Chapter 137
‘No. Why is the Emperor a dragon?’
Good grief, my head.
This was exactly when Shio should have been here. Then she could have asked that guy something and sorted out the situation.
But with Shio absent, Daphne had no choice but to deal with the Emperor standing before her.
‘From now on, I’ll just bring Shio with me…’
Sniffing softly, Daphne raised her head toward the Emperor, who was still looking down at her.
Their eyes met.
According to human etiquette, one was supposed to greet the Emperor with a bow like Heros had.
However, Daphne was not human, and even if she had been, she wasn’t the type to learn etiquette, so she had no idea how she was supposed to address the Emperor.
‘Should I just greet him?’
After hesitating for a moment, Daphne gave a small bow.
“Nice to meet… you. This is… our first meeting… sir.”
At least she had enough awareness to use the formal speech she had learned at the training institute.
Smiling broadly, Daphne raised her head.
The first thing she saw was Heros tightly shutting both eyes and the Emperor letting out a faint chuckle.
Why are they acting like that?
Daphne tilted her head.
“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve wanted to see you at least once, so I’m truly glad we’re meeting under such fortunate circumstances. Don’t you think?”
What does that mean?
It almost sounds like he was worried we’d meet under bad circumstances.
Daphne narrowed her eyes and glared at the Emperor.
Then she realized there was nothing she could do here and stopped glaring.
The Emperor let out another amused laugh.
Then he turned toward Heros.
“Your child is quite adorable.”
Heros slowly blinked before lowering his gaze to Daphne.
Her curly blonde hair, her chubby cheeks that had finally filled out, the large sparkling eyes despite the shadows beneath them, her well-shaped nose, and her tiny lips—all of it made her exceptionally cute and lovely.
That wasn’t because she was his daughter.
It was an objective assessment.
Heros pursed his lips and tucked in his chin.
“She is adorable when she keeps her mouth shut.”
“…Hero, I think you’re insulting me.”
“She is at her cutest when she’s quiet.”
“……”
Why are you insulting me right in front of me?
Dumbfounded, Daphne jabbed Heros in the thigh with her elbow, but he did not even look at her.
The Emperor spoke again.
“She really resembles you.”
“She does.”
“The upturned eyes and the pouting mouth are practically identical. Even the hostility written all over her face is the same.”
“……”
Heros unconsciously touched his own face.
Ah.
So this was how Daphne had felt just now.
Why insult someone right in front of them?
Wearing the exact same expression as Daphne, Heros lowered his gaze.
Watching the two of them, the Emperor laughed once more.
He seemed to think they were quite a delightful father and daughter.
“Now then. So there’s something you want to take from the treasury?”
That was enough greetings.
It was time to get to the main point.
“Yes. I would gratefully accept it if you allow it.”
“Do you already have something in mind?”
Heros looked down at Daphne.
His glance seemed to tell her to answer, so Daphne shrugged and replied,
“Not yet… sir. How could I know before I see what’s there… sir?”
“That makes sense.”
The Emperor nodded as though he understood and gestured behind him.
“Come inside.”
The moment he finished speaking,
Rumble!
The ground shook.
It seemed that the mechanism allowing access into the cave had begun to operate.
Feeling the flow of mana beneath her feet, Daphne let out a quiet breath.
‘Now that I think about it, he simply turned his own lair into the Imperial Treasury.’
But seriously, why is the Emperor a dragon?
Has it only been like this recently?
Or was the founding Emperor also a dragon?
‘…No. It was probably that same guy from the very beginning.’
He must have lived among humans by changing his face so they would never discover him.
But if that’s true, one question remained.
‘Why?’
Why would he deliberately descend into the human world and act as the Emperor?
Does he crave power?
She didn’t fully understand what was going on.
Still, Daphne didn’t feel any hostility toward the Emperor.
After all, he had not been one of the three dragons responsible for creating the Calamity.
‘Of course, he benefited from what I did as well.’
In any case, he had not participated in the process that led to Selus’s birth.
So Daphne had no particular reason to hate the Emperor.
With that thought, she leisurely followed behind him.
“Daphne.”
At that moment, Heros, who was walking beside her, spoke.
“Have you met His Majesty before?”
“Hm?”
Daphne tilted her head.
“No. I hadn’t. I could barely even leave the house in the first place, so how could I possibly have met the Emperor?”
“…That’s true, but…”
Heros alternated his gaze between Daphne and the Emperor with a hint of suspicion.
Having faithfully remained at the Emperor’s side for many years, Heros had immediately noticed that the Emperor’s eyes had changed the instant he saw Daphne.
There was something different about that look.
It contained curiosity.
It also contained delight.
And it even contained sorrow.
Was it simply because he pitied a young child who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had still gone on to face a wraith in that condition?
Was that really all?
Heros felt that something was bothering him…
But since he couldn’t uncover the answer immediately, he decided to put the question aside for now.
After all, this was the moment when Daphne was receiving her reward.
“Here we are.”
Stopping before a smooth stone wall, the Emperor spoke.
To someone who knew nothing, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary stone wall.
But to those like Heros and Daphne, who could sense mana—in other words, whose mana perception was exceptional—it was far more than just a wall.
‘Hummm…’
A low vibration echoed once more.
But it was not the vibration of a simple mechanism operating.
It was the resonance of mana.
‘…Hm.’
Feeling the mana with every part of her body, Daphne crossed her arms and wore a dissatisfied expression.
‘I don’t want to admit it… but it really is impressive.’
Not only was the amount of mana extraordinary, but its quality was exceptional as well.
Pure mana gently brushed against Daphne’s skin.
Thinking it had been a long time since she had encountered mana of such high quality, Daphne diligently gathered it and absorbed it into her body.
Right then—
Rumble!
What had appeared to be a thick stone wall began to turn transparent.
It was disappearing.
As though the space had always been open from the very beginning.
‘…I suppose I have to admit it.’
Clicking her tongue, Daphne scratched the back of her head.
‘But I’m still the best.’
That old Gold Dragon wouldn’t survive even a single punch from me.
That’s right.
Comforting herself with that thought, Daphne stepped beyond the entrance to the treasury.
“Oh……”
The space was enormous.
Simply calling it “large” was nowhere near enough to describe it.
And that wasn’t all.
It was filled with treasures so dazzling they almost hurt her eyes to look at, and merely breathing made her feel her mana replenishing.
This was, in every sense, the Imperial Treasury.
The place where all the precious treasures accumulated throughout the Imperial Family’s hundreds of years of history had been gathered.
“It’s been quite a long time since I’ve guided someone into this place.”
The Emperor muttered self-deprecatingly before turning toward Daphne and Heros.
“Go ahead and choose whatever you wish. However, the moment you touch something, you must take it. So look with your eyes only.”
Heros then voiced his confusion.
“Why must we not touch them?”
“Because there are relics that bind themselves to their owners, and artifacts that become subordinate to them. Besides, treasures of this caliber usually develop their own consciousness, so it’s best not to touch them carelessly.”
The Emperor answered as though it were obvious before looking at Daphne.
The slight raise of his eyebrow seemed to be telling her to continue looking around.
But from the very moment she had entered this place, Daphne already knew exactly what she wanted.
“There’s no need to look at anything else… sir.”
Daphne pointed toward the very end of the treasury.
And the highest place within it.
“Give me that.”
The eyes of both the Emperor and Heros widened.
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