Aeos Academy... Third Year
“Hmm, they got here faster than I expected.”
I sensed a presence outside. Slowly gathering my sword, I stretched once and settled into a ready stance.
The Dragonmen, watching me prepare for battle, tensed up right along with me. Their mouths gagged so they couldn’t signal anything, they could only twist their bodies and cheer enthusiastically for the Dragonmen outside.
The sight was oddly cute, so I sneered at them, then lunged forward the instant the door burst open.
My plan was to drop the first Dragonman in front of me and start from there. I charged, knocked him down, and was about to smash the flat of my blade into his head when—
“......!”
“A Beastman?”
It wasn’t a Dragonman under me. A Beastman with striking smooth black skin lay pinned beneath me, staring up in pure terror.
“Daniel?”
A familiar voice came from ahead.
“Eris?”
The elf Eris, and beside her a small-statured dwarf. What kind of party was this supposed to be? Then the Beastman under me shouted.
“Get off me!”
“Hmm.”
He seemed to be reacting even more violently out of embarrassment over how scared he’d just been. The dwarf snickered and needled him further.
“Looking at you getting owned by a mere human kid, I can tell exactly how skilled you are.”
“Shut up!”
They clearly didn’t get along very well. I wondered why a party like this had even formed and come here, but Eris rushed straight at me.
Her scent and warmth felt so soft. Being a man, I couldn’t help flushing when the full symbol of her abundance pressed against my chest—
Yet while I was having those base thoughts even in a situation like this, Eris teared up a little and hugged me even tighter.
“I’m so glad. Really, truly glad.”
“Eris?”
“When I heard you’d gone to the Dragon Lands, I was so incredibly worried. I kept thinking something terrible might have happened to you.”
Coming in here was basically no different from throwing your life away. A slightly flashier way of committing suicide, maybe?
“Especially with all the traps set up around here—I was so worried you might have fallen into one. I’m just so relieved.”
“...Yeah, there were a lot of traps.”
Surviving in the Demon World Forest required all sorts of skills, and traps ranked high among them. Even when hunting ancient magic beasts, most fights started with traps.
If I mentioned that I’d been the one who set the traps here, the mood would get weird, so I just leaned further into Eris’s warmth.
Eris put a little more strength into her arms as well, and that moment that had felt like it could last forever ended because of the short dwarf and the sulking Beastman.
“Ahem, if you’re going to do that, take it to a bed.”
“I heard humans are always in heat, but are elves the same?”
“W-what are you saying!”
Face flaming, Eris shoved me away and shouted at the two of them in shock, while I could only fidget my fingers in regret.
Was a woman’s embrace really this comforting?
It was a truly rare experience I never knew back when I was the Sherpa who survived ten years in the Demon World Forest.
It was because of the Mark of Artemis in Eris’s eyes that they could avoid the traps.
Honestly, I’d been surprised the Dragonmen would arrive this fast, but if Eris was with them, that changed everything.
The Dragonmen are probably still having a hell of a time getting here.
The closer you got to this place, the more traps there were. Traps so subtle even the sensitive magic beasts living in the Demon World Forest wouldn’t notice them—ones you couldn’t even dismantle.
Wishing the struggling Dragonmen a sort of farewell, I led the three of them inside as if showing them to a room.
“......”
“Oh? You’re no ordinary brat, are you?”
“Is that a Heresy Inquisitor?”
The moment they saw the restrained Dragonmen, the dwarf and Beastman looked at me with completely different eyes than before.
The dwarf was calling me a brat when he was even smaller, but whatever.
I had nothing like tea to offer, so under the disappointed gazes of the Dragonmen who’d been hoping for rescue, I introduced myself right away.
“Daniel McLane. Third-year student at Aeos Academy.”
“A student? Hmm, a student did all this?”
“Irresponsible.”
The Beastman growled and crossed his arms.
“If you pull something like this, how do you plan to clean it up afterward? Once you cross the Dragon’s Border, jurisdiction over you belongs to the Dragonmen, but this isn’t a problem that ends with simply executing you.”
“......”
“Still young and immature.”
“You don’t seem to get it. No race is as prideful as the Dragonmen.”
Where did he get off talking down to me? I answered in the same informal tone.
This continent has countless races. Plenty of the well-known ones, and just as many hidden ones.
The Demon World Forest was a prime example. The ancient magic beasts there were beings that went far beyond the category of mere magic beasts.
But even among them, the race with the highest noses was the Dragonmen—just because they worshipped dragons.
Like a little brother swaggering behind a tough older brother.
“Even if the Frisia Kingdom demanded an explanation, the Dragonmen would ignore it. You think they’d listen to an ordinary student like me?”
“......”
“Responsibility? How am I going to take responsibility? I’m not.”
“What?”
From the Beastman to the dwarf and even Eris, they all waited for my next words. In truth, it was a simpler problem than they thought.
