Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

On the day of my promised lecture, I was pulled from my sleep by a poke on the cheek.

“Luna, you have to get up now,” Liz said rather sternly.

“Mhmn, morning snuggles?” I mumbled, quickly reaching up and pulling Liz down into bed.

“No morning snuggles,” she giggled, unsuccessfully trying to escape my grasp. “You’re going to be late. It’s almost time for lunch.”

“Already?” I yawned. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

“I did wake you up for breakfast,” Liz replied. “You said you wanted to sleep longer.”

“You did?” I pondered, trying to remember. “Maybe you did.”

“Now let me go and get up,” Liz said, a slight frown showing on her face. “You promised Grahl, remember?”

“I know, I know,” I muttered, letting Liz go. “I suppose I have to go. I don’t have a habit of breaking promises. Even those I shouldn’t have done in the first place.”

“I’m sure it will be fun,” Liz smirked as she stood back up. “Just promise me you won’t cause any trouble.”

“Didn’t I just tell you I don’t have a habit of breaking promises?” I replied with a grin as I got up and put on my clothes. “But I will do my best.”

“Luna,” Liz said with pleading eyes. “You are going to make me worry.”

“My tamer could come with me and keep me in check,” I answered teasingly. “And I could use a cute assistant.”

“No thanks,” Liz frowned. “Although the magic institute is open to everyone, a big portion of their students are nobles. I wouldn’t feel comfortable there.”

“Have you been there before?”

“Once. I told you I had been to the capital years ago, right?” Liz replied. “The magic institute had a day where people could visit, so my uncle brought me there.”

“Oh? You wanted to study there?” I wondered. “I guess it makes sense for a mage to want to do that.”

“I just wanted to see it,” Liz answered. “I knew we didn’t have money for me to attend.”

“You have money now, though?” I pondered. “You could attend if you wanted to.”

“Why would I do that when I have the best teacher in the world right here?” Liz giggled. “I doubt I could learn anything relevant to magic there anymore.”

“Are you trying to butter me up?” I chuckled. “Hoping for a new spell?”

“Maybe?” Liz replied, batting her eyelashes. “Is it working?”

“Who knows,” I said, sticking out my tongue. “I guess I should be going.”

“Don’t you want to eat first?” Liz asked. “You should have time if you are fast.”

“I don’t like being late,” I said, stretching my arms above my head. “Besides, I don’t need to eat, remember?”

“Right, dragon thing,” Liz smirked, leaning forward and kissing my cheek. “Off you go then.”

“I will be back later,” I said with a smile before teleporting to the capital.

 

I entered the capital and landed close to the adventurers guild, making my way inside. The adventurers guild had far fewer people than during the morning rush, but there were still some people lined up at the reception.

Now then, he did say to come here before the lecture. I suppose he meant to his office.

I once again decided to simply walk up the stairs to his office, bypassing the reception altogether. I knocked on the door to Grahl’s office and entered.

“There you are,” Grahl said from behind his desk. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

“Am I late?” I pondered. “You didn’t say an exact time.”

“I would say that you’re right on time,” Grahl chuckled. “I did, however, wonder if you were going to show up at all.”

“How rude,” I muttered, taking my usual seat on the couch. “I said I would, didn’t I? I keep my promises.”

“You did,” Grahl said, showing a slight grin. “But you also didn’t seem interested in taking a few hours of your busy schedule of goofing off unless it involved spite for Marquess Bluhelt.”

“Goofing off? I will have you know I do no such thing,” I muttered before realising the other part he said. “Wait, a few hours?”

“The entire afternoon is reserved for you,” Grahl replied, no longer hiding his grin.

Come to think of it, he didn’t say anything about what the lecture would actually involve. I just figured it would be a quick in and out while I blew some stuff up, half an hour tops. I got played.

“I suddenly feel a little feverish,” I said, putting my hand on my forehead. “I think I will have to go back home and rest.”

“A dragon getting a fever?” Grahl laughed. “Didn’t you just say that you keep your promises?”

“Ugh, I did say that,” I groaned. “So what exactly do you want me to teach those kids?”

“You can teach them whatever you want as long as you make it clear just how much of an advantage chantless casting is, both against monsters and humans,” Grahl explained. “I leave the rest to you.”

“And who will I teach? Noble brats?”

