31 – Dragon Education (1)
It didn’t take too long to get to the Kingdom of Bastian.
The distance from the capital of Estelle, Stellium, to the capital of the Kingdom of Bastian, Eisentelle, was closer than going from our Empire to the borders of the Kingdom.
The reason why the Kingdom and the Empire are so close is because the ancestors of the Kingdom of Bastian and the Kingdom of Estelle came from the same family.
Of course, the surnames and bloodlines have changed a lot nowadays, and the blood ties were not denied by both countries.
Therefore, the two countries had a considerable amount of interaction and well-established transportation routes. The process of crossing the borders was much simpler compared to traveling between the empire and the kingdom.
This was not only due to blood relations but also because the kingdom was equally important to the empire. Although the size of the kingdom was much smaller than the empire, it was a country that imported a large quantity of wheat from the kingdom.
…Pray chattered incessantly as if bored during the journey.
“So you arrived without any trouble.”
I never thought I would realize the importance of road maintenance like this. It might be because of the good condition of the carriages and horses prepared directly from the kingdom, but the state of the roads had a significant influence.
Thanks to that, it only took four days to reach Aisentelle. And before we knew it, the sturdy walls of Aisentelle came into view.
The Bastian Kingdom was able to survive despite its small territory and weak national power, thanks to its massive fortresses. They are not only located in the capital but also along the borders facing hostile countries.
It is said that these fortresses are possessed only by the craftsmen of the Bastian Kingdom, making them impossible to be replicated by other nations…
However, the fortresses they boast of have now become useless.
“The walls have become completely useless.”
“That’s right.”
Since the raregods were created in the heart of the capital, even these massive fortresses hold no value. Walls are meant to defend against external invasions, not to resolve internal problems.
I asked Frey, who was standing beside me.
“If it’s a young dragon… It must be an extremely young one, right?”
“In reality, it’s at a level just beyond hatchlings. If it has reached warm-class, it should have some discernment.”
“Is a dragon that strong?”
“Once it surpasses the Hatchling stage, it is superior to most wizards. It should be capable of subjugation, but not to an indomitable extent.”
Following Fray’s explanation, Leticia added to the story.
“A dragon that has just surpassed the Hatchling stage can utilize magic spells up to the 6th or 7th circle. At this level, they are highly skilled senior wizards. If they were to join magical organizations like Matap, they would be able to hold a position as a middle-ranking officer.”
“It would be problematic for such a wizard to appear in the capital city.”
“Yes, that’s why the kingdom won’t hastily get involved and have called us.”
The kingdom does possess the power to handle such matters, but due to the potential harm to its citizens and other factors, they resist getting involved.
If a 6th or 7th-circle wizard decided to cause trouble, the capital would turn into a sea of fire. Moreover, as a dragon, their defensive capabilities wouldn’t be low, similar to that of a wizard.
“It seems more challenging to subdue them than I initially thought.”
With that worry, the sturdy gates of Isenstelle opened. The only reason the huge gate opened was for our carriage to pass. It’s a strange sight.
“Get off~.”
I guess I have to get off here. I wanted to sit longer because this carriage was comfortable.
As we got off the carriage, three men in similar military uniforms approached. They saluted us and said,
“Thank you for coming, Sir Erin.”
“Pfft, no problem.”
Erin lightly accepted their thanks and asked,
“Are you in charge this time?”
“I’m Ben Griff, the commander of the Capital Defense Army
The middle-aged man at the forefront was Commander Ben Grieff. He reached out his hand as if asking for a handshake, and Erin lightly shook his hand.
“What’s the situation?”
“Fortunately or unfortunately, the dragon is trapped in the Lair and not making any movements. Although it turned the surroundings into a mess trying to create the Lair…”
“But since then, it has been inactive…behaving more like an immature dragon.”
“We are now considering it as a newly hatched individual.”
It was exactly as Freya had expected.
However, there was something strange about it. Why would a young dragon want to turn a place with so many people into a Lair? Even if it was a period of youth and enthusiasm…it should know that its power hasn’t fully matured yet.
It is logically implausible for a 6th or 7th Circle mage to win against a country. If we can endure some damage, our nation itself could subdue it.
A dragon as intelligent as this wouldn’t be unaware of such things.
Cecilia also seemed to have a similar question and asked Ben, the commander.
“But there’s something appealing about the fact that the dragon inherited the Lair… So why did you like a place with so many people?”
“…According to the dragon’s claim, in the distant past, their ancestors ruled this land. So, they argued that if we were occupying it illegally, we should leave.”
