C308: Whodunnit?

Alexander, the Grauglintz Dragon, and the real strongest dragon.

His sudden arrival warned us of an incident.
Surely, something happened.

“Your father has been defeated?” I couldn’t help but join in on the conversation.

If it’s Alexander’s father, then he must be Geyser Dragon, the Dragon Emperor, right?
He’s been defeated?!

That’s big news.

“I only recently noticed it myself when I sensed Father’s presence in the air has ceased.”
“That’s how you can tell?”
“Father may be old, but he is still the Geyser Dragon. His presence pervades the entire world; you just have to hone your senses to detect it. I never really cared much about him, though, so I thought nothing of it for a while.”

So, he just detected the abnormality.

“I’ve been out of touch with the dragon society for a long time now, so I haven’t received any information. I was flying around to see if any of my siblings knew something, eventually leading me to this place.”

And then he met Veil.

“Veil, do you know anything about this?”
“I do,” she replies indifferently.

Huh?
You do?!

“Don’t you know it too, Master?”
“Know what?”
“That that merman and his cronies defeated Father.”

…
Hm?
Merman?
Who?!
I don’t know any macho merman that could defeat the Dragon Archon!
My brain search gives me zero results!

“You’re so heartless, Master. It’s Platy’s brother, who recently returned from his pilgrimage.”
“Prince Arowana? Seriously?!”

I didn’t hear anything of the sort, though?!

Prince Arowana did share a few stories from his journey, but I didn’t hear about him defeating the Dragon Emperor!
Was it too big of a story for him to share?
Knowing him and his modest attitude, I can see that happening.

“I heard from Ardheg, who asked me for advice when he said they defeated Father accidentally.”
“He made it sound so trivial!”

How does one accidentally defeat their father?!

“…”

Alexander, the Crown Prince Dragon, ponders for a while until he says, “So, Ardheg and his companions defeated Father?”

No, wait!
He’s not thinking of vengeance, is he?!

That would make Prince Arowana and Puffer his targets too!

“I must see Ardheg. Do you know where he is?”

What does he intend to do when he sees him?
He’s not possibly going to confront him and say, “Pay for your sins or die!” …right?

“He’s probably flying around the world right now, carefreely. Finding him would be difficult.”
“I see.”
“I registered him in a magic communication system that can connect anywhere in the world in case of emergencies like this. If I call him now, he’ll come flying back in no time, no matter how far away he is, what with dragon wings and all.”

Hey, Veil!
How dare you proceed with the story on your own!

Wouldn’t it be better to find out Alexander’s true intentions first?!

“Please, do call him over.”
“Okie-dokie, come out, come out, wherever you are!”

What’s with that chant?!

“You called, Sis Veil? Oh, Brother Alexander is here too!”

And he actually showed up right away!

How did he get here without a time lag?
Geez, you really can’t use your common sense when it comes to dragons!

And so, there are three dragons on our farm.

Veil, a Grinzel Dragon (Imperial Princess), who lives with us.
Ardheg, a Glintz Dragon (Imperial Prince), who shows up now and then.
And Alexander, a Grauglintz Dragon (Crown Prince), who is with us for the first time.

…Wait, I think there’s one more dragon, but I’m not going to mention her since I don’t want to complicate things further.
She should just stay inside her bottle.

Anyway, we’re in a summit-like space with several dragons presently gathered.

“I have a question for you, Ardheg.”
“I am all ears.”
“You said you defeated Father, the Geyser Dragon. Is this true?”
“No. I didn’t achieve this feat alone. It was a victory won by all of my fellow companions.”

Ardheg!
Don’t unconsciously bring our friends into this mess!!!

“Prince Arowana, whom I recognized as a hero and a king, his wife Puffer, Songokufon, and Hakkai. None of us could have defeated Father alone.”

Normally, I would have been moved by his compassion for his friends, but right now, I feel like my heart would burst from tension!
Is this okay?
Alexander won’t say anything like wanting revenge on them, will he?!

“…I see. You all have done well.”

Huh?

“I knew I would have to deal with Father sooner or later. Such is my role as a Grauglintz Dragon. It pains me to have you, my brother dragon, shoulder that burden for me.”

Oh, that was a surprisingly favorable response.
Despite his father being beat up.

“Your analyzation skills need work, Master,” says Veil, scolding me. “I already explained that Alexander and Father aren’t on good terms. Why would he bother to avenge his death?”

So… overthrowing the Geyser Dragon was the right thing to do?

“He even tried to strip other dragons’ power just to rival me and went so far as to make up those trials to put a curse on them…”
“It’s as you say, brother! I couldn’t overlook Father’s injustice, so I fought him with my friends!”

According to him, Ardheg had once been told that he had failed the trials and almost lost his power.
A dragon that loses its power and wisdom turns into a beast-like creature called a Lesser Dragon.

Prince Arowana, who considered Ardheg a special friend, stood up to the Geyser Dragon and defeated him in the process…

“Friendship is such a magical thing…”
“But if our deed is considered a great crime, we will not resist. If Brother Alexander, who is to be the new forerunner, judges so, we will follow suit.”

How brave of Ardheg!

“I have no intention of settling for such a pompous role. My desire is to watch over the promising potential of mankind. I want to stay out of the dragon power struggle.”
“But Alexander…” interrupts Veil. “Now that Father is gone, someone else must become the new Geyser Dragon, right? Aren’t you the first candidate to become the rightful heir?”

If Alexander doesn’t ascend to the throne, a brutal succession struggle without rules and honor will break out among them.
And as the strongest race, their battle would not be confined to them alone…

The collateral damage to humanity will be terrible.
Its aftermath could destroy towns and villages alike.

“I don’t want that to happen. I cherish mankind’s life as well.”
“Are you a dragon of character or something?”
“What could be a good solution to this… Ah!”

An illusionary bulb flashes above Alexander’s head.

“Ardheg.”
“Yes?”
“You should become the next Geyser Dragon.”
“Pardon?!”

Here we go again with the random, unreasonable requests.

“You defeated Father, a Geyser Dragon, and obtained the title of Dragon Emperor with your own power, so you deserve to succeed him. Isn’t that good enough?”

I can sense that he wants to impose a chore.