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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…What in the world is this?”
The enormous dragon’s body, large enough to fill the vast lair’s pupil, was immobilized by a single binding spell, frozen like a rigid statue.
Abel, who had just experienced something unbelievable even after going through it herself – perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience, spoke with wide eyes.
Her face clearly showed her bewilderment.
According to the common sense that both she and Sylphia took for granted, it was impossible for Abel, in her true form rather than polymorphed human form, to be immobilized by a binding spell cast by Rudrick.
The dragon scales embedded in their skin, in other words, their scales, possessed a resistance strong enough to withstand a spell or two.
As proof, Abel had easily endured one of Sylphia’s spells immediately after reverting to her true form.
Even magic powerful enough to alter the terrain upon impact could be endured relying solely on the resistance inherent in their skin and the defensive power of their incredibly tough outer skin.
Normally, human magic, inferior to that of dragons cast in dragon language, shouldn’t even leave a scratch.
“…Rudrick?”
Sylphia, with eyes as wide as Abel’s, turned to look at Rudrick with a startled expression.
The very person who had surprised the two dragons was asking for an explanation with an indifferent, unperturbed face.
“So, what’s going on here?”
“How did you know to come here…?”
“That’s what I want to ask. I came because it seemed like something terrible was happening.”
To be honest, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t surprised.
He could instinctively sense that some enormous entities were clashing with each other.
Even Rudrick couldn’t casually use grand magic of this scale.
So when he realized something extraordinary was happening in the mountain range, he had come prepared mentally.
But what did he find?
The enormous entities he had imagined turned out to be an unfamiliar dragon and Sylphia.
He couldn’t help but be surprised at first, not expecting to reunite with Sylphia in this way.
In fact, he had hesitated slightly, causing a delay in his speech.
However, trying not to show it, Rudrick calmly said,
“This seems a bit too intense to be just friends roughhousing.”
“Huh? Of course it is. Sylphia was furious. She was coming at me like she really wanted to kill me,” Abel responded.
Nngh.
Despite trying to break free, she couldn’t easily break the binding spell even with her innately high resistance.
Finally, using the tremendous physical strength of her massive body to forcibly break the spell’s binding, Abel glibly continued.
“Actually, you were interfering with my plans. So I thought about getting rid of you, but suddenly Sylphia flew into a rage as if she wanted to kill me.”
“By ‘getting rid of,’ you mean in the physical sense, right?”
“Well… elimination is a form of removal, so I guess it’s roughly similar?”
Abel hesitated before answering evasively and Sylphia, listening to this conversation, felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole.
‘I should have torn that mouth apart earlier…’
Abel was talking too much.
She was telling Rudrick everything that had happened in detail, to the point where Sylphia wished she could sew Abel’s mouth shut if she could.
This act of explaining everything to Rudrick was, in essence, no different from telling him that Sylphia had become enraged at the mention of harming him.
Structurally, it was inevitable for Sylphia’s face to burn with embarrassment.
“So, do you still think the same way?” Rudrick asked in a monotone voice.
“Ahaha, that would be difficult,” Abel laughed awkwardly in response.
The binding spell Rudrick had just cast on her was incredibly powerful.
Though she couldn’t guess the reason, magic capable of exerting such force through a dragon’s resistance in true form was rare.
It would be challenging even for another dragon.
Abel, who had polymorphed back into human form to signify she no longer harbored hostility, added,
“I don’t have confidence in winning a 2-on-1 fight.”
‘2-on-1…? Ah…!’
As Sylphia pondered Abel’s words, her eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
The magical power emanating from Rudrick now was extraordinary.
Sylphia couldn’t guess why Rudrick had cast the binding spell on Abel, but it was clear that the current Rudrick was somewhat different from what she remembered.
To exaggerate slightly,
‘…Beyond the level of the previous Court Mage.’
Although she didn’t show it, Sylphia was taken aback.
Had his innate talent fully blossomed through practical experience, or was Rudrick’s potential originally this high?
