Chapter 185 - Nickname

--That night--

At home, Sadina's drunk and Atlas is lounging in Raphtalia’s bed like she owns it. Meanwhile, I brought Firo along for a little job.

Firo: “Hehe- Master is petting me!”

Firo clings to me in her human form happily.

Naofumi: “You get the plan, right Firo?”

Firo: “Yup. If Atlas tries to get into master’s bed, I drive her out.”

Naofumi: “That’s right. If you mess up, I’m driving you out too.”

Firo: “Okay, got it!”

If I have to sleep with someone, I'd rather it be with someone without ulterior motives.

After all, Firo went through a lot. So I'll indulge her a bit.

I need to get her level back up, so it's better to keep her motivation factor up.

Atlas: “Ah, Naofumi. Why are you being so mean?”

Atlas asks, vexed.

Do you really want to sleep with me that much? I feel sick.

Atlas: “Firo gets to sleep with Naofumi. I’m… so envious.”

Naofumi: “Sleep with you say… You're too much...”

I’m not Motoyasu, you know.

If he were in my situation now, he's probably do something criminal to Firo.

That guy didn't even show up when during Firo's crisis, how worthless is he?

Next time I see him, I’ll really let him have it.

I gently brush Firo, while she leans against me satisfied. Someone knocks on the door.

Naofumi: “What is it?”

??: “Please excuse me, Shield Hero.”

Then, as if he owns the place, Gaelion bursts in.

I'm surprised to see Rato accompanying him.

Taniko isn't with them? What happened?

Naofumi: “Hey. Your daughter isn't here.”

I don’t know if she’s his actual child or adopted, but the all-important Taniko isn’t here.

Gaelion: “I made sure she was asleep before I left.”

Rato: “I was doing research in my lab when he asked me to come along. He has something he wants us both to hear… I was surprised.”

Looks like it.

Gaelion just suddenly started using human language, and now he's asking for things.

Gaelion: “You're Sadina, right? When I saw your transformation, I was honestly surprised.”

Sadina: “You're surprised? I'm surprised about you.”

Atlas also weighs in.

Gaelion: “Atlas, you've always known, haven't you?”

Atlas: “Yes. I knew it from the beginning. There was someone else inside you.”

Naofumi: “Why didn't you say anything?”

Atlas: “I didn't realize it right away, but ever since that ominous spirit left Gaelion, he changed.”

Naofumi: “I see…”

This isn't a time where you should keep something like that to yourself.

Atlas: “You laid dormant in Gaelion, so there was no need to call you out.”

Gaelion: “Fumu… as expected of the Hakuko, to grasp my situation so easily.”

Firo: “Muu…”

Firo glares at Gaelion.

Gaelion: “The next Filorial Queen, hmm? This whole predicament happened because you ate part of my core. Fool.”

Firo: “Give me back my experience!”

Gaelion: "Fumu… It belongs to me now... Is what I’d like to say, but since it’s mixed in with mine, you'll have to deal with getting it back gradually."

Just as I was wondering what Gaelion meant, he takes in a deep breath.

He spits out a large candy-ball looking mass.

Gaelion: “If you lick that, you'll get a little bit of your experience back. So be silent.”

Firo: “Bu…”

Firo protests while staring at the spitty mass in her hands.

I guess getting her experience back wont be so simple.

Naofumi: “So, what business do you have with me? Was everything up to now all an act?”

Gaelion: “There’s a lot to talk about. The owner of this body, for one, is the Gaelion you know. One day, when he reaches adulthood, our minds will fuse.”

Naofumi: “Against your will?”

Gaelion: “Most likely. The owner of this body also wants it to happen. Ever since you warmed his egg up yourself, Shield Hero.”

Naofumi: “I see.”

I recall I had a strange dream last night. I don't remember the details, but I remember hearing this guy’s voice.

Gaelion: “In the first place, even though our minds have been fusing little by little, the moment when we ate the core, your rage occupied both of ours and wreaked havoc.”

Naofumi: “Then the reason why he flew in that direction was…”

Gaelion: Gaelion: “According to my memory, he would have flown further. Over there, the polluted land’s energy was being absorbed; else he would have stored up enough power to wreak havoc at who you wanted to kill the most.”

