The flame of the dragon left not a single trace of ash. The body of the little girl was burnt up down to her bones in an instant.
The cheers of the soldiers, whom were frozen due to Hadith’s sudden attack, finally echoed.
At that moment, Zeke pulled Listeard’s shoulder.
“Oi, now is our chance to escape!”
“Y, you, are you alright with that…? She’s still a little girl…”
“His Majesty conjured that tornado as a means for us to escape, you want to waste that~!?”
Towards Camila’s voice, Listeard, who was blown up the hill and could only watch the series of events unfold in a daze, lifted his face. With a frown, he started running. His subordinates followed behind him.
“But, after we manage to escape, what then? Her Majesty the Dragon Princess is already—” Said Lawrence.
“Jill proclaimed she’s the Dragon Princess~! She’s still alive, I’m sure. His Majesty, too!”
Lawrence widened his eyes, Zeke also exclaimed.
“If it’s only that, she won’t die. The Dragon Emperor and the Dragon Princess can’t lose to a dragon.”
His statement wasn’t only foolish, but out of that world—as if Zeke was a believer of some kind. To believe is to stop thinking—
—however, Lawrence didn’t dislike it.
“—that’s good, then. Alright, I’ll move while keeping that in mind.”
“Found it! It’s here!”
A small knife was thrown to Zeke. Its hilt hit his temple, causing him to flinch.
Being noisy was the last thing they needed there.
“Alright, let’s head to the escape route we’ve prepared for the time being. We’ll think about the rest later!” Said Lawrence.
“You’re actually reliable~” Said Camila.
“Thank you. Camila is a bow-user, and Zeke is a great sword-user, right? Neither can be used in such a forest like this.”
“Hey, what rude things are you saying~?!”
“Instead, I request you both follow my instructions. It’ll definitely let you escape!”
The moment he instructed for them to change direction, an arrow flew and tore through the bag Camila was carrying. It seemed that they had been discovered. Zeke frowned.
“Did he get hit!?”
“S, Sauté, are you alright~?! Please, live—”
“—piyooo!”
A horrifying angry voice came out from such a cute chick. Sauté kicked the teddy bear beside him and tossed it out of the ripped bag towards the enemy.
“Now, that’s bad! Let’s escape from here immediately!”
“Your Highness Listeard! Come over here! Hurry and get away from Haddy’s line of sight!”
In front of Lawrence, who caught the bag with the chick using both his hands, the teddy bear which made a full turn and landed on the ground suddenly stood up.
Its cloak, which was shot, was fluttering.
Huh? It stands up?
That day, Lawrence received an epiphany—
—that teddy bear was stronger than everyone else present.
***
Something fell on her cheek. Said stimulus woke her.
“Your Majesty! —Huh…”
After blinking her eyes for a while, she returned to her senses. Jill checked her body. There were no injuries anywhere. Her clothes weren’t charred either.
The red dragon had just roasted her alive—it was strange how she was still safe.
In the first place, where was she?
She could hear the sound of a waterfall in the distance. However, many white rocks were piled around her, leading to the back. There were also many white rocks in the ceiling, growing down like icicles. Visibility was poor. The word, “limestone cave” came across her mind.
Despite everything, the place was still quite large and the ceiling tall. Above all, it was bright. She was surprised when she saw lines of lights swirling on the ground.
At first, she thought there was nothing above her. However, it turned out to be a tall, tall, blue sky.
But she was wrong—it was water.
The water floated—no. Perhaps it would be more precise to say that the water simply wasn’t falling.
From the tall water ceiling, the red sunset could be seen. It seemed to be the source of light.
“…Is it floating due to magical power? But it seems a little off… what is going on, here…”
“Because the person the red dragon was about to harm is the Dragon Princess, I teleported you here.”
When the voice came, Jill instantly turned around. The ground shook and her body begun to sway. Supporting herself with one knee, she gazed at the source of the vibration.
Its black scales glowed while its sharp claws bit into the ground. Even its mere head was bigger than Jill. Naturally, its size was even more so. The color of its eyes, which moved around, were purple.
A purple-eyed black dragon.
“…Aren’t you basically a child? What is the Dragon Emperor of this generation thinking?”
The dragon spoke.
Jill laughed, concealing her surprise, fear, and the sweat that drenched her back.
It’s the first I’ve ever seen one…
However, it was easy to see.
Next to the Dragon God Rave, if the king of dragons were to be on their side, Hadith could be saved.