The Dragon Daughter's Obsession
The Dragon Daughter loved the Hero far too much.
Zignite van Carbandia. The man known as the Dragon Shield Duke, the de facto ruler of the eastern reaches of the Empire. One could argue that an independent kingdom had formed around him within the Empire itself. In jest, people said that if he ever seriously gathered the nobility and staged a rebellion, the Empire would fall in the blink of an eye.
Under this powerful duke were two sons and one cherished daughter. Checire van Carbandia—the young lady of House Carbandia, widely known by the alias Dragon Daughter.
…And the person the duke was trying to pair me with.
“That matter…”
“Yes, you clearly refused. But wasn’t the reason because you already had someone you loved?”
“…”
“Even though that person is no longer around?”
The duke’s red eyes carried an overwhelming presence that seemed to pierce through every truth. The vertically slit pupils, as if they truly belonged to a dragon, naturally exuded an oppressive aura. Cold sweat trickled down my back. I already knew all too well that lying in front of him was pointless.
“That’s… true, but… I haven’t given any thought to marrying the young lady yet.”
“As expected, you never lie no matter what. That part of you truly pleases me.”
The duke had the appearance of a middle-aged man with silver hair and wrinkles, yet the pressure he emanated was on an entirely different level from any other powerhouse. A Grand Master. One of the few supreme beings on the entire continent who had stepped beyond the threshold of that pinnacle. The man before me was precisely that.
“Then you must know that Carbandia’s assistance ends with the investigation into Archbishop Henvil. So why have you come all this way, Hero?”
He called me Hero. It meant he would treat me solely in my capacity as the Hero, setting aside the individual named Leon.
“I need to clean up the northern nobility of the capital.”
“The reason?”
“They colluded with dark mages. The recent massacre of demons in the capital was also their doing.”
“I’ve heard about it. You’ve done the Empire a great service.”
“…You flatter me.”
That remark was essentially asking what those dark-mage-colluding nobles could actually offer him—offer Carbandia—in practical terms. A sly old snake. If I failed to catch on to what he wanted, the conversation would end right there. His style was to circle around the real issue until the other party grew frustrated and left without ever realizing what they had done wrong.
I guess I have no choice but to play along with my head held high.
That was exactly why I had raced here for days on end right after killing the demons.
“…First, I’ve brought a gift.”
After reading the duke’s expression, I opened my inventory without a chant. A small spatial rift appeared, and he watched with clear interest. The direct descendants of Carbandia weren’t dragons themselves, but with dragon blood flowing through them, they were practically the sovereigns of magic. If he had truly wished it, opening the inventory in his presence would have been impossible.
I immediately pulled out the item I had stored deep inside.
A pure white body with a translucent, shimmering bowstring. The blue crystals embedded here and there only added to its dignity. The Tyrant of the Skies, the one that could summon storms with a single flap of its wings. The bow crafted from its wing bones revealed its form.
“…Isn’t that the Divine Archer’s bow?”
“It was. I was the one who gave it to her.”
“I heard the qualification was proven by the Divine Archer herself?”
Now that the gift’s identity was revealed, he showed genuine interest. He stroked his chin and adjusted his posture. One of his well-known hobbies was collecting items related to dragons. There was a perfectly logical reason for it. When the descendants of Carbandia used dragon-related equipment, their efficiency increased several times over. If the Tyrant were placed in the duke’s hands right now, I could easily imagine storms of arrows capable of leveling an entire mountain raining down.
“I was the one who proved it.”
“Oh?”
He didn’t bother asking again. Saying that I had proven the Tyrant’s qualification ultimately meant… that I was also the archer recognized by an ancient dragon.
If Tyrant was the name of a dragon, why had that name come to be associated with a single bow? The reason was that the Tyrant of the Skies—the dictator of the heavens—had wished to pour its soul into a bow made from its own wing bones.
…And that wish had been perfectly fulfilled by a kidnapped Majestic-grade dwarf blacksmith.
When we first discovered the Tyrant amid the blizzard-swept snowy mountains, we couldn’t believe it was a bow.
It was just lying there in the exact shape of a dragon.
A beautiful, merciless, and colossal dragon. We immediately took combat stances and stayed on guard, but the dragon never moved. It simply opened its eyes occasionally and looked at me. That alone told me it was giving me a chance to prove myself.
So I kept visiting.
To pierce through the wind somehow, to reach the truth beyond the dragon’s form.
…After many tedious stories, I ultimately earned the Tyrant’s recognition. The problem was that I had entrusted the bow I worked so hard to obtain to Serin, believing she would grow into the party’s Divine Archer.
“So that’s why you’re showing such deep resentment.”
