Chapter 70

‘Wh-what kind of disgrace am I showing now….’

Draco quickly tried to get up. After finally proposing, his legs gave out and he collapsed. There’s no disgrace worse than this.

He had to get up immediately, pick up Ariel, and jump into the water. A tough Lizardman would surely do that.

“Huh, huu…”

Draco struggled to stand up on his trembling legs. Then, he looked at Ariel, who was soon to become his bride.

“S-so, can we go into the water now…?”

Seeing Draco mumble, Ariel firmly shook her head.

“No.”

To Ariel, Draco seemed to be in a lot of pain.

His face was completely red, and his body was shaking uncontrollably. Going into the water in this state would be dangerous.

Ariel asked Draco.

“Where’s your home?”

“M-my home…? It’s the Lizardman Kingdom nearby, of course… where I’ll live with you… our future… huff, huff!”

Draco’s face turned red again as he took deep breaths.

Ariel thought this wouldn’t do. This Lizardman was in serious condition. He might have some kind of illness.

“Let’s go home.”

Ariel grabbed Draco’s hand. She planned to take him home.

“!!”

At that moment, Draco’s eyes shot open.

The first time he had ever held a woman’s hand.

It was small and delicate. It felt like it would break if he squeezed too hard.

But it was soft and warm.

‘Th-this feels nice…’

Draco smiled happily and then fell backward.

He had lost consciousness.

*

When Roo, who had fallen asleep drunk on fruit wine, woke up, a blue barrier was spread out around her.

Inside the barrier, Ghost and Black were tangled up, and Ariel was asleep with Roo placed on her lap.

“Hmm, it seems our sister fell asleep right after eating again…”

Roo stretched and got up.

Then, she noticed someone lying next to Ariel.

“?”

Roo rubbed her eyes and looked at the figure.

Next to Ariel was a Lizardman, lying as if dead.

A Lizardman dressed in fancy, formal attire.

“What’s this lizard guy doing here?”

Roo glanced at Ghost and Black, but the two wolves also looked clueless.

“…Sister?”

Reluctantly, Roo gently tapped Ariel’s cheek.

“You might want to wake up. There’s some lizard guy inside the shield you cast.”

“……”

Ariel slowly opened her eyes.

Roo pointed at the Lizardman.

“Look at this guy. He somehow got inside. I think we need to deal with him.”

“…That’s Draco.”

“Draco? Do you know him?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Roo looked at Ghost and Black again.

What on earth had happened while she was asleep?

How did Ariel end up knowing a Lizardman?

But Ghost and Black also seemed clueless. It seemed like they had gone somewhere while Roo was asleep.

“H-how did you end up knowing a Lizardman?”

Ariel briefly explained the situation to Roo.

She was standing by the lakeside when the Lizardman approached and greeted her, they introduced themselves, and then Draco suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness…

She explained it very briefly, so she left out the part about receiving the Grass Ring and the plan to go into the water together.

If Ariel had explained that part, Roo, being a Fairy, would have surely noticed.

The fact that Draco had proposed to Ariel.

If that had happened, Roo wouldn’t have made Healing Powder upon hearing that Draco seemed unwell.

Far from making Healing Powder, she would have kicked Draco’s face, saying, “How dare a lizard propose to our sister without knowing his place?”

But Roo thought Draco had merely introduced himself to Ariel, and that was just a bit annoying, so she personally made Healing Powder and sprinkled it on Draco.

“Hmm.”

But even then, Draco didn’t wake up. At least it meant he hadn’t lost consciousness due to physical injuries.

If Healing Powder didn’t wake him up, it meant he had either suffered a mental shock or had a serious illness that even Healing Powder couldn’t cure.

Draco was the former, but Ariel and Roo thought it was the latter.

“Let’s take him home.”

Ariel said that and dispelled the shield she had spread around them.

Roo looked at Draco again.

“But we don’t know where his home is.”

“It’s nearby.”

Ariel had flown high into the sky using Telekinesis after Draco lost consciousness.

She was trying to find the location of the Lizardman Kingdom, the home Draco had mentioned.

Draco had said it was nearby, and indeed, there was a place not far away that seemed to be the Lizardman Kingdom.

It was shrouded in thick fog, with swamps surrounding it.

Lizardmen like humid places, so that was probably the Lizardman Kingdom.

Originally, she planned to take him there immediately, but drowsiness overcame her, so Ariel hastily cast a shield and fell asleep.

“Hmm. Then let’s take him. It’s not a difficult task.”

Roo said, crossing her arms.

“But we probably won’t be able to enter the Lizardman Kingdom. Lizardmen are very wary of other races. They usually don’t let other races into their kingdom unless it’s a special case.”

