Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Ancestors and Descendants (No Mistake)

Modir stood up, becoming more curious and seriously examining the lady with an outstanding aura in front of him. In those very light blue eyes and hair like ice and snow, he indeed saw some of his own shadow. However, he still couldn’t recall; he couldn’t remember his surname, his experiences in his youth, whether he ever had a family or descendants, or even where he had lived and stayed. He could only speculate about the identity of this "Victoria" in front of him and tentatively asked, "How long have you been searching for me?"

"...Six centuries." Duchess Victoria hesitated for less than a second before finally deciding to reveal the answer.

Modir’s expression instantly froze, as if hearing a fantastical story. It took him a long time before his mouth twitched, glaring at the "descendant" before him: "How long did you say?!"

"To be precise, it’s five hundred seventy-two years, not exactly six centuries but close," Victoria gently took a breath. She knew how incomprehensible this fact must be to one who has lost his memory, but she was here today to unravel the mysteries surrounding the family’s ancestor. Apart from the forbidden "surname," she better not hide too many other things. "Ancestor, you probably don’t even realize how long you’ve been wandering this world."

"How is this possible!!" Modir suddenly raised his voice, pointing at himself in shock, "Six centuries, six... I..."

Halfway through his sentence, the old man suddenly stopped, his expression changing rapidly. Victoria immediately grew worried upon seeing this. However, just as she was about to speak and console him, the old man suddenly furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing his beard thoughtfully: "Then again... six hundred years... I’ve been through all sorts of strange and bizarre things, it’s not entirely impossible?"

Victoria: "..."

It seems the ancestor’s ability to accept things is much stronger than she imagined?

As they spoke, Modir’s attention shifted back to Victoria. The old mage’s brow was still furrowed, appearing burdened with heavy thoughts: "I still find it hard to believe. If what you said is true, doesn’t that make me some kind of undying monster... Of course, I’ve been living quite happily myself... Haha, but that’s not the main point. The main point is I actually don’t really know what’s happened to me. Did those Dragonkin tell you? My memories are somewhat mixed up now, and even the things I go through daily are all jumbled up, especially recently. In fact, I didn’t even know I had descendants... Sorry, girl, does this sound a bit irresponsible?"

"Of course not," Victoria immediately replied. "Before I came, the Dragonkin envoy had already explained everything to me, and I was prepared. I am here to verify your condition and to help as much as I can—I have a lot of questions I want to ask you."

"Oh, oh, of course, of course," Modir repeated, glancing at the street where a curious crowd had begun to gather. He then looked toward the "Adventurer’s Cabin" where he was temporarily residing, breaking into a smile. "Why don’t we go inside the house first? This bustling street is no place for a conversation."

"Of course," Victoria nodded immediately, then turned to look at Maji, "Maji, then you..."

"I won’t go in with you," Maji shook her head with a smile before Victoria could finish. "This kind of situation isn’t suitable for an ’outsider’ like me to interfere—I and Coletta will go take a look around nearby. It’s rare for me to be in this ancestral land of the Dragonkin, so I really want to explore and learn about this place’s history."

Victoria did not say much, only giving Maji a deep look as if conveying gratitude with her eyes. She then nodded and walked with Modir towards the little cabin.

After Victoria’s silhouette disappeared into the distance, it took a long time before Maji turned around. She seemed to be speaking to herself, but it also appeared she was talking to the Black Dragon Girl beside her: "It seems this started off rather well."

The Black Dragon Girl Coletta couldn’t help but glance at this "distant relative" who had come from afar. Clearly, she was curious about Maji, the "Dragonborn," for although many Dragonborn had come to Talronde for "relief work," their main activities were still in the southeast Coastal Shire, and in New Argondale, Dragonborn were rarely seen.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Coletta finally couldn’t resist asking, "Are you... friends with Lady Victoria? In Loren Continent, is it easy for dragons and humans to become friends?"

Maji looked at the pureblood great dragon she hadn’t known for long. She knew Coletta was also a black dragon; their bloodlines made them part of the same "branch," which gave Maji a slight feeling of kinship on this unfamiliar land, and she was glad to answer Coletta’s questions: "How should I put it... In most of Loren, the existence of ’dragons’ is still quite rare, whether it’s pureblood dragons or Dragonborn. Their main activity areas are still in the northern states, and it’s mainly the Dragonkin active in the northern parts of Typhon, who are more familiar with the locals.

"Of course, things are always changing. Humans are a highly adaptable race, and as more dragons move about the land, relations between dragons and humans are increasingly becoming closer.

"As for me and Victoria... our situation is special. We met many years ago, back then, not to mention pureblood dragons, even Dragonborn were in a state of external lockdown still..."

She casually recounted the relationship between her and Victoria, inserting details about life on the Loren Continent, most of which were trivial matters, but they sparked great interest in Coletta. She ended up asking several more questions, before giving Maji the chance to regain control of the conversation: "I’ve said so much—shouldn’t you also introduce this place to me?"

The Black Dragon Coletta raised her head, looking once more at the rough and rugged-looking adventurer’s village, then again at the distant, towering walls of Agondale. None of these could be called "scenery," but she eventually smiled: "Let’s go outside the city, the safe zone has expanded to Crystal Rock Hillock; we can check out the old factory area and the current slag pool—they all have interesting stories."

Saying this, she grabbed Maji’s hand and headed to the small airfield at the edge of the town: "Come on, we can fly straight there!"

...

Victoria looked around, observing the small bedroom. Everything in the room was clear at a glance—a simple bed with a small cabinet at its foot, a single desk, a chair, and a wall-mounted shelf. That was all there was in the room.

