Chapter 326: For the Future! (1/2)
“Erm… excuse me but.” I tried my best to avoid hurting Emilia’s feelings. “Let me ask you something.”
“Sure.”
“By any chance...”
“...?”
“Have you gone senile?”
“...”
“I knew it...”
“...”
“I should have known when someone like the Dragon Lord proposed an alliance between dragons and humans...”
I dared to say that Emilia had definitely gone senile.
“It seems old age affects everyone, regardless of your species.”
“...”
“Do dragons have old folks’ homes...”
“No!” Seemingly disturbed by my crude remark, Emilia shouted. “Nobody’s senile.”
“O-Oh, is that so?”
“Of course.”
“...”
“A dragon’s mental stability is permanent. Diseases like dementia do not exist in our dictionary.”
“Then why did you spout such rubbish...”
“Rubbish?”
“W-Were you being serious?”
“You thought I was joking? Me, the Dragon Lord?”
I could not rebut her statement, but her request for me to marry her daughter still sounded absurd.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“But I’m being serious.”
Serious? I began to fear Emilia.
“Why…?”
“My daughter...”
“...?”
“The last dragon… she is destined to live alone as the sole survivor of the species...”
“What does that…!”
“This war.” Emilia placed emphasis in her words. “As we strive to protect Pangaea from the Agnagas, there is a very low chance of survival for us dragons.”
“...!”
“Currently… there’s only 25 dragons left, including me and my daughter. We are strong, but there’s only a few of us.”
“I see...”
“The Agnagas are stronger. To protect Pangaea in this battle… the extinction of our species seems inevitable.”
“…Is the situation that dire?”
I couldn’t believe Emilia’s words. Dragons were the strongest of all creatures, but even 25 of them couldn’t promise a victory in this war against the Agnagas?
So it’s impossible to win this battle after all.
I finally realized that the despair that I had tasted for the past two years was not unfounded. I had been fighting an unwinnable battle since the very start.
“In any case.” Emilia added. “There’s not a chance that the current you and my daughter will get married.”
“What do you mean?” I couldn’t comprehend her words. “Didn’t you just ask me to marry your daughter?”
“I did.”
“Then what nonsense are you...”
“You will die.”
“...!”
“You are strong. I know that you are the greatest amongst the human race, with power even comparable to an ancient dragon.”
“...”
“I don’t quite get you.”
“However...”
“However…?”
“Your reincarnation.”
“...!”
“I plan to leave my daughter to your reincarnation’s care.”
It gradually began to make sense.
“You… knew?”
My eyes met Emilia’s. Her dragon eyes gleamed with an immeasurable wisdom accumulated over countless number of years.
“The Wheel of Three Lives...” Emilia began to speak about my greatest secret. “It’s an ability created by Murciélago, the first Dragon Lord, to prepare against the end of the world.”
“...!”
“The dungeon that you had discovered coincidentally happened to be Murciélago’s grave.”
“I see...”
“As long as you have the Wheel of Three Lives, you are destined to become the messiah who can save the world.”
“...”
“Also...” Emilia continued her speech. “The reconstruction and revival of this world.”
“...!”
“That’s right. You are responsible for not only the world’s present, but also its future, not to forget my daughter as well.”
Shiver…! A chill ran down my spine. I hadn’t the slightest clue about the meaning behind the Wheel of Three Lives. “Messiah,” she says. “Save the world,” she says. “Responsible for this world’s reconstruction,” she says. I didn’t know that my life had to shoulder such a huge responsibility.
“Don’t worry, leader of the human race.” Emilia spoke. “You only have to focus on the present.”
“The present...?”
“Your reincarnation can be responsible for the world’s reconstruction and my daughter.”
“...!”
“You and your reincarnation will share the same soul, but you two are distinct identities. Your traits may be similar, but your background can be totally different.”
“Ah?” I could follow Emilia’s explanation. “So it’s none of my business?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I...”
“You just have to leave it to your reincarnation. Buck-passing… there’s nothing more attractive than this concept for leaders like you.”
She was right. I often resisted the urge to dump all my paperwork on my underlings and just vanish.
“Reconstruction of this world? What do you mean?”
I noticed a strange assumption in Emilia’s speech.
“You make it sound like this world is eventually going to be destroyed.”
“Not totally.”
“Then?”
“It’ll be a lose-lose situation.”
“...!”
“But even that may be too idealistic.”