minute or two. But that wasn't a problem.
Choi Han followed Cale and left new traces of his presence or erased their current traces as he continued to move forward. After living in the Forest of Darkness for so long, he had become an expert at obscuring his tracks. Cale looked at his watch and ran from the secret entrance to the tunnel for about two minutes.
Choi Han was very proud of his ability to hide his tracks. His life depended on it. He was pleased that his talent was appreciated.
- Stop.
The alarms that were going off in the area suddenly stopped. The Mana Destruction Tool stopped working.
— Huuuuu....
Cale took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. The Indestructible Shield around his heart gathered power every time his heart beat, just like it did in this emergency.
"I have no plans to use it right now."
However, Cale did not plan to use this shield now. After releasing the Dragon and bidding farewell to Choi Han in the next city, he planned to obtain the Ancient Power "Living Heart" to strengthen this shield. Only then would he dare to use it.
The Crown Prince was so immersed in the drawing and his own thoughts that he didn't even write down the new information.
Rosalyn thought about writing it down instead, but decided they would see it anyway.
Now that he had time to look around, Cale looked down at the Dragon, a smile appearing on his lips.
The furious look disappeared, and the Dragon himself looked at the night sky with admiration. This was the first time the Dragon saw anything other than the walls and ceiling of the cave in his four years of life. Cale understood how the Dragon felt, and wanted to give him some time, but he simply did not have such an opportunity.
While the black dragon that crawled out from under the sleeve looked at the screen with exactly the same gaze that its double looked at the sky, Eruhaben thought intensely:
"What do you mean, 'you understand what a dragon feels'? Bastard, what kind of life have you ever led?"
And he wasn't the only one who thought about it.
He placed the Dragon on the grass and continued to look at him. The Dragon looked back at his savior. His eyes were filled with anger and indignation as he tensed his body and looked like he was ready to attack.
"It is not surprising that he continued to be tortured for all four years. He does not want to give in."
That's why Cale personally liked this Dragon very much. It was different from him. Growing up as an orphan surrounded by violence, Cale, or Kim Rok Soo, gave up. After that, he didn't want to be the main character of the story like Choi Han. When he came to this world, he wanted to find a home, not even thinking that he might have the power to fight the whole world.
It was quiet in the Room.
The baby dragon turned to the people and asked in a shocked and upset voice:
- A strange person grew up like me?
It was hard for him to take in. It had never occurred to him that people could do that to each other.
No one could answer this question. They felt very sorry for the man named Kim Rok Soo.
Choi Han kept the thought to himself that if he remembered his home world and the social system for orphans correctly, then Kim Rok Soo had suffered much more than four years.
— Hey.
Cale made sure the Dragon was looking at him, then pulled out a pair of gloves and a cutting tool that looked like scissors. Both blades had many magical symbols on them. The young man then put on the protective gloves, they were supposed to prevent damage from electricity.
These "scissors" were one of two items he rented from Bylos. It was not something that could be obtained only for money.
* * *
"I don't know why you need this, but, Young Master, I hope to see you in the capital.
- Do you think I'm going to die?
- All I know is that you are planning to cause a big disturbance.
- ... Shut up.
* * *
Bylos has officially taken the second place for the most mysterious behavior. Right after the real Cale Hanitus.
Cale thought about the conversation with Bylos before realizing that the surroundings had suddenly become very quiet. Choi Han was looking at the cutter with surprise in his eyes, while the kittens moved away from Cale and hid behind Choi Han.
The dragon was still looking at him.
Everyone looked at him. However, those who were in the room looked much calmer.
— Tsk.
Cale clicked his tongue at their reaction and walked up to the Dragonling. The Mana Limiting Chain was made of something similar to rubber. If it were made of metal, it wouldn't be able to accommodate the Dragon's ever-growing size. That's why it was made of something with significant elasticity.
Then he grabbed the Dragon's neck.
* Sigh*
The kittens sucked in a breath. However, Cale ignored them, continuing to move forward, as it would be better to do this as quickly as possible. The cutter moved towards the Dragon's neck. The sharp blade shone in the moonlight, and the Dragon simply looked at Cale's eyes. Those eyes were emotionless, completely calm.
The dragon closed his eyes.
The black dragon in his room decided for himself that despite how scary it all looked from the outside, the indifferently calm look brought an inexplicable calm.
At that moment, everyone heard something being cut.
* Cut. Cut.*
The Mana Suppression Chain sparked in Cale's hands.
- What are you looking at?
Cale teased the Dragon, who opened his eyes to look at him before taking off one of his gloves and handing it to Choi Han. He took the glove and Cale handed him the chain before pulling a potion out of his pocket.
