Chapter 6. I’ll return the sacrifice.

 

Elyserede.

 

As a princess and the youngest daughter of the Kingdom of Trelinia, she always carried a bright smile.

 

She enjoyed seeing the flowers as she walked by, and she liked the servants and maids who smiled at her.

 

The knights wielding swords in the training ground, the children running through the village, the minstrels who enlivened people’s spirits.

 

Elyserede loved it all.

 

She loved everything about the kingdom.

 

She loved the kingdom where she was born.

 

Everyone in the kingdom loved her as well.

 

Thus, Elyserede sincerely prayed to the Goddess that this situation would continue forever.

 

However, it did not take long for that hope to be shattered.

 

Several kingdoms near the Kingdom of Trelinia formed an alliance. It was an alliance to eliminate the most prosperous kingdom in their midst first.

 

Chaos filled the kingdom.

 

Although the Kingdom of Trelinia was a particularly strong nation among the kingdoms, it did not mean it was strong enough to overcome all the other united kingdoms.

 

The pillaging began.

 

At some point, monsters from other kingdoms began to attack the villages, and the monsters and beasts that had been fought off together were sent directly into the kingdom.

 

Even that alone put the Kingdom of Trelinia in great danger.

 

They did not directly attack the Kingdom of Trelinia.

 

They merely started to pull back from the frontlines they had maintained together, one by one, and gradually cut off the exchange of supplies.

 

Because it was the kingdom closest to the frontline connected to the Demon World, the Kingdom of Trelinia had to fend off the Demon World entirely on its own.

 

Every moment was hell.

 

As days went by, the tense frontlines collapsed, and many villages near the front were swept away without a trace.

 

Around that time, Elyserede began to lose her smile.

 

Her father, who always smiled at her, was now always frowning with worry, and her brothers went to the frontlines in armor at an early age.

 

The kingdom, always filled with laughter, lost hope in an instant.

 

The servants and maids no longer smiled, and the children who used to play in the village disappeared.

 

The only fortunate thing was.

 

A hero was born in the Kingdom of Trelinia.

 

Blessed by the Goddess, he stood at the frontlines with tenacious vitality, capturing monsters and beasts. He also found clues about the missing villages and destroyed the monsters’ strongholds.

 

Thanks to him, the Kingdom of Trelinia began to breathe again recently.

 

Perhaps because the hero’s presence could not be ignored.

 

The other kingdoms, which had not sent any troops to the frontlines, began to send their forces as if in cooperation.

 

Thanks to that, the kingdom experienced a temporary peace.

 

Children started to play in the villages again, and her father greeted her with a kind smile.

 

However.

 

“A d-dragon has been found!!”

 

The peace did not last long.

 

A dragon had appeared.

 

A dragon that existed only in legends.

 

It was hard to believe, but the one who brought the news was none other than the hero, Hans.

 

Moreover, he swore upon his own heart.

 

It was hard to believe, but it was a fact that had to be believed.

 

Following Hans’ claim.

 

The kingdom gathered as many livestock as possible and offered them as sacrifices.

 

But the dragon was not satisfied.

 

Secretly entering the royal library and reading myths about dragons, Elyserede finally found her reason for existence.

 

So it was.

 

“Please offer me as a sacrifice for the kingdom.”

 

The act of plunging a dagger into the heart of her father, the monarch of a nation.

 

* * *

 

Elyserede held her breath.

 

Before she knew it, all the attendants had left.

 

Instead, the only thing before her was the being called a dragon.

 

‘Wow…’

 

For a moment.

 

Elyserede was in awe of the dragon’s appearance.

 

The dragon’s form, described only in text without any illustrations.

 

Scales that no sword could pierce, a graceful body, and eyes that split vertically, overwhelming the beholder.

 

It was fragmentary information.

 

But it matched exactly.

 

Black scales, a body of indeterminate size, blue eyes that stared coldly at her.

 

For a moment.

 

Elyserede felt as if she were in a scene from a myth.

 

Oddly enough.

 

Even though she was merely a sacrifice.

 

Realizing reality, her heart trembled.

 

To be honest, she was afraid.

 

Every time the dragon, whose size she couldn’t even fathom, looked at her with those icy blue eyes, her heart seemed to stop.

 

As if her very existence was being thoroughly exposed.

 

Elyserede swallowed her trembling breath and bowed politely.

