Chapter 291: Metal Boxes and Immortal Pride

In truth, it was an ordeal that started relatively early on.

While his twig was busy learning how to control his mana, Kael had been busy with matters at the MBE, along with one particular issue he kept carefully hidden from everyone save for a single person.

And what, pray tell, was so secretive that the golden dragon lord didn’t want it to be known?

Driving.

Yes. Driving.

The all-powerful dragon lord who could fly across territories, open gates, and teleport at will was spending his limited free time learning how to operate mortal vehicles.

Not brooms. Not magical carriages. Not enchanted beasts.

Cars.

Metal boxes that required keys, pedals, and an alarming amount of blinking lights.

Why?

Because Kael Dravaryn had an unfortunately sharp memory.

He remembered very clearly that time they had gone out together and Riley had been the one forced to drive while he had to sit there with an alleged “special constitution.”

That certainly didn’t feel good for one prideful dragon.

Moreover, he soon realized that while he was fine with not doing something because he didn’t want to, he apparently wasn’t fine with not being able to do something because he just couldn’t.

And worse still, if they ever had to resort to that arrangement again while Riley was already struggling with mana circulation, Kael had a distinct feeling he might end up heading to the afterlife much earlier than expected because of personal shame.

Thus, given all those things, learning how to drive had become a priority.

But since it was something humans did, how hard could it be?

Apparently it was hard enough that every time the golden dragon thought about it, he just wanted to snarl.

Starting alone had been difficult.

Because unfortunately for the technologically averse ancient, learning about something as mundane as driving was not as easy as one would expect when he couldn’t ask just anyone.

Asking would invite questions.

Questions would invite attention.

Attention would invite ridicule.

And Kael Dravaryn did not appreciate being ridiculed over cars.

Still, information had to come from somewhere.

And so, one desperate day, with careful phrasing and a tone that suggested nothing more than idle curiosity, Kael asked Riley’s father where one might find proper information regarding vehicles and driving regulations.

Lawrence Hale had looked at him for a long moment.

Then he smiled.

Not amused. Not mocking.

Just quietly understanding.

“If you want,” he had said, voice calm and steady, “I can teach you.”

That was how it started.

A secret arrangement kept between the two of them for weeks.

Kael had reservations, of course. Lawrence’s health was not what it used to be. And while he was doing better because of the supply of top-grade potions, the golden dragon still couldn’t help but be concerned about him possibly worsening.

But the man had been adamant.

“I’m still capable,” Lawrence had said firmly. “And I would like to do this.”

So they went out.

A few hours every week.

If the sick human didn’t make excuses, then Kael had to make the same effort. They would sneak out for a good while under the guise of Lawrence resting privately.

Different times for variety. Quiet roads. Empty parking lots.

And Kael learned.

He learned the easy things first, mainly the rules, the signs, the signals. And that came easy to the dragon who had superior memory.

Then he learned how to adjust mirrors. How to feel the weight of the vehicle. How to regulate pressure on the pedals instead of applying enough force to crater the ground beneath them.

And after several replaced vehicles, the powerful ancient somehow learned restraint.

And despite everything, he found that he didn’t particularly dislike it. That it made it easier to clear his mind when he had to constantly busy himself with something.

What he didn’t expect, however, was the practical exam.

Believe it or not, it was not the driving itself that posed a problem.

It was the damned exam.

To Kael, it just seemed stupid.

For one thing, why was he required to physically turn his head to check all those mirrors when he could clearly feel the presence of everything within a range that easily spanned a mountain?

He knew where everything was. How fast everyone else was moving. Whether they intended to cross the road or whether the bees were out there doing the gods’ work.

Why was that not enough?

Then there was that demented seatbelt.

That ridiculous strip of fabric that would not even save a hair on his head.

How exactly was it his fault that the thing broke when he pulled it a little too firmly while attempting to put it on?

If anything, that was an issue of poor craftsmanship.

Yet somehow, those humans had failed him for it.

Failed.

Kael Dravaryn.

The golden dragon lord who had risen to the top because failure seemed to be allergic to him just failed. Again.

Ugh.

He had very seriously considered burning the entire office to the ground.

Just a little.

Perhaps only the front desk.

But before he could act on that very reasonable impulse, Lawrence Hale had calmly placed a hand on his arm and said, with quiet firmness, that perhaps it would be better to simply try again next week.

So they took some time off and decided to postpone the practical exam until Kael’s mood improved.

The dragon guessed that no one wanted to end up as ashes with the way everyone seemed to nod eagerly in agreement.

But Lawrence Hale was right. His mood did improve. With his official engagement to his mate, he felt that things were falling into place for him.

However, it was also during the same period that the dragon lord learned a few crucial things.

With his twig too busy, and probably uninterested in many things, he needed other sources for information. And the same way he learned about the ring and the concept of engagements, Kael, the same dragon who rarely cared if other beings were still alive, learned how to listen.

Specifically to gossip.

And he particularly listened to the gossiping elves at the MBE.

Before, he might have dismissed their chatter as background noise. Now, he paid attention. He observed. He filtered. And unfortunately for his peace of mind, he heard several things that could only be described as scandalous.

One particular topic stood out.

Apparently, not being able to drive your partner was considered a problem.

A serious one.

It was described, quite vividly, as a “turn off.”

Kael did not know exactly what that meant.

But he knew he didn’t want to be whatever that was by the sounds those elves were making when describing things.

And so, after returning to the estate with a dark expression and very little patience, Kael sought out Riley’s father and asked him to take him back to the Transportation Office for another attempt.

Because whatever else he might be, the golden dragon lord was not going to be an unreliable fiancé who couldn’t even drive his own partner.

By the third attempt, Kael performed with a level of restraint and focus that bordered on absurd.

He followed every instruction to the letter.

Every rule.

Every signal.

Even the ones that made no sense to him.

Even the ones he would never need as a powerful ancient dragon.

He did them all without complaint.

Without commentary.

Without so much as a sigh.

He barely even breathed, because every time someone made eye contact with him, they looked like they were one startled moment away from an accident in their trousers.

Frankly, Kael felt that was their problem.

He couldn’t and shouldn’t be held responsible for the general population being afraid of him.

Unfortunately, the instructor didn’t share that opinion.

The giant red stamp came down on Kael’s document for the third time.

Fail.

The golden dragon lord stared at it.

For a long moment.

It took everything he had, along with vivid mental images of Riley’s face, to refrain from dismantling the entire human political system along with every road in existence.

If none of that existed, then no one could ever find fault with a fiancé who didn’t know how to drive. In fact, they would probably end up saying that those beings who couldn’t fly would be the problematic ones.

Ha!

If that were the case then Kael would end up being perfect once again.

But his mate wouldn’t like that. So he held it all in. At least up until he was informed of the reason.

Someone had locked eyes with him.

That was it.

Apparently, that counted as road rage.

Someone had filed a complaint.

For his eyes.

The instructor explained, rather stiffly, that they were fully aware no actual incident had occurred.

However, due to the complaint from another citizen, they simply couldn’t pass him.

Rules were rules.

Kael had never hated rules more.

Since when did fucking rules apply to the dragon lord of Eryndra?!

And if they wanted to see road rage then he would show everyone just what road rage actually looked like.

Fuck inner peace.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep