Chapter 65 – Friends, Allies, and Enemies (11)

Friends, Allies, and Enemies (11)

Long ago,

In an era when the order of the Central Continent was not yet established.
A time when countless people died and killed, beyond the count of rising and falling kingdoms.
There was one who ended that long and chaotic age.
He is called the first Emperor of the Empire, Wulphen.

Together with his comrades, he toppled various kingdoms of the Central Continent and claimed them as his own. His sole reason for conquering the kingdoms was to put an end to the tragedy of fratricide. The disappearance of his family in the flames of war was the beginning.

At first, no one thought Wulphen could unite the Central Continent.
It was laughable to even imagine that a boy from the frontier could rule all the kingdoms.

But Wulphen managed it.
He gradually conquered small kingdoms. There were times when he gained a nation through a duel with a king. There were times when, after years of effort, he barely acquired a small piece of land. The number of times he escaped death was well into the four digits.

And finally, when he absorbed the kingdom that had been the de facto ruler of the Central Continent,
He became the first Emperor of the Empire.
The wars ceased.
It was an era of peace.

He was satisfied. The war had ended, and peace had come. He had a wife and children. He had successfully married the woman he saved during the war.
Everything was perfect. He wanted nothing more.

And so he aged.
Even the Emperor who ruled the Central Continent could not overcome age. Although relatively young, he quickly grew frail, seemingly having spent all his strength on the wars.
He even contracted a disease that no physician could cure.

At some point, when the time he spent lying down became more than the time he spent sitting up for work, Wulphen sensed his end and made his way to the castle with his heavy body.
His comrade-in-arms who had always protected his back on the battlefield, Sparrow Dragon Louis.
He went to have his last conversation with her.

He took a keg of alcohol that had been stored in the corner of the warehouse and went to the old courtyard of the castle.

There, as always, was Louis, looking up at the sky in human form.
Wulphen was slightly envious of his friend who hadn’t changed at all since they first met.
But a dragon is a dragon, and a human is a human.
It was an unavoidable difference between species.

Sitting beside the welcoming Sparrow Dragon, they shared a drink. And as if having a cliché conversation,

He left a will.

Take care of my wife and children.

The surprised Sparrow Dragon asked,

Do you have no regrets about the life you’ve lived?

Wulphen replied while tilting his drink,

Life is a series of regrets. So if one says they have no regrets after living a lifetime, it would naturally be a lie, but I am satisfied because I have given my all and done my best.

He seemed to have resigned himself to everything.
But dragons are not easily fooled by appearances.
Wulphen wanted to live. At least until his children grew up and could govern the empire, until after his wife passed away, he wanted to live.
He had not been able to spend time with his children during the war. Now that everything was finally stabilizing and he could be with his family, he didn’t want to die just yet.

Knowing this, the Sparrow Dragon, after much contemplation, offered one of her horns. Wulphen stubbornly refused at first, but eventually, he used Louis’s horn to regain his health. After Wulphen recovered, the empire entered an era of unprecedented prosperity.

It’s a well-known story.
It also became the tale that sparked the nobility’s attempts to use dragons to cure incurable diseases.

Nowadays, there are rumors that the healing properties of dragon horns are a myth, or that it was a pact with demons that restored health… But what is certain is that dragon horns contain a vast amount of magical power.
And with that power, it is possible to restore some of Flan’s health to a degree.

Originally, she could have greatly extended his life with her own power alone. However, for some reason, she was unable to use her divine abilities. If that was the case, all she could do was prevent the worsening of his illness; anything beyond that was impossible.
The reason she couldn’t use the power of the goddess… was probably related to Flan.
Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

Dragon horns.

Finding someone who could process them was extremely difficult.
In the Central Continent, handling dragons without the empire’s permission was illegal. Just finding someone capable of disassembling a dragon was a challenging task.

Of course, that’s only illegal in the Central Continent.
In the Dragon Kingdom, it’s a clear crime.

But what about Myluman?
Although part of The Great Forest falls within the Central Continent, Myluman is not included in it. In other words, they were free to handle dragons as they wished.
Of course, if someone were carrying around a dragon, rumors would undoubtedly spread, but that was an unavoidable part of the process.
It was worth a try.

So she left the room without Flan knowing.
She thought it would take some time, and she carried Valkvogel on her back.

Flan needed a monstrous dragon, so killing one was out of the question. Instead, she would process the horn without taking its life and use it for Flan. Normally, just scraping a bit of the horn would be enough to restore eyesight, but the situation was different now. His entire body was completely rotted. A bit of powder wouldn’t be enough to restore his health.