Naofumi: “Who I wanted to kill?”

Gaelion: “The person you hate more than anything… if I say it like that, is it easier to understand?”

So it’s like that, huh.

He was planning to raise hell after finding Bitch and Scum.

Though indirectly, my rage would have brought upon the downfall of this country.

It was a really bad situation in a lot of ways.

Gaelion: “Thus, I can keep this appearance, but not for too long. That’s why I’ll explain it to you simply.”

Hmm… To summarize, Gaelion can hold a deeper conscious for short periods of time, in contrast to the child-like Gaelion. He made the judgment that now was a better time to talk than ever.

Naofumi: “Wait a second. Are dead dragons even capable of passing on their consciousness?”

Gaelion: “Just a part. Our kind are sort of like immortal beings.”

Rato: “Immortal… A pure-bred dragon!? The kind that marks territory around mountain recesses?”

Rato, as if she saw something horrible, asks Gaelion. She really hates dragons, huh.

Gaelion: “How should I put this, I am that pure-bred.”

Rato: “What are the chances… Shouldn't the Sword Hero have killed you?”

That would make him around level 40 when he lost.

Even so, that Gaelion shouldn't have been able to find a way to get stronger mid-battle.

Which means, originally Gaelion was pretty weak.

Gaelion: “It can’t be helped. I am the weakest fragment left of the Dragon Emperor.”

Naofumi: “What?”

Dragon Emperor… the weakest of the four heavenly kings.

It’s a famous phrase that I tend to remember.

I don’t think anyone would listen to what I’m saying, but…

For the weakest dragon to be boasting is pretty lame.

Naofumi: “Fragment of the Dragon Emperor?”

Gaelion: “It looks like you don’t know about the ecology of dragons. Let me explain from there. Wait, maybe it would just be faster to ask that shrine maiden over there?”

Murmurs Gaelion while pointing at Sadina.

Naofumi: “Shrine Maiden?”

Rato: “As far as I can tell, it’s someone who’s received divine protection from the Dragon Emperor. Correct?”

Sadina: “Yuuuup. I’m a Shrine Maiden. That’s why I’m able to use Dragon Pulse~”

Answers Sadina while playing with her hands, all curled up. It doesn't feel like she’s motivated at all.

Rato: “That’s also something that I’ve heard. A long time ago, the Filorial Queen had forced the Dragon Emperor to scatter.”

Naofumi: “I see…”

So it’s basically an already extinct being then.

It seems like it was because they were on bad relations with the Filorial back then.

Gaelion: “But speaking of the dragon’s existence, in the first place, they were the only pure-bred existence on earth; everything else originated from a hybrid or cross-breed. Dragon Emperor was more of a label that us pure-bred dragons used for ourselves. Since we were able to breed with any living thing, our offspring increased. And then once extinction came, we sought whatever way we could to survive.”

Naofumi: “What a stubborn being. Like a cockroach.”

Rato: “That is why you didn't die while all scattered about. It could be that Gaelion-chan is the successor of a part of that Dragon Emperor from the past.”

Gaelion: “Fumu… For the most part, you’re correct. It’s because I've confirmed personally how weak I am that, to not get snatched away by the remainders of the Emperor, I lived near humans.”

Since he was secluded from his allies for being too weak, he was always hibernating like a bear. The more I hear about it, the more pitiful I think this dragon is.

After talking like he was all that, now this? It’s the worst.

Sadina: “What I say from now on is pretty important. The pure-bred fought among themselves, and the winner had the power to control its fragments. Like that, they gathered for several hundred years in hopes for revival.”

Naofumi: “Come to think of it… I’ve heard often about the hero of legend who defeated the revived Dragon Emperor.”

Sadina: “…The battle of the struggling fragments turned into a death match of the same race. It came to a point where the next generation would lose its ability to breed.”

Naofumi: “If you don’t want to be aimed at, isn't it OK to just hand over the fragment?”

Gaelion: “It’s because I can’t do that; that's why I ran away. As expected, no other Dragon Fragments would do anything reckless like settling near humans. If the fragments gathered, they’d just be torn apart again.”

