‘’There she is’’
The female knight was found immediately.
That’s because she was standing in front of a nearby restaurant, grumbling, “I’m so hungry…”
Perfect timing.
“Iris, right? Let’s go in.”
“Wha-what!? Who are you!?”
“The name’s Jade. I haven’t had lunch either, so let’s eat together.”
“Huh!?”
I grabbed her arm and headed into the restaurant. It’s about to get busy, so we need to move fast. Look, even the nun with a bunch of kids is going in.
Wait, is that woman…? Well, whatever.
“Hey, you!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll treat you. Eat whatever you like.”
“What!? I can’t believe that! Let go—why are you so strong!? I can’t shake you off!”
Haha, I’m called ‘Jade the Needlessly Strong’ for a reason.
“Who the hell are you really… and why do you have a Chick on your head?”
“I’m not talking to you until you’ve eaten. People get irritable when they’re hungry. We’ll talk after we eat.”
“Mmm…!”
And so, we arrived at the restaurant.
Excuse me, table for two—one cursed dragon and one female knight, please!
◆ ◇ ◆
“Mmm, so good…!”
Iris was engrossed in her meal.
At first, she was extremely wary of me, but the restaurant’s specialty, ‘Troll Cutlet Curry,’ changed that instantly.
Awkwardly using her left hand, she devoured the meal as if she were drinking it.
“So delicious…!”
“I’m glad you like it. You must have been really hungry.”
“Ugh…!”
Seriously, she eats like a starved child.
Looking closely, her long blonde hair and her armored battle dress are dirty. What kind of life has she been living?
“The guild folks were talking. They said a ‘knight who pointed a blade at her mistress’ might be coming from the Holy City.”
“!? How do you know that?”
Actually, I’m already certain.
I’ve heard from Lord Iscar that ‘the knight can’t use one of her arms.’ If it’s not you, then who the hell are you?
“Well, you see…”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But Iris, we need to do something about your arm.”
“Wha… what!?”
Here comes another ‘what!?’ moment.
“Do something? What do you mean…”
“If it hasn’t been severed, there’s still hope. Activating skill: Appraisal Analyze.”
I focused on her right arm.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Target: ‘Human Female Right Arm’
Status: Petrified
Inflicted with the poisonous curse of the monster ‘Stone Demon Dragon Basilisk.’
Severity: Level 3.
The skin, dermis, and subcutaneous fat have been petrified.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
“This is bad.”
The ‘Stone Demon Dragon Basilisk’ is one of the most powerful dragon species monsters. Basically, it’s one of my kind.
If it’s their poisonous curse, holy water won’t work, no matter how much you use. And at severity level 3, where even the bones and nerves are on the verge of petrification…
“It… it has to be cut off, right?”
Iris said sadly.
“The rumors are true. I did cut a noblewoman. This curse was from her ‘magical weapon.'”
“I see… A noble with a dragon weapon must be quite high-ranking.”
“Yeah. She’s a needless high-ranking pervert…!”
She rubbed her right arm with a bitter expression. From under her clothes came the grating sound of stone.
“She was a pervert who only brought women into her bedroom. If it had just been that, it would have been tolerable, but… she was indiscriminately and violently abducting even young girls. It got to the point where she was kidnapping girls who still had baby teeth.”
“That’s…”
That’s seriously not funny.
“When I found out, I was furious. I had just become a knight for the Viscountess Viola, but I stormed into her bedroom with my sword. I told her, ‘If you keep up this depravity, I will cut you down.’ I clashed with my mistress right after taking the job.”
“That’s pretty cool. And the result?”
“I lost. Unfortunately, high-ranking nobles often possess multiple powerful skills.”
“Yeah…”
That’s one of the world’s distortions given by the ‘Goddess Sophia.’
As the skills and the number of them a person had became known, nobles started to continually mate with those who had superior skills. As a result, they became entities that commoners couldn’t match in wealth or power.
Unlike in the previous world, rebellion or assassination became difficult with these noble monsters around.
“The higher the rank and strength, the more they exploit commoners. Their biological specs are just different.”
The breakdown of eugenics.
“I managed to land a blow, but then I was hit by the ‘Stone Demon Dragon’s Poison Whip’ on my right arm, and soldiers rushed in. That was it.”
“Naturally, there would be soldiers in a noble’s home. Normally, you’d expect immediate execution.”
“Yeah… For some reason, she only exiled me. So, I came to this flourishing town.”
“That’s how it is.”
