safe. Don't worry about returning that one, either. I was already caught trying to sneak out in it once, so they won't fall for it again."
Elanor equipped a dress of her own, and her armour shimmered out of sight, replaced with the outfit in the gem without a hint of undress. One outfit was simply replaced with another.
Dominic followed her lead and found himself in floor-length black robes with long, flowing sleeves and a cloak made of the same black silk, with golden runes all along the edges and a hooded cloak.
He looked like the nobleman version of a stereotypical wizard.
Rather like his own Uncle Deve had in the pictures hung around the manor.
His former outfit was in a pile on the floor, so Princess Eleanor must have a magical gem for her armour as well. It only took a second to grab the pile of cloth and toss it into his storage cube, then Dominic spread his arms to show off his appearance.
"Wow, that's not what it looks like when a Paladin equips it at all. Or perhaps it is because of my status as a Princess? You would be able to infiltrate the Magic Academy as a new student, no problem."
Dominic considered that. If they all had the same Skill Cores and an abundance of Spell Gems available from their parents, what exactly were the noble mages even learning at the Academy? More spells, or was it for trade skills relating to magic? Some of those might actually be useful to him in the future if he had any intention of or ability to go back to school.
He didn't think that he would be able to take being stuck in classes with a bunch of kids who were barely teenagers, but if he had to, there might be a way to get some knowledge out of them that would make a trip to the Academy worth it.
"My sisters are going to be totally fighting over you when we get there. Don't let their friendship fool you, they actually compete over everything.
Ooh, maybe one of them will want to claim you as a personal crafter? Then you would always be around the castle.
What trade or combat skill have you taken up anyhow? I never thought to ask before." Elanor continued.
"Blacksmithing. I haven't had much time to really study, but I am an apprentice smith." Dominic explained.
"A smith? I totally thought you would have taken up calligraphy or Runology or something esoteric. Most Sorcerors choose something like that so that they can try to craft new spells or fulfill requirements by their patron.
Is your bloodline's ancestor a demanding one? Do they still communicate with their offspring with mixed blood at all? Or is that too personal? I don't really get a chance to ask these sorts of questions to many people." Elanor rambled as the carriage made its way back to town.
"My draconic lineage doesn't actually affect me at all until I have to interact with other people, and they notice my horns." Dominic shrugged.
Except in combat, but that part could remain unsaid.
Observing was pretty much all that the World Dragon whose lineage Dominic's family was sired by supposedly did, as well as granting boons to those who were worthy. What exactly the powerful Ancient Beast's duty or role was seemed unclear.
There was a common belief in his old hometown that it was the World Dragon that maintained the Monster Blessing, but nobody had ever proven that, and the pantheon of Gods certainly had influence over it, as they all had their own clerics and favourites. In this part of the world, he had no idea what the consensus was.
"Who is your Ancestor? Can you say?" The Princess asked.
"The World Dragon," Dominic answered on instinct.
"A Dragon? That is wonderful. So you're a Dragon Priest by birth? No, that should be a Dragon Warlock because you don't use healing spells. How does that even work? I've never been allowed around people outside the Nobility before, and there aren't a lot of mixed blood nobles."
The Princess was quite the chatterbox, but it was rather soothing after the stress and adrenaline of the battle.
"Technically, Dragonkin are Nobles. Or were when we still had a nation of our own. But I don't think that we get any sort of official, or even unofficial, designation here in Cygnia or from our ancestors.
We just kind of are what we are.
My mother worked as an Arcanist, and my father was a Technomage." Dominic explained, fondly remembering his early days in the village.
Elanor was lost in his thoughts for a while, then suddenly shot up straight. "Right, Wavemates region had Dragonkin Royals before Dagos invaded to claim Kinewen City and bring the region under human control. I remember that from politics class.
Wait. You said World Dragon, right? As in THE World Dragon. Not just any dragon."
"Yes?" Dominic replied tentatively.
"Oh my Goddess, you really are blessed. I have only met one blessed of The World Dragon before, and he is an Immortal at the Magic Academy. His luck is supposed to be insane enough that they banned him from the Casinos. They even say that he defeated the last Demon Lord by himself, and that he can create an army of monsters to do his bidding.
But what brought you to the city? You're clearly not raised here." She asked, staring intently at his face, as if she could detect any sign of falsehood that way.
"The village that I was raised in was near the Cygnia border, up in the hills. It was wiped out in a surprise invasion a few years ago, and I eventually decided that I would build my skills and settle in Cygnia City so that I could join the Royal Apprenticeship Intake.
I know it might sound silly, but when you reach Journeyman status as a Royal Craftsman, you're allowed to make a request. I figured that if I could make a name for myself, I could request that the army go and wipe out those scum that took away my home.
But you said that you met a blessed Immortal? How did everyone find out that he was an Immortal? When did you meet him?" Dominic finished, not wanting to talk too much more on the subject of personal tragedy.
"I met him on my tenth birthday when he came to the celebration in the Palace. But the Demon Lord was defeated about fifteen hundred years ago, I guess? The exact date is a bit blurry because the calendar changed with the change of Kingdoms, and they didn't record everything properly.
But if you're going to go for the Apprentice intake, not only are you going to need to go through as many monster cores as possible to build your Trade Skill Stone, but you're also going to have to leave the city limits and get some real experience on your resume that will make the servants raised by the Noble Families look like the higher risk option."
Dominic couldn't argue with that logic. If you didn't have overwhelming skill and connections for the Apprentice Intake, you had to have accomplishments. He would ask Pops about it when they got back.