The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Central District of the Dragon Capital.

A room in a certain mansion.

"Listen, boss. I ain't angry, I'm asking questions. Answer them properly, will ya?"

In a dimly lit room where the lights were off and only light filtering through closed curtains served as illumination, a young man bared his sharp teeth.

At the end of his gaze, a man with a splendid chin beard was pale-faced. Although he was sweating profusely, his expression showed no sign of being flustered.

He carefully chose his words, trying not to offend the man's mood.

"...I sincerely apologize for the recent incident. I misunderstood that the goal was to dispose of the Dragon Princess."

"I told ya, I don't need excuses. I'm asking if you understand properly. If the Dragon Princess had died there, the plan would've been ruined. You have no idea how grateful I am to the adventurers who saved her."

"Of course. I am utterly ashamed to have caused you such concern."

"Tch. It's that way of talking you nobles have that pisses me off. ...Well, whatever. So, do you know when the delivery will arrive?"

"Of course. According to the schedule, it should arrive here by today."

"Good. I don't like that it's that lizard bastard transporting it, but there seem to be some people snooping around, so it's better if things go smoothly."

Faced with the man who seemed inexplicably displeased despite the plan being on track, the noble—Berlander—was puzzled.

"Snooping around us, you say?"

"Huh? You haven't noticed, boss? There's talk that the Guild Master of the Adventurers' Association and some weird trading company called the Luney Trading Company are investigating noble-related matters in this country."

"...Why? At least, I don't think I've made any blunders that would attract attention."

"The Adventurers' Guild probably picked up on the trap set for the Dragon Princess. You revealed the carefully hidden trap, you idiot. I don't know much about the trading company, but I hear they're investigating this area randomly, not just you."

Berlander felt his spine stiffen.

The Guild Master could be dealt with in the worst case. The Adventurers' Association is an independent organization that doesn't bow to national power, but if they're investigating alone, he could get to those conducting the investigation.

However, the Luney Trading Company was too much of an unknown. All he knew was that it was a trading company from the Mataisa Kingdom and that they did extensive business. He thought it might be just a coincidence, but... he couldn't let his guard down.

"Then, I will tell our collaborators to be extremely cautious."

"Also, about a separate matter, someone's been in contact with the Dragon Princess while I was away. She's preciously hanging an accessory I don't recognize."

"What!?"

This time, Berlander's eyes widened in shock.

Since returning from the dungeon, the Dragon Princess had been even more reluctant to go outside than before. She still seemed to trust Berlander and the others, so it didn't seem like she had realized she had been trapped, but perhaps because she had a scary experience, she never allowed herself to be alone. Even for baths and toilets, she had servants waiting nearby.

Of course, he had no recollection of giving her any accessories.

"An... an intruder in my mansion?"

"Who knows. That's for you to investigate yourself. Well, it doesn't seem to be affecting the Dragon Princess's behavior much, so I think it's fine to leave it be. More importantly, proceed with the plan as scheduled. The common people, the Elves, that lizard bastard... we've finally got all the pieces in place. If you fail now, your future will be pitch black, you know?"

"O-Of course..."

Berlander gulped.

The man in front of him left the room as soon as he had said what he wanted to say.

As if strolling through his own mansion, with a face that seemed to take it for granted.

"...Failure is not an option."

Berlander knew his place.

He was an important noble for this country. But unlike the ducal families, he was ultimately a replaceable existence. By cooperating with that man, he had been allowed to suck sweet honey, but if this plan failed, it was clear that he would fall from grace both as a noble and as a citizen.

This country is ruled by the Dragon King.

Humans are merely convenient cogs in the machine.

"May the Dragon King's protection be upon us."

Berlander quietly prayed for the success of the plan in the dark room.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

That night, Seori was absentmindedly staring at the ceiling on her bed.

Since returning from the dungeon, she hadn't felt any signs of hostility or malice that Ruruk had warned about. Everyone was kind as always and listened to her various whims.

Surely that trap was a coincidence. The guard soldier probably accidentally triggered the trap the moment he touched the wall. There was no reason for Ruruk to lie, but there was a possibility he had misunderstood.

That must be it.

"...I'm not being targeted or anything."

While Seori thought this strongly, she was unaware that she had unconsciously developed a habit of touching the item box under her clothes over the past few days.

A faint anxiety was always smoldering at the edge of her mind.

"Damn that Great King. How dare he make me, make me feel like this..."

She likes humans.

But she hates Ruruk.

"It's not fair, he's the only one having fun..."

He took Saaya and the others to the Elven village.

Thanks to the subordination mark, she could now sense Ruruk if she focused. She could feel his general location and emotions.

That insensitive master of hers always seemed to be having fun. Not knowing how she felt.

It made her angry. It made her feel uneasy.

"Ugh! This! This! This!"

She grabbed a pillow and slammed it on the bed.

She knew she was taking out her frustrations, but if she didn't, she felt like she might start screaming.

As Seori was relieving her stress like this, there was a knock at the door.

It was too early to sleep, but it was getting late.

Who could it be at this hour?

"Ahem... My subject. How fares my miniature garden?"

"Princess, excuse me for the late hour."

The one who entered was a familiar young man with emerald-green hair.

