REFDL 115

At the time the incident occurred, there were survivors among the Denos knights on the scene. They escaped by crawling away amidst the chaos, then crossed the Sea of Trees to return to their home country.

Waiting for them was the news of the sudden deaths of the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

“….”

“….”

Shocking news was exchanged.

The political situation in Denos was immediately shaken.

Even the deaths of the Emperor and the Crown Prince were extraordinary. On the same day and at the same time, they collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, and breathed their last right there.

Excluding them, the only member of the imperial family with succession rights was the Fourth Prince. He had harbored a demon within his body, and destroyed himself in the Sea [visit our site]of Trees while trying to summon it into the world.

“We’re… screwed…”

Someone voiced the reality out loud, then hurriedly covered their mouth with their hand.

Every direct-line imperial family member with the right to rule was dead.

No one tried to uncover the truth. On the contrary, all the prominent figures among those with even a little imperial blood rose up in rebellion.

Civil war broke out, and Denos was quickly engulfed in chaos. The master of the throne changed every other day. In such circumstances, they couldn’t afford to be hostile toward Firmus.

It was also a problem that the ‘rift’ located deep within the Sea of Tree had moved closer to the border where Firmus and Denos meet.

To be precise, it was newly opened, and it was much closer to Firmus, but…

A distance of tens of kilometers to the source of the disaster, which Read oncaused Monster Waves at regular intervals, was practically the same as being right next to it.

To strip away the flowery language and get straight to the point, we were absolutely at fault. However, everything that has happened so far was the Fourth Prince’s unilateral decision, and we were unaware of it. We ask for leniency, and how about we try living peacefully together for half a century?

Tortan smiled brightly after reading the letter.

“Haha. How many times have they tried their nonsense until now?”

“Ah, they say they will pay a huge amount of compensation.”

“Haha. That makes me feel even worse. Firmus has money too.”

“The exact amount is here…”

Eyes like birds of prey’s accurately checked the numbers.

“Tell them this is the last time. I won’t overlook it next time.”

The chancellor and the Foreign Minister of Firmus bowed, wearing identical smiles as if they had been stamped out of the box.

Tortan was annoyed but let it slide.

Lately, his disposition had been softer than ever. If Odan hadn’t returned safely, peace talks would’ve been out of the question; he would’ve led an army across the Sea of Trees the moment things were resolved.

But by the grace of God, his son, whom he had lost twice, returned safely.

‘No. It wasn’t the grace of God.’

It was the Kremlis’s protection. The problem, if it could be called that, was that the Kremlis had been fast asleep for nearly fifteen days after resolving the matter.

Pffft!

Grrr!

Cough!

Tortan, who went to see Yuram personally for a “sick visit,” erased all his worries the day he saw him sleeping.

‘He snores like thunder…’

Seeing Yuram scratch his belly made Tartan think it would be stranger if something were actually wrong with him while looking like that. Even the six assigned healers were recovering and resting, and the dragon knights who occasionally dropped by to check on him looked peaceful.

The only one consistently restless was Kaelus.

“He just stretched his front leg at a strange angle. Could something be wrong?”

“Maybe it’s just sleeping habits?”

“To make such an irresponsible remark. It looks like you want to give up your healer license.”

“There might be a problem! I’ll look into it carefully!”

For a moment, the healer looked as if he were seeing something filthy and despicable, but like a profession inevitably bound to work under a noble, he quickly schooled his expression.

Instead, he carefully examined Yuram.

Naturally, there were no problems.

‘Haa…’

It’s fucking hard to make a living.

The healer also hoped this special Kremlis would wake up soon. According to records found by scouring the Magic Tower and the breeding grounds, there were accounts of dragons entering a state similar to hibernation when they suffered a serious injury or accumulated fatigue. However, it usually didn’t exceed four days, and at most, it was a week.

‘Surely not. There really isn’t a problem…’

“…?”

The healer noticed some strange behavior from the Kremlis. His mouth was moving as if he were eating something.

