Chapter 213: As the Dragon King’s Dearest Friend
‘You’re the friend I trust more than anyone.’
This was the first time Fifth Flame had ever made such a serious mistake.
Which also meant it was the first time his beloved Dragon King had spoken words of comfort like those to him.
The Dragon King wasn’t the type to openly express affection.
He was usually aloof, sharp-tongued, and difficult to read.
Precisely because of that, those simple words had struck Fifth Flame straight in the heart.
They had remained there ever since.
Echoing.
Resonating.
Words he would never forget.
And despite that…
Despite all of that…
This dragon called Ryu keeps calling His Majesty an idiot, a dumb lizard, saying he’s gotten weaker and all sorts of other nonsense…!
To be honest, Fifth Flame’s anger had already reached its absolute limit.
No—
Perhaps the more accurate statement was that it was impressive he had managed to endure this long.
Of course, anyone who actually knew the relationship between Ryu and the Dragon King might have come to the opposite conclusion.
They might have thought Ryu was being remarkably patient.
After all, back when Ryu had been forced to live in the detached estate, his circumstances had been miserable.
His mother had been gravely ill.
Rena had still been a small child.
And Ryu himself had been struggling mentally.
It had been one of the most difficult periods of his life.
Yet during those years, the Dragon King had effectively lived inside him for four whole years, challenging him night after night in a relentless struggle for control of his body.
As Ryoma had pointed out earlier, the truly surprising thing was that Ryu hadn’t punched the Dragon King in the face when they met.
Naturally, neither Fifth Flame nor any of the dragons living on the Dragon Floating Island knew any of that.
“You’re not going to fight me, Ryu?”
“Why would I fight you?”
“No matter how capable you may be, your attitude toward His Majesty is completely unacceptable!”
Fifth Flame pointed accusingly toward him.
“I shall personally defeat you and force you to bow your head before the Dragon King!”
“Yeah, see, that’s the problem.”
Ryu sighed.
“You don’t actually know anything about the relationship between me and that idiot.”
“I know the story.”
Fifth Flame folded his arms.
“The Dragon King stopped attempting to seize your vessel and chose that Imperial Hero instead.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“In that case, shouldn’t you be grateful? Shouldn’t you bow your head in thanks and consider it an honor simply to remain upon this island?”
“No.”
Ryu immediately shook his head.
“He just gave up because he couldn’t beat me.”
“LIES!”
“Not lies.”
Ryu pointed casually at him.
“When we first arrived on the island, you got scared and collapsed the moment you felt my aura.”
His expression remained completely calm.
“That was your answer right there.”
“T-That was…!”
Yet no matter how much they argued, Ryu never moved from his seat.
He remained comfortably seated in the spectator stands.
Watching.
Relaxing.
Entirely uninterested in entering the arena.
A smile slowly crept across Fifth Flame’s face.
“Ah… I see.”
His lips curled upward.
“You’re afraid you’ll lose to me.”
Heh heh heh.
That should do it.
Surely now he’ll come down into the arena.
Unfortunately for him—
That sort of provocation simply didn’t work on someone as twisted as Ryu.
“Oh, absolutely.”
Ryu nodded enthusiastically.
“You got me.”
He pointed toward Fifth Flame.
“I’m terrified of losing to some Five Heavenly Dragon slash comic-relief character who collapsed onto his butt from nothing more than a little aura pressure.”
He shuddered dramatically.
“Man, that’s scary.”
Then he added:
“Maybe I’ll collapse onto my butt too the moment the fight starts.”
“Y-YOU BASTARD!”
Fifth Flame’s face, already naturally reddish in complexion, turned an even deeper shade of crimson.
Steam practically looked ready to burst from his ears.
“Hahaha.”
Ryoma laughed helplessly.
“Attempting a verbal battle against Ryu requires tremendous courage.”
Though inwardly—
Please don’t let this escalate any further…
At this point, Fifth Flame could no longer back down.
He had already talked too much.
Issued too many challenges.
Made too many declarations.
His pride would never allow him to leave.
Until Ryu stepped into the arena—
Fifth Flame wasn’t moving.
“But if he doesn’t come down,” Fifth Flame growled, “we can’t continue searching for Munechika.”
“Hmmm.”
Ryoma stroked his chin.
“At this point, fighting seems to be the fastest solution.”
“I didn’t come here to pick fights.”
Ryu folded his arms.
“If I stopped to respond to every provocation, I’d have no face left to show Munechika when we finally find her.”
The purpose of their visit was clear.
Finding Munechika.
Nothing else.
Losing sight of that objective would be foolish.
Meanwhile, Fifth Flame was becoming increasingly agitated.
His emotions were running high.
He had witnessed the overwhelming auras of both the Dragon King and Ryu.
Then he had spent the entire day listening to Ryu insult the Dragon King at every opportunity.
Given the circumstances, his current state was perhaps unavoidable.
Then—
An idea suddenly entered his head.
A very bad idea.
“Ah… that’s right.”
A grin appeared on his face.
“You’re the lord of a territory in the lands below, aren’t you?”
His eyes narrowed.
“The name was… Ardren, I believe.”
Ryu’s expression remained unchanged.
“So?”
“You have family there, don’t you?”
Fifth Flame chuckled darkly.
“If you refuse to come down here… then… heh heh heh… surely you understand what I’m implying?”
The moment those words left his mouth—
Ryoma buried his face in his hands.
Oh no.
He actually did it.
Of all possible threats.
Of all possible mistakes.
Fifth Flame had somehow managed to touch the one thing that absolutely should never be touched.
