Chapter 289: Banquet at the Einzbern Castle (4)
"Wait... did you say dragon?!"
Waver wasn't the only one surprised on the spot.
Thanks to the Stealth skill, Drako had concealed his genuine aura at all times. It was only thanks to Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm that allowed the King of Heroes to discover the dragon's true origin.
Saber finally understood what the strange sensation she had felt in her first encounter with Drako was. She carried dragon blood in her veins, and it seemed that it had resonated with Drako. Since he had hidden all traces of his race, she had not been able to deduce what it was that she found familiar about him. Despite all this, that he was a dragon was still surprising to her.
Artoria did not doubt Gilgamesh's words. It was improbable that a Heroic Spirit as proud as Archer would lie. Especially considering the proud smile on his face.
"Oh, a dragon. Impressive."
Rider only looked mildly amazed, but he wasn't making a big deal out of it. He was paying more attention to the wine Gilgamesh had brought out; perhaps this one was more important to him.
"Yes, I am a dragon," Drako had no reason to hide it. "I'm the Nephalem Dragon Monarch."
Irisviel was amazed. Not only was Drako a dragon, but he was a king among dragons. Even in the past, before the Reverse Side of the World existed, stories of dragons were few. But even scarcer were the dragons who had earned a title among them. Although Irisviel was unaware of Drako's title, she put it down to her ignorance of general culture.
"That's impossible!" Waver stood up with a start and pointed towards Drako. "Dragons shouldn't be able to get out of that side!"
The Reverse Side of the World, the layer of the World that retains the laws of the Age of Gods that houses surviving Phantasmal Species and presumably Divine Spirits instead of people. It was common sense that no human could go to that place and that no Phantasmal Species could go to the other side. So, what was a dragon doing on the human side of the world?
Drako raised an arm in Waver's direction without saying anything. Everyone looked at him in silence, not knowing what Drako was going to do. He could attack and kill Waver in one blow, but it didn't look like Iskandar was going to make a move to defend his fragile Master.
Drako pulled back the sleeve covering his arm to shoulder height. It was amazing how Drako, who despite being tall did not seem to be overly muscular like Rider was, had muscles of considerable size and perfectly defined under his clothes.
And that was just his arm muscles, if the others could see what was under all his clothes....
No, this is not the time to drool, Kuroka.
What impressed the others was not Drako's musculature but that his arm began to change color. The pale skin became as dark as coal, and strange white patterns crossed that black color. They visibly saw the skin harden, and the arm grow larger and bigger.
The strange patterns sank in. It was as if Drako's human skin split and became boulders, and those patterns were the cracks that separated these boulders that were once one and the same land.
"Scales..."
From the tips of his fingers, as far as Drako's clothing would let on, Drako's entire arm had been surrounded by scales. No, it was more accurate to say that his human skin had been transformed into dragon scales.
Waver slumped back in his seat in shock. He had no words to express what he was feeling at the moment. The most important thing in his head was: were all the Reverse Side of the World theories that had evolved over the centuries wrong? Was all the magus' work for nothing?
"How is this possible?" the young Waver forced himself to mutter.
Drako shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. Maybe the laws of the world don't work on me. Maybe I am Gaia and Alaya's favorite. It's also true that I haven't tried to take my true form yet; maybe they interpret that I'm more human than dragon as long as I don't abuse my powers."
A half-truth. It was true that Drako hadn't tried his dragon form, but most likely, using it wasn't going to give him any trouble. Besides, even if he was dragged to that place, he could always return using a Fate Point.
After his explanation, he returned his arm back to his human form. It was strange to have a human body with a dragon arm.
For some reason, Waver looked relieved. Just the opposite of Archer, he looked really furious as he looked at Rider's Master.
"Are you done interrupting this battle between kings, mongrel?"
"Yes!"
Waver responded with a high-pitched squeak to Archer's question. It was funny to see the little Master so frightened.
With the matter of Waver settled, Gilgamesh turned his attention back to the competition.
"As you can see, be it wines or swords, only the best is reserved for my treasure. With this, it seems my grade as a king has already been decided."
Pretty arrogant for a single wine, in Drako's opinion. Perhaps if he could actually enjoy it, he would have a more favorable opinion of Archer on this subject.
"Stop the banter, Archer."
Saber bellowed. The silence was broken by a tense, intimidating atmosphere.
"I'm sick of hearing you bragging about your wine collection. You're not like a king, more like a clown."
Archer grimaced a grin as he looked at Saber all elated.
"How ungracious; someone who doesn't even know good wine is not at all fit to be a king."
Drako had a big grin on his face watching the amusing interaction between the two. This was something he had seen from behind a screen. It was totally different to feel it first hand.
Seeing Drako really enjoying himself also made Kuroka happy. It relieved her to see Drako taking his time to enjoy life, and not always be training, planning, or worrying about the future.
After all, it's more important to enjoy the present than to worry about the future or regret the past.
"How did you meet Drako?" Irisviel asked the clueless Kuroka.
"Huh?"
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