So she wandered the back alleys of Myluman.
But she couldn’t find anyone who could process dragons.

As the sun began to set, fear crept in.
If she didn’t administer the medicine to Flan soon… With that thought, she roamed the back alleys until the moon rose.

And when her breath was short and her strength nearly spent, she had no choice but to make a significant decision.

Given the circumstances, she would have to concoct the medicine herself.

As a saint, she had a certain expertise in medicine making. She had been forced to learn the skill at the Holy Imperial Court, and though she was reluctant to use it, now any method would do.
The hastily prepared medicine might not be fully effective, but it was better than doing nothing.

So, when she took a saw from a nearby stable to Valkvogel’s horn,
Valkvogel woke up.

At first, she was startled.
She had been unconscious for days, and she woke up just as she touched her most cherished horn.
It wouldn’t have been strange if she had died on the spot.

But Valkvogel looked at her with a distant expression, as if she knew everything.
Her face said she understood it all.
As if she hadn’t been asleep, but awake the whole time.

“Is this for Flan?”

She spoke those words. She plopped down on the ground. She hadn’t expected such words from her.

“Yes, yes… This is the only way to extend his life, even if just a little…”

“How much longer can you extend it?”

“Long enough for him to finish what he wants to do… I can make him well.”

Upon hearing that, Valkvogel wore a satisfied expression. Then, as if resigning to something, she sighed and gently caressed her horn.

She didn’t know.
That memory assimilation had occurred with Valkvogel too. At first, she thought it was a lie to deceive herself. But her expression wasn’t a lie.
She didn’t have time to read the dragon’s memories to discern her true intentions. Whether to trust her now and cut the horn, or to flee.

While she was contemplating this, Valkvogel looked up at her with trembling eyes.

“Well… It’s okay. The important time for my horn has passed. It won’t matter if it’s gone.”

Valkvogel said this, offering her horn.

She said it was okay to cut the horn, but there was a certain melancholy in her expression.

Despite her fear, she did not hesitate.

Sawing.
Scraping.

A strange sound echoed through a back alley in Myluman.

* * *

Dawn broke.

Birds chirped. I opened my eyes and got up. With my fingers, I rubbed my eyes and activated the Mind’s Eye. The surroundings were still in black and white, a world so dull it made me want to die.

There was no one around. Surely last night…
Ah, let’s not think about it. It’s only a distraction.

I kicked off the bedcovers and grabbed the water jug.
I tried to pour water into my mouth, but unfortunately, the jug was empty.
I tossed the jug over my shoulder and checked my gear.
No issues there.

There was a fist mark on the inner armor… but that’s the least of my worries.

No other significant problems.
Then it’s time to leave.

I’ll do it my way. I was determined to do so.

Today, I’ll finish everything.
After all, there’s nothing left. So, it wouldn’t matter if I forced open the letter. A cursed sword and a holy sword… Even Troka would struggle to stop that combination. If it weren’t me wielding them.
Well, it’s not like I can’t handle it… probably.

It’s going to be a bit tough.

But at least I can go out with a bang.

How you die is more important than how you live.
I’ll go out in style.
The threats inside Myluman are the forest keeper, the guardian of the World Tree, and the Council’s knights. If I deal with Chloe quickly, I can escape in no time.

I didn’t want to resort to this method. But as it’s the end, I inevitably chose the easy way, even knowing it’s the longest detour.

But it doesn’t matter. It’s all good.
Troka probably wants this anyway.
It’s probably better this way.

I steeled my mind.

At the end of my journey, with no one around, I’ll do it my way.

I don’t know if I’ll ever reach the Dragon Kingdom. But it’s fine. I’ll quickly finish off Chloe and head to the Dragon Kingdom. It doesn’t matter if there’s no dragon to vouch for me. I’ll just smash everything and shove the letter down that knight’s throat. And if I can go home, I’ll go home; if not, I’ll die here.
I hope Ellie’s grave hasn’t been moved.

With that, I walked to the front door, leaning on the wall.

Clunk, I grabbed the handle.

And turned it.

“Huh.”

“Ah!”

There was an unusual person in front of the door.

“Oh, it’s been a while?”

Ah… should I call it a person?
Torn wings, a massive tail. And… only one horn.

Valkvogel, whom I thought had left, was there.

What is this?
What’s going on?