10-1
The Evil Dragon Says It's an
Intermission
Translator : PolterGlast
Recap of the
Previous Chapter
The day after Ashley
reconciled with his father, he set out walking the vast Imperial Capital
again seeking the benefit of VIT +100. However, by chance, he ended up
protecting the white wolf beastman Yatsufusa Shuria from villains.
She said she had
escaped from a slave organization. So Ashley hid her in an inn and heard
the detailed story. The human trafficking organization's name is [Wind of
Yesterday]. Ashley decides to crush this organization, which is
nothing but the shame of the Empire.
Asking for the
cooperation of Black Horn Sigrun, he joins forces with the beastman Yashu
and conducts a decoy operation. Through this, they pinpointed the location of
the organization's boss and the confinement location of the kidnapped beastmen.
Next, Ashley
made contact with the ambassador of the Beastman Country Kaha.
Determining that Ambassador Begal is a trustworthy man, Ashley
conveys his plan to steal the slaves back from the slave organization. He left
the escort of the beastmen to their homeland to him.
Eventually, the time
to execute the operation arrived. Through the underground tunnel Ashley
created, Sigrun and Yashu rescue the beastmen hidden beneath the
auction venue. Upon successfully escaping, Sigrun capriciously joined
the beastman escort and departed for the far south.
Meanwhile, Ashley
targets the head of the boss of [Wind of Yesterday], the ledgers, and
the organization's money. After stealing a massive amount of money from the
treasury, he attacked the organization's boss.
He ended up taking a
gunshot when obtaining the ledger, but by ultimately seizing the money, the
boss's head, the ledger, and the merchandise, he set the conditions for the
organization's annihilation.
However, the ledger
contained the name of his eldest brother, the Crown Prince Fenleet. The
younger brother Ashley was deeply disappointed and learned that the
Empire's future was enveloped in deep darkness.
After that, in the
land of the Imperial Demesne Erin, Ashley attended a ceremony as
the lord. During that
ceremony, the new lord Ashley fires the Consul of Erin who
colluded with the corrupt merchant Hyamar.
At the ceremony's
seats was the figure of the white wolf Yashu, who was supposed to have
departed for her home country. Yashu decided to remain in the Empire as
an apprentice ambassador for the sake of her comrades who might meet the same
fate.
Due to her adorable
appearance, she also ended up limp after receiving a powerful embrace from
Princess Atomina. Thus, in the land of Erin, the new lord Ashley
Gnose Urgos was born.
・
―――――――――――――――――――――――――
The Erin Upheaval
The Prodigal
Prince's Tutor and the Inevitable Fate of the Imperial Family
―――――――――――――――――――――――――
10-1 The Evil
Dragon Says It's an Intermission
Red tropical flowers
swayed against a deep blue sky. This is that paradise. Beyond the large flowers, white cumulonimbus
clouds are swept away by the wind.
Slowly, as if the
time of the world had truly stopped, I drifted endlessly in Zirant's
world.
「Here
again, huh... This is a
profoundly realistic dream...」
If it were a dream,
there should be a sensation of it being a dream. The dreamer knows it. Deep in
their mind, they know it's a dream. I'm troubled because I don't feel that at
all... Also, today's paradise is a little hot. Feeling stuffy, I took off my
gloves and stared at my own white arms.
I thought the same
about myself, but Zirant has too many mysteries and secrets. But while
doing so, perhaps suddenly missing the figure of that Zirant, I
unconsciously looked around.
In this world, there
is only her and me. No, while I am struggling in reality, is Zirant
peeking here from a world with no one else...? Exercising my imagination,
partly due to her appearance that still retained a little childishness, my
chest ached faintly. No, I don't think she's that delicate, though...
「You
awoke. Now, sit here.」
「You
aren't using that flashy round table? To sit there without using that is rather
backwards, isn't it?」
Looking for her
usual spot and proceeding through the paradise, Zirant was sitting on
the white sandy lakeshore with her legs stretched out. She tells me to sit next
to her. If her true identity weren't that giant dragon, I might have gotten the
impression she was defenseless or precarious toward a man.
「I'm
tired of sitting at that. Besides, if I'm talking with you, this is much
better.」
「I'll
honestly agree with that. Flashy things don't suit me.」
I dropped my hips
onto the sandy beach. Since it's a lake, there are no waves or smell of the
rocky shore. It was just enough for a weak wind to ripple the water's surface;
from my perspective knowing Naglfar Port, it felt very quiet.
「You saved
the beastmen.」
「Yeah.
To think such things were being done in the Empire, I am thoroughly
disappointed in this country.」
「But
you saved them, did you not? Knowing the danger, you sneaked into the villains'
stronghold and took the boss's head.」
「Because
I thought I should do so. Ugh...!?」
「Though
you ended up getting injured like this. An automatic handgun. To think such a
thing drifted all the way to this world intact.」
「If you
know, don't touch... Ah, by the way, the bullet I took, was that a defective
product?」
Looking at my chest,
there's a wound from when the bullet sank into my chest. If this is a dream,
it's a mean dream. It could at least let me forget the wound and pain.
