"A million dorae…" my father repeated in shock.
It was an absurd amount of money for a family like ours. Even if we emptied every last bit of our savings and somehow managed to sell the dojo for the highest price imaginable, it would still be extremely difficult for us to come anywhere close to that figure—especially considering that we had only about a month and a half before it would be too late.
At that moment, my father immediately realized there was only one possible way for us to gather that much money in time…
"Franco!!! Why does one stupid flower cost that much?!" my father shouted, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and despair.
Franco placed his right hand on my father's shoulder and replied, "The 'King of Dragons' is called that because it grows in only one place on this entire continent—the peak of the Dragons' Lair…"
That immediately silenced my father.
And it made the reason that single flower was so incredibly expensive painfully obvious.
Among the many books my father had bought for me over the years was one that described the enormous mountain known as the Dragons' Lair. It was one of the tallest mountains on the entire continent, as well as one of the most extensive. But, above all, it was without a doubt one of the most dangerous places in the world—if not the most dangerous of all.
The entire mountain was essentially one enormous dragon nest.
In practically every one of the thousands of caves scattered across its slopes, you could expect to find at least one dragon. And I wasn't talking about the kind of dragons you could sit down and have a conversation with. These were true beasts—hungry, ferocious, extremely territorial predators that refused to tolerate the presence of any living creature, large or small, that wasn't part of their family anywhere near the cave they considered their nest.
That mountain is where most of the dragons on the continent are born. That even included many of the dragons we called Mercuri—dragons considered equal to any other intelligent race, possessing intelligence comparable to, and sometimes even greater than, that of other species, along with the ability to speak. Most Mercuri returned to the Dragons' Lair only to give birth to their young and rarely remained there afterward, unlike the beastly dragons.
Because of the overwhelming number of those beasts—all of whom were dangerous, with even the weakest considered a threat far beyond an ordinary Over Beast and the strongest surpassing even a Superior Over Beast—the Dragons' Lair is accessible only to exceptionally high-ranking adventurers.
And reaching its peak was another matter entirely.
Doing so was considered possible only for a party of at least five adventurers belonging to the highest rank recognized by their guild.
That was true back then, and it remains true even now, more than a hundred years later.
So, naturally, a flower that most ordinary people would consider literally impossible to obtain would cost an outrageous amount of money.
My father remained silent for several seconds.
His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails pierced his palms, and thin streams of blood began dripping from his hands. His expression made his indecision obvious. He was struggling with an incredibly difficult choice.
Then, once he had apparently made up his mind, he looked directly into my eyes.
I had never seen such a serious and desperate expression on my father's face before.
"Aurola, I know you're smart, so I imagine you've already figured out the only way we have to get enough money for that flower…" he said, his voice every bit as serious as his expression.
"Yes… Our only chance is to win the tournament taking place in a couple of weeks," I replied, my voice trembling.
My entire body was shaking because I could already feel the enormous weight hidden behind my father's words. I knew the burden he was about to place on my shoulders was one I wasn't sure I would be able to carry.
"Exactly. And that's why, now more than ever, at least one student from our dojo has to win," my father continued. "Before this happened, we were betting everything on Boreo, and almost all of my attention was focused on training him. But obviously, under these circumstances, your brother can't possibly participate. So now I have to decide which of the remaining students will become our new hope during these last few weeks…"
His gaze became heavier with every word.
I slowly nodded.
My father remained silent for several seconds, never once taking his eyes off mine.
Then he finally spoke.
No—he didn't merely speak.
He ordered me.
"And that hope is you, Aurola."
My eyes widened.
At that moment, I felt as though an enormous invisible weight had suddenly been dropped onto my then-slender back.
"ME?! I'm supposed to be our hope in this tournament?! But Father, I've practically never trained! I've skipped almost every one of your lessons! I'm barely even a beginner in the Leaf Falling from the Tree style! Mario is obviously much more suited for this than I am!" I shouted.
But my father neither became angry nor backed down.
Instead, he continued in the same heavy, serious voice.
"I'm sorry for Mario. He's undoubtedly our most experienced student after Boreo, and he works harder than anyone else in this dojo. But he also possesses less natural talent than even I do. Perhaps one day, through enough dedication and experience, he'll manage to break through the barrier of mediocrity. I truly believe he can. But that isn't something he can accomplish in only a few weeks, and I'm sure Mario himself understands that as well…"
"I understand… but why me?!" I demanded, still trembling. "I'm sure I have less experience and less talent than even Mario! Father, if I enter the tournament as I am now, I'm certain I'll be eliminated in the first round!"
"More or less everything you just said is true, my daughter," my father replied. "Mario is obviously much more experienced than you, and if the tournament began today, your chances of defeating even your first opponent would be extremely low. But there's one thing you're completely wrong about…"
He stopped.
