BSS 90

Chapter 90

Maybe when God was creating me, He got really sleepy while adjusting my luck.

And maybe, by mistake, He poured in far too much misfortune.

BOOM!

What had been a chandelier right before my eyes crashed down, losing its shape and shattering into pieces.

The collapsing ceiling had turned into a natural disaster threatening our lives.

Undine? No—this wasn’t something Undine could handle.

“Undine! Water Shield!”

Fwoooom.

Undine alone couldn’t cover something on this scale.

The summoned Undine’s body spread out in an instant, expanding in all directions to form a rippling barrier of water.

Chunks of falling stone bounced off the shield with dull thuds, and each impact made the barrier sway violently.

It had been deployed hastily and made much larger than usual, so its defensive power was clearly reduced.

It could stop falling rubble, but anything more than that would be impossible.

If the dragon so much as flicked a finger, it would be torn apart effortlessly.

Still, within the shield’s range were Emperor Dikel III—
and, unintentionally, the emperor himself as well.

“Gyaaah!”

“S‑Save me!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

Unfortunately, several people outside the shield were crushed by the collapsing ceiling and screamed in agony, but no one had the leeway to help them.

The nobles who were farther away simply shrieked and fled the hall in droves.

The knights drew their swords and surrounded the emperor, but such things were meaningless before a dragon.

I ran through the nobles crouched on the floor clutching their heads and rushed toward the king.

“Your Majesty!”

I called out urgently, but given the circumstances, the king looked a bit stunned.

Still, compared to those who had wet themselves or were sobbing uncontrollably, he maintained a proper measure of royal dignity.

“We must escape!”

“Good heavens…”

Following his gaze upward, I saw a dragon staring straight down at us through the shattered ceiling.

My mouth fell open, and a groan escaped me.

“…That thing is insanely huge.”

I knew this was a world full of bizarre things, but dragons?
Even staring directly at one, I could hardly believe it.

Its two enormous golden eyes sent chills down my spine, and the sheer size of the claws tearing through the ceiling made me feel sick.

Honestly, I’d had a strange kind of confidence.

The ridiculous confidence that there couldn’t possibly be any more trials left in my life.

I’d already suffered more than enough misfortune, or so I thought.

Who could’ve imagined that I’d encounter a dragon—
one that appeared in the human world once every five hundred years to wreak havoc—
and on my very first debut party, of all times?!

How bad can it get?!

You insane god! Is there no such thing as balance adjustments?!

[Who is the emperor?]

The dragon asked, its face protruding through the ceiling.

No one moved.

It was as obvious as breathing that moving meant death.

The way the dragon conveyed its words through sheer will was somewhat similar to Rai’s—
though far more grand and oppressive.

All the nobles’ gazes instantly turned toward the emperor.

“I am the emperor of this empire, O great dragon!”

There was no helping it. The emperor, who stood above all others, knelt down and bowed his head.

The nobles followed suit, dropping to their knees en masse.

The knights lowered their swords. Dikel III did the same, so I quietly knelt as well.

This wasn’t the time to act rashly, so I dismissed Undine. The shield vanished.

Since this was no time for tricks, I also unsummoned Undine that had been restraining Ratshamu.

Everyone present was probably thinking the same thing:

Why is a dragon here?

Once it knew who the emperor was, the dragon got straight to the point.

[Bring me jewels. Enough to fill this hall.]

“J‑Jewels, you say…?”

[And hand over all the mithril you possess.]

Enough jewels to fill the hall? And mithril too?

“G‑Great dragon! Even if we empty every vault we have, we cannot gather that many jewels! Please, show mercy—!”

[That is not my problem. Bring everything!]

The emperor seemed to attempt negotiation, but a dragon was a dragon for a reason.

The greatest lifeform of the Middle Realm, the being closest to a god—
the ultimate apex predator and tyrant of this land.

Its accumulated power and wisdom over countless ages were beyond comparison.

In short, an absolutely lawless bully.

