The Response to my Drunken Proposal was Surprisingly Good

— You said that without an elemental guardian, it’s nearly impossible for a mere human to soothe elementals.

— That is correct. Moreover, elemental guardians are mostly referred to as the elves of the Great Forest, and they are never human.

— Then, what is this man before us?

The three dragon-people exchanged telepathic messages rapidly.

The elementals’ rampage had been quelled by a human male. No matter how hard they tried to remain composed, they couldn’t help but feel perplexed. As their confusion grew with each passing second, one of the dragon-people finally broached the subject telepathically.

— Is it possible that the elementals weren’t actually rampaging?

— Foolish notion. You can sense it in the flow. Traces of their frenzy still linger.

— But Gromon, a human?

— I’ve heard that rarely, humans with a high affinity for elementals do exist. However, even a human with high affinity should only be able to communicate with elementals at best.

—….

For a moment, there was silence among the dragon-people.

Speaking the same language didn’t necessarily mean two parties were close. In fact, it could lead to discovering differences in opinion and growing further apart. Yet, this man had gone beyond mere communication to actually pacify the elementals? It was truly an astonishing feat.

— Perhaps the Second Princess deliberately prepared this individual?

It was a reasonable guess.

The dragon-people had demanded that the princess demonstrate “human potential,” and wasn’t the scene before them an unexpected manifestation of that very potential?

After a moment of silence, Gromon slowly transmitted his thoughts.

— It is certain that such humans are rare on the continent. By the looks of it, his abilities seem quite remarkable.

— So what should we do now? The Second Princess’s soul would fetch an extremely high price if we could obtain it.

— Hmm….

Gromon’s group had consistently exploited the desperation of those on the verge of the Ascension Ceremony, reaping immeasurable benefits by leveraging the cost of soul trades.

Hedera, despite her human birth, was a rare species who suddenly gained dragon powers. If they could obtain her soul, it would yield enormous profits.

Gromon quickly finished his calculations.

— Instead, we should use that man.

A resolute telepathic message.

— Use him? I don’t yet understand the plan.

— Exactly three days ago, Rekon completed a soul trade.

Rekon was the dragon-people positioned furthest to the left among the three.

— That utterly incompetent fellow achieved significant progress in just three days after the trade. If Rekon overwhelmingly defeats this human, the princess will also feel the need for a trade.

— Understood.

A simple and straightforward plan; they all nodded in agreement.

Their course of action was set.

~~••~~••~~

Inside the Imperial Treasury, the elementals were docile.

— Ezekiel, be more careful next time.

— That’s right. We were all frozen and on the verge of annihilation.

— Anyway, it’s a chill that never feels human, no matter when I feel it.

— I’m not an arm pillow! Get away from me!

The elementals, having regained their calm, began to chatter incessantly; though they were extremely timid beings, but once their mouths were opened, they never stopped talking.

‘It’s always like this with the elementals,’ Ezekiel thought. It wasn’t something he had intended.

Usually, when humans handle elements, they leave traces of their distinctly artificial flow. However, Ezekiel’s Ice mana was closer to a raw force that even his human body struggled to contain; this resulted in the elementals initially fearing Ezekiel’s ice mana, but once they became slightly accustomed to it, they welcomed it enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Tether was the first to pay her respects to Hedera.

“Your Highness! It’s an honor to see you…!”

However, Hedera’s gaze was fixed solely on Ezekiel. While everyone else found this encounter awkward, only Ezekiel remained composed.

Hedera glanced at the pile of sunweed.

“…It seems you’ve forcibly lowered your ice mana.”

The princess was concerned about this.

His health was already poor, and he had undoubtedly smoked an excessive amount of sunweed to pacify the elementals; the thought of this made her uncomfortable.

“It’s fine. I just enjoyed chewing on the sunweed.”

In response to the man’s nonchalant reply, Hedera surveyed her surroundings — the relics were all intact, without a single one damaged.

…Once again, she had received his help. She began to wonder inwardly if there were any more relics she could offer him.

“You worked hard to look after the relics. It could have easily damaged the entire first floor, and I’ll compensate you.”

“There’s no need. I’m satisfied with having made friends with the elementals.”

…Was it her imagination?

She thought she saw the elemental stone tremble for a moment; it was then that the dragon-people suddenly stepped forward in front of Hedera.

“We encounter an unusual human. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“D-dragon-people!”

Tether quickly bowed her head.

On the other hand, Ezekiel merely offered appropriate courtesy.

‘Tether’s reaction is correct. They really are dragon-people.’

Dragon-people, beings born between dragons and humans.

They were a race innately gifted with tremendous magical talent. It was rare for them to leave the celestial realm, yet here they were, descending to the human world.

‘…Suspicious.’

Suspicious. That was the only impression Ezekiel had.

Come to think of it, it was quite natural.

Those who were satisfied with life in the Celestial Realm would not try to leave, even in death. There must be a reason why they visited the human world, which they so despised.

Either they were truly great, or they were the scum of the Celestial Realm.

Just as there were admirable humans and incompetent ones, the same applied to dragon-people. While it was true that dragon-people were born with high magical aptitude, those who have lived lazily stood out.

“There is no need to go into lengthy introductions, is there? If you know where we came from, that should be enough.”

The dragon-people stared at Ezekiel with wide eyes, but he simply remained nonchalant. Having experienced all sorts of situations, even if an actual dragon had appeared, he likely wouldn’t have been intimidated.

