Chapter 719 – Intrigue and Kidnapping

000

After listening to Diora’s story, which seemed to contain a bit of self-defense, I finished making fun of Cleon and Diora’s jokes, which were the first to react.

It was Selena who reacted after that.

Unable to hide her surprised face, she covered her mouth with both hands and asked Diora:

“─Diora, you were Drake!?”

＂… Ah, yes. ＂

Has she really noticed it now, or is this young lady just talking out of consideration for Diora having kept her identity hidden until now?

… No, it’s definitely the former. This young lady is an upright personality who finds it difficult to tell even the slightest lie to others unless someone tells her to.

Lionel, who went outside to talk among the young people, would have been quite surprised if he had heard this story.

If you think about the difference between Diora when she is wearing Drake’s armor and when she is not.

But of course, what bothers me the most about her story.

“─Is it Babel? She heard a name she missed.”

When Letios, who was quietly listening to the story, says that, everyone’s eyes turn to him.

“As expected, the real Dragon knows about us.”

“It’s been quite a while since I haven’t heard that name. Literally, before the kingdom was even born. It is a pan-continental organization of intellectuals that existed in the early days of this inherited world.”

Letios says that they were once an organization that sought to advance humanity by gathering all the knowledge that existed on this continent.

However, along the way, as if possessed by something, he tried to build a magic tower that stretched high into the sky, but the tower was destroyed by the wizards of the time.

Shortly after that, there was a wizard who obtained some of their knowledge, and his name was-

“Crowley. He is a being who later built his own magic tower and attempted to rule over humanity. In order to keep Babel’s research results as his own, he erased the organization’s name from history.”

“The name of a guy I don’t like came up…”

Cleon frowned as he remembered Peruluca for the first time in a long time.

Peruluca, the Dhampir girl I met across the gap between the two dimensions, was born as Crowley’s slave and is the only remaining disciple.

She escaped before his realm was destroyed/absorbed with the grimoire in which Crowley’s soul was sealed, and together with people from other realms, she helped Cleon drive out the great evil from the realm of the dwarven king and the goddess of death. It was helpful.

However, Crowley continued to struggle to take over her body.

Anyway, the important thing now is not about him, but about Babel.

“But that’s the story before Letios was even born, right?”

In response to Cleon’s question, Letios nods his head.

“Okay. It was about 1,000 years ago before I was born, so it’s more than 2,000 years ago now.”

“It’s a very old organization…”

“Of course, I don’t know if they are an organization that just happens to have the same name as Babel at that time, or if the organization from that time has really continued to this day.”

There were some parts that were concerning in many ways to simply say that it was the same organization as it was 2,000 years ago, but at least there were some parts that were consistent with the general description of Babel that I had previously heard from Diora.

＂… However, the fact that we tried to gather all the knowledge that exists on this continent in one place is somewhat similar to Adam… ＂

When Adam had to reveal himself, in the name of the father of all things, he passed on his knowledge to humans and received praise like a god from them.

In that they used knowledge as a means to achieve something and tried to lead humanity as they wanted, they may have something in common with Adam’s thoughts.

“Hey, first, this is a story about my past. Are you more concerned about Babel than me?”

Diora looks somewhat sad and talks to Cleon.

“That’s right… It’s an organization we might collaborate with in the future…”

When Cleon answered with an expression as if it was obvious, Diora sighed with a look of disgust on her face.

“Well, I knew to some extent that Cleon was a workaholic. Here, can I be moved by the fact that I agreed to become a modified human for Amelia’s sake?”

Diora puffing out her cheeks and pressing the back of Cleon’s hand with her index finger.

“… I definitely think that’s amazing.”

But Cleon chooses his words carefully and answers like that.

Clearly, the decision to change oneself is not easy for anyone.

She, who has lived a life unrelated to her fight, decides to protect her Amelia and accepts the power of her other being within her own body.

And as a result, being prepared to become a different person from before is something that you can’t do without a strong will.

“… But the person you really want to hear about is Queen Sariel… No, it’s Amelia, right?”

After hearing Cleon’s answer, Diora looks at Cleon as if she is a little surprised.

“The decision and determination you made for that child. Thinking about that, I can’t be Amelia’s replacement. Because your chivalry is for Amelia.”

Clearly, Cleon’s words were Diora’s true intentions.

However, she had such feelings and a sense of guilt toward Amelia.

For example, even after becoming a knight protecting her royal family, he couldn’t visit her
.

