I wasn’t able to sleep properly that night. I turned and twisted in my bed, while I kept thinking about that soldier’s words and my upcoming visit to the Palace. What was to come? Who was I going to meet? What was I going to say? How should I act? What was I going to do if...?

It wasn’t excitement or anticipation what I felt... but fear.

After all, I was a human and they were dragons. I was weak and they were strong. Without my friends, I was even weaker. Without my friends, I would die, yet together with them, my life would be under constant threat. I was a human, therefore different, so the other dragons sought to eliminate me. I was weak and different, so it was natural for them to try and attack those like me.

When Seryanna left, I didn’t put too much thought in her hasty departure. I knew she had her own things to deal with, including knightly duties of which I had no right to stick my nose into. I wanted to be there for her, to help her if she needed me, but even if at heart I had good intentions, meddling in her work wasn’t the way to show it.

After we made ourselves comfortable at the inn, I realized I didn’t have much to do in my room. Not having a computer to play games or browse the internet was a killer, so I went to check up on Kataryna and Kleo. With a [Purse] ring at hand, it was quite easy to make herself at home, so the silver-scaled dragoness’ room was already looking slightly different, the bed especially, it was a king-sized one.

When I closed the door after I stepped out of the Princess’ chamber, I felt as though all strength had left me, turning me into a weak husk, feeble and easy to shatter at the slightest touch. Even standing proved to be a difficult thing to do. My knees were weak, my hands were shaking, and my breath trembled, but as a knight, I wasn’t allowed to show such weakness, so I endured and put on a brave front, waiting there, in front of the door, trying to recover.

The Royal Knight of the Third Princess Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher had to show to everyone that she was not someone who could be brought down so easily.

As soon as Alkelios mentioned the possibility of a plot, I rushed out of the inn and headed to the Seyendraugher Palace. A dark thought formed in the back of my mind, and the only one who could help me disperse it was her Highness Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher the Third Princess of the Albeyater Kingdom. There were far too many signs pointing in this direction, and I couldn’t help but worry for her safety.

Currently, grandfather’s army, the Brekkar Army was the ace up her sleeve, but with their General in a presumed critical condition for more than thirty years now, there was a high chance that his majesty, the King, would make a move to restore it to its former glory.

Two days after we left the inn at the edge of the Great Chasm, we finally saw the giant walls of Drakaria.

This moment strongly reminded me of a Fantasy movie where the hero arrived at the top of the hill and in the far reaches saw the dazzling city which marked the end of his long journey. A few streaks of sunlight passed through the clouded sky, offering a beautiful touch, while the cold wind rustled our clothes. A single neigh escaped the tired Khosinni, and Kataryna stretched her back.

I messed up...

No, I didn’t just mess up... I failed completely!

And I had no idea why in the first place. Looking back, there shouldn’t have been ANY reason why I couldn’t get it up? It was like my body simply rejected the very thought and idea of being together with Seryanna... or was this an excuse as well?

I couldn’t figure it out, I couldn’t understand why that happened... and no matter how hard I tried to think about it, there were less and less reasons on account of which I could have ended up in that situation. The more I tried to, the more I saw myself as nothing but a pathetic loser.

Thanks to Alkelios, I was already feeling a lot better. My fever went down, and my coughing stopped. After just one night, I felt like I wasn’t sick anymore. I don’t know if he wished for me to be cured this fast or if he knew exactly what to do to help me, but I was already feeling in top shape and ready to head out. Yet, the man refused to let me leave the bed.

“I said I’m feeling fine.” I glared at him.

“Yes! Yes! We’ll leave tomorrow. After I am 100% sure you are!” he retorted while carefully working with some vials at his alchemy lab.

The moment when I found myself walking around Toros with my sick girlfriend in search of a room to let her get some rest, my brain pressed ALL the panic buttons! It couldn’t have been just one or two... it had to be all of them!

Therefore, I was just walking like a robot with spinning eyes and trying my best to remain calm, but this in itself was nothing but a fleeting dream. Seryanna sneezed from time to time, but I could tell that many of the dragons here were afflicted with this condition. So far, no deaths occurred, or maybe it wasn’t something fatal to begin with.

Reaching Toros would take us almost an entire day from dusk till dawn, with training time included when we stopped for a break. We encountered a few monsters such as a walking tree and a small pack of Dayuks, but we made quick work of them. There were no serious threats because I also wished for it. I mean, the training was killing me enough, I didn’t want to face a dangerous monster while I could barely hold a sword with both hands.

Once the big town was in sight, my first reaction to it was one of amazement. Forty or so dragons were patrolling the skies in their full dragon form. The outer walls were made out of a black stone and double the size of those in Andromeda, with countless soldiers patrolling them.

Marook was an interesting city filled with all sorts of people and even a small lake within its enclosed walls. When we first arrived here, I had no idea something like this even existed. I got to find out about it the other day when we were out shopping for supplies. My brain thought it would be a good idea to slap Seryanna’s behind. Her punch to my face begged to differ... The view from the sky was quite nice though, and I learned that I could withstand superhuman level damage. I landed right in the middle of the lake, scaring a couple of birds and two lovers who were kissing in a boat.

