Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 8

Novel Illustrations

These are novel illustrations that were included in volume 8.

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  Cover

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  Cover

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  Page 14

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  Page 33

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  Page 63

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Prologue

The continent of Ark Strada.

Looking down towards it from the sky;

It was shaped like a dragon spreading its wings;

On it were five forces that were kept in balance.

I The dragon’s wing ~ Holy Espada Agency.

II The dragon’s body ~ Chevron Kingdom.

III The dragon’s jaw ~ Zepharos Empire.

IV The dragon’s tail ~ Labrock Trade Union.

Also,

V The dragon’s heart ~ Lautreamont Knight Country

“Welcome to <La Tene>!”

Recently, the students’ restaurant <La Tene> had started to open earlier to serve breakfast. This was a new policy which had been proposed by the store manager. In the past, the majority of students chose to have breakfast in the restaurant that was located on the first floor of their dormitory. However, since the main selling point of the dormitory restaurant was its low prices, there were limitations with its selection. Perhaps because of that, there were supposedly many people who had hoped that <La Tene> would open for breakfast since a while ago. As proof of that, as soon as they opened their doors at seven o’clock in the morning, there were indeed many students and faculty staff who poured in to <La Tene>.

Anya always greeted these customers with a smile as they came in early in the morning. The reason why she still wore cat ears and a tail was thanks to the store manager’s proposal as well. When Anya first wore the costume, she had been incredibly embarrassed by it. But after getting used to the situation, Anya no longer felt too bothered by her outfit. Anya had already been working at <La Tene> for around two and a half months. Looking back, it was already the middle of the month of Scorpio. As winter gradually approached, the dishes of the restaurant also changed so that they were somewhat warmer. It would be an underestimation to consider it as merely a students’ restaurant. After all, within the span of Dragonar Academy’s five hundred year history, <La Tene> had naturally served up many authentic dishes. The restaurant even had a strict rule that only those who had trained in the neighbouring country of Chevron were fit to be hired as chefs. There were also many dishes on the menu with extravagant names, and her female colleagues in the restaurant had once complained ‘It’ll kill me to remember everything on the menu’. But to Anya, everything was fresh, so she didn’t particularly find the menu to be a chore. But even so, the optimistic and positive Anya still had her own troubles—

“Anya, please go out with me!”

After their breakfast service hours had ended, the boy who bowed and confessed to Anya was Raymond Kirkland, a first-year student in the Senios Course. He also happened to be a good friend of Ash. Truthfully speaking, his confession didn’t seem to have much of an impact on Anya. Ever since she started working in this students’ restaurant, she had been confessed to like this more than ten times. There was always someone who came up to her to confess — this was Anya’s trouble which no one else knew about.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Just as she had rejected all of the others, Anya also rejected Raymond.

“Ah…I knew it was going to turn out like this.”

After Raymond dropped his shoulders in disappointment, a sharp expression suddenly emerged in his eyes as he asked

“Say, Anya. You couldn’t have…”

“W-What?”

“There’s actually someone that you like?”

“…!”

Even Anya was shaken by her own surprised reaction. As soon as she was faced with that question, the first thing which came to her mind was the appearance of Ash’s courageous face.

—W-Why am I thinking about Ash’s face at a time like this!

“Huh…so that’s how it is after all. Ash’s luck with the ladies is way too good…”

Raymond saw through it all, and he dejectedly turned around to leave.

“Wait! Don’t try to act like you know everything! I never even mentioned Ash…”

Anya hurriedly called out to his lonely back, but Raymond ignored her and left the restaurant. Anya subconsciously held a tray in front of her chest.

“…But it’s useless no matter how much I think about it, Ash already has Eco after all. Princess Silvia as well…”

The pain that she felt was like a bunch of needles pricking at her heart. Even Anya couldn’t understand why she felt such heartache.

“—It looks like you have a lot of troubles.”

“Nya!?”

When someone suddenly started talking to her from behind, Anya almost jumped up out of shock. She couldn’t stop herself from letting a strange cry out. When she turned around, she realised that Mirabel Lautreamont was sitting by the window side as she sipped on a cup of black tea. The beautiful Mirabel was not only the Third Princess of the Knight Country, but also the headmistress of Dragonar Academy. She was also known by the name of <Argento Magus>. However, even though it was rare for her to visit the restaurant, Mirabel still enjoyed her own black tea. The person who stood and waited behind her was her charming personal maid, Eunice. Beside Eunice was a cart that carried various tableware and other utensils for preparing tea.

“What number does that make the boys who have confessed to you now?”

“I-I don’t know…I don’t keep track of them all…”

Anya gingerly replied, noticing that something seemed off. The graceful Mirabel was a scholar at heart. She was primarily only interested in holy relics. Was it not a big deal that Mirabel had taken an interest in someone’s personal issues despite normally being nonchalant?

“Umm…Your Highness Mirabel. Has something strange happened?”

Upon being asked that by Anya, Mirabel quietly set her teacup down.

“My dream is about to come true. Look at this, Anya.”

Mirabel spread out a large and timeworn map on the table. The parchment had yellowed, and it had also become quite tattered. As she looked at it, Anya couldn’t help but wonder how many centuries old the parchment was.

“What is it a map of?”

“There’s actually an enormous labyrinth underneath the city of Ansarivan, it’s just that no one knows about it.”

“Ah, that’s right. I’ve also heard about the rumours…but I’ve never been in there.”

Anya shyly replied. When she infiltrated Ansarivan with Milgauss, Milgauss had once told her about the existence of that labyrinth.

“I’ve heard that there are many unexplored areas in that labyrinth, though it’s inhabited by various beasts and has dangerous traps, which is why entry is forbidden…”

Mirabel nodded in agreement with Anya’s words.

“This map was only just discovered a few days ago. Before that, it had simply remained dormant in the library of a monastery on the outskirts of Ansarivan. As of now, this is the only map in the world which shows the deepest route into the underground maze.”

Even though it was such a rare and valuable map, Mirabel had boldly spread it out on the table of a students’ restaurant.

“Moreover — there is an extraordinary holy relic hidden in the deepest part of this underground labyrinth.”

Mirabel extended her snow-white finger and pointed at a certain location on the map.

“What is that holy relic…?”

“It isn’t convenient for me to tell you about it at the moment. So let’s leave it as the fun of the treasure hunt.”

Anya was fascinated by her small, devilish smile. It was the first time that she had ever seen Mirabel reveal such a playful smile.

“By the way, Anya.”

“Y-Yes?”

The tone of Mirabel’s voice suddenly shifted and seemed somewhat serious, which caused Anya to feel nervous. Mirabel’s expression changed back to that of the <Argento Magus>.

“I’ve been curious about it for a while. The cat ears and tail that you wear…is it a cultural item from your country, or a kind of custom?”

“…What?”

“I’m very curious about it. Is there some kind of connection to an ancient civilisation…?”

Anya swiftly waved her hands as she denied it.

“I-It’s not as significant as you think. It’s just an idea that the store manager came up with…I don’t think it’s related to anything as profound as culture or customs…”

“That’s impossible. The accessories which you’re wearing must contain some kind of incredible power which continues to attract the male gender. Would you be able to lend it to me?”

“Uh…”

After Mirabel received the cat ears from her, she wore it on top of her own head.

“…There doesn’t seem to have been any change.”

As she saw Mirabel ponder over it, Anya couldn’t help but smile as she thought to herself ‘She really is a strange person’. At the same time, she was almost stunned by how cute Mirabel looked when she wore those cat ears.

“—Princess-sama. Have you forgotten the purpose of this trip?”

When Eunice gave her a reminder, Mirabel nodded and snapped back to her original goal.

“That’s right. I came to visit today because there’s actually a favour that I’d like to ask.”

As Mirabel’s clear eyes stared directly into her own, Anya’s heartbeat accelerated. She still wore the cat ears above her head, but her expression was dead serious.

“H-How may I be of service to you?”

 “I want you.”

“Eeh…!?”

After she had just rejected Raymond’s confession earlier, this time Mirabel was the one who took the initiative.

Isn’t it inappropriate for a girl to confess to another girl…?

Amidst her panic, Anya’s thoughts spiralled around and she couldn’t help but feel confused—.

“…So, would you be able to lend me Anya for a while, manager?”

“That’s certainly fine. Given Anya’s abilities, I’m sure she’ll be an excellent bodyguard for Your Highness.”

Without Anya realising, the store manager had already appeared near the table. There was a sly smile on her face as she nodded in response to Mirabel’s request.

“…Bodyguard?”

Anya was dumbfounded, and all she could do was blink awkwardly. It seemed as though a conclusion had already been reached while she remained confused.

“Anya-san, Her Highness requires a strong bodyguard. It’s because no one knows about the dangers which could be lurking in the underground labyrinth, and I am unable to be of use in combat as well…”

Eunice explained the situation.

“But, why choose me as a bodyguard? If you had to choose, wouldn’t the students who are Breeders be much stronger?”

“I am the headmistress, so it would be an abuse of my authority to use students as my personal bodyguards. They should be focused on being diligent with their academic studies. But Anya, you have the necessary strength and there won’t be any problems even if I hire you privately, right? Of course, I won’t force you to accept.”

“Anya-san, if you’re willing to accept this job, I’ll also be at ease.”

Eunice said that as she grasped Anya’s hand. The expression in her eyes made it almost seem like she was pleading. Eunice was unlike Cosette and Celes in that she was just an ordinary maid. She was incapable of being a bodyguard for her master. Even Eunice herself proposed that someone else should act as Mirabel’s bodyguard. Anya hesitated. When she reunited with Veronica just last month…

—The waitress outfit really suits you. You should stop your life of violence and fighting, so that you can strive for a future of happiness.

Veronica had once encouraged her with those words. Having said that, the job request that Mirabel made to her today was that of a bodyguard, so she wouldn’t actively be going into battle to kill. At most, she simply had to drive away the creatures that resided in the underground labyrinth. Having grown up in the mountains, she used to deal with all kinds of strange beasts when she was young, so she was probably capable of assuming the role of a bodyguard.

“I understand. Since that’s the case, I’m willing to accept your request.”

Anya smiled as she answered. At that point in time — Anya didn’t imagine that Ansarivan City would soon face an unprecedented crisis.

“Treasure Hunt ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 1 - Bad News and the Return of Veronica

Part 1

The sound of a bell rang in his ears. This was the warning bell for the morning. It meant that in five minutes, classes for the day would begin.

“Mmm…is it morning…”

Ash faintly opened his eyelids in bed. Even though it was an incredibly familiar ringing sound — it felt so far away. It reminded Ash of a single fact — he was currently in a patient room which smelled of disinfectant, and not the dormitory of Apollo House. —Ansarivan City General Hospital. That was the name of the hospital that Ash had been admitted to. Speaking of which, it feels so warm this morning…Ash thought. Even though it was almost winter, the bed underneath the blanket felt so nice and warm that it was unbelievable. Just when Ash tried to sit up straight, his right hand inadvertently caught something.

—Something soft and fluffy?

“…?”

He tilted his neck and glanced to his right—

“—!”

Ash suddenly jumped up and rolled off the bed in astonishment. Due to the extreme shock, he didn’t even utter a single sound. Having crashed onto the floor, his back felt so painful that it numbed his entire body, yet it wasn’t the time for him to cry out in pain. Like a goldfish poking its head out of the water, his mouth twitched repeatedly. There was someone sleeping soundly on Ash’s bed. That person was — the one known as the <Ironblood Valkyrie>, Veronica Lautreamont. Her eyes which were as sharp as an eagle’s were concealed by her eyelids. And her shoulders which were vaguely exposed by the slipping blanket revealed that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Ash suddenly recalled the sensation that lingered in his right hand. It had felt so soft that it seemed fragile, yet it also seemed to absorb the palm of his hand. It didn’t feel like he had touched it through a layer of clothing. In other words, if he pulled the blanket aside, Veronica’s fully nude body would be revealed…!

“W-Why is P-Princess Veronica sleeping on my bed? No, why isn’t she wearing anything!?”

After Ash drowsily muttered so to himself, his expression warped into one of surprise again.

“…Hold on, why am I naked as well!?”

Unexpectedly, all Ash had on him was a pair of underwear. Aside from his underwear, the only other thing that covered the skin on his body were the bandages wrapped across various parts of him. Besides the bandage which was used the cover up the <Seikoku> on his left arm, all of the other bandages had been applied by doctors or nurses.

—My shoulders, chest, abdomen, and my limbs…

Compared to when he was first admitted in an almost mummified state, it was already a considerable improvement. And the bandage wrapped around his head which certainly made him look like a patient was also taken off. Even so, it didn’t change the fact that Ash’s body was bruised all over. Leaving the matter of bandages aside — an unclothed man and woman had actually spent the night together. The woman also happened to be Veronica. What was the meaning of all this…? Although Ash was flustered, he desperately tried to evoke his memories of last night. However, no matter how hard he tried, not even a single clue came to mind.

“Hmm…what…happened? It’s so noisy…”

Veronica had finally awoken from her slumber. She muttered with a scowl on her face as she awoke, and slowly sat up on the bed at the same time. Bathed in the morning light, her glowing blonde hair splayed across her porcelain white skin like threads of golden silk. The blanket covering Veronica’s body then slipped down to her knees.

“—!”

Upon baring witness to her transcendent beauty, Ash held his breath. Her figure was like that of a goddess’ white alabaster statue, only carved in the flesh. Despite knowing that it was indecent for him to do so, Ash couldn’t help but stare. Veronica’s cheeks suddenly reddened. And then — she said something that made him doubt his very ears.

“U-Umm…your performance last night was incredibly masculine.”

Although the tone of her voice was rigid and frightening, Ash was still shocked by her words.

“Princess Veronica! What do you mean…?”

While Ash was flustered and overwhelmed, Veronica suddenly raised her right hand. Ash was transfixed in fear by the motion, but Veronica began to use that hand to touch her own belly. Ash couldn’t help but stare at Veronica, dumbfounded. What kind of sorcery was this? The <Ironblood Valkyrie> was acting like a kind mother as a gentle and caring smile surfaced on her face. It felt as though — there were other reasons that had made her become like this, aside from the lack of armour.

“…Y-You’re so dense. There must be a new life in my belly now. Needless to say, the seed is yours, you know?”

Although she still had a rigid tone which resembled a chant, every single word carried a tremendous impact.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehh!”

Upon hearing that, Ash couldn’t help but cry out.

I swear to God, I seriously can’t remember.

“I-I remember last night…”

Ash racked his brains and tried to recall the events of the previous night—.

Part 2

“Damn, I really don’t understand! Just what does Silvia fancy about you!?”

Up until the lights went out, Veronica had been drinking alcohol all night. As for the reason why Veronica stayed in Ash’s patient room, perhaps that line was a sufficient enough excuse. At the same time, those words made Ash feel as though it was only the beginning of a long lecture. —The situation could be traced back to the final day of the [Five Hundred Years Festival] which had been held last month. It was a traditional competition in the Knight Country — something had happened prior to the decisive battle of the Dragonar’s Gunnar Bout. When Silvia courageously announced the players’ speech, Veronica realised the truth. Her favourite little sister had fallen in love with Ash…. Ash’s patient room was meant to be for a single person. It had been specially prepared by the hospital as a sign of respect for Ash who had been appointed as an Ark Dragonar. However, just three weeks ago….

As if it were only natural for her to do so, Veronica barged into his patient room. Moreover, she also ordered someone to move her own bed into this small room which had limited space in it. Veronica had gotten caught up in the turmoil which the authorities of Ansarivan City later named ‘The Pluto Incident’, amidst the chaos, she injured both her left and right leg. Her injuries were so seriously that when she was first admitted to the hospital, she had to rely on a wheelchair to move around. However, she was already capable of walking with crutches now. The regenerative abilities of her body were incredible. Given Veronica’s personality, it would’ve been reasonable for her to return to Fontaine City even if she had to drag her legs along. However, she continued to stay in Ash’s patient room and refused to leave.

—This is for the sake of monitoring Ash.

There was only a short distance of two metres between their beds. And once the lights were switched off, it was even possible for Ash to hear the sound of Veronica’s breaths when she fell asleep. At the beginning, Veronica displayed incredible self-discipline in order to focus on recuperating from her injuries. But as her leg injuries gradually healed, her hostility towards Ash gradually increased. Eventually, she even developed a habit of drinking wine and venting the frustrations in the depths of her heart at night. That was no exception for Veronica last night either, and she had ordered her personal guard to prepare wine for her.

“Umm, Princess Veronica. Could it be that you drank too much…?”

In response, Veronica held her glass up, and urged Ash to take a drink. Her eyes were clearly lost in trance.

“Drink for me.”

“N-No, I’m not of age yet.”

“Uh~. The Princess Veronica Lautreamont herself offers you a glass of wine, and yet you dare to refuse…?”

Veronica appeared to be in an episode of intoxication.

“If the Princess says you can drink…the you can drink! Just treat it like the blood of Saint Rosa Maria when you quaff it down!”

Since even Veronica had become so pushy about it, Ash decided that there was no use in trying to resist any further. Resigning himself as he accepted the wine glass, he gulped down the ruby-coloured liquid all at once. The flavour which lingered in his mouth was both bitter and spicy. It had to be something of a so-called ‘mature’ taste. Just as his stomach began to heat up, Ash realised a single fact that made him blush. It was the fact that only one glass had been prepared in the room.

—Just now…does that count as an indirect kiss with Princess Veronica?

Just as Ash analysed the situation and began to panic—

“Mmm…it feels somewhat hot.”

Veronica suddenly took off her outer robe.

“—!”

Ash quickly averted his eyes from her. At the moment, Veronica was only wearing a set of silk pyjamas. The fabric of her pyjamas was thin and transparent enough to see her skin beneath it, making it almost no different from being naked. Although the impression that Veronica normally gave off was far from that of an ordinary princess, the nightwear that she wore was truly expressive of her qualities as a princess.

“Seriously…you’re so rude.”

Her intoxicated eyes gazed into Ash’s face. Ash had never seen Veronica make such an expression before.

“…Eh?”

“Y-Your Princess has shown you this much skin, and yet y-you…immediately turn away and look elsewhere. Such timidity, and yet you call yourself an Ark Dragonar…?”

“E-Even if you say that…”

Ash’s heart throbbed violently, and it felt as though it was on the verge of bursting.

“Moreover, it’s only me and you alone in this secret room. I already informed my personal guard early on that they are forbidden from entering this patient room unless there is an emergency.”

“Uh…”

Dumbfounded, Ash left his mouth agape and seemed unsure of how to respond. Veronica quickly stood up.

“Men never show interest in me, and they don’t even see me as a woman…I’ll always remember that.”

“Hey!”

Just as Ash felt shocked, he watched on as Veronica lost balance. Even though her injuries had greatly healed, it was likely still impossible for her to walk without the support of crutches.

“Look out!”

No sooner than he had said that, Ash reached out to support Veronica’s body. Although the wound at the side of his abdomen began to ache again, Ash clenched his teeth as he endured. The drunken Veronica entrusted the full weight of her entire body onto Ash. An alluring aroma wafted into his nostrils from her blonde hair. The aroma was reminiscent of a large rose, both noble and elegant.

“Uwah!”

The next instant, Veronica pushed Ash down on his bed. The seemingly soft double peaks on her chest pushed tightly against Ash’s chest. Noticing that Ash’s entire body had stiffened up, Veronica slowly lifted her upper body away from him. Straddling over Ash’s body, she took her nightwear off. Ash resisted the nosebleed which was on the verge of spouting from his nostrils and turned his eyes away from her. Without a single item of clothing on her figure, Veronica then planned to strip Ash bare as well.

“Please wait, Your Highness Veronica? Have you lost your mind!?”

Even as Ash put up a desperate struggle of resistance, it was futile against the <Ironblood Valkyrie>. The strength of her arms was incomparable to those of an ordinary person’s. In addition, Ash was still injured, making any resistance from him rather feeble. However, in the blink of an eye, the clothes that Ash had been wearing were stripped off, leaving him with just his underwear. Veronica’s thighs sandwiched the sides of Ash’s abdomen. The sheer contact of their skin caused Ash to shudder.

“Y-You can’t do this, Veronica-san! It’s not wise to do something like this when you’re drunk…!”

Veronica ignored Ash’s admonishment, and pressed her upper body down on Ash again.

“…!”

After a soft object was pressed against Ash’s chest, its incredible elasticity caused it to change shape. This level of contact was plentiful enough to make Ash feel as though he was ascending towards Heaven. Whilst pressing Ash down with her own body, Veronica brought her mouth towards his ear. A warm breath stirred his earlobe.

“Am I not good enough? Ash…”

Ash was speechless. Although she had become irrational due to her intoxication, he had never once imagined that such words could come from Veronica’s mouth….

Part 3

“…I’m sorry, Princess Veronica.”

After concluding his reminiscence, Ash bowed and apologised with guilt.

“I tried searching through my mind, but that’s all I can remember. It’s very possible that I passed out because I was drunk…”

“Yes, and then?”

Whilst resting on the bed, Veronica appeared calm. Ash continued to sit on the floor as he made a solemn declaration. 

“I swear to Saint Rosa Maria that I absolutely haven’t done anything immoral with Princess Veronica!”

“Immoral behaviour? Like what for example?”

“U-Umm, like the sort of thing that would make a girl pregnant…”

Even Ash felt as though his cheeks were burning bright red. Veronica sombrely looked down at Ash, who was on the floor for a while, and then she sighed.

“Ah…forget it. It’s almost like I tried to set you up.”

“Princess Veronica?”

“If you fell for my temptations, I would’ve had a reason to pull you and Silvia apart. I had resolved myself to achieve that goal, even at the expense of becoming pregnant with your child, but…”

Ash was so shocked that he became tongue-tied.

“Hold on! That means you were basically trying to frame me!”

“But, because of that, you also…ah, umm…also would have been able to take my virginity, that of Princess Veronica Lautreamont. I-It wouldn’t have been a bad deal, right?”

Veronica’s tone was somewhat hesitant, and she seemed embarrassed by it. It wasn’t until then that she suddenly realised and quickly decided to cover up herself up with a blanket, even though she had boldly exposed her breasts just earlier. Ash couldn’t help but feel that Veronica seemed rather cute like this, and butterflies were set aflutter in his heart. Right at that moment—.

As if to break the silence between those two, someone knocked on their room door. After Veronica quickly raised her head, she answered the door as if nothing had happened.

“Yes, come in.”

“Wait! We haven’t gotten dressed yet!”

Ash hurriedly got up from the floor, but—

“—I’m coming in.”

A female knight dressed in dazzlingly bright armour majestically walked into the patient room. Ash could instantly tell that her armour was an Ark. At the same time, he was drawn to the sublime beauty of her face which was visible under the helmet. The female knight’s face had a sacred, witch-like atmosphere. The female knight glanced alternately at Veronica and Ash before she softly said

“…Did I disturb you two?”

“No, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Is that so?”

The female knight then calmly walked straight up to Veronica. Ash found it rather unbelievable that she had interrupted a situation in which a naked man and woman were involved, yet was absolutely unperturbed by it. She either had to be an exceedingly brave hero, or a dense idiot with a dull personality….

“She’s Ursula L. Selwyn.”

Upon hearing Veronica’s introduction, Ash was surprised for a moment. He felt as though the name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before. And then, Veronica suddenly knit her eyebrows together.

“…Hey, as a citizen of the Knight Country, don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the name of the captain of Lautreamont’s Order of Holy Dragonars? What are you even learning at Dragonar Academy!?”

“…Ah!”

Ash finally remembered. Veronica’s anger towards him was justified.

—The Lautreamont Order of Holy Dragonars.

They were the top elite knights of the continent who lived up to their name. The captain of that Order could be described as one of the most important people in the Knight Country. Only the riders of Maestros were qualified to join that organisation of Dragonars. And those who held roles from the middle of the hierarchy and above were all Ark Dragonars without exception. In the Xenoglavia War which broke out fifty two years ago, the Chevron Kingdom was only able to successfully repel the mechanised forces of the Empire’s army thanks to the performance of the Order of Holy Dragonars. Back then, the knights were commanded by the Paladin Bertram. He was also the grandfather of Veronica and Silvia. However—.

Starting from this year, the evaluation of the Order of Holy Dragonars had slightly…no, their reputation had sharply fallen. Ever since Eco was born in the month of Aries, a series of strange events had taken place in the Knight Country. The first of those was when Ansarivan City was attacked by a Necromancia. The next incident was when they held an intensive training camp in the early summer; immense turmoil ensued when they countered another Necromancia at Willingham Mausoleum. Later on, even the capital of Fontaine City came under attack by a gigantic mysterious dragon, and the Continental Congress <Elysium> had to be suspended. After this string of chaotic events, the Pluto Incident also occurred on the final day of ‘Ansarivan’s Five Hundred Years Festival’. By reason, these incidents should have been resolved by the Order of Holy Dragonars. Therefore, it was not surprising that most citizens began to vocally criticise the knights for their delayed response to every one of those incidents.

 “—Ursula. This boy is Ash Blake.”

In turn, Veronica introduced Ursula to Ash.

“…Ash Blake? You mean to say that he is the young dragon Eco’s…?”

“Yes, that’s right. You must’ve seen that name several times in the reports for all of those chaotic events.”

“I see, so it seems that you’re the legendary Ash Blake…”

Along with the creaking of her armour, Ursula took a few steps in order to stand in front of Ash. The expression of her face could be described as one that lacked emotions. No, strictly speaking, she didn’t seem to have an expression at all. Ursula remained silent, and simply stared down at Ash.

“Y-You couldn’t possibly…be mad at me, right?”

Before he realised, cold sweat had begun to perspire from Ash’s body. To a certain extent, Ash could be described as the top murderer of the Order of Holy Dragonars reputation. It was possible that even the entire Order harboured hatred towards him—. All of a sudden, Ursula kneeled down in front of Ash. She reached out with both hands, and enclosed Ash’s right hand with hers. Like a sweet innocent girl, Ursula tilted her head as she peered up at Ash’s face. Their faces were extremely close. Ursula’s body also seemed to let off a sweet, flowery aroma. Ash instantly became flustered.

“Why would I be angry at you? If not for you and the young dragon Eco, as well as Her Highness Silvia, Rebecca and the others, we might not have been able to minimise the damage caused by those incidents. The evaluation of the Order by the outside world is but a trifling matter not worth taking to heart.”

Ursula had a clear voice which felt reminiscent of the refreshing autumn air.

—Captain Ursula is far too generous…!

Despite feeling deeply moved, Ash remembered that he was only wearing his underwear at the moment. He felt so embarrassed that his cheeks were instantly set ablaze.

“I-I’m sorry!”

After Ash hurriedly jumped up from the ground, he instantly grabbed the white pyjamas which he had been given by the hospital. After covering up his exposed body, he no longer felt nervous.

“Let’s get back to the point, Ursula…I clearly gave an order that you should be responsible for protecting the capital in my absence…so for what purpose have you specially come here?”

After Veronica questioned like so with doubt, Ursula cut straight into the matter.

“The Chevron Kingdom issued an ultimatum last night.”

“…I’m guessing that it isn’t good news.”

With a frown, Veronica sighed as she faced Ursula. Ash also had the same premonition. In order to make a direct report to Veronica, the leader of the Order, Ursula, had rushed over to Ansarivan. An extremely unusual situation must have occurred. Ursula looked straight at Veronica unflinchingly, and she began to speak with a calm voice

“The Kingdom’s government has decided to execute the Paladin Oswald—”

Compared to the grave and depressing nature of her report, not even the slightest trace of panic could be felt from Ursula. It was almost as if she was simply reading out the details of some kind of business deal. Due to the great discrepancy between Ursula’s demeanour and the content of the report, Ash was unable to immediately respond to the content of the report.

“That can’t be possible, the Paladin Oswald will be…”

Regarding this matter, all of the royalty and aristocrats had been led away by the King of Chevron and they escaped in the magic ship Claíomh Solais during the Pluto Incident which Celes sparked. At the time, the Paladin Oswald also got caught up in the mess and boarded the ship together with them….

“Veronica-sama, there is something which is difficult to tell you.”

“It doesn’t matter, just tell me.”

Veronica’s expression seemed urge Ursula along.

“Yes. The Knight Country’s government actually has no clue on the whereabouts of the Paladin, and before they received this ultimatum from the Chevron Kingdom, everyone was simply surprised that they hadn’t seen the Paladin in person for a long time.”

Contrary to how she described it as ‘difficult to tell you’, Ursula’s tone was rather calm.

“Damn the vile Chevron government. If they have the time to draft a useless ultimatum, they should’ve hurried the punishment along. Then, I’d be able to openly support Silvia for the throne.”

“Princess Veronica!? Those words are too…!”

Ash immediately faltered. No matter how much she actually wanted Silvia to take the throne, the way she spoke as if she was just a bystander on the sidelines inevitably gave off a cold and ruthless impression.

“Hmph, I’m just joking…half-joking.”

Only when Veronica took some of that back did Ash sigh in relief. But, the way she said ‘half-joking’ still caused him to feel worried.

“That man is the Paladin, and my own father to begin with, so I won’t simply stand by and watch him be killed for no good reason. The immediate problem is that the Kingdom’s government seems to be targeting our Knight Country, and this is probably the first such case since the founding of the Lautreamont Knight Country. The Kingdom is trying to use Oswald’s life as a bargaining chip, but what are they after…?”

Ash recalled the information that Oscar had once revealed to him.

“That’s right, I heard that the Third Prince Uriel seems to have the ambition to annex the Knight Country…”

Ash’s murmurs evoked a reaction from Ursula.

“After Zacharias III returned home, it seems he became bedridden, and there’s also news that he’s on the verge of death. Hence, it does seem very likely that the Third Prince Uriel is behind this decision.”

Veronica nodded in agreement with Ursula’s opinion.

“Yes, it’s a possibility that can’t be denied. So that damned Uriel plans to swallow the power of the Knight Country and the dragons all at once…I won’t let his ambitions succeed!”

After Veronica yelled in complaint, she stood up without the support of her crutches. This time, she stood tall and proud, seemingly indomitable. Both her feet remained affixed to the floor, and she didn’t appear to tremble at all. It was just that her entire body was bare, and Ash couldn’t muster the courage to stare directly at her nude body.

“Call Glenn over for me! I’m returning to Fontaine at once! My armour! Is my new armour ready?”

Veronica’s abrupt decision caused a fair amount of commotion for the hospital, and the entire hospital became filled with the chaotic atmosphere of a marshalling army.

Two hours later—. After Veronica equipped her brand-new armour, the First Princess of Lautreamont and her captain Glenn departed from Ansarivan riding atop his Pal Fergus. The captain of the Order Ursula also set off along with Veronica.

“Paladin Oswald, I hope that you’re safe…”

As Ash gazed at the receding figures that drifted away through the window of his patient room, he offered a sincere prayer. The only thing that he could do for now was pray.

“The Evil News ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 2 - The Dark-Eyed Girl

Part 1

In the capital of the Chevron Kingdom, Arkham.

The sunset in the west of the royal capital’s sky shrouded the sky with a brilliant glow. The Third Prince Uriel sat in a royal carriage as he travelled on a bumpy road which followed an important route. Sitting beside him was his lover, the Second Princess Cassandra Lautreamont. Her straight dark hair exuded a noble lustre, and its length reached down to her waist. Underneath her straight bangs, her amber eyes shone with a seductive glint. Her curvaceous body was dressed in a gorgeous evening dress. The luxurious fabric shimmered with a silvery light and the top was adorned with colourful gems. The necklaces, bracelets, rings and other accessories which she wore had all been carefully crafted by the most prestigious jewellers, and each one of them added a further touch of lustre to Cassandra’s innate beauty. Cassandra leisurely gazed into the streets from her window.

Presently, the capital was awash with the major news that ‘Zacharias III is ill’ and ‘The Paladin of the Knight Country Oswald will be executed’. At every street corner, it was possible to see newspaper vendors completely surrounded by people carrying small change as they sought to access more information. The person who ordered the execution of Oswald was not Zacharias III, but Uriel himself. The King of Chevron seemed to be in a desperate struggle against death itself in a palace that had been designated for his recuperation. Perhaps when he was involved in the Pluto Incident, his mind had been overburdened. Thus, the chronic diseases which had been kept at bay for many years finally relapsed when he returned home. To Cassandra, Oswald was her own father. Yet, Cassandra hadn’t expressed any objections in response to Uriel’s decision to execute Oswald. It could even be said that the current situation made her feel rather happy.

“…You’re a wicked woman, Cassandra. Even when you know that I’m the one who initiated the decision to execute Oswald, you’re still riding in the same carriage with me.”

Cassandra lightly raised the corners of her lips which had been coloured by purple lipstick.

“Fufu…it’s because I don’t feel bored when I’m with you.”

“If what you say is true, are you saying that you’ll be my woman? Every time I spend the night with you, you make me taste the pain of a living death…”

Uriel stared at Cassandra’s chest with a look of desire and lust.

 “Oh dear. Don’t think of me like that, I’m actually rather conservative. It’s the most important thing for a woman, so I can’t be giving it away lightly, can I? Even if my partner is the prince of a country.”

“Hmph…to think that the <Diabolic Belladonna> was capable of such words.”

“Strictly speaking, the two of us don’t count as lovers.”

“…Indeed. The reason why we pretend to be lovers is because of our deeply aligned interests. There is no doubt in that regard.”

“Yes. The Dark Dragon King Mordred currently resides within my body. Although he was defeated at the hands of Ash and Eco, lost to despair, and is currently in hibernation…he will surely awaken once more. I hope until that day comes, I’ll be able to stay in the safest and most secure place in the world to wait and hope.”

“As long as you stay by my side, your safety will be guaranteed, and I also have a personal interest in the power of the Dark Dragon King. If possible, I’d like to borrow that power…”

“Oh my. You meant to say ‘swallow’, and not ‘borrow’, right?”

Uriel revealed a bitter smile.

