Resolve
The Red Dragon had not only harmed Rene but spat insults as well.
My body itched to smash that face right then and there, yet I couldn’t rush in just yet.
I needed to see how Breeze would respond first.
I could act after that; it wouldn’t be too late.
And above all, treating Rene was my top priority.
Frach, could I ask you to treat Rene?
Do not mistake this body for a cleric. If I am to heal, the only way is to transfer your life force to another. Are you certain?
That’s more than enough. I’ll examine the burns while you pass my life force to Rene.
……The Contractor’s spirit of self-sacrifice never changes, does it.
I cradled the fallen Rene and examined her hand.
The back of her hand was blackened and hardened from the burns. The flesh had cracked open; skin peeled away to expose the raw red muscle beneath.
Seeing the wound firsthand made my insides churn. Rage surged so hard my eyes nearly rolled back in my head.
“Bern… ugh!”
“Just hold on a little longer. I’ll heal you soon.”
I drew a freezing magic circle over the back of Rene’s hand and infused it with cold.
I knew full well this wouldn’t restore her hand. Still, I wanted to snuff out whatever heat remained and ease the searing pain.
Meanwhile, Frach resting on my knee glowed with dark crimson runes.
A massive amount of energy drained from my entire body, and a powerful wave of exhaustion washed over me. It was grueling, yet it meant my life force was flowing smoothly into Rene.
Watching her skin gradually return to normal, I stroked my chest in relief.
“I’m sorry…. I only caused you trouble by stepping in needlessly, Bern.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, did you? If anyone’s at fault……”
Slap-!
Just then the sound of a cheek being struck rang through the nest.
I turned my head. The red-haired man was clutching his cheek after Breeze’s slap. His expression was dazed, as if he had no idea why he’d been hit.
“M-Madam? Why on earth are you doing this?”
“Ignite, it seems you have no idea what crime you’ve committed.”
“Crime? All I did was call that half-breed……”
“Do not call my daughter a half-breed!!”
The dragon’s roar, thick with fury, blanketed the entire snowy mountain range.
Starting from the nest, the ground shook so violently it was hard even to stay standing.
Beeeep-!
My hearing went temporarily numb; only an unpleasant ringing remained. Warm liquid trickled from my ears.
My eardrums, unable to withstand the roar, had ruptured and were bleeding.
It hurt. It hurt enough to leave my ears feeling stuffed, yet I could endure it. Compared to the pain Rene had suffered, a ruptured eardrum was child’s play.
“Not only did you mock my one and only daughter by calling her a half-breed, you even wounded her?”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know she was Madam’s daughter……!”
Ignite, the Red Dragon, looked back and forth between Rene and Breeze. Only then did he seem to realize how similar they looked.
Had he never heard that Breeze had a daughter? Even so, he was a truly stupid dragon.
Mother and daughter were carbon copies; once Rene grew older she would look just like Breeze. He had judged solely by the presence of horns and bloodline, when a closer look would have made it obvious. His discernment was no better than peering through a knothole.
“You know that claiming ignorance won’t let this slide, don’t you?”
“Of course! I will sincerely apologize to Madam with all my heart!”
Ignite bowed his head before Breeze, begging for forgiveness.
I didn’t like his attitude one bit.
“If you’re truly repentant, shouldn’t you apologize to Rene first rather than Breeze?”
At my casually tossed complaint, Ignite whipped his head around and glared at me.
I glared right back, unfazed by the murderous dragon’s gaze.
It wasn’t that I felt no instinctive revulsion at defying the apex of species. From a dragon’s perspective, humans were fragile creatures that could be crushed at any time. Do not resist. Submit if you want to live. Act demurely or die—and so on.
Instinctive fear tried to hold my body back. But a rage greater than that fear was suppressing it.
“Can’t you hear me? Apologize to Rene first.”
“B-Bern…!”
Rene grabbed my collar in panic. She clearly meant to stop me, but this time I couldn’t allow it.
Didn’t they say that any animal bares its fangs when a precious person is in danger?
I knew this was courting death. Even so, I had no intention of backing down quietly. Even if my fangs broke, I would bite.
“Is a mere human ordering me around right now?”
“Who else is there but you?”
“Heh heh…! I’ll show mercy just this once. If you prostrate yourself and apologize for your insolence now, I’ll forgive it.”