Roo said that, but the current situation was a “special case.”

After all, the Draco they were trying to take home was the prince of the Lizardman Kingdom.

*

The king of the Lizardman Kingdom, Rugerico, was feeling bewildered.

He had just received some absurd news.

This morning, Draco had left a note saying, “I’m going on a journey to find my dreams,” and left. But not even a few hours later, he returned—unconscious.

“What should we do…?”

A soldier asked.

“Should we let the Elf and the wolves into the kingdom?”

Rugerico nodded.

“Hmm, we have no choice. Let them in for now.”

“Understood.”

Lizardmen are a very closed-off race.

The reason lies in their appearance, as most other races find Lizardmen repulsive.

Historically, Lizardmen have always been oppressed, so they eventually built their own kingdom and banned other races from entering.

If they allowed other races in, they would have to endure being seen as repulsive even in their own kingdom.

To prevent that, the Lizardman Kingdom is inaccessible to anyone who isn’t a Lizardman.

But now, the king of the Lizardmen, Rugerico, had no choice but to allow other races in.

Because other races had brought Draco back.

According to reports, Draco was floating in the air, unconscious, likely due to the Elf’s magic.

Moreover, the Elf was very young and was accompanied by a Fairy and two wolves.

Rugerico thought he needed to keep an eye on the Elf’s group until he found out why Draco had lost consciousness.

If the Elf’s group had harmed Draco, it would be unforgivable.

Draco was the prince of the Lizardman Kingdom.

If harm came to the prince, they would have to take responsibility.

On the other hand, if they had brought Draco back to help him, they deserved gratitude.

They should be treated as benefactors and allowed into the kingdom.

After all, you can’t turn away someone who helped the prince.

“Hmm.”

Rugerico sat on his throne and waited quietly. Shortly after, he received a report that the Elf’s group and Draco had arrived at the palace.

Rugerico ordered the soldier.

“Take the prince to a room and have him treated. We need to find out exactly why he lost consciousness. And I’ll meet the Elf’s group myself.”

“Understood.”

*

Contrary to Roo’s expectations, Ariel’s group was able to enter the Lizardman Kingdom without issue.

In fact, since Draco, whom Ariel had brought using Telekinesis, was the prince of the Lizardman Kingdom, Ariel’s group was immediately escorted to the palace.

“Hmm, no wonder his clothes looked fancy… he’s a prince… But why was a prince of a kingdom wandering alone by the lakeside…?”

Roo muttered as she followed the soldier, and Ariel looked around, taking in the sights of the Lizardman Kingdom.

A place they normally couldn’t enter.

But thanks to Draco being the prince, they were able to enter, so Ariel planned to make the most of this opportunity to explore.

From the outside, the Lizardman Kingdom was shrouded in fog, with swamps surrounding it, but inside, it was different.

Inside the kingdom, there was almost no fog, and the ground was flat, making it feel like they were just in a forest.

The air was slightly humid, but not uncomfortably so.

In fact, the forest scent was so refreshing that it felt invigorating.

On the way to the palace, they kept seeing small lakes and water areas. And in those places, Lizardmen were always swimming.

Mostly young Lizardmen. Lizardmen naturally love being in the water, and when they’re young, they hardly ever come out of it.

But the young Lizardmen, noticing Ariel’s group, were drawn by curiosity and slowly emerged from the water.

“Look. It’s an Elf and wolves.”

“There’s a Fairy too.”

“Why did they come to our kingdom?”

“This is interesting.”

Then, they started following Ariel’s group.

Most kept a certain distance, but some got closer.

Tap-tap.

One young Lizardman ran up and blocked Ariel’s path.

She had no hair, but the yellow ribbon on her forehead suggested she was a girl.

She was shorter than Ariel and looked up at her, tilting her head.

“What’s this? Go away. Don’t approach our sister.”

Roo waved her hand, but the yellow-ribboned Lizardman didn’t even acknowledge her.

She just blinked her round eyes and stared at Ariel.

Ariel also looked at the young Lizardman and then took out a piece of cake from her Inventory.

Using Telekinesis.

“Huh?”

The young Lizardman flinched as the cake floated toward her.

But soon, with a curious expression, she licked the cake.

“!”

Then, finding it to her liking, she started eating it eagerly, and seeing this, other young Lizardmen swarmed toward Ariel.

“Me too, give me some!”

“Don’t push!”

“Ow, who stepped on my tail?!”

“It wasn’t me!”

Fortunately, Ariel’s Inventory had plenty of cake.

Enough to give each of the young Lizardmen a piece.