《A Divine Dragon Girl (Bahamut) Falls In Love At First Sight With A Failure Dragon Knight》 CH 1 ¡°Yo, Alto. I¡¯ll be training you for today¡¯s mock battle.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ignore me!¡± ¡°Wha!?¡± He suddenly kicked me, and I fell to the floor of the training ground. Coughing, I tried to get up by putting my hands on the ground, but¡­ My head is stomped on and I fall to the ground again. ¡°Oi, oi, come on, get up. It¡¯s a training session, you¡¯re not supposed to be sleeping, are you?¡± ¡°Gosh¡­¡± I managed to look up and saw Cedric, the aristocrat who always liked getting involved with me. He looked very happy as he laughed at me with a large grin on his face. Cedric wasn¡¯t the only one laughing. About half of his classmates had a look on their faces as if they were watching something hilarious. The other half pretended like nothing was happening. Incidentally, the teacher also pretended to ignore it. There¡¯s nothing more humiliating than having your opponent kick your head into the ground¡­ Yet, the teacher didn¡¯t pay attention to Cedric or restrain him in any way, but instead, went on to teach the other students. My combat mentor is¡­ Cedric. ¡°Come on, get your ass up. Do you need a hand with that?¡± ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Cedric finally took his foot off my head, and I was able to stand up. The next moment, however, Cedric swung his sword at me, who was unarmed. ¡°Guh!?¡± I quickly used my arm to block it. It¡¯s a training sword made of wood, so it wouldn¡¯t cut, but it still hurt a lot. The pain was so intense that I fell to my knees again. Damn¡­ bruises might be the lightest injuries I¡¯ll get today. ¡°Oi oi, what¡¯s that? What¡¯s with the defiant eyes?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Thank you for the training, Cedric-sama¡­ right? Come on, say it. Say it.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you for the training, Cedric-sama.¡± ¡°Hahaha, yes, you can do it! If you had been cute like this from the start, I would have been nicer to you.¡± I, Alto Estenia, am a student at an academy that trains dragon knights. With a dragon as a partner, they fly through the sky to defeat their enemies. I came to the academy with a longing for such a hero. The first month went by without a hitch. But after that, a problem arose. When I found Cedric forcing himself on a girl, I stopped him. He didn¡¯t take kindly to my interruption, and I soon became a target for his bullying. Cedric is the son of a nobleman with great influence, there was no way I could defy him. Once I tried to fight back, but¡­ My parents, who run an inn, were put under a lot of pressure, and as a result, I had to bow down to the guy. Since then¡­ I couldn¡¯t go against Cedric, I was forced to do whatever he commanded like a puppet¡­ Incidentally, my classmates either stood idly and did not interfere or took Cedric¡¯s side and began to bully me alongside him. Even the people I thought were my friends started laughing and joined in on the bullying. I¡¯ve never felt so hopeless as I did then. Asking the teacher for help? It was pointless. The teachers are afraid of the power Cedric holds. Besides, Cedric¡¯s family has donated a lot of money to the school. They couldn¡¯t do anything to offend him, so they continued to turn a blind eye towards his actions. If that was all, it would still be manageable. However, from time to time, the teacher would join in the bullying at Cedric¡¯s behest and it would get out of hand. They were all corrupt. ¡­I wondered how long days like this would continue. Maybe I should just drop out of the academy¡­ But I couldn¡¯t give up on my dream of becoming a hero. ________________ The academy is a boarding school. Each student is assigned a private room. When I was in my dorm room, I could be completely alone. I had a day off today, and I would really have liked to stay indoors¡­ Unfortunately, I had run out of seasoning and I would have to go into town to buy some more. The private rooms are equipped with kitchens, so you could prepare your own meals. Of course, there was also a cafeteria, but¡­ Cedric would cause trouble if I went there, so I tried to have my meals in my own room. It was not just the condiments, but also ingredients that I was running low on¡­ I didn¡¯t have a choice. I would have to go outside. Hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t meet any Cedric goons. I changed out of my loungewear and into my street clothes and went outside. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t run into Cedric. I guess even Cedric wouldn¡¯t bother me on his day off. However, I couldn¡¯t be too careful. I couldn¡¯t be sure that I wouldn¡¯t run into him somewhere, so I decided to quickly finish my business and go back to my room. ¡°Hmm?¡± As I was walking down a street leading to another lined with stores, I suddenly saw a girl in an alleyway off the street. The girl wasn¡¯t alone, she was with a couple of guys. Although the guys were giggling and laughing¡­ The girl had a difficult look on her face and seemed to be very annoyed. It¡¯s pretty obvious what they¡¯re doing.. They are forcefully trying to pick up a girl, aren¡¯t they¡­? ¡°¡­Not my problem.¡± I learned my lesson with Cedric. Even when we do what we think is right, reality doesn¡¯t always reward us for it. Sometimes, it thrusts an unexpected betrayal at you. I don¡¯t want to make that mistake again. I felt bad, but I decided to let the girl take care of herself. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not that bad of a neighborhood, and there are plenty of people around. I¡¯m sure some nice people will help her. There¡¯s no reason for me to take the risk of helping her. There is no reason. But¡­ Do I need a reason to help a girl in need? Do I need to feel obligated to help her? I want to move¡­ I have to move¡­ My legs are still frozen in place and I can¡¯t walk away from this. ¡°Ah!¡± Suddenly, the girl looked at me. When she found me, she rolled her eyes like she was surprised¡­ The next thing I knew, her eyes looked as if she was asking me to help her. ¡°¡­Ah fine!¡± I thought I learned my lesson from my past mistakes¡­ But I wouldn¡¯t be a man if I were to abandon a girl here! CH 2 Take the girl¡¯s hand and run. Run, run, run¡­ That¡¯s exactly what I did, I ran around the city in a circle, and managed to lose the group of men. ¡°Fu¡­eh, ohh!?¡± ¡°Jiiii.¡± The girl was staring at me. Even though I ran all over the place, she didn¡¯t seem out of breath at all. I¡¯m a student at the academy, yet I was still a little tired¡­ ¡°Hey, hey, why did you help me?¡± She was a girl who used an unusual pronoun. [TLN: She used Boku which is normally used by males.] ¡°Why, you ask¡­ weren¡¯t you in trouble?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, very much so. They asked me to go out with them, but I was troubled because they were not attractive at all¡­ yet they kept asking me even after I refused and refused. I could have gotten rid of them by force, but since I¡¯m on a secret trip now, I didn¡¯t want to stand out¡­¡± But¡­after a pause, the girl continued with her words. ¡°A lot of people saw me there, but no one helped me.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± This city is full of heartless people. ¡°But you were different. You saved me. Thank you.¡± The girl smiled at me. It was a very beautiful smile. Just seeing that smile was probably worth the effort of saving her. ¡°Ah¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°I tried to ignore you at first, too.¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want any trouble¡­¡± ¡°But you still helped me, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, I saw your eyes, so I just had to¡­¡± ¡°Nope, don¡¯t think so.¡± The girl looked at me again. Her face is so close! ¡°¡­Yeah, I knew it!¡± ¡°What do you mean, you knew it?¡± ¡°You have such beautiful eyes. It¡¯s proof of a clear mind. I¡¯m sure that you would have helped me regardless of my eyes.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re reading too far into it.¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯d say¡­ But inwardly, I was delighted. I felt like the incident with Cedric had affirmed to me that saving the girl was a mistake¡­ Yet, she was acknowledging me for who I am¡­ It gave me an indescribably warm feeling. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± I ran my hand over my cheek and felt my tears. ¡°Ah, no, this is¡­ sorry, it¡¯s nothing¡­ ah!¡± I was hugged by the girl. Her breasts were touching me, but strangely, I didn¡¯t feel aroused. Rather, it made me feel at ease. ¡°Good boy, good boy¡­ It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here for you.¡± ¡°¡­This looks like I¡¯m being helped by you even though I was supposed to be the one helping you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I guess. You helped me first, so I¡¯m returning the favor.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± ¡°Mmm, You¡¯re welcome.¡± The girl patted me on the head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you have a bad day?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Strangely enough, I find it easy to talk about my personal issues. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯m feeling weak right now, or if it¡¯s because I¡¯m dealing with this girl¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure why, but I confessed that I was being bullied. ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear that. It must have been hard. You did your best.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The girl hugged me again¡­ Every time she stroked my head, I couldn¡¯t help but cry. I don¡¯t know what I was doing, being spoiled by the person I had helped¡­ People passing by on the street looked at me like I was crazy, but I couldn¡¯t stop crying. ¡°¡­Sorry. I just need a little more time on your chest.¡± ¡°Yeah, any amount will do.¡± She stroked me gently and indulged me¡­ I cried for a little while longer. ________________ Soon after, I was able to settle down¡­ When I did, I instantly felt embarrassed. I move away from the girl while blushing. ¡°Are you okay now?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. Ah¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re welcome. What can I say? I couldn¡¯t leave you alone.¡± I showed her a pretty pathetic side of me¡­ The girl didn¡¯t show any kind of disappointment or anything like that, and her face remained amicable. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I noticed now that the girl had scraped her elbow. She probably scraped it somewhere when she was running away from the group of guys trying to pick her up. ¡°Your elbow, is it okay?¡± ¡°Eh? ¡­Ah, this? This is a really minor injury. It¡¯ll heal in no time. You can leave it alone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, you know. Just stay still.¡± Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, since Cedric gets tangled up with me frequently, I made sure to carry a simple healing kit with me to deal with any situation. I took the girl¡¯s hand and washed the wound with water. ¡°Mmm.¡± It seemed to sting, and the girl shivered. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to bear with me. I disinfected it with some medicine, put some medical tape on it, and the procedure was done. ¡°You¡¯re good to go.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ Thank you.¡± The girl looked at her elbow over and over again as I finished her treatment¡­ Then she smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been treated this delicately before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating. I didn¡¯t do anything extraordinary.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m so happy!¡± The girl looked somewhat embarrassed, and her cheeks were dyed red. The way she shyly smiled was so cute. I couldn¡¯t help but fall in love with her. ¡°Mmm.¡± The girl looked into my face for the third time. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡± The girl looked troubled. I wanted to help her, but it seemed to be a problem within her mind, and I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. However, I thought I could at least support her¡­ Gently, I place her hand in mine. ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that feeling warmth in your hands can calm you down in many ways¡­ How are you feeling now?¡± ¡°¡­My heart might be pounding harder and harder. Kyaahhh.¡± ¡°I failed¡­¡± ¡°But my chest feels so warm. I¡¯ve never had such a warm feeling in my life.¡± It¡¯s an unidentified emotion¡­ The girl did not reject it but rather tried to accept it with a kind face, like a precious treasure. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic¡­ She looked like an angel. ¡°I mean¡­ Oh no!¡± The next thing I knew, the sun was starting to set. There was still some time before curfew, but not much time to spare considering the shopping I still had to do. ¡°I should probably get going, but¡­ are you going to be okay by yourself after this?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine. This area seems to be very safe, so I don¡¯t think anything like what just happened will happen again¡­ I¡¯m strong enough to stand on my own anyways.¡± ¡°Haha, then I don¡¯t need to worry.¡± She felt safe enough to make a joke out of it. I had nothing to worry about. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be going.¡± ¡°Ah, wait!¡± The girl grabbed my hand and held me back. ¡°Umm¡­I was wondering if you could tell me your name?¡± ¡°My name?¡± ¡°Yeah. I want to know more about you.¡± ¡°My name is Alto Estenia. As I told you before, I go to the Dragon Knight Academy.¡± ¡°Alto¡­Estenia¡­¡± The girl mumbled my name slowly so that she would remember it properly. ¡°Alto¡­Alto¡­Alto¡­ what¡¯s going on, my heart is pounding and it¡¯s getting stronger and stronger. This feeling, this pounding¡­ I am¡­ ¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Oh, right. I didn¡¯t tell you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± The girl flicked her tongue out as if she had failed in some way. It was a childish gesture, but it was oddly appropriate and cute. ¡°I¡¯m Elt¡­ nope. I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m Justina!¡± ¡°Justina¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d like you to call me by my first name. Nice to meet you!¡± ¡°Yeah, nice to meet you too.¡± We smiled at each other and shook hands. ¡°Well then, this time I¡¯ll be going.¡± ¡°Um¡­ will I see you again?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s hard to say, but if¡­ our fate are crossed, we¡¯ll surely meet again.¡± ¡°¡­Fate¡­¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m really running out of time. See you later!¡± ¡°Ah, see you later.¡± After we exchanged farewells and promised to meet again naturally¡­ I left Justina. ________________ Now that she was alone, Justina looked blankly at Alto as he walked away, her cheeks stained red. Gently, she put her hand on her chest. Her heart was still beating rapidly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ I can¡¯t stop my heart from pounding. And I¡¯m feeling so lonely right now.¡± She naturally thought of Alto. Alto¡¯s voice, Alto¡¯s smile, the warmth of Alto¡¯s hands¡­ Each of these things stirred Justina¡¯s heart and gave her a gentle yet pleasant stimulation. When he called her name, she thought her heart was going to explode. ¡°Alto¡­Alto¡­Alto¡­¡± She called his name over and over again¡­ Then, unexpectedly, she understood. ¡°I see¡­ this is love.¡± Justina smiled softly and happily, and her face was as red as an apple. On this day, a girl named Justina experienced her first love¡­ She experienced love at first sight. CH 3 One week later. I was going about my days like any other. I went to school, Cedric bullied me, and I went back to the dorm exhausted¡­ The cycle kept repeating. How long could this go on for? I was sick and tired of it¡­ But there was nothing I could do about it, I had to accept my situation. It was on one of those days that an emergency assembly was to be held, so we moved to the academy¡¯s field. What was going on? Had something happened, or was something about to happen? I mean, why the field? The academy assemblies were always held in the auditorium¡­ I wondered what was going on, but waited for the teacher to speak. After a while, the head of the school took the stage. ¡°Eh¡­ today I¡¯d like to introduce you all to a new friend.¡± By new friend, do you mean new student? But why hold an assembly just to introduce a new student? At the teacher¡¯s signal, the new student appeared and climbed to the podium. She¡¯s about¡­ fifteen, the same age as me. Her black hair, as bright as the night sky, was long and her hair band shined like a star. Her face was young, and she was more cute than beautiful. However, it gave off a sense of charm, and this was what will make her popular. She had an appearance that naturally attracts people. The body that wears the school uniform was¡­ I know it¡¯s rude to say this, but it was somewhat undulating. But in other words, it was healthy and full of energy and strength. The girl was¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you all. My name is Justina Eltoselk!¡± She greeted us with a smiling, charming face. ¡°¡­¡± I was so surprised that I was speechless. I had no idea that the girl from that time would be transferring to my academy¡­ What a strange coincidence. Or maybe¡­fate? ¡°Fu.¡± I laughed at myself for thinking such a ridiculous thing. What kind of destiny was this? It¡¯s not like anything was going to change just because Justina transferred in. ¡­That¡¯s what I was thinking about. But rather seriously, my destiny would change drastically after this. ¡°Uh¡­ this is Justina-san¡­¡± ¡°I have no reason to be called by my name by my teacher. Only authorized people are allowed to call us by our names, okay? That¡¯s how important a name is to us, you know?¡± ¡°Eltoselk-san is here¡­¡± Justina glared at him with a smile, and the teacher reiterated, sweat trickling down his face. What is it? It seems like he¡¯s scared to go against Justina, or maybe he¡¯s just scared of her¡­ Could it be that she is a great aristocrat like Cedric? ¡°Actually, she is a little¡­ no, quite a bit different from everyone else, she is a little bit special¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much for you. I¡¯ll explain the rest.¡± Taking the teacher¡¯s cue, Justina stepped forward. She cleared his throat then¡­ She smiled and blurted out a bombshell. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not a human, I¡¯m a dragon.¡± After a moment of silence¡­ Many of the students laughed. Is she, like, surprisingly funny? She has a lot of guts to make a joke out of nowhere. I could hear a few people saying things like that. Seeing their reaction, Justina sighed. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me at first. Well, I understand. The teachers didn¡¯t believe me at first, either. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to show you the evidence now.¡± Justina stepped down from the podium with a thump. Then she moved to a place where no one was around. As if to say that if there were people around, they would get in the way. ¡°Hou.¡± Justina¡¯s body was enveloped in light¡­ Suddenly, the light became huge and began to shine brightly. After the light dimmed, there was¡­ There was a jet-black dragon. ¡°¡­Seriously?¡± Whose murmur was that, I wonder? It was probably the voice of everyone in the room, including me. ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± The jet-black dragon¡­ Justina opened her mouth. I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s talking, but she¡¯s speaking the proper human language. ¡°I¡¯m really a dragon. Do you understand me now?¡± The students are buzzing and instantly become noisy. The teachers, on the other hand, looked somewhat resigned and remained very quiet. I see. So the teachers knew about Justina¡¯s true identity. ¡°O-Oi¡­that dragon, could it be the divine dragon Bahamut¡­?¡± ¡°Eh!? It is said to be the strongest of the strongest, standing at the top of the dragons?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a legend¡­ it¡¯s said to have defeated the Demon Lord in a complete landslide¡­¡± Various rumors were flying around, and when Justina overheard them, she opened her mouth. ¡°When you said I fought the demon king and won, you probably mean my mother, right? I may look like this, but I¡¯m still a 15-year-old maiden.¡± ¡°H-Heh¡­?¡± ¡°But I¡¯m confident in my strength. I think I can blow away up to 10,000 of those demons with one blow.¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­¡± I could no longer help but laugh dryly. ¡°There we go.¡± Justina was surrounded by light¡­ And reverted back to her human form. She returned to the podium and continued her story. ¡°I have something I want to do, and so, I decided to enroll in this school! What is it that I want to do? ¡­Well¡­¡± Justina scampered over to the students and¡­ Suddenly, her eyes met mine. Instantly, as if a flower had bloomed, Justina¡¯s face turned into a full-blown smile. ¡°I found you! I knew you were here!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Justina jumped down from the platform. She landed gorgeously on the ground with a thump, and then began to run. That destination is¡­ me? ¡°Alto!!!¡± ¡°Owa!?¡± Justina gave me a big hug. ¡°Alto! Alto, Alto, Alto! I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± ¡°W-Whoa? What are you doing here¡­?¡± ¡°I came here to meet you, Alto!¡± The eyes of the surrounding students are all focused on us. In this situation, Justina drops another bombshell. ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be Alto¡¯s cavalry dragon!¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t have to worry about anything anymore. You¡¯ll be safe. You¡¯ll be fine!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ but Jus-Eltoselk-san? What are you talking about¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to call me Justina, not Eltoselk. That¡¯s what I introduced myself as the other day, right?¡± ¡°No, but¡­ it¡¯s a very important name, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very important.¡± ¡°Then I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine if it¡¯s Alto?¡± She also hugged me tightly. ¡°Alto is someone I approve of, you know. I don¡¯t like it if you don¡¯t call me by my first name, or rather¡­ you called me by my last name.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Justina?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± When I called out her name, she looked extremely happy. ¡°Ummm.¡± One of the students spoke to us timidly. ¡°What in the world is your relationship¡­?¡± Then, Justina dropped one of the biggest bombshells of the day. ¡°I¡¯ve fallen in love with Alto at first sight. That¡¯s why I followed him to this school! So our relationship is more like¡­ a future husband and wife!¡± After a moment of silence. ¡°Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!!!!!?¡± Everyone in the room, including me, shouted in astonishment. CH 4 I live in Almort, the dragon country. As the name suggests, it is a country where dragons coexist with humans. The city is built at the foot of the mountain, with the other side of the mountain being where the dragons live. The dragon is said to be the strongest creature, and its power is overwhelming. An ordinary demon would be no match for it, and if a person tried to confront it, they would be easily killed. They are said to be the strongest and most powerful creatures, but they are also the most intelligent. It is said that they understand human language and are, in fact, more intelligent than humans. They are also a proud race that will not get caught up in greed. The first King of Almort had an audience with such a dragon and succeeded in forming an alliance with it. Since then, Almort has been known as the Dragon Kingdom¡­ People and dragons have walked hand in hand together and have prospered. Because of this historical background, in Almort, dragons are seen as friends and not something to be feared. Normally, the dragons live in the mountains, but¡­ They occasionally come down to the city to interact with each other. Just that¡­ It was unheard of for a dragon to transform into human form and enter the Dragon Knight Academy. With Justina¡¯s appearance, the academy was buzzing with excitement. ¡°So¡­ once again, I¡¯m Justina Eltoselk! You can just call me Eltoselk. Or my nickname if you like. Oh, but names are sacred to dragons, so I can¡¯t let anyone call me by my name. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± Back in the classroom¡­ Justina, who was assigned to our class, introduced herself again. Everyone was stunned by the new student, who they never expected. I know how you feel. I¡¯m still stunned, too. The sensei said as he looked around the classroom. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ then, Eltoselk-san¡¯s seat is¡­¡± ¡°I want to be next to Alto!¡± ¡°Eh? But the seat next to Estenia-kun is already¡­¡± ¡°Hey, can you switch seats with me?¡± Not listening to the teacher, Justina went straight to the student sitting next to me. ¡°Eh, uh¡­ yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Mmm, thanks! You¡¯re a good guy.¡± ¡°Fu.¡± The boy sitting next to me was blushing as he was greeted by Justina¡¯s sparkling smile. That¡¯s how attractive Justina¡¯s smile is. Justina took a seat next to me and smiled at me, a smile that was many times more beautiful than the one she had just given others. ¡°Ehehe, we¡¯re neighbors.¡± ¡°Ah, ahh¡­¡± ¡°Nice to meet you again, Alto!¡± ¡°Nice to meet you¡­?¡± What was going on¡­ I couldn¡¯t catch up with the hectic flow of reality, and I remained confused. ________________ The first period of class was over, and recess was upon us. Immediately, her classmates gathered around the seat¡­ next to her. ¡°Hey, hey, is Eltoselk-san really a dragon?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Didn¡¯t I show you how I transformed at the school assembly? Other dragons can¡¯t, but me and some select others can transform into humans. We haven¡¯t talked about it much, so I guess you were not aware of the fact.¡± ¡°Maybe, just maybe, but¡­ would the Bahamuts, the strongest dragon species, be equal to royalty in human terms?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a good answer. But it¡¯s not like I¡¯m a big deal or anything, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d treat me normally.