READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 186
Crackle.
A sound of sparks crackled loudly in the dead of night.
“It’s time for your shift.”
“Has it really come to that already?”
“Yep, you should catch some z’s. We need to arrive home in one piece soon.”
“Home, huh…”
At the woman’s words, the man absently poked the campfire with a stick.
“What’s with that face? If people knew about your achievements, you’d be treated like a hero.”
“I’m not trying to be a hero; I just did this due to my own selfish desires.”
“Yeah, sure. Our dragon slayer over here.”
The woman slid next to the man and plopped down.
Then she gazed at the man’s face, who seemed to be merely staring at the fire.
His long black hair looked messy, but his handsome face gave off an appealing vibe.
“No matter what you think, you’re a hero who saved our clan.”
“I’d appreciate it if you saw it that way.”
“At first, I thought you were nuts. Remember when you asked if anyone wanted to go hunt a dragon?”
“Of course. Meeting you back then was pure luck.”
Dragons.
They were considered the ultimate beings, so powerful that no race on the continent could even dare to compare themselves to them.
Though few in number, those dragons had a significant impact on the continent.
For instance, on the day a red dragon awakened from its long slumber in a volcano, the area turned into a sea of flames, making it uninhabitable.
The green dragon, known as the guardians of the elves, could supposedly turn barren land green again with just a single breath.
Yet, among all types of dragons, the one with the most rumors and infamy was undoubtedly the black dragon.
Black dragons were said to possess the most ferocious temperament among all dragons, actively intervening in the world unlike other dragons that showed little interest in other races.
Of course, if it were for noble reasons, their infamy wouldn’t have spread.
As a result, the races living in the black dragon’s territory had to live like slaves.
Escaping wasn’t easy either; if anyone got caught trying to flee, not only would they face the wrath of the furious dragon, but their entire clan would suffer the consequences.
—I will defeat the black dragon. I need someone to lend me their strength!
A man appeared before a race that had lost hope, one of the cat beastman tribes.
He introduced himself as Edric, publicly declaring his intent to defeat the black dragon.
Naturally, the tribe’s people initially yelled at him to get lost, worried that provoking the black dragon would bring disaster upon them.
But there was one.
A cat beast woman named Mewl, who had lost her family to the black dragon’s tyranny, felt fated to step forward at Edric’s cry.
“It’s taken so long. I have no face to show my family and friends.”
“Just how impressive were your family for a dragon slayer to worry like that?”
Mewl had long been curious about Edric’s true identity.
Among the group, Alexander, who looked nothing like a priest, seemed to know his secret but refused to share it.
“Considering they see this, it would break their hearts.”
Mewl gently touched Edric’s right shoulder.
A vacant space where an arm should have been.
Edric had lost his arm while trying to save Mewl from danger during a battle with the black dragon.
Because of that, every time Mewl saw Edric’s missing arm, she couldn’t help but blame herself.
“Don’t worry! When we reach the empire, I can get a golem prosthetic for it.”
“Really? Is that even possible?”
Mewl tilted her head in disbelief at Edric’s answer.
“Is that all? I want to show you the animation where pictures move; it’s definitely one of the coolest things.”
“No way! You’re just saying that to tease me because I’ve been cooped up in the tribe, knowing nothing!”
“Honestly, I’m a prince of the Borus Empire too.”
“No way…”
Mewl couldn’t help but laugh at Edric’s statement.
He often told her tales about the empire where he grew up.
He claimed that there were magical and entertaining things called fairy tale books and comic books there.
Mewl loved the fairy tales Edric shared with her.
She was utterly entranced, having never heard such beautiful, fantastical, and sometimes tragic stories before.
Not to mention he talked about moving animations and a special paper that made pictures pop out and move.
Of course, Mewl thought he was just making up these stories to mess with her for being clueless about the outside world.
Even now.
‘If he’s a prince, that means he’s royalty, right? Why would a prince come all the way out to this backwoods to hunt dragons?’
Many of their companions were especially bizarre.
First was Alexander, who was supposed to be a follower of the gods but smashed monsters’ heads with a hammer.
