Chapter 258 – Fire Dragon

000

There was an existence called the flame of truth, the deterioration of lust.

The name is Promise. It means ‘promise’ in ancient language.

The dragon in charge of the fire element, said to be the oldest among the five elemental dragons remaining in this era, and said to have amassed the most wealth.

Its personality her is very arrogant, violent, and self-centered, and its human-hating tendency is the strongest among dragons.

Many people were fascinated by her ruby-colored scales, piled up gold and silver treasures, and a breath of flame that could melt everything and turn it into ash.

From the past to the present, there were not a few humans and other races who claimed to be her followers and gave their lives for her.

The most recent record of her is that her name briefly appears in Lesia’s adventure her.

In order to break through the barrier of flame on the way to the empire, he had sneaked into her nest her because he needed the treasure that Promise had her.

As for Lesia herself, she wanted to speak directly and borrow it, but she said that Sophia, the great sage, strongly opposed her.

Promis was her personality of her, not only to cherish her own nest of her, but also to be terribly fond of the treasures she possessed.

Asking her to borrow her treasure her was no different than pulling out her beard her without waking her messenger.

Since the story had been passed down that she had the property of burning, just as the element of flame had, the only thing a living human could do when she met her was to wear clothes to prevent the armor or cloth she was wearing from melting and sticking to her skin and causing more pain. Taking it off is everything…

Her reputation for her was more like fear than awe.

And it was the same for Amelia.

She calls herself the ‘princess in captivity’, and the magical power of flame emitted by the existence in front of her that reveals her true identity.

Despite not materializing, it was enough to raise the temperature in this room.

Amelia felt a cold sweat run down her brow without realizing it—

She didn’t

“Uh, uh…”

She obviously knew that her room was getting hot, but she herself felt no discomfort or deterioration from the heat.

Rather, it feels like it’s easier to breathe.

“Ah, it’s thanks to that clothes. It makes me hold on a little even within my magic power.”

Promise, who took the form of her red-haired human girl, immediately noticed where Amelia was questioning her, and answered that.

That is, she intended to summon Amelia from the beginning, put on this outfit, and reveal her identity to her.

Amelia thought for a moment about what to do with her.

There is no Ruba or Cleon to give her advice here.

If Aurelia had been there, what would she have told her to do?

Amelia looked down at her own clothes for a moment, and she deliberately suggested herself a formal ‘dress’.

Then-

Amelia lifts the skirt of her dress slightly with the index and thumb of one of her hands and crosses her feet.

And. He leaned slightly on her back, closed her eyes, and replied:

“The kingdom’s princess, Amelia Chaldearis, meets the flame of truth, Promise-sama.”

“Ah. Be at ease.”

Promis nodded her head at her greeting her and looked at her with a slightly satisfied expression.

The opposite of the girl who spilled the juice and looked at herself with a pale expression.

Even receiving greetings from the royal family was an arrogant attitude, as if it was their natural right her.

But, she really must have it for her.

A human race that can only live less than 100 years.

And even among them, a little girl like a little over 10 years old.

The status a human has is not a criterion for dragons.

Promise looked at Amelia, who looked nervous, and slowly opened her mouth as she crossed her arms.

“You must have a lot of questions.”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to answer you?”

Promises, she spoke as if testing once more.

Amelia listened to her words and pondered for a moment before she carefully opened her mouth.

“…I will pay the price. Please, tell me the truth about Promise-sama.”

“Whoa… Okay. You understand me better than most humans. Allow me to ask questions!”

Promise, as the name implies, emphasizes ‘promises’ and ‘contracts’.

The stage does not move unsecured for any trivial matter, unless it is to deal with those who have offended her.

It was a contract she made with humans in ancient times.

If the dragon’s power indiscriminately intervenes among humans, it will surely destroy that society.

Just looking at the example of Lutios, that’s already proven enough.

Therefore, each of them set the conditions for intervening in the human world in their own way.

Promise made it a condition that she needed to make a contract with herself in order to move herself.

Of course, the wealth needed to move the dragon is not normally gathered.

