CH 198

Chapter 198

Those Who Take Each Other's Hands : Three Dragon Knights, Part 5 — The Dragon Knight's Anguish

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Huh, what’s with that attitude?」

Miranda swore in disgust. Alfiris, by and large, had already put her sword away and was calm. The surrounding dragon knights, seeing Alfiris put her sword away, also put their swords away.

While they remained on guard, Alfiris glanced behind her and called out to Lisa.

「Lisa, what’s the situation outside?」

「Okay, there’s indeed a fallen dragon about 50 meters away. It seems that the female dragon knight from earlier is beside it. Her heartbeat is disturbed, so I thought she was very upset. 」

「What is the dragon’s state?」

「Not so good. Breathing is irregular.」

「Gwen?」

「Let’s see… This could be bad. If left alone, it could kill her.」

At Gwendolf’s words, Alfiris closes her eyes once and eventually opens them.

「…Alright, I’ve decided.」

「What are you?」

As if she hadn’t heard Lisa’s question, Alfiris strode up to one of the dragon knights. The dragon knight hurriedly pulled out his sword and held it out to Alfiris, but Alfiris wasn’t the least bit perturbed.

「You, what are you doing!」

「Lead me to the dragon.」

「What are you saying…」

「Hurry up! You want the dragon to die!?」

The dragon knight flinched a little at Alfiris’ swashbuckling.

「Alfie, what’s up?」

「I’m going to go check on the dragon for a bit. I don’t know if I should leave it alone.」

「Don’t do it, against these rude people!」

「Well, that’s that. So, what do you say? Are you taking me with you or not?」

The dragon knights looked at each other, but the most senior man nodded.

「Fine. But I’ll take the sword. And you’re the only one coming.」

「Deal.」

Alfiris took off her sword and sword belt and left it with one of the dragon knights, and then she left the inn accompanied by an older dragon knight.

＊＊＊

「Dolce, what’s wrong, Dolce!」

「Guh, gururu…」

Outside, the female dragon knight rushed to her dragon and watched her. She was in the central street of this town, but as soon as the dragon knights came down, the onlookers all went into houses to escape. Therefore, they are the only ones on the street now.

For the blonde female dragon knight, the dragon named Dolce isn’t just a sidekick, but also a childhood friend who was brought to her when she was very young. The cavalry dragons of Romansland are small for dragons and grow quickly. When they hatch from eggs, they reach maturity in about five years. Hence, she has never ridden anyone other than Dolce and her brother Arlon, Dolce’s other substitute dragon. The two dragons were not just flying dragons to the female dragon knight, they were her dearest friends.

Dolce looked up at the female dragon knight as if she was struggling to breathe. The female dragon knight couldn’t understand the reason for this, even though she was a sturdy dragon who had never suffered a single physical breakdown.

「Dolce! What the hell is going on here… Hey, you!」

「Hah!」

The called dragon knight salutes.

「Since when has Dolce been in this situation!?」

「Yes! It is shortly after our arrival in this town! I thought that stopping the dragon in the traffic under the sun would disturb the traffic, even though it was late at night, so I tried to move it, but only Dolce refused to move, and shortly afterwards she collapsed!」

「Damn it, I didn’t bring the dragon doctor here… I guess I should have left this matter to another patrol coming from the home country.」

The female dragon knight bites her lip so hard that it bleeds, but it is no longer an afterthought. The dragon knights were at a loss for what to do, but they couldn’t come up with a good idea, and were just staring at each other when Alfiris came along.

「It’s that dragon that’s not in good shape, right?」

「What the hell are you!? Hey, who said you could leave the inn!」

「About that Captain, she might be able to do something over this situation.」

The dragon knight who brought Alfiris to the shelter handled the situation without a change in color. He is apparently accustomed to the female dragon knights’ tantrums. The female dragon knight’s face softens a little as if she has gained hope, but it is instantly tightened back up harshly.

「I see. But if you’re lying to me, I’m not going to let you get away with it, am I?」

「You won’t know that until you see it. Out of my way.」

Alfiris pushes the female dragon knight out of the way. The female dragon knight was surprised by her unreserved attitude, but Alfiris didn’t seem to pay any attention to her. Then, turning to Dolce, Alfiris began to speak to her.

「You, what’s wrong?」

「Guh, gururuh…」

「Your stomach? Your stomach hurts?」

「Guruh.」

「Since when?」

「G–guhruru. Gurururuh…」

「…I see. You’ve put up with a lot.」

「Hey, don’t tell me you can talk to a flying dragon?」

The female dragon knight and other dragon knights around her look surprised. According to historical fact, only King Dragoon I, the founding king of Romansland, could speak with a flying dragon. All the dragon knights of Romansland thought it must be only a legend, since even his direct descendants could not do such a thing. Of course they can sense the will, etc. of the flying dragon they are riding, through gestures, etc., but they are not perfect. It was very hard to believe, much less talk about it.

Even as she did so, Alfiris put her ear to Dolce’s stomach and listened to the sounds inside.

「This is not good… Mister Dragon Knight from earlier, go back to the inn and bring the girls named Euthy and Lanna.」

「Huh? But…」

「Get right onto it!」

At the strong voice of Alfiris, the dragon knight asked the female dragon knight for permission with his eyes, but she gave a small nod and urged the dragon knight to do so. The female dragon knight then asks Alfiris.

「Hey, what about Dolce?」

「It’s not good. She won’t last till the sun comes up.」

「What the hell! Don’t screw with me!」

The female dragon knight grabs Alfiris by the chest with her tremendous swordsmanship. The two of them are almost the same size, and Alfiris also looks pained at the strength of her arms.

