đźź Chapter 36:
I don't know what kind of blind trust this dragon has, to place his faith in two strangers he met mere minutes ago. Even the prince himself didn't expect such words from his own dragon.
"What are you saying, Ryo? You want those two scoundrels to help us?"
Haizen burst into laughter after hearing them.
"How hilarious. You want us to help you without our consent? None of this is our problem. Come on, Takeru, let's get out of here."
He was right… Why should we get involved in someone else's mess? We were just about to leave, but Ryo blocked our path. Haizen raised his sword instantly, ready in case the dragon made a move.
"Move, you overgrown lizard, or I won't hesitate to chop you up this time."
Ryo immediately tried to calm him down.
"Wait, wait. I just want to talk. There's no need to escalate things."
Haizen lowered his sword reluctantly, giving him room to speak.
"Fine. Talk. And make it quick."
Ryo smiled slightly, relieved, then began to explain.
"The prince has been targeted by a criminal group called The Numbers. I brought him here so he wouldn't fall into their hands. But if we don't act now, they'll attack the royal palace in the capital."
That name was awful, and his words still weren't convincing. Even if we helped, our chances of winning weren't guaranteed.
I decided to step in.
"You're in serious trouble, I get it. But did you really think we'd agree to help just because you told us your little problem?"
The dragon looked down on me and replied:
"Actually, my request isn't directed at you. It's for your friend. His aura is terrifying. You, on the other hand… don't seem to have an aura at all."
"What was that, you stupid lizard? Look at yourself—you barely pass as a dragon!"
The prince tried to stop his dragon.
"Enough, Ryo. I know they're dying to help me because I'm a prince, but they're just cruel. And I don't need their help."
"And who told you we want to help you, you pompous idiot?"
Ryo sighed and spoke seriously:
"Prince Elithius, we can't handle this alone. We need their help. This swordsman is strong, and the other one… uhh… I'm not sure what he does, but their presence will definitely help."
The prince snapped:
"Listen to me, Ryo. I refuse their help no matter what!"
Ryo finally snapped back.
"Enough, you crying prince! I'm trying to fix the disaster you caused, and you're still acting like a child. Look at yourself—you've grown up. Start behaving like it!"
The prince froze, shocked by his dragon's blunt honesty.
Ryo turned back to us.
"Of course, I don't expect your help for free. If you lend us a hand, I will offer you a financial reward."
A tempting offer—but Haizen rejected it immediately.
"Still no. You think money will convince me? Sorry, but I refuse."
"I see… then I apologize for wasting your time."
Haizen continued walking without a care, while I stood thinking…
A royal reward from the palace? Tempting—but risking my life for money? I wasn't thrilled about that part.
Still… a clever idea suddenly crossed my mind.
"Hey, dragon. I have a condition if you want our help."
Haizen grabbed me by the collar.
"You idiot! Are you trying to drag us into trouble? You're the biggest coward I know—how are you agreeing to this?!"
"Calm down, Haizen. I said I have a condition. Just hear me out."
Ryo focused on me.
"Alright. State your condition."
"It's simple. We'll help, and receive our reward according to the amount of assistance we provide. But if our presence becomes useless, or if we face a life-threatening situation, we reserve the right to withdraw and still receive payment for whatever we've accomplished up to that point."
The prince glared at me.
"You're unbelievable…!"
Even Ryo looked displeased. Haizen remained expressionless. But in the end, the dragon accepted.
"Fine. I agree. But the reward will change depending on how much you contribute."
"No problem."
"Then it's settled."
Haizen crossed his arms.
"Your condition is awful… but logical. Since that's the case, I'll go along with it."
"Good. We leave immediately."
"Right now?"
"Yes. I'll take you to our hideout before we head to the capital."
Haizen went to fetch our belongings and the food he had hidden earlier.
"Wait here. I'll be back."
Suddenly, the system spoke up in my head:
[I hate to admit it, but your condition was pretty good.]
I didn't do anything special. I just made things fair. A royal reward isn't something to ignore, after all.
The prince, meanwhile, continued staring at me with pure annoyance. A few minutes later, Haizen returned, ready to go. We hopped onto Ryo's back, and he took off into the sky.
It was my first time riding a dragon… truly amazing—well, except he looked more like a giant lizard than an actual dragon.
Mid-flight, Ryo looked back at us.
"Alright, we're almost at the—HEY! You idiots! Are you cooking fish on my back while I'm flying?!"
Ah… he found out.
"Sorry, I'm starving. I haven't eaten since yesterday…"
"Then cook it when we land!"
"But eating from the sky is such a cool experience!"
"That's your reason?! And you, Your Highness—why are you eating with them?!"
To be fair, I was trying to break the ice between us and the spoiled prince… and it seemed to be working.
We finally reached the hideout—a small wooden cabin about 500 meters away from the village.
"It's small, but comfortable," Ryo said. "There's enough food and spare bedding for you."
"Great. But why is there a cabin here in the first place?"
"We moved it using two magic stones—one stores objects, even something the size of a house, and the other releases them."
Amazing. This ridiculous world had some truly fascinating things. But one question still bothered me—why was the prince at that lake?
"By the way, what brought the prince to the lake? Fishing?"
"No… he went for a walk to clear his head. Then he… umm… got lost. I've been looking for him ever since, until I heard the horn and found him."
Haizen immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! What a dumb prince!"
The prince's face turned red from embarrassment. I tried to calm things down.
"Enough, Haizen. No need to make fun of him. We're trying to ease tensions here."
"Look at you—you're about to laugh harder than me."
…He wasn't wrong. I could barely hold it in.
I'm sorry, Your Highness. But you really are an idiot.
And just like that, our journey to save this kingdom began.