Chapter 89: The Dragon Knight Lost in the Blizzard

Tension had gripped the Empire tightly in recent days.

The imperial councilors had convened an emergency meeting.

“Any news come in?”

“None at all.”

“Not even one? How can there be nothing?”

Their expressions were grave.

They had sent official dispatches not only throughout the Empire but even to the Adventurers’ Guild in the neighboring kingdom. 

Yet not a single report had returned.

What they were worried about was, of course, a dragon.

“Perhaps it has already left the vicinity of the Empire by quite a distance?”

“That would be fortunate. But if not…”

A heavy silence fell over everyone present.

Dragons were overwhelmingly powerful. 

A single one possessed enough strength to raze an entire castle.

But that wasn’t the only reason people feared them. 

As apex predators, a dragon’s mere presence could drastically alter entire ecosystems.

The phenomenon known as the Monster Wave.

It was a cataclysmic event for humanity—one that could trigger massive upheavals across the land.

With a dragon confirmed to have appeared, every corner of the Empire had no choice but to remain on high alert.

“We’ve dispatched dragon pursuers, so let us wait just a little longer.”

The Empire’s finest dragon knights had been sent to track the beast.

The future of the Empire now rested in their hands.

***

“Damn it…”

Philip, a dragon knight among the elite pursuers, had lost his way in the sudden, ferocious blizzard.

The driving snow narrowed his vision to almost nothing. 

Night had nearly fallen, and the conditions were too severe even to light a torch. If he didn’t find shelter from the storm soon, he would freeze to death.

Thud… thud…

Even his dragon horse had slowed to a crawl.

“Just a little more… hang in there!”

Though dragon blood flowed through its veins, at its core the mount was reptilian—a cold-blooded creature. 

In freezing temperatures, its movements inevitably dulled. If it stopped now, both of them would perish.

Philip steadied his trembling body and forced himself onward.

At that moment—

“…Huh?!”

Far off in the darkness that had swallowed the world, a faint light flickered.

“I-I’m saved!”

Philip hurriedly urged his dragon horse toward the glow.

The closer he got, the brighter it became. It had to be a village.

With hope surging in his chest, he approached the entrance—only to freeze.

“Who goes there?”

Philip’s face stiffened instantly.

“A b-beastkin?”

Of all places, it had to be a beastkin village.

“What the—? An imperial dragon knight here?!”

A bear beastkin raised his spear high toward Philip.

“Intruder!”

At his booming shout, wolf warriors rushed toward the village gate.

“Damn it…”

For an elite imperial dragon knight to be captured by beastkin would be utter humiliation—but turning back into the blizzard would be suicide.

Moreover, his battle partner, the dragon horse, was already exhausted. He had no other choice.

Grrrr.

“C-calm down. I’m not here to fight.”

Philip slowly raised both hands. The wolf warriors bared their fangs and snarled fiercely.

Even among dragon knights, Philip was elite—but the combat-oriented beastkin tribes were no easy opponents.

Thud thud.

The wolf captain, Alek, came running after receiving word and shouted,

“This is beastkin territory!”

“I didn’t mean to trespass! I just lost my way!”

Alek’s eyes narrowed.

Whether the words were true or not didn’t matter. What mattered was how to deal with this intruder.

Relations with the Empire were already hostile enough—he had no desire to get tangled up with an imperial dragon knight.

“Your reasons don’t concern us. Leave our land at once.”

“W-what? You’re not going to capture me?”

“There’s no need to dirty our own hands.”

If they simply let him go, the blizzard would take care of him. Alek judged that to be the cleaner solution.

“W-wait!”

Shing—

Alek drew his sword and leveled it at Philip’s throat.

“Be grateful we’re letting you leave at all.”

“Ugh… you’re just telling me to die out there?”

“That’s not our problem. Leave quietly and cause no trouble.”

Alek turned away.

Philip stood stunned. This was no different from a death sentence.

At that moment, a voice came from inside the village.

“Alek-ssi.”

Someone was approaching.

“A human?!”

Philip’s eyes widened to the limit.

‘How is there a human in a beastkin village? Am I hallucinating?’

He blinked rapidly. But no matter how hard he looked, it was unmistakably a human.

“Fabir-ssi, are you heading home?”

“Dorori was supposed to come pick me up, but with this blizzard I’m a little worried.”

What shocked Philip even more was Alek’s attitude.

There wasn’t a trace of anger or even wariness in the way he spoke to this human—only kindness.

While Philip stood dumbfounded, trying to process the scene—

Shala—

A ray of hope suddenly dawned in his mind.

“E-excuse me!”

“Huh? Who’s that?”

Fabir noticed Philip.

But Alek immediately stepped in front.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“F-Fabir-ssi, was it? Please! Just listen to me for a second!”

Philip shouted desperately toward him. This might be his last chance at survival.

“Please help me!”

“Hm?”

Fabir’s gaze swept over him, then past him to the dragon horse.

“You’re from the Empire?”

