My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 007: The Duty of Powerful Dragonkin

Dusk.

The academy curriculum was broadly divided into first term, second term, third term, plus summer special training and winter special training. Special training referred to practical exercises conducted outdoors away from the academy, with the goal of gaining experience fighting actual monsters.

Currently, first-term classes had ended, and this was the preparation period for the upcoming summer special training.

After finishing the half-day summer special training briefing session, Kishō walked alone down a deserted hallway. His face was as pale as a man whose life force had been sucked out by a succubus. His cheeks were gaunt, his unfocused eyes doubtfully capable of forming images. He wondered with his hazy mind if one could really change this much in a single day.

“It’ll be okay. Once they realize you won’t reciprocate, they’ll give up eventually.”

He had no choice but to endure for now, believing Ōka’s words.

The passionate attacks from female students had continued relentlessly even during breaks. Declining all of them was exhausting. Rather, some girls wouldn’t give up even after being rejected.

His distrust of women was accelerating.

“If this continues every day… I might not last.”

Main building, second floor. He looked down at the garden from the large window.

Maybe I should skip today—he thought, then immediately shook his head vigorously.

He couldn’t neglect daily training. He breathed out, steeling his pathetic self. But that resolve immediately dissipated.

A girl radiating overwhelming presence stood at the entrance. Clad in the red and black dragon robes that shouldn’t exist in the Lower School stood the talented and beautiful Princess. When she spotted Kishō, she glared at him as if he were her parent’s murderer.

“Crap, she’s angry…”

He reflexively turned right around.

He had an idea why. She must’ve realized he’d held back in the mock battle.

“Wait.”

Called to a halt, Kishō turned around with a sense of resignation.

Before he knew it, she’d closed the distance, and the Princess’s beautiful face was right before him. She stood a full head shorter. Looking up at him challengingly, but up close, combined with her beauty, those black eyes seemed ready to suck him in. A bewitching woman. Kishō quietly averted his gaze.

“What do you want?”

“You were holding back in this morning’s match, weren’t you?”

Yes, I was.

Kishō apologized in his heart. But he didn’t have the courage to say it aloud.

“I have thoughts about being underestimated. But let’s let that slide for now.”

“Really?! That’s okay?!”

Casual speech slipped out before he could help it.

His relief was short-lived.

“What’s more serious is—”

The Princess’s face drew closer. She’d stood on her tiptoes. Startled by the sudden approach, Kishō tried to pull back, but she grabbed the collar of his dragon robe and pulled him back. So close their lips might touch. The Princess peered into Kishō’s eyes and said:

“Why do you run from girls’ affections? Why won’t you surround yourself with women?”

“Th-that’s my business.”

“It’s not just your business. Saving lost lambs is the duty of powerful dragonkin.”

His heart pounded painfully.

What is this woman saying? That question was blown away by how loudly it beat.

“You may not understand, being common-born, but noble-class men shelter hundreds or thousands of women under their protection. Do you know why? Because it’s the duty and mission of excellent men. Then you have the same duty.”

Why?! That’s absurd! He wanted to shout.

But as if charmed, he couldn’t move his body.

Those large, clear black eyes looked ready to cry, brimming with moisture. Each time she opened her mouth, sweet breath washed over his neck. Her pale pink lips, slightly moist, opened and closed invitingly. It all overflowed with such bewitching allure that he wondered if she was the real succubus.

“Noble ideals have nothing to do with me. Don’t force them on me. It’s troublesome.”

That was all Kishō could barely squeeze out.

The Princess’s beautiful face seemed to crumple.

“I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were a man with more spirit. I thought I’d finally found one. Why do you say such spineless things?”

“Wait a minute. Don’t get your hopes up on your own and then get disappointed on your own.”

“How can you say not to be disappointed? When you have that much power… why, why? Will you abandon lives you could save?”

This absurd argument left Kishō dumbfounded.

And he noticed a single tear streaming down that refined face before him. Simultaneously, he felt violently confused.

(What? Am I the bad guy here? Did I do something that wrong? Huh? Why is she crying? And why am I being blamed? I don’t understand?!)

Born and raised in human society, a half-dragon born between humans, Kishō couldn’t understand this at all. But at the same time, half his blood was dragonkin. The dragonkin instinct within Kishō told him “you’re in the wrong.” That only confused him more.

And that violently beautiful face was right before his eyes.

Even rationality had its limits. Kishō clenched his back teeth to suppress his lust.

“I’ll give you some advice too, Princess. You should be more cautious. Especially when dealing with men.”

“Don’t change the subject. I’m talking about something important.”

“I see. Then—”

He grabbed the wrist of the Princess’s hand gripping his chest and applied pressure. Their faces remained close.

“Surround myself with many women, you say? Then is this you begging for a kiss?”

“Wh…?!”

