Taming the Evil Saintess

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After the Bloodline Ritual, Nuar enjoyed a brief soak in the hot spring.

One might wonder if dragons also take hot springs, but considering that the Red Dragon boss from the game was luxuriating in a magma bath, it wasn’t that strange.

The issue here wasn’t Nuar enjoying the hot spring, nor was it Blackie, who had signed a formal contract with me, or Cecilia, who was trembling with embarrassment at exposing her bare body.

“Hey, raise your arm.”

“I told you it’s fine.”

“I don’t care if it’s fine. Just raise it.”

“Uh…”

“You want to get hit?”

It was Ophelia, who calls herself a doctor, thoroughly checking for any abnormalities in my body.

As the dragon’s blood entered me, she waved her fingers in front of my eyes to ensure I wasn’t feeling dizzy or that there weren’t any special issues with my body.

Of course, I felt perfectly fine. Ophelia was worried if Nuar had done something strange, but I didn’t think the current strongest mythical creature, the Black Dragon, would resort to petty tricks like that.

Rather…

“Uh…”

“What? Did your body finally turn weird? I guess that’s to be expected. Just wait. I’ll take some blood…”

“No, it’s just… I feel way too light.”

On the contrary, my body moved much more freely than before receiving the dragon’s blood. It felt as if the mana circuits across my body were all stimulated and expanded, making me much more agile and flexible than ever.

“Light…?”

“Yeah.”

The enhancement from the mark felt so minimal that I hardly noticed any aftereffects at all; my body was more heightened than it had been before.

If things went like this, even using the Hero’s Divine Mark shouldn’t result in me feeling as sick as before.

“Well, that makes sense.”

Nuar, who had no care for getting naked in front of us, said while only turning her face around.

“My daughter was born with the blood of the aforementioned lady. And the blood itself is no different from the elixir you all talk so much about. If it enters a human body, immense strength will awaken within. You can be happy. You are the first and the last human to have received the Black Dragon’s blood in nearly a thousand years.”

“…Oh.”

“Look away, you perverted brat. What are you gawking at?”

Ophelia yanked my chin to turn my face away. Then she grabbed my wrist and started squeezing hard.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting rid of the dirty blood.”

“…”

I squinted my eyes and checked Ophelia’s expression. I hadn’t said anything earlier, but…

“Wait, are you… jealous of the dragon?”

“W-What? Jealous?!”

“No… Honestly…”

She seemed quite displeased that some dragon’s blood was more effective than her Divine Power.

Having been with Ophelia for over several years, I could easily guess what she was thinking by her expression. Surely, the improvement in my condition due to the dragon’s blood would have scratched her pride a bit.

Of course, while I liked the Divine Power well enough, I didn’t pick and choose when it came to good health.

“Ophelia, you should admit it when you need to.”

“Admit what?”

“Your Divine Power lags behind the dragon’s blood.”

“Do you want to get hit?”

Naturally, I quickly avoided her piercing gaze and when I met eyes with Blackie, he tilted his head cutely.

If it were before, I would have thought it was adorable, but things were a bit different now.

“…Hmm.”

Nuar had just revealed a shocking fact.

The Bloodline Ritual wasn’t all that different from bonding with something.

And I realized how the Dragonkin had come to be in this continent.

If Blackie grew up, he could possibly Polymorph, and then…

“…Hmm.”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Ophelia hastily grabbed my cheeks and turned my face.

Her emerald eyes were filled with a hint of unease.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no, it’s just…”

Ophelia cautiously glanced at Blackie and whispered in my ear.

“About bonding or descendants, that…”

“Hmm.”

While Ophelia seemed genuinely concerned about Blackie, I certainly didn’t have any strange preferences for bipedal reptiles. Even if he could Polymorph, it wouldn’t matter. Blackie was still under six months old.

In fact, I felt deeply insulted by Ophelia for even suspecting that. I curled my fingers and flicked her forehead.

“Ouch.”

“Do you honestly think I would?”

I sighed before continuing.