“There will be both students and outsiders there,” Grahl said. “Most students are nobles, but there are some commoners among them. There are also a few adventurers who have shown interest. I’m not sure about people from the military or other nobles, but you might see some of those as well.”

“This already sounds annoying,” I replied, not hiding my annoyance.

“And, well,” Grahl muttered, reluctant to continue. “I’m not saying it will happen, but there might be some interference from your acquaintance. He wasn’t too pleased that the magic institute allowed this even though he was against it.”

“Now it sounds even more annoying,” I muttered, letting out a sigh. “But with some luck, all of today’s participants will survive.”

“It doesn’t sound like a joke coming from you,” Grahl said, a slight uneasiness showing in his expression.

“It wasn’t a joke. I will not be held responsible for anyone who won’t behave,” I replied, looking at Grahl with a sinister smile. “And remember, you asked for this.”

“I suppose I did,” Grahl muttered. “Can you at least try and avoid killing anyone?”

“I will consider it,” I smirked. “So, should I just go there?”

“Someone from the magic institute should be here to escort you,” Grahl said, picking up a letter with an exquisite golden wax seal. “But before that, you have been summoned.”

“Summoned?” I pondered, looking at the wax seal. “It’s from the king, I assume?”

“That’s correct,” Grahl replied. “You should find the details in the letter.”

“I see,” I said before I got up and took the letter from him. “And what about the dungeon core?”

“I did tell them about it, but…” Grahl stopped, wondering how to continue. “I’m afraid that a dungeon core is not possible at the moment.”

How stingy. They do realise I could take one whether they want to or not, right? I don’t see a reason for this then.

“Well, then tell them I decline,” I said, tossing the letter back on his desk and turning around to retake my seat.

“Can I ask why?” Grahl wondered, looking at me with a pained expression.

“I only want the core,” I shrugged. “I see no reason to go otherwise.”

“And I’m the one that has to tell the castle…” Grahl grumbled, rubbing his forehead before looking back at me. “Couldn’t you just go for a quick visit?”

“Would you have gone in your youth?”

“I…” Grahl stopped, looking defeated. “I probably would have run away.”

“Exactly,” I smirked. “We are quite alike in that aspect.”

“But…” Grahl mumbled. “The current king is a good person. I’m sure you could come to some kind of agreement.”

“You think so?” I wondered. “What makes him so good?”

“The previous king focused on pleasing the nobles, often at the expense of the commoners,” Grahl explained. “It wasn’t too bad, but the country as a whole has improved a lot after his son became king since he cares more about the common folk.”

“I reckon the nobles aren’t too pleased with that?”

“The king is fairly competent at balancing it out so no side feels left out,” Grahl continued. “He is also quite young, so he hasn’t had enough time to be so influenced by the older generation.”

“Oh? How young exactly?”

“He turned twenty-four some time ago,” Grahl replied. “For a king, he is rather young.”

“And you think meeting him would be beneficial for me?” I asked, noticing the slight uneasiness that Grahl was trying to hide. “I see no reason to go if he already said no to the dungeon core.”

“You might get something else of value. And, well…” Grahl stopped, stroking his chin. “If we leave it like this, I fear one of the few dungeons we currently have will mysteriously collapse.”

“You really think I would do something like that instead of going to Kaydossa, for example?” I said with a grin. “Well, who knows after today’s lecture.”

“Even more reason to go,” Grahl replied, letting out a deep sigh.

Jokes aside, it might be interesting to meet him since he doesn’t sound like your usual monarch.

I got back up from the couch and walked over to Grahl’s desk, picking up the letter and opening it. “Let’s see what it says first.”

Let’s see, then. Formally invited, audience, attendance, yadda yadda yadda. Yeah, I’m not doing that.

“Well, I’m not doing this,” I said, putting down the letter while giving Grahl a smile. “But I’ll tell you what. If the king agrees to meet me alone for tea, I will consider it. And that means him alone. Also, no ceremony, no audience, and most certainly no kneeling on my part.”

“And I assume you want me to tell the castle about this request?” Grahl asked with a pained expression.

“You can either tell them that, or you can tell them that I decline the summons,” I smirked. “Either way works for me.”

Grahl closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “I understand.”

That should end that matter since I doubt the king would agree to my request. And I doubt they would insist I come to the castle after that.