¡± She was asked a barrage of questions, but she answered each one with a polite smile. With her appearance and personality, she quickly became a popular girl in the class. ¡°Um, is it¡­ true that you fell in love with Estenia at first sight?¡± ¡°Yes! Of course. I love Alto very much!¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told¡­ I¡¯m not going to lie, I¡¯m more confused than happy. I don¡¯t remember doing anything that would make her like me. That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t feel quite right to me¡­ I can¡¯t accept Justina¡¯s affection, and I don¡¯t know what to do about it. ¡°I-I see¡­Eltoselk-san said that Estenia¡­¡± My classmates gave me a subtle look. If I were a normal student, they¡¯d be screaming¡­ Unfortunately, I¡¯m a nuisance in the eyes of a nobleman¡¯s son. My classmates were confused as they didn¡¯t seem to know how to react. ¡°Oi, oi, oi, you¡¯re in love with Estenia? A dragon is? That¡¯s impossible.¡± He couldn¡¯t miss a conversation like this¡­ ¡°Estenia is helpless, he¡¯s a failure. To fall in love with someone like that, Eltoselk, is a bit in poor taste.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Justina looked blatantly unhappy at Cedric¡¯s sudden appearance. ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Cedric Astheim, the eldest son of the Astheim family, one of the five great noble houses of Almort.¡± ¡°Oh¡­?¡± Justina tilted her head and nodded her head as if to say. You definitely don¡¯t know me well. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this guy, Eltoselk-san. Your love at first sight is probably just a misunderstanding. You¡¯ll find out soon enough. You¡¯ll find out who really is a great guy.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m better than that piece of sh*t? Come on, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Cedric boldly put his hand on Justina¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll show you what a real man is like. Fortunately, you¡¯re beautiful. You definitely deserve my favor.¡± ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°You should be flattered. I¡¯m the eldest of one of the five great noble families, and it¡¯s not normal for me to be so serious. It¡¯s the greatest happiness of all. Hey¡­ Justina.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Justina¡¯s eyes flashed with anger as she heard him use her first name. Dragons only allow their family members or those who are close to them to call them by their first names. That is how sacred and important a name is to a dragon. A Cedric that casually jumps over that line can no longer be called anything but an idiot. Justina¡¯s anger exploded¡­ But before she could, I grabbed Cedric¡¯s hand that was on Justina¡¯s shoulder and pulled him away. ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°¡­Oi, what do you think you are doing?¡± When Cedric stared at me, I shuddered pitifully. I know I don¡¯t want to lose to this guy, but¡­ The fear of being bullied has seeped into my body. I can¡¯t shake it off and I was at a loss for words. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna fight me, are you? Ah? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­ apparently, I didn¡¯t train you well enough.¡± ¡°Damn¡­¡± ¡°Now, shall I thoroughly destroy that shabby inn that is your parents¡¯ home? Or shall I beat them to a pulp with my training? Hey, hey, which one do you want? I¡¯ll give you a special choice.¡± ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t¡­!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not a demon. I¡¯ll forgive you if you get down on your knees and apologize for just thinking about interfering with me. Also, please tell Justina. Tell her that it¡¯s not you who deserves Justina, it¡¯s me¡­¡± I¡¯ll be honest. I¡¯m ashamed, but I¡¯m afraid of Cedric. Even if it wasn¡¯t for my parents¡¯ house, I would have apologized. But¡­ There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to sell out Justina here. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m going to reciprocate her feelings, that remains to be seen¡­ But, no man can sell out a girl who says she loves him! ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­Ah? What the fuck did you just say?¡± ¡°I said no. I won¡¯t listen to Cedric.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Justina is not a girl Cedric should be messing with. Stop it.¡± ¡°All right, all right. If you want to die that badly, I¡¯ll do whatever you want. For the sin of pissing me off, I¡¯ll teach that body a lot¡­¡± ¡°Alto!!!¡± Completely ignoring Cedric¡­ I mean, she didn¡¯t seem to see a piece of him, and suddenly, Justina hugged me. ¡°Whoa!?¡± Unable to cope with the suddenness of the situation, I involuntarily fell. Justina leaned in close to me as if she was going to push me over. Her eyes were shining brightly. ¡°I¡¯m so touched that you said that much for me!¡± ¡°Eh, no¡­ that was more like¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. Alto doesn¡¯t know what to do with me yet, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, that¡¯s right. Sorry.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. I understand that I¡¯m pushy. But you know.¡± Laughing softly, Justina hugged me again. ¡°Even so, I¡¯m very happy that you helped me. Thank you, Alto. You¡¯ve saved me again.¡± I wonder why. I couldn¡¯t have been so bold before¡­ Was it because I was dealing with Justina? Strangely, I felt brave. It¡¯s just. Courage alone is not the answer to everything. ¡°What a stupid farce you¡¯ve turned out to be.¡± Cedric was burning with rage. ¡°Anyways¡­ Alto, you¡¯re half dead. I¡¯ll beat you up so bad you won¡¯t even be able to eat food for patients. But then again, Justina, I¡¯ll never forgive anyone who mocks me, even if they¡¯re a woman. Fortunately, you¡¯ve got a good face. I¡¯m going to have a lot of fun with you, hehehe.¡± ¡°Ku¡­!¡± I have to protect Justina at all costs. I was about to get up with all my might¡­ But Justina stood in front of me. ¡° ¡®I¡¯ll never forgive you.¡¯ That¡¯s my line.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? I told you that a dragon¡¯s name is sacred and not just anyone can say it¡­¡± ¡°Huh? What about it? You think I¡¯m scared of you because you¡¯re a dragon? Don¡¯t underestimate me, you¡¯re just a little girl.¡± ¡°And¡­ you¡¯ve been bullying Alto? I¡¯ll never¡­ forgive you for that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with kicking trash? There is no other use for such trash other than to be taken care of by me. He should rather be grateful and guffaw¡ª!¡± Justina blew Cedric away with a decapitating blow. Cedric¡¯s body flew as if he were hit by a giant iron ball. He knocked over a desk, smashed through a wall leading to a hallway, and then through a window. His momentum didn¡¯t stop, and he was blown tens of dozens of meters away¡­ He dropped straight down into the center of the field and finally stopped. It¡¯s hard to say because it¡¯s so far away¡­ But I could see his arms and legs moving slightly. At any rate, he seemed to be alive. ¡°Hmm.¡± Justina wiped her fingertips with a handkerchief, as if she had touched something dirty. So strong¡­ I thought that even though she looked like a girl, she is still a dragon inside, so I thought she would have some power¡­ However, even taking into account that she¡¯s a dragon, isn¡¯t her power extraordinary? A person might be able to fly that far if they were to take the full force of the dragon¡¯s blow. However, Justina didn¡¯t look like she was putting much effort into it. It only took a single half *ssed decapitation blow to make him look like that. This is the power of the divine dragon Bahamut¡­ The power of Justina¡­ Once again, I shuddered in many ways, thinking that such an extraordinary girl had fallen in love with me. CH 5 Desks were knocked over, holes were made in the walls, windows were broken, etc¡­ Justina was holding back, yet her punch was like a burst of magic. In the end, Cedric was judged to be at fault for calling out Justina¡¯s name and even touching her shoulder. Normally, the teacher would be flattered by the power Cedric had, but¡­ It seemed that he was more frightened of Justina than he was of Cedric. Well¡­ Justina has a lot of power. Besides, in terms of human society, she would be something akin to a princess. This could lead to a situation where causing Justina¡¯s displeasure would lead to the dragon tribe¡¯s displeasure. If that were to happen, Almort would be devastated. This country was flourishing because it coexisted with dragons¡­ If the dragon¡¯s blessing were to disappear, the country would be destroyed in no time at all. Therefore, it was only natural that the teacher would give priority to Justina over Cedric. It¡¯s just¡­ ¡°Aww¡­ sorry, Alto.¡± Justina felt bad that she had overdone it, and she was drearily depressed. It was now lunchtime and we were on the roof. Justina wanted to be alone with me, so after buying a sandwich from the store, I led her to the roof. So, Justina was the first to bow. ¡°I¡¯ve gone too far, haven¡¯t I¡­?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ well, yeah.¡± [TLN: NO SHE DID FINE WDYM!?!] [EDN: Beat him up more smh] I nodded honestly, thinking that there was no use in lying to her. Justina let out a strange moan, and she became even more depressed. ¡°Repairing the wall looks like a lot of work¡­ but, it could have been a lot worse.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Alto was bullied¡­ so when I found out that he was the one who was bullying Alto, I was so angry that I couldn¡¯t help myself¡­ b-but, but, I toned it down you know? If I had really tried, I could have easily blown up the entire school building.¡± I guess Justina was really capable of holding back. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh dryly. ¡°Overkill is still overkill, I think we should be careful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I didn¡¯t know how to thank her, so I patted Justina on the head. ¡°You were mad for my sake, weren¡¯t you? It made me very happy.¡± ¡°Of course I was. He bullied the man I love.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie, it made me feel better.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, it did.¡± ¡°Fufu, Alto¡¯s a bad person, too.¡± ¡°Maybe he is.¡± We chuckled at each other. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re reflecting, isn¡¯t that good enough? Let¡¯s end this conversation.¡± Justina was very remorseful about what she did so there is no need for me to say anything more about it. Besides, she did it for me¡­ I couldn¡¯t get mad at her. Honestly, I was glad. I was glad that someone was there to help me, that someone was there for me. I didn¡¯t know it was such a warm thing¡­ Thanks to Justina, I was able to remember this feeling for the first time in forever. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have lunch.¡± ¡°Ah, I know I invited you¡­ but are you sure you want to be alone with me? Doesn¡¯t that bother you?¡± ¡°If I was bothered, I would have said no. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about some things.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ ehehe, that¡¯s good!¡± Justina smiled. Ah. After all, it¡¯s better for her to smile. ¡°Here, sandwich.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you!¡± After we said Itadakimasu, we started our lunch. ¡°The sandwich, i-it¡¯s good!¡± ¡°Ah, yes, it is. It¡¯s got a lot of ingredients, but it¡¯s reasonably priced. That¡¯s why there¡¯s always in high demand and they sell out fast.¡± ¡°The rooftop, it¡¯s a nice place!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bench where you can relax on. There¡¯s also a flower bed and a lawn¡­ sometimes people take a nap in it.¡± ¡°Um, um, um¡­ohhh.¡± I don¡¯t know why Justina looked so troubled when she looked around. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Well, um¡­¡± What can I say¡­ Right now, Justina is like a scared and nervous cat in a strange place. ¡°I¡¯m happy to be alone with Alto, but when I try to speak, I¡¯m so nervous that I don¡¯t know what to say¡­ Even though Alto talked about a lot of things, it¡¯s like, my mind is completely blank¡­ Owmuu.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ are you nervous?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Because I¡¯m having a meal with the person I love! Of course I¡¯m nervous.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± I was a little embarrassed when she declared her love for me. ¡°Well¡­ actually, I¡¯m nervous too.¡± ¡°Eh, Alto too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any friends, so I¡¯ve never eaten with anyone¡­ and the person I¡¯m eating with is a cute girl who says she likes me¡­ Of course I¡¯m nervous.¡± ¡°C-Cute.¡± Justina turned red with embarrassment. I didn¡¯t want her to react to every single thing. These gestures were so cute that I almost couldn¡¯t help but admire them. Justina is a dragon, but¡­ ¡°But¡­ I see. I guess Alto was nervous too. But it didn¡¯t look like it.¡± ¡°I was trying my best to pretend that nothing was wrong. It¡¯s a man¡¯s pride.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± This is the perfect opportunity. Let¡¯s ask the question I¡¯ve been wanting to ask for a long time now. ¡°Listen¡­ Can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Yeah, ask me anything. Oh, wait. I think I¡¯d be a little embarrassed if you asked me about my measurements¡­ b-but since it¡¯s Alto¡­ I¡¯ll be happy to answer.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not gonna ask you! I¡¯m not interested in that!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not interested¡­ Moouuu.¡± This time she pouted. What do you want me to do? ¡°Cough¡­ let¡¯s get back on track¡­ Well, why does Justina like me?¡± ¡°You mean, why did I fall in love with you?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lot, and I¡¯m not entirely sure what the reason is¡­ We¡¯ve only met once before, right? We didn¡¯t actually used to play together when we were little, or something like that, right?¡± ¡°No. Me and Alto met the other day.¡± ¡°Then why?¡± ¡°It was love at first sight.¡± Justina put her hand on her chest¡­ She spoke softly, as if confirming and cherishing the feelings there. ¡°Alto saved my life. You also helped me with my injuries, right? I¡¯ve never had anyone be that kind to me before¡­ Afterward, he showed me his weaknesses, and that made me really happy.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also cute when you¡¯re embarrassed like that.¡± Is Justina trying to make me scream in agony? ¡°But, you know, all that stuff comes later.¡± ¡°T-That means¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been in love¡­ with Alto since the first time¡­ we laid eyes on each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s called love at first sight. If I think about it, I can come up with all kinds of reasons¡­ but I don¡¯t need any of that. I like Alto. This is the only thing that is clear in my mind and in my heart.¡± ¡°¡­I see. Yes, I understand how you feel, Justina.¡± ¡°What about Alto? What do you¡­ think of me?¡± There was a hint of anticipation and trepidation in Justina¡¯s eyes as she looked at me. It might work out. But there was also the possibility of being rejected. She must be thinking about both possibilities and getting anxious. How am I supposed to answer? The answer is obvious. ¡°About that¡­ I know it¡¯s a cowardly answer, but can we put it on hold?¡± ¡°On hold? Does that mean I would anticipate¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. I think that¡¯s a possibility¡­¡± It¡¯s hard to describe how I feel right now¡­ It was a bit of a clipped way of saying it. ¡°As you can imagine, I can¡¯t say that I like Justina, since we just met. And you don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll ever stop loving me¡­ so I need more time. I need time to face Justina. I¡¯d like to spend some time together and get to know Justina, and¡­ then I¡¯ll have an answer for you. And of course, I want Justina to know more about me.¡± ¡°¡­Alto¡­¡± ¡°That would be my answer right now¡­ what do you think?¡± Justina¡¯s eyes were shaken and she looked surprised. I wondered if she was taken aback¡­? She was anxious, and yet she smiled. ¡°Thank you, Alto¡­ I¡¯m very, very happy. The answer is because you are considerate about me¡­ I¡¯m so happy, my heart might explode.¡± ¡°Huh!? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯m not going to die until I hear Alto¡¯s answer!¡± It was all a bit overblown¡­ I guess it was just that important to Justina. I don¡¯t know if my feelings for Justina will change in the future. It¡¯s hard to say. I just want to be someone who is not ashamed to stand next to her. That¡¯s what I thought. CH 6 I told Alto I had business to attend to, and after eating my meal, I left Alto early and exited the rooftop. If I¡¯m being honest, I want to stay with Alto. I want to spend time with him until recess ends. I want to be pampered and have my head stroked again if I can. But¡­ Before I do that, there is something I need to do. I didn¡¯t enter the academy just to chase after Alto. Of course, it¡¯s important to make your love come true¡­ But there are other things that are just as important. Like what, you may ask? The answer is¡­ to eliminate Alto¡¯s enemies. ________________ ¡°So¡­ what does that mean?¡± Sitting on the sofa in the headmaster¡¯s office, Justina casted a cold glance downward. The headmaster and the deputy headmaster were¡­ on the floor, and besides them was the homeroom teacher. They are all pale-faced and sweating profusely and abnormally. And they should have been. Justina was currently in one of the worst moods ever. She was outrageously grumpy. To anger a dragon means one forfeited their life. In addition, Justina was not just an ordinary dragon. She was the one who stands at the top of dragon kind¡­ the Bahamut, the divine dragon. Even though she was only a 15-year-old girl¡­ If Justina got really violent, Almort would not be able to do anything and would disappear off the face of the planet. To have angered a being with that much power¡­ The headmasters did not feel like living anymore. ¡°There are cases of bullying in this academy. What do you know about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to admit that I didn¡¯t know there was such a thing, and I¡¯m ashamed of my lack of knowledge¡­¡± The headmaster was at a loss for words. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t like it when people lie to me. So, I¡¯ll ask you again. Did you really not know that there were cases of bullying?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m really sorry! I actually did know!¡± ¡°I see¡­ so you knew about it?¡± The pressure from Justina became stronger. It was as if the air was screaming. It was as if an invisible wall was pressing down on them, making it difficult for the headmasters to breathe. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t blame you for the bullying, per se. No matter how careful you are, things like that will happen, no matter how big or small. Yeah. I don¡¯t blame you for that.¡± ¡°Just¡­¡± With a small pause, Justina said, like a judge announcing a verdict. ¡°Knowing that people are being bullied and letting it happen¡­You know, I¡¯m not so sure about this. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a teacher, right? If a student is in trouble, you should help him or her, right? Yet you turned a blind eye to them¡­ is that the right thing to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry¡ª!!!¡± The headmaster could no longer do anything but apologize. They can only continue to get down on their knees. ¡°This academy is like the proof of harmony between us dragons and humans. It¡¯s like a sign of cooperation as partners who will walk together. That¡¯s why we offered our bodies as mounts to help the dragon knights.¡± ¡°Yes, yes! That¡¯s exactly right!¡± ¡°But¡­ We dragons can¡¯t lend our strength to dragon knights who willingly bully others. If we were to do that, we would stain our own pride and hearts. I¡¯m not trying to be arrogant, but I¡¯m what you would consider to be a princess in human terms. Shall I go back to the mountain and report this? That this academy¡­ and even Almort, is not a place that deserves the dragons¡¯ strength¡­?¡± ¡°Hiii¡­!?¡± Imagining the scene, the headmaster let out a scream. A genuine scream. If the dragon¡¯s cooperation was lost, Almort would perish. There was no doubt about it. That¡¯s how strongly Almort depended on the power of the dragon. What if, because they overlooked the bullying, the dragons ceased their cooperation with humans? First of all, he would definitely be punished. And not just any punishment. As the fool of the century, he would be punished by death nine times out of ten. First of all, they will definitely be punished. And not just any punishment. As the fools of the century, they will be punished with death nine times out of ten. ¡°P-Please don¡¯t do that! Please, I beg you¡ª!!!¡± The headmaster was desperately pleading with her, breaking out in a great deal of cold sweat. Both the deputy headmaster and the teacher rubbed their heads repeatedly on the floor as well, knowing that they were in the same boat as the headmaster. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry! I¡¯m truly sorry!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you apologizing to the wrong person? You should be apologizing to the person who was bullied, not me.¡± ¡°Y-Yes. You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°¡­Huh.¡± Justina sighed. What a boring human he was. All he could think about was his own self-preservation and luxury. He would do anything to save it. Didn¡¯t he have any sense of pride? My father and mother told me about a hero who was quite a wonderful person¡­ However, this person was nowhere close to the hero my parents spoke of. This is what I think, but I would never be disappointed in humanity. Because the person I fell in love with was also a human. I decided not to show my anger and my other emotions at the moment. What I needed to do now was to make sure that the person I loved could live their lives at the academy with peace of mind. ¡°Listen. In the future, don¡¯t let this happen again. I¡¯m not saying to stop the bullying completely, but when it happens, deal with it properly and honestly.¡± ¡°Y-Yes! I¡¯ll keep that in mind!!!¡± The headmasters just kept repeating their apologies and understanding. Seeing them like this, Justina felt a little uneasy. Are these people listening to me? Do they even understand what I¡¯m trying to say? Aren¡¯t they just repeating their apologies? To deal with this concern, Justina decided to nail it down firmly. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± ¡°Y-Yes. Of course¡­!¡± Justina turned to leave the headmaster¡¯s office. Seeing this, the deans were relieved that the storm had finally passed. But it was a mistake. Spinning around, Justina turned at the door. Her face was¡­ smiling. ¡°Ah, yeah, one last thing.¡± ¡°I-Is something the matter!?¡± ¡°If something like that happens again¡­ I won¡¯t forgive you, okay?¡± When her absolute zero voice told them that they would not be forgiven a second time, the headmasters were terrified as if their souls would be drained. ¡°I¡¯ll only allow you to fail once. No second chances, okay?¡± ¡°Ha, Yes¡­!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that. Bye.¡± Justina dropped her threat with a smile and left the headmaster¡¯s office. The three remaining were haunted by the image of Justina¡¯s cold smile¡­ For a while, they trembled in fear. ________________ ¡°Oh, sh*t, oh, sh*t, oh, sh*t, ohhhhh! D*mn it, it hurts, it hurtsss!!!¡± On a bed in the infirmary, Cedric, covered in bandages, groaned. After being hit by a blow from Justina¡­ He was brought to the infirmary and treated with magic by the doctor in charge. Fortunately, the doctor in charge was excellent and Cedric didn¡¯t suffer any long lasting injuries. However, as expected, it was not a complete recovery in one day. He was in no condition to move right away, and was even less able to alleviate the pain¡­ On the bed, Cedric was in agony. ¡°D*mn that woman, I¡¯ll never forgive her¡­ for doing this to me¡­! I¡¯m going to get her on her knees and then I¡¯m going to f*ck her until she goes crazy!¡± Cedric never seemed to learn his lesson. He seemed to have forgotten that he had been hit by a single decapitating blow and began to spew out curses incessantly. Just then, the door to the infirmary opened and the teacher showed up. ¡°Um¡­ Astheim-kun. Are you okay¡­?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not okay! Are your eyes rotten!?¡± Cedric talked back to everyone, including his teachers, but this was an everyday occurrence. Intoxicated by the fact that he was the son of an influential nobleman, Cedric truly believed that everyone in the academy should kneel to him. The teachers were afraid of his power and could not go against him¡­ As a result, Cedric became full of himself. In a way, it could be said that the teachers were negligent. ¡°Um¡­ how¡¯s your injury?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about these injuries! It hurts like h*ll! F*ck, d*mn it!¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°Hey, where¡¯s the girl!?¡± ¡°Oh, by the girl, do you mean¡­ Eltoselk-san?¡± ¡°Yes, the dragon b*tch! You¡¯ve got to be sh*tting me¡­ bring her to me! Tie her up, make her immobile, and bring her before me.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Eh, what!?¡± The teacher shivered as Cedric glared at him. It was quite shameful that a teacher was scared of his student. However, he couldn¡¯t follow Cedric¡¯s orders. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ that is impossible. I can¡¯t help you with her, Astheim-kun¡­¡± ¡°Why the h*ll not!? All this time, you¡¯ve been hemming and hawing and doing whatever I tell you to do¡­! Have you forgotten who I am!? I¡¯m the eldest son of one of the five great noble families of Astheim! I can have you fired at any time!¡± ¡°But the other party is a dragon princess, you know? In addition, she is a divine dragon¡­ a Bahamut, which has the power to destroy this country alone. We can¡¯t make an enemy of someone like that.¡± ¡°Then you¡­ would rather make my family an enemy?¡± ¡°Well, that can¡¯t be helped¡­ that is the conclusion.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°This is the consensus of the academy¡­ Astheim-kun, your family¡¯s authority may be terrifying. But even more than that, Eltoselk-san is many¡­ many times more terrifying than you will ever be. She¡¯s the only one you should never have made enemies with¡­¡± He said frightenedly. The teacher left the infirmary without any further words from Cedric. Cedric was left alone¡­ ¡°D*mn it, d*mn it all! I¡¯m not going to let this end so easily!