Chapter 955: The Hidden Society of the Dragon Clan

In the tales spun by bards and playwrights across the continent of Loren, the homes of dragons are described like this:

Dragons build their nests deep within ancient volcanic craters or eternal glaciers, drawing strength from the searing magma or the relentless ice, depending on their clan. Sometimes, great dragons dwell in castles or towers, but rarely do they craft these elegant abodes themselves. Instead, they simply take over the homes of humans or other weaker races—and almost always, they leave these once-beautiful, comfortable, and historically rich castles in ruins. Only when a brave knight or a lucky adventurer manages to slay the dragon occupying the castle does this terrible destruction come to an end.

—From the renowned Ansu-era playwright Dorangon Jabandell’s treatise, Dragons and Their Lairs.

Gawain stepped to the edge of the “inner balcony,” leaning slightly over the railing to look down into the dragon’s nest below.

Before him stretched a vast circular hall, supported by exquisitely crafted pillars. The walls were forged from some alloy unknown to human science, seamlessly pieced together to form the first line of defense within the hall. Along the outer rim, dormant mechanical devices rested, while small drones busily scrubbed the walls and maintained the equipment. Decorative lighting arrays glowed softly, and from the dome above, beams of light illuminated the center of the hall—a silver-white circular platform adorned with intricate bas-reliefs so grand and delicate that even the most discerning artists would be awestruck.

Turning back, Gawain looked toward where he stood—a private residence built halfway up the mountainside. Part of its structure extended into the mountain itself, connecting to the enormous circular hall below via elevators and corridors carved inside the rock. The other part, hidden from view, led outside the mountain. Gawain had toured that section before: a stunning skylit room bathed in starlight or sunlight, and a beautiful observation corridor. Every window was mechanized, controllable by voice command to open, close, or filter light at will.

Melita called her “nest” a “simple industrial style” renovation—by her account, a relatively low-cost trend that had become popular in Talrond over recent years.

“I wonder what the bards and playwrights of Loren would think if they saw this,” Gawain said, pulling his gaze away from the dragon’s nest with a wry smile. “Especially those who love to spin tales about mighty dragons…”

“Most wouldn’t have much to say—because the best ‘heroes versus dragons’ bards and playwrights in Loren all come from Talrond,” Melita said proudly, puffing out her chest. “We’ve contributed eighty percent of the finest dragon-slaying scripts in the human world over the past thousand years.”

Gawain gave her a helpless look. “So all those rumors about ‘evil dragons living in volcanoes’ were made up by you guys. Maybe don’t complain when humans wildly imagine your habits.”

Melita thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “Alright, you have a point…”

She turned and headed toward the other end of the residence. “Don’t just stand here. This side only overlooks the cave. The balcony on the other side has a much better view.”

“Are all your houses like this?” Gawain followed her, curious. “I mean, this setup with a large nest and a smaller living space attached.”

“Most are,” Melita explained. “We have a ‘dragon’s nest’ big enough to hold our true dragon form, and then a refined ‘small house’ inside or beside it. The nest is for long rests or physical adjustments in dragon form, while the smaller residence is perfect for living in human form. Of course… not all dragons live this way.”

“Oh?” Gawain raised an eyebrow. “There are exceptions?”

“Some less particular dragons only have a ‘dragon’s nest’ and live entirely within it. Since our human forms are tiny compared to our true forms, a little space inside the nest is enough,” Melita said seriously. “Noretta is like that—she doesn’t have a ‘human living room’ but instead dug out a super huge cavern in the mountain, much bigger than mine.”

As they spoke, they passed through the living room and corridors of the residence. The indoor lighting, controlled by Omega, subtly adjusted to maintain the most comfortable brightness wherever the visitors went.

Gawain’s eyes widened at Melita’s words. Every detail of Talrond’s customs fascinated him—he even found the dragons’ sleeping habits a subject worthy of study. He couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t Noretta ever rest in human form?”

Melita shrugged. “She built a bed over a thousand square meters in the center of her nest. It takes a while to run from the center to the edge, but the upside is that it’s comfortable to sleep on in both dragon and human forms.”

Gawain was speechless.

Melita glanced at him curiously. “Why so quiet?”

He spread his hands helplessly. “I just suddenly realized… your lifestyle is really… free.”

Inwardly, he also thought: Why does a thousand-square-meter bed sound so familiar…?

Melita had no idea what he was thinking. After a brief pause, she continued, “Of course, there’s a third type.”

Gawain blinked, momentarily confused. “A third type?”

They stepped out onto the balcony facing the mountain’s exterior. The large floor-to-ceiling windows had been set to transparent mode, offering a clear view of the sprawling city below and the bright lights of massive factory complexes in the distance.

Melita stood at the edge, gazing toward the city. “Some dragons only have a residence for resting in human form, and they spend most of their time living as humans.”

Gawain frowned, about to ask what happened to their true forms, when Veronica, who had quietly approached, spoke for him: “What about their ‘true forms’? As far as I know, even if you live as humans, you still need to release your true form to eat or maintain yourselves…”

“There’s a special ‘dining hall’ for eating, and if the implants inside the body malfunction, they can go to a maintenance center or private repair shops. Besides that, dragons don’t need to stay in true form for long. Keeping the true form stored saves space and conserves energy.”

The more Gawain heard, the stranger it seemed. He finally asked, “What kind of dragons choose this lifestyle?”