She understood that for someone adventuring on the wastelands of Talronde, living conditions like these were considered quite favorable, yet a strange feeling grew in her heart, prompting her to ask the old man beside her: "Do you usually live in a place like this? If you wish, I could..."

"The Dragonkin leader said something similar," Modir interrupted before she could finish, waving his hand. "But I find this quite fine—not having to eat and sleep in the open, nor having to set up a bunch of magic traps to ward off non-human monsters, with plenty of supplies throughout the entire camp. This isn’t like an adventure; it’s more like a vacation."

This is not merely a polite phrase; it’s the old Mage’s genuine thought. Victoria noticed that and chose not to insist further. Modir walked to the bedside, sat down, pointed to the chair by the desk, and nodded to Victoria, "Have a seat."

Victoria sat down in front of Modir, the creaking sound of wood rubbing against each other silenced the small cabin for a moment. She looked at the old man before her, pondering how to keep the conversation going, while names like Aunt Heidi and Rebecca popped into her mind. She finally understood the complex and wonderful feeling of suddenly facing an ancestor from hundreds of years ago—a theoretical blood relative, yet an actual stranger. No matter how she started speaking, it seemed not sufficiently thoughtful...

So how did Aunt Heidi and Rebecca start the conversation after facing their awakened ancestor? How did they make the atmosphere less awkward?

Victoria suddenly regretted not consulting Ms. Heidi about these matters before setting off, as Heidi was busy at the time. She only managed to chat briefly with Rebecca via the Magic Web Terminal, but what Princess Veronica said left her more perplexed: things like "moved before the brain reacted," "the key is to be cowardly quickly," "better to be good at bearing hits," and the like... completely incomprehensible.

Victoria’s mind was swirling with countless thoughts, yet her face remained unchanged, maintaining her usual icy demeanor. Modir, observing such a "descendant," suddenly felt a headache. He didn’t expect to be faced with a woman so serious—completely different from his own personality. How did such a hard-to-get-along character get nurtured?

But thinking about it, he seemed unqualified to speak in this aspect—after all, according to Victoria, he was already the "ancestor" from six hundred years ago. In child-rearing... he really couldn’t say anything.

Fortunately, the old Mage finally spoke up, breaking the silence in the cabin, "Victoria, right? What’s your surname?"

Victoria: "..."

Modir: "..."

"The same surname as yours, only..." The extreme awkwardness nearly broke through the dozen layers of mental defense Victoria had, and she trembled slightly at the corner of her mouth, barely managing to speak without expression, "I was instructed not to casually reveal surname-related matters to you—it seems it will trigger your ’memory gaps.’"

"Ah, ah, that’s it, I remember now," Modir quickly hit his forehead, speaking a bit awkwardly, "I remember Heragor reminded me about this matter not so long ago, saying that there’s a ’gap’ in my memory system. Touching key information leads to breakages and resets in consciousness. Well, that’s my oversight."

As he spoke, he laughed, and the previously tense awkward atmosphere seemed to dissolve somewhat due to this little interlude: "Let me ask something else... what do you do? The family... which should be mine now, what is the situation?"

"I... mainly manage—um, manage a vast amount of land, upon which many people depend," Victoria spoke awkwardly. Previously, she never considered describing her daily life and those around her in this way, "Your descendants this generation have shown some promise. Apart from me, some are in the military, or running enterprises. Most of the youth are still studying, among whom the most talented is my nephew, studying in the imperial capital..."

Modir stared wide-eyed, feeling all these matters seemed distant—an unreal sensation surged again, causing him to subconsciously mutter, "Me, an old man wandering the world, suddenly have a bunch of descendants who sound impressive?"

Victoria seemingly didn’t hear clearly: "What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing," Modir quickly waved, looking curiously at Victoria again. "All that sounds quite remarkable, with enterprises and land. But I’m even more confused now, what do you usually do... sounds like farming? But seems a bit more impressive..."

"Well, slightly more impressive," Victoria spoke with difficulty, not adept at conversing this way. Yet she had to quickly think of ways to explain her matters to the ancestor, ensuring he doesn’t associate them with the tremendous Wilder Clan of the north, "I don’t personally handle the land, but merely manage vast territories, as well as all enterprises on such land..."

Modir listened earnestly, but suddenly frowned, the seriousness in his expression surprised Victoria, prompting her to halt her narrative: "Ancestor, is there a problem?"

"You mustn’t break the law," Modir abruptly said without preamble. "This isn’t something to joke about."

Victoria was at a loss: "Huh?"

"Though I usually wander everywhere, I’m quite familiar with laws promulgated by the Empire and policies published by the Administrative Office," Modir continued, with a serious look toward Victoria, genuinely like an elder worried about descendants straying, "Child, land seizure and monopoly operations are illegal!"

Victoria: "...?"

After being dumbfounded for two seconds, she finally reacted, intensely embarrassed (though her face didn’t show it), explaining: "No, you misunderstood. I merely manage them—lands belong to the country, industries to others, I’m simply in charge of management. Of course, our family industries exist, but they’re far from annexation or monopoly—everything is within legal premises..."

The ruling duchess of the entire northern region was unusually at a loss, yet Modir gradually relaxed his brow, the old Mage finally nodded, comprehending, "I’m relieved, understanding now... Are you working in the Administrative Office?"

"Well..." Victoria blinked in surprise, then swiftly embraced the new thought, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, I’m working in the Administrative Office—almost daily showing up at the office, sometimes bringing documents to handle at home..."

"You’re working quite hard," Modir finally laughed again, his smile even showing some relief. "However, it’s good for young people to work hard, accumulating for their future... By the way, from what you say, are you an official in the Administrative Office?"

"Well... in a way," Victoria nodded stiffly, "I’m ... a rather ordinary administrative manager..."