Ch.934The Revolving Shackles of Slavery

“…….”

In the suffocating silence, only the barely-alive embers crackled with soft sounds.

“…….”

“…….”

The entire world was submerged in silence.

Knights looking down from the fortress walls.

Priests urgently treating the wounded.

Millia nocking a new arrow to her bowstring, and Ophelia van Sigmillus who had entered spectator mode while puffing on a long mana herb.

Everyone stared blankly at the red dragon who had lost its wings, their mouths agape.

At Kudsedra, who was begging for his life with impossibly polite speech, as if his personality had done a complete 180-degree turn.

“Sister, please show mercy…!”

The word “sister” rolled off his tongue so naturally that I suspected he might have been part of some violent gang during his dragonborn days.

“…What should we do? Attack?”

Demian turned his head slightly to look at me as he asked. His face showed he had no idea how to handle this situation.

“Uh…wait, just wait a moment.”

Of course, I was no different.

With a dumbfounded expression, I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke with a sigh to calm my shocked mind.

“What do you mean by asking for leniency? Are you acknowledging defeat and asking to be sent back unharmed?”

If that was his request, I couldn’t grant it. The damage these four dragons had inflicted on Hestella was beyond what could be forgiven with a mere surrender declaration.

Most of it was Ismenios’s doing, but Kudsedra was his accomplice who had attacked Hestella alongside him.

If we hadn’t had the power to defeat him, he would have killed Demian and burned Hestella to the ground as originally planned. What reason would I have to spare such a creature?

Should I forgive him just because he’s abandoned all pride and is begging desperately?

Nonsense. I wasn’t that merciful.

“That is not what I mean. Please listen, Sister!”

Kudsedra shook his head in denial.

“Who’s your sister?”

This is ridiculous. Sister? What sister? This creature is at least eight hundred years old.

“If you’re going to spout such nonsense, why don’t you just die? Don’t debase yourself further.”

I took a deep drag, burning the cigarette almost to the filter in one go, then spat out the nearly finished butt as I snapped at him.

“If that displeases you… then I shall call you Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty? Why not call me the Insect Queen? You were quite fond of that word earlier.”

He kept saying “insect” this and “insect” that earlier, like some kind of Fabre. Now he’s suddenly showing such perfect respect? I could only respond with a cynical chuckle.

“That was… I mean…! I apologize. It was my mistake.”

Kudsedra bowed his head deeply again in apology. His posture was so perfect it was almost admirable.

“…Fine. So if you’re not asking to be spared, what do you mean?”

I was curious enough to hear him out before killing him.

“Surely you’re not suggesting you want to serve under me.”

A dragon submitting to a human and offering to be a subordinate? The possibility seemed slim.

No, it was practically non-existent. Even in the era of Carlos the Great, no dragon had ever made such a choice.

“That’s exactly it!”

Kudsedra raised his head slightly as he exclaimed.

…Wait, seriously?

It was hard to believe.

I could understand his surrender, somewhat. Unless his head contained a walnut or a bowl of noodles instead of a brain, he must have realized he had no chance of winning.

Rather than struggling futilely and being slaughtered meaninglessly, surrendering to save his life was a somewhat rational decision.

…Honestly, even that was aberrant behavior for a dragon, but at least it was comprehensible.

However, declaring complete submission was an entirely different matter.

What’s the difference, you ask? Isn’t kneeling in defeat the same either way?

Not at all. The former means becoming a prisoner, while the latter means becoming a voluntary slave or convert. How could they be the same?

A declaration of submission went beyond surrender—it meant complete subjugation.

If he had even a shred of pride left, he would never choose this path. That’s why it was so hard to believe.

Would he volunteer for a life of slavery just to survive?

Could someone become that desperate?

Someone who had already lived for over a thousand years?

He’d lived long enough—more than long enough. Long enough that he should be able to accept death with dignity rather than endure the humiliation of slavery.

At least, I would never choose that option.

“You want to become my subordinate? I don’t believe you. Aren’t you just saying whatever comes to mind to escape this situation?”

How could I believe such words?

In the worst case, he might pretend to submit, then massacre everyone and flee when I’m away.

“Please believe me! I will never betray you!”

You’ve already betrayed your own kind. Just look at the lizard corpses lying beside me. They can’t even close their eyes in death because of their resentment.

“Hmm….”

I put a new cigarette in my mouth and gently stroked my chin.

…What should I do?

The dilemma deepened.

If some common thug had made such an offer, I would have told him to stop wasting my time and prepare to die. But this was a dragon.

If I could have a dragon as my subordinate, think of the possibilities.

Considering that potential, killing him outright seemed somewhat wasteful.

[Wouldn’t it be better to kill him? Keeping a suspicious creature under you will only restrict your freedom of movement.]

Hersella advised me to forget my hesitation and swing my blade. She argued that any being with the potential for betrayal should be eliminated from the start.

