The original barracks had only a few buildings left in use as shelters, still housing several dozen guards and numerous wounded.
Some people were surprised to see Integger, and mistook Dolores for a refugee, only realizing her true purpose after she clarified it and was led downstairs.
It looked like an ordinary wooden door, but inside, magical runes reinforced its strength. To open it, you only needed to approach—and, perhaps more mysteriously, move it with “a thought.”
This made Dolores think of the Automated Door at the mall, but inside were dozens of sets of Armor, along with matching weapons. They had lain here, gathering dust, since the Ceremony three years ago, waiting for the next Ceremony.
In addition, there were some extravagant pieces, used as visual highlights during the Ceremony but actually magical artifacts, all of which could be used in battle.
Integger said he would put on Armor but needed to double back to the area near Mercury Street, apparently because he saw something on his way.
“I think I saw survivors nearby. I need to go confirm.”
The maid seemed lost in thought, and the rumbling sound from afar seemed to be approaching this area, coming from the direction of the royal palace.
Dolores climbed up a bit for a better view. The maid pulled her back to keep her from falling and said:
“It’s the dragon chasing after Green. They just crawled out of a collapsed hollow, and the latter burrowed right into another one.”
Dolores opened her mouth, but considering magic, and the maid’s strength, it made sense that she could see farther than Dolores herself.
They had been traveling for over an hour. None of them had expected to see Green again here.
Was the sound from half an hour ago on the way here caused by Green being chased by the dragon?
Dolores touched the corner of her eye. It seemed as if the tears she’d shed not long ago had just been an illusion, but she really had begged him for help.
Now that he was in such danger, she couldn’t deny she played a part in it.
Dolores wouldn’t allow herself to think, “He chose this himself, it has nothing to do with me,” because she had indeed asked him.
But thinking independently, she also knew he had no reason to provoke the dragon.
Dolores did wish for Green’s death… but… but…
Another building in the distance collapsed with a crash, unconsciously reminding her of being buried alive. Had the dragon really been chasing him all this way?
Perhaps her only bottom line was not to be controlled by the System.
Since he could agree to her request unconditionally, risking himself without benefit—
No matter what, Dolores saw it with her own eyes: he lured the dragon away, to the point where it no longer even breathed dragonfire.
He really did what she asked. By comparison, her own roundabout efforts seemed far less effective.
Was this just Dolores’s own stubborn impression?
Or, was Green at heart still that kind hero? If so, maybe there was room for negotiation about the System after all.
Was it the Creator’s sentiment seizing the chance to act up?
Or was it that her goodwill had quietly shifted her view?
Or maybe his solitary, self-sacrificing, and noble act simply gave it a certain romantic allure.
Whatever the reason, Dolores did see Green in a new light—or perhaps she simply found hope in someone she’d thought bad.
It was a universal feeling, really. The only difference was whether the “target” was a good person or not, and whether Green was still the kind hero in his heart.
But sentiment and goodwill would ultimately sway Dolores’s judgment.
“Green went toward Golden Square, deliberately avoiding Urgresh University and the residential district.”
The maid spoke, prompting Dolores to ask:
“Can you tell what he’s trying to do?”
The maid was silent for a moment before answering, “I don’t know how he attracted the dragon’s attention, but dragons are vengeful creatures. They won’t stop until one of them dies.”
“Green is using the kingdom’s old underground tunnels to delay it, but when he runs out of strength, or makes a mistake, that will be his end.”
“But at least, what he’s doing is truly saving a lot of people. If a monster as dangerous as a dragon chases only him, then many others won’t be in mortal danger anymore.”
Here the maid fell silent, then, after a while, muttered in a nearly inaudible voice:
“Though, I suppose that’s not something good to say.”
The maid’s assessment matched Dolores’s, which gave the latter a fleeting sense of happiness—followed by pity, and the reality before them.
It only made her hesitate for a moment.
Maybe, in the maid’s eyes, this was the weighty act of “self-sacrifice.”
But both Dolores and Green knew that miracles would eventually drive the dragon away. Yet holding out against the dragon until the “miracle” arrived was anything but easy.
What Dolores couldn’t understand was what he really…
No, she did know. Why he would willingly put himself in danger.
“If we want to help him, is there anything we can do?”
Dolores turned to the maid beside her and continued, “Without becoming a burden, or getting in his way.”
“We can observe from a distance and stay ready to withdraw at any moment. If necessary, perhaps I have ways to influence the dragon, too.”
The maid replied, then, after bidding Integger and the others farewell, prepared to follow a small path toward the direction Green and the dragon had gone.
Integger finished putting on his Armor. The inscribed Armor would let an ordinary person fight on par with a Knight-in-Training.
The surroundings were full of ruins and bloodstains, at odds with his gleaming new Armor. Lowering his visor, he hid his face from view.
He saluted Dolores as she left, then turned and walked into Mercury Street, now overrun by monsters.
Dolores withdrew her gaze, and offhandedly asked the maid beside her, “To be able to affect a dragon, even a little, must be pretty amazing, right?”
The maid was silent for a long time, then said, “Your Highness, your safety is my top priority.”
“I’ll reserve enough strength to deal with emergencies, to make sure I can get you out if we’re in danger.”
Dolores and the maid fell silent, walking down a monster-free road—perhaps because everyone here had already been driven off or killed.
“Your Highness, are you blaming me for not helping people along the way?”
“No, not at all. I understand.” Dolores shook her head.
“I’m not that impulsive.”
If I was, I’d be no different from those self-righteous, sanctimonious saintess types I used to hate in post-apocalyptic stories.
“I’m very afraid, and upset, and I do grieve for the dead.”
“But if, in the future, I can use my status as Princess to win benefits for the survivors, or pressure those officials who like to skim off disaster relief funds… Even if all I can do is whisper in Father’s ear—”
“Then more people will benefit and be saved as a result.”
“Besides, I just asked Green to do something so dangerous, and he did it without flinching.”
Dolores’s gaze grew awkward and forlorn.
Green was a lot like the kind of character she liked—her stories with Little Fish often revolved around good people going bad in games.
But the good part of such characters was what truly made them attractive, worth praising, or even singing about.
She didn’t dare look too closely at such a character. For someone like Green, who in a way was like her own child, if her own creation shone so blindingly bright—
That would make her seem…awful.
“They seem to be fighting near Golden Square. If we keep going, we should be able to see them from a rooftop soon,” the maid reminded her.
Dolores made a sound of assent, not quite knowing what she was thinking, but soon picked up her pace.