In accordance with the strict law of equivalent exchange, she has made a deal with humans only three times so far, and has appeared in history.

In return, she obtained treasures of gold and silver that would fill the kingdom’s treasury again and again.

And now, she is looking at herself with her smile right in front of her own eyes.

Amelia thought her head her was going crazy, but her nervousness her anyway was to do with her nervousness her and carefully question her.

“…Why are you running a shop like this in the capital?”

“It goes straight to the point. Well, it’s good because you don’t have to talk about it.”

Promis shrugged her shoulders, moved, then looked her in the eyes and replied.

“…Could I hear in advance how much I’ll need in return?”

“Ahaha! Even if you’re the princess of the kingdom, do you care about that? Well, as a confined princess, there’s a limit to the price you can pay. Don’t worry, I won’t accept any wealth from you.”

Hearing Amelia’s anxious voice, Promise answered as if it were fun.

“Well, so to speak… It’s an evaluation. I’m here for an evaluation.”

Promis answers Amelia’s question by raising the corner of her mouth her.

“…Is it a judge?”

“Yes. Soon, something will happen that will shake the balance of this kingdom – no continent. This whole world. Before that happens, it’s a judgment whether we should intervene.”

Her words were a story that further fueled Amelia’s insecurities of her.

The balance of the world is shaken?

It would always be the powerless commoners who were sacrificed there.

However, isn’t that what she says can be prevented if we – Elemental Dragons intervene?

Why are dragons whose mission is to maintain the balance of the world judge?

“Of course, it’s because our intervention has to be minimized. Think about the scale of the dragon’s power. If all of us elemental dragons gather and exercise their power to solve the problem… At least the area around it will be in ruins .”

“Bird, think…”

“Of course I can read it. Anyone who lies to me must be killed.”

As Promise answered, he felt cold sweat run down Amelia’s back her.

She had already tricked her into her identity once, by the name of ‘Lea’.

“I’ll close my eyes to that. It wasn’t exactly a lie you started.”

“I’m sorry…”

When Promis read Amelia’s thoughts again and answered first, Amelia let out her drool as if a little uncomfortable.

However, her fire dragon her does n’t care about her her princess her attitude her and looks at her with her childish independent smile her.

“When it comes to things that humans do, even if demons are involved. It is the promise of the five dragons that we will not intervene as much as possible when it comes to things that can be solved with human power alone. Some fools broke it and were captured. But.”

“… But, even if it’s a review. Why is it in a place like this… How is the review conducted?”

As Amelia unknowingly dug further, Promise smiled even more pleasantly than before, and replied with her ferocious grin her.

“Okay good. You’re getting more and more questions. Did you feel relieved when I told you that it’s not about money?”

“Ah…”

“Well, that’s good. It’s inevitable that you’re worried. Since it’s like this, you’d better ask properly about everything you want to know.”

Promis said so, and snapped her fingers.

Then, the dressing room that surrounded her was covered with the illusion she created.

Seeing that people are gathering here and there talking, outside the dressing room where Rubera is.

It seemed to show the lounge on the first floor where Amelia had been before.

“The trials you will face in the future will ask you about your ‘humanity’. Among them, what is most needed is… The ability to control your desires. For me, who is often called the flame of lust, this is the perfect test.”

“The power to control… Over desire.”

When Amelia muttered as Promise repeated her spittle, Promise continued to speak.

“I already know that the opponents you are fighting right now are the ‘devils’. And that they are bad, nasty, dirty, and lowly demons.”

“You already know about Astarothe…”

At Amelia’s mumbled words, Promise’s expression hardened for a moment.

“You thought, then, that I didn’t even know about such a mere devil worshiper?”

Suddenly, the voice of her became high-pressure, and a crackling sound was heard.

Amelia quickly looked down and saw that the hem of her dress her was slightly charred.

“I’m sorry…”

Literally, the living flame itself.

A flaming personality would say something like this.

Even if it advances like a calm bonfire, if you poke it with a kindling stick, it will burn with a fire.

