chapter 23
* * *
Philip resisted as best he could.
As the dragon said, being trapped on a remote island would be the end of it.
He couldn’t even imagine how long it would take to master the moonlight sword.
“Say something! Just listen for a moment! It only takes a moment!”
Dragon Privia narrowed her brows.
“Are you going to convince me?”
“I’m not trying to persuade, I’m trying to understand. This is bad for both me and you. Can’t we just listen to the story for a moment?”
“… What an eccentric.”
Fearing only a few years of isolation rather than fighting an unbeatable enemy moved Privia’s heart.
She dispelled the spell and set Philip down on the ground.
“Please allow me one more sentence. If that one sentence doesn’t move me, there’s no chance.”
Philip’s head began to spin tight at the notification like a thunderbolt from the sky.
‘What is this all of a sudden?’
It’s nice to be alive, but this was a completely unexpected development. If he knew that he would get the dragon’s attention when he learned the ‘Moonlight Sword’, Philip would have given up without hesitation.
‘I have to give you some information. Even if I reveal it, I can reduce the variables as much as possible, and that dragon will not imprison me.’
A lot of information popped into my head and then disappeared.
‘There is no answer.’
And Philip realized. The fact that you can’t afford not to take risks at all.
Having made up his mind, Philip cautiously parted his lips.
“Let me ask you one thing first. Can you spot my lies?”
“Would a dragon be fooled by a human? You are asking useless things.”
Philip nodded and continued.
“Then I will briefly say it. Without me you will die and the world will perish.”
Freevia let out a laugh.
“Do you dare to lie in front of anyone… … isn’t it?”
Startled, she observed Philip. Although he is not hostile, he is very calm for a dragon in front of him.
To a dragon with a high spirit, it was nothing short of a piece of cake to discern human lies.
It was because I was able to observe not only the biological response that occurs when lying, but also the echo of the soul. She judged that Philip had not lied.
First of all, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy from the eyes.
There was no awe or fear to be found, only annoyance, annoyance, and a little pity.
‘remorse? do you feel sorry for me? How dare you be a human?’
It felt as if he really knew the future of Freevia. She gave up bullying Philip and thought for a moment.
Originally, dragons were the most communicative race in the world, provided they didn’t try to cheat.
He has a cool-headed mind and excellent intelligence, and is basically not very aggressive towards intelligent beings other than demons, so in the original work, he was treated the same as a normal NPC.
A race that is impossible to interact with and only speaks certain lines.
They were the ones who didn’t want to do anything unless they invaded the nest first or attacked first.
‘But you said you learned the moonlight sword and you’re tied like this?’
It was a connection I never could have imagined.
Philip suddenly became annoyed with everything.
Less than a year has passed, but all sorts of variables have already popped up and bothered him.
Soon, irritation and anger welled up.
“I ask you one thing. You said I would die, but how will I die?”
Philip sighed at Privia’s question after thinking about it.
“Then, when the world perishes, will you live? I’m going to die anyway In fact, there is no such thing as evidence. I don’t have the confidence to convince you, and I just want you to leave me alone. So what are you going to do now?”
“… .”
The dragon Privia, called the ‘Silver Dragon of Wisdom’, was a being with wisdom that she realized while living for a thousand years.
Although he couldn’t use all of his wisdom when he was in a human body, in fact, everyone would make the same judgment if they saw Philip now.
‘He’s crazy.’
She read a strange madness in Philip’s eyes.
An aura that could cause more terrible confusion than any madman, who could not know what he would do if he got it wrong.
In the distant past, she had seen eyes like those.
‘All sword geniuses have similar eyes. This guy is no exception.’
“… Do as you please.”
Pribia decided to give it a try.
There was no need to instill more vigilance or hostility towards the successor of the Moonlight Sword.
Moreover, the madness of mankind has already been exhausted for a long time.
“The girls you were with have already been sent out. I will open a portal leading there, so please wait patiently.”
She waved her hand casually without a spell, and a blue portal appeared in front of Philip.
‘He suddenly became kind.’
“thank you.”
Phillip tilted his head and passed through the portal.
When he reached the dungeon’s entrance, he soon found two unconscious Johnnys and Cheryl lying on the reeds.
“… It’s damn hard.”
It felt like the mental exhaustion had reached its limit. It was to the point where he realized that his mentality had been shaken quite a bit due to the recent events.
“Um… .”
Johnny and Cheryl were asleep, hugging each other. It was quite impressive to see the dust, tears, and runny nose from inside the dungeon drying up on their pretty faces.