Although he looked like a gentle human youth, his true form was a dragon species, just like Seori. He had been guarding and keeping Seori company since she was young.

When Seori realized the visitor was a familiar fellow dragon, she took her usual pose of covering her face with her hand.

"My subject Riseto. What has the deep dark night, blind to the eye, whispered to you?"

"I'm glad to see you're well, Princess. I have something I'd like to discuss with you about tomorrow."

Riseto entered the room with a familiar manner and sat down on a chair.

He was one of the Dragon King's retainers and had been Seori's caretaker since long ago, like an older brother figure. She hadn't seen him much around the mansion recently, so it felt like it had been a while.

Seori pushed thoughts of her master out of her mind and faced Riseto.

"Hmph, very well. The darkness only shows a dark guidance..."

"Thank you. About tomorrow's schedule, would you like to go hunting in the eastern forest? I thought it might be time for the Dragon King to hear a report on the Princess's hunting progress."

"...Hunting..."

To be honest, she felt a little uneasy.

It was because of Ruruk's warning that flashed through her mind, even though she didn't like it. She really didn't like it.

Riseto slightly narrowed his eyes.

"I heard from Berlander that you haven't even gone out to the garden in the past few days. I understand your feelings after having a scary experience in the dungeon, but let's show your pride as the strongest species by hunting monsters occasionally."

"...But darkness avoids light."

"I'll accompany you, so please don't worry. Surely there's no one stronger than me in this Dragon Capital—no, even on the continent—except for dragon species. Only the Dragon King can command me."

Riseto said confidently, trying to reassure her.

Indeed, Riseto possessed considerable strength as a vassal of the Dragon King. He probably wouldn't lose to monsters or ordinary humans.

...But.

Seori imagined a future where Riseto and Ruruk fought, and shook her head.

She couldn't imagine Riseto winning against Ruruk. She could understand this intuitively because she had become Ruruk's subordinate. That guy was an extraordinary existence like her father.

No matter how high-ranking an individual of the strongest species he was, she couldn't imagine him winning against that guy.

However, Riseto was more than capable enough for hunting. There was nothing to complain about.

With that in mind, Seori nodded.

"Let us show our radiance to the ignorant humans. Riseto, burn the pinnacle of my conquering path into your eyes."

"Understood. Then, I will come to escort you tomorrow morning."

"Hmph, my blood boils..."

She gazed out the window (although it was pitch dark) and struck a pose.

Riseto was used to this and lightly ignored it, then left the room.

"Hunting, huh..."

As Seori pretended to gaze at the cloudy, invisible night sky, she suddenly thought.

...I wonder if I can return to dragon form after so long?

□ □ □ □ □

I noticed their conversation when we were eating dinner at a tavern in the next town.

Since we had completely lost track of the Elven children, we decided to split up with Mererosu.

At the very least, we hadn't found them by going straight down this road, so it's unlikely they were simply taken to the Dragon Capital. We decided that we would search for the children in the Dragon Capital, while Mererosu would search in this area.

In the evening, after escorting Mererosu to the entrance of the Demon Tree Forest, we came back here.

As I was thinking about our future plans while watching my companions fight over the steak I had ordered, a conversation between some drunk people caught my ear and made me stop.

"Geez, I wish the Dragon Princess would give it a rest already."

"Yeah, yeah. First Almiraj, and now it's moonflowers? What are moonflowers even used for?"

"They're only used for holy water, right? Is the Dragon Princess planning to dive into a dungeon and defeat some undead?"

"Yeah. At the very least, it's not something you'd be satisfied just looking at."

I immediately stood up and approached them.

"Excuse me. Could I ask you a bit more about that story?"

"What is it, boy?"

"Huh?"

"I'll treat you to a drink as thanks."

"You got it, kid. Ask us anything."

"Yeah!"

For some reason, they reminded me of a trio of drunkards.

The information I got from them in exchange for the drink was just as I had suspected.

This morning, an edict came from the Dragon Capital ordering each household to deliver five moonflowers.

Moonflowers only grow in beautiful waterside areas, so they can't be found at all near the Dragon Capital. Of course, since they only grow in places where monsters appear, even medicinal herb farmers can't produce many.

Naturally, it seems that quest requests have concentrated on this again.

These drunkards were complaining because it seemed unlikely they could secure adventurers to accept the request.

I thanked them and returned to my seat.

"Another troublesome matter?"

"Yeah. Or rather, I'm starting to have doubts."

To begin with.

When we passed through Bargia about a month ago, we were told that the Dragon Princess had gone mad over the Almiraj incident, but after meeting the actual Dragon Princess, I thought:

Would she really want something like that?

I should have asked her directly, but I thought it wasn't important and let it slide.

But this latest incident has deepened my doubts considerably.

"Maybe we should check when we get back to the Dragon Capital."

The chuunibyou appearance and the Dragon Princess who wants materials.

No matter how you look at it, the real image and the virtual image don't match at all.

The trap in the dungeon.

The missing Elven children.

The Dragon Princess going mad.

Nobles working behind the scenes.

I don't know how it all connects, but at least this much I can say.

I want to avoid getting involved as much as possible.

But Seori is now my subordinate.

Whoever it is, if they intend to lay a hand on my subordinate, I have no intention of showing mercy.