It was reasonable advice, but I suspected she simply wanted to kill another dragon and was providing a plausible justification.

If we destroyed his head now, we would become that much stronger.

‘Sigh… That’s clearly the right answer, but it feels such a waste…’

It was like catching an incredibly delicious-looking pufferfish but having to prepare it myself.

“……”

Perhaps sensing my deepening deliberation and growing anxious—

– Kuuuung!

“I swear to serve Your Majesty for the rest of my life! On my name!”

Kudsedra now pressed his forehead to the ground, begging for his life with even more desperate posturing.

“What should we do, Haschal? Everyone’s waiting for your orders.”

Demian urged me to make a decision.

I noticed his right hand tightening around his greatsword—he too seemed to prefer killing the dragon rather than sparing it.

Perhaps he instinctively felt something like hostility.

After all, Carlos, the previous owner of that sword, was a hero who personally brought down dragons that harmed humans.

Perhaps because he was destined to become the owner of a holy sword?

Demian’s eyes were filled with explicit hostility as he glared at the dragon, similar to when he had awakened something like hatred while looking at the World Tree.

…Anyway, as Demian said, I couldn’t delay my decision any longer.

So I stamped out my finished cigarette, looked at Demian, and gave the order that would determine the dragon’s fate.

“Bring Ophelia here. I have something to ask her.”

I decided to call the magically knowledgeable Ophelia to ask if there was a way to put a leash on this dragon, and then determine his fate based on her answer.

“Ophelia? Got it. Just a moment.”

Demian nodded, using his remaining karma to spread his snow-white wings and soar up to the fortress wall.

—-

“You called for me?”

Shortly after, Ophelia came down holding Demian’s arm and approached me, asking why I had summoned her.

“Yes. I have something to ask you.”

“Hmm… I can pretty much guess.”

Ophelia nodded to herself as she looked back and forth between me and Kudsedra.

“Let me tell you in advance—it’s impossible.”

She seemed to have already understood what I was going to ask, answering before I even spoke.

“Impossible? Even with ‘that magic’?”

I had to speak indirectly since I couldn’t mention soul-binding magic openly. In response to my question about whether we could bind the dragon’s soul to force his obedience, Ophelia replied that it was unfortunately impossible.

“Theoretically it’s possible, but beyond my abilities… No, honestly, unless you’re at the pinnacle of that field, it would be the same no matter who you brought.”

Binding a dragon’s soul with soul-binding magic was something that could only be attempted after reaching the absolute pinnacle of the art.

In other words, perhaps Feilandria was the only being in the entire world who could enslave a dragon’s soul with soul-binding magic.

“…I see. Then what about other magic besides ‘that’? Is that also impossible?”

“Of course it’s impossible. How could I break through a dragon’s mana resistance with my power? I can’t even penetrate yours.”

Ophelia snorted and shook her head.

…So mental magic and curses would also have little effect against dragons.

I had expected as much, but getting such a definitive answer left a bitter taste in my mouth. It seemed there truly was no way.

“Hmm… then I guess we have no choice but to kill him.”

I lowered my voice so Kudsedra couldn’t hear, regretfully pronouncing his death sentence.

There was no alternative.

What could I do, even if it was a waste? If even Ophelia said there was no way to put a leash on him.

I couldn’t leave what was essentially a walking, intelligent nuclear bomb without any safety measures. Right?

And so.

As I finally decided to dispose of him and raised my left hand to give the attack order—

“Wait a minute, you should hear people out completely. I said it’s impossible for me, but that doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no way.”

Ophelia hurriedly continued, gesturing for me to stop. While her magic couldn’t put a leash on the dragon, that didn’t mean there was no method at all.

“There’s a way?”

You should have said that first. Typical mage, always talking in circles.

“Of course. I’m actually surprised you didn’t think of this yourself.”

“Stop being dramatic and just answer. What are you talking about?”

“If you want a way to control a dragon, it’s right there on your hand. The holy relic you received from the Holy State—the Ring of Returning Seal.”

Ophelia smiled, pointing at the ring-shaped holy relic on my finger.

The Ring of Returning Seal.

A holy relic with the power to seal spiritual beings like unicorns in a subspace within the ring, allowing them to be summoned like spirits when needed.

“Just release the unicorn inside and fill the empty space with that dragon instead.”

She said it would work on dragons too.

“To seal a creature as powerful as a dragon would require mutual consent… but that’s hardly an issue, right? If he refuses, just kill him.”

It was a perfect solution.

I’d have to part ways with Cascador, but so what? That horned pony hasn’t been useful for anything except as a meat shield lately.

I wouldn’t miss him at all if I released him. It’s not like he would die, so there was nothing to regret.

After freeing him from the ring, I could give him to someone who wanted him.

He couldn’t be used as a meat shield anymore since he wouldn’t be able to resurrect, but he could still be useful as a mount.