“That’s a tempting offer… but Crown Prince Archaik Oken is a dragon covenant holder, or perhaps something even more. We have no chance of winning.”

Rikeil stopped the two with a pained expression.

“You madman. Do you want to see the Piert Ducal Family reduced to ashes? Endure it.”

“Brother, do you care more about the family right now? And treating Leah like this also disrespects our family!”

“The family is as important as Leah. Do you want to be the only one left to hold funerals for all the knights after they’re killed?”

“…Damn it.”

Ruyan muttered bitterly as he roughly tousled his own hair.

“This is why I wanted to be a wandering knight instead of a commander.”

“I’ll do it.”

Helix said calmly.

“I’ll kill the Oken crown prince. As someone bound by a Guardian’s debt anyway, I’ll kill him and…”

“Why are you acting like this too after pretending to be sensible?”

A shrill voice echoed through the room. The three men quickly looked up.

“Leah!”

“Leah! Are you alright?”

Leah briefly held her head as she observed their state. She had rushed over immediately after waking up, fearing exactly this. It would have been disastrous if she hadn’t.

“I’d be fine if you all would just calm down… or maybe not?”

Leah’s voice trailed off uncertainly.

“Sigh. Honestly, I’m not okay. I’m scared and angry.”

She sat down in a chair and drank a glass of water.

“But as my younger brother said, charging in recklessly will only get us hurt.”

“So you’re saying we should just stay like this? Do you think that Oken crown prince bastard cares about our country’s feelings? He’s going to take you to the empire however he pleases!”

Leah waved her hand to cut him off.

“I know. I’ve truly realized that doing nothing won’t solve this problem… I learned that this time.”

She wanted to crush him, but the difference in power was too great. She suppressed her anger inwardly and turned to Helix.

“Helix, I want to reject this proposal somehow.”

“Then I should…”

“But I want Helix, myself, our family, and the ducal house to remain safe.”

The strength drained from Helix’s clenched fist. Leah squeezed his hand briefly before looking at the three men.

“We need to think of a way to reject him without getting hurt.”

***

In Leah’s opinion, two things were needed to properly reject the proposal.

“First, I need to ensure I’m not dominated by Archaik’s dragon power. Second, we need to prevent the crown prince from retaliating against the Kingdom of Peiren or our family.”

“They will certainly seek revenge. Considering the Oken Empire’s pride…”

As Rikeil muttered, Ruyan bluntly interjected:

“Then let’s make it so they have no capacity for revenge.”

“What? How?”

“That Archaik guy, I heard he secured the crown prince position because he’s a dragon covenant holder.”

“Yes. In terms of position within the imperial family and support from nobles, the second princess was overwhelmingly favored. I hear many imperial nobles still support her.”

“Then if that dragon disappears, Archaik becomes nothing, right?”

Ruyan’s eyes gleamed dangerously. Leah gulped.

“Little brother, you don’t mean…?”

“I’ll go and kill it. Let me become a dragon slayer while I’m at it.”

“Are you insane?!”

Leah jumped to her feet.

“Do you know what kind of place that is? The security must be incredible! You’ve become a Swordmaster and now you’ve lost all sense!”

“…It’s not entirely unreasonable.”

Helix seriously interjected.

“I’ve heard that the second princess is seeking dragon relics to defeat the crown prince. If we make contact with her, we might be able to get some cooperation. If she tells us the dragon’s location or helps us infiltrate the imperial palace…”

Ruyan nodded vigorously.

“Wouldn’t they welcome an outsider Swordmaster like me getting rid of their troublesome dragon?”

“…When you put it that way, it does sound feasible.”

Rikeil agreed.

“Helix, can you connect me with whoever brought information about the second princess? I’ll handle the negotiations.”

“Understood.”

Leah, who had been momentarily dazed by how quickly things were progressing, snapped back to attention.

Ruyan’s plan was as dangerous as it was bold, but if successful, nothing could be better. A crown prince who lost his dragon would have no mental capacity to worry about Leah.

‘And I could definitely escape from his clutches too.’

Still, it was too dangerous.

“…I don’t want my little brother to be in danger because of me.”

“Leah, this isn’t just your problem. We all need to work together.”

Surprisingly, it was Helix who said this.

“We too must go to a dangerous place.”

“We too?”

He nodded.

“I’m told dragon ruins have been discovered in the desert south of the Free Trade City. And eggshells that seem to have hatched recently.”

“What?”

Facing the surprised Leah, Ruyan, and Rikeil, Helix continued.

“Dragons are dangerous creatures.”

They were obsessively possessive of what was theirs. Their jewels, their mana, their magic—they were terrifyingly protective.