The duke nodded as if he had seen through every single detail with those unique eyes of his, even though I hadn’t spelled out the whole story. He wasn’t wrong. The Tyrant probably wanted to continue displaying its majesty in my hands.
“I will give you the Tyrant. And once the northern noble district in the capital—the center of it—is cleared out, you will gain considerable benefits. I’m sure you’re aware of that.”
“My, my. Unlike the Empire’s sword, you’ve learned to use your head quite well.”
“Will you refuse?”
He looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, What shall I do? It was an unpleasant habit. He knew he held absolute superiority and was deliberately playing coy.
The duke was not an absolute villain. He was a giant who moved with a clear sense of right and wrong. He simply secured his own interests. It meant he was neither a perfect saint nor someone who wouldn’t fiercely protect his family’s gains.
“Hmm. But if it’s information networks and backing you need, wouldn’t it be better to ask our daughter directly, Leon?”
He called me Leon again. That was as good as permission for the proposal I had put forward. From this point on, it would be better to show him the face of a young man named Leon rather than the stiff, official demeanor of the Hero.
“…That’s—”
Lucy Heart. A veteran who prided herself on having experienced nearly every absurd situation imaginable while surviving the back alleys. Yet right now, she was sweating profusely and extremely tense over something she was experiencing for the very first time in her life.
Long, flowing silver hair that reached down her back. In stark contrast, burning red dragon eyes. The Dragon Daughter, Checire van Carbandia, was kneeling and staring straight at her as she trembled.
Hero, please…!!!
After resolving the tragedy in the capital, Leon had dragged her straight here. She had adamantly refused, saying she had to handle Ashen Scales business and gather information on the noble district, but Leon never listened to anyone. And instead of staying with her until the end, he had thrown her right in front of the Dragon Daughter.
I’ll never forgive him…!!
No matter how terrifying the Hero was, from her perspective, this was simply unbearable.
“Your expression looks rather resentful, doesn’t it?”
…Once she shook off the disaster before her, she would get her revenge.
“Haha, hahaha. N-no way! Why would I? There’s no reason for that~?”
Lucy Heart forced a smile, tilting her head and fanning herself with her hand. She was desperately trying to dry the cold sweat that kept pouring out so it wouldn’t show.
“So.”
“Hic.”
“Why did you come here with my husband?”
Husband…? Lucy Heart’s mind went completely blank for a moment. The Hero and the incredible Dragon Daughter were in that kind of relationship…?
Wait, but that can’t be right?
The stories she had heard were slightly different. Honestly, from Lucy’s perspective, the Dragon Daughter was far more beautiful than those bitches in the Hero’s party. She seemed to possess every charm a woman could possibly have, beyond mere elegance.
Don’t tell me he was aiming for her too…?
The Hero she had seen so far didn’t seem like that kind of person, but… in this world, there was no such thing as absolute truth one could believe until the very end…
However, she quickly realized that was a misunderstanding on her part.
“I won’t forgive you. My husband is a man who exists only for me! I cannot allow this…!!”
Ah.
She’s crazy too.
With an eerily expressionless face, the Dragon Daughter summoned a golden spear and pointed it at Lucy. Blue sparks of electricity crackled at its tip, stinging the end of Lucy’s nose.
“N-no, no no no! The Hero and I are not in that kind of relationship! Please, take it away! I beg you!”
“Hmph? Really?”
“O-of course! Truly—”
And at that exact moment, a man burst through the door.
The man with far too many sins—the Hero, Leon. Lucy looked at him with the expression of someone who had seen their savior.
“…Please refrain from threatening my people.”
Lucy’s hopes shattered in an instant.
“S-see! I clearly told you all the other women were nothing but whores…!!”
“Well… that part turned out to be correct, I suppose.”
The Hero started to say something but recalled the three insect-like women and found himself at a loss for words. He glanced at Lucy and let out a deep sigh.
In truth, calling Lucy “my people” wasn’t because he was dense or oblivious. It was because Checire’s excessive love needed to be moderated. Otherwise, who knew what might happen?
“…I came because I have a gift to deliver on the duke’s orders.”
“…!!!”
Without even waiting to hear what the gift was, she rushed at Leon and hugged him fiercely. Her body was smaller than expected, so he wasn’t crushed, but it still looked rather burdensome. That was why Leon occasionally felt the need to temper her affection.
In reality, there had been no need to bring Lucy along, but it also felt like he had brought her for this very purpose.
“Oh, right—the gift. So what is it, husband?”
The Hero shook his head helplessly and opened the subspace. The Tyrant. The bow he had promised to give the duke was placed into Checire’s hands.
“Let’s go hunting together.”
Lucy prayed desperately that her fears were mistaken and sincerely wished she could be excluded from this particular outing.