“You’re so strict. Leaving the matters of power aside, I’m not sure I can hold back in the face of your present beauty—”

The carriage slowly came to a halt, which prompted Uriel to cut his words off halfway. The guards surrounding the carriage also pulled on the reins and stopped. The royal carriage intended only for the exclusive use of members of the Chevron Royal Family had arrived at the entrance of the Royal Opera House. The show scheduled for today was the [Tale of Zauberflöte]. It was an opera that had been written in the Zepharos Empire a hundred years ago. Operas from the Empire rarely had the opportunity to be performed on the stage of the Kingdom. The fact that the Kingdom and the Empire were enemies was one of the reasons, but the main reason was that most people thought the imperial language had cold and rigid pronunciation, thus making it unsuitable for operas. However, [Tale of Zauberflöte] had an amazing soundtrack, the story seemed like a folk tale, and children were able to watch it with gusto. Even though it was marred by the pronunciation of the imperial language, it was an undeniable fact that it was a masterpiece, and it was loved by men, women and children. The story of the opera went like—.

Under the guidance of the <Queen of the Night>, a young prince embarks on a journey with an innocent girl to defeat an evil priest. However, there is a dramatic reversal in the plot halfway through; the priest that they believed to be evil turns out to be an ally of justice, and the Queen is revealed to be the embodiment of evil. In order to defeat the Queen, the prince and the girl undertake various trials. The magic flute mentioned in the title is repeatedly used to help the prince and the girl — <Zauberflöte>. Thus, the prince and the girl successfully defeat the Queen, and formally become engaged—.

…However, neither Uriel nor Cassandra had come to watch the opera today. The coachman dressed in royal uniform respectfully opened the door to the carriage. After Uriel gracefully exited the carriage, he extended his hand out to Cassandra. As the pedestrians passing along the road noticed the Third Prince, they began to cheer and shout with joy, but Uriel turned a blind eye to them.

“Let’s go, Cassandra. The key person who is indispensable to my plan is waiting here for us.”

“You just seem to love teasing me as well. Why not just tell me the answer?”

Upon seeing Cassandra distort her face slightly out of bemusement, Uriel returned a smug smile as if responding to her attitude.

“It’ll ruin the fun of the mystery, so let’s just leave it until you meet.”

Part 2

The opera had begun. Although the stage curtains hadn’t yet been pulled up, the orchestra was playing a lively prelude. The VIP seats were located in the centre of the uppermost level. The VIP room had been separated into a private suite with the intention that other viewers would not be able to see the interior.

“—I am here, Your Highness Uriel.”

As soon as Uriel and Cassandra entered the VIP room, a noble young man immediately stood up. Cassandra silently looked at the young man. The young man didn’t look as though he was older than thirty, and both his appearance and build were quite handsome. Based on his clothing and demeanour, he was likely a high-class aristocrat. It was just that he seemed different from the opulent Chevron nobility. Compared to them, he gave off the impression that he was more military-like. And the way he spoke the Chevron language vaguely indicated that he had some kind of foreign accent. After Uriel and the young man shook hands familiarly, they both smiled.

“Long time no see, my dear friend — Count Klaus of the Vandenhaar border.”

The moment she heard that name, even Cassandra couldn’t help but feel surprised. 

On the stage, the <Queen of the Night> had just begun her solo. After greeting each other, the Kingdom’s Third Prince and the Empire’s military aristocrat began their secret conversation.

“It was certainly a heavy loss for you in Fontaine City, Klaus.”

“There’s nothing else that can be said. I lost the airship Beowulf that was bestowed upon me by His Majesty the Emperor. And now…the rumours in the court of my country about who will be appointed as the next Count of the Vandenhaar border are causing a major ruckus.”

“You look rather calm to me though.”

After Cassandra shook off her initial shock and interjected from the side, Klaus showed a thin smile.

“Of course, that’s only because I have the support of His Highness Uriel here. His Highness is the best candidate to become the next King of Chevron. No, after His Highness annexes the Knight Country and gains the power of the dragons, it would no longer simply be a dream to unify the entire continent of Ark Strada. My allegiance no longer lies with the old and dying Emperor, but you who shall be the future King of the world—”

Klaus bowed to Uriel in a respectful manner. When he raised his head again, Cassandra noticed that his eyes were burning with a dark flame.

“Moreover…I will no longer allow Ash Blake and the young dragon Eco to do as they please. I’ve decided to prepare a grand gift to return to those two people — no, it would be more correct to say a person and a dragon.”

Indeed, after Klaus lost the airship Beowulf, he seemed to hold a grudge against Ash and Eco. Just as Cassandra saw the emotion burning in his eyes, she lost interest in him. The anticipation of the demise of their motherland was something that he shared with Cassandra. It was just that Cassandra disliked how a great man such as him had become obsessed with a personal grievance.

There was a girl who sat alone in a corner of the VIP room. Even though the young girl gave off the delicacy and charm of a white lily, they were unable to clearly see her appearance. It was because she wore a metal mask which covered the upper part of her face. The part of the mask where her eyes should have been was closed shut, and it seemed to be engraved with an eerie pattern. The girl gave off the impression that she was as fragile as a glass doll. Combined with the strange mask that she wore, she completed lacked a feeling of feminism. Cassandra thought to herself

“No matter how I see it, she can’t possibly be Klaus’ lover…”

On the stage, the prince and the heroine began to sing a duet. The treble of their voices was a perfect combination, and a surging wave of emotions poured out from the audience.

“………”

Cassandra didn’t miss what seemed to be a sigh from the girl’s mouth. Within this VIP room, it seemed as though only the girl was seriously listening to the opera. While Cassandra continued to observe the girl, the secret conversation between the two men progressed to the next stage before she realised….

“Klaus, I hope that you’ll be able to send troops to capture Ansarivan.”

Uriel’s bold request immediately caught Cassandra’s attention.

“The Knight Country’s government should be preoccupied with the issue of their Paladin. They don’t have the leeway to think about a remote city such as Ansarivan. Even Veronica who was originally recuperating in Ansarivan has immediately rushed back to Fontaine City. By the time the Knight Country’s government realise what’s happened to Ansarivan, it’ll already be too late.”

“You are truly admirable, Your Highness. After anticipating the future, you publically announced the execution of the Paladin. Is that also a part of your strategy, Your Highness?”

A cruel smile surfaced on Klaus’ face.

“In that case — I’ll release the fierce <Ice Wolves(Fenrir)> in the paradise that the dragons live in.”

“That’s the one known as the Empire’s strongest land unit…that’s a dose of reassurance.”

“It’s not just that, we also have a trump card.”

Klaus conceitedly put his hand on the shoulder of the girl who sat beside him.

“Come, give His Highness Uriel a greeting.”

“Understood, master.”

The girl got up from her seat without another word. She then grabbed her skirt with both hands and curtsied towards Uriel.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness Uriel.”

Perhaps out of nervousness, the girl’s movements were rather stiff and unnatural.

“She is a proud creation of the National Institute of Magical Engineering. They used the information provided by Your Highness Uriel on Celestina Lafon as a foundation to successfully develop this weapon. We’ve given her the name of Kriemhild.”

Right in the girl’s presence, Klaus brazenly called her a ‘weapon’. Although the girl wore a pretty dress, it was mostly likely just a ruse so that she didn’t draw attention to herself in the opera theatre. Klaus clearly didn’t see the girl as a human being. Uriel gasped and stared at Kriemhild in amazement.

“The mechanical Empire of Zepharos is truly incredible. I didn’t think you’d be able to artificially synthesise <Pluto Children>.”

“Oh please, Your Highness. Do you not believe in the technical prowess of my country?”

Perhaps feeling thrilled by Uriel’s overinflated reaction, Klaus spoke in jest.

“Of course I believe in you guys. I simply thought that it would take a long time in order to succeed. Speaking of which, can Kriemhild use the same power as Celestina?”

“Yes, she can invade a dragon’s mind and control it as she pleases. According to the experiments we performed with her on the Basilisks in the savannah, she was able to manipulate a hundred lizards at once to act as an army.”

“Oh, it is generally said that Basilisks are relatives of the Asia. And she was able to control a hundred of them at the same time…”

Perhaps because he felt elated upon seeing Uriel’s reaction of praise, Klaus began to wear a confident smile.

“Kriemhild’s abilities are not even comparable to those of Celestina. To prove that these aren’t just empty claims, I will put on a demonstration in Ansarivan. To us, she is our vital <Zauberflöte>.”

“Kriemhild ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 3 - Peaceful Life and the Sound of Approaching Military Boots

Part 1

Eco also came to the Dragon Workshop today to train again. She already seemed to have grasped the characteristics of <Avalon’s Bracelet> which had been given to her by the Mother Dragon. She no longer had to be constantly lectured by Navi.

“You’ve made rapid progress. You should now be able to control your Dragonise and Humanise transformations.”

Seeing Eco’s growth, Navi also seemed happy. And what made Navi feel most surprised and refreshed were the feelings that had sprouted within her heart.

“In other words, if I want to Dragonise right now, then I can?”

Eco timidly looked up at Navi.

“That’s right. As long as your wear the bracelet, it is impossible for you to Dragonise. On the contrary, you will open the gates which allow you to Dragonise if you remove the bracelet.”

“Hmm…”

Eco quietly stared at the bracelet on her right wrist.

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem too happy about it.”

Navi was surprised. She had thought that Eco would’ve been delighted to hear such news.

“B-Because, my body grows incredibly large when I become a dragon, and it’s not cute at all…”

Eco’s attitude astonished Navi. It was not necessary for the appearance of a dragon to be cute.

What is Eco thinking about?

“B-But…if I maintain my appearance as a girl, then I can let Ash hug and kiss me. I can also dress up nicely and receive compliments from him…”

Eco muttered an embarrassing confession. Her innocent cheeks had been dyed the colour of roses. Only then did Navi understand Eco’s true thoughts.

“T-That’s why. If possible, I don’t want to turn into a dragon…”

“Okay okay, I’ve heard enough.”

Navi said as she looked in with a somewhat sour expression.

“Hold on! I’m seriously sharing my troubles with you, so what’s with your attitude!?”

As expected, Eco puffed her cheeks out as she spoke up in anger.

“Oh my. It’s not just you. If possible, I’d also like to spend some sweet time alone with Ash. You shouldn’t say such things to a woman like me.”

Navi smiled playfully and sent a challenging gaze towards Eco. Navi had clearly become aware that she had developed a rivalry towards Eco.

“What did you say!? Aren’t you the Dragweiss? How could you have fallen in love with Ash!?”

“Because…Ash is so brave.”

“B-Brave? How!?”

Eco became flustered.

“Fufu. It’s a secret.”

“Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

Eco felt uneasy, and rage welled up inside her.

Has my prank gone a bit too far?

Navi silently thought to herself. Even so, she felt as though everything that she had said was the truth.

—In my eyes, Navi is also an important companion.

—I don’t want to lose Navi, not even a bit.

It was because she felt that Ash was extremely handsome when he had made such declarations in front of her. In the distant future, Navi would integrate with Eco’s consciousness, making her a pure source of intelligence and knowledge. When that time came, Navi would lose her sense of self. Navi had never thought that such a fate was illogical, and she even felt that it was justified. However, it was Ash’s words that changed Navi’s perspective. Although her role as the Dragweiss was still important, her affectionate feelings for Ash were so strong that even Navi herself felt surprised.

“…Ahem.”

In order to clear away her impulsive feelings, Navi intentionally cleared her throat. Once a serious expression returned to her face, she coldly glanced at Eco.

“Let me be frank, you still have a mountain of knowledge to study.”

“W-Why…”

Perhaps noticing the sudden change in Navi’s expression, Eco felt confused.

“Listen closely. The demon Oscar was indeed a powerful foe, but if your Ark was complete and in perfect shape, Ash naturally wouldn’t have been injured so heavily.”

“Huh…?”

As soon as she heard that, colour was drained from Eco’s face. Navi stared down at Eco’s face with a harsh expression. Although it was a cruel truth, it was something that she had to make her understand.

“Listen closely. The Ark that you bestowed upon Ash doesn’t yet have a concrete shape. Although it offers a degree of protection, and it can also summon his Ark Weapon Excalibur, that’s the current extent of its abilities. Precisely because your Ark is incomplete…it is not only fragile, but also imposes an excessive burden on Ash’s body.”

“How could…”

Eco dejectedly looked down, somewhat depressed.

“You mean to say that if my Ark was complete, Ash wouldn’t have to stay in hospital to recover…?”

“That’s what I mean.”

“Ugh…!”

After Eco let out a frustrated murmur, she clenched her trembling fists.

Was I a bit too harsh with my words?

—Navi couldn’t help but feel worried. In all fairness, Eco was only a young dragon. It was difficult to ask her to create a perfect Ark.

“…………”

Eco kept her head down. Perhaps she didn’t want to be seen crying and weeping. Navi tried to offer her a few words of comfort, but—

“—Alright, then I just have to create a perfect Ark!”

Eco suddenly raised her fist into the air and announced that she would complete her Ark. Her eyes glimmered with a vibrant glow, and it didn’t seem as though she was merely bluffing.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Navi. I’ll put my bracelet training on hold for now.”

“Slow down, what are you planning?”

“I want to create a blueprint for the Ark!”

It seemed as though Eco truly wished to complete the Ark. And in the blink of an eye, she slipped back into the real world.

“Seriously…like knight, like dragon they say.”

Left alone in the Dragon Workshop, Navi could only make a wry smile as she muttered such words to herself.

Part 2

Eco returned to the top floor of the girls’ dormitory, Epona House. She was in the room that Silvia and Cosette shared, and had been assigned exclusively to them as a royal privilege. It was already past the time for the lights to be turned off. As a highly disciplined person, Silvia breathed steadily as she drifted into her dreams. The Dragon Crystal lamp beside her pillow illuminated a small region of the darkness with an amber glow. It seemed the timid Silvia was afraid of the dark, and she had a habit of dimming the Dragon Crystal lights to their lowest setting before she went to bed.

“Hmm~”

Eco stared at the sleeping Silvia, and squeezed out a low murmur from the depths of her throat. Although Silvia was lying in bed, her chest still bulged out magnificently. From the unbuttoned area of her pyjamas near the top of her chest, it was possible to see the cleavage of her ample breasts, as well as the pattern of her <Seikoku>. Ever since Ash was hospitalised, Eco had moved in to live together with Silvia. Because she had already spent a few days here over the summer vacation, Eco was as familiar with this place as her own home. Recently, a kind of relationship that resembled friendship had slowly brewed between Eco and Silvia. It was what human society seemed to call ‘comrades-in-arms’. Eco suddenly recalled the final scene of the Pluto Incident.

Silvia aimed at Pluto which had been embedded on Tristan’s forehead. However, Silvia’s courage was inversely proportionally to her beauty and bust size. At that time, she had asked for Ash and Eco to lend her strength. Eventually, with the support of Ash and Eco, Silvia was able to silence Pluto. At the same time, she was also able to preserve Tristan’s life.

—Thank you, Eco.

After the dust from the incident settled, Silvia had for some reason asked Eco for a solemn handshake.

—B-Besides, even if I didn’t help you, you still would’ve succeeded.

—That’s not the issue. Don’t you remember that the Uranus I used was made by you? Eco’s Uranus and my Ark Weapon Arondight — without either one of those two things, I wouldn’t have been able to save Oscar or Tristan. That is why I have to express my thanks to you again.

Aside from Ash, Eco had gained the acknowledgement of someone else. Eco put of a facade of calmness in order to conceal her embarrassment as she shook hands with Silvia. Ever since that day, Eco had gained a strong sense of companionship with Silvia. Having said that — Eco naturally had no intention of handing Ash over to her. They were two completely separate matters.

“If I can create the best Ark, Ash will definitely give me his attention!”

After Eco pumped herself up, she dived into the bed next to Silvia’s.

Part 3

After finishing his meal at noon, Ash passed the time in his patient room with boredom. The Academy had probably started its afternoon classes. Thus, until classes finished, it was unlikely that anyone would come to visit him.

“Ever since she left, it’s felt so lonely…”

Ash muttered to himself after turning to look at one side of the room. The bed that Veronica used had already been removed. Although the Princess had constantly been something of an annoyance to him, she had also been a precious existence in this patient room. In addition, she also had a nude body which couldn’t even begin to be described as mesmerising…after reminiscing a bit, Ash began to feel somewhat fidgety, and quickly quelled his distracting thoughts.

“How strange. When I think of that—”

Ash suddenly began to wonder. He hadn’t seen Eco show up recently. Up until last week, Eco had tirelessly shown up to visit him in the hospital every single day. Ash counted to himself and realised that it had already been three days since he last saw her.

“Has the matter of the Paladin truly caused such an immense impact on the outside world…?”

The Kingdom of Chevron had made a decision to execute the Paladin Oswald. It was a topic of discussion even within the entire hospital. As he thought about Silvia’s perspective, Ash couldn’t help but feel sadness and regret. One week had passed since the Kingdom’s government announced his execution. During this period of time, Silvia had yet to visit Ash in hospital even once. Perhaps Eco couldn’t help but feel worried for Silvia, and that was why she didn’t have the leisure to visit him.

“Ah…I’m so depressed right now that I can’t bring myself to study.”

Just as Ash sighed dispiritedly, he tossed the textbook in his hand aside. It was just at this moment—

“—I’m coming in, Ash!”

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Eco stood just outside the entrance.

“Eco!”

Just by seeing his precious Pal, Ash’s melancholic expression immediately vanished into thin air. Even though it had only been a mere three days, Ash felt as though the two of them had been separated for a long time. Feeling that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, his eyes were immediately drawn to Eco’s clothing. She wore a winter hat and a thick fur coat. Both of them were shades of white, and they formed a perfect contrast with the colour of Eco’s hair. A woollen scarf hung around Eco’s neck, and a plaited skirt could also be seen from under the hem of her coat. Her slender legs were completely covered by white over-knee socks. A leather handbag which looked to be of high-quality also hung from her shoulder. Moreover, her lustrous pink hair had also been tied into a mature-looking hairstyle. Ash looked at her in awe as he thought to himself…she’s totally like a mature upper-class lady….

Eco looked more pure and innocent than her usual self, and also seemed more elegant as well. Unconsciously, Ash also smelled the scent of roses and pondered if it was the aroma of a perfume. As if tempted by the alluring fragrance, Ash’s heartbeat hastened and continued to rise—.

“D-Do I look good in this…?”

While Ash remained silent, Eco looked down in a seemingly embarrassed manner. And as if to prompt some kind of response from him, she frequently peeked up at Ash. Even as dense as Ash was to the feelings of the fairer sex, he was immediately able to recognise what kind of reaction Eco sought from him.

“You’re so pretty…”

After Eco’s cheeks turned red, she shyly smiled. After knowing that he had successfully said what Eco had been eager to hear, he breathed out in relief.

“But, how did you dress up like that?”

“I asked Cosette to help prepare some clothes for me, and this is what she lent to me from Silvia’s wardrobe. Cosette did all of the matching and even my hair.”

Ash imagined how that might have played out. A vivid scene of Cosette dressing Eco up like a doll while smiling and expressing her enjoyment emerged in his mind.

“This is Silvia’s uh…uhm…”

Eco suddenly became hesitant. For some reason, an abashed expression surfaced on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-In any case, this feels like an outfit that Silvia would have worn several years ago!”

Ash showed a wry smile. It was no longer possible for the well-developed Silvia to wear this outfit. Since Eco had a strong sense of pride, she must have had the feeling that she was being compared to Silvia.

“E-Enough of that! I came here today to show you something!”

Eco pulled a chair up to his side and sat down with a rigidly upright posture. She then reached into her handbag to search for something, and took out a sketchbook.

“…Can you take a look?”

What did Eco draw for me?

With an expectant feeling, Ash flipped open the sketchbook. The contents of the first page came into view.

“…?”

How can I describe the pictures?

Ash felt somewhat remorseful that he didn’t have any literary accomplishments. He silently turned over one page at a time. On page after page, all of them contained strange and complicated diagrams. If he was allowed to be cruel, Ash would’ve said that such drawings were no different from a child’s graffiti. The drawings had probably been made by Eco with colourful crayons as she followed her instincts on the page. If the standards were brought down as low as possible…perhaps it could be considered an avant-garde form of art.

“What do you think about it?”

As Eco timidly asked for his opinion, Ash was at a loss for what to say.

“If I had to liken it to an example…is this supposed to be a super-ancient monster climbing out from a sea of enormous waves…?”

“Huh? Is there a problem with your eyes!?”

After Eco’s anger flared up, she leaned forward to him.

“Then, what is the meaning of these abstract drawings?”

“Abstract drawings? How rude of you…these are the design blueprints of the Ark that I want to make for you!”

Ash was rendered speechless.

“Hold it right there! You want me to wear this thing? Are you toying with me!?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh!?”

Eco tearfully clenched her fists in front of her chest.

“I-I’ve already come up with the style in my head! I just don’t know how to draw it out!”

“Okay okay, calm down.”

Ash tried to appease Eco’s feelings first before asking again

“But, why did you suddenly want to draw the designs for an Ark?”

“B-Because…”

Upon seeing tears abruptly burst forth from Eco’s eyes, Ash began to panic.

“…Navi said to me that if my Ark was complete, then you should’ve been able to get away unharmed from the Pluto Incident, and you wouldn’t have been injured so seriously…”

“Oh? So that’s what you were thinking about.”

“What does that mean!?”

Ash reached out and gently pat Eco’s head. It was a simple gesture, but Eco temper was soothed and she became calm again.

“Listen to me, Eco. How long has it been since you were born?”

“Umm, I was born in the month of Aries, so…”

Eco used her fingers to count.

“I think it’s been seven months?”

“That’s right, it’s only been seven months. You’re just a young dragon Eco, so you don’t have to worry, okay?”

“But…”

“Even if it was incomplete, you still made an original Ark just for me, Eco. Don’t forget that you’re still a young dragon who was only born seven months ago. Even just with your current progress, I think that’s enough for your name to go down in the history of dragons.”

With a firm tone, Ash declared

“You should know that my injuries are not your responsibility to bear. It’s because I’m still an unexperienced Dragonar. You shouldn’t have to feel guilty at all, and I should actually be the one thanking you, Eco.”

“Huh…?”

“Eco, because you were by my side, I was able to help protect everyone.”

“Ash…!”

Eco’s red eyes burst into tears. Ash’s eyes were captivated by her delicate and pitiable appearance. Naturally, the two of them began to gaze at each other in silence. Eco shyly lowered her face, and when she lifted her face back up again — her eyes were closed. Ash immediately understood what that meant. Thus, he gently reached out with both hands and softly rested them on Eco’s shoulders. Eco’s shoulders trembled for a brief moment. She probably felt nervous.

“Eco…”

After Ash gulped, he also closed his eyes. Eco wasn’t the only one who felt nervous. Ash felt the rapid contractions of his heart race through him as he slowly brought his face closer to Eco’s.

“—Hey, I came to visit.”

In an instant, the room door was ruthlessly pushed open.

“…Uh!”

Ash and Eco were both so shocked that they separated and kept a safe distance from each other amidst the panic. A maid dressed in a completely black outfit stood at the entrance to the patient room. The maid had a face with features as beautiful and delicate as a doll, and her silver hair was also reminiscent of cool sunshine. She also wore a black leather eyepatch over her left eye.

“Geez, she came at the worst time…”

Eco’s quiet whisper of complaint clearly made its way into Ash’s ears. Most likely in order to avoid the uninvited intruder from seeing her reddened face, Eco turned to look out the window. No, she was probably just pretending to look at the scenery.

“O-Oh, it’s you Celes. How rare of you to come alone.”

“…Why are you speaking so stiffly?”

Celes sighed in amazement. It seemed as though she was aware of the fact that Ash and Eco had tried to kiss each other.

“But you misunderstand one thing. For what reason would I possibly visit a filthy insect like you alone?”

After Celes dismissively explained that, she turned around and shouted towards the corridor.

“Hey, Oscar, hurry up and get over here! How long are you going to keep hiding for?”

“I-I know…”

The voice that drifted over from the corridor undoubtedly belonged to Oscar. Logically speaking, classes should have still been in session, but Oscar had always been rather independent. She had probably chosen to skip class again. But there was something different about Oscar’s attitude today, or perhaps it would be better to say that she didn’t seem as domineering as she used to be. It was quite the unnatural move for her to send Celes ahead into the room while she waited in the corridor outside. After a while, Oscar timidly stepped into the room.

“Y-Yo…Ash.”

“Huh!?”

Ash was hit with such a major shock that no words formed in his mouth. The instant that Eco saw Oscar as well, she gasped in shock.

“Are you really Oscar!?”

The person who stood before them was not a tom girl who had dressed up like a boy. She gave off the impression of an upper-class lady with soft black hair. The design of her dress adopted the extravagant style of the Chevron Kingdom, making an exceptionally glamorous and dazzling sight to behold. The open area at the centre of her chest revealed a deep cleavage which was incredibly provocative.

“H-How rude! I can’t believe you…”

Going by her voice and tone, it was undoubtedly Oscar.

“But why are you cross-dressing as a girl today?”

“I won’t allow you to say that I’m ‘cross-dressing as a girl’! B-Because this is…how I really look!”

Mesmerised by the sublimity of her glamorous beauty, Ash suddenly realised.

“Y-You’re right. Sorry, that was my bad, Oscar.”

“…It’s good that you understand.”

Oscar replied as she fidgeted in a self-conscious manner.

“But why do you want to revert back to dressing as a girl?”

Ash couldn’t understand what Oscar’s intentions were. In the event that her true gender as a female was exposed, Oscar’s position in the succession to the throne would be immediately denied. Given how cautious Oscar normally acted, this was truly a reckless decision.

“You filthy insect!”

Saying that, Celes suddenly slapped Ash’s back.

“Oww!”

Although Celes hadn’t been that rough, it was enough to make Ash shriek in pain because of his broken ribs.

“Hold on, what are you doing to an injured person!?”

“Hmph, I just touched him a bit.”

Although Eco stood up for Ash, Celes maintained her arrogant attitude. Unbothered to deal with Eco, she brought her face close to Ash instead. Her only remaining eye emitted a terrifying glow, causing Ash to cower in fear.

“Put yourself in Oscar’s shoes and think for a moment! She obviously wishes for you to appreciate her feminine side, and that’s why she specifically dressed up in order to visit you in this hospital! Besides, it seems Princess Veronica’s bed has been moved away.”

“H-Hey, Celes! Don’t say it so clearly, it’s difficult to…”

Her face flushed completely red, Oscar interrupted Celes from behind. The gorgeous dress that she wore seemed to have some kind of magical effect on Oscar’s body. On this occasion, she looked not only slim and feminine, but also elegant. She was totally like a lady. After all, Oscar was also known as a peerlessly handsome boy throughout the Academy. Her beautiful face was illuminated and sparkled like a diamond. It was almost as if Oscar’s surroundings were enveloped in a hazy white layer of light….

“—Hey, show some self-control!”

“Uwah!”

After Eco scowled at him and pinched his cheek, Ash was finally brought back to reality. 

After the four of them chatted and laughed amongst themselves for a while, Ash suddenly remembered an important matter.

“That’s right, Celes, your mother…was she okay afterwards?”

The reason why Celes had followed Uriel’s orders to trigger off the Pluto Incident was because her mother had been taken hostage. After that incident was over, Celes once again pledged her loyalty to Oscar. At that time, Ash sincerely felt happy, but he had constantly been worried about whether such actions would put Celes’ mother at risk of danger.

“Ah, are you talking about her mother?”

Upon seeing Oscar’s relaxed expression, Ash was rather surprised.

“I also hoped to save Celes’ mother, so I originally planned to return to my homeland as soon as the Five Hundred Years Festival was over. Naturally, that was in order to rescue her mother. It’s just…”

“Did something happen…?”

Ash nervously swallowed.

“Before I returned to my country, my home — the Brailsford Family sent me a letter.”

“…A letter?”

“It said that Uriel’s men drove a carriage, and it seems that they delivered Celes’ mother to the Brailsford Family.”

“What is the meaning of that…?”

Ash furrowed his brow as he delved into thought. Although the news that Celes’ mother was safe was reassuring, it also left behind many doubts.

“It seems that Celes’ mother was kidnapped by a carriage whilst she was unaware of the situation. In any case, the Brailsford Family is now responsible for taking her in.”

“How inexplicable…I wonder what Uriel’s motives are?”

“You’re wrong, this has always been Uriel’s way of doing things. If it were any other villain, they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill off a hostage. But Uriel isn’t the type to do something like that.”

“I think…it’s probably because there’s no value in killing my mother for Uriel.”

Celes snorted as she interrupted from the side, but Oscar shook her head as she disagreed with that theory.

“That’s not it. He wouldn’t have sent a carriage to take your mother to the Brailsford Family otherwise. It’s a message that Uriel wants to send to me. ‘I admit that I lost during the Pluto Incident. But I won’t be so merciful next time.’ —If I’m not wrong, that’s likely what it means.”

“The Third Prince Uriel really can’t be underestimated huh…”

After Ash sighed, Oscar then added

“Correct. Although there are currently a hundred and eight people in line to succeed the throne including me, the vast majority of them are loyal to Prince Uriel. Uriel has two older brothers, but the mighty First Prince died a few years ago from an unexplained sudden heart attack. The Second Prince is rather plain and mediocre, and quickly became a puppet of Uriel.”

“The situation seems quite unfavourable to you even though you’re a Dragonar…”

After Ash said so with a solemn tone, Oscar suddenly leaned her body forward. Her soft feminine hands gently touched Ash’s cheeks. The warmth of Oscar’s skin flowed across to Ash’s cool body. Ash felt embarrassed to stare directly at her beautiful face, and so he lowered his gaze slightly, which caused the large opening in the bust of her dress to enter his vision. Judging solely from the appearance that Oscar had when she dressed up as a boy, it was impossible to imagine that she actually had such ample breasts. Moreover, because Oscar had leaned forward, it had almost become possible to see her flower buds underneath the silky fabric. As the uncertainty of where to focus his eyes mounted, Ash couldn’t stop his heart from beating wildly. Oscar grinned as she watched Ash’s embarrassed expression while she declared a vow

“Don’t worry, I have Celes and Tristan with me. And to tell you the truth, I’ve recently started a special kind of training.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Are you developing a new ultimate technique?”

“At the moment, I’m more focused on fighting methods rather than combat techniques. Since Uriel gave me the rare gift of Pluto, I hope to make good use of it. Anyway, I’ll let you know about the results later.”

“Really…”

Ash was flabbergasted. Oscar actually planned to develop the Pluto which had caused immense turmoil into her own weapon. However, as Ash began to contemplate the idea, he thought that if Oscar couldn’t even do that much with her abilities, then perhaps it was impossible for her to become the next King of Chevron….

“Also, do you still remember your agreement with me, Ash? You promised to help me succeed the throne—”

As Oscar brought her face closer so that their noses almost touched, a faint smile emerged on her face. Her smile was an embodiment of seduction and charm.

“Y-Yeah. That’s right…”

Ash obviously still remembered that promise. But just as he nodded, a strong murderous intent ‘Gogogogogo…’ shot over from the sidelines.

“You two…have the nerve to flirt in front of me?”

The fists that Eco tightly clenched in front of her chest trembled continuously.

“D-Don’t get angry, Eco!”

“I’ll crush you both!”

Ignoring Ash’s panic, Eco’s shout was as fierce as rumbling thunder.

Part 4

To the north of Ansarivan lay the vast Fianna Forest. It was late at night. Every time the hoot of an owl resounded through the forest, it was accompanied by the sound of flapping wings. In the depths of the lush forest, there was a small historical ruin. The appearance of the full moon in the night sky faintly floated above the darkness. The ruin seemed to be an ancient cemetery, and several square tombstones could be seen standing amidst the gravel. It appeared as though an excavation of the ruin was in progress.

However, there was a group of dubious characters who had gathered and camped in this sacred and inviolable land. They were an elite squad who had been sent from the Imperial territory of Vandenhaar. They were officially known as the Imperial Army’s Twelfth Border Guard. They were also more commonly known by the name — <Fenrir>. There were roughly fifty soldiers. Each soldier had been equipped with a magically engineered weapon which looked like a fusion between a sword and a sub-machine gun. The blade was black, and the handle contained a Bright Dragon Crystal. The <Fenrir> were originally intended to be a garrison that specialised in the protection of the country’s border. Ever since the end of the Xenoglavia War, there had been no further wars between the great powers over the past fifty years. However, there were a wide variety of ethnic minorities who settled down in the border area, and it was not uncommon to see conflicts break out within the Empire. For this reason, the <Fenrir> were the squad with the most combat experience amongst the entire army. Most of these magic soldiers were resting in preparation for the upcoming battle, and as for the small number of soldiers competent in blasting operations, they continued to work in the deepest part of the ruins relying on the moonlight for illumination.

Their goal was to blast the immediate rubble away and remove any obstacles. Landslides and rockfall caused by earthquakes had caused the entrance to the underground passage to be blocked. There was one particular soldier who pressed a detonation button. As the creatures of the forest became frightened of the sounds of explosion, they scattered away in every direction. 

Klaus Viderhausen stared into the flames of the stove as he sipped on a glass of red wine. When the <Fenrir> arrived at the ruins, the area was devoid of people. If there had been any archaeologists or excavators resting here, they would have been indiscriminately killed. In order to achieve their goals, <Fenrir> would do whatever was necessary. Tonight, Klaus had snuck into the Lautreamont Knight Country as the commander of the <Fenrir>.

“Phew…I never thought that the day I personally commanded troops would come.”

Klaus said with a tone of irony after crudely placing his empty wine glass down on the table. If the news of his cooperation with the Third Prince Uriel of the Chevron Kingdom were to be leaked to the country, it would most certainly anger the Emperor, and he would impose the death penalty on Klaus. The Viderhausen Family which had been appointed as the Counts of the Vandenhaar border for generations would inevitably also suffer the same fate. After the Xenoglavia War ended fifty two years ago, the relationship between the two nations had been as incompatible as fire and water. The people of Chevron looked down on the people of Zepharos claiming that they smelled of machine oil, and on the contrary, the people of Zepharos thought of the people of Chevron as softies who were obsessed with a decorative façade.

