"Ah, Prince."

Dressed in a deep purple garment, Kasdey bowed before me, then said with a smile, "I've heard that the Queen is unwell, so I came to pay a visit. I hope this is acceptable."

"I'm sorry, but the queen is currently resting and we are not receiving guests," I laughed as I declined his request, standing in the doorway of my mother's room. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lucia pulling out a dagger behind him...

Kasdey chuckled, "Is that right? I have heard that Elves don't get sick, so I wonder if I could interpret this as..."

"You'd better assume less, Human. The queen is perfectly healthy and needs not your misspeculation,"

Without me saying another word, Lucia already had a dagger to his throat. "Do not make assumptions," Lucia coldly uttered from behind him, as Kasdey kept his hands raised and placed at his throat was a sharp dagger. However, his eyes held no fear, only cunning and calculation.

"Let's not be like this, Lucia. He is an emissary, after all. An unprovoked attack might strain our relations," I quickly intervened and lowered the blade. Lucia Sheathed her dagger and stepped aside, clearly annoyed.

Looking at Kasdey, I chuckled apologetically, "I'm very sorry. We are a bit edgy with our queen under the weather. Elves are not made of stone, we have our illnesses too. We don't get human diseases, but that doesn't mean we are exempt from all others. The queen is just feeling a bit rundown, she should recover shortly. I appreciate your kindness, but kindly exercise caution with your words and action, especially at such a sensitive time."

Kasdey nodded, his interest sparked. Turning his gaze on me, he mused, "Ah, with the queen indisposed, you're thrust into the limelight, handling all the affairs of the kingdom. You certainly must feel like a true monarch by now."

I gave a bitter smile, replying, "Not at all. The land is a picture of tranquility. I am nowhere near as proficient as the queen and I am anxiously awaiting her subsequent return."

In truth, Elves don't typically fall ill. Mom hadn't succumbed to an illness, rather, a combination of shock and stimuli had left her a little muddled. Unfortunately, Lucia and I were the culprits behind this calamity.

Remembering yesterday, mom almost had a heart attack when we'd jumped. She swiftly used her vines to haul us back up but lost consciousness thereafter. Waking up in the morning, she wasn’t herself, violently reacting to anyone that approached. When I attempted to go near her, however, she held onto me and wept. Sobbing, she tried to undress me to confine me in a vine-made cage to carry me around...

Now, mom’s sleep talk doesn’t involve anything but my name. The doctor gave her sedatives; she's currently in slumber due to its effects. This morning, we locked down any news relating to her, though Kasdey still somehow found out. The illness of a monarch should be kept secret, as it could make the people anxious and expose the kingdom to infiltrations.

I resorted to the one-size-fits-all excuse of "training exercise" when dealing with royal duties. With no major issues at hand, I was off the hook easily. However, then I bumped into Kasdey.

"You have unfinished matters here in our land, but I am just a stand-in with no authority to make important decisions affecting both kingdoms. I urge you to bide your time. When the queen is well enough, we will invite you back. Until then, good day, Mr. Kasdey. Excuse me for leaving first."

I looked at Kasdey; he exuded an aura of plots and schemes, far too familiar for my liking. Being a novice in this, I felt it best to depart before he manipulated the conversation. Otherwise, mom’s plan to cage me might just come true...

"Ah, could you please wait, prince?"

Kasdey stopped me. I sighed but turned around with a courteous smile, asking, "Yes, how may I assist you?"

"No, no, no..." Kasdey put on a merchant-like grin, scanning his surroundings. He couldn’t spot Lucia, but why did I feel like he was expecting her to be around? He came close and whispered in my ear, "I understand that there are concerns bothering you. Even though we Humans may not fully understand your magic creatures, I assure you, we do import scales of earth dragons from you."He withdrew, wearing a winner's smile, looking at me who was dumbfounded. He bowed slightly and said, "Well, that's all I have to say. Goodbye, Your Highness..."

"Did you think you could run, after spilling all this?" Lucia appeared before him, blocking his way.

"Oh... oh..." Kasdey raised his hands high, his smile even more pronounced, "I only spoke of trivial matters in a two-sided market, and nothing more. I said nothing insulting, Miss. It's not polite to block an emissary's path without a reason."

"Mr. Kasdey, I urge you to stay and join us for a more detailed discussion inside the room."

I gritted my teeth. Though I had no idea why Kasdey knew about our troubles with the earth dragon, he knew something I desired. As I said before, I'm just a substitute, I don't make foreign policy decisions. Why do I matter to Kasdey? What does he want from me?

However, I must be extremely cautious. Even if I and the Elf King don't feel a sense of belonging, I don't want my mother to be shamed.

"As you wish, Your Highness."

A few minutes later, we arrived at a relatively quiet room. Lucia closed the door and shut her eyes. As a guard, she wouldn't participate in the discussion. Meaning, this time, I was without any allies. I must be doubly careful, for I face a seasoned correspondent.. I mean emissary.

Kasdey sat next to me with a smile and said, "I understand you must be on guard. But I had no informant among you. You need not conduct any inquisitions once I leave. It was merely a chance discovery while I strolled this morning on the lawn under your window."

He placed a small object on the table. I looked at it, speechless.

It was the scale of an earth dragon. It seems Lucia lost hold of it when she lost consciousness yesterday and it landed beneath us. It was then picked up by Kasdey.

