A Dragon's Curiosity

Somehow I missed a chapter when posting, but it should be corrected now

Borrowing the name of a famous adventurer group, the [Royal Academy] and the [Adventurers Guild], Nisha spun a tall tale, in which the supplements and resources gifted to the trainees had an exceptional affinity with her and prompted a growth spurt together with her soaring aura cultivation.

On top of that, she only knew that the [Dragon Force] boosted her growth, but not exactly why that happened either.

Since the elf expressed honest confusion and bewilderment on that topic, Henry ended up believing her completely.

Mysterious events happened all the time in Leandar, either because of an unrelated party executing a plan and giving out unexpected benefits to someone they do not even know or a mage or warrior showed unexpected compatibility with an ingredient they consumed and derived some extra gains.

Hence, the young man rather calmly accepted that his adopted sister had no idea, and pondered why exactly her age advanced rather quickly for an elf child.

“Did your turn of classes also invite experts from the Guild for extra training? It’s rather odd to have another combat instructor all of a sudden, especially a famous man like the [Eternal Warrior] Tyne Pinewood.

And expending precious resources and rare materials on every turn should also take a toll on the pockets of the Kingdom and the Guild, right?”

Nisha found it slightly strange. A famous member of the most powerful party under the Guild, [Silvershroud], dispatched one of their members for a mundane task like teaching newly accepted students in the Academy, which meant that either the price for the task was extremely high to move these high rankers, or the fighters and magicians of the highest rank took a big loss by accepting a job with little to no remuneration.

Either way, it did not add up in the end.

Grasping the intent behind her question, the youth next to her laughed.

“You are right, it’s not commonplace to see a celebrity like that take up the mundane job of teacher.

Generally, the [Royal Academy] rotates between different sources to introduce outside experts to broaden the horizons of the students each turn.

When I just started classes, the Royal Knights dispatched plenty of veterans to pick suitable candidates for tutoring, and I got a spot there, luckily.

Apart from the Knights and the Guild, the Court Magicians also send their members to coach aspiring magicians in meditation techniques and mana control.

Lastly, foreign experts from the Terus Empire, the Twin Kingdoms and the Great Desert or the Ice Plains impart their specialities on rare occasions, the diplomatic efforts of Leandar often result in a favorable cultural exchange for both sides.”

His casual revelation stunned Nisha. From her time in the Wilderness to the lessons in common sense she received from the sisters Annabelle and Lydia, the concept of territory always stood out strongly.

A mountain cannot contain two tigers, and a kingdom will not easily allow outsiders to interfere. They asserted their hegemony, any common citizen knew as much.

However, this rule apparently did not always apply.

Thinking about the implications, the elf realized that the [Navis Terram] sent by the Terus empire fulfilled a similar role.

The camp outside the capital made it seem like they drew a clear line between the empire and Leandar, despite a legion of foreign soldiers living right outside the capital.

“Personally, I worked as a squire for the [Royal Lion] Knight Order for about two and a half turns now.

At the start, a senior knight taught me the ropes himself, and currently I sometimes attend the general drill to improve my riding skills.

Ah, I’m pretty excited too, a [Guardian Griffin] is a suitable mount for a knight, when he grows up a tad more, I can use my personal contracted beast instead of a steed reared by the Knight Order.”

The [Cerulean Sky Owl] on Henry’s shoulder suddenly started making a racket, crying out loud at the injustice of being ignored by its master in favor of the boring grey guy back in the stable behind them.

Because she also spoke the Monster language, Nisha snickered at the indignant protest from the beast, which mainly consisted of likening the human to a featherless land dweller and a non winged stone who will never fly through the sky, which were both reasons of great disdain for those of the owl clan.

Helpless against the racket from his contracted follower, Henry fished a prepared treat out of his pocket, a portion of dried magical rat meat bought from the Guild, and threw it in the distance to solve his troubles.

Nisha observed the dynamic and wondered what sort of food Little Lia preferred and if Eisen ate anything at all. She mentally noted it down to investigate later on.

“So it’s not that unusual to have different groups as teachers at the Academy.

You mentioned a Knight Order, do all knights belong to one? And what do you need to be able to do to be a proper knight?”

Those closely acquainted with the elf might have noticed a recurring trend, whenever a question got its answer, three new questions would come at them instead.

“Knight Orders mainly gather and train prospective knights and teach them all the necessary skills and knowledge during their time as squires.

Generally, only those knighted are allowed to use the honorary address Ser and Sera, which indicates their status.

Any noble with a rank starting from baron can knight those in their employment or anyone with outstanding merits, it’s only that their rank decides how often they are allowed to do so every turn.

The Orders do not have as many restrictions for bestowing knighthood, as long as a squire has the necessary skills and finished the training, they can induct them as knights.”

Henry boasted about the achievements of the Orders, since he almost fulfilled the requirements to get initiated and join the [Royal Lions], where many of the knights serving the royal court came from as well.

