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The Red Dragon burst into cheerful laughter, seemingly in a good mood.
[You've come here to prove your worth, I presume.]
Felix barely managed to open his mouth.
"I have another... request."
The Red Dragon flapped its wings and asked.
[A request? What kind of request are you talking about?]
"I need the herb called 'Footsteps of the Gods.'"
The moment Felix finished speaking, a chilling silence fell over the ruins.
After a moment, the Dragon spoke.
[You're making the same request again.]
"Pardon?"
[Since you have the qualifications, take as much as you want.]
Felix frowned.
The Red Dragon's words felt somewhat meaningful.
'It feels like he's seen me before.'
Felix had experienced this kind of speech pattern before.
Ayla also spoke to him with meaningful words as if she understood everything whenever she saw him.
The Divine Beast didn't even ask Felix what he would use the Footsteps of the Gods for.
It simply moved its front paw and pushed the altar away.
The lid of the altar slowly moved under the Dragon's massive claws.
A bright cluster of light bloomed within the empty altar.
Petal-like leaves fluttered as if to greet him.
Enveloped in golden haze, it even looked somewhat sacred.
As Ayla had instructed, Felix carefully dug out the Footsteps of the Gods.
'Duke Argenta said I could take it all, but since it's precious, I should only take what I need.'
Felix took only two roots, one for him and one for Ayla.
Then, after protecting the herbs with Mana, he placed them in his pocket.
His business was done, so he could just return.
However, Felix felt a strange unease from the Dragon, who was watching him intently.
"Is there anything else you wish to say?"Krrr."
The Red Dragon remained silent for a long time in response to Felix's question.
[...It's incredibly unfamiliar. You're using honorifics with me.]
Felix's face hardened.
'What on earth does this mean?'
Did we ever meet?
It seemed like a nonsensical story, but Divine Beasts couldn't lie.
'Or did he encounter someone who looked like me sometime?'
As if sensing Felix's thoughts, the Red Dragon burst into laughter.
Krrr. Krrr.
[The current you is incredibly naive. The one I met was completely consumed by darkness. Despairing, gloomy, and utterly riddled with defeat and anger.]
Felix frowned.
He didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't feel good about being described so negatively.
[It was definitely like that... but now you seem quite happy.]
"What are you talking about? This is the first time I've met you."
[I met you once when you were older than you are now. But that event is now null and void, so it's natural that you don't remember.]
"What does that mean?"
[Well, since it's been a long time, it would be good to give you a gift. I also like the offerings you've brought. Duke Argenta is quite generous.]
The Dragon's face slowly approached him.
As he exchanged gazes with it, a light flickered in the Dragon's yellow eyes.
At that moment.
Felix felt a pain as if his whole body was twisting.
His vision reversed.
An unpleasant sensation as if his whole body was shrinking enveloped him, and the appearance of the ruins distorted.
The scenery of the Dark Forest quickly flashed before his eyes, and soon his body began to be sucked into a long stream of light.
Then his vision went dark.
'Damn Dragon.'
Felix lost consciousness from the motion sickness he was experiencing for the first time, which was hardly a gift.
With a flash of white light, Felix slowly regained consciousness.
But strangely, he felt like his body and mind weren't his own.
'Why am I so angry?'
His heart was pounding rapidly.
Struggling to calm the crushing anger, Felix barely looked around.
'Where is this?'
Opening his eyes slightly, he saw many people surrounding him.
It seemed like some kind of event was taking place in the middle of the plaza.
Knights in silver armor were controlling the people, and the avenues were completely empty.
Eventually, Felix stared at the place where the cheers of the people were directed.
There, a man and a woman were riding on horseback, marching affectionately.
It was Darian, whom he had greeted not long ago, and... Freya, the Young Lady of the Arma Count's family.
Darian, who was smiling as if he was the happiest person in the world, had a crown on his head that he had never seen before.
'Darian has become the Emperor... Then this is.'
It was when Felix was staring at them with a confused expression.
His fist clenched suddenly, even though he hadn't tried to move.
Then, a voice full of anger leaked from his mouth.
"-That unlucky bastard."
It was strange.
It was definitely his voice, but the tone and atmosphere were more ferocious than usual.
Not only that, but seeing Darian chatting affectionately with Freya made him feel inexplicably angry.
He even had somewhat violent fantasies that he wouldn't normally have, such as wanting to cut him to pieces and behead him.
"After making Ayla die, how dare he..."
Ayla died?
Felix felt his heart drop at the words that came out of his mouth.
It seemed that the Felix here was from a timeline where he had experienced things that he didn't know.
'Could this be... the future after Ayla died?'
Felix was startled by the sudden thought, but soon became convinced.
The 'Felix' here was very angry at the fact that Ayla was not next to Darian, and that Ayla had died because of it.
'What on earth happened in the future?'
An ominous feeling crept over him.
Soon, 'another Felix' looked around.
Then, he saw the other royals watching the coronation.
He could see the former Emperor and Empress, as well as Adolf and Christina, making annoyed expressions.
But Peony was not here.
'...Why? Why didn't Peony attend the coronation?'
He didn't know why, but he had an ominous feeling.
In the 'future', neither Peony nor Ayla existed.
As if some tragic event had happened that he didn't know about.
'Was the Dragon warning me about this by sending me here?'
With realization, his mind went dizzy.
Then another Felix's mouth moved again on its own.
"...Darian Celestia, and Rosia Blanche. You will all pay the price soon."
It was a voice that was too low and cold to have come from his mouth.
Red Dragon, Fire Dragon Debens.
It was purely out of a whim that he showed Felix his old memories.
Debens looked at Felix with an interested face. The Felix he saw after a long time was more of a fledgling than in the past.
He remembered when he first met Felix.
At that time, Felix was not as strong as he is now, but his momentum was sharper and more precarious.
A person who has lost everything is bound to become desperate.
Perhaps that's why. At that time, Felix quickly became stronger through the medium of anger.
But after living for a long time, Debens learned one law.
Strangely enough, humans become stronger when they have something to protect than when they have nothing.
If he only has a purpose, he will probably not care about the means and methods.
If so, the current Felix may become stronger than the Felix who came here.
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