Episode 894

“Look at that!”

“Is he a first-year? Even when I was a first-year I didn’t fall for tricks like that.”

Upperclassmen who hadn’t yet realized a junior was flying on dragonback commented with cynical scorn.

At Einrogard, things like “behind you!” or “there!” or “gasp! the Headmaster!” were so simple and classic that they only worked in the first semester of first year.

But one by one, more upperclassmen looked up at the sky.

In the end, even the stubborn ones couldn’t help but look up.

“…?!!”

“H-he’s riding… a dragon?!”

Of course, at Einrogard, where students raised countless magical creatures and even some illicit ones, one could ask why anyone would be surprised at that.

But no matter how rare an animal was in the Empire, a dragon was in a league of its own.

Naturally, the meaning of flying on a dragon’s back was of a completely different order.

A person recognized and tamed by a griffin or unicorn might occasionally be featured in the imperial newspaper, but a person approved by a dragon and allowed to fly on its back was a thing of fairy tales and legends.

“…Aren’t we witnessing something amazing right now…?”

One upperclassman muttered.

No one noticed, but as if by magic, the skirmish had stopped. Such a thing was rare at Einrogard.

All were so captivated by the sight in front of them that they completely forgot to fight. It was worth it.

‘Is it really possible to be recognized by a dragon? I thought that was just legend…’

‘Incredible! I need to add this to my thesis. I should include testimony from the junior too.’

‘If he entered the polo tournament like that, would it be considered a crime against the crown?’

“Hey! The damn adventurer is escaping!”

“Catch him! Catch him!”

Meanwhile, an adventurer tried to crawl away and was discovered.

The upperclassmen hurled curses and blasted spells.

A legend’s reenactment was occurring before their eyes, and this clueless intruder dared interrupt!

• * *

“Wait. Your Highness.”

Lee Han, who’d found himself flying through the air, forcibly saddled by Joulin’s bite, soon came to his senses as the wind rushed past.

Why?

“…Hey, is it really okay for me to ride on your back like this? Isn’t this some kind of crime—like lèse-majesté or blasphemy?”

Joulin snorted.

Nonsense! If Adenart or that… that… what was the servant’s name again?

“Gainando.”

If Gainando carried you on his back, would that be a crime?

“That’s not really the same, I guess.”

See! Lee Han, you’ve just been fooled by baseless rumors!

Joulin’s logic was persuasive.

Besides, this wasn’t even outside the domain; it was inside Einrogard, where the rules were a bit different.

‘True, the imperial nobles can’t see us here, so maybe it counts as extenuating circumstances?’

Lee Han tried to accept this but had another question.

“I see. But, Your Highness.”

Yes?

“It’s one thing for Adenart or Gainando to carry me, since they’re both in humanoid form. But Your Highness, you’re letting me ride you while in dragon form.”

Right.

“I thought a dragon letting someone ride its back signified powerful acknowledgment and support. Am I wrong?”

The dragon species was extremely rare, but stories and legends about them were abundant.

Lee Han knew a fair amount about customs and lore related to dragons.

One of the most famous was that dragons chose humans extremely carefully.

Phrases like “chosen by a dragon” or “recognized by a dragon” even existed as idioms; dragons were known for their discerning standards.

Even the Skull Headmaster proudly boasted of learning magic from the dragons.

And the Skull Headmaster was not a person to act humbly about anything.

Being recognized by dragons was that momentous.

And a dragon letting someone ride on its back…

‘Wasn’t that considered conclusive proof of powerful support? Am I wrong?’

No wonder the dragon knight appeared only in legends.

In truth, how many knights could gain the acceptance and support of a dragon?

But from the way Joulin talked, maybe the rumors and legends were exaggerated, and dragons sometimes let people ride when bored.

Uhh…

Suddenly, Joulin trailed off. Lee Han felt a chill.

‘What? Is it just that the wind’s cold up in the mountains?’

“Your Highness?”

Uhh… technically… there might be such a custom…

Joulin belatedly remembered the Emperor had once told him, “Don’t let just anyone ride your back.”

On reflection, letting Lee Han ride in human form and taking him as a passenger while a dragon felt very different.

The latter seemed far more of a political statement…

“…Your Highness. Please don’t use Einrogard’s rhetorical style.”

Lee Han rebuked him sternly.

Joulin seemed to pick up nothing but bad habits at Einrogard.

J-Joulin doesn’t know what you mean. And even if such a custom exists, nobody saw!

“There were dozens of upperclassmen watching.”

There! There’s the intruder!

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

Joulin pretended not to hear and dove for a nosedive.

Lee Han lamented inwardly, seeing how cunning Joulin was becoming.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have let him into Einrogard.’

A dangerous species learning the tricks of wicked Einrogard—he feared for the future.

• * *

“…Fine. Let’s die together!”

The -Kangla’s Shadow- adventurers may have been pathetically overrun by students, but they weren’t completely without tricks up their sleeves.

Among them, the craftsman had personally received several magical items from Antagondals. He was especially trusted in their crew.