“You just beat them so badly they can’t go around blabbing about it, right?”
Could an adult go around saying he got beaten like a dog by some neighborhood kid? Especially if that adult held a high position like a knight commander?
There was a chance of secret revenge later, but they couldn’t openly drag a kid into a courtroom.
They talked about protecting honor, but to put it bluntly—
“It’d be so humiliating they’d want to die.”
Humans, whom they looked down on.
If they took catastrophic damage from an eighteen-year-old student, this wouldn’t just be a problem for the Inquisitors guarding the Dragon’s Border.
It would be a disgrace for the entire race.
The moment other races found out, the sound of thousands of Dragonmen ripping their blankets in shame would echo across the continent.
They’d be more likely to offer a backroom deal begging us to keep quiet.
“You think that’s possible?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Of course, this rested on the premise that I inflicted enough damage for the Dragonmen to feel that way. Their combat ability was as high as their pride.
As the staring contest between the Beastman and me continued, Eris finally stepped in to mediate.
“That’s enough. This isn’t the time for us to be fighting among ourselves.”
“Ahem. I’ll side with this brat. He’s already proven his skill.”
Stroking his beard, the dwarf jerked his chin toward the bound Dragonmen.
“Not just the Heresy Inquisitors—he cleaned out this entire outpost alone? That alone shows he’s got real ability.”
“......”
“Just because your body’s scrawny doesn’t mean your mind has to be narrow too. Are all Beastmen like that?”
“It would be wise not to push your luck too far.”
Watching the two of them suddenly start bickering among themselves, I let out a disbelieving breath.
Fed up with dealing with them, I sat down in a chair, and Eris carefully approached.
“If you’re hurt anywhere, please show me. I’ll treat you.”
“Nah, I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“That can’t be. The Inquisitors and their agents are frontline warriors. Even among prideful Dragonmen, they’re quite strong, just like you said.”
“But I’m really not.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t have to act tough.”
Then Eris suddenly started undoing the buttons of my dress shirt.
I’d come straight here still in my school uniform, so I’d taken off the cardigan and was only wearing the shirt—the buttons came undone in an instant.
“W-wait a second.”
I panicked and tried to lean back, but the chair toppled. I fell backward, the fully unbuttoned shirt fluttering open and leaving my chest completely bare.
“......”
“I-I’m so sorry. But you really don’t have any wounds.”
“That’s what I said.”
I quickly fixed my clothes and stood up again. Eris was fanning her face with her hand, trying to cool her bright-red cheeks.
“I’ve heard rumors that elves have surprisingly strong libidos.”
“Hmm, when is an elf’s heat cycle?”
“Aren’t they always in heat like humans? I heard they’re not called elves but ‘eroves’...”
“Who! Who on earth calls them that!”
The two other races, who’d stopped fighting to watch us, started offering their opinions.
I didn’t say much, busy calming my racing heart, but Eris reacted fiercely.
“Elves don’t have heat cycles! And ‘eroves’? Where did that filthy nickname even—”
“Saying you don’t have a heat cycle just means you’re always in heat, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm.”
“That’s enough!”
While we were bickering and killing time, I stopped the three of them mid-conversation, slowly rose from my seat, and took up my sword.
“Let’s go.”
At last, the long-awaited heavy-assed guests had arrived.
Damn it!
Keyalmirek, Heresy Inquisitor of the Yonghwa Outpost, had no choice but to curse inwardly.
The closer they got to the Yonggak Outpost, the more complex and varied the traps became—yet with a strange mercy that never quite took a life.
Traps that thoroughly scraped at the Dragonmen’s nerves, yet their advance still couldn’t speed up.
In the end—
Even the High Inquisitor who commanded every Inquisitor under him had reached this place right in front of Keyalmirek.
“You’ve done well. Judging by the number of traps, I understand why you couldn’t suppress them quickly.”
At the High Inquisitor’s words, the other Inquisitors noisily insisted it was their own fault, while struggling to hide the smiles forming at the corners of their mouths.
He had acknowledged the enemy’s ability rather than their incompetence.
That alone lightened the yoke the Inquisitors had to bear—but Keyalmirek, whose conscience was far from clean, could only feel more nauseated.
I can’t let the High Inquisitor speak with the human.
Better to charge the moment he saw the bastard. Yes—cut off any conversation entirely.
If he claimed he’d been blinded by the desire for merit, he’d be reprimanded, but they wouldn’t make a major issue of it.
The man was a criminal for summary execution anyway.
They reached the very front of the Yonggak Outpost, and a boy in a school dress shirt was there to greet them.
“Not particularly old.”
The High Inquisitor stroked his chin, murmuring as if he’d gauged the human’s age.
And Keyalmirek charged forward exactly as planned.
“In the name of the dragons, the heretic shall be executed!”
