Trash of the Count's Family

The three items were placed on top of the table.

When they were in the Central Plains…

These were the items they found in the Sichuan Castle Lord’s secret area in his study, an arrangement left behind by Maxillienne, a Dragon from Aipotu.

Next to them were the young monk statue with its cheeks even skinnier.

“You were planning on giving this sword to Choi Han?”

The ancient Dragon’s face was calm as he tapped on the wooden sword.

“Yes, Eruhaben-nim. I thought that it was the most fitting.”

Aipotu.

The sword used by the Elves who served the Dragon Lord for generations.

“Mm.”

However, Eruhaben’s face did not look good.

“Is there a problem?”

“The compatibility is not good.”

Cale looked confused and Eruhaben explained.

“I can’t tell for sure because the seal on the sword is not fully removed, but-”

“A seal?”

“Ah, it is set so that you can know all of its abilities only once it has a master.”

Choi Han had not become this sword’s master yet.

He needed to put his blood on it to make it official.

“Anyway, this sword does not fit well with darkness. It is actually like the day.”

Cale’s eyebrows slightly rose up.

“Choi Han is darkness.”

He understood why Eruhaben was talking about a compatibility issue.

“This sword is full of liveliness and overflowing with energy. I can feel that it will instinctively follow some sort of light.”

Sheritt added onto the Ancient Dragon’s comment.

“Elves have a tendency to worship Dragons. Dragons can definitely be considered a light for the Elves. I wonder if this sword was made with that in mind?”

Eruhaben nodded his head.

“Yes ma’am. You can see this sword as the sword of an unconditionally devoted person for protecting their master.”

This sword for the Guardian Knight Elf to protect the Dragon Lord did not suit Choi Han.

Cale thought about Choi Han.

‘Choi Han doesn’t have unconditional devotion.’

He would rather hide his body in the darkness and release a light himself.

And that guy already-

“Cale. Choi Han is someone who has already found his path and knows how to create light.”

Yes. As Eruhaben mentioned, Choi Han was someone who learned how to walk his own path and release it as an aura.

This sword did not suit someone like that.

“But it seems like a good sword.”

Sheritt showed her disappointment as she mumbled.

“What about giving it to someone else?”

Eruhaben and Cale made eye contact at that moment.

Someone fitting this sword…

The two of them subconsciously looked outside.

Baaaaang!

There was a loud noise and a person was flung away to smash into the forest.

That person was still laughing.

It was Clopeh Sekka.

“Cale.”

“Eruhaben-nim, that seems a bit…no.”

Cale urgently answered but the ancient Dragon said what he needed to say.

“But that guy is unconditionally devoted to you and to a legend.”

“…….”

That was true.

Even if Cale tried to avoid it, Clopeh Sekka was more crazy about a legend than anybody else Cale had met.

He wanted Cale to leave behind a legend.

“I’ve never seen anybody so completely crazy about their conviction like him.”

“…….”

“He is probably extremely compatible with this sword.”

“…….”

That did seem to be the case.

“Furthermore, that guy doesn’t really see Dragons as great and mighty.”

“…….”

This was also true.

Maybe it was because this bastard had led the Wyvern Knights Brigade in the past, but while Clopeh Sekka acted as if he saw Dragons as great and mighty, he didn’t seem to have much respect or fear toward them.

“Cale, he actually treats you like others treat Dragons.”

“…….”

‘Mm.’

Cale was getting a headache.

Things were going differently from what he planned.

“Cale, think about it.”

However, Eruhaben was thinking that this was a good idea.

It felt that way the more he thought about it.

“This sword was made to protect a Dragon, specifically, the Dragon Lord. When you go to Aipotu and use this sword, it might react when you potentially face the Dragon Lord as an enemy. If an Elf on our side happens to be holding this sword?”

“Mm.”

“Even if it is an enemy, Elves will hesitate when they see a Dragon. Do you think this sword will work properly as a weapon in that case?”

“…Mm.”

“Clopeh Sekka. That bastard will swing without any hesitation, even against a Dragon, if he thinks they are getting in the way of your legend.”

“…….”

The more he thought about it, the ancient Dragon seemed right about how Clopeh Sekka would act.

“This sword will definitely be quite valuable once the seal is removed. We need to make sure to find it a proper master who can use it effectively.”

“Mm.”

“Also, to be completely honest with you, Choi Han is now growing in his own path. He should be able to fight against Dragons to some degree. But Clopeh Sekka is too weak to fight against Dragons in Aipotu.”

