Hngh.
In the frigid underground dungeon, I wept.
Oh, it…it hurts so much…
One day, quite unexpectedly, I had fallen from a balcony railing.
In that very instant, a light enveloped me, and when I next opened my eyes, I found myself here.
This was the world of the game, Hero Fantasy.
My wonder at having entered a game so steeped in memories with my younger sibling lasted only a moment.
I had pleaded to be sent back, worried sick about my boyfriend in the real world.
‘Return only in death.’
Yet, only that cold command had been issued to me.
Thereafter, with a sealing stone fastened around my neck, I was subjected to all manner of bizarre treatments.
They injected me in the arm, subjected me to electric torture, and even forced me to swallow the repulsive demonic energy of the demon race to forcibly open my magical circuits.
Even when I begged them to stop these acts that threatened to shatter my sanity, they persisted without hesitation.
Each time, a voice echoed in my mind.
Accompanied by words before my eyes.
[Your Level has increased!]
H-Heek?!
My level, having risen belatedly due to the lingering effects of the drug I had just been given, now resonated.
Consequently, I could only tremble uncontrollably at the sound effect of the level-up.
It was terrifying, this act of my level increasing.
I don’t want to suffer anymore…
I want it to stop…
Just kill me instead.
What was even more frightening was that every time I sobbed like this,
[The King does not permit your mental collapse.]
I would be forcibly returned to my senses.
If only I could go mad, if only I could break.
Then perhaps this agony would lessen.
Tonight, too, I drifted into sleep, tears streaming down my face.
Trembling at the thought of the tortures awaiting me tomorrow.
Hoping that tomorrow, my mind might finally snap.
I don’t want to hurt anymore.
I gazed at my heavily bruised arm, marred by countless needle pricks, and succumbed to sleep.
***
–Tap, tap.
I felt someone gently tapping my shoulder.
Hmm…? Mino…?
…Hero.
H-Heek?!
It was the mage, the young male mage who had always observed me from behind the glass.
The moment I met his gaze, I instinctively knew.
I was going to be dragged away again.
The torture would begin even before dawn.
Today felt like it would be a particularly arduous day.
Or perhaps, it might even be the last day of my life.
On the stone floor, my dust-laden body weakly thrashed, desperately trying to escape the man’s grasp.
N-No, don’t come any closer!
H-Hero, shush! Shush!
Why was he telling me to be quiet?
Instantly, all sorts of terrifying scenarios began to flash through my mind.
…Please, I beg you…
I, I don’t want to suffer any more, not any more.
Please, just let me out…
You don’t even have to send me back to where I came from, just please…
At once, a torrent of tears gushed forth.
Yet, I knew better than anyone that my tears were utterly useless.
After all, these people simply didn’t care whether I cried or not.
Even if I screamed during the torture, they would incessantly jab strange needles into my body, inject peculiar drugs, and then channel mana-infused electricity through me.
No matter how I wept or pleaded, they remained utterly unmoved.
In fact, they cackled.
Watching me break.
The very fact that my mind remained lucid throughout this process only amplified my pain.
Perhaps God detested me, so much so that they didn’t know what else to do but twist my life into this.
I had lost my parents, then my younger sibling.
And just as I was trying to rebuild a family, they had thrown me into an entirely different world.
They constantly rummaged through my mind, preventing me from breaking, returning me to sanity every time I felt I was about to go mad.
With such thoughts swirling, my tears only flowed more profusely.
Seeing my unstoppable tears, I felt compelled to apologize repeatedly to the mage.
…I-I’m sorry! I-I’ll stop crying!
Not long ago, I had been beaten almost to death for crying.
…Hero.
The mage, evidently quite agitated, hung his head low and mumbled something to me.
I was terrified.
Not knowing what this man intended to do made it all the more frightening.
Let’s escape! Together.
An utterly unexpected declaration burst from the mage’s lips, startling me greatly.
Did this man truly comprehend the words he was speaking?
Desertion from the Empire was punishable by death.
It was a grave felony, yet he was a soldier.
Seeing the golden lion embroidered on his cloak, he must have been a member of the Emperor’s direct Imperial Guard.
This nation is insane. It grinds people down, claiming to fight against threats that don’t even exist.
The dragons…they haven’t weakened as much as humans believe.
They are still the true rulers of this land!
The mage declared this, shouting at me with a face alight with conviction.
I’ve always wanted to help you, Hero! And I’m utterly sick of this country!
…W-What do you mean?
Let’s escape together!
Frankly, I was bewildered; could this truly be the right course of action?
Was the Empire perhaps testing me, exploiting my weakened state of mind and body?
If that were the case…what would I do?
Just as these grim thoughts began to overwhelm me.
Hero! It’ll be too late if not now! Quickly, answer me!
Ah, u-uh, y-yes, I’ll go!
The mage gripped my shoulders with both hands, urging me for an answer.
Unthinkingly, I had agreed to go, simply because he had pressed me so forcefully.
It was a mistake I would never have made normally, but perhaps my mind was simply too overwhelmed at this moment.
In a daze, I had given my consent.
Then quickly!
Ah, th-that spot…it hurts a bit.
…Oh.
