Illegal Immigrants (1)

After the frost wolf subjugation was complete, Seong Hyun-jin climbed up the cliff with a face full of satisfaction. Even after beheading the leader, he'd taken down at least five more on his own, but it still wasn't enough—he turned to Gazel and asked,

"Any other monsters around here?"

"We'll find some if we look, but we swept through this area during the first subjugation, so there aren't many left."

"Ah…."

"And above all, monsters that don't come down to civilian areas don't need to be touched. Frost giants, for example—they live deep in the canyons, so there's no need to go stirring up trouble."

Seong Hyun-jin looked disappointed at Gazel's explanation and tilted his head. "But I saw frost giants wandering the outskirts last time. Shouldn't we subjugate them?"

"Ah, we've looked into that. Kaijid young master mentioned encountering one too. Our investigation showed a frost giant pack had been broken up, and one survivor made it down there."

"Why was the frost giant pack broken up? What reason would they have for…."

Gazel answered Clarice's question simply. "A drake—a fake dragon—moved."

"What's a drake?"

"It's a drake, Seong Hyun-jin."

"Ah?"

Of course, he knew what a drake was. Unfortunately, there were none on Cheonsan, so he'd never faced one himself, but Karin had mentioned them once while explaining monsters.

Drakes are dragons that crawl on the ground. No wings, but their scales, claws, and breath are very dragon-like.

Recalling that, Seong Hyun-jin said, "Fake dragon because they resemble dragons?"

"Exactly."

At that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment, Serena frowned unpleasantly and spoke up. "Those things don't deserve to be called dragons. They're just lizards."

Realizing belatedly that she was the daughter of the Dragon Star, Gazel apologized for his rudeness. "Ah, forgive me. It was insensitive of me to say that in front of someone with dragon blood."

"…You know now, that's enough."

Seong Hyun-jin tilted his head at Serena's haughty response. "It's fake anyway—why get so upset?"

"I hate being lumped in with them. You can't put humans and monkeys on the same level, right? That's why we don't call monkeys fake humans."

"Hmm…."

Seong Hyun-jin nodded as if he understood. Then, as if to comfort her, he opened his mouth. "Still, no need to worry about it. You're the real dragon anyway, not those things. Real dragons have wings, after all."

"I don't have any either."

"Ah."

Seong Hyun-jin scratched his head. "True, but… you get what I mean, right?"

"…I do."

Serena said, "Thanks for comforting me."

"Good you appreciate it."

Having soothed Serena, Seong Hyun-jin turned back to Gazel. "But if a drake's on the move, isn't that dangerous?"

Gazel shook his head slightly at the question. "It's outside expectations, but drakes only move within their territory, so no immediate need to subjugate. We shouldn't act alone—we'll consult the duke and form a separate subjugation team later."

…Too bad, Seong Hyun-jin thought inwardly. It was a chance to fight a monster he'd never faced, but he knew Gazel's judgment was sound, so he didn't add anything.

"We'll keep patrolling west and wipe out any monsters we spot—without going too deep."

"Yes…."

Seong Hyun-jin couldn't hide his disappointment but followed Gazel's orders. As the 4th Company left the frost wolf colony and scouted the surroundings, it happened.

"Gaaahhh!!"

"!"

A scream echoed from far away.

"That's a human voice!?"

"Someone's being attacked by a monster! We have to help…!"

Ciela and Yeonhui reacted in surprise to the scream, and even Seong Hyun-jin said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bit flustered, "…Who the hell came all the way out here?"

But Clarice, looking in that direction, muttered as if something was off. "That's toward the canyon…."

Gazel seemed to find it suspicious too and calmed them. "Something's wrong. We've had this area sealed off from civilians for days—no way a civilian's in a canyon where even soldiers are restricted."

"But that sounded like a person."

"No monsters in the north mimic human voices, as far as I know."

Seong Hyun-jin and Serena didn't contradict Gazel, but the voice had been too human-like to dismiss. Gazel pondered, then raised a possibility. "…We can't rule out it being one of ours."

"Pardon?"

If not from the duke territory, Seong Hyun-jin quickly realized who it might be once he thought about it. Knowing what bordered Levatein Territory made it obvious.

"…The Empire?"

"No reports yet, but if an outpost was breached, it's possible."

Clarice asked Gazel, "But Sir Gazel, outposts don't fall that easily…."

"We left minimal forces after the first subjugation. Our soldiers are brave and won't fall easily, but it depends on the enemy."

Seong Hyun-jin recalled a past memory at Gazel's words: Willis Graham, the Empire senior knight disguised as an instructor at the academy. Picturing the retired knight's skill due to his leg, he could guess a healthy senior knight's prowess.

"A senior knight could breach it."

"Indeed. You know their level."

