Black Dragon
Richmond’s Point of View
(… Weird. No matter how many times the Wicked Dragon destroyed the Royal capital in the past, he never stayed here for a long time. That’s why I thought he may be nearby, but…)
I turned my head in the direction I flew from and felt uneasy in my chest.
Did he want to separate me from Kanade…?
I thought it would be safe with Leo around, but… I better go back…
Grrrr…
(!? What…)
It sounded like it came from the rubble…?
A moment later, the rubble rose up and a dragon emerged from it.
Grrrrrrrrraaaawwwr!!
(Black…!?)
I was astonished by the jet-black dragon that came charging toward me.
The only jet-black dragon in the world is supposed to be the Wicked Dragon…
Grrrrrrrrraaaaaghh!!
(That level of ramming attack and roaring will have no effect on me.)
I slammed the dragon down with my tail, and looked at the black dragon lying on the ground.
The black dragon’s jet-black body gradually turned green.
As I thought, this is not the Wicked Dragon.
Just what is going on here—…
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Kanade’s Point of View
“What is your purpose?”
“……… I…”
Grrr…
“Hiii……”
Eh, what!? Now, a sound that caused a tremor in the air came from deep in the basement…
“Lady Kanade, Clémence appears to be frightened.”
“Why…??”
“She is a Knight from the Land of Dragons, yet she is frightened. There is only one answer…”
“Is that…”
The “Wicked Dragon” is here, in the basement!?
When I looked at Leo, he nodded his head seriously in cold sweat.
Leo’s face was pale. This might not be good.
“Q, quickly, undo this barrier for me!! Quickly…”
Just when I thought I should help Clémence, who was screaming in a tragic way…
“Lady Kanade, you must not let Clémonce inside the barrier!!”
His voice startled me and I took my eyes off Clémence.
“Gaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
I could see red mist from the corner of my eyes and heard a piercing sound that echoed through the basement—
“You mustn’t look.”
“Leo…”
Leo covered my eyes and I couldn’t see anything.
“I have to, help…”
Clémence is…
Those were my thoughts, but I couldn’t move my shaking legs.
“Lady Kanade, please go inside the mansion.”
Trying to not let me see that scene, Leo tried to push me on my shaky legs inside the house.
Grrr…
“Something” was next to Clémence.
“Something” did… to Clémence………
“W, what is happe…”
My throat clenched in fear, and I couldn’t speak properly.
“Everything’s fine. Nothing can come inside the barrier.”
Before I knew it, I was picked up and carried into the house.
“Le, o…”
“Lady Kanade, you mustn’t come out no matter what.”
Saying that, Leo closed the entrance door to the house.
“Leo!!”
What if that “something” gets inside the barrier…?
What if Leo went outside the barrier?
“Richmond…”
I grasped the necklace of reverse scale, but then I gasped.
Richmond is outside the barrier.
Wouldn’t Richmond encounter that “something” if he returned here……
I can’t.
I took off my hands from the necklace.
What do I do… why do I have no offensive power!!
“Leo!!”
I have to protect Leo.
Thinking so, I opened the door and charged outside. What I saw there was………
“Clé, mence……”
She was being held down by the legs of a jet-black dragon, and she was bleeding heavily.
“Lady Kanade, I told you not to come outside!”
“B, but, if something happened to you…”
“I will be fine as long as I stay inside the barrier. Lady Kanade, return inside before you catch the eye of that dragon.”
“No!! If I avert my eyes from this, you might be attacked.”
“Lady Kanade…”
“Besides, we have to save Miss Clémence from that dragon…”
She’s still alive.
Although faint, I can hear her breathing, so we might still make it in time.
“Do you realize that Clémence betrayed us!?”
“Yes. But she didn’t betray us because she wanted to, right? She was most likely threatened by that dragon.”
I looked at the dragon, which was jet-black at first glance, but had red scales in some places if you looked closely.
“The only way to get Miss Clémence away from that dragon and get her inside the barrier is to expand this place!”
“However, how…”
“I will use my skill to build a ‘Village’ here!!”