Then there was Harun, the alchemist who bragged about being the kingdom’s light alchemist.
Despite always bickering with Harun, Yustaf really did use magic on par with dragons.
There was also Garand, who claimed to be the prince of the elves but looked like a total liar.
And Noel, a dwarf bravely swinging his massive axe.
Even Mewl, a beastman herself, thought this unusual collection of adventurers was unprecedented throughout the continent.
‘Once we arrive at the empire…’
There wasn’t much time left before their adventures together would conclude.
When they reached Edric’s hometown, the Borus Empire, it would all be over.
Mewl dreaded that moment.
She wanted nothing more than to wander the continent with them forever.
Unbeknownst to Mewl, Edric continued to gaze deeply into the campfire with a distant look.
“Elza… it’s almost time.”
Edric muttered softly to himself, and Mewl looked at him with a wistful expression.
***
“The Steel Heart never fails to move me no matter how many times I watch it.”
“I know, right? How on earth did the seniors come up with such a masterpiece?”
Within the Imperial Academy, in the Comic Club room, two students were watching an animation through a projector.
<THE STEEL HEART>.
This was a work presented by the legendary founding members of the Comic Club during the graduation ceremony.
“I decided I had to get into the Imperial Academy when I first saw this back in my childhood.”
“You too?”
“Honestly, it would be faster to find someone in our Comic Club who didn’t think that way.”
The two were among the talented individuals who had gained admission to the academy’s highly competitive Art Department.
“If you keep screwing around instead of creating works, you might embarrass yourself at the next graduation ceremony.”
“Professor Adrian!”
A man had suddenly appeared behind them.
Ten years later, he had become a professor in the Academy’s Administrative Department, the prince of Sylvania, Adrian.
“Professor, but how did you even create a story and characters like this?”
Rupert had become the advisor of the Comic Club after Adrian, and he paused in thought as he looked at the student asking him the question.
“This isn’t solely my work.”
“Of course, we know. The legendary founding seniors!”
As the student mentioned the names of his friends who had been in the Comic Club with him, Adrian was drawn into memories.
There was Kyle, now the Count of the northern borders.
There was Amelia, who became the top magic engineer and was in charge of technological development at Somerset Workshop.
And,
“What kind of person was the Third Prince?”
“Are you talking about Edric?”
“You made this together, didn’t you?”
Interest in Edric, who had vanished without a trace a few years back, was high among the people.
Some whispered that he was a victim of palace intrigues while others speculated that he was biding his time with dark forces to seize the emperor’s throne—various rumors circulated.
—I’m going to hunt a dragon.
Adrian was among the few who knew the true reason Edric left.
He had called Edric a fool for saying he was off to hunt a dragon, though he had desperately tried to talk him out of it.
In the end, he couldn’t stop him and hadn’t heard from him since.
“I created the story, and he created the characters within it.”
In their academy days, when Edric often complained that the story was too dull, Adrian would grumble that Edric’s plots were too straightforward.
Though they constantly bickered, they believed in each other’s abilities.
“There was always sincerity in the characters he created.”
“Which means the characters in this Steel Heart…”
Adrian had not created a comic since Edric disappeared.
—See you soon, partner.
But now, as he recalled an anonymous letter he had received recently, Adrian thought it felt like it was time to create something new.
While he didn’t know who had sent it, he could tell by the single line that this was from Edric.
“I miss you, partner.”
As Adrian thought back on Edric’s letter, another letter he had received recently suddenly crossed his mind.
“Oh, right! Isn’t it next week already?”
Not remembering the exact date, Adrian hurried back to his office and opened the drawer of his desk.
Inside, there were neatly stored letters.
Among them, he pulled out one with ornate designs and checked its content.
<You are invited to the wedding of Duke Rupert Somerset.>
Adrian thought this wedding, which was drawing attention from the entire continent, might be the first of its kind.
The story of Rupert and the three women was already famous enough to be included in novels.
“I can’t possibly miss this.”
A wedding that had taken a full ten years to prepare was approaching.