Chapter 124 - Silver fox
In games or comics, the monsters you raised were so cute and small that you could pick them up or sit them on your head. However, the dragon I was raising wasn’t like that.
”Go on foot.”
“Greeeee~?!”
It was large, so it would be uncomfortable to carry. It was not only because it was heavy, but it would also obstruct my view. The green dragon stood up, shaking, then immediately flopped over. He sat down on the poisonous ground, shaking his head.
Saint H spoke out cautiously, “Master. Forgive me if I allow myself too much, but the dragon isn’t fully developed yet; therefore, it is physically weak. He needs time to be able to move normally.”
“Hmm…then nothing can be done.”
I wanted to save the inhabitants of the Holy Empire from the hands of the evil imperial princess, who took the life of her kind brother who got along well with the rest of the aristocrats! Since my pet wasn’t in the best condition, I would have to endure for several more days.
Saint H, who was sitting down in front of the little dragon, spread her arms in different directions.
“Come here.”
“Gree? Greee!”
The little dragon immediately jumped into the arms of Saint H. However, they didn’t look very good, as if a very weak girl were carrying a sick elephant in her arms…
I decided not to cancel the call of Saint H; I didn’t want to drag around this ugly dragon myself. Saint H, meanwhile, stroked the cub’s large head. What would she do if he were to bite?
”My name is Hiplia. And you are Green Cake. Got it?”
“Gree!”
”Huhu. Green Cake is smart.”
“Greeee~”
The slave and the pet quickly hit it off as we slowly moved towards the nearest town. I wanted to go to the castle right now and arrange a “tasting of the imperial princess,” but the dragon wasn’t yet able to do this, so there was nothing else to do but wait. However, I, as soon as I was born, immediately fought with the evil knights!
?Question: Will you not wait for the rest of your companions?
Miss Trainee. What kind of companions?
?Answer: Well, the ones you sent to hunt the orcs.
Ah! The dummies?
She said companions, so I didn’t understand at first. But now, the question arose whether it was necessary to wait for them. They didn’t know where I had gone, did they?
?Assumption: They most likely track which direction you took off in.
This may well be. My dear companion King Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius, had a huge body, so it was pretty hard to miss him. Plus, Lanuvel was the Hero’s guide. I didn’t like her, but in the fantasy world, she was next after the Hero with twenty-five years of experience when it came to familiarity with the area. She could find me, probably.
Of course, the Fantasy continents were full of creatures that had lived here longer than me, including quite a few immortals. For example, the Demon Lord or the Elven King. But they didn’t typically travel the world, instead choosing to settle somewhere. And even if they wandered once, it was a long time ago, so a lot had changed.
On the other hand, my information was up to date. I even knew what the terrain of the northern and central continents would be like in thirteen years.
“Hmm…what should I do?”
I didn’t care what happened to Lanuvel, who always pretended to be cute, but I bought Porter and Thief E at an auction, so that meant they were my property. Was it worth waiting for them on this endless plain, where there was nothing but deadly poison? The answer came immediately.
”Spirits of the Wind. Give my location to the dummies.”
The spirit living in my armpits reacted immediately. However, they didn’t act independently, instead of ordering the other Spirits of the Wind who were nearby.
Whiiing~
A strong wind blew, and several spirits rushed like a bullet in the opposite direction from my path. By doing this, I demonstrated a useless friendship so that the God of the fantasy world couldn’t find fault with my personality assessment.
”Then…Reputation and Achievements.”
Everything should be fine with the Achievements. Judging from the experience of the 2nd playthrough, if you quickly dealt with the King Dragon of Oblivion, as now, then the score for Achievements should be at least S. Then only the Reputation remained.
To begin with, we decided to go to the nearest city. I wanted to cleanse the earth of this poison with my “Divinity,” but in that case, no one would know that I did it. This fantasy world system never ceased to irritate me.
”We need to show everyone else what a fine fellow I am…”
How was this different from politicians who visit a nursing home during elections? All this existed as a pretense. However, nothing could be done about it if this was what the God of the fantasy world wanted. I knew this was all stupid, but I couldn’t help but obey the rules. The situation was similar to the fact that you didn’t want to vote for anyone, but you couldn’t simply abstain from voting.
I felt as if I was gradually becoming a fool.
As we walked towards the nearest town, a man’s cry rang out.
“Help! I’m addicted to the poison!”
I ignored such requests for help. If I let myself be distracted by one or two people who needed help, it would only become more difficult to save more people on the five continents. If you chased after small things, you would definitely lose a lot. Still, if this wasn’t on a small village or city scale, I didn’t need to strain myself.
However, this man didn’t want to give up. Was there no one around to help him?
”This is the only daughter of the Lord! Someone, please help!”
“…Leave it to this Hero!”
Lord? So it was the Third Duke of the Holy Empire, the head of the aristocratic movement in the Holy Empire. His daughter would soon become the wife of the crown prince in the future. That was, she was supposed to be the Empress. If history didn’t change, she would eventually be the Empress.
During the first playthrough, the “Hero’s companions” raised a coup d’état, fascinated by the speeches of the imperial princess, who tried to personally gain the throne but was defeated and fled ignominiously. The imperial palace was occupied by a small number of invaders, but only the appointed emperor died on the throne.
