Bang, bang, bang!!
With every swing of the axe, as it hits the ground and the sky thunders, over a hundred Undead dissolve into the earth.
“Ararat!!”
It’s as if a natural disaster has swept through. Nothing remains in her wake.
“Follow the chieftain!”
“Those bad guys, let’s wipe them out!”
As the situation turned grim, Ritch, watching from the sidelines, sneaked quietly into the shadows to escape.
“Scaredy-cats are running away!”
“Phew, phew, phew!”
Everyone in combat cheers at the exhilarating battle. At last, with one final roar, the barbarian warrior, Gishta, turns the last Undead into ashes.
Returning among her comrades’ warm welcomes, she immediately rushed toward one man.
“Lars!!”
“Right, right.”
Embracing Lars, Gishta didn’t want to let go for a long time. As he patted her back, Gishta buried her head on his shoulder, deeply inhaling his scent.
*
“How’s your condition?”
“Better than ever. Look at my biceps!”
Clinging tight to Lars, Gishta proudly showed off her muscular arms. However, suddenly she jerked back and shrugged her shoulders.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing… It’s just a bit hot.”
“Do you have a fever? Side effects of the Dragon Heart?”
“No, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Gishta shook her head vigorously and avoided his gaze. Meanwhile, Lars, concerned about her, pressed his forehead close to hers to check her temperature.
“Yeah, you’re warm. Thunder Tribe people usually run hot.”
“…Don’t cling to me carelessly, Lars. It’s dangerous.”
“What’s dangerous? You’ve been clinging just fine until now.”
“Well, that was… a mistake.”
Lars chuckled at Gishta’s odd behavior. She found his obliviousness to her feelings quite frustrating.
Having received the Dragon Heart, she was now liberated from her lifelong anxiety about death. The curse that was eating away at her body had suppressed her instincts.
To put it simply, it was the instinct of royal blood.
With those instincts now unleashed and her body on fire, Gishta felt incredibly complicated.
The Heavenly Dragon who transferred the Dragon Heart to her must have also tasked her with leading the Dragon Legion. From debating whether to celebrate or mourn for her mother who had gone to Valhalla, to suddenly bearing the weight of being the leader of the legion, not to mention the burden of controlling her overflowing power.
Countless emotions swirled within her.
“Didn’t you say the Great Demon devoured the Demon King’s army?”
“Yeah, it was unexpected, and I’m a bit flustered too.”
She couldn’t let her guard down, especially not to take down the Great Demon, her mother’s enemy and Lars’ foe.
‘…Oh no.’
Yet her face kept breaking into a grin. What was she supposed to do about that?
The reason for it, Lars, was completely oblivious as he made a fuss trying to treat her.
Gishta was experiencing the greatest internal turmoil of her over a hundred-year life.
“Well, since it’s come to this, let’s head back. We need the royal family’s cooperation.”
“Royal… family? Lars, not yet! We’re just friends…!”
“Why not? If it’s First Princess Persiya, she can negotiate with the Empire and form the alliance army. And more importantly, if I give a heads-up, we can secure the Holy Sword ahead of time.”
“Ah… that royal family.”
Gishta shook her head vigorously.
“It’s about time the assassination of the Emperor in the Empire was about to happen. I’ve informed my father, so we won’t get dragged into it.”
“The Emperor is going to die?”
“Yeah. And a year later, Acella will ascend as the next Empress…”
Lars pondered while checking his status window. After a moment, he turned to Gishta and said,
“Gishta, you’re free from the curse and healed, right?”
“Hmm? Yeah. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
“That means we can prevent you from becoming the Great Demon’s minion. Using the same principle, if we can stop the assassination of the Emperor and heal that woman Acella…”
Lars snapped his fingers.
“Couldn’t Acella be prevented from becoming the Emperor? Then all these bad endings here could be completely erased.”
“I don’t know what that means, but Lars, if it’s your idea, it must be right.”
“Right? Thanks to you, Gishta, a brilliant idea just popped into my head.”
Lars smacked Gishta’s arm and headed out of the tent. She shrugged her shoulders.
“I guess I’m a bit useful.”
Gishta spun her arms around and followed Lars.
*
Having returned to the human realm over a few months, the Hippogriff unit received a warm welcome in the kingdom. Many of the kingdom’s citizens fainted upon seeing the might of the green Dragon Legion.
Lars and the unit received immense rewards for their contributions to defeating the Demon King.
“If I had known this would happen, I should have participated too!”
“Haha, our adventurer rank has gone up too. It’s too late for regrets now.”
“According to the unit leader, there’s another big case coming up, right? Let’s prepare our gear.”
