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“And so it is most crucial that we finish what needs to be finished before then. Now, I’m sure none of you would like to take supplementary lessons, when you are already tired and exhausted?”

Everyone, including myself, nodded. No one wanted to be left behind in the classroom.

 

“…And so you must work hard every day, so that you will get through your education as smoothly as possible.”

Hmm. Yes, I did feel quite motivated now.

 

This instructor was good at manipulating people.

I was suddenly very enthusiastic.

 

And while I was impressed with how she talked, she was also good at teaching.

As I had not done too much studying when it came to Dragon Masters, I was able to learn a lot by just listening to her.

 

“A small-sized dragon is defined by the size of its body, which must be no larger than 10 meters in length. But this does not include the length of the tail. The tail will typically double the length. Now, do you know why we measure the dragons in such a way?”

 

Why indeed?

Because the tail is just a bonus?

Because there is no correlation between their length?

Hmm. I don’t know.

 

As I wondered about this, someone raised their hand.

 

“Because the size of the body is what’s important, not the length of the tail.”

That’s what I had been thinking.

 

“Incorrect.”

Oh.

 

“What is the reason, then?”

 

“In Ryukoku, dragons are creatures that are most familiar to us. Everyone has seen a dragon up close at least once in their lives. Things are very different in other countries. They have only stories and their imagination. Their impression of a ‘small dragon’ will change greatly depending on whether they hear it is 10 meters or 20.”

 

Instructor Kisa didn’t add to that. But I understood.

In other words, it was to make Ryukoku’s strength look weaker than it actually was.

If it ever did come to war, many would be shocked and overwhelmed by the sight of a real dragon.

 

They would be expecting a 10 meter dragon, and see a 20 meter one.

That would be damning for the morale of their soldiers.

 

Maybe their plans would become obsolete. Then they would have to change the way that they fought.

It was like fraud, in a way. But there was no need to allow them to know everything, like some kind of honest idiot.

 

Now that I think about it, I had also been surprised the first time I saw a dragon.

I had been expecting the small dragons to be much smaller. And so seeing a dragon that was stationed in Sol was quite shocking.

 

If that was a ‘small dragon,’ then how big were the medium and large ones?

 

If you saw that dragon on the battlefield and were told that was the smallest one, your first thought would be about running away, instead of trying to fight it.

 

With all that in mind, it made a lot of sense to tell the other countries only half of the truth. 

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