This potion was of the highest quality. It was enough to make it quite a hassle to acquire. It made Cale feel despondent at how much he had spent in the last few days before his departure. Cale clicked his tongue and glared at the Dragon.
- Do you know how much money I spent on you?
The dragon heard the same words he had heard often enough. He had heard them almost every day since he was born. "Why don't you listen to me when I spent so much money on you?" It wasn't hard to guess what came next. Then he was beaten. They told him he needed to stop thinking about himself and start listening to them, and they kept saying this as they continued beating him.
If they thought it was impossible to hate Venion anymore, a whole new horizon had just opened up to them.
Nevertheless...
- Since I spent so much money on you, it would be better if you were healed, you stupid fool!
The dragon felt no pain.
Cale poured half of the potion on the Dragon's back and the rest into its mouth. Fortunately, the Dragon did not resist and swallowed it.
After a few minutes, Cale thought that it really was a dragon. The mana that was equivalent to the Dragon's heart and the source of all its power began to move in his body.
All the damage on the Dragon's body instantly disappeared, and a blue aura that seemed to be the Dragon's mana surrounded his body like a gust of wind.
This change happened in an instant, which made Cale think about how fearsome and powerful creatures the Dragons really were in this world.
- Hello.
The Dragon should have no reason to dislike him anymore. The clever Dragon seemed to understand what had happened to his body, as his eyes had completely returned to life.
Cale took a step towards him. The little Dragon curled up, continuing to watch the young man. He, in turn, ignored the baby's behavior and asked:
- What would you like to do now?
"It seems Professor Hanites has decided to give the dragon a lecture... Be gentler with him than with me."
Cale began to smile, looking at the still silent dragon.
"I know you can speak human language. You are a Dragon. The smartest and most powerful creature in this world," Cale spoke again. "What would you like to do if you were free?"
- ... I...
- I.
The Dragon felt it in his heart. With his current strength, he could easily kill the man in front of him. But the Dragon was afraid of the man behind him, but he could save himself if he wanted to. This little guy had gained the strength he had been yearning for for so long!
That's why the Dragon finally said what he had been thinking to himself over and over again for the past four years. However, this was the first time he had spoken the words out loud:
- I will live.
He will live no matter what.
Rosalyn and Vitira wiped tears from their eyes.
Locke looked at the little dragon and seemed to be deciding something for himself.
And the little dragon followed the dialogue and seemed to be holding his breath, afraid to miss even a word.
- I'll leave.
He was going to leave here.
He revealed his true intentions
- I will not be tamed.
- Yes, you're right, - Cale said that the Dragon was right. - You are the Dragon. The DRAGON! You have the right to live freely.
The dragon, who was shaking a little, nodded vigorously.
Eruhaben only hoped that the red-haired lover of saving everyone in a row wouldn't say something that the children didn't need to know.
Even a four-year-old Dragon was stronger than most animals in the world. It had enough strength to survive on its own, and Dragons were generally extremely independent and proud. They usually wanted to create their own lair when they were about two years old. Unlike human cubs, they were already quite mature at two years old.
Cale looked into the eyes of the Dragon, who still did not trust people, and began to speak sternly:
- I'm not going to take care of you.Cale had no reason to court someone stronger than him. There were also too many potential problems if he decided to stay with Cale to repay him for helping him. He was different from the Cat Tribe children, On and Hong. The dragon was far beyond Cale's capabilities.
The dragon couldn't trust Cale.
- Liar. People know how to lie.
Now the dragon's eyes flared with anger. However, this anger was not directed at Cale. Dragons were naturally born with great pride. This anger came from the years when his pride was trampled by humans.
"That's probably true. I'm lying too," Cale took the Dragon's words lightly and continued speaking. "Live the way you want to live. But what will you do next?"
- I...
The Little Dragon raised his head to look at the night sky. The darkness of the night was different from the darkness inside the cave. It was dark, but there was also light.
- I hate people. I want to be free.
- Fine.
The black dragon turned away from the screen and curled up, hiding his muzzle under his paws. He was shaking all over. They looked at him with concern, but said nothing yet.
Cale stood up from his seat. He then took out some mid-level potions and a small pouch from the magic pouch, put the potions in it, and handed the pouch to the Dragonling.
— Live freely.
The Dragon's black pupils widened and began to tremble. However, his eyes were still filled with doubt and indignation. Naturally, Cale didn't care.
"That should be enough."
He freed the Dragon, took revenge on Venion, saved the village, and helped Choi Han understand what freedom meant, thanks to this Dragon.