Lars successfully persuaded the kingdom’s leadership through Princess Persiya as planned. This was the first step toward building a continental united army to fight against the Demon King’s army and the Great Demon who commanded it.
“We need to find the Hero.”
“They may already have awakened, but just haven’t been found. They might be from a rural or remote area.”
After securing the Holy Sword, negotiations with each country went swiftly.
However, just one thing.
The greatest power, the Empire, was not responding actively, all because of one reason—The health of the decision-maker, the Emperor, was not good. Because of this, the heirs were competing for succession, leading to a division in the royal family.
“Is it reasonable for the crisis of the continent to be delayed just because of their internal strife?”
“No matter how much it’s the Empire, this is unacceptable.”
“What are you afraid of? We have the Dragon Legion with us!”
As things progressed this way, the pre-established united forces began to put pressure on the Empire in the international situation.
Just as Lars intended.
In the Empire, Heike from Mokhwi Palace had attended the united army conference to negotiate as a representative, but her authority was limited, and the talks quickly fell apart. This was all thanks to Acella, the Third Princess, who was doing shady behind-the-scenes work.
“We can’t wait any longer. Either join the united army, or at least support us with supplies!”
Still no response from the Empire. The united army finally obtained justification to forcibly intervene in the Empire.
“I seek an agreement, Commander Gothberg.”
“I’ve been waiting, Your Highness.”
Heike, the First Princess, made quick calculations. She contacted Lars, the commander of the Hippogriff unit, the core power of the united army, and aligned their opinions.
If they clashed now, it would lead to a loss of strength for the human realm.
Heike struck a deal: the united army would resolve the Empire’s internal issues in exchange for opening the palace doors at Mokhwi Palace.
Solving the internal issues meant removing Acella from the Moonlight Palace, who had the strongest influence among potential successors and opposed the Empire’s joining the united forces.
“Removal sounds good, but I’d suggest a slightly different method. Honestly, the Third Princess scares me a little.”
[No. 056: The Wicked Woman’s Hatred 84%]
Lars knew all too well how dangerous it was to confront Acella directly. He chose instead to indirectly take away her succession rights.
“Wouldn’t it be the best scenario if Your Majesty deposed the Third Princess while still healthy?”
“That’s true, but Gothberg, Your Majesty has been having difficulties with movement and communicating for some time now.”
“Isn’t your current attending physician Ritch?”
“That name does ring a bell, but is it relevant?”
Lars took out a potion from his bag.
“What if I prove that guy is a Black Magician?”
With Heike’s help, Lars was able to infiltrate the Empire’s palace alongside Gishta.
“Is this a job assignment?”
“That’s right. From today, you are the attending physician for His Highness George, replacing the retired Falkenhayn.”
Having slipped into the position previously held by Ritch, Lars focused on healing the Emperor as His Highness rested nearby.
As a result, after months, he removed the curse and black magic that had been eating away at the Emperor’s body. The Emperor awoke once again.
“Gothberg. I’ve been taking note of your name. You were quite the spirited young man, abandoned by my daughter, left out on the streets.”
“I didn’t expect you to remember. I’m honored.”
“Saving me is tantamount to saving the Empire. State your desire, and I shall grant it.”
After executing Ritch, the Emperor inquired.
Lars, showing respect, replied.
“Actually, my breakup with the Third Princess was not my own will. It was because the Third Princess harbored a deep hatred for me, leading to my decision.”
“I understand. That child hates everything in the world.”
“You saw right through me. To add, I’m quite a petty person. I still hold a grudge against that time and want to repay the Third Princess.”
“So?”
“I want you to strip the Third Princess of her succession rights.”
That was an outrageous request. For a mere noble to express intent to interfere in royal internal affairs could be viewed as treason, clearly crossing the line.
However, the Emperor had sensed it long ago. After the incident that resulted in Camilla’s death, Acella was increasingly becoming a danger.
Though naturally equipped with outstanding ability and someone he wanted to appoint as the next Empress, he knew it would lead the Empire to ruin.
He could not simply remove Acella who had been achieving remarkable results without reason, while still proposing a fair succession battle.
In that situation, Lars, who provided a justification, could be seen as a loyal subject.
“If it’s your lifelong wish, then I shall accept it. But there’s a condition, Lars Gothberg.”
“What is it?”
“My act of stripping the child’s succession rights at the request of a noble will be impossible, even for a life-saving benefactor. You understand this well.”
“Indeed.”
“You must take Acella as your wife. That way, it would create a natural scenario, wouldn’t it?”
“…What?”
Lars stared blankly, raising his head at the Emperor’s unexpected suggestion.