¡± He was spilling his resentment without changing. [TLN: SMH should have just killed Cedric off, he should be dead so we can have romcom.] [EDN: Honestly, if the headmaster caused the dragons to turn against Almort he would be killed 10/10 times, not 9/10 considering how dependent they are on dragons with maybe his family alongside him.] CH 7 Since it was the Dragon Knight Academy, naturally, there would be lessons about riding dragons. That training was to take place in the afternoon, so I changed into my gym clothes and went out to the field. We gathered at the teacher¡¯s signal. Two dragons were waiting at the edge of the vast ground. I was going to ride on the back of one of those dragons¡­ ¡°Umm¡­ Eltoselk-san? Why are you still in uniform?¡± The teacher asked curiously. Justina was the only one who hadn¡¯t changed into her gym clothes and was still in her uniform on the field. Justina answered the teacher¡¯s question with a curious look on her face. ¡°Eh? I mean, I¡¯m a dragon. I¡¯m not the one riding the dragon, I¡¯m the one being ridden, so I¡¯m on this side.¡± Justina then proceeded to transform into a dragon¡­ No, because she was originally a dragon, it wasn¡¯t a transformation, so she just returned to normal? Yeah, it was complicated. Anyways, she also took the form of a dragon and moved next to the two dragons. ¡°Y¡¯allo, hello.¡± ¡°Pr-Princess-sama¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to greet the likes of us¡­!¡± The two dragons looked at Justina and were scared out of their wits. They bowed their heads and did not raise them. Justina is a dragon, but she was also a divine dragon at the top of the food chain. Once again, I was reminded of this. ¡­Or rather, they called her Princess-sama. It was a new discovery. ¡°Okay, boys and girls. One by one, in the order of your names, you will practice riding. The time limit is five minutes per person. If you get knocked down or something, that¡¯s the end of it, so be careful and do it right.¡± At the teacher¡¯s signal, the first boy and girl head towards the two dragons. ¡°I look forward to working with you!¡± ¡°Hmm. I will train you.¡± Unlike Justina, the two dragons can¡¯t transform into humans, but¡­ Ordinary dragons can understand and speak the human language. Besides, they have been very helpful in many ways, such as accompanying us on special training sessions like this. ¡°Sensei, what about me?¡± Instead of answering, the teacher asked Justina back. ¡°Hmmm¡­ then can I take over Alto¡¯s training? Just me?¡± ¡°Estenia-kun¡­right? Um¡­ yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Yay! Then, Alto. Want to practice with me?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ is that okay?¡± Is it okay if I was the only one who was allowed to train with Justina? I asked the teacher, but he gave me permission with a tired look on his face. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine¡­ as long as Estenia-kun has no problems, let her do as she pleases. And I¡¯m sure Eltoselk-san doesn¡¯t want any other students riding her either¡­¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. Sorry, guys. I only want to carry people I recognize on my back, so I can¡¯t go along with everyone¡¯s practice.¡± When Justina apologized her classmates replied that it was outrageous for them to even try and told her not to worry about it. Maybe my classmates are also hesitant about making Justina a cavalry dragon. After all, she¡¯s a dragon princess and the divine dragon Bahamut. ¡°Now then, Alto. Get on.¡± ¡°Ok¡­.¡± I¡­ have some worries, but I chose to train with Justina. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be a hero. I still feel the same way as I did in the past. So, I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m taking advantage of you, Justina¡­ If I could become stronger, I would do everything I could. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± ¡°Yeah. Go ahead.¡± I kicked the ground, leapt, and mounted Justina¡¯s back. When I landed, I bent my knees to avoid impact and landed softly. Then I lightly patted her back with my hand. ¡°This is¡­¡± It was a strange feeling. When I rode on her back, Justina¡¯s body, which had looked so big from the side, seemed very small. There were no reins and no saddle. And yet, I was so steady¡­ It was as if I was one with her. Not in a weird way, but I felt as if I was one with Justina. ¡°Uh¡­ w-what¡¯s this¡­ p-please behave yourself!¡± ¡°If you move that much, I¡¯ll be shaken off¡­ Kyaa!?¡± The other classmates riding the dragon were having a hard time with each other. They were trying to tame the dragons, but they wouldn¡¯t listen to them. They tried to talk to them, but the dragons pretended that they didn¡¯t understand the human language, and shook their large bodies as they flailed about as they pleased. It¡¯s not that the dragons were being mean to the students. A dragon takes a knight as their rider¡­ They shake you off because they think you¡¯re not worthy enough to be placed on their backs. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to demonstrate your power. Never get flustered and show your endurance¡­ Give your orders in a strong voice. You must have the courage to go head to head with the dragon, no matter what happens. However, his classmates could not handle the pressure and¡­ They were struggling as they were being pushed around by the dragon. ¡°Everyone¡­ seems to be having a hard time.¡± ¡°I¡­ feel bad about that.¡± ¡°Eh? Why?¡± ¡°In my case, my partner is Justina¡­ thanks to that, I can ride properly like this. Right? Hmm. I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Alto is¡­ to put it bluntly, not powerful enough. I think you¡¯re not ready to become a knight.¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± I felt like a needle in my chest when she said it so clearly. But it was much better than being kept in the dark. Even if I was weak now¡­ I will eventually become strong. ¡°But you know, if you look at yourself as a dragon knight, you¡¯re¡­ uhh. I think you¡¯re at a ridiculous level.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true though.¡± For some reason, Justina said that confidently. ¡°It¡¯s true that I like you, Alto. But putting someone on my back is a completely different matter. No matter how much I like someone, I wouldn¡¯t let them mount me if they didn¡¯t know how to handle a dragon. That¡¯s why I said I¡¯d take Alto, but I was actually a little nervous.¡± ¡°So¡­ is that it? But I didn¡¯t do anything, did I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. When you mounted me, you landed gracefully in concern for me, and you also patted me. That kind of detailed care is necessary for a dragon knight. If you can do that, I think you have the talent. If you can be thoughtful to a dragon and continue to be with it, you can surely become a great dragon knight.¡± When Justina, the Bahamut, told me that, it made me very happy. I still can¡¯t be confident right away but¡­ ¡°That Estenia guy¡­ looks normal, and yet he rides Eltoselk-san calmly, even though she¡¯s a Bahamut¡­ is he not scared?¡± ¡°They seem to be talking normally, but it¡¯s amazing¡­ I always feel so desperate when I¡¯m riding a dragon.¡± ¡°I¡¯d only seen him get involved with Cedric, but¡­ when you take a good look at him like this, Estenia is actually amazing?¡± My classmates buzzed when they saw me riding steadily on Justina¡¯s back. Hearing such whispers¡­ A male student who still couldn¡¯t ride the dragon properly was angry. The boy jumped off the dragon and shouted loudly at me. ¡°Oi, Estenia! You¡¯re not playing fair.¡± ¡°Um¡­ what are you talking about?¡± ¡°You can ride a dragon so easily because Eltoselk-san likes you, right? Isn¡¯t that kind of cheating!¡± ¡°You know¡­ unlike you, Alto understands dragons¡­¡± ¡°¡­Okay. Then why don¡¯t you ride on my dragon this time?¡± Justina tried to argue with him, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t just rely on a girl here and not do anything myself. Whether I like her or not, remains to be seen¡­ Any boy would want to look good in front of a girl who likes him. I may have been bullied, but I still have a certain amount of pride. ¡°Alto, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Justina¡¯s word for it. I¡¯ll do what I can.¡± I smiled lightly at Justina, who sounded concerned. The boy and I then took turns riding on the dragon¡¯s back. ¡°Hmmm, just because the princess likes you doesn¡¯t mean you are worthy of me¡­ I won¡¯t go easy on you.¡± The dragon grumbled and started to flail about trying to shake me off. His body swung up and down, side to side, more violently than when the other boys were on it. I can¡¯t hold on for much longer. I¡¯d have to settle this soon. ¡°Calm down.¡± ¡°Mmm!?¡± I gently patted the dragon¡¯s back. ¡°Calm down.¡± Once again, I repeated the same words. No matter how grumpy they are and how hard the dragon tried to get rid of me¡­ I wasn¡¯t going to change what I do. I asked it for help, I asked for a ride on it¡¯s back¡­ I just straight out ask. It¡¯s the least I can do. ¡°I need your help.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°¡­Goodness.¡± Soon after, the dragon stopped flailing. He lightly shifted his body and adjusted his posture so that I wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°W-Wow¡­ this Estenia¡¯s guy can ride a dragon¡­¡± ¡°So it wasn¡¯t that Eltoselk-san was biased¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s had¡­ a lot of problems before, so this is the first time he was able to ride? And yet, that¡¯s¡­¡± My classmates were surprised to see me succeed. To tell the truth, I was surprised too. Because of Cedric¡¯s bullying, this was the first time I had ever done any real training. So I was expecting to be shaken off right away. And yet¡­ somehow, it worked. Why? ¡°Why¡­ did you not throw me off?¡± I¡¯m not powerful. There are plenty of knights who are stronger than me. So, why did the dragon listen to me and not anyone else? ¡°Hmm¡­ I have had many knights on my back, and they have all shown their power. They were worthy riders, they had me yield by force.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that how it usually goes?¡± ¡°But not you. You are different. You see me as an equal and speak to me with words. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. That¡¯s¡­ unheard of.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. That¡¯s why I thought it wasn¡¯t so bad. The knight and the dragon should be partners and equals. You didn¡¯t need anyone to tell you that, you understood it naturally. I guess that¡¯s why you¡¯re doing what you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm. It¡¯s not interesting, but¡­ as expected of a partner chosen by the princess.¡± Does this mean that my feelings were understood¡­? I felt very happy about that. ¡°That¡¯s my Alto! I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± For some reason, Justina was pleased as if it was her own achievement. CH 8 The day¡¯s classes were over and it was now after school. Today has been a tumultuous day. Justina transferred in, declared she had fallen in love with me at first sight¡­ We became classmates and Cedric was defeated instantly¡­ I had a very busy time. It¡¯s been a little over a month since I entered the academy, but¡­ I can say without a doubt that today was the most intense day I¡¯ve had. But the turmoil was not over yet. It was still going on. ________________ I went back to my dorm room. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Mmm, welcome home.¡± For some reason, Justina followed me¡­ I didn¡¯t know why she said that line either. ¡°Ah-eh? What¡¯s the matter? Should I have said, ¡®I¡¯m home?¡¯ Alto, are you not the kind of person that wants someone to welcome you home?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± More importantly¡­ ¡°Why is Justina here? And what¡¯s with the luggage?¡± A bag as big as Justina was next to her. ¡°It¡¯s my stuff.¡± ¡°Why is it here?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s because I¡¯m in the same room as Alto.¡± ¡°¡­Wait. I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± I was confused as I was given an answer that didn¡¯t really answer my question. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? The dorms are supposed to be for one person each¡­¡± ¡°I got in late, didn¡¯t I? That¡¯s probably why they don¡¯t have any rooms available. So I would have to share a room with someone¡­¡± ¡°Did you choose my room¡­?¡± ¡°Correct?¡± I wished it wasn¡¯t true. ¡°So, from now on, I¡¯ll see you in our room.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh, why not? Isn¡¯t Alto happy? I¡¯m very happy to be with you in both the academy and the dorm.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a man and a woman, and we¡¯re not supposed to live in the same room¡­¡± ¡°Yay, we¡¯re living together.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sound so happy about it¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± She nodded very cheerfully. When I first met her, I didn¡¯t understand her at all¡­ But by talking to her a lot today, I¡¯ve come to understand her somewhat better. She was very pushy and would stop at nothing to get what she wants¡­ I¡¯ll repeat this again, she was very forceful. It would take a tremendous amount of effort to get Justina to change her mind. I mean, it was probably impossible. ¡°¡­Okay. I accept that Justina will live in my room.¡± ¡°Really? Thank you!¡± It may be a lot of work, but¡­ I just couldn¡¯t shun Justina, who missed me like a puppy would. ¡°Let me get your stuff.¡± I tried to move Justina¡¯s luggage, but it refused to budge, it was like a boulder. What was this unusual weight? ¡°What, what is in this¡­?¡± ¡°A change of clothes for me, some household items. Just¡­ a lot of things. There are many secret items for girls. Even if it¡¯s Alto, I can¡¯t tell you everything. It¡¯s also too heavy for a human to move, so I usually carry it.¡± Justina lifted the huge bag like it was nothing. ¡­With a singular hand. ¡°¡­You never cease to amaze me, Justina.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me sound like a surprise box.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I showed Justina into the room. Fortunately, I always kept my room clean and tidy. There was not much furniture. The furniture was moved to make room for Justina¡¯s belongings. Justina took out a disassembled bed, a chest of drawers, and shelves from a huge bag and quickly assembled them. I can¡¯t believe there was all that stuff in there. ¡­No wonder why it was so heavy. We placed them in the room¡­ And we completed the move. ¡°Phew, it¡¯s that time already.¡± Moving in was not something that could be done in a few minutes, and by the time we finished, it was already dark outside. ¡°It¡¯s time for dinner. Let¡¯s go to the cafeteria today.¡± If at all possible, I¡¯d like to avoid crowded cafeterias. Even if Cedric wasn¡¯t around, there was always the possibility of other people getting involved¡­ However, I didn¡¯t have much time left. Partly because I was tired from moving, I decided to take it easy today. ¡°Hey, hey, Alto. You know¡­ if you want, I can make you dinner.¡± ¡°Eh? Justina, you can cook?¡± ¡°Muu, what¡¯s that reaction? You think I¡¯m a bad girl who can¡¯t cook? That¡¯s so hurtful.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that¡­ Justina is a dragon, right? I thought you didn¡¯t know how to cook for humans, and also because you were called Princess. I thought that beings in that position would never have the opportunity to cook.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that I¡¯m a dragon and a princess. But before that, I¡¯m a girl. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if I practiced cooking, hoping that one day the person I love would eat my homemade food.¡± ¡°That¡­person you like is¡­¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s Alto?¡± I was embarrassed to be exposed to her love for me head-on. Seeing me blush, Justina looked happy. ¡°Fufu, Alto¡¯s embarrassed face is so cute.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just being honest. I think you¡¯re very cute. I want to hug you so badly.¡± As she said, she pretended to come and hug me. ¡°L-Let¡¯s see¡­ then could I ask you to make some food?¡± ¡°Oh, understood!¡± I¡¯ll just have to fake my composure. There was no way I could ask her to hug me. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll make sure you say it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Then¡­ please.¡± ¡°Yes, if you tell me to.¡± Justina put on an apron and moved into the kitchen. Soon I heard a knife tapping on the cutting board and the sound of something frying. I think I¡¯m a pretty good cook too but¡­ In comparison to me, Justina¡¯s skills seemed to be much better. After a while, a nice smell drifted into the air¡­ I felt my stomach growl. I was looking forward to her meal. ¡°Here you go!¡± Justina came back to me with the food on a tray. She quickly laid out the dishes on the table in the center of the room. ¡°It¡¯s a meat bowl and salad today. I made it quick because we didn¡¯t have a lot of time. But I can guarantee the taste.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ it looks delicious.¡± ¡°There you go. Please, please. Dig in.¡± ¡°¡­Itadakimasu.¡± I decided to try the dishes. I first ate the meat bowl. It is covered with a sweet and spicy sauce that tasted quite rich. However, it wasn¡¯t overpowering, so it was pleasant to eat and only stimulated my appetite even more. When the rice was covered with the sweet and spicy sauce, it gave off an indescribable flavor¡­ ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very delicious.¡± ¡°Ehehe, I¡¯m glad. I was pretty confident about it, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it would suit Alto¡¯s palate, so I was a little worried.¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to be anxious. This is very good, and I¡¯m sure everyone will be satisfied with it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t please everyone, can I? I only want Alto to be happy.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± Justina displayed her affection straight out. I got so embarrassed that I lost my taste for a moment. ¡°Ah, are you embarrassed again?¡± ¡°¡­No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°There was a pause, wasn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°It was just your imagination.¡± ¡°I wonder? Perhaps you¡¯re really attracted by my charm?¡± ¡°No comment.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not fair.¡± Justina pouted, I honestly think she¡¯s cute. I can¡¯t help but wonder why such a girl would want me, but that conversation ended at lunchtime. I have so many questions¡­ I can¡¯t ask Justina over and over again. It would hurt her if I questioned her feelings too many times. What was I supposed to do? I don¡¯t have an answer to that question yet, and I don¡¯t have any prospects at all¡­ Though I made a vow to face Justina as sincerely as I could. ¡°Why don¡¯t you eat too, Justina, instead of just watching me eat?¡± ¡°Oops, that¡¯s right. I was so happy to see Alto eating so well that I couldn¡¯t help but watch in admiration.¡± I actually admire her a lot. ¡°Well, Itadakimasu.¡± Crunch, crunch, crunch! She ate the rice at a very fast pace and emptied the bowl in no time. ¡°Gochisousama!¡± ¡°Ha, you¡¯re fast¡­ I¡¯m still in the middle of eating.¡± ¡°I remembered that I had some business to attend to later. So I decided to finish my dinner right away.¡± ¡°Errands?¡± ¡°I forgot some things¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting late. I think the teachers are still there, but I don¡¯t think the students are allowed in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Just tell them what happened and they¡¯ll let you in for a minute.¡± ¡°Really? Well, maybe so¡­ In that case, I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯m worried.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Have you forgotten who I am?¡± ¡°Yes, I remember. You¡¯re a dragon, and a Bahamut that is at the top of the heap.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°But to me Justina is just a girl. I can¡¯t let a girl walk alone at this hour.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Justina blushed. ¡°Mouu¡­ Alto always gives me the words I want to hear. It¡¯s nice to know that you treat me like a girl. ¡­Ehehehe, I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°Of course I do. Justina is a cute girl.¡± ¡°Aou¡­ I might have been embarrassed by that one.¡± Justina beamed with happiness and embarrassment. She stood up and went to the door of the room. ¡°Ah, oi.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll be back real soon.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, but would you mind cleaning up the dishes and stuff while I¡¯m gone? I¡¯ll see you then!¡± After forcibly ending the conversation, Justina walked out of the room. I tried to follow her, but when I reached the hallway, Justina was already gone. ¡°That¡¯s too fast¡­¡± Anyway, I couldn¡¯t just leave her alone. I locked the door, went outside, and headed towards the school too. CH 9 The Dragon Knight Academy was built on the outskirts of the city because of the large space it required to function properly. The dormitory was located on the same site, but it was a ten-minute walk to the school building. Justina walked alone through the academy grounds at night¡­ She walked straight out of the academy. The suburbs consisted mostly of empty plains, as development had not yet been completed. The outside of the academy grounds was also filled with empty plains, with nothing else other than a road leading to the city. Magic stones¡­ There were streetlights made of magic stones set up at even intervals, so there was no need to worry about lighting. The moon was also out, so she could see the surrounding scenery faintly. There was no one in sight except for Justina. Even though this was the royal capital of the Dragon Kingdom of Almort, it was not a perfectly safe place. There were people who planned to do bad things, and there were incidents of demons entering the city. For this reason, there were only a few people who chose to go out at night. Just a single girl. Justina alone. And yet¡­ Justina seemed convinced that there was someone else, and called out. ¡°Come on out of there.¡± There was no reply. Even so, Justina continued. ¡°You¡¯ve been watching me since I was in the dorm, haven¡¯t you? You haven¡¯t been able to completely kill your presence. If that thing follows me all the time, it¡¯s like you¡¯re confessing that you¡¯re watching me.¡± ¡°¡­Kukuku.¡± After the second time she spoke, there was a voice that responded. An eerie laughter echoed in the darkness of the night. Then, a man appeared from the darkness. The man, wearing the uniform of the Dragon Knight Academy, was¡­ Cedric. ¡°Apparently, you¡¯ve noticed me, but then why did you come here alone? Are you trying to tell me that you lured me out here on purpose? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­ Such an arrogant idea, I¡¯m going to¡­¡± ¡°Oh, yes, yes. I don¡¯t need to hear you ramble on. In any case, you¡¯re going to resent me for what I did to you and attack me or get back at me or something, aren¡¯t you? Then I¡¯ll end this quickly.¡± ¡°Gu, you¡­!¡± Cedric thought he had caught Justina off guard and surprised her. However, for Justina, it was well within her expectations. Cedric grew increasingly annoyed at Justina¡¯s relaxed attitude. However, as he didn¡¯t need to be in a hurry, Cedric now showed a relaxed smile. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten what you did to me this morning. ¡­I¡¯ve finished the treatment, but I¡¯m still tingling where you hit me. Whether you¡¯re a dragon or a princess, don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get away with it for free after raising your hand to me, okay?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s actually my line.¡± Justina glared at Cedric. For a moment, the atmosphere trembled. Feeling that much pressure, Cedric couldn¡¯t help but take a step backwards. ¡°You were bullying Alto, weren¡¯t you? You were tormenting my beloved Alto, weren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll never forgive you for that.¡± She said coldly, sharply, like a blade. As a dragon stands at the top of all living things. The Bahamut, the dragon that stands above the other dragons, was rumbling with anger. An ordinary person would have fainted or fallen into a state of panic. That was how intimidating she was. However, Cedric was one of the best students in the academy. Even in the face of an angry Bahamut, he had the courage to stay where he was and face her. ¡°I¡¯ll let you off the hook if you just disappear from our lives right now and never show up again.¡± ¡°Haha, you think I¡¯d listen to that shit?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right¡­ if you are such an auspicious person, you wouldn¡¯t try to attack me in the dark, would you¡­ but you think you can beat me? I showed you the difference between our strengths this morning.¡± ¡°Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat you. You¡¯re a dragon, and at that, a Bahamut. A novice dragon knight like me can¡¯t match you.¡± ¡°Fumm. So you¡¯re able to properly grasp the difference in strength between you and your opponent? So why did you think of such a stupid thing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ because of this!¡± Cedric took out a dagger with a letter-like pattern on the blade and stabbed it into the ground. The light spread from the dagger and formed a circle of light around Justina. In addition, a magic circle emerged within it, and particles of light sprang up. ¡°This is¡­!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ward to seal off the dragon¡¯s power. You can¡¯t do anything about it, can you?¡± Dragons have souls that are clearer than those of humans, and they carry a noble spirit in their hearts¡­ The wards that Cedric used were developed to capture such dragons. It greatly dampens the dragon¡¯s power and greatly limits its abilities. On the other hand, it has no effect on people. It was quite an impressive device. However, because there is no guarantee that someone like Cedric will not misuse it, the wards were kept in strict confidence and could only be used by certain people¡­ ¡°Ku¡­where did you get this?