WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 95: Mermaid (7)
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Dragons were fundamentally independent creatures.
This was partly because they could handle most things on their own, and partly because after living so long, they developed convictions and stubbornness that would never change.
Since an accidental fight could easily wipe out several mountains, they had chosen to live separately to prevent disputes before they began.
Besides, even if they lived together, they would spend most of their time asleep.
Whether they gathered or remained apart, their way of life would not change.
Recently, however, things had changed.
With Arveda’s True Name revealed, the existence of the Dragon Princess became known to Dragonkind.
They learned their race was not walking the path to extinction, and they were overjoyed by the arrival of a Dragon who felt like a granddaughter to them.
“Has Arveda contacted us?”
“No.”
“Should we contact her first? We’ve lived several thousand years longer than her, so we could give her some advice.”
“What if she comes to hate us?”
“...”
After living for so long in a world surrounded by nothing but large, dull Dragons...
A Dragon Princess, a Dragon granddaughter, had appeared. What if that granddaughter came to hate them?
The Dragon Legion could never bear such a future.
Just imagining it was enough to make their tails tremble and their wings quiver!
Worried that contacting her rashly might put the Dragon Princess in a bad mood, not a single dragon in the Dragon Legion fell into a deep sleep, instead they waited for her message.
“This lady hereby orders the Dragon Legion to mobilize in full! Please!”
As though rewarding their long wait, a message finally arrived.
“We got a message!”
“From Arveda?!”
“What did she say?!”
“She said she was giving us an order, but still asked us nicely! How adorable!”
“She wants us all to mobilize? Why? Is the Empire being destroyed?”
“It seems those who wish to destroy the Empire have begun moving. Arveda would be terribly sad if the Empire fell.”
“Our Dragon Princess must not be sad.”
“Of course. Absolutely not.”
Nothing that could make the Dragon Legion’s princess and granddaughter sad could ever be allowed to happen.
Without leaving behind a single Dragon, the Dragon Legion moved to the coordinates Arveda had shared.
“W-Wow...”
“Mom! Dragons!”
“T-There are... that many Dragons?”
Those who witnessed the sight felt both shock and awe.
Countless Dragons flew in a group toward one place.
At the end of their path was a wave large enough to swallow the Empire’s eastern region.
“To think I’d see such a sight in my lifetime.”
“Are the Dragons helping the Empire?”
“Isn’t this all the will of His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince? A nation even Dragons help! That is the Empire!”
“Pray! We have to pray! The Saintess told us to pray at times like this!”
“Let us all pray! For the Great Empire! For His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince!”
The people even forgot they were evacuating and offered their prayers.
For the eternal and indestructible Empire, for the eternal and indestructible flame of the Empire that would never go out.
Men and women, young and old, all believed in the Empire’s eternity. That faith reached the knights racing to erase the wave.
Fwoosh.
“I’m feeling particularly good today. I really like the color of my flames.”
“Me too! Hahahaha! Isn’t it all thanks to His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince’s faith in us?”
Even though the wave steadily drew closer and they could not see its end no matter how high they raised their heads, broad smiles never left the knights’ faces.
His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince, who had parted the sea, believed in them and had entrusted the entire situation to them.
How could they not be happy?
Loyalty surged within them.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Their joy overflowed from their mouths.
There was a shocking truth other nations did not know.
The training that took up the most time for Imperial Knights was not individual training.
“I’m so glad an opponent we can only face by joining forces has appeared!”
“Were all those years of training for this? Does His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince truly see the future?!”
It was thorough group training.
Group tactics for Swordmasters, possible only in an Empire where the minimum requirement to become a knight was to be a Swordmaster.
The Empire’s pillars might vary in shape and pattern.
Yet they all shared the belief that they supported the Empire, so every one of them had quietly undergone group training without complaint.
It was a different path from other nations, which respected the individual traits of their Swordmasters.
The fruits of group training, deeply rooted for a very long time, now shone brightly.
Fwoosh.
The flames of Swordmasters, which normally should never have mixed, merged into one.
Flames of every color gathered together, became pure white fire, and gradually began to compress.
Rumble.
The Imperial Knights continued charging toward the wave.
It was no ordinary wave, but one filled with the power of the Merfolk.
