Chapter 55
"Now then, Yuka. As the culmination of your training, you will slay a Black Dragon."
"A WHAT!?"
On the one-year anniversary of my training in Hollow Garden, Lumière dropped this absolute bombshell of a mission.
Did she just say Black Dragon? As in, one of the strongest dragonkin in existence? Yep. This woman is definitely a demon drill sergeant.
For context, dragonkin sit at the very top of the demonic beast hierarchy—the kind that could flatten a small kingdom in a day. They’re in a league of their own. And the strongest among them? My knees are literally shaking.
"A Black Dragon… Can I even win?"
"If you can’t, you’ll simply die."
"DAMMIT! Stop saying that like it’s someone else’s problem! And wipe that smile off your face!"
"Initially, I considered having you fight a Dimensional Dragon, Venomwyrm, or Ancient Dragon instead, but I decided to save those for another time. Fufu~, I can’t wait for the day we tackle those."
"This is your idea of compromise?! Those three sound like walking apocalypses!"
"Oh, but if you die, I will perish as well. We’re in this together, darling~."
"That’s not reassuring! Don’t just casually drop life-and-death stakes like that!"
"Worry not. In the worst case, I’ll simply vworpt us to safety. And with Lill here, losing a limb or two is hardly an issue. At your current level, you could regrow your head if it were severed—just sprout a new one from the stump!"
"I’ve got so many complaints right now! First, it’s ’warp’, not ’vworpt’! Second, I’m not some lizard that can regrow chunks of itself! And third—why did you wait till now to mention I could survive decapitation?! I’m already mentally overloaded here!"
Somehow, our banter had gotten way too casual.
"Now then, let’s begin! Black Dragon slaying, ho!"
"Y-Yes, ma’am…!"
I shouted back, half-resigned. At this point, screw it—whatever happens, happens.
"Hmm~. A straightforward battle would be dreadfully dull. I know! Let’s add a time limit! Nothing like pressure to spice things up. And it’ll prevent you from dragging things out. Brilliant, no?"
"W-Wait, hold on! What happens if I fail…?"
"You’ll keep fighting Black Dragons until you succeed! As punishment, the number will double with each failure. One miss means two dragons, two misses mean four, and so on! Exponential growth, darling~!"
"WAAAAAH! LORD ALBEEERT! SAVE MEEE! PLEASE—!"
The wails of a former 30-something salaryman echoed through the void. Not a shred of dignity remained. Had my gender and mental age regressed? I’m supposed to be an adult, yet here I was, bawling like a spoiled toddler!
"Now, now, Yuuka. No time for tears. Straighten up. You want to protect Lord Albert, don’t you? This won’t get you anywhere."
"Sniff… Hic… I-I know… Gulp… I’ll do it. I’ll… protect him. No matter what!"
"That’s the spirit! Oh, and once you’ve slain the Black Dragon, you’ll face a hundred consecutive high-tier demonic beasts. Everyone’s favorite boss rush!"
"WAAAAAH! LUMIÈRE, YOU SADIST! DEVIL! MEANIE!"
"G-Goodness… She’s fully regressed to infancy… Did I push too hard…?"
My spirit shattered. It took minutes to recover. Lumière, for once, looked flustered. Lil patted my head to comfort me. The shame… If only the ground would swallow me whole…
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