¡± ¡°You underestimated the power of my house. For my house, it¡¯s easy enough to aquire a ward like this. Everyone knows how foolish it is to defy my house!¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that there are a lot of people who helped you obtain this¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! There¡¯s a lot of people who don¡¯t like dragons like you.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that¡­?¡± ¡°Well¡­ you don¡¯t have the right or the obligation to know who that is, and you should be worrying about yourself.¡± ¡°Tch¡­!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to make you regret what you¡¯ve done to me. I¡¯m going to rape you, rape you, rape you, and then I¡¯m going to kill you and rape you again.¡± Cedric drew his sword from his waist. He walked over to Justina, who was kneeling on the ground and unable to move. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have a dragon¡¯s power, you can probably resist like a human. That¡¯s troublesome, so I¡¯m going to cut off your limbs first. Your a dragon, you won¡¯t die from that.¡±¡± ¡°You are¡­!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ get started!¡± Cedric had a lecherous smile plastered all over his face and raised his sword. He aimed at Justina¡¯s hand and swung it down¡­ ¡°JUSTINA!!!¡± ________________ ¡°Alto¡­? Why¡­ are you here¡­?¡± I heard Justina¡¯s curious voice. I couldn¡¯t see her face, though, because I was facing Cedric and blocking his sword¡­ For the first time, I was able to surprise Justina. It was times like this that I felt like I¡¯d accomplished something. ¡°How could I not be concerned when you suddenly left like that? I went to the academy and asked the security guard, and he said that Justina hadn¡¯t come¡­ I looked everywhere for you.¡± ¡°I told you not to worry about me¡­¡± ¡°I told you before. Justina is a girl, and I will worry about you when you say things like that.¡± ¡°Alto¡­ ehehe, thank you.¡± Now then¡­ At first, I was able to find Justina safely. However, I¡¯m not sure if we would be able to return home unscathed. During this time, Cedric and I were having a battle of strength with his sword and my spear¡­ Cedric looked surprised for a moment at my intervention, but quickly smiled in amusement and applied more pressure on his sword. ¡°Oi oi oi, look who it is, it¡¯s Estenia. Why is the fool here, huh? Are you trying to get in my way? Hey, hey, are you going to do something so stupid?¡± ¡°Of course! I will not let you hurt Justina.¡± ¡°You¡­ How dare you become so cocky just because I left you alone for a day? A foolish dropout like you dares to defy me, an elite with a promising future? You¡¯ve got to be shitting me!¡± The pressure on Cedric¡¯s sword increased even more. There was also the problem that my weapon was a training spear¡­ What was even more frustrating was that there was a strength difference between me and Cedric. I was getting pushed back further and further. ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± ¡°What?¡± Cedric spoke happily as he continued to push his sword down. ¡°Estenia¡­ you, fuck that cheeky dragon twat.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you have a good time. Listen to me.¡± ¡°Are you¡­ insane!?¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re worried about being found out? You don¡¯t have to worry about that. What do you think my house is? It¡¯s one of the five great noble houses! I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the Dragon Princess or not, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll leave any evidence.¡± With Cedric¡¯s personality, he might actually do it¡­ It would be easy to destroy the evidence for one of the five great noble houses. ¡°She likes you, so what¡¯s the harm in fucking her? I¡¯m such a good guy, giving Estenia a good time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you fuck her, you fuck her until she breaks. That¡¯s the deal. I¡¯m going to have a prime seat to watch you destroy that little girl.¡± ¡°¡­You gotta be kidding me.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, ¡®Fuck you¡¯!¡± Like magma erupting, a fierce anger rises up in me. My whole body is hot. I push back against Cedric¡¯s sword with that anger. ¡°Ku¡­ what the hell is this power?¡± ¡°I would never do anything to hurt Justina!¡± ¡°You dare to defy me? Estenia!¡± ¡°I will defy you! I¡¯ve had enough¡­ of being at the mercy of people like you!¡± I will break away from my weak self¡­ With all the courage I could muster, I will confront Cedric. ¡°Justina saved me. That¡¯s why¡­ I¡¯ll protect her this time!¡± The moment I said those words, I felt a strange surge of power. It was a power I had never felt before. I can do anything now! I flipped the spear around and struck Cedric¡¯s sword away with the hilt. Losing his sword, Cedric was left defenseless. I continued to rotate the spear and swing it from right to left. ¡°Gahwuu!?¡± The handle of the spear struck Cedric hard on the side. Cedric let out a scream like a crushed insect and rolled on the ground. At this moment¡­ I succeeded in defeating my symbol of fear with my own hands. [TLN: This chapter is kinda heavy, there were a lot of cough questionable words, I just wanted to ask if you readers would like to see them censored, it would be like f*ck and etc.] CH 10 ¡°Are you alright, Justina?¡± ¡°¡­¡± When I ran over to Justina, she was just sitting in place. ¡°Justina?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No response. I fluttered my hand in front of her, but there was still no response. Could it be because of the ward¡­? I hurriedly pulled out the dagger that was stabbed into the ground. The magic circle drawn with light disappeared and Justina¡¯s restraint disappeared. However, she still didn¡¯t respond. ¡°¡­Hoo¡­¡± Nope. There was a slight reaction. She was following me with her eyes. If I went left, she looked left. If I went right, she looked right. She¡¯s following me with her eyes, her cheeks red. ¡°Umm¡­ Justina?¡± ¡°Hyan!?¡± When I tapped her on the shoulder, she seemed to have noticed me and jumped up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, why did you space out? Did Cedric do something before I got here? I deactivated the ward already¡­¡± ¡°N-No. I¡¯m fine. Wait, no, I¡¯m not okay.¡± ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ I¡¯ve got a heart attack. It shot through my heart with great force¡­!¡± ¡°Heart? Heart?¡± Justina placed her hands on her chest¡­ She said while taking a glance at me. ¡°Alto, you come to the rescue at the most opportune time. I felt like I was a princess in a story¡­ fu. I¡¯m falling more and more in love with Alto.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± That¡¯s what she meant, so I gave her a heart attack¡­ huh? I¡¯m glad to know that she wasn¡¯t really hurt¡­ Though for me, there was a point that I was still confused about. ¡°You¡­ son of a bitch!¡± ¡°Wha!?¡± Wobbling, Cedric got up and stared at me with bloodshot eyes. He could still move. To still move after that, he was truly fitting to be one of the best students. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s enough! You guys, kill these bastards!¡± At Cedric¡¯s signal, a numerous number of people appeared one after another from the darkness of the night. They must have been hiding there beforehand. They¡¯ve surrounded us¡­ There were twelve of them in all. All of them had swords, and their movements were professional. One of them stabbed the ward back into the ground. The magic circle of light was created again. ¡°Tch¡­ I can¡¯t believe I have to use these people I¡¯ve been hiding in case of emergency against you bastards. I¡¯m getting tired of all this.¡± ¡°Cedric, you¡­! You think you can do this to Justina and get away with it for free!? Justina is a dragon, and she is the divine dragon, the Bahamut!¡± ¡°Haha, what about it! To put it that way, I¡¯m the eldest son of Astheim, one of the five great noble families! There is no one who can stand against me, and if there is anyone who challenges me, I will eliminate them. I¡¯ll not only kill them, I¡¯ll erase them socially as well. I could do that in no time!¡± This guy was no good. There was no way to get through to him. Maybe he was so angry that his thought process was fried. I held my spear and shielded Justina with my body. If it was just me, that¡¯s fine, but Justina¡­! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect Justina.¡± With a resolve to die, I tried to intercept Cedric and the other attackers¡­ ¡°Thank you, Alto. Heh heh. I¡¯m really happy to hear you say that. It makes me love you even more. But, you know, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Justina?¡± ¡°Because¡­ there was no way they could handle me with just this ward.¡± Justina stomped the earth forcefully. Her body was enveloped in light¡­ And a jet-black dragon, deeper than the darkness of night, descended. ¡°Wha¡­!?¡± Cedric and his underlings were shocked¡­ ¡°H-How is that possible!? How can you turn back into a dragon!? The ward has been deployed!!!?¡± As he continued to ramble, Cedric panicked in an amusing way. It was funny to see him in such a state. ¡°That ward¡¯s purpose is to seal the dragon¡¯s power. It was a solid one, and it worked just fine, okay? But you know¡­ it¡¯s not a good idea to lump me in with ordinary dragons. This ward, does nothing to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! Earlier, you were on your knees and couldn¡¯t move!¡± ¡°Ahh, that? I was just pretending, that¡¯s all. I was going to let you get carried away, and then at the height of your power, I¡¯m going to turn it around and knock you into the depths of despair. That¡¯s just how I was trying to break your heart.¡± T-That¡¯s pretty black hearted. ¡°Well, I was so happy that Alto came running over to my rescue earlier that I got all flustered and couldn¡¯t really get up¡­ basically, there¡¯s nothing wrong with me. It might work with an ordinary dragon, but did you really think that it would work on me?¡± At the moment, it felt as if the air had been frozen. The overwhelming aura that Justina gave off swallowed up Cedric and his underlings, and¡­ I was caught up in it too. No one could speak, we could only tremble in such a terrifying presence. In the midst of all this, Justina declared with a radiating aura of a ruler. ¡°The one who stands at the top of the dragons¡­ the divine dragon Bahamut. Witness its power with your own eyes.¡± Justina roared. It was as if nature had given her power. The clouds swirled downward. When the tornado grew to exceed even Justina¡¯s size¡­ It swallowed up the surrounding marauders, almost like it was eating them alive. The marauders were thrown high into the air, flailing in the tornado. Then, they fell. Unable to resist, and unable to escape, they were finished in an instant. She was taking it easy on them. The attackers were groaning in pain, but none of them were dead. ¡°¡­Wha?¡± Cedric paled, he couldn¡¯t believe that his underlings had been defeated in an instant. His face immediately burned in anger and he looked furious. ¡°What the hell are you guys doing? Wake up! We paid a lot of money to hire you mercenaries!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they can.¡± Justina told him flatly. ¡°I¡¯ve shattered a few bones here and there with the tornado, not to mention the state of their body. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be able to move on their own, let alone get up in the first place. I¡¯d recommend calling a healer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, impossible¡­! These guys are mercenaries, but they¡¯re a hunting party that¡¯s said to be just as capable as regular dragon knights! They¡¯re known as ¡®Red Lotus Fang,¡¯ they are well known across the continent!¡± ¡°I can do it, can¡¯t I? You¡¯ve seen it with your own eyes.¡± ¡°Bullshit¡­that¡¯s ridiculous¡­¡± Cedric¡¯s momentum was waning. I don¡¯t understand how I should feel right now. To break through the dragon-sealing ward, and control the climate. She was like a god. It was difficult to think of defying such absolute power when it was displayed. ¡°Now¡­ it¡¯s your turn, isn¡¯t it?¡± Justina took a step forward. The ground trembled, and Cedric shook along with the vibration. ¡°You¡¯re not going to hurt me, are you? Don¡¯t underestimate the power of the Astheim family! I¡¯ll make you regret this for sure¡­! I¡¯m not going to attack you now, but I¡¯m going to socially wipe you out!¡± ¡°Justina, don¡¯t worry about me. If you mess with Cedric, you¡¯re in real trouble¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Alto.¡± Justina answered confidently, as if she could handle it. ¡°The Astheim family, right? I thought it sounded familiar somewhere¡­ ah I remember it. They came to my father¡¯s place last year to say hello.¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think they were that great because they were so obsequious and lowly¡­ I see. They called themselves one of the five great noble families. And as a member of that family¡­ you are bullying Alto. I won¡¯t allow it¡­ You don¡¯t seem remorseful either, so why don¡¯t I destroy your family?¡± ¡°W-What a stupid¡­ thing for a dragon to do¡­¡± ¡°You think I can¡¯t? I¡¯m a dragon princess¡­and you¡¯re a nobleman. Now, here¡¯s the question. Which one will Almort prioritize?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ugh¡­¡± I¡¯ve tasted the power of the Astheim family firsthand. That¡¯s why I forgot about it¡­ The power that Justina has was no less than that. Rather, it was far superior. This was a country that coexisted with dragons. However, there was a part of the country that relied heavily on the power of dragons¡­ If the dragons were to withdraw their support, Almort would surely be destroyed. Humans and dragons seemed to be equals, but the dragons held the power. Can the country pick a fight with the top of the dragons? The answer is no, they can¡¯t. For the first time, Cedric had an enemy against whom the power of his house could not overpower. His opponent had no intention of showing any mercy. When Justina reverted to her human form, she chuckled¡­ ¡°Now it¡¯s time for the spanking? Ah, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to kill you. But¡­ I¡¯m going to make sure that you never think of doing anything stupid again. Hmmm¡­ mmmhmmm.¡± ¡°No¡­ Nooooooooooooooooo!!!?¡± With an indescribable smile on her face, Justina dragged Cedric, his face smeared with tears and snot, to the side of the street and then disappeared. Soon after, I hear the sound of something being punched and a scream¡­ For now, I¡¯ll pretend not to hear anything. CH 11 ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± About half an hour later, Justina came back¡­ Cedric¡­was not with her. Justina was alone. ¡°Umm¡­ where¡¯s Cedric?¡± ¡°It was a shame, I had to stop at half-dead.¡± What a shame¡­? Justina was surprisingly violent. ¡°I made him promise never to get involved with Alto again, and he said he was quitting the academy, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll come back ever again. I¡¯ve educated him thoroughly, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll break his promise.¡± What kind of education did you give him¡­ ¡°Ehehe.¡± Justina stared at me with a smile on her face. She looked like she wanted a compliment. If she was a dog, she would have wagged her tail. ¡°Umm¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°Mmm!¡± Justina looked very happy, as if she had been waiting for those words. She¡¯s a dragon, and yet acted like a dog. ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m a little concerned about Cedric. Are you going to just leave him alone? Are you sure you don¡¯t want to take him to the infirmary?¡± ¡°Good grief, Alto. I can¡¯t believe that at a time like this, you¡¯re not worried about me, you¡¯re worried about that unimportant guy.¡± ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so sweet of you to worry about him. Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re like that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about Cedric one bit, but if he dies, it¡¯s going to be a problem for Justina.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about me? Ehe, ehehehe, Alto¡¯s worried about me. Kya kya?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for me to be worried about you, or maybe I¡¯m just being unreasonable¡­ or maybe, it¡¯s just pointless.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not! I¡¯m very happy.¡± As if to prove that she wasn¡¯t lying, Justina¡¯s cheeks turned bright red. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. I sent him out there with the rest of them. He was crying and begging for help, so I called his family, so maybe they¡¯ll be here soon.¡± Suddenly, I lost the strength in my legs. I couldn¡¯t stand, and I sat down on the spot. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Alto!? Are you okay!?¡± ¡°Ah, no¡­ it¡¯s just that¡­ I felt relieved, and then I suddenly lost all my strength.¡± I¡¯ve come to rely on Justina, but¡­ I don¡¯t have to be afraid of Cedric anymore. My hellish days were over. Starting tomorrow, I can have a normal life. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to integrate into the class though¡­ But, it will be a thousand times better than before. When I thought about it that way, my body and mind became lighter¡­ My spirit weakened at once. Seemingly sensing my feelings, Justina¡¯s face became as gentle as a goddess. She hugged me to her chest, just as she did when we first met. ¡°You did great, Alto. I think it¡¯s great. Good job, good job.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re treating me like a child?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m really proud of you, Alto.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It¡¯s a bit¡­ scary. Even though her true identity is a dragon, she was smaller than me when she was in her human form¡­ And I can¡¯t believe I have such a cute girl to comfort me. I¡¯m embarrassed¡­ But it¡¯s not a bad feeling either, though very complicated. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Alto?¡± ¡°¡­No, nothing.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Well¡­ can we stay like this for a little longer?¡± ¡°Whatever you want, Alto.¡± I was swept away¡­ I was filled with the warmth of Justina¡¯s body. ________________ I walked with Justina under the night sky. Our destination, of course, is the academy dorm¡­ We decided to take a walk at night since we were a little in the moment, so we took a little detour. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Justina was puzzled. She didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was talking about. ¡°I¡¯m talking about Cedric. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m completely dependent on you, and as a man, I¡¯m ashamed of myself, but thanks to you¡­ I¡¯m free of him. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re welcome¡­ but I didn¡¯t do much.¡± ¡°No, you did. If it weren¡¯t for Justina, I think Cedric would have treated me like a slave for a long time.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­I really didn¡¯t do much, you know? I just gave Alto a little push.¡± Putting her hand lightly in front of her, Justina made a gesture of pushing my back. ¡°Alto is strong.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m weak. I don¡¯t have much strength.¡± ¡°No, I mean your mental strength.¡± Justina stopped and took my hand. She wrapped her hand around mine, and I could feel her warmth. I don¡¯t understand why. Before I felt nervous, but now, I feel very relieved. ¡°Alto is strong. You came to my rescue. You fought against Cedric. If you were really weak, you wouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Sooner or later, I think Alto would have broken the situation by yourself. I just happened to come along before you did, and gave you a little push. That¡¯s it.¡±¡± When Justina told me that, I just thought¡­ that it might be true. It was a bit naive of me. But¡­ To some extent, I was able to gain some confidence, albeit only a little. Even though I was bullied, those times were not for null¡­ I can look forward to the future¡­ I think that I can walk forward. ¡°But¡­ I just want to say that I owe a lot to Justina for helping me. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be the same¡­ Thank you.¡±¡± ¡°Well. We¡¯re talking in circles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can change this conclusion.¡± ¡°Alto¡¯s very stubborn. But¡­ maybe that¡¯s what makes you Alto. Well I still love you Alto, you were very cool.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Fufu, embarrassed?¡± ¡°If you know that, could you not say that you love me¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I have to make a lot of appeals to Alto to get him to turn on me.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ that¡¯s tough.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it like it¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem.¡± Justina pouted, then we both laughed¡­ ¡°But still¡­ phew, that was good!¡± Suddenly, Justina let out a big breath. She seemed to have lost her tension and went somewhat limp. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering if I¡¯m bothering Alto¡­ but I¡¯m relieved to hear that I¡¯m not¡­ and after all this time, a lot of emotions have come flooding in.¡± ¡°Why do you think you¡¯re bothering me?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that¡­ I¡¯ve been pretty forceful with you, you know? And when I confessed in front of the whole school, I carelessly caused a lot of trouble for Alto. I kind of went a little overboard. If you think about it calmly, there are a lot of factors that I could have made you angry¡­¡± Justina glanced at me, curious about my feelings. Sometimes she¡¯s fearless and has the air of a champion, other times she reacts like a dog who¡¯s been naughty¡­ She¡¯s a girl with many faces. But that¡¯s why Justina is so attractive¡­ I¡¯m drawn to her smile. I am soothed by her kind heart. I can¡¯t determine what this feeling is yet, but¡­ I wanted to continue to be with Justina. [TLN: I want to slap the MC, who agrees?] ¡°I don¡¯t care about those. In fact, as I¡¯ve said many times, I¡¯m grateful.¡± ¡°Yeah. Yes, you do. I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°Hey, Justina.¡± I gently held out my hand. Seeing this, Justina was taken aback. ¡°This?¡± ¡°What¡¯s it called¡­ a handshake to say, ¡®let¡¯s get along¡¯?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Justina giggled. I don¡¯t know if you should be laughing at me. Though, I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m talking about either. ¡°It¡¯s like what we talked about at lunchtime again¡­ I think I want to be next to Justina. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen with our relationship¡­ but for now, I want to walk the path together.¡± ¡°¡­Alto¡­¡± ¡°So I wanted to do this again.¡± [TLN: I could see how the harem tag comes in.] Justina was moved, and her eyes moistened¡­ The next moment, she smiled as bright as the sun and grabbed my hand back. ¡°Thank you, Alto. I¡¯m glad I met you, Alto. I¡¯m glad I fell in love with Alto. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen to our relationship¡­ but this feeling will never change.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Once again¡­ I look forward to being with you!¡± Justina held my hand tightly, and gave her biggest smile of the day. CH 12 It was morning. I suddenly woke up¡­ ¡°Jiiii.¡± ¡°¡­Whoa!?¡± Justina¡¯s face was right in front of me. I shouted out loud in surprise. Her cherry-red lips were right in front of me, and her warm breath gently touched me. Justina¡¯s cheeks were white and soft. Her slightly moist eyes were staring at me, and I could feel her vast affection for me. ¡°W-What are you doing¡­?¡± ¡°I was observing Alto¡¯s sleeping face. You have a cute face.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me cute¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a compliment.¡± For men, it was a complicated feeling to be called cute. ¡°Oh, well. Food¡¯s ready.¡± Upon closer inspection, I saw that Justina had already changed into her uniform. On top of that, she was wearing an apron¡­ When I looked at the table in the center of the room, I saw that breakfast had been prepared. ¡°Did¡­ Justina make this?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a set of bread and jam. I¡¯d really like to make it from scratch, but I don¡¯t have the time or the tools, so I¡¯d be happy if you could bear with just this. There¡¯s also soup and fruit salad, some leftovers from yesterday, and some fresh water! I¡¯m using ice made from magic tools, so it¡¯s chilled to the bone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing¡­ that I can eat such a luxurious meal in the morning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d call it luxurious. Alto, what kind of food do you usually eat?¡± ¡°A slice of bread and milk, maybe? Without jam.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s a little small.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sleepy in the morning, so I have to cut corners.¡± ¡°Ah, come on, you can¡¯t do that, okay? The day starts with breakfast, and you have to make sure you eat something good! But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you breakfast every day from now on.¡± ¡°No, every day is no good. I¡¯ll make a schedule.¡± ¡°But I want you to eat my home-cooked food¡­ But I also like to eat your home-cooked food too. I really want to try more of it.¡± ¡­We had our conversation as I changed into my uniform. Incidentally, it was decided that Justina would basically be in charge of cooking, and I would only cook once a week. I wanted to divide the work fairly, but Justina wouldn¡¯t let me. She can be stubborn, or she can be sweet, she¡¯s really an interesting person. ¡°¡°Gochisousama deshita.¡±¡± After the meal, we got ready for school. ¡°Justina, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Mmm-hmm.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I wanted to say have a safe trip, but then I wouldn¡¯t be able to go to school with Alto. I don¡¯t want to do that.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll leave you if you don¡¯t come.¡± ¡°Oh, no, no! Alto is so mean.¡± I think that sometimes Justina has problems with things that aren¡¯t too important. In the end, she decided to give up on seeing me off and we went out normally. It was about a ten-minute walk to the academy. I walked that distance side by side with Justina. ¡°Ehehe~?