So their obsession with mages awakened by their mana was beyond imagination. Young dragons sometimes even ate mages who tried to break free from their control.

“So for you to completely break free from Archaik, wouldn’t it be good to obtain mana from another flame dragon?”

“T-then what about that flame dragon?”

“I will kill it.”

Helix said calmly.

“Ruyan will kill Archaik’s covenant dragon, you will find another hatchling and change your mana, and I will also regain my Guardian powers by killing a dragon. That’s how you can be released from his obsession.”

Gulp.

Leah swallowed. Things were expanding beyond her expectations.

The three siblings suddenly realized:

The silver-haired man before them had truly spent countless years facing dragons and witnessing bloodshed.

Leah trembled slightly without realizing it and asked:

“What if we can’t kill Archaik’s dragon? What if we can’t find a hatchling? What if you can’t regain your Guardian powers?”

“Then we cut, search again, and find another way. Isn’t that what you’re good at?”

Hearing these gentle words, Leah felt relieved. He seemed like the Helix she knew. Regaining her spirits, she smiled and said:

“That’s right. If it doesn’t work, we can try again or find another way.”

“Exactly.”

Leah looked at Helix and her brothers with determination.

“Alright, let’s try this plan. Big brother will support little brother, little brother will use his skills as a Swordmaster, and I’ll go with Helix to find a dragon.”

“Leave it to me.”

“To think that even you, Leah, have to go through this trouble…”

Leah earnestly pleaded with Ruyan, who was grumbling with clear displeasure:

“Little brother, if it seems impossible, you have to run. Promise me?”

“…Alright.”

***

The coast of the Free Trade City.

The Longevity Tiger, a ship of the Piert Trading Company, cut through the waves rapidly. The captain standing on the deck stared blankly at the sea.

“Why is the harbor already visible…?”

It wasn’t just the captain. The navigator and the sailors all wore faces seemingly possessed by ghosts.

“Even at top speed… shouldn’t it take a week to arrive? We only departed yesterday?”

“I think we all actually fainted. Maybe we heard a siren’s song and drifted… or got caught in a typhoon?”

“Do you want to say more ominous things, you brat?”

While the sailors were in confusion, Helix approached Leah, glancing sideways at them. His face showed a mixture of pride and exasperation.

He spoke quietly:

“Leah, couldn’t you have been more moderate? At this rate, you’ll master wind magic.”

“I hate seasickness…”

“…”

While Helix supplied mana to Leah with a sympathetic expression, the ship arrived at the harbor. Karai and Janet were entranced by the bustling and splendid harbor they were seeing for the first time.

“Are you from the Piert Trading Company?”

Fortunately, people were waiting for them at the harbor. The guide assigned to them seemed surprised by the small party.

Leah, Helix, Janet, Karai.

Janet, who had insisted on accompanying the young lady to attend to her in a strange place, and Karai, who came along to deploy magic barriers in case of emergency.

“Are there no more knights?”

“They would be a hindrance this time.”

Helix said briefly. With the possibility of meeting a dragon, ordinary knights would be more burden than help. They might get swept up in danger.

The guide laughed and shrugged.

“You must be stronger than you look.”

Actually, I’m a flame mage, you know!

Leah wanted to boast, but right now she was a pickled wreck from seasickness.

***

Leah’s party set out for the southern desert.

It was a long journey requiring them to ride heat-resistant ponies, then switch to palanquins carried by workers, and finally even ride camels.

As they ventured deeper into the desert, the party gradually fell into silence.

Heat, fatigue, anxiety, and each person’s thoughts intertwined and followed one after another.

‘Will there really be a dragon here?’

Leah had been afraid of dragons since her last encounter with Archaik.

‘What if they’re all possessive and somewhat insane like Archaik?’

She recalled Azura, who had guided her to Helix. Even disguised as an herb gatherer, he had looked dignified, which made her suspicious. Not all dragons seemed likely to behave like Archaik.

‘Will dragons willingly give me their mana?’

She wasn’t confident that they would readily offer their mana to a mage who already possessed another dragon’s mana. And hadn’t Helix said he would kill the dragon right after receiving its mana?

‘Taking their mana and then killing them…’

It somehow felt like robbery, which troubled her.

But Helix had been determined to take revenge on dragons from the beginning. She couldn’t dissuade him now.

‘…But will Helix really regain his power after killing the dragons?’

***

Meanwhile, Helix sank deeper into his own worries.

‘If we find a dragon…’

It needed to be killed before it became like Archaik or Azura. But he still hadn’t fully regained his Guardian powers. He could only suppress mana for a very short time.

‘Can I subdue the dragon during that brief moment, steal the dragon mana Leah needs, and kill it?’