Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Chapter 8 - Aru #2
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In Dragon Hunter Origin, there were four playable characters.
Four playable characters, each starting from the east, west, south, or north directions.
Among them, Anne Rose, the protagonist of the western storyline, was particularly popular.
And the reason was—
“Gah!”
[You spat out the water!]
[Master! Are you coming to your senses?]
[Master!]
Amidst his dazed state, Integra’s voice echoed relentlessly in his head.
Luther spat out water a few more times before gasping and opening his eyes.
“Th-this place…….”
[It’s land.]
[To be precise, it’s one of the small islands situated between the branches of the Anes River.]
[The one who saved you from nearly drowning, Master, is ‘Aru.’]
‘Aru?’
A name he’d never heard before—no, one he was sure he had heard somewhere.
For now, Luther steadied his breathing with effort and forced his eyes open to look straight ahead.
“Are you coming around?”
It was a clear, pure voice.
As Luther’s vision gradually came into focus, he caught sight of sky-blue hair.
“Hey?”
“Hah…… Yes, I’m, hah, coming around.”
At Luther’s words, the woman with the blue hair—Aru—smiled with evident relief.
The world of Dragon Hunter had two moons, making the nights quite bright, which allowed Luther to clearly see Aru, who was squatting right in front of him.
Her blue hair, damp with water, and her porcelain-white skin. The top she had discarded after getting wet.
A playful smile mixed with mischief and blue eyes.
But what truly captured Luther’s gaze was none other than her lower body.
“Mermaid…… princess?”
“No, not a princess…… a royal princess?”
At Luther’s words, Aru shrugged and said teasingly.
Below her smooth waist were not slender legs, but a fish’s tailfin.
Aru lightly stroked the sparkling blue scales that gleamed under the moonlight, then traced an elegant curve with her white hand and pointed to herself.
“Allow me a proper introduction. I’m Peliaru de Arets, Second Princess of the Malkuth Kingdom.”
It was a simple greeting, but it exuded enough elegance.
Under the bright moonlight, her smiling figure possessed an innate nobility that only those born into royalty could have.
But none of that registered in Luther’s eyes.
What came out of her mouth was far more important.
‘Peliaru! The Sorrow of the Malkuth Kingdom!’
It didn’t mean the Aru before him was a troublemaker worthy of such a title.
Peliaru didn’t appear in Dragon Hunter Origin.
But her name came up repeatedly in the western storyline played as Anne Rose.
‘The trigger for the mermaids of the Malkuth Kingdom to harbor resentment toward the surface, and the reason one of the Seven Great Heroes, Sandalphon, came to hate surface humans.’
She had gone missing during a trip to the surface and was found as a gruesome corpse early in the southern storyline.
Not only had she been gang-raped multiple times, but her organs had been ripped out too, and her abandoned body enraged the entire Malkuth Kingdom. The Holy Empire’s south fell into a tense standoff with the Malkuth Kingdom deep in the southern seas, on the brink of war.
‘The tragedy caused by the depravity of the frontier adventurers…… wasn’t it?’
If it wasn’t surface adventurers who kidnapped Peliaru—Aru—but the Hecatoncheires.
If the Hecatoncheires had schemed to sow discord between the Malkuth Kingdom and the Holy Empire.
“Hey? Are you really okay?”
Though Aru furrowed her brow in worry, Luther couldn’t snap out of his thoughts.
‘It all makes sense.’
Even as the lowest rank, why Balboa, a dragonkin, had personally gone out to kidnap her.
Why the ‘woman with sky-blue hair’ possessed an artifact capable of teleportation.
It all fit.
If Aru truly was Peliaru, the noble Second Princess of the Malkuth Kingdom, everything was explained.
“Do you see this? Can you tell me how many there are?”
Aru waved two fingers in front of his face with a deeply concerned expression, but instead of answering, Luther broke into a wide grin and grabbed her hand firmly.
“Eek?”
[Master?!]
“Jackpot!”
Luther held Aru’s hand tightly and let out a cry of joy.
Peliaru.
Second Princess of the Malkuth Kingdom.
The woman fated to be kidnapped by the Hecatoncheires and brutally murdered.
But not anymore.
Luther himself had saved her.
Just this fact alone could create countless turning points in history, beyond imagination.
[Master!]
“Ahem, your hand is quite…… large.”
Integra was in front, Aru behind.
With her hand held by Luther, her cheeks slightly flushed, she gave an awkward smile and said that. Snapping to his senses, Luther released her hand.
“Ah, sorry. I was just so happy and grateful.”
“No, well…… you almost died and came back, so it’s understandable. Yeah, I get it.”
Instead of scolding him for rudeness, Aru blushed faintly and smiled playfully.
[Master, that wasn’t an appropriate way to express gratitude.]
[Aru’s gaze toward you seems similar to Lilia’s.]
[Deducting 1 point from the frivolous Master.]
When Integra spoke in a stern tone instead of her usual warmth, Luther fully regained his composure, straightened his expression, and said.
“I’m Luther.”
“Yes, Luther. I heard the gist from the fairy. You saved me, right?”
“Y-yeah…… but fairy?”
[She means me.]
Integra, speaking warmly again, projected a hologram from the drone attached to Luther’s arm.
It was the mini Integra he had seen several times before.
“Oh, you’re back.”
Aru reached out toward Integra as if delighted, but Integra, knowing it was a hologram and untouchable, quickly retreated to avoid her hand.
[Master, I’ve explained the situation.]
[The assassins raided her room, and while you, staying in the next room, were saving her, the ‘magic’ in her necklace activated, leaping us through space.]
“My life was in danger, and the royal necklace detected it. As for why we ended up by the water…… you can probably guess.”
Following seamlessly on Integra’s words, Aru flicked her tailfin lightly.
