When I opened my eyes, an endless mountain range of rocks greeted us.


    It looks like we’ve arrived.


    “The Ancient Dragon Mountains… is there really air here, Master?”


    “Yeah, this is the ce.”


    Ca looked doubtful. It was a natural reaction for anyone from this era.


    The Ancient Dragon Mountains were associated with many dragon-rted legends—people say the mountains themselves resemble a dragon, or that it was a ce where dragons once lived, or that dragons came here to prepare for death when their lifespans ended.


    There were all kinds of stories about dragons tied to this ce, though most of them were probably just rumors with no way to verify their truth.


    Still, there are always people who believe in those stories.


    When dragons were still alive, there were those who worshipped them, those who challenged them, and those who sought their help. This ce was never without visitors.


    After the Great War, when dragons were essentially extinct, theirs were looted by those hoping for a one-time jackpot.


    But that’s all ancient history now.


    There are no living dragons left, and noirs have been found.


    Three hundred years is more than enough time to cool the fervor of devout worshippers and persistent treasure hunters.


    That’s why it’s now a ce called the Ancient Dragon Mountains only by name, with no one actually believing that dragons live here.


    But this is where Fafnir’sir is.


    “More precisely, there’s a transfer gate here that leads to Fafnir’sir.”


    “…A transfer gate? Like a teleport gate, you mean?”


    “More urately, it’s a magical artifact that maintains a teleport gate permanently.”


    “How is that even possible?!”


    Elisha, looking disbelieving, jumped up in surprise. Iris yawnedzily at her student’s reaction.


    “Haaa… My student, when ites to dragons, anything is possible.”


    “I know that dragons naturally be archmages as they age. But no matter how powerful they are, maintaining a teleport gate permanently? And that was before spatial magic had developed as much as it has now!” ?


    “What you say is true. But what if it wasn’t just one archmage?”


    “…Huh?”


    “Archmages are beings who turn the impossible into possible and create miracles, even if only temporarily, with their mortal hands. So if over a hundred archmages put their heads together… would it still seem impossible?”


    “Oh.”


    Elisha’s mouth fell open as if she had just realized something.


    In the meantime, Iris stretched out her short limbs and continued.


    “Yes. Dragons are a species that defy ourmon sense. You’ve heard of the Dragon Council, haven’t you, Elisha?”


    “Yes, it was a self-governing organization that existed when dragons were still active. It’s quite famous, so I know about it well.”


    In the game, it was mentioned in documents that revealed bits of the past of the Eurelia Continent.


    If I recall, it was a minimal governing body created by dragons, who were powerful but highly individualistic.


    They captured or killed dragons that suddenly went rogue.


    They reprimanded young dragons that blocked important routes and extorted tolls.


    They even gave stern warnings to dragons in their prime who only bore half-human, half-dragon children, neglecting to reproduce with their own kind.


    Like any group of long-lived beings, the Dragon Council was rtively loose and only mobilized in emergencies… but it was an organization dedicated to the interests of their race.


    In fact, they were the ones who decided whether or not to join the War of the Gods.


    The Dragon Council appears in everything from fairy tales to history books, so there’s no doubt it existed.


    “Do you also know how so many dragons gathered in one ce?”


    “Hmm… I’m not sure. Given that each dragon is on the level of an archmage, wouldn’t they have just found the designated location on their own?”


    “If that were the case, it would be no different from a group appointment. But since it was called a council, it needed authority… or so I heard.”


    “You heard? Who told you that, Teacher?”


    Elisha’s question made Iris avert her gaze slightly as she muttered.


    “…A dragon did.”


    “What? I couldn’t hear you. Can you say that a little louder?”


    “Eek! I heard it directly from a dragon I befriended during the War of the Gods!”


    “What do you mean… Dragons went extinct ages ago… Ah!”


    Elisha shook her head in disbelief before stopping with a sudden look of realization. Was this the generational gap?


    But it was toote. Iris’s cheeks had already puffed up in indignation.


    “T-Teacher? It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit older, right?”


    “See? Thanks to your wisdom, we’ve learned something today. So please don’t be too upset.”


    “Uh, well… You look the youngest out of all of us, so isn’t that okay?”


    “…Grrr!”


    Clearly furious this time, Iris started hopping around, stomping on Elisha’s feet.


