The City of Peach Fire - (10)

Thus, an already exceptional famous sword had been reborn as a supreme national treasure—the greatest blade in the entire kingdom.

The ability to mass-produce such weapons, each worth the price of an entire castle among humans, was precisely the power of a dragon!

Yet despite that, the reason dragons periodically designated an entire kingdom as their tribute target and extorted it was simple: personally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠performing “work” such as enchanting was considered beneath their dignity.

Ordinary dragons therefore rarely bestowed such enchantments unless the request came from an existence they regarded as more than a mere “friend.”

In other words, it was an extravagant honor far beyond what any ordinary human deserved.

Cube interjected.

“Is this the first offering you have claimed, my lord?”

“Indeed. Is it not an excessive honor for some random passing human?”

“Even so, would it not have been wiser to at least look at her face before kidnapping her? Just to be certain, it is not a man, is it?”

Unlike me, Cube ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could not peer into the woman’s inner self with clairvoyance magic. To my eyes, her body was visible as though not a single thread covered it.

In truth, the moment I saw that naked form, there was simply no way I could pass her by.

Even after confirming her information with the clear intention of taking her with me, the vice-commander of the Black Star Knights continued to bow her head at a steep angle and barely opened her mouth.

I was genuinely surprised. Could she be mute and unable to speak?

“Can you not speak? If so, do you wish for me to cure you?”

She shook her head vigorously.

My dragon eyes, which had been watching with patience, began to burn with irritation. Everyone around me immediately started trembling in fear once again.

The vice-commander of the knights, Dana, who had suddenly found herself standing before a dragon’s face, was no exception. She shook violently.

What should I do? Must I break my oath?

In truth, when Dana joined the Black Star Knights she had pretended to be a knight incapable of speech. If the fact that she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was actually a woman became known among the knights or reached Archduke Niberia, it would cause insurmountable problems.

Among the knights, such a rumor would spread like wildfire. And if the Archduke learned of it, he would never leave her alone for political marriage.

Yet it was equally absurd for a mere knight to continue serving while remaining “mute.” A knight order required the exchange of coded signals during operations; communication ability was as vital as combat skill.

Therefore, Dana used magic to alter her voice. The vice-commander who rarely spoke did so with a heavy, low tone. But if that voice resembled an asura or rakshasa rising from the abyss of hell?

To her fellow knights, Dana became both an object of terror and reverence.

Unable to endure any longer, one of her subordinates stepped forward to explain.

“U-um, though it is presumptuous, I beg to report! Our Vice-Commander Dana suffers from an illness that allows her to speak only one month out of every six…”

The tremendous pressure wave surged upward, forming an entirely new mountain range across the land as it hurled the knight dozens of kilometers away.

D-d-d-d…

A dragon appearing after hundreds of years. Since they lived in an age when the very existence of dragons had been forgotten for centuries, these people had no idea why their ancestors in the ancient records had feared them so terribly.

But for a fleeting moment, before an all-knowing, omnipotent immortal being who understood everything, the sheer blasphemy of insignificant mortals daring to offer “explanatory gestures” was made unmistakably clear.

Watching the dragon transform the entire Koravan Plains into a mountain range in an instant, the group felt not only terror but a strange sense of awe.

“D-Dragonai Your Holiness!!! Long live!!!”

“Dragonai Your Holiness! Ten thousand years!!!!!”

They forced the horses’ heads—whose eyes were shaking as though struck by an earthquake—down to the ground, then all bowed together and shouted their praises.

At that moment, the famous horses of the Katasan Black lineage lowered their heads with trembling forelegs and pleaded.

“Hihihiing… Hihihihiiiiing… (Please, could you spare us? We shall live as Your Holiness the Dragon’s loyal Dragon Tooth Soldiers.)”

So this was Animal Sound?

Animal Sound was magic that allowed communication with animals. I could set it to activate automatically whenever I wished to hear them.

Communicating with animals. How fascinating. In this life, perhaps I should raise a dog.

In my previous life I had raised a cat. And with this vast plain perfect for walks, raising a horse instead would not be so bad.

“Very well. You shall come with me as well.”

“Hii… Hihihihihiiick…?!”

I lifted the vice-commander of the Black Star Knights, Dana, along with her famous steed Katasan Black, onto my back.

“Uh… uhh…?”

“Uh, umm… mm…”

Watching me kidnap their vice-commander, the knights’ faces filled with dismay. Yet none of them seemed eager to see another mountain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠range formed across the Koravan Plains, so they remained deathly silent, expressions frozen in shock.

Only then did Dana, who had maintained perfect silence until now, remove her black helmet with a metallic clank. Her crimson hair spilled out like a hundred scattering rose petals.

The sight was like a goddess of roses blooming within the spring wind.

“U-uhhhhhck!!”

“The vice-commander isn’t a demon…!!”

Dana parted her petal-like lips and let out a soft sigh.

“Haa.”

The only ones permitted to be irreverent before Dragonai were the women of his harem. After all, they were the ones who would be enshrined as mistresses of Naban Palace within the Yugna Mountains where he resided.

“It seems Your Majesty the Dragon King had already seen through the fact that I am a woman.”

“Indeed. Do you not wish to become my mistress as well?”

Refusal meant death. Sensing the threat intuitively, Dana nodded with an artlessly calm expression.

“…Y-yes, that is correct. May I offer one final, brief farewell to my subordinates?”

“Granted.”

Together with Dana I looked back at the subordinates who knelt sobbing.

“You have all worked hard supporting this unworthy vice-commander until now. I am sorry to leave after being exposed for hiding my gender. Please accept my apology.”

The vice-commander who had always behaved like a strict tiger was actually a woman…? The reason she had been sparing with words, the reason she had been so cold to her men—was it all because she was female…?

Yet Dana had never lost a single subordinate during any mission and cherished her men more than anyone else. She was the finest superior imaginable.

“Ugh… Lady Dana… You suffered so much in such a wretched place.”

“Uhuhuk… Lady Dana… Please find happiness there.”

At that moment Cube asked,

“Your Majesty the Dragon King, then when will you punish those people?”

“Ah. That matter…”

Watching the subordinates shed tears as they exchanged farewells, I gave a low chuckle.

“They are receiving their punishment right now. By offering me one ‘horse’ and one ‘woman.’”

“Aha! I see.”

Having received two of the things they treasured most, I left the rest where they stood and flew off toward the eastern lands without another glance.

“O-ohhh… Oh……!! Oh……!!!!!”

Archduke Niberia laughed with his mouth stretched ear to ear, eyes wide. At the same time, the two ferocious-looking aides behind him also grinned upon seeing me.

For some reason it felt ominous. A bleak wind blew through the gap of the closing door, brushing against this body that had become a girl—Seira.

“Mmm… I like the archduke…?”