“Phew…… fortunate in every way.”
“Right? If you hadn’t been in the next room, Luther, I’d be dead. I won’t forget this favor.”
She even winked at the end—overall, she was a princess full of playfulness and affability.
‘The social butterfly princess type.’
Either way, it wasn’t bad.
No, it was actually good.
A sociable princess was far better than a stiff, hard-to-deal-with one.
“The ones who tried to kidnap you, Princess, are a secret society called the Hecatoncheires. Any idea who they might be?”
[Hecatoncheires? Master, how do you know about that?]
Integra asked in his head, but there was no time to answer now.
At Luther’s question, Aru furrowed her brow and shook her head.
“First time hearing the name. And to begin with…… this was my first trip out, so I don’t have any particular enemies. Well…… if I had to think, maybe the kingdom’s political strife. But that’s unlikely. It might sound immature, but…… no one in the kingdom hates me. Everyone likes me.”
Even as she said it, she blushed in embarrassment and coughed lightly, but her tone suggested she genuinely believed it.
‘Well, the truth is the Hecatoncheires anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’
For now, the important thing was to safely return Aru to the Malkuth Kingdom.
“Aru, can you contact the kingdom? For your safety, you should head back.”
At Luther’s words, Aru let out a long sigh, slumped her shoulders, and said.
“The royal necklace activated, so they’ve probably already sent people. They’ll arrive in a couple hours at latest? Uuu…… once I get back this time, I won’t even dream of going out for at least a year.”
She even pretended to whine sadly, but from Luther’s perspective, it was excellent news.
“By the way, Aru, no escorts?”
“Huh? Oh…… not right now.”
Her awkward “ehehe” smile seemed suspicious.
[Master, looks like she ran away from home.]
[She’s a delinquent girl, so best to keep your distance.]
At Integra’s words, Luther couldn’t help but chuckle.
Delinquent girl.
It was such an Integra-like term.
[Master?]
“No, nothing.”
Answering softly, Luther composed his smile and looked at Aru again.
Her age seemed around twenty, similar to Lilia.
“Anyway, so we just wait here, and the Malkuth Kingdom’s elite guards will come fetch you.”
“Unfortunately.”
Aru sighed deeply again, but since she wasn’t trying to run off again despite not wanting to return, she seemed aware of her situation.
‘Perfect.’
If Aru returned safely from here, there’d be no conflict between the Malkuth Kingdom and the Holy Empire, and naturally, the chances of the south turning into a mess would drop.
It would likely have a positive impact on the southern storyline that followed the western one too.
‘Above all…… this princess won’t suffer that horrific fate.’
The social butterfly princess currently sighing away.
Whether this was the game world or another with the same setting, Luther still wasn’t sure, but either way, it was real to him.
He had saved the Aru before his eyes.
The Aru before his eyes wouldn’t suffer that horrific fate.
Just that fact warmed a corner of his heart.
[Master, grinning like an idiot.]
[The princess will think it’s weird.]
‘No? Aru looks pleased too?’
She was smiling right back at him now.
[Uuu…… anyway, Master, what’s going on?]
[What’s this Hecatoncheires organization?]
[Is it something only you can tell me privately?]
At Integra’s questions, Luther nodded slightly.
“Yeah, exactly. I’ll tell you everything later. It’s a story…… only for you.”
[Hmm~.]
[Well…… if you say so.]
Integra hummed smugly, putting on a slightly triumphant smile as if she had no choice.
The palm-sized mini Integra looked even more doll-like and cute, but Luther kept his mouth shut for now. Aru watched the mini Integra with sparkling eyes, giggled, and gave Luther a knowing glance.
[I heard fairies are jealous and possessive. It’s true.]
It was Aru’s voice, not Integra’s.
Luther looked at her in surprise, and Aru spoke directly into his head again.
[It’s a simple message spell. Don’t underestimate me—I’m a princess, you know?]
He didn’t see the connection between princesses and message spells, but her smug look was cute, so Luther chuckled. Integra narrowed her eyes at that.
[Master, I have this feeling you’re secretly whispering with that stray-cat-like princess behind my back.]
“Nah, no way.”
Luther shook his head innocently, and Aru tilted her head as if puzzled too.
Of course, Integra’s expression grew poutier.
But right then—
The mini Integra, who had been pouting at Luther with furrowed brows and pursed lips, suddenly flinched and vanished in a burst of light.
[Master! Strong life signatures approaching!]
As she finished, Integra launched the drone.
Luther jumped to his feet and looked in the direction the drone flew.
[Sharing drone viewpoint—]
[Master! It’s a dragon!]
Luther saw it too.
The earth dragon—Balboa—with its left front leg severed, charging straight toward them.
How?
Tracking the magic traces? Or the royal necklace Aru had?
Either way, time was short.
They had spotted it shortly after launching the drone, so it wasn’t far.
[Estimated arrival at the riverbank in about 30 seconds.]
[There’s 100 meters between the riverbank and the island, but if it can swim, we can’t relax.]
[26]
[25]
[24—]
No time.
With no clue if it was tracking Aru herself or her item, sitting on the island left no easy escape.
[20]
[19]
Balboa’s form was visible in the distance.
It had lowered its stance, but it had likely spotted them too.
They had to fight.
Repelling it somehow was the best immediate option.
But how?
[14]
[13]
[12]
He had the axe.
A booster attack might work even on its dragon form.
[9]
[8]
“D-dragon?!”
Aru cried out in fear and clung to Luther’s arm like a lifeline.
Naturally, her chest pressed against his arm, and Luther realized.
[3]
[2]
[1]
“Aru.”
“Yes?”
“Roooaaaarrr—!”
As Balboa’s roar shook the entire riverbank, Luther’s hand reached toward Aru.