「…urk, I’m not kidding. I’m just saying that’s what this girl says herself.」

「What!? I didn’t feel the slightest sign of such a thing. She flew through the skies today without a hitch…」

「Well, that’s the great thing about this girl. She’s extremely patient. To me you are a jerk, but to this Dolce girl, you seem to be a great rider and best friend. She was trying so hard not to worry you.」

「What?」

「You two are childhood friends, right?」

Alfiris guessed it so well that the female dragon knight involuntarily took her hand away from Alfiris’ and looked at her intently. There is no way that Alfiris could’ve known about the situation of the female dragon knight.

「Can you really talk to a flying dragon?」

「I told you I’m not lying. If you want, I can show you more proof.」

Alfiris approaches one of the flying dragons that are neatly lined up on the side of the road. Then, after some conversation, she pointed to one of the dragon knights.

「You’re the rider of this child, right?」

「Eh, how…」

「You have hemorrhoids, don’t you? She’s worried that you’re having a hard time riding these days. She says it’s fine to train diligently every day, but sometimes you need to take a break and heal properly.」

「Wha—!」

「And you there!」

Alfiris strokes yet another dragon and points to yet another dragon knight.

「You’re her rider, aren’t you? She’s complaining. She wants you to stop bringing women into the dragon hut. “My partner is slutty,” says this girl, and she’s not going to be able to stand up to the other dragons. She’s putting herself in the position of always being complained about by other dragons.」

「Huh!?」

「You, you’ve been doing that. No wonder I thought the manger was sometimes in disarray in the mornings…」

Unexpectedly, the dragon knight next to him was taken aback. The dragon knight who was pointed out was stumbling around trying to make an excuse, but the female dragon knight asked him a question with a snap.

「The two of you, is this true?」

「Huh, no, uhh…」

「Answer me clearly!」

「「Yes, there’s no mistaking it!」」

They both admit that it is true. Hearing these words, the female dragon knight pondered, but Alfiris seemed taken aback.

「If it’s not enough, shall I point out the riders for all of them and let these kids complain about it?」

「No, there’s no need to. I trust you.」

Just as the female dragon knight acknowledges Alfiris, the dragon knight from earlier returns with Lanna and Euthy. Everyone was surprised to see Euthy the fairy, but Alfiris had no time to dwell on such things.

「Alfie, what’s wrong?」

「Euthy, I need you to check on this little Dolce. She seems to have a stomachache.」

「…Okay, this is not good. Hold on a second.」

Euthy quickly jumps onto Dolce’s stomach and begins to use magic to check the circulation of her bodily fluids. Alfiris and the female dragon knight look at them anxiously. Soon the light of Euthy’s body, which had been glowing faintly, disappeared.

「How is it?」

「There’s a weird bug in her stomach. Most large creatures have cleaning bugs inside their bodies, but this is not one of them. This is a parasite.」

「A parasite?」

「Yes, it is an organism that lives by sucking nutrients from the host’s body. It’s a big pain in the ass for the host.」

「What should we do?」

The female dragon knight asks Euthy with concern.

「Normally, I would’ve given her something like a deworming pill, but the parasite is too big. Besides, it’s too late for that. It’ll take till morning at the most.」

「Then, what will we do?」

「All we have to do is open her belly and take it out.」

Euthy said something terrifying, but her face was serious. Anyone could hear the female dragon knight involuntarily swallow her spit.

「Ripping… her belly?」

「That’s what I mean. Perhaps now is not too late.」

「I’ll leave it up to you to decide what to do, but if you’re going to do it, the sooner the better. We’ll do it.」

「Uuuuuh…」

The female dragon knight looks down and snarls. That would be true, because she was entrusting her best friend to someone who she tried to frame as a criminal. But there was no other choice.

「All right, do it.」

「I’ll take care of it. But here’s the deal.」

「What is it?」

「If it works, you’ll have to let us off the hook, okay?」

「Huh!?」

The female dragon knight’s eyes widen.

「What if I say I can’t?」

「She will be dead by morning. And we’ll beat the crap out of you and leave town. That would end badly for both of us, don’t you think?」

「Beat us? You think you can…」

「We will do it.」

Alfiris interrupted the female dragon knight, and a murderous intent rose roughly from her body. It showed that Alfiris was serious.

The female dragon knight takes a step backward at the intimidation of Alfiris, which is a complete change from her previous atmosphere. She has only met a few warriors in her life who could kill like this. For example, a superior officer who had taught her the ropes of the military.

「That killing intent… Who the hell are you?」

「I don’t care about that. What are you going to do?」

There was a clear look of bewilderment in the female dragon knight’s eyes. Dolce’s life is a private matter. As a military person, she should prioritize her mission even at the cost of her own dragon’s life. Even if, as a result, they couldn’t catch Alfieres and her group.

But this female dragon knight had no choice but to overlook her best friend. Whatever her usual state of mind, she is a deeply compassionate person at her core. Then, the dragon knight who had just brought Alfiris to her placed his hand on her shoulder.

「Captain, it’s alright. Let’s put Dorche’s life first.」

「But…」

「We followed up on the report, but the guys we met were mistaken. That’s all right. This is trivial compared to Dolce’s life.」

「Kuh.」

The female dragon knight turns her eyes to the other dragon knights to see if that is okay. All the dragon knights nodded at her gesture. The unit was tight-knit, and the female dragon knight seemed to be trusted.

「…I will not trade your life for Dolce’s life. I will accept your terms. But you must not say anything else, get it?」

「I don’t have to tell you twice, do I?」

「It’s the word of a knight. I hope you believe them.」

Alfiris and the female dragon knight exchanged glances. After confirming that she was telling the truth, Alfiris immediately set to work on the treatment.