kscans

Chapter 52 - Chapter 8: Part One - Subjugating the Glutton Dragon? I

"No, no. Absolutely not."

Oh, the feeling on my right arm is so heavenly, it's making me forget the fear of the hell I'm about to face.

"Princess. I understand how you feel, but your current behavior is quite..."

"You're breaking your promise. You said you would never take Ricardo-kun anywhere dangerous."

Ignoring her attendant who was chiding her for the unseemly display at the entrance of the grand ducal residence, Alfina glared at her brother. The Prince's gaze on me was painful. It was a look that said, What did you do to my sister? Honestly, I never expected this much opposition either. And well, your sister does have her childish moments...

"...Grand Duchess. Is this truly my sister? She is so very different from how I have seen her at the cathedral or the royal palace..."

"Alfie. I understand what you want to say, but even I think this is a bit much," the Grand Duchess said with a sigh, looking at Alfina clinging to my arm.

"Alfina. Vinder will only be on standby in the rear. I will not let him fight."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous. Forcing a student like Ricardo-kun to come along is just too cruel. I've lost all respect for you."

Alfina shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. As petite as she was, being pressed against so strongly was, well...

"But Vinder agreed to it."

"Ricardo-kun certainly has a reckless side, but there is no way he would wish to accompany you to a battlefield. He's being tricked because he's just too kindhearted."

No, I definitely don't want to go. And what does she mean I'm reckless?

"Um, Alfina-sama. It is necessary for me to accompany them to confirm the performance of the products we are delivering."

Of course, from a self-preservation standpoint, it was out of the question. But the products the Vinder Company was selling to the knight order this time had not even reached the prototype stage. I was the only one who could judge their effectiveness in the field.

The thought of waiting in the capital for a report saying something like, "The products you recommended with such a smug look were useless, and hundreds of knights died," was enough to make me think I would die from a stress-induced stomach ulcer. Not that I was being smug, of course.

"Princess. I will accompany him, and on my honor as a knight, I swear I will protect this man."

In the end, Alfina finally relented when Clau offered to act as my bodyguard. Incidentally, my arm remained wedged in that shallow valley until the very end.

◇◇

BIGYIIIIIIII---!!

Along with a roar that could tear your ears off, a tail sprouting four spines whipped through the air. The resulting pressure wave sent not just fallen leaves but even small pebbles flying. Looking closely, I could see the leaves had a faint reddish tinge. I suppose it's not strange for them to be autumn colors this season, I thought, most likely as a way to escape from reality.

But can you blame me, when reality itself has become so unreal? In my former world, even standing before a reconstructed skeleton was incredibly powerful, yet the creature over there was alive. To my past self, who thrilled at Jurassic movies and novels about plateaus where dinosaurs survived, your wish has been granted.

And I have just one thing to say. The only good dinosaurs were the extinct ones.

"Watch out."

My arm was yanked hard. In the next instant, a broken tree branch shot past where I had been.

BIGYIIIIIIII---!

The dragon, its right arm now hanging limply, roared once more.

"Reform the ranks."

A clear, carrying voice echoed across the battlefield. Three hundred knights stood far closer to the massive creature than I did. Having been scattered, they reformed into four units in a flash, hemming in the giant, flightless dragon from all four sides. Three of the four units, armed with swords and spears, acted as decoys.

The remaining unit closed in on the glutton dragon and brought down hammers and maces.

GIGGI!! GYAGAGAGAGAAAA---!!!

Despite their heavy equipment, they moved like lithe wildcats, executing perfect hit-and-run attacks. The glutton dragon's right arm was completely shattered. Seeing this, the knight commander in the center of the three remaining units raised his sword.

The three units charged the enraged dragon one after another. When I say charge, the first unit would approach to a certain point and immediately retreat, then the next unit would do the same from a different angle. Their coordination was flawless. Even with their high-altitude training, their breathing was steady.