A bell forged in the fires of hell rang three times and shattered with its chain.

A dimensional gate opened in midair.

“Come forth, demon of the Sword Mountain Hell!”

“Be careful! He’s summoning a monster!”

Professor Ingeldel and the assembled knights and swordsmen quickly formed a perimeter at the sinister energy.

Blades of hell jutted into the air.

A murderous aura, an indiscriminate bloodlust.

By anyone’s measure, this was the summoning of a demon of at least legion commander rank. Even knights couldn’t let their guard down.

“Stop at once. Summoning such a monster will destroy you too!”

“If you’re spouting nonsense, you must be a knight. You shouldn’t have chased us, then. Right?”

The few adventurers laughed at the knights’ stuffy threats.

Faced with adventurers willing to do anything to survive, what good was telling them to stop a demon summoning?

This is why talking with knights was always so pointless.

Either way, they’d die. Facing death, people gambled.

“You misunderstood. I meant, now that you’ve summoned such a corrupt monster, I won’t give you an easy death. I’ll chop you up from the toes, piece by piece! If you want mercy, cancel the summon now!”

Professor Ingeldel’s friends were all strong, and many were oddballs.

The bloodlust from the knight of the -White Poplar Knights- cowed the sneering adventurers.

“…It’s too late. Behold!”

-I smell delicious meat!

A monster of tens of thousands of blades burst through the warped dimensional gate, roaring.

After eons in a hell of nothing but hard metal, it had finally crawled through to a living, breathing world.

The adventurers sweated coldly at the energy.

Even though they’d chosen to go down fighting, seeing it in person brought a surge of fear.

“Don’t freeze! Anyway, Einrogard has to deal with this monster!”

“Ingeldel, you chase the intruder! The rest of us will handle the beast.”

The intruders fled.

The knights began both the hunt and the chase.

The monster grew furiously enraged at the sight. How dare such insignificant mortals attempt to use or ignore it.

Either was an unforgivable crime!

-How dare you challenge the Blade Judgm—

Hey, die!

A golden beam from the sky slammed down. It was a breath attack with the radiant force of the sun.

Judging the opponent formidable, Joulin started with a breath. It was the advice of Gonadaltes and the Emperor.

-What do you do when you meet a strong enemy? Hmm… First, fire your breath from afar.

-And next?

-Fire your breath again.

-And after that?

-Hmm… yet another breath…

-Is Gonadaltes messing with Joulin?

-No.

Half a joke, but Gonadaltes never lied on tactics.

The Emperor, too, endorsed Gonadaltes’s strategy.

Since a dragon’s breath was its greatest weapon, firing from range was the proper opener against a strong foe.

A broken, game-changing technique that could erase the gap in power and experience in a single blow.

That was breath.

KABOOOOOM!!!!!

A tremendous explosion, the earth shook. The monster, newly arrived from the Sword Mountain Hell, screamed horribly as it was swept up in the burst of overwhelming power.

The ancestral magic in a dragon’s breath melted even the defense of a mighty demon.

-Guh, guaaargh, aaaaAAAAAH!

Gasp, gasp. I can’t breathe…

“Your Highness. Mana! Use my mana!”

But Joulin, not yet fully grown, suffered immediate fatigue after the breath.

Seeing Joulin gasping, Lee Han quickly channeled mana to him.

Normally, a dragon giving mana to a human might happen, but the reverse was unheard of; but at that moment, convention was ignored.

Receiving a surge of high-purity, refined mana, Joulin quickly revived. He opened his jaw wide, amassing another world-breaking force.

———-!!!!!!

The second breath was hardly audible from the ringing in their ears. Lee Han channeled more mana.

Having fired two breaths and not collapsing, Joulin thought he had grown stronger and roared in triumph.

Monster! Joulin will finish you!

“…Your Highness! Only at range! Just keep firing breath from outside!!”

Lee Han panicked, but the dragon, intoxicated by battle, was now in a frenzy. With savage swings of his forelimbs, he went for the battered monster.

Knowing how tough and resilient otherworld creatures could be, Lee Han urgently drew his staff and cast a spell.

Deadly elemental magic pounded the monster, adding to the barrage. Telekinesis and water orbs tore through it, but the enemy stubbornly squirmed.

Desperate to finish it before Joulin collided head-on, Lee Han’s focus was heightened to the extreme.

The fingertips of his offhand sparked to lightning.

CRACK!

The hand normally reserved for directing telekinesis became a lance of lightning and struck through the foe.

Unlike any lightning he’d launched before, this was on another level. Already near death, the monster silently screamed at the final blow and breathed its last.

Perkuntra’s Authority!

Focused on the enemy, Lee Han did not realize the spell he’d just cast was Perkuntra’s Authority—manifested as magic.

Joulin’s strike!

Unaware the foe was dead, Joulin pounded the carcass with gleeful swipes. Under the blast of wind, the demonic body blew into dust and scattered.

Joulin is victorious!

“Your Highness!”

Yes! Lee Han should praise me more!

“Have you lost your mind?!”

…W-why???