Dragonslayer’s Class Regression 252

Chapter 252

BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE!

A vigorously boiling red soup was placed in front of Hades at the banquet table.

Hades looked at Zeke sitting next to him and asked.

“What is this?”

Zeke prepared a healing factor for the stimulating smell he was experiencing for the first time in 2 years.

He looked at Hades and said.

“This is the food that the Ishtar family serves to their honored guests.”

Hades looked at the red soup in front of him with a doubtful expression. While tilting his head and looking around, Hades now looked at the Reaper Pepper placed in front of him and asked Zeke.

“And this?”

“It’s seasoning. If you sprinkle it on, you can taste something new.”

Actually, dragons are creatures that can survive without eating food.

This was because they absorbed mana from the atmosphere and converted it into magical power for energy.

Hades, who had been bound to ruins for three thousand years without eating separate food, had lost his sense of aroma and taste.

Since it was food he was eating after a long time, he sprinkled plenty of Reaper Pepper on the soup following Zeke’s words.

Then he glanced at Zeke.

He soon saw Zeke taking a big spoonful of soup into his mouth and felt relieved, so he too took a big bite.

“KUHP!”

Hades’ face turned red after eating the soup while being off guard.

It felt like swallowing a ball of fire.

He immediately stood up from his seat and jumped around.

“KUEEEK! WATER! WATER! KUAAAK!”

Zeke leisurely ate the soup while watching Hades making a fuss.

Maybe because it was his second time eating it, it was more bearable than before.

‘No joke, I can actually taste something now.’

A rich umami flavor came up through the intense spiciness.

He sprinkled more Reaper Pepper on Hades’ seat while saying.

“Why are you acting like that when there’s delicious food?”

Hades trembled and shouted at Zeke.

“This is crazy! Even though I’m eating for the first time in three thousand years, I can tell this isn’t food but poison!”

At Hades’ words, the ears of the Elf elders including Jamila drooped.

They were disappointed that the precious food they had prepared didn’t suit the taste of the great being.

Seeing the elves, Hades was embarrassed.

“Y-you guys? Why are you making such expressions?!”

Zeke said to Hades.

“This is so precious that even the Ishtar family can barely eat it once a year.”

At his words, the soft-hearted Hades couldn’t help but be inwardly flustered.

‘W-why would they serve something like this?’

Hades looked at the elves with drooping ears and had no choice but to sit back down.

Black Dragons had quite emotional and careful personalities as a racial characteristic.

They weren’t callous enough to rudely reject food that had been specially prepared for them.

Hades trembled and tried putting the soup in his mouth again.

“KHEOK!”

Even eating it again felt like drinking a bowl of poison.

He secretly used the detoxification magic Cure to soothe his mouth without the elves knowing.

When Hades showed that he was eating the soup well, the elves perked their ears up again.

Zeke curiously watched the appearance of such Ishtar elders.

‘So even the Ishtar family that makes the whole continent tremble in fear has this side.’

Eventually, Hades emptied all the soup and collapsed.

“Damn… I just got released from the seal only to die like this.”

“What dragon dies from eating something spicy?”

Zeke chuckled and used Healing Factor on Hades.

Then Hades, free from the spiciness, regained his strength and got up.

“Urgh. I thought I was going to die. But aren’t you a knight? How do you know how to use magic?”

“I’ll explain everything to you later.”

After all the other elves finished their meals, Zeke left Hades with Yelin and requested a meeting with Family Head Jamila.

Jamila took Zeke to the family head’s room.

“Sit comfortably, Zeke Draker.”

Jamila was in a good mood thinking she had served the dragon well with precious food.

Zeke leaned back on a cushion with Eastern Empire patterns laid on the floor.

When Jamila sat in the upper seat, a black panther that had been curled up lying beside her approached her.

When Jamila stroked the black panther’s head, it made a pleased expression. Then it turned its head to look at Zeke.