¡± Justina was in a good mood. She was humming a tune with a smile on her face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just happy to be going to school with Alto. It¡¯s very adolescent-like, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that¡­ so?¡± That¡¯s very human-like¡­ She was probably longing for something a little more mundane. Was it because she was a dragon¡­? ¡°Is that girl¡­ really a dragon? Looking at her again, she looks just like a normal girl. Plus, she¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be fooled by her looks. You know, the eldest son of the Astheim family? I heard that she overpowered him yesterday.¡± ¡°I also heard that she transformed and surrounded him with her fellow dragons. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s okay with picking a fight with the Astheim family¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ve heard from the academy that they¡¯re going to leave it alone. It¡¯s more scary to make an enemy of a dragon than a noble.¡± The students around us noticed Justina and began to whisper to one another. Most of them were about Cedric. It seemed that last night¡¯s fight was not exposed to the public¡­ Before that, there was no way to hide the Cedric incident, and it seemed to have already spread throughout the academy. ¡°Ahaha, everyone loves rumors.¡± ¡°Ahaha, don¡¯t you care about it¡­? People are saying whatever they want.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ not really? I only care about Alto. I don¡¯t need anything else as long as Alto is looking at me.¡± I¡¯m glad that Justina likes me so straightforwardly, but¡­ I got bummed out about this. ¡°Everyone, listen up!¡± I stopped and called out to the students around me. They were all in shock, but I told them that there was nothing wrong with Justina¡¯s behavior. No, it¡¯s a little forced, and I would say there was a problem¡­ But she didn¡¯t transform or surround Cedric with multiple dragons like the rumors said. I made a strong case for that. ¡°¡­so please don¡¯t be misled by unfounded rumors, okay? Please.¡± Finally, I bowed my head. The students around me quickly left the place, as if they understood what I was trying to say. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they understand what I said¡­ but I think we¡¯re getting somewhere.¡± ¡°¡­Alto¡­¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Alto!¡± ¡°Ohwa!?¡± I was suddenly hugged by Justina. She even kissed me on the cheek. ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯re doing this for me!¡± Justina always expresses her joy with her whole body, doesn¡¯t she? Somehow I envisioned a scene where she jostled against me like a dog. ¡°Hey, hey, Alto.¡± Justina pulled away from me and began to walk again. She walked next to me and stared at me. ¡°Is there anything you want me to do for you?¡± ¡°Eh? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I want to help you more and more. If you¡¯re in trouble, like with that bully, I want to do something about it. So, please¡­ tell me if you have any problems. I¡¯ll solve it for you.¡± ¡°I told you¡­¡± Now that Cedric¡¯s problem has been solved, I can¡¯t think of anything in particular that I¡¯ll have any trouble with in the immediate future. Well, I don¡¯t know if Cedric¡¯s problem has been completely solved, because it was just the day after¡­ Even if Cedric retreated, I¡¯m not sure if the others would keep still. Cedric was the main culprit, but there were also a lot of other people who were involved. The teacher had overlooked me too. It¡¯s just¡­ If you asked me if I wanted to ask for Justina¡¯s help again for those things, the answer would be no. I know I¡¯ve been relying on Justina, but¡­ If I could, I don¡¯t want to ask for her help any more. I have my pride as a man¡­ And above all, she might get involved in something dangerous. Before she is a dragon, Justina is a girl. I wanted to take matters into my own hands as much as possible. I wanted to be able to solve them myself. ¡°¡­I have a problem, or rather, a problem that¡¯s bothering me.¡± ¡°What is it? Tell me! I¡¯ll do anything for you, Alto.¡± ¡°But first I want to ask you, Justina, are you good at teaching people?¡± ¡°Well, it depends on the¡­ content, I guess. As a matter of fact, I¡¯m still practicing cooking and other household chores. So I may not be able to teach you.¡± She can make all that food and she¡¯s still practicing? It seems that in the future, Justina¡¯s cooking skills are going to be outrageous. ¡°I¡¯m good at fighting, though. I¡¯m still a princess, you know. I¡¯ve been trained to defend myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°What?¡± I was able to hear the word I wanted to hear, and I grabbed Justina¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Can you give me some training? Justina can do that, right?¡± ¡°Well, well¡­ f-first of all¡­ I¡¯m a little embarrassed.¡± ¡°¡­Ah!? I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± I hurriedly backed away from Justina. I had gotten carried away and had gotten too close. ¡°I-It¡¯s okay, though. The aggressive Alto is also really attractive.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ anyway. I want you to train me.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°I want to get stronger.¡± In this world, there once existed a natural enemy of all living things called the Demon King. With his immense power, the Demon King tried to conquer the world by getting his people, called the Demon Race, on his side. In this crisis, a knight and a dragon stood up. The knight and the dragon took the lead in the battle and fought a fierce battle against the Demon King. Many people were encouraged by the sight of the knight and dragon, and their friends were so inspired that they decided to join the war one after another. Eventually¡­ The knight and the dragon succeeded in defeating the demon king. By joining forces with the dragon, the knight came to be known as the ¡°Dragon Knight¡± and became a hero. The demon king was defeated, and peace was¡­ supposed to return to the world. When he was defeated, the blood of the demon king poured out all over the world. The blood was poisonous, corrupting the bodies of living creatures and turning them into ferocious demons. The threat of the Demon King had passed, but in his place, an enemy called demonic creatures appeared. In response to this crisis, Almort formed an alliance with the dragons. To prepare for the coming disaster, Almort established an institution to train dragon knights. What resulted was the academy I was enrolled in. Eventually, I want to become an official dragon knight. I want to get stronger and fight demonic creatures for the people. To do so, I have to become stronger and stronger here. My dream of becoming such a hero has not changed. But now, it¡¯s not just that¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to respond to Justina¡¯s feelings¡­ but at the very least, before I respond, I want to have the strength to stand next to Justina. As of now, I can only rely on Justina.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, you know. I just want to indulge you.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty pathetic for a man, isn¡¯t it? Besides, I want to be on equal footing with Justina. ¡­So, will you train me?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Justina made a hesitant sound. Justina indulged me, or rather she wanted to indulge me¡­ Even so, she¡¯s somewhat hesitant. However, I wasn¡¯t worried. What¡¯s more, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll respect my wishes. ¡°Yes, I understand. If you say so, I¡¯ll train you.¡± ¡°Thank you. Thanks a lot.¡± ¡°But my training is tough, okay? I¡¯m going to work you hard!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I want.¡± Thus, I was able to have Justina train me. CH 13 The first class was PE. Physical education, unlike practical training, was not about learning the art of fighting. The purpose was to improve physical strength and reflexes through sports and other activities. In other words, it was training our basic physical abilities¡­. Today¡¯s class was an endurance run. We ran in circles around the academy¡¯s vast grounds. There was no quota on how many laps you have to complete. There was also no strict requirement to be higher than a certain speed. The only restriction was that we had to keep running within the time limit. Each class was 60 minutes long. Excluding the preparatory warm up, we had to keep running for about 55 minutes. Moreover, the students were not allowed to look at the clock, so they had to just keep moving forward with the anxiety of not knowing how much time was left. It was both physically and mentally demanding. I guess that¡¯s why they choose to train us this way. ¡°Hey, hey, Estenia. You¡¯re still running around here? You¡¯re getting lapped.¡± ¡°Are you even running? You¡¯re like a turtle.¡± Physical education was held jointly with other classes. The students who knew me passed me one by one, and as they did so, they made fun of me. Even though Cedric was not there, my position didn¡¯t change much¡­ While not quite bullying, being made fun of and ridiculed had become an everyday occurrence. Maybe it was because of Justina, but my classmates didn¡¯t really get involved¡­ The rest of the classes seemed to think that no harm would come to them, and their attitude was the same as before. ¡°Glare.¡± ¡°Guh¡­!¡± Justina glared at them, and in a panic, they sped away. ¡°You¡¯ve done it. You¡¯re making fun of my Alto¡­ I¡¯m going to burn this place down.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t say that¡­ huf, huf¡­ I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re serious¡­ Fuf.¡± ¡°Eh? I mean it.¡± ¡°Even more so¡­ huf, hu¡­ No, please..¡± I was sweating all over, out of breath and merely staggering alongside Justina¡­. Yet Justina kept a cool face and ran next to me without breaking a sweat. ¡°As expected¡­ huf¡­ Justina is amazing. You got some serious stamina.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not that good. What¡¯s more amazing is Alto. I can¡¯t believe you can move normally while bound by dragon shackles¡­ It¡¯s hard to find someone like you, you know?¡± This morning, after I asked Justina to train me¡­ She gave me what she called the dragon shackles. A special training passed down among dragons¡­ It was a ridiculous item that increased the amount of gravity you receive by several to several dozen times. I was now subjected to twice my normal gravity due to the dragon shackles. My limbs were heavy, and my body felt like lead, unable to move freely. Every part of my body was screaming that I was at my limit. But I refused to stop. With the dragon shackles still on me, I continued to run desperately. To become stronger. In order to be qualified to stand next to Justina. For now, all I could do was train my body. ¡°Hang in there, Alto! I¡¯ll be right next to you.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ please. With Justina¡­ huff, huff¡­ I think I can hang in there!¡¯ Every time Justina cheered me on, my mind that was about to give up was inspired and my body regained its energy¡­ With my force of gravity doubled, I kept running for 55 minutes without stopping. ________________ The second class was practical training. Each of us chose a weapon we were good at, and we paired up to fight a mock battle. My weapon of choice was a spear. It was easy to use both offensively and defensively. Justina, on the other hand, was bare handed. She said that human weapons were too useless for a dragon. By the way, she was teaming up with me as a matter of course. ¡°Come, you can start whenever!¡± Justina readied up. I got ready, too. After a brief standoff¡­ ¡°Hah!¡± I took a step forward and thrusted out my spear. However, due to the dragon shackles, my body did not move as I intended to. In addition, I had no energy left after the endurance run. I couldn¡¯t make a proper thrust, and my movements became sluggish and pathetic. Seeing me in such a lousy state, Justina¡­ ¡°Wow, that¡¯s awesome, Alto!¡± For some reason, she was impressed. ¡°Why are you so impressed¡­?¡± ¡°Because, after all that exercise, it¡¯s pretty impressive to be able to spear someone properly.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a helpless, sluggish thrust.¡± ¡°A normal person can¡¯t even thrust a spear. Have you forgotten? Alto is under double gravity right now. In addition, after endurance running in such a condition. I think it¡¯s amazing that you can even use the spear. Yeah, it¡¯s really amazing.¡± I can¡¯t really feel it when people say I¡¯m amazing. I¡¯m only able to move sluggishly¡­ ¡°Alto has more physical strength than normal¡­ Ummm, that¡¯s unusual. Why is this?¡± ¡°Is that so? Not that I¡¯m aware of¡­¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re very strong. For a normal person, they¡¯d stop in 10 minutes under the dragon shackles. But Alto hasn¡¯t stopped yet, in fact, you¡¯re still moving. That¡¯s pretty amazing, right?¡± I dreamt of becoming a hero, so I never missed a day of training since I was a little boy¡­ After entering the academy, I kept moving my body as a result of being pushed around by Cedric. This might have increased my physical strength in unexpected ways. ¡°Hmmm¡­! I think I¡¯m getting motivated because Alto is so awesome! Okay, I¡¯m going to go all out!¡± ¡°Yeah, go all the way.¡± ¡°¡­Eh? Isn¡¯t the normal reaction in these types of situations something along the lines of, ¡®give me a break¡¯?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who wanted you to train me. I¡¯m not that disrespectful. And I¡¯ll do anything to get stronger.¡± ¡°You¡¯re as good as I thought you were, Alto! I¡¯ll continue then!¡± I continued the mock battle with Justina for the rest of the class. ________________ The third period was a lecture. Although this was an academy that trained dragon knights, we also need to have the appropriate knowledge. If you don¡¯t have knowledge, you won¡¯t be able to use your powers properly. ¡°This incident was the first time that people and dragons fought together¡­ That is, how dragon knights were born. Later, this incident was referred to as the¡­¡± The teacher was talking about history on the podium. ¡°Ooh¡­ hoo hoo¡­ hmmhmm.¡± Justina, who was sitting next to me, seemed to be interested in history and was taking the class very seriously. Although Almort was a country that lived with dragons¡­ It was not as if we had a complete understanding of each other. The barriers between the race inevitably existed, and to some extent, they played on the other people¡¯s understanding. Humans are completely ignorant of dragons, and vice versa. For this reason, the history of humans seemed to be interesting to Justina, and she nodded her head in admiration. ¡°But¡­ this is also tough.¡± Even now, the dragon shackles were still in place. I¡¯m sitting and not moving, so the strain on my entire body was minimal, but¡­ The pressure on my fingers holding the pen was unbelievable. It was as if you tied a weight around each finger¡­ You have to put a lot of strength into your fingers at all times. If you relax even a little, you might drop the pen. ¡°¡­Alto, are you okay?¡± Before I knew it, Justina was looking at me. She seemed to be worried about class, but was worried more about me. Seeing her concern, I smiled at her. ¡°Yeah, no problem.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s really hard, isn¡¯t it. Do you want me to release the shackles for the duration of the lecture?¡± ¡°No. I want you to keep doing what you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d be stronger if I¡¯m shackled 24/7, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, right.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s keep it that way. I¡¯m not going to lie, it¡¯s hard, but I¡¯ll give it a shot¡­¡± ¡°Fufum. Alto¡¯s such a boy.¡± I receive maternal glances from time to time¡­ We¡¯re the same age, right? Sometimes I feel like I¡¯m mistaken. That¡¯s how sweet and gentle Justina¡¯s expression was. ¡°Hang in there, Alto.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± In order to live up to Justina¡¯s expectations, I¡¯ll become stronger. I¡¯m going to be strong. With a firm resolve in my heart, I took the class, bearing the weight of the dragon shackles. CH 14 ¡°Alto, let¡¯s go eat.¡± At lunchtime, Justina invited me to eat with her. Seeing Justina, her classmates who were about to ask her to join them looked at each other and stopped. My position as one who was bullied remained the same¡­ As usual, I¡¯m still treated like a tumor in class. Some are actively involved and participate in bullying me, while many others keep their distance because they don¡¯t want to get involved with me. Well, it was nothing new, so there was nothing to worry about. Cedric, the original culprit, was absent today. According to Justina, he will probably drop out of the school. Well, that was what happens when you instigate something like that¡­ I felt about 10% sympathy for him. The other 90% was ¡°Suck it up¡±. ¡°Ah, let¡¯s go eat.¡± There was no way I was going to refuse Justina¡¯s invitation, so I left my seat and followed her. ¡°Do you want to buy another sandwich today? Or do you want to try the cafeteria?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the roof.¡± ¡°So, sandwiches from the store?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some ideas about that. Come on, come on, hurry.¡± ¡°H-Hey.¡± I was taken by the hand of a very happy looking Justina to the rooftop. Somehow¡­ Just now, Justina looked like a child who was planning a surprise. As I stepped out onto the rooftop, I was greeted by a dazzling light. It was a little hot. I moved to the shade. ¡°So, what¡¯s your little idea?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Ta-dah!!¡± With a dramatic gesture, Justina took out¡­ ¡°A bento?¡± ¡°Yes! I wanted you to have one, so I secretly made it for you!¡± ¡°Ahh¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but spill out my emotional voice. A girl¡¯s homemade lunch. It was something that every man yearned for. Besides, Justina had already proven her cooking skills. I was really looking forward to it. ¡°Is it okay if I eat it?¡± ¡°Of course. I mean, I¡¯ve made it for you, so I¡¯d be upset if you didn¡¯t eat it. Also, I would be a little sad.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I picked up the bento and opened it on my lap. It contained sandwiches and neatly cut fruits. There was also some fried meat in it, making it a hearty meal. ¡°¡°Itadakimasu.¡±¡± We gave our thanks together and quickly ate our sandwiches. ¡°This is¡­¡± There were so many vegetables sandwiched between the bread. I wondered what kind of magic trick she used to keep the vegetables fresh and crisp. There was crunchy lettuce, sweet tomatoes, cucumbers, as well as ham. The spicy sauce that brought them all together only increased my appetite¡­ ¡°W-What do you think¡­?¡± ¡°D-Delicious. It¡¯s really good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad¡­ It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve cooked lunch, I was really nervous.¡± ¡°With Justina¡¯s ability, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡®That¡¯s not true. Well, I was a little bit confident, wasn¡¯t I? But, but¡­ when I¡¯m with someone I like, I get really nervous. I think about what to do if he says it¡¯s not good, what to do if he leaves something behind, and so on.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It would be such a waste to leave something that Justina made for me.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Justina¡¯s face turned red. It was due to the sunlight¡­ there was no sun out. I think she was embarrassed¡­ There was also this kind of naivety. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. After you eat, you should drink this.¡± She handed me a portable water bag. It smelled faintly of sweet citrus. ¡°This is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the secret drink of the dragons.¡± ¡°Secret?¡± ¡°It has two effects: it heals the body from fatigue and it promotes growth. It¡¯s very different from the medicines and potions that humans make, and it¡¯s very effective.¡± ¡°Eh, that¡¯s really something.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be tough for Alto without it. Drinking it now will give you the best effect for later, so take it immediately. If you take it, you won¡¯t be afraid of sore muscles and you¡¯ll be able to grow even more.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll take it.¡± I ate the lunch that Justina made for me, savoring it thoroughly¡­ Then I had the special drink. ¡°Eh? This¡­¡± It tasted strange. It wasn¡¯t that it was bad, but it was almost tasteless. It smelled like citrus, but it tasted like water. And it was coarse or something¡­ What was in it? ¡°What are the ingredients for this?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Justina named about 30 medicinal herbs that were known for their nourishing and other benefits¡­ ¡°And maybe dragon horns and dragon blood.¡± ¡°Guho!¡± All of a sudden, I was about to throw up at the mention of such graphic material. I managed to hold back and asked her back. ¡°Horns and blood¡­?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, I put mine in there.¡± Justina looked away, a little awkwardly. ¡°Ah¡­ are you going to push me away? It¡¯s not normal for someone to go that far¡­ but I wanted to help Alto, so I rushed to make it during my break¡­¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to pull away from you or anything.¡± Justina made this for me. I don¡¯t think it was creepy or anything, but¡­ ¡°Are you okay with that? I can¡¯t believe you used your own horn and blood¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about me¡­ Thanks. But I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a little bit of my horn and a little bit of blood, just enough to keep me from getting anemia.¡± ¡°I see¡­That¡¯s good to know.¡± ¡°By doing this, you will not only recover from fatigue and promote your growth, but you will also be able to tap into the power of the dragon. I¡¯m not sure if it will work 100% of the time because it depends on your aptitude¡­ but yeah. I¡¯m sure Alto will be fine!¡± As usual, Justina smiled brightly toward me. I could see her strong trust in me. I could see that she really believed that I could become stronger. ¡­Why is it that Justina can trust me so much when we¡¯ve just met? Is it because it was love at first sight? Or was there nothing in particular? I was curious and asked her¡­ ¡°Hmmm¡­ what can I say, it¡¯s hard to put into words, but I guess it¡¯s my intuition as a dragon.¡± I didn¡¯t expect it to be a hunch. ¡°Justina, you don¡¯t seem to think things through, do you? ¡°Mmm. Are you making fun of me?¡± ¡°No¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°You admitted it!?¡± I managed to calm down the sulking Justina and continued talking. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of a dragon¡¯s intuition. I don¡¯t mean to brag, but dragons have good senses. ¡°Well, okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only been alive for fifteen years¡­ But I know. My heart and intuition are telling me that Alto is going to be an amazing dragon knight. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be a great dragon knight and fly with me.¡± ¡°Are you sure that you want to become my cavalry dragon¡­?¡± ¡°What? You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I just don¡¯t think I¡¯m the right person.¡± ¡°You said that again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve always been this way and it¡¯s hard to change suddenly. It¡¯s just¡­¡± I looked straight at Justina. ¡°I want to believe in Justina¡¯s words that I can be strong, I¡¯ll do what I can, and keep trying.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what Alto is all about!¡± Justina smiled at me. I¡¯ll have to learn to live up to this smile. ________________ After that, my training continued. The content, however, was the same as the first day. Wearing the dragon shackles at all times¡­ Drinking Justina¡¯s special nutritional drink. It was a repetitive process. It was easy to put into words, but it was actually quite painful. Whenever you were awake or asleep, gravity was twice as strong, and the burden on your body was unbelievable. Even though I had Justina¡¯s nutritional drink, my muscles were aching all over in the beginning¡­ I couldn¡¯t move normally, and I kept getting fresh wounds from falling down. However, as the days passed, I got used to it¡­ After a certain number of days, I was able to move in the same way as before the shackles. Before I knew it, I no longer had muscle pain. According to Justina, the more I got used to double gravity, the more my body trained. To be honest, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve accomplished anything. Nevertheless, I believed in Justina and worked hard at my training¡­ And so, a month has passed. CH 15 ¡°Good morning, Alto.¡± I started the day by looking at Justina¡¯s smile. I ate the food that Justina made, got ready, and went to the academy with her. The effects of the Dragon Shackles were still active during this time, but I had gotten used to them. I could move my body without any problem, and I didn¡¯t feel any burden at all. ¡°Ah-eh?¡± On the way to the academy, Justina, who was walking next to me, saw my face and tilted her head curiously. ¡°Alto, are you feeling nervous?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I love you.¡± Perhaps it was because we were living in the same room, but I felt that Justina was more observant than she used to be. I could feel Justina¡¯s eyes on me. What was so interesting about seeing such an ordinary face? I don¡¯t think I will ever understand girls. ¡°We have exams today, you know. So I¡¯m nervous.¡± Once a month, an exam is held to measure the students¡¯ abilities. There are two exams: a written exam and a practical exam. The exam I was worried about was the latter. The grade I got last time¡­ it was disastrous. I was in the middle of being bullied by Cedric. I couldn¡¯t concentrate on the exam, I couldn¡¯t prepare for it, and I got the lowest grade possible. Even if you do poorly on the exam, you will not be penalized. At most, the teacher will tell you to work harder. But¡­ I¡¯m a man. I have ambition, I have the desire to do better. Besides, I¡¯ve been trained by Justina¡­ Aside from classroom lectures, I want to get a good, solid grade on the practical exam. ¡°Wow, there¡¯s such a thing as an exam.