Pitiful.

Hasn't the Dragon Emperor itself already lost?

Sadina: “That’s all the information I've got.”

Gaelion: “So then, let me supplement. I am but a single fragment of that Dragon Emperor; that’s why I can exist right now. Originally, I was going to look for a different retainer, but in that situation, I didn't have control over my common sense.”

Basically what everyone’s trying to say is, Gaelion was living on nothing but the matters of the previous era.

That’s why the remaining Dragon Fragments didn't realize it.

So, that Fragment’s magical power reorganized into the flesh of the Zombie Dragon that Firo and I defeated, even though it should have been sealed.

As a result, the fragment my shield absorbed transferred over to the egg. A perfect revival with all fragments gathered… is what should have happened if the rage sleeping in my shield didn't take over.

How pitiful.

I should look down on this guy.

Gaelion: “Well, I am fine. Good job saving Wyndia. You have my thanks for her growing up into a fine girl.”

Naofumi: “Wyndia?”

For the most part, I didn't have enough evidence to pick out someone.

Gaelion: “Mu? You surely aren't planning to tell me you were planning to raise her without even knowing her name?”

Naofumi: “It’s that Monster-loving idiot slave, right? So she had a name like that.”

Rato: “Hold on, could it be that you don’t know the names of the children in our village, Count?”

Naofumi: “There are ones I know, but a lot I don’t.”

I can only remember Atlas… Kiel, and Fohl thanks to Raphtalia.

Aside from those, I’m pretty unclear. I can find some way around using their names, anyways.

Now that I mention it, there are a lot of guys I don’t know.

Even the Female Knight I talk to a lot… I don’t know her name either.

Rato: “Count, what do you usually call Wyndia?”

Naofumi: “Probably just Taniko.”

Rato: “Why!?”

Sadina: “A great nickname isn't it? Or would fatty be better? OR MAY-BE Mistress?”

Sadina asks me in a really irritating pose.

If she turned into her human form, this would turn into a brawl.

Naofumi: “I remember people calling her name out, and other people calling out to her. But I've never called her by her name myself.”

Rato: “Ah…That’s true, isn't it. Most of the time you usually just refer to people with 'You' or 'Over there'.”

Sadina: “Hey Naofumi-chan, have you ever called anyone by name? Tell me.”

Naofumi: “Head chef, Imia’s Uncle, Old Hag, and there are many others.”

Sadina: “Wow… this is pretty serious. Naofumi-chan isn't fussing over it so it’s fine, but you shouldn't call people by those names.”

Naofumi: “Isn't Old Hag fine?”

Sadina: “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Naofumi: “Battle Advisor.”

Sadina: “Oh… she’s definitely an old lady.”

Atlas: “Naofumi-sama, what do you call my brother and I?”

Naofumi: “Atlas is Atlas. I've started calling Fohl, Alps.”

Rato: “Like I was saying before, why!? I don’t understand your naming scheme, Count.”

Sadina: “That’s certainly true.”

I’m just basing it from anime in my world. If you want reasoning, go ask another hero.

Even so, there’s no way of telling if the other Heroes had seen the same anime.

Firo: “What about Firo?”

Naofumi: “Do you want to hear it?”

Firo: “Yeah…”

Naofumi: “By the way Gaelion, you’re Ding Dong Dash.”

Gaelion: “It’s longer than my real name! I don’t understand its origin.”

Ding Dong Dash protests while amazed.

I wonder which Ding Dong Dash was the one who actually Ding Dong Dashed.

Hmm, this name is hard to use.

Naofumi: “Well that’s all well and good. I’ll ask once, but... that kid is your child?”

Ding Dong Dash: “That would be correct.”

Naofumi: “Then you kidnapped her with the intentions of violating her, huh? You’re deplorable.”

It’s not strange that Taniko is in blind acceptance of Dragons. Since she was young, she was intended to marry into Dragon nobility. Even if Gaelion didn't feel like it, he could still have his way.

This type has his own intentions, and will stick it out until the end to fulfill his desires.

Gaelion: “How dare you speak like that!? I’ll kill you! Since Wyndia was small-!”