Today, we decided to accept a request from the Adventurers Guild. It was a simple one which required us to do a little bit of gathering of special flowers in the nearby forest. If by chance we encountered some monsters along the way, we were free to subjugate them and collect any of the parts that could be sold at the guild or which we believed we could use. Disposing of the remains was usually done by either our party’s mage or by piling up the bodies and then submitting a report to the guild on their location. Afterwards, a new request would appear on the board available to all adventurers with the required skill. Being on the Dragon Continent didn’t automatically mean that everyone here could breathe fire. It all depended on their respective element, although, when it came to spells, everyone could cast at least Beginner Rank ones.

Thanks to the hellish training with my beautiful redhead dragoness, I began to wonder if I was heads over heels in love with her or I was slowly starting to turn into a masochist. The latter possibility frightened me...

Still, I wasn’t visibly improving. Without the help of my Luck and constantly wishing in my mind so I wouldn’t get hit by Kataryna’s dangerous attacks, it was incredibly hard to control my enormous strength and speed. Fine-tuned control actions were out of the question. From one point of view, I was nothing more than a rampaging monster unable to stop himself, but if I were to be able to use martial arts at my full speed and strength, then the results could end up being amazing.

With Pertiko far behind us, we were once more on our way towards the capital of the Dragon Kingdom Albeyater, Drakaria. To reach it, we had to pass through the city of Marook and then reach Toros town, where we would cross the Great Chasm or whatever it was called.

To be fair, on the map, the city appeared to be at the distance of a stick throw, but things could be deceiving. It was more than a one Khosinni riding day away. When I heard this, I was thinking in Earth days, but on this planet, a day had 32 hours, meaning that we would arrive in Marook after two Earth days.

Confusing, I know...

We returned to the surface without any trouble. Both Iolaus and Kleo were safe, although, I found out that the big Paladin ended up fainting somewhere along the way. My guess was that he probably saw a spider, screamed like a little girl, then slammed into a wall and it was lights out for him!

While I traveled through those dark and damp corridors, the monsters here allowed us to pass through and none of the traps activated even when we accidentally triggered them. The dungeon was apparently keeping its word, but once we were out of this place, I was 100% sure we would return to being enemies.

“Please… please don’t hurt me, Iolaus…” I whimpered.

Just knowing and thinking that I was alone right now with this man brought shivers down my spine. Now of all times, I had no means of defending myself, no means of fighting back.

I was... helpless.

Iolaus was indeed a former lover of mine. I loved him and gave myself to him completely, but then he changed. From a kind and wonderful lover, he turned into a monster willing to hunt me down no matter what.

“Hm, it appears there are some strange individuals coming our way. One is a Paladin and the other an Unawakened dragon, but he is quite strong.” said the man as he looked at a crystal ball the size of a human head floating in front of him.

From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see clearly the image reflected inside it, but I had a good guess about who he was talking about. The only two individuals who were next to me when I got sent here were Alkelios and Iolaus. If it was my sister’s lover, then he would certainly come over to save me, but the Paladin was probably aiming at severing his ties with me… for good.

“Ugh… Heavy!” I groaned as I moved the metal plate off of my face.

“Ungh… Ow…” the Paladin groaned as he was pushed off.

Getting up, I looked around and massaged my shoulders a bit. My whole body was sore, I felt like that time when Seryanna slapped me into a tree. Of course, there was no sight of a tree anywhere around me. There was no sight of a field with angry undead or a village. I was in some sort of a tunnel, and the stench reminded me of old rotten food.

The enemy we were facing was the unstoppable horde of the undead. Rotting zombies, skeleton warriors, Dullahans, Liches, undead beasts and other monsters, the whole lot of them were pouring out of the dungeon and marching towards Pertiko village. It was a real army of the undead. The only thing missing from it was a general of sorts, but maybe that one was the Necromancer staying deep inside the dungeon.

The ones defending the village were the Paladins and my group of four, consisting of a human, a dragon knight, a dragon necromancer, and a dragon thief… well, former thief.

With the light of the sun grazing my skin, I opened my eyes and cast my gaze upon the sleeping human holding me in his arms. A smile appeared on my lips when I moved closer to him, and he tightened his embrace around me. If I had a tail, I would have wrapped it around him, but since I didn’t, I made do with playing with his hair.

Alkelios was sleeping peacefully, and I felt strangely relaxed and happy to wake up like this, in his arms. There was a small flutter in my heart, and I couldn’t stop smiling. This sort of feeling was a first for me, and I liked it! I wanted to wake up like this every day for the rest of my life!

The door behind me was slammed shut, the key turned, locking it, and I dropped on my knees on the floor. Tears welled up in my eyes, the result of my emotions spilling out.

I was angry, frustrated, and mad at that idiotic human! Of all the things he could have said, those were the only words I didn’t wish to hear!

Why couldn’t he have said that he came all this way for me?! I shouted in my mind as I clenched my fists, nearly poking holes in my palms with my nails.