 

“Hello, Dragon. I am Elyserede, a sacrifice for you.”

 

What would become of her?

 

The dragon demanded a living sacrifice.

 

The most noble and pure maiden.

 

In the mythical stories, it was never revealed what happened to the sacrifice.

 

Would she just become a meal?

 

Or perhaps…

 

Her face flushed.

 

The heat made her face burn.

 

She was an adult after all.

 

She wasn’t so naive as to not understand what it meant to demand the most noble and pure maiden as a sacrifice.

 

‘But…’

 

Somehow, she felt it wasn’t like that.

 

The dragon was too enormous.

 

From the way it quietly stared at her, it was hard to imagine such a thing.

 

Then…

 

‘Is it just a meal for it…?’

 

Fear surged within her.

 

But she held it back.

 

If she could save the kingdom with her alone, she would be content with that.

 

She had been bowing her head for so long that she lost track of time.

 

[Go back.]

 

A low, solemn voice.

 

A voice imbued with immense power made her raise her head.

 

The dragon looked at her with emotionless eyes, as if staring at a pebble.

 

[Tell the king that no sacrifices are needed.]

 

As the dragon spoke and turned its head indifferently.

 

“……”

 

Crack——.

 

Elyserede felt a surge of indignation.

 

What is this?

 

Am I not even worth using as a sacrifice?

 

So she couldn’t help but speak.

 

“…Why?”

 

The blue eyes turned towards her.

 

In the past, she would have been afraid of those indifferent eyes, but Elyserede looked at the dragon confidently.

 

It was an impulsive act.

 

Since she came here prepared to sacrifice herself for the kingdom, she wasn’t afraid even if the dragon tried to kill her now.

 

Moreover, she was infuriated by the dragon’s disregard for her.

 

She was a princess, after all.

 

No one in the kingdom had ever looked down on her, and everyone looked at her with affection.

 

For her, such indifferent eyes were a first.

 

[I do not have the hobby of eating humans.]

 

The dragon spoke.

 

A low voice echoed through the cave.

 

Yet, there was no fear like before.

 

“Then do you want livestock? If you want, we can bring you as much as you wish.”

 

[Enough. I am not so weak as to depend on humans. Besides, I refuse to be indebted. If the previous livestock was meant as a sacrifice for me, I will help you once.]

 

“……”

 

Did he not want a sacrifice?

 

Elyserede felt her mind getting complicated.

 

She had thought for sure that he wanted sacrifices. She had thought he was more greedy and caused natural disasters because he was displeased with the previous offerings.

 

But that wasn’t the case.

 

This dragon didn’t want sacrifices, and rather seemed to avoid getting entangled with humans.

 

To be precise, he avoided being indebted.

 

There were countless things she wanted to ask.

 

But as if he would allow no more questions, he quietly turned his head and disappeared deeper into the cave.

 

Elyserede watched blankly, then sat down on the ground.

 

The cold cave floor was very chilly, but she didn’t have the luxury to care about such things.

 

“What is this, really…?”

 

She had come prepared to die as a sacrifice.

 

Only to be told she wasn’t needed.

 

He said he didn’t have the hobby of eating humans?

 

Then she offered livestock, but he refused that too, saying he didn’t want to be indebted.

 

So why did he do that last time?

 

Elyserede still remembered clearly.

 

The storm that raged as if heaven and earth were furious, the earth shaking, and countless lightning strikes.

 

She had thought it was because he was displeased with the sacrifice.

 

But apparently not.

 

“…What a capricious dragon.”

 

So the previous natural disasters were just because he was angry for some other reason?

 

“Oh, who cares!”

 

Anyway, it was better to be alive.

 

It turned out well.

 

Although she wasn’t sure if she could believe it, the dragon said he would help them once, so it would be a great help to the kingdom.

 

Thinking about delivering this news, she dusted off her dress and stood up.

 

“Now, I need to deliver this news to the kingdom…”

 

Just when she thought of that, Elyserede.

 

Looking at the completely darkened outside, she quietly closed her mouth.

 

This mountain was full of monsters.

 

Thus, it was a restricted area even within the kingdom, only accessible to those with permission.

 

Especially at night, it was even more dangerous.

 

“……”

 

Elyserede looked alternately at the pitch-black night and the even darker cave.

 

Then, with a tearful face, she stepped back into the cave.