Chapter 122: Resurrection of the Dragon Emperor Knight Order

◆ Liliera◆

“You are the Dragon Princess, aren’t you?”

On my way back to the inn, a hooded man suddenly appeared in front of me.

Hmm, another person from the underworld?

But they’ve always launched surprise attacks until now, so why come from the front today?

Could it be he intends to make me lower my guard and then ambush me from behind?

Just in case, I should activate Body Enhancement Magic.

Weakly, so he doesn’t sense it.

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

“You jest. We know perfectly well.”

Yeah, you don’t know anything at all.

“I’ll call for help.”

“It would be better if you stopped that. If you don’t want to involve the residents of this town, that is.”

“What do you mean?”

Don’t tell me they intend to take the townspeople hostage this time?

Even for underworld people, isn’t that going too far for just rigged gambling?

If they turn all the town residents into enemies, it’ll be hard for them to operate too.

“We have a request for you.”

“A request for me?”

You’ve attacked us relentlessly until now, and now you want to talk? Well, since they’ve taken the townspeople hostage, it’s still plenty cowardly.

“We wish to negotiate with His Majesty the Dragon Emperor.”

“Eh?”

Dragon Emperor? Huh? Weren’t you the boss of the rigged gambling ring?

No, well, I certainly heard the Dragon Emperor was being targeted.

Then, don’t tell me…

“Umm… could it be that the ones attacking us until now were your underlings!?”

“Exactly. However, as expected of Lady Dragon Princess and her companions. To think the elites we sent would be beaten back entirely.”

“They were so weak I thought it was the work of some shabby bandit group…”

“…Eh?”

“…Ah.”

Cr-Crap, I accidentally let my true thoughts slip out.

No good, no good, I feel like I’m being influenced by Rex‘s standards lately. I have to be careful.

“H-Hmm! A-Anyway. We demand a negotiation with His Majesty the Dragon Emperor. The price is the lives of the residents of this town.”

◆

“And that’s what happened.”

Returning to the inn, Liliera explained the event that happened on her way back to us.

“The town taken hostage, isn’t that terrible!?”

“Yes, we need to report this to the guards and the Adventurer’s Guild immediately.”

“I think we should stop that. If they see us going to explain the situation, in the worst case, the townspeople might be attacked as a warning.”

Meguri stops Norb, who said we should report to the guards immediately.

“I agree. Since they’ve taken such hardline measures, we’re probably being watched.”

“Then what do we do, Big Bro? Are you planning to go to them obediently!?”

At my words, Jairo looks at me with concern.

Yeah, it’s nice to be worried about by companions.

“Hmm, we should stop that too. They talk about an audience with the Dragon Emperor, but recalling the stories so far, their aim is undoubtedly the Dragon Emperor‘s life.”

That’s right, I don’t think an opponent who targeted the Dragon Emperor would solve things with a discussion at this late stage.

Pretending to negotiate to target a life because they can’t easily defeat the opponent is a pattern that happened often in my previous life, so I know.

Yeah, my life was targeted often.

“But since the townspeople are held hostage, don’t we have no choice but to accept their demands?”

Hmm, I need to take some countermeasures quickly.

“……”

Amidst this, I noticed Ryune trembling with a pale face for some reason.

“What’s wrong, Ryune?”

“!?”

Called by me, Ryune twitches.

“Ryune? Really, what’s wrong?”

I understand being anxious hearing the townspeople are hostages, but this level of fear is strange.

“I-I’m sorry, Master Rex…”

“What’s wrong, Ryune? Why are you apologizing?”

Noticing Ryune‘s strange behavior, Liliera asks the meaning of her words.

“It’s… it’s my, it’s my fault!!”

Suddenly, we are surprised by Ryune claiming it’s her fault.

“Wh-What is!?”

“Because I, because I couldn’t become a Dragon Knight sooner, this happened!”

Ehh!? Why does it come to that!?

“Because I, a descendant of the Dragon Princess, couldn’t prove myself sooner!”

“Ryune is a descendant of the Dragon Princess!?”

What does that mean!?

“Calm down, it’s okay, Ryune.”

While we were confused by the distraught Ryune, Liliera gently hugged Ryune to soothe her.

“!? B-But!”

“It’s okay, calm down.”

Gently, like soothing a child, Liliera strokes Ryune‘s back.

“Ah……”

Ryune was agitated, but as her back was stroked by Liliera, she gradually regained her composure.

Hmm, it’s grateful to have female companions at times like this.

Honestly, if it were just us guys, we couldn’t have soothed Ryune this quickly.

And Ryune, having regained her composure, began to tell her story.

“I am a descendant of the child born between the Dragon Emperor and the Dragon Princess…”

Ryune began to tell the events that happened in the past, slowly, as if chewing on her words.