For a few seconds, he looked as though he were still deciding whether telling me the truth was really the right thing to do.
Then his eyes moved toward Boreo and the bright red veins pulsating beneath my brother's skin. That was enough to make him continue.
"I've never told you this because I've always known how little you care about martial arts. But you possess extraordinary talent, Aurola. More than Mario. More than me. And even more than your brother."
My eyes widened once again.
And in that instant, all those fleeting looks of disappointment my father had occasionally given me over the years—and even the strange hesitation I had noticed in him during the previous week—suddenly took on an entirely different meaning.
They had never been simple disappointment.
There had been sadness in those looks, and perhaps even a little jealousy.
Because, from my father's perspective, I had been "wasting" a talent for martial arts that he himself probably wished he possessed. He had always known I had enormous potential, yet he had also known that I had absolutely no desire to use it.
"Even if it's true that I really have that much talent… will I actually be able to win the tournament in only two weeks?" I asked, my voice trembling even more as the weight resting on my shoulders seemed to grow heavier still.
Before answering, my father's eyes trembled for the briefest instant.
"Of course! With potential like yours, if we train as hard as we possibly can, I'm sure you'll win!"
The moment those words left my father's mouth and reached my ears, that invisible, nonexistent weight on my back became heavy enough to crush me completely.
But no matter how unbearable it felt, I had no choice.
Another faint cry of pain escaped my brother's mouth and pierced my ears.
My father was right.
This was our only chance to save him.
Even though I hated the idea of entering a martial arts tournament with the expectation that I had to win… Even though I would have preferred spending every remaining day inside my secret hideout reading books… Even though I had barely trained at all until then… Even though I already felt crushed beneath the knowledge that my beloved brother's life now rested almost entirely on my shoulders…
I had to do it.
I had to give everything I had.
I had to do enough—and then somehow do even more.
Because if I failed to do enough, the life of the brother I loved more than almost anyone in the world would end right there.
"I understand, Father," I finally said. "I promise I'll win the tournament so we can save Boreo."
I forced a smile onto my face to hide the fact that I was on the verge of tears. Fortunately, my father didn't seem to notice.
"All right, Aurola. Go get some sleep now. I need you fully rested for tomorrow's training, and you've already lost far too much sleep over the last several days while looking after your brother. Don't worry about Boreo. You can use my bed tonight; I'll stay here and take care of him."
I nodded slowly.
Then I looked at my brother one final time before heading toward my father's room.
However, I stopped before I had gone far enough that I could no longer hear my father and Franco speaking. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything important concerning Boreo's condition.
"Franco, obviously I don't have that kind of money right now," I heard my father say. "But as I'm sure you know, in less than a month there will be a martial arts tournament celebrating the second anniversary of Nisba's dojo. When my daughter wins that tournament, we'll have enough money to buy the King of Dragons. So could you ask your merchant friend to hold onto it for us, at least until the tournament is over?"
"All right. I'll speak with my friend and see what I can do," Franco replied. "But I'm fairly certain he'll be willing to hold onto it for you until at least a couple of days after the tournament ends."
"Thank you so much, Franco," my father said solemnly.
"Please, Kano, don't thank me until your son has recovered…" Dr. Franco replied sadly.
Then he added, "Before I leave, there are a couple more things you need to know about taking care of Boreo now that his illness has entered this stage."
"For the next days, you'll still need to bring down his temperature using something cold. Since his fever is much higher now, however, I recommend using ice rather than simply a cloth soaked in cold water. As for everything else, strangely enough, caring for him becomes somewhat simpler from this point onward."
Franco continued, "Until the disease is almost completely cured, the mana that has escaped his body's control will suppress most of his bodily functions. Because of that, he won't need food or water. So aside from keeping his temperature under control, the only thing we really need to do is watch him closely in case something unexpected happens."
"Understood," my father replied seriously.
"Oh, and one last thing," Franco added. "Try not to place too much of this burden on Aurola's shoulders. After all, nothing in this world is absolute…"
A moment later, the bedroom door opened.
The elven doctor stepped outside and immediately noticed me standing nearby.
For a second, I froze, embarrassed that he had caught me listening.
But Franco didn't scold me.
Instead, he approached me and leaned down before whispering softly into my ear.
"Aurola, I know this will be difficult, but if the worst should happen, please try not to blame yourself too much. No one is capable of making the right choice every time. Besides, our lives as elves tend to be extraordinarily long. If we take responsibility for every painful thing that happens to us and to the people around us, sooner or later the weight of all that guilt will undoubtedly crush us…"
He gently stroked my head.
"Good luck, Aurola."
Then he turned and walked away.
After that, I finally decided to follow my father's instructions and get some sleep.
My past self wasn't capable of fully understanding the simple words that kind doctor had given me that night.
My present self, however—even though I now understand exactly what he meant—is still unable to accept them.