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Chapter 138

Even though Dran was furious that Gajra had rekindled Christina’s guilt about her ancestor’s dragon-slaying deeds, he did not make any mistake with what he needed to do. He looked toward Christina who had her back turned toward him. A phenomenal wave of fighting spirit and magic had burst forth from her mere moments ago. Then, Dran shifted his gaze to Sperion, Frau, and their dedicated knights.

「Leave the evil dragon and Gajara to Christina and me. Your Highnesses should head down the mountain. Please hurry.」

In the blink of an eye, magic was conjured to create five horse golems from dust, molecules, and soil. These golems, with intricate bridles, stirrups, and saddles had been crafted with great detail. As the polished steel glistened, they awaited orders from their creator silently.

「W-Wait, Dran. Are you expecting us to abandon you while we flee?」

This voice brimming with fury belonged to Frau. Yet, Christina’s voice drowned out Frau’s protests and Dran’s utterances. Frau was riled up from her own considerations, but Christina merely looked back with a smile on her face. Then, she proceeded to defend Dran who had made the right decision for the kingdom and its citizens.

「Please don’t berate Dran, Princess Frau. Someone has to stop that hideous monster, and the only ones here who should take on that role are Dran and the rest of us. Moreover, we’ll be able to fight freely and use more magic in this open space, especially techniques that we couldn’t unleash in the underground ruins. Dran and I specialize in actual battle, more so than the duals during the Magic Tournament. Think about things this way. Gajra is digging his own grave by pursuing us. We’ll have the upper hand. I’m sure you’ve seen how formidable Dran was during the Magic Tournament. Selina, Dramina, and Diodora are competent fighters as well. Defeating that useless evil dragon and the fool who’s banking on it will be a piece of cake to us.」

Christina was relaxed enough to wonder whether Lenia would be angry at hearing her statements. As stated by Christina, Gajra and the pathetic evil dragon were no threat at all.

After all, it was hard to restrain the overflowing fighting spirit surging within Christina. She was someone who knew the strength of the true nameless evil dragon, Lenia. Moreover, she possessed Dreadnought which offered her inexhaustible power and had the genes of dragonslayers in her soul.

Dreadnought and the dragonslayer genes within her seemed to be whispering to her, telling her that this was the perfect chance to atone for her ancestors’ sins by fighting, battling, and destroying. Even though Dran had forgiven Semto for killing him, Christina’s blood and Dreadnought had yet to forgive themselves for this sin.

「But how can I leave you and the other ladies behind to face that gigantic monster, Christina?」

Naturally, Frau was aware that she would just hold the rest back by staying here, and Gajra was not in the right state of mind to continue his ploy of taking Frau and Sperion hostage; there was no use in her staying here.

Nonetheless, Frau’s worry for Christina and the rest had won over her own safety immediately as she uttered these words. Such a reaction was only natural for a lady like Frau, born and bred with kindness within her.

「If matters get out of hand, we’ll chase right after you once we deter them. Please be assured. Isn’t that right, Dran?」

「Are you sure, Dran?」

Dran seemed genuinely troubled by the reproachful look from the young lady before him. Criminals, Demon Lords, the evil gods, and all sorts of resentful or murderous threats mattered little to him. However, he was helpless against innocent young ladies.

「It’s just as Christina mentioned. Princess Frau, Prince Sperion, we do not belittle the value of our own lives. We’ll do our very best to survive, so please do not worry about our safety. We will defeat Gajra and that evil dragon, and survive.」

Dran and his companions understood that Christina wanted to fight and slay the evil dragon alone. Hence, they were planning to leave the battle to Christina and refrain from meddling as much as possible once Frau and Sperion left the mountain on the horse golems.

Sperion noticed that Dran, Christina, Selina, and the rest were not putting on a strong front. There was not a single hint of sorrow or self-sacrifice in them. With this knowledge clear to Sperion, he gripped his tearful sister’s shoulder.

「Frau, we shouldn’t waste more of their time. We are naturally obligated to accept their decision right now. Moreover, they have no intention of losing the fight. You know this, don’t you?」

「Yes, Brother. Dran, Christina, I’m sorry. My selfishness has cost your time. However, please promise me this. Do not leave anyone behind and return safely.」

Christina was the one who answered. There was no better candidate to reply to Frau, considering that Frau was most worried about Christina even as Christina was the one who could reassure Frau best.

「I promise to return with every single one of us.」

「You must. Remember that promises are meant to be fulfilled.」

「Come on, Frau.」

With Sperion’s urging, Frau got onto the horse golem Rashi was riding with Radia’s help. After that, Sperion, Shald, Radia, and Hebel got onto the remaining horse golems.

On the horse, Sperion fixed his gaze on Dran. For some reason, Dran seemed too calm for someone about to battle a monster as large as a hill.

「We truly owe you our thanks.」

「Personally, I would forgive you for this seeming rudeness, and a single word of thanks would suffice. However, that won’t be sufficient in politics, and as a prince, would it? Truth be told, I’d probably be astounded if you utter such grand words.」

The frank confession by Dran made Sperion laugh in agreement. Nobles were taught to risk their lives to protect their masters. Yet, there were very few who would truly realize such a thought. Strictly speaking, Dran was not a subject of Sperion at the moment. Despite this fact, he was still willing to remain here to keep Sperion and the others safe. This very act filled Sperion with immense gratitude.

「Heh, I sincerely wish to spend more time with you in a more peaceful setting. May we have the chance for such an occasion in the future. I pray from the bottom of my heart. Dran, I may be getting ahead of myself, but thank you. As mentioned by my sister, let’s meet again after your safe return.」

「Yes, I promise.」

At last, Sperion turned his horse around and sped off with Frau, Shard, Hebel, and the rest galloping after him on their horses.

These horse golems were far finer than the ones sold in the market. At four times the speed of an ordinary horse, they sped down the mountain slope. Not once did they stumble on the uneven terrain, dents, or trees in their paths.

The horse golems with Sperion and the rest vanished into the distance in no time. After seeing them off, Selina finally spoke up in what sounded like a terribly apologetic tone.

「Somehow… It seems like we’re lying to them after they’ve expressed such worry. I feel really sorry about this, even though we aren’t exactly telling lies…」

Clearly, Selina was genuinely sorry about their current act.

Dramina appeared to agree with Selina as she let out a sorrowful sigh and rested her left hand on her left cheek under her veil. For these two honest and kind ladies, lying or hiding information from others was something they were terrible at.