Chapter 28: For Her, I Am Willing to Forge Ahead

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“Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear.”

Hirona was somewhat embarrassed by Lind’s decisive refusal.

“No, I understand you perfectly.”

Lind raised his head and gazed toward the sky.

The horizon at dusk always possessed a special kind of romance.

The moon took up the authority of the sun. Night and day, the rest indispensable to life and the light indispensable to life, merged together in this moment.

Simply watching the sunset glow reflected in both sun and moon was enough to fill one’s heart with joy.

Time truly was a wondrous thing…

“That Red Dragon will soon be able to break through to the seventh rank,” Lind said.

“It doesn’t matter if it grows stronger. We can just develop for a little longer and become stronger than it.”

“You may not understand what I mean. The Red Dragon is not important. What matters is dragons.”

Lind stared into Hirona’s eyes.

“You’ve misunderstood, Hirona. Our ultimate goal is not to defeat the Red Dragon. Our ultimate goal is to defeat the entire class of dragons it represents.”

“Only by overcoming the strong despite our weakness, and uniting the dragons of the lower ranks to rebel against the lords represented by the Red Dragon, can the dragons of this world straighten their spines.

“If only the few of us defeat the Red Dragon, without the others taking part in it at all, then in the eyes of the dragons oppressed at the bottom, all that has happened is that their oppressor has been replaced.”

Hearing Lind’s words, Hirona’s mouth fell slightly open, and she hurriedly retorted, “No, no, no! How could we become the next Red Dragon? We would certainly treat them well. We definitely wouldn’t demand tribute or anything like that.”

“If a dragon is accustomed to offering tribute in exchange for its life, and you suddenly tell it that you do not want tribute, then what exactly do you think it will assume you want? You should be able to imagine the answer.”

Hirona fell silent.

Sensing the Butterfly Dragon’s silence, Lind did not dwell on the subject. Instead, he changed the topic.

“Actually, one important reason I insist on acting now is Victoria.”

That did not surprise Hirona. She mocked herself with a bitter smile.

“Because the two of you have a good relationship, and your goals align. Unlike me.”

“The fact that you can say something like that means we still need to understand each other better in the future.” Lind sighed softly.

“To me, Victoria is the Morning Star in the night sky, and my savior—my benefactor dragon. Without her, I would not even have the right to stand here. I would already have become a little biscuit in the mouth of a black bear.”

“To some extent, her goal is my goal, and her wish is my wish. Er, how should I put it? It’s somewhat like repaying a debt with my life, but I absolutely do not mean it that way.”

As Lind said this, his eyes secretly drifted toward Victoria.

When he saw that she was not looking at him, he continued in an unhurried voice.

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“That silly dragon wants to become the greatest treasure hunter in the world. For that, she needs a clever compass to guide her.”

“A treasure hunter will not shrink back simply because a treasure is guarded by an evil dragon, and her compass will not change direction because of the evil dragon and deceive its hunter.”

“Victoria is the same to me. The only difference is that, when she serves as a compass, she cannot tell which way is north.”

Even at a moment like this, Lind did not forget to take a jab at the young dragon.

“Her needle simply points stupidly in one direction. Even if there is a huge boulder ahead, she stubbornly refuses to change course, and she’ll say to me—

‘Don’t be afraid. It’s only a smelly rock. Come on, brave hunter, smash it with your head! There must be treasure behind it.’”

Lind’s tone and expression were so vividly imitative that he truly looked like an idiot.

Hirona could not contain her laughter and covered her beak with one wing.

After all, over the past few days, she had seen Victoria crack open more than one melon with her head.

The girl really was capable of saying such things.

For a while, the air was filled with cheerful laughter.

“So, as a treasure hunter in training, with my loyal compass already pointing the way, how could I hesitate?”

“Besides, I promised her that if we succeeded in claiming the treasure this time, I would become a treasure hunter together with her.”

“It will be difficult, but no matter how hard it is, how could a man retreat in front of a girl who admires him? What kind of man would that make me?”

“For her, I am willing to forge ahead through every hardship.”

The setting sun sank behind the mountains, casting the last ray of its lingering light upon the world across Lind’s profile and bathing him in a brilliant red glow.

Hirona stared blankly at that handsome, spirited face.

The natural interplay of light and shadow only heightened the man’s charm.

Some seed that had already been planted within her heart stirred faintly.

The breeze slowly lifted the hem of Lind’s clothes.

After a long pause, he continued.

“Because she is worth it, just as she once conveyed to me, in those words: ‘You are worth it.’”

Overcome by his feelings, Lind turned toward Victoria, who was some distance away, lying in the fields with her head buried in a book, and called out, “It’s getting dark! Come inside to write. There’s a lamp indoors. Don’t ruin your eyes!”

Perhaps she was too engrossed in her work to hear him. She did not move an inch. Instead, she tilted her head and casually stole a bite of one of the green onions he had planted.

Now Lind understood.

Right. I know why you refuse to come inside.

The emotion he had built up was abruptly strangled, replaced by murderous intent.

Just try touching another one of my not-yet-grown onions!

Before going to discipline that gluttonous young dragon, he still had a few final words for the Butterfly Dragon.

“You’ve been oppressed for so long. Are you truly content to submit meekly, without a single complaint?”

“Think back to when I cut down that tree and smashed your amber. Take out that anger and fury of yours. Become an angry little bird!”

“We can escape, but countless other dragons have nowhere to flee. What happens when we discover that there is nowhere left to run, and all the dragons willing to help us have died?”

“I will not say anything like this again. Think it over carefully yourself.”

“See you around.”

After uttering those final two words, Lind snatched up the shovel leaning beside the front door and ran straight toward Victoria.

The young dragon’s ears twitched. Her gemstone sense activated, detecting murderous intent.

She glanced sideways and saw a red-eyed young human charging toward her.

Terrified, she did not even have time to put away her World Book. She turned and fled, shouting as she ran, “Lind, you’re getting stingier and stingier! You weren’t like this before!”

“Those onions haven’t even finished growing, and you’ve already bitten into them! How can you still have the nerve to complain?”

“I still have half of it in my mouth. If you want it back, I’ll return it to you—blegh…”

“Drop dead!”

Bang!

The crisp sound of a blow to the head brought everything to an end.

…

…

…

After flying around for a while and finally figuring things out, Hirona returned to the little house. There she found Victoria standing outside against the wall, facing it in punishment.

Combining that with the scene before she had left, Hirona had little difficulty guessing the final outcome.

When she stood beside the young dragon, she discovered that Victoria had her forehead pressed against the wall and her eyes tightly shut.

So she was not reflecting on her mistake at all. She had simply fallen asleep while standing.

Hirona sighed and poked Victoria with a claw, intending to exchange a few words.

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