“…That is true.”

“Yes. We need to give that bastard a weapon as well.”

Baaaaaang—!

There was another loud noise.

Cale watched as Clopeh got beaten up. Why was Choi Han teaching him how to use dead mana by beating him? This did not seem to be the way that the Heavenly Demon taught him.

“For now… Please let me think about it.”

Cale postponed making a decision.

“I will ask Choi Han since he is the owner of this sword.”

He needed to hear Choi Han’s opinion on the matter first.

“Then what about this ring?”

The Dragon Lord’s ring.

“You said that you saw purple eyes through this ring? You also heard a voice?”

“Yes, Eruhaben-nim.”

Purple eyes.

They were definitely Dragon eyes and Cale believed the owner of those eyes to be the Dragon Lord of Aipotu, the leader of the Purple Bloods.

He presumed this Dragon to be the final boss of the Purple Bloods.

“It is just a ring right now.”

Eruhaben shook his head. He seemed frustrated.

“This ring also requires you to go to Aipotu to use it properly. And I will keep it.”

“…….”

Eruhaben noticed Cale’s gaze and sternly answered.

“I can’t give this to Raon. If it is as you said, it is connected to the Dragon Lord. I absolutely cannot give such an item to Raon.”

“If I hold onto it-”

“Not you either. It is dangerous for you as well.”

Eruhaben spoke with a stern look on his face.

“Yes, Eruhaben-nim.”

Cale quickly agreed.

Eruhaben felt it was suspicious that Cale agreed so easily, but his face became extremely unsettled after seeing the crown on the table.

“Hey, this young monk statue said that he will do his part as the seed of a World Tree as well. The World Tree confirmed it.”

“I see.”

He now had a lead to completely take care of the World Tree issue in Aipotu.

“Yeah. Also-”

The ancient Dragon’s face was still unsettled.

“How did you end up creating a monster like that?”

The red crown.

“Why?”

“This is a bit…leery.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It is not dangerous. But I feel an instinctual repulsion toward it?”

“Hoooo.”

Cale’s eyes sparkled.

Eruhaben scowled even more after seeing Cale like that.

“Why do you seem so happy about that?”

“Haha, it is nothing, Eruhaben-nim.”

“It’s not nothing. Tsk.”

The ancient Dragon clicked his tongue and continued to speak while looking unhappy.

“Dragon Hunters, imugis-”

Eruhaben looked extremely repulsed, just like Choi Han when he was facing off against Clopeh, who laughed as he charged toward him.

The smile grew bigger on Cale’s face.

The red crown.

This item was the combination of Cale’s crown that desired Dragon blood and the Dragon Hunter Emperor’s crown that Maxillienne left behind.

This was possible thanks to the power of the cintamani the imugi that could not become a Dragon left behind.

That cintamani did not contain nature.

The warmth of a person…

The imugi had placed his relationships with humans within it instead of nature. As a result, the red crown-

‘It is possible that this item is an antipode to the Dragons.’

Cale thought that he gained a useful item but suddenly thought of something.

‘Raon didn’t seem to feel this repulsion?’

In fact, Raon had only looked at the red crown with eyes full of curiosity.

‘Is it because he is still young?’

Cale did not pay it much attention.

It was because the biggest issue was still at hand.

“Sheritt-nim.”

Former Dragon Lord Sheritt.

He still had to chat with her.

However, she shook her head.

“Not there.”

Cale and Eruhaben held back sighs after hearing that.

“I couldn’t find any attributes related to time or tense.”

The few things Cale knew about the Dragons in Aipotu…

The Dragon who left that arrangement for them, Maxillienne, had the attribute of Future.

It was also hypothesized that Aipotu’s Dragon Lord’s attribute was Time while there also existed a Dragon with the attribute of Past.

Of course, this hypothesis was basically confirmed.

“The records left in the Black Castle… And the recent records I researched with Mila… We looked through everything but there has never been a Dragon with a similar attribute.”

“It makes sense since Raon was the first time I ever heard of an attribute like the ‘Present.’

The ancient Dragon nodded his head at Sheritt.

“Mm.”

Cale crossed his arms.

‘I wanted to have at least a sense of those attributes before we went there, but is that too hard?’

He looked at the dark expression on Sheritt’s face as he spoke.

“We will confirm those things once we go to Aipotu. If we use the information gathered there to look into attributes, we might earn some useful things for Raon as well.”

