Confession

"Hey! Brother Yesveta, isn't it time to announce the results of the competition?"

"Ah... ah?"

After Sordil's reminder, the referee, notary, and audience realized that the match was over and it was time to announce the results!

"Cough cough"

Yesveta cleared his throat and then announced loudly, "I now declare the winner of this contest to be... Prince Sordil of Fostadu!"

After the results of the contest were announced, the fragile Sacred Dragon fainted from anger within the abyss, and the Sage Dragon, trapped in the sapphire, lowered his proud head. At the same time, all the members of the capital knelt on the ground in agony, desperately striking their bodies, hoping to free themselves from this nightmare.

Royal Palace Courtyard

Unlike the others who shied away from the result of the contest, Irene stood calmly in place, her eyes fixed on Sordil, who was flying back and forth in the sky celebrating his victory. For some reason, the more she stared at him, the more familiar he seemed, as if she were with him every day. Just then, a magnetic voice entered her ears, interrupting her thoughts.

"Irene, it's just a lost bet, it's nothing serious, don't take it to heart!"

"Pfft"

Hearing this guy's words of comfort, Irene's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed. Then, she turned around and said angrily, "You're underestimating me too much! I'm not the kind of person who would be defeated by such a trivial matter!"

"I... I didn't say anything! I just..."

Seeing the other person's face turn red and their expression become flustered, Irene laughed even more triumphantly, almost rolling on the ground in a fit of pique. After realizing she had been tricked, the other person didn't rush over to play with her as usual, but stood there frozen, staring unblinkingly at the sky, as if waiting for something.

"Boom!"

A dark shadow crashed near the sapphire, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the shadow's face was revealed—it was the Holy Dragon Acnologia. At the same time, Sordil appeared before the sapphire, their eyes meeting those of the wise Sage Dragon within.

"Sage Dragon, are you satisfied with the results of the contest? If you are not satisfied, or feel there is a problem, we can have another contest."

"No need! It's just a bet, I, Belserion, can afford to lose!"

"Alright! Since you acknowledge the result of the contest, I will release you now. However, I hope that you will not break the previous agreement after you are released; otherwise, I will ask a notary to uphold justice!"

"Hmph! What do you take me for Belserion? Since I've acknowledged the result of the contest, I naturally won't break our original agreement!"

"That's for the best. After all, I don't want things to get to that point!"

After reaching an agreement, Sordil released Belserion from its icy state. Sordil then switched to Sky Dragon Mode and began healing Acnologia. Once Acnologia awoke, Sordil repeated his conversation with Belserion. Acnologia reacted in the same way Belserion, and thus, Sordil successfully achieved his first objective in his trip to Dragunov.

After Belserion companion acknowledged the outcome of their duel, Sordil immediately used one of his two conditions, forcing Sordil to unconditionally cooperate with his magical experiments. As a result, half an hour later, Sordil once again obtained two terrifying Dragon Slayer Magic.

Looking at Sordil, who was exactly like himself, Acnologia and his companion finally understood why this guy could use attacks of so many elements. While they were shocked by Sordil's abilities, they also felt as if they were witnessing the rise of the most powerful being in the dragon race.

After dealing with the matter of the Dragon Slayer Magic, Sordil turned to Belserion and said, "Sage Dragon, I have some matters to discuss with you and Her Majesty Irene. Could you take me to see Her Majesty Irene?"

"Okay! Come with me!"

Royal Palace Courtyard

Staring at Oddek standing there dumbfounded, Irene felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Just as she was about to confront Oddek, a dozen enormous black shadows completely blocked out the sky above the central courtyard, plunging it into darkness.

"Queen Irene, it's been a long time!"

In the darkness, a greeting drifted down from above Irene's head and into her ears. By the light cast through a gap in the shadows, Irene recognized the person who greeted her.

"Prince Sordil, if I remember correctly, my Kingdom of Donagunov has not had any conflict with Fostadu, has it?"

"Of course! Not only do we have no friction with each other, but we are also allies!"

"Then why did you cause such a big commotion as soon as you arrived in the Kingdom of Donagunov?"