    “Ouch! That hurts, Teacher! I’m sorry! I won’t mention your age again, so please stop…!”


    <em>Thud, thud, thud.</em>


    Even as Elisha begged, Iris’s punishment didn’t stop.


    As it seemed like this would go on forever, I grabbed Iris by the waist and lifted her up.


    “Master! Let me down! I must show Elisha the dignity of a teacher!”


    “There’s no dignity that could be damaged by something like this.”


    “Y-yes, Master spoke well! There’s no way your dignity as a teacher could be tarnished by something like this! I still deeply respect you!”


    I said that to question whether there was any dignity to be damaged in the first ce, but she interpreted it in a different way.


    Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.


    Instead, I gently rocked the growling Iris. Instantly, her body went limp, calming down.


    Elisha looked at her teacher with aplicated expression, but I continued on, ignoring it.


    “So, where were we? I exined that the Dragon Council was a respected institution among dragons, right? So, what’s the best way to show authority?”


    “Usually, it would be through grand titles, a crown, a fearsome army, an imposing castle, and vast wealth. But that’s…”


    “Right. Dragons can have all of that if they want. So, what the Council chose was something so great that not only dragons, but even the gods wouldn’t dare touch it.”


    “What could be so grand? Please tell me already, Brother.”


    I thought Helena wasn’t that interested because she had been quiet, but it seemed she was just deeply focused.


    Her golden eyes sparkled as she urged me to continue.


    “…Helena, couldn’t you just ask the Righteous Radiance about it?”


    “Ah, well, right now, my Lord is busy discussing this recent raid with the other gods.”


    No, she’s probably mostly bragging about me and throwing in a little warning about the danger.


    Though I was itching to say it, I didn’t feel the need to test Helena’s faith, so I got straight to the point.


    “In simple terms, a group of archmages worked together to create a space where no one without permission could enter.”


    “…Is that really so impressive? It sounds like a kind of locking spell or barrier.”


    “Didn’t I say they ‘created’ a space? It’s not about restricting ess to an existing space; they made a new space with specialws.”


    At this, Helena’s face hardened.


    Creating a space akin to the act of creation itself. It’s no wonder she was shocked by the idea of achieving that with magic. But…


    “Don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s a space that could only be maintained by 100 ancient dragons burning through massive amounts of mana in real time.”


    That’s right. The dragons seeded in creating the space but failed in maintaining it.


    Of course, even that feat was enough to bepared to the gods who established their own sanctuaries… but the problem was that it had been 300 years since they went extinct.


    “The Dragon Council is closed. Unless 100 archmages gather and burn through 100 ancient dragon hearts, it will never open again.”


    “Um… Master? Then why did wee here if the Dragon Council is closed? I don’t understand the point ofing to a sealed transfer gate.”


    I handed the limp Iris over to Ca, who awkwardly received her while flustered.


    Chuckling, I continued speaking.


    “I did say there’s a transfer gate here, and it’s true that there’s a path leading to the Dragon Council. But I never said we were going to the Dragon Council.”


    “Huh?”


    Ca tilted her head, clearly confused, as if I had just said somethingpletely absurd.


    Well… typuses are carnivores, so they don’t eat nts, but never mind that.


    “I told you, opening and maintaining the Dragon Council is hard. That’s why all 100 elders need to gather to open the council. The problem is, dragons, being long-lived, have a skewed sense of time.”


    Even if one dragon arrived early, they couldn’t open the council meeting alone; they would just have to wait for others to show up.


    And in all that waiting, it sometimes became necessary to step out briefly, return to their true forms to stretch their stiff bodies, or even find some entertainment to pass the time.


    “Naturally, a kind of za formed, and to make traveling easier, they set up transfer gates that led directly to theirirs.”


    To put it simply, they didn’t create a parliament building, but rather a parliament station.


    Incidentally, the reason this ce was called the Ancient Dragon Mountains was that, before the transfer gates were built, dragons would asionally fly all the way here.


    People who saw that must have thought this mountain range was home to many dragons.


    “We’re heading to that za now. From there, we’ll use the transfer gate to go to Fafnir’sir.”


    Of course, there’s probably nothing left there.


    I still don’t know why the system sent me here. It must be trying to give me something, but what?


    I don’t expect much.


    Honestly, just a set of dragon materials would make me happy.


    Seriously, I mean it.