GRRRR-

Perhaps because it saw a stranger, the black panther showed its teeth while being wary.

Zeke tried using the Taming skill while looking at the black panther.

Then the black panther’s expression changed from before and it gradually approached where Zeke was.

PURR!

Then it played around by stretching its front paws in front of Zeke, and before long it was rubbing its cheeks against his thigh.

Jamila looked at the black panther with an incredulous expression.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Nero act like this with a stranger. Zeke Draker, you have an amazing talent.”

While stroking the head of the black panther that had fallen asleep using his knee as a pillow, Zeke asked Jamila.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you, Family Head.”

Jamila said with a relaxed expression.

“Go ahead. Right now, I’m in such a good mood that I could even have a conversation with Arthur Draker if he were in front of me.”

It could be felt that Jamila’s dislike of Arthur Draker went beyond hatred.

Without any particular reaction to that, Zeke asked what he had wanted to ask Jamila.

“Do you know about the Fairy Lake?”

At Zeke’s words, Jamila’s eyebrows twitched.

Having received a completely unexpected question, she slowly opened her mouth.

“The Fairy Lake. Why do you ask about that?”

Zeke realized the compass’s direction was correct.

If Jamila knew nothing about the Fairy Lake, she wouldn’t have answered in that way.

Zeke spoke again.

“I need to find the Fairy Lake.”

“That’s why I’m asking the reason why you need to find that lake.”

After contemplating, Zeke decided to use a card that would make Jamila have to talk.

“Lord Hades needs to find the Fairy Lake to recover his powers.”

When Hades’ name came from Zeke’s mouth, Jamila’s expression changed.

“You’re saying the Great One is looking for the Fairy Lake?”

“Yes. Having been bound here for three thousand years, he cannot properly exert his original power. To find his past divinity, he needs to go to the sacred Fairy Lake to recover his strength.”

Jamila completely fell for Zeke’s plausible words. She frowned and slowly opened her mouth.

“My ancestors were tasked with protecting the Fairy Forest where the Fairy Lake was located.”

“Fairy Forest? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“After Hero King Kaisir left this realm, the Fairy King blocked the path to the Fairy Lake, and the Fairy Forest also lost its power.”

The Hermit of Stories had told a similar tale.

‘Was it that vampires from the north attacked them after the Fairy Lake was blocked and the Fairy King’s protective power disappeared?’

Though the exact cause and effect was unclear, putting it together with Hades’ words, that seemed to be the case circumstantially.

Zeke asked Jamila.

“Then is the path to the Fairy Lake completely blocked now?”

Jamila rested her chin on her hand as she continued.

“Not exactly. However… only they know the way to the Fairy Lake.”

“Who are you referring to?”

“The Druids.”

Zeke was surprised at those words.

“Are there still Druids remaining?”

Since the existence of Druids could only be found in records from the Hero King’s era, Zeke had inwardly thought they no longer existed.

Then Jamila said.

“Originally, the Druids and High Elves were guardians who protected the Fairy Forest together. We left that place, but I heard the Druids are still guarding that spot.”

“Why is that?”

After contemplating, Jamila slowly opened her mouth.

“The Fairy King entrusted his last hope to the Druids. He told them to guide the way if someone worthy of entering the Fairy Lake appeared.”

Zeke nodded, belatedly recalling how Tir had referred to ‘that place the Druids protect.’

“Then if we find the Druids, we can go to the Fairy Lake.”

“That’s what the passed down stories say, but whether it will actually happen is unknown. No one has entered the Fairy Forest since the Hero King’s era after all.”

Zeke said to Jamila.

“Do you know where the Druids are located, Family Head?”

At those words, Jamila’s eyebrows twitched and she shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

An unexpected answer came from Jamila’s mouth.

If only the Druids knew the way to the Fairy Lake but they didn’t know where the Druids were, it meant they were back to square one.

That’s when Jamila continued speaking.

