Testing my newfound strength, I came with Nadia and Lydia to the fountain in the center of Nerdal, but Mr. Orford was already there, reading a book on a bench next to the fountain.

'Mr. Orford, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting,'
　When I called out to him while uttering an apology, Mr. Orford, who had stopped reading his book, suddenly cast a spell.
　She braced herself for a moment, but what she invoked was not an attack magic, but a green ward around a fountain.

''Now we don't have to worry about being spied on or eavesdropped on. Luciel-dono, there was a tremendous explosion at the training ground just now, but to my surprise, you have become a wise man on your own.
　Ms. Orford used the appraisal, or she was stunned and looked stunned.

　The Pope had told him to be careful about eavesdropping, not Mr. Orford, who was skilled in appraisal, but he was probably urging him to be wary of other countries.
　That was now clear. At the same time, I decided to find out if it was the wind spirit in front of me or Ms. Orford.
'Will shouting here erase the blessings?'
I thought I told you it was a secret!　You must stop it!
　I asked with a straight face and was stopped by a terrific swordsman.

　It seems that the wind spirits are currently out in the open.
　However, I couldn't understand why the wind spirit was so wary of its surroundings.
　If it is a wind spirit, it should have a very large territory.
Why are they so cautious?　Besides, Mr. Orford knows about this, doesn't he?
"Hmm. But Orford is an old man and he's a very old man and it's just a matter of time before he gets tired of it.

　I don't feel light despite being a wind spirit, so I had no choice but to pursue it.
''Isn't that not a reason?''
He has yet to name his successor. So I've been forced to get out in front of him, and Orford is wondering who his successor will be.
　It was quite a bit more important than I thought it would be.
'How long have you been bothering you?'
It's been like this for a few years now. I regret recently that I signed a contract with a terrible person.
　The wind spirit paused in disgust, but it still seemed to be enjoying itself somehow.
　Then, a thought occurred to me.
''........Is it possible that we haven't talked to Mr. Orford yet?''
'Yes, I have. When you first came to Nerdal, when honey was involved, and later, whenever you began to train in magic, you looked at it intently, I can't say for certain.
　The Wind Spirit spoke sincerely with a gentle smile.

　Then it was really Orford-san who made that material for me.
　
　The only thing that bothers me is that he also realized the real reason why Nadia's magic can't be used, didn't he?
　That was it.

'I see,'
He also said that the young man's dedication and hard work, especially in his quest for magic, was like seeing himself in his younger days.
　
　
　I felt a little uneasy.

Well, since there's no point in talking about it here, let's go into the center of the city first. Let's go into the fountain.
''It's ... dirty, and that's not something a good boy should imitate, is it?''
This is just a magical object that looks like a fountain. You can go in there and not get wet.
　Believing those words, I step into the fountain and see that it's not really wet at all.
　Then the wind spirit chants something again and the fountain dives under the ground.
　The area is walled off, making it impossible to peek inside.
''Is this a magic elevator?''
That's right. However, there is a trick to this. I and Orford are the only ones who can move it. Yes, yes!　Would you like me to show you how to move it if you like?
　Then, for some reason, I got a chill, so I decided to say no.
'No thanks. I'm afraid I'll only be staying here for a few more days.
I'm sorry.
　At the same time as the wind spirit announced so regretfully, the magic elevator seemed to stop and came down to the desired location.

　There was a large space in front of us, and it was obvious that this was the boss room in the labyrinth, and the sealed gate existed in front of us as proof of that.
''.......Why did you hide this place when we came to Nerdal?''
Well?　Maybe he remembered being dumped by Pope Fuluna a long time ago, or maybe he was jealous of the fact that his Lord had become his favorite. Woo hoo.
　I see. It's true that the Pope is a long-lived race that has already lived for several hundred years, even though he still looks around twenty years old.

　It's not hard to understand, since he also feels a mystique that mere elves don't feel.
　But they say that the old man's jealousy is difficult to solve, but I heard you solved it without knowing it.
''If that's the case, it can't be helped.
　I chuckled and walked over to the sealing gate, but the sealing gate was already open.