“Poor dragons,” Melita said. “Or those deemed by Omega to lack sufficient ability to contribute in upper Talrond, so they live in the plains and lower city districts as ordinary citizens.”

Gawain was dumbfounded. “You have poor people in Talrond… poor dragons?”

“Of course,” Melita sighed. “We haven’t built a perfectly equal and infinitely prosperous society, so there are naturally upper and lower classes. But poverty is relative, and must be seen in the context of the whole society. See the areas with the densest city lights? That’s where they live, in what humans would call ‘incomprehensible poverty.’ The Elder Council provides free housing and all necessities, Omega grants them access to nearly all entertainment, their monthly enhancers are free, and they even get some hallucinogens banned in the upper districts.

“They have everything. Talrond society supports them fully. But in exchange, these lower-class citizens must accept this support with no other options. They do limited, essentially meaningless work, cannot interfere in upper Talrond affairs, and face many other restrictions that humans would find hard to understand.”

Gawain frowned, while Amber suddenly spoke up beside him: “That sounds… not bad at all. No work, a place to live, no worries about food or clothing, and plenty of entertainment. Why does it sound so bad?”

Melita turned to look at the half-elf girl, who wore a conflicted, thoughtful expression. A faint smile appeared on Melita’s face. “That’s the kind of ‘poverty’ humans from Loren can’t understand.”

“I get it,” Gawain said suddenly. “At your level of development, survival is no longer a challenge. Talrond society can easily support a large ‘non-productive population,’ and the cost is only a small fraction of total social expenditure. Forcing these less capable members into the workforce and giving them equal opportunities would create huge costs, because they would disrupt your highly efficient production system.

“So rather than bear that waste, it’s cheaper to support them directly.”

Amber’s eyes widened as she listened to Gawain’s analysis, seemingly unable to fully grasp the picture he painted. Veronica glanced at him thoughtfully, as if she had pondered this before. Melita looked astonished, scrutinizing Gawain several times before frowning in disbelief. “You… figured this out so quickly?”

“Just a flash of inspiration,” Gawain smiled. “You know I’m good at social deduction.”

“This goes beyond social deduction,” Melita said oddly. “It should be counterintuitive to humans unless society reaches a certain level.”

“I haven’t done many things that make sense since I was resurrected,” Gawain replied casually, steering the conversation away. “Anyway… looks like I’ve uncovered another little-known detail about Talrond.”

Melita fell silent for a moment, then sighed. “Feeling rested? Interested in going out for a walk?”

“Are we starting the ‘tour’ now?” Gawain raised an eyebrow. “Or just tagging along for a stroll?”

“There’s no difference. There’s so much to show you here,” Melita said. “It’s just about dusk in Cecil City—perfect time for a leisurely outing.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gawain said immediately, glancing at Amber and Veronica.

“I’m in!” Amber jumped up. “I’m not tired anymore!”

Veronica nodded gently, showing no objection.

Melita smiled. “Great. I’ll send a message to Noretta. Let’s go see Talrond after dusk.”

Gawain nodded, then asked with curiosity, “Where do you plan to take us first?”

“You’ve spent half the day up in Talrond’s upper district—surely you’ve seen enough of the Council headquarters and the High Sanctum by now,” Melita said calmly. “So, I’ll take you down to the middle and lower tiers of Talrond. We’ll visit the factory zones and the major corporate conglomerates, then head to the lower city on the plains. If Noretta agrees, maybe we can even go to the Shadow City. The Speaker asked me to show you every corner of Talrond, but there’s no way we can tour the entire continent in just a few days. So, we’ll pick a few representative places… to give you a full and authentic glimpse of the dragon realm.”

Soon after, Gawain and the others followed Melita to a platform outside the Dragon’s Nest. This broad terrace, built halfway up the mountainside, served as a landing pad for dragons. In a way, it was like the front porch of Melita’s home.

They hadn’t waited long at the edge of the platform when Amber’s sharp eyes spotted a slender, graceful white dragon gliding in from the southwest sky. The dragon landed smoothly in the center of the platform.

“Hey! Noretta!” Melita called out happily as her friend settled down. “You got here fast…”

But before she could finish, the white dragon suddenly seemed to stumble. Its massive claw shifted a couple of steps on the platform, and in the next moment, to the stunned—and even slightly horrified—gaze of Gawain and the others, it stepped right on Melita’s head…

Strictly speaking, it pressed the entire agent underfoot.

If this had been a human, it would have been a fatal or crippling injury without question.

Yet the next second, Gawain heard Melita’s scream coming from beneath the dragon’s claw—her voice lively and full of spirit: “Noretta! You did that on purpose this time!!”

“I lost my footing,” the white dragon lowered her head, her voice rumbling deeply. “You know I’m not used to your landing pad.”

“That’s just an excuse!” Melita kept yelling as she scrambled out from under the dragon’s foot, utterly disheveled. The grace and composure she’d maintained in front of Gawain were completely gone. “I’m keeping count—you’ve stepped on me twice now!”

The two friends seemed to be having a lively, if somewhat chaotic, reunion. Meanwhile, Gawain, Amber, and Veronica stood a short distance away, watching in stunned silence.

After a long moment, Gawain couldn’t help but run a hand through his hair.

This trip to Talrond was definitely worth it—he’d just witnessed yet another side of the dragons no one usually saw.

How many “hidden sides” had that been now?

(End of chapter)