¡± Justina hadn¡¯t taken the first exam, probably because she had enrolled late. Maybe that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t seem to know that the exam existed. ¡°What are they going to do with all that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a place to observe your daily effort. I¡¯m sure the other purpose is to encourage competition by clearly showing the results.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm. That¡¯s quite an efficient method for a human being. I think it¡¯s not bad.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to take the exam too, Justina. Are you going to be okay?¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m a little nervous about the written exam. I¡¯m interested in human history, but I¡¯m not really interested in languages and calculations, so I haven¡¯t really studied them seriously.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re a dragon princess, isn¡¯t it bad if you get a bad grade?¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ that might be true. My mom and dad will scold me if I don¡¯t do well. I was admitted to the school on the condition that I do my best as a student.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think the questions are that difficult, so as long as you don¡¯t sleep in class, you won¡¯t get a red mark.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a red mark?¡± ¡°It means to fail. I don¡¯t think Justina will have a problem with that.¡± She was very interested in history class and listened to it very carefully¡­ Even in classes that she wasn¡¯t interested in, she made sure to take notes. So, the written exam would not be a problem. The practical exam¡­ I guess it goes without saying. Maybe she¡¯ll set a new record? ¡°Good luck, Alto!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Encouraged by Justina¡¯s smile¡­ I was once again determined to do my best and get a good grade. ________________ The written exam was held in the morning. I had a good grasp of all the subjects, and I was confident that I could get into a reasonably good ranking. Justina couldn¡¯t stop running her hand over her pen during the history exam. She had trouble with the other subjects, but she was still able to fill in some of the answers. And¡­ in the afternoon. It was time for the practical exam. The content of the exam was simple. A random opponent was chosen and a mock battle was held in front of the teacher who was the examiner. Basically, if you win, you get extra points. Even if you lose, you still get some points if you put up a good fight. Three mock battles were held¡­ The ranking was determined according to the points earned, simple as that. My opponent was¡­ ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m dealing with Estenia. Lucky me. I¡¯m so lucky to go against you, a wooden dummy. Is it because I¡¯m good at what I do?¡± ¡­was the worst. He was one of Cedric¡¯s cronies. After that incident, Cedric voluntarily dropped out of school some time later. He didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with Justina again, and even submitted his withdrawal form by proxy. So Cedric disappeared completely, but¡­ This, in turn, caused his cronies to grow up. Thanks to Justina, I¡¯m not directly bullied, but I still get tangled up with them every now and then. I¡¯m in another class, so I don¡¯t usually have the opportunity to interact with them. ¡­However, in these situations, if I¡¯m unlucky, I could possibly bump into them. Today, I can say that I was very unlucky. ¡°Go for it, Alto!¡± Due to the limited number of teachers, it wasn¡¯t possible to test everyone at once. Students took turns, and those who were waiting for their turn could watch the other students¡¯ matches. Justina was at the edge of the training area, cheering me on. Seeing Justina like that, her opponent, a male student, shivered in fear. Apparently, they were afraid of her. He may not know the details, but he understood that Cedric was beaten by Justina. ¡°H-Hey.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°If I beat the sh*t out of you, am I going to get beat up by her¡­?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about that. Justina understands that this is an exam, so she won¡¯t be taking it out on you for that.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ that¡¯s a relief to hear. Now I can sandbag you in peace. I¡¯m looking forward to it¡­ I¡¯ve been so stressed out lately because I haven¡¯t been able to play with you. I¡¯m going to let all of it out now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think things will go your way.¡± I held up my training spear. It¡¯s strange. Before, I used to shake just by seeing him¡­ But now, I feel extremely calm. Whether I could win or not, I don¡¯t know. I just felt like I could give it my all without any regrets. ¡°You¡­ think you can beat me? Hey, hey, you¡¯re cocky, even for the mere Estenia¡­ Don¡¯t get carried away, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting carried away. I¡¯m just trying to do the best I can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. A f*cking small fry like you should go cry and grovel!¡± With a vicious look on his face, the male student held up his training sword. ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind. I¡¯ll beat you to a pulp. Even if you cry and apologize, I won¡¯t forgive you. I¡¯m going to remind you that you¡¯re much lower than me, much lower than trash.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hey, hey, can¡¯t you not talk? Hahaha, get down on your knees and lick my boots, I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to waste my breath. That¡¯s all I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ dead.¡± The male student¡¯s anger swelled. And then¡­ ¡°Start!¡± At the same time as the teacher¡¯s signal, a male student kicked the ground. He turned his body to the side in order to cover his essential areas. In this state, he moved his upper body forward to gain momentum. This was the basic assault posture. The sequence of motions was as smooth as water flowing, almost effortless. In a good sense, it is an ideal attack, just as it was taught. But¡­ I wonder why? From my point of view, it looked like he was just messing around. It didn¡¯t look like he was taking it very seriously. Because his movement was so slow that it made me yawn. ¡°¡­¡± Wordlessly, I strained my hand to grip the spear. Now I was in a state where the Dragon Shackles were removed. A month has passed¡­because it was an exam, Justina removed the shackles. I could feel the results of my training in my body. I thought back to what Justina had said to me before the exam. ¡­Okay, let¡¯s do this. Observe first. In order to stop him from charging, I¡¯ll hit him with a checking blow. I spun the spear around and hit him with the handle¡­ ¡°Hee¡­gyahhhh!!!?¡± I shattered the training sword, which was supposed to be sturdy and unbreakable¡­ I then punched the boy in the face. The male student was blown away like a piece of paper and crashed straight into the wall of the training area. ¡°What was that!?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe the unbelievable amount of power I had just unleashed, and I couldn¡¯t help but pout and make a dumb face right there on the spot. CH 16 ¡°Simply put, Alto¡¯s physical capabilities are off the charts right now.¡± That night after the exams. In my dorm room, I was listening to Justina¡¯s explanation about what happened during the exam. ¡°You had spent a month with the Dragon Shackles, where gravity was doubled. A nutritional drink was also used to stimulate growth. This has the effect of roughly ten years worth of training.¡± ¡°Ten years¡­ really?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Well, it¡¯s just a rough calculation, but¡­ I think it¡¯s about right.¡± I was taken aback, but it made sense. If I had gotten ten years worth of training, it would be possible for me to gain that much power. ¡°¡­¡± My body shuddered. I¡¯m getting stronger. With this, maybe I could grow to become a hero¡­ ¡°But don¡¯t get carried away.¡± As if she could see right through me, Justina said to calm me. ¡°Thanks to the training of the Dragon Shackles, Alto¡¯s physical abilities have indeed improved greatly. But if you look at the world as a whole, there¡¯s still a long way off. There are many people who are better than Alto. And besides, just because your physical ability has increased, your fighting skills have not been refined.¡± ¡°So now I¡¯m all about power and nothing else¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to sound harsh here, but you¡¯re right.¡± I admonish myself for getting carried away. I was getting carried away with all the things that had happened¡­ I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to get into a bad situation like that. ¡°Thank you, Justina.¡± ¡°Fuh? Why are you thanking me?¡± ¡°You admonished me. If it hadn¡¯t been for your words, I might have gotten carried away and made a terrible mistake. So, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a humble boy, Alto. I think it¡¯s okay to brag and get carried away a little bit.¡± ¡°If I just want to be an ordinary dragon knight, that might be fine, but¡­ I want to become a hero. My goal is far away, so I need to become strong.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll support you with that.¡± ¡°Can I count on you?¡± Justina nodded with a huge smile on her face. ________________ I, Alto Estenia, am an ordinary being. I was born the son of an innkeeper in the rural town of Almort. In fact, there was nothing¡­ similar to the blood of a noble within me. There was nothing special about me. I was a very normal child. I played with the neighborhood kids of the same age until the sun went down¡­. Twice a week, we went to school to learn. Almort was a rich country, and they put a lot of effort into the education of their people. I remember that I was reluctant to go to school because studying was boring for a child. I was living such a normal life. If nothing had happened, I would have grown up to be a normal adult and taken over my parents¡¯ inn. But¡­ one day, my life reached a turning point. It happened one day. I was having fun with my friends, and we went out for a long walk, and I got lost. I had been told that it was dangerous to go outside the city because of the demonic creatures, but I still found myself out there. I didn¡¯t know how to get home, but there was nothing I could do about it. Half crying, I was desperately looking for a way back to the city when I was attacked by a¡­ demonic beast. I didn¡¯t feel alive At that time, I thought I was going to die here. Then, a dragon descended from the sky. Dragon Knight. Flying with a dragon to defeat the enemy. When I saw their power, I instantly fell in love with them. I had a strong longing for them. I wanted to be a dragon knight too. I wanted to be strong. And¡­ I want to help someone. This feeling did not disappear as time went by, but rather, it grew day by day. I made up my mind to enter the Dragon Knight Academy. That was the starting point of my heart that yearned to be a hero. I wanted to be able to save others in the same way I was saved. I wanted the power to do so. That¡¯s why I want to be a hero. It was with this in mind that I saved the girl who had been tangled up with Cedric. I saved Justina. I believe there¡¯s something I can do¡­ Maybe I will continue to search for my purpose. Because that¡¯s what it means to be me. ________________ ¡°Alto-!¡± One day after school. ¡°H-Hey. What are you doing?¡± ¡°An expression of affection. Ehehe.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t. Get off me.¡± ¡°Eh, why?¡± ¡°Why, you say¡­¡± Justina¡¯s body, if you¡¯ll pardon the expression, was not very undulating. But she¡¯s a firm girl for some reason, so she¡¯s soft all over the place¡­ And she smells nice and very sweet¡­ Or am I a pervert for taking such things seriously? Anyway, I didn¡¯t want her to hug me, so I gently pulled her away. ¡°Goodness, Alto is so shy. But that part of you is cute, too?¡± Justina was not disheartened. ¡°¡­¡± Suddenly, I made eye contact with a classmate. He was looking at me. However, as soon as our eyes met, he immediately looked away. Cedric disappeared, I showed my ability in the exam, and Justina was there¡­ This has helped me not to be bullied anymore. But the fact that I¡¯m floating around in the class is still the same. I guess my classmates don¡¯t know how to treat me anymore. As for me, I want to get along with everyone. Some of them were in Cedric¡¯s good graces¡­ others, most of my classmates, were irrelevant and were never bullied. They just turned a blind eye to it. I can¡¯t blame them for that, because I understood the fear that I might be caught in it too. So I didn¡¯t mind. Likewise, I wish my classmates would stop being concerned about it¡­ Though it wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Alto?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ I would say that, but I have some business to attend to. I¡¯m sorry, but could you go home first?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unusual. What kind of business is it?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I-I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m ready for that, or rather if my heart is ready for it¡­ So I think it¡¯s better if I go by myself.¡± Why was she embarrassed? ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯d like to go buy some panties.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry. That was a weird question.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it! I¡¯m still a little embarrassed about it right now, but¡­but I¡¯d love it if you could tell me what kind of panties you like.¡± I don¡¯t want to talk about something that is very difficult to respond to. For now, I pretended I hadn¡¯t heard it. Later, when I left the school building, I separated from Justina and left her alone. I walked straight down the path leading to the dormitory. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± There were several students in the shadows¡­ of the school building, out of sight. They were all boys. There were three of them surrounding one. They seemed to be struggling and arguing with each other. That¡¯s why I was able to find out about it¡­ ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± A group of three suddenly lost their temper and started beating the single student. The student fought back bravely, but it seemed that three against one was indeed a tough fight, and he was quickly pushed back. ¡°I don¡¯t even have a training spear¡­ yeah, I¡¯ll just have to make do!¡± Unable to leave him alone, I rushed out. CH 17 ¡°Hey!¡± I couldn¡¯t help before I knew what was going on. I stepped in with the intent to mediate the fight. ¡°What are you guys doing!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother us!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I don¡¯t think this is the right place for a fight. Besides, three against one is not fair. At least¡­¡± ¡°You¡­ it took me a little, but you¡¯re Estenia!¡± Once I took a closer look, I realized that these guys were Cedric¡¯s cronies. ¡°Nobody called you here! Get lost.¡± ¡°Guh.¡± I took a hard punch. Thanks to Justina¡¯s training, it didn¡¯t hurt too much¡­ Still, some damage had been done. On the other hand, they seemed to be working out in their own way. ¡°If you¡¯re going to get in my way, I¡¯m going to beat the both of you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare cross us, you piece of trash!¡± They didn¡¯t listen to me, and they targeted me too. I don¡¯t think any words will reach such a person. I gave up trying to break up the fight and decided to join the boy. ¡°Can you fight?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°Then, take care of one!¡± I was in charge of the other two. Fortunately, my opponents were not carrying weapons. They fought with punches and kicks. They were used to fighting, not only with the fighting techniques taught in the academy, but also with their own unique styles. However, I didn¡¯t feel any fear and I wasn¡¯t intimidated by them. Compared to Cedric, they were much weaker. Either defend against or avoid attacks with precision¡­ ¡°Now!¡± The boy swung his arms wide and his side was open. I slammed a kick into it. The boy fainted in agony and collapsed on the spot. One of their friends was knocked down, which upset the rest of the group. I took advantage of the opportunity and jabbed the other student from the bottom up. It seemed to have given him a good concussion, and the second person also sank to the ground. ¡°Humph.¡± I saw that the last one had just been knocked down by a male student. It seemed that he was used to fighting and was strong in one-on-one fights. ¡°Thank you. You¡­ ah.¡± The boy looked at me and got an aghast look on his face. What was wrong? It was not like there was something on my face or anything. Maybe he knew who I was. I¡¯ve been tangled up with Cedric, so I¡¯ve got some name recognition. Well, it was infamous. ¡°Estenia¡­ I see, you saved me¡­¡± ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Eh? Umm, well¡­ we¡¯re in the same class.¡± Is that so? Now that he said that, I thought I recognized him from somewhere¡­ I didn¡¯t have any friends in my class, and so I don¡¯t remember anyone from my class. ¡°For now, let¡¯s move.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, sure.¡± If the teacher found us here, we¡¯d get in trouble. We left the place, leaving the group of three we had beaten up behind. ________________ The boy¡¯s name was Gran Steil. I didn¡¯t remember him at all, but he was my classmate. He happened to be spotted by Cedric¡¯s cronies and was being extorted for money. However, Gran was not the type to meekly offer money¡­ The rest, as you can see, was what had happened. The cronies got angry and a fight broke out¡­ I heard about the situation in the common room of the dormitory. ¡°Well¡­ that was a disaster.¡± ¡°I wish I could have just left, but they were so persistent, it drove me crazy.¡± ¡°But you¡¯d better refrain from fighting. Private fights between students are forbidden.¡± ¡°I know right¡­ goodness, what are we going to do if this turns into a problem? I mean, I have a feeling it¡¯s going to be messy¡­ Those people will definitely retaliate.¡± ¡°Now¡­ what do we do?¡± It seemed that when Cedric was around, they used his power as an umbrella to do whatever they wanted¡­ It was hard to do anything reckless now that the academy became more strict. They weren¡¯t targeting Gran either, it was just a spur-of-the-moment crime, so they probably wouldn¡¯t remember his face or name. Unless they were unlucky enough to run into him in an unpopular place or something like that, I didn¡¯t think it would be a problem. When I told him this, Gran exhaled in relief. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all right then.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s going to be a problem, it¡¯ll be when the academy finds out about the fight. Well, if that happens, you can call me. I¡¯ll testify that it was self-defense.¡± No¡­ I beat him up, so wouldn¡¯t it be considered excessive self defense? Well, it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing because the other person was definitely at fault. ¡°¡­¡± When he didn¡¯t answer, I looked over and saw that Gran was sulking. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Are you going to help me¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m willing to testify.¡± ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¡°Why, you ask¡­¡± I thought about it. But there was no answer. ¡°Do you really need a reason to want to help someone?¡± ¡°¡­!?¡± What¡¯s wrong with him? He looked so surprised. Did I say something so strange? ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­ I see. Estenia is that kind of guy, aren¡¯t you? I should have known, but I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t look so good.¡± ¡°No¡­ nothing.¡± His face didn¡¯t seem like it could be glanced over with nothing¡­ ¡°¡­I¡¯m going back to my room.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I just want to be alone. I¡¯m sorry you¡¯re worried about me.¡± ¡°No, if you¡¯re okay, I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°¡­Thanks a lot, man.¡± Gran thanked me repeatedly and then disappeared straight into the back of the dormitory. What in the world was going on? ¡°Ah, Alto!¡± As I was relaxing by myself, unable to follow him, Justina came back. She has a shopping bag in her hand. Maybe what was in it was¡­ No, let¡¯s not think about it. ¡®Welcome home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m home! What are you doing here? Ah, are you waiting for me? You¡¯re so lonely, aren¡¯t you, Alto? But I¡¯m glad.¡± Justina took the liberty of assuming that I was waiting for her. ¡°You¡¯re wrong¡± ¡­I can¡¯t tell her that. I could easily imagine a depressed Justina if I did that. ¡°Umm¡­ did Justina manage to buy what she wanted?¡± ¡°Yes. I found something cute!¡± I glanced over at Justina, who looked at me with a red face. ¡°¡­Do you want to see it?¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s¡­ underwear. I can¡¯t look at that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing for me, but it¡¯s okay with Alto.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I see!¡± Justina smiled at me, as if she understood. ¡°It¡¯s no use just looking at them. You want to see me wear it properly, don¡¯t you?¡± You¡¯re making a terrible mistake! No, I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t interested. I¡¯m a boy. However, I can¡¯t do such a thing when I¡¯m not even in a relationship. ¡°But I can¡¯t do that here, because there will be other people watching. The only person who can see my embarrassing parts is Alto.¡± So please don¡¯t say those lines to me. It made me feel like my self-control was about to collapse. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need that.¡± ¡°Awww.¡± I don¡¯t want her to feel disappointed. ¡°For now, let¡¯s go back to our room.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We need to get ready for dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Although I was concerned about Gran¡¯s condition¡­ I went back to my room with Justina, thinking that there was nothing I could do at the moment. CH 18 The morning came about as usual, and I went to school with Justina. Justina was happy to talk about nothing in particular. She was so happy to be able to talk to me. Was that how valuable I was to Justina? I didn¡¯t know, but¡­ I was going to do what makes Justina happy. ¡°¡­Hey, can I talk to you?¡± Suddenly, a male student approached me. He had a large body, vaguely reminiscent of a bear. He was also tall. He must have been close to two meters tall. In proportion to his body, he had a rugged face. However, even though he looked scary, he had a certain charm about him. If I had to compare him to something¡­ I would say he was a friendly bear. Oh, no. I had been thinking of bears now for a while. Well¡­ anyway, that¡¯s the kind of man he was. The name of such a man was¡­ ¡°Yesterday¡­ Gran, was it? Gran Stail.¡± ¡°Yeah. As expected, you seem to remember me this time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t have such a bad memory that I can forget something that happened just yesterday.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you remembered.¡± ¡°So¡­what¡¯s up? What can I do for you?¡± ¡°¡­There¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± What is it? I couldn¡¯t think of anything, and I couldn¡¯t help tilting my head. In response to me, Gran became awfully serious¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry!!!¡± He bent 90 degrees and bowed his head. And for some reason, a loud apology. I¡¯m flabbergasted. I can¡¯t think of any reason for him to be apologetic. ¡°Umm¡­ Why are you apologizing? Did you have some kind of problem with me that I didn¡¯t know about?¡± ¡°Problems¡­ There has been one ongoing for a long time. When Estenia was being bullied, I turned a blind eye. I dismissed it as irrelevant. Sorry¡­ No, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± It was not the kind of thing one wanted to talk about in a public place like this. Of course, Gran had the attention of our classmates. No¡­ was it to do that thing? To draw attention to it and make it your own punishment¡­? And maybe he has talked to other classmates¡­ It may be a convenient interpretation, but that was how I saw it. ¡°I know you think it¡¯s too late, and I know it¡¯s convenient. But I really wanted to apologize! Estenia saved my life yesterday, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for myself for abandoning you. So I decided to put an end to all this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Hey¡­ guys, let¡¯s not do this kind of thing anymore, okay? I don¡¯t enjoy spending time with Estenia like that, treating him like a tumor. If you¡¯re asking me how I could be so afraid of Cedric and so abusive to Estenia, you¡¯re right. But I want to put an end to all this.¡± At Gran¡¯s call, the classmates looked at each other. The emotion on their faces was¡­ guilt. My classmates didn¡¯t like to ignore me. It was just that they couldn¡¯t oppose Cedric and were forced to do so. I¡¯d like to believe that they didn¡¯t really mean it. ¡°¡­you¡¯re all very convenient.¡± Justina¡¯s cold voice interrupted my thought. I looked at her and saw that she looked incredibly unhappy. At some point, she looked just like she did when she confronted Cedric. ¡°Cedric¡¯s been gone for about a month now, you know? So why would he say something like that at this point in time? If you¡¯re going to apologize, shouldn¡¯t you normally apologize sooner?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t be sure that Cedric was really gone, and I didn¡¯t even try to find out¡­ I just looked at Cedric, shaking and in fear. Finally, I became convinced. Now I can live in peace. But I still feel guilty that I left Alto out in the cold. Then let¡¯s apologize¡­ this is like that, isn¡¯t it? You guys are just being selfish, aren¡¯t you? I apologized to Alto because I don¡¯t want to carry any guilt and I want to forget it. Are you¡­ really being sincere?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Eltoselk-san. I¡¯m a coward. But I also feel that I have done something really bad to Estenia. Can you trust me on that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also self-satisfaction, isn¡¯t it? You pretend that you have no ill intentions and so he has to forgive you. In a way, you¡¯re worse than Cedric, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Justina, aren¡¯t you out of line?