The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Dragon Slayer’s Return After 1000 Years — Episode 017
“Cain, where are you off to again?”
At his mother’s call, Cain turned and offered a slight smile.
“Just outside for a bit. We’ve run out of medicinal materials.”
“You can have the servants fetch those. There’s no need for you to go yourself.”
“No, this is something I need to gather myself. Please rest well, Mother.”
“Who could ever talk you out of that stubborn head of yours. Very well…….”
Serena did not press her son further.
It had always been this way.
A son who would never bend his will when it came to something he deemed necessary.
She was grateful for such resolve in him, and yet it worried her in equal measure.
‘The world outside is dangerous…….’
She would grant that he excelled in Magic and Spirit Arts alike, favoring his father’s talent, but he was not yet twenty, was he?
At that age, one still knew nothing of how the world truly worked.
Surely he needed someone trustworthy at his side.
“Dragons have been appearing lately, and the roads have grown treacherous. What do you think of taking an escort with you?”
“An escort?”
“Royalty ought never travel alone, after all.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m more than capable on my own…….”
“Cain.”
His mother’s voice had turned firm.
“If you won’t have an escort, then at least take Jake with you. That boy won’t be a burden to have nearby, will he?”
“……Very well.”
He had no grounds to refuse.
Cain swallowed a sigh inwardly.
‘This has become bothersome.’
It wasn’t that he disliked Jake.
The problem lay with his destination.
Where he meant to go was none other than the Lair of Camiloas.
‘The Duke Lorenzo will be interrogated soon enough.’
And the Dragon Follower Faction would learn of it.
They would discover that Camiloas had encroached upon Belacors’s territory.
That knowledge would pass directly to Belacors.
‘The two of them may very well clash.’
To profit from a dragon’s conflict, he needed to be there when it happened.
And now he was saddled with a companion?
‘I’ll have to lose him somehow.’
Before long, the carriage passed through the city gates.
Jake spoke up.
“So where are we headed, anyway? Ah, I mean……where are we headed, sir?”
He still seemed uncomfortable with the formal address.
“When we’re alone, speak freely. We’re heading toward the Belion Kingdom.”
“Belion? Do they have a medicinal merchant there?”
“There’s one along the way.”
Cain answered without hesitation.
Of course, it was a lie.
About half a day after the carriage departed, Cain prepared to disembark.
“Jake, I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“I’m getting out here. There’s somewhere I need to go alone.”
“……What?”
Jake’s eyes widened.
“Hold on, what about me?”
“I need you to gather some things in the village nearby.”
Cain handed him a sheet of parchment.
It was densely covered with a list of medicinal materials.
“These are ingredients my mother needs for her medicine.”
“Hey, wait a second…….”
“I’ll meet up with you on the way back. Two days should be enough.”
“Two days?!”
Jake cried out in protest, but Cain had already leaped from the carriage.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
“Cain! Hey, Cain!”
Jake’s voice receded into the distance behind him.
‘Sorry, Jake. I can’t take you into the Dragon Lair.’
Cain disappeared into the forest without so much as a backward glance.

* * *
On the West Continent, there exist seven kingdoms and one empire.
The Asel Kingdom, which treasures the spirit of chivalry.
The Rohen Kingdom, land of heroes.
The Carden Kingdom, stronghold of dark magic.
The Estar Kingdom, governed by the Magic Towers.
The Drasen Kingdom, which coexists with dragons.
The Monter Kingdom, heart of the ore veins.
The Belion Kingdom, ancient rival of Asel.
And crowning them all, the Crescent Empire, the pinnacle of the continent.
The great families representing each kingdom and empire are known as the Eight Great Houses.
That these families served dragons, that they gathered in such secrecy—the world knew nothing of it.
Bang!
The mustache of the middle-aged man who had struck the table trembled violently.
“Does that even make sense?”
Valerian, the duke called the great hand of the Asel Kingdom, could not contain his fury.
“Why do we move in secret? Is it not to protect those we each serve? And yet Lorenzo—that man has exposed our very existence!”
The object of his wrath was none other than Lorenzo.
The very subject of today’s gathering.
“Rumors are spreading across the entire kingdom now! That Lorenzo incurred the wrath of a dragon!”
“I’ve heard that rumor too. They say Duke Lorenzo conspired with a Red Dragon, angered it, and his domain burned for it.”
“From what I’ve heard, he was offering jewels as tribute and using it as backing, but when the quantity fell short, he was punished for it.”
“On our side, there’s even talk that he sacrificed humans as offerings.”
Rumors, by their nature, grow with telling.
Many words were exchanged, but no answer approached the truth.
In fact, none of those gathered here knew the full story.
Only Lorenzo himself, the man at the center of it all, knew what had truly occurred.
“Whatever the case, being entangled with dragons does not look good! That is the problem!”
“I agree.”
“Right. Because of Duke Lorenzo, we risk being exposed to the surface.”
“Damn it…… The Ragnar family caused such turmoil, and now the Lorenzo family as well…….”
The other family heads voiced their agreement one by one with his words.
Watching this unfold, Duke Valerian struggled to suppress the smirk threatening to break across his face.
He had never harbored favorable feelings toward Lorenzo.
‘Ha, how fitting, Lorenzo. You, who pestered me endlessly just because your kingdom is weak—now look at your state. You’re finished.’
While all condemned the absent Lorenzo,
Knock, knock—
Alton’s subordinate entered with the knock.
“I have brought Lorenzo as you commanded.”
“Where is he?”
“We’ve confined him to the Underground Dungeon.”
“Understood. I’ll go now.”
Alton regarded the family heads of the six kingdoms, excluding Lorenzo.
“I shall speak with him first, then return.”

