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The next morning, I bought a sandwich at the school store and took a walk around the school. Then I saw Thane and Marty walking in the opposite direction.

 

“Pretty early for taking a walk, isn’t it?”

 

Marty said with a smile.

“I could say the same for you. You only came back yesterday, after all. Did something happen?”

 

“We were at the Dragon Stable. We wanted to see how they were doing after being out for so long.”

“I see. I heard that dragons were tough. Were they fine?”

 

“Yes, there was no problem at all. I’m sure mine could run the same distance today if I wanted.”

“That’s…”

 

They were tougher than I expected.

 

“We both have small dragons. Still, a horse is nothing compared to them. You’d think I’d be used to them by now, but I’m constantly surprised while riding.”

 

Marty’s was a running dragon and Thane’s was an earth dragon.

 

There were three types, running dragons, earth dragons, and flying dragons.

Rarely, there were dragons that belonged to none of these categories, but they could generally be separated like this.

 

Running dragons were very fast.

A distance that would take a day by carriage could be covered in two hours.

 

Not only that, they had the toughness to run for long distances, which meant you could go from one corner of Ryukoku to the other in one day.

Of course, riding for that long would be tiring for the Dragon Master.

 

So Marty was likely to be a great help to his merchant family.

 

“Yours is an earth dragon, isn’t it, Thane? Was it fine too?”

 

“Yeah. In fact, it seemed like it was restless for more action. I think it’s mad it didn’t get to use its claws as much as it wanted to.”

“…I see. Well, it’s probably a good thing such opportunities don’t arise.”

 

Earth dragons were especially suited for battle.

They had strong defenses and had elongated, thick scales on their neck, which protected the rider.

 

When it came to battle, the rider of an earth dragon would rarely die.

Its claws and fangs would tear enemies apart and its feet would crush them.

As Thane was from a military family, he and his dragon would have gotten along very well.

 

“What about you, Leon? What kind of dragon do you want?”

“Me? I haven’t really thought about it.”

 

“That’s unusual. Most people fantasize about their dragon as soon as the mark appears.”

“Perhaps. But I was so busy helping my family, that I didn’t have time to think. I can barely believe this is happening to me even now.”

 

“That is strange… What does your family do?”

“We have a bakery in the town of Sol. It’s always been my dream to be a baker.”

 

“I see. …Well, baking will just have to be a hobby for you now.”

“Yes, I’ve accepted that.”

 

“Giving up your dream, huh? As someone who has the weight of my family’s expectations on me, I understand how you feel. But I can see now that you’ve dealt with your family sincerely. And I’m happy to see someone like you become a Dragon Master.”

 

Thane said with a smile.

I had thought of him as being a bit grumpy, so this was a surprise.

 

“Thank you. I’m going to try my hardest from tomorrow on, so I can become a good Dragon Master.”

 

“By the way, the ceremony is tomorrow, isn’t it? You know the place, I hope? It’s on the other side of the school.”

“Yes. I heard about it when I came here.”

 

The ceremony would take place at the Royal Academy on the other side.

I heard it was because it was too much of a hassle to have a ceremony for just 30 students every year.

 

And they didn’t want to let so many outsiders into the school grounds.

You never knew what kind of strange people might try to get in.

 

“Be careful. Some of the students of the Royal Academy will be looking to become a Dragon Master’s patron. So don’t agree to anything you’ll regret later on.”

 

Marty said with a wink.

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