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“Hey, Red! This is not what we agreed on!”

Displeased voices cascaded down toward Shurei from the jutting rocks, forming an impromptu ‘audience seating.’

The blue dragon incarnations appeared dissatisfied, but Shurei maintained a cool demeanor as he looked up at them.

“Just watch, Blue,” Shurei answered, full of confidence. “You said you would accept it if this one proves worthy enough to take up a Dragon’s name. This does not change the fact that I am imposing a difficult trial.”
“Mgh…”

The blue dragons were still unconvinced, but they reluctantly backed down.

With an unusual stance, Shurei grasped the sword of lava rock and turned to face Lucella.

In that instant, Lucella sensed a tension akin to being surrounded by a myriad of swords from every angle.

“…Now then, come. No need to hold back.”

Shurei held his sword with a completely natural posture.

The same couldn’t be said about his aura.

Lucella, being an amateur in swordsmanship, couldn’t make a skillful judgment, but he still seemed to be overflowing with confidence to perfectly react to any and all kinds of attacks directed at him.

Still, she couldn’t afford to get cold feet here.

Pulling out the stone sword, Lucella kicked off the ground and dashed.

“Haaaaaaahhh!”

She couldn’t use any fancy techniques. She could only swing the sword as strongly and fast as possible.

Shurei simply waited, not budging a bit.

Only four more steps, then three, then two…

“Uwah?!”

There was a sudden blast of scorching heat, or perhaps an explosion.

A violent energy, capable of penetrating through the very core of her bones, slammed into Lucella, causing her to be thrown back with a scream.

—What just happened?… He hasn’t even moved an inch!

She felt intense pain coursing through her body.

Lucella’s porcelain skin was marred with burns, some so severe that the outer layer seemed to be charred.

An ordinary person would have turned into ashes and died instantly in that split second.

“I may have changed the challenge, but I never said it would be easier,” Shurei said, his brown vertical slit pupils similar to Kafal and Lucella, locked onto her.

His gaze pierced through her like a spear, pinning her to the ground, rendering her motionless.

“I am merely standing here. You could try attacking me from behind if you wish. You need no sword skills.”
“Huh…?”

Shurei spoke with a ferocious smile, turning his back slowly in a suggestive manner.

A dragon he may be, he was in human form now. It was supposed to be structurally difficult for his body to react to a rear attack using his sword.

—But since he’s saying that, he’s completely confident that he can deal with it. I really don’t wanna take this bait, but I have to confirm this first!

Lucella charged forward once more.

She approached the back of this elderly man who looked physically human but was nothing like one, getting very close…

But she stopped in her tracks.

“Ugh?!”
“Oh? So you can perceive it better now compared to the initial strike,” Shurei remarked.

It felt as if a dragon enveloped in flames had barely grazed Lucella’s nose before soaring past her.

—Flames…!

Despite being overshadowed by Shurei’s extraordinary energy, Lucella sensed a swirling power surrounding him.

It responded to Shurei’s will, transforming into a blaze that forcefully repelled her.

Those flames were not mere lava, as seen moments ago. They were refined and polished, a much more formidable ‘weapon.’

“I have unleashed and surrounded myself with dragon aura, which cannot be contained in this petty human form,” he proclaimed. “Try breaking through. Yes, I mind not, even if it’s merely a fluke. It should be more feasible than waiting for tomorrow’s sun while submerged in lava.”

His words were tinged with a cheeky and challenging nuance, almost like a joke.

—His expression is saying that he’s not gonna allow any fluke though…

Lucella deemed the possibility of securing a lucky strike from this Dragon King to be as minuscule as a needle’s eye.

Certainly, that hope wasn’t entirely absent, and it might be worth taking a gamble when truly cornered.

However, relying solely on chance from the outset didn’t align with the rational nature of an adventurer manager.

As Lucella attentively observed the situation, a thunderous roar and a gust of wind howled, leaving behind a bone-chilling pressure that rushed past her side.

