Future Knight

Chapter 34

* * *

Arteon, having concluded negotiations with the humans, looked visibly exhausted.

Since the addition of elf and dwarf reinforcements to the currently stagnant front lines would surely secure victory for the Allied Forces, the humans demanded the elves’ participation without any concessions.

In the face of such firm demands, Arteon found herself in a situation where she could no longer evade and ultimately agreed to join the Allied Forces within a month.

“The war is finally beginning…”

Though she had always known it would happen someday, the war had now become a reality. The children of the forest would have to go out to the horrific battlefield within a month and fight for their lives.

Having fought countless wars to protect the forest from humans and orcs, Arteon knew the cruelty of war all too well.

Thus, thinking about the trials the children of the forest would face on the battlefield made her feel as if her heart was being torn apart.

Sitting at her desk, she let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… hmm?”

She suddenly felt a chilling sensation, as if someone was watching her. When she looked up and glanced around, she saw a beautiful woman with long green hair standing expressionlessly to her left, though she hadn’t noticed her approach.

“Gasp!”

Arteon was so startled that she almost screamed, but instinctively recognizing the intruder, she instead remained calm.

The only beings capable of using magic to hide their presence and approach so closely were either a ghost or a dragon.

“Hello, G. Zikyon.”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Judrian Odh Arteon.”

An awkward silence momentarily hung between them.

This was because, 200 years ago, Zikyon had sought to befriend Arteon, an elf, for genuine amusement.

“About 200 years, right? How have you been, Zikyon?”

“That pretentious tone of yours remains unchanged.”

Zikyon, apparently displeased with her pretentious tone, mockingly retorted.

However, having lived for nearly a thousand years and experienced countless battles, Arteon replied in a gentle tone without changing her expression.

“What brings a great being like you to visit me? Is there something you need my help with?”

Putting aside personal feelings, Zikyon got to the point.

“I met an interesting neighbor.”

Arteon’s face hardened at the mention of an interesting neighbor.

There was only one person Zikyon could be referring to in that manner.

“Could it be? Did you meet him?”

“Probably? He must be the only human living in this elf forest. Quite a unique human.”

“Yes, he is indeed very unique. He is not of this world.”

Hearing Arteon say he was not of this world, Zikyon briefly showed a surprised expression, but then nodded in understanding.

“As I thought. In that case, it makes sense he wouldn’t recognize a dragon.”

Seeing the dragon nodding in agreement, Arteon asked with a worried tone.

“Did something happen between you and the human from another world? Did he perhaps… offend you…?”

Not knowing what the man might have done to Zikyon, Arteon’s expression darkened with anxiety.

She couldn’t handle the dragon’s whims. Though Zikyon was now a placid ancient dragon, her tales from thousands of years ago, when she was a mere wyvern, were still told in the elf villages as one of the three great calamities.

Those tales were detailed in books, and from reading them, Arteon knew Zikyon had been extraordinarily cruel and ferocious.

The whims of a dragon were like reeds, and more than a few cities and villages had melted under her wrath.

Knowing about her dark past, Arteon had refused to accept Zikyon’s offer of friendship and had hidden in her room, trembling with fear.

Anxiety washed over Arteon.

“Could it be…?”

Dragons were notorious for being very clear-cut in their relationships, whether friends or enemies.

Perhaps Zikyon intended to use this human’s mistake as an excuse to exact retribution for past grievances.

If that happened, this village would undoubtedly become a wasteland under the ancient dragon’s ultra-powerful acidic breath.

As Arteon worried, Zikyon finally spoke.

“Yes, many things have happened…”

Looking at Zikyon, who seemed to be reminiscing, Arteon’s face grew tense.

But the words that came out of Zikyon’s mouth were unexpected.

“But we have become very good friends.”

Seeing Zikyon smile contentedly, Arteon felt a wave of anxiety.

“Friends?”

It was worrying enough that a dragon proudly claimed friendship with a human, but even more troubling was not knowing what that human from another world might do using the dragon’s power.

On the other hand, a hopeful thought crossed her mind.

Since this human from another world had said he would join the elves in the war, perhaps the powerful dragon before her would also help the Allied Forces.

If the dragon joined the Allied Forces, victory would surely be theirs, even though that witch was stronger than most dragons.

Because the dragon before her was an ancient dragon, a category beyond mere dragons.

To ensure this outcome, Arteon knew she needed to stay in Zikyon’s good graces.

