Have you ever seen a dragon bow its head before a human?
Of course, Kain had seen it many times before his regression.
He had driven them into agony with strength powerful enough to tear dragons apart.
‘But I didn’t expect him to submit this easily just because I called myself the Prophet.’
Kain knew roughly what the Prophet was.
Even in his original timeline, there had been a prophecy circulating about someone who would save the dragons from destruction.
‘That’s why the Lord destroyed the Kingdom of Asel after the Prophet’s Eye was lost.’
In his previous life, Arkadion awakened from his slumber and learned that Bernatus had been subjugated by a knight order and that the relic had disappeared as well.
After tracking it down, he discovered that the relic was in the Kingdom of Asel.
And eventually.
‘He ordered a Red Dragon to burn the entire kingdom to the ground.’
To commit such madness just because he had lost a single relic.
Kain could never forgive him.
His mother had died because of that bastard.
‘This time, I’ll protect Mother no matter what.’
That was why he was pretending to be the Prophet.
Even dragons couldn’t treat the Prophet carelessly.
“Bernatus. A subjugation force will arrive soon.”
[A subjugation force... you say?]
“A group known as the Dmitri Knight Order. They’re quite capable Sword Masters, and they’ll come here to kill you.”
[Sword Masters...!]
Judging from his reaction, Bernatus seemed to know.
He knew just how powerful Sword Masters were.
“You’ll die to them.”
That was the truth.
Kain didn’t even need the Prophet’s Eye to know it.
It had already happened before his regression.
“But don’t worry. I can save you.”
[R-really?]
Kain extended a hand toward the dragon.
“Enter into a Subordination Contract with me. If you do, I shall look after you.”
Bernatus blinked at the words Subordination Contract.
Prophet or not, Kain looked like a human.
How could it possibly be reasonable for a dragon to enter into a contract that placed him beneath a human?
A dragon stood at the very top of the food chain.
[W-well, entering into a contract immediately is somewhat....]
“So what do you want to do?”
[How about this instead? I shall first confirm whether this human knight order truly comes. After that, we can enter into the Subordination Contract....]
“You doubt me.”
[Eek! N-no, I do not. I’m not doubting you, Prophet... I simply need certainty....]
“I’ll believe you. If you pay a price.”
[A price...?]
Kain slowly looked over the treasures behind the dragon.
“Something you treasure will be the price. Give me your treasure. Then I’ll believe you.”
Bernatus’s eyes widened, but in the end, he had no choice but to nod.
‘Good. The line has been cast.’
Kain looked down at the bowing dragon.
A cowardly, naive 1,200-year-old brat who could be led around by nothing more than a three-inch tongue.
In human terms, he would only be around twelve years old.
‘But don’t forget.’
This creature was a monster that had eaten one of the villagers every two years.
Kain’s gaze turned cold.
‘Once I’ve made the Subordination Contract with you, and once you’ve outlived your usefulness.’
Then.
‘Your heart will be mine.’
***
“I’m telling you, everyone! Kain would never lie about something like that!”
“It’s because what you’re saying is so hard to believe.”
“Then when the village chief comes back, ask him yourself... Ah, there he is. Chief!”
Jake ran toward the village chief as he returned to the village.
“Chief! Tell us. Where did you take Kain? Did you really offer him to a dragon as a sacrifice?”
“Did you eat something strange, boy? A sacrifice?”
“You heard what Kain said earlier too!”
“You cannot possibly believe that nonsense, can you? What a pathetic fool.”
“Then where’s Kain?”
“He must be on his way to the kingdom for his new job by now! He was delighted when he left! Said he had gotten himself a new job!”
“Kain did? There’s no way....”
Leaving the disbelieving Jake behind, Serena stepped forward.
“Chief. Is what you just said true?”
“Of course it is. Why would I lie?”
“Everyone in this village knows how devoted Kain is to me, yet you’re saying he left without even saying goodbye? Because he wanted to steal his friend’s job?”
The village chief’s face stiffened.
Serena’s gaze was ice-cold.
So were those of the villagers standing beside her.
“Tell us the truth about what happened. Where is Kain right now?”
“Where else would he be?! Like I already said, he must be on his way to the kingdom by—”
“Huh? That’s Kain over there!”