Keyalmirek surged ahead with his massive halberd. The other Inquisitors called out to him in panic, but his halberd was already swinging down hard right in front of the boy—
His vision spun.
Keyalmirek couldn’t properly grasp what had happened.
What he did know for certain was this:
His face smashed into the dirt, his body splayed flat like a frog, and the man sitting on top of him.
Even through the pain wracking his entire body, Keyalmirek tried to rise immediately—but the boy’s sword stabbed straight through his hand and pinned it like a nail.
“Gaaaaah!”
“Ready to negotiate?”
The boy’s voice rang out coldly. Among the Inquisitors, Keyalmirek was evaluated as one of the most outstanding in pure combat power, alongside Zeronia.
Yet he had been handled like a child and taken prisoner by the enemy in an instant, right in front of everyone.
The other Dragonmen could only panic, but the High Inquisitor with the dignified white beard stepped forward.
“I am High Inquisitor Shalemas. Boy, what is your name?”
“Why would you need to know that? More importantly, what about my demands? Did you bring the information?”
Watching Daniel snort, Shalemas slowly tightened his grip on his spear.
“Boy, you seem to be under some misconception. Speaking with you now is merely my curiosity. I have zero interest in the lives of the Dragonmen you’ve taken prisoner.”
Keyalmirek flinched at the sudden chill in Shalemas’s gaze.
“If we simply overwhelm you here, what can you do? Boy, your spirit was admirable, but you lack wisdom.”
“You’re the ones who seem to be mistaken.”
Thud.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Keyalmirek clutched his hand and screamed.
Daniel’s sword pulled free. He slowly rose from atop Keyalmirek and spoke.
“Me talking to you right now is a kind of mercy. I’ll ask again—humans are turning into Dragonmen. You’ve brought the reason for that, right?”
Daniel McLane’s killing intent suddenly spread. Starting from the fact that he was no ordinary human, a reevaluation of who held the upper hand was urgently needed.
“Or you all die right here.”
Dragonmen had sharp senses.
Brief as it was, every one of them felt it.
To stop that boy, everyone present would have to stake their lives in a desperate battle.
“......”
Shalemas swallowed hard and fidgeted with his spear. Information? There was no such thing.
He hadn’t even planned to prepare any. Just kill one human and it would be over—why go to the trouble?
No choice.
Shalemas finally made his decision. No matter what happened here, they would have to fight. They couldn’t simply let the boy go.
He’s just one boy. Even if we take some losses, we can clean it up so no rumors spread.
Just as he thought that and prepared to charge—
A Beastman burst out from behind.
“I am Jaguar Backflin, captain of the Silent Claws under Beast King Raizer. I demand the same information as this boy.”
The black Beastman produced a document bearing the Beast King’s personal signature, and Shalemas couldn’t help but be startled.
A direct subordinate of the Beast King?
If they mishandled this, it could escalate into war with the Beastmen.
And it didn’t end there. A dwarf approached from behind with a hearty laugh.
“Haha, so you had the Beast King as your backer? No wonder you were so irritating. Listen well—I am Hassim Bellok, a Meister who holds one of the Seven Hammers.”
Most dwarves were blacksmiths by trade. Among them, the title of Meister was given to the seven who had reached the highest realm.
The dwarf race itself was so reclusive, hammering away among themselves, that the name Hassim Bellok wasn’t widely known—but the Meister’s token he carried was clearly genuine at a glance.
“What in the world...”
Shalemas could only be bewildered at why this was happening.
A direct subordinate of the Beast King, and now a Meister as well?
But it still wasn’t over.
A beautiful elf slowly approached Daniel’s side. Her mere appearance seemed to cast a soft light into the surrounding darkness.
A clear, lovely voice left her demure lips.
“I am Eris Anen Seriyer, Guardian of Yggdrasil. I demand an explanation from you Dragonmen regarding the current situation.”
The elves were ruled by a queen.
But the rank immediately below her—the existence that stiff-necked elves, who formed a dual carriage with the Dragonmen, all proclaimed as their pride.
The lofty title that proved both the supreme honor of protecting Yggdrasil, which embraced every elf, and the mighty power that came with it.
Guardian of Yggdrasil.
At Eris’s appearance, Shalemas desperately clung to a consciousness that felt ready to faint as he looked at the boy.
Then who was that boy?
The boy radiating far more overwhelming killing intent than those three—just who was he?
After Eris’s appearance, the atmosphere shifted completely.
I’d thought the flow had come over to our side, but every gaze was fixed squarely on me.
Ah, don’t tell me...
I don’t want to.
I really don’t want to.
But with the Dragonmen’s eyes, and even the Beastman and dwarf looking at me, I spoke in a small, almost whispering voice.
“Daniel McLane. Aeos Academy... third year.”
Ugh, so embarrassing!