However, Amelia’s quick apology relieved Miss Promise a little, and he snorted once and talked about it.

“Those who enter this place suffer from all sorts of temptations. Alcohol, relationships with the opposite sex, appetite, desire to show off… It was made that way on purpose.”

“…Then, to see if humans will not succumb to that temptation?”

“Wrong. Desire is the driving force of human beings. There is no need to deny all of it. What I am looking for is to see if there are people who get too drunk and lose their judgment with that desire.”

Promise said so, but Amelia shook her head as if she wasn’t sure.

“Desire is a stimulus. When you are stimulated, you respond to it, and next time you want a bigger stimulus. The tolerance level for stimuli that rises like stepping on stairs. “

Amelia nodded as if she understood it.

Promise then speaks.

“However, the desire that has grown without limit can even eat its own body. For example … Falling into the temptation of the Inma and falling into their puppet her.”

“…”

In Amelia’s mind, something about the succubus that Cleon had gone against came to mind.

“But. The result of the screening was a little disappointing. The reason why I set up a shop in a back alley like this was to lure the guys from Astarote… I’ve never made this shop ‘only for nobles’. I wandered around looking for stimulation in the back alley. A young aristocrat on the street found it. That’s how they spread the rumor.”

“That, was it like that…!?”

“Yes. There was no reason for only nobles to do the screening. Well, it’s one of the human desires of ‘exclusive desire’ and ‘privilege consciousness’, so I didn’t bother to fix it.”

Nobility doesn’t change no matter how many years pass by.

“And, as expected. There’s a succubus lurking in this store too. I watched as some young aristocrats, instinctively aware of her danger to her, could n’t stop themselves and were mesmerized.”

“…Then, the examination is…”

“Yes, if things go on like this, our elemental dragon will have to intervene.”

In the records of the past- The story of the battle between dragons and humans has been handed down over and over again.

Not to mention Rutios, who was manipulated by the empire and became the feared target of the storm of annihilation.

As Promise said, whenever a dragon uses its power her in front of humans, the terrain changes and countless lives are lost.

Amelia swallowed her saliva as she thought about it again.

Unlike before, now I had to stop the dragons from intervening.

To protect the people living in the capital.

“…Please wait. Astarote, I will. I will definitely stop it.”

“As the Saint Princess. Yeah, I thought you would talk like that.”

Promise replied with a nod of his head as if he expected it to be you.

“Of course, your power was created for that. The guardian of the royal road. An existence that receives people’s prayers as a deterrent against threats. The source of that power is the ‘Holy Spirit’. Certainly, the divine mana felt in your body is common among warriors. Even compared to that, it seems to be excellent.”

The power she possesses is clearly the power to fight demons.

However, she was young, and above all, the unknown power of Astarothe constantly disturbed her and those around her.

“But… You can’t do anything on your own. Not even to get out of the imprisoned tower. Therefore, fate has prepared helpers around you.”

The faces of Aurelia, Ruba, and Cleon appeared in Amelia’s mind.

“Aurelia has proven her mettle on her own in her previous battles. She is one of the few warriors and schemers, and possesses a mental strength that is unmatched by her underworlders of her. She must prove herself. It’s … The two of them.”

“Cleon and Ruba… Are you saying?”

Promises noded.

“Cleon and Lubera are much stronger than me. I stopped the beast and fought against the monster that came from another dimension.”

As Amelia spoke in defense of the two, Promise shook her head.

“It’s all the more because they have that kind of power. If the two of them are brainwashed by the Inma. If they aim their swords at you, you won’t be able to defeat them.”

“…That-“

Amelia listened to her and clenched her fists.

Of course, there would be no such thing as easily brainwashing the two. Even if the opponent is a succubus or an incubus.

There are ways to deal with it. So far it has been.

But if they encounter a stronger enemy, can they and themselves remain sane?

Could it be that the soul was taken away by demons without even realizing it, and they moved as they wished?

“So. Let me examine the two of them. For that reason, I closed my eyes to the demons sneaking into my nest. The next story will be after that. Especially- a magic swordsman named Cleon. He cares about me in many ways ..”

