Chapter Seven: The Nobles Pay Audience to the Dragon Maiden

There were only three days left before the army of the undead reached Dragon Valley City.

Deep within the dense forests along the lower reaches of the Saint River, a search party of lizardmen was scouring the area for traces of missing villagers.

The consensus was that they had been swallowed by a giant boa. These terrifying jungle predators were highly territorial, and it was likely still lurking nearby. The plan was simple: find it, kill it, cut it open, retrieve the remains of the villagers before they could be reduced to snake dung, and bring them back to the village by boat for a proper burial. This had been the practice for many years.

After several hours, the party followed the flattened undergrowth until they finally found the boa.

Only its skeleton remained.

The flesh had been stripped clean, yet there were no marks of sharp teeth. The hunter in the group examined it carefully and was astonished to discover that the creature had been dissolved to death. It was as if someone had extracted the digestive fluids from its own stomach and smeared them evenly over its entire body.

The bizarre and eerie nature of the death unsettled the search party. Some suggested that since the boa was already dead, the victims in its belly were surely lost, and they should abandon the search and return to the village. The shaman of the group rejected this, arguing that if something was capable of killing a giant boa, they had to identify it, lest it become a latent threat to the village. The village chief, however, strongly opposed this, citing the late hour and the fact that the jungle was a hundred times more dangerous in the dark. He proposed returning to the village for the night and resuming the search at daybreak.

As the two sides argued, a strange sound suddenly echoed through their surroundings—a piercing, buzzing drone, as if countless cockroaches were vibrating their wing covers in unison.

***

While Elina left the city to hunt the undead, Ren took Daia to the residence of City Lord Argor to pay a visit in the name of an Imperial human noble.

Argor, the lizardman Lord of Dragon Valley City, was currently examining the calling card Ren had provided.

"The Faher family?" He turned to his steward. "A noble house of the Human Empire?"

"Yes," the steward replied, having quickly consulted a thick tome. "The Faher family holds the hereditary fief of Raven Castle in the Riverland Province. They are an ancient noble house with many scions, led by the Marquis of Faher. The crest and the handwritten signature on the card match the records in the book perfectly."

"Since this is a visit from human nobility, we should extend the appropriate guest rights," Lord Argor decided. "Give him a bowl of honey-water, then show him in."

Guest rights, once established between a host and a visitor, forbade either party from harming the other under pain of a divine curse. This custom was widespread across the continent, though the specifics varied. Among the lizardmen, the host offered the guest honey-water; once the guest drank, the bond was sealed. Violators would be swallowed by the Dragon God and their souls condemned to suffer the burning torment of dragonfire for eternity.

At the entrance of the residence, Ren accepted the wooden bowl from a servant, took a sip, and passed it to Daia.

Daia had no idea what this ritual entailed, but she followed his lead and finished the remaining honey-water in one gulp.

The steward, watching from behind the door, immediately concluded that only Ren was an Imperial noble; Daia was clearly a commoner ignorant of etiquette. According to custom, the bowl was meant to be shared between host and guest; it should not have been drained entirely, but rather left half-full.

Ren and Daia stepped into the main hall. Having been alerted by the steward, Lord Argor greeted them with a beaming smile. He bypassed Daia entirely, exchanged pleasantries with Ren, and ordered servants to bring desserts and fine wine.

Daia, already nervous, felt even more restrained after being ignored. She stood silently behind Ren, not daring to sit, and swallowed hard as she watched the pastries on the tray.

"Lord Argor," Ren said after sampling the dessert, "I represent the Faher family today to introduce a noble personage to you."

"Please, go on," Argor gestured with polished grace.

"I wish to introduce this lady," Ren signaled for Daia to step forward. "Daia Scarlet, Daughter of the True Dragon."

"Daughter of the True Dragon?" Argor chuckled, though he quickly caught himself. Fortunately, it was difficult to read the expression on a lizardman’s face, so he pretended nothing had happened and explained to Ren:

"Lord Faher, if you have been deceived by some low-class harlot or charlatan, I can clarify things for you. In our lizardman legends, the Daughter of the True Dragon is a savior who appears only when the world is on the brink of destruction—note, when the world is ending."

"Every year, the Shamanate executes a dozen frauds claiming to be the Daughter or Son of the True Dragon. Their bodies hang on the racks at the base of the Scale Temple; you can still see their dried, rotting corpses even now."

Argor stared at Daia with malice. She turned pale, thinking to herself that she had never once claimed to be a Daughter of the Dragon.

Ren spoke with calm deliberation:

"I know it sounds unbelievable, Lord Argor. The Daughter of the True Dragon is a religious icon in your faith, and logically, she should be a lizardman. How could a human be the Daughter of the True Dragon?"

"I am sure you are curious about how this came to be. But this is the reality, and we are just as surprised as you are."

Argor listened with a plastered-on smile, thinking, *You aren't saying anything at all!*

While empty chatter was a traditional skill for nobles, this was particularly meaningless. He needed to know where the "proof" was... wait.

Argor suddenly realized the crux of the matter: whether this human girl was truly the Daughter of the Dragon did not actually matter. What mattered was who in Dragon Valley City got to decide if she was.

With this thought, Argor fully grasped the subtext. He looked at Ren with a complex expression, equal parts admiration and trepidation.

He did not hesitate for long. He rose from his armchair, knelt before Daia, and placed a hand over his heart.

"I am Argor Sarichie, whose family has ruled Dragon Valley City for generations. I now offer you my loyalty and reverence, great Daughter of the True Dragon."

Daia stood stunned and bewildered. She looked to Ren for help, but Ren only smiled, gesturing faintly with his hands.

"Please, get up," Daia managed to say, stepping forward to help him.

Before she could touch his arm, Argor sprang to his feet, brushed the dust from his robes, and spoke with great solemnity:

"Daughter of the True Dragon, your arrival in Dragon Valley City is our greatest honor. I shall notify all the nobles in the city to come and pay their respects."

"Ah, this..." Daia stammered, but Ren cut in:

"That is only fitting. We trouble you, Lord Sarichie."

"It is my glory, Lord Faher," Argor grinned. "And thank you for bringing the Daughter of the True Dragon to us."