The one leading them was the commander of the central unit, Prince Craig. I had read the phrase "commanding his soldiers as if they were his own limbs" many times in novels from my old world, but seeing it in person was simply overwhelming.

"Ricardo, get down."

At Clau's voice, I hurriedly dropped to the ground. The tip of a broken spear flew over my head. I saw a knight sent flying as the dragon swung its undamaged left arm.

Even though I hadn't taken a direct hit, I had collapsed, and Clau had to take my hand to help me back up.

The knight order is amazing. The commander is amazing. Clau, a girl, protecting me, is amazing. By the way, what is this useless version of me even doing in a place like this?

◇◇

"So this is the sage's workshop."

Craig remarked, looking around the laboratory with curiosity. The prince had come to the academy to cross-reference the information on dragons he had obtained from the Empire with the sage's knowledge, and to receive the radar system for monitoring the dragon's movements.

"By the way, we have the results from the high-altitude training. Hahaha, my squad's most athletic man apparently couldn't even make it half as far as the miners on the first day's race before his legs gave out. Now they're learning how to acclimate from the miners. The miners' reputations have been restored, and of course, Count Adele's name has been cleared. Once this is all over, the main force will head there for training. I'll be going with them."

"I see. I'm very glad to hear that."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"As for the other matter. The Empire showed us proof of their dragon subjugation, and quite easily too," the prince said with amusement. Apparently, they had proudly shown him the bone from a severed arm. Its shape...

"Hmm, so... just as Vinder said, the dragon's bones had a hollow structure. That structure was..."

Hearing the information the prince had obtained from the Empire, Fulsy began rummaging through his belongings.

"Was it like this?"

He held up a cross-section of a chicken bone that Dalgan had brought.

"Yes, it was exactly this kind of structure. Though the cavity inside wasn't quite this large."

The information gathering was going splendidly. It had been confirmed through fossils in my old world that dinosaurs, like birds, had hollow bones. Of course, assuming this world and Earth have parallel timelines, it was possible that over two hundred million years of evolution had led to changes for this world's dinosaurs too. For example, flightless birds like penguins had abandoned the hollow structure. But that dragon flew.

The fact that the arm was severed also suggested that the Empire's dragon-fighting tactics were not primarily focused on blunt-force attacks, just as we had assumed. But that was not the most important issue. Simply knowing that the dragon's bones were weak to impact and that its anatomy was similar to a bird's was more than enough.

"And you are saying the young ones have something like feathers."

"Yes. This is a sketch of the glutton dragon based on testimony from the Empire and the Second Knight Order."

The prince showed us a drawing. It was definitely a relative of the Tyrannosaurus. Its head was smaller, perhaps an adaptation for flight. But its bipedal legs clearly showed the characteristics of a theropod dinosaur.

How do I know that, you ask? In my past life, before I was a student of economics, I was a boy. And all boys are supposed to admire dinosaurs. This is just common knowledge.

Incidentally, Fulsy, who was incredibly excited by the dragon's appearance, seemed to have retained the heart of a boy despite his age. He was certainly spry.

"As per your suggestion, we will form a unit with blunt-force weapons to act as our main force. And you said you have something else to provide, did you not?"

"Director. Perhaps it's time to explain that antenna."

"Oh, right, right. This is a magic-measuring device with properties far superior to anything we've had before. For a high-level monster, it should be able to get a rough location from two or three garji away."

"Oh? It can detect a monster's magic from that far away?" the prince said, impressed as he looked at the parabolic antenna Fulsy was proudly explaining.

The importance of reconnaissance goes without saying. With this, they could close the distance before being attacked on the open plains.

The prince, now in a fine mood, smoothly laid out the plan. At night, they would send horses wearing magically imbued saddles running in a different direction. Meanwhile, the knight order, with the magic on their own equipment suppressed, would reach the foot of the mountain. Fulsy, who seemed likely to secure research funding from the knight order, was also beaming.

I then proposed to supply the products needed to rig those horses.