What is it?

When the healer tapped his snout, Yuram reflexively opened his mouth. The mage flinched at the sight of teeth the size of his thigh, but only for a moment.

“……?!”

Healers huddled together around him, asking, “What is it? What’s going on?” in shock. A moment later, they had the same expression as the mage.

Inside the wide-open mouth, a red-gold vessel was buried in the flesh like a pearl.

***

I had a spectacular dream. I crossed over to another world and became a dragon.

I drank too much yesterday.

…No, was it yesterday? It felt too far away to be called yesterday…

Pop!!

[Argh!]

I felt a stinging pain in my mouth. My consciousness, which had been wandering through dreams, instantly woke up. I clutched my cheek and rolled around on the floor.

Kyaa!

“Aaaah! Please, please calm… argh!”

“Help! Someone help!”

For some reason, I heard screams like they were from a disaster movie. But more than that, the pain in my mouth was too intense.

“Ha, ha. No, Your Grace! You shouldn’t have pulled it out like that!”

“…I shouldn’t have?”

“Of course! What if it hasn’t finished growing! No, seeing how much he’s hurting, it’s definitely not fully grown! Normally, he shouldn’t feel anything at all!”

“…Can I put it back in?”

“Do you think that would work?!”

“Speak quietly if you don’t want to die. And give me a precise ​Read on​explanation. Is this harmful to Yuram? Will he die?”

It was a voice so cold that just hearing it made my knees weak.

“N-n-no! It’s not life-threatening. No, it’s nothing like that! It’s just that it’s an immature vessel. He might have trouble when proposing to another dragon…”

“…Hmm.”

Kaelus, who had approached close enough to cast a shadow, slowly backed away. He toyed with the red-gold vessel in his hand. His lips twitched.

“That’s good, then.”

[.….]

Unless I was still dreaming, he just said that’s good…

“Ah! The Kremlis has awakened!!”

“What?!”

“……”

[You pulled something like a living tooth out of someone’s mouth, so how could I not wake up?!]

As I growled while holding my throbbing jaw, the healers collectively whimpered and pressed themselves against the wall. Kaelus tried to hide what he was holding behind his back, but his eyes met mine.

I transformed into a human and stood before him. The healers gasped. Some even covered their mouths with their hands.

I held out my palm.

“Give it.”

“…What?”

“My vessel.”

“…I don’t have it.”

“You just pulled it out. I know it’s in your hand. Give it to me, now.”

His shoulders slumped down. The healers rubbed their eyes. They seemed more amazed by the sight of a dejected Kaelus than me transforming into a human.

Kaelus hesitated and scrutinized my face. He looked like a puppy, no, a wolf, hiding a bone under its tail.

I flicked my fingertips with a stern expression.

He dropped the vessel into my palm, still slumped over. His hunched shoulders looked quite pitiful.

I chuckled and grabbed his hand as he tried to pull away. I knelt on one knee before him. Since there was a significant difference in our builds, Kaelus had ​visit our site​to lean over awkwardly so I wouldn’t let go of his hand.

Kaelus did exactly that. In fact, fearing his hand might fall away from my relatively weak grip, he actively lowered his head to look at me.

I supported Kaelus’s hand with mine, placed the vessel on top, and then covered it with my other hand.

“Marry me, Kael.”

Every movement from the man stopped. He blinked slowly. He inhaled, and his spine stiffened. He understood what I said very slowly.

“……!!”

I smiled brightly.

“I’m back.”

Kaelus’s face gradually crumbled.

The mask he had been forced to wear since birth broke. All sorts of emotions overflowed.

After a long while, he answered with a trembling, yet hurried voice.

“Yes.”

I laughed, and Kaelus pulled me into his arms. My shoulder became wet in an instant.

I hugged his back and stroked it, enjoying the man’s presence.

This was the place where I belonged.

<The End>

The story is marked as complete. I will post the side stories as soon as they are released. Thanks for reading.