Happy New Year.
I look forward to working with you again this year.
『GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!』
The Fire Dragon looking down on us let out a “Dragon’s Roar.”
The roar, meant to sort out those who would stand before it, shook the earth. Aria-san and the Hero’s party only winced slightly, but if the people in the rear had been here, never mind the “Rainbow Sword,” some of the Temple Knights and attendants would have surely panicked.
Faced with such a “Dragon’s Roar,” I didn’t even wince or feel fear; instead, I gazed at the Fire Dragon with a sense of awe.
“Ah… how beautiful.”
At my faint whisper, the Fire Dragon turned its eyes slightly towards me. For just a moment—the Fire Dragon’s golden eyes and my purple eyes met, and then it quickly looked away.
《—Child of man. Why do you commit such an outrage as to invade my hunting grounds and territory?—》
The Fire Dragon warned us in our language. They say high-ranking Phantasmal Beasts can understand human speech, but for it to speak even more clearly than Kitty-chan, that’s to be expected from a Phantasmal Beast that has lived for many long years, I suppose.
“Well now, Fire Dragon. We’ve come to subjugate you because you’ve been attacking human carriages.”
Ignoring the Fire Dragon’s Intimidation, Hero Klein replied with a nonchalant attitude.
He’s got some nerve. Even Nighthardt-san and Douglas-san were tense, yet Klein-san was even smiling, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
Aria-san… when I glanced her way, she was wary of the Fire Dragon, but perhaps she had heard my whisper, as she shot me a look with just her eyes.
《—They entered my domain. I warned them, yet they entered again. Do you blame me for responding accordingly? Child of man—》
Without showing anger at the Hero’s attitude, the Fire Dragon questioned further.
As expected of a high-ranking Phantasmal Beast, it’s quite rational. Could I even call it gentlemanly? I heard that Fire Dragons are the most aggressive of the Elemental Dragons on this Searth Continent, but rumors can’t be trusted.
According to the Fire Dragon, it gave a warning, but the Zentol Kingdom still violated its territory, so it decided to teach them a lesson, I suppose?
If you ask me, the Zentol Kingdom brought this upon themselves. Even though we’re opponents who withstood its sorting, the Fire Dragon is still trying to respond verbally even to Klein-san, who declared hostility. If there were rational people in the upper echelons of the Zentol Kingdom, this conflict… well, that’s probably impossible. Humans are greedy and—
“Because they’re foolish.”
“Snow…”
Don’t worry about it, Aria-san. It’s just my opinion.
But Klein-san, without losing his nonchalant attitude towards the Fire Dragon’s explanation, gave an exaggerated shrug.
“This is troubling. Can’t we get you to back down somehow?”
《—Enough. Humans have broken the thousand-year coexistence—》
“We can’t back down either, you see.”
Neither side is willing to yield. …Or rather, it looks like Klein-san is deliberately trying to pick a fight.
In the first place, the Hero’s party came all the way to the Searth Continent because the spirits sensed an evil presence. The primary reason for the Fire Dragon subjugation was to ascertain Aria-san’s true strength and whether she had really defeated the Dark Dragon, the prime candidate for that evil presence.
However, Aria-san argued that this Fire Dragon wasn’t evil, and if it was possible to communicate, they should try to understand its intentions.
But there’s something that doesn’t sit right with me…
When other evil beings appeared, the initial reason for summoning us was to recruit Aria-san, a Hero-Class individual, as an ally. The goal was to defeat the Fire Dragon to confirm her power, and precisely because Aria-san didn’t feel it was necessary, Klein-san fabricated the aforementioned reason.
It seemed to me that Klein-san personally wanted Aria-san as an ally. Demonstrating Aria-san’s strength was to convince the Holy Church, but if the “Hero” genuinely wished for it, that should take precedence over the Holy Church’s opinion.
Even if Aria-san refused, he could just keep pressuring the nation, as Klein-san said back then. So why is Klein-san so insistent on subjugating the Fire Dragon?
I can’t imagine this Klein-san currying favor with a cardinal, even if they are his sponsors.
While I was making such idle speculations, the conversation continued.
“In that case, you’ll have to experience a little pain, you know?”
《—Foolish child of man. You will regret that choice—》
In that instant, the Fire Dragon’s Intimidation intensified, and its golden eyes shone with ferocity.
『—GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』
The Fire Dragon roared. But this wasn’t the “Dragon’s Roar” used for sorting. This was—
“Wyverns!”
Nighthardt-san, who noticed first, cried out. At his voice, we also sensed it and looked up at the sky, where we saw several Wyverns, lesser dragons, descending from above, apparently summoned by the Fire Dragon as its kin.
“Wait, Klein-san! The Fire Dragon shouldn’t have had any intention to fight!”
Aria-san stopped Klein-san as he was about to start the fight. At her voice, Douglas-san, his arms still crossed, glanced over, and Nighthardt-san, who had already drawn his sword, frowned.
If their interests didn’t align, fighting would be unavoidable. But in this case, it wasn’t the Fire Dragon that attacked; the Zentol Kingdom was clearly at fault for breaking the thousand-year coexistence.