A straight line of scorched marks remained on the ground.

“If you remain too passive, I will start attacking from my side,” He commented.
“Kh…!”

It seemed that he wasn’t willing to let her take time and ponder on this.

—There must be a reason behind changing the challenge. There should be some kind of way out…!

Lucella assumed a stance, tightly gripping her sword, her eyes fixed on Shurei, determined not to miss a single motion or opening as she launched her attack.

Using her sword as support, Lucella caught her breath, panting heavily.

“Haa, haa…”

“…You can still stand?”

No matter how many attacks she launched, Lucella couldn’t even cross swords with Shurei.

Each strike was effortlessly deflected by the flames, moved by a mere gaze from Shurei. He remained unfazed, standing there motionless.

—I’ve started to grasp the sensation… It should be similar to how the Regalia restrains the power of nature…

I just have to intervene and break up those flames, just like creating the flow of fire with my ‘Pseudo Fire Breath.’

There was progress.

Amidst being repeatedly repelled by the fiery shield guarding Shurei, Lucella began to sense the flow of those flames.

The path to a successful strategy was beginning to reveal itself.

—But I’ve exhausted myself too much… How many times can I repeat this?!

As a trade-off, Lucella was now completely battered.

Despite her efforts to evade direct hits, it wasn’t a simple matter. Her body was covered in burns, scattered throughout.

She made a conscious effort not to dwell on the painful wounds. While she could swiftly initiate natural healing by activating the energy circulation within her body for minor injuries, these wounds were more severe than they seemed.

She was running out of capacity to even register the pain. Her mind felt jolted, as if being shaken, and her limbs were growing weak, losing their strength.

“Father…! Lucella will die at this rate!”
“Oh, are you giving up then?”

As Kafal screamed, unable to bear it any longer, the Blue nobleman immediately interjected. He had a mocking expression, as if it went as he expected.

“I mind not. That would be the end of it. It would simply mean that the human you picked up didn’t amount to anything.”
“I can still go on!” Lucella yelled out.

She felt too fatigued to move her head, but she still looked up at the worried Kafal.

“…Mom, please watch, a bit longer.”
“Lucella…”

It’s okay.
I don’t plan to die.
So, I can still fight.

Shurei, holding his sword loosely, looked at Lucella with a strangely amused expression.

“…Hey, Kafal. Tell me, what can a parent do for the child?”
“Huh…?”

He suddenly called out to Kafal.

The blue dragon incarnations looked quizzical, failing to understand his intentions.

“Children never turn out the way their parents want them to! They end up doing everything you prohibit them to! Not even taking what should have been given to them!”

His words were filled with much emotion.

Shurei’s frustration pent up over his long life could be felt in those short words.

He had revealed all his unsettled indignation, but the next moment his expression softened.

“However, raising a child is by no means an idle task. While they do not grow the way we want them to, they still grow proportional to our effort. And once we have done everything within our power, all that remains is to recognize our child and embrace the results.”

Lucella questioned what she was hearing, but Shurei was deadly serious.

He wasn’t doing this sermon on a whim, but because he judged it to be necessary to do it here and now.

Despite their all-too-long lives, dragons rarely bore children. As such, the act of raising a child was even more significant compared to humans.

“A year… It is but a blink of an eye for us dragons. Even for humans, it is not a very long time. You perhaps wish to keep doting on that one in your nest. However, that has to end.”

Shurei spoke not to Lucella, who was facing him, but to Kafal. Lucella could sense in him the kindness of a father watching over the growth of his daughter.

There were no perfect mothers from the get-go.

Nor was growth a privilege that only children had.
“So believe and entrust everything to her. That is, if you aspire not to be her owner, but her mother,” Shurei paused, and then added. “…Or is it that you are still unable to entrust it fully?”

Lucella saw light blaze up in Kafal’s eyes like the sun rising from the mountain ridge.

“Lucella!”

As she called out her name, the world rumbled.