Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: 19. Life is a Series of Escapes (1)
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- Master, beat the dragon!
- Good job!
“Just carry it out.”
Upon receiving Iron Bat's message, I shouted to everyone.
“Please do your best, Hero!”
“Give it everything you’ve got!”
“Yes…….”
The mages among the troops began pouring mana into the magic circle they had prepared in advance.
The other soldiers, who could only watch the scene, started cheering enthusiastically for the Hero.
Of course, it was a secret not-so-secret that the Hero looked extremely reluctant.
“You don’t need to be nervous.”
“The Hero can do it.”
“Didn’t the Hero’s master say the same? That dragon has a fatal weakness!”
Right, that’s what I’d said.
Dragons have a reverse scale, so attacking it would let even a Hero win.
But talk is cheap—it’s a dragon’s reverse scale.
Just one scale among the dragon’s scales.
A scale facing the opposite direction from the others!
It’s the dragon’s weakness, but touching it enrages even the gentlest dragon!
But talk is cheap—how many scales does a dragon even have?
Finding one reversed scale on that massive body would be hard even if the dragon stayed still.
But would any dragon stay still against a human coming to kill it?
Of course not.
And this one’s an Evil Dragon that doesn’t even follow dragon laws!
No way it’d mercifully wait for its attacker!
So the Hero must feel like livestock being led to the slaughter.
“Hero!”
“Please defeat the wicked Evil Dragon!”
“Long live the Church of Nature!”
“Long live the Hero of Light, Sir Swin!”
But the atmosphere didn’t allow for backing out.
If he bailed now, the Hero—and the Church of Nature—would face massive backlash.
And our God of Nature wouldn’t tolerate that!
They’d surely block it with a divine oracle or something.
Well, if he bolts, I can use the distraction to escape too.
- Master, finish it now?
- Yeah.
“Now’s the time!”
“Wait, hold…”
With a flash of light, the Hero vanished.
The teleport magic had sent him to a nearby plain.
“Preparations are complete, right?”
“Yes, Sage! To ensure the Hero isn’t distracted, we’ve allowed no one else to approach!”
“The traps we prepared are physical ones, not magical, as per your instructions, Sage—even a dragon would struggle to detect things without mana.”
“Then I’ll handle rescuing the Princess.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and prepared to rescue the Princess.
The wicked Hero was holding her daughter hostage in the royal castle, so they couldn’t move freely.
But with the justification of rescuing the Princess and returning to the castle, it’d be simple.
Invading a dragon’s lair for that was usually insane……
“I don’t care.”
“Came?”
Dragons are magical creatures.
At the pinnacle of magic, they can do anything!
But who am I?
A master of anti-magic, a human whose body is like Phantom Flesh!
I can’t erase magic, but it doesn’t affect me!
“Hmm, let’s see…….”
Blue hair flowed long.
Skin white and fair even among northern folk.
Her frail breathing made her the picture of pitiful beauty.
“It’s the Princess.”
“The Evil Dragon wouldn’t grab anyone else—gotta be the Princess, right?”
I began the operation while gazing at the Princess lying on an ornate bed unfit for the dark cave.
“Let’s see, here and here…….”
“Ah, shouldn’t that go a bit more to the side?”
“The floor’s slanted, so this is right.”
What I was setting up was a disposable gate for teleportation.
Luxurious to make for one use, but essential for safely rescuing the Princess.
I’d slipped past the dragon’s magic traps unscathed, but the Princess would trigger them easily.
One wrong step, and if she died in a trap, it’d all be over.
That’s why I’d hounded the royal magicians into making this!
Imperial ones could’ve done it easily, but it took longer!
“Installation complete!”
“Then bye, sis—see ya later~”
I took Iron Bat, who waved at the Princess, and exited the lair.
“Sage!”
“Success?”
Yukelis, the grand magus of the Neiden Kingdom, gazed at me with eyes full of admiration as I emerged unscathed.
- Gullible uncle fooled by Master’s bluff……
- It’s my ability, so it’s not a bluff!
My one ability earned without using magic or swordsmanship…
It counts as an ability, right? Right?
“Yes. It’s done.”
I felt oddly wronged anew, but I wasn’t amateur enough to show it.
“Thank you, Sage.”
“Ah…… Princess…….”
Yukelis bowed slightly, while her handmaiden Serel wiped tears of relief.
The other soldiers looked relieved too, suggesting the Princess was well-liked.
- What if it was that clingy Imperial Princess chasing Master?
- The whole palace would be praying for the dragon’s soul.
Honestly, if it was the Imperial Princess, she’d solo-raid the dragon, drag back the corpse, and sell the bones and meat to the palace.
- Meaning she has… good conduct?
- In a way……
Few rulers earn true loyalty from their subordinates.
Even without money or power, how many would stay by their side?
Among the Emperor’s countless princes and princesses, only a handful could be counted on one hand.