''........The sealing gate is open?　This,
It's been that wide open ever since Nerdal was built. Even if they could come here, it wouldn't be a problem, since no ordinary person would be allowed to even enter.
　I didn't feel anything, but will Nadia and Lydia be okay?
　When I looked at her with concern, I saw that Nadia seemed to be fine, but Lydia was not feeling well and her face was pale.
'Is Miss Orford's body okay?'
No, I'm under a great deal of strain. I'm nothing if I'm not an entity, but Orford is no more than a man.
　I felt like I had been quickly identified as an outsider, but Lydia's face was pale, so I swallowed the words and decided to ask the wind spirit to do something for me.
''Well then, can I ask you to take care of Lydia?　It's just me and Nadia heading inside.
Master Luciel, I'm coming with you.
　Lydia tries to follow her, but the wind spirit stops her from getting between them.
''Young lady, you are here to study wind spirit magic with me.
But....
　Apparently, it had been planned from the beginning to instruct Lydia in magic as well.
　The wind spirit was smiling.
　Lydia still stared at us with clinging eyes, but that's when Nadia began to admonish her.
''Lydia, leave the matter of Luciel-sama to me. I will fulfill what I have to do as a dragon priestess, so Lydia should also fulfill her duties as the one who has the blessing of the spirit king.
Sister I'll be there. Take care of yourself, both of you.
　Immediately he was convinced of what he had to do.
　There was no sadness there.

''All right. Then, wind spirit, I'll ask you to take care of Lydia. This one is going to see Nadia and Ssanglong.
Mm. I'm on a mission.
　Thus, me and Nadia went under the dragon's sealed gate.

''I'm nervous. I don't feel oppressed, but I feel like I'm being watched.''
Well, the Ssangryu will be out soon.
　We had a staircase right after we went under the gate, and we proceeded down it as we went.
　Finally, when the stairs were about to end, I tried to chant the Sanctuary Circle to the twin dragons as usual, but I couldn't do it.

　''Sage, show yourself!''
　Wise men, and show us all what we're capable of.
　I will not protect a coward.
　With such a voice echoing in my head, I stopped activating the sanctuary circle.
　I didn't really need the blessing, but I was sure that I wasn't going to be able to achieve Buddhahood either.

''The dragon just spoke to me, did you hear it?''
...What are you talking about?
　Nadia didn't seem to hear her voice, and she wondered what the title of maiden of the dragon goddess was for.
'I was called by the dragon, so there may be a battle. Let's brace ourselves.
Yes, sir.
　We had just descended all the stairs when a water dragon and a wind dragon appeared.

　Unlike the previous dragons, the dragon, which had clear consciousness and didn't seem to be cursed by an evil god, was looking down at us from the air.
　Huh?　Maybe this way we won't have to fight I thought to myself.

　''First of all, wise man, and priestess of the Dragon God, you have done well to visit this place.
　I thank you for freeing my people from the curse of the evil one.
It all happened, but I'm glad I was able to help.
　Since Ssangryu could talk and didn't feel any pressure, the conversation was in a friendly atmosphere.

　''However, we are the supreme and strongest species.''
　And that's why we have to fight to prove it.
　However, it seems that Haoyun-sensei is tougher than Gouun-sensei, and for some reason, the development seems to be going in a strange direction.


　Hahaha. Tonight's wise man is interesting.
　It is you who fights against us.
　Of course I won't be serious.
　But since we can unleash the power of my people, I'll let you attack with anything but instant death.
　You can help us if you can successfully fight us, and I will help you.
　Let them see that we have our martial prowess.

　I exclaimed in my mind that there must be only evil gods and death gods in this world, but the twin dragons in front of me laughed with a twinkle in their eyes.
　For some reason, that scene felt like when my master was training me.
　And I think. At the end of the day, this Ssanglong must be a battle fanatic.
　That the dragon species itself must be a battle fanatic, and that until now, the curse of the evil gods must have suppressed its power so that it wouldn't kill me.
　Therefore, I thought that if I tried to fight the dragon, it would be a test given to me that I would surely be able to grow up... While thinking about this, I looked for an escape route.
　I can understand, but I couldn't do it with full conviction.
　It's just that I don't think Ssanglong will give me the opportunity to escape...? And here I noticed that Nadia was acting strangely.
　If I looked at Nadia, she had beads of sweat on her forehead and the glow in her eyes seemed to have disappeared.

'Wait a minute to fight, Nadia doesn't look right.
　However, I was the only one who was affected, and Ssang Long didn't show any signs of worry.

　《Don't worry. We won't mess with the maidens.
　Now they must be talking to the Dragon God through us.
　Let's get the maiden to the stairs and deal with me first.
　It was the water dragon who said that.
　''Since you are watching my maiden, you can rest assured that you will do your best.
　As the wind dragon said that, as the wind dragon manipulated the wind, Nadia's body floated in the air and was covered by a green membrane that was visible as she was carried to the stairs she had just descended.

　And the voice of the water dragon echoed in my head.
　''I'll let you try as many times as you want.
　But if we give up, the wise men, however wise they may be, will not recognize us.
　If you want peace, seek war, knowledge, and harmony.
　Then your dream will come true.
　Senility... ha ha ha ha!

　Regardless of how you know about my dreams, I don't give a shit about the Ssanglong who is laughing up in the air, give me blessings and get the hell out of here, will you?
　I wished for that in my heart.