“The beastkin are trying to kill me!”

“What?”

A startled Fabir turned to Alek, who hurriedly shook his head.

“N-no! It’s a misunderstanding!”

“It’s true! They’re going to let me freeze to death!”

Fabir looked back and forth between the two.

“This imperial bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!”

“You were going to let me die!”

“When did I say that? I said we’d let you go!”

“That means leaving me to freeze!”

“Hmm…”

Fabir pondered for a moment. He roughly understood the situation.

Philip put on the most pitiful expression he could muster and pleaded.

“If I go out in this weather, I’m dead. So please—”

“I’m sorry.”

But his hopes were instantly shattered.

“It doesn’t seem like the kind of situation where I can just give orders.”

Fabir had his reasons for deciding this.

This was beastkin territory. The decision belonged to them.

As an outsider, it wasn’t his place to overstep. Besides, the blizzard looked like it would let up soon anyway…

As Fabir started to turn away—

Grab.

Philip suddenly clung to Fabir’s leg. His eyes shook violently.

“If you help me, I swear I’ll repay this kindness! Please!”

Alek roared,

“You—let go!”

“We’re both human! I don’t want to die like this!”

Caught between the two, Fabir looked troubled.

Philip seemed to be in full panic—body and mind completely worn out.

As he said, it was hard to just abandon a fellow human in this state. The desperate struggle to survive was pitiful to watch.

“I’ll do anything! Pleeease!”

“Okay, okay. Just calm down.”

Fabir soothed him, then turned to Alek.

“Alek-ssi. Could I take responsibility for him for just one hour? I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble—I’ll watch him closely.”

“Do you really need to go that far?”

“I know you don’t like it. But seeing him beg like this… I can’t just pretend I didn’t see.”

“…Of course you can’t. That’s just how warm-hearted you are, Fabir-ssi.”

Though Alek disliked the idea of an imperial, he respected Fabir.

That was simply the kind of person Fabir was. His warmth was exactly why the beastkin had come to like him.

“Understood. We respect the hero’s opinion.”

Alek made eye contact with the surrounding beastkin—seeking their agreement.

A few looked sulky, but eventually gave small nods.

And so Philip was released from the beastkin’s grasp and placed under Fabir’s care.

“Come in.”

“Where… is this?”

“My stall.”

“Your stall?”

***

Fabir had brought Philip to his stall in the central market, out of sight of the other beastkin. 

Inside the tent, the warmth was almost unbelievable.

“Sit by the brazier and warm yourself up.”

“Thank you…”

Philip awkwardly sat beside the brazier. The whole situation still felt surreal.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Y-yes, please.”

Fabir picked up the kettle sitting on the brazier and poured.

Glug glug.

Steam rose gently as the cup filled.

“Here. Drink this—it’ll warm you right up.”

Philip wrapped both hands around the cup.

“Thank you so much for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“But… how are you in a beastkin village…?”

“You mean how is a human here?”

“Yes.”

“I’m just doing business.”

“Ah… business?”

Fabir had spoken the plain truth, but Philip interpreted it differently.

‘Who in their right mind would come all this way to a beastkin village just to do business? Risking their life for trade?’

He was convinced there had to be some hidden reason.

“It must have been hard. Beastkin generally hate humans, don’t they?”

Fabir gave a small smile in response.

“How did you win them over? From what I’ve heard, they even call you a hero.”

“It’s nothing special. I just shared some recipes.”

“R-recipes?”

Once again Fabir spoke the simple truth, but Philip didn’t believe it.

‘Even if beastkin are considered barbaric, they wouldn’t call someone a hero over a few recipes. He’s definitely hiding something.’

Philip’s eyes narrowed.

‘His body looks solid, but there are no calluses on his hands…’

They didn’t look like the hands of a swordsman. He had a sturdy build, yet his face seemed somewhat youthful.

Even while wearing an innocent, harmless smile, there was an intangible aura about him—something untouchable—that created a strange, compelling atmosphere.

Philip stared intently at Fabir.

“Aren’t you going to drink your tea?”

Start.

“Ah, right.”

“Drink it before it gets cold.”

Slurp.

He hurriedly took a sip—

“…Huh?”

The tea was unbelievably delicious.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s bellflower-ginger-honey tea. Is it okay?”

“It’s… amazing!”

Sweetness enveloped his mouth. And with just one sip, it felt like someone had poured oil onto dying embers—warmth surged through his entire body.

What an incredible tea.

“About earlier… please don’t take it personally.”

“No, no. In the end, you helped me anyway.”

“It might sound like an excuse, but…”

Fabir looked outside.

“I had a feeling the blizzard would stop soon.”

“…Pardon?”

“And look—the snow’s already letting up.”

Philip stared outside in a daze. Sure enough, the snowflakes were growing fewer and lighter.

He turned back to Fabir with wide, round eyes.

‘He really isn’t an ordinary person. A mage? An alchemist? Just who is he?’

He couldn’t get a read on him at all.

Philip’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.