I’d heard that gold dragons were relatively gentle, wise, and benevolent…
but that didn’t seem to be the case here.

“Please show mercy! If we give up everything… we will be destroyed by our rival nations!”

[There is no need to worry. I am on my way back from dealing with them.]

Ah. The dragon was out collecting taxes.

Dragons were famous for their obsession with jewels, piling them up like mountains in their lairs.

And where did all those jewels come from?

This—this was how.

But why mithril? That wasn’t a jewel; it was a weapon material.

“Guards! Bring the jewels! All of them! The mithril too!”

Realizing that further negotiation was both futile and dangerous, the emperor issued orders immediately.

I glanced at him.

Compared to when I’d first seen him, he looked utterly frail.

Before a dragon, even an emperor’s crown was no more than a bell on a cat’s neck—

a noisy, pointless ornament that merely drew attention.

Under an overwhelming being that ignored human laws, human authority amounted to nothing more than that.

This is bad.

We’d been lying face‑down like dead mice for nearly an hour now.

As time passed, it felt increasingly unlikely that we’d survive.

No matter how many jewels they gathered, filling this enormous hall seemed impossible.
And the dragon’s patience was clearly running out.

You’ve lived ten thousand years, and you can’t endure this?
What a nasty temper.

[Not enough!]

“I apologize! We cannot fill it immediately, but if you would grant us time—!”

[Grrrrrrr.]

The dragon rumbled its throat impatiently, and several nobles collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Most people were too afraid to even sob, terrified of provoking its anger.

Those of us who had survived the falling ceiling inside the shield were now trapped beneath the dragon’s shadow instead.

Cold sweat began to run down my back.

Just its presence alone was overwhelming.

[Rai, can you beat a dragon?]

[Huh?! Master, are you insane?! What kind of ridiculous question is that—!]

Yeah. I was insane. I’d asked on the off chance, but impossible was still impossible.

A knight rushed in and whispered something into the emperor’s ear.
Whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t good news—the emperor’s face turned pale.

He threw himself flat on the ground, desperately trying to placate the dragon.

“O great dragon. This is everything we possess! We offer it all—please forgive us!”

The pile of jewels and mithril prepared was enormous by human standards.

A testament to the empire’s vast wealth.

But compared to the size of the hall, it was pitifully small.

And utterly insufficient for the dragon.

[You made me wait all this time… and this is everything?! I flew all the way to this empire for this?! This?!]

“Please believe us! We gathered everything we could!”

[Lies! You are hiding the rest!]

“No, we are not!”

The enraged dragon swung its massive tail violently.

One hit from that thing would turn someone into pulp.

[Still nowhere near full! Humans can’t be reasoned with using words!]

The dragon opened its enormous jaws wide.

Light began to gather inside—
a deep, concentrated golden glow.

“Gods above!”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

I knew what it was.

Breath.

A dragon’s strongest weapon.

More destructive than an eighth‑class human spell.
One of the five great weapons capable of annihilating a continent.

[I will ask one last time… Will you hand over everything you have hidden?]

“Please… please! That is truly everything!”

[Humans are liars. I’d sooner trust a snake than you.]

Despite the emperor’s desperate pleas, the dragon showed no hesitation, ready to unleash the condensed power in its maw.

The emperor’s face was blank with despair.

So were everyone else’s.

Dikel III quietly closed his eyes.

Even a Sword Master was useless in a situation like this.

Only magic could stop magic.

Judging by the mana vortex, the attack would be powerful enough to erase everyone here.

Not kill—erase.

No matter how I thought about it, I was the only one who could step forward.

I didn’t want to.
But it had to be me.

I needed to survive, too.

I refuse to die like this.

I had to live.
Protect the king—and, irritating as they were, all these nobles too.

There was no time left to think.

The dragon was about to fire its breath.

At the moment I felt it about to erupt, I screamed in desperation.

“Rai!”

[Yes, Master!]

“Stop it!”

The instant I shouted, Rai left my wrist and hurled itself into the air.