Anime: Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, picked up by the Knight King

Altria turned around and glanced at the holy sword that was stuck in the stone in the center of the square but no one cared about it.

But she did not continue to act according to the script that Merlin had designed for her in advance.

She is not an actor, nor is she anyone's puppet - she is the king, she has her own will and her own awareness.

"Even without these things, I am still the king."

"This island must be saved. The king who protects the smiles on everyone's faces!"

The girl—no, now she should be called the king.

Wang turned around and walked slowly towards the crowd in front.

An overbearing aura emanated from her—magic power that had solidified into substance, rapidly expanding outward through her body and forcibly carving a path through the crowded street.

At the end of the road, Kai sat on the steps, spear and shield in hand. And a young dragon, sprawled on a pile of glittering gold coins, was so bored it was playing a coin-tossing game with its tail.

"you lose!"

Looking at Altria who was walking slowly towards him with a gloomy face, Kai's tone was still relaxed and cheerful.

The young dragon threw a gold coin to Kai.

It made a bet with the young knight, betting on whether Altria would choose to draw the holy sword first or choose to come over here first - Shirataki lost the bet that she would draw the holy sword first, but he was very happy.

See, she chose me first.

She has me in her heart!

……

The street is not very long.

In full view of everyone, in less than a minute, the young king reached the end and came before the young dragon's [Guardian Knight].

"I know your plan and I understand your determination."

"But you'd better listen to me - if possible, I sincerely hope that you will turn around and go back to your job as a horse feeder."

"We will go back tonight, um, together."

Kai, who was sitting on the steps, raised his head and looked at his sister who had walked up to him, and said something from the heart that was rare.

This was his last attempt.

Although he knew that this effort was doomed to be in vain... but as the girl's brother, he had foreseen the thorny road ahead and had no choice but to step forward and reveal the cruel truth:

"In fact, no one is looking forward to the so-called chosen king, right?"

"No one wants to dream with Uther and Merlin. Compared to the invisible proof of kingship, it is obviously more realistic to judge who is the true king based on the number of subordinates, money, and power."

"Besides, no one would expect something like a 'divine agent who saves everything'—no one would want to become such a thing, let alone be controlled by such a thing, right?"

At this point, even the knight himself couldn't help but laugh, as if he had told a very funny joke.

But Altria never smiled from beginning to end.

Of course, she didn't feel angry either - because she knew that the knight in front of her said this to her out of kindness.

However, just as he, as an older brother, has the obligation to stop his sister from going astray, she, as a born king, also has reasons to keep moving forward.

"Really? The only flaw is your bad mouth... Thank you, Brother Kai."

The king lowered his head and thanked him softly.

Then he walked up the stairs without hesitation and walked towards the young dragon that had already flown up from the golden mountain.

"Want to go back?"

Wang asked.

The young dragon nodded—but then, slowly, shook his head.

Go back, but not now.

"Ow—"

The young dragon suddenly howled, a very loud howl.

Amid the confused gazes of the onlookers, Artoria turned her head with some doubt and looked at the Holy Sword of the King Chosen that was stuck in the center of the square but no one was interested in it.

"You please me? So I want to sign a contract with you? Now please bring that sword to me?"

"What does it mean?"

Artoria repeated what the young dragon had said—she didn't understand what the little dragon was planning, but she still followed the dragon's instructions. She first ran to the square and pulled out the golden sword of the king, then handed the sword to the young dragon.

"Click——"

The young dragon, with its good teeth, bit off the "development limiter" that caused Altria to be genderless without hesitation.

Then, as the people around him looked on in surprise or secretly delight, the dragon's body suddenly erupted with a dazzling white light.

[Ding, you get 1000 growth points from this item]

[Current growth value: 1065/100]

[The evolution conditions have been met. Do you want to evolve immediately? ]

Chapter 23: God’s Coming Will Be Accompanied by Disaster

A dazzling white light shone on the young dragon's body.

At the beginning, no one thought there was anything wrong with the white light, and no one realized that this white light was actually a "disaster" in another sense.

But a moment later, when the range of the white light suddenly grew larger - instantly changing from a basketball-sized ball of light to a white sun towering over the entire village, Artoria, who had already sensed something, changed her expression instantly.

"not good!"

"Everyone, retreat immediately and evacuate this village!"

She tried to organize an evacuation.

In order to make sure everyone could hear her instructions clearly, she added some magic to her voice - the king's command instantly awakened the onlookers who were attracted by the white light.

But no one left.

Looking at the white sun in the sky, which had expanded to its limit, everyone realized that they were witnessing a great miracle. No one would choose to leave at this time. Even the most ordinary farmers would never want to miss this important moment that "has never been seen before and will never be seen again."

"whispering sound--"

Altria gritted her teeth.

