Noble Trait

When I opened the door, Shai was standing there.

In his hand was a book titled ‘History of the Great Dragons’.

“Gasp!”

As soon as Shai saw me, his cheeks turned red and he covered his eyes with his hands.

Ah.

My pajamas might be a bit stimulating for a child.

‘Don’t mind it.’

“As the heir of a noble family, you lose your composure over mere clothing?”

Why are you speaking so harshly!

To a child!

“But, the clothes are too… too…”

‘Hmm… Should I change?’

Shai’s voice gradually grew quieter, turning into a whisper.

His face was as red as a tomato.

“What brings you here?”

The Noble Trait seems to want to keep wearing these clothes…

Shai peeked at me through his fingers, then spoke while slightly covering his face.

“I heard… you’re leaving tomorrow… so I came to say goodbye…”

Shai’s voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible.

‘How cute?’

“Your voice is too soft. Nobles must always carry themselves with dignity.”

At my cold words, Shai shrank back even more.

‘No, I meant cute…’

I wanted to say that, but different words came out.

“Come in first.”

I pointed to the chair beside the bed.

Shai cautiously entered the room and sat on the chair.

He placed the book on his lap, his gaze still fixed on the floor.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.

Then Miel flew toward Shai and began circling around his hair.

She gently touched his hair with her tiny legs and began creating something.

The fine powder falling from Miel’s wings glowed faintly on Shai’s hair.

The sparkling blue light amidst his brown hair looked like stars shining at dusk.

Making hearts again…?

Shai raised his head at the small fluttering movements above him.

He seemed momentarily captivated by the butterfly before his eyes.

The sight was amusing and made me want to laugh, but due to the trait, I only produced an elegant smile.

Seeing my smile, Shai suddenly tensed up and slightly hunched his shoulders.

Then, as if gathering courage, he tightly gripped his book.

“Lycoris-nim… um…”

Shai bit his lip and continued.

“Are the Evil God Cultists… truly terrifying beings?”

His voice carried genuine fear.

“I heard Father worrying in his room. Are those people… very dangerous?”

‘As Michel-nim’s Apostle, I’m their counter! Don’t worry!’

“Fear is the exclusive domain of the weak. The strong always find ways to overcome fear. There are always stronger beings in this world.”

Huh… that sounds quite profound?

Shai’s eyes gradually widened as he absorbed my words like honey.

His small fingers unconsciously folded and unfolded the corner of the book repeatedly.

A bright smile played in his eyes.

“Really? Since there are strong people like Lycoris-nim, I don’t need to worry!”

‘Um… well, the message seems to have gotten through…’

“The truths of the world often don’t reveal themselves on the surface. Only those who gaze into the deep abyss can obtain true strength.”

What does this even mean?

I don’t even understand the words coming out of my mouth!

Shai fell into thought for a moment, then looked at the book he brought.

Then, as if making an important decision, he raised his head.

“Yes… then has Lycoris-nim looked into the deep abyss?”

‘Um… since I’ve lived deep in the labyrinth, I guess that counts as a deep abyss…?’

“I have seen many things. Far more than you can imagine.”

As I spoke in a serious tone, Shai’s eyes sparkled.

He tightly gripped the book on his lap.

“I… may I ask about dragons?”

‘Ah, I’m not a dragon though…’

My head nodded slightly on its own.

Shai’s eyes sparkled as he began opening the book.

He turned the pages and pointed to a picture of a dragon with beautiful sky-blue light.

The page borders were decorated with delicate ice crystal patterns, and blue magic circles were drawn around the dragon.

A faint scent of mana emanated from the book’s aged paper.

“What about this ice dragon? Is it true that just breathing near it can drop the temperature below freezing?”

‘Ah! I know about Master! That’s right! Just being near Master freezes all the weak ones!’

“The frost dragon’s breath is cold enough to freeze even the mana of hellfire from the demon realm. Where its breath passes, ice remains that doesn’t melt for thousands of years.”

Oh… that’s pretty cool.

Is that how powerful Master’s serious attacks are!

But I’ve never heard of hellfire from the demon realm-how did I say that?

“That’s amazing!”

Shai exclaimed in admiration.

Then he turned to the next page.

This time it showed a picture of a dragon with red scales.

