Chapter 59

The second gathering had finished.

Thinking about all of the malice directed towards Miss Rosanna every day made a chill run down my spine.

But it wasn’t enough to phase her.

It was no wonder that she got Linda’s attention.

After leaving the garden, I invited my classmates to the roof terrace.

I thought that maybe we could kill some time there and deepen our friendship.

Perhaps they had guessed that we’d be there, because Linda and Rosanna appeared soon after.

And so we were all able to talk and enjoy our time together.

While it started off pretty bad, it was not a bad day, overall.

And for some reason, Linda and Rosanna were now friendly towards each other.

Why?

The night before the day of departure.

It was just as I was settling down for bed, that I sensed a faint presence in the dormitory garden.

“..Hmm? It’s not her.”

The way that the presence was hidden was different.

I got changed and went out into the garden. I familiar figure greeted me.

He was also dressed entirely in black, but his face was revealed.

“You’re Hif, aren’t you? What business do you have here?”

I thought of the significance of Her Majesty’s Left Hand coming to see me.

Was he going to try and get rid of me? Or was it a warning?

I had no intention of allowing him to beat me, but I knew this was not someone that I could disarm easily.

It was very possible that I’d be forced to kill him.

“It took me three days to be able to infiltrate this place.”

Apparently, he had used magic to get through the barriers.

As Hif started to walk, I followed him.

He stopped behind the dormitory, where there were a lot of trees.

“I have a message from Her Majesty that I’m to tell you directly.”

“And what is that?”

So, he wasn’t hostile after all.

“Are you aware that aside from us Shadows, there is a group comprised of prominent figures in the country, who serve Her Majesty?”

“Prominent figures? No, I’ve never heard of that.”

“We call them the Loyal Legion.”

I had never heard of them. Not even a whisper.

“Loyal Legion, huh? And what kind of organization is this?”

I would keep my opinions of the name to myself.

“With Her Majesty as its leader, the group is comprised of selected Shadows, politicians, soldiers, and Dragon Masters.”

“Sounds pretty large in scale.”

And yet, relatively unknown.

“Well, we cannot allow other countries to know about it.”

That made sense.

Ryukoku’s military affairs and political system generally revolved around the fight against the Moon Beasts.

Realistically speaking, they were by far, the biggest threat to the country.

If two countries were to go to war, both of them would be weakened and become easy prey for the ravenous Moon Beasts.

As we were already in a war without end against the Moon Beasts, there was no merit to fighting another country as well.

However, Hif said that this secret had to be kept from the other countries.

In other words, The Loyal Legion existed because they were expecting a war.

Or was I reading too much into it?

“Officially, there are now nearly 2,000 Dragon Masters in our country.”

“Yes.”

Close to 30 people got the Dragon Mark every year.

Even if you acquired a dragon as a teenager, you would be registered as a Dragon Master for life. So that number seemed about right.

Though, there were Dragon Masters who retired, so the actual number would be lower.

“In reality, there are many more Dragon Masters in our country.”

“!?”

That was a surprise. I was shocked.

As you acquired dragons during the ceremony, it wasn’t possible to keep their numbers a secret.

However, Hif was saying that there were more.

I didn’t know how it was possible. But the queen was hiding Dragon Masters.

Somewhere in this country.

“Documents have also been dug up from the old capital, and scholars have been studying them.”

“..?”

“It was Her Majesty’s decision, that you should be aware of this.”

So I was now someone they could share confidential information with. That could only mean one thing.

“I understand. However, I’ve really never even heard of this group before.”

“It’s all very top secret. We cannot tell our own kin. Besides, our headquarters is on the Shadow Moon Road.”

The Shadow Moon Road. It was a place where you never knew when the Moon Beasts might fall.

That’s where their headquarters was. Even the most curious of people would not go near it.

“I see. Maybe it is possible then.”

I still wasn’t sure how they were able to gather Dragon Masters without the public finding out. However, Hif had taken three days to break through the barrier, just to deliver me this information. I didn’t see why he would lie.

After all, I had complete absolution, so I could go and ask the queen directly if I wanted.

“You will learn the finer details upon your return from the military exercise. However, it’s also possible that the Loyal Legion will move during Makoku’s attack, as well. And so it was deemed important that you be aware of them now.”

Perhaps he was finished because Hif’s presence began to fade.

“Well, that is all.”

With those last words, he slowly moved away.

His presence grew thin and I could barely see him.

After a few seconds, he disappeared entirely.

“That’s a pretty big secret to reveal right before I leave..huh? Wait..if I join this Loyal Legion, wouldn’t that mean I’ll be pulled even further away from my true ambition?”

My first ambition had been to be a baker who occasionally carried out assassinations for Her Majesty. That had been squashed by this Dragon Master business.

But if I had to join this Loyal Legion on top of all of that, my dream of living peacefully would become even harder to attain.

“We leave tomorrow.. But I really want to bake bread right this instant.”

I muttered, even though I was shouting internally.

Leon showing the queen his Dragon Mark/Leon and Linda reuniting.

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