Show Them a Fierce One - chapter 12

Ludwig reached out almost involuntarily, his hand nearly hooking the ornament at the back of Anuo’s neck. Although he managed to stop himself from this absurd action in time, he could not suppress the growing desire within him.

He wanted to bring Anuo back.

Back to the time before Leya began telling stories of dragons and knights.

Because he truly wasn’t the type of Demon who liked to share. Since Anuo had already agreed to be his Guidance Senior, then he could only belong to him!

Besides, Ludwig really couldn’t understand why Anuo, a Light Elf, would be curious about matters of the Dragon Race. On the continent of Falres, was there anyone who didn’t know that the Elf Race and the Dragon Race, the two great Long-lived Species, had been rivals for centuries? It wasn’t a life-or-death conflict, just a subtle, ongoing comparison, but still… right?

Of course, Anuo was aware of the undercurrents between the Elf Race and the Dragon Race. This was also the reason he hadn’t managed to raise a dragon in the Elven King’s Land as he wished. As the beloved younger brother of his sister, no matter how much he liked dragons, he would never show it or undermine his sister’s position.

His fondness would only remain at the level of gossip.

Something like-

#Let’s gossip about how Dragon Knights signed their contracts over the years#

#Dragon Raising Tips: The 108th rule you must learn for harmonious coexistence#

#When the Dragon Knight bears the weight of the world, her dragon always keeps her days peaceful#

Unfortunately, Leya’s brief story as a Dragon Knight was already coming to an end. She really wasn’t a particularly eloquent human; if you asked her to elaborate, she wouldn’t have much to say. All she could do was recall dryly, “That’s pretty much how it went. I’m really sorry, and I promise I’ll never do it again.”

The last sentence was directed at her princely cousin.

Even though Prince Adam had given her half a day off, she shouldn’t have gotten herself drunk and dragged so much trouble into the mix, damaging the reputation of the Third Prince and the Glory Empire. Worst of all, she ended up needing the prince to deliver her gold coins.

“Gold-coins?” Anuo wanted to ask: Is it because the Dragon Race likes shiny things, so Dragon Knights like them too? Is this some secret shortcut for Dragon Knights to win the favor of dragons? He liked all things gorgeous and sparkling too-just look at his golden carriage at the entrance if you don’t believe it.

But when Leya the Female Knight heard this, she interpreted it differently and explained awkwardly, “Even though it was Beowulf who drunkenly flew, he’s still Ladon’s younger brother. I don’t want Ladon to worry, nor do I want him to be sad.”

Ladon was her dragon. Her dragon’s younger brother was her own younger brother as well. Besides, this mess was something the two of them had gotten into together. Both emotionally and logically, she felt she should pay the deposit.

It was a deposit, not bail.

This was one of the unique customs of the Central Mista Region: those who committed a crime had to pay a deposit to guarantee they wouldn’t reoffend. After some time, if the person truly behaved, the deposit would be returned. But if caught again and with a criminal record, the money would be confiscated.

The incident happened so suddenly that Leya didn’t have much money on her, so she had to ask someone to deliver it, not expecting to trouble the Third Prince, who personally came.

Prince Adam, with his fiery red hair, waved his hand nonchalantly, “Of course I had to come and make sure you’re alright.”

Leya was the Empire’s precious Dragon Knight, his exclusive Knight, and also his only cousin. Any of these titles was invaluable. Prince Adam couldn’t rest until he saw her with his own eyes.

After the make-up exam, the Third Prince had regained his genius confidence, looking much more spirited than when he wished he could disappear from public view. He was also more incisive. He said, “I’ve more or less understood what happened. This wasn’t your fault. You can save the self-blame for later. The real issue now is: how do we deal with the dragon?”

Ludwig finally looked directly at the red-haired human prince. This was a rare human with brains.

Deposits and such were trivial matters. Frankly, if money could solve it, it wasn’t a real problem. The truly difficult part of this incident was: was this really just an accidental drunken flight?

Leya the Female Knight was stunned, a look of confusion flashing in her amber almond eyes. If it wasn’t an accident, could it have been intentional? Did she throw Beowulf toward Academy Mountain? She’d have to be strong enough for that!

Prince Adam rubbed his forehead; he knew this would happen. Glancing at the Elf Prince Brother sitting almost beside them, and the Demon Race member nearby who looked formidable, Prince Adam couldn’t say too much to his cousin and could only gently remind her, “Many times, a person represents more than just themselves. A dragon does too.”

Leya the Knight was still a bit lost: …So?

Anuo was itching to raise his hand and answer, but his eager hand was gently pressed down by Ludwig, who had also come to sit beside him. Anuo looked a bit aggrieved at his friend-he knew the answer, he really did!

