A day ago.
“Hey, Mister, am I doing this right?”
“Imagine your mana playing hide and seek just a bit more.”
“Like this?”
“That’s right.”
Following Ern’s instructions, Sonya began controlling her mana.
For her, a member of the dragon clan, mana control was more a matter of imagination than ability, so it didn’t take her long.
“There! This means I did it, right?”
“Yes, well done.”
Sonya’s mana control was already at a basic, solid level.
Ern only provided some minor support, given the unique trait of mixed blood contributing more to her imaginative capacity.
Colton, who had been observing their training nearby, suddenly spoke up.
“It seems that teaching methods do differ slightly with mixed blood.”
For pure-blooded members of the Dragon Clan, controlling mana was as natural as moving their limbs.
Thus, Colton could not teach his daughter how to manipulate mana—just as no one ever teaches a creature how to breathe.
“I know a pure-blood like you, Colton, and it’s similar for them.”
“Oh, you’ve met another of the dragon clan?”
“We’re quite close. I’ve benefited a lot from them.”
Lea, who was like a sister to him.
He entrusted Epherna’s safety to her and Ray in his place.
It was hard to believe that was already three years ago.
“There’s more difference between pure-bloods and mixed bloods than you might think, Colton. I’m mixed blood, but I’m closer to a talented human.”
If pure-bloods were the crystallization of talent that transcended humanity, then mixed bloods were evaluated more like exceptional humans.
It was an unavoidable distinction between species.
“Sonya’s training should be aligned with human standards.”
“…I see.”
Colton nodded in resignation.
“That’s a shame. I really wanted to raise her into a mage myself.”
So, Sonya’s dream was to be a mage.
That would require training.
Pushing aside his concerns, Ern replied.
“Sonya can become a great mage.”
*****
Time flew by as Ern trained Sonya—it had already been a week.
It wasn’t just the training; planning the route to the imperial capital took time, too.
Along the way.
“…Mister, can’t you stay?”
Despite the short time, Sonya had grown attached to him.
“Isn’t there still more to learn? Couldn’t you teach me more, Mister?”
Ern hadn’t taught Sonya much about mana manipulation.
Being a member of the dragon clan, even if mixed, she needed to learn by intuition.
Knowing she had much more to learn, Sonya felt reluctant to part.
“I’ll come back and teach you more next time.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Once his duties were complete, he would have time.
After promising to return one day, Ern packed for his journey to the capital.
Lastly.
“Thank you for arranging this carriage ride.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.”
Colton had graciously optimized a route to the capital, even using his own funds.
Coming from the North with Duke Lemea’s assistance had been easy enough, but reaching the far-off capital had been more challenging.
Originally, he’d intended to seek help from Duchess Katia or her husband. Regardless:
“I’ll make sure to return one day.”
With a plan to discuss the future of the Colton family on his next visit, Ern set off lightly.
Now, with the route to the capital laid out, he only needed to travel with ease.
Three days later, he arrived in the newly designated Eastern Principality, which had now become a duchy.
*****
The first issue was a small one.
“Why is the carriage suddenly changing direction? Why?”
“The driver’s wife is due to give birth soon. He’s taken the carriage, which isn’t even his, to head home.”
“What about me?”
“We’ll arrange another carriage for you.”
Though the carriage supposed to take him had veered off course, another was promised, which was a relief.
However.
“…Well, there’s no direct carriage to the capital. If you wait, there will be a train in about a week. But perhaps it’s better to take another carriage that leaves now, even if it’s a bit roundabout?”
It was then he felt a slight unease.
“Whoa! This thing…it’s acting up today…young man! Would you mind if we rested a bit before setting off?”
He sensed that things weren’t going smoothly.
“Sorry, but the wheel’s broken… Looks like you’ll have to find yet another carriage.”
At this point, Ern had a growing sense that something was amiss.
Yet, no matter how many times he switched carriages, he continued moving in the direction of the capital.
If worse came to worst, and the remaining distance was short, he considered walking the rest of the way.
But the next problem that erupted was an enormous incident that no one could have anticipated.
“…What is this!! Young man!! Run away!!”
The driver suddenly stopped the horses and yelled as he threw open the door.
His face was filled with fear, and when Ern stepped outside, an unimaginable sight unfolded before him.
“…Dammit.”
His clothes and hair were wildly whipping in the wind.
A gray vortex, large enough to be seen clearly with the naked eye, was moving forward.
A sudden, massive typhoon had struck.
Thankfully, the area was a vast open plain with no nearby cities, but from Ern’s perspective, he couldn’t quite decide if it was something to be thankful for.
“Driver, how far is the next town?”
“This isn’t the time for such questions! I don’t know if it’s because of the typhoon, but the horses aren’t listening! We have to run, even if we have to escape on foot!”
Ignoring the driver’s frantic words, Ern looked ahead.
He thought about how best to avoid the massive storm, but it was too close to escape.
It might seem like there was a way to dodge it if seen with the eyes, but typhoons were no simple thing.
Even if one moved over 100 meters away, a human body would be blown away like falling leaves.
‘What should I do…’
It was obvious that eliminating the storm would be impossible.
His techniques weren’t the type that could cancel out large forces; they were designed to target only weaknesses.
In terms of overall power, it was about 70% of what people like Simon or Bergamot possessed.
While that was still impressive, there was a clear difference between 70% and 100%.
“Run away. I’ll try to slow down the storm.”
So, he chose to slow the storm down.
It seemed impossible at first, but Ern believed it could be done.
If his assumption was correct, this storm was not a natural occurrence.
“But you…”
“Don’t worry about me.”
After coaxing the driver to escape, Ern gathered his strength.
The power of winter’s snow, summer’s sun, and the energy of dragons had long disappeared from him.
He had lost his prime, a time when even heroes struggled to surpass him. But now, at the age of thirty, he had reached full adulthood, and the dragon’s blood dormant within him had awakened.
Instinctively, he drew upon that power and began gathering mana from the air.
He didn’t realize it, but what he was doing—manifesting pure energy—was an ancient technique only used by pure-blooded dragons.
Though the formula was simple, it required precise control of magic and immense strength.
It was called Bress.
KWA-AAAAH!!
A blue flame shot out toward the typhoon.
The breath struck the storm with enough force to tear through it, but the typhoon held its shape and continued advancing.
Watching it, Ern became certain.
‘As expected, this storm was artificially created.’
The purpose was clear: to hinder him.
While it was just a guess, Ern felt it was nearly certain.
Over the past few days, things had been too strange to just chalk up to bad luck.
To identify the true nature of the storm, Ern activated his eyes, a special ability.
If the storm wasn’t natural, it must have been created by magic, and magic wouldn’t require much effort to analyze.
‘The magician who created this storm must be nearby.’
Magic is inherently connected to the magician who uses it.
No matter how powerful they were, this connection was unavoidable.
There, just as he thought, the magical core became apparent.
With that, Ern used his breath again.
Gathering energy into a sphere, he fired it toward the back of the typhoon.
This time, unlike before, the energy followed a more flexible curve and hit its target.
Hoo-woooom!
The storm, which had seemed like it would sweep everything away, disappeared in an instant, scattering dust into the air.
After a brief moment, a figure appeared in the distance, where the storm had once been.
Ern recognized the figure instantly.
A humanoid shape flew toward him with ease. Only two beings in the world could wield such powerful magic and still fly calmly.
“… I thought it couldn’t be true.”
Bergamot Katia.
She had been on her way back to her territory after all this time and now, she spoke with a voice full of surprise.
“…You’re alive.”
