Chapter 1730: Chapter 1730

High above the sea of trees, the barefoot silver dragon maiden watched Jenkins with a faint smile. Jenkins wore a conflicted expression; he was certainly happy about this unexpected reunion, but he was also filled with questions.

"Long time no see. Why... I mean, why is it you?"

It wasn't the most polite way to put it, so Jenkins tried to soften his tone. What he meant to convey was his astonishment that the ritual had, by some incredible coincidence, summoned a dragon he actually knew. He had, after all, only ever met two dragons in his entire life.

"This is no coincidence, nor did I intentionally respond to your summons. It was this that called to me..."

The silver dragon maiden tapped Jenkins over his heart with a slender finger, and understanding dawned on him.

"Yes. You already have an extremely strong affinity for the Dragon Flute ritual. With the Dragon Soul amplifying that connection, I am, in theory, the most powerful dragon you could possibly summon as a mortal. Anything stronger than me... well, it's debatable whether you could even call them dragons," the silver dragon explained.

Although they hadn't spent much time together during their last encounter, it seemed she had already accepted him as a friend.

"You know about the Dragon Soul too?" Jenkins inquired.

"The four King Souls need to be fused?"

"Of course. You didn't think they'd just merge on their own, did you?"

She looked at Jenkins with her hands behind her back and her head tilted slightly, as if he had asked a ridiculous question.

At a loss for words, Jenkins didn't know how to respond. She had a point. He decided he would simply have to consult the Star Spirit Rakul about it later.

After a moment's thought, he asked about another acquaintance. The most update n0vels are published on NoveI★Fire.net

"Good point. No one ever said they would fuse automatically. Huh? Where's the princess?"

"I responded to your summons by myself. It's not easy for beings from outside the material world to return these days. I didn't have a proper passage, so I couldn't bring Sophia with me."

"Oh, I think this might be able to help."

As he spoke, Jenkins took out the Silver Spoon and offered it to the silver dragon maiden. He had expected her to say she would be leaving the material world again soon, making it unnecessary to open a passage just for the princess. To his surprise, she accepted the key casually, without the slightest hesitation.

"So you had this key all along. Excellent. This can indeed open a temporary door. I'll teach you how to use it and how to pinpoint her location. I can't use it myself."

And so, a few minutes later, the princess the silver dragon maiden called 'Sophia' appeared above the forest canopy. Jenkins recalled a red dragon once mentioning that the silver dragon lord had altered the princess's very form of life so her spouse could live an equally long life. Yet, seeing her now, the ancient princess Sophia still looked entirely human. If not for his Eye of Reality, he would have thought she was identical to the woman he had met countless epochs ago.

"It's been a long time. Good day, Jenkins."

Like the silver dragon maiden, she used his first name, though the princess was decidedly more formal. After appearing, she joined the dragon in gazing out over the vast sea of trees, finally letting out a long sigh.

"I haven't seen a forest in the material world for many years."

Jenkins wasn't entirely sure how to proceed now that things had taken this turn. He had indeed summoned Anathasia to the material world, and he couldn't very well ask her to leave right away—they were friends, of a sort. Yet, just standing there, he couldn't find the right words. Even if he asked what they were doing here, they would likely just reply:

"You're the one who called me here."

He still struggled to find his words, but thankfully, Princess Sophia was very perceptive. He had no idea what they had been doing before entering the material world, but the princess was now dressed in a simple blue and white dress with lace trim, a small silver coronet resting on her head.

"It seems that after you met us, you truly found your purpose in traveling through history. We were relieved to see you appear in your own proper time. Congratulations on finally conquering that calamity. It was a remarkable achievement."

Her expression was serene, but Jenkins could still faintly see the fragile princess who had once tearfully begged him to fight against the dragon swarm. For him, that had happened only two months ago. For the dragon and the princess, it had been ten thousand years.

"So you knew I wasn't from your time when we met... No, I didn't defeat it. I think I only made a small contribution, delaying its birth."

Jenkins grew dejected at the mention of it. A Savior had sacrificed themself to seal the Beast of Calamity, but because of him, the monster had reemerged. The history of the material world had veered onto its current path because of his actions. He couldn't begin to imagine how many people had died over the ages because he had unleashed the Beast of Calamity. Jenkins knew it was all his responsibility.

"That was no small contribution."

Princess Sophia winked at the cat on Jenkins's shoulder. Chocolate had no interest in the silver dragon and the princess, merely flicking its tail as a greeting.

"Due to certain past events, we are normally not permitted to enter the material world. But since you were the one who summoned us, it gave us an opportunity. A great deal of time has passed, but there are some matters we must return to handle. Thank you for helping us once again. We never had the chance to give you a gift to thank you for last time," the princess added. Jenkins quickly insisted there was no need for thanks. Learning that the Star Spirits knew how to fuse the King Souls was more than enough of a reward.

But then he remembered the gash on his forehead. He reached up to touch his head, then shot the silver dragon maiden a pointed look.

The dragon maiden blushed slightly, which confirmed she had indeed thrown the stone. She averted her gaze, pretending to be fascinated by the squirrels that were gathering nearby, but Princess Sophia looked at her gently before speaking in a tone that was anything but gentle.

"Anathasia, if you do something wrong, you should apologize."

The silver dragon bit her lip, giving her princess a look of slight annoyance before turning to Jenkins and saying earnestly:

"I'm truly sorry about that. I was afraid the old man next to you would become suspicious, so I threw a stone. It's been a long time since I've been to the material world, and I'm a little unaccustomed to the gravity, so I accidentally..."

Then, catching Jenkins by surprise, she reached out and touched his forehead. After carefully brushing his hair aside and finding no wound, she continued:

"Ah, that's right. You're a priest of the World Tree. A little wound would have healed on its own long ago. Well then, as an apology, I'll tell you a secret I probably shouldn't."