The three gifts he had received from Goddess Rifue.
The Catalogue of Patience.
Authority - ???
And the last was a grimoire called the Book of Dragon Summoning.
The Book of Dragon Summoning had been created so long ago that even in Purnel’s era, it would have been called ancient.
One could tell just by looking at the language written in it. Among ancient tongues, it contained words that had fallen out of use and disappeared, and even the system of notation belonged to a distant age.
Because magic itself had been born from ancient languages and their glyphs, most grimoires were written in ancient script.
In other words, it was only natural for grimoires this old to be reborn with updated notation and altered ancient language.
And yet Goddess Rifue had handed him the original as it was.
What could that mean?
— She said it was not even in Tetradia… so that book may well be the only one.
If there had been a modern translation, she would have given him that.
The fact that she had deliberately given him the unfamiliar original meant that this was the only Book of Dragon Summoning.
“That’s why it took even longer.”
Words and glyphs so old and unfamiliar that they might have belonged to the very first ancient language.
Because of that, the research and interpretation had taken longer.
“As if it weren’t already packed with complicated glyphs and formulas.”
— Still, what matters is that you managed it in the end, does it not?
“Yeah… I did manage it. In just four days, no less.”
It was the fourth day since he had come to Arilleya.
He had managed it, but the problem, if it could be called one, was that all he had managed was the interpretation.
The real research and practice had not even begun yet.
— In the study of magic, interpretation is originally what takes the longest and matters most. Magic is delicate enough that even the slightest mistranslation can twist everything completely.
In any case, he had finally taken the first proper step.
Only when nearly half a year had passed since meeting Goddess Rifue had the Book of Dragon Summoning finally been fully interpreted.
And according to what had been interpreted…
“This… is this really all right?”
— How would I know?
It was contract magic that bound the dragon’s soul to the caster’s soul.
No, on closer inspection, it was an unfair contract spell filled only with terms advantageous to the caster.
A magic circle for summoning would be engraved into the dragon’s body and soul, and the moment the contract was concluded, the dragon would have to obey the caster’s words absolutely and use its immense power for the caster whenever desired.
That sort of unfair contract.
— Still, since Goddess Rifue gave it to you herself, surely there must be some meaning in it?
“I guess?”
Everything he had received from Goddess Rifue had meaning.
First of all, the Catalogue of Patience had been absorbed into his body, and its effects were now being applied permanently.
Hio could feel better than anyone just how good those effects were.
And second, Authority - ???
He had no idea what that was, so he would skip it.
The third was the Book of Dragon Summoning.
A bizarre grimoire that allowed him to handle a dragon almost like a slave.
Looking at them one by one, it was strange.
Wasn’t the Catalogue of Patience the only thing he actually needed?
“…Are we sure it really has meaning?”
— Well…
Had Goddess Rifue truly given him what he needed?
A sudden doubt toward Rifue arose in his mind.
It was strange, but it was a fairly reasonable suspicion.
“…Maybe the goddess gave me something weird because she was half-asleep?”
— She did look quite tired.
“Right? She was supposed to give me something else, but she gave me the wrong thing, didn’t she?”
— She did keep her eyes closed the whole time. No matter how tired she was, really, not even opening her eyes while someone was talking to her.
Hio and Purnel exchanged blasphemies so casually that devout priests of the Order would have foamed at the mouth if they had heard.
If Goddess Rifue had truly given it to him properly, then it meant she really wanted him to enslave a dragon…
Was that what she had hoped for?
Perhaps it really was.
She was a goddess, after all.
Her pure white, beautiful appearance.
Her elegant voice and gentle tone did not mean she was infinitely kind.
He could not think of her from a human perspective.
— At any rate, it is quite complicated, but it does not seem impossible. For its effect, the formula is on the easier side.
“That’s true. If things go quickly, I could manage it within a few days.”
It had taken a long time to interpret, but learning it itself did not seem to pose a problem.
