Chapter 119: Announcement of grades (3)

Dragon.

Among all the intelligent beings inhabiting Elpidion, dragons are undoubtedly the most distinguished.

As individual entities, they are the most powerful creatures in existence, boasting unparalleled combat capabilities.

Despite their small numbers, they once dominated the entire continent.

Their tough scales are impervious to even the sharpest steel, their claws and teeth can crush thick rocks with ease, and their devastating breath can incinerate tens of thousands of soldiers in an instant.

Such overwhelming majesty left inferior species like humans trembling in fear, incapable of resistance and forced to grovel on the ground.

—These are the common legends about dragons.

Yet, when children with sharp minds first hear these tales, they often ask the following question, one that many might ponder:

-But if dragons are so powerful, what did they do when the Demon Army invaded?

Indeed, it’s a logical question.

The Demon King’s army sought to terraform the entirety of Elpidion into a demonic realm, which would inevitably affect the dragons as well.

It wasn’t someone else’s problem.

Logically, one would expect the dragons to unite and fight against the invading forces.

If they had joined the battle, the Demon Army would likely have struggled far more than they did.

However, in the legend of the Hero Lier, the role of dragons is minimal at best.

Even when they do appear, they often provide only minor assistance before disappearing—or, in some cases, they even show up as enemies to be defeated.

Why?

Did dragons not care about Elpidion?

Were they indifferent to its corruption and destruction?

The answer is simple: dragons are a species capable of surviving without issue even in high-magic environments.

Born with vast magical power coursing through their bodies, dragons wouldn’t be significantly affected even if Elpidion were transformed into a realm akin to the Demon World.

In fact, they might even grow stronger, as their proficiency in magic increases in highly magical environments.

This is crucial: dragons are detached from the inevitable conflict between the Demon World and Elpidion.

They lack any direct stake in the outcome.

This also means, depending on the terms offered, they can be swayed.

Igor Starm, the strategist of the Demon Army, recognized this through meticulous reconnaissance and devised a plan to exclude dragons from the war.

First, he identified that the dragons of Elpidion were split into two major factions: the greedy, self-serving Chromatic Dragons, who viewed humans as inferior, and the kind, altruistic Metallic Dragons, who treated humans as equals.

These two groups were equally matched in power and harbored a deep-seated animosity toward one another.

With this knowledge, the rest was simple.

Igor secretly sent emissaries to the Chromatic Dragons, inciting them to attack humanity and draw out the Metallic Dragons.

Once the Metallic Dragons were engaged, Igor suggested that the Chromatic Dragons strike their rivals’ rear positions to eliminate them entirely.

This would be a win-win: the Chromatic Dragons would eradicate their hated rivals, and the Demon Army would face fewer significant threats.

To sweeten the deal, Igor promised to grant the Chromatic Dragons half the continent after the world was conquered.

For the Chromatic Dragons, it was an irresistible proposal.

A conflict with the Metallic Dragons was inevitable anyway—why not fight on favorable terms?

Moreover, with the Demon Army’s strength, defeat seemed unlikely.

What they didn’t know was that Igor never intended to keep his promise.

To him, the Chromatic Dragons were merely another potential threat, better off eliminated.

His ideal scenario was for the two dragon factions to annihilate each other in mutual destruction, leaving none alive.

To achieve this, Igor meticulously manipulated the battlefield.

Sometimes, he feigned strategic errors; other times, he coordinated with the commanders of the Demon Army or even used the hero’s party as unwitting pawns.

His goal was to ensure the Metallic Dragons mustered enough power to retaliate against the Chromatic Dragons, leading both factions to their demise.

Ultimately, both sides obliterated each other in a grand clash, leaving no survivors—save one.

The lone survivor was a young Blue Dragon hatchling, the child of the Chromatic Dragon Lord at the time.

And that sole survivor, now living in the present day…

“Why on earth is my morality score only 63 points?!”

…was currently throwing a tantrum, flinging her test paper onto the ground.

“This makes no sense! I picked the most obviously correct answers, so why are there so many wrong ones?

Is this test key broken?

Philia, are you sure you graded this properly?!”

“Yes, I graded it properly,”

Philia replied calmly, pulling out another sheet of paper from her pocket—a copy of the answer key she had specially requested from the teacher.

“I anticipated you might say that, so here’s the official answer sheet.

Would you like to compare it yourself?”

“Give me that!”

Dorothy snatched the answer key with an annoyed gesture.

Moments later, as expected, she erupted in fury at the exact same point she had a week earlier.

“Look at this!

How is it wrong to ‘find and stab’ a Zairef cultist upon discovering them?

How is the correct answer ‘report it’?

And here too!

If you’re insulted, obviously you settle it with a duel—why would you hand the matter off to someone else?!

This doesn’t make any sense—”

“Master.”

Philia interrupted with a tone so serious it seemed as if it were written in bold Gothic font.

“Morality is like a living, breathing organism.

It constantly evolves and changes with the times.

Meanwhile, your version of morality is nothing but a fossil from 300 or 400 years ago, long dead and irrelevant in today’s world.”

“……”

She continued, delivering the final blow:

“Everyone, including the teacher and all the students, has already confirmed that there’s nothing wrong with this answer key.

So, please admit it.

You’ve become nothing more than an outdated, stubborn old relic.”

“Who are you calling an outdated relic, you brat?!