The village chief flinched and whipped his head around.
Kain really was walking toward them.
The boy who should have become a dragon’s meal by now had returned perfectly alive.
“Kain!”
Serena hurried over and pulled Kain into her arms.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
“What happened? Why did you chase after Jake?”
“To stop the village chief.”
Kain looked at the village chief and spoke in a cold voice.
“He’s been offering villagers to a dragon as sacrifices every two years.”
“Then it really was....”
“Nonsense!”
The village chief roared and launched into an impassioned speech toward the villagers.
“The boy is lying! He hasn’t been working lately and has spent all his time shut away in his room doing nothing but meditating, so his head must be full of delusions!”
“Chief! Are you calling my son insane right now?”
“He is insane! He keeps spouting madness about perfectly well-employed people being sacrificed! What else would you call that!?”
“Then what about the people who got those jobs? Why haven’t any of them come back all this time? You’d think at least one of them would visit the village eventually. Isn’t that strange?”
Jake joined in with a rebuttal, but the village chief didn’t back down.
“They must be satisfied with life in the kingdom! If you were living luxuriously in a place like that, would you ever think about coming back to a backwater village like this!?”
Murmurs spread among the villagers.
“Something does seem strange....”
“And he’s getting awfully worked up over such an absurd story....”
The village chief fell silent.
He had let his tongue run in anger and ended up cornering himself instead.
That was when Kain calmly added,
“Knights will appear soon.”
“Knights?”
“What are you talking about, Kain?”
“They’re probably knights coming to kill the dragon.”
The villagers doubted their own ears.
“Why would knights have any business coming to a tiny village like ours?”
“Was the chief right after all? This is getting too ridiculous to listen to.”
As the tide instantly turned in his favor, a triumphant smile spread across the village chief’s face.
“See? What did I tell you? I said Kain’s delusions were getting worse! I’ve never seen a knight enter this village in my entire life, so what knights are going to—”
That was when it happened.
The village chief’s eyes widened.
The clatter of armor rang in the villagers’ ears.
“K-knights.”
“Knights really came.”
None of the villagers had ever seen a knight in their lives, yet they recognized them instantly.
The imposing armor they had only ever heard about in fairy tales was now right before their eyes.
Around twenty armored knights dismounted from their horses.
The knight wearing the most brilliantly polished armor stepped forward and knelt.
Before none other than Serena.
“We have come to escort Your Highness.”
“We have come to escort Your Highness!”
At their commander’s declaration, all the other knights dropped to one knee in unison.
“P-Princess...?”
“Serena is...?”
The watching villagers’ mouths fell wide open.
Among the stunned villagers, the only two who remained composed were Serena and Kain.
“Please rise, Sir Dmitri.”
“Your Highness. The time has come. The King of Asel has passed away.”
Serena’s eyes shook violently.
“M-my father?”
“Yes. The First Prince has succeeded him to the throne. The factions that once threatened Your Highness have also been dealt with. There is no longer any need for you to remain hidden in a place like this. Please return with me.”
Serena was still too stunned to speak when another shocking piece of news reached her ears.
“There was another reason I brought the knight order with me. We were also here for a subjugation. There was a Green Dragon’s lair in this area. But for some reason, the lair had already been completely emptied. There wasn’t even a trace of the dragon or its treasure.”
Kain laughed inwardly.
‘He moved everything just as I told him.’
“W-wait. So... there really was a dragon nearby?”
“Yes. Judging by the remains we discovered inside the lair, we suspected it may have been eating people from this village....”
Dmitri looked around at the villagers.
“Have any villagers who left recently failed to return?”
At those words, every villager turned toward the village chief at once.
“You said you were finding them jobs....”
“Kain was telling the truth... You weren’t sending them to jobs. You were sending them to a dragon as sacrifices....”
“W-what are you all saying?! Get ahold of your—”
“Wait.”
Dmitri cut off the village chief and narrowed his eyes.
“Sacrifices to a dragon? What does that mean? What happened in this village?”
Jake answered.
“Well, Sir Knight, every two years in our village....”
Dmitri listened quietly to the entire story, then frowned at the village chief.
“You offered members of your own village as sacrifices?”
“Th-this is a misunderstanding, Sir Knight! I would never have done such a thing....”