The Red Dragon and the White Dragon were real brothers. And in the legends of Dragon Knights, there was always a rather strange, even borderline offensive saying-the Dragon Race was more like a true partner to the knights than their actual spouses. What was Leya’s situation now? To put it bluntly, it was like drinking with her husband and her brother-in-law, and then ruining her brother-in-law’s reputation.
This wouldn’t be appropriate no matter which race you look at it from. Even among the Elf Race, if an excessively handsome male Elf managed to make two leading Elf sisters turn against each other, he’d be sent back to the clan for ideological lessons.

In the mouth of any Bard, the next step in this plot would be fratricidal strife.

And that’s just the most superficial layer of logic.

A little deeper…

Faced with his Knight cousin’s obliviousness, Prince Adam couldn’t hold back any longer and spilled everything. He had genuinely intended to restrain himself as much as possible in front of the beauties from the Elf Race and the Demon Race-he didn’t want them to think he was dark-hearted. But the more he spoke, the more worked up he became, and in the end, he lost control.

-Prince Adam, a magical prodigy, was overall quite perfect, except for one thing: his patience was lacking, and his self-control was a source of shame.

“Red Dragon Beowulf represents the Free Dragon Faction of Dragon Island, while White Dragon Ladon represents the Conservative Faction.

“The fundamental conflict between these two factions stems from their attitude toward humans. The Free Dragon Faction has always tried to prove that humans are bad and harmful. The Conservative Faction believes humans are the best allies.

“In the current situation, you are the representative of ‘humanity.'”

Was the drinking challenge really an accident?

How come it was only the Red Dragon who drunkenly crashed into Academy Mountain?

Why did Dragon Knight Leya emerge completely unscathed?

If the Red Dragon suffered excessive-or even what the Free Dragon Faction would consider excessive-treatment, that would give them ample excuse to make trouble. They could even be the first to propose a conspiracy theory-look, this is the Dragon Knight chosen by your Conservative Faction, and all of this was her plot to kill the Red Dragon.

From there, they’d escalate to a blanket condemnation: none of you humans are any good.

This kind of argument, which escalates and becomes a group issue, was something Anuo had seen far too often on various social platforms in his previous life.

But three conspiracy theories are no match for one naïve sweetheart.

Dragon Knight Leya listened all the way through, nodding the whole time, but at the end she stood up, slapped her cousin’s scrawny shoulder like a little chick, and declared with heroic spirit, “Great story, very twisty-you should consider submitting it to Six Races magazine next time. The Six Races Grand Competition is coming up.”

The Six Races Grand Competition, held once every six hundred years.

Anuo had grown up hearing about this tournament, yearning for the legendary hero duels, counting the days until he finally made it to today.

“I’m not joking!” Prince Adam was a bit angry; he thought his cousin must have trained herself silly.

“Neither am I.” Leya also felt her cousin had been driven half-mad by court intrigue.

Leya’s way of proving herself was simple. After paying the deposit, she took the three of them straight to where the Red Dragon was being temporarily held. In the cell, a youth was half-reclining-like Prince Adam, he had striking red hair, but his skin was even more taut and dark.

This was Red Dragon Beowulf. He was confined within a magic array, unable to use magic, forced to maintain his least dangerous humanoid form. He was currently shirtless, covered by a blanket that, for some reason, looked as if it were soaked in blood.

On closer inspection, it really was blood.

In the winding flow of dark red, flashes of black-gold shimmered now and then-definitely dragon blood. Even more blood flowed from the youth’s back; if his hands weren’t bound, the scene would look even more like a horror novel.

The sheriff in charge of guarding him was nearly scared out of his wits. Seeing Leya arrive, he hurriedly said, “Please, talk some sense into your dragon. We’ve already given him plenty of Sobering Potion, so he should have sobered up long ago. But for some reason, every time he opens his eyes, he starts tearing at his own wings, as if he wants to bite them off.”

When maintaining a humanoid form, the Dragon Race, like the Demon Race, can, if they wish, unfurl small Bone Wings.

Leya’s appearance left the youth no time to continue fighting his own wings. In his red, beast-like eyes, flames seemed to leap; just seeing Leya made him inexplicably furious: “I don’t need your help, you hear me, human? I can handle this myself-I’ve got plenty of gold coins!”

“So where are your gold coins?” Even Leya, who wasn’t good at arguing, managed to silence him in one round.

He was a Dragon Race youth even less articulate than Leya. After struggling for a long time, he finally managed, in imperfect Common Tongue, to say sullenly, “My gold coins were all swindled. Those damned scammers dared to use the great Dragon God’s revival as a pretense to trick me! Anyway, Lord Beowulf doesn’t need gold coins to solve this-I’m about to bite my wings off, isn’t that enough to guarantee I’ll never fly again?”

Ludwig: “???”

Anuo: “…?”

Prince Adam: “???”

Anuo: “?”

Anuo: “?”

Author’s Note:

Nonsense Mini-Theater:

Ludwig & Prince Adam: Okay, got it, this Red Dragon is an idiot.

*Traditional stuffed round pastry: that’s a mooncake.