The Red Dragon's Lair
It was a lazy morning. After waking up at my leisure, washing up, and finishing breakfast, I headed to the knight order's training grounds with Becky in tow. Just as I passed through the central entrance, I ran into Isis coming from the opposite direction.
“Ah! Luan….”
“Sister. Where are you headed?”
“Th-that’s… Father called for me… What about you?”
“Just taking a walk. Ever since we returned from the snowy mountains, he won’t let me go outside alone. I have to move around somehow like this.”
It had already been a week since Isis and I were exposed to the White Break and became isolated. The shock must have been severe, because Ian had ordered me not to go out. At the very least, if I wanted to leave, I had to take knights with me. To ease his wariness—and since I had nowhere particular to go anyway—I had stayed cooped up in my room the entire time.
“Don’t think about it too negatively. Father is only doing it because he’s worried about you.”
“I can see that. Still, it’s stifling no matter what.”
“Yeah… I understand. A-anyway, you said you were going for a walk? I won’t bother you anymore. See you later!”
“Huh? Wait a moment! Sister!”
Isis had been conversing normally, but she suddenly started fidgeting, abruptly changed the subject, and practically fled. Watching her retreating figure, I tilted my head in suspicion.
Is something really off with her?
Ever since the incident at the hideout, the way Isis treated me had changed slightly. Whenever we ran into each other by chance, she would startle. During conversations she would stammer, and she could barely look me in the eye. It was like watching a pubescent girl stare at the boy she had a crush on.
Of course, there was no way Isis actually loved me.
“Hmm….”
While groaning in thought, I decided to ask someone else’s opinion.
“Becky.”
“Yes, young master!”
“What do you think about my sister’s behavior? Doesn’t it seem different from usual?”
“Yes. It does seem different to me too. But if we’re talking about that, the young master is even more unusual.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because the young master is so different from the rumors. You don’t seem like a scoundrel at all.”
Had I spoiled her too much? It had only been a week since she started following me around, yet Becky had completely adapted. The fact that she could casually speak her true thoughts meant she felt quite comfortable.
Is it because I’m different?
Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about Isis either. What little I knew came from the game, but the environment then and now were completely different. People couldn’t always stick to a single reaction, so forcing the image I knew onto her would be too selfish.
Yeah, that’s right.
Satisfied with my own conclusion, I was nodding when a counterpoint suddenly occurred to me.
But wasn’t she completely fine until we escaped the hideout?
The drastic change in her reaction hadn’t happened right after the hideout incident, but the next day. If releasing the cold air was the cause, it should have persisted afterward. So why had it changed so suddenly overnight?
As the situation grew more complicated, I clutched my head and eventually gave up thinking.
Ah, fuck it. I don’t know.
Even if Isis’s reaction was strange, it wasn’t a serious problem, so it was easier to just let it go. If we continued living together, she would either tell me herself or I would figure it out eventually. Or not. Whatever.
Having finished my brooding, I quickened my pace and soon arrived at the knight order’s training ground, which reeked of sweat. I acknowledged the knights’ greetings with simple nods and knocked on the office door.
Knock, knock.
-Come in.
It was an incredibly insolent tone for the eldest son of a marquis family. Thinking I could tease him for it, I opened the door and stepped inside. There, Vice Knight Commander Orca was polishing the gauntlets Elena, his adopted daughter, had given him. He looked up with a nonchalant expression, but the moment our eyes met he froze. Then he shot to his feet.
“Ah, no—young master, what brings you here?”
“Is this a place I’m not allowed to visit?”
“Not at all! There’s no way. Please, sit here. I’ll bring tea right away.”
“No need. It’s fine. Keep polishing the gauntlets while we talk. That’s enough.”
“No! Please sit down immediately!”
When I deliberately kept giving him a hard time, Orca grabbed my shoulder and forcibly sat me on the sofa. I briefly considered pretending my shoulder hurt, but I didn’t have much time, so I let it slide.
Soon Orca brought coffee.
“Here you are.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Not at all. So what brings you to see me?”