“…There still exists an outstanding figure like the Third Prince Uriel in the Kingdom. So long as the Kingdom and Empire cooperate, even the Knight Country which relies on the dragons for protection is not to be feared.”

Klaus had already reached a point of no return. As he tried to grab another bottle of wine, his body lost balance. Although he barely stabilised his body, he almost fell off the sofa.

“…Master. It’s not good for your body if you keep drinking.”

The person who spoke up with apparent concern for Klaus was the girl who motionlessly sat on an antique chair, Kriemhild. She wore a mask on the upper half of her face in order to cover up her magic eyes. The blind Kriemhild seemed to have been able to sense how much he had drunk based on the intoxicated breaths that he exhaled into the atmosphere.

“This small quantity of wine isn’t enough to affect me.”

After Klaus stood up from the sofa, he walked over to the work table which had been placed against the wall. An old map of the Academy City Ansarivan had been laid out and spread flat across the table. Although the map was severely damaged and many parts were difficult to identify, it was indeed a map of Ansarivan’s underground labyrinth. Although it was an incomplete map, it had been of great value to the archaeologists. Uriel was the owner of this map. It was difficult even for specialised scholars to get hold of such a rare ancient map, and yet Uriel had done so easily. Klaus picked up a pen and began to write in a blank space of the map.

—Op. Zauberflöte

I hope you’re ready and waiting, Ash Blake and young dragon Eco. This is a battle for the purpose of destroying you two…I gave it the name of <Operation Zauberflöte>. This <Zauberflöte> is a blessing for our existence.”

Just as Klaus muttered that confidently to himself—

“—Pardon the interruption.”

Along with a knock on the door, a hoarse voice came from the other side of the door.

“Gerhard, what is the matter?”

Gerhard Yeager — he was the captain of the <Fenrir>. The loyal Gerhard entered the room and respectfully kneeled down. He was a soldier who had begun to serve at the border under the Count ever since the days of Klaus’ father.

“Young Master, according to your orders, the obstacles blocking the way to the underground entrance have been removed.”

“…Gerhard. Have you forgotten that I told you to stop calling me ‘Young Master’?”

When Klaus inherited the title after his father’s death, the people under him were supposed to call him ‘Your Excellency’. In actuality, that was what Klaus’ father had been called before his death.

“M-My apologies, it’s a small mistake — Young Master!”

Although Klaus harboured a few suspicions that he did it intentionally, it was good news to him that the obstacles had been cleared away. As a result, it was now possible for him to sneak into the underground of Ansarivan City at any time. Of course, if he sent <Fenrir> in to attack, a frontal assault wouldn’t be impossible. However, it was imperative to take Kriemhild to the place where she had to be as she was a cornerstone in the strategy. So, the most foolproof method was to sneak in and invade from the underground passage. Indeed, Kriemhild was the <Zauberflöte> that had brought a miracle to Uriel and Klaus—. A wide, satisfied grin surfaced on Klaus’ face.

“Good work, Gerhard. We shall now officially begin <Operation Zauberflöte>!”

“Op. Zauberflöte ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 4 - The Academy City’s Underground Labyrinth

Part 1

Anya led Mirabel and Eunice as they explored the Academy City’s underground labyrinth. Although it had been a long time since she last wore her native tribal wear, her body was no stranger to the outfit. Needless to say, she hadn’t forgotten to wrap that red and yellow muffler around her neck. If she only wore that outfit though, it wouldn’t be warm enough in the current season, so Anya also wore a coat that she had purchased from the shopping district in Ansarivan City. The gauntlet on her left hand still had a leather whip hidden within it.

No matter what kind of beasts we encounter, none of them will be a match for my whip — Anya encouraged herself, but unexpectedly…

“Hyaa!”

The ice cold droplets of water which hit her forehead caused a wave of cold to rush over her, and she instinctively shivered. The Dragon Crystal lamp that she carried almost fell to the ground.

“Are you okay, Anya?”

Behind her, Mirabel showed concern for Anya’s wellbeing.

“Ah, umm. I’m fine…”

It was somewhat embarrassing that the person she was responsible for protecting was worried for her. Anya straightened her nerves.

It was already the third day since they began to live a life without sunshine. For as far as they could see, everything was simply made of stone. There were occasionally cracks in the ceiling where water leaked down. It was not known whether it was rainwater or groundwater. The underground labyrinth was both dark and humid, and also so cold that anyone passing through would begin to feel themselves freeze. There were also many forks in the road, making it seem as if it had been designed to cause trouble for explorers. Occasionally, there were also strange monsters which suddenly attacked. These so-called monsters had been affected by the Bright Dragon Crystals embedded in the rock, and thus mutated. Anya’s mission was to protect Mirabel from the harm of these monsters. Anya felt somewhat guilty that she had thought Mirabel would scream and retreat on the first day. She hadn’t expected Mirabel to continue wandering this deep into the labyrinth. Even when they reached forks in the road, she simply gave the map in her hands a glance and issued instructions, not showing any signs of panic. No matter how dire the situation was, she maintained the same expression on her face and simply marched forward. Once night fell, she would tell Eunice to prepare a sleeping bag, and she used that to sleep directly on the floor. The courage that she showed gained Anya’s admiration.

On the other hand, the performance of her personal maid Eunice could only be described as pure loyalty. Even though they had come to the harsh environment of this underground cavern system, she still pushed along a cart with tea utensils as normal. On top of that, she also carried an enormous backpack on her shoulders. The mere width of that backpack was already twice that of Eunice’s body. According to Eunice’s explanations, the backpack apparently contained food, drinking water, and various tools for their exploration. Anya had even once offered to help Eunice share the load of the luggage out of goodwill. However, Eunice smoothly declined as if it was a job that she could handle with ease.

—I am fairly confident in my own stamina, so please focus on protecting the Princess, Anya-sama.

Unlike Cosette or Celes, she had not received any combat training. Logically speaking, the only reason that she had been chosen by Mirabel to be her exclusive maid was because of her first-rate technique in brewing black tea. But as a special maid of the Royal Family, she certainly seemed like more than just a pushover.

“—It’s almost time for tea I suppose.”

After a while, the three of them arrived at a vast open space which resembled a spherical cavity, and thus Mirabel stopped walking.

“Understood, Princess-sama.”

After Eunice set her backpack down on the ground, she found a flat area to lay a mat down on, and then prepared to brew tea. Anya held the Dragon Crystal lamp in her hand as she circled around the cavity, and couldn’t help but hold her breath.

“It’s so beautiful…”

The walls and ceiling of the cavity were inlaid with a countless number of Bright Dragon Crystals which shimmered with a rainbow sparkle. It was a surreal sight that almost resembled a crystal chandelier.

“I never imagined that a place like this existed under the Academy…”

 What was most unbelievable was the fact that this cavity was filled with hazy white hot air. The cold air from earlier had completely warmed up here. It also carried a slight scent of sulphur.

“Princess-sama, there is a hot spring here.”

Eunice spoke in a slightly surprised tone as she pointed in a certain direction. In the centre of the space was a pit which had the rough size of a small swimming pool, and there was also steaming hot water in it.

“Oh, that’s great news.”

Mirabel confidently walked over to the hot spring, and then swiftly began to undress. She had hair like silver threads, as well as skin that was almost clear and transparent. Her breasts were small and delicate. Her waist seemed so slender and fragile that it invited the desire to cuddle around it. Her lovely legs also formed a smooth curve. In an instant, Mirabel was completely bare.

“Your Highness Mirabel?”

Anya couldn’t help but feel surprised by the princess’ bold actions.

“You two don’t have to be so modest either, come and enjoy the hot spring with me. Since there’s a bath, you should make use of the opportunity to cleanse your body — this is the necessary care that a lady should have.”

Mirabel turned her head and smiled at the two of them behind her. Following Mirabel’s generous invitation, Anya also disrobed and nervously soaked into the hot spring. Just in case a monster attacked, both Anya and Mirabel respectively set their whip and rapier down in a place where they could reach it at a moment’s notice. From start to end, Eunice insisted on upholding her own principles and refused to share the bath with the Princess until Mirabel brought up the word ‘order’, after which Eunice begrudgingly removed her maid outfit. Eunice seemed to have a rather slim build based on how she normally dressed, but once she removed her underwear, her unexpectedly large breasts bounced out, giving Anya a bit of a shock. She couldn’t help but draw a comparison to her own flat chest.

“P-Please don’t stare too much…it’s embarrassing.”

After Eunice whispered so in a voice that was almost inaudible, she sank deeper into the water. The colour of the water in the hot spring was a wondrous light shade of green.

“It’s such a strange colour…”

Anya said as she scooped some of the hot water into her hands.

“This hot spring should contain a lot of iron. Hot water itself is transparent, but the air has caused a reaction which changes its colour.”

Upon hearing Mirabel’s scholarly explanation, Anya felt impressed. There was little need for any further words. The three girls let themselves go and relaxed to enjoy the natural hot spring. After trenching through the cold, their entire bodies were gradually warmed by the hot water.

“Phew…”

As Mirabel let out an entranced sigh, the side profile of her face caused Anya to blush despite also being a girl. Before she realised, Mirabel’s eyes had become moist and glowing, her cheeks were as red as apples, and the skin of her shoulders and back had been coloured with a pink tinge.

—If I were as beautiful as Her Highness Mirabel, maybe I’d have the potential to compete against Eco and Princess Silvia…?

Anya couldn’t stop her thoughts from gravitating towards that issue, but she quickly returned from her world of imagination.

—W-What am I thinking about…!?

Anya quickly snapped back to reality. No matter how comfortable the hot spring made her feel, Anya was unable to forget that she was Mirabel’s bodyguard. She could not take it lightly. Anya recalled what had happened over the last three days. While Mirabel explored, she had given her an overview of the general situation. It was said that — there existed a holy relic which lay dormant in the deepest part of the underground labyrinth beneath the Academy. In the end, the greatest reason why Mirabel had willingly taken up her position as the headmistress of the Academy was so that she could excavate the holy relic. Mirabel plainly admitted that if not for the existence of the holy relic, she would not have accepted the position of headmistress, even if it was an order from Veronica. However, even though she became the headmistress, it was impossible for her to immediately leave for an expedition in the underground labyrinth. It was because she lacked the key to exploration — a map. Partial maps were more or less difficult to locate, and the problem of finding a map which documented the deepest route was like a searching for a needle in a haystack. That was the case until a few days ago—. Mirabel finally got her hands on a map that seemed to be trustworthy, and thus she made the preparations to embark on an expedition. There was only a single issue — Mirabel had insisted upon not disclosing what kind of object the holy relic was supposed to be.

“Umm, Your Highness Mirabel…we’re already come this far, so could you please tell me what the holy relic is? I’m rather curious…”

Anya raised the courage to ask. According to Mirabel’s map, it would not be much longer before they arrived at the deepest part of the labyrinth. It was probably the right time for her to ask about the truth.

“That won’t do, Anya. The surprise must be kept secret until the very end.”

But Mirabel still refused to let it slip from her mouth. A faint smile emerged on her face, and she simply placed her index finger against her lips as the miniscule splashing sounds of water continued in the background. Every action she made had a hint of neatness and innocence, and she seemed as charming and luminous as the stars; Anya couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as she gazed at her, but—

“Guuuu…gooooohhh…”

From the depths of a passage, an unnerving low-pitched roar was suddenly heard. The next second, a dark shadow rushed towards the pit.

“Kya!”

After Eunice let out a weak cry, she hid behind Anya’s back. They had believed that it was the attack of a monster, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It appeared to be a Strada. However, it had a glowing pair of eyes, twisted and deformed limbs, and a decaying body. It was not something that could be classified as an ordinary dragon. The surroundings had also become overrun with a rancid odour.

“A Necromancia!?”

After Anya hurriedly climbed out of the hot spring, she picked up the whip that she had left near the rocky edge. However, a Necromancia was still a dragon nonetheless. It was not an opponent that could be dealt with using a mere whip…. Anya had once manipulated a Necromancia, and that was why she was well acquainted with how horrific Necromancia were.

“Kuh, what should I do—”

“Haaah!”

Instantly, Mirabel leapt forward as she shouted. Her slender nude body was only draped in a bath towel. The droplets of water which slipped off her porcelain white skin fluttered and danced in the air. Dazzling silver light was projected from her right hand. Her bright white blade drew out a vertical arc, and the body of the Necromancia was split cleanly in two. The dragon’s corpse which had been split into two briefly became shrouded in a cloud of grey smoke, and it soon returned to dust.

“Your Highness Mirabel…! You’re incredible…!”

Momentarily stunned, Anya quickly hurried over to Mirabel’s side. She had cut the Necromancia apart in such a fearless manner. The expression on Mirabel’s face seemed indifferent as she turned towards Anya.

“Anya, you had such an excessive fear of the enemy that you were unable to see its true essence. The monster that is called a Necromancia isn’t actually that much of a threat.”

“Eh!?”

Just as Mirabel said, the Necromancia from earlier certainly did seem too weak. By reason, the most impressive characteristic of a Necromancia was its ability to regenerate. Regardless of how skilled Mirabel was in swordsmanship, it was far too unusual that the Necromancia had been taken down in a single strike. Compared to the Necromancia that Milguass summoned in the past, its defensive ability was far too weak. Anya began to criticise herself internally as she clenched her fists. Her performance had been utterly lacking for someone who was supposed to be a bodyguard. Her half-baked knowledge had led her to become transfixed on an incorrect stereotype, and she was unable to produce an immediate response….

“Princess-sama, please get dressed.”

Eunice then brought Mirabel’s clothing over to her. Eunice had already put her maid outfit back on.

“I suppose I should.”

Mirabel put her rapier down, and put her clothes back on with the help of Eunice.

“Please quickly get dressed as well Anya-san. You will catch a cold if you remain naked.”

“Hya!?”

Thanks to Eunice’s kind reminder, Anya came to realise that she was still naked after all this time because she had been so lost in thought.

“P-Pardon me!”

When Anya hastily put her clothing back on, Mirabel muttered

“Regarding that topic, there appears to be something off about the situation. How could a Necromancia appear in this place?”

“As far as I know, the only one capable of summoning Necromancia from the ashes of dragon corpses was the Dark Dragon King Mordred who was once attached to Prince Julius. The magic sword that he used for summoning was a special weapon that had been crafted by the Empire, a nation proud of their magical engineering technology. There should be no way to mass produce—”

Anya had only gotten halfway until she suddenly became alert and kneeled down on the spot. She tilted her head and placed one ear against the surface of the ground as she concentrated. There was no mistake. Someone — enough people to comprise a platoon were gradually approaching them.

Part 2

“…That’s strange, what happened to the Strada from earlier?”

Klaus pulled on the reins as soon as he arrived in a wide, open area. The surrounding walls were embedded with shimmering Bright Dragon Crystals and the atmosphere felt like a large dreamy cavity. The horse came to a sudden halt. At the same time, <Fenrir> soldiers who were marching on foot stopped.

“Kriemhild, are you tired?”

Klaus turned back and asked the girl behind him, though he was not truly concerned about the girl’s welfare. What he was actually worried about was the girl getting tired, and thus not being able to utilise her strength as a weapon during a critical moment, dragging the entire battle down. If not for this reason, Klaus wouldn’t have seen Kriemhild as a young girl, and he wouldn’t have shared his horse with her.

“……”

Kriemhild held onto Klaus’ waist as she silently shook her head.

“Right. Then let us continue.”

Led by Klaus, the troops marched through the cavity. On the way, everyone coincidentally discovered that there was a hot spring in the centre.

“Young Master. There is something that we suspect to be a dragon’s ashes scattered next to the hot spring.”

At that moment, the captain of <Fenrir> suddenly asserted that with a loud voice.

“Gerhard, how would you explain this?”

“It’s highly possible that its body lost the energy to continue on, and thus it self-disintegrated. Although we have managed to successfully mass-produce weapons of magical engineering, their strength isn’t comparable to that of Milgauss-dono…”

“…I forbid you from mentioning the name of that traitor.”

Klaus became infuriated the instant he heard that name. He had intended to bring his troops away from the cavity quickly, but he suddenly came up with an idea.

“Is something the matter?”

“Gerhard, how much remains of the dragons’ ashes?”

“Unfortunately…only the amount of a single Maestro.”

“Then, let’s summon it here now.”

Klaus said as he looked around the large cavity.

“This large cavity has a somewhat mysterious atmosphere. Don’t you think that it’s an excellent place to use for summoning?”

“You are very perceptive, Young Master. We shall make the preparations.”

Gerhard respectfully replied with a bow.

Part 3

As Anya hid behind a rock and peeked at the situation in the wide cavity, her heart pulsed chaotically. After discovering that unknown people were approaching, her decision to lead Mirabel and Eunice behind a rock formation for concealment was correct, but she hadn’t envisioned that the person to show up here would be that one.

—That person is the Count of the Vandenhaar border, Klaus! Why has he led his troops to a place like this!?

Anya speculated that since Klaus was using that unit as his own private army, there was no doubt that they were the famous <Fenrir> of the Empire.

—Anyway, who is that girl?

The girl who sat on the saddle behind Klaus gave Anya an ominous premonition. For a reason that she didn’t understand, she somehow thought that that girl was the number one most dangerous person in the entire cavity. That feeling wasn’t based on a rational analysis, but rather just intuition. After a while, it appeared as though the veteran captain and five other soldiers made a round formation. The captain opened a sealed bag and sprinkled ashes over the ground. Anya was even more surprised when she saw the weapons which the other soldiers held in their hands. Their weapons had a peculiar shape, and it looked like a cross between a sword and a gun. Although Anya had some knowledge of the Empire’s research on weaponry, it was the first time that she had seen a weapon of that type. The malicious aura that it gave off was somewhat similar to Milgauss’ magic sword. It was most likely a weapon developed through magical engineering. It seemed as though the Empire had succeeded with mass-production.

“From ashes to ashes, dust to dust—”

Including the captain, all of the soldiers recited a chant together. The words that they recited were indeed the same as the chant that Milgauss had once performed.

“Don’t tell me that they plan to summon a Necromancia here?”

Upon seeing Mirabel eagerly lean out from the side of the rock, Anya panicked. Even though it was such a dire situation for them, Mirabel’s curiosity as a scholar had been provoked.

“Please don’t act impulsively, Your Highness Mirabel!”

Anya whispered into Mirabel’s ear a reminder to control her actions. However, those words went straight into Mirabel’s ear and out the other as she continued to lean her body further forward.

“—Appear, Necromancia!”

As the captain’s voice echoed throughout the cavity, a change occurred. The magically engineered weapons that the soldiers held high above their heads let off a burst of wicked light. The pattern of a six-pointed star then appeared on the ground beneath the soldiers’ feet. Instantly, the ashes which had been scattered across the ground began to take the shape of a dragon. It was almost as if the ashes themselves were regaining their former consciousness.

“Grrroooooohhhhh….!”

The Necromancia let out a roar that made one’s hairs stand on end. Its dark skin looked wet and shiny. The size of its body was almost comparable to that of Cú Chulainn or Tristan as well. The shape of the wings on its back was also unsettling, and they seemed to belong more to a bat rather than a dragon.

—A Necromancia Maestro!?

Anya was rendered speechless. The sense of pressure that the Necromancia emitted was far beyond that of the Strada that Mirabel had defeated. A possible cause of it was the enhanced precision of the summoning process.

“…What a terrifying technique.”

Beside her, even Mirabel had unwittingly become nervous. It seemed as though she had now abandoned her curiosity as a scholar. Mirabel opened the map up in her hands.

“The situation has changed, so we’ll have to put our exploration on hold this time. Let’s take a shortcut to return to the Academy.”

Mirabel drew her finger across the map and traced out the shortest route.

“I don’t know what the Imperial Army is planning, but it’s obviously not anything good. Fortunately, we’ve coincidentally caught sight of their plans today. We must convey news of this crisis…”

Anya was surprised. She had thought that Mirabel would have made the expedition her first priority. Because of her strong obsession with the exploration, she had not cancelled the plan for her expedition even though the bad news that the Chevron Kingdom’s government would execute the Paladin had arrived. The next second, a ferocious aura ensnared the entire cavity.

“Grrrr…uuuuuooooooooooooohhh…!”

The Necromancia raised its head and let out a fierce roar. Its vicious glare was clearly directed at the rock that Anya and the others had hidden behind. Even Klaus’ elite troops had been unable to detect the concealed presence of Anya and the others, yet this Necromancia had.

“We’ve been noticed—!?”

Anya made an immediate decision as she grabbed hold of both Mirabel and Eunice in each arm and then jumped backwards, away from the rock.

—Hyun!

Several reddish-purple tentacles sprang out from the Necromancia’s abdomen, and rocketed through the air. The rock that Anya and the others had used as a hiding spot was crushed to pieces, and a hazy cloud of dust rose into the air. Anya shuddered. If they had continued to hide behind the rock, the consequences would have been unimaginable…

“Gruuuoooooooooohhhhh!”

As it watched its prey escape, the Necromancia’s eyes let off a ghastly cold glow. As it roared, even more tentacles surged forth towards them. The tips of those tentacles were almost about to reach Mirabel’s upper body.

“Your Highness Mirabel!”

Anya suddenly rushed in front of Mirabel and stood to protect her. Anya was immediately shackled by the tentacles which robbed her of freedom, and her feet were lifted off the floor. After being waved around for a while, Anya found herself hanging upside down in the air. The jacket which she had worn for protection from the cold had been torn to pieces. The wet and slippery tentacles burrowed their way into the tribal wear that she wore around her chest and hips.

“…Noo!”

The hideous feeling gave Anya goosebumps. In the past, she had once witnessed Eco being assaulted by tentacles, but she didn’t expect that it would feel even more disgusting than she imagined. No matter how much she struggled in resistance, the tentacles remained affixed to her limbs, and there was nothing that she could do. She could only watch as the mucus secreted by the tentacles slowly spread across her brown skin.

“It…it’s so wretched…! Why don’t you just…kill me…ugh!”

As Anya gasped in pain, the image of Mirabel suddenly flashed across her mind.

—That’s right, I was hired as a bodyguard. I have to protect Her Highness Mirabel…!

Anya endured the humiliation as she looked towards Mirabel with brave and determined eyes.

“Your Highness Mirabel! Don’t worry about me, please hurry and—!”

Anya was unable to finish speaking. Even more tentacles flew through the air, and they ruthlessly invaded her body from head to toe.

“Anya!”

Instantly, an incredible fighting spirit was released from Mirabel’s body.

“You’ve protected me so well over these past three days. How could I possible leave you to die now?”

After pulling her rapier from its scabbard, Mirabel performed an elegant continuous attack. A countless number of tentacles were cut down one by one. The thick fluids dissolved into droplets as they fell onto the ground.

“Ooooohh…!”

As it suffered damage, the Necromancia couldn’t help but utter a painful wail. Liberated, Anya fell from mid-air towards the floor along with the remains of the tentacles. Just before her head hit the ground, Eunice firmly caught her body. It was just that she didn’t have the strength fully support Anya’s body weight, and the two of them became entangled as they fell to the floor together.

“—Now this is a surprise. If memory serves me correctly, you should be Her Highness the Third Princess Mirabel, right?”

The Count of the Vandenhaar border ushered his horse as he approached Mirabel.

“Guoooh…”

Although the Necromancia had originally become enraged that its tentacles were cut, it immediately retreated and made space as it saw Klaus advance. It seemed as though the soldiers of <Fenrir> were capable of doing the same as Milgauss, and had full control over the Necromancia. Anya clenched her teeth, and resolutely prepared to sacrifice herself.

—Judging by the situation, I’ve got no choice but to charge into that group as bait to create an opening for Her Highness Mirabel and Eunice to escape.

 “I won’t allow you to lay a hand on Her Highness Mirabel!”

After remaining silent on the back of his horse for a moment, Klaus widened his eyes.

“Aren’t you Anya? I heard that you were executed after being arrested in the Knight Country…what is going on here!?”

It seemed as though Klaus believed the fake news that the Knight Country had spread. That was the responsive measure that Veronica had taken in order to protect Anya.

“I just want to ask what your intentions are in leading troops to invade Ansarivan.”

Upon hearing that, Klaus immediately showed a contemptuous look.

“How dare a Tantaros speak to me with that tone…! Since we’ve run into you here, we won’t be letting you escape. Princess Mirabel should have some value as a captive, so leave her alive.”

As Klaus narrowed his eyes, he looked up and down at Mirabel, and then glanced coldly at Anya and Eunice for a moment.

“As for Anya and that maid…they’ll just be hindrances. Kill them.”

Anya held onto the handle of her whip tightly as she thought to herself

There’s no choice but to force our way through after all…

At that moment, Ash’s face suddenly appeared in Anya’s mind.

—So in the end, I couldn’t go to visit him…

Anya had originally planned to visit the hospital while she had some spare time, but the restaurant was always so busy that she couldn’t find the time to do so. After briefly falling into a sentimental mood…

—Yes, I’m a warrior of the Tantaros tribe. It would be fitting for me to die on the battlefield!

Anya found courage from her soul as a warrior.

“Eunice-san! Hurry up and escape with Her Highness Mirabel!”

As Anya screamed that out loudly, she sprinted forth. After dashing through the oncoming stream of tentacles from the Necromancia and narrowly evading them, she leapt up. In the blink of an eye, she had landed in the centre of <Fenrir>’s formation. Anya intended to cause some chaos and catch the soldiers off guard. Since she was surrounded by the soldiers, it was likely that the Necromancia would not dare to attack so easily either.

“Princess-sama. We mustn’t let Anya-sama’s intentions be in vain…”

The scene of Eunice urging Mirabel to escape through the passage was vaguely captured in the periphery of Anya’s vision. Anya thanked Eunice from the bottom of her heart. Although it was clear that Mirabel also wanted to join the battle, Eunice had used her rarely-seen strictness to successfully dissuade her master.

—Now I can fight without any concerns!

Anya freely weaved her familiar whip around and mowed down the soldiers who surrounded her. Although the magically engineered weapons could also be used as guns, the squad members most likely did not shoot in order to prevent accidental friendly-fire. And in the eyes of these Imperial soldiers who only knew how to fight ordinary battles, Anya’s whip was unpredictable and elusive. Anya’s advantage — unfortunately did not last for long.

“The girl is strong! Bring her down!”

The veteran captain shouted. Following their captain’s orders, all of the soldiers immediately abandoned their own weapons and pride to surround and drag down Anya’s lower body.

“Kuh…!”

Anya’s movements were immediate sealed as she was pushed to the ground, and even her whip was snatched away. The veteran gave an almost fatal blow as he slammed his fist into Anya’s abdomen.

“Guha…!”

Anya contorted her body in response to the pain. The pain in her abdomen caused her body to stop obeying her.

“—That’s surprising. I guess it’s to be expected of the girl who used to be Milgauss’ right hand. I didn’t think you’d have the ability to humiliate us <Fenrir> this much…”

After watching Anya get subdued, Klaus rode his horse forward.

“It’ll be perfect for an annoying girl like you to fill up the Necromancia’s belly.”

The magic soldiers raised their weapons in response to Klaus’ words. The tips of their weapons glowed as they conveyed their instructions to the Necromancia.

“Guooooooooooooooohhh!”

The Necromancia let loose an earth-shattering roar that seemed to be mixed with joy as it approached. As it opened its jaws wide, a pungent and rancid odour forced its way towards Anya. The Necromancia’s mouth revealed teeth which grew back even if they fell out, loose and decayed gums, as well as a serpent-like tongue. Its slimy tongue licked Anya from her chest to her belly. The vast quantity of saliva that dripped off its tongue made Anya’s entire body wet.

“Ash…”

Anya came to terms with it and resigned as she closed her eyes.

—Booooooooooooooooommmm!

The next instant, the sound of an explosion erupted without any prior warning. The Necromancia’s enormous body was blown away like a cardboard toy.

“Guuuoooooooooohh…aaaaaaaaaahhh…!”

The Necormancia barely managed to lean against a wall to stabilise its body where it then attempted to mount a comeback. The damaged parts of its body sizzled as they let off a white smoke and they slowly regenerated.

“What happened!?”

Klaus snarled in fury. The magic soldiers also turned their heads and looked around.

“…Oh. It’s quite the capable one to be able to stand after taking a hit from my blast. Is that the legendary Necromancia?”

Dododo…

After a brief and violent tremor, what appeared from the depths of a dark passage was — Oscar Brailsford, riding atop the Maestro Tristan. She had already equipped her golden Ark and held the magic bow Failnaught in her hands. The moment after, a black figure suddenly rushed to Anya’s side. At first glance, the figure could be mistaken for a black cat. After skilfully picking Anya up, it leapt back and returned to Tristan’s side. The one who had rescued Anya from the enemy was Oscar’s personal maid — Celestina Lafon.

“How disgraceful, Oscar. It’s just a Necromancia, and yet you couldn’t take care of it with a single blow.”

Celes coldly said after placing Anya down on the ground. Oscar responded to the criticism with a wry smile.

“Anya! How could you undervalue your life like that…!?”

Although she had believed that Mirabel was able to make it far from this location, it seemed she had returned to her side. As she fell into Mirabel’s embrace, Anya felt so surprised that her eyes unwittingly straightened.

“It is great that you are safe, Anya-san.”

Eunice also revealed a soothing expression as she guarded Mirabel and Anya’s embrace from the side.

—I’m still alive…

As that realisation and emotion flared up within Anya, tears uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks.

Part 4

Going back in time slightly.

After midnight, Oscar slipped out of the boys’ dormitory, Apollo House, and planned to undergo her special training. Celes was also with her. Ever since the horrific ‘Pluto Incident’ occurred, Oscar had constantly been in deep thought about the issue of Pluto. It probably wouldn’t have been difficult for her to abandon the power of Pluto and return to the life she once had. Celes herself also wanted to seal the power of Pluto away. But Oscar was unable to accept that choice. She said that she wanted to do something that would surprise Uriel. The key to achieving this goal lay in whether or not she was able to freely use Pluto. That was why Oscar’s special training required Celes’ cooperation. Since the Academy grounds were unsuitable to use as a midnight training venue, Oscar advanced towards Fianna Forest. In there, she coincidentally spotted a suspicious group camping within the forest. She would have liked to indiscriminately trample all over the other party, but Oscar had always been a somewhat mischievous person, so she decided to play the long game. After Oscar tailed the platoon for their entire journey, she happened to run into Mirabel and Eunice who had been breathlessly trying to run and escape.

“Seriously, catching moles isn’t within the scope of my work.”

Oscar sneered as she glanced at Klaus. Even though Klaus had been called a mole by her, he was not irritated by Oscar’s provocation. He simply observed Oscar calmly.

“If I remember correctly, you’re Oscar Brailsford, aren’t you? You don’t get along with other students, and live as a loner, right?”

Oscar scornfully smiled.

“Isn’t your information a bit too outdated? I have already formed an alliance with Ash Blake, and I haven’t pretended to be a loner for quite a while now.”

“What did you say…!?”

The instant that he heard Ash’s name, the expression on Klaus’ face suddenly changed. It seemed as though Klaus had some particularly complex feelings towards Ash.

“Say, why are you in a place like this? According to my investigations — the Emperor of Zepharos has lately devoted all of his efforts into the development of science and technology, and he doesn’t actually have any interest in invading other nations, right?”

“To be precise, isn’t that the information that I investigated?”

Oscar couldn’t help but reveal a dry smile when Celes revised her statement to claim credit for it.

“In short, what I really want to ask is whether or not your military movements are truly the intentions of the Emperor. If they aren’t, then are your actions not equivalent to betrayal?”

“Kuh…!”

Perhaps because those words struck a chord, Klaus was momentarily lost for words and couldn’t find a reason to refute it. And then, he seemed to lose the will to maintain his façade any further, and so he turned and looked behind.

“Kriemhild! It’s time for you to act! Unleash your power!”

“Understood, master.”

The girl behind Klaus seemed to have an innocent nature that didn’t fit in with her environment, but she also seemed to give off a vague feeling of sinisterness as she took a breath on the horse’s back. She then began to sing a song in the Imperial language. Upon hearing her clear voice, Oscar widened her eyes and began to think that the melody seemed familiar to her.

“This is…the aria of the <Queen of the Night> from the ‘Tale of Zauberflöte’, isn’t it!?”

Operas were an art form that the Chevron nobility were educated on. Although Oscar immediately recognised the girl’s song, she was unable to understand the reason why she had suddenly began to sing an opera. To begin with, it was suspicious for a young girl like her to accompany a troop of soldiers.

“Be careful, Oscar! That girl is…probably the same type as me!”

Upon hearing Celes’ sudden scream, Oscar shuddered.

Was that girl named Kriemhild also one of the <Pluto Children>? When Celes reminded Oscar of that, she realised that the upper part of the girl’s face had a metal mask over it. The hollowed out holes in it emitted a chilling glow.

“How is it possible that both of her eyes are Pluto…?”

After Oscar muttered that to herself, an eerie atmosphere swirled around in every direction. It was a large number of monsters. On their way into the underground labyrinth, Oscar had also encountered many monsters, but all it took was a glare from Tristan to frighten them all away. However, the present situation was different. The horde of monsters openly expressed their hostility and gradually tightened their encirclement.

“I see, that girl used the power of Pluto through her own voice…!”

Oscar clenched her teeth. Even though she was one of <Pluto’s Children>, she was completely different from Celes.

“Grrrrrrr…”

Tristen let out a low-pitched growl as if to serve as a reminder for Oscar to keep her guard up. Its piercing glare wasn’t just directed at the monsters which encircled them, but also the Necromancia. The Necromancia’s body quickly began to expand over a short period of time.

“““Goooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh!”””

