Valerian, The Legendary

Fortuna asked, “What was the meaning of having me visit that shore and create a stir, the entire western continent knows about a dragon sighting now. Also, why are we going there?”

She did not ask him much when a few days ago the boy asked her to go and do it. Today he suddenly told her to go to the Centaur Nation and this was very odd so she asked him. Valerian replied, “The most number of spies scouting us belong to Centaur. They will notice a dragon on the shore. The news will travel back to Jamal and he will take an action to prevent it from leaking out.

However, we already leaked it to the continent. From the information acquired by the chief of Shadow agents, Jamal has sent out ten of his most trusted Archmages and Grandmasters. Do you know where he got all these people from?”

Fortuna shook her head slightly and the boy said, “He compromised the military arrangement of his nation for this. According to the intel, they have a total of sixteen gifted maestros. Even if you speculate they have a few more hidden maestros the number will not increase by more than twenty-five and that is me being overly cautious.

This will save us trouble if we get trapped there. Also, the reason we are going there is to help Morgana. She needs a few things done to topple the government.”

Fortuna nodded and said, “I want to see what sort of a girl can make you go crazy to even march in the tiger’s den. I wonder how she seduced you.”

Valerian chuckled and said, “Why should I be afraid of a tiger when I have a dragon?”

Fortuna snorted as she slowly descended into a forest near the capital. Morgana has arranged for a person to meet him near the road passing through the forest. Fortuna turned into a leopard this time. This beast was also white but it looked very docile and delicate. The beast walked beside Valerian paying attention to the surroundings.

.....

Soon they arrived at the road and began to walk in the direction of the capital. After a few minutes, they spotted a lonely man walking in their direction. Valerian raised his hand and asked, “Hello, big brother, do you know where I can find some water?”

The man looked at the leopard and the valiant man with black hair, and he said, “You can find the water inside.”

Then he passed on two tokens to Valerian and with a bow he left the place. This was the verification method Morgana and the young man had agreed upon. Valerian looked at the two tokens and thanked the man.

He also handed the man a sum of gold coins. These coins were all Centaur coins, exchanged by Azula’s merchant association. Valerian smiled and left the place with Fortuna. They reached the city gates and the guard asked them for a token of identity. Valerian presented the two tokens to him, and they let him pass after checking them for weapons.

Valerian entered the city gates with Fortuna and began to look around. This was a new place, and he found that the atmosphere was weird. Fortuna looked at the soldiers posted every few meters, holding spears and standing tall, as she said, “Stifling.”

The prince nodded, his usual silver hair had vanished and been replaced by lush black hair. They were communicating with thoughts and Valerian said, “Hmmm, they look like they are here to protect but this is more like oppressing the people.”

They went deeper inside the city and found a hotel near the city square. The hotel was established inside an alley. This was not a place where the rich came, Valerian and Fortuna, walked in from the door and came to the counter. They asked, “Can we have some water?”

The boy surprised the middle-aged lady manager at the counter. Valerian did not say anything but stood there with a genial smile. The lady woke up and said, “Yes, please come with me.”

The lady led the two inside the hotel. The place was a two-floor old house, and the lady had turned the small first floor into a dining area and the second floor had four rooms for people to stay in. Valerian did not mind the place being small. Despite the size, the place was spotless.

The lady opened the door of a room and said, “Please, you will find everything inside. If you need anything else, please feel free to tell me. We may be a small business, but we can still give you a good service.”

Valerian smiled and shook his head, “Thank you for your kindness, madam.”

The lady manager walked away after the man and the beast entered the room, and closed the door behind them. Inside the room, Valerian sat down on the bed and Fortuna climbed over it behind him. She said, “You sleep on the floor like usual, the bed is mine.”

Valerian shrugged his shoulders and asked, “I wonder if your hard dragon skin can even feel anything from lying on the floor that you want a bed to comfort you.”

Fortuna did not bother to pay attention to him and said, “Ask your woman to come over, let me see who is this creature.”

Valerian sighed and said, “Please do not talk to her later on.”

Then he took out his soul communication bead and contacted Morgana, who said she will come over in an hour. The boy decided to get some rest in the meantime and he sprawled on the floor with his shoes taken off.

In the past half a month, Valerian has made a lot of arrangements regarding the plans for the Stellan and Sapientia empires. They knew that if they tried to integrate the two nations into their own, things will not settle peacefully.

So, he had planted a lot of pawns inside these nations to monitor everything. This way they will be able to counter any treacherous acts committed by the Emperor of Stella and also prevent any rebellion in Sepiantia.

He was now the most dazzling person in the eyes of the citizen of Lumen. After an hour, the door was knocked and Fortuna raised her head to look at the visitor, Valerian got off the ground and after dusting his clothes, the young man opened the door. In front of him stood a veiled figure. He smiled and bowed slightly as he said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

The figure in front of him was Morgana, who bowed in return and said, “Greetings to you too, Your Highness.”

Then the two stood straight and Valerian took a step to the side as he said, “Please come in.”

Morgana walked into the room, only to be surprised by the leopard laying on the bed, gazing at her with great interest. She thought that this beast was a new companion of the young man and said, “Hello there, do not believe him if he says you will be his forever magic companion. He changes companion beasts a lot.”

Fortuna raised her brow slightly and said, “He can try to replace me and see if I fed half his butt to dogs.”

Morgana was shocked and Valerian sighed while shaking his head. The princess turned her head to look at the young man in askance. The prince replied, “You do not have to worry. This is Fortuna, she is smarter than any of the magical beasts you might have heard about. As for what is she, that is better left out of the conversation, but I will tell you one day. I hope you can trust me.”

Morgana shook her head after regaining her composure and said, “Magical beasts that can use human speech are hard to find.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “She cannot make human sounds with her mouth, but her thoughts can get through your walls and be directly heard in your mind.”

Morgana was even more stunned, then she looked at Fortuna and said, “Thank you for coming over to help us.”

She was speaking out of courtesy but then Fortuna shook her head and replied, “It is not me you should be thanking. Also, can you please tell me what the plan is? I do not think this city is going to stay calm with a longer delay. It will only cause the chaos to be bloodier.”

Morgana nodded and looking at Valerian she said, “When the prince and his siblings attack the emperor, I want you to show the citizens everything that happens in that place. I would have placed this task to someone else, but in my mind only you are strong enough to guard the altar made under the city square fountain. It will project the image directly into the void. Can you help me deal with this?”

Valerian nodded and said, “Only on one condition.”

Morgana asked, “What?”

“Your smile.” said the boy and the next moment he took away the veil covering Morgana’s face. This time, Fortuna did not say anything and nodded, as if approving of Morgana’s beauty.