Lucas, who had returned to the academy, leaned back on the sofa in Aman's office.

'It was a long journey.'

It was a path he had set out on with the thought of just taking a light outing by himself, but it felt like he had been on a very long journey.

"Phew..."

The feeling of all the strength draining from his body.

"Lord?"

Not long after, Aman appeared, and Lucas, for some reason, let out a hollow laugh and chuckled.

"Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"It's good."

"Pardon? Don't tell me... me?"

"Yes. I was happy to see you, so I laughed."

Aman had just been fooling around as usual, but he froze at Lucas's unexpected answer.

"Did something happen?"

"It was a long journey. It was hard."

"No, you should have called me! And in terms of days... it hasn't even been a week yet?"

"Is that so?"

When he counted the days after hearing Aman's words, it really hadn't even been a week.

"But... didn't you say the semester was going to end?"

Lucas had glanced at the atmosphere outside as he entered the academy, and it was a lively atmosphere as if it were the middle of the semester.

"Ah, it didn't turn out that way. The parents' backlash was so strong. They decided to just cancel the festival and finish the semester."

"Is that so? Then I... have I been absent without permission?"

"That's not it. Well, I said I sent you on an errand that was a little far away."

Lucas's brow furrowed at Aman's answer.

"Sent you on an errand far away?"

It was an absurd excuse. No, Lucas was only in the beginner class.

Aside from that, Lucas was not even an adult yet.

To think that he had sent him on an errand far away by himself?

"Ah, I know! But what are they going to do? If I sent him, I sent him."

Lucas nodded his head at Aman's shout.

Right. If Aman sent him, he sent him. What were they going to do?

"You're right."

"Then please tell me what happened. The Lord's expression is... not familiar."

Lucas thought for a moment. Whether he should tell Aman everything.

"You're not going to not tell me this time, are you?"

"...Right. I'll tell you."

Lucas opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

As Lucas's story began, Aman listened to everything and showed a variety of expressions.

Especially at the part where Lucas said he had been attacked and had woken up on a slave ship, Aman was ready to run out at any moment.

"No! Then the Lord should have called me! I'll get these bastards right away...!"

"They're all dead already, so it's no use chasing them now."

"Then if I just overturn Veneta..."

"Thank you, but there's no need for that."

"Then..."

"Should I stop talking?"

Aman, who had been running wild despite Lucas's restraint, quickly sat down as if he wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"No."

"Right."

Then Aman pricked up his ears at the story that began again.

Aman was also angry when the story of the baroness who had collected other races like things came out.

"What a tremendous b-tch! And to think that there are still people who dig up and sell the eyes of the winter fox tribe...! Lord, I really can't stand this anger."

"Aman. Dig up the eyes..."

Lucas was startled at Aman's choice of words.

"Ah, the Lord may not know, but when the eyes of the winter fox tribe were all the rage a long time ago, that's what the dealers used to say. They said they 'dug up' the eyes of the winter fox tribe, as if they were digging up gems."

"Ah."

Lucas let out a small sigh at Aman's explanation.

"The Lord was a great dragon among great dragons then... so you must not have been interested in the secular world."

Lucas glared at Aman once.

"Is there a dragon living in Veneta? After Hasel left."

"Ah, that's right. My father's lair was in Veneta. I know that there's no one there now."

In the old days, the silver dragon Hasel had his lair in Veneta, but he had also moved to another place a long time ago.

That's why Veneta was now no different from an ownerless land.

"Summarize what I said today and tell Hasel. We can't just leave the pitiful ones alone forever."

"I understand. I was thinking of doing that too."

If he told the leader of the dragons, he would not just stand by and watch this happen.

"The dragon is the king of all races that walk on the earth. It is the duty of the dragon, who has power, to help each race live equally in its own position."

Aman, who was looking straight into Lucas's eyes and speaking.

"You remember."

Lucas, who was smiling as if he were proud.

"Of course. Isn't that what the Lord always said?"

"Right. So shouldn't we set the order straight?"

"That's right."

***

Hasel was also angry as he listened to Aman's story.

No matter how much he had left that land, it was the land that had been his home.

"How dare they touch the winter fox tribe again?"

"And the pixies and elves, the children are having a very hard time. And what about the Toto tribe?"

-Thump!

"These things...!"

As Hasel shot up from his seat, the chair fell back with a thump.

"What are you going to do?"

Aman asked with sparkling eyes at Hasel's anger.

"You look like you're hoping I'll go and shoot a breath or something?"

"No~ well, if you say you're going to shoot a breath, I can't stop you~ are you really going to shoot it?"

Aman's body leaned forward as if he were full of anticipation.

"It's been so long since I've shot it, I don't know if I can aim well. So I'll have to shoot it at you first."

As Hasel flicked his hand, Aman quickly got up from his seat and stepped back.

"No! Then I'll trust that my father will do well, and I'm going!"

Aman, who was running away like an arrow.

"Now, then..."

Hasel also moved immediately.

***

The first place Hasel visited was the winter fox tribe in Veneta.

"W-who are you!"

They were surprised at the sudden appearance of Hasel and took an attack stance.

[Bring the chief.]