“A few generations after the Dragon Princess‘s child was born, my ancestor was born. But my ancestor suffered from a serious illness from birth, and one day, it was decided to go to a renowned doctor in another country for treatment.”

“Eh? Even though they were royalty, they were sent to a doctor? If it’s a serious illness, normally you’d call the doctor, wouldn’t you?”

Norb tilts his head.

Yeah, it’s normal for royalty and nobles to call doctors.

“My ancestor’s illness was apparently difficult to treat, and it was decided to receive treatment in a mysterious spiritual domain that has the power to heal illnesses, also serving as recuperation.”

Ah, true, there are mysterious lands that significantly amplify the recovery power of living things.

I went there for research in the life before my previous one too.

And Ryune‘s ancestor’s treatment required borrowing the power of such a land.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, the terrifying plague that took the lives of the Dragon Knights occurred while my ancestor was abroad for treatment.”

A blessing in disguise, Ryune smiles bitterly.

“And although my ancestor finished treatment safely, they couldn’t return to their hometown for several years until the plague subsided.”

Well, that makes sense. Even if the illness was cured, it would be pointless if they caught the plague next.

“And after several years passed and confirming the plague had subsided, my ancestor was finally able to step on the soil of their hometown.”

Even though the ancestor returned to the hometown, Ryune‘s expression remained sad.

“However, there was no family in the hometown they returned to, and the country was ruled by the ministers.”

Ah, come to think of it, the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Knights of that time were wiped out by the plague, and the nobles like the ministers were ruling by proxy.

“Huh? But that’s strange.”

“Yes, since a royal with the Dragon Emperor‘s blood returned, the minister should have returned the throne to Ryune‘s ancestor, right?”

Everyone tilts their heads saying “Huh?”.

Hmm, the atmosphere is becoming ominous.

“My ancestor was also greatly surprised. Because it was announced in the country by the minister that all royalty had died.”

Ryune says that was the beginning of the tragedy.

“At first, my ancestor tried to meet the ministers and inform them of their return, but suddenly they were called an imposter claiming the name of royalty and were attacked.”

Uwah, attacking without even checking authenticity is messed up.

“Wasn’t there an item to prove they were real?”

Ah, nobles have rings and such to prove successors.

“They apparently had one, but it was lost in the assassin’s attack.”

“If they steal the proof, they can crush the claim even if they say they are the real royalty. That’s how it is.”

Usually calm Meguri deduces the ministers’ actions with a rare displeased look.

Even so, that’s a pretty forceful method.

It’s ancient history so there’s no way to verify now, but maybe the plague was also caused by the ministers…

It’s suspicious that the ministers and other nobles were safe while the royalty except for Ryune‘s ancestor was wiped out.

“Attacked by assassins several times, my ancestor judged there was no mistake they were being targeted by the ministers, and faked their own death. And to turn the ministers’ declaration against them, they secretly joined up with the surviving disciples of the Dragon Knights and began training. To become a Dragon Knight themselves.”

“I see. I’m surprised there was such a conspiracy behind that old tale.”

“Yes, but as long as that legend exists, if one can subdue a dragon, there is a chance for a turnaround. That would be the chance for us to announce ourselves as the ones who inherit the blood of the true royal family.”

However, Ryune drops her shoulders.

“Reproducing the lost Dragon Knight techniques was difficult, and many brethren lost their lives in battles with dragons. And a few years ago, with my father passing away from illness, I became the only survivor of the royal family.”

Perhaps remembering her deceased father, Ryune strokes her spear lonely.

“When I became alone, I almost gave up thinking it was hopeless… But that’s when I met her. Lady Dragon Princess, no, Liliera!”

“Eh? Me?”

Suddenly having the conversation turned to her, Liliera widens her eyes in surprise.

“Yes! When I met Liliera, who wields the Dragon Emperor Style Sky Spear Arts—the same as me, no, even more refined—I was encouraged from the bottom of my heart that I wasn’t the only one inheriting the royal blood and Dragon Knight skills, that there was a companion!”

“No, like I said, I’m different…”

“Yes, in the end, it was my misunderstanding, but I was still able to meet Master Rex. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, I was able to subdue the Silver Dragon and become a true Dragon Knight!”

I see, so that’s the reason Ryune insisted on becoming Liliera‘s apprentice.

But after saying that much, Ryune drops her shoulders.

“But it seems it was too late. To think they would do something like this… If only I could have subdued the Silver Dragon a year earlier, I could have declared the resurrection of the royal family to the people at the previous Dragon Princess Rite. If I had done that, the anti-Dragon Emperor faction’s rampage wouldn’t have… Because I was late…”

Ryune blames herself, saying her immaturity invited their rampage.