The Necromancia’s roar was formed from the combination of three noises. Heads grew out of its body one after the other, and it eventually became a three-headed dragon. Hole-like eye sockets began to emerge all over the surface of its body where eyeballs rolled around. The rancid odour that it emitted grew ever stronger.

“…Aside from the monsters, I didn’t think that even the Necromancia would be affected. This girl’s power is rather shocking.”

As he watched Oscar mutter that in awe, Klaus smirked as he said

“Don’t think it’ll be over with just this, Oscar Brailsford. You’ll regret bringing Tristan to this place in the afterlife!”

As Klaus spoke, Kriemhild elevated the intensity of her song. Her demonic voice morphed into an invisible arrow that was fired towards Tristan.

“Oooooohhhhh!”

Tristan tossed its head up without warning, and Oscar was almost thrown off from its head.

“This isn’t good, Oscar! Tristan has also been affected by her song!”

Celes’ warning was no mere triviality, and the proof was the fact that Tristan’s originally silver fur gradually turned black. The scene before their eyes was almost like a replay of the Pluto Incident which occurred before.

“This will be your place of burial. Right, let me tell you some good news as a farewell gift.”

After glancing down at his military-use mechanical watch, a sadistic smile emerged on his face.

“Right about now, both Ash Blake and the young dragon Eco should have fallen into our hands.”

“There was another special team aside from you guys!?”

As she barely managed to cling onto Tristan’s head, Oscar began to look anxious. The problem was that the Necromancia and the horde of monsters surrounding them had pinned them down like insects in a web. Moreover, even Tristan was slowly falling under the control of Kriemhild’s song.

—What should I do next? Oscar Brailsford?

Cold sweat continued to perspire from Oscar’s forehead as she silently asked herself for an answer. And then, Celes cried out at Oscar to reproach her.

“Oscar! Why are you panicking? Isn’t now the perfect time to experiment!?”

Oscar turned back to see Celes pull her eyepatch off in order to reveal her magic eye, with a proud smile on her face.

“Geez, with such a capable maid, I should really be ashamed as your master!”

Oscar also smiled suggestively in response.

Part 5

“—I am a descendant of <Pluto’s Children>, Celestina Lafon. Pluto bestowed upon Maestro Tristan, heed my call!”

Upon witnessing Celes make an unexpected move, Klaus was shocked. He was well aware of the information on Celestina Lafon. It was because he had developed the living weapon Kriemhild based on the information on Celestina as a foundation.

“Are you trying to compete with me over control of Tristan? But…”

Klaus had already read the detailed report on the Pluto Incident which broke out during the Five Hundred Years Festival, and he had also completed his own personal analysis. Celestina was born into this world as a natural descendant of <Pluto’s Children> — in other words, she was the original. Because of her overwhelming power, even Oscar who rode atop Tristan’s head was affected and she became a demon. Not too long ago, she was defeated because she was unable to control the demon Oscar…so what was that maid up to now?

“Uoooooooooohhh!”

Oscar’s scream interrupted Klaus’ thoughts. Celes’ magic eye shone brightly. As if to overpower the effect of Kriemhild’s demonic song, a layer of black which was even darker enveloped Tristan’s entire body. In addition, even Oscar’s Ark slowly became a dull shade of silver.

“Gooooh…uoooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh…!”

It was a tremendous and thunderous roar which had been emitted by both Oscar and Tristan. Oscar had finally become a demon, and Tristan had also turned into a black demonic dragon. Klaus stared at the demon and demonic dragon in disbelief.

“You idiot…! Now that child is a demon! Once that’s happened, let alone enemies, he might even attack comrades—”

“Hmph. Please don’t jump to conclusions on your own.”

Oscar’s voice differed in contrast to her frightening appearance, and her rational voice seemed incredulous to Klaus. Taking a closer look, Oscar’s eyes did not seem to convey madness. They were the eyes of an uncompromising noble knight.

“Grrrr…”

Tristan also lifted its front foot off the ground and stamped down to express its genuine approval of Oscar as its rider. Tristan’s hostility was directed only at Klaus.

“Damn you! You aren’t under the control of Kriemhild’s voice…!?”

“Don’t underestimate us…you blind aristocrat!”

Celes retorted to the shocked Klaus. After she yelled that out, she leapt up and climbed onto Tristan’s body so that she could proudly stand by Oscar’s side. Her majestic manner made one wonder who the real master of Tristan really was. As Oscar made a wry smile, she took Celes’ hand. Although Celes immediately cast her eyes down in embarrassment, she didn’t let go of Oscar’s hand.

“This is the result of our special training after our failure at the Five Hundred Years Festival. Have a good look at the new combat style that Celes and I have developed — <Diabolos>!”

Oscar sonorously declared as she began to attack. 

“That can’t be…!”

As he sat on the back of his horse, Klaus could do nothing but stare on with a blank expression. Despite becoming a demon, Oscar was still able to maintain her rationality. Celes had done her utmost to control Pluto. Even after becoming a demonic dragon, Tristan was still Oscar’s loyal Pal as it fought against her enemies. The collaboration between those three had become an overwhelming force. Oscar’s magic bow Failnaught fired off arrows which swept across the monsters that encircled them. Tristan then flew towards the Necromancia. Under the influence of Kriemhild’s voice, it had become a three-headed Necromancia with a myriad of eyes, yet it was unable to dodge the impact of Tristan’s charge. The Necromancia’s large body slammed into the rock wall, which caused a deafening sound that echo throughout the cavity. Loose rocks constantly rained down on them from the ceiling.

“Goooooh!”

While the Necromancia cowered in fear, Tristan continued its assault. It chomped on one of the Necromancia’s necks and shred it off with brute force.

“Krrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”

As the head let out a dying wail, Tristan spat it out from its mouth. On the other hand, Oscar fired off an enormous arrow which pierced through another of the Necromancia’s skulls. Within a short span of time, the Necromancia had been reduced to a single head again. The countless number of eyeballs that covered the surface of its body also gradually disappeared. Even though Kriemhild was unable to personally lay eyes upon this brutal scene, she probably felt it from the atmosphere — Klaus realised that she had stopped singing.

“…Young master. If you are caught up in the battle, you may sustain severe injuries. Even if we must sacrifice the Necromancia, we must continue to advance.”

Gerhard’s tone was surprisingly calm. As the captain of <Fenrir>, he bravely remained level-headed. The turbulent experiences that he had lived through probably far exceeded those of Klaus. In his mind, Klaus derided himself: “It’s no wonder that I’m still a ‘young master’ who hasn’t grown wings yet in the eyes of Gerhard.”

“…You’re right. All units, retreat!”

Clinging to his last chance of survival, Klaus decided to follow Gerhard’s advice. It was because there was nothing more to be gained from fighting against Oscar in this place—. After Klaus looked back at Kriemhild, he gave her an order….

Part 6

After hearing Kriemhild’s clear soprano voice resound with a song again, Oscar began to feel more cautious.

“Our victory has already been decided…what else will you do?”

“Be careful, Oscar!”

Celes shouted loudly to warn her as she pointed to the Necromancia at the same time.

“Oooooooooohhh…!”

The Necromancia roared and blocked Tristan’s way. It positioned itself to act as a fortress wall.

“All units, retreat!”

Klaus took advantage of that to issue an order, and he led the charge on horseback as they escaped from the cavity. The magic soldiers acted as a rear guard. The passage that the troops took was the same route that Mirabel and the others had chosen. In other words, it was a passage which led to the Academy. The strange thing was — even though Kriemhild had already disappeared from view, the echoes of her song still reverberated throughout the cavity.

“I won’t let you escape…!”

Just as Oscar raised her bow, the Necromancia’s body suddenly expanded like a balloon.

“No…!”

Oscar immediately commanded Tristan to jump back, and they landed in front of Mirabel and the others. She then created a shield of defensive magic that was several layers thick. Oscar was able to accomplish such a task in just a brief moment.

—Doooooooooooooooooooon!

The Necromancia self-destructed, causing an enormous explosive force to blast through and shake the entire cavity.

Part 7

“…That was awful.”

If Tristan’s defensive magic had been slower by even a second, everyone in the cavity would have been blown to pieces. That girl was unbelievably ruthless as she commanded the Necromancia to self-destruct — Oscar recalled Kriemhild’s expression in awe. After all of the dust that clouded the cavity dissipated, Oscar instructed Celes to release their demonic transformation before hopping down from Tristan’s head. She then used an Oracle to illuminate their surroundings. The explosion from earlier had caused all of the Bright Dragon Crystals that were embedded on the ceiling and walls to become buried underneath rubble, and the entire cavity had become pitch-black.

“Are you hurt?”

Oscar asked about Mirabel’s condition first.

“Thanks to you, I am not hurt.”

Mirabel replied in a strong voice. Although her appearance was somewhat unkempt now, it had no effect on her elegance or demeanour. Oscar couldn’t help but feel that the name of the <Argento Magus> wasn’t just for show. Although she was rumoured to be rather scholarly on top of being a princess of the Knight Country, she was surprisingly brave. Anya and Eunice also appeared to be okay, and so Oscar felt relieved.

“The problem now is…the pathway leading to the Academy has been completely sealed off by that explosion.”

The words that Mirabel spoke were the truth as a third of the cavity had been closed off by fallen rocks of various sizes. It didn’t seem as though they would be able to catch up with Klaus’ troops.

“This is troublesome. Although I can use Tristan’s magic to blast through the rocks in our way, I’m afraid that the entire cavity could collapse…”

Oscar murmured. At the moment, the only choice they had was to take the pathways that hadn’t been blocked off, but the problem was that only one of those routes remained intact.

“………”

Mirabel’s idea was probably the same as Oscar’s. After confirming the direction of the only passage that remained intact, she took an old map out. Anya, Eunice and Celes all stared at the side of Mirabel’s face with a serious expression. Mirabel simply continued to look at the map in silence. Oscar didn’t feel comfortable standing around in the silent atmosphere, and so she tried to start a conversation in a brisk tone.

“Will we be able to return home safely, Your Highness Mirabel?”

After Mirabel slowly raised her face from the map, she pressed her fingers against her temple as she revealed a woeful expression. Was the situation really that despairing? —Upon seeing the look on Mirabel’s face, even Oscar began to feel uneasy. She had hoped to return to the surface as soon as possible in order to deal with the crisis that might have befallen Ash and Eco. Assuming that Klaus had told them the truth, it meant that another special unit had gone to target Ash and Eco. Fortunately, Eco had Silvia and Cosette by her side, and the other female students such as Rebecca also lived in the girls’ dormitory. Even if they were up against soldiers of the Imperial Army, they weren’t the type to fall so easily. The main problem was that Ash had no means to resist in the hospital. As Oscar’s expression grew sullen, Mirabel finally answered

“…I’m sorry. I must say that it is truly unfortunate…the only path before us leads to a level that is even deeper than here. In other words, we can continue to go deeper underground, but there is no way for us to return to the surface.”

“What’s in the lower level?”

“An extremely ancient underground city.”

After Oscar guardedly asked that, Mirabel gave an answer that shattered everyone’s expectations.

“Obviously, no one lives there anymore. It’s said to have been constructed during the era that the Zono Ton Civilisation flourished, but that’s all ancient history and I’m not too certain about the details.”

“That’s distressing. Leaving aside the underground city, it’s truly vexing that there’s no way for us to return to the surface…”

Oscar scratched her head.

“Indeed, it is vexing. And a real pity…”

“Your Highness Mirabel, why do you keep saying that it’s a pity?”

When Anya asked that perplexedly, for some reason, Mirabel blushed.

“I-It can’t be helped. I really do think it’s quite a pity. It’s just that, if my prediction isn’t wrong…”

“Not wrong?”

Oscar affixed her gaze on Mirabel, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“The item which lays dormant in the deepest part of the underground city may be able to send us back to the surface.”

“To be blunt, that item is the holy relic which Princess-sama has been looking for.”

When Eunice elaborated on that point, Mirabel looked even more self-conscious.

“I-I’ll say this first…I didn’t say that it might help us to escape just because I covet that holy relic, okay?”

Since it was rare of Mirabel to look this embarrassed, Oscar couldn’t help but smile.

“No one here doubts Your Highness Mirabel. Since there’s a possibility for us to escape there, we should set off for the underground city.”

When Oscar said that, everyone resolutely nodded to express their agreement.

“Königin der Nacht I ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 5 - Kriemhild’s Song

Part 1

Despite a minor delay in their plans, the <Fenrir> led by Klaus were just a step away from reaching the surface of the ground. Perhaps due to the prohibition on access to the underground, a large rock blocked the exit above them, but it was easily crushed to pieces by the weapons that the magic soldiers carried. As Klaus, Kriemhild and <Fenrir> became exposed to the cold air of the night, what appeared before them was a large and dense coniferous forest. Klaus dismounted from his horse first, and then extended his hand towards Kriemhild.

“The next road we take will have to be on foot. The horse will stay here.”

“Understood, master.”

Kriemhild leaned on Klaus’ hand as she dismounted from the horse.

“Young master. In my opinion, it is very likely that the Academy blocked this entrance and intentionally planted a large number of trees here to detract attention.”

The captain Gerhard muttered in admiration. It was likely that the former Academy staff had taken such painstaking measures in order to prevent curious Academy students from taking the risk of entering the underground labyrinth.

“Gerhard, figure out the shortest route to our destination.’

“Understood, young master.”

Following the instructions of his liege, Gerhard pulled a map of the Academy out from his pocket. He then gazed at the surface of the map with the illumination of a pen-like flashlight. Although it was a school, the campus grounds were extremely vast. There were various different school buildings, and also several fields of various sizes. The boys’ dormitories consisted of Apollo House and Mercurius House. The girls’ dormitories consisted of Epona House and Maeve House. There was the students’ restaurant <La Tene>, as well as a special building for the student council, Julius Hall. In addition to those, there were a variety of other facilities that had been constructed within the campus grounds. The most characteristic feature of Dragonar Academy was its seven Dragon Houses.

“Although it is still a substantial distance, the route to the Dragon Houses is simple. We’ll advance while avoiding the patrol of the guards.”

Klaus nodded in response to Gerhard’s suggestion. After all, a terrible commotion had occurred last month. It would not be strange if the Academy had reinforced their patrols. From Klaus’ point of view, he hoped to arrive at the Dragon Houses whilst avoiding any unnecessary battles. Indeed, only when Kriemhild arrived at the Dragon Houses would their plan truly begin—. As they made their way towards the coniferous forest’s exit, Klaus began to think about various things.

“Ash Blake and young dragon Eco…you’ll pay with your lives for the crime of daring to destroy my Beowulf…”

He had already investigated the residences of Ash and Eco. Ash was currently recuperating in the city’s general hospital, while Eco resided in the Academy’s girls’ dormitory, Epona House. The cautious Klaus had already sent troops ahead to both of those locations—.

Part 2

“…Mmm~”

Although Silvia was originally asleep, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pressure on her chest as she woke up.

“Hey, Eco. If you want to sleep with me, then please fix that awful sleeping posture of yours…!”

Silvia exhaled a helpless sigh. Eco rested her face on Silvia’s chest as she slept sweetly. After being together with each for this long, Silvia was well aware that Eco would not easily be awoken once she fell asleep. Under such circumstances, she had no choice but to push Eco’s shoulder away.

“Snuu…”

Eco turned over, and lay next to Silvia. The plush toy that originally sat on the edge of the bed was pushed off as Eco turned over, and it fell onto the floor.

“Huh…that was originally mine. If you don’t cherish it, I’ll have to take it back okay?”

After Silvia murmured that in a somewhat dispirited tone, she reached underneath the bed. The plush toy that she picked up from the floor was a cute-looking dragon. Silvia stared at it as she naturally recalled a precious memory. —Ash and Silvia shared a short-lived fate when they were young. This plush toy was a treasure to commemorate their encounter. Unfortunately, it had become something akin to Eco’s personal possession now…. Moonlight shone in from the small slit in the curtains, illuminating Eco’s innocent face as she slept. Under the pale illumination of moonlight, Eco’s face and hair exuded a dreamy mood. Despite the fact that Silvia spent every single day living with Eco, she couldn’t help but feel dazed as she stared at her.

“…Was Ash enjoying such an adorable sleeping face every day? He also has a strong bond with Eco. Under these circumstances, is there really no room for me to intervene…?”

As she thought about such things, Silvia began to feel troubled and upset. Lately, Silvia had begun to treat Eco like one of her own friends. They had undergone various trials together. It would not be wrong to call them comrades. And precisely because of that, whenever she thought about the relationship between Ash and Eco — Silvia felt depressed.

“What am I supposed to do—”

Just as Silvia sighed with a downcast mood, an unbelievable scene caught her eyes. All of the windows on the wall were smashed. At the same time, four shadowy figures invaded the room with a parabolic trajectory. After letting go of the rope that had been strung from the roof, the four people landed on the room’s floor.

“Wh…!”

Silvia was lost for words.

“Mmm? What happened!?”

Perhaps because her sixth sense warned her of the situation, Eco instantly awoke. The four figures who stood underneath the moonlight were all heavily armed soldiers. They were clad in black and wore military-use gas masks over their faces. All four of them carried short assault rifles. It seemed likely that they had planned on an indoor fight from the very beginning. The problem was that all of their guns were mechanical. Vast as the world was, only the Zepharos Imperial Army was equipped with mechanical guns as standard.

—Has the Empire finally taken action…?

Unfortunately, the circumstances didn’t allow Silvia the time to think or analyse. All four of the cold muzzles were locked onto Eco and Silvia.

“What is this…am I dreaming?”

Eco rubbed her drowsy eyes as she slowly climbed out of bed.

“It’d be great if this really is a dream…”

Silvia grit her teeth as she whispered that in a low voice, and at the same time, she also pulled Eco’s body into her embrace. One of the soldiers suddenly stepped forward and asked

“Are you Her Highness Silvia Lautreamont, the Fourth Princess? We only want one thing, the young dragon Eco. Hand her over to us obediently.”

Due to the masks that they wore, the soldier’s voice was somewhat unclear, but Silvia was able to make out what their purpose was. Silvia’s recent troubles had all been related to the Kingdom, and she had almost forgotten about the Empire’s existence. In fact, ever since the end of the Continental Congress <Elysium>, there had been absolutely no suspicious movements from the Empire.

“You guys…do you seriously think that we’ll obey you like this?”

Silvia did her best to squeeze out a courageous-sounding voice.

“Resistance is futile. Our master only wants the young dragon Eco. We have no intention of causing harm to Your Highness Silvia. But, it’s another matter entirely if you refuse to cooperate.”

There was something missing from the soldier’s tone of voice, almost as if it was devoid of human emotion. If I act recklessly, these soldiers probably wouldn’t hesitate to unscrupulously pull their triggers — Silvia certainly seemed to get that kind of feeling from them. However, she didn’t plan on simply handing Eco over to them either. Eco was her comrade. Silvia’s chivalrous honour would not allow her to betray an important friend simply because she feared death.

“Unfortunately, I cannot give Eco to you guys.”

“Then don’t blame us for using force to take her.”

Just as the soldier coldly issued their ultimatum—

“—I will not allow your rudeness towards the Princess.”

A figure bathed in moonlight gracefully danced outside the shattered glass windows. The four soldiers noticed that something was amiss and so they quickly turned to face the windows, but that figure immediately stirred up chaos as they flew into the room. In the blink of an eye, Silvia’s bedroom was transformed into something like a scene from hell. And then, silence fell—.

“You’re too slow, Cosette! What were you doing!?”

Having silenced the armed group within the span of a few mere seconds, Cosette respectfully kneeled down in front of Silvia.

“My apologies for causing you to worry, Princess-sama. I noticed that there were some suspicious presences in the courtyard of the girls’ dormitory, so I went to dispose of them…that is when I discovered that there were around ten soldiers lurking in the courtyard.”

“Ten!?”

Silvia was rendered speechless, and even Eco was stunned.

“It’s my fault that it took so much time to deal with them.”

After saying that, Cosette’s gaze drifted out the window. Silvia carefully avoided the shards of glass as she made her way to the window. It was possible to capture a full view of the garden from the window of the room that had been reserved for royalty. There were roughly ten soldiers who had been knocked unconscious next to a flower bed. Since each of the bodies still twitched somewhat, they seemed to be alive. However, since these professional soldiers were unable to even defeat a single maid together, death might have been more desirable to them.

“They were probably just decoys who acted as bait to keep me away from you, Princess-sama.”

“…Cosette, what do you think of their attack?”

Cosette gave a careful and succinct reply to Silvia’s question

“Based on their equipment, they should be soldiers of the Imperial Army. Although, it isn’t too surprising now…”

“But, why would the Imperial Army choose to act just when our country’s relationship with the Kingdom has deteriorated—”

At that time, the sound of an earth-shattering explosion interrupted Silvia’s words.

Part 3

Just as an attack on Eco and Silvia was launched—.

The <Fenrir> led by Klaus arrived at the area where the seven Dragon Houses were located. There were currently no staff members in the Dragon Houses. There was also an old church in the vicinity. Kriemhild stood at the top of the church’s bell tower while Klaus and Gerhard waited behind the seemingly delicate back of the girl. On the other hand, the <Fenrir> troops hid themselves in the area surrounding the church. Kriemhild was blind, but had she been an ordinary person, it would’ve been possible to see all seven of the Dragon Houses from her position at the bell tower. The way that Kriemhild’s figure was bathed in the moonlight as her white dress floated in the night breeze resembled the appearance of a priestess who served at a temple. Klaus couldn’t help but stare at her back, entranced, but he soon returned to his senses.

“It’s time to begin, Kriemhild.”

Under Klaus’ orders, Kriemhild began to sing. The song that reverberated through the dark of night was still the aria of the <Queen of the Night>. When Kriemhild activated the power of Pluto, the sound of her voice acted as a medium — that was her ability. Unlike Celes who was only able to control Tristan, Kriemhild was capable of manipulating numerous dragons all at once. Although she was one of the <Pluto Children> developed by a research institute at Klaus’ orders, it could be said that her abilities already exceeded those of the original, Celes. As soon as any dragon heard her demonic song, they would fall under her spell — they would become beasts obedient only to Kriemhild. Her voice which was comparable even to that of a professional singer shook the cold night air. The Pluto in both of Kriemhild’s eyes glowed, further accentuating the hollow area of her patterned mask. Even as an ordinary man, Klaus was able to feel the powerful demonic air which gradually enveloped the Dragon Houses.

The dragons which had been asleep began to stir. They began to produce piercing roars which sounded like the screeches emitted by birds of prey. After a short while, the First to the Sixth Dragon Houses were destroyed from the inside, and the dragons that had fallen under Kriemhild’s spell burst forth. There were bird-like Stradas, Basilisk-like Asias, and snake-like Hydras. They were the Pals that belonged to the students and practical instructors of the Academy. They numbered — roughly eight hundred. The appearance of every dragon was dyed jet-black, and their eyes gleamed fiercely like those of a wild beast. As saliva drooled from the edges of their mouths and they let out low-pitched growls, they didn’t seem anything like the wise dragon species. Yet, this seemingly berserk horde of dragons appeared to be under someone’s control. Under the spell of Kriemhild’s demonic song, they neatly formed up into teams.

“After turning into this, I certainly do wonder where those noble-looking dragons have gone.”

As he stood beside Kriemhild, Klaus revealed a cruel smile. The densely packed dragons crowded the area of the Dragon Houses. Overlooking them from such a height, it was almost like the illusion of being their commander.

“Young master, the site has not yet been determined to be a hundred percent safe. Please retreat!”

Just as Gerhard shouted, the roof of the Seventh Dragon House suddenly broke apart from the inside.

“This is bad!”

Gerhard stood in front of Klaus and Kriemhild and activated his magically engineered weapon. As the dark blade glowed, it activated the defensive magic ‘Schwarzschild’. The source of magic in magically engineered weapons was an in-built Bright Dragon Crystal. The magic that Gerhard had activated could be described as an Oracle that had been adapted to match the Empire’s style. The blast that had been fired off from the Seventh Dragon House landed a direct hit on Gerhard’s ‘Schwarzschild’. Although the explosion generated from it sounded as deafening as a thunderclap, his shield remained unbroken.

“Was that blast attack an attempt to kill me…?”

“Goooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhh!”

As if to drown out Klaus’ quiet murmur, a sharp roar resounded across the sky. The Seventh Dragon House completely collapsed, and a grey cloud of dust fluttered into the moonlit night. After a while, the view became clear again. Four Maestros appeared at the location of the destroyed Seventh Dragon House. Among those, three of them had been corrupted, and their fur turned black. Klaus recalled the information that he had read about beforehand. He remembered that the names of those three Maestros were Lancelot, Arianrhod, and Gawain. As for the dragon in the centre that had let loose a might roar, that was — Cú Chulainn. Its body was so enormous that the three other Maestros to its side seemed like mere young dragons in comparison. The one that had spewed a breath attack at Klaus earlier was probably Cú Chulainn.

“That is most undoubtedly the Pal of the Student Council President Rebecca. It has gone beyond expectations to have been able to resist Kriemhild’s song to this extent.”

“Rest assured, master. Cú Chulainn has no chance of winning.”

After Klaus expressed his sincere admiration, Kriemhild once again began to sing with a high-pitched voice. The Stradas, Asias and Hydras that had lined up into teams began to act. They marched toward Cú Chulainn from three separate directions. And yet, Cú Chulainn was unable to mount a counterattack against the ruthless army of approaching dragons. Even though its opponents had lost all sense of reason, they were still compatriots. Cú Chulainn could do nothing but endure the damage without any resistance.

“Kuuuuuhhh…”

Perhaps in acknowledgement of its own defeat, Cú Chulainn’s seemingly sorrowful wail left a long echo behind. At last, Cú Chulainn lost the strength to continue resisting, and the brilliant fur on its body was eroded by darkness.

“Phew. The plan is a success. Dominance over the dragons now belongs to us.”

After Klaus muttered so with a relieved expression, he looked down towards the ground from the top of the bell tower. It was an army of dragons led by four Maestros.

“From this moment forth, you shall be called the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer>!”

After Klaus proudly announced that, his eyes drifted toward the girl beside him.

“Kriemhild. It’s time to give the Academy City Ansarivan a gretting. Send them off to begin wreaking havoc—”

“Please wait. I believe that we should follow His Highness Uriel’s strategic plan, should we not…?”

Klaus swiftly dismissed Gerhard’s well-meaning advice, and replied

“I do not mind, we can simply treat this as a training exercise for the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer>. Kriemhild has never controlled such a vast number of dragons before. In the off-chance that our formal actions from here on result in failure, would we not have betrayed Prince Uriel’s expectations?”

“So that’s how far ahead you were thinking…”

Gerhard abandoned the stance on his opinion.

“Do it, Kriemhild.”

“Understood, master.”

After Kriemhild faintly responded to Klaus command, she diffused her voice out into the entirety of the night sky. And so, the destruction caused by the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> began.

Part 4

“What is this? How can this be happening?”

Eco completely stiffened up when she ran over to the window. Blazing flames burst into the distant night sky. The place that had been bathed in a sea of flames was a school building.

—Doon! Booooom!

The sound of explosions erupted through the dark of night, accompanied by flames which lit the horizon. After a while, one of the school buildings collapsed, raising a cloud of hazy dust into the sky.

“…Dragons appear to be the cause of chaos outside.”

Cosette used a pair of military binoculars to assess the situation. She seemed to have borrowed it from one of the unconscious soldiers.

“I cannot overlook something like that, Cosette! What reason would the dragons which are the treasure of this nation have to destroy a school building?”

Silvia snatched the binoculars from Cosette and widened her eyes as she pressed the binoculars against her face. She was utterly speechless, and the hand which she held the binoculars with did not stop trembling.

“That is…!”

Eco finally noticed as well. In the fiery night sky, there were a countless number of crow-like shadows which flew in circles. However, they still seemed to be of substantial size despite being so far away, which made them far too large to be mere birds.

“Could they possibly be Stradas…!?”

Her fellow dragons were inciting mass destruction. To Eco, it was an unbelievable sight — no, it was a sight that she didn’t want to believe was true.

“…It doesn’t appear to be just Stradas. There are also groups of Asias and Hydras attacking buildings on the ground…”

As Silvia murmured that, her entire body became limp, and she barely managed to hold herself up. Cosette quietly helped support her stricken master, and spoke with a serious expression.

“The feeling that I sense from those dragons is not unfamiliar. When Tristan was under the control of Celestina-sama, it also felt like this. However, the only dragon that she could control was Tristan…”

“Do you mean to say that there is someone more powerful than Celes who can control Pluto…?”

After Silvia muttered that, she suddenly lifted her face.

“That’s right, where is Lancelot right now?”

After returning the binoculars to Cosette, Silvia removed a Bright Dragon Crystal from her pocket. She then raised the ice blue crystal high up into the night sky.

“Silvia Lautreamont commands you! Lancelot, respond to my call!”

…A few seconds passed, but Lancelot did not appear. Silvia’s face was instantly drained of its colour.

“Lancelot, why won’t you respond to my call!? Could it be that even you are under the control of Pluto like the other dragons…?”

“—Lancelot is not the only one affected. The same goes for my Pal.”

Rebecca appeared at the entrance to the bedroom.

“President!?”

“I’m sorry, Silvia. Due to the urgency of the situation, I had to intrude on you here.”

Rebecca was equipped with a bright red Ark, and it was even the unrestrained second form. Her stellar figure was certainly not inferior even to that of a nation’s military general. The weapon she held in her right hand was the magical spear Gáe Bolg.

“I didn’t expect the situation to be this outrageous…my Rhiannon must be there as well.”

The person who whispered softly behind Rebecca was Jessica. Although her orange-blonde hair looked somewhat dishevelled as she had just woken up, she hadn’t forgotten to properly change into her uniform and coat.

“Gawain isn’t listening to me either. I called it several times…but it completely ignored me.”

Beside Jessica, Lucca dejectedly hung her shoulders. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but her long ears which were unique to the Ecbald tribe also appeared to hang down. Although Lucca was a student of the Unios Course and lived in the neighbouring Maeve House, she had probably rushed over here as a member of the Student Council. She was also dressed in uniform. On the other hand, there appeared to be many other people crowded outside the bedroom door. Those female students were probably residents of the dormitory who had come to seek Rebecca’s instructions. Simply because Rebecca had arrived at the top floor of the dormitory reserved for royalty, all of them had followed her.

“…By the way, Silvia. Why is your room in such a mess?”

Rebecca frowned as she gazed around the room. Not only were there four unconscious Imperial soldiers in the room, but all of the glass windows had been shattered as well, causing a cold gust to blow in from the outside.

“Judging from their equipment, these people should be soldiers of the Imperial Army.”

Cosette stood in front of Rebecca as she began to explain

“I suspect that their purpose was to kidnap Eco-chan. Please rest assured though, I will tie them up and take them to the sheriff’s office later. By the way, there are also around ten other soldiers lying outside the dormitory.”

Upon receiving Cosette’s report, Rebecca made a bitter expression.

“I’m sorry, Cosette-san. Even though I was in the dorm, I still allowed these barbarians to infiltrate.”

“Don’t say that. All of these people appear to be veterans in combat, so the responsibility does not fall onto you, Rebecca-sama. Rather, I would say that these kinds of opponents are easier for me to deal with. My skills have gotten a bit sluggish lately, so it was a good opportunity for me to do some exercise. Fufufu.”

Cosette giggled cordially as if she was engaging in gossip. It was really quite an embarrassment for the dignified Imperial soldiers that they had been effortlessly been treated as mere objects for ‘exercise’ by a maid. Eco suddenly raised a rather simple question.

“Hey, Rebecca…how are you able to wear your Ark?”

Rebecca had definitely mentioned earlier that her Pal had also been affected. In other words, even Cú Chulainn had abandoned its master. Under such conditions, how was Cú Chulainn able to bestow its Ark upon her?

“Hmm…it happened before the dragons began to riot.”

There was a hint of melancholy on Rebecca’s face.

“I was dealing with some of my chores for the Student Council in my room at the time, and inadvertently, I was vaguely able to hear Cú Chulainn’s sorrowful wail…not long after, my Ark automatically appeared even though I didn’t request it. From what I understand, Cú Chulainn bestowed its Ark onto me while it could still retain its sanity.”

“Cú Chulainn really is amazing…”

Upon noticing the complicated look on Silvia’s face, Eco was initially surprised, but soon after she immediately understood why Silvia had reacted in this way. Several days ago, Silvia had finally become an Ark Dragonar as well. That was why she seemed upset about how Lancelot hadn’t been able to react with the same level of vigilance that Cú Chulainn had shown.

“—You shouldn’t be like that, Silvia. Compared to Cú Chulainn, Lancelot is like a young dragon. You should understand this, right?”

When Rebecca reprimanded her, Silvia bit her lip. Seeing Silvia like that, Eco began to think hard about whether there was anything that she could help with. Suddenly, an idea came to Eco’s mind.

—That’s right!

Eco silently called out to the Dragweiss in her mind — Navi.

—You called me?

Navi immediately responded, and Eco conveyed her thoughts to her.

—…….

After listening to her though, Navi remained silent.

—Hey, why aren’t you saying anything? Is it impossible after all?

—…No, it’s just that I didn’t expect you to come up with such a good idea, so I was a bit surprised.

Navi’s reply went beyond Eco’s expectations.

—Hmph! You really underestimate me, don’t you!?

—Fufu, I’m sorry. I’ll send it right away, so just wait.

 

While Rebecca and the others were busy with discussing an evacuation route, Eco patiently waited for Navi’s reply. A few minutes later — Navi finally sent over the information that Eco wanted. Eco couldn’t help but show off a proud smile as she tugged on the sleeve of Silvia’s pyjamas.

“Fufu. Hey, Silvia?”

“What is it that you need me for right now, Eco?”