* * *
In the cold Underground Dungeon, Lorenzo shivered.
He didn’t know how he’d come to this, but such details hardly mattered now.
“Dario…… my son. Where on earth are you…….”
His mind held only thoughts of his one and only son.
A son gifted with talent for the blade, whose future had shone so bright.
To support him, to provide him with powerful backing, he had grasped at the rope that was Drake.
Every action Lorenzo had taken could be said to have been for his son alone.
How could he not worry when the whereabouts of his son had become so uncertain?
Clang—
The iron door swung open and a man entered the Underground Dungeon.
“D-Duke Drake!”
Lorenzo dropped to his knees before him, his face urgent.
“Please, I beg you—find my son. I’m begging you!”
“Your son?”
“I didn’t mention it before. Dario—my son Dario.”
“Ah, the one on the verge of becoming a Sword Master?”
Lorenzo nodded vigorously, but Alton’s eyes remained cold.
“Why should I search for the son of a traitor?”
“T-Traitor…… what do you mean?”
In that instant, Alton’s fist drove into Lorenzo’s abdomen.
“Gack!”
The blow was infused with Aura, and a pain as though his organs might rupture crashed through him.
“Did you think you could play innocent before me and get away with it? Duke Antonio.”
“Ugh, w-what are you talking about, now?”
“Camiloas burned your territory in a rage. What do you think his reason was?”
“I-I’m not entirely sure myself…”
A vicious kick landed squarely on Lorenzo’s face.
“Ack, hack…”
“What would anger a Dragon? Only if you’d done something worthy of betrayal.”
“No…… no! How could I do such a thing? I have never committed such an act…”
“Then why did Camiloas burn your territory?”
“That… that is…”
He couldn’t answer?
Then he deserved a beating.
Thud!
“Gahhh!”
With that reasoning, Alton pummeled Lorenzo.
“Speak. What did you discuss with Camiloas?”
“I-I can’t remember…”
“Can’t remember? Not even asking him directly about the location of his Lair?”
“L-Lair? Why would I ever…”
Another fist came crashing down.
Having been beaten to such a tattered state, Lorenzo no longer possessed the strength to rise.
“Get up.”
Yet at that command, trembling, he squeezed every last ounce of strength into his body.
Fear lifted him to his feet.
“Remember what happened. If you don’t want to die without seeing your son’s face once more.”
Even as his teeth chattered, Lorenzo desperately groped through the fragments of his memory.
“What I last remember is… my son bringing some servant with him.”
“A servant?”
“Yes. A young man, perhaps in his early twenties.”
“And your memory ends after that?”
Lorenzo nodded quickly.
“It’s the truth. I swear it…”
A servant brought in suddenly.
After that, Lorenzo’s memory simply ceased.
Alton believed that man might be the key to this entire affair.
“You must remember his face?”
“I do remember… of course I do…”
“You had better. That’s the only reason you’re still alive.”
At that icy tone, Lorenzo’s face drained of all color.
“I-I will remember. I won’t forget, I promise.”
Though his voice trembled, Alton turned coldly and left the dungeon.
“Stay here until we catch the culprit. You’ve nowhere else to go anyway.”
“Ah…”
As Alton walked away leaving him in the cell, Lorenzo could only stare after him in a daze.

* * *
Somewhere in the Belion Kingdom.
A furious roar echoed through the depths of a vast cavern.
[How dare you……!]
Belacors—a dragon with scales black as pitch.
The dragon that governed the Belion Kingdom.
[Camiloas, that madman!]
Belacors made no effort to conceal his rage as he received word from his human followers.
The Duchy of Lorenzo had burned.
The Red Dragon Camiloas was said to be responsible.
[How dare he set fire to my domain without permission?]
To a dragon, territory was pride itself.
Another dragon running rampant in his domain without leave was nothing short of an insult.
[Ignitius—that woman has clearly failed to teach her offspring proper conduct!]
Belacors’s golden eyes gleamed with menace.
[I’ll visit him myself. I need to know exactly why he did this!]
Vast wings unfurled.
Soon a shadow split the sky, blanketing the air above the Belion Kingdom.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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