Many fifth-circle glyphs were already engraved in him, so if he learned this, he would not be able to learn other fifth-circle elemental spells. But what remained was not terribly important anyway, so it was fine.
As he sat in one corner of the clearing and continued talking with Purnel—
『Mr. Mage!』
Freya came running from the center of the clearing with a bright smile.
Not in her true body, but transformed into a human.
Just like before, her light green hair swayed as she spoke by floating letters above her head instead of using her voice.
“Hm? You’re done already?”
『No! Sir Legarda said I could take a short break!』
“He did?”
When he turned his gaze to look at Legarda in the distance, Legarda was pointedly staring off somewhere else, pretending not to notice.
There was no way a dragon needed a rest.
It was simply Legarda’s consideration, letting her play for a little while since Hio had come after so long.
『Until yesterday, he told me to move only in my true body, but starting today…』
Even though Freya’s soul had entered Ariel’s body and she had become a complete dragon, she still used an artifact instead of speaking aloud when in human form.
It would have been quite frustrating, yet Freya kept wearing a bright expression, holding back her voice and using the artifact to convey her thoughts and feelings.
『…So Sir Legarda praised me! Hehehe. He said I’m learning the dragon tongue incredibly fast!』
“Really? Legarda praised you?”
When he turned his head again to look toward Legarda, he saw the man turning away with tremendous reflexes and pretending to be occupied.
Hio was certain he had been looking this way just a moment ago.
『Yes! And now there are so many things I can do! Fire and water and also…』
Freya displayed words without pause, as if he had no idea how she had endured until now.
To begin with, why had Freya been unable to speak from the moment of her birth?
At first, he had thought that because she was an extremely small part of a massive soul, some deficiency had occurred somewhere.
Hadn’t Freya herself thought the same and withdrawn into herself?
But Legarda’s thoughts were different.
When they had been staying in Hiberunia, they had once discussed this matter, and Legarda had said this at the time.
There could be no deficiency in the soul of a demigod dragon.
Even if it was a small fragment, it was born possessing everything, and the previous fragments had all been the same.
Then why had only Freya been unable to speak?
『Ah! Mr. Mage! Shall I show you what I’m practicing today?』
“What you learned today?”
『Yes! It’s really fun and amazing!』
Freya brought both hands together and squeezed her eyes shut.
At the same time, immense mana surged around her.
And when her light green eyes flashed open—
【Blow】
What was heard was a voice.
What blew was a cool wind.
【Higher】
It was a voice spoken not in the form of a dragon, but in the form of Freya the human.
A voice incomparably clear and pure.
A pure voice that could not be heard anywhere else in the world.
【Higher still】
Freya’s small body floated gently upward with the blowing wind.
Why had Freya been unable to speak from the moment of her birth? Legarda had explained the reason like this.
The virtue of deficiency.
【Stronger!】
The wise dragon, Ariel, had known.
She had known that Freya, who had lost her voice, would realize her own deficiency.
That she would blame herself and lament, but in the end, she would accept that deficiency and strive to move forward.
That even if she died, someone who would help her from beside her, the most reliable knight, would surely remain.
She had known.
【Faster!】
To imagine the day when one would someday overcome deficiency, and to strive toward it.
How beautiful the process of enduring and moving forward was.
And when one finally reached it, how great the feeling of fulfillment would be.
How powerful the steps taken forward again with that as momentum would become.
She had known all of it.
【Blow!】
Freya rode the wind, entrusting her body to it as she drifted through the sky.
Her expression was bright.
So bright it was dazzling.
Dazzling and free.
The happiness of a girl who had dreamed of becoming a dragon.
【Hehehe! This is so fun—! Hup! I’m not supposed to say anything elseee!】
Of course, just like usual, she got carried away and began to lose strength, starting to fall from the sky.
Hio hurriedly reached out toward the falling Freya, but—
“…I told you to remain calm and composed at all times. Do not lose your focus, and be careful.”
Freya was already held in the arms of the dragon knight, who had rushed over at a speed too fast to see.
