Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: 46. Cataclysm (4)
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Hwak... Hwak...
Faint sounds drifted in from somewhere.
In my hazy state, I simply lay there listening to them.
The sounds gradually grew louder.
Hwak. Hwak.
It was unmistakably the sound of something flapping its wings.
Terribly leisurely and relaxed, coming across as infinitely arrogant.
[Aaaaaaaah!]
At that moment, a clear cry rang out.
My eyes snapped open.
The tent ceiling swayed violently in the wind.
I blinked slowly.
Nothing could be heard anymore. Not that chilling cry, nor the arrogant wingbeats.
Thump thump thump.
Yet my heart was still pounding like mad.
"Y-Your Highness?"
Then a hoarse voice called out. Two blurry figures suddenly entered my field of vision.
I focused my eyes, and the fuzzy world sharpened a bit.
Adelia Bayern, looking utterly exhausted, gazed down at me. Her gentle, kind eyes quickly welled up with tears.
"Ahh..."
Beside her was a maidservant with an ambiguous expression, neither smiling nor crying.
I stared at them quietly before abruptly sitting up.
My head spun. I squeezed my eyes shut then open, forcibly shaking off the dizziness. I dragged my unresponsive body up from the bed.
My heart raced wildly. The wingbeats still echoed in my ears.
I headed for the tent flap, suppressing the vertigo.
I pushed aside the thick fabric and stepped out, looking up at the sky.
"Ah..."
Nothing was there.
The clear blue sky held not a single cloud.
The being that had set my heart pounding was nowhere to be seen.
Only then did I exhale the breath I'd been holding.
My strength gave out with a snap, and I staggered.
"Y-Your Highness!"
The startled women rushed to support me before I could collapse.
"It was a dream, huh."
I felt relieved. And disappointed at the same time.
Then I flinched in surprise.
What exactly had I imagined, and what had I hoped for, to feel both relief and disappointment?
While lost in thought, Adelia and the maidservant laid me back down on the bed.
"How many days has it been?"
"It's been ten full days since Your Highness lost consciousness. I thought you might never wake..."
Adelia swallowed her tears as she answered, but they soon streamed down her cheeks anyway.
I raised a hand to wipe them away, but my strength failed, and it dropped.
With a soft thud, Adelia caught my hand and pressed it back to her cheek.
The maidservant tapped the back of my hand with her fingers.
I turned my head to see her mouthing words.
Are you okay now?
"I'm a bit weak, but that'll fix itself with some food and rest..."
Only then did she beam brightly.
"What about Ilai and the others?"
At my question, Adelia wiped her tears with her free hand and replied.
"While Your Highness was unconscious, everything was chaos! Young Master Ilai has been busy investigating all over because of it."
Her voice held a hint of excitement. It was like a child proudly boasting their own feat.
I smiled, waiting quietly to hear what grand tale she had.
"Can you believe it? A dragon! Your Highness, you should've seen it!"
The corners of my mouth, which had crept up, froze solid.
"What?"
Adelia turned at my word, her face instantly paling in fear.
"Y-Your Highness, why so suddenly..."
"Say that again."
I knew full well what my face must look like right now. Even my voice was rough as gravel.
But I couldn't comfort Adelia.
"A dragon appeared?"
From the moment I heard the word 'dragon' in her words, my heart began pounding wildly again.
"Y-Your Highness. W-Well, a dragon did appear. But people say it was a Fire Dragon... I thought disaster had struck, but it just passed by..."
Adelia babbled incoherently, her face on the verge of tears.
Amid the jumbled words, only 'Fire Dragon' stuck in my ears.
I'd thought it was a dream.
But it was real.
A dragon that had vanished centuries ago had returned to the world.
And not just any dragon, but the mightiest Fire Dragon.
The maidservant mouthed words and gestured with her hands.
Calm down. You need rest right now.
But my heart had long escaped my control.
Grip.
I clutched my chest. It hurt like it was tearing apart.