“If I were that kind of person, I would’ve long ago gotten busy with Laila or something.”

Come to think of it, there was a colleague back in the Mercenary Group who tossed lollipops at Laila. Given the circumstances, I guess everyone was a little insane back then.

While reminiscing about those old days, I noticed that Ophelia’s response was kind of weird.

Her half-closed eyes had become sharp lines.

“Why?”

“Um, it’s just…”

Ophelia puffed out one cheek and tilted her head.

“What’s a ‘getting busy’?”

“…”

“What’s with that expression like you just chewed on a bug?”

Well, considering Ophelia had lived in the Cathedral her whole life, she might be ignorant about such things.

How could I explain this? As I pondered, Nuar, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, chuckled and added:

“Copulation.”

“Copulation…?”

At first, Ophelia didn’t grasp the meaning and frowned before…

“Eek.”

She quickly realized and smacked me on the head.

*

After the brief commotion, Nuar strolled out as if she had finished her bath.

Although she was dressed as a refined lady, the fact that she was still a Black Dragon didn’t change, so Albrecht, Azar, and the others were still on guard. Nuar herself, however, viewed it as only cute resistance.

She approached Blackie as if she wanted to bid farewell.

[Chirp.]

“You still can’t even speak properly. Thinking of giving late education is already giving me a headache.”

Nuar sighed deeply as she gently stroked the little bump on Blackie’s protruding nose.

“Hero, if anything happens to my daughter, I will no longer care about the continent’s peace. Remember this. I will become a worse disaster than the Demon King approaching you.”

“…Yes.”

Under Nuar’s ominous warning, I could only bow my head meekly.

Her sharp gaze was not in the least exaggerated.

Nuar then patted Blackie’s snout and turned back to me.

“If any problem arises, go to the volcano in the northwestern part of the continent. There lies the nest of the Red Dragon. While it’s humble, I should still be able to help in your journey.”

“The Meldrion Volcano, you mean?”

“Well, that’s what the humans call it. Go there and mention my name. I owe you a favor, so it would be impossible for me not to assist you.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Of course, this was information I already knew.

In terms of the game, there was a Red Dragon Challenge boss in the region of the Meldrion Volcano.

It was quite difficult to access and harder than the average Demon King’s Army officer, so we rarely visited, but I still remembered it being a well-crafted boss. If I could have such a powerful dragon on my side, it would surely be a great help.

“Do you really need it?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to have.”

Ophelia made a face that showed she was still dissatisfied, twisting her hair while looking at Nuar, but she seemed delighted by Ophelia’s cute grievances.

“Saintess, and Hero.”

She left us with that remark just before she departed.

“A rather fitting pair. No way for my daughter to intrude.”

“What!”

Ophelia shouted in surprise, but before she could react, Nuar’s Polymorph unraveled, shaking the whole ground.

As the Black Dragon flapped its powerful wings, the hot spring water soared into the sky again, creating a cloud of dust. I had to wrap my arms around Ophelia to keep her from being blown away.

“That was quite the farewell…”

Erwin muttered, and soon after, Nuar vanished from our sight in the blink of an eye.

An object flying faster than a supersonic jet—that moment made the concept of a dragon as a living natural disaster hit home.

“Well, did it resolve itself?”

“Probably.”

Albrecht looked at me with a dissatisfied expression, and I gave a wry smile.

Meanwhile, Blackie approached me in a relaxed posture, as if he had relieved the tension. I reached out to stroke his wings, and he rolled over onto his back, just like a pet puppy.

He had become so accustomed to human touch that I could easily understand Nuar’s sigh.

“Hey! A girl shouldn’t be exposing her belly like that!”

“…She’s a dragon.”

“Still, she’s a girl! Isn’t that wrong?!”

Ophelia was giving me an indignant glare, and I frowned in response.

“Well, you keep saying it’s hot and you sleep like that every day!”

“Hey! That’s different! Blackie, get away from your dad!”

“Why this again?”

“Just get away already!”

From then on, whenever Blackie came close to me, Ophelia’s absurd interventions would naturally follow.