“What about this fire dragon? Can it really spew lava instead of fire?”

‘Fire dragon? I’ve never even seen one…’

“Yes. The fire dragon’s flames aren’t mere fire-they have properties that burn even the soul. They say the burns never heal, even after a thousand years.”

No, no.

How would I know this?

First hellfire, and now this-this definitely isn’t my knowledge.

Shai’s eyes sparkled even more as he marveled.

“Wow… dragons are truly amazing!”

He continued turning pages and pointed to a picture of a dragon with glittering scales.

“They say light dragons really love jewels-why is that?”

‘Light dragon? What’s that? A dragon of light?’

“Because they absorb mana energy from minerals to strengthen their scales. They particularly prefer rare minerals since they contain higher energy.”

What is this…?

Clearly these are my words, but they’re not my knowledge.

Could it be… that the trait contains someone’s soul or memories…?

Shai turned to another page.

This time it was a picture of a bone dragon.

“This is a bone dragon. They say it’s a dragon resurrected from a dragon’s corpse using dark magic…”

He paused and looked into my eyes.

‘Is he asking how dragons feel about their corpses being desecrated?’

“The book is wrong. Bone dragons are a characteristic of shadow dragons-when a shadow dragon dies, it resurrects as a bone dragon.”

Shai’s eyes widened.

“Wow! Lycoris-nim said you’re only 6 years old, but you know so much!”

‘You… Noble Trait-ssi…? Who exactly are you…?’

“Hmph.”

The Noble Trait didn’t answer my question and simply smiled slyly at Shai.

Ugh…

What is this!

“Oh right! What kind of dragon are you, Lycoris-nim?”

‘Hmm… if I had to say, a flower dragon…’

“Well. That book probably doesn’t have it.”

“Gasp!”

With an expression as if he’d heard an incredible secret, Shai continued asking various questions about dragons, and the Noble Trait answered them all effortlessly.

“I’m… sorry for asking so many questions. I think I should go to bed now.”

Yeah, children do get tired quickly.

‘Alright, sleep well.’

“The world is vast and filled with things more wondrous than dragons. If you want to see them, you must become strong. Nothing is more valuable than experiencing things with your own eyes and touching them with your own hands.”

Hmm?

Is this the Noble Trait-ssi’s personal experience?

Shai’s expression brightened, then he suddenly looked at me with determined eyes.

“Yes, I’ll definitely do that!”

He then bowed and headed toward the door.

Before opening the door, he turned back to me one more time and smiled.

“Thank you so much, Lycoris-nim!”

As the door closed and the sound of footsteps faded away, I collapsed onto the bed.

Moonlight filtering through the bed curtains created subtle shadows in the room.

Beyond the window stretched a night sky dotted with sparkling stars.

“Hey, Noble Trait.”

…

Sigh.

You can speak through my mouth.

‘Whose soul is contained in this trait?’

I raised my hand and touched my lips. I only felt ordinary sensations.

But clearly the words coming from my mouth were someone else’s knowledge.

No matter how I look at it, there must be someone’s soul in there.

Could it be the soul of someone Nis-nim affected?

Someone who knows about dragons well-the soul of some dragon?

Ugh! This is creepy!

When I meet Nis-nim, I’ll have to ask her to remove this!

‘I need to get to Deathmere quickly.’

And as Michel-nim’s Apostle, I also had to solve the problem of the Evil God Cultists.

If something like this happens again on the way, I’ll keep getting delayed…

As I looked at the ceiling imagining the journey ahead, I eventually closed my eyes.

…

Warm sunlight seeped into the room through the window.

As soon as I opened my eyes, Cecilia was fluttering her wings wide open right in front of my nose.

“Morning already…”

I got up from bed and looked out the window to see a sparkling garden in the morning sunlight.

The weather was even sunnier than yesterday.

Miel and Cecilia flew around excitedly, and Rote continued to orbit around me as usual.

Only Glacia slowly flapped her wings in the corner of the room, stretching.

A knocking sound came from the door.

“Lycoris-nim, breakfast is ready.”

It was a servant’s voice.

“I’ll be right down.”

I equipped the Crimson Bind that was under the bed.

The memories of catching all sorts of monsters with this felt as vivid as if it happened yesterday.