"Based on the previous incident at the palace, the queen being upset, it's not hard to guess. Prince, I don't question your abilities, but... I believe the last outing was not successful. I later visited your elder and asked about the earth dragons. He told me he had loaned all relevant books to your highness. So, I speculated, wouldn't your highness be interested in the method to slay the earth dragon?"

I remained silent. As an emissary, Kasdey was exceedingly shrewd. He had guessed everything despite them only occurring in the palace. Upon his departure, I must conduct an investigation to clear my paranoia.

"Well, there's no need to hide anymore. I admit, my last expedition was a failure. Hence, I am seeking ways to kill the earth dragon."

Since having been guessed, there was no need to hide. Moreover, Kasdey already knows the answer and has decided to meet me because of this.

"Ah yes, The earth dragon, a notable creature even among humans. But, we simply call it 'the giant lizard.' To us, its scale is merely a material to make armor. And hunting them is no challenge."

Kasdey said casually.

"Impossible! Even the Elves with magic couldn't defeat them. How are humans, without any traits or abilities, capable of such a thing?! Their skin is impenetrable! Low-rank magic cannot harm them. Plus, they possess a certain level of intelligence. Traps can only capture one or two at most, you can't possibly kill an entire group of earth dragons!"

Lucia stood up excitedly, yelling at Kasdey.

Kasdey smiled wryly, shrugging his shoulders. He made a helpless gesture, massaging his temples, saying, "Miss, there's no need to get so upset. As to how the humans were able to effortlessly kill earth dragons, even I don't know. My family isn't a hunter's family. The hunting grounds the queen hosts were only for hunting deer and rabbits. But, in our land, earth dragon scale isn't that precious. They don't affect our lives... how should I put it... um..."

He seemed to be pondering his choice of words. After a moment, he clapped his hands, and said with excitement, "I suppose it's something like this, because Humans lack Magic, it allows Humans to kill them.”

"What…."

I didn't respond immediately.

Kasdey spread his hands, saying, “As we don’t possess Magic, we must figure out something to replace Magic. Wood, animal tendons, metal, ropes, you'd probably just discard them disdainfully. But to us, those are all we have. Thus, we use them to effortlessly hurl giant rocks into others' cities. This is how we can kill the Earth Dragon."

I paused, saying,“Mechanism?”

"Ah! Worthy of the prince, you not only understand Elf's Magic but also Human's mechanics!" Kasdey excitedly rubbed his hands together like he'd found a kindred spirit. Then he said, "For you, once Magic is ineffective, you become the same as humans. But lacking mechanics as a human, unsurprisingly, you cannot take down the Earth Dragon. Is the Earth Dragon really impervious?"

He reached out his hand and said to Lucia, “Miss, may I borrow the knife in your possession?”

"Impudent!"

"Lucia, give it to him."

Lucia looked at me with terror, touched the dagger at her waist and said, "Are you serious, Your Highness?! This person is a Human! What will happen if he attacks you?!"

"Why would I attack my own prince? I still want to go home. Injuring the prince would cost my whole family's lives...", Kasdey humorously laughed.

I nodded and said, "Give him the knife, it's okay."

"This...this…as you command..."

Reluctantly, Lucia handed the knife to Kasdey. Kasdey took the knife, nodded, and said, "Good construction, nice material, truly worthy of an Elf's knife. Honestly, I wanted to buy a few to take home. But you can't buy the blades of the royal guard, and those below are not even as good as the Humans' blades…Watch closely, Your Highness."

Kasdey held up the point of the knife, aiming it at the once seemingly indestructible Earth Dragon scale on the table and stabbed fiercely.

“BANG!!”

With a crisp sound, the knife went into the wooden table. I dazedly watched as the Earth Dragon's scale shattered into two pieces. Kasdey laughed and sat back in his chair, saying, “The reason the scales of the Earth Dragon cannot be chopped open is that its surface is extremely smooth. The knife causes no damage. However, if you stab, it is just a regular scale. Slightly superior knives can easily pierce it. But, the thick skin and flesh under the Earth Dragon scales means a single knife can't hurt it. So I recommend using a one and a quarter-yard-long spear...no, an arrow."

"Impossible! There is definitely nobody among the Elves who could draw a bow capable of launching a one-and-a-quarter-yard-long arrow! That's not an arrow, that's our spear!" Lucia looked at Kasdey as though he were an idiot, retrieved the dagger, and said, "I do not believe that any Human can draw such either."

"No no no, In that regard, Humans certainly can't." Kasdey smiled at me, stood up and said, "Your Highness, if you ask me for blueprints and the production method, I couldn't help you. I'm not a craftsman, nor did one accompany me. But I already imparted everything I know to you."

“What do you want?"

I stood up and looked seriously at him, asking.

He paused, chuckled twice and said, “What do I want?”

“You must not be offering help without wanting something in return. What do you want to obtain? I have nothing I can give you. I'm just a stand-in. If you’re hoping for some gain from helping me, you're mistaken.”

“No no no, Your Highness, I believe you have misunderstood.”

Kasdey put on his hat, smiling, walked to the door, opened it and said, “As a subject, aiding my prince is my duty, why would I require compensation? Should you insist on giving something in return, please sing my praises in front of His Majesty a week from now. That would be the greatest honour for me. Goodbye, Your Highness. Allow me to take my leave.”

“What on earth is he talking about? I totally can’t understand him, Your Highness, a one and a quarter-yard-long arrow, not even the previous king could draw that length.”Lucia stood beside me, looking at the shattered earth dragon scales on the table, asking puzzledly.

"Ah... It's impossible..."

I nodded, closing my eyes and meditating.

"But, machines can..."