Agnes Bayern had shouldered the soul's burden I had to bear, but not the physical toll on my body.
The mana and muscle power needed to reenact a [Myth] were entirely on me.
As a result, my heart was completely drained.
Not a scrap of mana left.
I had to leave it like that for now.
Until the heart, which had poured out overwhelming mana in an instant and turned to mush, hardened again.
Yet that heart, which needed absolute rest, thrashed wildly on its own, greedily sucking in energy.
Would gulping a handful of hot sand after two weeks of thirst hurt this much?
Would swallowing a knife blade after ten days of starvation be this agonizing?
A different kind of pain from my skin wounds forced groans from me.
Still, I somehow endured, suppressing the rampaging heart.
It wouldn't calm easily, but I managed to stop more energy from gathering.
The excruciating pain lingered, though.
"Urgh."
A stifled groan finally escaped through my teeth.
At this rate, my heart would shatter to pieces. I expelled the gathered energy with all my might.
Flash!
As the pain eased, a horrific weakness pinned me down.
I endured as long as I could before blacking out again.
When I came to again, many people gazed down at me with worried faces.
Dotrin's prince, old man Burck, the veteran knights. And my companions.
I asked how long I'd slept this time.
"About half a day. It's night now."
Fortunately, not much time had passed.
"Can you help me up?"
At my words, the maidservant supported me.
As I managed to sit halfway up, Adelia swiftly propped a pillow behind my back. It wasn't very soft, but that made it more comfortable to lean against.
"Hoo, hoo."
I leaned back and caught my breath for a while before asking.
"The war?"
"Trading blows, now in a stalemate."
Doris briefly summarized what had happened while I was out.
The Black Spear Cavalry's massive achievements and the subsequent ambush.
The unrest among the imperial troops hiding in the great trees.
"...So we were about to take to the skies blindly to smash their supply base completely! That's when it appeared."
Doris's long tale naturally led to the Fire Dragon.
"It was truly horrifying. Honestly, I thought our Sky Knights could handle a dragon. Right up until I saw it. What arrogant, foolish thinking that was."
Doris shook his head.
Then he quickly flashed a cheerful grin, joking that now the Dragon Slayer's heir was awake, there was nothing to worry about.
But fear flickered in the prince's eyes despite his forced cheer.
No matter how hard he pretended otherwise, he couldn't hide the terror etched into his soul.
It was only natural.
If witnessing a dragon left one's soul unscathed, that would be the real oddity.
As I stayed silent, Doris kept chattering compulsively.
He marveled anew at the Leonberger house's greatness. Beating such a monster? Unbelievable.
I listened to the prince's prattle quietly before giving a wry smile.
The Fire Dragon was a monster on another level from the Mad Dragon, now just lyrics in the [Era of True Dragons].
The world's oldest being. The mightiest among mighty dragons.
The Fire Dragon was the emperor of dragons.
I was certain—even if the entire Frostpeak expedition returned alive and gathered, they couldn't handle the Fire Dragon.
Not speculation, but near conviction.
Too many failures already.
Giant generals and elite legionaries.
Greenskin warlords and berserkers.
Dwarf meisters and arquebusiers.
Elven high elves and guardians.
Those who challenged the Fire Dragon—none could claim inferiority to Leonberger's founder and his knights.
Yet all failed. Miserably.
The Fire Dragon was a true monster.
And now that monster had reappeared in this world.
The silver lining in this misfortune: this supremely arrogant being had little interest in worldly affairs.
All dragons were like that, but the Fire Dragon especially so. It even scorned other dragons, looking down on them.
Thus, it was alone.
Entangled with nothing.
It simply existed.
As long as we didn't provoke it first, it wouldn't rampage.
I explained to the others, toning it down appropriately.
"Lucky us. Honestly, I never wanted to fight that thing."
Doris, relieved, suddenly asked as if it just occurred to him.
"But if dragons are like that and won't cause trouble, why did the Leonbergers go through hell to hunt the Mad Dragon?"
