The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 39

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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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The Dragon Slayer’s Return After a Thousand Years — Episode 39
Valenticius stared anxiously at the cave entrance, which gaped like a dragon’s maw.
‘Why is it taking so long? Shouldn’t he be out by now?’
He thought he heard something like a roar echoing from deep within the cave, though it might have been his imagination.
‘I’m worried……’
Cain’s skill was beyond question, but Valenticius couldn’t shake the feeling that slaying a dragon was beyond even him.
Conventional wisdom said that at least five Sword Masters were necessary.
So how could a single 7-Circle Mage possibly manage it?
“Sir Knight. Is the one who entered strong enough to slay a dragon?”
……
At Yan’s question, Valenticius found himself unable to conjure an adequate answer.
Strong, certainly.
But strong enough to slay a dragon? He couldn’t say.
While he was still searching for words, Yan fired off another barrage of questions.
“From what I’ve heard, the entire Knight’s Order has to mobilize to take down a dragon. Is that not true? This long a delay means something’s gone wrong, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we go in after him?”
“No. If the master told us to wait, then we wait.”
“But sir, it’s written all over your face. You’re anxious too, aren’t you?”
……
He wanted to deny it, but couldn’t.
Because it was true.
A man slaying a dragon alone defied all reason.
‘Should I call for reinforcements?’
No.
He hadn’t brought the Crystal Orb with him, so how could he ride all the way to the capital to summon aid?
‘But if he’s been in there this long, perhaps I should at least take a look……’
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard movement from the cave.
It was Cain.
“Master!”
“Sir Knight!”
His gait seemed steady enough, but his entire frame was caked in a pale substance.
As Valenticius drew near, the metallic stench of blood hit him.
“What happened? And what in the name of— that appearance……”
“Oh, this? Blood.”
“Eh? Then you mean……”
“I’ve slain the dragon. Your village is safe now.”
“Is that really true?”
At Cain’s smile, color returned to Yan’s face.
Valenticius, however, looked utterly unconvinced.
It flew in the face of everything he knew.
“How did you manage it alone……”
“It gave me some trouble.”
His tone was matter-of-fact.
As though he’d merely hunted down a single monster.
Valenticius was left speechless.
A dragon that required five Sword Masters to bring down—he’d done it alone, and with nothing more than a casual remark about the difficulty?
His father had assigned him sword instructors, all of them Sword Masters.
But not one of them possessed the skill to stand alone before a dragon.
Yet this man had done it.
“I’ll need to send word to the Order to have someone clear out the corpse inside.”
“Y-yes, understood.”
“Sir Knight, you really did slay the dragon, didn’t you? Tell me it’s true.”
“Yes, Yan. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
At Cain’s words, spoken with such certainty, Yan’s eyes grew wet with emotion, and he wiped them with his sleeve.

* * *
The moment they returned to Harjan Village, Yan rushed to share the news with his father.
“Yan, is that really true?”
“Yes, Father! These knights defeated the dragon for us!”
Yan had a reputation for tall tales, so the village elder couldn’t have taken his word at face value—but the sight of Cain, caked head to toe in pale blood, erased any lingering doubt.
“We owe you a debt of gratitude beyond measure, sir knight. Our village has been blessed by your grace. Thank you, truly.”
“That’s not it. I was merely doing my duty as a knight, nothing more.”
As Cain rose to leave with measured words, Yan grasped his sleeve.
“Sir Knight! Won’t you at least share a meal with us before you go? I’ll have warm bathwater ready too.”
Though magic could have cleansed him just as well, Cain still felt the grime of battle clinging to him, so he nodded readily.
A grand feast was soon prepared for the two of them.
The village had taken on the air of celebration.

* * *
Word that Cain had slain the dragon alone reached Adriel’s ears.
“The youngest Sword Master on record, and now a dragon hunter too? Double blessings indeed!”
“Our congratulations, my lord!”
“Prince Cain has elevated Asel’s standing to new heights!”
“The prince is truly a treasure of Asel!”
Yet one troubling report had emerged.
According to the knights dispatched to dispose of the corpse, while the dragon’s body remained in the Lair, the Treasure Vault lay empty and the Dragon Heart was nowhere to be found.
“Could it have been stolen while we were away reporting?”
“Both Prince Cain and Prince Valenticius returned empty-handed, so that seems quite likely, my lord.”
Adriel tilted his head but did not press further.
Compared to the achievement of slaying a dragon alone, it was a secondary concern.
While congratulations continued to flow, one man ground his teeth in secret fury.
It was Ronan, the Prime Minister and spy, Duke Valerian.
‘This is troublesome. I must report to Drake at once.’
For him, who harbored grand designs to swallow Asel whole, Cain was nothing but an obstacle.
And now the boy had hunted a dragon.
Moving to a quiet corner, Ronan reported all the facts to Alton through the Crystal Orb.
He had expected the matter to be received with gravity, but Alton’s response surprised him.
―Leave him be.
“Begging your pardon? Shouldn’t we take some action?”
―My son is under close watch anyway. I shall handle it myself.
Close watch, yet the dragon still died?
He wanted to voice those doubts aloud, but Ronan was a rational man.
“Understood. I will contact you again if anything develops.”
The light in the Crystal Orb faded.
Falling out of Drake’s favor was suicide, pure and simple.