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll keep saying it!¡± Justina was angry. Not as angry as the anger she directed at Cedric¡­ But¡­ she almost perceived her classmates, who had pretended not to see me, as enemies. ¡°First of all, why this timing? That¡¯s what¡¯s unnatural. The trigger was¡­ the last exam, right? Alto showed a tremendous amount of strength, and went from being unranked in the practical examinations to quickly rising to the top of the list, finishing 11th!¡± By the way, the first place went to Justina. Well, it was a natural result. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that and get scared? We might get abused by Alto this time, just like we had been doing to him. So, let¡¯s get along before that happens. That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking, isn¡¯t it? In other words, you¡¯re calculating. You¡¯re not really thinking about apologizing, you¡¯re just calculating and stepping into Alto¡¯s mind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ undeniable.¡± Gran nodded with a pained look on his face. ¡°But that¡¯s not the only reason.¡± ¡°What else could it be?¡± ¡°¡­I was saved by Estenia yesterday.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything for him, but Estenia still helped me. I was getting tangled up with a bunch of jerks, and he stepped in. I asked him why he was helping me and he said, ¡®Do you need a reason to help someone.¡¯ ¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I wanted to punch myself in the face. I wanted to punch myself in the face for doing something so stupid. I¡¯m sorry. So give me a chance to start over!¡± Thinking it would be best to leave it there, I interrupted Justina. ¡°What, Alto? I don¡¯t know what else to say.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Feeh.¡± When I stroked her head, Justina made a strange noise. Then she turned red and went quiet. ¡°I¡¯m honestly glad that you¡¯re angry for me. Just don¡¯t go any further.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°I understand your intentions. There is a possibility that Justina is right. That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to figure out.¡± I didn¡¯t like being bullied, though it was strange to say that. Gran¡¯s words may just be a formality, and he may not really want to reconcile. Still¡­ ¡°I believe in Gran.¡± ¡°¡­Estenia¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to trust than to doubt.¡± ¡°What if he betrays you?¡± ¡°When the time comes, then it¡¯s the time.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm.¡± I couldn¡¯t help it and Justina sighed with such a feeling A soft smile returned to her face. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I won¡¯t say anything else.¡± Justina took a step backward. It was a form of opening the way for Gran. Gran looked puzzled, and opened his mouth again. ¡°You¡¯re right, Eltoselk. There¡¯s a lot of calculation going on in me.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°But I want to put an end to all this¡­ and if I can, I want to be friends with Estenia. It¡¯s true. You have to believe me.¡± ¡°I believe you.¡± ¡°¡­You say that so easily. Don¡¯t you doubt me?¡± ¡°As I said before with Justina, it feels better to believe than to doubt. And I¡¯m tired of thinking about¡­ all kinds of dark things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Estenia has done so much for me, and I¡¯ve been¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± If it¡¯s Cedric we¡¯re dealing with, it¡¯s unlikely we¡¯ll be able to forgive him¡­ Gran and the others are also victims, so to speak. They are caught up in Cedric¡¯s tyranny and couldn¡¯t do anything about it. If I were in Gran¡¯s shoes, I don¡¯t think I could have done anything with my powers¡­ I have no right to blame Gran, nor do I intend to. ¡°Just¡­ can I say one thing?¡± ¡°What? Say anything you want. I¡¯ll do whatever you say, at least to atone for my sins. If you want to hit me, go ahead, you can do whatever you want!¡± ¡°The way you think about things¡­ this is not like that. You can call me Alto. That¡¯s all I want. ¡°¡­Got it. And thank you.¡± Gran and I shook hands¡­ Spontaneously, I was surrounded by applause from my classmates. On this day, I made friends at the school for the first time. However, this led to a new incident. [TLN: I think everyone should know, but everytime there is a new Genshin patch, I¡¯m super lazy. Plus uni started.] CH 19 A few days later. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ G-Good morning¡­ Estenia-kun.¡± ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s a beautiful morning.¡± When I greeted them, my classmates returned the greeting, albeit awkwardly. Until now, they¡¯ve been blatantly ignoring me¡­ But that was no longer the case. They were responding to me normally now. I felt very freshed. I just greeted them, but I felt so radiant. ¡°Alto, you look happy.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s because I love you.¡± Justina was still being Justina. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that the environment around Alto has improved.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Justina. Thanks a lot.¡± ¡°I had nothing to do with it. It was all up to Alto to pave the way on his own. I¡¯m happy and proud to have such a master.¡± Me and Justina are not officially registered as partners yet, but¡­ It seemed that in Justina¡¯s mind, her choice to become my cavalry dragon was a done deal. ¡°Yo, Alto!¡± ¡°Whoa.¡± Someone slapped me on the back with a thud. I turned around and saw Gran and Jeannie.. ¡°Hey, Nii-san. What kind of greeting is that out of the blue? Alto-kun looked troubled.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, is it? It¡¯s normal for a man to greet someone like this. Hey, Alto?¡± ¡°No¡­ please don¡¯t suddenly slap me on the back. I¡¯d be surprised.¡± ¡°Gosh, Alto betrayed me.¡± ¡°Goodness¡­ sorry, Alto-kun. Stupid Nii-san.¡± Jeannie was a classmate and Gran¡¯s twin sister. She¡¯s Gran¡¯s twin sister who doesn¡¯t resemble a bear, and gives off a completely different feeling than her brother. She had very little resemblance to Gran. She was a very beautiful girl, perhaps because she looked like her mother. My eyes were drawn to her dignified expression. Only her eyes, that seem strong-willed, seemed to resemble Gran¡¯s. She had blonde hair like Gran¡¯s, and her long hair was tied up with a ribbon. It was a girlish touch, and I honestly thought it was cute. Her body was clearly defined, showing where bulges should be and retracting where it should be. Justina was staring at Jeannie¡¯s body with a bit of envy. ¡°Good morning, Jeannie.¡± ¡°Good morning, Alto-kun. And good morning to you as well, Eltoselk-san.¡± ¡°Mmm, Good morning.¡± After a recent incident¡­ Gran became my friend and I was able to get to know his sister, Jeannie, as well. Jeannie bowed to me, as did Gran¡­ I didn¡¯t pay any attention to it and ended the matter. It felt better to laugh with them. At first, Justina alienated them, but¡­ The more time she spent with them, the more she began to like their straightforward personalities and stopped being so standoffish. On the contrary, she seemed to hit it off with them, especially with Jeannie. Come to think of it, would Jeannie be the first same-sex friend for Justina? Not only interacting with me alone¡­. I¡¯d like to see her interact with more people. ¡°Anyway, Gran and Jeannie are brother and sister, aren¡¯t they?¡± Suddenly, Justina asked such a question. ¡°Yeah, correct.¡± ¡°Unfortunately.¡± ¡°No, what does that mean!?¡± ¡°Exactly what I said. Hahaha.¡± Although Gran stared at her, Jeannie smiled as if she didn¡¯t care. She had a lot of guts. ¡°Hmm, they don¡¯t look alike.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to look anything like her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to look anything like him.¡± ¡°Ha-ha-ha. You¡¯re in perfect sync.¡±¡± Gran and Jeannie looked unhappy with each other. It seemed that the thought of resemblance was disgraceful to them both. But it¡¯s not that they don¡¯t get along. Their trust in each other was apparent¡­ I think they are good siblings. ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Justina said enviously, looking at Gran and Jeannie. I was curious, so I asked her. ¡°What do you envy about Gran and Jeannie?¡± ¡°That they get along.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to get along with her brother¡­¡± ¡°Well, I know. I know Jeannie. She¡¯s a bit of a tsundere. She can¡¯t be honest.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s a tsundere!¡± ¡°But she and Gran are really close, you know? They spend a lot of time together, and¡­ it¡¯s like they¡¯re equals. I think they are the ideal brother and sister.¡± There was a feeling of longing in Justina as she spoke of such things. ¡°Does Justina want a brother or sister?¡± ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s not like that. I have a sister.¡± ¡°Eh, you do?¡± ¡°Yeah. I have a sister above me.¡± It was a surprising fact. Thinking about it, I know very little about Justina¡¯s family, or even her personal information. She was a dragon, the divine dragon Bahamut. She was the dragon princess. That was about all I knew. I might want to make an effort to get to know her instead of being complacent about the current situation. ¡°I¡¯m jealous of Gran and Jeannie because I have a weird relationship with mine.¡± ¡°You two don¡¯t get along?¡± ¡°No. I think we get along pretty well, but there¡¯s a little problem with my sister¡­¡± What was the problem? I was curious, but Justina looked so depressed that I couldn¡¯t help but wait for the right moment. In the meantime, the teacher arrived and the first period started. ________________ Cedric Astheim was expelled from the academy. Cedric was the main tormentor of Alto, and the origin. With this, at first glance, Alto seemed to have regained his peaceful life. The main culprit of the bullying disappeared¡­ He was also able to make peace with my classmates. But it wasn¡¯t not over yet. His classmates couldn¡¯t defy Cedric, but that didn¡¯t mean they could actively engage in bullying, so they turned a blind eye. They felt bad. With such classmates, they would be able to make peace with Alto. [TLN: Excuse F*CKING me? I fElT BaD] But there were those who didn¡¯t. There are those who actively participated in Cedric¡¯s bullying and enjoyed it. From their point of view, the current situation was not amusing. One less toy to play with. One less way to relieve stress. There was a student who had such a selfish idea. Jas Rakustin. He was one of Cedric¡¯s cronies, though not in the same class as Cedric and Alto. Although not as powerful as the five great noble families, his family had a certain amount of power. Using that power as a shield, he has done whatever he wanted, just like Cedric. He also did whatever he wanted with Alto. But that was not possible now. Justina¡¯s appearance instantly disrupted the balance of power in the academy. Cedric was forced to leave. Even the teachers who had pretended to ignore him began to take Justina¡¯s side. ¡°Goodness¡­ this is not interesting at all.¡± Jus muttered irritably to himself, alone in his room. To make an enemy of Justina would mean ruin. He understood that fully when he saw the end that Cedric had reached. However, he doesn¡¯t want to give up his toy, Alto. He wanted to torment him as much as he could and have him serve as a tool to relieve stress. ¡°Now¡­ what shall I do?¡± ¡°I think you should do what you want.¡± Suddenly, the voice of an unseen third party sounded. ¡°Who are you!?¡± The next thing he knew, there was someone in a black robe in his room. Jas had no idea how long they had been there. ¡°My apologies. I¡¯m afraid I startled you.¡± The one in the robe bowed his head apologetically. They had an androgynous voice that Jas couldn¡¯t tell if it was a man or a woman. ¡°Who are you? Are you ready to face the consequences of coming into my room?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you who I am, but I can tell you that I¡¯m on your side.¡± ¡°My side¡­?¡± ¡°Alto Estenia. And Justina Eltoserlk. These are the two people you¡¯re currently struggling with, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can arrange the best situation for you. You are a wise man, and I am confident that you will listen to me.¡± ¡°¡­All right.¡± Jas has no idea who the robes are. He had no clue. But only if one can satisfy one¡¯s own desires. If one can use it to one¡¯s advantage. One decided that it would be a good idea to listen to the story. That¡¯s all about satisfying one¡¯ s own desires. ¡°I want to hear what you have to say about helping me.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± People can change, just like Alto¡¯s classmates did. But some people, like Jas, will never be able to. CH 20 After school. ¡°Phew.¡± I let out a single breath. It was not that I had a bad day, I was just tired. I¡¯ve been wearing the dragon shackles again since the other day. And this time, the gravity was three times greater than it was before. By simple calculation, my body was under twice as much strain as before. I¡¯ve gotten so used to the doubled gravity that I¡¯ve decided to triple it for further growth¡­ This was tough. I felt like I was more fatigued than when it was doubled. ¡°Alto, are you okay?¡¯¡± Justina said with concern. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t easily say that I¡¯m fine, but I¡¯m going to try my best.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, that¡¯s my man! If there¡¯s anything I can do to help, I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± At this moment, a thought occurred to me. Why does she act like she¡¯s older than me when we¡¯re the same age? Was it because she was at that age? But I couldn¡¯t deny it outright, because I felt a strange kind of receptiveness or motherhood from her. In fact, I think that¡¯s how Justina should be¡­ Oh, no. I was getting a little confused. Even though we were the same age, Justina had an older side to her. What in the world was causing this to happen? ¡°Hmm?¡± A knock sounded on the door of my dorm room. I acknowledged them and went to the entrance to open the door. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Yoo-hoo!¡± It was Gran and Jeannie. They seemed to have gone back to their rooms to change, and were both in their casual clothes. ¡°What¡¯s going on, you two?¡± ¡°Ah, I get it. You¡¯re going on a date as brother and sister!¡± ¡°¡°No, we¡¯re not!¡±¡± That¡¯s what twins do, they¡¯re perfectly in sync. ¡°Alto and Eltoselk-san, are you free?¡± ¡°Would you like to go out with us?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Alto, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No¡­ I never thought I¡¯d experience an event where a friend would ask me out. I had completely given up on that kind of thing¡­¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Poor Alto! It¡¯s okay! I¡¯m here, I¡¯m with you, I¡¯ll be with you all the way!¡± ¡°Fmm!?¡± I seemed to have stimulated a strange part of Justina, and she hugged me. Her chest..! It was a small but distinct swelling and softness¡­! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alto. Did it hurt?¡± ¡°N-No¡­ I¡¯m okay.¡± Justina released me, and my face was red. Please don¡¯t pursue the matter, whether it¡¯s acid reflux or some other factor. When I looked, Gran and Ginny were smirking at me. It seemed that the two of them could see through me. Ugh¡­ This was embarrassing. ¡°So, what do you think? If you don¡¯t have any specific plans, why don¡¯t you come hang out with us?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll join you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! You¡¯re coming, right, Eltoselk-san?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. If Alto¡¯s coming, I¡¯ll come with you.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯m going to get ready. Just hang on a second.¡± I closed the door once. I picked up my personal clothes and moved to the kitchen. I can¡¯t change in the same place as Justina, so I always change here. ¡°Hey, hey, Alto.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Are you okay? Isn¡¯t it hard to walk around with the dragon shackles on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that it¡¯s heavy, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have any problem hanging out with them¡­ Thanks for worrying about me.¡± ¡°I see. Alto is strong. That¡¯s the kind of person I like.¡± As always, Justina was straightforward in her fondness¡­ I felt embarrassed by that. ________________ In the academy, students are given an allowance. It was not only to acquire the power of a dragon knight, but also to develop a sense of independence. ¡°Here we are.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all ready to go!¡± After changing into casual clothes, I met up with Gran and Ginny who had her purse in hand. When Gran saw Justina in her casual clothes, she looked disheveled. ¡°Ah¡­ Eltoselk-san¡¯s casual clothes are so cute.¡± ¡°Thanks. But¡­¡± Justina looked at me with meaningful eyes. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear that line from someone else, too.¡± ¡°Alto-kun.¡± Without needing Ginny¡¯s prompting, I understood what Justina was asking. But when it comes time to put it into action, I feel strangely embarrassed. But I don¡¯t want to disappoint her. ¡°¡­I also think that Justina¡¯s casual clothes are nice.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lie. That, umm¡­cute?¡± ¡°Yes! Hehehe, Alto said I¡¯m cute. I¡¯m so happy.¡± She smiled at my words. What a waste of a girl for me, I thought to myself. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go then.¡± With Gran leading the way, we headed out into the city. After passing through a residential area, we moved to a street lined with various stores. ¡°What is the purpose of this trip?¡± ¡°Hmm? Nothing specific.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t decide on any particular destination, just wandered around eating. It¡¯s the right way to spend your time after school.¡± Is that how it is? I¡¯ve never had any friends at this school, so I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Ugh.¡± As I walked, a man who looked like a merchant bumped into me. ¡°Ah, sorry! Sorry, bro.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s no big deal, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to have any bad intentions, so I let it slide. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I got tangled up with some strange people and was running away, so I didn¡¯t look ahead.¡± ¡°Strange people?¡± ¡°I got tangled up with them outside, and they were saying something crazy about getting rid of the dragons¡­ I got scared and ran away.¡± ¡°If it comes to it, you can report it to the knights.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll do that. Thank you for worrying about me.¡± I waved goodbye to the man who seemed to be a merchant. I was curious about the story. It was a story I had heard somewhere¡­ where people wear all black and eliminate the dragons. ¡°Hey, hey!¡± Justina called out to me, and my thoughts fizzled out. ¡°Alto, Alto! Here it is.¡± Justina offered me an ice cream. She had bought it while Gran and I were talking. But why is she offering it to me? ¡°It¡¯s really good! I¡¯ll give a bite to Alto.¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah! I like to share good food with people I like.¡± I¡¯ve been told that she liked me from time to time, but was I still appealing to her? Thinking about this, I took a bite of the ice cream. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s buy one for Alto, too. We can exchange bites.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that nice.¡± ¡°You want us to do it?¡± ¡°Tsk.¡± ¡°What the heck? You¡¯re my sister. Respect your brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the end of the world if I don¡¯t respect Gran.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not okay!¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Justina was laughing happily as she watched the twins interacting. I was laughing too, though I didn¡¯t raise my voice. It was fun. It had been a long time since I¡¯ve felt this way. It was soothing to have Justina by my side¡­ I¡¯ve never felt so light because I don¡¯t feel like a friend. If I could, I¡¯d keep on like this¡­ This was what I had in mind, but dreams didn¡¯t last forever. Even if the dream did last¡­ You never know when it will turn into a nightmare. ¡°Hello, Estenia.¡± It was Jas Rakustin who appeared in front of me with a smile on his face¡­ a creepy smile at that. He was one of Cedric¡¯s cronies¡­ The one who bullied me. A person I never wanted to see again. Like a¡­ ghost of the past, Jas¡¯s malice haunted me. CH 21 ¡°¡­Jas¡­¡± I was certain that I was making a very distorted face right now. Or maybe I was frightened. Either way, I didn¡¯t want anyone else to see my current expression. Seeing me like that¡­ Jas didn¡¯t lose the smile that looked like a mask pasted over his face. In the past, it would have switched to a cold, stinging look, followed by a rant and a fist¡­ ¡°It¡¯s lonely¡­ to be faced like that. I¡¯ve been through a lot, but I always thought of Estenia as a friend.¡± ¡°Well said¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you misunderstood me. But I mean it. I still consider you to be an important part of my life. Hmmm.¡± The smile did not falter, but the malice was swelling to the point where it was almost visible. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°What do you want with Alto?¡± Gran and Jeannie stood in front of Jas, glaring at him. ¡°I¡¯m Estenia¡¯s friend. We always had a good time together.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re¡­ Cedric¡¯s buddy, huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Alto-kun doesn¡¯t want anything to do with you anymore. Will you leave?¡± ¡°Ah. This is strange. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been pretending to ignore this, but when did you become Estenia¡¯s ally? It seems that you have a very nice personality, or rather a thick-skinned one, to act as if nothing had happened.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­ Ku.¡± ¡°We¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re just like me.¡± Gran and Jeannie flinched, as if they had been hit in a sore spot. Indeed, Gran and Jeannie pretended not to see it. In a way, they were complicit in Cedric¡¯s bullying. But¡­ ¡°It¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Alto?¡± ¡°Gran and Jeannie are my friends. But Jas¡­ you are not. You¡¯re just a stranger.¡± I was able to make that clear. The words came out naturally. Gran and Jeannie are the same as Jas? Don¡¯t be silly. These two come nowhere close to Jas. ¡°Tck¡­ Estenia, you can¡¯t talk to me like that¡­!¡± For a moment, the mask of Jas¡¯s smile almost came off. However, he quickly regained his composure and put on the mask of a smile again. ¡°Actually, I have a few things to tell you. That¡¯s why I was looking for you.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing much, really.¡± Jas approached me with a smile on his face. Then he gently pulled his face close to mine and murmured in a voice that only I could hear. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t get carried away just because you¡¯ve got a divine dragon on your side. Don¡¯t forget. Estenia¡­ you are our toy, you know.¡± ¡°¡­! You¡­!¡± ¡°See you later.¡± Jas pulled away from me as if nothing had happened, bowed lightly, and left. I could only watch his back as he left. ¡°Hey, Alto¡­ are you okay? Your face is pale.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Alto? Hey, Alto!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Are you even listening to me right now?¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m a little distracted.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Justina had a complicated look on her face, like she was sulking, but also worried about me. ¡°Who was that guy?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Jas Rakustin. He was one of Cedric¡¯s cronies.¡± ¡°Eh!? His cronies!? I didn¡¯t know that..¡± ¡°Justina was a late entrant, so it¡¯s not surprising she didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That¡­Jas? I¡¯ve never heard of this guy. Is he still involved with Alto? If so¡­I can¡¯t forgive him for that¡­ I¡¯m going to have to beat him for that.¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± Justina¡¯s horrified expression caused me to rush to stop her. ¡°It was true that Jas was Cedric¡¯s crony, but he hasn¡¯t done anything since then. So it¡¯s not like we should mess with him.¡± ¡°But, but, he said something to Alto earlier, didn¡¯t he? What did he say to you? ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± If you only look at the wording, it¡¯s nothing more than a declaration of war. However, if I told Justina about it, it would probably be a dragon fist sanction¡­ If they were attacked just because they were suspicious, she would become an unbelievable tyrant. We need to be vigilant to some extent¡­ I think it¡¯s best to wait and see for now. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± Justina bluntly put it out. ¡°Why do you think that?¡± ¡°I love you, Alto. I love you a lot, so I can understand what you¡¯re thinking.¡± What was with this incomprehensible syllogism? But it wasn¡¯t too far off, so it was far from insulting. ¡°Eltoselk-san, calm down.¡± ¡°Are you trying to stop me, Jeannie?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think¡­¡± ¡°What about Gran?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more on Alto¡¯s side.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one on my side!¡± Justina held her head up. ¡°As Alto-kun said, he hasn¡¯t done anything yet. And yet, if you mess with him, it¡¯s going to end up in a bad situation. Well, there¡¯s no one who can go against Eltoselk-san¡­ maybe except people of your kind? If your father or mother finds out that you attacked someone who has done nothing wrong, they will be angry.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ that¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just go out of control, even if it¡¯s for Alto¡¯s sake. Well¡­ it¡¯s many times better than us who have done nothing. Haha.¡± Gran summarized the conversation with a self-deprecating smile. ¡°¡­all right. I¡¯m not gonna do anything for now.¡± The two of them persuaded Justina to give up chasing Jas. ¡°But we have to create an insurance policy.¡± ¡°Insurance? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. What do we do now?¡± For a moment, she looked like she was thinking about something bad¡­ However, she quickly reverted back to the normal, usual Justina. ¡°Even though we got interrupted¡­ I think I¡¯m still in the mood to hang out. Hey, Alto.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. Let¡¯s get back on track and continue.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do that. Gran was going to buy me something delicious.¡± ¡°Hey, why are we talking about this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the host, you should be spending a little bit of your own money.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd¡­ Damn it, it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll buy you a light meal.¡± ¡°Thanks for the drink.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not buying you a drink! You¡¯re the one who¡¯s getting a kick out of this! ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°Haha, you and Jeannie are both amusing.¡± Justina laughed¡­ The smile spread to everyone, and Gran, Jeannie, and I laughed. I want to cherish these moments. This was the first place where I feel at ease that I have found in this school. I was able to get it through a fateful encounter with Justina. I don¡¯t just need her to help me¡­ I need to be able to protect myself. And for that, I need to get stronger. Not only my body, but also my mind. ________________ After talking to Alto and the others in town¡­ Jas went back to his dorm room and thought about the future. ¡°Those are Estenia¡¯s friends¡­?¡± He thought back to Gran and Jeannie. Jas was in a different class¡­ and because of Justina¡¯s presence, he could not approach Alto casually, though he had only heard rumors¡­ He heard that Alto had reconciled with his classmates, made friends, and was enjoying his student life. The symbol of this would be Gran and Jeannie. Jas knew about them, too. Their grades were reasonably good, but nothing to write home about. However, they seem to be well-liked and are adored by many people. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s very happy to have succeeded in getting the twins on his side. What an abomination.¡± Jas clicked his tongue. The thought of Alto being happy made him irresistibly angry. He was the lowest of the lowest in the academy, the one who was inferior to everything. When he saw such an inferior being happy, he felt as if his pride was being hurt, and he was annoyed. It was a complete blame game, and it was for an unreasonable reason that he doesn¡¯t like him¡­ but Jas doesn¡¯t think he was wrong. Basically, bullies are like that. He was a broken person who doesn¡¯t or can¡¯t think about the feelings of others. ¡°I can¡¯t mess with Eltoselk¡­ But I could if I did it without that woman¡¯s knowledge and without being found out. To that end¡­ that man is right, the twins could be used.¡± With a dark smile on his face, Jas put together a plan in his head. CH 22 ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to have flying training today.¡± The teacher said as we changed into our gym clothes and gathered on the field. By last week, all of my classmates were able to successfully complete the riding training. So from today, we are going to take it to a new level and enter flying training¡­ that is, training to fly with a dragon. Flying on a dragon. This was the moment that anyone who wanted to become a dragon knight yearned for. My classmates looked excited. Gran and Jeannie were also restless, their eyes shining with excitement. I probably look like them. ¡°The dragons lend their power to people. With their power, they have once defeated an invasion from another country. However, we should not rely on dragons all the time. We, humans, can also fly with them to¡­¡± ¡°Hey, hey, Alto.¡± The only one who did not listen to the teacher was Justina, who kept her own pace. ¡°Why are you all so excited?¡± ¡°Everyone here has never had flying training before. We are all longing to be in the skies.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see.¡± Perhaps the reason was not so clear to Justina, who could easily fly. ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. Eltoselk-san doesn¡¯t get it.¡± Jeannie appeared out of nowhere, having heard the conversation. ¡°A knight and a dragon fly together in the sky. That is to say¡­ two people working together! ¡°Together!?¡± Justina took the bait. ¡°If there is no trust between the knight and the dragon, they will not be able to fly. It¡¯s a combined effort, but it¡¯s also a test of their bond. In other words, it is a test of love!¡± ¡°Love!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you have to give it your all. Here, I need to make a strong showing that you¡¯re a dragon who can do it, and win Alto-kun¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± I heard that Justina was receiving Jeannie¡¯s advice about me. Perhaps that was why the two of them have gotten along so well lately. ¡°Hey, Alto. How are you doing?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I haven¡¯t told them, but I¡¯m still wearing the dragon shackles. However, since a good number of days have passed, I am getting used to the triple gravity by now. It was not so bad that it didn¡¯t bother me at all, but I could go about my daily life without any problems. ¡°It¡¯s our first time participating in flying training. Let¡¯s do our best today.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Then we will begin the flight training now.¡± The teacher¡¯s voice rang out, and we moved to our designated positions to wait. Unlike during the riding training, there were three dragons present. There was one more dragon than usual. I guess they adjusted it because the flying training took longer than the riding training. Plus, Justina in dragon form was standing next to the three dragons. ¡°Alto, let¡¯s get started with the training.¡± Justina flapped her wings as if she was all set. Justina refused to let anyone but me ride on her back. So, in effect, Justina had become my cavalry dragon. A divine dragon bahamut¡­ And I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to turn the dragon princess into a cavalry dragon¡­ I decided not to think too much about it anymore. I can¡¯t say no because if I do, she¡¯ll look like an abandoned puppy. I decided to be honest and take advantage of Justina¡¯s kindness¡­ One day, I¡¯ll return the favor. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re with Alto.¡± Gran and Jeannie seemed to be the first, each riding on one of the dragon¡¯s backs. Another male student rode the third dragon. Lastly I was on Justina¡¯s back¡­ and we were ready. ¡°The way to fly is the same as we¡¯ve been teaching in the classroom for a few days now. Don¡¯t be in a hurry just because it¡¯s the real deal, stay calm and do it right. If you do, the dragon will respond to you. Now, let¡¯s go and begin!¡± At the teacher¡¯s signal, I pulled on the reins attached to Justina. Gran and Jeannie, the other boy, do the same. Each dragon roared. They spread their wings wide and soar into the sky. ¡°Whoa, Whooaaaaa!?¡± The male student¡¯s dragon flailed and he was about to be shaken off. It seemed that the dragon was not listening to him because he was not using the right amount of force on the reins or he made some mistake. But it was no use. Flight training was many times more difficult than riding training. Not only do you have to ride on the dragon¡¯s back, but you also have to make it listen to you. You have to do it in a firm way, without making any mistakes in the procedure, and with a resolute attitude so as not to betray the dragon¡¯s trust. The probability of failure was more than 50 percent. But¡­ ¡°Okay, good! Keep it up!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, good boy. Keep trying!¡± As expected, Gran and Jeannie skillfully made the dragon listen to them, and slowly ascended. So far, the dragons were quiet and did not seem to be acting up. Both of them seem to be in control of it. And as for me¡­ ¡°Here you go, Alto!¡± Justina rose at once, and in an instant we were high in the sky. I was holding the reins, but there was no way I could control her like that. She was free to fly as she pleased. But this was not a training exercise. Even if it was Justina¡­ no, it was precisely because it was Justina that I had to control her properly. ¡°Justina, calm down. Don¡¯t fly around so wildly all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Eh, why not? This is flying training, right? Then wouldn¡¯t it be better to fly around all over the place? Ah, and of course, I¡¯ll make sure to put Alto safely on my back. Be careful not to fall off.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not getting the point. Ah¡­ I see, it¡¯s something Jeannie said, right? It¡¯s a joint effort between the knight and the dragon. Justina won¡¯t be flying around on her own, but together with my intentions¡­ we¡¯ll be flying together.¡± ¡°¡­Together¡­¡± The words seemed to resonate in Justina¡¯s mind. She stayed in the air and regained her composure. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Justina.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I controlled the reins and instructed Justina on the direction and speed of her flight. Justina followed my instructions and flapped her wings. Ascending and descending. After a turn to the right, she turned to the left. I also attempted a rough maneuver, stopping suddenly¡­ and then reversing. In each case, Justina responded to me. ¡°Thanks, Justina.¡± ¡°Huh? Why are you thanking me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing a good job for me, aren¡¯t you? ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Because Alto¡¯s instructions are precise and yet not obnoxious¡­ I can fly properly. If the instructions were even a little weird or strange, I would be confused and would not be able to fly well¡­I think this is a sign that Alto is a good rider.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s true¡­¡± I heard a voice from the side. When I looked, I saw Gran riding a dragon, slowly rising and approaching. ¡°No matter how much Eltoselk-san is a cavalry dragon¡­ ah oops¡­ she can¡¯t suddenly fly freely like that.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I think it¡¯s purely your talent that you can do that much.¡± Jeannie continued to show up. She seemed to be more stable than Gran¡¯s, and she could feel some leeway. ¡°I think you can understand the feelings of a dragon, Alto. I think it¡¯s great that you can relate to the heart of a dragon.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, you both know what I¡¯m talking about! That¡¯s what I love about Alto. I love you so much! ¡°¡­Please don¡¯t flatter me. I¡¯m not a big deal.¡± ¡°Mmm-hmm. Are you embarrassed, Alto?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to deny it. It¡¯s cute when you¡¯re embarrassed.¡± ¡°Ugu¡­¡± Justina giggled, she sometimes wanted to tease me like this. Does she have a sisterly nature? ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s time to get back. Time¡¯s up.¡± The flight training was 15 minutes each. That was why it took up the entire morning. If I monopolized it all by myself, it might eat into my lunch break, so I have to get back soon. Gran and Jeannie nodded, and each took the reins¡­ ¡°Eh!?¡± It was Jeannie¡¯s surprised voice. When I looked to see what was going on, I saw that part of the wing of the dragon that Jeannie was riding had been cut off. ¡°Jeannie!?¡± ¡°What the hell!?¡± CH 23 ¡°Hold on¡­ C-Calm down!¡± Jeannie desperately tried to calm the dragon down, but her voice didn¡¯t reach it. The dragon was in an agitated state because of the injuries to its body, so it didn¡¯t hear anyone¡¯s voice. It just writhed in agony from the pain and flailed about. ¡°Jeannie!¡± ¡°Hey, calm down!¡± Justina and I called out desperately, but the dragon continued to flail about. It was flying so erratically that it was losing its balance. Soon, the dragon that Jeannie was riding was upside down. I heard the screams of the teachers and classmates on the ground. ¡°Justina, can you make it?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± As soon as I pulled on the reins, Justina¡¯s huge body suddenly accelerated. I¡¯ll catch Jeannie! ¡°I¡¯ll take Genie! Justina should take the dragon!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Falling¡­ Finding the right moment, I pushed off Justina¡¯s back and leapt into the air. As it is, I picked up Jeannie on the back of the rampaging dragon as it immediately took off. ¡°Alto-kun!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± I¡¯m making sure we¡¯re going in the right direction before we leave. I fall toward the school building with Jeannie in my arms. The old me would have found it impossible¡­ But now, I¡¯ve been trained by Justina! ¡°Hah!!!¡± Holding Jeannie in my arms, I thrust my training spear against the wall of the school building. The spear scraped the wall, causing vertical cracks to appear. Eventually, the spear could no longer bear the load and broke from the middle. However, the momentum of the fall was greatly dampened. We fell from a height of about three stories¡­ The rest of the way, I dared to hit the branches of a nearby tree, killing even more momentum and using the plantings as a cushion for my fall. ¡°Ugh!¡± I was not able to kill my momentum completely, and I felt a dull ache in many parts of my body. ¡°Jeannie, are you okay?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ somehow.¡± Fortunately, it seemed that Jeannie was not injured anywhere. I couldn¡¯t judge by appearance alone, though, so I can¡¯t be completely assured. ¡°Justina is¡­!?¡± I hurriedly looked around and saw Justina¡¯s figure in the middle of the ground. She was hovering in place, lifting the falling dragon with a small bite, just like a cat would do. It looked like she was able to save it. Although we were far apart, Justina and I looked at each other and rejoiced in each other¡¯s safety with a look that said, ¡°We did it.¡± ________________ After the accidents, the flight training was cancelled. Jeannie and I were sent to the infirmary. Jeannie only got a scratch from the dragon¡¯s rampage. They were able to treat her right away. I, on the other hand, ended up with bruises all over my body. It was probably a miracle that I only got bruises after such a reckless effort. This was thanks to Justina¡¯s training, which strengthened my body. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Alto-kun¡­ When I left the infirmary, I found Jeannie, who was supposed to have returned earlier. She was not as energetic as usual, and seemed depressed. ¡°It¡¯s my fault Alto-kun got hurt¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Jeannie. It¡¯s nothing to worry about, it was an accident.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Jeannie looked at me with a worried look. She couldn¡¯t help but be concerned. ¡°Hey, is there anything I can do? I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s anything I can do to make up for it, or if I can just sit back and do nothing¡­¡± ¡°¡­Jeannie is so sweet.¡± ¡°Heh?¡± ¡°It was an accident, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it, but I¡¯m glad that you care so much about me¡­ I think that kind of thing makes me honestly happy. Thank you.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, no¡­ t-that¡¯s right, well¡­ yeah¡­ how can I help you?¡± Jeannie squirmed and turned red. Was she embarrassed? It was the first time I¡¯ve seen Jeannie¡¯s embarrassed face, so it¡¯s refreshing. She always kept her distance from her twin brother, Gran¡­ Confident and strong. Jeannie was like that, but now she looked like a girl of her age. Is this what people call ¡°gap moe¡±? ¡­I¡¯m thinking of something stupid. ¡°U-Umm. Don¡¯t say anything weird. You¡¯re embarrassing me¡­¡± ¡°I knew it, you are embarrassed. It¡¯s refreshing to see Jeannie embarrassed, you¡¯re so different and cute.¡± In an instant, the positions were reversed. That¡¯s Jeannie, I should say. ¡°Jiii¡­¡± ¡°Whoa!?¡± The next thing I knew, Justina had appeared out of nowhere and was looking at me with furtive eyes. What can I say¡­she looks terrifying. If there was any power in her gaze, I might have been crushed. ¡°Alto¡¯s having an affair¡­While he already has me¡­Uggg, uggggghhh¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­N-Not like that! It¡¯s not like me and Alto-kun are like that¡­You¡¯ve gotten it all wrong, Eltoselk-san!¡± ¡°¡­The defendant stated the following.¡± ¡°The defendant!?¡± ¡°Mmmmm!¡± Justina was pouted up like a child. No matter how I looked at it, she was jealous. I¡¯ve never seen her like this before. It may be a little rude, but it was a new feeling for me. I think I¡¯ve learned one more thing about Justina. ¡°Eltoselk-san, I really don¡¯t mean that! Because it¡¯s true! I¡¯ve n-never s-s-seen him as a man before in my life!¡± ¡°You just clammed up, didn¡¯t you¡­?¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­Because I don¡¯t have a choice! You can¡¯t help but feel a little flattered when someone helps you out like that¡­Ahhh!? What am I doing exposing myself!?¡± Jeannie broke down. ¡°What are you doing in this hallway, guys?¡± This time, Gran appeared. He looked dumbfounded when he saw us in the middle of the hallway making a fuss. If I looked closely, I could see the other students in the distance. It must be break time. They were glancing at us, wondering what was going on. ¡°If we¡¯re going to continue talking, let¡¯s just move to another place. There¡¯s something I want to tell you and Alto.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I have no idea what it is that Gran wants to talk about, but¡­ There was no particular reason to refuse, so we moved to the courtyard. ¡°Is there nobody else here?¡± It seemed that what Gran wanted to say was it wouldn¡¯t be good if it was spread to many people. That was why he was concerned about his surroundings. ¡°So, what is it?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s about the relationship between Alto and Jeannie, right!? As a brother, I have a duty to stop my twin sister from wanting to sleep with you¡­ Haguh!?¡± I blocked Justina¡¯s mouth as she rattled off a few words here and there. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Justina¡­ I don¡¯t want to talk about it, so keep your mouth shut for a minute.¡± ¡°Mmmmm¡­¡± Justina wasn¡¯t happy, but for now, she remained quiet. She was aware of the fact that she was getting too heated. In the meantime, I urged Gran to continue the conversation. ¡°This is off the record, please. I didn¡¯t listen to it properly, I just happened to hear it.¡± After the accident¡­ Gran went to check on Justina first. He decided that since Jeannie was with me, it would not be a problem to put her off. And then Gran went to the dragon housing¡­ There he had accidentally overheard a conversation between a teacher and a healer. What he heard was. ¡°This was¡­not an accident, it was an incident.¡± CH 24 ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Justina¡¯s face became serious as she listened to Gran¡¯s story. She must have thought that this wasn¡¯t the time to be questioning the relationship between me and Jeannie. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, though, because I was only eavesdropping.¡± ¡°Just tell me.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± To be sure no one else apart from us could hear, Gran kept his voice low. ¡°The dragon that Jeannie was riding had a damaged wing, right? That wasn¡¯t an accident where something hit it or something, there¡¯s a high possibility that it was intentional.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± ¡°I can understand your surprise. But don¡¯t you think it makes sense? It¡¯s not every day you have an accident in the sky like that. It¡¯s more likely that someone else caused it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ What about the culprit?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. In the first place, it¡¯s only a possibility, and they haven¡¯t yet determined whether it was an accident or an incident. Well, I suspect the latter is the case.¡± The unexpected information left everyone at a loss for words. How could a dragon be targeted during flight training¡­? It was no joke. If it wasn¡¯t, Jeannie could have lost her life. And if they attacked the dragon, what would have happened to her later¡­ If there was a culprit¡­ Then they might be a very dangerous person. Not thinking about the consequences¡­ It was almost like Cedric. ¡°Mmm.¡± Justina seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she had a difficult look on her face. Justina wouldn¡¯t be able to keep quiet if her friends were hurt. ¡°That¡¯s all the information I can give you right now. I hope I¡¯m not overthinking this¡­ There¡¯s always a chance that I am but let¡¯s still be a little careful.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡± There was no reason to disagree with Gran¡¯s words. Everyone nodded firmly. ________________ Someone was watching from afar as Alto and the others talked in the courtyard. It was Jas Rakustin. With a grin and a happy smile plastered on his face, he stared at Alto and the others. ¡°Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm¡­ I¡¯ve been observing it for a while now¡­ After all, it seems that Estenia cares about those twins. I can¡¯t mess with the divine dragon, but if I can make good use of them¡­ fufufu, it¡¯s going to be fun.¡± ________________ The accident¡­ or incident caused all morning classes to be canceled. The teachers were busy dealing with the situation and we students were left to do independent study. Soon, the chaos was over. Afternoon classes were to be held as usual. The afternoon class was PE. This time, it was not an endurance run, but a ball sport. We played ten against ten, running around the huge court, throwing the ball and passing it around. If you can toss the ball into the opponent¡¯s net, you get a point. The game was simple, but it was surprisingly physical. You have to run around the court all the time, and once you have the ball in your hands, you have to be alert to your surroundings and instantly analyze the current situation. It was not just physical strength, but also the ability to judge situations on the spur of the moment. It was a very well thought out game. ¡°Alto! Look at this!¡± In the court, Justina was running around. Her allies, Gran and Jeannie, were desperately chasing after her. I was taking a break. There¡¯s only one court, so we were taking turns. ¡°Ehehe! I¡¯m in front of Alto, so I have to show him how cool I am! Here I go! Bahamut Shoot!¡± ¡°Yaaaaaah!¡± Justina threw the ball with tremendous force. The students who tried to catch the ball were blown away¡­ It was like one person was playing an entirely different sport. ¡°Hello. Can I sit next to you?¡± ¡°¡­Jas¡­¡± As I was leisurely watching the game, Jas appeared. It seemed that Jas was there today for a joint class with another class. Before I could say anything else, he sat down next to me. ¡°¡­Do you need something?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. If I didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t be talking to Estenia, would I?¡± Jas said with a cold expression. ¡°I¡¯ve been under a lot of stress lately.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°No, a toy that I¡¯ve cherished for a long time suddenly disappeared from my hands¡­ I¡¯m frustrated because I can¡¯t release my stress because of it.¡± ¡°That toy¡­ are you referring to me?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. How did you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you said before.¡± Jas was laughing, then a twisted smile with a lot of hostility appeared on his face. ¡°Would you like to play with me again? I¡¯ll give you plenty of love.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± This brought back bad memories of me being bullied by Jas. It was hard to shake off trauma. I thought I had shaken it off, but it seemed I was still aware of it. Just like the last time I met Jas in the city¡­ My body shivered pitifully. But I didn¡¯t want to give in to that¡­ I would never do that. I decided to be strong so that I could stand next to Justina¡­ This was my determination. ¡°I refuse.¡± ¡°¡­Hoo.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t listen to people like you anymore. Leave me alone.¡± ¡°You seem to be getting carried away with the presence of the divine dragon. Is that what you want as a man? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s embarrassing that you depend so much on a woman?¡± ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we play a game?¡± ¡°A game?¡± ¡°Play against me in the next practical training. There, we will make things clear. Of course, the dragon will not be allowed to be involved. Because this was a game between me and Estenia.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What do you think? I think it¡¯s not a bad suggestion. ¡­Ah, yeah. I didn¡¯t tell you about the prize. If I lose, I¡¯ll swear to never get involved with Estenia again. I can quit the academy if you want. However, if I win, you will be my plaything¡­ forever.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re refusing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see the benefit of taking part in your game. There¡¯s no advantage in taking you up on your offer, since you¡¯re the kind of guy who might renege on a deal if you lose.¡± I guess he had already anticipated my refusal. Jas did not panic, but rather continued leisurely. ¡°It¡¯s better not to say no. If you do, misfortune may befall those around you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I heard that one of your classmates had an accident during the flight training. How horrible. Maybe something like that will happen to you in the future.¡± ¡°No way, you¡­!¡± It was him! He threatened me and put Jeannie in danger just to get me to accept! ¡°Now¡­ what do we do?¡± ¡°¡­Okay. I¡¯ll take that bet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a wise decision.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll keep your word?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. And don¡¯t forget the deal, Estenia.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mess with the others.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but¡­ if Estenia doesn¡¯t run away from the match, there won¡¯t be any unfortunate accidents.¡± I can¡¯t afford to lose to this guy. I have to win. I had a strong burning determination to fight Jas now.