“I won’t say ‘if only I met Master Rex sooner’. But, when I think that if I hadn’t spent the days from my father’s death until today idly and had trained desperately like my life depended on it…”

“THAT’S WRONG!!”

“Fue!?”

Surprised by the sudden loud voice, Ryune twitches.

And the one who raised his voice was Jairo.

“You ain’t bad! The bad ones are those anti-Dragon Emperor faction guys! You ain’t bad!”

“J-Jairo…?”

“You just desperately did what you could do! It’s natural to get scared when your family dies! Even I would worry like hell if I were in the same position! So stop badmouthing yourself!”

“Umm… that’s…”

Ryune is rolling her eyes at Jairo‘s intensity.

But thanks to being surprised, Ryune seems to have regained a little composure.

“That’s right, Ryune isn’t bad. You worked hard to return proudly as a successor, right?”

“That’s right! The bad ones are the nobles who hijacked the country in the confusion!”

“Not all nobles are bad, though. There are people who will properly be allies.”

“Yeah, we are allies too.”

Following Jairo, everyone encourages Ryune.

“That’s right, Ryune. Because Ryune worked hard without giving up, Ryune became a Dragon Knight.”

“Master Rex… Thank you, everyone too…”

Thank goodness, Ryune seems to have pulled herself together thanks to everyone.

Yeah, yeah, this is what you call friendship.

In my previous life, I never met people I could have this kind of relationship with, but I’m really glad Ryune was able to meet them.

Regaining her spirit, Ryune stands up and bows deeply to us.

“I’m sorry, Master Rex. Even though there were circumstances, I kept secrets from my Master who taught me the Dragon Emperor Style. My late father ordered me not to reveal my identity to anyone until I proved myself as the Dragon Princess. I’m sorry to everyone too.”

“No, please don’t mind it. If there were such circumstances, it can’t be helped.”

“That’s right, you worry too much. Everyone has things they can’t tell others.”

“Yeah, everyone has important secrets.”

Mina and Meguri pat Ryune‘s shoulder to comfort her, saying not to worry.

And having finally told everyone the circumstances, Ryune also lets out a sigh of relief.

“But if we don’t think of a way to do something about the anti-Dragon Emperor faction, Master Rex will…”

Just as I thought that, she remembered the anti-Dragon Emperor faction’s threat and dropped her shoulders again.

“Umm, about that, I have a good idea.”

“You do, Master Rex?”

“Yeah, so please leave it to me.”

No matter if their power is threatened, taking townspeople hostage is going too far.

This is the number one thing a noble shouldn’t do.

Considering Ryune‘s case too, it’s about time we counterattacked.

“Hmm, I sense a disturbance.”

“The culprits are done for.”

Come on everyone, that’s jumping the gun.

However, I’ll start acting with that intention too!

Now, it’s time for the counterattack!

◆ Town Residents ◆

The sun rises and roosters crow.

“Ah, I’m sleepy.”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I open the kitchen window.

There were customers drinking until late last night, so I went to sleep late too.

“Alright, then let’s go to the market today too.”

No matter how sleepy I am, I can’t be late for stocking.

If I don’t go early, good ingredients will be taken by others.

To go to the market quickly, I open the back door.

Then…

Clank Clank Clank

A black armored knight I’d never seen before passed right in front of me.

“Huh?”

Who was that just now?

Moreover, looking closely, it’s not just one knight.

Dozens of knights walked down the back alley with creepily synchronized movements.

“W-Why are knights in a place like this…?”

And after a while, screams rose from where the knights headed.

“W-What is it, what is it!?”

Moreover, it wasn’t just one scream. They came from all directions.

“W-What is happening!?”

◆

“Uwaaaaa!?”

Screams rise here and there in the town today too.

But strangely, even in such an abnormal situation, no one panics.

Yes, because for the town residents, these screams had already become a normal sound.

After a short while, black armored knights appear from the back alleys dragging men who look obviously thuggish.

“Hey look, aren’t those the thieves who claim the slums as their turf?”

“The black knights caught thieves again!”

Realizing the men were thieves, the townspeople cheered.

Coming from somewhere one day, they found and captured the town’s villains like this.

A group in armor with absolutely no known identity.

They are blatantly suspicious, but since they capture thieves and criminals, the townspeople who were anxious at first are now treating them favorably.

“Hey, could that be Rex‘s ‘good idea’?”

I ask a question that I suspected but was somewhat afraid to hear the answer to.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I knew it, they were related to Rex… but where did you bring those people from?”

Catching the town’s villains with tremendous momentum, they are undoubtedly a gathering of experts.

Not only the ability to capture villains, but that unconventional investigative ability to find villains throughout the town.

Clearly, it’s not normal.

Who exactly is Rex who can bring such people in this short period?

He said he came from a rural village, but no matter how you think about it, he’s not an ordinary villager.

Could he really be the Dragon Emperor!?