Ordinary knights would have been seized by the fear of death the moment they saw it.
The Imperial Knights were still smiling.
The shadow cast by the enormous wave covered the entire eastern port, making it impossible to tell day from night.
Still, they kicked off the ground and surged forward.
“I am a sword! A blade that protects the Empire!”
They were not afraid.
“Judgment upon the ignorant who do not know the Empire’s greatness!”
They found it laughable.
“Who can withstand the wrath of the sun?!”
Did they truly think something like this could destroy the Empire?
As the flames gathered and compressed to their limit, the knights stood before the wave and each took their own sword stance.
It did not matter if their stances differed. It did not matter if their flames differed.
As long as they shared the belief that judgment would fall upon the irreverent, nothing else mattered.
Kwoooong!
The wave began to fall.
A massive wave approached, creating a storm as it sought to swallow the eastern port.
Ships shook, and buildings threatened to collapse.
Animals screamed and thrashed about, trying to escape even a little farther.
The wave was about to strike Marinapolis, the heart of the eastern region.
Then, at that very moment.
“Great Flame! Witness the miracle we shall create!”
The knights leaped toward the wave.
“Dawn shall come!”
Dawn.
The first light of morning that shattered pitch-black night.
That light shattered the wave that dared to think of harming the Empire.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion rang out, creating a huge cloud of steam.
Whoosh!
The Dragon Legion flew through the steam toward the coordinates of the Kingdom of Corallia.
The Dragon Legion had watched the Imperial Knights from beginning to end.
That was why they did not bother avoiding the wave.
“The humans have shown us what they can do, so we Dragons cannot lose.”
“If we look as impressive as possible, won’t Arveda contact us more often?”
“Quite right.”
The moment the Kingdom of Corallia’s coordinates were identified, the Dragons could have moved there at once through Teleportation.
But they did not.
They wished to conserve even the small amount of Mana required for Teleportation.
After only a brief moment had passed...
“Here it is.”
The Dragon Legion arrived above the Kingdom of Corallia.
“It has been a long time since we all gathered like this.”
“How long has it been since we sang together?”
They began to sing.
+++++
The first wave had to sweep over the Empire’s eastern port.
Only then would despair take hold and make them tremble in fear.
Then, using that opening, they would create an even larger second wave.
It was a simple yet immensely destructive plan.
Who could possibly deal with a wave large enough to swallow the eastern port?
“Now that the Imperial Crown Prince is absent, this is our best chance!”
“The first wave has reached the vicinity of the eastern port. We must create the second wave at once.”
“It is practically ready already. I will launch it immediately.”
Believing the first wave would naturally hit its target, the Merfolk immediately prepared the second wave.
Just as they were about to strike the Empire with it...
♪♩♬
“...?”
“Huh?”
“What is this...?”
They heard a song.
A strange song in a situation where no song should have been heard.
There were no mad Merfolk here who would sing during wartime.
It was reasonable to assume that a song from outside had reached the Kingdom of Corallia.
But that was even more absurd.
“A song can be heard all the way here, where the Merfolk kingdom is? Who? From where? Who is singing this song?!”
Talassa Nereus panicked, and the Merfolk below moved to discover the cause.
There was hardly any need to investigate, because the cause soon revealed itself.
“Your Majesty! A-Above the sea! I-In the sky!”
“What? What is there?!”
“D-Dragons... are there.”
With the sun in their midst, Dragons flew as though circling its center while singing.
No one who saw them thought the Dragons were blessing them.
They could not understand the melody reaching their ears or the lyrics.
Yet the emotion behind them came through clearly.
“Why are the Dragons...”
“Angry...?”
The Dragons were angry.
The Merfolk did not know why.
Why the Dragons were singing in anger.
Why powerful Mana was gathering beneath the sun along with their song.
No one could explain the situation.
“...A song of ruin.”
One of the ministers muttered as they listened to the Dragon Legion’s song.
A song of ruin could be heard.
Ruin itself was singing.
“Use every possible means to stop that song! We must stop it!”
Talassa Nereus struggled desperately.
The Merfolk sprang into action, struggling with all their might.
Then, above their frantic movements...
Rumble.
The breath of the Dragon Legion pierced through the sea and descended.
Footnotes:
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