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He was her father, according to Kafal.

The old man that suddenly showed up gave off an impression as if he was carrying a violent energy akin to a caldera during an eruption.

“Who’s this?”
“Mom called him father.”

Both the adventurers and Lucella were frozen stiff as if bound by invisible chains, feeling like they weren’t allowed to carelessly move a single finger.

The crimson old man glared at Lucella’s group and spoke in fluent and majestic human tongue.

“I am Shurei, the head of the Volcanic Group of Belmar. I cannot show my true form here, but you should naturally guess who I am.”

Leader of a dragon group, that’s what the man called Shurei addressed himself.

Dragons were already strong beyond normal people, but the leader that controlled their groups must have been a transcendental existence that accumulated power over many years.

Even in human form, he was hiding power akin to the tyranny of a disaster.

Amid the strong pressure and tension, Viola was the one to move first. She took a step forward and bowed by bending her knee while pinching her skirt in a strangely accustomed manner.

“Greetings, your highness the Dragon King, I am…”
“No need. I am well aware that you are but normal humans.”

Shurei interrupted Viola’s greeting, as if saying it would be a waste of time.

Shurei’s flaming red eyes observed the four of them. Eventually, his gaze pierced Lucella.

“Is it you?”
“Ugh…!”
“I see, quite mysterious. Quite shabby but still closer to us than to humans.”

He smiled in amusement. That alone made death cross Lucella’s mind.

“What are you waiting for, introduce yourself. Do you plan to stay silent after I introduced myself? That is impolite.”

Shurei urged, nay, ordered Lucella to speak.

With that Lucella’s dry tongue finally moved.

“…I am… called… Lucella.”
“Oh?”

Lucella gathered her obstinacy and courage and introduced herself in Dragonian, all while knowing she was being looked down on.

She was well aware that there was enough gap in their power to warrant being looked down on, but she still couldn’t allow it.

She decided to become Kafal’s daughter. As such, even if she was facing a mighty dragon, she wanted to act as an equal, even if a bit, only a bit.

“Gahahahaha! XXXX impudence to XXXXXXXXX in Dragonian!”

Shurei laughed, quite loudly at that.

Lucella was almost blown back by it, but she endured it somehow.

“Father… what XXXXXX *** here?”
“That is a XXXXX question. *** thinking a XXXXXX.”

Kafal seemed bewildered by her father’s visit.

This place was between two human kingdoms and far away from Belmar Volcano. Certainly not a place where the leader of a dragon group who rarely showed up before humans would just drop by casually.

“I too XXXX my daughter’s life XX mere human’s XXXXX. You may XXXXXX helping ***. However…”

Lucella tried to process their conversation with all she had, but she quickly lost track of it. With Kafal she could still handle it since she was matching her pace, but a conversation between two dragons was too fast-paced for her.

—I’m really reluctant, but I’ll use this… This is probably something important.

Lucella threw away her stubbornness and put on Giselle’s ring.

Immediately, a torrent of meaning flowed into Lucella’s head as if a monochrome world had turned vibrant.

“You should know this already, but the dragon groups do not involve themselves in human quarrels. If you wish to survive, you have to either fight by yourself or return to our group.”
“Return? That’s…”
“I imagine it is inconvenient.”

Kafal momentarily glanced at Lucella while talking with Shurei. It seemed that he was already aware of Lucella’s circumstances.

—Living where the dragons are would be… impossible for me… That’s why mom is…

Lucella had never gone away from the human regions and seen the world of dragons, but she could imagine it to be a place incomparably more dangerous than Mount Kuguse which was simply overrun by Variants.

If Kafal abandoned Mount Kuguse and went back, she could avoid the Maltgartz threat, but she didn’t know if Lucella could accompany her there.

“In that case… I shall increase the dragon aura and Variants on this mountain a little. I cannot do anything more, but I can do that at least.”
“Really?! Thank you very much!”

It seemed like Kafal didn’t expect him to offer help and couldn’t contain her surprise and delight.

However, her smile soon was shadowed by colors of confusion.

And Lucella was the same.

…It all sounded too good. Her intuition as a manager was screaming that something was up.

“Now now. While I have pledged my aid, the distance to my mountain is considerable. Transporting Variants to this location would prove to be a formidable task. Therefore, I must implore the assistance of those who dwell in the vicinity to lend me their strength.”
“In the vicinity? You can’t mean…”

It happened just as he spoke the plan. Lucella felt the atmosphere’s pressure turn twice as heavy.

The wings dancing in the sky multiplied by one, two, and three. Silhouettes flew toward them with the moon floating above their backs. They were pterosaur Variant riders similar to Shurei.

The three mounts carried one person each. They looked human in appearance, but only in appearance.

“These individuals are not unfamiliar to you, and we have forged an alliance with them. Upon hearing my entreaty, they have expressed their willingness to hear you at least.”

The pterosaurs glided through the sky all at once and their riders jumped off as they neared the mountain.

“Whether they will be convinced or not would be up to you.”

Shurei folded his arms and smiled so ferociously it could kill a lion.

Three people, nay, three dragons swooped down from above. Unlike Shurei who was in a hermit-like getup, the three looked like young and refined nobles.

They were dressed in blouses with frilly jabots and trousers that emphasized their slim leg lines. They had blue ornaments in various places on their bodies as if some kind of symbol, with decorative swords on their hips, and each of them had short, vivid blue hair.

The most spirited of them stepped out while glaring toward them with eyes as sharp as a blade.

“It has been too long, Kafal, the one who robbed Luja from our clan.”
“It can’t be…”

Kafal’s expression turned pale.