- But Master escaped from the Imperial Princess, yeah?
- It was work.
The palace was terrifying, honestly.
Knight Lea was fun to tease until he slipped about my last girlfriend and couldn’t anymore; the Princess nitpicked over nothing, summoned me to the palace for titles over it, so I dumped merits on my men to avoid promotion—and they got too loyal……
And too competent, sweeping up merits until I tearfully accepted the earldom.
How much envy and jealousy did I get?
“Princess!”
Lost in memories of palace terror, I heard handmaiden Serel’s cry from afar.
They’d successfully extracted her via the makeshift gate.
“No issues?”
“None. Just a sleep spell, otherwise fine.”
Several mages worked to dispel the dragon’s sleep magic.
Not a full-powered one, but it took five mages to exhaustion before the Princess awoke.
“Wh… here…….”
“Princess!”
“Serel?”
At her frail voice, Serel burst into tears again; the Princess looked flustered but soon patted her, calming her.
Once settled, Yukelis explained the situation and urged retreat to the castle…
“No. The Hero risked his life to save me and is fighting the Evil Dragon. I can’t flee for my safety alone while abandoning him!”
With a resolute voice, she declared she’d watch the Hero versus dragon battle!
- Crazy? My perfect plan!
- Master’s perfect plans mostly fail……
- N-No, no way!
My perfect scenario of whisking the Princess to the castle and bolting was ruined.
“It’s dangerous!”
“The Hero will surely win. So please, Princess…….”
“If victory is certain, I won’t retreat!”
What’s with this resolve!
Normal royalty would boldly say, “Leave the fighting to the commoner Hero—we’ll retreat to the castle!” and drag everyone along!
“Princess.”
“Who are you?”
Persuasion was needed.
A normal royal would snap, “How dare a lowly commoner!”, but this unusual one got a normal approach.
“This is Grand Sage Naruan, master of the Hero of Light, Sir Swin.”
“Everything has gone according to the Grand Sage’s plan.”
“He personally entered the lair to make your escape possible!”
As the Princess’s gaze turned to me, her retinue unleashed praise starting with Yukelis.
- Evolved from Sage to Grand Sage……
- Grand Sage just for saving one Princess.
Because I’m the Hero’s master? Or the Grand Sage title?
Or because I saved her?
“I am Vera Lil Neiden of the Neiden Kingdom.”
“I am Naruan.”
She bowed politely—truly an unusual royal.
“The battle between my disciple Hero and the dragon is perfectly prepared. Extra variables could endanger it.”
I’d even set physical traps out of conscience before tossing him in.
He should handle it!
“So please wait for my disciple at the castle, Princess.”
Together with me!
“No, it’s fine. I can’t ignore those who risked so much for me.”
“Ah…… Princess…….”
“Truly the Princess…….”
No, guys—crying and praising is fine, but the Hero can’t beat a dragon! Face reality!
“Princess, even with the Grand Sage’s perfect plan, dragons are the strongest creatures. No human can face one alone.”
Mages get it.
As the pinnacle of genius mages, Yukelis sees reality!
“So if the Hero is in danger… this Yukelis will protect him with my life!”
That’s not it!
“Lord Yukelis!”
“I feel the same. I can’t abandon the Hero fighting the wicked Evil Dragon for our liege, the Princess!”
“Indeed!”
Damn Yukelis lit the fuse, and suicidal volunteers vowing to die for the Hero multiplied.
“Everyone…….”
The Princess watched them tearfully!
Nooo! Sure, watching fires or fights is fun, but Hero versus dragon is a death trap for spectators!
“Too many gathered might alert the dragon. It could hinder my disciple’s fight. I understand your noble intentions, but…….”
I had to stop it. Now!
Or I’d get dragged into these suicide hopefuls!
“So everyone…….”
“Yes, everyone else, hold position. Grand Sage Naruan will protect me.”
What nonsense is this girl spouting?
“I trust Naruan.”
“The Grand Sage who breached the dragon lair unscathed!”
“Please, Naruan!”
I hadn’t even spoken, and they were drumming up support themselves.
“Understood.”
But as they say, opportunity in crisis.
Show her the Hero getting wrecked, persuade her, and send her safely to the castle.
We’d watch from a mountainous spot with a good view.
“I’ll come too!”
“One more won’t hurt…….”
For persuasion, extra company wasn’t bad.
Especially her closest handmaiden—her words would sway her!
Arriving at a vantage point for the Hero-dragon clash, realization dawned.
“Ah…….”
The fatal flaw in my plan.
“Aah…….”
“Hero…….”
Ignoring the Princess and handmaiden’s shining eyes on the Hero, I turned back to the battle.
- Die, Evil Dragon!
- Kyaaaaak!
The Evil Dragon screaming and falling from the Hero’s sword!
Yes!
If the Hero beats the dragon, my entire plan goes up in smoke!