“…Yeah.”

Sheritt answered but her heart was heavy.

‘She wants a little seven year old child to save the world? She wants him to fight against the Dragon Lord?’

There were quite the distinctions between a young Dragon and an adult Dragon.

Looking past size and Dragon’s Breath, the experiences from having lived a long life turned a Dragon great and mighty.

‘…If I was still alive-’

If she was not tied to the Black Dragon but could stay by Raon’s side…

Her heart would not feel so heavy if that was the case.

She heard Cale’s voice at that moment.

“We got permission to move the entire Black Castle.”

Her eyes clouded over.

She made eye contact with Cale.

He smiled at her. Raon had said that she should be cautious when Cale smiled like this.

He apparently smiles like this when he is about to put you to work…a lot of work.

However, Sheritt smiled.

“I guess there will be a lot for me to do.”

“Sheritt-nim.”

Cale honestly asked the former Dragon Lord, Raon’s mother.

“Aipotu is a world ruled by Dragons. Those Dragons are our enemies.”

The World Tree and the world itself had been consumed by the Dragons.

Because of that-

Unlike how it had been in Xiaolen or the Central Plains…

“I’m certain that the world will try to kill us.”

They needed to go there with at least that level of pressure on their mind.

“It is possible that we might not be able to relax anywhere in that world.”

That was why Cale wanted this.

“Sheritt-nim, I want a sturdy resting place that the enemies can’t even dream of infiltrating.”

Sheritt’s attribute was protection.

Although she was tied to the Black Castle…

“Sheritt-nim, you must create that for us.”

Wouldn’t it be possible for her?

Even if the entire world was their enemy, this castle would be an unbreakable shield for their allies.”

“Yes.”

The former Dragon Lord’s answer was refreshing.

“I will create a place that nobody can even think about taking over.”

She couldn’t help but be certain.

As her attribute was protection, the more individuals she had to protect…and the more precious such individuals were to her… Her attribute would shine bright.

Raon, Cale, Dragon half-blood, and the others…

As someone who spent over 10,000 years alone in the middle of a desert, this Black Castle was more than just a resting place.

It was like paradise.

She could never allow the enemies to take this place.

Raon.

If she could not be by her child’s side as he faced everything…

She at least had to create a warm embrace for that child to return to or for that child to escape to in case of danger. A place he could be without any fear.

A small fire started burning in Sheritt’s eyes.

“This Black Castle will absolutely not crumble.”

Because of that…

“You can plan with that as a guarantee.”

Sheritt would absolutely protect this Black Castle no matter what.

Cale started asking her something else.

“There will be a minimum of fifty and a maximum of one hundred individuals staying in this Black Castle.”

“It is doable. It looks like I will need to clean inside the castle.”

Cale’s smile became even wider after hearing her answer without any hesitation.

He used the power of the Indestructible Shield.

That was the reason he was famous as Young Master Silver Shield, but in his eyes, Sheritt was the existence that used the shield in its most proper way.

What would happen if she fully finished her preparations and started defending at full power?

Cale was looking forward to what this Dragon, who said that the greatest defense was offense, would create for them.

She was an extremely reliable ally.

Knock knock knock.

They heard someone knocking on the door.

“Young master-nim, Lock and Gashan-nim have arrived.”

It was now the Beast people’s turn.

Cale’s smile became even bright as the door opened and a slightly clueless yet somewhat focused eyes of a young boy, no, Lock had grown enough to be called a young man now, appeared in front of him.

Lock hesitated after seeing that smile.

“Hmm?”

Raon, who was coming over after finishing his sparring, saw what was going on and shouted.

“Human! You can’t scam good little Lock!”

Cale started to frown.

* * *

Clack clack.

Cale got on a carriage for the first time in a long while.

“Meeeeeow!”

“Meeow!”

“I like cookies more than candied fruit!”

The children averaging ten-years-old were sprawled out on the couch.

Lock, who was stuck in between them, asked Raon with an awkward look on his face.

“Do you want a cookie?”

“Give it to me! I can even eat 100 of them!”

Clack clack.

Cale sighed while watching the interaction.

The Duke’s House of Henituse.

He could see the Henituse Residence.

This was his other home.

In a few days, Cale would need to give a speech in front of a countless number of students.

“…….”

He clenched his eyes shut.

—

Translator’s Comments

100 is too much, Raon…

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