“Then tell me the name of the person who supposedly arranged those jobs in the kingdom.”
“......”
Unable to answer, the village chief dropped flat onto the ground.
“I-I was wrong! B-but I had no choice!”
The village chief confessed what had happened.
“It was fifteen years ago. One day, a dragon came to the village and suddenly threatened me. It said that unless we offered one human every two years, it would eat every resident in the village. I was terrified, and I also felt it was my duty to protect the village, so I agreed. Sob... No matter the circumstances, I should never have sacrificed the villagers... I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
The sight of him sprawled on the ground begging for his life was almost pitiful.
Everyone was falling solemn at his claim that he had made an unavoidable choice for the village when—
“Liar.”
Kain scoffed and overturned the entire story.
“The dragon didn’t come to the village. You trespassed into its territory. And when you were about to be eaten, you begged for your life and promised to offer the villagers instead.”
“......”
The village chief’s frozen reaction alone made the truth obvious.
His excuse had been a lie.
Any trace of sympathy that might have briefly appeared in Serena’s eyes vanished, replaced by icy coldness.
“Chief. Is what Kain said true?”
“Th-that is....”
SHING—
The tip of a sword came to rest against the village chief’s throat.
“Tell Her Highness the truth.”
“I-it’s true! I-I have committed a crime worthy of death! I’m sorry! Sob!”
Serena wasn’t the only one shocked by the village chief’s full confession.
“The chief... sold us out? Just to save himself...?”
“We were deceived. Traitor....”
The shock of being betrayed by someone they had trusted swept through the entire village.
Serena let out a sigh and turned away.
“I just... I don't want to look at him anymore. Please deal with him as you see fit.”
“S-Serena! No, Your Highness! P-please...!”
Despite the village chief’s final plea, Serena merely turned away coldly.
***
SLASH—!
Kain watched the village chief’s execution without the slightest tremor in his gaze.
Not a single villager objected to the judgment.
Then a woman dropped to her knees and began sobbing.
“Martin... My Martin....”
She was Martin’s mother.
Five years ago, when her son had excitedly prepared to leave for the royal capital, she had personally packed him a lunch.
Kain’s gaze lingered on the woman for a moment.
He wanted to tell her something.
But telling her how Martin had actually died would be like killing her twice.
Kain silently turned away.
‘If it weren’t for Bernatus, I wouldn’t have known what really happened either.’
Bernatus had transformed into a Forest Spirit and watched everything, tipping Kain off about the village chief’s lie.
―That old human is shamelessly lying. He was the one who crawled into my territory first!
Thanks to the voice only Kain could hear, he had been able to expose the village chief’s crime.
“Bernatus. Do you believe me now?”
[Yes. Sword Masters truly did come here to kill me!]
Judging from the excitement in his voice, he had completely taken the bait.
“Then, as promised, let’s enter into the Subordination Contract. I shall save you.”
[Understood! I shall place my faith in you, Prophet!]
While his mother went to pack their belongings, Kain entered into the contract with Bernatus.
[I, Bernatus of the dragon race, swear to serve Kain faithfully as his servant until the day my life ends.]
“I, Kain Asel, accept Bernatus as my servant and swear to protect him from destruction.”
With that, the Subordination Contract was complete.
“Bernatus. Let me ask you one thing.”
[Please ask.]
“How many people from this village have you eaten?”
[Seven.]
“Do you remember any of them?”
[Dragons do not forget.]
Bernatus bobbed his leaf-covered head.
[Three years ago, there was a woman named Karen. She was excited about going to the royal capital to earn money for her younger sibling’s medicine.]
“......”
[Five years ago, there was a young man named Martin. He was about to get married and carried a ring meant for his bride. That ring is still in my treasure vault.]
“......”
[Ah! And seven years ago....]
“Enough.”
Kain cut Bernatus off.
His hand was trembling faintly.
Hearing the names brought their faces back to him.
Karen was the older girl next door who used to share pieces of bread with him when he was young, and Martin had been like an older brother who taught him archery at the village entrance.
[Prophet? What is wrong? If you would like to hear more....]
“That’s enough.”
Kain answered aloud, but inwardly he made a vow.
‘In the end, this bastard is still nothing more than a dragon that considers humans a delicacy.’
Someday.
Without fail.