Though he had been quite far away, Legarda had reacted and run over even faster than Hio, as if he had not taken his eyes off her for even a single moment.
Freya gave an awkward smile, as if she was used to this situation.
『Hehe… I’m sorreee!』
“You still do not know how to handle the power of language, so you need more practice in this form.”
『Yes! I’ll carve it into my central heating!』
“It is ‘carve it into your bones and never forget.’ And it does not particularly suit the situation.”
『Hehehe.』
Having seen the two of them like that, he could not help but make up his mind.
And so, with a faint smile on his lips, he spoke to Purnel.
“Let’s change it.”
— …Change what?
“You know what I mean. The Book of Dragon Summoning. Let’s change the effect of the spell.”
How could he cast a spell like that after seeing her so happy?
A contract that would steal away freedom and allow him to wield that immense power as he pleased.
He could not cast such a spell on Freya, who was only just overcoming her deficiency and moving forward.
No matter if Goddess Rifue had given him the magic with some purpose in mind, this was something he could not do.
That was what he thought, and that was what he decided.
— You do know how difficult that will be, yes?
Of course it would be difficult.
It would not be as difficult as creating magic from scratch, but as stated before, magic was delicate enough that if the order of the glyphs or the distribution of mana was even slightly off, the effect would shift completely.
It was impossible to easily predict how long it would take to change it into the effect he wanted.
“Still, let’s try.”
Had there ever been anything that was not difficult?
Complete the ultimate magic.
Hold back the Abyss and protect this world.
Well, compared to things like that, not interfering with two people’s happiness and freedom was easy enough.
He had ended up taking a slight detour, but it did not matter.
— Very well. How could I possibly break that stubbornness of yours? Let us do it together.
Because this was Hio Pavlenko’s way.
* * *
A day after fully interpreting the Book of Dragon Summoning, he began dismantling it again.
The types and distribution of glyphs. The amount of mana to be injected. What was collectively called the formula.
He dug into it one detail at a time, analyzing it and beginning research to produce the effect he wanted.
In the midst of that, Legarda came to him from time to time.
No, since they were together at Freya’s training grounds anyway, it would be more accurate to say that he approached.
“Intent is thought with purpose.”
Legarda, who had come over like that, would straighten his spear and often show him his bright yellow aura, and the intent contained within it.
“If you regard it as a flower, it comes as a flower. If you call it a storm, it becomes a storm and comes.”
Of course, most of it was impossible to understand.
Then one day, with that same blunt expression, he asked:
“Mage. What is your conviction?”
Conviction.
It was something he had never once thought about.
“Well. Stopping the world from ending? Everyone becoming happy?”
He had often felt the noble convictions of other heroes with his entire body, but his own conviction?
Since he had never thought about it, his answer came out with the end of the sentence rising uncertainly.
And as expected, Legarda shook his head.
At the same time, bright yellow aura rose even higher from the tip of his spear.
“Look at my intent. Do you feel nothing?”
Aura that bloomed like a dragon, beautiful enough to be called so.
The intent contained within it.
“I will ask once more, Mage.”
Aura that resembled a dragon.
The steadfast heart within it. The will.
Hio turned his head and looked at the staff in his hand.
He lowered his gaze further and looked at his body.
The abundant mana flowing within him.
The five rings swimming quietly.
If he were to look into what was contained within them…
“What is your conviction?”
…Well.
He did not know.
“Find your conviction. That is the beginning.”
Conviction.
Conviction, was it?
He had certainly felt it many times.
He had seen the conviction of an ugly king who did not fear disgrace or servility.
He had seen the conviction of an old mage who had raised his voice even though he knew he would die.
He knew the conviction of a knight who had endured a thousand years for a dragon, and the conviction of a knight who had stood alone against a legion to protect an imperial princess.
He had watched so many such clear and intense convictions from beside them.
But if asked what his own conviction was, well…
“It will not be easy.”
He still did not really know.