The single greatest taboo.
The one thing guaranteed to provoke Ryu.
Threatening his family.
Yet surprisingly—
Ryu remained calm.
He didn’t stand.
He didn’t shout.
He didn’t release his aura.
He simply stared at Fifth Flame with an utterly expressionless face.
“Ryu… isn’t angry?”
Fifth Flame asked cautiously.
“Oh, he’s angry.”
Ryoma answered immediately.
“Very angry.”
“Then why…?”
“Because Esther told him something.”
Ryoma smiled slightly.
“She told him not to get worked up over every little thing.”
He glanced toward Ryu.
“Especially when he’s pursuing another objective.”
“…I see.”
Esther.
What a magnificent save.
Inside his heart, Ryoma performed a triumphant fist pump.
He immediately decided that he would send Esther some high-quality Japanese sweets later.
She deserved them.
If this had been the old Ryu—
His fury would have exploded instantly.
The grasslands might have disappeared.
Mountains might have vanished.
Entire countries might have suffered collateral damage.
But Ryu had changed.
The description sounded childish when put into words.
Yet it was true.
He had learned how to be angry quietly.
Ryu slowly opened his mouth.
“……..However.”
The sky darkened.
Thunderclouds gathered overhead.
Fifth Flame looked upward.
His eyes widened.
We’re above the clouds!
This entire island floats above the clouds!
Then where did those thunderclouds come from?!
And then—
For a brief instant—
The heavens flashed.
“Heavenly Thunder—Indra.”
The world exploded.
A colossal pillar of black lightning descended directly into the center of the arena.
““““!?!””””
Nobody reacted.
Nobody could react.
There was no time.
No warning.
No opportunity.
The arena simply ceased to exist.
A deafening roar erupted across the Dragon Floating Island.
The stadium shattered.
Stone disintegrated.
Massive cracks raced through the structure.
Nearly half the arena collapsed instantly.
And that wasn’t all.
GOGOGOGOGOGOGO…
The entire island tilted.
Not metaphorically.
Actually tilted.
The force of the impact was so absurd that the Dragon Floating Island itself shifted.
Dragons stumbled.
Buildings shook.
Countless individuals lost their balance and fell to the ground.
Fifth Flame himself crashed onto the floor.
IT WAS JUST LIGHTNING!
HOW CAN LIGHTNING POSSESS ENOUGH POWER TO TILT THE ENTIRE DRAGON FLOATING ISLAND?!
AND THAT MAGIC POWER…!
THE MAGIC POWER I FELT FOR THAT BRIEF MOMENT…!
His pupils shrank.
Even His Majesty…
Even the Dragon King…!
No…
That level is…!
“H-Hah!”
The excitement clouding Fifth Flame’s judgment finally vanished.
Reality came crashing back.
And for the first time—
He truly understood who he had just threatened.
Their eyes met.
Ryu’s gaze was calm.
Quiet.
Emotionless.
Which only made it more terrifying.
“Listen carefully, Fifth Flame.”
His voice was soft.
Far softer than before.
“If you lay a hand on Ardren…”
A pause.
“I’ll bury every dragon on this island.”
Another pause.
“Except Ryoma and Munechika.”
“And I’ll bury the island along with them.”
“Understood?”
“……………”
Fifth Flame nodded repeatedly.
Like a broken toy.
“Yes.”
Nod.
“Yes.”
Nod.
“Yes.”
Nod.
Ryu was a dragon.
That much was true.
He considered dragons, including the Dragon King, to be comrades.
But there was a hierarchy.
An unshakable one.
Family.
Friends.
Then a vast, immeasurable gap.
Then dragons.
Nothing would ever change that.
“Phew.”
Ryoma let out a relieved sigh.
Fifth Flame stared at him in disbelief.
“Why are you relieved?!”
“Because this ended with only this much damage.”
“ONLY THIS MUCH?!”
Fifth Flame pointed toward the ruined arena.
“The stadium is destroyed! The island tilted!”
“When it happened to me,” Ryoma replied casually, “he erased an entire grassland spanning dozens of kilometers.”
“W-What…?!”
Fifth Flame felt faint.
Meanwhile, Ryu casually stood from his seat.
As though nothing had happened.
As though he hadn’t nearly reduced the arena to rubble.
As though he hadn’t just threatened genocide.
“Well then.”
He stretched lazily.
“Let’s continue looking for Munechika.”
“Finally.”
Ryoma stood as well.
“I was wondering when we’d get back to that.”
Ryu looked toward Fifth Flame.
“Come on.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Move it, Fifth Flame.”
“R-Right.”
Like a soldier responding to orders from a superior officer, Fifth Flame immediately obeyed.
Before leaving, Ryu glanced toward the remaining dragons.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
He pointed toward the destroyed arena.
“Fix that.”
The dragons blinked.
“Why should we…?”
Ryu slowly turned his head.
“What?”
Instant silence.
“N-Nothing!”
“No complaints!”
“W-We’ll begin repairs immediately!”
“Good.”
Satisfied, Ryu turned around.
Together, he, Ryoma, and the thoroughly traumatized Fifth Flame walked away from the ruined arena.
Ryoma laughed.
“Ryu has really matured.”
“Told you.”
Ryu grinned proudly.
“I work hard every day.”
Fifth Flame stared at the two of them.
Completely speechless.
This…
THIS is what they call mature?!
For perhaps the first time in his life—
The proud Number Two dragon of the Dragon Floating Island seriously began questioning his understanding of the word adult.