Chapter 1
“A dragon crossed the border yesterday.”
It was a long and tedious meeting. People who were dozing off while being cautious suddenly opened their eyes at the deputy director’s words.
“Excuse me? Is that true?”
“My goodness, how long has it been since this happened?”
The quiet conference room instantly became noisy at the sudden announcement.
Dragons are at the apex of all food chains.
Even among the “mythical creatures” known as legendary beings, they were the most noble.
“Wasn’t the last visit five years ago?”
“I heard the painting that the dragon praised back then recently fetched the highest price at the Leuven auction.”
“With a dragon’s eye, it’s bound to happen.”
Just a few years ago, the world map was small.
Insurmountable waves.
Dark fog blocking the way.
The land that could be ruled was narrow, and the countries that could interact were few.
Then, due to “a certain incident,” the world welcomed a wider world.
It turned out that beyond the unreachable map, mythical creatures that were only legends in the past lived.
New beings different from humans.
Among them, dragons boasted overwhelming power.
“Is this a different individual from what we’ve identified so far?”
“That’s right.”
The man leading the meeting added an explanation calmly.
“His name is Claude. No last name. He said he came from farther away, not the central continent. He crossed the sea recently and arrived at Nesola Port yesterday at dawn. He’s probably in the capital by now.”
Everyone who was listening quietly lit up their eyes.
‘A new dragon!’
Those words meant that a new ‘handler’ for the dragon was needed.
This time, it might be themselves who would take that glorious position, so everyone seemed to be looking forward to it inwardly. Except for one person.
‘Everyone’s trying so hard.’
A woman with tousled brown hair braided carelessly and green eyes.
Leoni, who was quietly listening to the others’ conversation, gave a chuckle.
Fortunately, no one was watching. No one cares what you do in the corner of the conference room.
‘Anyway, things like this always have a pre-determined candidate.’
She quietly crossed her arms, fiddling with the split ends of her hair.
Valuable positions like dragon handlers are all given to pre-selected employees by the higher-ups.
It’s always been that way, and this time would be no different.
So, it was a story far removed from her, who was disliked by the higher-ups. The number of mythical creatures she had to be in charge of increased by one, which meant more work.
‘By the way, Claude…’
What a strange name. Leoni drew circles irritably on the paper with the dragon’s details. The overlapping circles soon became dark scribbles, unrecognizable in shape.
‘No, think positive.’
More work isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
‘Instead, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.’
A dragon is coming, no less.
A violent being, though said to be wiser than humans.
There was also the danger of a village being wiped out with a single breath. Its power was no different from a living siege weapon, so there were hundreds of documents exchanged for entry alone.
And these documents were written in the ancient language, the language of mythical creatures, for their convenience, and the ancient language was Leoni’s specialty.
‘If I earn just 10 realms from this job, I won’t have to worry about next month’s rent.’
As she indifferently estimated how much she would earn in her wallet,
“…….”
She felt a stinging gaze from somewhere.
Looking around, Henricks, who was leading the meeting, was staring at her.
Her boss twitched his eyebrows as if displeased and adjusted his glasses. Then he said:
“Just in case, I’m saying this, but it would be best for everyone not to try to approach the dragon personally.”
What? Is he saying that to me?
Judging by his sharp gaze, Henricks seemed convinced that she would use some nasty trick to become the dragon handler.
I have no such intention or expectation. Leoni scoffed inwardly. However, she couldn’t help but feel bitter.
‘Dragon handler…’
A position everyone considers glorious. It’s coveted not only for the honor but also for the practical benefits.
Leoni also wouldn’t refuse if given the chance, of course. She’s confident she could do it better than anyone.
‘How much money does a dragon handler get?’
However, Leoni knew very well that she would never be given such an opportunity.
“Then, let’s start receiving recommendations for the handler. Does anyone have a recommendation?”
As soon as Henricks finished speaking, the conference room became noisy.
“How about Isaac for the next handler?”
“Or what about Jax?”
Countless people jumped in as if they couldn’t miss this opportunity. They subtly appealed for themselves or named someone they wanted to support.
Naturally, Leoni’s name was never called among them.
⊹ ࣪🍰˚⊹♡
The meeting ended flatly with Henricks’ words, “I’ll consider it slowly.”
“Leoni!”
An unwelcome voice was heard. Leoni, who was just leaving the conference room, stopped in her tracks.
Turning around, her colleague Dahlia was approaching with a flutter.
“What’s up?”
“I brought a guest. Jax, you know him, right? This is Leoni.”
It was a familiar face.
He hadn’t been in the cooperative country for long, but Leoni knew him well. He was the guy whose name was briefly mentioned in the meeting as a decent candidate for the next dragon handler.
Dahlia tugged at Jax’s sleeve with her finger. Jax, with an embarrassed face, scratched the back of his head.
“Is this okay?”
“Hey, I really have to go to the performance today. Who knows when it’ll be held again if I miss it today?”
“I-Is that so?”
Relieved, Jax’s expression brightened, and he asked Leoni,
“Leoni, is it true that you can read and write the ancient language?”
“…….”
Leoni glanced at his hand without saying a word. His hand was full of documents.
