Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 6 Prologue

Prologue

The continent of Ark Strada. Looking down towards it from the sky; It was shaped like a dragon spreading its wings; On it were five forces that were kept in balance.

I The dragon’s wing ~ Holy Espada Agency.

II The dragon’s body ~ Chevron Kingdom.

III The dragon’s jaw ~ Zepharos Empire.

IV The dragon’s tail ~ Labrock Trade Union.

Also,

V The dragon’s heart ~ Lautreamont Knight Country

Part 1

As if it was trying to avoid any humans, a four-wheeled vehicle drawn by Asia also known as the dragon carriage that was famous in Lautreamont Knight Country had arrived at the rear gate.

“Get in the carriage! Quick! I warn you, the journey till Ansarivan will be guarded by Mounties. You better not try anything funny.”

A soldier was urging Anya with a stern tone. He wanted to send her off as soon as possible. Her opponent was just a mere soldier of the Knight Country. The normal Anya would've chosen to settle it by swinging her whip. Since her handcuffs had been removed and there were only four soldiers, they were like logs to Anya who had mastered the use of a whip.

“…I understand.”

Anya tried to resist the urge. Right now, Anya didn't even have the right to resist. She, who was caught as a terrorist would normally undergo harsh interrogations to force out information from her and after everything was over, would be sent to the gallows. Lautreamont Knight Country which placed an emphasis on the codes of knights had highly developed sets of laws. However, the way they treated terrorists was no different from the other countries. Anya had prepared herself mentally while she was in the cold cell. But she was deeply shaken when she saw the face of the first man who visited her. That man had the same face as Milgauss that Anya swore her loyalty too.

-Julius Lautreamont.

That was his name.

Part 2

After that, the treatment that she received changed drastically. First, she was released from the dungeon and was relocated to the guest room of the castle. The person in charge of watching her was Avdocha the Convicted, the person responsible for capturing Anya. Anya wondered if Avdocha was confident in her skill since she did had Anya’s handcuff removed. No, rather than saying watching over her, Avdocha had always treated her gently. But Anya could never bring herself to ask her why. Later, Veronica Lautreamont, the Iron Blood Valkyrie pleaded in her stead in the judicial department and thus Anya had escaped death. She had gone through surprisingly mild interrogations for a span of two months. For Anya who had been living in the mountains, the relaxing lifestyle in the castle was like heaven. Her interrogations with Avdocha gave her the deepest impression since she usually asked non related questions. In the end, the student restaurant, La Tene's manager bailed her out.

The problem was, Anya could never gain the trust of her people if she returned to her village because of her easy release. Everyone would be suspicious about the judicial department’s decision or at worst they would take her as a spy from the knights.

If that’s the case, isn't it better to cut ties with your home. Furthermore, the manager had offered you a second life that is far better. Those were the words told to her by Avdocha. Though she missed her home, Avdocha's eyes and the manager’s smile helped her made up her mind.

“There are still many things about Avdocha that I want to know about.”

Anya mumbled while she walked towards the dragon carriage.

“… Anya, you had forgotten something.”

At that moment, she heard a familiar voice coming from behind. A young man was standing in front of her when she turned around. His hair was silver with a tuff of red hair within it and he was wearing a mask that had his entire face covered.

“Milgauss-sama… No, Jul- Urgg…”

Anya was shocked when her checks were being grabbed.

“… That name is a taboo in this castle. Do you understand?

Julius whispered into her ear and let go of his hand after she nodded.

“Erm… Why would you come here on purpose to see me off…?”

“Since it is either the Paladin or I who had the most free time in the entire castle, Avdocha wanted me to pass this to you.”

Julius smiled and handed her a bag. It was a smile that she had never seen Milgauss doing.

“Can I open it now?”

“Sure.”

Anya took out the thing from the bag gently.

“This is…!”

She gasped. It was the muffler with red and yellow stripes that she had worn since she was born.

“Isn't this an important item from your hometown?”

Anya was almost in tears while she buried her face into the soft cloth.

“But it is alright for me to take it? Since I had cut ties with…”

“That is the reason why you should. For me who once left behind my home and had wandered around in the Empire… In the end, I had return for a certain reason. It isn't easy to forget about our home.”

“Thank you very much.”

Anya put on her muffler. It felt as if a burden was lifted once she knew that she didn't have to forget about her hometown. At that instant, Anya thought of a question. She then mustered all her courage and asked since she had a feeling that he won’t be able to meet with Julius again.

“Erm… Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes?”

“Is the Milgauss-sama whom I respect no longer in your body?”

“Aah. That seems to be the case. It… Mordred had left my body. Mordred should be wandering around the world in her spirit form right now.”

“To me, I still couldn't bring myself to believe that Milgauss-sama is an evil dragon…”

“I am the one who was actually surprised that Mordred took you in as its right hand man.”

“That fellow always bears the urge to destroy as the Nehalennia's dark dragons’ king. But she had always treated you gently. She definitely never sees you as a pawn. She probably saw its reflection in you that you became an orphan because of the tribal wars “

Julius eyes were staring afar blankly under the mask.

