After a passionate date with Biner, one of the Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals and an archer, I returned to the city with my wives.
Biner also joined us on the way back.
It wasn’t a passionate sparring session under the setting sun that bonded us, but rather a life-or-death struggle in the morning followed by some intimate activities that turned her into my slave. Still, you could say we’ve made up… probably.
The current time is early afternoon.
Since I haven’t had lunch yet, I’m really getting hungry.
But before I can get my hands on lunch, there’s something I need to confirm.
Upon entering the Royal Capital, we headed directly to the Royal Knight’s encampment.
As expected, the encampment was in a state of disarray, bustling with activity.
I grabbed one of the soldiers who was busy and asked him what was going on.
Upon seeing my face, the soldier yelled loudly.
“Ah! It’s you! Master Douglas! Everyone’s been looking for you! Can you go see the Knight Commander right away!?”
“You were looking for me…? Briefly, what happened?”
“That dragon person kid you captured escaped from the prison. It seems someone helped him… And, Young Lady Chloe— no, First Knight Chloe, can’t be found.”
“…Chloe?”
“Yes. Also, a sheepskin scroll with a message for you was left in the prison. The Knight Commander has it now.”
…It seems the situation is developing worse than I anticipated.
I hurried to the Commander’s office within the Knight’s encampment building.
When I knocked on the door of the Commander’s office, the Royal Knight Commander Carlos hastily ushered us in.
He then took out a rolled-up sheepskin scroll and showed it to me.
I unrolled the scroll and read its contents.
“To Adventurer Douglas. First Knight Chloe is with me. If you want her back, bring the Dragon God’s Spear to the designated location north of the Royal Capital tomorrow night. The Royal Knights are not to interfere. If this is broken, consider the female knight’s life forfeit.”
Along with these words, the designated location and today’s date were written.
After I finished confirming the contents, I rolled up the sheepskin scroll and put it in my pocket.
Seeing this, Knight Commander Carlos spoke.
“Lord Douglas. Do you have any idea about this ‘Dragon God’s Spear’?”
“Ah. I have it with me. But to take Chloe as a hostage.”
“I never imagined things would come to this. It seems First Knight Chloe happened to be at the scene of the dragon person Marukt’s escape. Everyone else present— the guards and other prisoners— were brutally massacred, but Knight Chloe’s body was not found.”
“Another massacre. That’s a disgusting story.”
“Indeed. Killing other prisoners as well suggests that the killing itself is the objective. —According to a guard who somehow managed to escape from the killer’s grasp, the attacker who aided the escape was an old man wielding a staff, a terrifying mage.”
“An old man wielding a staff?”
Hearing that, the figure of an old man I encountered when fighting a horde of ghouls flashed in my mind.
A person who called himself Kokuma, one of the Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals, a staff user.
I glanced at Biner, who had accompanied me. The dragon person girl nodded, confirming my intuition.
“Yes. Without a doubt, I believe it’s Kokuma. He said he’d be working with Marukt. Perhaps he got the information about Marukt’s imprisonment from Minister Augusto and moved accordingly.”
Then, Knight Commander Carlos overheard Biner’s words.
“Minister Augusto…? Lord Douglas, who is this woman? Is Lord Augusto somehow involved in this matter?”
“Ah, regarding that—”
I explained the situation to Carlos.
That Biner is one of the dragon people.
According to her, Minister Augusto is a follower of the Dragon God Religion and is likely connected to the dragon people who committed this incident.
For the sake of explanation, I had Biner transform into her original dragon person form mid-conversation.
Like Marukt, the horns, tail, and wings made her look quite charming.
Meanwhile, the Knight Commander’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Biner’s true form.
“Wha— What!? This girl is also a survivor of the dragon people…!? L-Lord Douglas… you’re acting together, but… is she truly alright…?”
Carlos seemed to be struggling to suppress the urge to grip the sword at his hip.
It was understandable.
If followers of the Dragon God Religion were destroyers and dragon people were committing acts of murder, it would be natural to consider dragon people as enemies of humans.
But then, Elen interjected from behind.
“She’s fine, Knight Commander. Biner is a good person, and besides, she’s Douglas’s slave now. If push comes to shove, Douglas can just order her and she’ll do anything…”
Mina and Seraphina’s hands quickly covered Elen’s mouth.
Her mouth and nose completely blocked by their hands, Elen struggled and patted the waists of the beast girl and the Sixth Princess.
Seeing this, I let out a wry smile, and the Knight Commander exclaimed in further surprise.
“S-Slave…? What on earth…?”
“Ah, it’s a long story. Don’t worry about it; it’s about us.”
“I see… More importantly, Lord Douglas, just who are you…? According to reports, you overwhelmed a horde of ghouls with a small group and made a fearsome Meteorite Strike spell vanish like a phantom.”
“That is true.”
“Furthermore, you easily captured dragon person murderers that were beyond our Knight’s capabilities, and you even have another dragon person under your control…? All of these are extraordinary feats that go far beyond human capabilities. Even for an A-Rank Adventurer, surely that’s…?”
Carlos couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Well, that’s to be expected.
While it might sound like self-praise, my current abilities are, quite frankly, far beyond those of ordinary people.
An A-Rank Adventurer is a title that signifies one of the absolute best among all adventurers in this world, a hero everyone aspires to be— yet even a regular A-Rank Adventurer wouldn’t be able to do all this.
The Knight Commander Carlos before me, having been entrusted with the leadership of the Knight’s order, albeit in a small nation, is undoubtedly highly skilled, but he shouldn’t possess the supernatural power to slash apart and nullify a Meteorite Strike spell.
Once again, I— Douglas, an adventurer who has gained the power of the Holy Axe Lombardia— realize that I’ve transcended being merely human.
The ancient dragon I defeated recently said something about being close to a demigod, so perhaps even the so-called divine realm is within reach.
Well, putting that aside—
“More importantly, we need to deal with them now.”
“Ah, ah, that’s right. —If Lord Augusto is someone plotting to overthrow the nation, we might find some evidence if we look for it. I’ll investigate that on my end. —But the problem is those dragon people who summoned you, Lord Douglas. They are already enemies with extraordinary power, and now they’ve even taken Knight Chloe hostage. Of course, Chloe is a knight. She must have prepared herself to die in the line of duty, but…”
Carlos said, his expression clouding over.
Chloe is a young female knight.
Not to discriminate, but any man of Carlos’s or my age would want to save her if possible.
I walked up to Knight Commander Carlos and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Well, I’ll take care of that. Just wait for good news, as if you were on a big ship.”
“Y-You say you’ll take care of it… but do you have a chance of winning…!?”
“Who knows, I’ll think about it now. But well— I’m surprisingly accustomed to playing the hero. I’ll be gone for now. I’ll bring you good news later.”
With that, I left the Commander’s office.
As I exited the Commander’s office entrance with my wives, a voice called out from behind.
“Please, Lord Douglas— save Chloe! She’s a hard worker, and straightforward… I don’t want her to die here!”
“Is that so? What a coincidence. —I feel the exact same way.”
I left the Commander’s office for good, saying those words.