At Orca’s question, I took a sip of the overly sweet coffee—someone’s taste was clearly reflected in it—and spoke.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? What is it?”
“Tomorrow, come with me to the snowy mountains.”
I was currently under an outing ban. I couldn’t leave without taking a knight, so I was asking Orca. If he accompanied me, I wouldn’t need to drag a whole bunch of knights around.
But there was no way he would accept easily.
“I cannot allow it. After experiencing something like that recently, you still wish to go to the snowy mountains?”
“I have something to do. It’s not dangerous, so don’t worry.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hmm… Is there really no way? No matter what?”
“Yes! Even if the sky falls, it is impossible!”
Orca declared in a solemn voice befitting the model of a loyal knight, radiating strong spirit. I narrowed my eyes.
“It would be better if you accepted.”
“Threats will not work! My will shall not be broken!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Then is it okay if I tell everyone that Elena is pregnant?”
“Of course—Huh? No, how did the young master…!”
Orca, who had been shouting confidently, finally understood my words and was horrified. His pupils trembled like they were experiencing an earthquake.
It really is quite the shock.
To impregnate the daughter he had raised since childhood! It was obvious how much people would point fingers if they found out. Even if it wasn’t Orca’s scheme but him being reverse-raped by Elena, the perception wouldn’t change much.
I smiled wickedly and whispered.
“Orca. How I found out isn’t important. What matters is that our vice knight commander shamelessly violated his adopted daughter. Isn’t that right?”
“N-no! It’s not like that! Elena and I…”
“What’s not like that? Then can I just tell everyone? Hmm? That Orca’s child is growing in Elena’s belly? It was going to come out eventually anyway, so there’s no problem, right?”
“Th-that’s not… Uuuugh!”
Whether to face public condemnation or bend his beliefs. At that crossroads, I decided to give him a push.
“Orca. Think of Elena and the child. That trivial belief isn’t more precious than family, is it?”
“Young master…”
“So what will you do? Did I ask you to help me commit a crime? It’s just going to the snowy mountains. That’s all. If we don’t get caught, nothing will happen.”
As I coaxed him gently like a devil, Orca eventually surrendered. He lowered his head toward the floor.
“Understood. I will accompany you to the snowy mountains.”
“Good. You should have done that from the beginning. Let’s not make things too complicated. To Father, we’ll say we’re going to the downtown area to look around, so remember that.”
“…Yes.”
After hearing his answer, I rose from the sofa. Right before leaving, I took out a box I had prepared from my subspace pouch.
“Take this.”
“This is…”
“Baby supplies. I put in toys, shoes, and such.”
“Huh? Why is the young master…”
“Just think of it as thanks for accepting the favor. Congratulations on the pregnancy. Well, I’m off.”
It’s more impressive when a bad person does one good deed than when a good person does good deeds all the time. Leaving behind Orca’s moved gaze, I exited the office.
Now the preparations are complete.
Tomorrow, I would raid the Red Dragon’s Lair.
The next day, Orca and I bundled up tightly in cold-weather gear and headed for the snowy mountains. I stood before the red flower field I had discovered right before the White Break occurred last time, tracing the traces.
“Young master. Is it here?”
“Wait a moment. I’m looking for it. This way!”
Following the familiar terrain, we located the lair’s entrance in just thirty minutes. Long-fallen snow had frozen it solid, making it look like an ice wall from the outside, but when we broke through, a half-collapsed wall appeared. Beyond it, a corridor decorated with luxurious interiors could be glimpsed.
“Young master. Just where is this place?”
“Stay alert. This is the Red Dragon’s Lair.”
At my words, Orca’s eyes widened dramatically. He looked so shocked it seemed his eyeballs might pop out of their sockets at any moment.
“What—the Red Dragon? You’re saying you want to go in there? We can’t! Let’s run away quickly!”
“Calm down. Do you think I want to die? The Red Dragon already died a long time ago, so don’t worry. We just need to be careful of the guardian soldiers it left behind.”