Now I get why the noble, Viscountess Viola, ordered Lord Iscar to:
‘That knight who wounded me will head your way. With one arm rendered useless, she’ll struggle to survive. Watch her, and capture her when she falls.’
Thanks to knowing her proclivities, I understand.
She intends to turn the female knight Iris into ‘her property.’
“Disgusting…”
Once the curse reaches its final stages in her right arm, it will spread to her entire body. When that happens, she won’t be able to work, and her life will be in danger.
Then, Viola will likely extend a hand, saying:
‘Become my woman, and I will save you.’
What a sickening thought.
“Thanks for talking, Iris.”
“Yeah… thanks for listening. I think sharing this has lifted a bit of the darkness in my heart.”
“That’s good to hear. Now, let’s heal that right arm.”
“Yeah, but—huh!?”
Another ‘huh!?’ moment.
“If you’ve appraised it, you should know! My right arm is cursed by a powerful dragon…”
“Yeah. It’s beyond what holy water can fix. Amputation is the only option.”
“That’s right. So…”
“But there’s another way.”
I activated my skill: Storage Space Item Box.
I retrieved a bottle of liquor from the void.
“Good timing. I happened to have this… ‘magic liquor’ that might do the trick.”
“Huh? Magic liquor…?”
Ignoring the bewildered Iris, I poured the liquor into a glass.
“Alright, drink this.”
“Huh? You can’t just…”
“I swear it’s not poison. I’ll even put the Chick-kun’s life on the line.”
“Chirp!?”
The Chick-kun, who was eating beans, cried out. Hey, this is your moment to shine.
“What do you think, Iris? It’s a Chick.”
“No, I don’t need the Chick.”
“Piyo?!”
The Chick-kun proved to be useless. Jeez.
“Hey Chick-kun… if this keeps up, you’ll just be an endless bean-eating machine. You never seem to grow bigger.”
“Piyo…!”
“I’m saving up for a house. If this continues, I’ll have to rent you out to Shirokusa for 1,000 gold an hour…”
“Piyo!?”
While I was discussing future management contracts, Iris smiled and took the glass of ‘magic liquor.’
“Alright, Jade. I’ll trust you and drink this.”
Oh?
“Did the Chick-kun guarantee work?”
“No, I don’t need the Chick. I don’t like birds with loose butts.”
“Piyo!?”
That’s a noble knightly reason.
“Jade, you’re a hard man to read. Too nice to be just a good guy; there’s something mysterious about you.”
“Yeah.”
I’m a cursed dragon, after all. That’s a huge secret.
“But…”
Iris looked down at her stomach.
“You fed me. Even though my dominant arm was crushed, I had no money or friends, and my pride was still high. You forcibly brought me in and fed me. I owe you more than I can repay.”
You say that for a bowl of curry.
“And you seem close with the emergency food Chick.”
“Piyo!?”
“It’s not emergency food…”
The Chick-kun looked at me with a ‘was I emergency food!?’ face.
“So, I’ll trust you. You don’t seem like a bad person.”
Well… that’s a high opinion.
“What if I were a bad cursed dragon in disguise?”
“Haha! Where’s a cursed dragon that treats you to curry!”
Here. But I can’t say that.
“Jade, I was already in a tough spot… no matter what happens, I won’t hold it against you—I swear.”
Then she downed the glass.
“Ugh… mm…!”
She groaned as she swallowed.
“Ugh…!”
The strong alcohol must have burned her throat. Tears welled up in Iris’s eyes, but she didn’t spit it out. She gulped it down, bit by bit.
“Phew… I drank it all…”
“Good job, Iris.”
Then, the change happened.
“This…!”
Her right arm, which had been petrified and immobile, began to move slowly.
“My arm…!”
Iris removed her right gauntlet. Underneath, her skin, which had turned to stone, was returning to its normal, soft state.
“Alright. The ‘special ability’ has activated.”
The magic liquor I gave her was made from the blood of the ‘Giant Rat Jumbo Rat.’
That monster’s ability is [Super Immunity].
It neutralizes any poison or disease, a fitting ability for a monster rat.
Drinking the magic liquor temporarily grants that ability.
Even the curse of a cursed dragon can be dispelled.
“My arm…! I thought I’d have to cut it off…!”
Iris’s right arm, which had been a stone chunk, was now perfectly normal.
“Can you move it?”
“Yeah… it’s a bit shaky, but I can move it…!”
Tears streamed down Iris’s cheeks.
Well, that’s natural. She regained one of her precious limbs.
“Thank you… thank you, Jade…!”
“It’s nothing.”
I reached out and wiped her tears.
“I can’t stand disgusting things happening in front of me.”
