Chapter 573: Chapter 572: Nicol Bolas
Noah stopped just before reaching the cave’s entrance.
He slowly turned back toward the drake, who immediately looked away as though nothing had happened.
"...If you’re still curious," Noah said with a faint smile. "I can tell you what your name means now."
The offer caught Bolas completely off guard.
For the briefest moment, the drake’s eyes widened before he realized he had reacted far too honestly. His expression immediately settled back into the same prideful look he always carried.
"It is merely a name."
"There is no reason to trouble yourself with it now. I have waited this long already. Waiting another few days would hardly make a difference."
"If anything..." Bolas spoke as though the thought had only just occurred to him. "It would probably be better if you explained it after everyone gathers together again."
His voice remained steady throughout the entire explanation.
Had Noah not known him better, he might have believed that Bolas truly didn’t care.
Unfortunately for Bolas, Noah understood him a little too well by now.
The drake wasn’t trying to convince Noah. He was trying to preserve his own dignity after his vulnerable display.
Instead, Noah understood something far more important.
Bolas wasn’t asking him to wait because as a way to regain his prideful image.
He wanted an audience. He wanted everyone to hear what kind of name a dragon like himself had been given.
Normally, Noah would’ve taken the opportunity to tease him.
He would’ve simply nodded before telling Bolas that if the name truly wasn’t that important, then there was no need to bring it up again.
Noah was almost certain the drake would’ve either swallowed his pride and asked anyway, or spent the rest of the day regretting his own stubbornness.
After seeing everyone else’s reactions yesterday, however, Noah couldn’t quite bring himself to do that.
He didn’t feel right leaving Bolas out simply because the drake was too prideful to admit what he wanted.
Bolas deserved this just as much as everyone else.
Instead, Noah turned his attention toward the cave entrance.
"Eve... come here for a second."
His voice was no louder than it normally was, yet it was suspicious why he would speak so softly as if Eve could possibly hear him from so far away.
To add to it, several moments passed without anyone answering.
Even Bolas frowned ever so slightly, glancing toward the entrance. Then returning a questionable gaze to Noah’s back.
Noah, however, remained completely unconcerned.
There was still one person who hadn’t taken the coming battle nearly as seriously as everyone else.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say...
She had spent the entire day paying attention to him instead.
"I suppose, if even my doting little sister has decided to ignore me..." Noah sighed dramatically as though he had already accepted his fate. "...then I probably won’t be able to recover much blood today."
He barely finished speaking before a blur shot into the cave.
Eve stopped so abruptly before him that even Bolas blinked in surprise.
Her predatory eyes shifted everywhere except toward Noah’s face.
The embarrassment was obvious.
So was the anticipation.
Ever since becoming a vampire, Noah’s blood had become an irresistible temptation to her. And that had become even more irresistible after his change.
From what Noah had heard from Ailetta, the vampire was eating less and less. The blood from everyday creatures were akin to an unseasoned meal when compared to Noah’s blood.
But that wasn’t why Eve was following him everywhere he went.
Noah had only assumed it was so because her fangs subconsciously extended while she was around him.
Yet that wasn’t the reason Eve had been following him around all day.
At first, Noah assumed it was.
Every time she lingered nearby, her fangs would unconsciously peek out whenever his scent drifted toward her. Combined with Ailetta’s reports, it wasn’t difficult to arrive at that conclusion.
The truth, however, had very little to do with blood.
Ever since Dobby warned them that their home would soon come under attack, everyone had immediately found something they could do.
Eve tried to do the same.
She first went to Arachne, only to discover that there wasn’t anything she could meaningfully help with. The spider queen’s brood already understood their roles better than anyone else.
She tried helping Ailetta next, but the slimes were simply too different from her. Their work revolved around quietly observing the forest, something Eve wasn’t suited for in the slightest.
Training with Fenrir and Kratos ended almost as quickly as it began. Seeing the two go at it so fiercely, Eve easily made up her mind that training with them wouldn’t benefit her.
Pandora wasn’t any different. Only Gwen had the capacity to help the dryad.
