The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 28

Chapter 28: The Dragons’ Expectations of Klaus

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“Hah… hah… Is this all you’ve got?”

Standing alone against a horde of dragons, Conrad-san breathed heavily while wearing a fearless smile on his face. Even so, the signs of fatigue were evident. If the dragons kept on pressing on him, Conrad-san would get defeated in the end. 

I glanced briefly at the sky. 

“So slithery! The only thing you’re good at is running away!”

“Hmph. Only a fool would face a Fafnir head-on.”

Mer-san chased after Klaus relentlessly, but it seemed she was having a hard time catching up to him. It was obvious he was trying to buy time. That said, because of the rules about the Royal Selection, we couldn’t interfere. In other words, Mer-san couldn’t come to our aid either. So… We were the only ones who could turn the tide around.

“Well, well, have you finally decided to behave yourself, old man?”

“Silence! A single strike is all it takes to deal with the likes of you!”

Despite his bravado, Conrad-san would certainly be outnumbered if the blue dragon actually joined the fight. We had to find a way to buy him enough time to recover…

“…Hey, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“That man, Klaus Drache Lindwurm, used poison to weaken the former king before challenging him in the Royal Selection and claimed victory. Why would you choose to follow a man like that?”

Of course, I already knew what the answer was without asking. It was because Klaus freed the kingdom that had been isolated from the world by the Fafnir family. For dragons, Klaus was their savior and home, someone who had restored their pride and made them believe they were the most superior race.

“…Who knows. At least for me, I thought something interesting would happen with His Majesty Klaus as our leader. I’m tired of these boring, mundane days living secluded in this tiny mountain like King Manfred did.”

The blue dragon, who had always carried a playful attitude, actually answered my question seriously. He must have been carrying a lot of frustration and dissatisfaction under King Manfred’s rule. Despite Klaus’ heinous action, he had granted them freedom, something the blue dragon had never been able to obtain before. Once they had tasted that freedom, they couldn’t find it in their heart to let the said freedom go. 

“But seriously, for a human brat, you sure are something. You’re able to worm your way into the good graces of that difficult princess. Oh? Maybe it’s because of that? Princess-san… She’s into that kind of thing…?”

“-?! You! How dare you ridicule Her Highness?!”

The blue dragon’s words made Conrad-san furious. Despite the blue dragon’s frivolous behavior, but his eyes were not laughing at all. He probably said that on purpose to provoke Conrad-san.

“So what? Look, the bottom line is, we chose His Majesty Klaus over that princess.”

“Does that mean you’re saying the result of the Royal Selection doesn’t matter?”

When I asked him that question, the blue dragon’s face scrunched up in response. That reaction alone was as good as an answer for me. It was clear these guys didn’t have any intention to follow the rules of the Royal Selection from the start. They just wanted a dragon who suited their needs… No. More precisely, they wanted a convenient dragon to be their king. Still, we mustn’t break the rule of the Royal Selection no matter what they did or the legitimacy of the throne would be questioned.

“Then why don’t you just ignore the rules of the Royal Selection and join Klaus in his fight against Mer-san from the beginning…? Ah, I know. It’s because you guys don’t have any chance of winning in the first place. Even if all the dragons in the entire kingdom go against her, you still won’t be able to win.”

“…”

As soon as I said that, the blue dragon showed an expression full of rage. I had intentionally provoked them to make them break the rules first, but I didn’t expect I would hit a nerve this quickly judging from his reaction.

“Your Master Gil, unfortunately you’re right. Even if we dragons all teamed up together, we still won’t be able to defeat the princess… Or any of the Fafnir family for that matter.”

Conrad-san smiled bitterly while directing a sympathetic look at the blue dragon. I see. In other words, as long as the Fafnir family was around, no other dragon could become king. That must be the reason why Klaus was seen as a hero. It was because he had slayed the former king, Mer-san’s father. No. The fact that Klaus was able to defeat Mer-san’s father just by poisoning him also served as proof of how powerful Klaus was. Not to mention, dragons were naturally resistant to poison. It wouldn’t be surprising for the other dragons to be in awe with Klaus.

“Haa… In other words, they got excited on their own and ended up losing themselves in the process…”

That said, I couldn’t blame the dragons for thinking they could defeat the Fafnir. After all, Klaus had managed to defeat the former king, even if he had to use a special poison to weaken them first. In other words… It seemed the dragons wouldn’t try to challenge Mer-san themselves. They probably thought ‘only Klaus can defeat the Fafnir,’ so it was highly unlikely they would try to challenge Mer-san when they knew only death would await them in the end. The other dragons didn’t come attacking Mer-san not because they honored the rule of the Royal Selection, but because they were afraid of death. Of course, knowing how cunning Klaus was, he probably had something sketchy prepared anyway. I knew this fight wouldn’t end that easily. But… If we could just hold on here… No, if we could defeat these dragons, we would be able to save Mer-san when it came down to it.

“Conrad-san.”

“I understand. Thanks to Young Master Gil, I’ve recovered my health now.”

The corner of his lips curled up into a smirk as he gripped the hilt of his glaive. He intentionally spoke what was obvious just to buy time. Well, Klaus was doing the same thing by running around and evading Mer-san’s attack. No one would criticize us for doing the same then. 

“Alright! Both my stamina and health are fully charged! Who’s going to become the prey of my weapon next?!”

Conrad-san roared while scanning the remaining dragons. Many of the dragons had fallen victim to Conrad-san or badly injured at least. It would be hard not to hesitate after seeing that, but…

Whoooosh!

“Wha-What’s…?”

“Conrad-san?!”

Or so I thought. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of wind cutting through the air and at the same time, there was a gaping hole in Conrad-san’s stomach. 

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