NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24 - Aru 2
Chapter 24 – Aru 2
There were four playable characters in Dragon Hunter Origins.
Four playable characters, each starting in a different cardinal direction: east, west, south, and north.
Annerose, the protagonist of the Western Arc, was particularly popular among the playable characters.
Because—
“Gah!”
“[He spit out the water!]”
“[Master! Are you alright?]”
“[Master!]”
Integra’s voice echoed in his head amidst the chaos.
Luther coughed up more water, gasped, and opened his eyes.
“Wh… where…?”
“[We are on land.]”
“[More precisely, on one of the many small islands in the Anes River.]”
“[‘Aru’ saved Master from drowning.]”
‘Aru?’
A name he had never heard before—no, a name he had definitely heard before.
Luther calmed his breathing and opened his eyes with difficulty, looking forward.
“Are you feeling better?”
A clear and melodious voice.
As his vision slowly focused, Luther saw sky-blue hair.
“Hello?”
“Haa… yes, I… haa… I’m alright.”
As Luther spoke, the blue-haired woman—Aru—smiled brightly, relieved.
The nights were bright in the world of Dragon Hunter, thanks to its two moons, allowing him to clearly see Aru crouching in front of him.
Her wet, blue hair, her skin as white as porcelain, her wet shirt discarded on the ground.
Her playful smile and blue eyes.
But what caught Luther’s attention the most was her legs.
“A mermaid… princess?”
“Not a princess… a royal?”
Aru shrugged at Luther’s words and said playfully.
Below her smooth waist wasn’t a pair of slender legs, but a fish’s tail.
Aru lightly stroked the blue scales shimmering in the moonlight, gracefully traced a curve with her white hand, and then, pointing at herself, said,
“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Peliarud Arets, the second royal of the Malkuth Kingdom.”
It was a simple introduction, but it was enough to convey her noble bearing.
Her smiling face, bathed in the moonlight, exuded an innate grace only those born into royalty could possess.
But Luther didn’t notice any of that.
Her words were far more important.
‘Peliarud! The Sorrow of the Malkuth Kingdom!’
It didn’t mean that Aru was a troublemaker known as the ‘Sorrow of the Kingdom.’
Peliarud didn’t appear in Dragon Hunter Origins.
But her name was mentioned repeatedly in the Western Arc, Annerose’s story.
‘The reason why the merfolk of the Malkuth Kingdom harbored resentment towards the surface, and why Sandalphon, one of the Seven Great Heroes, hated the humans of the surface.’
She disappears during a trip to the surface and is later found dead in the early stages of the Southern Arc.
Her corpse, repeatedly violated and with her organs harvested, enrages the entire Malkuth Kingdom, and tensions between the southern part of the Holy Empire and the Malkuth Kingdom, located deep in the southern sea, escalate to the brink of war.
‘The tragedy caused by the depravity of the frontier adventurers… wasn’t caused by them?’
If it wasn’t surface adventurers who kidnapped Peliarud—Aru—but the Hecatoncheires.
If the Hecatoncheires orchestrated this to sow discord between the Malkuth Kingdom and the Holy Empire.
“Hello? Are you really okay?”
Aru asked, frowning, but Luther couldn’t stop his train of thought.
‘It makes sense.’
Why Balboa, a Dragonman, albeit a low-ranking one, was personally involved in the kidnapping.
Why the ‘sky-blue-haired woman’ possessed such a powerful artifact capable of teleportation.
He could understand it now.
If Aru really was Peliarud, the second royal of the Malkuth Kingdom, everything made sense.
“Can you see this? Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?”
As Aru waved two fingers in front of his face with a worried expression, Luther, instead of answering, smiled brightly and grabbed her hand.
“Kya?”
“[Master?!]”
“Amazing!”
Luther exclaimed joyfully, still holding Aru’s hand.
Peliarud.
The second royal of the Malkuth Kingdom.
The woman destined to be kidnapped and brutally murdered by the Hecatoncheires.
But not anymore.
He had saved her.
He couldn’t even imagine how many turning points in history this single act would create.
“[Master!]”
“Ahem, your hands are… quite large.”
Integra on one side, Aru on the other.
Aru, her cheeks slightly flushed as Luther held her hand, smiled awkwardly and said, and Luther, snapping out of it, released her hand.
“Oh, I apologize. I was just so happy and grateful.”
“No, well… it’s understandable, considering you almost died. I understand.”
Instead of scolding him for being rude, Aru just smiled playfully, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“[Master, that wasn’t an appropriate way to express gratitude.]”
“[Aru’s gaze towards Master is similar to Lilia’s.]”
“[Awarding Master 1 penalty point for being promiscuous.]”
As Integra spoke in a stiff, rather than gentle, voice, Luther, fully regaining his composure, said,
“I’m Luther.”
“Yes, Luther. I heard the general story from the fairy. You saved me, right?”
“W… well, yes, but… a fairy?”
“[She’s talking about me.]”
Integra, speaking gently again, projected a hologram using the drone attached to Luther’s arm.
It was the miniature Integra he had seen several times.
“Oh, there you are again.”
Aru reached out to Integra as if she found her adorable, but Integra, knowing it was just a hologram and her hand wouldn’t reach, quickly stepped back to avoid it.
“[I explained the general situation.]”
“[Assassins attacked her room, and while Master, who was staying in the next room, was rescuing her, the ‘magic’ of her necklace activated, and they jumped through space.]”
“The royal necklace must have sensed that my life was in danger. And as for why we ended up near water… I’m sure you can guess.”
Aru naturally continued Integra’s explanation and flicked her tail slightly.
“Phew… that’s a relief.”
“Indeed. I’m alive because you were in the next room, Luther. I won’t forget this debt.”