Naturally, as the son of a Duke, the young man had an easy way out to get the title and the honorary address, too.

Luthais Dharnas, as a duke, had more than enough quotas each turn to appoint knights, which meant he also had the authority to appoint his son as a knight.

In fact, most nobles reserved some of their appointments for their children once they were born.

Knights had an added layer of benefits compared to regular citizens, they paid fewer taxes, had the advantage in case the city guards or an official made a judgement between regular and citizens and them, and counted as half nobles.

Mingling with the highest social layer brought fresh blood into the lower houses and widened the choice of marriage partners for the prospective grooms and brides.

While the union between commoners and nobles was frowned upon by the latter, knights were socially acceptable and gave the other party barely enough face.

“That’s amazing, will I have to call you Ser Henry in the future? But I have to agree, when I imagine how you ride your [Guardian Griffin] into battle, that’s indeed an awesome mental picture.”

The elf honestly praised her adopted brother, she admired him greatly for making the effort to obtain knighthood.

Her initial contact with nobles and commoners at the Royal Academy did not leave the best impression of the aristocrats.

Seeing the humble and honest Henry in comparison really made the dragon wonder what exactly made him turn out different from all the spoiled descendants in her classes.

“Yes, although Ser and Sera are often interchangeable with the address for nobles, since most of them award their families knighthoods anyway.

My father is also often called Ser Luthais, while Sera Neia Sheridan is the leading voice for the elves in court.

In the future, you can also apply to obtain a knighthood, as long as your aura cultivation, skill with the blade and equestrian ability meet the cutoff.

I can also recommend you to the [Royal Lion] Order then.”

Henry animatedly described the conditions and customs behind the conferment of knighthoods.

With just a few questions and pointers, the elf had taken the focus off her sudden growth and the unusual class at the academy.

Her adopted brother subconsciously accepted the conclusion, since they both agreed on the same topics and the ideals matched.

Chatting about small matters that occurred over the day, they took their contracted familiar each and moved towards the mansion.

When the door closed and quiet returned to the yard, the air in the garden rippled and then collapsed into countless small shards.

Parted like a veil, two figures emerged from nothingness and trailed after the two youths.

Galan and Luthais had learned from the maids in charge of the mansion that something appeared off when the young lady left the house in the morning.

The estate had several spells inscribed in the foundation, one of which alarmed the magician in charge of surveillance to be notified when anyone entered the premises.

As soon as Nisha returned from school, the mage notified Luthais, who worked in his study at the time.

Together with Galan, he moved to the garden and casted a cloaking spell. Several scholars in the past studied invisibility and made improvements to the spells of each element, although none of the regular methods should have had the ability to trick the dragon’s [Spirit Sight].

Luthais, on the other hand, had been exposed to his father Eldrin’s [Water Wall] since young.

A major reason for his fame as the [Water Serpent] of Leandar came from the small insight into the law of water, which strengthened the spell.

While Luthais did not exactly learn the same fraction of water law, as their elements did not match up, he emulated the effect well enough to gleam into the rules of the air element and form his own unique spell.

Hence, Galan and Luthais quietly listened into the conversation between the younger generation of House Dharnas.

“I know you’re dying to say something. Speak your mind, Galan. My father always valued your advice, and so do I.”

Luthais smiled at his trusted aide. He knew about the true nature of the young dragon in their charge. Sudden growth spurts, items appearing in her bedroom or exceptional cultivation speed were more than expected for a transformed beast of extraordinary descent.

However, he did not tell anyone about her, not even Galan, or anyone else and introduced her as a relative from Eldrin’s side of the family.

“I do not know exactly what happened to the young lady, however, the cooperation initiated by the [Royal Academy] certainly should not have such pronounced effects.

Furthermore, she has already reached the third aura and mana rank in cultivation.

More and more things do not add up. I believe there is something suspicious going on, and we should start an investigation to be sure.

And forgive me for being frank, the late master Eldrin loved his wife very much, I am sure he would have never had another lover, especially since he went into seclusion at the [Hunting Grounds].

In my humble opinion, an investigation into the matter should clear up the unclear elements.”

Despite sounding like a jealous and narrow minded servant scheming against the youngest mistress of the House, Galan’s long turns of devotion to the Dharnas family elevated him about any reasonable doubt.

He was one of the late Eldrin’s staunchest supporters and he already waited quite a long time to voice his doubts regarding the addition to the Dharnas family.

Luthais found himself in a difficult position, he could not admit that the girl was not really related to himself and Henry, nor could he dismiss the irregularities that cropped up recently.

“Okay then, investigate as much as you can without mobilizing special connections, and try your best to figure out what exactly the joint course at the Academy requires in terms of resources.

We have not received any request from their side yet, so the instructors and staff have not yet connected her identity with our house.

Support the course with about the same amount as the other Dukes, and don’t respond to any inquiries.”

Luthais walked back to his study, the work waiting for him formed a small mountain.