"Why do you think it was called the Mad Dragon? It was a lunatic dragon. Too human-like for a dragon. It even obsessed over building its own kingdom."
"I see! So that's why Mad Dragon!"
I'd just stated the obvious—that a mad dragon was indeed mad—but Doris reacted like it was a revelation.
The same old airheaded prince.
After that, Doris peppered me with random questions. Then he suddenly looked at me intently.
"As a member of Dotrin's royal house and a Dotrin knight, I thank you for your devotion and sacrifice. Truly, thank you. So many allies survived because of you."
He bowed deeply and formally. I replied that I'd just repaid a debt, so no need to mind.
But he insisted on repaying it someday, thanking me repeatedly.
At this rate, it'd go on all day, so I shooed him out.
Once the prince left, old man Burck approached hesitantly.
"I heard everything, Your Highness. No, I heard. So you're the rightful heir of Leonberger. I thought you were just a flashy mercenary. If I've been rude, I apologize."
"No rudeness. I'm still a mercenary now. Treat me as before."
"Shall I?"
Old man Burck agreed readily, without hesitation.
"I've always thought it, but you're too sly, old man."
"Only more than a prince playing mercenary in foreign lands, cracking jokes with an old fogey."
The cackling elder suddenly shut his mouth.
"Hm."
The old man, who hadn't hesitated at 'treat as mercenary,' now faltered, making me uneasy.
"My true identity and past contract are separate. Don't think of stiffing me on the pay."
"Burck Vurten never breaks his word in life."
"Not that, then what? Why act like a dog desperate to shit?"
"Now that your status is out, you go wild."
"So what do you want to say?"
As we bickered, the veteran knights nudged their lord.
Startled, old man Burck bowed to me.
"Sorry. If my words burdened you, I sincerely apologize. An ignorant old man misspoke."
The prince bows to thank, the old noble bows to apologize.
I just laughed.
After shooing them all out, Bernard Ilai began harassing me.
"Did you have to go that far! This isn't even our kingdom—why risk your life like that?"
His face bruised, lips split—had he joined the fights while I was out?—he nagged relentlessly, face muscles unstrained.
Half scolding me for risking life in a foreign war, half urging we return home now that we'd done enough.
I said I'd think after recovering, shooing Ilai away.
The equally battered three from Gwerwein stared silently before leaving.
No greetings.
"Despite appearances, Sir Gwerwein and his comrades visited the tent daily to check on Your Highness."
"Not to confirm if I was dead?"
"Of course not."
"Adelia. Adelia. The world isn't the flower garden you think. He and I will never get along. He knows, I know. You're the only one who doesn't."
Normally she'd stop at my words, but Adelia defended the three to the end.
The maidservant tapped my hand.
While gone. Berserk. Rampage. Injuries. All. Because of her.
I laughed in disbelief at her signs.
Apparently, my trait had flared during the rampage, and I'd injured them slightly. She was defending them out of guilt.
I grasped the situation instantly.
"Adelia has such a kind heart. No need to worry over something so trivial."
At my words, Adelia awkwardly averted her gaze. Behind her, the maidservant signed.
Rampage. Beyond battle. Not trivial.
Not content with signs, she mouthed.
Don't lose consciousness again.
She must have suffered greatly—her usually stoic face showed clear trauma.
I just laughed.
But not from the heart.
Why had the Fire Dragon, vanished after the Great War, appeared now? Was this another omen?
Lost in layered thoughts, I recalled something overshadowed by the Fire Dragon's presence.
The eerie, ominous phenomenon—not quite a solar eclipse.
Then someone spoke in my mind.
It was the Sword Saint's voice, who had bid a grand farewell, telling me to be joyful.
"Anne?"
I called her name with gladness and question. She cleared her throat awkwardly.
But only briefly, she spoke gravely as never before.
The world was changing. Even now, fiercely so.
A change I couldn't sense, mana depleted.
Agnes's parched voice pierced my ear.
She said everything mirrored the Great War era.
One difference:
Only that the world's master had changed.