For some reason, being stared at like this by his own daughter, Christine suddenly felt an ominous premonition rise from the depths of his heart. It wasn't a warning of impending danger, but rather a sensation of having all his secrets laid bare.
The only other time he had felt this way was during his childhood, when he accompanied his silver dragon mother to the Elven Forest and met the Elven Queen, who had seen through his polymorph spell with a single glance.
“Could I have been found out?” Christine felt his heart begin to thump wildly. Still holding onto a sliver of hope, he tried his best to calm his nerves and change the subject, saying, “You truly are just as the rumors say—understanding, beautiful, and generous, unlike the other chromatic dragons who are chaotic evil and utterly brutal.”
“Oh? Is that so? Does that mean Lady Charlotte has met others of my kind before?” Seeing that the other party had no intention of revealing their identity, Irene didn't expose him immediately either. She played along with his words while walking over to the side of the shattered stone table.
“...Yes. I have traveled to many places. I once walked through the Elven Forest with kind metallic dragons, and I have also matched wits with wicked chromatic dragons. Those were wonderful yet thrilling memories.”
Christine forced himself to answer, feeling as though he had somehow fallen into a disadvantageous position while speaking with his daughter. He had the bizarre illusion that he was facing the female black dragon who had forced him into sudden fatherhood.
Hesitating for a moment, he braced himself and added, “But in my heart, Your Grace Irene, you are the most unique dragon of all.”
“The moment I saw you, I felt a strong sense of affinity. Even my heart began to beat much faster.”
“I think...” Christine bit his lip. Out of nervousness, a faint blush bloomed on his face, and his voice grew quieter. “Our destinies may have already been tied together by the Goddess of Destiny with her threads of fate.”
“Uh... is this a confession?” Irene's footsteps abruptly halted. The moment she remembered this fellow's true form was a male dragon, a terrible suspicion suddenly arose in her heart. She couldn't help but shudder as a chill ran down her spine, goosebumps breaking out all over her body.
Taking a deep breath, she forced down her suspicions and slowly sat down toward the empty ground.
The sandy soil on the ground instantly seemed to boil, rapidly melting into mud that began to surge and stretch upward, gradually forming a throne of mud. Then, the mud quickly solidified into dark gray stone.
These were two very common Silver Rank spells: Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock.
Seated on the stone throne, Irene casually crossed one of her fair, slender legs over the other. She rested her left hand on the smooth stone armrest, not forgetting to extend her right hand to gesture for the other party to sit.
Seeing this cross-dressing boss disguised as an elf obediently sit on the stone chair opposite her, Irene pondered for a moment before speaking, “We can skip the pleasantries.”
“I have already heard about your situation, Lady Charlotte, from Daviel.”
“First of all, as the nominal ruler of the God-Forsaken Land and the Queen of the Black Dragon Empire, I welcome a beautiful and powerful elven traveler like you.”
Casually glancing at Daviel, who had followed them over at some point and was now crouching behind the throne, frantically winking at her, Irene remained expressionless. She crossed her hands and continued in a calm tone, “I am also very grateful for your care of Daviel over the years.”
“You might find this hard to believe, but I am actually a dragon who likes to make friends.”
“Normally, as a guest from afar, I would certainly play the gracious host, preparing a grand banquet to introduce you to the unique cuisine and scenery of our God-Forsaken Land.”
“However,” Irene said, her tone shifting just as she saw the elf in front of her relax and let out a sigh of relief. “As you should know, the Eastern Continent is currently facing a great catastrophe.”
“Are you... referring to those mutated creatures?” Christine tried to ask.
Speaking face-to-face with his daughter for the first time, he felt that her aura was overwhelmingly powerful. It suppressed him to the point where his voice involuntarily softened, like a small beast actively submitting to a stronger predator. Just hearing his voice was enough to make one's body go numb with wild imagination.
“Yes.”
Entirely unaffected by Christine's voice, Irene said with a solemn face, “If we cannot stop this catastrophe that is about to sweep across the entire Eastern Continent, I fear that not only will the Eastern Continent repeat the tragic fate of the Southern Continent, but the entire Prime Material Plane might also fall into extreme danger because of it.”
“As a traveler, I believe that with your rich knowledge and experience, you have a sufficient understanding of the dangers of these mutated creatures, and you know I am not merely being alarmist.”
“I...” Christine wanted to speak, but he was immediately cut off by Irene's next words.
“As the Queen of the God-Forsaken Land and a part of the Eastern Continent, I should have joined the ranks of the 'firefighters' the moment the flames of this catastrophe were first ignited.”
“But as a dragon, I happened to be in a period of deep sleep back then. Upon waking and seeing all of this, my heart aches deeply for the tragedy caused by these mutated creatures.”
“Now that I have awakened, it is only right that I contribute my own humble strength to stop this catastrophe.”
“What do you mean?” A serious expression finally appeared on Christine's face, his beautiful willow-leaf brows furrowing slightly. His concern for his daughter allowed him to regain his usual calm and composure. Quickly piecing together the meaning behind Irene's words, he voiced his suspicion: “You want to go to the Underdark?”
The news that the forces of the Eastern Continent had gathered a force to head to the Underdark—the source from which the mutated creatures poured out—was currently common knowledge.
They aimed to slay the Mother of Mutation and Flesh before she grew to an uncontrollable state, halting the mutated creatures' encroachment on the Eastern Continent. Christine, of course, was well aware of this.
“Exactly,” Irene said, crossing her hands. Her voice was slow yet powerful, whispering seductively like a devil from hell. “However, considering the arduous nature of this task...”
“I, the Queen of the Black Dragon Empire, Irene Afra Christina, hereby sincerely invite you to join me in stopping this catastrophe that threatens the entire plane.”
Before Christine could even react, Irene immediately employed her methods from her past life as an internet politician, shamelessly resorting to moral kidnapping: “If we don't stop this catastrophe, once it spreads to other continents...”
“Lady Charlotte, surely you wouldn't want the sacred land of your elven race, the Elven Forest located on the Western Continent, to be invaded by mutated creatures in the future, would you?”
As she spoke, a trace of sorrow appeared on her face. “I believe that with your innate kindness as an elf, Lady Charlotte, and your unparalleled love for nature...”
“...you certainly wouldn't refuse a weak, pitiful, and helpless little black dragon like me, right?”
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