"What did you get?"

"Nothing. It seems to be a blood pact."

Aman, who had come to Lucas after handing Alberto over to the immigrants, smiled bitterly.

"...That damn blood pact."

The blood pact was always the problem.

"The old days were so good. In my time, what was a blood pact? People didn't even know if it was something to eat or wear."

"..."

"No, but at some point, humans found out about that pact and, huh? They started using it all over the place."

"...There's a rumor that the Lord was the one who told them about it."

"...Who said that?"

Lucas, who seemed to be startled, asked with wide eyes, and Aman hesitated and opened his mouth.

"My father..."

"Hasel... that bastard...!"

It was Hasel Teridion, Aman's father, to whom Lucas had passed on the position of Lord before he died.

"You don't need to know that. No, what's the difference between teaching them how to make a fire and them committing arson? Huh?"

"Oh my~ that's right!"

Aman showed an exaggeratedly shrunken appearance at Lucas's agitated voice and trembled.

"...You're a lot like Hasel."

"Me?"

"Yes. But I guess Hasel didn't tell you that?"

"..."

"He got hit a lot by me..."

Lucas's eyes, who smiled brightly, were murderous.

Was it because he knew his identity? Even though Lucas was just a small human, he felt the same sense of pressure as the previous Lord whenever he showed such an appearance.

"Ahem, it's time to go..."

"Let's go together."

"The Lord too?"

Lucas, who had nodded his head slightly instead of answering, got up from his seat.

"Polymorph me."

"...Yes, I should."

As he cast a polymorph on Lucas, who had shamelessly stepped forward, his appearance changed in an instant.

"Ha, I can never get used to the height."

Lucas, who had shaken his head violently to get used to his suddenly tall height, gestured with his chin as if to say, 'Let's go.'

"...Yes, you should go."

-Flash!

***

Lucas, who had arrived at the immigrant village with Aman, looked around once.

Thanks to the generous gold coins that Aman had given them, the village was quickly taking shape and was quite tidy.

"Khuk! This won't bring your husband back... stop it...!"

The women, who were covered in tears, were hugging each other and wailing.

Alberto's body, which had already grown cold, was already in a state where it was difficult to recognize its shape.

They were living with anger in their hearts. They couldn't get a proper explanation from anyone, and there was no one to take out their anger on.

If there had been a way to know exactly whose fault it was, it wouldn't have been so futile.

Their husbands, their neighbors, and the fathers of their children were suddenly framed as child murderers and had disappeared into the mists of the execution ground.

They couldn't even collect their bodies, nor could they hold their funerals.

All the people of the empire pointed their fingers at them and threw stones.

But what was even sadder was the small seed of doubt that was blooming deep in their hearts, that all of it might be true.

They knew that their husbands were not people who would do such a thing.

But everyone was pointing their fingers, throwing stones, and cursing, and they had no power or evidence to stand up to them or refute them.

So there were times when they felt that what other people were saying was sometimes true.

'Did my husband do that for money?' or 'Did my father do that to buy the doll he gave me last time?' such small doubts would come to mind from time to time.

Every time such a small doubt arose, they couldn't suppress the boiling anger.

What was even sadder was that there was no one to release that anger on, and no one to comfort them, saying that it was not true.

They were mothers who had to worry about their children's meals right in front of them, even as they were driven out of the village overnight, and they were the heads of a family.

"Are you all feeling a little better?"

"..."

Aman, who was looking at the scene that had become a mess with anger and sadness, opened his mouth.

At the sound of Aman's voice, the women swallowed their tears and stepped back.

"Thank you... thanks to you... I feel much more at ease."

The one who answered Aman's words was the chief. The deep wrinkles around his eyes were wet.

He must also be in a miserable state.

"...Then that's a relief."

Aman smiled bitterly at the old man's words.

"...Is he your companion?"

"That's right."

The quick-witted old man did not ask any more questions and turned his gaze to Alberto's body.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Thank you... thank you..."

The old man bowed his head repeatedly and expressed his gratitude.

They were people who had risked their lives and had moved to avoid the cruel reality of their home country.

But they had blood on their hands again. Aman wondered if he had made the right decision as he looked at this tragic scene.

It was no problem to kill Alberto with his own hands.

To him, a dragon, a human was just an animal. There was no big difference, except that they were animals with high intelligence and could communicate.

But Aman wanted to give these pitiful humans a chance to vent their anger.

"You don't have to thank me. Just... I hope you can release all your anger with this."

The old man swallowed the tears that were welling up at Lucas's gentle words.

"Khuk... with this... I hope my son can close his eyes in peace..."

"He must have gone to a good place."

Aman's expression was bitter as he patted the old man's shoulder once.

"Then, I'll be going."

"C-can you at least tell me your name?"

The old man shouted urgently as they were about to leave.

"...It's Amarok."

"Amarok... thank you. I will definitely, definitely remember."

Aman, who had told him his real name.

"Let's go."

"Right."

As Lucas nodded his head once, Aman collected Alberto's body and teleported.