The only reason I had brought Orca was to have him deal with those guardian soldiers. At my explanation, Orca seemed to regain his senses and stopped making a fuss. Once his surprise faded, however, questions arose.
“But how does the young master know about such things? I’ve never heard even the family head mention it.”
“I saw it in an ancient book in the warehouse. Discovered it by chance.”
“Oh! That’s amazing!”
“Enough with the admiration. Take the lead quickly. Other people might see and follow us.”
“Yes! Understood. Leave it to me!”
After the brief conversation, we slowly advanced into the corridor.
Good, it seems he didn’t notice.
Following behind Orca, I let out a small sigh of relief. There was a flaw in my explanation—the part about how I knew this location. Even if an ancient book recorded the entrance, it wouldn’t fully explain it. Because, as one could see, this wasn’t the official entrance but merely a corridor. The real entrance was at the summit of the snowy mountain. Precisely, in a crater now covered in ice and impossible to find. In other words, this place had originally been a volcano, and the Red Dragon’s research had drained all its heat, transforming it into snowy mountains.
And what I was aiming for was the fruit born from that very research.
While I was lost in thought, we advanced quite deep and finally encountered one of the lair’s guardian soldiers.
The guardian was a golem. The five-meter-tall figure made of black metal emitted light from its eye sockets and approached us with heavy movements.
“Young master! It’s an enemy! Please step back!”
Orca quickly stepped forward and shouted. Even against the golem radiating tremendous pressure, he didn’t flinch. He simply gauged its level, then nimbly closed in, drew out brilliant sword energy, and hacked the golem’s entire body to pieces. Before ten seconds had passed, both of the golem’s legs were severed and its core pierced.
Boom!
The golem collapsed powerlessly. The light flashing from its eyes went out, reducing it to a mere lump of metal.
As expected of Orca.
I nodded in satisfaction. I had expected it, but Orca’s prowess was more than sufficient to raid the lair. At this rate, we could head straight to the laboratory containing the elixir.
I collected the golem’s remains, put Orca in front, and continued deeper. The guardian soldiers we encountered along the way were varied—golems, gargoyles, living armors, and all sorts of magical life forms.
“This is incredible. As expected of a dragon, both the materials used for the guardians and the level of magic engraved on them are outstanding.”
“That’s why it’s better. I’ll have to sell these to the Magic Tower.”
Gathering decent side income, after progressing the raid for about two hours, we finally arrived before a door that seemed to lead to the laboratory.
“This room… feels ominous. We should be careful.”
“Yeah. Open the door.”
“Yes!”
Contrary to our worries, the door opened easily. The moment Orca fully opened it, an intense light burst before our eyes.
Fwaaaah!
An enormous amount of light swept through the surroundings. When my vision returned to normal, I found myself transported to an unfamiliar space. Orca was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a woman stood a short distance ahead.
Flame-red hair and eyes. Her beautiful fair skin and trained, firm figure were incredibly attractive, but the pair of horns on her head, the long lizard-like tail, and the vertically slit pupils made it clear she was not human.
A magical life form born using a dragon’s tooth as a medium, living its entire life in loyalty to its creator.
Dragonian.
I had expected it, but it seemed the final trial had to be faced no matter what. In the game I had only controlled the main character, so I thought sending Orca in first would let me avoid the trial. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“Tch! I had a feeling.”
Moreover, in normal trials, a Dragonian of the same level as the intruder would be summoned. The problem was that even the weakest Dragonian was at least level 200. I would have to fight one whose level was a full hundred higher than mine.
As I clicked my tongue, the Dragonian pointed her spear at me and declared arrogantly.
Prove your worth.
Those who prove their worth shall be granted glory.
Even until the moment of his death, Red Dragon Vulcanus had clung to the research he could not complete and devised this system. He hoped that whoever overcame the trial would finish his work.
I’ll complete that research for you.
Though it would probably be a little different from what he wanted.
“Alright. I’ll rape you.”
For reference, this Dragonian’s body had been created based on the creator himself.