Her expression quickly changed to a beaming smile.

“Oh my! Congratulations on making a good friend. From now on, I should treat him not as a human from another world but as the great one’s friend.”

“Well, that’s not necessary. The real reason I came to see you is…”

As Zikyon started to reveal the true reason for her visit, Arteon, tense once more, perked up her already large ears to listen closely.

“Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, I wanted to let you know I became friends with that human. Secondly, I wanted to ensure that the distorted past about me doesn’t reach him. I absolutely don’t want him to fear me because of wrongly conveyed history.”

“…”

Zikyon’s tone, filled with menace, as she dismissed her dreadful past as mere distortion, left Arteon speechless.

Arteon was now painfully aware of the world’s reality, where truth could be turned into falsehood and vice versa under the weight of power.

“R-right! We should correct the wrong past! Don’t worry about that. I will make sure to emphasize your correct history to everyone.”

Zikyon seemed pleased with Arteon’s submissive attitude and took out a very thick book.

Thud!

Startled by the thick book, Arteon asked.

“W-what is this?”

“This is the true history of my past. I will be leaving now, so make sure to share this with everyone. Ahem!”

As Zikyon quietly stepped forward, her body gradually turned transparent and, just like that, she vanished from Arteon’s sight, just as stealthily as she had arrived.

Despite her being a 9th circle user, Arteon couldn’t sense the flow of mana at all in Zikyon’s teleportation magic… It felt like being struck by cold frost.

The level of her magic was beyond Arteon’s measurement.

Staring blankly at the spot where Zikyon had disappeared for a long time, Arteon eventually returned to reality. She once again vowed not to upset Zikyon under any circumstances and began to examine the book Zikyon had given her.
### Chapter 34 (Continued)

However, Arteon once again felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

The content of the book was utterly ridiculous and completely unacceptable.

The absurdity had a limit, and this made her feel a strong urge to open up the old dragon’s head and examine the brain structure in detail.

According to the book:

As a young hatchling, Zikyon was constantly pursued by evil beings who dreamed of becoming dragon slayers, always living under the threat of death.

Overcoming such a harsh childhood, she grew into a dignified fortress, worked diligently, and became the richest being on the continent.

Everyone knew that this “work” involved extorting kingdoms, something even a child could understand.

Putting that aside…

Afterward, countless raiders who coveted her wealth continuously attacked her lair. Being a pacifist, she was always saddened when forced to spill blood.

Eventually, the humans, who had committed endless atrocities, brought the continent’s most renowned sword masters and launched a cowardly 16-to-1 showdown against her, which concluded with her victory after much hardship.

Of course, Zikyon emerging victorious after a hard-fought battle was a given.

“……”

Arteon shook her head.

Finding it so absurd that she couldn’t even speak, she clutched Zikyon’s novel with trembling hands and had to spend the whole night pondering how to convey this to Kang Chan as if it were the truth.

Thanks to this, she was momentarily relieved from the overwhelming pressure of the impending war.

* * *

Carrying Jaina, Kang Chan arrived at the barrier in front of the battleship that Zikyon had created.

“What? There’s nothing here. Where’s the battleship?”

“Just wait a moment.”

Kang Chan extended his hand forward, closed his eyes, and chanted a spell.

“I, Kang Chan, the master of this barrier, command you. Let me and this dazzlingly beautiful girl pass through.”

In reality, such a childish spell was absolutely unnecessary, but Kang Chan did it to look cool in front of Jaina, striking every possible pose.

“Mister, you’re so cool…”

Jaina seemed completely infatuated.

Even Kang Chan’s antics appeared endlessly charming to her.

Indeed, love had the power to make people act childishly.

As the barrier created by Zikyon glowed and a door formed out of a magic circle in mid-air, they rode the air bike into the magic circle.

Finally, before Jaina’s eyes, the gigantic battleship she had longed to see revealed its majestic form.

A gasp of amazement escaped Jaina’s lips as she was struck by the enormity of the steel structure.

“My goodness! How could something this huge fall from the sky?”

Jaina couldn’t believe that this enormous chunk of metal, nearly 300 meters long, had fallen from the sky.

Kang Chan remotely opened the hangar door and carefully parked the air bike in its designated spot.

Zaid, whom even Arteon didn’t know about, was stored in the hangar. However, Kang Chan had no intention of hiding it from Jaina and naturally showed her around the hangar.

As expected, Jaina showed little interest in Zaid.