But at Hasel's dragon language that echoed through the cave and his aura, they all fell to their knees.

"My king..."

At that sight, Hasel,

"You pitiful things..."

Pity filled Hasel's eyes as he looked down at them.

Not long after, the winter fox chief, who had rushed out, also put his head on the floor and prostrated himself as soon as he faced Hasel.

"My king."

"I have heard of the pain you have suffered."

"Khuk... why... only now..."

The chief, who was lying on the floor, sobbed.

"I cannot protect all of you. I cannot find out who they are and punish them one by one. But I will provide a minimum safety device."

"I prayed every day... but there was no god or miracle for us. Why have you come only now... so many of our kinsmen have died tragically..."

The chief's tearful sorrow echoed mournfully.

Hasel also knew. The evil deeds of humans that had been carried out since ancient times.

But dragons only helped to maintain the balance, and it was not something they could directly step in and punish humans for.

If that happened, there could be a situation where they would oppress humans in reverse, with the dragons on their backs.

That's why the dragons had maintained a level of watching from afar and maintaining it so that the balance would not be broken.

"Right. But this is only a minimum safety device. You will have to cultivate the strength to protect yourselves."

"..."

"I will cast a magic so that those who are not of the winter fox tribe cannot enter this cave."

Hasel turned away at the end of those words.

'It will be a minimum safety device.'

Hasel also felt sorry. If he had his way, he would have shot a breath as Aman had said, but he couldn't.

Now they would gain strength and live on with the small fact that the dragons had not forgotten them.

***

After that, Hasel also visited the villages of the other races and cast magic on them himself.

'Now, is it the humans' turn?'

Since he had helped them to at least protect their homes, it was now time to suppress the source of the problem.

-Flash!

"Who is it!!!"

The person who was startled and fell at the sudden appearance of the figure was none other than the king of a country.

"Protect His Majesty!!!"

It was when the knights who had heard the sound and had rushed over had drawn their swords and were rushing at him without mercy.

[Kneel.]

But they also fell to their knees helplessly at the aura of Hasel they had faced.

"A-a dragon..."

The King of Raskan said, trembling.

"Right, a dragon."

Hasel's eyes, who was looking down at him, shone brightly.

"You've gotten very arrogant lately."

Hasel said boredly, looking around the office once.

"Very arrogant. Do you want to stop being a king?"

"W-what do you mean by that?"

Hasel spoke to the king of a country as if he were talking to a house servant.

"If you want to continue being a king, listen carefully from now on."

"Yes, yes! Of course."

Hasel, who was leaning diagonally on the office desk, looked down at the king and spoke.

"From now on, if you see any other race slaves being traded, execute them all. The only thing you humans can enslave is humans, nothing more, nothing less."

"O-our kingdom has banned slavery..."

"Now... are you... talking back to me?"

-Rumble!

The royal palace shook entirely with Hasel's low voice.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The king prostrated himself on the floor and rubbed his hands together.

"You know, don't you? That there are more than one or two nobles who buy and sell other races. And it seems that the eyes of the winter fox tribe are in fashion again."

"T-that is..."

"Don't let those things go either. Of course, I also know. That you can't stop everything. But what I'm saying is not for you to stop it."

"Then what should I..."

"I hope you don't turn a blind eye to it. The moment I find out about it."

The king swallowed a gulp.

"I will also gouge out your eyes and display them preciously. Well, I don't know if they'll be worth anything as a decoration."

"...I understand."

"Hey. You human scraps behind me."

As Hasel spoke, looking at the other humans, they couldn't even answer and just bowed their heads even lower.

"You go out and spread the rumor. What the dragon said after coming in person and making the king kneel."

Hasel smiled slyly.

"The next time you face me, it won't be in such a gentlemanly way, so you'd better keep that in mind."

"Yes. I understand."

"Right. It's a relief that we can communicate a little."

Hasel squatted down and patted the king's head.

"Don't be arrogant and live like humans. Don't forget that in my eyes, you are also just pathetic lower creatures. You just happened to occupy the continent because you have a large number."

"..."

As Hasel disappeared at the end of those words, everyone in the room let out a sigh.

"Khuk... call an emergency meeting. We will create and implement a special law for other races."

A knight quickly went out at the king's words.

"W-what in the world is this."

"A dragon..."

***

After that, Hasel also went around to large and small countries and empires and repeatedly threatened and intimidated all the leaders.

After a day, the rumor had spread far and wide throughout the world, and it was also a moment for the rumor to enter the ears of the other races.

'Phew. Did I stop the race war with this?'

The reason why Hasel had gone this far was only one.

A race war. To stop it.

If a race war broke out, the bloodshed of all other races, as well as humans, would be enormous.

Even if a war between countries broke out, the casualties were enormous, but if it was a war between all other races and humans, it would be truly terrible.

'It's been about a thousand years...'

The race war that had happened a thousand years ago.

That war was also tragic.

Hasel, who remembered that time, intervened in this matter, hoping that such a tragedy would not happen again.

If Hasel had not intervened, a race war could have really happened.

Because the anger of the other races had reached the sky.

'I was almost in big trouble.'

(End of Chapter)