***

Aman and Lucas, who had placed Alberto's body in a corner of the underground dungeon, now began to plan their next move.

"Right, we have to catch the emperor and beat him."

"Yes, but where and how should we catch and beat him?"

Aman's eyes were sparkling at Lucas's cool words. It was what Aman had been hoping for.

He had always wanted to catch and beat the big-headed human bastards who had come into the territory where his lair was and had controlled the monsters.

"But he's the emperor of a country. If I want to end this life well, I can't just catch and kill the emperor in one go."

"Then?"

Aman's expression was gloomy, as if he was a little disappointed at Lucas's words, and he lowered his shoulders slightly.

"Threaten."

"Oh~ threaten?"

But Aman's shoulders straightened up and his eyes began to sparkle again at Lucas's next words.

"Right. Threaten. Why would a man who is the emperor of a country go to such lengths?"

"Hmm... did someone promise him eternal life?"

'Eternal life'. Something that every human had dreamed of at least once.

It was one of the human desires that other races with long lifespans could never understand.

The good points of living a long life? There were definitely some. But the longer you lived, the more things you got tired of.

The anxiety of not knowing when life would end and the short lifespan were also the driving force for human development.

"Right. That makes sense. There have always been humans who dreamed of eternal life."

"Right? And there were many humans who tried it."

"Right, but I have never seen anyone who handles black magic to this extent in this empire or any other country."

"But humans always develop quickly."

The conversation seemed to have no end, as the mystery did not seem to be solved no matter how much they thought about it.

"What's the point of thinking more? Just catch him. Something will come out if you threaten him."

"That's right!"

Aman, who felt as if his insides had been cleared by Lucas's cool answer, quickly teleported and disappeared.

"You should have taken me with you!! You crazy lizard!!!"

Aman had even left Lucas behind, he was so excited.

***

Aman, who had teleported to the vicinity of the imperial palace, decided to use a different strategy from when he had dealt with Alberto.

Since he had to quietly threaten the emperor, it was difficult for a person in the position of emperor to have time alone.

'I'll just make him be alone~'

And so, the strategy he came up with. The 'Leave the Lamb Alone!' strategy.

Aman, who was thinking of the operation name alone, smiled slightly, as if he was admiring his own sense.

'Ha, really... a dragon like me... a sensible dragon...!'

Aman, who had run his hand through his hair with a charming gesture, took a deep breath.

Taking a deep breath was one of his habits whenever he drew up a large amount of mana and operated it. To raise his concentration to the maximum while holding his breath.

-KABOOM!! KABOOM!!

A deafening roar.

Hazy smoke rose around the completely collapsed castle wall with that roar.

"Gaaah!"

The panicked people began to scatter, screaming, and the guards who were protecting the imperial palace also went into a state of emergency.

All the soldiers began to take a defensive stance at the sudden attack, and the mages of the Mage Tower also began to deal with the collapsed magic circle quickly.

'Ooh... that's fast, isn't it?'

It was by no means an easy task for Aman, a dragon, to break through the double and triple protective barriers surrounding the imperial palace.

'But it's not a difficult task either.'

Aman, who had shaken his head again, looked at the collapsed castle wall with satisfaction.

"Move quickly!!"

When all the defensive posture was focused on the collapsed castle wall, Aman was planning to attack the emperor's office.

First the castle wall, then the imperial palace, and then the office.

If he gradually narrowed the distance like that, the emperor would be left alone in the bunker located inside the imperial palace.

With only a minimum of guards left.

Aman took a deep breath again.

-KABOOM! KABOOM!

People couldn't hide their astonishment at the outer wall of the imperial palace, which was easily collapsing like a sandcastle.

The highest place in the empire. The imperial palace where the emperor lived had a special meaning to the people.

As such an imperial palace was on the verge of being easily captured, the people of the empire began to be greatly agitated.

"R-run away!!!"

The people who had been fidgeting, looking at the collapsed castle wall from a distance, also turned their bodies and began to run away quickly.

It was possible to watch a fire across the river because there was a river in the middle, but wouldn't it be no fun if it became a fire in front of your eyes?

In an instant, not even a single ant was left around the imperial palace.

'Now, now...'

What was left was the emperor's office.

He had also seen the emperor a few times, so it was not difficult to pinpoint the location of that office.

But the problem was the defensive magic that was protecting that place.

In addition, as time passed, people from the Mage Tower were flocking and building the defensive magic more firmly, so it might be a little difficult this time.

'Even so...'

As Aman took a deep breath, dozens of thunder spears began to strike the imperial palace.

-KABOOM! RUMBLE! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

There were a few ways to break the defensive magic, but the most certain way was...

'Power!'

The method of pushing through with power and breaking it. That method worked faster and more accurately than anything else.

If there was a side effect, it was that the power control might not be good.

Although he had broken a few layers, Aman smiled slightly as he looked at the remaining defensive magic.

'It's done.'

At this rate, the power control was also perfect.

Now all he had to do was give the emperor time to move to his bunker.

'Now, now I'll show you hell!'

Aman's eyes, who was smiling slyly, shone brightly.

(End of Chapter)