"Out."
Melania wasn't playing around.
The instant she saw her those children playing with the stranger she'd made the mistake of letting into their home, she saw red.
"I–"
"Out."
August didn't get a chance to talk.
He stood up slowly with his hands up, not saying a single word.
Melania was too defensive. He knew he didn't do anything, and she probably knew it as well, but she had no choice but to adopt this kind of attitude.
Why…?
'I'll have to find out.'
He wasn't going to push it. Whatever the case was, she was defensive to protect those around her.
These earth dragon children were obviously very important to her. If this was what she had to do to protect them, then he had nothing to say about it.
August walked to the door and out of the house in one move.
He could hear the sad screeching of those small dragons who wanted him to stay, but he put it out of his mind.
As he stood there, he heard the door open behind him and turned around.
"Melania…?"
Why had she followed him outside?
She didn't make him wait long for the answer. In a single motion, she stuffed a piece of paper into his hand and then returned to the house.
"Oh…"
August opened it up, finding a map that led him back to the city.
He smiled slightly.
'Well, at least I didn't leave a bad impression.'
His mood had slightly improved despite his sudden eviction.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})'I know what I'm going to do for the next six days.'
He wanted to find out why Melania was the way she was.
Not by stalking her or anything of the sort, but by understanding the problems of the people and the environment they were truly in.
'She said not to go out at night, but that's pretty much all I'm going to do.'
August walked away, following the map he was given.
The city had a lot more to offer than just food and entertainment.
It was a hub for people. A place that contained both questions and answers. There, August could start his quest for the truth.
'It'll be a good week.'
A positive mindset.
Since he was practically throwing himself into muddy waters with everything he hoped to attain…
…he really, really had to rely on that positive mindset.
***
That day was spent well.
August made his first priority when he got into the city finding a place to stay. Once he got himself a room in a seemingly good hotel, he went back out into the world.
To find information, what were the best places to visit?
Some cities had information brokers that made the job easy, but Arulion didn't have that kind of organization.
The noble circle and commoner circle stayed completely disconnected. Not a single person broke that tradition or followed money, not even those from the Aureat Clan who treasured money.
August had to do it the hard way.
He traveled the city again, visiting a lot of the same spots he saw the day before.
However, this time, he used the perception-blocking artifact.
When people weren't aware of his presence, when people thought there was nobody around, what would they talk about?
That was what August wanted to know, and he spent the entire day trying to answer that question.
'I didn't get much, but…'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The people were not happy with their lives. That much was certain.
'For the most part, nobody talks about the nobles. They just complain about the city being cramped and changing into something worse.'
They did complain about a few policies, but the problem was that they didn't act like dragons at all. They'd completely forgotten their origins, and as they'd conformed to their lives, their original instincts were killed over and over again.
A majority of the citizens had been born into these circumstances, so they didn't question anything. They didn't even realize that their daily lives in their human forms were already wrong.
They were dragons, not humans!
Unfortunately, these dragons without strong lineages didn't receive ancestral memories, since their ancestors weren't strong enough to leave them.
Was it still a problem if they didn't realize they were suffering? If they were happy, did their lives need to be changed?
That wasn't a question for August to answer yet, but it was one he'd be forced to ask himself in the future.
There was no way to bring them out of their current plight easily.
And, though it seemed like a shame, a portion of them would likely reject change entirely, even if it was for the sake of a better future.
'It'll definitely be a long road. Maybe even a life-long thing.'
For now, he had all of the information he needed from people. But, he did have one thing he still needed to do.
'I remember the way now.'
He made his way to Melania's neighborhood one more time and slipped something under the door.
He left without making trouble and it seemed she wasn't home to notice, so the story of that gift could be saved for another time.
It was a six-hour detour, but it was one he needed to make, especially since he wanted to explore these neighborhoods again, intentionally this time.
August once again found himself wandering the streets at night.
He was walking back to the city, but he wasn't taking the same route he came through.
'I…' August thought to himself.
'I got lucky last time.'
He was instantly met with more activity than he expected.
There were people everywhere. They weren't doing much, but they were standing around as if they were waiting for something to happen.
When August, a relatively skinny boy who didn't look like he belonged, arrived, their eyes immediately darted to him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})'Hmm…'
They were obviously scanning him, trying to determine if he was worth going after.
'And we're still in the outskirts.'
There weren't many people out at night in these parts, so what were they possibly waiting for?
'Ah…'
August had a realization.
'It's me.'
He had come the night before. Others had probably seen him. When they noticed that he'd come back…
'It looks like I accidentally made myself a target.'
His guard went up instantly. He could sense their hostility from a mile away, so there was no need to doubt it.
'Well, it's nice to have some practice before the elimination round.'
He needed to see how fights with normal people compared to fights with his father.
'Though…'
August smiled a little.
'...I really can't sense danger at all.'
They looked threatening, but that was about it. If they actually fought, August was confident they wouldn't stand a chance.
But, just like every theory, that one had to be tested.
And when would there be a better opportunity to do so than now?
August stepped forward, and five of those dragons who prowled the night stood up.
They were obviously going to fight, but it was already a bit of a shame for those nameless dragons.
After all, the man they were being compared to was none other than Damien Void.
Even Gods would feel inferior at that point.
So what were they to do?
