Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 708 - 652: The Green Dragon’s Weariness

"Oh, so the humanoid form of the Giant Dragon is but a chameleon-like mimicry and disguise, which is why you fashioned yourself to look like Irason... I thought it was a unique trait caused by bloodline genetics. Claudia, I’m a bit surprised,"

The Emerald Dragon placed her left hand on her hip, making an indignant expression with the slightly youthful face of the Green Dragon Priest. There was an intelligence on her face that Irason completely lacked. The clever girl exhaled, picking up Lyle’s line of thought.

"Just as you suspected, we can adjust our humanoid appearance. I haven’t seen Bohr’s disguise, but Al and Kristo both made subtle adjustments to resemble our father. You could probably tell their kinship by looking at their faces, and as for my appearance... the face of that foolish dragon priest is quite pretty, isn’t it?"

When young dragons engage in mimicry, they integrate the traits of the best disguises from their surroundings to survive, while other young dragons without such concerns choose their forms at will. For Claudia, having an extremely opinionated mentor, adopting that face seemed to be the best option. Moreover, Claudia appeared indifferent to her humanoid appearance; pleasing Susanna like that might be part of her wisdom.

Claudia lifted her hand to her chin, squinting her eyes at Lyle.

"Haven’t you seen Imelt before? Why are you still confused about the appearance of the Giant Dragons? She’s never adjusted her form."

It was then Lyle remembered the Red Dragon’s red-haired dwarf form; he was too preoccupied with the aftermath of the Giant Dragon teacher’s rampage to notice at the time. He should have realized it earlier, given Imelt could switch between two forms at will.

Claudia glanced down at her toes, hands behind her back. "Lyle, is Imelt doing well? We haven’t been in touch for a while."

"She’s become a national idol among dwarves. She overdid it recently and caused quite a stir; her letter of self-reflection must have reached your father by now." Lyle’s face broke into a smug smile, "I believe Imelt’s probably doing just fine."

"What about you, Claudia?"

The green dragon’s lips parted slightly, but she halted before turning her words into speech, looking at Lyle and then, bowing her head, remained silent.

A karate chop lightly tapped on Lyle’s head, and like a dancer twirling, Susanna turned, leaving them with her back.

"I’m going to see why Irason hasn’t returned yet. Lyle, take good care of Claudia and don’t think about bullying her. Ah, I forget, in the realm of dreams, it’s only her who might bully you."

Now it was just Lyle and Claudia left in the dream zone full of Irason’s statues. Lyle gave Claudia a knowing smile and walked to the edge of the white stone base of an Irason fountain.

"Your mentor is a gentle person, at least very gentle with you."

Claudia sighed and sat down next to Lyle.

"That’s exactly why there are things in my heart that I don’t want to share with them, to spare them the sadness." A heart-wrenching maturity surfaced on Claudia’s face, her brows twisted together, and the dreamscape around her turned into a melancholic deep blue.

"Ha, so if I hear it, it doesn’t matter, and if I get sad, that’s all right!"

Claudia rolled her eyes, the upturned corner of her mouth indicating Lyle’s joke was having an effect.

"Well, because you’re Lyle," Claudia climbed the steps with her legs, burying her face in her knees and whispering softer than the wind. "Lyle, I’m tired of the work of a Dream Druid, and of my own mission. I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel. From birth, I was laden with purpose, trained hard amidst expectations from my mentor, burdened by such anticipation, but I just find it all so dull. The work of a Dream Druid is easy for me, and I haven’t faced exclusion from my kin like Imelt once lamented, but... I’m just weary of it all."

Claudia lifted her head slightly, her eyes misty and red-rimmed, peeking through the mess of tangled hair. Her voice trembled, "Are you disappointed? Would father scold me? The favors and nurturing, your full support, and yet I... I’ve let you down. Facing Susanna, I couldn’t bring myself to voice these thoughts... I wasn’t planning to, but when I saw you, my lips just started pouring out words like a leaky faucet... I’m so sorry for expressing such disappointing feelings."

"..."

Silence fell as Claudia saw Lyle’s profile turn into an intimidating gateway; she feared what he might look like when he turned around, even more so what he might say next.

In reality, Lyle’s mind was filled with a different scene, from the time before he got into medical school.

A gloomy, cramped room.

A wooden table.

Lyle sat on the only wooden chair, with Ralph standing opposite him, looking down with an imposing presence. The atmosphere, so tight and uneasy, almost stopped Lyle’s breath, as Ralph’s mere presence made him feel as if he were in some kind of interrogation room.

"I’ve opened the door."

"Th...thank you,"

The drizzle continued outside, and this autumn was particularly chilly. Lyle, utterly confused, had just completed his parents’ funeral and was accepting memories when he followed this man who claimed to be his uncle back home. A family member, previously a blurred impression in his mind, appeared before him, and this man named Ralph emanated a terrifying aura that was clearly not that of an ordinary person.

Lyle’s terror was taken by Ralph to be the shock of his parents’ death. The malicious wolf moved slowly, as if gently caressing a bubble.

"How about moving to my place? I have a house on the other side of Cassandra."

"No... No need, it’s pretty good here." Who would go to a demon’s nest?

"...What do you plan to do in the future, Lyle."

At that moment, Lyle just wanted to brush off Ralph without much thought, he blurted out the words following the original host’s memories.

"I want to study medicine; my father once had expectations for me in this field."

"Medical school..." Ralph remembered the documents he had seen at the security office regarding some troubling signs about the medical school, but he didn’t care much, "Do you like medicine?"

"My father said I was suited for it, and I will come to like it in the future."

"Stop studying it, Lyle."

"Eh?"

"If you don’t like it, there’s no need to be stubborn." Ralph took off his hat, and for the first time, Lyle looked directly into those eyes hidden in the shadows, sparkling with a luminous glow, "My brother had expectations for you, but they shouldn’t become a burden to you. When you were still in swaddling clothes, I saw my brother’s love turn into his first expectation for you."

"He hoped that first and foremost, you would be a happy child. That was my brother’s first wish... and mine as well."

"I will consider it carefully, Uncle Ralph."

"Mm."

...

Lyle had almost forgotten that the five young dragons were actually not even half a year old; their rapid development made it easy for everyone to overlook their inherent nature as children. No matter how quickly their intelligence matured, the growth of their souls relied more on the accumulation of time.

So, Lyle turned with a smile, looking at Claudia.

"Okay, then we won’t be the guardians of the Dream Elf and the Giant Dragon anymore. If you don’t want to do it, we’ll just stop."

"Eh?!!!"" Claudia’s exclamation was almost loud enough to rupture Lyle’s eardrums. "That’s not good!"

"If you don’t like it, we can switch to another tribe. There are probably plenty of hidden tribes of Dragon Followers we could join; we’re bound to find one you’re interested in. Honestly, I also think it’s too heavy a burden to carry the expectations of an entire tribe from birth. Part of your weariness is our fault. I’ll go back and talk to the Giant Dragon teacher, trust me, that father-obsessed dragon will surely understand you."

"The stupid Green Dragon Priest will cry..."

"But weren’t you about to cry just now? The tears of Irason are cheap."

Claudia realized Lyle wasn’t joking, and it was she herself who became flustered.

"That... Lyle! Actually, I don’t really hate the job of guarding dreams, after all, I’m quite good at it, I just... get bored sometimes..."

Lyle’s eyes lit up.

"I see, you should’ve said so earlier, I’m the best at making things interesting! But first, let me experience this boredom of yours, to find the right remedy."

"Mm-hmm..."