The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 36

Chapter 36: Awakening and Aftermath

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“Princess, if you keep touching him like that…”

“Then you two should—”

“No, no. Protecting Young Master Gil is my duty. Not even Princess can—”

Mmm… It’s getting noisy somehow. I’m sleeping so comfortably right now, so I’d really appreciate it if they could keep it down.

“You two. At this rate, Gilbert-sama is going to wake up soon. If you continue to become a disturbance to Gilbert-sama, I must ask you to leave.”

“”-?!””

Ah, they got scolded. But… That voice… Was that Elsa-san?!

…Wait.

“Ri-Right! What about Mer-san!? And everyone else!?”

Suddenly remembering that we were in the middle of the Royal Selection against Mer-san’s arch-enemy, Klaus, I jolted upright in a panic. But then…

“Huh…? What…?”

“””…..”””

The three of them were staring at me, looking bewildered and for some reason, none of them were in their dragons. They were all in their human forms instead. And… This place… It looked like we were in some kind of room?

“Gil-kun!”

“Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-?!”

The one who suddenly lunged at me and wrapped me in a tight hug was, of course, Mer-san. I let out a startled yelp, but I needed to get a grasp on the situation first.

“M-Mer-san… Um… What happened to the Royal Selection?”

The fact that Mer-san was here, hugging me like this and looking very much alive meant she had defeated Klaus, but… I wanted to hear it directly from her with my own ears. 

“Fufufu~ Of course-“

“HAHAHA! IT WAS A FLAWLESS VICTORY FOR OUR SIDE!”

“-?! Why are you the one answering!?”

Conrad-san quickly beat Mer-san to it, causing Mer-san to turn bright red from anger. She looked a little, no. She looked incredibly cute like that, but still… I wanted to hear it from her directly. 

“Mer-san, please tell me.”

“Ah, yes… We defeated Klaus. We won the Royal Selection.”

Mer-san answered with a blissful, melting smile. Seeing her like that, I felt a wave of emotions surging inside me. Meeting Mer-san in the Dark Forest, getting wounded by that gray dragon, only for Mer-san to hit him back… Having Conrad-san and Elsa-san joining our side… The blue dragon showing up with an army of dragons to stand in our way… Then Mer-san challenged Klaus to the Royal Selection… She actually crushed Klaus, along with his schemes and finally…

“We… WE DID ITTTT!”

Overcome with joy, I threw both hands into the air and shouted at the top of my lungs. 

We… We won!

“Mer-san! Congratulations!”

“Yes! Thank you so much! It’s all thanks to you, Gil-kun!”

“Whoa! Ehehe!”

Mer-san pulled me into a tight embrace and spun me around in circles right here and there. I felt so happy. Mer-san was smiling from ear to ear. I felt absolutely amazing. 

“Conrad-san, Elsa-san, thank you so much!”

“Hahaha! What are you saying, Young Master Gil? We’re the one who should be thanking you! It’s all thanks to you, Young Master Gil!”

“Yes… You even saved my life. I’m eternally grateful to you, Gilbert-sama.”

Conrad-san ruffled my hair roughly, while Elsa-san placed a hand over her chest and gave me a deep bow. Both of them were beaming with joy, and seeing that just made me even happier.

“Ehehehe… I’m so happy, so happy.”

“Yes. I’m very happy too.”

Mel-san and I gently bumped our foreheads together, basking in the joy of our victory.

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“I see…”

The three of them told me what had happened after I lost consciousness. They told me how all the remaining dragons had been defeated by Conrad-san and Elsa-san. That Klaus did indeed have a secret trick up his sleeve, but thanks to Mer-san’s quick thinking, she managed to evade it and secure victory for our side and… There was someone referred to as the ‘Goddess’ behind Klaus.

“…Yeah. I also had a hunch that Klaus might not be acting alone.”

In the first place, how did Klaus even get such a deadly poison, one potent enough to affect even dragons even though dragons were supposed to be resistant toward poison. Besides, how did Klaus and his group prepare all those trump cards? Judging from their story about Klaus, it seemed impossible for a dragon like Klaus to acquire all that stuff by himself. If these items had actually existed as treasures of the dragon race, then there was no way Mer-san or Conrad-san, who had served the royal family for so long, wouldn’t have known about them. 

“Hmm… Then there’s also the so-called ‘Beloved Child of the Goddess.’ If they truly intend to come and defeat Princess-sama then…”

“I find that hard to believe. I cannot imagine there’s someone in this world who could defeat Her Highness Mercedes.”

Conrad-san folded his arms with a groan, while Elsa-san stated her thoughts with a blank expression, just like usual. I agreed with Elsa-san, but… This incident had already shown us that Mer-san wasn’t invincible. If she were still poisoned… If she were to get caught in that trap… If those superior weapons were used against her… These were all the tricks Klaus had prepared for the Royal Selection. That meant there was something similar to that in this world—maybe something even more powerful, something even more dangerous.

“…We still don’t know anything for sure. Was what Klaus said even true? Does this ‘Goddess’ really exist? And what exactly is the Goddess’ beloved child?”

I voiced my doubts one after another, but deep down, I already had a hunch that… All of it was real. Why? Sure, the poison and the trump cards Klaus had prepared were part of the reason, but most importantly, the way that man had died. The moment he hinted at the existence of the Goddess to Mer-san, a magic circle appeared and Klaus’ head exploded. In other words, Klaus was bound by a contract or a vow that prevented him from talking about the Goddess. 

But in any case…

“Then, all we have to do is continue fighting. We will keep on fighting, regardless if our opponents is the Goddess herself or those referred to as her ‘beloved child.'”

Yes. We… I will fight. I finally found my place after 10 years of living in sorrow. I also finally found the woman precious to me. I will never let anyone take Mer-san away from me. 

“Fufufu~ That’s right. Let’s fight. If anyone dares to stand in the way of our future, we simply just need to trample them all.”

“Yes. Let’s make those people regret their decision deeply.”

Mer-san and I exchanged a glance before nodding to each other. 

As someone who had been forsaken and called useless, and Mer-san, who had been betrayed by those she trusted and had everything taken from her… Though we were like this… No, precisely because we were like this, we were determined to achieve a happy future for both of us. Yes. I would strive for a happy future together with Mer-san. 

“Now then… Time to finish the clean up.”

“Huh? Clean up?”

“That’s right~♪”

Saying that, Mer-san took my hand and led me out of the room with Conrad-san and Elsa-san following behind us.

U-Umm… Where are we going exactly? 

Confused, I tilted my head to the side as Mer-san ushered me into another room. Inside, there were… 

“””…….”””

A large number of dragons, all in their human form, were bowing with their foreheads pressed flat against the floor. 

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