Looking at the indignant Irene, Sordil smiled and said, "Queen Irene, although there has been no friction between our two families, I have had some misunderstandings with the Sage Dragon and His Excellency the Sacred Dragon. In order to avoid the misunderstandings from deepening and interfering with the relationship between our two families, I had no choice but to take this approach."

"Really? What kind of misunderstanding is worth all this trouble and effort to resolve?"

Sordil did not answer Irene's question, but instead turned his gaze to Belserion and asked loudly, "Sage Dragon, may I answer this question?"

Seeing everyone staring at him, Belserion's face darkened instantly. Then, he roared, "Why didn't you just tell her quietly? Why make things so complicated?"

"How can you blame me? You were the one who said that no one except the three of us should know about this, including Her Majesty Irene. How could I have known that I could tell Her Majesty about what happened back then if I hadn't asked you first?"

Belserion, whose nerves were on edge from Sordil's antics, glanced at him speechlessly and said weakly, "Speak! Speak! But don't let anyone else hear!"

After receiving permission, Sordil reduced his size to adult form, then whispered in Irene's ear, repeating Belserion's demands. Upon hearing the filthy conversation between the three, Irene's face flushed crimson, as alluring as a freshly picked peach.

Irene glared at Belserion reproachfully, then quickly distanced herself from Sordil.

After a long pause, Irene, having calmed down, looked at Sordil and said, "Prince Sordil, I admit we were in the wrong, but weren't your actions somewhat inconsiderate?"

"Is there?"

"Of course! Your actions will cause Sage Dragon to lose credibility and influence among the people, which will lead to instability in our army's morale and a decline in combat strength. If the Western Continent dragons invade at this time, Ishgar's chances of victory will decrease significantly."

Sordil wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said with some lingering fear, "I'm sorry, Queen Irene! I only wanted to clear up the misunderstanding at the time, I didn't think about these things."

Seeing Sordil's sincere attitude, Irene said with satisfaction, "This is a one-time thing, and there won't be a next time!"

Yes! Yes!

"If there's nothing else, please leave. I need to rest!"

"Okay, I'll leave now!"

Because of the inertia he developed while attending the Augmented Magic training course, after Teacher Irene gave the 'class dismissal' order, Sordil immediately and subconsciously flew into the sky, completely forgetting his purpose in coming to find Irene.

"Sordil, didn't you have something to discuss with Her Majesty Irene?"

"Huh? Ah!"

After being struck on the head by Diphiya, Sordil instantly remembered his purpose in coming to find Irene, so he immediately flew towards Irene.

"Your Her Majesty Irene, I have something to say to you and Sage Dragon!"

"Can't I say it here?"

"No! This matter is extremely serious, I can only tell you and Sage Dragon!"

"Very well! In that case, please come with me and Belserion to the Council Hall!"

After speaking, Irene led the way, and the three of them walked together toward the council hall. As they passed Oddek, Sordil said to him, "General Oddek, you should come along too!"

Upon hearing Sordil's words, and recalling what Sordil had told her before, Irene, fiercely protective of her husband, immediately said, "Prince Sordil, didn't you say that this matter could only be told to me and the Sage Dragon? Then why did you involve General Oddek?"

Seeing the excited Irene, Sordil smiled and said, "Of course, this matter can only be told to you and Sage Dragon, but General Oddek is one of the parties involved, so of course he should be involved."

Although Irene wanted to object, she didn't know how to bring it up, so she could only agree to Sordil's request.

Council Hall

After entering the main hall, Irene dismissed everyone else and then said to Sordil, "Now you can tell me about that extremely important matter, right?"

After confirming that no one else was eavesdropping, Sordil nodded in satisfaction, then said to Irene, who was sitting on the throne, "Actually, what I want to tell Your Her Majesty Irene is that there is no General Oddek in this world, only an existence named Sordil Ornn!"

Just as Irene was about to refute Sordil's nonsense, she saw the dragon Sordil transform into a silver-haired, silver-eyed boy, while General Oddek, standing beside him, turned into a seven-colored radiance and merged into Sordil's body.