RGS Vol 7 Part 20

SIDE STORY 1

“Huff, huff…”

D*mn dragon.

Cursing, the knight searched through the entire forest, and after nearly a month of fruitless efforts, he plopped down on the ground, exhausted. Today, he had felt promising since early morning. So, he climbed up the hill at dawn to look for the plant, but he still couldn’t find anything.

That d*mned dragon, did he intentionally make me suffer like this?

Ah, right. Knowing him, he might have.

The knight lay down on the grassy field, his thoughts naturally drifting to his last encounter with the dragon.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“Disappear? You mean you’re going to die? How is that possible?! Dragons live for such a long time!”

Shouting in disbelief, the dragon responded as if it were a bother.

“I’ve already lived long enough. It’s simply time for me to die.”

“What? So, you’re saying you met me right at the end of your life? Does that mean your lifespan is over?”

“Yes.”

His firm response left the knight at a loss for words.

What on earth?

How is this fair?

His resentment and sense of loss were much greater than he thought. As time passed, he even felt a sense of injustice.

You can do anything, so why can’t you live longer?

“Then leave a way for me to see you when I want to. Otherwise, you can’t go.”

Demanding responsibility, he threw a tantrum, and the dragon looked back at him with annoyed eyes.

What now, you brat? the dragon seemed to say.

However, the knight didn’t back down and glared right back.

“Because of you, all my friends have drifted away! You have to entertain me when I’m bored!”

The whole world knew the knight could entertain himself just fine. The dragon’s eyebrows twitched in anger, but he soon gave up and placed a hand on a fallen tree nearby. With a small flash of light, a wooden pendant dropped in front of the knight. The wooden pendant had a dragon engraved on its front.

“What’s this?”

“If you have this, you can see the past. You’ll be able to see me as I was before. Just call me twice.”

The dragon was about to turn his back, thinking that the knight would no longer bother him, but the excited knight was already testing the wooden pendant right away.

“The untamable dog, Chaban, the untamable dog, Chaban.”

The dragon, infuriated, almost lived up to the insult. However, seeing the knight’s smile on his face as he looked into the past, he instead relaxed and adjusted his posture. After a while, the knight, having witnessed the past and saw the dragon in it, grinned broadly and stepped down to the ground.

“Wow, it’s real. I can really see the past with this… Wait! Ah, it’s cracked!”

Showing the dragon the wooden pendant that cracked, the dragon responded indifferently.

“When the wooden pendant is completely cracked, just throw it away.”

“What? That, that means I can only use it a few times? Come on, make some more!”

The dragon’s eyebrows twitched again.

“Should I make you a few hundred?”

He asked sarcastically, but the knight shook his head seriously and answered.

“No, just one more will do.”

Looking at the cracked wooden pendant, he casually added.

“I’ll be following you soon, so one more is enough.”

Though the words were spoken as if it were nothing, the dragon’s expression turned strangely cold. He also knew. That the knight wouldn’t live much longer. The men in the knight’s family had always had weak hearts for generations, and none had ever lived past the age of 30. The fact that the knight was still alive was considered a miracle.

“By the way, can someone else use this?”

The knight asked, flipping the wooden pendant over curiously. The dragon replied, “No. Only you,” and then, as if he remembered something, he added.

“If someone inherits my power, they might be able to. Those they choose will be able to see.”

“Only the chosen ones? What about those who inherit your power? They can’t see it?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because they inherited my power. For them, the thing they desire the most can never be obtained through their power.”

“I don’t get it.”

As the knight tilted his head in confusion, the dragon, looked down at him with his half-opened eyes and explained.

“It’s just a fact. Dragons, despite having the power to destroy the world, cannot use their power to obtain what they most desire. Thus, those who inherit my power will face the same. If they have someone they care about, even if that person is dying right in front of them, they won’t be able to save them with their power. Even if they have the ability to summon any creature, they won’t be able to summon that one person.”

“Then just summon something else. If someone important is dying in front of them, why can’t they just summon something or someone else to save them? Like a doctor.”

The knight suggested a solution, however, the dragon responded indifferently.

There are no doctors in the world who could save a dying person. Unless he is someone who has discovered a legendary herb.

The knight refuted again.

“Then, they could just summon the person who found the legendary herb.”

“Impossible. The person who would discover the legendary herb will be you. For someone to summon you in the future, they’d need power far surpassing mine. Such a person will never appear.”

Though the dragon’s dismissive tone was clear, there was something about his words that caught the knight’s attention.

“Why would I be the one to find the legendary herb?”

The dragon looked into the knight’s wavering eyes and answered coldly as if stating the obvious.

“Because you’ll find it here, where I die.”

“……”

“So, promise me. You’ll find it within a month. That will ease my irritation a bit.”

Irritation about what?

In response to the knight’s question, the dragon muttered to himself, barely audible.

“My irritation that I cannot save you with my power.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

D*mn dragon.

Leaving me with this chore and disappearing just like that.

The month he had promised the dragon was nearly up, but he still hadn’t found the legendary herb. Honestly, it didn’t matter if he didn’t find it. After all, he had already lived five years longer.

Those five years were the most exciting time in the knight’s life. Meeting the dragon, saving the world. And yet, that dragon had encouraged him to live even longer. As the knight tried to get up from the damp grass, he raised his head first. But then he saw something right in front of him.

Huh?

The knight quickly sat up to examine the plant. Among the tall grass that was barely visible, he noticed a peculiar shape of leaves. Holding his breath, the knight looked at it, then with trembling hands, he grasped the stem and carefully dug the ground with his other hand to pull it out by the roots.

Ah, it’s real!

It’s really the legendary herb!

Hahahahaha― He felt like dancing with joy.

I knew today definitely felt different!

He stood up and began jumping around in excitement when suddenly, a fog began to form around him. The moment he realized this, the world turned completely white.

The fog was so dense he couldn’t see an inch in front of him. His joy quickly turned to confusion, as he looked around with bewildered eyes and spotted a glowing light emanating from somewhere. It felt just like when he used the dragon’s magic to see the past.

Dragon’s magic?

But I didn’t even take out the wooden pendant?

 And the dragon was dead.

However, soon enough, another thought crossed the knight’s mind. He looked at the legendary herb in his hand and then took a step toward the light. His face lit up with curiosity as he smiled.

Who could it be?

The one who inherited the dragon’s power and their precious person.