The First Legendary Beast Master

Cara flopped down on the spare bed with Rue until the dinner service was ready, but Karl was already preparing plans for the future of their young Princess.

Misty had said that she would be the Queen one day if they got this just right, so he would need to train her in something that would make her stand out above all the other heirs.

Without killing them all, that was.

Obviously, it couldn't be Runecrafting. That would completely mess up the timeline, as Karl couldn't see any sign that it was in use here.

He would make her an item or two, personal keepsakes, to help her remember his teachings. But he wouldn't teach her the skill.

"Miss, tell me something. What would you say that the Royal Family's signature trade skill might be? Being so far from home, I'm not fully acquainted with the local trade patterns," he asked the maid.

"Certainly, our Skill Books. Our Royal Family has a knack for creating new skill books, though they traditionally keep them for themselves instead of sharing with the blue dragons.

Are you familiar with the rivalry between the Shadow Dragons and the Chromatic Dragons?" She asked.

"I know the basics." Karl agreed.

No, he did not. Not even a little bit of it. But the rivalry couldn't be too intense, as there were blue dragons writing skill books in the Royal Library. Perhaps it was more about being able to hoard rare skill books for themselves, to gain an advantage over others?

The Shadow Dragons didn't have a god of their own. They were part of the Dragon Gods' pantheon, but only a handful of species had a true god representing their aspect.

"In that case, you might not be aware that the Royal Family has a monopoly on Shadow Element and many other Skill Books that the blue dragons can't make for themselves.

As they can't use the skills, and the books are protected with magic, they can't copy them.

That allows the Royal Family to maintain certain skills as their own exclusive property, or as signature gifts for new Sovereigns of friendly nations.

It is traditional that the newly raised Kings and Queens of Audrock are given the [Agile Flight] skill, for example. They are not a dragon nation, mostly bird type beastkin and some human mages that came from other continents.

So, the gift is especially valuable to them, and they lack the ability to replicate it." She explained.

Karl nodded. "That is a wonderful skill. Do you know it?"

The maid stared at him in shock. "Are you saying that you do?"

Karl nodded. "It's an innate skill of the Chaos Badger, we both share the knowledge."

The maid placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. "For a moment there, I was going to panic. I thought that you might have a Royal Lineage background that I wasn't informed of."

Karl shook his head. "Nope. My lineage is an interesting one, but it's not a direct one from any sitting Sovereign. What is the practice for dinner?"

The maid blinked once as she processed the change of topic. "You may either walk the hallways and enter from the west entrance. Or, if you wish to make a grand entrance, you may fly from the balcony in dragon form and land on the east balcony of the dining room.

It is clearly marked from above, and there will be two Bronze Dragons stationed there in dragon form."

[Flying!] Cara cheered.

"We will make a grand entrance. I will carry the Princess to the east entrance in dragon form, and Miss Cara can fly with us."

The maid shook her head. "Only dragons are permitted to use the balcony. If Miss Cara rides on your back, that would be fine, but protocol forbids her landing individually."

Karl shrugged. "Then I will give them both a ride. It will help the rest of the guests understand that Princess Rue has an advocate within the Palace now."

"As long as your dragon form is large enough, I don't see any issue with that." She agreed.

The maid was a young adult, but also from a subspecies of dragon, so her dragon form really might not be large enough for her to carry two children. But that didn't apply to Karl.

Did his Tengu form look that young? He had no frame of reference for how old Tengu should look.

So, he had no way of knowing that the particular appearance of his Tengu form was that of someone near his own human age, while the species matured at a much slower rate.

Simply going by his appearance, the Maid had assumed that he was a prodigy who had just finished his mandatory schooling.

Not exactly wrong.

But not quite right, either.

That sort of person would also be the logical choice of Emissary for Cyhosasa to send to deal with a young Princess. Not only would they have more in common than a tutor of her parents' generation, but Emissaries often ended up in marriage alliances.

Especially Emissaries with compatible bloodlines.

Fortunately for Karl, he was not a Shadow Dragon, and unlikely to be pulled into such an arrangement with the Princess. But that didn't mean that there wouldn't be others who would be interested in him.

As the maids called it, "Flavour of the Week Syndrome".

"The dinner arrivals start in five minutes, Emissary. If you would like to transform now, we can arrange a secure seat for the Princess and your Companion." The maid declared.

"I have magic to secure them. Fear not, I won't allow any harm to come to her." Karl explained.

The maid nodded, accepting his words, but still nervous about all the things that could go wrong. If the Princess fell off his back, it would be the maid's head on a pike, not his.

Cara dragged Rue out, and Karl stepped onto the rooftop training grounds.

"Princess, please allow Miss Cara to get you settled. I will fly you to dinner."