"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 53

Narukami Narukami

Boom！！！！！！

The fire dragon was slammed to the ground with a tremendous roar.

The impact was strong enough to create a crater in the ground.

Purple lightning bursts across the ground.

The moment the technique exploded, Charlotte’s time stopped.

“Ryu, Lord Ryu!? And this technique is…!!”

Narukami was definitely the technique that the Black Dragon used in the Dark World, right? Oh, I remember! The one who reached out to me back then was… Lord Ryu!!!

The lingering unease that had been stuck in my chest has finally been lifted.

Who exactly is Lord Ryu…? No, that’s not important right now!

“Lord Ryu!!!”

“Charlotte. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Surely, after receiving such a shock, the fire dragon must have breathed its last, right?”

“No, I think he’s still alive because I held back quite a bit.”

“Huh?! Is this holding back…?”

The fire dragon is also being controlled by a subjugation spell, so like the wyvern from yesterday, it is more of a victim. Forcing the lives of such beings to be taken goes against Ryu’s principles. In the case of ordinary people, there is no time to show mercy to an S-rank monster, but Ryu has more than enough time to consider it.

“Growl…”

The fire dragon, which had been lying on the ground, lifted its head.

As a superior being, it was the first time in my life to be rolled around by other creatures.

I was quite confused because of that, but I instantly understood when I saw the person in front of me.

This guy is the one who knocked me down.

The only one who can do that is this guy.

The fire dragon glared at Ryu with an expression full of hostility and entered a battle stance once again. For some reason, I feel compelled to protect the hero riding on my back with my life. The reason is unclear. My body just moves on its own.

“Ryu, Ryu-sama… behind you…”

“Hmm?”

“Growl!!!”

“I don’t care if it’s an S-rank or whatever, who does that fire dragon think it is?”

Ryu added a bit of intensity to his gaze and glared at the fire dragon.

“You’re being too proud.”

“Ugh…”

The fire dragon flinched unconsciously.

Whether I like it or not, I will come to understand. That is a being far above myself.

I don’t want to fight. But I have to fight.

Instinct and enslavement magic clash, and the soul screams.

And then the fire dragon saw it.

The true form of Ryu that exists deep within his eyes, even further beyond.

I saw a beautiful yet majestic dragon, boasting a body comparable to that of the Dragon King, wrapped in silver scales.

“!?!”

In an instant, there was a sound like something snapping.

The once vacant eyes of the fire dragon regained their original color, returning to the wise and calm S-rank monster.

It seems that the effect of the enslavement magic was negated by Ryu’s spirit.

“……”

The fire dragon said nothing and simply flew away somewhere.

That silhouette seemed to express gratitude.

“……They’ve gone, haven’t they?”

“It seems like you’ve been freed from your restraints, which is great. More importantly…”

Having been thrown off the back of the fire dragon, the hero finally regained consciousness, and Ryu shifted his gaze towards him.

“Ouch… Huh? Where’s my servant, Karyu?”

“It’s already flown away.”

At the point where Ryu is pointing, there is a fire dragon the size of a pea.

“Could it be that you betrayed me?! All of you are nothing but useless fools…!”

“From the very beginning, you were never on our side.”

“Shut up!!! Or rather, who the hell are you!!!”

“I am the chief of staff.”

“Chief of Staff…? The one who knocked over the meteor with a carriage?! I will never forgive you… Come, flying dragon!!!”

However, there is no sign of the flying dragon coming here.

“Why aren’t you coming…! You stupid dragon!”

“They were beaten regularly and even deprived of proper food. They probably can’t move just from exhaustion. Poor thing.”

“Monsters are absolute evil; you should be grateful that we’re keeping them alive instead of killing them!”

“That’s why the Eldorado Church…”

Ryu can’t just stay silent after hearing his family, Axel, being insulted.

“Indeed, we should exterminate the hero and the soldiers of the marquisate and the empire right here and now. We will not accept their surrender.”

“That’s our line! We’re the ones who are going to win!”

“You really said that in this situation.”

In fact, as soon as the fire dragon flew away, the melee resumed, and even now, outside the crater, soldiers are engaged in a fierce battle.

The advantage, of course, lies with the Western Front Army.

Just then, Axel showed up.

“Nice job, Axel. But this time, I think I’ll fight alone. So for now, could you be Charlotte’s legs?”

“Baruru”

Thank you for your consideration.

Usually, it’s only Ryu who rides the accelerator, but not now.

Charlotte, mounted on Axel, returned to the battlefield.

In an instant, the purple lightning crackling around Ryu’s right hand turned blue and enveloped his entire body.

“Ao Armor – Susanoo no Mikoto”

In the legends of the eastern island nation, there is a god named Susanoo. This god was known for his rough and violent nature, which led to his banishment from the heavens. The fierce blue lightning emitted by the dragon merely reflects his anger.

“Well then, how do you want to die?”

“Hi…”

From there, it was quick.

According to the story, the enslaved hero apparently met a very unspeakably cruel death.

When a single blue lightning bolt streaked across the battlefield, a hundred soldiers’ heads would fly, and sometimes it felt as if a thunderbolt had struck from a clear sky. The sight of Ryu in his valorous form greatly inspired his allies. Thanks to this, the enemy army was given no chance to surrender. A few were left behind for intelligence gathering, and the rest were annihilated. After that, the city gates were immediately opened, and the interior was also subdued.

The scene where Ryu punched and sent the fire dragon flying was seen by his fellow soldiers. So there was no need to hold back anymore. Well, if he hadn’t participated in the battle after the fire dragon, he might have been able to somehow cover it up, but that was something Ryu’s pride couldn’t allow. He didn’t want to bend his beliefs, nor did he want to go back on the vow he made to Stingray. And he couldn’t stay silent seeing those who considered Axel as evil.

But please take a moment to calm down and think about it.

If it were the Ryu of the past, he would have calmly dealt with each one and successfully hidden all of the above. So why did he fail this time? Why couldn’t he control himself this time?

Ryu has only one idea about the reason.

Since Bahamut disappeared, something feels off…

“Ryu-kun, thank you for your hard work today.”

“Ah, ah. Lord Grace. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to save Charlotte, and the Western Front Army achieved a great victory. You could have given it your all from the beginning, you know?”

“No, that requires recharging. It just released a massive amount of energy that had been accumulated over several years in that one battle.”

“Wow, so that’s how it works…”

“That’s all a lie.”

“What the heck is that?”

“I’ve issued a gag order just in case, so don’t worry.”

Thank you very much.

“No need for thanks. You see, the Empire has a policy of keeping its military strength as secret as possible, right? So, there’s nothing strange about it. It’s just a normal response.”

“Still, I’m grateful.”

“But just between us, Ryu-kun might be called the ‘Sorcerer of the Blue Lightning’ in the future.”

“I don’t like it.”

“If I become a magician, you can treat me to a meal as a celebration, okay?”

“Normally, it’s the opposite, right?”

“The Count’s family is always struggling financially, you know.”

“Which mouth is saying that…?”

The Border Count left, laughing “Ha ha ha.”

That night, after being thanked persistently by Charlotte, I managed to push aside Stingray, who insisted on sleeping together again, and successfully stayed alone in my room. By the way, no one asked about what happened during the day. Probably because a gag order was in place.

Ryu murmured while lying on the bed.

“You don’t really have to go out of your way like that.”

It’s all my fault anyway.

It is true that we led the Western Front Army to victory, but I felt somewhat unsettled.

And then, when I suddenly looked at the back of my right hand…

“!?!”

It was covered in silver scales for about half of its body.

Could it be, what Bahamut said back then…?