The relationship between these girls would be a little different after they came to their senses.
Johnny’s showing all sorts of embarrassing things to Cheryl would make her a little difficult, so Cheryl might be able to treat her a little more comfortably.
Maybe we could even be friends with each other.
Thinking that far, Philip smiled faintly.
I suddenly wanted to see Lua.
* * *
Phillip, Cheryl, and Johnny were able to return in just an hour by a rescue team dispatched from the academy.
Johnny’s psychological shock was great, and he announced his intention to rest for a few days at the Murella family, and surprisingly said that he wanted to take Cheryl with him.
Two professors from the Faculty of Magic were dispatched to the dungeon they entered.
The professors would investigate the dungeon and try to extract as much information as possible, but Philip knew very well that there was no corner to investigate further in the dungeon.
‘It must be an instant dungeon anyway.’
The dark slime would have completely melted and disappeared, and the vampires would have been turned to ashes by Dragon Privia’s dragon magic, so nothing would come out.
Meanwhile, Philip has applied for leave and has locked himself in the villa.
No one would touch him now for the weekend.
Philip decided to spend this golden weekend with Lua.
I wanted to rest for about two days without thinking about anything.
He made up his mind as he headed to Lua’s room. I felt like I was going to be pissed off because I hadn’t been able to spend time with Lua properly for almost 10 days.
When I opened the door and entered, I saw Lua lying face down on a bed decorated like a princess.
She seemed perfectly adapted to this large mansion.
“… Are you sleeping?”
“Yes, sleep.”
Philip asked cautiously, and the brusque answer came back.
‘Fortunately, I didn’t get completely pouted.’
It didn’t seem that dangerous. At least it was better than pretending to be fast asleep when he came in.
“You sleep? really? I was going to tell you to go on a picnic in the woods on the weekend, but if you’re sleeping, I’ll have to do something that never happened.”
When Philip spoke slyly, Lua jumped up.
“… really?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
“but… Instructor is busy. You don’t have to worry about me… .”
Lua’s eyes brightened for a moment, then she made a sullen expression.
She knew how busy Philip was.
He always left early and came back late. She couldn’t help but notice that in the middle of the night when the sun had completely set, she was trying to force herself to spend time with Lua over dinner.
Philip smiled softly and shook his head.
“It is not like that. Rather, let’s make a plan. You can leave when the sun rises and come back when the sun goes down. I think you could spend a night or so in the woods if you want. Shall we bring a fishing rod? Have you ever gone fishing?”
Lua then realized that Philip was serious and smiled brightly.
I liked the nice house and the delicious food, but it was not as comfortable as the nature where I was born and spent my whole life.
“Are you really going?”
“then.”
“Really really?”
“Because it is.”
When Philip gave his confirmation, Lua jumped out of bed and approached Philip, bowing her head.
“thank you!”
‘If I knew you’d like it like that, I’d take you out a long time ago.’
Philip regretted it, but it was inevitable. There have been quite a lot of things in the past month, and I was so busy that I couldn’t take time apart.
He asked the maids to prepare a packed lunch and returned to his room.
—… haaam.
As I grabbed Neria’s handle, I heard a yawn from the sleeping Ego Sword.
―Haaa… How are you, master?
“Except for a couple of near deaths, things went well.”
-yes? You almost died? Oh my gosh, have you been to any dragon rares?
“It wasn’t dragon rare, but I did meet dragons. It’s called Privia, and it’s a dragon involved in the establishment of the academy… .”
―Ah, no matter how it is, Neria is not so stupid as to believe that. This is what I feel while living with the owner, but the owner seems to view Neria as an idiot. If you keep doing that, no matter how handsome your master is, you might not be able to stand it!
“No, really? Just listen to me for a moment.”
As Philip explained all the events in the practice in chronological order, Neria was greatly impressed.
– Maybe you’re not so lucky? You met a vampire in a dungeon you accidentally entered?
“Somehow it happened that way.”
―Still, it’s hard to believe that I met a dragon. What is it with those lazy people who save your master’s life?
“Is it real?”
Philip was lying on the bed and chatting with Neria.
―Anyway, from now on, you must take Neria with you. If it had been Neria, it wouldn’t have melted and bent like that weak sword.
“okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Hearing her whining voice made me feel like I could fall asleep. Philip closed his eyes slowly and breathed evenly.
I fell asleep soon.
The thought of not thinking about the future for at least a few days made my heart feel at ease.
-good night. master.
“okay. Sleep well too.”
—… Neria was sleeping well until her master woke her up.