“No, I didn’t bring people. I made them.”

“……?”

At Rex‘s words, we tilt our heads.

Umm, I feel like some strange statement just flew by…

“……Made them?”

“Yes, I mass-produced armor that moves by magic using the same method as Tyran the other day.”

Rex reveals the trick nonchalantly.

I see, I see, he used the magic that moves armor from the other day.

Certainly, if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange if a group performing as well as Rex suddenly appeared…

“YOU MADE THEEEEEEEM!?”

“Eh!? Wait a minute!? You made that group of armor!?”

“Moving by magic, how are you moving that number of armor!?”

“You made all that, Big Bro!? Amazing!!”

“When did you make so many!?”

Everyone, understanding Rex‘s statement late, presses Rex one after another.

“Umm, well, those armors are a type of golem. Since I didn’t know who the perpetrators of the anti-Dragon Emperor faction who contacted Liliera were, I programmed them to capture anyone with malice indiscriminately for now.”

“He said something amazing casually!”

Or rather, can you understand malice that easily!?

“Then all those black armors in the town were golems!?”

“Yes, though since I didn’t have great materials, they can’t do very complex movements.”

“Hah!? But they were returning greetings to the townspeople!? Golems can only do predetermined actions, right!?”

Mina raises her voice in disbelief upon hearing golems can only do simple movements.

Or rather, her tone is like “Where is that simple!?”

As Mina says, golems can only do monotonous actions… supposedly.

I haven’t fought one, but I remember people who actually fought golems saying so.

But the golems we saw, although they didn’t speak words, their movements didn’t seem artificial at all.

“Fortunately, the rough gemstones I received from the Megalo Whale were usable as the core of the device, so I just quickly made the armor acting as the shell and moved them.”

“Quickly you say, armor can’t be made that easily, right?”

“Ah, I had golems help with that too. If I make the first few golems do simple processing work, my labor decreases too. The dimension is that the work speed increases as the number increases.”

I-I see, well, I can accept that somewhat…

“But it’s amazing you could gather materials for this much armor. I recall the dragon materials we hunted before were used to intercept the monster horde the other day.”

“Right, thanks to that, the dragon scales we hunted sold for a high price!”

That’s right, that was quite an income.

Honestly, it’s several times, no, dozens of times my income from a few months ago.

Thinking I earned that with my own ability, my hands still tremble…

“Yeah, so I quickly went to Dragon Peak and hunted scales from dragons. Though, since we hunted too much the other day, this time I just took the scales without taking their lives.”

“THAT’S CRUEL IN ITS OWN WAY!”

Uwah, so the dragons of Dragon Peak are in a state like plucked chickens right now…

I hope they don’t develop trauma towards humans…

Huh? Did I say something strange just now?

“Umm, I understand the circumstances, but with this much uproar, why don’t the guards get into trouble with Master Rex‘s golems? I think even the guards couldn’t stay silent if their job of maintaining public order in the town was done without permission.”

Ryune asks while tilting her head.

Indeed, now that she mentions it, that’s true.

Even if the guards accepted the golems’ activities favorably, they would at least question them.

In that case, mute golems couldn’t do anything.

“For that, I had the Adventurer’s Guild Master talk to the Mayor, so no need to worry. The rest is just interrogating the captured guys to find out who the anti-Dragon Emperor faction assassins are.”

So he took everything into account.

Hmm, in this case, the thieves captured as collateral damage are pitiable.

After all, it’s completely a by-blow.

“Really, who exactly is Master Rex…? I could believe it more if you said you were the real Dragon Emperor…”

Yeah, I, no we, agree with that.

“Oh come on, I’m just an ordinary adventurer you can find anywhere. Golems are something anyone who researched magic items a bit can make, right?”

“NO THEY CAN’T!!”

Hey you there, don’t make a face like “Eh? Why!?”.

…Anyway, thus the anti-Dragon Emperor faction assassins who held the town hostage were captured root and branch.

Public order in the town improved, and everyone was overjoyed… but.

There was just one troublesome thing.

That is…

“Hey, could those knights be His Majesty the Dragon Emperor‘s knights?”

“Must be. Since they’re so strong!”

“I can tell. Those knights’ equipment is made from processed dragon scales.”

“I recall during the monster attack the other day, someone gave a large amount of dragon materials for defense too.”

“No mistake, His Majesty the Dragon Emperor‘s Dragon Emperor Knight Order really existed!”

“Not only protecting us from monsters, but even improving the town’s public order, as expected of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor!”

Yes, the townspeople mistook the suddenly appearing knights for the Dragon Emperor‘s knights.

“LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTY THE DRAGON EMPEROR!! LONG LIVE THE DRAGON EMPEROR KNIGHT ORDER!!”

Yeah, I don’t knooooow.