Given that he had already successfully bound Abel once, Sylphia thought that even Abel would find it very burdensome to fight 2-on-1 with Rudrick joining in.
“I’ll recall the dragon-eye soldiers that were driving out the monsters. It’s a shame to give up on something I’ve been working on for nearly ten years, but I’ll have to abandon it and look for a different concept for amusement. So, would you mind leaving my home now?”
Abel raised her hands in surrender.
Her lair, her precious home, had long been half-destroyed from the continuous magical battles with Sylphia.
It was completely shattered, and even with magical assistance, it would take considerable time to restore.
While it was distressing that her precious home was in this state, and even more so that over ten years of careful groundwork had come to nothing, a single amusement wasn’t worth risking her life over.
“…”
Instead of answering, Rudrick glared sharply at Abel once.
Not knowing the full details yet, Rudrick had no intention of being more aggressive here.
If he had known the full story, he might have glared at Abel with contempt and disgust rather than just a stern look.
“So Sylphia, is that why you were fighting here?”
“Y-yes…”
“To stop that person. In other words, to protect me?”
“…Yes.”
If earlier Sylphia had wanted to hide in a mouse hole, now her face was burning hot.
Her face had been flushed with heat for a while, and she couldn’t bring herself to lift her head.
In a way, Rudrick was exposing a truth that Sylphia desperately wanted to hide.
It might sound embarrassing to say it this way, but Sylphia had indeed been fighting Abel here, risking her life to protect Rudrick.
Without any hesitation, even if the opponent was one of her own kind, even if the odds of winning were uncertain.
Although she had no intention of flaunting this fact or seeking credit, when looking at the bare facts without exaggeration, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.
While Sylphia’s face burned as she answered ‘Yes’, Rudrick was just staring at her with an expression that made it difficult to guess his thoughts.
It was a complicated situation.
Neither Sylphia nor Rudrick had wanted this kind of reunion.
Only Abel, suddenly caught between the two, was slowly shifting to the side, watching their interaction with keen interest.
The story of a dragon falling in love with a human was already laughable enough, but to see that dragon now flustered before the very human…
Abel could sense it.
This might be a spectacle she would only witness once in this lifetime.
The two were oblivious to Abel watching with such interest and the silence that had stretched between them was finally broken when Rudrick spoke after a long while.
“Why did you do it?”
“…Pardon?”
The question had a double meaning.
Why had she made such a choice?
Or perhaps, why had she risked her life in a battle that no one would acknowledge, even after being told to get out of sight because he couldn’t stand to look at her?
Whichever meaning it held, Sylphia struggled to answer.
As evidence, Sylphia, who had been silently fidgeting her fingers, lowered her head.
What should she say? What answer should she give here?
Sylphia, with her head bowed, murmured softly.
“…Because it was for Rudrick’s sake.”
And after forcing out words that seemed to catch in her throat, Sylphia’s vision blurred.
Without realizing it, her eyes had reddened.
Tears were already flowing down beneath her lowered head.
“My, my.”
Abel, who had been watching with bated breath, muttered tactlessly, but the two continued to pay her no mind.
That love, at least, was genuine.
Even if the methods might have been questionable.
Even if what she had done for Rudrick’s sake had ended up hurting him instead.
Even after being told harshly to disappear from his sight.
Sylphia was still willing to risk her life for Rudrick’s sake.
True sincerity was conveyed not through a hundred smooth words, but through one clumsy utterance.
In fact, this outcome had been somewhat predictable.
Rudrick, by nature, couldn’t harbor hatred or dislike for someone for very long.
Although he grumbled that it was just his personality, he was more accustomed to forgiving first and letting things go rather than holding onto them for a long time.
As Sylphia’s vision cleared after wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Rudrick let out a sigh.
“…Ah, geez.”
Rudrick silently embraced Sylphia.
Although the posture might have looked a bit odd since Sylphia was actually taller than him, he hoped this warmth would be sufficiently conveyed and in Rudrick’s arms, Sylphia silently sobbed.
It was a strange feeling.
The feeling of tears flowing endlessly down her cheeks.
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[Awww they back together <3]
