It had to be said, Duanmu Huai's decision to take the upper-level route was indeed the right one. Upon learning that the evil dragon's actions might affect humanity's perception of dragons — especially that Guleya might even be driven out of Manaria because of it — Anne had immediately written to her father to discuss the issue of the evil dragon's rampage.
On Guleya's side, she had likewise written to her own father to discuss countermeasures.
Fortunately, news came back from both sides rather quickly.
Guleya's father, the Dragon King, had also been deeply troubled by the evil dragon's rampage. After corresponding with Guleya, he decided to personally go to the Kingdom of Manaria to discuss the matter of subjugating the evil dragon. Anne's father agreed to the Dragon King's request, so the two parties decided to meet in Manaria's royal capital for talks about the subjugation. Naturally, Anne and Guleya would also participate, while Duanmu Huai would attend as a representative of the Holy Church — after all, he was a Holy Knight.
Though admittedly, he didn't really look the part.
However, the result of this meeting… was rather disappointing.
"Daddy is such an idiot! A big idiot!"
Anne stomped into the room in a huff and slammed the door shut. Seeing her angry expression, Duanmu Huai and Guleya exchanged helpless glances. They naturally knew why Anne was so upset.
In truth, the meeting had started off well enough. Everyone agreed that the evil dragon was a threat that needed to be dealt with, and they all supported sending a subjugation force.
But the question of who would be in that force… became a major problem.
The evil dragon Fafnir was incredibly powerful — that went without saying. To subjugate such a creature, they would naturally need an elite, highly capable team. The problem was obvious: the kings of Manaria and Regnis could not risk themselves on the battlefield — as rulers, that was not their role.
So who would go?
In terms of strength, Anne and Guleya were the best candidates. But the problem was, they were princesses and could not be put in danger. Furthermore, there was endless bickering between the humans and dragons over the choice of personnel.
From the human perspective, the evil dragon was of the dragons' own kind, so it was their responsibility to clean up the mess — meaning the dragons should send their best warriors.
From the dragons' perspective, this was humans trying to use them as tools, letting them clash with the evil dragon while the humans sat back and profited. Thus, they demanded fairness — Manaria should send an equal number of elites.
But the humans refused. They believed the dragons were trying to eliminate their top fighters in one fell swoop. Unlike dragons, not all humans were powerful; if their strongest warriors died fighting the evil dragon, the dragons could push them around at will afterward.
Thus, the meeting fell into a deadlock. Both sides feared the other's ulterior motives, making true cooperation impossible. The choice of personnel was delayed again and again, and in the end, no agreement was reached. Even though Anne protested to her father, nothing came of it.
In the end, the group returned to the academy without any results.
"Father is under great pressure too. I heard that when he returned, many ministers expressed their dissatisfaction, saying Regnis shouldn't take the initiative to get involved in a fight between the evil dragon and humans…"
Guleya sighed softly, at a loss for words.
"You don't seem all that surprised, Sir Knight?"
Anne looked curiously at Duanmu Huai, who was quietly drinking black tea. He spread his hands.
"This is normal. Once politics are involved, problems multiply. That's why, in so many stories, people can't unite until the very last moment. Right now, unless the evil dragon attacked Regnis and Manaria at the same time, it would be hard for both sides to truly work together."
"But by that point, it'll be too late!"
"Nothing we can do about that."
Duanmu Huai shook his head.
"Since they can't decide, I'll just go myself."
"Eh??!!"
Anne and Guleya's eyes widened at his declaration.
"Sir Knight, you're going to slay the evil dragon?"
"Of course. That was my plan from the start. If I could rally everyone to act together, the chances of success would be higher. But as it stands, Regnis and Manaria may be allies, yet their relationship is far from solid. Even if they formed a joint army, the result might just be more trouble and complexity. So I'll go subjugate the evil dragon — as a Holy Knight, that's my duty."
Duanmu Huai had already decided that the evil dragon Fafnir was likely the final [Boss] of this world fragment. He had hoped to unite the two nations and attack together, but the deep divisions between them left almost no chance for cooperation. This was likely why the situation had eventually escalated into a war between humans and dragons in the first place.
Since neither country could be relied upon, he would have to depend on himself. As for whether he could win… he felt it wouldn't be a problem. During his time studying magic at Manaria Academy, he had collected many [spell cards], and in this fragment world, he didn't need to worry about the [Warp] heat limit — he could just go all out.
And if he couldn't win, well… he could always run.
Moreover, during the meeting, Duanmu Huai had sensed a familiar presence.
Even though neither side was truly at fault, some irresistible force was pushing them step by step toward the abyss. This felt exactly like the handiwork of the [Chaos God of Deceit].
That was the real reason he abandoned the idea of an alliance. The more complicated the plan, the higher the chance the [Chaos God of Deceit] would interfere — and the more likely it would collapse. Charging in head-on and smashing the enemy was the best way to deal with that scheming entity.
In short, no matter how many tricks you had, one well-placed blow would take you down.
And no amount of follow-up schemes would matter.
Acting immediately was Duanmu Huai's style — or, as the saying went, speed was the essence of war. The very next day, after deciding on his course of action, he informed the student council that he had urgent business and needed to leave the academy. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to say he was going to slay an evil dragon — he simply claimed that news had come from the Holy City and he needed to return. The academy didn't think much of it and readily agreed.
After leaving the city, Duanmu Huai summoned the [Metallic Secret Dragon] to prepare for departure. But just then, his head turned toward the nearby woods.
"Come on out. You've been following me this whole way — what do you want?"
"Hehehe…"
At his words, three figures emerged from the trees. The first two, wrapped up in cloaks like sneaky thieves, were — unsurprisingly — Anne and Guleya. Behind them was the ever-present tagalong, Anne's guardian knight, Owen.
"I had a feeling, but I'll still ask — what exactly are you trying to do?"
Duanmu Huai looked at them helplessly. Anne raised her hand.
"As you can see, Sir Knight, we're coming with you to defeat the evil dragon!"
She gazed at him, eyes sparkling.
"That should be fine, right? You've been on many adventures before, and this is how you defeated enemies, isn't it?"
"In theory, yes, but…"
"But what?"
"But can you pampered princesses handle life on the road?"
Duanmu Huai looked them over and sighed.
"I'll tell you now — adventuring in the wild isn't as romantic as in stories. There's no place to bathe, no hot meals, no soft beds. You might wake up to find snakes or bugs under you. In the forest, there'll be mosquitoes and poisonous insects. Honestly, this isn't something pampered princesses can tolerate."
He then glanced at Owen behind them.
The man carried a large suitcase in each hand, plus a bundle on his back bigger than himself. Who knew what was inside?
"Keep two changes of clothes and some dry rations. Everything else — throw it away."
"Wha—?!"
Anne's eyes went wide.
"But what about the books I want to read on the road, and my cosmetics…"
"Of course you throw them away! If you won't, go back!"
Did they really think this was a picnic?
"Fine…"
Under Duanmu Huai's pressure, Anne hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded obediently.
After all, compared to clothes, books, and cosmetics, saving the country was far more important.
(End of Chapter)