The Princess’s body sprang backward as if repelled. But this time, Kishō pulled that hand back. The Princess’s delicate body returned to Kishō’s arms. She glared up at him from a position one head lower, having struck her nose against his chest.

“Do you understand now? Once it reaches this point, it’s too late.”

“You—!”

She shook off the hand he’d grabbed, and a slap flew from the other direction with a whistling sound.

—SMACK!

The impact, with enough force to snap his neck, struck Kishō’s cheek. The small hand that delivered that fierce blow trembled slightly in midair. Her pale cheeks flushed red, her wide eyes brimmed with tears ready to spill. Her pale pink lips trembled with anger.

Finally glaring sharply at him, she spun the hem of her dragon robe and ran off somewhere. Left alone, Kishō touched his aching cheek.

“Ow.”

It was a well-executed slap with proper hip rotation.

“I’ve probably made her hate me. But that’s better.”

Commoner and royalty—they lived in different worlds with different values. Being burdened with excessive expectations was just that—a burden. Unfortunately, Kishō didn’t have the power to meet those expectations. After all, he was a dropout.

“When she learns who I really am, that’ll disappoint her most.”

◇◇◇◇◇

Upper School. Student dormitory.

It differed greatly from the Lower School dormitory, with a lavish construction reminiscent of a noble’s mansion. From the exterior to the interior, luxury was exhausted, and the attached furnishings were all high-quality goods.

Sitting on the canopied bed, Kuroyo gently placed her hand on her chest.

(It’s still… pounding.)

How rude of him to suddenly pull her into his arms.

But no, Kuroyo shook her head.

He was a type that had never been around her until now. And terrifyingly strong physically.

In that mock battle, the offensive reversed midway.

She knew the reason. The weight transmitted from the practice sword when they clashed suddenly increased dramatically at a certain point. His [Sword Aura] quality was probably superior to hers. And that meant he hadn’t been serious until midway.

Fellow royals and nobles close in age. She’d crossed swords many times with men from prestigious families with promising futures, always dominating throughout and achieving victory in all of them. She’d never once been on the defensive.

That’s why she’d gotten her hopes up. And that’s why she felt disappointed.

“Despite having that much power…”

The male-to-female ratio was 1:5. That was the dragonkin birth rate.

In other words, one man to five women was appropriate. Hence dragonkin formed packs of one or two men and four or five women.

And the more powerful one was, the greater the duty to support and protect many women.

For example, there was Kuroyo’s father—Dragon Emperor Kokuren’s pack. Its population exceeded twenty thousand dragonkin women belonging to the pack, and including general citizens of other races living in the capital, it exceeded one hundred thousand. In other words, a powerful dragonkin’s pack was a city itself. And all the people living in that city were placed under the Dragon Emperor’s protection.

“Powerful dragonkin must protect many. And yet…”

That man had said, “Noble ideals have nothing to do with me. Don’t force them on me. It’s troublesome.” Because those words came from the man who might be her destined one, they pierced her heart. Her emotions were shaken.

“Is this… forcing?”

From childhood, she’d been thoroughly drilled in royal thinking. Raised to prioritize the pack’s interests over personal interests. Taught the mindset of those who stand above others. Jealousy was condemned as evil that disrupted the pack’s unity.

All of that was Kuroyo’s entire value system.

So she didn’t understand the concept of forcing. She didn’t understand the sensation itself of not understanding Kuroyo’s claims.

Still sitting on the bed, she listlessly dropped her gaze to the plank floor.

“Am I… wrong?”

No answer came.

Only the clock’s second hand ticked in steady rhythm.

That face praised as refined looked sadly downcast.

She glanced toward the small table beside the bed.

A single blank sheet of paper lay there.

“What should I do…”

Unable to decide. Time passed uselessly.

Before she knew it, the date was about to change.

Kuroyo stood up weakly and reached for the sash of her dragon robe.

The dragon robe’s sash untied, falling to the floor with a rustle of fabric.

From the gap in her loosened upper garment, two pale breasts peeked slightly. The collar drooping down continued to her abdomen, revealing her well-shaped navel. In that disheveled state, Kuroyo approached the window with ghost-like steps. Beyond lay the darkness of night. The lit interior would be completely visible from outside, but Kuroyo didn’t care and opened the window. She gazed absently outside.

—Whoosh.

Faintly, very faintly, something like a wind-cutting sound could be heard. A small sound you couldn’t hear unless your nerves were sharpened and you strained your ears. Kuroyo’s intuition for this sort of thing was exceptionally good.

“I heard it again.”

She closed her eyes to blend with the surrounding darkness.

She sensed the [Ki] in the atmosphere was slightly disturbed.

“This is from the Lower School direction… I see, that’s it.”

Kuroyo murmured, adjusted her upper garment, and retied her sash.

Then she took the two real swords she’d been specially permitted to bring and left her room.

If fate would be decided, perhaps it was tonight.

A strange conviction drove her forward.