Silvia seemed impatient, and wasn’t particularly in the mood to speak to Eco. Her expression was clearly saying ‘I’m busy right now and don’t have the leisure to accompany you, okay?’. Even though she felt that Silvia looked down on her, Eco still attempted to seek her attention. Rather than using words to explain, she felt that it would be more rapid and effective to demonstrate. Eco’s glimmering pink-silver hair, her ruby eyes, and her entire body began to give off a dazzling glow.

“I’m going to begin — Almete, Gorjal, Peto, Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje, Escarcelas, Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales, Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas, Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas, Escarpes…”

And then, the word which completed the chant!

“Espolón!”

Magic surged from Eco’s body like a raging wave, and a flash of light was emitted. Silvia’s body was also swallowed up by the torrent of light. And then — Silvia, who was originally dressed in her pyjamas, had become a radiant Ark Dragonar in the blink of an eye. It was a beautiful set of armour with an ice-blue coloured theme. There was also a cloak that gracefully swayed in the wind, and a crown that symbolised her identity as a princess.

“W-What is…!?”

Silvia’s jaw dropped as she looked down at the equipment on her body with widened eyes. Rebecca, Jessica and Lucca were also speechless as they stared at Silvia’s figure.

“Oh my…”

Even the usually calm Cosette couldn’t help but feel stunned. The armour on Silvia’s body was exactly the same as the one that Lancelot had previous bestowed upon her, down to the very last detail.

“Eco! Did you give this armour to me!?”

“Hmph, are you finally starting to admire me?”

Eco placed her hands on her hips in an arrogant stance.

“I see, I get it now! The blueprint of the Ark that Lancelot once created for Silvia has been recorded in the Dragweiss, right? Eco, this is a replica that you created according to that design.”

Eco felt admiration towards Rebecca’s deductive ability. The Student Council President was most certainly quick-witted to have been able to instantly figure that out.

“You guessed it. I’m a master when it comes to making replicas based on reference designs. I had to carefully select several different designs in the past in order to create equipment suitable for Ash’s body. I had to slowly pick various things out from a countless number of blueprints then. I only had to make use of Lancelot’s blueprint this time, so it was pretty simple.”

“Silvia, how do you feel wearing it?”

Upon hearing Rebecca’s question, Silvia swiftly came back to her senses.

“…There’s absolutely no discomfort at all. This is indeed the same set of armour as the one that Lancelot offered to me.”

“Hmm. Has Eco made use of her talents in an unexpected manner? It goes against common sense and the rules…anyway, this is necessary to resolve the current urgency, so I don’t think Lancelot will mind.”

Rebecca smiled wryly as Silvia unrestrainedly hugged Eco.

“Wait…what are you doing!?”

“Thank you, Eco. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to fight.”

“I-If you’re going to thank me, do it with real actions! For example, you could entrust Ash to me—”

“No, this and that are two separate matters.”

After giving a serious reply, Silvia let go of Eco. Eco then grumbled ‘tsk’ to herself.

““Mmm~””

After the two of them stared at each other for a while, Eco couldn’t help but break into a smile. Silvia also followed suit and laughed. Despite the tenseness of the current situation as they were just about to confront the enemy, the atmosphere between Eco and Silvia was strangely warm.

“—You two, now is not the time to be playing around.”

Rebecca made a wry smile as she reminded and urged the two of them to stay on guard. Eco pulled her mind back to reality, and Silvia also made a serious expression.

“There are too many uncertain factors at this stage, but there are things which are certain. The first is that the enemy intended to kidnap Eco while taking control of the dragons in the Academy at the same time. The second is that our enemy is currently using the dragons to destroy the Academy…this means that our enemy has given up on concealing themselves, and they are now preoccupied with causing damage.”

Rebecca folded her arms in front of her chest and continued with a sober expression.

“I don’t know what kind of method the enemy has used, but I know that even Cú Chulainn wasn’t able to resist against them. We should follow the worst-case assumption that all of the dragons in the Academy have lost their sanity. The only one not under their control is Eco—”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Eco suddenly interjected from the side with a restless look on her face.  A strong feeling of unease gripped her heart.

“What’s wrong, Eco?”

“Do you think Ash is okay on his own? The Imperial Army even knew that I sleep in Silvia’s room at night, right? In that case, they might already know that Ash is staying in that hospital right now to recover…”

 “Indeed, our enemy has locked onto Eco as their primary target this time. They wouldn’t be naïve enough to ignore Eco’s knight, Ash, no matter what…”

Just as worry surfaced on Rebecca’s face…

[So this is where you were. The descendant of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family, the young dragon Eco…]

Eco’s vision was suddenly dyed black. A fully naked girl appeared before her eyes. The girl’s skin exuded the brilliance of a pearl within the darkness. The seemingly gentle girl gave off a surreal vibe. However, both of her eyes had been replaced by two dark stones.

“…Pluto!?”

[Yes. I am different from Celestina Lafon, I am one of the <Pluto Children> artificially born in a research institute…]

The girl’s confession caused Eco to shudder. She had never imagined that she would hear those words again.

[Now, listen to my song. You will then become my ‘familiar’ as well.]

As soon as the girl stopped talking, she began to sing. A clear and almost cruel-sounding song resounded from the girl’s lips.

“Don’t joke around! Who is going to become your…”

Eco instinctively covered her ears, but such an action had no meaning at all. The girl’s demonic voice still resonated in Eco’s head indiscriminately. Even though Eco was completely unversed in the appreciation of music, she still felt that it sounded like a beautiful melody. The lyrics belonged to the Imperial language. Although she didn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics, the sharp pronunciation of words was a feature of the Imperial language.

“Kuh…no! I absolutely refuse to become your—”

—Slap!

A slap suddenly hit Eco’s left cheek, and her consciousness was pulled out from within the darkness.

“Hey! Get a grip, Eco!”

Silvia stared anxiously at Eco’s face. The slap on her cheek caused it to feel hot and numb.

“Eco, what’s wrong? Did you feel something?”

Rebecca asked from the side. Like Silvia, she continued to gaze at Eco’s face with worry. As she recalled how she had almost become fully entranced earlier, Eco felt ashamed.

“…A strange girl appeared in front of me. She claimed that she was an artificially-produced <Pluto Child>.”

Eco recalled the girl’s appearance. As soon as she said that, everyone’s expressions shifted to one of horror.

“Would you believe it? Both of that girl’s eyes were Pluto. She also sang an incomprehensible song. All of the dragons must have lost their mind because they listened to her song! If Silvia hadn’t brought me back to reality, it might have gotten dangerous…”

“How can such a ridiculous thing be possible…according to what you said, Eco, the girl that you saw is the culprit behind this commotion then?”

Silvia furrowed her brow.

“Speaking of <Pluto Children>, the first person that everyone will think of is Celes-san. However, Celes-san first had to bury the crystal that she produced into Tristan’s body as a pre-condition for activating the power of Pluto—”

After Jessica mentioned Celes, Lucca stammered as she followed

“She just needs to sing…and that will cause all dragons to obey her orders. It’s incredibly difficult to deal with…”

 “—Everyone, please listen carefully to me.”

After starting off with a serious tone, Rebecca continued

“With our Pals captured, there is little that sets us apart from ordinary students. The only ones who still have the ability to fight are me and Silvia with our Arks, as well as Cosette.”

Without exception, all those present were nervous, and their mouths felt dry as they breathlessly listened to Rebecca.

“Unfortunately, the senior officials of the Lautreamont Knight Country have summoned Princess Veronica back to Fontaine City. As with our previous situations, we cannot expect that they will come to our rescue immediately. It’s just…although this may seem like an insult to Captain Ursula, even if the Holy Dragonars do make it here and come to our aid, we cannot rule out the possibility that even their Pals will be captured by the enemy.”

“Umm, President…may I say something?”

“What is it, Silvia?”

“I think that the timing of this incident is more than just a coincidence. After the news that my father Oswald would be executed was publicised, all of the troops stationed in Ansarivan were withdrawn, and Imperial soldiers immediately invaded…moreover, the <Pluto Children> was originally meant to be Prince Uriel’s trump card. It has now become a weapon of the Imperial Army. It’s so much of a coincidence that it’s suspicious…”

“Hmm, that does make sense. Imagining the worst-case scenario…perhaps there is someone in the Kingdom who wouldn’t hesitate to collude with the Empire for the purpose of annexing the Knight Country.”

“What did you say!?”

Eco felt deeply astonished after hearing Rebecca’s guess.

“…This battle can’t possibly be something that the aging and asinine Zacharias III could have come up with. In addition, I don’t think that the King of Chevron who once personally experienced the Xenoglavia War would cooperate with the Empire.”

Silvia agreed with Rebecca’s opinion as she added

“Moreover, I’ve heard that the King of Chevron is currently bedridden with illness. Viewing it in light of this, isn’t this entire incident a conspiracy planned by Prince Uriel?”

“Yes. Although there’s no proof of that, I’m afraid…”

Just as Rebecca responded with a solemn expression on her face…

—Doon! Boooooooooom…!

The sound of dragons causing damage to buildings reverberated ever clearer that before. There was no longer any room for hesitation given the critical state of affairs—

“Okay, let’s split into two groups.”

Rebecca cast her eyes around once more as she looked at the faces of all those present.

“Team A will be responsible for evacuating all of the students and teachers in the Academy. Team B will make its way to the hospital to protect Ash. The problem lies in how to assign team members…”

Eco and the others immediately pushed themselves in front of Rebecca. Eco took the lead with

“I’m obviously in Team B!”

Not to be outdone, Silvia followed with

“I volunteer to join Team B!”

Jessica anxiously shouted

“I want to join Team B!”

Lucca softly proposed

“…Team B.”

A thought suddenly seemed to strike Rebecca’s mind as she quickly turned around and strode over to the entrance of the bedroom.

“…Sorry, we have a slightly complicated problem to discuss.”

After Rebecca gave her regards to the female students who had crowded outside the door, she shut the door which had been half ajar. The female students of Epona House had inadvertently sneaked into the corridor outside the room reserved for royalty, and they peeked in through the half open door of the bedroom. The members of the Student Council were all fighting over the right to save Ash, yet no one volunteered to evacuate the students and teachers of the school — it would most certainly be bad if ordinary students overheard such a quarrel. That was why Rebecca shut the door.  Nonetheless…Rebecca secretly quietly whispered to herself

“If possible, even I’d like to go and save Ash…but as the Student Council President, such selfish behaviour cannot be allowed.”

Rebecca couldn’t help but sigh to herself. After putting a serious expression back on her face, she walked back to Eco and the others.

“Königin der Nacht II ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 6 - Attack of the Demonic Dragons

Part 1

Ash shuddered as he awoke from his slumber. The interior of his room was completely dark. Only a faint sliver of moonlight shone into his hospital room from the slit in the curtains. Although it sounded a bit noisy outside, the inside of the hospital was as perturbingly silent as a ruin. The hospital had set an early time for the lights to be switched off, and it was always extremely quiet at night. But, what was it about tonight that made the silence feel so eerie? In any case, Ash reached across with his hand in an attempt to pick up the silver pocket watch beside his pillow to confirm the time.

—It’s soft.

However, the object that he grasped with his right hand felt so comfortable that its softness seemed like something out of this world. That object wasn’t just soft either, it was gently warm as well. The warmth of something that belonged to a living being.

“Uwah!”

Ash was so shocked that he jumped sat straight up in his bed, causing his wounds to momentarily sting. The pain caused his face to contort, and he ignited the Dragon Crystal lamp by the side of his bed. The dreamy orange glow that casted its light across the room bathed everything that it touched with a soft luminescence. The figure illuminated by the Dragon Crystal lamp was an angel clad in white.

“Eeh!”

She wore a white cap and dress, and her long hair which had been tied into a braid hung over her shoulder. No matter how he looked at her, she was indeed a nurse. The nurse had fallen asleep in Ash’s bed, and when he listened carefully, he could even hear the heaves of her breathing. Because the lighting was dim, Ash was unable to catch a clear glimpse of the nurse’s full appearance.

“…………”

Ash gulped. The two bulging peaks which pushed the chest of her white uniform out tightly were caught in his view. It almost seemed as though the buttons on her uniform were about the fly loose. Although it was unintentional, once he realised what kind of object he had grasped, Ash couldn’t stop his face from turning bright red.

Anyway, why is there a nurse sleeping with me?

“…That’s strange, I don’t remember there being a nurse as sexy as this in the hospital?”

As Ash’s heartbeat accelerated, he looked closely at the nurse’s face.

“Hmm?”

As he took a closer look, he noticed that there were two sharp and pointed horns at each side of the nurse’s cap. It was only then that Ash realised the nurse’s true identity.

“You’re Navi! What are you doing here!?”

Just like she did earlier, Navi had once again materialised herself. Originally, Navi didn’t require a body of flesh as the Dragweiss, but…. Navi opened her eyelids and revealed a playful smile. It seemed that she had just been pretending to be asleep. Navi slowly lifted her upper body off the bed. The slow manner in which she did so made every move that she made appear even more charming, and Ash was at a loss for where to direct his eyes. Navi placed her right hand onto Ash’s thigh, and in an extremely precarious location as well.

“…!”

With just this, Ash’s body trembled as if he had received extraordinary stimuli.

“Ufufu.”

After Navi revealed a sweet smile, she brought her lips toward his ear. Her lips parted slightly, and she nibbled on Ash’s earlobe.

“Uh…!”

As a tingle of pleasure ran up his spine, Ash arched his body backwards. The region spanning Ash’s ear to the nape of his neck was all coated in a sweet breath.

“You’re rather sensitive.”

“Navi, you really know how to tease people…but that aside, why are you dressed up like that?”

Ash asked as he gasped.

“Oh my. I’m currently Ash’s personal nurse, so that’s why I’m sleeping with you.”

“Sleeping together doesn’t fall into the scope of a nurse’s job! And what are you trying to do by dressing as a nurse?”

“Because, a few days ago…when Raymond asked you ‘Are there any angels clad in white?’, you replied ‘Unfortunately, all of the nurses in this hospital are veterans’, didn’t you?”

Now that she mentioned it — Ash did indeed recall having a conversation like that with Raymond when he had just been admitted to the hospital. He simply hadn’t expected Navi to listen in on such a conversation.

“Fufu. I thought you were a bit unsatisfied with those old ladies, so I decided to give you a bit of special service.”

“I’m not unsatisfied with them…though, it’s rare of you to wear a white uniform. If possible, I’d like it if you could wear it for me to see during the day as well.”

Ash jokingly said. But when she heard that, Navi suddenly turned her face to the side as if she was sulking.

“…It’s because doctors come around to give treatment or perform examinations, and there’s always someone who visits you during the day. I don’t have the chance to even appear until nightfall.”

“Navi…”

The mature Navi was acting like a spoilt child. Her actions and expressions were all incredibly charming, and Ash couldn’t help but blush as he felt his heart race.

“Oh—”

Navi appeared to notice something, and her expression suddenly turned serious.

“What is it?”

“…Sorry, Eco is calling me. Please wait a moment.”

After Navi closed her eyes, she began to murmur something incomprehensible which sounded like a chant to Ash.

“Eco is calling…?”

Ash frowned.

Could something have happened? At this time of night, Eco should be sleeping in Silvia’s room…

—Doooon…

And then, an earth-shaking noise rumbled off in the distance, arousing and amplifying Ash’s uneasiness. He was also vaguely able to feel the floorboards in the room trembling.

“…An earthquake?”

Ash slid out of bed and got in position to open the curtains that obscured the view beyond the windows, but—

“—Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Navi seemed to have just concluded her contact with Eco, and she suddenly embraced him from behind. Her well-endowed breasts pressed tightly against Ash’s back. Her sensual limbs exuded the sweet scent of vanilla Ansal.

“Navi…?”

Amidst his panic, Ash reacted just a moment too late and ended up being pushed down onto the bed. In that instant, Ash seemed to have caught a glimpse of a fiery flare which illuminated the night sky through the cracks of the curtains, but it was suddenly obscured by Navi’s body.

“H-Hey, where do you think you’re riding!?”

Ash felt unbelievably nervous as Navi rode on top of Ash’s waist. Her snow-white skin was faintly exposed between the hem of her nurse’s uniform and her stockings. A pair of sexy and seductive thighs firmly gripped Ash’s body from both sides.

“Hey, Ash…I can’t hold it in anymore. You don’t mind the fact that I’m the Dragweiss, and you see me as a valued companion. I’m truly happy…”

“Navi?”

“Embrace me, Ash.”

“Eeeeeeh!?”

While Ash was awestruck, Navi faced him as she began to unbutton her outfit from top to bottom. The buttons of her nurse’s uniform had been sewn on from the top all the way to the bottom on the right side. It began with the collar, followed by the chest area, and then the side…with every button that was undone, more and more of Navi’s skin was liberated from her uniform. Under the illumination of the Dragon Crystal lamp, her skin glistened as if it was coated with a moist sheen. The underwear which Navi wore underneath her white outfit was actually black. The elegant lace design only served to make Navi look even more glamorous.

“Fufu.”

After casting her white outfit aside onto the floor, Navi revealed a bewitching smile. However, she still kept the nurse’s cap over her head on. Because Ash was currently in an actual hospital room, he felt as though he was flirting with a real nurse.

“H-Hey, Navi…something seems to be amiss outside…could something have happened? And it’s also rather unusual for Eco to call you at a time like this.”

To stop himself from letting his rationality slip away, Ash intentionally asked a serious question.

“Please rest assured. You are still a patient nonetheless, so you shouldn’t concern yourself with anything at all.”

“No, but…”

“No, I am in the midst of performing an examination on you. Will you not listen to your onee-san in white?”

After Navi jested with a quiet voice, she slowly leaned forward. The firm and elastic sensation of her breasts pressed up against Ash’s chest. As she leaned over him, Navi bent down and kissed Ash on the lips.

“…!”

Their lips touched and overlapped. Naturally, Navi’s kiss wasn’t merely going to stay on the level of a light peck. Her tongue forced its way through Ash’s lips and into his mouth. The technique of her tongue was so intoxicating that Ash felt as though both his mind and body would melt, but…

—Dan!

The hospital room’s door was suddenly pushed open, and Ash was instantly brought back to his senses from that intoxicating kiss. Jet-black figures darted into the room. Ash quickly swept his eyes across the invaders, but all of them wore gas masks to cover their faces, and they were also equipped with sub-machine guns. They were mechanical firearms, not magical types. As for the armour that these intruders wore, it was vastly different from the armour used by knights. They wore battle suits and vests, as well as tall boots. The mechanical devices that were visible across their bodies were a distinguishing characteristic. Judging from the equipment of the armed intruders, Ash found himself shocked by a certain realisation…

—Are they from the Imperial Army…!?

While Ash tensed up, the soldiers quickly spread their formation out and surrounded the bed. Five cold muzzles were pointed directly at Ash and Navi.

“Damn it! Why—”

Ash panicked and tried to get up from the bed, but Navi stopped him.

“No, just stay still.”

Navi rode atop the confused Ash as she coldly glanced around at the soldiers.

“Such tactless people. Why couldn’t you have waited another fifteen minutes before breaking in?”

“…Tsk. Even though he’s still an immature child, he’s managed to lure a nurse onto his bed! As expected of the Avalon Knight!”

One of the soldiers snarled as he complained. The voice that was emitted through the gas mask had a rather heavy accent, but it was still the Chevron language, and thus Ash was somewhat able to comprehend the meaning.

“Aren’t you getting worked up over the wrong thing?”

Ash couldn’t help but retort as he lay beneath Navi who straddled him. But from the perspective of an outsider, the scene laid out before their eyes most certainly did make it seem as though Ash was spending the night pleasurably with a nurse.

“Avalon Knight Ash Blake. We hereby arrest you—”

Just as the soldier spoke coldly in the Chevron language and made that judgement…

—Zuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Outside, an ear-splitting explosion echoed out. Struck by a sudden fright, Ash cast his eyes to the window. Through the gap of the curtains, he caught a glimpse of the fiery red night sky. In that direction—

“The Academy…is on fire…?”

“Kuku…that’s right. Open your eyes wide and take a good look at it!”

When the soldiers heard Ash’s murmur, one of them let out a sinister laugh. He even assisted by opening the curtains completely. Ash simply stared at the scene outside the window without uttering a word. It was a scene that was beyond belief. Every corner of the Academy was ravaged by a fierce inferno. Furthermore, shrill cries could also be heard. The things which flew about the fiery night sky like mad beasts — they had to be Stradas.

The ones causing chaos in the Academy are actually dragons…!

At last, an alarm rang out across the entire city.

“How is this possible? What happened?”

Before long, a commotion had stirred up even inside the hospital. The staff and patients had most likely found out about the turmoil outside, and thus were thrown into disarray. However, Ash was unable to help them. Moreover, the five soldiers in front of them had gradually narrowed their encirclement.

“Fufu.”

Even so, Navi maintained a calm smile as she continued to straddle over Ash’s body. Ash was unable to understand what Navi’s thoughts were. He simply asked the soldier who spoke in the Chevron language.

“What are you planning to do with me?”

“We are simply soldiers. Everything is by the will of Klaus-sama.”

“Klaus…?”

Who is that? —As Ash racked his mind for clues, he finally recalled something.

Klaus is the Count of the Vandenhaar border.

The Chevron Kingdom had recently made several moves which drew everyone’s attention to them, and so everyone had completely forgotten about the existence of this other party.

“After all this, what does the Count of the Vandenhaar border want me for? To begin with, he was the one who first tried to harm Eco. If he’s come back for revenge today, then shouldn’t we determine who the real victim is?”

“…Didn’t I just say? We are simply Klaus-sama’s subordinates. Also, since we’ve been seen by you, woman, we won’t be able to leave you alive. It is most regrettable that we have to kill a nurse, but you should blame it upon your poor luck!”

Simultaneously, the soldiers aimed their guns at Navi.

“Stop…!”

Ash frantically tried to get up from the bed to protect Navi, but—

“Indeed, you’re the ones who are unfortunate.”

Navi exposed a mischievously flirtatious smile as she pressed herself against Ash’s body and rolled under the bed with him. Everything in Ash’s vision suddenly became dark. Navi had smothered Ash’s face with her well-endowed bosom.

“Ugh!”

Just as Ash tried to cry out in response to the sudden change in situation—

—Doooooooooon!

An ice-blue meteor suddenly crashed in through the windows and wall, flying in from the outside.

“I am the Fourth Princess of the Knight Country’s Royal Family, Ark Dragonar — Silvia Lautreamont! If you do not wish to flee despite knowing my name, then come forth directly!”

The Princess Knight was dressed in a magnificent golden Ark as she majestically declared her name to the five armed soldiers. In her hand, she held her graceful yet imposing Ark Weapon — the Sacred Dragonar Gun Arondight.

“Hey, Silvia! Why are you stealing the spotlight all for yourself!?”

Having been clamped underneath Silvia’s arm, Eco jumped down to the ground. She then revealed her true nature as a dragon and scorned the attackers who stood before her with a ferocious look in her eyes.

“How dare you attack my knight…I won’t forgive you all!”

“Darn it, why is the young dragon Eco here!? Could they have failed…?”

One of the soldiers couldn’t conceal his surprise as he muttered that to himself.

“Sacred Dragonar Gun Arondight — ‘Royal Halberd’!”

Silvia cried out with a sonorous voice, not bothering to answer that question. Arondight glowed, and began to transform as it emitted a low-pitched metallic sound. Finally, the magical energy ejected from its muzzle formed the sharp blade of a halberd, and its shape solidified. Arondight had instantly transformed into a sacred halberd. The magical bullets of the Sacred Dragonar Gun were far too destructive for this small indoor room, thus Silvia shifted to a different mode of combat.

“Hah!”

Silvia’s thirsting anger radiated in every direction.

“Kuh!”

The soldier who became the first target positioned his sub-machine gun horizontally and used it as a shield. However, the blade constructed of magical energy easily cut through the metal. As the sub-machine gun was sliced apart, its surface glowed deep red, an indication that it melted. The sub-machine gun that the Empire was so proud of had instantly become a lump of scrap metal. Silvia gracefully wielded her sacred halberd to smack the back of the soldier’s head with one end, causing him to instantly lose consciousness. The tip of the sacred halberd was then pointed at the next soldier.

“Don’t forget that I’m here as well!”

Eco also approached the soldiers and launched her assault. She clutched a soldier’s body using her immense innate strength and tossed them out.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

The soldier drew out a beautiful parabola in the air as they were swallowed by the night sky—. In less than a minute, Eco and Silvia had made light work of the five soldiers. However, as soon as they confirmed that Ash was safe, both Eco and Silvia immediately began to trouble Ash. Strictly speaking, the problem lied with Navi. It was because the only thing covering her body was her suggestive underwear, and she had entangled herself with Ash.

“…So, what were the two of you doing in this room all alone?”

Eco violently snatched up the nurse’s outfit which had fallen onto the ground.

“Whether or not you survive this will depend on how you answer.”

Equipped with her armour, the imposing sense of pressure that Silvia emitted was even greater than that of Eco’s.

“Hey, compared to this, there are more important things to think about right now! What happened to the Academy?”

Ash maintained a stern expression as he pointed to the blazing sky outside the window.

Part 2

After Eco and Silvia calmed their tempers, they gave a rough explanation of the situation. Not long ago, a group of soldiers attacked Eco in an attempt to kidnap her. On the other hand, the dragons lost control of their minds and began to wreak mass destruction. Even though only a few Stradas could be seen flying through the night sky from Ash’s hospital room window, it seemed that all of the dragons had actually gone berserk. Not even Maestros had been spared from this. Since Silvia was unable to ride Lancelot, she had flown over using the magical energy stored within her Ark. In addition, a new member of the <Pluto Children> had emerged — Eco claimed that she had seen a girl with two eyes of Pluto in a dreamlike illusion. The suspected reason for the dragons going out of control was that girl’s song. Although the Count of the Vandenhaar border seemed to be the mastermind behind that girl, Rebecca speculated that Prince Uriel was very likely to have some kind of involvement with this destruction. Given the dire circumstances, the silver lining was that Ash felt proud of the fact that Eco had replicated Lancelot’s Ark and given it to Silvia.

“You did well, Eco.”

Ash exposed a natural smile as he petted Eco’s head, while Eco blushed as she pressed her thighs together and fidgeted.

“Huh…the dragons suddenly seemed to have calmed down.”

Navi looked towards the Academy and muttered in disbelief. Ash also looked out the window.

“You’re right. That’s strange, they were just making such a ruckus earlier…”

Although flames still ravaged every corner of the Academy, the dragons had suddenly stopped crying out. No sign of the Stradas navigating the night sky could be seen either, as they seemed to have gone off to rest at some point.

“…Has the effect of Pluto been interrupted?”

Ash said, his words carrying a slight trace of hope.

“No, I just tried to summon Lancelot, but it’s completely ignoring me.”

However, Silvia flatly denied this possibility.

“At such a distance, perhaps human ears can’t hear it…but I can still hear it clearly. That girl is still singing…”

Similarly, Eco did not let her guard down either.

“Then, are you okay, Eco? Since it affects dragons, you could also…”

Ash gazed at Eco’s face with worry.

“Hmph! Who do take me for? How could a mental attack possibly be effective against me as the Avalon Princess!?”

“Really? If I hadn’t slapped you that time, wouldn’t you have rushed off to join the enemy’s side already?”

Silvia narrowed her eyes in doubt while Eco replied with her face bright red

“What did you say!?”

“Okay okay!”

Seeing that the two of them had begun to quarrel again, Ash stepped in to break them up.

“In any case, we can’t just stand by and watch. Everything that has happened tonight is undoubtedly the greatest crisis that Ansarivan has ever faced in history.”

Ash’s words caused Silvia to regain her calm.

“That’s right. First of all, we should leave this hospital which has already been compromised. Because Eco and I — our objective as Team A is to protect Ash, so we need to take you to a safe place for refuge.”

“…That makes sense.”

Although it was clear that she was still in a fit of anger, Eco also agreed.

“Can you walk, Ash?”

Silvia extended her hand and supported Ash from his right side.

“Thank you, Princess-sama.”

After Ash thanked her, Eco followed suit and embraced him from the left side.

“Thank you too, Eco.”

However, Eco simply averted her face from him. It seemed that she didn’t want to be seen with a shy expression, and Ash couldn’t help but smile bitterly at that.

“Let’s go then, shall we? With an angelic nurse by your side, you’re in good hands.”

Navi joked as she threw a provocative wink at Ash. At some point, she had put her nurse uniform back on.

“You’re just role-playing…”

Silvia simply shook her head and sighed with a pained expression. Eco also made a bitter expression that was tinged with anger. Though thanks to Navi, the atmosphere became somewhat less tense. Thus — after Ash changed into his Dragonar Academy uniform, he left the hospital together with Eco, Silvia and Navi.

Part 3

The sirens wailed on endlessly, their sound oscillating through the cold night air. As soon as Ash, Eco, Silvia and Navi rushed out of the hospital, they immediately felt the perturbed atmosphere engulf them. Despite it being the middle of the night, the street was packed with people bearing witness to the commotion. There were also many residents who had opened their windows to look out with troubled expressions. Both dragon carriages and horse carriages moved along the roads. The security officials all rushed straight toward the Academy with pale expressions. Due to the showy nature of Silvia’s Ark, Ash’s group had no choice but to hide as they made their way forward. Even though they had left the hospital, they had yet to decide on a destination. They simply needed to bring Ash to a place where he would be safe.

“—Hey, the dragons are starting to move!”

At that moment, someone among the crowd shouted as they pointed to a corner of the night sky — the area above the Academy. The rest of the civilians also looked up.

“They’re finally taking action huh…”

Silvia made a bitter expression as she whispered. She held up the Sacred Dragonar Gun Arondight and recited a certain chant. Suddenly, a flat, imaginary projection appeared in mid-air upon which an enlarged scene was displayed. It seemed like magic intended to assist with aiming.

“—!”

Ash held his breath as he kept his eyes glued to the image. Both Eco and Navi also looked at it. Although the large dragon displayed in the image had jet-black fur, it was most certainly Cú Chulainn. Upon its head rode a tall and thin-looking young man as well as a girl who had a metal mask which covered the upper half of her face. The young man seemed familiar to Ash — he was the Count of the Vandenhaar border. The feeling of riding a dragon through the sky seemed quite comfortable for him, given how there seemed to be a light breeze pushing against them.

“It’s that girl! Look, she’s still singing!”

Upon seeing the girl in the image, Eco immediately cried out. It seemed that she was the possessor of Pluto. Although they were too far from her to hear her voice, her posture seemed to resemble that of an opera singer. Just as Eco said, it did seem that she used her voice to control dragons through a song. The ones that followed behind Cú Chulainn were Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod. All of them had also become jet-black dragons, and behind them were a horde of Stradas.

—Boom!

Accompanied by an astonishing shockwave, Cú Chulainn began to accelerate in flight.

“Uoooooooooooooooooooohhhh!”

Cú Chulainn let loose a majestic roar as it flew in a straight line over the city. If not for Silvia and Eco by his side to support him, Ash probably would have been blown away by the strong wind pressure. Many of the onlookers were thrown off balance by the sudden gale of wind and fell to the ground on the spot. Lancelot then followed behind and flew overhead Ash and the others. Silvia watched its departure from below with reluctance. Arianrhod and Gawain also flew off, and were finally followed by the horde of Stradas. It almost felt as though the dragons had formed an aerial platoon as a demonstration of their strength. After all of the Stradas disappeared into the depths of the night, the commotion in the city became even worse. As if a thought had suddenly struck her mind, Silvia began to ponder

“That’s right…I don’t think I saw Tristan just then?”

When she said that, Ash also realised that this was the case.

“You’re right. Hopefully it’s alright…”

Just as Ash replied…

—Dodododododododododododododododododododododododo!

A deafening rumble resounded in the distance.

“This sound couldn’t possibly be…!”

Ash was no stranger to the noise. It was a sound that was inevitably heard during Dragon Races, the footsteps from a horde of Asias all running together…!

“Look out!”

Silvia forcefully pulled Ash and Eco away from the road and onto the sidewalk. The next instant, a storm swept through the road. A jet-black horde of Asias charged through the area. As soon as Ash thought that Brigid could be mixed in with them, he couldn’t help but gnash his teeth together. Although Brigid was Raymond’s Pal, it also had a rather close relationship with Ash. Navi suddenly knelt down and placed her palms against the ground.

“What’s wrong, Navi?”

In response to Ash’s question, Navi answered with a serious look

“The Hydras are also moving through the underground waterways. In summary, all of the dragons affected by Pluto appear to be leaving Ansarivan.”

After listening to Navi’s explanation, Ash felt a bit relieved. Klaus’ motives were most definitely something to be concerned about, but for now, the crisis at the Academy City had diminished somewhat…

“Huh…?”

Ash’s knees suddenly weakened, forcing him to kneel on the ground. His body felt as heavy as a sandbag. An uncomfortable sensation radiated through his head as a splitting headache assaulted him. He also felt the wounds at his sides begin to grow hot. With all the tension fading away, it was almost as if his body had remembered all of its injuries.

““Ash?””

Although he seemed to hear the voices of Eco and Silvia calling his name, the stone cold ground quickly entered his view — Ash’s consciousness was plunged into darkness.

Part 4

“Ash! Ash…!”

Eco kneeled on the ground as she continued to call Ash’s name. However, Ash had already become unconscious.

“Wake up, Ash!”

Silvia’s face was also pale as she grabbed Ash’s shoulders and tried to shake him awake. At this time, Navi reached out and touched Ash’s forehead with a solemn look. It was almost as if she was a real nurse.

“It’s no good, he’s got a high fever. We need to find a place for him to rest…”

After Navi said that with a bitter expression, she alternated her gaze between Eco and Silvia’s faces. Although Navi usually maintained a calm demeanour and a mischievous smile, she was incredibly serious right now. This only caused Eco’s anxiety to intensify.

“It seems we have no choice but to return to the hospital…”

Just as Silvia reluctantly clenched her teeth…a dragon carriage that had rushed past them at high speed came to a sudden halt and then turned back to Eco and the others.

