Chapter 15 (1/2)

Synopsis: But how was I going to find him… his majesty, the Ice Emperor.

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As I abandoned the boat and went ash.o.r.e, I could see my haggard appearance and tattered clothes from my reflection in the water. It was almost as if I suddenly aged ten more years.

I smiled bitterly for a moment, before starting to walk forwards along the road.

Fortunately, a married couple driving a cart pa.s.sed by and kindly offered to bring me to the nearest town in the area, under the a.s.sumption that I was a lost traveler.

They dropped me off at a town that was part of the powerful human kingdom of Bien.

Flouris.h.i.+ng due to especially prosperous trade near coastal waterways, the place had rows upon rows of shops and humongous crowds of people everywhere. I stared, somewhat at a loss, until I finally realized an extremely critical and miserable problem.

I didn't have any money.

The only valuable thing I had on myself was a ruby pendant that I always wore around my neck; it was a family heirloom that my mother gave me when I came of age.

She had told me to take good care of it, and yet…

I clutched the red gemstone and hesitated, but in the end, still decided to walk into what looked like the biggest p.a.w.nshop among the rest.

There was no way I would be able to make a living for myself with having absolutely nothing in my hands. I could only focus on obtaining immediate living expenses for now, and p.a.w.n it back when I get an income one day in the future.

To speak frankly, I was born as the heir of a lord, so I never did think about what other type of job I could take before. I ate a meal at a small restaurant and struck a conversation with the owner.

I said: ”I came here to look for a person but I don't have any leads, and I don't have any means to support myself either. Do you have any suggestions for a job I can get, mister?”

He told me that the Adventurer's Guild employed unskilled labor all year round. Even though the pay was poor, it was a good place to snoop around for all sorts of information.

I asked for directions and after getting there, easily found myself a job — in this place, work was plenty though wages were low. One had to swallow their pride and basically work like servants for arrogant, self-important, and completely unreasonable warriors and magicians. 'If anyone had any other choice, they definitely wouldn't choose to work here', was what I thought.

My job was to a.s.sist adventurer parties that showed up looking for missions that suited them; it was work I rather liked doing because I could casually chat with them and get clues while pretending to diligently browse for missions.

I thought that it would be very hard to hear anything relevant, so I was prepared to stay here for a year or more. However, I had no idea it would be so simple to get what I wanted.

I asked them: ”Hey folks, have you ever heard of a dragon that doesn't have a dragon pearl?”

They gave each other strange looks after listening to me, then broke out into laughter. The leader, a warrior with a large beard, gave me a mocking look: ”Kid, you think we're green, inexperienced newbies like you?”

And from their mouths, I easily heard the circ.u.mstances of the current king of the dragons, Yiweisibel Hande.

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The dragon race's political system was similar to a coalition of multiple clans. Each clan was made up of families, which were made up of individuals.

Only the chief of the strongest clan would be acknowledged as the king of the entire dragon race — and for nearly three hundred years, this position was held by the chief of the ice clan.

This reign would have gone longer if not for the rebellion within the dragon race that shocked the entire Ican Continent five years ago.

The king of dragons was murdered by a member of the ice clan's royal family, while the prince sustained heavy injuries and disappeared.

Dragons did not live their lives governed by many rules and regulations, for they only followed one principle: might makes right. Everything was solved with strength.