"Four targets with one stone! My respects."
Most importantly, he didn't have to take responsibility for the Dragon. He could see in its eyes that it didn't want to follow its savior. It was a great decision. Cale addressed his team members with confidence.
- Let's go.
When even the children of the Cat Tribe turned away from him, Dragon raised his head and watched them leave.
— ... I hate people... They are evil...
For some reason, the Dragon paid more attention to the back of the man, a representative of the race that mocked him and which he hated terribly, and not to the night sky, which the Dragon saw for the first time.
Eruhaben couldn't help but be amazed at the boy's amazing talent for attracting the strangest creatures to himself despite his cold attitude.
At least the cats got cakes.
Hong slowly approached his sister as they followed Cale.
- Nuna, I think he will follow us.
- Oh, yes. I think so too.
— Will I be able to get a little brother?
- It looks like it.
The kittens were talking among themselves, but Cale grinned and looked back at them.
- No way. Dragons are extremely proud and will never agree to obey a human. Besides, this Dragon hates humans.
But On didn't seem to agree. If a cat's face could express mockery, then that would be the expression on On's face. She shook her head and muttered softly.
- ... I don't think so...
— ... Oh, yes...
— The cuteness of these cats is harmful to my health.
Rosalyn could say that with her hand on her heart. Vitira agreed with her wholeheartedly. They reminded her of the clownfish she saw every time their tribe migrated south.
Small and cute. Except that these kittens were clearly more dangerous.
Cale ordered the two kittens, who continued to whisper:
- Go back.
The siblings went to get the ball, wanting to eat some more beef when they returned. Cale didn't even look at the kids, but patted Choi Han on the shoulder.
- Good job.
Today was supposed to be the first time Choi Han saved someone. There was a battle with bandits before, but that was for the purpose of protection, not rescue.
Of course, the actual events changed from what happened in the novel, as a result of saving the villagers from the Dragon he actually killed in the novel, but the main point was that Choi Han "saved" someone.
Choi Han thought it was very convenient to have someone around who was keeping a close eye on him to learn strictly positive life lessons. No matter how much he silently cursed the methods, they worked.
He watched the fight at the cave closely. He himself had never had to fight without the intent to kill. Sparring with Bikros didn't count. Training was always training. Even just watching how to fight someone without the goal of killing them was interesting and visual, since it was him. Plus, he realized how much stronger he was than ordinary people. And how easy it was to hurt him without even realizing what was wrong.
This was timely information.
— Kale-nim.
- What?
Choi Han was silent for a while after addressing Cale before he finally began speaking again.
- What if the Dragon decides to live the way he wants, and that is following you, Cale-nim?
- This will never happen.
"Aigoo... God... You're an unlucky bastard. My condolences to you."
- But what if we assume hypothetically?
— Hypothetically?
Cale considered this for a moment before wincing slightly.
— I don't want to think about "what if" or the past.
— Such views do not come from a good life...
But for some reason, Cale suddenly felt a chill and turned around for the first time since he left the Dragon. Fortunately, the Black Dragon was nowhere to be seen.
Cale breathed a sigh of relief before returning to the inn and falling asleep. That's why he didn't even suspect that the Dragon, after using magic for the first time, became invisible, and sat on his windowsill for a long time before flying away. The Dragon was clutching tightly the bag of potions that Cale had given him.
The room returned to its original state.
Everyone looked at the still trembling dragon.
He was shaking more and more with each passing second. And Eruhaben was about to call him, when suddenly he himself returned to reality.
With a loud cry:
— YESSSS!!!!!! I'M FREE!!!!! I GOT OUT!!!! YES!!!
He started jumping around the room with the energy of a magic bomb. And all the while he kept screaming.
Choi Han got it especially bad. The little dragon jumped right on his head and went for a hug, completely covering his face with a force that could strangle someone, and screamed right into the swordsman's ear:
- THANK YOU, STUPID CHOI HAN!!!!THANK YOU!!!THANK YOU, STRANGE PERSON!!! YOOHOOOOO!!!
Choi Han, whose senses were heightened, including his hearing, was sure that the dragon's cry had reached every cell of his body. But he was in no hurry to tear the dragon, who was overflowing with happiness, away from him. He had a good reason to be happy.
Everyone looked at them with smiles of relief. It was unpleasant to see the dragon lying there, all huddled up. Who knows what he was thinking about at that moment.
Having hugged the Sword Master to his heart's content, the child jumped down to the floor and frolicked there. There was more room there. And while the child was busy celebrating his own freedom, the others decided to make a plan of action.