“Now then,” I said, glancing at the sunlight coming in through the window. “I guess it’s about time for me to go burn down the magic institute.”

Grahl’s eyes widened as he heard what I said.

“Relax,” I chuckled. “This time, I was joking… probably.”

“Please don’t give this old man a heart attack,” Grahl muttered as he stood up from his chair. “I will accompany you downstairs.”

 

As we descended the stairs, Grahl surveyed the hall until he pointed at someone sitting at a table. “She is the one that is here to escort you.”

As we walked through the hall, I noticed that quite a few of the adventurers were throwing glances at us.

“Why is everybody looking?” I asked Grahl. “Is it such an unusual sight for you to leave your office?”

“Might be,” Grahl chuckled. “Or it might be you. People are beginning to take note of you.”

When we arrived at the table, I got a better view of my escort.

Uhm, what is she supposed to be? Brown hair with some… feathers? And something else on her head? Some sort of beastkin, maybe? And an eye patch…

“Let me introduce you. This is Nyssa. She is a magic researcher at the magic institute.” Grahl said as the woman stood up from her chair. “And this is Luna, my volunteer.”

“Volunteer,” I muttered before turning to Nyssa. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Nyssa said with a smile. “I noticed you staring. First time seeing an owlkin? Or is it the eye patch?”

That was blunt.

“I suppose it is the first time,” I replied, repaying the smile. “I apologise for staring.”

“It’s quite alright. It’s a rare sight even in the Beast Nation,” Nyssa said, putting her hand on her eye patch and removing it. “And now, for one of the reasons I agreed to come pick you up.”

Nyssa’s curious eyes showed a subtle glimmer as she looked straight at me.

“Eeep!” She yelped as she fell backward on the floor, her frightened eyes wandering higher and higher above me. “M-M-Monster!”

Uhm, what?

By now, the surrounding adventurers had diverted their full attention to our exchange, no longer trying to hide their glances.

“That’s… rude?” I said, tilting my head before looking at Grahl. “Did I do something?”

“Not at all,” Grahl chuckled. “It was about what I expected.”

“Care to explain?” I asked the shivering owlkin.

Nyssa closed her eyes and took a deep breath before standing back up. “I apologise for that. I got a bit overwhelmed.”

“May I ask why?” I wondered. “It’s not often that people shriek in horror when they look at me.”

“Owlkins innate ability lets us see the world differently. In short, we can see magic,” Nyssa explained, keeping her eyes closed. “Which also means we can gauge the strength of someone.”

Can she actually see magic? How unfair! I can feel it, but seeing it with my own eyes? I want to learn that! But I never managed to learn another dragon flight’s innate abilities, at least from the few I knew about. I doubt I could learn hers…

“I’m particularly proficient at it, which is why I have to keep an eye patch on,” Nyssa continued, slowly opening her eyes again to look at me. “However, I have never seen anything like this before.”

“I… see?” I said, tilting my head. “What exactly do you see when you look at me?”

My aura isn’t in the shape of a dragon, right?

“Usually, it looks like people are surrounded by a faint aura, but you…” she stopped, slowly looking around and above me. “Yours is so dense that I can barely see behind you. And it’s big. I can’t even see the guildmaster’s aura when he is standing next to you.”

“And that’s why you called me a monster?” I asked, pouting my lips. “Rather rude, don’t you think?”

“Again, I’m sorry. I have never seen anything like this,” Nyssa said, putting her eye patch back on. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were stronger than a dragon. The guildmaster looks like a meek kitten in comparison.”

Stronger than some dragons, for sure.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?” I asked Grahl, a mischievous smirk forming on my lips. “That’s why you came down with me. Isn’t that right, little kitten?”

“I just wanted to see the difference for myself,” Grahl replied, slightly flustered at his new nickname. “In hindsight, it might have been a bad idea.”

By now, the murmurs from the other adventurers were getting too loud for my taste, so I decided a change of scenery was in order.

“Are you satisfied with your test?” I asked Nyssa. “We need to get going to the magic institute, right?”

And I want to know more about your ability.

“I suppose we should,” Nyssa answered, having fully recomposed herself from the frightening experience. “Let’s go then.”

I said my goodbyes to Grahl and made a hasty exit from the adventurers guild along with Nyssa.