Prologue
“Hnghhhh...” Ruri grunted, stretching her arms into the clear blue sky and working out the stiffness in her muscles from the long trip so far. The spirits by her side mimicked her actions despite having no need to do so. It warmed a corner of her heart to see them.
Ruri and her party had set off for the Nation of the Dragon King from the Nation of the Beast King. They stopped at the same lake she visited on her way over and began setting up camp.
On the initial trip, Arman and Celestine had nonchalantly sat off to the side, as royalty, while everyone else vigorously worked around them. Unlike those two, Jade was running around with the soldiers to prepare the campsite. Joshua had mentioned that Jade would likely join in on the prep work in spite of being a ruler himself, and that guess was absolutely correct. Even on the off chance that he would leave all the work to everyone else like Arman did, it was doubtful that anyone would object. In any case, it was probably more in character for Jade to be leading the efforts.
Ruri beamed as she watched Jade actively and energetically work alongside the others despite his status. In fact, Heat seemed kinglier as he sat underneath the shade of a tree, making the soldiers prepare him a drink and ordering them around. Everyone watched his hedonistic display with exasperation, but not a soul spoke up because they knew how futile that would be. There was also the fact that it benefited them more if he stayed still rather than needlessly moving around.
Ruri knew she would just slow everyone down with the physical labor, so she volunteered to handle the cooking and made soup. Once the campsite was about finished, she called for everyone and they all started their meal. However, in another turn from the Nation of the Beast King, everyone sat together around the pot—king and soldier alike.
Ruri started to dish out the soup. If a Beloved were to do something like this in the Nation of the Beast King, it would sap the color right from the people’s faces. However, this sense of harmony and togetherness was comforting to Ruri. She ate and told Jade about her time in the Nation of the Beast King until Joshua changed the subject.
“Still, I sure am glad that the Church of God’s Light stuff is all wrapped up. If they had their eyes set on the tournament season, there would have been all sorts of trouble.”
Everyone nodded unanimously in agreement—except Ruri, who hadn’t a clue what he was talking about.
“Tournament? What tournament?” she asked.
“Aah, you don’t know, do you, Ruri? The Nation of the Dragon King is going to be holding a tournament pretty soon. A fight to determine the Dragon King.”
“Wait, determine the Dragon King?” Ruri repeated, turning to look at Jade.
Jade nodded and elaborated, “Our rules state that only the strongest of all dragonkin can be the Dragon King. Once every thirty years, a tournament is held to determine the king. I won said tournament last time.”
“So does that mean you’re going to enter this tournament too, Jade-sama?”
“It’s a Dragon King’s duty to enter. The tournament itself is open entry—any dragonkin can participate.”
“Then, what if you happen to lose...?”
“My title as king would go to the winner and they would be the next Dragon King.”
Now that she really thought about it, Ruri had never seen Jade actually fight before. He mentioned that a lot of the soldiers, those confident in their abilities, would enter the competition. This made her recall the carnage that unfolded daily on the castle’s training grounds. She started to doubt whether Jade, who spent most of his time pushing papers, could beat those battle-hardened monsters. Ruri looked at Jade less out of concern and more out of sheer doubt.
That was when Ewan scoffed at her and said, “Hmph, what are you so worried about? His Majesty became the Dragon King in the first place. No dragonkin around stands a chance.”
“Oh, I see. So, hey, are you and Joshua going to enter too?”
“Neither of us intend to. We know the limits of our own abilities. Plus, I’ll be too busy cheering on brother.”
It seemed Ewan wasn’t particularly interested in the throne. He probably found his beloved brother, Finn, far more important than a title anyway. She could just picture Ewan loudly cheering from the stands.
“So, Finn-san is entering?”
“Of course he is,” Ewan answered, his head held high as if he were talking about himself. “After all, he is the second most likely candidate to win the tournament after His Majesty. If brother doesn’t enter, who will?”
This wasn’t just a younger brother being biased. Joshua even endorsed Finn, saying, “It’s just as Ewan said. Realistically speaking, the finals are probably going to be a one-on-one between His Majesty and Finn. I’d get insta-killed even if I did enter.”
“You getting insta-killed aside, if you were to become king, I could see that doing a number on Claus-san’s stomach.” Ruri envisioned Claus’s plight and the scores of people booing at those results.
“Shoot, if I were king, my first order of business would be bumpin’ up the number of holidays and givin’ people more time off. Don’tcha think I’ve been working too much? I think it’s ’bout time to let me take some time off already.”
Right after the attempt on Ruri’s life, Joshua ended up going with her to the Nation of the Beast King and had been working as Ruri’s bodyguard ever since. Given that he was never totally loyal to his professional duties, he was probably feeling the urge to start slacking off. That was why he was appealing to Jade, who was sitting beside him, in a roundabout way for time off. However, Jade was either oblivious to Joshua’s hopeful gaze or chose to ignore it because he started to talk about a completely different topic.
“Citizens are allowed to watch the tournament. While it takes place, the capital city opens up shops and stalls, turning the whole thing into a festival of sorts. You ought to enjoy it.”
“You mean I can go into town?” Ruri asked. This was good news for her, but she hesitated since going into the crowded town could still be dangerous. However, Jade, the most likely to oppose, gave his permission instead, much to Ruri’s surprise.
“The matters with the Church of God’s Light are all wrapped up. And Lord Kotaro seems to have a barrier in place around you, so I see no issues with you going. Well, with security detail, that is.”
Ruri was pumping her fists in joy, in her mind anyway. She wanted to enjoy the festivities, but she also had ambitions of her own—ambitions to build a hot spring in the Nation of the Dragon King. Gaining permission to go into the city was a great help for that. Now she could stop trying to think of excuses to go.
And it was mostly all thanks to Kotaro. Ruri gave him a nice thorough pat on the head to show her appreciation.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login