She winked at the end, showing she was a playful and friendly royal.
‘She’s quite the social butterfly.’
In any case, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Rather, it was good.
A sociable royal was much better than a stiff and unapproachable one.
“It was a secret society called the Hecatoncheires who tried to kidnap you. Do you have any idea why they would target you?”
“[Hecatoncheires? Master, how do you know about them?]”
Integra asked in his mind, but he didn’t have time to answer.
Aru frowned at Luther’s question and shook her head.
“I’ve never heard of that name. And besides… this is my first time on the surface, so I haven’t made any enemies. Well… I suppose there’s the possibility of political strife within the Malkuth Kingdom. But that’s unlikely. It might sound naive, but… no one in the kingdom dislikes me. Everyone loves me.”
Aru coughed, blushing, as if embarrassed by her own words, but judging by her tone, she seemed to genuinely believe it.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter since it’s actually the Hecatoncheires.’
Anyway, the important thing was to safely return Aru to the Malkuth Kingdom.
“Aru, can you contact your kingdom? For your safety, it would be best to return.”
Aru sighed deeply and slumped her shoulders, saying,
“Since the royal necklace activated, they’ve probably already sent someone from the kingdom. They should arrive within a couple of hours. Ugh… once I’m back, I won’t be able to leave for at least a year.”
She pretended to cry, but Luther was relieved.
“But Aru, don’t you have any escorts?”
“Huh? Um… not right now.”
Her awkward laugh seemed suspicious.
“[Master, it seems she ran away from home.]”
“[She’s a delinquent, so it’s best to keep your distance.]”
Luther couldn’t help but chuckle at Integra’s words.
A delinquent.
It was a very Integra-like word.
“[Master?]”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Luther replied softly, composed his expression, and looked at Aru again.
She seemed to be around twenty years old, about the same age as Lilia.
“So, if we wait here, the elite soldiers of the Malkuth Kingdom will come to escort you back, then.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Aru sighed again, but judging by the fact that she wasn’t trying to run away, she seemed to understand her situation.
‘That’s good.’
If Aru returned safely, there wouldn’t be any conflict between the Malkuth Kingdom and the Holy Empire, and naturally, the chances of chaos in the south would decrease.
It was also likely to have a positive impact on the scenario of the Southern Arc, which would follow the Western Arc.
‘More importantly… the royal in front of me won’t suffer a terrible fate.’
The social butterfly royal who was currently sighing deeply.
He still wasn’t sure if this was a game world or another world with the same setting, but either way, it was reality to him.
He had saved Aru.
He had prevented Aru from suffering a terrible fate.
That single fact warmed his heart.
“[Master, you look like an idiot, grinning like that.]”
“[Royal Aru will find it strange as well.]”
‘No, she doesn’t. Aru’s expression looks good.’
She was smiling at him right now.
“[Ugh… anyway, Master, what’s going on?]”
“[And what is this Hecatoncheires organization?]”
“[Is it related to the confidential story you can only tell me?]”
Luther nodded slightly at Integra’s questions.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll tell you everything later. It’s a story I can only tell… you.”
“[Hmm.]”
“[Well… if you insist.]”
Integra hummed at Luther’s words and smiled smugly, as if she couldn’t help it.
The palm-sized miniature Integra looked even more doll-like and cute, but Luther kept his mouth shut. Aru, her eyes sparkling, looked at miniature Integra, giggled, and then winked at Luther.
“[I heard fairies are prone to jealousy and possessiveness, and it seems to be true.]”
It was Aru’s voice, not Integra’s.
As Luther looked at her in surprise, Aru spoke in his mind again.
“[It’s a simple message spell. I am a royal, you know?]”
He wasn’t sure what the connection was between being a royal and using message spells, but her smug look was cute, so Luther chuckled. Integra frowned again at the sight.
“[Master, I have a feeling you’re secretly exchanging messages with that stray cat-like royal.]”
“No way.”
As Luther shook his head in denial, Aru also tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.
Meanwhile, Integra’s expression became increasingly sullen.
But at that very moment,
Miniature Integra, who had been pouting and frowning at Luther, suddenly flinched and disappeared in a flash of light.
“[Master! A powerful life sign is approaching!]”
As soon as she finished speaking, Integra launched the drone.
Luther also quickly stood up and looked in the direction the drone flew.
“[Sharing the drone’s perspective—]”
“[Master! It’s a dragon!]”
Luther saw it too.
Balboa, the Earth Dragon, with his left foreleg severed, was running towards them.
How?
By tracking the traces of magic? Or Aru’s royal necklace?
Either way, they didn’t have much time.
Since he had spotted Balboa so soon after launching the drone, he couldn’t be far.
“[It seems he will reach the riverbank in about 30 seconds.]”
“[There is a distance of 100 meters between the riverbank and the island, but we cannot be complacent if he can swim.]”
“[26]”
“[25]”
“[24—]”
There was no time.
He couldn’t even consider escaping since he didn’t know if Balboa was tracking Aru or the object she possessed, and they were stuck on an island.
“[20]”
“[19]”
He could see Balboa in the distance.
Although Balboa had lowered his stance, he had likely spotted them as well.
They had to fight.
Defeating him was the best course of action for now.
But how?
“[14]”
“[13]”
“[12]”
He had the axe.
A booster attack might be effective even against Balboa in his dragon form.
“[9]”
“[8]”
“A… a dragon?!”
Aru cried out in fear and clung to Luther’s arm.
Her breasts naturally pressed against his arm, and Luther realized.
“[3]”
“[2]”
“[1]”
“Aru.”
“Yes?”
“Grrrrrrrrrrra-!”
As Balboa’s roar shook the entire riverbank, Luther’s hand reached towards Aru.
—–CROW—–