“…Cleon?”

When Amelia tilts her head at her words her, Promise nods her head, then replies by circling her beautiful red hair with her fingers.

“Yes. That guy… Is our `shared husband’.”

“…Yes?”

001

At that time, Cleon left the establishment with Carmilla, who seduced him, leaving Luvera behind.

A different direction from the entrance you came in – should I say it’s a kind of back door?

Even though I went out through the back door, I passed by the undead clerk who had the energy of flame that I saw at the entrance.

They didn’t do anything to stop the Cleons.

When I went outside, I came out into a space that seemed to be connected to a passageway through which I could escape through a back alley under a darkened sky.

The magical power of the flame that was a little hot that I felt inside disappeared as soon as I came out.

“Okay, I’m out. Are you feeling a little better now?”

“…Yes.”

When Cleon answered that, she smiled.

“If you’re still feeling down…Don’t worry. I carry medicine for times like this.”

When she said that, she took a small vial from her pocket and held it up.

It was shaped like a tiny potion bottle, and black liquid could be seen dripping inside it.

`Black Maker…! …Was it diluted? If so, too-`

When Cleon sees the liquid and sees her eyes widen, Carmilla, mistaking that the color must have frightened her, puts a kind smile on her lips.

“Don’t worry. This drug is not harmful to the body at all. Rather, it makes me feel a little better. All the men around me have taken it.”

Carmilla said so, and as she tried to open the cap of the vial, the next moment.

Paperweight! Then, black lightning leaps out and strikes her vials, knocking them off.

It was from the tips of Cleon’s fingers that the lightning extended.

“What-“

Carmilla panicked and tried to talk, but Cleon answered.

“… It’ll be okay soon. It’s like you’re having a hard time playing a mysterious witch on the inside.”

When Cleon said that, she raised her head, and she stepped back from her, looking a little flustered.

Gradually, she noticed that once her illusions and polymorphs were stripped from Cleon’s body of hers, she would return to her original form of hers.

“Everything, you…!”

And, as if Carmilla knew her Cleon’s appearance in her, she spoke like that and spread her wings as if to run away.

“Galatea!”

As Cleon shouted the name of her demonic sword, the magical energy that spread from her body encroached on her surroundings and changed the scenery.

Barrier – A small area of ​​black magic.

Cleon wrapped her around with her magical powers her and prevented her from going outside.

“Kuh…! Magic swordsman, Cleon… I hope you noticed my true identity from the beginning…”

“Well, that’s it. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

Knowing that she had nowhere to escape, Carmilla, as if giving up her resistance, raised her hands above her head, expressing her intention to surrender.

“I don’t think I can beat you for making my sisters suffer. Surrender.”

Cleon was silent for a moment at her actions her, but he nodded her head without letting her guard down.

“… I can’t believe I was fooled… What are you planning to do with me from now on?”

Cleon answered Carmilla’s question.

“I’m going to have to interrogate and find out about this and that.”

“… It’s an interrogation, so it’s pretty rough.”

“Considering what you did to people – getting them to take drugs, you should consider yourself fortunate to have endured this much.”

At Cleon’s threat her, Carmilla blinks for a moment before talking.

“…Wait, drugs?”

“Yes. The medicine you had in your hand… Black Maker. If you drink it, instead of revitalizing your body, it contaminates you with black magic.”

At Cleon’s words her, she stepped away for a moment and looked back at the spilled vial on the ground.

“That, like that…”

However, her reaction to her was a little different than Cleon’s thought of her.

It’s like you really don’t know.

“Mo, I didn’t know. I really think it’s a drug that makes people younger…”

“—Carmilla, you-“

Carmilla talks like a human.

No way, the thought passed through Cleon’s head her.

Humans who take an overdose of Black Maker will have their souls twisted and become monsters.

Among them, there were aptitudes, and there were those who reincarnated as demons while maintaining their human form.

“…Carmilla, you-“

If everything she said was true-

Cleon’s panicked voice echoed in the small area.