“You mean this was before the country was established?”
“Yes, probably.”
Upon hearing their conversation, Erin chuckled softly.
“They want to play the role of landowners now, huh~♡”
“What kind of dragon is it?”
“A Blue Dragon.”
Covered in scales as blue as its name suggests, it was a dragon that mainly used ice magic. In terms of magical lethality and ferocity, it was slightly less dangerous than Black Dragons or Red Dragons, but still a somewhat less threatening type.
“There’s no room for negotiation, right?”
“That place has taken over the center of the capital city. There is no possibility of negotiation.”
“Then there’s nothing to lose, and it will be easy to handle.”
At Erin’s words that it would be easy, General Ven looked at her with a slightly surprised look.
“Is it so easy?”
“I heard it doesn’t come out of rare monsters.”
“Yes, wouldn’t that be troublesome? In the end, we have to go into the rare dungeon to subjugate them… “
Capturing a dragon inside a rare dungeon meant fighting on their home ground. Moreover, the Rare Dungeon was the home ground where the dragon gave its owner all sorts of buffs.
There was even an NPC line in Dungeon and Evil that said never to touch the dragon in the Rare Dungeon. As powerful as the Dragons became more dangerous when they were inside the Rare Dungeon. It was known that all stats increased by roughly 50%.
However, Erin spoke as if she knew it herself.
“I won’t go into the lair~ It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Really? Then how about…?”
In response to Commander Ben’s question, Erin smiled and answered.
“We could just cut it down from the outside~♡”
#
We headed towards the main street where the capital defense forces were setting up camp. True to its name, the surrounding buildings had been completely consumed, leaving it resembling a vast plaza.
And the person responsible for this sight…
“I’ll go.”
He didn’t come out, firmly stuck in the Rare.
Looking at it like this, it looked somewhat creepy. Overall, with its reddish colors and wall surfaces that seemed rough like hard shells in places, it almost seemed like a monster snail.
“When our knight cuts the Rare, we will prepare for the possibility that the dragon might not be cut.”
“Heh, yes~♡”
Commander Ben was naturally preparing for what needed to be done. Even if they succeeded in cutting the Rare, there was no guarantee that the dragon inside would be neatly dealt with.
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However, judging by Erin’s attitude… maybe such a thing wouldn’t happen after all.
“Really going to do this….”
Selling a live dragon outside was a decidedly barbaric method, but a suitable offer was not going to be enough to make it work.
“It’s probably as hard as the wall.”
“You mean my spirits wouldn’t be able to break it?”
As Letitia agreed with me, the fact that Letitia’s spirits couldn’t break it meant that it was impossible for even the four major spirits to launch an attack. If it’s the Spirit King, tho.
“Seems like something only Erin can do.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier to just go in through the Lair and defeat the dragon? The dragon is hard and has high magic resistance, but…”
They had very high physical and magic resistance due to their tough scales, but there was one weakness.
“Freya would probably make it helpless with sacred power.”
It’s about divine power. Dragons are basically classified as demons, meaning that as monsters, they show weakness to divine power.
Therefore, in ＜Dungeon in Evil＞, sacred weapons that emit divine power were widely used as equipment for subduing dragon-type monsters.
If it’s Frey, who is walking divinity itself, she can easily handle a young dragon without any rare buffs.
“Shouldn’t we keep in mind the possibility of running away? If Frey invades Rare, then for dragons, it’s as good as their archenemy has appeared….”
“Oh, really?”
Although it’s almost unheard of for a dragon to give up on Rare and run away, in a situation where one clearly knows that their life is in danger, they could flee.
I looked at Erin. She was gauging the distance between the rare and this place, a notion befitting a warrior.
“To cut through Rare whole, that’s quite a bold idea.”
“Among the heroes, there aren’t many that can put such an idea into practice, right?”
“hahahahaha, that’s right! Because it’s Erin!”
What’s that supposed to mean?
“Could Orlando do it?”
“No!”
“He can’t.”
Erin’s stats were clearly better than Orlando’s, but apart from magic, there wasn’t that much of a noticeable difference.
Since the target is a rare dragon, a high magic stats wouldn’t be that helpful…I even remember that the divine stats didn’t differ more than the magic ones.
“Is it because of the difference in weapons?”
“That’s true too. The Holy Sword is considered the pinnacle of all sacred weapons.”
“Indeed, a hero wields the Holy Sword in a traditional sense.
However, the word ‘also’ carried a nuance that suggested there were other reasons.