This is a problem between the Fire Dragon and the Zentol Kingdom; it has nothing to do with us.
Despite that, Klein-san, who was trying to force a fight with the Fire Dragon and was stopped by Aria-san, glanced back with only his eyes while still facing the dragon.
“It’s useless, Aria-san. In any case, there’s no way we can understand each other with an ‘animal’.”
In that instant—
“Aria-san!”
“Snow!”
We called out to each other at the same time. Just as Aria-san grabbed me and leaped back, I created a wall of ice to block the shockwave.
I expected a fight, but for it to go all out from the start…
『GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!』
Magic using Klein-san’s sword? Or perhaps a Battle Art, but the Fire Dragon dodged the attack, which unleashed immense light and power, by taking to the sky. Still, it didn’t look like it escaped unscathed.
“Klein-san! The Wyverns are heading for the rear!”
Douglas-san, who had also dodged the shockwave like us, shouted.
The shockwave unleashed by Klein-san also blew away the attacking Wyverns, and those Wyverns were now trying to head towards the rear.
“Hmph!”
Douglas-san, raising his greatsword, took down one of them with a thrown greatsword. But most had already taken flight, and his attacks could no longer reach them.
And beyond them—
“Aria-san.”
“Let’s go!”
The rear, where the “Rainbow Sword” and the Temple Knights were… I couldn’t see them from here, but in the sky around that area, I saw a different flock of Wyverns, separate from the ones that came towards us, circling.
So it had summoned its kin here while simultaneously sending Wyverns to the rear.
“Could you wait? There’s no need for that.”
Klein-san stopped us as we were about to head to the rear to provide support.
With me and Aria-san absent, the “Rainbow Sword’s” annihilation power is considerably reduced. I think Dolton-san and the others can hold out, but with over ten Wyverns circling in the sky, we can’t be careless.
“Nighthardt-san, could you provide support to the rear?”
“Klein-san!?”
At those words, Nighthardt-san, who had been keeping the Fire Dragon in check, cried out. And Douglas-san also raised an eyebrow slightly at the Hero’s instruction.
“What are you planning? If your comrades are in danger, you should just have these girls fall back.”
Douglas-san had shown reluctance to let young women like us stand on the front lines. To Douglas-san, who said it would be better to send us to the rear, Klein-san, with his usual unreadable smile, let a faint trace of “Intimidation” show.
“My purpose from the start was to see Aria-san’s power. Or perhaps, are you unable to follow the ‘Hero’s’ instructions?”
“…Very well.”
“Douglas-san!… Dammit.”
Douglas-san frowned for a moment before nodding at the “Hero’s” words. Nighthardt-san also clicked his tongue but didn’t press further and obediently sheathed his sword.
“I’ll be back soon!”
Swordsman Nighthardt-san left the scene to provide rear support. Even if it’s to see our strength, can we fight the Fire Dragon with this much fighting power, lacking one Hero-Class individual?
“Nero…?”
In the worst-case scenario, we could have Kitty-chan go to Dolton-san and the others, but Kitty-chan didn’t respond to Aria-san’s call and had even made her black cat Phantom Image disappear.
There’s no way Kitty-chan would be scared of the Fire Dragon. If so, is she wary of something? If that target isn’t the Fire Dragon, then—
“Now then. The nuisances are gone.”
Klein-san, who had been keeping not only us but even the Fire Dragon in check with a strange sense of Intimidation, let out his voice.
“What do you mean?”
To Aria-san, who questioned the meaning of his words, Klein-san, keeping us and the Fire Dragon in his sights, grinned broadly.
“You see, ‘Boku’ just couldn’t hold back anymore.”
The aura of Klein-san, who had been using “watashi” until now, began to change gradually, feeling as if it was growing more sinister, and even the Fire Dragon became wary of the “Hero.”
“This world is my toy box. When the spirits found me, in exchange for becoming the ‘Hero,’ the spirits acknowledged that too.”
The world is a toy box…? I don’t understand his true meaning, but spirits… especially unlike Dungeon spirits, pure spirits whose will isn’t mixed with human intent, have no interest in human society.
“I’m so sick of it. Not being able to do whatever I want. Just because I’m a Hero, I don’t want any overbearing companions. That said, if I were to arbitrarily get rid of them, the support from the Holy Church would vanish too. What a pain.”
“Klein…? What are you saying?”
At the ‘Hero’s’ sudden words, which seemed to disparage even himself and the Holy Church, Douglas, the taciturn man who had remained, also approached Klein, looking perplexed.
“…Ah, Douglas. You see, I…”
—Slash!!
“Kle…in?”
As Klein’s right hand blurred, his smile unwavering, Douglas collapsed, blood erupting from a diagonal gash across his torso. A blood-soaked sword was clutched in Klein’s hand.
“You see… I want to kill.”
And now, the Hero’s true nature is revealed.
Next time: The battle against the Hero… begins!
Supposed to be a leisurely epilogue… huh?
The book and comic adaptation will be released simultaneously on January 15th.
At early bookstores, it might be available on the 10th? There will be a simple announcement around that time, so please look forward to it.