After the group finished eating, they got up and left the dining hall.
Selain asked the maids to show them all their respective rooms where they would be staying for the time being.
Looking at his room, Rio nodded his head in satisfaction.
'This place is indeed quite good... In the Elven Empire, the elves had modernized their houses, but here in the Dragon Valley, things are still more traditional. I can see the more traditional architecture...'
'This place is indeed worthy of being called a palace...'
Dragons themselves don't make anything; in fact, the dragon men are responsible for making everything in the dragon valley.
The dragon men's technology is far behind that of humans and the elven race.
'But at least they have all the necessary things like the internet, smartphones, etc... but they don't have mana powered cars or any highly advanced technology, I guess...'
Dragon men have wings that are fast enough to put an airplane to shame, so they don't really have any need for traveling vehicles.
Unlike the human race, where the vast majority of people are ordinary folk who aren't even awakeners, dragon men are all people who can use mana inherently, and they are quite good at it.
Dragon men might be much lower in numbers when compared to the human race, but they are all strong people with strong physiques.
'I am more curious about how they made this separate 'space' for themselves... I don't think they have the technology to do it with machines... They likely did it with some magical construct or a powerful spell...'
Rio walked over to the window, glanced at the blue sky, and thought,
'To be able to replicate the main world and make this separate space seem so real, they really must have put in a lot of efforts...'
The Dragon Valley was not really mentioned much in the original novel.
Fade only met a few dragons in his journey to the peak of the world, and those dragons barely gave any useful information on the dragon valley.
Fade himself never went to the Dragon Valley person, which is a good thing for the people of the Dragon race as a visit from a guy like him only brings massive bad luck and disasters of unimaginable scale.
'But he was invited to come here... So why didn't he come here with us now? This is strange...'
Rio and the others don't know yet that Fade and Kira have gone missing; they only know that the two of them have gone somewhere, and as Fade has missed this event, it means that this Dragon Valley doesn't hold much importance to the plot.
'Even in the novel, the Dragon Valley didn't seem to have been mentioned much... I guess this place really doesn't hold much importance to the main plot of the novel...'
'In other words, there are likely no 'chances' here for me to steal, which is quite an unfortunate thing...'
Although Rio was a bit disappointed, his expressions didn't change much, and his face still remained as expressionless as ever.
"Hoh, so even the 'champion' gets bothered sometimes?"
Just when Rio was looking at the setting sun on the horizon while thinking about his next plans, a familiar voice appeared in his ears.
He tilted his head and found that Selain was sitting on the branch of a giant tree that was growing right beside his room's window.
"Well, if suddenly a princess climbs a tree to peek at your room's window, then anyone will feel concerned..."
Hearing Rio's words, Selain smirked and said,
"Hehe, I just wanted to have some talk with you in secret... The back garden is usually empty around this time, so I am sure no one will see me sitting here..."
Rio shook his head and said,
"If someone sees you, then they will execute me for messing around with the princess of their nation... That would be such an unfortunate thing. I advise you shall retreat..."
Selain shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Heh, I don't think anyone has the ability to actually execute the 'champion'; I highly doubt even S-rankers will be able to keep up with you anymore..."
"I have a feeling that you have already walked one step further on the path of 'Perfect Sword Intent'.... As much as I know, none has ever reached 'perfection' in 'Sword Intent' ever before..."
"You may be the first to do it..."
Rio sighed at those words and said,
"Praising me won't earn you any favorability points, princess... You are wasting your efforts trying to impress me..."
"I don't have a heart anymore; I already gave it to Lia... and I only had one of it, not two..."
Selain shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Well, like I said earlier, nothing is eternal... not even love; when you lose it, maybe that will be my chance... An SS-rank dragon can live for five thousand years..."
"Don't underestimate my determination; I may seize your heart after a thousand or maybe two thousand years..."
Not a single SS-rank dragon has died due to age; either they die in battle or they die when trying to ascend to a higher realm.
Rio smiled a bit and said,
"You are more persistent than I expected, princess... But trust me, you can find a much better person than me for you... Don't waste a thousand years just waiting for a guy who will never
love anyone else..."
Selain sighed and said,
"I am getting more and more curious about what's so special about that woman, Lia... How did she win the heart of a man who's as stubborn as you?"
Hearing those words, Rio just smiled a bit and said,
"Well, things happened, I guess.... You could say, she saved me...."
Rio knows by instinct that if he hadn't met Lia, he would have already become an emotionless person completely detached from the world; he would have no motivation or reason to live. The only reason Rio is still holding onto his last bits of emotions is because he doesn't want to lose the love for Lia, and that is the main reason why he can still 'feel' the reason to 'live'. Without emotions, a person has no reason to live, no motivation to survive, and no goals to achieve.
A person who has achieved emotional detachment has achieved total 'calm' and they won't need anything from the world anymore.
That state may be beneficial for combat and other activities, but for individuals seeking a normal life, it can be a hindrance.
All Rio ever wanted was to live a joyful and ordinary life, but even he isn't sure if he can achieve that goal if he loses his emotions for Lia.
In other words, Lia saved him from going into that 'state' of total detachment; he can't thank
her enough for that.
"Sigh, that's such a vague answer... I guess I will have to ask her myself then..."
Selain contemplated for a moment and then said,
"By the way... how about having a duel? If I win, you become mine, and if you win, I won't
bother you anymore..."
"We dragons admire 'strength' more than anything; this is the best method I can think of to
solve this trouble..."
Rio rolled his eyes at Selain's words and said,
"You know you will lose, right? I will be more surprised if you can withstand a single full-
powered blow of my 'Sword Intent'..."
Hearing Rio's words, Selain wasn't intimidated in the slightest,
"Then it's settled! If you beat me in one attack, I will acknowledge my defeat and won't
bother you anymore..."
At that moment, Rio glanced towards the door of his room and said,
"You should leave now, princess; you will cause misunderstandings for me if you stay here
any longer... I might have to personally kick you away..."
Selain smiled slightly upon hearing those words,
"I know, I know, she's about to come to your room, right? I guess even the 'Champion' is
afraid of being misunderstood by his loved ones..."
"What a rare sight-, but don't worry, I will keep this a secret, 'Champion'..."
With that said, Selain disappeared just as fast as she had appeared out of nowhere.
'It's not a movement technique or even a skill... It's an inherent talent... such amazing control
over a tricky talent like that... interesting...'
It's rare for Rio to get impressed by someone's abilities; aside from Link, today is the first time he has seen someone whose abilities can pique his interest this much.
'I am certain now... This world is filled with talented 'extra' characters that never appeared in
the novel...'
Selain is basically an 'Extra' type character, just like him, who never appeared in the novel, but
she has the talent to awaken 'Sword Intent' one day.
'I guess a few more decades should be enough...'
Unlike humans, dragons age slower and have a lot of time, so Selain can most certainly
awaken her 'Sword Intent' on her own in a decade or two.
By that time, she can barely be considered an adult if compared to human age standards.
'An interesting person indeed...'
Rio walked over to the door of his room and opened it before Lia could get the chance to knock
on it.
He smiled a bit and said,
"hoho, were you feeling lonely without me?"
Lia blushed slightly at those words,
"T-that's not it... I just came by randomly..."
Rio shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Well, you are welcome to my humble abode then..."
...
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here!
Question of the day:
Don't you think that Selain as a character is quite interesting?
(Tell me your thoughts in the comments.)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story.
Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.