Bullying the weak while cowering before the strong—his arrogance pierced the heavens.
The guy who’d been so submissive in front of Breeze straightened his back the moment he found someone he thought he could push around. He was the classic type I hated most.
I had no desire to bow my head to a bastard like this even if it killed me, so I answered with my middle finger.
Go fuck yourself.
“So you mean to kick my mercy aside.”
Veins bulged red on Ignite’s forehead. His will to burn me to death on the spot was plain, yet it wouldn’t be easy. He had something more urgent to deal with first.
“The one who kicked mercy aside is you.”
“Khup?!”
Crunch-!
Breeze stomped hard on the head of Ignite, who had been looking back. With the sound of his nose bone breaking, his face was pressed into the ground. He looked just like a mole cricket.
“Just having our family time interrupted is enough to make my blood boil, and you dare speak of mercy in front of me?”
“…Guh!”
“Apologize to my daughter and get out of this nest. Otherwise I will call the Nibelung.”
At the specific word Breeze mentioned, Ignite’s body began to tremble violently.
The Song of the Nibelung.
A tale of the dragon-slayer Siegfried; in this world it meant dragon-slaying. In other words, saying they would call the Nibelung together meant dragons would fight to the death.
“I-If I just apologize to the young lady, will that do?”
“Are you trying to make me repeat myself?”
“…Please calm yourself. I acknowledge my lack of virtue and will apologize.”
When Breeze lifted the foot crushing his head, Ignite sprang to his feet. I watched him closely, determined to see how he would apologize.
“Sorry about that.”
“Th-That fucking…?”
Ignite merely nodded his head toward Rene, then spread his wings. And he soared into the sky as if fleeing.
That was no apology—it was a blatant fail.
He had poured his heart into apologizing to Breeze, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do the same for Rene.
I looked at Breeze as if asking whether she was simply going to let Ignite escape like this. She only frowned and did not step in any further.
Just as they say a single word from a dragon affects the world, they place great importance on words. Even if no sincerity was in it, they accept that an apology was made.
That’s fucking annoying.
There are all sorts of frustrating rules in the dragon world; what can we do about it? More importantly, Contractor, what you need to concern yourself with right now doesn’t seem to be that.
What are you talking about? That lizard bastard mocked Rene—what could be more serious than that!
Look at the sky.
Following Frach’s words, I looked up to see Ignite, who had returned to his true form. He was watching me with furrowed brows and wide eyes.
Man, this guy holds a grudge.
He found me unpleasant. But he couldn’t do anything to me right now. If he tried to kill me in Breeze’s nest, with the territory’s owner watching, he’d truly have to stake his life.
I raised one corner of my mouth in a sneer at him, who couldn’t harm me in any way.
“Human, one day I will most certainly chew your bones and flesh thoroughly…!”
Leaving those words full of resentment, Ignite turned his back.
Watching his departing figure, I felt bitterness instead of satisfaction. The fact that I’d done nothing but complain and provoke left me empty.
Frach.
What is it?
I’ve got a new goal.
Oh? What goal is that?
I’m going to get strong enough to handle dragons with ease.
Didn’t you value living peacefully more than growing stronger?
I did, but I’ve changed my mind. Even though Rene got hurt, I couldn’t even punch that bastard in the face. I don’t want that anymore.
If I’d had the power to stand against a dragon, would it have been like this?
Far from just watching the situation, I would have punched Ignite in the face or stabbed him with a sword.
But my fist still couldn’t reach a dragon. I had to get a little stronger.
Becoming strong enough to face dragons will be a rough path.
Doesn’t matter. I didn’t bring this up thinking I could get strong without any cost.
An excellent mindset. So, have you devised a method to grow stronger?
First, I’ll gather the magic swords from all over and make you into the Primordial Magic Sword.
A wise thought, but you know that alone won’t be enough, right?
I know. But it’s fine—I just never felt the need to mention it, but I’ve already laid out a plan for getting stronger.
To grow a little stronger.
I planned to travel all over the kingdom and absorb every opportunity that had appeared in Adokchoe.
That way, Kang Junhyuk’s prime would arrive later than in the original……
I already yielded the freebies, so it should be fine.
I resolved to get stronger by any means necessary in order to take Ignite’s head.