How can you ruin the conclusion like that!”

Dorothy angrily whipped her tail out from under her skirt and swung it toward Philia.

Philia, having grown accustomed to such reactions, easily dodged the attack with a practiced leap.

Dorothy watched for a moment, smirking, then crumpled the test paper and threw it far away.

She slumped down against a nearby wall with a thud.

A sigh of despair escaped her lips.

“Damn it……

This means all the hell I went through 500 years ago was for nothing…

Why did I even bother going through that nightmare? I can’t accept this…”

“Cheer up, my lady. Would you like a Soboro bun?”

“I don’t need it.” Dorothy snapped curtly.

She pulled her knees close and buried her face, mumbling gloomily.

“Ha… This completely ruins the plan I had. You know, the one—”

“Surprise! The perfect, enigmatic honors student of the same grade turns out to be the last dragon of the continent?!

A shocking truth that shakes the world, with the hero kneeling naked and begging for help! Was that the plan you were referring to?”

“Yeah, tha— Wait, was it really such a crass name?”

Dorothy looked up at Philia in confusion.

Her maid, unperturbed, replied, “Just joking. I made it up on the spot.”

What a nuisance, never letting her wallow in her feelings.

Dorothy cleared her throat and continued.

“Well, whatever the name was! My original plan was to ace the midterms, taking first place and having everyone wonder, ‘Who is this incredible person? What’s their secret?’

But now, that’s all down the drain! What am I supposed to do?”

“Perhaps you should’ve studied a bit more. Even when I suggested it, you just lazed around in your room.”

“I did study! Look, I got perfect scores in every subject except for swordsmanship, which is graded on a curve!

As for ethics, it’s so easy that everyone said you’d score over 80 just by breathing, so I didn’t bother!”

Dorothy leapt to her feet, yelling.

But Philia countered without missing a beat.

“That’s exactly where you were complacent. To be the top student, an 80 isn’t enough, is it?

Especially for ethics, which everyone expects a hero to ace. If you’d secured 100 points there, you might have at least gotten second place.

Clearly, this situation is a result of your own laziness. Admit it.”

“Ugh….”

Dorothy averted her gaze, speechless.

It was a stinging blow to her pride.

Strictly speaking, Philia’s argument was incorrect.

The truth was, the hero’s ethics score was 10 points lower than that of a dragon who’d been asleep for 500 years.

But there was no way they could have known that at the moment.

“Hah…”

Dorothy clutched her head and leaned against the wall, feeling light-headed.

The urge to give up entirely surged as the first misstep threw everything off course.

Noticing this, Philia approached and asked in a subtle tone,

“So, what will you do? It’s practically over. Shall we fold and return to the lair? Personally, I’d find that much more comfortable.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Dorothy shouted sharply, her voice brimming with resolute defiance.

“To vanish like this would make me no better than a beaten dog running away with its tail between its legs!

Even as a higher being, I have my pride. I won’t stand for it! Just watch!

Next time, next time for sure, I’ll show them my true abilities…!”

She clenched the crumpled test paper tightly in frustration, her grip producing a ruinous sound from the fragile sheet.

“Revealing my identity outright would be too dull…

I need to make sure I’m in a position of absolute superiority over that hero when I do it!

The kind of situation where, in a desperate crisis, they have no choice but to beg me for help—and I, amused, reluctantly lend a hand.

If I reveal myself while I’m lagging behind like this, it’d just feel so… so…”

“So pathetic, right?”

“Exactly! Pathe— Wait, what? Did you just call me pathetic?!”

“Calm yourself. I was merely speaking hypothetically. Surely, that doesn’t apply to the current Dorothy.”

Philia replied calmly, soothing the irate Dorothy with words of encouragement.

“As the saying goes, ‘All things return to their rightful place.’ Your grades may be down now due to unforeseen circumstances, but they’ll rise again.”

“Hmph… Well, of course. Naturally!” Dorothy replied, puffing up with self-assurance.

“Indeed, you’ll surely find your place again. As second in the grade, right after the hero—”

“Who said second place?! You want to die?!”

Dorothy grabbed Philia by the collar and hoisted her up.

Yet Philia remained calm, adjusting her glasses as she replied.

“I’m merely stating the most probable outcome. With the hero’s so-called weakness in magical studies proven false, the same pattern is likely to repeat.

Unless, of course, you plan to surpass them in swordsmanship and score a perfect 100 in a curved exam?”

“…..!”

Dorothy gasped.

“Th-that’s obvious! Do you think I’m—”

“Oh my, why’s your voice shaking? Are you scared? Nervous?”

“S-scared? Nervous? As a higher being, I don’t feel such petty emotions! Take that back immediately!”

“Consider it taken back,” Philia replied with a perfectly straight face.

Dorothy glared at her maid in disbelief, then let out a long sigh and released her grip on Philia’s collar, turning her head away.

Clenching her fists, she gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath.

“Anyway…

Just watch, Hero Sion! No matter how brilliant you are, I’ll prove you can’t beat a dragon at full power!

I’ll crush you, shatter your confidence, and make you kneel before me, begging, ‘Please, Lady Dorothy Gwendolyn, spare our worthless lives!’

And then, I’ll finally avenge the humiliation I suffered 500 years ago at the hands of that accursed Sien Lenos!”

Dorothy’s eyes burned fiercely with determination, her competitive spirit ignited.