* * *
After his conversation with Ronan, Alton sat in contemplation.
‘He is dangerous, that much is certain. Yet…….’
It was also true that moving against him would be awkward.
A Sword Master could be dealt with easily enough.
The problem lay in the fact that he was the one who had awakened his son.
‘Stabbing a benefactor in the back is no difficult thing, but…….’
He worried about the shock Valenticius would suffer if he learned of it.
The boy already regarded Cain as his master and followed him faithfully.
So wouldn’t his report necessarily come later than Ronan’s?
‘And there was that sensation I felt before.’
For just a moment, he had sensed the aura of a dragon that commanded time itself.
He could not have been mistaken.
‘For that reason alone, I must keep him close and extract information.’
Having decided to proceed with caution, Alton resolved first to report this matter to his master.
He drew forth a separate Crystal Orb and tapped its surface.
“Have you been well, Mighty One?”
―What is it?
“A minor matter has arisen. To explain…….”
How his son Valenticius had infiltrated Asel as a spy.
How this man named Cain, whom the boy had met there, had aided his awakening and become his master.
How he had become not only the youngest Sword Master on record, but also recently slayed a dragon.
Alton laid out the current situation in meticulous detail.
From the Crystal Orb, which had been silent until then, a dry voice emerged.
―You didn’t contact me just because you can’t handle a single human, surely.
“Indeed so. Disposing of the matter is no difficulty, but there is another concern.”
―What concern?
Alton hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“From that man, I sensed… your aura, my lord.”
―My aura?
“Yes. Of course, I felt it only briefly, so it may have been a mistake, but it was far too distinct for that.”
―……How intriguing.
The master’s voice rose in pitch.
―I must meet this man myself.

* * *
Cain’s original plan had been straightforward.
Scout Glacione’s Lair under the pretext of reconnaissance, assess the situation, pick a day, and assassinate him in secret.
That way, word of hunting the dragon would never surface, and no report would reach Alton.
‘But I’ve ruined it all. Because of Valenticius.’
A plan derailed through no fault of his own.
Yet Cain did not view the situation as entirely bleak.
‘I hunted the dragon alone, so Alton won’t be able to dismiss me. I have more than enough justification to join the Imperial Knights Order.’
Being a Sword Master alone would have garnered attention, but slaying Glacione had sealed it.
There was no more certain credential than the feat of a Dragon Slayer.
‘Alton will approach me soon enough.’
He had left traces of his aura, and Alton would keep him close for that very reason.
The Imperial Knights Order was the perfect place to watch over him.
‘It will become tiresome before long, but…….’
Cain had no intention of stopping his dragon hunts.
Glacione was merely the beginning.
‘I must grow stronger still.’
Before joining the Imperial Knights Order, he aimed to reach at least 6-Circle.
He had already identified a dragon for that purpose.
Diolamir―a Black Dragon.
He had hunted the creature before his regression, so locating it first was the priority.
‘This time I’ll have to leave Valenticius behind.’
Cain had given him an assignment.
“Practice diligently while I’m away. When I return, I’ll test your progress.”
“Where are you going, Master?”
“To gather medicinal herbs for my mother.”
It was a plausible excuse.
Before leaving, Cain sought out his mother.
There was something he needed to ask.
“Mother. Are you feeling well?”
“I’m fine. The medicine you brewed is doing wonders.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“But where are you off to?”
“I’ve run out of medicine and need to fetch more.”
“Couldn’t you send Jake for that?”
“No. I need to go myself.”
“Very well. You’ll be going alone, then?”
At Cain’s nod, Serena let out a soft laugh.
“Of course. A Sword Master wouldn’t need an escort.”
Even Serena, though untrained in swordcraft, knew how extraordinary a Sword Master truly was.
“And one who’s slain a dragon at that… a Dragon Slayer, no less. I needn’t worry.”
At the sight of his mother’s reassured smile, Cain felt vindicated in revealing his abilities.
It seemed the right moment to do so.
“Mother, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“That necklace you’re wearing.”
Around his mother’s neck hung a necklace.
A mysterious object left to him as a keepsake before her passing―the thing that had infinitely extended his lifespan in his previous life.
“Where did you get it?”
Serena touched the necklace gently for a moment before looking up.
“It’s something your father gave me before he left.”
“Why did my father leave?”
“We agreed not to ask about that.”
Serena’s lips pressed shut, as if to signal she had no interest in continuing.
A thousand years of unanswered questions remained, yet Cain felt no regret.
There was no lingering attachment to a man who had abandoned his family.
“Then I’ll ask you just one thing.”
“I’ll decide whether to answer after I hear it.”
“When I was five, you sold the family heirloom to buy me bread when I was throwing a tantrum, didn’t you?”
Surprise flickered across Serena’s eyes.
“You remember that? An event from when you were five?”
“Yes.”
He wanted to tell her that he remembered everything, even from infancy, but he held his tongue.
“Do you remember who you sold that heirloom to?”
“Hmm, I’m not certain. I sold it to a merchant who came through the village at the time……”
“You mean that merchant from the Caravan Merchant Group who visited once a year?”
“You remember even that……? Remarkable.”
The Caravan Merchant Group was a small traveling operation that peddled miscellaneous wares through rural villages.
If he wanted to recover the heirloom, he would need to find that merchant group first.
“Understood.”
“Cain, but why are you asking about that?”
“It was Father’s possession too. I’ll be going now.”
Cain rose from his seat, saying only that much.
The moment his hand touched the door.
“Surely you’re not trying to find your father……?”
He heard Serena murmur behind him.
It was a misunderstanding, but Cain let it stand.
‘Father? I have no interest.’
Cain’s sole concern was one thing.
What was hidden within that heirloom.

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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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