Chapter 42: The Villainous Aristocrat Reaches the Sea

“Th-the sea!!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs. And then, I felt despair.

“It’s a cliff, a sheer cliff!!”

“Onii-sama!! Please calm down!!”

We spent three days and three nights traversing the vast forest of the Drousen territory, and finally, we reached the sea.

However, what awaited us was a sheer cliff.

The sea I had been longing for stretched out below the cliff, resembling the kind of location often used in detective dramas where detectives corner criminals.

“Heh, well, that’s disappointing, isn’t it, Kunou-san!!”

“I highly doubt you feel disappointed even in the slightest, Ayano.”

Ayano had a wide grin on her face. When I pointed it out, she hastily tried to conceal her expression.

“Oh, no, I-I’m not like that at all! I mean, the sea and places where extroverts gather to make unnecessary noise, it’s just like a place where cockroaches gather, right? I don’t think that at all, hehe.”

“You’re being quite disrespectful, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, you’re right. I-I’m sorry. It’s disrespectful to cockroaches, isn’t it? After all, cockroaches might be unpleasant, but at least they don’t bother others like humans do.”

Ayano, I wonder if in her past life, her parents were killed by a sun-loving person.

It’s a little concerning, but I’ll stop myself from glimpsing into the darkness I don’t need to see.

“What should we do, boss? Shall we turn back?”

“…No, let’s find a way down. If we follow along the cliff, we might find a beach.”

I won’t give up over something like this. I’m determined to eat seafood bowl, no matter what!!”

“…? Brother, did you hear that sound…?”

“What’s wrong, Wendy?”

“M-Master!!”

Wendy must have sensed something unusual; she pressed her ear against the ground.

Then, Kohaku called out to me in a loud voice, and right after that, the ground shook violently.

“Whoa, is it an earthquake!?”

“Boss, it’s not an earthquake!! Something is coming out of the sea!!”

“What? W-What in the world!?”

“Ahhh!! W-What is this, what is happening!!”

Everyone present screamed in terror.

From the sea below the cliff, a large black shadow crawled its way up.

“‘Dragon?!'”

What emerged from the depths of the sea was an unbelievably massive dragon.

However, it wasn’t the conventional type with wings on its back, more like a pterosaur.

It was a dragon with a long, snake-like body reminiscent of a serpent, covered in pale blue scales.

Let’s call it a Sea Dragon.

“I sense it, I sense it!! A menacing presence!! I feel the aura of our archenemy who hunted down our brethren hundreds of years ago!!”

The voice of the Sea Dragon resounded directly in my head.

The Sea Dragon’s hostility was not directed at us; its eyes, tainted with hatred, were focused on Ayano.

Ah, I see.

“Uh, umm, Kunou-san!! I-I feel like that dragon is looking at me!!”

“Yeah, it’s looking at you. Come to think of it, in the official lore, a few hundred years before the events of the main game, the Demon King eradicated dragons that didn’t submit to him before being defeated by the hero of that time.”

“Ah-h-h-h!!! P-Please do something about it!!”

“Can’t do. Can’t defeat a dragon or anything.”

In this world, dragons are the strongest creatures.

The protagonist of ‘Fantasista Stories’ also had the opportunity to fight against a dragon.

In the latter part of the story, the Demon King used his power to lift a portion of the land, creating his castle.

Naturally, the mere humans, the protagonists, had no way to reach the floating Demon King’s castle in the sky.

So, they sought the help of an ancient dragon said to have lived since ancient times.

However, the ancient dragon didn’t agree to help for free.

They requested the protagonist to demonstrate their abilities, and the battle began.

This ancient dragon was ridiculously strong.

Admittedly, I didn’t think this Sea Dragon was a monster on the level of an ancient dragon, but its aura still sent shivers down my spine.

It was undoubtedly incredibly powerful.

The small comfort was that its hostility wasn’t directed at us at all; it was solely focused on Ayano.

“Hmph, why are humans here…”

The Sea Dragon’s gaze turned toward us.

Then, it glared at Ayano with eyes filled with hostility.

“You, have you kidnapped these humans!?”

“Eh!? N-No, we――”

“Wait, humans!! I will rescue you all!!”

The Sea Dragon took in a deep breath.

I had a bad feeling and shouted at the slaves in a loud voice.

“Evacuate!! Everyone, hide behind the magical tanks!!”

The slaves promptly obeyed my command due to the enslavement magic.

However, Ayano didn’t move.

Her enslavement magic had been forcibly lifted by Mevius, after all.

