Chapter 146

“Seriously… you chased it away! Good grief…”

Lady Kisea’s prickly attitude melted away in an instant. It seemed she now held hope that I could undo her parents’ petrification.

“Amazing! I’m impressed! How did you do that!”

“To defeat that Evil God like that… truly remarkable. I think I understand a bit now why that child follows you so devotedly.”

At least I seemed to have earned some trust. Walking past Roka, who was puffing up with pride and nodding smugly, I noticed the lizard dangling limply in her hand.

The being with boundless divine power that had just fled—it was likely one of the five great Evil Gods of the continent, Oberta. So, by process of elimination, this lizard must be either Yanid or Azahadaka.

The first name that came to mind, Yanid, seemed more like the name of a fainted girl than a lizard. So, this one’s name must be Azahadaka. Do places really name people like this?

The name was somewhat peculiar, and I found myself repeating it aloud. Honestly, it didn’t look human at all. Could it be a demon? Or perhaps…

“So, your name is Azahadaka?”

[…Yes.]

It flicked its tongue at me warily. But when Roka poked its back with her sword, it flinched.

[Th-that’s enough! Tormenting a small creature is a sin! Didn’t your parents teach you that? What kind of upbringing did you have?]

“…You wanna go there?”

Roka’s cold tone made the lizard sense danger and clamp its mouth shut. But soon, it began to fidget nervously.

[I-I can’t stay like this for long. Take me somewhere quickly. I’m just a remnant lingering in the heart. Unlike that guy earlier, without a body, I can’t last long.]

“A remnant in the heart…?”

[What’s the point of hiding now? I’m a dragon. A pitiful dragon executed by my own kind. I was trying to cling to life, but you’re here to stomp out this poor existence, aren’t you?]

“A-a dragon?! The legendary dragon…?! Really? Seriously?”

Lady Kisea was visibly shocked. She scrutinized the small lizard up and down.

“Except for the lack of wings, it does resemble the dragons from legends…”

[Yes, that’s right. Just put me back inside that girl’s mouth, and I’ll give you anything you want. Interested in ancient secrets? Or mountains of treasure? How about magic items imbued with a dragon’s power?]

“I do want them, but…”

Lady Kisea hesitated, looking at the lizard. She seemed somewhat convinced.

Encouraged, the self-proclaimed Azahadaka pressed on.

[If you spare me, I’ll tell you where the dragon bone artifacts are hidden. What do you desire? A sword? A spear? Or armor?]

“Dragon bones…”

[Yes. Dragon bones. You can’t find weapons like these anywhere else.]

“Yeah. No thanks.”

But Lady Kisea wasn’t the one who needed convincing. Roka raised her sword, and the lizard nearly jumped in response.

[W-wait, wait, wait! Violence is bad! What good is being so aggressive? I’m the last dragon on earth. You’re about to kill a natural monument!]

“A natural monument?”

[Yes. I’m a protected species. So…]

This time, the sword glowed with lunar magic. Seeing the blue light, the lizard desperately cried out.

[Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Let’s not do this. How about this: if you put me back in that body, I’ll sincerely help you. It’ll take less than a minute, no, 30 seconds! Then you’ll have a dragon companion on your adventure!]

“A companion…!”

[Yes, that’s right. Don’t you need a versatile and powerful mage? I dare say, I’m a dragon. I’m more impressive than any mage you’ve ever met.]

“A mage…!”

Lady Kisea glanced at me with a genuinely tempted expression. But I shook my head firmly.

We had no trust with this dragon. Who knows how powerful it would become once it regained its body.

Once it had a body, it wouldn’t need to beg us anymore. Whether it would keep its promises was anyone’s guess.

[I swear by the Dragon’s Oath. I won’t betray my promise. I’ll never betray you. Isn’t that enough?]

…Still, no.

It wasn’t me who chased you away, but the Lord’s majesty. And He must have had His reasons for doing so.

“If you go back inside, will that girl, Yanid, lose her body?”

[What can we do? We must think from a grand perspective. That girl is just a human. Even with a half-dragon body, she’s useless.]

Now truly desperate, it began to rant.

[She can’t even use magic beyond instinct. The Dragon’s Tongue holds no real power. Breath attacks? She wouldn’t know how to use them unless her life was in danger. Completely useless. If one of us has to take the body, shouldn’t it be the one who can make better use of it?]

“No.”

“Hey…”

Lady Kisea leaned in and whispered to me.

“Isn’t this a strategy to make them more desperate and squeeze more out of them? I want that treasure mountain and the dragon bone artifacts. And those magic items with a dragon’s power.”

Sorry, but no.

I just smiled. She stared at me blankly, then suddenly looked startled.

“Y-you’re kidding, right?”

“Why would you think that? No.”

“But you’re a priest. If someone’s dying in front of you, aren’t you supposed to save them?”

[Exactly! I’m a pitiful victim too! My heart is right there! It’s unfair! Unfair! Why should the heart thief live, and I die?]

You’re not dying.

You’re not dying, okay?

You’re lying right now.

“You’ve got plenty of life left, so why are you acting like you’re on death’s door?”

[Wh-what are you talking about? I’m fine…]

Even if I couldn’t quantify its remaining lifespan, I could tell the difference between imminent death and having plenty of time left. There was no sign of its life force dissipating. For a dragon, its performance of being on the brink of death was truly impressive.

[Tch… I’ve been found out.]

Now it glared at me with venomous eyes, as if saying, “So what?” Then it threw a tantrum. I’d heard somewhere that living too long makes you childish, and it seems that wasn’t entirely wrong.

[It’s unfair! Unfair! Unfair! Unfair! It’s unfair! That thief took my heart! Why should I have to surrender my heart to that heart thief? Is this justice?]

Looking at the unconscious girl, then back at the self-proclaimed Azahadaka, I wondered. If that girl’s heart truly belonged to this dragon, why had the Lord chased it away?

Because it wasn’t content to stay quietly in the heart? Or because it planned to take over the entire body? Was that all, or was there some deeper meaning I couldn’t grasp?

One thing was certain: the Lord had given both the girl and the dragon a chance. The fact that His divine power didn’t completely erase the dragon, but merely expelled it from the body, suggested as much. He hadn’t entirely sided with the girl, Yanid.

“Hey, Master.”

At that moment, Roka sniffed the air and whispered to me.

“I think we need to go inside. I smell Ardein in there.”

It seemed she’d decided to just call her Ardein now. More importantly, the Princess didn’t seem to be in a good state.

“It smells like blood. A lot of it.”

“This isn’t the time for this.”

[You’re ignoring me?!]

In the end, the tailless lizard was left in Lady Kisea’s care. Roka and I ventured further inside, only to stop when we found a corpse.

A young knight. Someone I’d never seen before. But she was dead, her abdomen pierced.

My divine power could only make the corpse presentable. I could heal the wounds, but I couldn’t bring back the lost life. After straightening the body, we pressed on.

“Ah! That!”

Roka pointed at a salt mill rolling around on the floor. It was something she’d carried around in the Citadel before, so it must have brought back memories.

Come to think of it, where was the mill we made back then? I must have forgotten to bring it…

Oh well. As long as it’s being used well, that’s enough. It’s not like it could be misused anyway.

Then, Roka shouted.

“There!”

A wall that looked like it had been smashed with a hammer. Cracks spiderwebbed across it.

In the center of the cracks, someone lay unconscious.

The Princess’s condition was worse than ever.

She looked even worse than when we first met.