Seong Hyun-jin just nodded slightly, holding back words to avoid dredging up bad memories for Clarice.

"What will you do? If it's civilians, we need to rescue them fast…."

"I'll send soldiers to search the surroundings first—there might be some who've already exited the canyon. I'll scout the canyon; you all wait here."

"We can help too."

Ciela said, "We know it's trouble if academy students get hurt, but if someone really needs help, one knight might not be enough manpower."

Gazel hesitated. Their skills were top-notch, but if the Empire was involved, he couldn't drag in students. Success would be fine, but a student injured by Empire attacks would be disastrous.

"It's fine. I'll handle…."

"Take them, Sir Gazel."

Clarice stopped him from shouldering it alone. "They won't be a burden. And if it's Empire infiltrators with a senior knight, that scream means the monster they met isn't pushover—even with a senior knight."

It implied someone got hurt despite a senior knight. Clarice continued, "If it's not a monster but a lure to draw us in, that's worse. You alone can't handle a senior knight and all their foes."

"If I fight to my last breath, I could…."

"No."

Clarice cut him off firmly. "As a daughter of House Levatein, I can't afford to lose talent like you."

"…If the lady commands it, I'll obey."

Gazel couldn't refuse Clarice's order as nobility. He called his adjutant. "Adjutant, divide the soldiers into five teams for search ops. We'll head toward the scream."

"Understood, Captain."

"Then follow me."

"Yes."

Gazel led, followed by Clarice and the group. Watching their slow pace, Seong Hyun-jin thought inwardly,

Empire senior knight….

If there's one, I'd love a proper fight. The last one, Willis, was half-crippled. He wouldn't let anyone else take that chance—had to claim it first.

"Toward the canyon, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll go ahead then."

"…Pardon?"

The moment Gazel asked what that meant—

Whoosh!!

Seong Hyun-jin shot forward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the snow at incredible speed. Gazel was stunned, and Serena and the others were aghast.

"Th-that idiot's going alone again…!"

"Hyun-jin junior!! That's not it!!"

"Hyun-jin junior, wait for us!!"

"…Sometimes he really seems insane, that Seong Hyun-jin."

The massive U-shaped canyon in the northwest of Levatein Duchy. Once teeming with monsters, the first subjugation had cleared most except the frost giants deep inside, leaving it empty. No place for human screams—but now the situation had changed.

"Damn it all, why the hell is a drake here…!?"

Senior Empire knight Godin Hazard, who had razed the border outpost and infiltrated, cursed as he fled with his subordinates. Attacking the weakened outpost had succeeded, letting them slip into the duchy. But trouble hit after entering the canyon.

They'd chosen the post-subjugation canyon to avoid detection, pushing deeper. As expected, it was empty—no threats. They just had to avoid the deep frost giants.

But surprise: an uninvited guest was already there.

A massive earth dragon drake chased them at ferocious speed. Ice drakes from cold regions were larger than others yet faster, thanks to feet that slid over snow like skis, minimizing friction. No human run could shake it.

"S-Sir Godin…! Gaaah!!"

The longer they fled, the more subordinates died. Why not fight? Drakes weren't easy foes. Even Godin struggled; fighting would alert everyone, wasting the infiltration. So, flee was the only option.

Luckily, drakes stayed in their territory. Escape the canyon, and pursuit ends.

"Full speed!!"

"Yes!!"

Driven by survival, they sprinted. The ice drake that had claimed three lives inhaled deeply. Godin broke a cold sweat at the telltale sign.

"Breath…!"

"Sir Godin, we can't outrun this!"

The straight canyon offered no cover. Dodging a cold breath here was impossible.

"Tch…!"

Godin drew his sword. No choice. Better expose infiltration than die.

Turning to the breath-spewing drake, Godin raised his sword high.

"Jerugasias Style, First Form."

Boom!!

The spirit power contracted to his blade wrapped it in red sword energy, cleaving the breath in two. This time, things didn't go the drake's way.

"Quit chasing me, you lizard bastard…."

"Grrr…."

The ice drake seemed surprised its breath failed, now viewing Godin not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as easy prey but dangerous, on guard.

Godin spoke to it, as if confessing his wish. "…Yeah, you find me scary too. So how about backing off?"

"Can't do that."

"?"

At the sudden voice, Godin was puzzled at first, then horrified. He, a senior knight, hadn't pinpointed its source.

And he saw him.

"If the drake backs off, I can't catch it. Gotta catch you and the drake both."

A man stood on a precarious small tree rooted to the canyon cliff, spouting nonsense. His handsome face made the sight even stranger.

"Who the hell are you…?"

"Me? Hmm…."

He smirked, closed his mouth thoughtfully, then spoke. "Drake hunter and illegal immigrant task force?"