“That is why Mordred appointed you as the leader of the Tantalos. Mordred had deceived many people like the Count of the Vandenhaar borders for her own purposes but she was only nice to you. But, it is fate that the ending turned out this way.”

“Thank you. When I was still in prison… My mind was in a total mess when you first showed up. But, thanks to that, I realized that the person that I swore loyalty to isn't you, but Milgauss-sama…”

“As that feller’s ex-master, I would like to thank you. Thanks to you, she never had to be lonely.”

“…Over there, what are you doing! Can’t you be quick!”

Julius shut his mouth after the soldier shouted.

“It is almost time. I now thank you for all those times.”

“You shouldn't thank me but Ash-kun.”

Whit that, Julius smiled.

“Erm… What are you planning to do after this?”

Milgauss replied her with a wry smile.

“Now you are asking two questions.”

“S-Sorry.”

Anya was blushing.

“About that… I shouldn't stay any longer in this castle. I think I would probably take a vacation. Veronica did suggest that I take up teaching in the dragon riding academy but she did mentioned that she will burn my face to avoid recognition.”

“Huhu, I can imagine that.”

Anya met Veronica a few times during the interrogation and knew what kind of a person is the Iron Blood Valkyrie. After their laugh together, Anya stared at Milgauss's face once again.

“Please do take care.”

“Aah. Good luck to you too.”

After a bow, Anya entered the carriage. After a roar, the dragon carriage departed followed by the Mounties. Anya mumbled when she felt her chair shake:

“I wonder what Avdocha is doing right now…”

Part 3

Though the weather was still warm, the cool breeze bore the sign of fall. A handsome looking young nobleman with a ponytail allowed his fringes to sway along with the winds. He was wearing the dragon riding academy’s uniform with slightly altered designs that was to the liking of the nobles. The nobleman was lying on top of a hill with the view of the entire academic city, Ansarivan in front of him. Right beside him laid a dragon that was enjoying the sun. The Maestro looked majestic and scary at the same time. It had topaz coloured eyes, ram like horns and its fur was black.

Taking a closer look, the third eye on its forehead was actually a black crystal placed at the middle of its forehead. On a first glance, it was as glaring to the eyes as a drop of black ink on a piece of drawing.

“Hey! Oscar!”

At that instant, a girl wearing maid attire appeared with a grumpy looking face. Her silver coloured ponytail was swinging around as she was climbing up the hill. Her maid attire was full of black coloured accessories. It bore a different concept compare to the rest of the maid attires where its colour was a total black. And the short skirt gave her a lively impression. But the most important feature on this maid was not her black dress or her silver ponytail. It was the eye patch on her left eye. Because of that, it brought out a different kind of beauty from her.

“Take it, this is the information that you asked for.”

Her rude tone didn't make her sound like a maid.

“Thanks for the hard work, Celes.”

After he took the documents, the nobleman called Oscar started flipping through it.

“…Hmm. So Zacharias had his eyes on Eco now? He probably knew that she is the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons' emperor family.”

“Though he may be old, he is still the king of Chevron. You better not look down on that old chap’s information network.”

Oscar continued reading the documents without answering Celes.

“Huhu, so Uriel had begun to make his move. Recently, I had heard rumours about him getting his hands on Lautreamont's royal family’s second daughter.”

“In our country, that rumour had caused a huge uproar, since that was the first time Uriel announced that he had a girlfriend. Some of the nobleman’s daughters even blasted that Uriel was deceived by a bitch.”

“Huhu. Whatever it may be, nothing can be done since their opponent is Diabolic Belladonna, Cassandra Lautreamont. In among the four Lautreamont sisters… In among the authentic gemstones, she is the one who stood out. In another words, she is a witch.”

“That being said, knowing Uriel’s personality, he is never Cassandra’s pet. On the other hand, I don’t think he had the intention of handing over Avalon’s daughter over to Zacherias.”

“However, Celes, even I wouldn't hand Eco over to either Zacherias or Uriel."

Oscar stood up and patted his dragon.

“Eco’s awakening had given the entire world a shock. From today onwards… Even I can’t predict what is gonna happen.”

Though his words may sound serious, Oscar was smiling the entire time.

“Nevertheless, I had Tristan my best Pal. Would you stay with me even if I had to become my father and brother’s enemy?”

Maestro Tristan gave a loud roar.

“Celes, would you also stay by my side?”

Unfortunately, Celes wasn't as motivated as Tristan. She shook her ponytail and turned her head aside.

“Hey, that isn't good enough, you know… Celes.”

Celes while still looking aside, mumbled in a rotten mood:

“As fellow outcast, I will think about it.”

“That’s better.”

Oscar gave a wry smile and hopped onto Tristan. Since there was no saddle that could fit Tristan’s huge body, Oscar had to stand on its head while riding. The black crystal on Tristan’s head glimmered. Oscar then shouted towards the clear blue sky:

“I, Oscar Brailsford shall be the man who will become Chevron’s king!”

"Dawn of The New Chapter ~A.S.B.1365.9~" is closed.

References and Translation Notes

Back to Illustrations

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 1