“—Hurry, get on!”

The one who called out for them to get on was not the coachman. It was a man who sat in the carriage and poked his head out. As he wore a hooded shawl over his head, it was not possible to see his face.

“What’s going on now…?”

Eco hesitated. Even though they seemed to have encountered someone generous enough to lend a helping hand, it was rather foolish to simply do as a stranger commanded just because they said ‘get on’. Instead, it was Silvia who made the bold and unexpected move. She immediately stood up and shouted at the carriage

“Thank you for the assistance!”

“Wait, Silvia!”

Eco looked up at Silvia in surprise.

“Don’t worry, Eco. That person is trustworthy!”

However, the confident expression that Silvia made gave some reassurance.

Part 5

After Ash was carried into the carriage, it began to move again. The layout of the carriage had seats which faced opposite each other, and Ash was placed on one of those seats while Eco used her thighs as a pillow for him. Although Silvia seemed a bit dissatisfied with that, she was still equipped with her Ark, so it was not possible for her to give Ash a lap pillow; she reluctantly took a seat on the floor. Navi knelt down next to Ash and made caring gestures like that of a real nurse, such as helping him to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

“—So, who are you two? It seems that you are acquainted with Silvia…”

 After hopping onto the carriage, Eco still kept her guard up against the two people who sat opposite them. Of those two people, the man still wore a hood that covered his eyes. The dirty coat that he wore gave off the vibe that he was some kind of traveller. And judging by his ostensibly energetic voice, he seemed to be a youthful man. The person who sat beside that youth was a young woman. Her naturally curly hair was shoulder length, and she still wore a bold outfit which exposed her chest despite the cold weather. Her curvy thighs were covered by fishnet stockings which gave off a flirtatious charm. The two of them look like adventurers from straight out of a story, Eco thought.

“Haha. You don’t recognise me?”

After the man laughed, he finally removed his shawl.

“…Ah!”

Eco immediately exclaimed in surprise. Hidden beneath the hood — was silver hair streaked with red and a silver mask. The young man had a fair complexion, a strong nose line, and despite the mask obscuring his face, it was quite clear that he was handsome man.

“Milgauss — no, Prince Julius!”

Like a fish out of water, Eco couldn’t stop her mouth from jittering. Navi seemed to have known for a while, and thus she didn’t seem particularly surprised. Only now did Eco understand why Silvia had made up her mind so quickly. She had only needed to listen to his voice to realise that it was her own brother.

“Long time no see, dear older brother. I heard that you went to see the world outside…but I didn’t imagine that you would pass through Ansarivan.”

“As a graduate of Ansarivan, I couldn’t possibly miss an event as big as the Five Hundred Years Festival. To be honest, I’ve already been here for a month.”

“If that’s the case, why did you not come to greet me sooner…”

“That will not do. To the common public, Julius Lautreamont is a criminal who committed the taboo of killing a dragon. Right now, I am merely a traveller.”

“Brother…”

“Let us not speak of me — that Ark looks great on you. Congratulations on becoming an Ark Dragonar.”

“T-Thank you for your compliment, brother…”

Silvia blushed in embarrassment, but she looked sternly at the woman who gave off the air of an adventurer. She then made a dry cough to clear the air.

“Brother, speaking of which…may I know who the woman beside you is? As your younger sister, I am somewhat curious…”

“What are you talking about? The one beside me is Dr Angela Cornwell — your teacher.”

““Eeeeeh!?””

Both Eco and Silvia exclaimed at the same time.

Part 6

The destination of the dragon carriage was Angela’s residence.

“Hey…I only have a very bad impression of this house…”

As soon as she stepped off the carriage, Eco looked up at the house with disgust, treating it almost like a haunted house. Perhaps because it had been a long time since it was last maintained, the house looked more decrepit than it had in spring. The incident in which Eco was kidnapped by Angela not long after being born in early spring was still fresh in her mind.

“Don’t say that. Let bygones be bygones and hurry on in. I’ll also see to the care of Ash.”

“You’re a doctor who specialises in dragons!”

Eco immediately showed her discontent toward Angela.

“Regardless of whether the patient is a human or a dragon, there is little that differs in the treatment.”

When Angela let her hair down, took her glasses off, and removed her white coat, her image greatly differed from that of a teacher’s, though her personality was the one thing that didn’t change. In any case, Ash was carried into the bedroom where Angela and Navi took responsibility for his care. On the other hand, Eco and Silvia stayed in the living room to converse with Julius. The light which radiated from the fireplace illuminated the side of Julius’ face. The first person to speak was Silvia.

“Dear brother, what is your relationship with Angela-sensei…?”

“Hey, Silvia! Now isn’t the time for that!”

“As a younger sister, it’s difficult not to concern myself with it…”

Julius made a wry smile as he watched the two girls bicker.

“I met Angela at a certain point in the past. I’ll leave what developed from that up to your imagination.”

“Now that you mention it, Angela-sensei did indeed disappear for a while. I just didn’t imagine that she was travelling together with you, brother…”

“To be frank, we originally planned to leave Ansarivan at the end of the Five Hundred Years Festival…”

“Really…?”

“However, the existence of Pluto came to light during the Dragonar’s Gunnar Bout. After learning that it allowed dragons to take orders from their magic stone, Angela became very curious about it. As a result, she chose to extend her stay…and that’s why we bumped into you on the road earlier today.”

Just as Julius smiled, Eco’s famished belly made an exaggerated grumble. The great sound which resembled that of a normal dragon’s echoed throughout the living room, causing Eco to blush with embarrassment. Although the present situation was critical, she recalled that it had been quite a while since she last ate.

“It can’t be helped. After all, dragons must have five meals a day. There aren’t too many ingredients left in the house, but do let me make something to eat.”

Just as Julius got up with a wide grin and prepared to head over to the kitchen — the door was abruptly opened. Angela and Navi had returned.

“Is Ash okay?”

Casting her hunger aside, Eco ran up to the two of them to ask.

“Hmm, he’s fine. His condition has already stabilised. His breathing and pulse are also very stable, so as long as he’s able to rest, he’ll bounce back to good health very soon.”

Upon hearing Angela say that, Eco finally felt relieved. Perhaps due to her nerves suddenly relaxing, she grew close to being on the verge of tears.

“Eco, it’s too early for you to relax.”

However, Navi spoke up to make a correction. Even though she was still dressed up as a nurse, her expression was serious.

“Have a look at this—”

Navi infused her magic onto the wall, causing the entire surface of the wall to suddenly become a screen. Shown on the wall were images of the night sky, grassland and the Astraea River. A swarm of Stradas flew high across the night sky. A horde of Asias galloped across the grasslands. A legion of Hydras swam through the great river. The one flying in front as a leader was Lancelot. Like a general, it commanded three large squadrons. Flying behind its right wing was Arianrhod, while Gawain flew on the left side, and at the rear was Cú Chulainn. It totally seemed like a commander. Two figures could be seen atop Cú Chulainn’s head. One of them was a young man, whilst the other was a girl.

[Haha! Go forth! Advance! My <Schwarz Drachen Panzer>!]

After seeing the young man shout ecstatically, Julius stood up in surprise.

“That man is — the Count of the Vandenhaar border, Klaus!”

Klaus and Julius had an amicable relationship. When Julius’ body was controlled by the Dark Dragon King Mordred, he acted under the identity of Milgauss, and Klaus was his boss. The girl wearing a mask which covered the upper half of her face sang beside Klaus.

“Hey, weren’t you an Imperial soldier before? You didn’t hear any information about that girl?”

With a sudden burst of inspiration, Eco tugged on Julius’ sleeve. After narrowing his eyes at the girl, Julius said

“That girl is likely to be Kriemhild. I’ve never seen her before, but I’ve heard about the rumours. I didn’t expect it to actually be complete…”

Complete — the unnatural sensation hidden within that word caused everyone in the room to shudder. Navi was the first to break the silence.

“Getting back to the topic at hand, the sky, land and waterways…although the march of the dragons has been divided into three different types, their end goal is the same. They’re all advancing towards the north.”

“Did you say north? Could it be…”

Silvia’s restlessness was painted clearly over the expression on her face. Navi nodded.

“Judging from their positions, the most likely place — should be the capital of the Knight Country, Fontaine City.”

“The Flames of War ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 7 - Ash and Eco’s Determination

Part 1

Late at night, on the fourth storey of Fontaine Castle. Taking charge as the royal representative in place of the King, Veronica issued orders from the office. Up until now, it had been one piece of bad news after another. The most shocking news was the fact that the Chevron Kingdom’s embassy in Fontaine City was completely deserted. Another item that invited uneasiness upon them was news that merchants from the Chevron Kingdom appeared to be withdrawing from Fontaine City. The business owners always had their own information network. For example, if a message such as ‘the situation in the Knight Country is dangerous’ circulated among the merchants, then…it would have a lot of credibility.

“That bastard Uriel, does he really intend to annex the Knight Country?”

Veronica angrily muttered. The captain of her personal guard, Glenn, stood by her side in silence.

“Damn it, I didn’t expect our own suzerain state to bare its fangs against us. In the past, the alliance between the Kingdom and the Knight Country was formed in the presence of the Pope as a witness. The Kingdom has unilaterally broken that covenant with the Knight Country, which is tantamount to sacrilege against the Holy Espada Agency!”

At that time, having remained silent up until now, Glenn submissively said

“…If this goes on, even the Holy Espada Agency will be unable to remain silent. Even if we can’t avoid a battle against the Chevron Kingdom, righteousness still belongs on our side.”

Although Veronica nodded in agreement with Glenn’s opinion, she still frowned.

“But I don’t understand. Our Knight Country has the taken on the heavy responsibility of managing the dragons. Correspondingly, we also have the protection of the dragons. So long as we make use of the dragons’ potential, there is nothing to fear even if the Kingdom does attempt an invasion. It is precisely because the dragons have such tremendous strength that they were entrusted to the Lautreamont family which adheres to the spirit of chivalry in the first place. Our Lautreamont Knight Country has never shown any dissent since the first Paladin Durham, and we’ve always coexisted peacefully with the dragons…”

“Yes. Our power is strictly for defence, and not for the invasion of other states — that is the policy of the Knight Country. We would never abuse the power of the dragons to invade another nation.”

“I don’t think Uriel would play a game he has no chance of winning, so what exactly is he trying to plot…?”

And then, a knock came from the office’s door.

“Enter.”

The one who pushed the door open was the Captain of the Order, Ursula. During this incident, the Lautreamont Order of Holy Dragonars was once again caught in a disadvantageous position. Even so, as the captain of the Order, Ursula hadn’t shown the slightest hesitation. Up until now, she had maintained a calm and unrelenting attitude, causing many to admire her.

“Are there any new changes to the situation?”

“Princess-sama, please listen calmly to my report. According to the latest information that we have, Ansarivan City’s Academy seems to have turned into a sea of flames.”

“…What is the meaning of that!?”

“The dragons kept in the Academy went berserk and destroyed the Academy and various other facilities. It is said that the manner in which they lost control bears a resemblance to the incident with Tristan just recently.”

“I see…that’s the trick he’s decided to use.”

Veronica couldn’t stop herself from kicking a chair in anger. Aside from Celestina Lafon, there were other Pluto Children in existence, and if that mysterious power was used — Veronica was slowly able to figure out Uriel’s plan.

“I also have other bad news—”

Veronica gently waved her hand and interrupted Ursula’s report.

“…That is enough. I can guess even if you don’t say it. Those frenzied dragons are now gathering here to launch an attack — am I right?”

Ursula nodded silently.

Part 2

“It’s unbelievable…”

As Oscar looked up, she couldn’t help but utter such words of extolment. Just as Mirabel predicted, there was indeed an underground city in the lowest layer of the natural cave system. The underground city depicted on the map had looked like an ant’s nest, but its true internal roads were surprisingly wide, enough even for the Maestro Tristan to stride through. If this underground city was purely for humans, it would have been sufficient to make the roads just wide enough for humans to traverse. Perhaps when the ancient humans built this underground city, they had taken into consideration the physiques of dragons. Otherwise, dragons themselves must have been involved in the construction of it — Oscar began to let her imagination run free as such ideas ruminated through her mind.

Aside from the houses, churches and gathering areas within the underground city, there also appeared to be sections which resembled schools. As there were large ventilation holes in the centre of the city, there was no need to worry about a lack of oxygen. A cool breeze could also be felt, despite how they were situated beneath the ground. Although they encountered several lurking monsters as they walked through the underground city, a single stare from Tristan was enough to scare all of them into retreat. However, this didn’t mean that their entire journey went smoothly either. There were traps that had been set up throughout the underground city. Such traps ranged from holes in the ground to falling ceilings, as well as spear mechanisms which protruded from the walls. There were also traps in certain passages where large boulders came tumbling down. If not for Tristan’s protection, there might have been a serious threat to their lives. In fact, skeletal remains could be seen all over the underground city. Judging from the clothing that remained on these skeletons, they seemed likely to be adventurers who bravely tried to explore this city in the past. Leaving aside the situation in the underground city — the most intriguing thing was the situation on the ground. Occasionally, they could feel the tremors that came from aboveground despite how far down they were. It seemed likely to be from the Imperial soldiers who had successfully infiltrated the Academy and begun their assault.

—The girl with two eyes of Pluto.

Tristan had just barely been able to overcome the hidden magic in her song. This was all thanks to the special training of Oscar and Celes as well — Diabolos.

But what about the other dragons? Are Ash and Eco safe?

“We should return to the surface as soon as possible…”

Relying on the transportation ability of Tristan, Oscar and the others had already arrived at the nineteenth underground level. If they had walked on their own, they might still have been wandering around on the first level. Oscar hopped down from Tristan’s head and used its neck as a long slope to slide down to its back where Mirabel and the others sat. Having undergone Oscar’s strict discipline, Tristan was able to behave obediently even though people other than its master rode on its back.

“Anya-sama, please do not move around.”

“Ouch…”

The attacks of the magic soldiers seemed to have caused some harm to Anya, and she was currently being treated by Eunice who applied wet cloths to her stomach.

“……”

On the other hand, since Celes didn’t appear to have anything congenial to discuss with Mirabel, she kept her distance from the other three and sat alone whilst hugging her knees. It was simply the nature of Celes’ personality — and Oscar couldn’t help but smile to herself upon seeing that.

“Your Highness Mirabel, are we still far from the lowest level?”

After hearing Oscar’s question, Mirabel raised her head from the map that she had been focusing on.

“Once we make it past the nineteenth floor, we’ll reach the lowest level.”

Even though everyone else clearly displayed such sullen expressions, Mirabel still looked just as bright as ever, like a glittering pearl in the ocean. Perhaps Mirabel is actually the most determined one among the four sisters of the Lautreamont family — Oscar thought to herself as she climbed back up onto Tristan’s head. Shortly after, the scene before them spread out.

“Is this a dead end…?”

Oscar narrowed her eyes as she looked around. It was a large plaza with dome-shaped ceiling. The mural painted on the ceiling depicted angels and dragons flying around Saint Rosa Maria, a rather common artistic composition. Oscar’s gaze suddenly stopped in the centre of the plaza. A six-pointed star was there, but it wasn’t just any ordinary emblem. The six-pointed star was clearly made of metal, and on each of the six corners were pink Bright Dragon Crystals.

“Pink crystals? Which means that they’re the same as what Eco produced…are they all Uranus?”

“It’s likely. Those should have been produced by the ancient Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor.”

“Uwah!”

Mirabel had suddenly whispered that right next to her ear, causing even Oscar to nearly tumble off Tristan’s head in surprise. Oscar used every ounce of strength in her body just to grab hold of Tristan’s head to maintain balance.

“Your Highness Mirabel, when did you…!”

“It seems you still need more training.”

Mirabel stood at Oscar’s usually exclusive spot with a look of indifference as she pointed to the six-pointed star.

“Perhaps that is the elevator which will take us to the bottommost level.”

Part 3

—Angela’s house.

Eco, Silvia, Navi, Angela and Julius — these people gathered in the living room that was filled with a tense atmosphere.

“…Although saying this would be rude to Captain Ursula, I do not believe that the Order of Holy Dragonars can hold out against such a powerful force. In my view, their Pals will be stolen from them before they can even lay a hand on the possessor of Pluto.”

“That can’t be possible! The Order have Maestros more powerful than even Gawain and Lancelot!”

Silvia shouted out in bewilderment.

“Captain Ursula surely has some kind of countermeasure. Judging by the direction of the dragons’ advance, they’ll most likely engage in an all-out clash with the Order. If they fall, then Fontaine City will be completely lost.”

Julius’ analysis was agreed upon by everyone. A heavy, breathless silence enveloped the room for a long time. Only the occasional crackling that came from the burning firewood could be heard.

“—However, we still have hope.”

Julius broke that silence. His sharp gaze pierced through his mask and at Eco. Silvia, Angela and Navi followed suit as they turned their gazes toward Eco as well.

“…Me?”

Eco blinked in astonishment. What was Julius thinking? He stared intently at Eco as he explained

“Eco. You are the descendant of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family.”

“What point is there in bringing that up now?”

“As you know, Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family and Nehalennia’s Dark Dragon King Family once stood at the apex above all other dragons. I believe that your influence over the dragons — no, your dominance is probably far more powerful than you think.”

“You aren’t…telling me to try and convince the dragons, are you?”

Eco shuddered. The ‘Avalon Princess’ was more than just a hollow name, but the great horde of attacking dragons had all fallen under the spell of Kriemhild’s song. Even if Eco tried to use the reputation of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family, it wasn’t such a simple task to restore sanity to those dragons.

“Clearly, they’re not beings who will be swayed by mere words.  So I’m afraid that even if the current you tries to shout or scream at them, Lancelot and the others won’t pay it any mind.”

Julius plainly admitted.

“Then what do you hope for me to do?”

Eco glumly tilted her head. At that moment, Silvia suddenly lifted her face whilst sitting beside Eco.

“Brother, don’t tell me you mean…!”

“Indeed. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

After Julius nodded at Silvia, he directed his eyes back toward Eco.

“I see, so that’s what it is.”

Angela also seemed to figure everything out on her own. Her expression as she stared into Eco’s eyes was incredibly sober. At last, Eco also understood what Julius’ plan was. Earlier, Julius had specifically used the phrase ‘even if the current you tries to shout or scream’. In other words, he was referring to the fact that Eco in the form of a young girl was unlikely to be capable of performing that task. Almost unconsciously, Eco reached out to touch the bracelet on her right wrist. It was <Avalon’s Bracelet> that she had received from the Mother Dragon during the summer break. Eco quietly stole a glance at Navi, but Navi simply nodded with a solemn expression. Her expression was almost like that of a parent who was ready to send their child off on their own. In essence, Navi had always been Eco’s teacher after all. Eco looked straight back at Julius.

“In short, if I change back into the form of a dragon, then I’ll be able to stop those rogue dragons — is that what you mean?”

“I’m sorry, Eco. I really feel bad about pushing all of the heavy responsibility of the task onto you. But, in order to save the Knight Country, we must rely on your strength—”

“I can’t do it!”

With teary eyes, Eco moodily stood up.

 “After the Imperial Army forced me to turn into a dragon, I completely lost my mind and I had no idea what I was doing! Even if I do manage to somehow turn into a dragon today, I can’t guarantee that I won’t attack you or the city! If the situation spirals out of control, I might even bring forth a more terrible disaster than those dragons controlled by Pluto…”

After Eco weakly yelled out those pessimistic thoughts of hers, Navi stood up and walked right up to her.

“To put it bluntly, you’re saying that you’re not confident, right?”

“Uh…”

Eco said nothing in return as Navi’s words pierced a deep wound in Eco’s heart.

“What else can I do!? That’s right, I don’t have any confidence! You don’t understand my feelings either! That’s why you asked me to do something like that!”

Eco bolted straight for the door. The door had remained in a half-open state ever since Navi and Angela returned to the living room. Just as Eco was about to run through the doorway of the living room with teary eyes—.

—Doof.

She ran straight into something in front of her. A familiar scent reached her nostrils. The first thing captured in her view was a yellow tie. It was the uniform of — Dragonar Academy’s Senios course.

“Eh…?”

Eco lifted her teary face and looked ahead.

“Don’t worry, Eco.”

The person who stood before her was none other than Ash. Although Ash was supposed to have been resting in the bedroom, he had suddenly come out and welcomed Eco into his arms. Logically speaking, it should have been extremely difficult for him to even stand given his current condition.  

“Ash? That conversation earlier…did you hear it too…?”

Eco continued to sniffle ceaselessly as she looked at Ash’s face.

“Yeah. I got the general idea of things.”

“Ash…do you share the same opinion as everyone else?”

“Umm. Well, given the current state of affairs, aside from asking you…there seems to be no other choice.”

“I see….”

Eco felt disheartened, and she couldn’t help but look down dejectedly. As soon as Eco realised that Ash shared the same thoughts as the others, that he was only concerned for the safety of the Knight Country, and he disregarded the uneasiness and fear that she felt, she became deeply saddened. Ash reached out with his bandaged hand and gently stroked Eco’s head.

“Ash…?”

“But you know, Eco, my thoughts are somewhat different from the others.”

Ash took a step forward and fixed his gaze on Julius. From the side, Eco was able to see the strong determination concealed in his eyes.

“If Eco is going, then I’m going along with her. It’s because I’m the <Avalon Knight>…no, it’s because I’m Eco’s knight.”

“You can’t, Ash! Right now, you’re…”

Hadn’t he just lost consciousness due to a high fever? It was still going to take a long time before he fully recovered from all of his injuries. Even the doctor had repeatedly pointed out that he had to rest, otherwise, there was even the risk of death….

“Listen to me, Eco.”

Ash used a rare, serious expression as he looked at Eco’s face. Eco couldn’t help but feel her heart pound more rapidly.

“Ever since I came to Dragonar Academy, everyone has always called me the ‘The Boy Who Can Ride Any Dragon’. Even now, I don’t understand why I have this ability. But you know what, Eco? To this day, I still haven’t managed to properly ride the one I should be riding. Perhaps, that moment has arrived.”

“Ash…”

“Let’s give it a go, Eco. Let’s work together to protect everyone. You can leave all of the problems that occur after you become a dragon to me.”

Without regard for everyone else’s stares, he gave Eco a warm and gentle hug. Although Eco felt so startled that her heart continued to pound heavily against the walls of her chest, she obediently accepted his embrace. Her cheeks pressed up against his strong chest. The palm on her back felt warm and reassuring. And then — Ash made a firm declaration right by the side of Eco’s ears.

“I’ll show you that I can definitely ride you as I want, Eco!”

Eco immediately blushed and felt so embarrassed that steam almost burst out from her ears. Like a newborn baby, her heartbeat constantly jumped and fluttered. She felt such joy that she almost passed out—. Inadvertently, Eco also found that Ash’s heartbeat was clearly audible to her. Upon closer inspection, Ash’s face had also gone red as well. His heart was beating just as hard as Eco’s, and his face was flushed red like hers as well. Eco no longer felt doubtful.

“You’re the one who has to make sure that you listen to me.”

It wasn’t until someone went made an unnatural ‘ahem!’ cough that Eco returned to her senses.

“Oh no…!”

Ash looked around at everyone’s faces in a panic. But even so, Eco didn’t seem to have any intention of separating from Ash. Likewise, despite his embarrassment, Ash continued to embrace Eco’s body.

“You two really are…”

The person who coughed — Silvia stood up and walked away from the sofa. Her expression was one of reluctant bitterness.

“Logically speaking, sending you out right now is ludicrous, Ash. Don’t forget that you’re heavily injured and it’ll take three months for you to fully recover.”

“Princess-sama, I—”

Silvia glared at Ash with a sharp gaze in order to stop him from making excuses.

“Having said that, since both of you have shown the determination to do so even in the face of death…we have no reason to stop you.”

“Princess-sama!”

“Silvia!”

Ash and Eco shouted at the same time. Eco thanked Silvia in her heart as she sent her a sidelong glance. Julius then stood up as well.

“Ash and Eco, I sincerely thank you. And as a former prince of this country, I also give my gratitude.”

When Julius lowered his head and his body to perform a deep bow, not only did he shock Eco, but even Ash felt completely stunned.

“P-Please don’t do that! Please lift your head!”

As Eco looked at Ash’s panicked face from the side, a burst of warmth smothered her heart. She felt glad that Ash was her knight. The uneasiness that she had originally felt about Dragonising had long been forgotten.

Part 4

Dragonar Academy — the sporting grounds. Under Rebecca’s command, the raging fires within the Academy were finally extinguished. All of the teachers and students of the Acadamy took refuge in the centre of the field. Due to the cold weather and dim light, a bonfire was made. Half of the school buildings had been declared as collapsed or destroyed, and the male dormitory Apollo House was also burnt to ruins. Many other facilities had also been mercilessly destroyed. It was probably the first time in the history of Ansarivan that such a terrible disaster had befallen it. Perhaps the silver lining amidst all of this was that despite the buildings becoming so badly damaged, not a single life had been lost. It was no exaggeration to call it a miracle that only around fifty people had suffered minor injuries. All of those injured were moved to a temporary tent where a medical team led by Jessica were responsible for treatment. The deputy team leader there was Lucca, and treatment went smoothly with the help of students who had studied medicine. The effects of the herbal medicine produced by Lucca were particularly astonishing, and it was well-received by those within the treatment tents.

“Given the current situation, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to become disconcerted due to excessive anxiety…though I didn’t expect everyone to be quite so calm.”

Rebecca muttered as she cast her gaze across the situation of all the teachers and students of the Academy.

“It must be a result of your strong leadership, President.”

The person who answered was the one currently acting as Rebecca’s deputy — the accountant Max. Max said that because he sincerely admired Rebecca, it wasn’t just a polite gesture. The Ark that Cú Chulainn had gone through painstaking efforts to bestow upon Rebecca brilliantly reflected the bonfire’s radiant glow, giving it a shiny lustre. Rebecca’s majestic figure was even viewed as a symbol of hope by the other students.

“Now I’m just worried about…whether Eco and Silvia were able to successfully protect Ash.”

Max nodded deeply as he echoed Rebecca’s sentiment.

“Indeed. It’s really taking them a long time to come back—”

Just as Max looked somewhat distressed—

“—President, we’ve returned!”

It was Silvia’s voice. Rebecca and Max aside, all of the other students in the school turned their heads toward the direction of the school gate. A single dragon carriage leapt through the half-destroyed main entrance, and rushed toward the location where everyone else was. Silvia poked her face out of the carriage window and waved her hand.

“Ash is safe and sound!”

Upon seeing the faint smile on Silvia’s face as she shouted that out, both Rebecca and Max couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Part 5

Ash, Eco, Silvia, Navi, Julius and Angela — the group of them were invited to a conference tent which was set up in a corner of the field. The heater which was powered by a Bright Dragon Crystal within the tent was a blessing for the inured Ash. Rebecca and Max greeted them all first. After having so many people squeezed into the tent at once, it became rather cramped. In particular, both Rebecca and Silvia were equipped with their Arks which were somewhat space-consuming. Ash was sandwiched in between Eco and Silvia on each side, and the air between them was still fidgety despite the serious occasion. It was because both of their shoulders were constantly pressed against his. Leaving that aside, the presence of Julius and Angela was rather shocking for Rebecca and the others. To start things off, Silvia gave an update of the situation to Rebecca and the others.

“…So, our only trump card here is Ash and Eco. Hence, the next problem that we face is — choosing the location for Eco to Dragonise.”

“I see. So you’ve concluded that you’ll use the Academy grounds as the location for Eco’s transformation?”

Rebecca looked at Silvia and Eco with a serious expression.

“Yes. Either the central plaza and the arena, or the broad plain outside the city walls…we’ve selected various candidate locations, and Eco will have the final say on the decision.”

Eco hesitantly nodded in agreement with Silvia’s words. It was clear to see that her cheeks were faintly red.

“I-It’s because this Academy is like…it’s like the hometown that I was born in. Although it might bring trouble to everyone…but…I still want to transform here, can’t I?”

After making a wry smile, Rebecca placed her hand on Eco’s head.

“Why wouldn’t you be able to? Rather, I’m rather honoured as the student council president that you consider this Academy to be your hometown.”

Rebecca’s honest words of gratitude caused Eco to blush.

“Then, I will explain your situation to all of the teachers and students of the Academy in the most suitable manner. Ash, you take a rest first—”

“Ash-sama!”

“…Ash.”

At that moment, Jessica and Lucca suddenly barged into the tent and interrupted Rebecca. The surprising thing was that both of them wore white uniforms, making them both look like nurses. No, upon closer inspection, they weren’t wearing white outfits, but pink nurse uniforms. It was a somewhat different taste compared to the white outfit, and Ash couldn’t help but feel somewhat overwhelmed by this.

“Ash-sama, I always believed that you would be safe!”

As Jessica advanced forward, she began to race toward Ash as if she was trying to push him down. However, she suddenly fell in an awkward manner and her face approached the floor. Along with the sound of abrasion as she glided forward a certain distance, she stopped in front of Ash. Her precious nurse outfit had gotten covered in mud.

“W-What are you doing!?”

After Jessica lifted her upper body from the ground, she turned back and protested loudly.

“It’s sly of you to sneak ahead…”

With her usual expressionless face, Lucca expressed her thoughts. Interestingly, she held a tight-fitting mini-skirt in her hand.

“Uwah! Jessica, below! Below!”

Ash was stunned at first, and he soon averted his eyes away from Jessica, but it was already too late as the image of her pink garter belts, pink panties, and her soft pink thighs had all been clearly burned into his eyes. The reason why Jessica fell so badly was because Lucca had pushed her from behind.

“Eh? Kyaaaaah!”

Jessica’s entire face went bright pink as she snatched her mini-skirt back from Lucca.

“That’s so mean, Lucca-san! A-Although…I don’t mind being seen by Ash-sama…”

While Jessica whined and put her skirt back on, Lucca took advantage of the opportunity to crouch in front of Ash with a bowl of steaming hot soup. It appeared to be some kind of herbal tea with a unique aroma. The colour of the tea was a dark green which was close to being black.

“This is a herbal medicine passed down by the Ecbald people.”

The pungent odour and terrible colour made Ash hesitate to reach out and accept it.

“It has an extraordinary effect on blood circulation. I made it especially for you…Ash.”

As she said that, Lucca’s face reddened. Her long ears which were unique to the Ecbald tribe twitched incessantly. Finding her appearance far too adorable, Ash couldn’t help but feel dazed by her, but the ice cold stares directed at him from the surroundings immediately pulled him back to reality.

“Thank you for you kindness, Lucca.”

After Ash thanked her, he accepted the tea bowl from her and then gulped it all down in one go.

“…!”

Although the taste was as bitter as he had expected, his body slowly began to warm up after drinking it, and the pain from his wounds also seemed to lessen.

“Ash-sama!”

After getting fully dressed again, Jessica came running over.

“If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, please let me know! As the medical team leader, I will do my best to serve you!”

“I’m grateful, Jessica.”

Leaving aside her extreme enthusiasm, Ash was genuinely able to sense Jessica’s good intentions, and so he thanked her in his mind.

“Oh, but Ash already has me as a nurse, you know?”

This kindled a fierce sense of competitiveness within Navi as she interjected from the side. Indeed, Navi was still wearing the same nurse outfit even now.

“Hey, please don’t start with that…!”

Ash nervously watched Jessica, Lucca and Navi in fear, and then shifted his eyes to the side as if nothing had happened—.

“Hmm~”

Sure enough, he found Eco puffing her cheeks out and scowling at him in anger.

Part 6

Not long after Rebecca explained the situation to all of the teachers and students of the Academy—. Ash and Eco finally arrived at the centre of the field. Taking into account the size of Eco’s body after Dragonising, the students all retreated to a corner of the field first. Everyone’s mouths felt dry as they nervously waited in anticipation, praying for Ash and Eco from a distance. The icy night wind blew against the bonfire vigorously, but Ash didn’t find it cold. It was because Eco was snuggled up by his side. The warmth brought forth from their linked hands boosted his spirit.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Ash said in a deliberately relaxed tone to Eco.

“Yep.”

Eco nodded as she returned an innocent smile. Even though she was probably filled with fear and anxiety on the inside, she remained steadfast. Ash hoped to respond to Eco’s courage as best he could.

—I’ll also support you from the side.

Having returned to the Dragon Workshop, Navi also expressed her support for the two of them.

“…I’m going to transform.”

Eco gently closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body was enveloped by an astounding volume of magical energy as she let off a blinding glow.

—Kaching.

After a while, <Avalon’s Bracelet> made a quiet metallic sound as it automatically came loose and floated above Eco’s head. Eco maintained her original form and stayed perfectly still. She was probably remembering all of the special training that she had undergone with Navi day after day. With her eyes closed, Eco said in a soft voice

“Please…hold onto me tightly, okay?”

“I know.”

Powerful magical energy erupted from Eco’s body. But even so, Ash did not hesitate. He tightly clung onto Eco’s slim body.

“Thank you…Ash.”

The moment Eco murmured that, the Bracelet of Avalon that had been floating above her head let out a sudden flash. The students were all in awe. While in the embrace of Ash’s arms, Eco recited words that resembled a chant.

“I am the true descendant of the illustrious Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family…”

—Such immense pressure…!

Although Ash shuddered on the inside, he didn’t let go of Eco. On the contrary, he tightened his embrace.

“Mine own name is Eco Pendragon Aurora Christa Lena Angeles Iria Lorence Liliane Muirel Octavia Robertine de la Rosa L’Espérance van Compostela de Avalon—”

And then, Eco opened her bright red eyes.

“I shall bewray mine own true form here!”

A beam of light shot up into the night sky, piercing straight through the dark clouds above.

—Eco…!

Ash was swallowed up by the pillar of light—.

Part 7

Eco was unsure of how long she had been unconscious. After the column of light faded, she opened her eyes ever so slightly.

“Uoooooh…!”