As I went down the stairs, I met Raybi and Ryandel.

Both seemed to have already finished breakfast.

“Lycoris-nim, good morning,”

Ryandel greeted politely.

“Did you sleep well?”

Raybi asked with a smile.

“Yes, it was so comfortable I didn’t even dream.”

When I entered the dining room, the Baron was already seated.

Shai was beside him too.

“Lycoris-nim, good morning. The carriage preparation is almost complete.”

“I see.”

At the Baron’s words, my head nodded elegantly on its own.

The Noble Trait-ssi was active from early morning.

Just then, servants brought breakfast.

Various meat dishes and warm tea were placed on the table.

‘Wow, that looks delicious!’

“Hmm.”

“Lycoris-nim, it should take about three days to reach the capital. We’ll pass through Machete Village and Liber City along the way.”

Ryandel explained while drawing a small map with his crystal wand.

“I’ve found good inns for our stay.”

‘Great!’

“Hmm.”

After finishing the meal and going out front, a splendid carriage was prepared.

It was a deep navy blue carriage decorated with golden ornaments, pulled by four white horses.

“This is our family’s finest carriage. Since my wife loved traveling, I made sure to get the best carriage. It guarantees a very fast and comfortable journey.”

‘Ooh… that’s really fancy!’

“Not bad.”

Glacia flew around circling above the carriage.

At the sight, the coachman stepped back in surprise.

“It’s fine, she doesn’t harm people. In fact, if there’s an attack, she’ll protect you.”

At the mention of protection, the coachman seemed relieved as his expression softened.

There there, Glacia probably can’t ride inside the carriage, so there’s no need to be scared.

Before boarding the carriage, I said goodbye to the Baron and Shai.

“If we find any information in the capital, I’ll let you know by letter.”

Ryandel said to the Baron.

“Thank you. I wish you a safe journey.”

I waved to Shai one last time.

“See you again, Shai.”

“Yes…!”

The carriage door closed and slowly began to move.

Through the window, the mansion, the Baron, and Shai gradually grew smaller.

The inside of the carriage was much more spacious and comfortable than I expected.

There were plush seats, a table, and even a small bookshelf.

“Wow, this carriage is really nice! It’s much better than the one we rode to the mansion, right?”

Raybi exclaimed in admiration.

“It seems to be the same model used by the imperial royalty. Impressive.”

Ryandel also rarely showed emotion.

Miel and Cecilia flew around inside the carriage happily, and Rote continued to orbit around me as always.

Looking outside, I saw Glacia flying slowly alongside the carriage.

Somehow, that sight looked reassuring.

As the carriage left the village, my thoughts turned again to Deathmere and my Master.

‘Master, please wait just a little longer. I’ll come quickly!’

I made this promise while looking at the scenery unfolding beyond the window.

***

A red light brushed against my eyelids.

My whole body felt heavy as lead, and my head hurt as if struck by a hammer.

‘Ugh… why do I feel like this…’

I slowly opened my eyes, but my hair covered my face so I couldn’t see properly.

Even lifting my hand to brush my hair aside felt difficult.

‘Where is this…?’

Looking around, I found myself in unfamiliar darkness.

Memories returned faintly.

Deathmere’s Great Labyrinth.

And being with Nis…

‘Ah, that golden wine… how much did I actually drink?’

Hazy memories swam like fish in water.

I managed to get up and survey my surroundings.

Nis sprawled on the opposite chair.

Her elegant black dress was stained here and there with spilled golden wine, and her usually beautifully flowing hair was disheveled as if swept by a storm.

Drool trickled from the corner of her mouth, and one shoe had come off her foot and was rolling under the table.

The room was a complete disaster.

The tablecloth hung halfway to the floor, and on the table stood a nearly empty bottle of golden wine covered in dust.

Blue mold had begun to grow faintly on the beads scattered across the floor, and the decorative seashell hanging on the wall had fallen and broken in half.

Half-eaten food on the table had long since dried and rotted.

Everything around showed signs of having been neglected for a long time.

Then something suddenly occurred to me.

‘Rico!’

My mind snapped awake instantly.

‘How long have I been asleep? Is Rico okay?’

Anxiety pressed heavily on my chest.