We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Blown by the wind.
“Reina, are you unharmed?”
The King did not chase after the sword wielder who had escaped. Instead, he turned his attention back to the Queen. Then, struggling to move his injured body, he dismounted from Gusferus’s back and embraced both the Queen and Lyra at the same time.
“My love, please forgive me… I’m sorry…”
The Queen broke down crying in the King’s arms. Seeing this, the King smiled and wiped away the Queen’s tears.
“What is there to apologize for? You are a victim who was captured by bandits, are you not?”
“No, it was my fault…”
“What do you mean, your fault!”
“But, I’ve caused you trouble again…”
“Hey, you fool. Your troubles are no different from receiving love. Have I ever resented your troubles before?”
“My King…”
I could feel the King’s deep love for the Queen.
Despite being in a position where polygamy was permitted, he kept only the Queen by his side as his consort.
Even amidst the chaos that shook the kingdom, his desire to find a way to save her might have been contained within the decision to imprison the Queen.
If his love had run out, she might have been executed without mercy.
The Queen was imprisoned, making it difficult to see her freely. But the King probably just wanted her to stay alive.
And yet, she had been caught up in such a commotion again.
The King’s swift actions were fueled by his unchanging love for the Queen.
The Queen, perhaps sensing the King’s love and kindness, regained her somewhat panicked state of mind. She then buried her face deeply in the King’s chest.
“It’s alright now. You’re safe now that I’m here. And…”
While stroking the relieved Queen’s head, the King looked at Lyra.
Lyra was also being embraced by the King.
Lyra, for her part, had a more complicated expression than the Queen just moments before.
It was understandable.
She had resolved to rescue the Queen, only to be met with fear and rejection.
Not only Lyra but we too felt our hearts ache.
“Lyra, you’ve worked hard.”
“No, I…”
“It’s thanks to you. Because you supported her, Reina is safe like this. Now, Reina, you should thank Lyra as well.”
Holding both the Queen and Lyra in his arms, the King smiled at them.
Prompted by the King, the Queen hesitantly looked up. She then looked at Lyra.
However, her expression was still one of guilt. Her eyes darted around, unable to meet Lyra’s gaze directly. Her lips trembled, and she tried to create distance even within the King’s embrace, shifting uncomfortably.
“Q-Queen Your Majesty…”
Lyra spoke before the flustered Queen could.
“I am truly glad that Your Majesty is unharmed.”
Then, Lyra offered the Queen a smile full of her characteristic kindness.
Upon seeing Lyra’s unreserved smile, the Queen finally understood Lyra’s kindness. She blinked her eyes open, meeting Lyra’s gaze directly for the first time.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. After all, I’m happy to have protected someone important to me.”
Lyra’s words were undeniably sincere.
Lyra knows sad fairy tales. But those are just stories within fairy tales, not her own past. Therefore, the Queen before her is not a bad mother, but a cherished woman.
The Queen was finally able to recognize Lyra’s innocent heart.
Tears flowed from her eyes, larger than ever, and she gazed intently at Lyra.
“I wish for all of those I hold dear to be happy. Reina, and Lyra. Please get along for my sake.”
“Of course!”
“Aaaah… If you two can forgive me…”
We had no room to intrude upon the bond between the three of them.
There must have been many trials, and perhaps unhealed wounds and lingering sorrow remained. But, encompassing all of that, it would be good for them to connect deeply from now on.
We all watched the three of them, who had cast aside their deep-seated grievances and embraced each other tightly.
However, it was Ruilala, as expected, who rained on their parade.
“Elnea-kun, aren’t you going to chase after the sword wielder?”
“Right!”
Ruilala poked his head out from behind Gusferus, observing our situation.
“Huh! Ruilala, weren’t you injured!?”
Ruilala, who appeared before us, was the same Ruilala as always.
With his noble demeanor and gentle smile, except for being completely naked, his appearance was as if he hadn’t been seriously injured moments ago.
“Hahaha. You know my true form, right? From my true form’s perspective, getting injured like this is like a scratch on the fingertip.”
“You… how do you manage to live?”
It seemed that the injuries Ruilala had sustained earlier were something he could laugh off.
No, he was actually laughing.
While sighing at Ruilala’s extraordinary vitality, we faced reality.
That’s right. While we wanted to cherish the reunion between Lyra and the Queen, we had another problem to deal with.
We had to chase after the escaped sword wielder.
We could sense the Dragon Knight Order pursuing him, but if he got away, we didn’t know where he’d cause trouble next.
“Elnea, let’s go.”
Mistoral was determined not to leave this unresolved. He unleashed the Dragon Jewel and grew wings on his back, preparing for battle.
“Escaping from us is absolutely unforgivable!”
“Letting Ruilala show off his bizarre naked form is absolutely unforgivable!”
No one commented on Ruilala’s nudity, but I noticed Nina was angry!
If the situation hadn’t required us to chase the sword wielder, the twins would undoubtedly have attacked Ruilala without hesitation.