She took the initiative to stand out, blocking the white light and the crowd, and used her own strength to forcibly protect the onlookers who had already forgotten themselves.

But her power has its limits.

She might be able to protect the humans, but she could no longer safeguard the village's buildings. As the white light gradually dissipated, and the young dragon hidden within revealed its evolved form, a gust of wind imbued with destructive power emanated from between its wings, mercilessly destroying anything within its reach.

"What happened to it?!"

Artoria's eyes widened, not understanding why the young dragon, who had been fine just a moment ago, suddenly caused this "disaster".

But it doesn’t matter, there is someone who can understand and answer the doubts in Wang’s heart.

"Don't worry, that's not actually what it's meant to do."

It's Merlin.

This magician who seemed to be in control of everything behind the scenes appeared behind Altria.

"However, since it is a true god, its arrival is bound to trigger strange phenomena between heaven and earth. Those who cannot resist such phenomena call it a 'disaster,' but those who can truly face it can feel the magnificent power hidden within it."

"The divine might is like a prison, the divine grace is like the ocean... Before a being that truly possesses supreme power, even a fellow like me can only kneel in obeisance."

Merlin said this.

But he did not "kneel down". Instead, he raised the staff in his hand and released his most skilled "Flower Magic" towards the hurricane in front of him that seemed to be able to destroy everything.

Under the influence of his magic, the hurricanes that seemed to threaten the world instantly subsided, and moments later, they transformed into harmless pink petals. These petals danced throughout the sky, condensing into a dreamy sea of ​​pink blossoms. Then, they fell, landing on everyone's heads, shoulders, and the ground... The town, which had just been on the verge of destruction, was suddenly completely filled with a pink that evoked the heart of a girl.

This is also a miracle.

Under normal circumstances, the humans protected by these petals would shout the magician's name, or perhaps say, "As expected of that magician," in a matter-of-fact tone.

But now, no one cares about these petals anymore.

Everyone's attention was attracted by the giant white dragon in the sky - its body was so huge that just one of its wings could cover the sky above the entire village. People in the shadows could not see the full picture of the white dragon at all.

But Altria can.

Because she was not observing the white dragon in the sky with her eyes, but with her "heart", and even communicating with it.

"This... is what you'll look like when you grow up? How did you suddenly grow so big?!"

After the initial shock, Artoria's heart gradually calmed down - this huge monster that seemed very scary to others was just a "grown-up dragon" in her eyes, and there was nothing to be afraid of.

She feeds the baby dragon one pancake at a time and takes care of it with her own hands. Could she be a bad child?

"Actually, this isn't really growing up; it's just adolescence... My fully evolved form is thousands of times more powerful than this."

Shirataki waved his wings somewhat proudly - his current state was that of a standard [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], eight stars, 3000 attack, but a blank slate with no effect.

In order to unlock those true powers, he must absorb more mysteries and evolve into a more mature form.

Of course, that is all matter for the future and requires long-term consideration.

Now, what really matters is—

"Even though I know it's nonsense... I still have to confirm it. What if your stupid head suddenly changes its mind?"

"Altria Pendragon—I ask you, do you really want to become a king? A king destined to face the most tragic end in this era of imminent destruction?"

The white dragon asked this and transmitted some images into Artoria's mind.

His voice was no longer in dragon language, but in normal human language. Therefore, not only Artoria, but also other people in the village could hear his question.

"of course."

Altria's voice remained firm.

Just now, Shirataki had shown her the scene of the "end of the world" - in the dusk with the setting sun as blood-red as the sun, the girl stood on a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, bearing all the hatred and curses of the world alone.

But she still didn't hesitate.

The throne of the apocalypse is a curse, not a gift. No matter how hard she struggles, she will face loneliness and a tragic death—she has long understood this, but even so, she will still raise the king's banner without hesitation. Because she never fights for herself, she wants to protect the people living on this island and the smiles on their faces.

"Even if we're in the apocalypse, there's still a difference between struggling painfully in it and turning this island into a hell of hatred, and facing it with a smile, working together to overcome the difficulties."

This was the answer given by the girl.

An answer that is not perfect, but satisfactory enough.

——That’s enough.

In fact, in this end of the Age of Gods where everything you do is wrong, the fact that "there is an answer" itself is a very gratifying thing.

“I actually don’t know whether this is right or wrong.”

"But... since you have made your choice, make a covenant with me!"

"Make a covenant? What covenant?"

"Well, between you and me, an eternal covenant."

PS: In case someone doesn't know.

Blue-Eyes Elf's (3rd) effect: Activate by Tributing this card. Special Summon 1 "Blue-Eyes" monster from your hand or Graveyard. Effect Monsters Special Summoned from your Graveyard by this effect cannot attack, and its effect is negated.

Chapter 24 I make a covenant with you to build an ideal country

"Make a covenant."