And the Empress? She was pregnant, so the companions, deciding that the unborn child was innocent, sent her into exile. However, on the mountain path, robbers killed her. Were the mountain robbers stronger than the imperial knights?
Wasn’t it funny?
”This way! ”
The man asking for help waved me over. Thinking about cutting off his bold hand, I saw his pointed ears.
”Are you an elf?”
”Yes, that is right! I’ll introduce myself later! Please save our lady! She was picking flowers here when she suddenly became infected with the breath of the King Dragon of Oblivion!”
The representation of the elf wasn’t interesting to me. This could only be found by looking at his skills.
? Race: Elf
? Level: 486
? Specialization: Butler (Mansion → Ability ↑)
? Skills: Management A, Accompaniment B, Documents C, Interpretation D, Charisma D …
? Condition: Anxiety
He was just an elf working for an aristocratic family of the lowest class of elves who was usually auctioned off into sexual slavery. However, those aristocrats who had a head on their shoulders used the strength of the elves.
They lived for thousands of years. Unless it was a well-known and large clan, it would be difficult to maintain such elves for about 500 years, but clans that had existed for many years had something in common.
Loyal elves. As soon as a generation changed, changes occurred. If the offspring were immature or lazy, then dark times would descend on the clan. However, if there was an elf nearby who helped in everything, then everything would change. This was an excellent mentor who had overseen the clan for several hundred years and was prepared to be a steward to easily replace an incompetent feudal lord.
However, his real power was weak. Elves weren’t humans, so that they couldn’t become aristocrats in human society. Anyway…
”Hmm. The girl’s life is in danger.”
”Oh…”
The Poison of the King Dragon of Oblivion was extremely dangerous. The girl in the yellow dress looked healthy, but her respiratory system was destroyed by the poisonous gas. It was a miracle that she was still alive by the time I reached her.
“Don’t worry, miss.”
I smiled at her and activated the Black Box. I could have left her treatment to Saint H, but if I wanted to look better in her eyes, I had to do everything myself, just like this.
Oooong-
Divine light enveloped the future empress’s body. The lungs and respiratory tract, which had melted like butter from the poison, recovered again, and her blue skin regained a pinkish tint.
”Thank you, Healer.”
The girl who woke up greeted me. But healer? I was about to correct her, but then I looked at my outfit. After the battle with the King Dragon of Oblivion, during which I survived over 50 combined hits, my clothes turned into rags. Because of this, I put on one of the angel outfits hidden in the vault. It was made of high-quality fabric and, like a skirt, covered only the lower part of the body. The back was open because the wings, the hallmark of an angel, should be visible.
Anyway.
”I’m not a healer, but a Hero.”
For everyone to know about my good deeds, you needed to indicate your identity. I felt shameful that I had to do this trivial work, but what could I do?
Haha! Slave to Reputation! If I saved ordinary people, it would just end like that, but this girl was special in the Holy Empire, being the only daughter of an aristocratic leader. The reputation part had already been secured, but there should also be a reward. I saved the daughter who would become the wife of the crown prince, and the duke wasn’t soulless enough to end with a word of thanks.
…Maybe?
“Did you just say that you are a Hero?” The elf butler cut in.
“Why? Should I provide evidence that I am a Hero?”
“No. How can I be so rude to a benefactor? If it doesn’t bother you, I would like to invite you to our domain. As you can see, we cannot immediately repay you for your kindness. I hope for your understanding.”
Was it because the elf had served a famous family for a very long time? He had a skilled tongue.
“Um…Hero? May I ask you one question?”
“Anything, miss.”
“Is that little green dragon your pet?” Asked the recovered girl, pointing to Green Cake, who was in the arms of Saint H.
I nodded.
”Yes. If he’s so ugly that you don’t like looking at him, I will hide him somewhere far away.”
”N-No! He’s very cute…”
This girl had unusual preferences.
“Greee?”
”Ah! Even the sounds it makes are cute! Is it not? ” She asked the butler, who was standing a little further from the girl. He accused the guards and the maids because they couldn’t find the girl, because of which she was poisoned. But as soon as he turned, his expression changed to soft and benevolent.
”Yes, you are right. He’s really cute. Perhaps since this is a green dragon, fragments of my Motherland flickered in my memory even more. When this dragon grows up, he will become a gallant Defender of the forest.”
The elf butler was forced to agree. And he knew something about life in society. While we were talking with everyone, we arrived at the duke’s castle, which was located right in the city center.
*
“I don’t know how to thank you for saving my only daughter…”
The Duke of the Holy Empire bowed his head before me. To satisfy his ambitions, his daughter was irreplaceable. The smile of a just Hero blossomed on my face. It was a technique that attracted a lot of aristocrats.
”No money can be paid for your only blood. Isn’t that right, honorable duke?”
”Yes, that is right! You are right! Ha-ha…” The admired duke agreed with my conclusions.
”Instead of a monetary agreement, I would like to talk about a case that will benefit both parties.”
”Excuse me; this foolish old man does not understand what you are talking about. What case?”
It was a good question.
“I want the Silver Fox, which the Holy Empire doesn’t need.”
Silver Fox. This was the coat of arms of the imperial princess, who lost her status as a member of the imperial family and became a marquis.