She had wanted to scream out ‘kya’, but what came out from her throat was a powerful roar. The shockwave that it generated was so tremendous that the ripples of that soundwave could be felt as they shook the air. The reason why Eco suddenly felt frightened was because she had ascended to an extraordinary height. In her eyes, even the school buildings in the Academy had become so small that they were like miniature models. Eco hesitantly looked down at her own body. Under the moonlight, her fur was lustrous and shiny. Her forelimbs were strong, her hind limbs sturdy and powerful too. Her tail was so long that it reached beyond the school gates. Her folded wings had yet to be spread. Avalon’s Bracelet had also become a beautiful collar which hung around Eco’s neck, letting off a dazzling golden glow.

—I’ve transformed into a dragon…and I’ve fully maintained my consciousness…I did it!

Inadvertently, Eco captured all of the Academy’s teachers and students who were on the grounds in the corner of her vision. The first thought that emerged in her mind was somewhat rude, though nonetheless true in her current state ‘Wow, people are like small ants…’. In the eyes of the current Eco, that was just how small of an existence human beings were. But she immediately rebuked herself — and told herself that these were the ones who needed her protection. Perhaps because she had just let out an unrelenting roar just earlier, most of the students showed signs of vigilance and fear. It was clear that many students felt the urge to escape upon seeing Eco’s grandiose form. However, the students who stood at the forefront — Rebecca, Silvia, Lucca, Jessica, Raymond and Max were different from the others. Their eyes carried absolute faith as they looked up at her. Fortunately, thanks to Rebecca and the others leading by example, all of the other students eventually calmed down and returned to normal. And then, Eco noticed that Ash was riding on top of her head. Although she felt slightly bitter that she was unable to see him, she could feel his definite presence there…! Just as Eco felt so overjoyed that she was about to let out another roar, an electric current passed through her body.

—Hwah!

Although she initially thought that something had gone wrong after transforming into a dragon, that turned out not to be the case. It was because there was no pain or discomfort. However, when Eco realised that Ash was riding on her, an incomprehensible feeling had struck her heart.

—W-What is this feeling!?

Inadvertently, Eco came to the shocking realisation that the sensation was called ‘pleasure’, making her feel awkwardly embarrassed. The feeling of comfort that it gave her almost seemed like a violation of morality at the same time. It was almost as if she was presenting her naked body before Ash’s eyes, making Eco feel too embarrassed to…

—N-No…! If Ash is going to continue to ride me, I will…!

Tears welled up in Eco’s eyes as she contorted her body.

“Uoooooooooooooooooh!”

She couldn’t stop herself from issuing a roar that quaked through the air. That tremendous roar even dispelled all of the clouds that previously obscured the stars. Eco lost balance of her body, and she almost fell over. She used her left and right forelimbs to support her body, triggering a sudden earthquake. Clouds of dust slowly filled the air as a result. This phenomenon allowed Eco to once again realise just how incredible her body was.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

Perhaps having made the mistaken thought that Eco had gone mad, some students issued shrill screams.

—Ahh, geez! Why is it like this…ah!

“Eco! I’m here, don’t be afraid!”

At that moment, Ash spoke out to Eco with the same misunderstanding. His powerful will as a Dragonar was injected into Eco’s body. It was almost as if the roots of a large tree had dug down and intertwined with the earth. Ash had done his best in an attempt to get Eco to obey him.

—N-No, Ash! If you do this, then I’ll…!

However, since it was impossible for her to throw Ash off her head, Eco felt distressed. It felt as though she was deeply integrated together with Ash. Although Eco felt somewhat ashamed, she also felt an unbelievably sweet pleasure at the same time. As soon as a rush of excitement hit her, she began to feel comforted by it. A feeling of numbness wallowed in the depths of her stomach.

–Wahh…! W-Why…does it feel so comfortable! N-No…Ash, he wants to go deep…into my body…inside……!

The core of her body quickly began to feel soft. It almost felt as though Ash’s body was constantly tumbling about within Eco’s body. The immense pleasure that Eco felt caused her to even momentarily forget about the crisis threatening the country’s survival. She barely managed to stabilise her rationality and call out to Navi.

—Hey, Navi! What is this feeling? You’re the Dragweiss, so you should know! Ah!

With a smile, Navi answered

—This is the power of ‘The Boy Who Can Ride Any Dragon’. In the past, all of the dragons ridden by him have been conquered by this pleasure, and they were obedient to him.

—What did you say!? If that’s the case, I’ll have to forbid him from riding other dragons from now on! I-It’s such a depraved feeling…ah! I won’t allow it! Kuh!

—You’ll soon get used to it. In any case, the more you refuse to combine with Ash, the more you’ll be affected by Ash’s will as a Dragonar to subdue you. I suggest that you don’t think too much about the minor details, and open your heart to fully accept Ash.

—Uhhh…

Although she wasn’t fully convinced, what Navi said certainly did make sense. Eco recalled all of the days that she spent engrossed in training as she concentrated with all her might.

Part 8

“Phew…”

Seeing the emotionally swayed Eco regain her calm, Ash finally breathed a sigh of relief. Raising the volume of his voice, he bellowed out to those below

“Everything’s okay!”

The students below immediately showered them with warm applause. After all, it was only natural that no one dared to step forward when it seemed like Eco was almost out of control. And then, Rebecca’s voice resounded through the night sky

“The future of the Knight Country rests in your hands. We’re counting on you!”

Silvia waved her hand as she shouted

“I wish you the best of luck!”

Jessica also raised her voice as she cried

“Just this once, I ask you to please protect Ash-sama, Eco!”

Lucca also spoke up with an unusually loud voice to express her support for Ash.

“I will prepare Ecbald herbal tea…it’ll be waiting for you when you come back!”

Standing amidst the student council members, Raymond gave a thumbs up as he shouted

“Ash, you have to save Brigid for me as well!”

“Please go on a date with me when you come back safely, Ashley!”

Max pushed Raymond aside as he shouted that out from the bottom of his lungs. Lately, it seemed as though his serious image was constantly being tarnished — and Ash couldn’t help but make a wry smile in response. Following the lead of Rebecca and the others, the remaining students also began to send them off with cheers. The students who had been scared for their lives due to Eco were now enthusiastically waving. The warm atmosphere that they produced was no lesser than what it had been during the climax of the Dragon Riding festival.

“Can you fly, Eco?”

After Ash asked, Eco raised her neck and looked toward the night sky. It was as though her answer was ‘Who do you think I am?’. With a flap, Eco spread her wings wide. Rather than the wings of a dragon, they seemed more like the wings of an angel. The night sky was filled with silver particles. The excess magic that overflowed from her body crystallised into extremely small Bright Dragon Crystals that drifted down from the sky like snowflakes. The spectacle caused all of the students to exclaim in amazement.

—The ‘Avalon Princess’ certainly isn’t just a hollow name!

Ash also felt truly proud and honoured. With this mixture of feelings swirling inside him, Ash shouted

“Let’s go, Eco!”

Letting off a majestic roar, Eco flew up high toward the stars in the sky—.

“Fly Up in the Air ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Chapter 8 - The Knight Who Drives a Maestro On

Part 1

—High up in the air, at the border between the Chevron Kingdom and the Knight Country.

The magic ship Claíomh Solais hovered through the air like an eagle eyeing prey below it. There were many other small magic ships which surrounded it on all sides, acting as a convoy. The main force of the Chevron Kingdom had gathered in this airspace. Uriel and Cassandra were in a particular room of the Claíomh Solais. Not long ago, they had both received a report that the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> had departed from Ansarivan and was marching north. Uriel savoured the taste of the finely aged red wine in his glass as a grin surfaced on his face.

“Next, we just have to wait for the Order of Holy Dragonars protecting the capital to come out, and victory will be in our grasp. Even one as strong as Cú Chulainn is unable to resist the command of Kriemhild. The Order of Holy Dragonars may be renowned, but they are still vulnerable.”

“They shouldn’t be capable of doing any more than watching as their Pals fall into the hands of others.”

Cassandra faintly smiled. She wore a cut-out evening dress which emphasised her cleavage while she leisurely relaxed on the leather sofa. Despite being a princess, the vibe that she gave off was closer to that of a prostitute. Even so, she maintained a certain distance from Prince Uriel.

“I wonder how the next event will develop.”

“After Kriemhild takes command of most dragons in the Knight Country, I’ll order her to destroy Fontaine City first. Then it will be time for me to make my appearance.”

“I see. At that time, you’ll lead the Kingdom’s army into Fontaine City — under the guise of protecting the people of Fontaine City from the deadly dragons which are attacking them. Besides, so long as Kriemhild orders it, the dragons will stop their destruction…fufu, no one would suspect that it was all directed by you.”

“Those ignorant civilians will all welcome me as their saviour. Regardless of the era, people always love a hero.”

“The only thing worth keeping an eye on now is the whereabouts of Ash Blake and the young dragon Eco, as well as Oscar and Tristan.”

“Worry not. Even if Eco and Tristan join forces to launch a counterattack, the difference between the two sides will be worlds apart once Kriemhild takes control of the Order of Holy Dragonars. It’s not even worth worrying about.”

“Is that so?”

“Moreover, Klaus has already taken action against Ash Blake and Eco. The power of the Avalon Princess is certainly attractive — but it’s a shame that there are too many uncertain factors.”

“Fontaine City was almost turned into a pile of ashes by her.”

Cassandra brought up the incident that occurred earlier this summer when Klaus forcefully awakened Eco, causing Fontaine City to fall into a crisis.

“Exactly. It’s better to simply get rid of the Avalon Princess. The Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family has already lost all value, after all, I have you by my side now.”

“To be precise, it’s not me — but the Dark Dragon King attached to my body, right?”

As she made a seductive smile, Cassandra stroked her abdomen. It was almost as though she was a pregnant mother speaking to the unborn child in her belly.

Part 2

In the Fontainia Plains that surrounded the capital of Fontaine City, there was a slightly taller hill at the southern end. Built on top of that hill was a stronghold known as Kingsley Fortress. If enemy forces broke through it, the path to the capital would be wide open, leaving it completely defenceless. That was why it was truly the final fortress. The guards who stood watch at the sentry tower looked through their binoculars as they cried out

“Enemy figures confirmed! Distance of two thousand! Estimated numbers…eight hundred!”

Under the cover of the night, the demonic dragon troops which marched northward without rest finally invaded the Fontainia Plains. The Lautreamont Order of Holy Dragons had already gathered around the fortress. The squadron that Ursula L. Selwyn commanded had a total of five hundred knights. The Pals of all of those knights were Maestros. Included within this group of five hundred knights was Veronica’s personal guard which was led by Glenn. He had come to fight under Veronica’s orders.

In contrast, the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> had four Maestros, around three hundred Stradas, around three hundred Asias, and approximately two hundred Hydras. Although their numbers were inferior to their adversaries, the Order had an overwhelming advantage in terms of combat power. Even if a group of average dragons were assembled together, they weren’t nearly as strong as a Maestro. Moreover, because the enemy’s Hydra troops travelled upstream along the Astraea River which ran through the Knight Country, rather than across the plains, they were separated from the main force. This river had a tributary named the Durham River which ran through the centre of Fontaine City. A total of two hundred Hydras attempted to make their way into the capital via this waterway. Naturally, a Hydra unit belonging to the lower ranks of the Order was also sent to the Astraea River. There was also a Strada unit responsible for patrolling the airspace above the capital, and an Asia unit for patrolling the city.

At first glance, although it seemed as though the Knight Country had the upper hand, there were actually two major concerns. One of those was the Knight Country could not kill any of the dragons that had fallen into enemy hands. These dragons had originally formed a contract with the students of Ansarivan’s Academy. This meant that their objective was not to kill them, but to return them to normal. In addition, the act of dragon slaying had always been regarded as the gravest taboo in the Knight Country. Anyone who took the life of a dragon was fated to be given the stigma of a Dragon Slayer, just like Prince Julius. The second problem was the method with which the enemy controlled the dragons. According to the latest information that they had received from Ansarivan, the enemy had used a strange kind of magic — they appeared to use the voice of a girl as a medium for controlling the dragons. If the sound of a song was enough to control the soul of a dragon, then countermeasures were first necessary. Riding the Maestro Galahad, Ursula shouted to the entire army with vigour

“We have information that the enemy will use a strange song to charm all of the dragons. When our forces advance, make sure that you use magic to build a protective barrier that blocks all sound waves.”

Gazing at her heroic glow — Captain Ursula, often regarded as a reincarnation of Saint Rosa Maria, caused all members of the Order to rally and shout for her.

Part 3

After seeing the appearance of the holy relic that sat at the bottom of the underground city, Oscar was rendered speechless. Anya and Celes couldn’t stop their lips from quivering as they looked up at it either. It was as though they were believers of a faith who had a chance encounter with god on a pilgrimage. Eunice was the only one who maintained a calm manner as she brewed black tea for Mirabel. Even though they had made a breakthrough, it seemed as though tea was still necessary.

“It truly is amazing…!”

It was rare to see Mirabel show such interest in anything, and her excitement was made clear by how her body trembled. It was the first time that Oscar and the others had seen Mirabel with such an ecstatic expression, a clear contrast from her usually cold demeanour. What appeared before all of them was an ancient magic ship. According to Mirabel, the magic ship was from a super-ancient civilisation — a legacy of the Zono Ton Civilisation. Ancient text was painted on the side of the ship, and the pronunciation of it seemed to be something along the lines of ‘Escavaron’. Mirabel explained that it was likely to be the name of that magic ship. However, the most striking thing of all was that the entire magic ship seemed to have been preserved in pristine condition. Whether it was the Kingdom’s Claíomh Solais or the Knight Country’s Silvanus, both of their hulls had been manufactured through modern means, and only the internal machinery used components that had been excavated from ancient ruins. This was also the case for the Holy Espada Agency’s prided holy magic ship, the Esperanza. Oscar had never once heard of a magic ship that was in such good condition that it seemed untouched. Having said that, is this old antique really the key for us to return to the surface? Oscar couldn’t help but feel doubtful. However, Mirabel turned to face everyone, and declared in a completely natural manner

“Let’s all find the entrance first. We don’t have any more time to waste. This is a dire situation, and our only chance at survival lies with this magic ship.”

“The situation may be dire, but how do we do it…? Your Highness Mirabel, surely you do not believe that this thing will move, right?”

Although Oscar asked in jest, Mirabel replied with a solemn tone

“Generally speaking, the Millennium Bright Dragon Crystals used as a power source should contain a vast amount of energy. As far as the outer appearance is concerned, the preservation of the hull is excellent, so there is a high possibility that it will be able to function normally.”

After Mirabel calmly finished her analysis, she strode towards it. Regardless of the era, the design of magic ships didn’t seem to differ too much, and so Mirabel was easily able to locate the entrance at the side of the hull. After Mirabel pressed the button that she suspected of being the one, the entrance opened. The exterior section which appeared no different from the hull’s wall slid open, revealing the entrance. Mirabel stepped through the rectangular hole that stood before her without any hesitation.

After Oscar ordered Tristan to keep watch outside, she followed the others in. Naturally, the interior of the ship was pitch-black, thus Oscar used an Oracle to illuminate their surroundings. After walking down a narrow passageway, they arrived at an area that appeared to be the bridge. After continuing up a spiral staircase, they arrived at the very top of the magic ship. Obstructing the path in front of them all was — a rather sturdy looking metal door. An abstract pattern was engraved onto the surface of the door, and it seemed to somewhat resemble a royal emblem. Oscar was well-acquainted with all of the family crests of every noble house across the continent, yet it was the first time that she had laid eyes upon that emblem. If one had to liken it to something, the emblem seemed to have a slight resemblance to the <Seikoku> on Ash’s left arm.

“This should be the cockpit.”

Mirabel stepped toward the unknown territory, and fearlessly began to investigate her surroundings. After a moment, she stumbled upon a switch and pressed it. The large door smoothly slid open, inviting them all in. As soon as Oscar stepped in, she couldn’t help but admire the sight before her eyes. Celes and Anya also gawked at their surroundings with widened eyes. Only Eunice showed signs of indecision as she seemed a bit lost as for where to push the trolley for brewing black tea that she had somehow brought along. There were glass windows in front and on both sides which allowed them to overlook the scenery outside the ship. Various complicated controls and devices covered the walls and panels beneath the windows. Once Mirabel stood in front of the operating controls, she began to investigate each of the devices, seemingly at random. This was something that Oscar was powerless with, even if she did want to help, and so she was forced to simply watch Mirabel from behind. Anya probed around near the steering column, Celes appeared to yawn out of boredom, and when Eunice finally decided on where to position the tea trolley, she prepared to brew another pot of black tea. After a short while — Mirabel dropped her shoulders in apparent disappointment as she slumped into what seemed like the captain’s seat. Her depressed look was a far cry from her usual expression.

“Your Highness Mirabel, what is the matter?”

After Oscar asked that in puzzlement, Mirabel blankly stared straight up at the ceiling.

“…I’m lost. I’ve finally been able to determine that the magic engine is still operational, but I can’t find the key to launching this magic ship’s system…what else could be missing?”

After saying that, Mirabel isolated herself in silence and refused to speak another word. Even though Eunice had brewed a pot of black tea for her, Mirabel remained lost in thought and she didn’t even glance at her favourite black tea. A gloomy atmosphere soon descended upon the cockpit.

Part 4

In Fontaine City — someone knocked on the door of the castle office. Veronica did not turn her eyes away from the window which overlooked a view of the capital, and she simply said

“You may enter.”

“Princess-sama.”

The one who entered the room was the personal maid of her father, Frieda Shelley. As soon as she noticed Frieda’s expression, Veronica was able to understand what had transpired.

“…I see. So even the Order of Holy Dragonars has been defeated?”

“Yes. Kingsley Fortress has fallen. The enemy has taken control of all five hundred Maestros that the Order rode for their own army, turning them into a large brigade with more than thirteen hundred dragons. At present, the status of the knights that Captain Ursula led is unknown. The group including Captain Glenn whom you ordered to help out at Kingsley Fortress is also…”

“I didn’t think that knights as strong as even Ursula and Glenn would be defeated so easily…”

“Captain Ursula’s combat strategy was to have the dragons deploy a wind-based magic barrier to try and block the sound waves emitted by the enemy…but the voice of that girl on the enemy’s side seemed to be transmitted directly into the dragons’ minds.”

“So this is as far as—”

Watching as Veronica sighed, Frieda spoke resolutely in a plain tone

“Princess-sama, please retreat immediately. Although your personal guard may not be here, we maids of the Shelley family vow to protect you, even if comes at the price of our lives.”

“I refuse.”

“Princess-sama!”

When Frieda yelled, Veronica exposed a gentle smile and then placed her hand on Frieda’s shoulder.

“It is fine, Frieda. You should know that I, Veronica Lautreamont, would never run away from an enemy.”

“In that case, at least…allow me to accompany you as a retainer…”

“…You fool.”

Although Veronica whispered such a complaint, she did not openly refuse. Concluding her conversation with Frieda, she stared out the window once more. The bad news of danger descending upon the city had been spread to all of its residents. While sirens rang out across the city, roads became crowded with people who all tried to board dragon carriages, horse-drawn carriages, as well as some citizens who tried to pull their own carts along. On the other hand, fierce battles broke out just outside the city walls between the squadron of Hydras which attempted to invade the city via the Durham River and the knight squadrons.

Beyond the chaotic city — the moon which hung in the sky cast a pale light over the Fontainia Plains, illuminating the figures of various dragons. A grey cloud of dust trailed behind the dragons on land as they mightily marched closer to the city. Veronica could also feel the shockwaves which rippled across the earth. The singing voice of that girl on the enemy’s side had yet to affect the urban area of the city. However, if the enemy’s advance continued, the defence team protecting the capital would soon face the same fate as the Order of Holy Dragonars. At that moment, the dragon leading the enemy’s army suddenly sped up, and after breaking off from the larger group, it began to accumulate magical energy. Veronica felt goose bumps as a warning signal from her instincts. Frieda also seemed to have an ominous premonition, and she took out a pair of binoculars as she rushed to the window to investigate.

“Princess-sama! That dragon’s fur may be painted black, but that is indeed Lancelot!”

“Wh…!”

Veronica gnashed her teeth.

“To think that they would send Silvia’s Pal to the forefront…how vile…!”

Veronica complained with a rarely-seen voice of agony as her expression turned bitter. Despite anticipating the general flow of the situation, Veronica was reluctant to simply sit still, and so she prepared to take hold of her favourite great sword to put up some resistance—. But at the last moment, she allowed her fingertips to slip away from the hilt. And then — Lancelot let loose an Azul Ex-Blizzard. An ice-blue blast rocketed straight toward the spire of Fontaine’s castle, and a blinding glare smothered Veronica’s vision.

“I love you, Silvia…”

Just as those words were about to accompany the last breath of the valiant <Ironblood Valkyrie> — First Princess Veronica Lautreamont…

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh…!!!”

Along with a roar that seemed as though it could tear the night asunder — a majestic and grandiose figure beyond all belief descended outside the city walls. It was a dragon of extraordinary size, greater than even that of the castle itself. With three horns, crimson red eyes, and a regal stance — it was precisely the same dragon that had brought disaster to Fontaine City in the summer of this year.

—Boom!

With a single swipe of her forelimb, the offensive magic was deflected — the magic carved out a beautiful parabola in the night sky before it fell onto a plain and exploded, turning that area into frozen tundra.

“Is that…Eco…!?”

Veronica immediately lifted her face and snatched Frieda’s binoculars for herself and looked through them in shock. On top of the dragon’s head was a student wearing the boys’ uniform of Dragonar Academy—.

“It’s Ash Blake! Does that mean he’s managed to control Eco…!?”

Veronica could do nothing but stare at Ash and Eco in amazement.

Part 5

The <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> which had absorbed a force of five hundred Maestros was only a short distance of several hundred metres away from the walls of the capital, Fontaine City.

“Why!? Why has the Avalon Princess appeared in this place…!?”

Responsible for the army’s rear guard, Klaus couldn’t help but clench his fists as he stood on top of Cú Chulainn’s head. The Dragonised Eco was like an impenetrable wall as she positioned her own enormous body in front of Fontaine City to act as a shield. Klaus had also been able to confirm with his naked eye that someone was riding on Eco’s head. Although he was too far to make out their appearance, it was probably Ash Blake given that he was riding on Eco.

—Ash and Eco.

The destruction of Klaus’ airship, the Beowulf, was the incident which had caused his status and position within his country to fall tremendously. And the culprits behind that incident now stood in his way.

“The special task force failed huh…!”

Klaus cursed in disdain. According to his original plan, Ash and Eco should already have been captured as prisoners of war.

“Master, what should I do now?”

Kriemhild temporarily stopped singing, and turned to ask him that question with a blank expression. Her emotionless face only further provoked Klaus’ fury. Klaus yelled out as if a bout of madness had engulfed his entire being

“You have the gall to ask such a stupid question!? Your task is to control all dragons and have them fall to your dominion! Eco is also a dragon, so use your voice to overpower her! She is the reason for your existence!”

“…Understood, Master. I shall sing with all my strength.”

The two Pluto beneath her mask let off an even stronger glow than before—.

Part 6

The <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> which had seemingly fallen into chaos due to Eco’s appearance began to charge forth like an avalanche as soon as Kriemhild’s voice pierced through the air. The thirteen hundred dragons moved in an orderly arrangement.

—Such power…!

Eco was stunned. Even though her appearance had transformed into that of Avalon’s Holy Dragon Emperor, she was still the young girl Eco on the inside who was accustomed to school life on the campus. The sense of incongruity between her mind and body was still unreconciled. Even now, she was unable to erase the feeling that she was simply sitting inside a large shell and controlling its movements. Moreover, Kriemhild’s song constantly attacked Eco’s mind as well. The reason why she was able to preserve her sanity was probably in part thanks to her royal blood as a descendant of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family. Pluto was originally a weapon developed by Nehalennia’s Dark Dragons’ King Family. In other words, Pluto had the attribute of being a polar opposite to Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family. Therefore, it seemed likely that the <Demonic Attribute> of Pluto was offset by Eco’s innate <Holy Attribute>.

The horde of demonic dragons kicked up a grey dust storm as they approached. The screams which were like cries of madness and the roars which were like ripples of an earthquake only deepened the fear within Eco’s heart. Perhaps noticing Eco’s distress, Ash shouted from atop her head

“Don’t be afraid, Eco! They’ve all just fallen under the influence of Pluto. As long as you call out to them, they’ll definitely turn back into the gentle dragons that they originally were!”

After Ash shouted those words of support, Navi also offered some words of advice from the Dragon Workshop.

—First, use defensive magic to enshroud Fontaine City! With the power of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor, you should definitely be able to do it!

—I understand…I really want to say that, but the problem is that I’ve never used magic!

—Do not worry. You only need to follow my lead and repeat the spell’s chant once.

—…T-Thank you, Navi.

—There is no need to thank me. So long as you desire it, you can integrate yourself with me, and thus all of the magic recorded in the Dragweiss will be free for you to use. But, both you and Ash see me as a companion…so if there’s anything that I can do for you two, I’m happy to do so.

Strictly speaking, Eco didn’t particularly like Navi in the past, but she now found her incredibly reliable. Eco thought that if the status quo was maintained, Navi could continue to provide strong support, and things would turn out fine even if the two of them didn’t merge.

—Alright, look at me then!

Eco thought as she expelled a valiant roar.

Part 7

After Eco released an extraordinary roar, Ash couldn’t help but turn and look at Fontaine City behind them. There was a gigantic magic circle which floated above the city, letting off a brilliant radiance. A vast amount of magic instantly shaped itself into a dome-shaped shield, covering the entire city. Ash had seen a fair number of defensive magic barriers from dragons in the past, but it was the first time that he had seen magic which could be deployed on a city-wide scale. It was probably an ability that only Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor was capable of. The winged dragons, the Stradas which had already flown over Eco’s head and attempted to attack the city were suddenly blocked out. Although they appeared to be trying their best to destroy the dome-shaped magic barrier, their attacks didn’t surmount to even a scratch against it.

“…You’re amazing, Eco!”

Ash couldn’t stop himself from offering such words of praise to Eco, but—

“Ugh…!”

Intense pain suddenly struck the wounds on his shoulders, chest and sides. Beads of cold sweat quickly ran down his forehead. But he refused to kneel down at such a time. Eco had successfully Dragonised, and she was fighting hard to protect the capital, and to protect the country. As her knight, he couldn’t allow himself to be taken down by one or two mere injuries, especially at such a crucial moment. At that moment, Navi’s voice resounded within Ash’s mind.

—Be careful, Ash. For the time being, I don’t think there’s any need to worry about the safety of the capital…but you’re still wounded right now. I think you should leave this to Eco, and head into the city to take refuge first—

Although Ash felt happy about Navi’s well-intentioned concern, he endured the pain as he replied

“Thank you, Navi. But my injuries are a trivial matter compared to all of the obstacles that Eco has managed to overcome.”

Ash boldly looked down at the large army that had begun their advance towards them.

“I won’t run away! I want to fight alongside Eco!”

Part 8

The <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> had finally made it to the area right in front of Eco. Just as Navi said, even though the main target of Fontaine City lay right before them, the troops which had been blocked off directed all of their firepower toward Eco, who had become gigantic.

—Hexagonal Shield!

Eco activated magic once more, and constructed a sturdy barrier in front of herself. This was also another high-level type of magic. Although it was something that she had only just learnt through a crash course with Navi, Eco was instantly able to deploy a shield composed of a countless number of hexagons. The barrier was of such a grand scale that it almost matched Eco in height. Needless to say, Ash who rode on top of Eco’s head was also covered by its protection.

—Zoooooooooooooon!

The dragons began ramming into the barrier at high speeds, resulting in deafening bangs and frequent tremors. The colourless and transparent surface of the wall absorbed all of their attacks and emitted frequent flashes of light with each point of contact. The Hexagonal Shield was just barely able to withstand the combined assault of the dragons. However, a single failure didn’t deter the dragons, and they continued to collide against it over and over again.

—Please, everyone! Please hurry and remember your true selves!

Eco desperately cried with a roar. However, even though Eco roared until her throat became coarse, the dragons showed no sign of stopping. On the contrary, their attacks grew fiercer, and they continued their assault against the Hexagonal Shield. Some dragons chose to ram their bodies against the barrier incessantly, while others used offensive magic against it. In particular, the dragons which originally belonged to the Order of Holy Dragonars were all top-notch Maestros. Every single one of their moves packed immense destructive power. Just as Eco felt that the barrier would eventually give way, three Maestros broke through the barrier with a concentrated assault.

—This is bad!

Although Eco immediately repaired the hole, those three dragons that had made it through charged directly at her body. Eco quickly realised that those three were Lancelot, Gawain, and Arianrhod. Even though their entire bodies had been smothered with a black coat, Eco was still able to recognise them based on the characteristics of their figures. After the three dragons rapidly ascended into the air, they began to circle above her head.

“You guys…!”

The three dragons issued intimidating growls while the one that they gazed upon with malicious stares was—

—Ash.

Part 9

Located behind the large army, Klaus stood on top of Cú Chulainn’s head with a lively expression on his face.

“Hmph. That’s it, that’s right! As long as you can kill the Dragonar, even the Avalon Princess will become helpless without Astral Flow!”

With this, I’ll be able to take my revenge on Ash Blake and the young dragon Eco. I’ll then join hands with Prince Uriel, and the road to fame and power will lie open…!

Klaus’ entire body was enraptured with a sensation of mad joy.

“Kriemhild, it’s almost time to sing the finale!”

Under Klaus’ orders — Kriemhild’s singing finally approached its apex.

Part 10

Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod — when these three dragons appeared in front of Ash, he immediately shouted

“Eco! Don’t touch them!”

Ash looked up at the three Maestros which hovered above him in the sky, and he spread his arms wide to show them that he held no hostility.

“You three. Do you really…not remember who I am?”

Ash shouted to them in a sincere tone. In contrast, those three dragons made explicit displays of their hostility as they let off low-pitched growls. It was possible for them to attack Ash at any moment. Ash first called out to Lancelot which was in the centre and tried to sway it with emotion

“Lancelot. I still remember that when the enormous Necromancia appeared in the city, you let me ride on your back. It was all thanks to the help of you and Princess-sama that I was able to defeat the Necromancia. During the summer break, I also rode on your back and we went to the Albion Church together, remember? It felt like we were going out on a trip, and it made me so happy. And in the Dragonar’s Gunnar Bout, you finally bestowed your Ark to Princess-sama, didn’t you? Are you really willing to let someone manipulate you with such lowly trickery?”

Ash then turned his attention towards Gawain.

“Gawain, I haven’t known you for a long time, and you hurt me pretty badly when we first met…but everything that we experienced together in the Selective Training Camp is a precious memory to me. Although there was a Necromancia appearance back then as well, and the situation was critical…we were able to overcome that difficulty thanks to everything that you and Lucca did. Please don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten those feelings when you completed your first Dragon Riding Dance together with Lucca!”

Just as Ash was about to shift his focus to Arianrhod — he suddenly coughed.

“Kuh…!”

The palm of his hand that he scarcely covered his mouth with had been dyed red. The aftertaste of blood remained in his mouth, he grew short of breath, and his heartrate also accelerated as a strange coldness prickled against his body.

—This might actually get pretty bad if I can’t make things right this time…

Even though there was the risk that he could pass out at any moment, Ash mustered the willpower to keep himself awake.

“Arianrhod. Because Max is always so stiff, I haven’t had many shared experiences with you…but Max, Raymond and I are practically inseparable. Even though it’s clear that our three personalities, preferences and grades are completely different, the strange thing is that we all get along. It’s always me and Raymond who do stupid things and then get scolded by Max…it’s truly been so much fun…”

Before he even realised, Ash had begun to cry. Tears constantly rolled down his cheeks, and with his vision blurred, even the outlines of those three Maestros had become faint. Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod still looked at Ash with the same fierce glares though, much like a congregation of animosity. 

“““Guooooooooooooooooooooh!”””

The three dragons unrelentingly roared in unison, their cries an embodiment of pure aggression—.

Part 11

—Ash!

Eco was no longer able to endure, and she prepared to launch a counterattack against the Maestros hovering above her head with a breath attack. Even though they were precious comrades, she couldn’t sit still and allow them to kill Ash. After using that defensive magic, Eco had gained a certain degree of awareness about how powerful her own magic was. Even if she cut her destructive power down to the minimum, there was still a chance that it would cause fatal injuries to Lancelot and the others. Even if it was possible that she might inadvertently kill them, if it was for the sake of protecting Ash—

“Wait! Eco!”

Just as Eco was about to begin, Ash screamed out again and told her to stop, confusing Eco. It was only after Eco directed her gaze at Lancelot that she noticed all three of the dragons were acting strange. Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod all appeared to be struggling in pain. Although they managed to remain in the air, it seemed as though they could fall at a moment’s notice.

—What is happening?

In bewilderment, Eco witnessed the moment of their change. The jet-black fur of Lancelot and the other two dragons gradually turned back into a silvery-white sheen. After a short while, they regressed to their beautiful Maestro forms. There was no longer any trace of hostility toward Ash and Eco in those eyes of theirs. And in that moment, Eco received a message from Navi in her mind.

[This is a truly unexpected result. The <Avalon Knight> certainly has a way with things. Perhaps Ash is the key to reversing this predicament.]

“What are you saying!? Can’t you see that Ash’s body is about to collapse!?”

[Calm down first, Eco. Right now, you must do you best to help Ash exert his greatest strength.]

“…Even if you say that, what am I supposed to do?”

[It goes without saying. This is the moment for you to bestow your complete Ark to Ash.]

“I can’t do it!”

Even though Eco immediately refused, Navi was unconvinced.

[Don’t be afraid. You’re the Avalon Princess now, and you’ve already fully awakened. All limits and restrictions have been released. The same is true of your ability to be a creator.]

