As soon as I arrived at my residence, I carefully studied the thunder dragon horn Roselia had given me. Unlike dragonkind monsters like drakes and similar beings, real dragons were a race of tremendously powerful and intelligent creatures. The material that had been used to craft Flügel also came from the body of one such being—a heavenly dragon. According to legend, a hero of old had obtained this material after slaying a heavenly dragon that had destroyed an entire nation by itself.
“I don’t know how she got her hands on this, but with such a precious component, I could finally craft a weapon that could slay Bulat,” I whispered, putting the horn back inside the case and stowing it inside my Grimoire of Mammon. “The main issue will be finding an artisan skilled enough to work on something like this.”
The contract I’d signed would force me to amend my plans considerably. However, obtaining an item that would help me fight Bulat made it all worthwhile. With my current financial and military power, I could topple the kingdom if I truly put my mind to it. However, no matter how I went about it, there was no way I could slay Bulat myself. Even if I turned the royal capital into a blazing inferno and had armies massacre every last Haldorian soldier, I’d lose the moment Bulat and I clashed. That was how starkly different our levels were.
“Even if giving me the horn was Roselia’s independent decision, Adel must have found out about it. But she didn’t stop Roselia, which means she thinks that me having the horn will benefit her in the long run.”
In other words, Adel was hoping I’d get rid of Bulat for her. This wasn’t her supporting me, though. We were both using one another for the sake of our personal goals.
“If that’s how you’re going to play, Adel, I shall use you too.”
A new plan began to form in my mind.
“I’m too kind, huh? You’re the last person who should be saying that, Rose.”
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A few minutes away from the center of the capital lies a building that used to house a theater. Nowadays, this building is a museum that exhibits historically and culturally significant artifacts. In this museum, which is directly managed by the Dukedom of Haldoria, one can admire clothes from the Southern Continent worn by the last queen of the Kingdom of Haldoria, Adel Haldoria, or read pages from the precious memoirs written by the first archduke of the dukedom, Lucas Lebrick Haldoria. Among the priceless collection, two items are especially well guarded, both of them being rapiers. No one knows whether there is truth to these rumors, but many say they once belonged to the famous Silver Witch. The first, the Winged Blade, is sharp enough to slice through mithril as easily as if it were butter, yet is thinner than any other blade. The other, the Thunder God’s Bane, is said to be able to cut through lightning itself. Despite the security around these items, word has it that they’re nothing but replicas. The real ones are rumored to have either been passed down to the Silver Witch’s successor or hidden under the royal palace. Our editorial team contacted the museum, and while they insisted that the swords being displayed are the real deal, they refused to allow the expert we hired to inspect them due to “safeguarding reasons.” Are they trying to hide something? Well, only you, dear reader, can decide what to believe!
Dukedom of Haldoria’s Urban Legends Monthly: The darkest rumors surrounding the founding of the dukedom!
☆Features☆
The Silver Witch was actually an alien!
Four reasons to believe Archduke Lucas was in fact a woman!
The mystery of the fake rapiers!
Breaking theory: Tildania the Saint, a drunken gambler?!
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