My three wives were fully motivated.
However, I was still concerned about Lyra.
“Lyra?”
When I called out to her gently, Lyra looked up at me from the King’s arms. She nodded energetically.
“Of course, I’m coming too!”
Lyra, who had been listless moments ago, was now back to her usual self. She wriggled out of the King’s arms and hugged me instead.
“Ah. Lyra’s trying to get ahead.”
“Ah. Lyra is monopolizing Elnea-kun.”
Yufilia and Nina then rushed to hug me. Seeing this, Mistoral took my hand with a sigh of exasperation.
“Your Majesty, we will pursue the sword wielder!”
“My apologies, I leave it in your capable hands.”
The King nodded.
At that moment, the Queen, her face wet with tears, turned to us. Her lips quivered slightly. She seemed about to say something, but hesitated and swallowed it back.
“We’re leaving. Please wait with peace of mind, Your Majesty.”
I smiled at the Queen and then activated Spatial Jump with everyone.
Ruilala had slyly hitched a ride, but we couldn’t very well leave a naked noble prince behind, so it was inevitable.
We instantly moved from the hole in the main hall’s ceiling to the rooftop.
“Shoo, shoo. Ruilala, go over there.”
“Shoo, shoo. Ruilala, go somewhere else.”
“Elnea-kun’s wives are so mean.”
“If you think so, then put some clothes on!”
And there, on the roof, my wives were fully rejecting Ruilala, who swayed in the cool early spring wind.
But Ruilala, of course, didn’t care about such things. He basked in the wind, enjoying it with his whole body.
Incidentally, through our frequent sparring sessions, Ruilala seems to have developed resistance to Spatial Jumping.
Lately, he’s been hitching rides on my Spatial Jumps like this, much to my wives’ annoyance.
“But… my clothes were just blown away!”
“I know, but… at least cover yourself!”
“Why?”
“No, I want to ask your sense of shame why, when you ask ‘why’!”
Stop showing us such indecent things!
Should I have Mistoral crush him with his one-handed club? No, that would be impure for the one-handed club.
“Never mind that. How are you going to chase him? He’s already out of sight.”
“That’s because…”
We used Spatial Jump to move to the detached palace’s roof, searching for Lily and Revalia.
It wasn’t that we moved just to play with Ruilala.
It’s been some time since the sword wielder escaped, so we needed Lily and Revalia’s speed to pursue him.
Lily and Revalia noticed us before I could find them.
The two dragon-kin took flight in perfect sync, soaring towards us at high speed.
Without even needing to land, I used Spatial Jump to move onto Revalia’s back.
“You’re going over there.”
“Whaaat, nooo!”
However, Revalia rejected me.
Being told to go to Lily, I reluctantly moved.
Revalia probably wants to carry me too. And I do want to ride Revalia sometimes.
But this rejection is because of the naked Ruilala!
Regretfully, I grabbed Ruilala’s hand and activated Spatial Jump again.
“Elnea-kun, you seem quite displeased. Do you dislike being separated from your wives?”
“No…”
Ruilala tilted his head, looking at me as I transferred to Lily’s back, who had approached us to carry me. While it was true that I was moving reluctantly, it wasn’t because I disliked Lily.
Rather, I like her? But…
“To think he would escape after I went to such lengths to prepare this for him. How pathetic.”
“No, no, Ruilala, he was an opponent you got injured by!”
Yes, yes, that’s right. The one who pushed us into despair after painstakingly planning to rescue the hostage is riding on Lily’s back with me!
“What are you grumbling about? The hostage was rescued safely, wasn’t she?”
“It was a close call, though!”
If the King had arrived just a little later… if my Spatial Jump hadn’t been in time… the outcome could have been very tragic.
In fact, how did the King manage to arrive so quickly!?
I vaguely recall the Royal Knights saying it would take about a day to reach us. Did Gusferus push himself hard?
“That was an interesting sprint. I’ve never seen an Earth Dragon run so desperately.”
“Is that so…”
So, Gusferus had indeed run at an incredible speed.
In that case, we couldn’t afford to waste the King and Gusferus’s efforts.
I regained my composure and urged Lily to pursue the sword wielder.
“Leave it to me! The Wyverns are already in pursuit!”
Lily flapped her wings mightily, soaring higher than the nearby mountains in an instant. Revalia ascended to match her.
“Whoa…”
And then I saw it.
The merciless pursuit by the Dragon Knight Order.
“Mere humans dare use beams. How insolent.”
“Compared to a dragon’s breath, it’s child’s play.”
“This is for our comrade’s grudge. Die!”
From above, the Wyverns unleashed breaths of fire and gales. On the ground, Earth Dragons manipulated the terrain, driving the sword wielder into a corner.
The summer resort… the Royal Family’s land…
No, no, this is necessary damage to defeat the sword wielder!
“Revalia, Lily! Charge!”
At my command, the tyrants of Dragon Peak and the guardians of the next generation joined the battle.
