Sword of Dawnbreaker

”Interesting, indeed,” Melita immediately replied, ”And the human world has changed greatly in recent years, such as...ah, of course, I haven’t indulged too much in the outside world...”

She seemed to feel her unsophisticated demeanor was inappropriate, hastily attempting to remedy it, but the divine voice from above already spoke: ”Do not be nervous, I have never forbidden you from interacting with the outside world, Talronde is not a closed place...as long as you haven’t ventured too far, I won’t mind.”

Melita lowered her head: ”Yes, indeed...”

”Gawain Cecil, what kind of person is he generally?” the Dragon God asked again, ”Apart from refusing my invitation, how else did he behave?”

”He...is complex, difficult to see through at a glance,” Melita began thoughtfully, ”Overall, I think he has a resolute will, clear objectives, and his vision is quite advanced among humans—a series of facts also prove most of his forward-thinking judgments are correct. As for how he behaved besides refusing the invitation...”

She pondered carefully, organizing her words as she spoke: ”He remained calm throughout—except for some surprise upon hearing your invitation, he acted as if he were facing an ordinary ’invitation’. He seemed neither awed nor fearful of receiving an invitation from a god, and his calm demeanor was not faked, my lie detector sensors showed no reaction.”

”The most cunning tricksters can even deceive themselves, lie detection spells and devices are ineffective against such people,” the Dragon God said lightly, ”However, I do trust your judgment, Melita, that person indeed seems somewhat special, he truly is not awed nor fearful of the divine.”

Then there was a moment of silence in the hall, before Melita and Nuoletta finally heard a voice as heavenly as divine sound: ”You may go; take a rest now.”

They both lowered their heads, speaking in unison: ”Yes, my Lord!”

The two young dragons left, leaving the vast hall briefly occupied only by the lofty divine presence, the Dragon Priest serving the divine, and some servants insignificant enough to be disregarded.

Enya sat in a somewhat lazy posture on the broad, lavish seat, leaning against the back of the chair, her hand resting beside her face, speaking with an informal tone: ”Heragor, those kids were very nervous—do I really make you all so uneasy in usual times?”

”They merely revere you, my Lord,” Heragor immediately replied, ”You have always been compassionate toward the Dragonkin, especially the younger ones, they surely understand this.”

”Just awe...”

The Dragon God Enya murmured softly as if talking to herself, her eyelids slightly lowered, lazily gazing toward the end of the hall, as if her sights penetrated the temple, the peaks and the vast sky of Talronde, ultimately falling upon every Dragonkin in this land.

She saw a web, with countless threads within, saw chains woven by faith, connecting every living being on this land.

Faith is like a lock, mortals on one end, gods on the other.

”...uninteresting.”

The god spoke with a hint of disappointment.

...

”I nearly died from nervousness just now!!” Walking across the square outside the Great Temple, Melita couldn’t help but pat her chest, taking deep breaths as she spoke, ”I felt like my heart was beating so out of place...ah, I really need to go check on my hearts; I truly feel like two of them have jumped into other chambers...”

Nuoletta glanced sideways at her friend: ”You shouldn’t have been stingy with your internal implants—composite blood-pump hearts from Frost Heavy Industries or Barkbato aren’t expensive.”

”No heart can withstand the pressure of facing a god head-on—moreover, those so-called new products don’t differ much technically from old models, adding a few lights and fancy badges won’t make my heart any stronger.”

”Enough, we shouldn’t be discussing these loudly here,” Nuoletta couldn’t help but remind her, ”We are still within the precincts of the sacred ground.”

Melita worked hard to calm herself, then stared at Nuoletta several times: ”You don’t have many more chances to meet the divine than I do...why do you seem so calm?”

”Perhaps you should try inhaling half a unit of ’gray’ Enhancer before important meetings,” Nuoletta suggested, ”It can make you more relaxed, and the dosage is just right to keep you composed.”

”...I dislike those flashy enhancers,” Melita shook her head, ”I’ll continue being my young antique.”