The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 17

Chapter 17: A Red Dragon and a Purple Dragon Appeared

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“But still, I wonder why there aren’t any monsters around…”

I murmured softly while drawing water from the nearby river. Before leaving the Empire, Chancellor Hertling had warned me about the danger of this forest. A forest where countless monsters roamed. Once you stepped inside, you would never return alive. That was the danger of this place, the Dark Forest. 

“Fufufu~ It’s simple. It’s because I’m here.”

“Whoa-?!”

Mer-san suddenly peeked out from behind me, startling me. She flashed me a cheerful smile. I didn’t know much about her, but I knew she had a surprisingly mischievous side to her. 

“I-I see… So the monsters are hiding because they’re afraid of you, Mer-san.”

“That’s right.”

Indeed. Monsters definitely wouldn’t stand a chance against a dragon. In fact, maybe monsters might be seen as prey to a dragon like Mer-san. 

“Just so you know, I don’t go eating monsters at random. Of course, not humans either.”

“A-Ahaha…”

It seemed Mer-san had seen right through my thoughts since she gave me a sharp, reproachful look. All I could do was laugh awkwardly in return. 

“Then, is it okay  for you to eat human food?”

I said as I reached into the bag of provision I had received from entering the forest and pulled out some food. There was enough provision for a week, so even if the two of us ate it together, we should be able to survive for 3 days at least…. Wait.

“Ma-Maybe it won’t be enough for you, Mer-san…”

Given how big Mer-san was in her dragon form, the food I had wouldn’t be enough for her. I doubted it could count as one bite for her. We really had to start thinking about securing food sources soon…

“I-I don’t eat more than normal humans, you know!”

“Really? Thank goodness…”

Mer-san said, seemingly a bit irritated, but to be honest, I was just glad we didn’t need to think about securing a new food source this early. 

“Geez… I do transform into a dragon for battles, but this is my original form, you know? I take on this form on a daily basis.”

“Ouch.”

Mer-san said while pressing her finger to my forehead, causing me to recoil backward out of instinct. 

“Anyway, that’s that. Let’s eat. Hehe~ I’m a little curious about human food.”

“Ahahaha… Yeah.”

And so, I began eating with Mer-san. Since this food was prepared to last me a week, most of it was preserved food, but Mer-san seemed fascinated by it nonetheless. She asked me about each item while munching them happily. 

“Fufufu~ It’s delicious!~”

“Ye-Yeah, it really is.”

Considering that my main meal back at the imperial palace had consisted mostly of hard bread and vegetable scraps for soup, this was actually quite the feast for me too. Especially the dried meat. Every time I chewed, more flavor seeped out, feeling my mouth with its taste. It felt almost wasteful to swallow it. But then… 

“-?!”

A sudden gust of wind blew. Meri and I looked up at the sky and there were two massive dragons flying above us, one red and the other purple. 

“Tch… I see. So those two are the next assassins, huh?”

Mer-san clicked her tongue and glared at the two dragons. Looking at her face from the side, I could tell that even though they were fellow dragonkin like her, but Mer-san didn’t have a good impression of them two. It was obvious from the way her crimson eyes were filled with anger and hatred as she stared at the two dragons. 

Well, of course. She had been betrayed by her former subordinate, Klaus. Her parents had been killed. The other dragons saw her as their enemy. She was seen as the daughter of the former king who had been defeated in the Royal Selection. They had hurt her terribly. Not a single one of them had stood by her. She had been alone when I found her in the forest. 

“Gil-kun…?”

“It’s just… Mer-san, I will never betray you or abandon you.”

I stood beside Mer-san and gripped her hand tightly. I gathered my resolve, determined to never leave her no matter what happened. I would stay by her side through everything. 

“Yes…”

Mer-san smiled as she gripped my hand back. 

“Conrad, Elsa… Are you prepared to die?”

Mer-san growled. Her fangs could be seen peeking through her delicate crimson lips. 

“Please wait. We don’t have any intention to fight Her Highness.”

Saying so, the red dragon and the purple dragon slowly descended. They transformed into their human form as soon as they landed. The red dragon, the larger of the two, had white-streaked red hair paired with black eyes. His face was adorned with a red beard and he looked pretty old compared to the other dragon I had seen. Even in his human form, his large frame still looked imposing. Although he was donned in armor, but I could see the telltale of his muscular body underneath it. He looked quite strong, even in his human form. 

The other dragon took the form of a woman with deep purple hair. She was strikingly beautiful with her slightly slanted amethyst eyes and a tear mole near her eye. Her outfit reminded me of a servant’s uniform, which contrasted sharply with her elegant aura. 

“We’ve come upon hearing that Her Highness intends to challenge His Majesty Klaus in the Royal Selection…Ah-?!”

“Oh? So you’re here to kill me after all.”

The older man immediately knelt down and bowed his head while Mer-san raised her left hand above his head. Her crimson eyes were sharp and cold, as cold as piercing ice as she gazed down at him. 

“…Your Highness Mercedes’ anger is entirely justified. However, since we’re bound by laws, we have no other choice but obey His Majesty Klaus.”

The older man said. His expression remained the same while the woman knelt down beside him.

But… To me, his words sounded like nothing more than mere excuses. 

“…So basically, the laws are more important to you than Mer-san.”

By the time I realized it, I had already muttered those words out loud. My voice came out low and menacing, which caught me by surprise.

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