“‘Die――!!’

Immediately after, a thick laser-like breath attack surged forth, aiming to obliterate Ayano.

The earth was torn apart, a section of the cliff collapsed from the shockwave, and the forest in the line of the breath vanished entirely, leaving behind a clean, empty path.

“Boss, she’s gone…”

Hagane, his face pale, wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, looking at me.

Well, that was a typical reaction.

There shouldn’t be anyone who could survive a direct hit from a dragon’s breath.

But well, if my guess is correct…”

“What!? Unharmed by my breath!?”

“Uh, huh? I-I’m alive…?”

After the Sea Dragon finished its breath attack, Ayano stood there unscathed.

Just as I expected. It truly is Mevius’s body.

Due to Ayano’s own gentle personality, she seemed unaware of her own strength in this form…

But that body belonged to the final boss, capable of overwhelming protagonists who had grown to the level of being called the strongest in humanity, all on its own.

Weak? Impossible.

“Guh, if one attack won’t work, I’ll shoot a hundred!!”

Saying that, the Sea Dragon took in another deep breath.

I seized the opportunity and threw a knife between the Sea Dragon and Ayano.

Of course, it was a magical blade.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, their attention was fixated on the knife that flew in.

In an instant, the magical blade gleamed brightly.

The intense light, so powerful that it could outshine even the sun, blinded both Ayano and the Sea Dragon.

“Nugoah!?”

“Fugyaa!? My eyes, my eyes!!”

Oh, Ayano’s words just now sounded quite commanding!!

“W-What are you doing, human!! I was trying to help you all――”

“I’m sorry, but are you perhaps mistaken?”

The Sea Dragon’s gaze was fixed on me.

There was not a trace of hostility; instead, it seemed genuinely concerned about me.

As I thought, I can communicate with this Sea Dragon.

If it were a brute-force dragon like the ancient dragon that appeared in the main game, escaping would have been the only option. But with this one, it seems I might be able to reason with it.

“Huh? Mistaken identity?”

“Ah, first, let me introduce myself. I am a human from the Kingdom of Gardanakia, my name is Kunou Von Draussen. I have been granted this forested area as my territory by Her Majesty, the Queen.”

“Hmm, is that so? Then, you’re my neighbor. I am Queria, the dragon who rules these sea territories. Nice to meet you, Kunou!!”

“The Sea Dragon bowed with its massive body.

…Hmm. A dragon that seems more intellectual and amiable than I expected.

And surprisingly friendly too.

Queria asked me,

“So, about the mistaken identity?”

“That woman over there is my slave… my subordinate. Perhaps you mistook her for someone else?”

“Wh-What nonsense… Can’t you smell the pungent scent of her blood!?”

“Look closely at her. Does a woman trembling like a newborn deer, yelling ‘My eyes!!’ pathetically, seem like she’s up to no good?”

“Hmm… No, but still…”

Alright, one more push.

“That woman may give off a gloomy aura, and her social skills are lower than that of an amoeba, but she has a kind heart and cares for others.”

“I-I can hear your insults, you know!!”

“Hmm, mmm, grrr… Indeed, although her presence feels similar to someone I know, the atmosphere around her does seem different.”

Oh, that’s right. I’ve come up with a good idea.

“Why don’t you check for yourself? As a dragon, you should be able to use transformation magic, right? Keep an eye on her, and if you determine she’s up to something sinister, you’re free to do as you please.”

“Uh, wait, um, Kunou-san!?”

“Very well. Let’s observe the situation for now.”

Queria easily accepted my proposal, while Ayano looked perplexed.

I felt sorry for Ayano, but this was an opportunity.

If I could incorporate the tireless labor force of a dragon, the development of Draussen Territory would advance at a terrifying speed.

It meant getting closer to a civilized and comfortable life.

To achieve that, I wanted to win Queria over first with various convenient items and dishes.

“Hmph!!”

While I was lost in my thoughts, Queria used magic to assume a human form.

The colossal silhouette rapidly diminished, transforming into that of a human.

“Phew, how’s this?”

She was a young woman.

She wasn’t as tall as Freya, but her figure was outstanding, giving off a vibe of a mature older sister.

Honestly, she was my type.

Her navy-blue hair and amethyst eyes were incredibly beautiful, enough to take your breath away.

A blue-scaled tail sprouted from around her lower back, adding to her already impressive appearance.

She wore a sky-blue cloak that exposed a generous amount of her chest, resembling a celestial maiden.

Oh, so Queria was a female.

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