"Ron, Bikros and I are the closest to that village. Knowing the number and location of the guards, we can get him out of the cave before it explodes!"
- You will arrive there three days later than they entered. The guards may change.
- Cale couldn't know them all for sure either. A small change in the number of guards won't make a difference. Especially if you take them out quietly. Ron is with us, he's a killer.
- In general, setting up Venion was a brilliant idea, it's a pity you won't have time to make such costumes.
- People!
- What to do with the magical devices? We know about the ball and the recording device. But who knows what else was there. It was ringing from everywhere. Cale just turned everything off without distinction…
- Goldie, uncle!
- You have nowhere to get the sphere on the way. And you don't have enough money. I don't know if I'll be able to deliver it in such a short time.
- The right prince! Hey!
- We need to focus on something else. What if we….
— HEY, ALL OF YOU!
There was a deathly silence in the room. Everyone looked up. They had somehow angered the God of Death, and that was bad enough, and they didn't know why.
- Say what you wanted, my darling.
- Thank you, Good God.
Everyone turned their gaze to the little black boy who was sitting on the table, right opposite the place where the screen appeared, and looked at them extremely offended:
- This is my salvation. I want to help too! Stupid people, why should the cave explode? I can just not do it and wait until you come!
For some reason, this simple truth never occurred to anyone. After all, if the dragon just waited, they could come at any moment. But they didn't want to leave the baby in the cave for even one more day.
"I have a proposal," said the crown prince.
"I've thought it over carefully and I think this is our best option, to do as Cale did: kill several birds with one stone by saving one Dragon-nim.
Everyone looked at him with interest.
"We can't frame Venion like Kale, even if we wanted to. We don't have his resources. But what if we just approach it from a different angle?"
He said with a smile. This smile was intriguing. There was something behind it.
- What do you mean by "on the other hand"?
Alberu, ignoring Eruhaben's disrespectful "you", took out a piece of paper with a smile.
Everyone looked at the rough but fairly detailed sketch of the rock.
- We know something that Cale didn't know. We know where Venion's secret passage ends. There's less security there. Only the entrance was heavily guarded.
Everyone began to understand what he was getting at. It actually made sense.
- But how can we set Venion up with this?
Choi Han didn't understand it yet. Neither did anyone else.
- No way. We'll set up Marquis Stan.
In deathly silence he continued, as if this was how it should be:
"I don't think any of us want this bastard to live any longer than it takes us to find him. But we know where he'll be, and we know where he's going.
- And he is heading to the capital...
Rosalyn began to understand.
— We know that a terrorist attack is being preparein the capital by a secret organization. We also know that Marquis Stan is directly connected to them, unlike, by the way, Venion. But we can't do anything about it. We have no grounds for action. Any attacks on the Marquis, the leader of the faction, will be regarded as pressure from the Crown. But what if we ourselves provide ourselves with a reason for an investigation?
Everyone listened with anticipation.
- So, let's imagine the situation. All the nobles are gathering in the capital for a holiday, where an incident occurs. Let's pray that there are no casualties. Representatives of all families must arrive there. But what if Venion doesn't make it to the capital?
Rosalyn continued the prince's thought:
— The absence of a representative from the Stans will be suspicious for other nobles, such events are mandatory to attend. They are not just missed. And against the backdrop of a terrorist act, this is a reason for an investigation!
The breadth of thought of her colleague in the succession to the throne delighted her.
She wondered for a second what it meant for a prince to set up a setup for his nobles, but then she remembered that she and Bikros had already agreed to stare at each other to torture the Archduke in her home country, so she didn't blame him.
- True! This is a reason to check and the other nobles will not be able to say anything. So. We know where Venion will be. We know that since there are no mages near him, he has no way to let his father know where he is. Intercepting a carriage in the forest near the village is not a problem. We saw his retinue. Let's add to this the "missing" dragon and the destroyed entrance from the outside, which only Venion knew about.
— Marquis Stan is suspected of treason by the authorities. And his son, who disappeared along with the dragon, sets him against the organization, since only they knew where the dragon was.
The plan suited everyone. The details remained.
Eruhaben said firmly:
- I'll go get the baby. It'll be easier for me to bypass the tracking device.
Thinking about the elementals that could help the elf with this task, the prince nodded and continued writing something down.
- Then we'll hurry to intercept him.
— What about the "missing" Venion?
Bikros asked, looking at the main planner for this evening.
He responded with a look: "Why are you asking me something so obvious?"
And in an absolutely calm, cold voice he said:
— Do whatever you think is necessary.
A terrible fate awaited Venion Stan. But no one cared.