“I don’t know where the Druids are now. But I do know where one of the Druids is.”

“Where is that?”

“Aten.”

That’s when it happened.

[The compass is recalculating the optimal direction to ‘Fairy Lake’.]

[Starting guidance in the newly calculated direction.]

The messages appeared.

It seemed the direction information was updated based on Jamila’s answer.

‘So we can meet a Druid if we go to Aten. Then why did it first set the direction to Ishtar instead of Aten? Is this the result of calculating holistic causality?’

While understanding what the compass’s direction was pointing to, Zeke became even more curious about how the compass worked.

Jamila looked at Zeke and said.

“Three years ago, someone who revealed themselves as a Druid appeared in the border region. They requested our help to pass through the rough border area.”

“Did you help him?”

Jamila glared at Zeke with sharp eyes and said.

“We never helped him. We just said one thing. That he could pass through Ishtar’s territory.”

Zeke immediately understood what Jamila meant by her words.

No outlaw would dare to set foot in Ishtar’s territory.

The fact that the Ishtar family allowed someone to step into their territory meant they acknowledged him as their guest.

And among outlaws, no one would dare to touch a guest of the Ishtar family.

If one were to carelessly offend Ishtar, it was obvious that Ishtar’s ravens would deliver inescapable punishment.

Zeke was reminded once again that the person before him was the head of Ishtar, one of the continent’s three transcendent families.

“So the Druid in Aten is indebted to the Ishtar family.”

“That’s for you to decide.”

After finishing her answer, Jamila looked at Zeke and brought up another topic.

“So Zeke Draker, have you decided not to hold the wedding ceremony with Yelin?”

Since he didn’t expect Jamila to bring up the wedding again, Zeke was slightly taken aback.

“Wouldn’t Lady Yelin’s opinion be more important than mine?”

At Zeke’s words, Jamila made a slightly subtle expression and said.

“Hmm, Yelin’s opinion…”

Jamila’s unreadable expression made Zeke even more anxious.

Shortly after, she nodded as if understanding and beckoned to Zeke.

“I see. Go back and rest now. Anyway, since you’ve made great contributions in breaking the covenant’s shackles, I’ll grant you the honor of attending the family’s banquet starting tomorrow.”

At Jamila’s kindness, Zeke made a troubled expression and said.

“I’m sorry, but I think I need to leave right away.”

At Zeke’s words, Jamila replied as if it didn’t matter.

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”

But Zeke could see Jamila’s ears drooping halfway.

‘Don’t tell me she’s disappointed that I’m leaving early.’

He thought she wanted him to leave quickly since she kept speaking sharply, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Even Zeke wasn’t bold enough to disappoint the head of the Ishtar family, so he immediately changed his words.

“But it would be impolite to leave right away when you personally invited me. An Ishtar banquet. I’m really looking forward to it.”

At those words, Jamila’s ears perked up again.

“HMPH! Well, if you’re that eager to attend, I’ll give you the opportunity.”

‘Like Lady Yelin, the Ishtar side is easy to read, which is nice.’

After properly greeting Jamila, Zeke left the family head’s room and followed the attendant’s guidance to his room.

Unlike the room he first stayed in, it was a luxurious room for honored guests.

Maids who were each peerless beauties approached Zeke.

“Sir Zeke, we have prepared warm bath water. We will attend to you.”

Zeke felt burdened by the excessive treatment.

“No, it’s fine…”

That’s when it happened.

An attendant approached Zeke.

“Sir Zeke, Lady Yelin has come to see you.”

“Lady Yelin?”

Zeke quickly got away from the maids and went to open the door himself.

There stood Yelin looking completely different from usual.

Wearing traditional Eastern style clothing that revealed her beautiful figure, Yelin approached Zeke.

“Sir Zeke.”

She looked at Zeke with eyes as clear and bright as a lake and said.

“I came to ask you for a favor.”

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