Lucian stood in front of the sapphire dragon, fully aware that what he said next would decide who lived and who died today. The smart eyes of Azurath watched him with the patience of an old being who had seen centuries go by, while the town held its breath in tense anticipation.
Marshal stayed next to him with her arms crossed but her body relaxed. She was watching him closely to see how he would handle a lot of stress.
Whether she said it or not, this was part of his training.
Glacielle appeared quietly from the shadows, having finished her scouting.
She went to the other side of Lucian and whispered, "There are two more dragons on the rooftops to the east and west."
'One is a female with emerald scales and the other is a male with red scales and a lot of battle scars... and both are ready to attack if they see us betray them."
There are three dragons, and they all seem to be smart and angry about something. If this talk turned into real fighting, the tactical situation would get very bad very quickly.
Lucian took a deep breath and made his decision based on what Marshal had taught him. Before you go into battle, make sure you have all the information you need.
"I need to know the whole TRUTH about what happened here before I make any choices."
He looked Azurath in the eye and meant it. "Will you give me time to look into your claim carefully and thoroughly?"
"If the guild really did steal your eggs, I'll bring them back myself and apologize on behalf of my species, but..."
"...if this turns out to be a trick or a misunderstanding, then we fight to protect the hostages."
The dragon's ancient eyes opened a little wider in real surprise, which broke through the controlled anger. "Interesting answer, young human."
"Most people like you don't bother asking for the truth when they have to choose between two options."
"They just choose their own side, no matter what is right or wrong."
Azurath's huge head tilted to the side as if he were thinking about something. He looked at Lucian with new interest and thought. "Very well, young human."
"You have thirty minutes to look into this matter carefully, but be aware that my patience does have limits, and my kin are becoming more restless and aggressive with each passing moment of delay."
The two other dragons on the rooftops moved menacingly, as if to make the point even more serious.
The female with emerald scales growled low in her throat, making it clear that she was angry and didn't want to wait any longer. The scarred red male's eyes followed every move Lucian made with a predatory focus.
Marshal leaned in close enough to whisper in his ear. "Good tactical call, rookie."
"Never send your troops into battle without knowing what's really going on. And if the village really is guilty of what he says, then fighting to protect them would make us morally responsible for their crime."
She had never really liked his tactical thinking before, but this time she did, and Lucian felt a little proud even though the situation was very stressful.
"Let's go," he told his soldiers firmly. "We need quick, correct answers before this situation gets out of hand."
They quickly made their way to the adventurer's guild building with a plan. The walls were badly cracked, and the roof had collapsed in several places, leaving the building half-destroyed from previous dragon attacks.
Inside the broken building, they found Guild Master Marcus sitting behind his broken desk. He was injured but still very much alive.
His left arm was professionally bandaged, and there was a lot of dried blood on his shirt.
When Marcus saw Lucian's party come in, his weathered face lit up with deep relief right away. "Thank the gods! The SSS-rank warrior is here!"
"You have to kill those dragons right now, or they'll destroy everything we've built!"
And then Marcus with the other adventures looked shocked seeing Marshal out of nowhere can be seen near with Lucian.
Marcus screamed. "IS THAT...!? MARSHAL KYRATHIEL SUNBREAKER...!? THE LEGEND HERSELF FROM THE SUNFORGE LEGION!?
Marshal stayed calm when everyone was admiring her, and of course they admired her even MORE when she was wearing sexy bikini armor like that.
"We can talk about that later." Lucian didn't get ready for battle or draw his sword.
Instead, he stopped right in front of the desk and asked clearly, "Guild Master Marcus, do you have any dragon eggs in your vault right now?"
Marcus's face turned so pale so quickly that it looked like someone had sucked all the blood out of his head in an instant.
He opened and closed his mouth a few times for no reason before any real words came out. "I... how did you... know about that?"
"Answer the question clearly and completely," Lucian said.
His voice was noticeably harder and more authoritative than it had ever been before. Marshal stood behind him with her arms crossed in a scary way.
Just being there was enough to make grown men seriously think about their life choices.
The combined pressure of their scrutiny made Marcus fall apart completely. "Y-Yes...!"
"We have three dragon eggs in the vault right now, but they are not stolen or anything...! T-They are legitimate spoils of war!"
"Our adventurers found them in what looked like an abandoned nest a few months ago!"
Glacielle's voice cut through the explanation like ice that had been sharpened. "Did your adventurers kill the parent dragons first and then take the eggs, or did they just leave them behind?"
Marcus was sweating a lot now, and he was moving his eyes around quickly to avoid looking anyone in the eye. That one response told Lucian everything he needed to know, even before the confession itself.
A wounded adventurer lying on a cot in the corner of the room suddenly spoke up with a clear sense of purpose. It seems that his conscience wouldn't let him stay quiet about what really happened anymore.
"Guild Master... y-you know that's not what really happened."
Marcus gave him a desperate warning glare, but the adventurer kept talking, getting more and more sure of himself. "We were hired to raid the dragon nesting grounds in the northern mountains."
"The mother dragon battled valiantly to prevent us from accessing her eggs."
"We killed her after a long, brutal fight that lasted hours, and then... we took the eggs as extra loot on top of our regular pay."
The other adventurers in the room looked away in shame and couldn't look anyone in the eye. The unpalatable reality lingered in the atmosphere, weighing heavily on everyone's conscience.
Marcus tried hard to explain why he did what he did. "Dragon eggs sell for fifty thousand gold EACH on the illegal black market!"
"T-That's an absolutely massive fortune!"
"It's enough to completely upgrade this entire guild facility and fund operations for years into the future!"
"Besides, they're just MONSTERS anyway! It's what adventurers are supposed to do!"
Lucian felt a cold rage settle deep in his chest, like ice water. "They're smart beings who can talk clearly, reason logically, and make tough moral decisions."
"That basic fact makes them a LIVING BEING, not mindless monsters to be killed for money."
"You didn't kill a dangerous beast to protect innocent villagers, but you planned to kill them and kidnap their children just to make money."
Marshal stepped forward slowly, and both of her Dawn Reapers started to glow with carefully controlled solar magic that promised violence. "I executed soldiers for much less serious crimes than this one when I was in charge of the Sunforge Legion."
"Killing civilians for money? That's not adventuring or heroism by any definition."
"That's just plain BANDITRY."