As the mage swiftly moved to escape, he inadvertently grabbed my heavily bruised arm, still sore from the injections, a little too hard.
My apologies. Let us go. I have laid down a teleportation circle ahead.
…Yes!
Could it be, that a faint glimmer of hope had finally appeared?
***
We spent a night in the forest.
And the next morning.
Whoaaaaa! It’s so high!
Ahahaha! Isn’t the wind refreshing~
I was flying for the first time in my life.
Well now, I’ve certainly lived long enough to see something new. To think I’d get to see Her Royal Highness the Princess with my own eyes.
While riding on someone’s back.
What kind of dragon was this?
Was it even truly a dragon to begin with?
Are you a dragon too, Mineral Dragon?
Yes, Your Royal Highness. Though, at present…it’s a bit ambiguous.
A bit ambiguous?
What could be ambiguous? A dragon was simply a dragon.
At that answer, which made me involuntarily tilt my head, Void Sister proudly declared.
I made him! Out of a corpse!
Ugh, out of a corpse?
As I stared at Void Sister with an expression of utter disgust, she hastily began to explain.
W-Well, that is, I only used a little b-blood to infuse the soul with magic…
Lady Void, if you explain it like that, Her Royal Highness, who is still a child, won’t understand.
… I know.
Void Sister puffed out her cheeks and playfully patted the Mineral Dragon’s back.
How could this be an 800-year-old?
A-Anyway, you just need to know that your sister is truly amazing!
…Mmm.
Mino, you’re not interested in your sister, are you?
N-No, no! I am interested.
Reaally?
…Mmm.
That was close.
I almost said yes.
Mino-ya~
S-Stop calling my name!
Aww~ It’s a name I just learned, I want to call it a bit more.
You’re calling me f-for no reasoon!
Mino, what was that pronunciation just now?
Ah, how embarrassing.
Void Sister, this old lady, only opens her eyes when her emotions run high.
So normally she keeps them closed.
Heh, heheheh, you’re so cute and funny.
–Poke!
–Poke poke!
How could her expression be so rich, even with her eyes closed?
Being poked in the cheek and teased with such a vivid expression made me incredibly exasperated.
Because of that, I was about to sternly warn my sister.
Sister, sto-pit.
(TL Note: Mino mispronounced ‘stop it’ due to embarrassment and frustration.)
Ah, a mistake.
Void Sister did not miss my slip-up.
What was thaaat~?
Your sister doesn’t quite understand? Say it again~
S-Stop-pit-pleaase…
(TL Note: Mino mispronounced ‘stop it please’ again, her words slurring from embarrassment.)
Kyaa~~
So embarrassing.
My face was burning hot.
What was so great that Void Sister had to make such a fuss?
I felt like crying.
Still, I was trying my best to hold it in, lest my sister feel bad.
Stop-pit-pleaase~~
Now my sister began to mimic me, teasing.
As expected of a Demon King, she was incredibly wicked.
My breathing grew increasingly ragged.
And finally.
Bwaaaah, I hate you, Sister!!!
M-Mino?!
My tears burst forth.
…Well, that’s enough, you should have known when to stop.
Silence!
–Thump!
…Why is she yelling at me when she’s the one who made the mistake?
The Mineral Dragon muttered his complaint, a bump protruding from his head.
***
It had been three days since the dragons began preparing for war.
The dragons’ castle was currently bustling with activity, yet the atmosphere was far from celebratory.
It was a brutal atmosphere, where one wrong move could easily cost someone their head.
From the King to the lowliest servant, dark circles sagged beneath everyone’s eyes, yet their gazes burned with resolute will.
We must utterly crush the demon race!
Whoaaaaaa!!!
The King’s speech was met with a resounding roar from all their subjects.
A war of proud dragons.
It was a sacred undertaking, a formidable event that, once begun, would not cease until the enemy was utterly annihilated.
Now, all that remained was the declaration of war against the Demon Realm.
They had to formally declare war and then launch their offensive.
The moment the King returned to their throne, briefly closing their eyes in weariness.
–CRASH!!!
Y-Your Majesty! I have a report!
Haig?
The Captain of the Imperial Guard burst into the audience chamber, drenched in sweat.
A-An unidentified dragon in the sky!
What?!
The report stated that an unknown dragon was flying in the skies above.
And soon, the royal family—no, the entire nation—could not help but be astonished.
I’m baaack!!!!
Princess!
Mino-ya! I missed you…
Hehe.
Because the Princess had returned, perfectly fine, smiling brightly and cheerfully.
And what’s more, she was in the arms of the worst and strongest Demon King in history…
Oh, long time no see.
…Indeed, it has been a while.
Void and Nameless’s eyes met, an awkward tension between them.
The two felt a similar awkwardness.
‘What is this feeling, like meeting an ex-lover after a breakup?’
‘…Hmm, I want to fight. Should I slap them like last time?’
Of course, their thoughts were entirely different.
And then the dragons were thrown into turmoil once more.
I-I want to live here!!!
Because the Demon King had applied for asylum in the United Dragon Kingdom.
It wasn’t the Demon King’s somewhat childish pronunciation that had truly astonished them.