「It's genuine.
Just like the stories from the other world you like, if it hits, it enters the
inside of the body, shreds organs and muscles, and you die.」
「I see.
Ugh... O-Oi?!」
However, it turned
into an unexpected development. Zirant rolled up my clothes, and not
knowing what she was thinking, brought her lips close.
「Do not
thrash about.」
「What
are you thinki—」
Something chilly was
blown onto the wound. Then, a wonder occurred. The pain that had been
tormenting me since that night faded magically.
「For a
little while, I shouldered half the pain for you. This hurts. It hurt, didn't
it, Ashley?」
「Wh...
What a woman... I've been meaning to say this for a while, but what part of you
is an Evil Dragon. You're far too good at throwing my heart into disarray. Good
grief, you got me...」
I was almost won
over by Zirant's capricious kindness. To shoulder half of a person's
pain, are you a saint? That is not the deed of an Evil Dragon. I even felt
strong respect...
「Kukuku...
It might all be a lie, you know? To take advantage of you.」
「Then
you did something meaningless;
I'm already taken advantage of. ...Thank you, Zirant. When you go this
far, it makes me feel like taking good care of my own body.」
When the girl who
firmly believed herself to be bewitching smiled mysteriously, she turned her
eyes to the lake water.
「Beastmen
are a superior race. A race
that realized the ideal of harmony with nature and others. If everyone had been
born a beastman, it would have been a calm and peaceful world. ...Well done
helping them without forgetting your pride. You are admirable, Ashley.」
「I just
thought that was a shameful act.」
「Umu.
Keep up that momentum and work hard on cultivating the Imperial Demesne Erin.」
「That topic, huh. I refuse.」
「Refuse...?
That is already your territory. It is a special land that allows you to enter the capital fastest when upheaval
occurs.」
「So
what. My primary duty isn't being a statesman; it's being a dilettante.
Besides, I'm bad at using my head. I'm not suited to be a lord.」
I still can't read
the true intention of why Father tried to give me that land. To repeat, I still
couldn't believe it was the idea of my bedridden father.
「Right,
well that's fine too. Everyone has their strong and weak points.」
「You
say that despite repeatedly telling me to become Emperor.」
「It is
not strange at all. The Emperor is the vessel of the nation. You do not need to
conduct politics yourself. So to speak, what the Emperor needs is not political
ability, but the power to unite people. You possess that, Ashley.」
「I see.
I don't understand difficult talk.」
I understand the
meaning of what she's saying, but I don't like complicated talk, so I rebuffed
it. If she's saying the Emperor's job is to unite the feudal lords and powerful
people conflicting under the surface and bring order, I wouldn't willingly
become Emperor.
「You
are always like that. Feigning ignorance the moment things become inconvenient
for you.」
「I am
actually ignorant.」
「Heh...
still a child. Oh that's right, you fired the Consul. That was an interesting
skit too... but what do you intend to do for a replacement?」
「For
that, I think I'll rely on Aniue. Until then, sorry, but I'll leave it
to Aneue.」
Aneue is a
Duchess. She assisted in territory management next to my brother-in-law Jake-Lizas. It feels pathetic
like I'm depending on Aneue, but as an emergency measure, it was the best casting.
「I
think it is good. The Princess also needs work other than official duties.
Letting her do it will clear her mind too.」
「If you
keep seeing through people's hearts like that, you'll be hated, you know.」
「As
long as you do not hate me, I care not for the rest.」
「Then
let me tell you. That is what they call 'heavy love'. ...Well then, it's
decided. From now on I will search for a new Consul, and thereby eliminate the
influence of the corrupt Hyamar Company and Uncle Morak from Erin.」
Perhaps because she
shouldered half the pain, sleepiness was robbing me of my thinking power again.
The high blue sky of the paradise filled with a sense of reality and the
glaring clouds looked almost like illusions.
「What,
leaving already... Umu, then I am looking forward to it. I am always watching
you. Do not hesitate; stick to your convictions.」
「Understood.
I'll move as you instigate me.」
「That
is fine. And... I haven't given you a reward. Close your eyes.」
「Even without
you telling me, I'm already sleepy...」
No reason to resist.
I closed my eyes and surrendered to the drowsiness. The Evil Dragon Zirant
might be a divine being.
With the pain halved, I vaguely thought so.
「Admirable,
Ashley. Well done saving Yashu and the others. Well done bringing
divine punishment down on evil. Everyone is grateful to you. Admirable.
Admirable, Ashley. Good boy, good boy. You are admirable.」
Something enveloped
me as if soothing me, and a soft, fresh sensation touched my cheek. My consciousness,
which could no longer even form a shape, simply thought this at the end:
I'm glad I was chosen by Zirant. The halved pain connected me and the gentle Evil Dragon. The halved pain turned into joy and tormented me.
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