During her victory march, a dark giant appeared, and it was necessary to send Amelia to her eastern country, but she was unable to directly extend a helping hand to the child.

I wanted to be by her side a little longer.

Just as Sariel had given to him – no, he definitely wanted to give back to Amelia even more.

However, when she suddenly came to her senses, she was filled with two people named Cleon and Rube La.

Even when she suffered from the fight against the devil and even when she discovered her own secret.

And, even when she most needed someone’s help, she couldn’t be there for her.

So, she told herself everything about herself in front of her and told herself that it would be impossible to receive her praise or gratitude.

＂Yes… Thank you, Cleon. I will help that child be confident someday. I will become a knight who protects Amelia so that I will not lose to Cleon.”

Cleon clearly understands Diora’s feelings.

Otherwise, it’s strange that Diora, who likes Amelia so much, didn’t tell her everything in front of her.

“Ah. I will support you.”

“──… Truly, you are such a serious person, Cleon…”

When Diora, who seemed to have revealed everything to others, sighed and answered, Letios laughed a little and spoke next to her.

“I find that part of Cleon lovely, though.”

“… Well, what is it? It’s embarrassing, so stop.”

When Cleon says that, Letios moves his tail under the desk with a smile that is rarely seen by others, and wraps around Cleon’s leg once again.

For some reason, Cleon felt that there was something strange about the condition of Letios, who was clinging to Cleon today.

And Dio, who could not have been unaware of Letios’ movements, looked surprised for a moment, and then, as if the slightly touching atmosphere from earlier had gone, he stretched out his leg and touched Cleon’s leg under the desk.

“For a moment…! What are you doing, you two…!”

When faced with the strange situation of being harassed by two women, Cleon gets up from his seat in embarrassment, and following him, Letios also gets up.

“Is this the end of listening to her story? In that case, go to my nest like you originally wanted to. I want to be with you today…”

She let out a voice from her mouth that was so moist that it felt like she was somewhere moist, and clung to Cleon with the same sparkle in her eyes that had appeared before when her horn was broken.

When that was whispered in her ear, a chill ran down her spine and Cleon blushed.

Seeing those two people, Selena blushed uncharacteristically and covered her eyes with both hands.

Since she is a noble daughter, maybe she doesn’t have much tolerance for scenes like this.

“W-what are you doing in broad daylight!? Cleon, are you such a promiscuous person!?”

“Oh, no matter where you look, this isn’t my fault…! Letios, calm down! You said something was strange today…!”

When speaking to Retios, who has apparently lost her self-control, Diora also approaches Retios and grabs her by the tail, which she attempts to force free from Cleon’s leg.

＂Wow, the tail is really strong…! Wait a minute, Letios…? Cleon is in trouble, right…?!”

＂Cleon… Cleon is mine…♡＂

Finally, when her breathing became rough, and she was looking at Letius as if he were having trouble holding on to Cleon and trying not to let him fall, she was talking while pointing at Diora.

＂Cleon… Is this fake dragon better? “More humans with dragon attributes?”

“Wow, it’s fake…! Obviously, I was injected with the dragon factor into a human body, but I don’t think there is any need to be called a fake…!”

She didn’t really think of herself as a dragon, and was aware that she was a human who could handle that power to a certain extent, but when she heard such a story from Letios, veins naturally sprouted on her forehead.

“And I am Cleon’s colleague after all! A friend you can trust! We’re not lovers yet…!  The thought of clinging to him like you…”

＂Still…?＂

When Letios said that, Diora said, ‘Hah!?’ And then covered her mouth as if she was surprised.

“It is natural that the dragon factor within you is drawn to Cleon, the sensor. He has already sensitized three dragons… And the dragon ring is strengthening his sensitization ability.”

For some reason, Letios speaks for a long time, and as he says this, he leans his head on Cleon’s shoulder and talks some more.

“That is definitely the reason why Cleon seems like an attractive male to you. And also jealous of me.”

＂Well, like that…＂

Diora listens to Letios’ explanation and looks at Cleon’s face once again.

Certainly, from the first time I saw him, I thought he was a bit likeable.

Of course, things related to Amelia would have had an impact, but I felt like I could smell something nice when I was nearby, or I wanted to talk to her more-

Could it be that the reason you were thinking like that was because of the dragon’s kindness within you?

＇Well, that’s something close to the instincts of an animal or something like that…!＇

When her face blushed with shame, Cleon put his hand on her shoulder as if he was worried about Diora.