By the time she finished looking, everyone already had something that they could do.
Everyone except her.
Unable to find anything she could contribute on her own, Eve eventually settled on the only thing that still made sense to her.
If she couldn’t lessen the burden everyone else carried...
Then she would lessen Noah’s instead.
Even if all she could do was remain close enough that the moment he needed something...
She would already be there.
Noah looked down at the vampire before extending his hand toward her.
The moment Eve took it, the nervousness that had been hidden beneath her anticipation became much easier to notice.
"Why did you ignore me earlier?
Eve immediately shook her head. Her answer came so quickly that it almost sounded panicked.
"I wasn’t ignoring you. I just... didn’t know how I could help."
She lowered her head as her fingers unconsciously tightened around Noah’s hand.
"Everyone else already had something they could do."
"But I couldn’t think of anything that only I could do."
"So..."
She hesitated for a moment before finally looking back up at Noah.
"I thought if I stayed close to you... Then maybe if you needed something... I could help with something."
Noah found himself unable to reply quickly enough. It was only now that he realized he had misunderstood her intentions from the very beginning.
Now he understood that those were merely instincts she couldn’t suppress.
The real reason she followed him was much simpler.
A warm smile slowly appeared across Noah’s face. And as he was in the comfort of his creatures, the veil of darkness was gone for all to see.
He reached up with his free hand before gently ruffling the top of Eve’s head.
"If I had known that," he said with a quiet laugh, "I would’ve called you over much sooner."
Eve’s eyes slowly widened.
"Because right now... Bolas and I actually need your help."
Almost immediately, every trace of disappointment disappeared from her face.
Her eyes instinctively drifted toward the drake, wondering what she could possibly do for him.
Unfortunately, Bolas looked just as confused.
That confusion led to embarrassment, not knowing what to say in the face of the eagerly expectant gaze on him.
Even he had no idea what Noah was planning.
Seeing the equally puzzled expressions on both of their faces, Noah couldn’t help smiling a little wider.
"I was just about to explain why I chose Bolas’ name."
"But names like these deserve witnesses."
He looked directly at Eve.
"So... would you listen to the story with him?"
Eve didn’t know what to say at first. She wasn’t expecting something like this.
Instead of some strenuous activity, the thing Noah needed from her was simply her presence.
A bright smile immediately spread across her face. This was something that she felt she could do.
"I will!"
"I’ll remember every word."
Her answer carried a conviction that surprised even Bolas. The drake couldn’t bring himself to try to deny it.
Instead, he settled himself back down, nudging himself just a bit closer as if no one would notice. Whatever embarrassment he felt moments ago was quickly forgotten.
Noah looked towards Bolas next as he quietly stood up to listen.
Noah couldn’t help smiling to himself.
Out of everyone within the territory, Bolas probably valued the meaning behind a name more than anyone else.
Looking at him now, Noah couldn’t help but think the drake resembled a squire patiently waiting to be knighted.
"Before I tell you about your name..."
"Do you know what an Elder Dragon is?"
Bolas nearly scoffed.
"O-Of course."
He answered too quickly before fully thinking about it. But because this concerned his name, he took the next few moments to fully think the question through.
"It represents one of the first true dragons."
"The oldest and most powerful bloodlines to ever exist."
"There are no dragons greater than an Elder Dragon."
The more he spoke, the harder it became to hide the anticipation in his voice.
If Noah had named him after an Elder Dragon...
Then there could be no greater honor.
To Bolas, an Elder Dragon wasn’t merely an ancestor worthy of reverence.
It was a being no different than a god.
Noah quietly nodded.
"That is one way to describe them."
A faint smile lingered across his face as he watched the drake trying so desperately to remain composed.
"But the name Bolas isn’t simply the name of an Elder Dragon."
He then paused. Noah didn’t mean to, originally, but Bolas’ snout was just feet away from his face. It was hard to keep a straight face.
Noah cleared his throat, eliciting the drake to finally notice its behavior.
"Nicol Bolas..." Noah once again resumed.
"...is the name of one of the primordial dragons."