“There are other reasons too?”
“It’s Erin’s swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship?”
“It’s called ‘Supreme Sword’ and only the people of Erin can learn it.”
…Was that the case?
Thinking back, I had never heard of such a setting before, except for clearing all levels of ＜Dungeon In Evil＞ except the final difficulty.
In retrospect, there was only one character, Erin, who possessed the attribute of [Supreme Sword]. I thought it was a unique characteristic of the character, but it turned out that she was the only one who could learn it.”
“Who else could have taught Erin if not the indigenous people?”
“It’s not the indigenous people, it’s the tribe,” Letizia said.
“We don’t really know who Erin’s master is. But, it’s clear that he is a master of the sword.”
“Is that so?”
… But didn’t I originally know? He was Erin’s childhood friend. Even if the other members of the party didn’t know before joining the party, it would be more desirable for me to think that I knew.
Thinking like that makes me feel uncomfortable.
“Something is still weird.”
I continued to react as if I didn’t know the truth, but none of the party members seemed to think anything was strange. Their reactions were more like they took it for granted.
This level of ignorance might make it clear that I’m not ‘Alan’… I must have given away too much. It doesn’t explain what Leticia mentioned last time as an excuse.
‘What are you hiding?’
The sense of strangeness is starting to grow. Suspicion will soon evolve from that sense of strangeness…
‘It doesn’t seem like your personality to not tell me good information.’
I’ve always thought that while they could behave strangely at times, they didn’t mistreat me as a party member. Sometimes I’m forced to go to drinking parties.
Are those guys trying to hide information that I need to know, that I can’t be kept in the dark about? Maybe they won’t tell me if it’s information that won’t benefit me…
‘… You’ll tell me when the time comes.’
I decided to believe like that. Meanwhile, Erin drew out the sword, and Frey approached her.
-The Saint Frey activates [Heavenly Protection].
Frey’s powerful blessing took hold of Erin’s body. In response, Erin put on a confident smile and raised her sword.
“Everyone back away because it’s dangerous~ Otherwise, it’ll turn into a hotdog~♡”
Hotdog… It seems like it’s implying to run away when it gets split in half. It also reminds one of blood flowing down just like ketchup dripping down.
…The metaphor strangely suits it.
-Warning. A powerful concentration of magical energy has occurred.
At the same time as the warning message, Erin’s Holy Sword emitted a brilliant glow. It shone so brightly that her brow furrowed involuntarily.
“The hero Erin activates [Extreme Sword Technique: Starburst Thrust].”
Erin stepped forward. An indescribable sense of trust emanated from her petite figure. Perhaps it wasn’t just me who felt it; it seemed like everyone present could perceive it.
“Hyaaap!”
A cute battle cry, completely out of character, resonated. Simultaneously, Erin swung her holy sword down vertically.
Zzzhooooooooong─────────!!
The powerful magic swept through everything in a straight line, as if cutting through stars. Naturally, it included the dragon’s rare essence as well.
“Insane…”
In one swift stroke, it cut through the supposedly solid dragon’s rare essence. Seeing the cleanly divided rare essence, I immediately thought that the dragon couldn’t have survived.
“Hey, the hero annihilated the rare essence!”
“Wow!”
Even the soldiers, who were initially dumbfounded, belatedly cheered and praised Erin’s achievement.
In ＜Dungeon In Evil＞, it was quite a grueling event to venture into the rare essence and engage in a battle with the dragon. Who would have thought it would end so easily…
“…Huh?”
However, Erin tilted her head as if something was strange. And at the same time, the person next to me… no, Clara poked me lightly.
“…Allen.”
“Yeah?”
“…You’re alive.”
“…What?”
I raised my head in the direction Clara was pointing. It was the sky. The sunlight was glaringly bright, making my eyebrows furrow, but there was a dark figure in the midst of that bright sun.
It was like the shadow of a winged lizard…
“…A dragon?”
“You filthy humans, dare you to destroy my nest?”
The contemptuous tone towards humans and the sound waves that spread in all directions. It was a typical dragon’s voice. Erin laughed mockingly, as if the situation was turning out to be funny. “Didn’t I say it’s in Lair~?” “That… I was asked to confirm that it was in the lair and brought the hero’s party!” Unless Commander Ben Griff was lying, it meant that Lair had escaped secretly just before we arrived. And it was a plan to take a favorable position and try to annihilate us. “As befitting an intelligent dragon, he’s not just sitting there taking it.” The young dragon said spiritedly. “Kill all the humans here and make them an example.”