“Diora, are you okay?”

＂Aaaaah!?＂

When Diora overreacts to the sudden grab on her shoulder and steps back, Letios continues.

“However, dragons are greedy beings. I am the dragon within you, and you have responded to my presence, and in order not to lose the male you have chosen, both your body and mind have become in a state of strong desire for him…”

“Well, if you know that much, I think it would be better to just step away and calm down…”

From now on, Cleon has been using magic to calm people’s nerves and minds, but since she is a dragon, her magic resistance is so high that even such healing magic does not work properly.

“… It’s already too late. Once this heat is ignited, it does not cool down easily. It’s okay, rest assured, Cleon. I’ll take care of everything.”

“I don’t feel safe at all!”

After saying that, Letios dragged him out of the store.

“Ah! Wait!”

Selena raises her voice as she looks behind Cleon and Letios, and Diora stiffens.

And when he thinks he hears a rattling sound, Lionel looks back at the two people who walked outside.

“What? Is the story over? By the way, it sticks so tightly─＂

The next moment, when Letios spread his hidden huge wings, he flew up into the sky at the speed of light, holding Cleon in his arms, and disappeared beyond the distant horizon.

“─What, what is it?”

And Selena hurries out after the two people, no, one person and one dragon, and looks up at the sky.

“Wow, this is such a big deal…!? Cleon has been kidnapped by a dragon!”

＂What…?＂

001

Letios is the fastest dragon.

She possessed the attribute of lightning, and was able to fly at a speed so fast that her speed was truly behind her, and from a human sense, it was natural for her to appear at the moment of a flash of light.

Moreover, because her desire to be alone with Cleon had strengthened from earlier, when she was excited, she sped up even faster than usual, and flying half the distance of a continent in less than a minute was a new record for her. It was close.

Thud! After landing on the ground with a loud sound, she placed Cleon, who was in her arms, on the bed in her own nest.

＂Ugh…＂

And, Cleon, who was so dizzy that he couldn’t come to his senses for a moment due to the extremely fast flight speed, somehow raised her upper body and looked at Letius, who was also trying to climb onto the bed.

After all, the apex predator and the strongest creature.

No matter how physically trained Cleon was, she could not be easily defeated.

Throwing off only her cloak from the clothes she was wearing, she climbed onto her bed, crawling on her legs and arms as if in the form of a dragon, and then she sat next to Cleon. Come to-

Just like that, she lay down with her head on the pillow.

＂Cleon…♡＂

Still, Cleon swallowed his saliva despite her nervousness as she called out his name in a voice so sweet that it gave her goosebumps.

And, if you think that Letios has raised his arms ─

With a whistling sound, the blanket pulled by the magic covers the bodies of the two people.

＂…＂

When Cleon was dumbfounded because something unexpected had happened, Rhetios then used his tail to pull Cleon’s body toward himself, wrapped his legs around Cleon’s legs, and stretched out his arms. He held Cleon in his arms.

As if it were a pillow to hug.

Squeezing… Her soft part touched Cleon’s chest, but Letius just closed his eyes for a moment and buried his face in the crook of Cleon’s neck, as if feeling the touch of Cleon’s whole body.

＂Um, over there…＂

“I’m sorry, but… If you just stay like this for a little while, I think it will calm down…”

That’s what Letios says to Cleon.

“… It had been a long time since we had seen each other, so she was a little unable to control herself. Of course, it is true that I told the human dragon knight…”

Even though she hesitated for a moment, she soon revealed her hidden feelings.

＂… Gaius…＂

＂…!＂

As she spoke the name of her friend who was like her sister, Letios’ shoulders trembled quietly.

It can never be seen in front of others, but it can be seen in front of Cleon.

If you think about it, no matter how noble her intentions were, she said she would not hold others responsible for her death-

From Letios’s perspective, one of her dearest friends and one of her few remaining kin has met her death.

Being dead is like saying you will never be seen again.

For Cleon, she must be feeling the same sadness as if someone in her party had died.

The only time a dragon could show weakness was within her nest – and within the arms of her responder.

In her long life, she must have had to say goodbye to her loved ones several times.

However, becoming insensitive to such things was like having her heart worn out.

In that respect, Letios is like a friend who still loves his younger brother and thinks of his friends.

It was her natural feeling that she held in her heart.

Cleon then turned his hand to Letius’s head and her back, and hugged her.

Even compared to Cleon, she wasn’t that small, but-

At this moment, she felt small enough to be held in her own arms.