Confidence began to fill her up as she listened to Navi’s words, and for a moment, Eco almost believed it, but she eventually dismissed those thoughts. Even if she succeeded in creating a perfect Ark for Ash, he was currently severely injured. If there was even the slightest mistake, the armour could take Ash’s life away…! Perhaps understanding Eco’s worry, Navi offered her some firm assurance.

[A complete Ark will never burden a knight’s body. Moreover, a complete Ark should be the first priority to protect a knight.]

“Is that so…?”

So all of the burden that Ash had endured in the past was caused by her own immaturity — Eco was saddened by this truth, but it was not the time for her to lose sight of her purpose. Eco cheered herself up. Now was the time for her to bequeath the perfect Ark to Ash, in order to make Ash a perfect <Avalon Knight>. Instantly, an image appeared in Eco’s mind. The image was so sharp and clear that even Eco felt surprised. In her mind, Eco was able to imagine the heroic manner in which the <Avalon Knight> rode atop her Dragonised form in the air. It was the ideal image that Eco hoped for Ash to become. Just a few days ago, Eco had struggled just to draw a sketch of an Ark. However, that bitterness was like a fabrication now, and a clear and fixed blueprint had manifested in her mind.

“Could this be…!”

[That’s right. This is the shape of the Ark that you must bestow upon Ash. Well done, Eco.]

“…I really don’t want to merge with you.”

[Did you say something?]

“I was talking to myself! Alright, I’m going to begin!”

After Eco focused her mind, she began to gather all of the magical energy in her body.

Part 12

Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod — after the three Maestros came back to their senses, they took up the role of guarding Ash on all sides. As soon as a demonic dragon broke through the magic barrier, they would immediately move forward and engage them. They also contributed with their own magic to repair damage to the shield. Seeing the braveness and vigour of Lancelot and the others, courage began to rise up within Ash. Even though his entire body suffered from severe pain, he couldn’t fall now. However, the problem was that the most important person right now, Eco, had gone silent for a while, and Ash couldn’t help but feel worried as he noticed this.

“What’s wrong, Eco!?”

Ash persistently tried to converse with her, but Eco simply stood still on the spot, motionless as she stared straight ahead. However, it was clear that Eco’s entire body was gathering magical energy.

Does she have some kind of countermeasure?

Suddenly, Eco roared loudly toward the night sky.

“Eco…?”

The strange thing was that no aggression could be felt from that roar. It seemed the origin of the roar was not rooted in anger. Rather, it actually sounded more like it was a blessing for something.

But faced with this unfavourable dilemma, what exactly is Eco trying to bless?

At that moment, Eco gently flapped her wings and took off into the air. Ash’s hair also swayed with the wind as they ascended. After departing from the ground, Eco hovered in the sky above Fontaine City. Ash was able to overlook even the spire of Fontaine Castle, and he could vaguely also see Veronica standing by the window. Lancelot, Gawain and Arianrhod also took action — they hovered in mid-air around her like loyal followers. Seeing the jet-black demonic dragons try to pursue them, Eco unleashed a mighty roar. It was a fierce roar that allowed one to sense the iron will behind it. Even under the influence of Pluto, the demonic dragons flinched in fright, and they didn’t dare to advance any further. At that time, the <Seikoku> on Ash’s left arm let out a burst of dazzling light. The unusual heat that he felt on his left arm made him wonder whether his left arm would burn off. In fact, the sleeve and bandages that covered his <Seikoku> had burned to ashes in the blink of an eye. Eco’s voice was transmitted through the burning <Seikoku> on his arm.

—Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

That voice was undoubtedly the same as when Eco recited the chant to bestow his Ark. However, it wasn’t entirely the same as it was in the past. The weight of each and every word felt much heavier than it had ever been. Eco’s unwavering willpower could be felt in every word.

—Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It didn’t feel rushed or flippant as it did before. Eco’s calmness seemed beyond belief, and it was almost as if she already had immense confidence. Perhaps in fear of her mighty presence, all of the demonic dragons stopped moving or flying through the air as they settled on the ground and simply gazed up at Eco without batting an eyelid.

—Escarcelas, Bufetas, Hombreras…

Ash suddenly felt uneasy.

As I am now, do I have enough physical strength to wear the Ark that Eco has created for me…?

After all, the incomplete Ark had put a great burden on Ash’s body in the past. Somehow though, the confidence in Eco’s chant unconsciously eliminated all of the doubts in Ash’s mind after a while.

—Brazales, Codales, Antebrazos…

Surprisingly, whenever Eco chanted the name of each part of the armour, Ash felt that corresponding part of his body pulsate. For example, Ash felt a jolt in his chest when she said ‘Peto’, and his shoulders also jolted when she said ‘Hombreras’.

—Manoplas, Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas, Escarpes…

Eco’s chant gradually approached the end, and her speed also increased along with it. The various parts of Ash’s body continued to pulsate, and even the tips of his fingers were not exempt to this. The pattern of his <Seikoku> also quietly expanded to cover his entire body. The sensation of it was almost as though a circuit had been carved upon his flesh.

—Espolón!

And then, a powerful flash obscured everything in Ash’s field of vision.

Part 13

Oscar was struck by surprise as she watched the lights on the control panel switch on without warning, and the main system start up on its own.

“Your Highness Mirabel, what has happened!?”

“Don’t panic, just stay calm.”

Even though Mirabel had told Oscar to remain calm, she also had trouble hiding the confusion on her face. After standing up front the captain’s seat, she stood in front of the centre console. Oscar quietly looked around beside her. Celes and Anya also peered over from behind. Eunice was the only one who tried to keep a teacup warm. Upon the centre console — the words ‘Avalon Knight Dragner’ emerged and flickered.

“…Avalon Knight Dragner? What does that mean?”

While Oscar remained puzzled by it, Mirabel calmly answered

“It should be a key phrase related to the <Avalon Knight>…but it seems superfluous. ‘Knight’ itself carries the meaning of a knight, but the extra word ‘Dragner’ — simply refers to a dragon-riding knight, a Dragonar.”

“It does certainly feel a bit redundant, but it sounds cool, doesn’t it?”

Mirabel stared at the side of Oscar’s face with a puzzled expression.

“I just can’t understand how you boys think…”

Upon hearing this, Oscar recalled that she hadn’t yet told her about how she was merely cross-dressing.

“In any case, how should this phenomenon be explained? Could this magic ship have some kind of link to the <Avalon Knight> — or with Ash, in other words?”

“That could be a possibility. Though the question remains…why did the control panel start up at this exact point in time?”

“Perhaps something has happened on the surface…”

“If that’s true, then it’s best we hurry.”

After Mirabel murmured that blankly, her fingers began to wander around the console. A series of short electronic noises continued to ring out. After a while — Mirabel turned around to look at everyone with an expression that was filled with confidence.

“The preparations are complete, so let’s get it started.”

After making a proud declaration, she returned to her spot in the captain’s seat.

“Umm…Your Highness Mirabel. Will this magic ship really move?”

Anya tilted her head as she asked.

“Didn’t I say so before? The ship has been fitted with Millennium.”

Although Oscar and the others still had somewhat dubious expressions, Mirabel gave no further answers and she simply issued orders.

“Very well, you should all find a spot to sit down in as well. The steering column…that would be most suitable for you, Anya.”

“M-Me!?”

Anya was stricken by dread as she gawked at Mirabel. After all, she had only driven military vehicles of the Imperial Army at best.

“Magic ship Escavaron, set sail—!”

Mirabel declared after having taken up the self-proclaimed role of captain.

Part 14

A crimson mantle fluttered in the night wind, swaying up and down like a wave. Ash found himself shining radiantly like a burning meteor.

“This is Eco’s Ark…!”

Ash looked down at his own body in awe. Although the overall colour was dominated by a silver-white tone, there were also ornaments or pure gold and crimson everywhere. The curves of each part of the armour were beautiful, and each piece was like a dazzling work of art. A work of art which seemed as though it was a craft of the gods — as if to symbolise this masterpiece, Eco’s firm will could be felt from every angle. Contrary to its heavy appearance, Ash was astonished to realise that he could hardly feel anything over his body. Its weight was extremely light, and it was only now that Ash realised that he had a helmet on his head. Ash felt more comfortable with it than he had before, and he even thought to himself ‘I wish there was a mirror in front of me’. More importantly, the Ark that he wore gave him warmth — it was almost as though Eco herself was holding him in a tight embrace. He could clearly feel that he was being protected by Eco. After equipping the Ark, Ash didn’t feel any burden on his body, and he could distinctly feel the pain across his entire body slowly dissipate as well. His consciousness which had grown dim was now crystal clear. Another thing that surprised Ash was how Eco had gone unusually silent after chanting the spell to create this Ark. Ash had thought that she would begin to boast, so it was only natural that he felt astonished when she became so quiet.

[Eco feels shy.]

At that time, Navi’s voice resounded in his mind. It was only when Navi reminded him that Ash noticed. Eco had started to writhe around a bit and she seemed rather fidgety. She looked indelibly embarrassed. Even though she had transformed into the magnificent form of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor, her shy look was no different from the usual Eco, and it was a rather amusing sight.

“Why is she shy…?”

[To dragons, bestowing an Ark upon their master is a proof of physical and mental dedication. Haven’t you learnt this?]

“Yeah, I think that was supposed to be the case…”

I see, so after properly bestowing her Ark, Eco is acting all jittery like this because of her sense of embarrassment as a dragon.

Ash kneeled down on one knee and gently touched the ground — no, he gently touched Eco’s head.

“Thank you, Eco. I have received your feelings.”

“Kyuuuun…”

Eco replied with a cute-sounding cry that seemed almost unfitting for a dragon.

[Congratulations. You’ve finally awakened as the <Avalon Knight Dragonar>.]

“Avalon Knight…what?”

[Don’t worry about that now, your priority is to return all of the dragons to normal! Quickly pull out Excalibur!]

“I know!”

Prompted by Navi, Ash summoned his own Ark Weapon.

“O all-conquering steel that slashes through all, the holy sword destined for the knight of all knights — its name is, Excalibur!”

A great sword that shone with divine light manifested. Perhaps due to the fact that his Ark had a gained a solid form, the treasured sword of Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family had also transformed into a shape that was different from its previous form, a statement to say that this was its true form. The appearance of the scabbard had become more beautiful, it felt more sacred, and its size was even greater than before. The crystal mounted on the golden hilt emitted a brilliance that Ash had never seen before, and his intuition told him that it was a Millennium. The instant that he gripped the sword with both hands, it felt as though the heat of the sun was scorching his hands. In the face of such a powerful weapon, Ash couldn’t help but grow a little fearful.

“Hey, Navi…I don’t think even dragons will be able to withstand the power of this sword. For the sake of everyone at the Academy and the Order of Holy Dragonars, I can’t kill them…”

[Don’t worry, Ash. The strength within you is far greater than you think. You will not use the holy sword to cut apart the flesh and blood of the dragons themselves. You need only cut off the curse that binds the dragons.]

“To be honest, I’m not all that confident…but I’m willing to try. Because that’s how I’ve always overcome the obstacles ahead, one step at a time.”

Ash widened his eyes as he gazed into the night. The <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> which had once been stunned by Eco continued their assault under the oppressive song of Kriemhild.

Part 15

Kriemhild continued to sing atop Cú Chulainn’s head, but even her throat was approaching its limit. Although it seemed as though she was singing, it felt more like an endless retching of blood to her. Even though the power of Pluto was limitless, the body of Kriemhild did not differ too much from that of an ordinary mortal. Indeed, in her childhood…Kriemhild was no more than an ordinary Imperial citizen. She was born into a small but wealthy family, and her father worked at an Imperial research institute. And ever since Kriemhild became a part of that small family, the three of them would always go to enjoy operas on every holiday — they were a picturesque example of a happy family. Kriemhild especially liked the opera named ‘Die Zauberflöte’, and she had also wanted to become an opera singer when she grew up.

But one day — Kriemhild lost her ability to see due to a horse-carriage accident. The accident occurred on her way home from the opera house in the capital — her parents had only suffered minor injuries, but Kriemhild was thrown out of the carriage and hit her head on the ground. After the accident, her parents continued to try and take their best care of her, but the situation changed not long afterward. Ever since her mother gave birth to a healthy younger sister, her attitude towards Kriemhild completely changed. As time pushed on, Kriemhild’s parents began to view her as a burden. At last, her parents left her in the care of a hospital affiliated with the Imperial Army, and they never visited her again. Kriemhild knew that she would be locked away in a prison-like hospital room forever, and that the remainder of her life would be meaningless. Her dream of becoming an opera singer slipped away like grains of sand falling through her fingertips, a fleeting illusion…. During that period of despair — on one particular day, the Count of the Vandenhaar border, Klaus, visited Kriemhild and presented her with a contract. He claimed that he had already received consent from both of her parents.

—It doesn’t matter if I can’t stand on a stage, so long as my own voice can be of use…

Encouraged by such thoughts, Kriemhild accepted Pluto and began to call Klaus ‘master’. Even if her actions were wrong, none of that mattered at this point. As long as she could give a performance on the stage that had been provided by her master, Kriemhild would sing — and continue to sing!

“Gah!”

Kriemhild finally coughed up blood. Her body swayed, and she was unable to remain steady on her feet. If she fell off this large dragon, it was unlikely that she would be able to escape death. Death is fine — Kriemhild thought. It was because she had been able to sing to her heart’s content, until she began to cough up blood. Tonight, she had truly become the <Queen of the Night>.

—I no longer have any lingering attachments to this world…

Instantly, her vision was dyed pure-white.

“Lies…this can’t be…!”

Kriemhild was tongue-tied, unable to utter a single word. Over the past decade, her vision that had been enclosed in darkness was now filled with light. Since her eyes had been replaced by Pluto, it was reasonable to conclude that she would never see anything again—. Caught in this pure-white world, Kriemhild realised something — the clothes that she had been wearing had vanished, and she was completely naked. However, Kriemhild was more concerned and reluctant to show others the Pluto in her eyes, rather than her naked body, so she covered her face with both hands. Between the gaps of her fingers, Kriemihild saw a lone boy. The heroic boy was dressed in brilliant and lustrous armour, and he looked like the quintessence of a legendary knight. Kriemhild immediately guessed that the boy who stood before her was Ash Blake. Ash drew a sword from its scabbard. Kriemhild thought to herself that the sword was surely the one known as Excalibur. Its radiant white and silver brilliance shone bright like a star. It would be no exaggeration to call the sword with exquisite engravings across the blade a treasure.

[I can finally see you…your name is Kriemhild, right?]

Despite clearly being an enemy, Ash’s expression was gentle and kind. Kriemhild silently nodded.

[Why are you doing this?]

“…Because I like singing. Because I want to sing. And, this is also for the sake of my master who saved me from imprisonment…”

[Do you truly believe that your actions are just? If the dragons attack the capital, all of the citizens living a peaceful life — those innocent people will instantly have their happiness stolen from them!]

“…Life to begin with is unpredictable and impermanent. I became blind due to an accident in my childhood, and I lost my dream and my parents. Tell me, what is the difference between the accident that took everything away from me and the disaster that is about to befall the people of Fontaine City?”

[I feel sympathy for the misfortune of your accident. My sympathy may not make sense…but if everyone pities themselves for their own misfortunes and tries to vent their emotions on other people, then there will be no end to the cycle of hatred, will there? And the point is, in doing so, you will not find salvation — Kriemhild.]

“Master has saved me once. I am already satisfied.”

[Is the master you refer to called Klaus? You’ve sacrificed yourself by singing until you bleed, and yet how has he treated you?]

“That is…”

Kriemhild allowed her consciousness to drift back to the real world. Through the imaginary space that the holy sword had created, Kriemhild was finally able to see the appearance of Klaus. Klaus gently placed his hand on Kriemhild’s shoulder, after she had coughed up blood and curled up on the ground. His facial features were far more refined and masculine than Kriemhild had imagined.

—Master is a masculine and gentle person after all…

It was not long after Kriemhild felt moved that a cold and terrifying expression hung over Klaus’ face. It almost felt as though she was staring at a machine.

‘Kriemhild, what are you doing? If you’re just coughing up blood, I will not allow you to stop singing. Can you not see that the dragons have slowed down?’

After Ash sighed, he gazed straight at Kriemhild.

[Did you see that, Kriemhild? That is Klaus’ true nature. It’s just like when he imprisoned Eco and forced her to awaken. He hasn’t changed one bit.]

“E-Even so…I don’t care…”

[Do not deceive yourself. Did you not say that an unfortunate accident took away your vision, your dreams, and the love of your parents? What you fear the most is deprivation, but if you look at Klaus now, he is planning to deprive you of even more things. Are you really willing to let him do anything and everything to you?]

“…I am. He is my master who gave me a stage to sing upon.”

[Is that so? I won’t allow that though—]

Kriemhild didn’t have the time to react. In the blink of an eye, Ash had brought himself right in front of her and reached out with his armoured limbs to gently embrace her nude body.

[Kriemhild. I will not allow you to forgive Klaus, and I absolutely cannot forgive Klaus myself.]

Even though they were separated by a layer of armour, Ash’s warmth still made its way into Kriemhild’s body. Before she realised, Kriemhild had begun to cry. Ever since she lost everything, this was the first time that she had felt such warmth. She had long forgotten that the warmth of another human could feel so comforting—.

“I-I…”

[You do not need to say any more. Leave everything to me.’]

 After saying that, Ash’s presence gradually faded away, and the world of light also disappeared. At that moment, a loneliness that even Kriemhild was unable to understand was born in her heart.

Part 16

The full moon which shone above the capital had, at some point, begun to spill its pale light onto Ash’s body.

“Just wait, Kriemhild. I swear that I’ll tear you away from the cruel world that has only plundered from you, and I’ll show you a world where you can be in control of your own happiness!”

After concluding his conversation with Kriemhild, he lifted Excalibur up high.

“…I’m not good at showing off my power, so I’m just going to go with the flow!”

The way the holy sword shimmered as it was bathed in moonlight made it look somewhat mysterious. The divine radiance from the blade instantly covered the vast land area of the capital. Even the people crowded all over the city who were rushing to take cover became entranced as they looked up at the night sky. Moreover, the light from Excalibur was able to fully illuminate the figures of the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer>, leaving them with no place to hide. It almost seemed as though their sins were about to be exposed. 

“Uooooooooooooooooooooh!”

Eco roared as if she was uttering a battle cry in Ash’s place. After Ash lifted the holy sword up, he shouted into night sky at the top of his lungs

“Listen to me, all of you! I will not bore you with words—”

The light from the blade strengthened, and it was now possible for him to clearly see even the figures of Klaus and Kriemhild who stood on Cú Chulainn’s head at the very back of the army. Ash swung the holy sword down with all his might.

“Just shut up and follow me!”

The divine light cast itself across the dark and gloomy night, turning everything into a scene as bright as day—.

“Excalibur ~A.S.B.1365.11~” is closed.

Epilogue

Part 1

Along with Ash’s sublime words, the brilliant rays of light that were summoned by the holy sword Excalibur caused all one thousand and three hundred dragons to be released from the scourge of Pluto. Led by Cú Chulainn, all of the Pals which belonged to students of the Academy obediently returned to Ansarivan. On the other hand, all of the dragons which belonged to the Lautreamont Order of Holy Dragonars flew back to Kingsley Fortress in search of their masters. With the search of the dragons, all of them were safely able to reunite with the members of the Order, such as Captain Ursula and Glenn.

As this news reached the capital, everyone was filled with the utmost joy. Although the Order of Holy Dragonars had been able to avoid deaths, more than half of their members had been seriously wounded, making the entire incident a terrible disaster. As for the Count of the Vandenhaar border, Klaus, as well as Kriemhild who had been responsible for manipulating the dragons, both of them were captured in the jaws of Cú Chulainn’s mouth once it returned to normal, but they remained alive. Cú Chulainn was the Pal that Rebecca had raised after all, so it seemed to understand that there was no benefit in killing them on the spot, especially since the Order would be investigating. The foreign troops that Veronica had established were dispatched to the scene. Their leader was Avdocha Klitzkaya of the Tantalos Tribe. Riding a Basilisk, Avdocha arrested Klaus and Kriemhild, and then brought them into the city. Before departing from the scene, Avdocha looked at Ash and asked

“How has Anya been?”

“She’s been doing well.”

After Ash’s initial reply, he followed with

“Kriemhild was only being used by Klaus. Avdocha-san, I hope you’ll be kind to her, just like when Anya was arrested.”

After Avdocha nodded with a sincere expression, she continued on her way.

Part 2

“It’s finally over huh…”

After being welcomed into Fontaine City, Ash and Eco began to rest in a guest room. The Ark that Eco had bestowed upon Ash was released, and Ash had gone back to wearing his original uniform. Before they realised, dawn had begun to break across the sky as the glaring sun arose from the far end of the horizon.

“Hey, Ash. Is your body alright?”

Eco peeked at Ash’s face with unease. Because the clothes that she wore before Dragonising were destroyed, Eco had gotten changed into a pretty dress. It was something that one of the city maids had gone to the trouble of procuring for her. On the other hand, <Avalon’s Bracelet> which had morphed into a large collar had returned to its original shape, hanging around Eco’s wrist as a beautiful bracelet. Gazed upon by Eco’s bright ruby eyes, Ash couldn’t stop his heartbeat from accelerating.

Is this some kind of psychological effect? Eco looks more mature than usual.

“Ash! Did you hear me!? I asked if your body is okay!”

Ash returned to his senses as he saw Eco’s puffed-out cheeks.

“M-My body huh…it might be the effect of the Ark that you made for me, Eco — my body feels a lot better than it did before we faced off against the enemy.”

After Ash made a light smile, he gently petted Eco’s head. In fact, Ash was in a rather good mood, and he didn’t feel any pain in his body either. Although he wasn’t fully healed yet, it was certain that his condition was improving.

“Thank you, Eco.”

“Ash…!”

Eco suddenly blushed, and her body stiffened.

“That Ark was truly a masterpiece.”

“Uwah! I only made it for you because the battle required it!”

Eco fidgeted as her thighs rubbed against each other. It was only natural for her to show such a reaction. After all, when a dragon presented an Ark to their master, it was equivalent to dedicating their bodies to their master. After Ash realised this, he also immediately felt embarrassed by it.

“Eco…”

“Ash…”

As the dawn sky whitened behind them, Ash and Eco stared into each other’s eyes — and they shared an affectionate kiss. It was longer and sweeter than any other kiss that they had previously indulged in. However, something of this extent was no longer enough to satisfy Ash. He reached out with his hot tongue and attempted to invade Eco’s soft wet lips. Perhaps sensing Ash’s fiery passion, Eco reciprocated by faintly opening her lips.

—Knock knock.

The abrupt knock on their door instantly grounded Ash’s consciousness back in reality. Eco was also startled by it, and she quickly fled from Ash’s embrace even though there was a hint of reluctance that could be seen from her expression. Ash held the same sense of reluctance as her, but as the knocking repeated itself, Ash had no choice but to respond

“Please come in.”

“Ash-sama and Eco-sama. Her Highness Veronica is waiting for the two of you in the office.”

The person who entered was a maid that Ash felt a sense of familiarity from. Her name was Frieda Shelly. She was a sharp-looking maid who wore glasses, and Ash also recalled that she was the personal maid of Paladin Oswald.

“We will head over there now.”

The instant that Ash decided to stand up, some kind of commotion seemed to break out in the city.

“What is it…?”

Ash nervously glanced out the window, overlooking everything beyond it.

“It must be everyone praising our achievements!”

Eco also widened her eyes as she looked out the window, but the sight which greeted them on the other side was—

“It can’t be!”

Ash didn’t finish what he had intended to say.

“What…!?”

Eco was similarly speechless. The magic ship Claíomh Solais had appeared in the sky above the capital, and a loud male voice that was tinged by a magnetic tenor resounded across the city through magic amplification.

[Citizens of Fontaine City, I am the Third Prince of the Chevron Kingdom — Uriel.]

Part 3

—In the cockpit of the magic ship Claíomh Solais.

Sitting in the captain’s seat, Uriel held a magic-powered microphone in hand as he gave a speech. According to the original script, Uriel was supposed to show up as the hero. While the magic ship Claíomh Solais flew in, the retreat of the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> that attacked the capital would be announced, and the citizens would have welcomed Uriel as their hero — that was Uriel’s intended plan. However, not only did the <Schwarz Drachen Panzer> fail to attack the capital, the entire army had fallen apart at the hands of Ash and Eco. In addition, even Klaus and Krimehild had been imprisoned.

“Dear citizens, I implore that you listen to my words. The monster that just protected Fontaine City is none other than the enormous dragon which forced the Continental Congress <Elysium> to be halted earlier this summer. That incident should still be quite fresh in all of your minds.”

Even though the situation had not developed according to what he had planned, Uriel was unmoved. It was because the failure of Klaus and Kriemhild was already within the scope of his calculations.

“Fufu…what an act.”

Cassandra sat behind Uriel with an enchanting smile on her face. Cassandra’s luxurious dress caused her presence in the cockpit to stand out with splendour. Clenching the microphone tighter in his hand, Uriel continued

“The Knight Country’s government has kept their possession of this horrifying biological weapon a secret from their suzerain state, the Chevron Kingdom. This is a heinous crime, and even though my nation has always acted in the good spirit of forgiveness, this is difficult to overlook indeed.”

After Uriel temporarily put the microphone down, he ordered the crew to “do it”. Because they had already rehearsed the entire process beforehand, the crew members were able to immediately begin the preparations.

Part 4

Veronica took in a shocking view from the window of the office. Crucified onto a cross, the Paladin Oswald appeared on the deck of the magic ship Claíomh Solais. On both his left and right sides, soldiers with cold eyes stood at the ready with long rifles in hand. The crown symbolising his status as the Paladin had been stripped off, his overall condition seemed haggard, and he was also dressed in the clothing of a prisoner. Upon seeing her father’s miserable state—

“What a disgrace this is…!”

Even as steadfast as Veronica was, even she was taken aback. As if to add insult to injury, Uriel’s voice continued to echo through the air

[These are our requirements. First Princess Veronica, as well as all Dragonars and Breeders, surrender along with your Pals. Otherwise, we shall execute Paladin Oswald on the spot!]

“Princess-sama…!”

“Your Highness Veronica.”

At that moment, Captain Glenn and Captain of the Order Ursula entered the office. Having withstood defeat at Kingsley Fortress, both of them were wounded all over. Their entire bodies were wrapped in bandages. But even so, both of them had their Arks equipped.

“…What do the two of you want? This is a political negotiation. You have not been given a place to speak.”

Veronica’s ferocious glare pierced through Glenn and Ursula. After Glenn knelt down on the spot, he said while gasping for air

“Your Highness, should you order us so…we will lead our Pals to attack, and strike down the Claíomh Solais. All members of your personal guard feel the same way.”

“Our Order of Holy Dragonars was defeated at Kingsley Fortress. For the sake of rescuing our Paladin Oswald, I plead for you to allow us to attack.”

In contrast to Glenn, Ursula looked somewhat more composed. The fact that it wasn’t possible to tell if she was injured or not was one of the reasons for her status.

“No, there is no need for that.”

Veronica sighed and then turned around to face both of them. Just as Glenn and Ursula said, if Veronica gave the order, both the Order of Holy Dragonars and her personal guard would spiritedly fight until the bitter end against the Claíomh Solais. However, their opponent was their own suzerain state. The Lautreamont Knight Country had a long history of loyalty to them. If the Knight Country broke off ties with the Kingdom today, it was equivalent to tainting the spirit of chivalry that the Knight Country had maintained for five hundred years. Veronica’s principles would never allow such a thing to happen. Moreover, she couldn’t turn Fontaine City into a battlefield either. Veronica knew herself well, and considered herself old-fashioned. But if one looked back in history, they could see that it was the Chevron Kingdom which assisted with the founding of the Lautreamont Knight Country, and the great responsibility of being entrusted with the raising and management of dragons. At the time, the Chevron King Lionel III was fearful of the dragons’ overwhelming power. Thus, he entrusted everything to the dependable first Paladin, Durham Lautreamont. If Veronica were to turn against Uriel at this moment — then it would be equivalent to betraying Lionel III, who was renowned for his great kindness and benevolence…. However, if Veronica chose to surrender, she would at least be able to preserve the citizens’ lives. Veronica glared as she gnashed her teeth.

“We have no choice…but surrender.”

“Do you truly wish to surrender? Princess-sama! Even if you do truly surrender, there is no guarantee that Prince Uriel will spare the Paladin! No, perhaps he will not even be satisfied with the Paladin’s life, and he will take your life as well, Princess-sama!”

Although usually well-mannered, Glenn was unable to restrain his emotions. Even so, it was not enough to shake Veronica’s determination.

“…This is for the sake of our precious people. Glenn, take a close look. That bastard Uriel has pointed the main cannon at the city’s centre. He’s already considered the slim possibility that we might try to stage a desperate rescue effort for the Paladin.”

Indeed, Veronica had realised that from the very beginning. The main cannon of the magic ship Claíomh Solais had been locked onto the city from the beginning. If Veronica refused to surrender, the urban area would inevitably be charred to ashes in an instant. After coming this far, Veronica realised that there were no options left—

[—Please wait.]

Suddenly, a magnanimous voice resounded across the dawn sky. Upon hearing that voice, even Veronica peered out the window in shock.

“That ship is…?”

The sight outside the window totally took her by surprise. A completely unknown magic ship that she had never seen before had somehow appeared behind the Claíomh Solais without anyone’s notice.

“Hold on! That voice just now…it had to be Mirabel!”

Indeed, the voice that had been broadcast to the city through magic amplification did belong to Mirabel. Moreover, the unknown magic ship had cast a three-dimensional projection into the sky, something that was impossible for any ordinary magic ship. As for the projection in the air, it showed the beautiful appearance of Mirabel Lautreamont. For some reason, Oscar Brailsford also stood by her side.

[Good morning everyone. I am the Third Princess of the Knight Country, Mirabel Lautreamont.]

The entire city instantly went into uproar. Even Veronica looked bewildered as her mouth fell agape.

Mirabel was essentially a scholar, and she had always cooped herself up in her room to study ever since childhood. She was quite obviously a talented child prodigy, thus Veronica allowed her to pursue her own interests. Everyone in the palace also believed that Mirabel’s fascination with research meant that she was unlikely to be active in public life. However, Mirabel now stood at the helm of the political stage.

[I have become aware of the situation after listening to Prince Uriel’s speech. Regarding this matter…]

Mirabel went silent for almost ten seconds, pushing the expectations and unease of the audience to its utmost limits.

[Even I cannot bear this…]

With a strong tone that differed from her usual manner, she directed her gaze to Oscar who stood beside her. And then, she blurted out the words which no one could believe

[I will expose the virulent evils and treason of the Third Prince Uriel. And I hereby declare Oscar Brailsford who is ranked one hundred and eighth in line to the royal succession as the next Chevron King—.]

“The Avalon Knight Dragner III” is closed.

Afterword

Dear readers, how do you feel about the climax in this eighth volume? I’m Shiki Mizuchi. Although the manuscript was completed in early February, I had a rest due to exhaustion for some time, but I have been resurrected like a phoenix and am doing my best to create the next volume.

In this volume, following the unprecedented crisis in the Academy City, not only has Prince Uriel officially made his move, but some nostalgic characters have also appeared. I wonder if many readers would have totally forgotten about the young nobleman (laughs). In fact, according to my original plans, the eighth volume was supposed to be a light story to give a bit of breathing room. The content of it probably would have been a romantic comedy revolving around ‘the hospital life of Ash and the heroines who travel there under the guise of a hospital visit’.

However, following the recommendation of editor Shoji-san, I replaced the preview in the afterword of the seventh volume with ‘Will the Knight Country face its biggest crisis?’. Although this led to a sharp increase in the creative difficulty of the eighth volume, I also tried my best to break through my own limits! Shoji-san once talked about the creative secrets behind this in the Q&A column of the daily digital news site ‘MANTANWEB’ (the article ‘Light Novel Questionnaire’ on the 2nd of March, 2012). If you are interested, please check it out!

Major announcement — the beautiful manga has been released! That’s right, another volume of RAN-sensei’s manga version of [Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi] has finally been published! After the first volume was published simultaneously half a year ago alongside the original work (volume six), the second volume of the manga has been published simultaneously with the eighth volume of the original work this time. I am truly grateful for the synchronised release schedule. Readers, please be sure to enjoy RAN-sensei’s illustrations!

Next are the acknowledgements. First off is editor Shoji-san who I mentioned gave me a push of support. If not for your suggestions, I’m afraid that the content of the eighth volume would have developed into a very different plot, so I am deeply grateful. In future, if I am ever hesitant or indecisive, please do not hesitate to push me hard!

Shimesaba Kohada-sensei, Mirabel’s cover made me fall in love at first sight! I’m entranced! I’m in love! You provide so many illustrations that exceed my expectations every time, so I am deeply grateful! I am really looking forward to the character design for the new character in the next volume.

RAN-sensei, thank you for all your hard work with preparing the manga version for release. The monthly serialisation has finally reached the climax of the original work’s second volume, and I will continue to follow it with anticipation.

A few days ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to see the unreleased character design of ‘Avdocha’, and I couldn’t help but feel elated by her cute appearance. Shindosha, I am truly happy that the cover of the [Seikoku] was included in [Anime, Comics, Light Novel and Game Designers Collection] which was published in December last year. Something else that surprised me was that the [Seikoku] cover was placed in the same column as those from [OreImo] and [Kore wa zombie desu ka?]. Both of those are considered to be super-popular works that represent the current light novel world! Please take care of me from now on.

Staff in the editorial and sales departments, distributors, and overseas translation staff…thanks to your support, I have been able to complete the eighth volume. Finally, to all of my readers who have continued to encourage me, thank you so very much! The plot will be pushed toward wave after wave of new heights, so please wait patiently for the next volume!

Well then, let us meet again next time. In the next volume — the showdown against Uriel finally begins!?

April 2012, Shiki Mizuchi

References and Translation Notes

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