“You seem to be close to the Princess. What’s your relationship?”

“He’s just an Inspector from the Imperial Magic Tower,” Hedera quickly stepped forward and replied. She seemed to have more to say, but Gromon didn’t give her a chance.

“So, that means the princess appointed you based on her judgment. You must be quite capable. As it happens, we have a dragon-people here who has just begun his training.”

Gromon gestured with his chin towards the leftmost dragon-people. It was Rekon, who had completed a soul trade just three days ago.

“How about arranging a magical exchange between a dragon-people who completed a soul trade under my guidance, and a human chosen by the princess? It would be a great learning experience for both.”

“This wasn’t on the schedule at all…”

“Princess, surely you don’t know? We will be able to confirm the potential of humans through this exchange.”

Gromon cut off Hedera’s words.

This was blatant disrespect, and Ezekiel’s expression turned subtle.

‘They want to embarrass the princess.’

In fact, it was clear that they had ill intentions, as he was pushing for them to have a magical exchange without even knowing the exact nature of their relationship; they had even thought it through cleverly. A confrontation between subordinates rather than the principals could easily be disguised as an “exchange” later on.

‘I’ll watch a little longer.’

While it was true that the Princess had appointed Ezekiel as an Inspector, that princess was Solana, not Hedera.

Ezekiel chose not to clarify this fact, curious about the reason for their suspicious behavior.

“A-A magical exchange? It’s practically a duel…!” Tether muttered in disbelief.

As expressions of awkwardness spread across Hedera and Tether’s faces, only Ezekiel, the actual party involved, remained impassive.

‘Well, it’s because I smoked too much sunweed.’

With his ice mana at such a low level, they probably thought it was worth a try.

Ezekiel spoke with composure.

“Your Highness.”

When Hedera turned her head, Ezekiel quietly nodded. It was a sign that he would agree to this exchange.

Meanwhile, the conversation on the dragon-people side was clearly audible.

“Lord Gromon, is it alright to finish it in one go?”

It seemed that he had no intention of lowering his voice. Maybe he was sure of his victory.

Ezekiel looked at his opponent. He seemed simple-minded, but the aura he felt was fierce.

Gromon nodded.

“It would be impolite to arbitrarily control your power. Rekon, give it your all.”

“Then, with all due respect, I’ll finish it in one go.”

Finally, Ezekiel and Rekon stood facing each other.

The wide space at the entrance of the Imperial Treasury unexpectedly became a temporary arena. A duel with a dragon-people, no less.

‘It’s been a while.’

Among the numerous experiences that had shaped the current Ezekiel, encounters with dragon-people were included.

He wondered how these ones would measure up.

The guards and guardians who had gone to report to their superiors also returned and began to watch. Somehow, a circle of spectators had formed around the participants.​

“What’s going on? What about the elementals?”

“Quiet! There are important people here!”

“Really? From the princess to even dragon-people?”

“I heard they’re having a magical exchange… I wonder how it’ll turn out!”

In the midst of the growing commotion, Ezekiel slowly spoke. For once, he didn’t have sunweed in his mouth.

“You were confident about finishing me in one move.”

“Don’t take it personally. I’m not joking, I really can’t control my power well right now.”

The other two dragon-people quietly moved closer to Hedera.

“Rekon completed a soul trade just three days ago. His power is increasing at an unbelievable rate, making it hard to control. Please understand if the Inspector gets hurt.”

“You’ll soon realize the greatness of the soul trade.”

With his developed hearing, Ezekiel, who had heard the conversation, smiled.

So, their goal was soul trading.

Now that he knew their unsavory intentions, there was no reason to go easy on them.

Whoosh─!

In the next moment, the air distorted.

No, it wasn’t the air that distorted. It was Rekon’s preemptive strike, an invisible wave of mana rushing fiercely.

Kagagagagak!

And a violent sound echoed as the atmosphere tore.

Tremendous power.

With just one trade, he had gained such strength in only three days.

Could someone who just started learning magic achieve such power in three days?

Absolutely impossible.

Moreover, he would likely grow even stronger in a week, or a month.

Indeed, many would be tempted by soul trading.

However.

‘He’s clumsy. He can’t control his own power.’

Power that couldn’t be handled would often become a poison.

Ssss─!

Ezekiel quickly raised his ice mana.

“…Hm?”

Was Rekon surprised that Ezekiel had manifested something before the strike hit, or was he shocked by the unexpectedly intense cold?

Probably both.

Confusion spread across Rekon’s face.

“Restraint…? You were hiding such ice mana!”

Kaaaaang!

Rekon’s mana wave clashed with the ice barrier. While the defense was successful, Ezekiel had no intention of ending this duel with a mere ordinary victory.

An overwhelming victory. A profitable victory.

Desiring this, he dared to touch the mana wave with his bare hand.

“……….!”

“How reckless! Touching the raging mana wave with his hand!”

It was an incredibly reckless action.

Everyone’s eyes widened, but…

Jjeojeojeojeojeojeojeok─!

Ezekiel’s hand froze the entire mana wave.

Rekon’s invisible wave instantly froze, revealing its shape.

A swirling ice sculpture frozen in mid-air. It was so beautiful it could be mistaken for a work of art.

“You dared to mention ‘one move’.”

As astonished gazes fell upon Ezekiel and Rekon,

Ezekiel finally put a sunweed leaf in his mouth.

“Continue. I’m curious to see how many attempts it will take before you give up.”

The dragon-people’s mouth remained agape.