A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

068. Spirit’s Offer

One day, there were only two weeks left until the wedding with Princess Xia.

Trine was involved in school work, student council chores, and even studying noble etiquette to prepare for a wedding.

I’ve been really busy lately.

Even so, he never gave up on swinging his sword alone at night.

In the end, Trine fell asleep, exhausted from swinging his sword that night.

And then, for the first time in a long time, I was called to the world of imagery.

“…Now you’re holding a tea party in someone else’s mind.”

Trine scoffed while glaring at the scene in front of him.

In fact, for some reason, everyone was sitting in front of the fancy table and enjoying their tea.

The nameless devil said.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you if we did this than if we fought?”

Yumano Shin said.

“I decided to stop the pointless fighting for the time being.”

Hwaran lay face down on the table and cried.

“I hate everything now…”

Trine looked pitifully at Hwaran for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked.

“What did you call me for today?”

“You have a guest.”

… And then I saw that there was a stranger at the table.

“Who are you again? God or the devil?”

Then the bright red-haired kid answered while munching on a cookie.

“government ordinance.”

“Really? God, demons, spirits, and who else is there? Can’t you tell me in advance?”

“I came to ask for help.”

Trine reflexively responded to those words.

“I absolutely hate it.”

“die.”

“Even if you threaten me, I won’t listen.”

“It’s not a threat.”

After swallowing the cookie, the spirit got up and stood in front of Trine.

“If you don’t help, a lot of people will die.”

“…Is it that important?”

“huh.”

“Why are you asking me, out of so many other people, to do that?”

“Because I was introduced.”

The spirit pointed towards the table.

Then the nameless devil pulled back his chair as if it had nothing to do with him.

Yumano Shin averted his gaze and muttered.

“It’s all for Trine.”

“Yumano-sama… I asked you to leave me alone at least until the wedding, right?”

“I know! I’m sorry! I told you it was all for your benefit though!”

“How on earth is this done for me?”

The devil answered Trine’s nervous question instead.

“They say they’re plotting to turn you into an angel.”

“Huh?! Are you saying you’re going to make me an emotionless person like Myeong-yoon?”

Yumano Shin got angry and responded.

“Don’t misunderstand! It’s just to give Trine the right to set foot in heaven!”

“In other words, to issue a heavenly visa?”

“It’s a very unpleasant analogy, but it’s roughly correct.”

“I never asked for anything like that.”

“Anyway! First, please listen to the circumstances.”

Trine glared at Yumano Shin for a while and then spoke to the spirit in resignation.

“Tell me first.”

“Theor Volcano erupts.”

Theor Volcano was located in the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Artoria.

However, I heard that no one lives here due to the rough terrain and weather.

“What should I do?”

“Prevent the explosion.”

“how?”

“Chastise the dragon living in the volcano.”

Trine took a moment to gather his thoughts and then asked her.

“In other words, the dragon living inside Theor Volcano is trying to cause an explosion, so you want me to kill it?”

“Don’t kill me, scold me.”

“how?”

“Kick some ass.”

Trine asked again, organizing his thoughts.

“Is it really true that there is no one else for me?”

“No. You’re the only one who can hear me right now.”

“Can I bring another ally?”

“No. Dragons don’t like crowds.”

“Then at least I can tell the others where I’m going?”

“No. It’s a secret that a dragon lives there.”

Trine eventually sat down on the floor, groaning.

Then the spirit continued speaking in a grave voice.

“If you help me, I will repay you.”’

“With what?”

“Let me introduce you.”

“Who?”

“The witch who put a curse on your precious person.”

… At those words, Trine suddenly raised his head.

“Are you talking about the witch who put a curse on Yuril’s family?”

The spirit nodded.

Then Yumano Shin intervened from behind.

“Unlike demons, spirits don’t lie about things like this, so you can trust them.”

“It’s an unfair accusation. I haven’t told any lies since I came here.”

After thinking with a serious face for a moment, Trine stood up again.

“First of all, I understand. When does a volcano erupt?”

“In half a day.”

“Huh?! Even if I were to ride a pterodactyl from here to Mount Theor, it would take two days!”

“I’ll send it to you right away.”

“Huh? What does that mean-”

It didn’t take long to realize what that meant.

Trine was suddenly kicked out of the world of images and when he opened his eyes, he was already at the top of Mount Theor.

“…You’re going to turn away.”

Trine first looked around the unfamiliar scenery.

A huge crater in the middle of a snowy mountain.

Behind us, there was a snowstorm so fierce that it froze our backs,

A heat was rising that was so hot that it stung my face.

Even breathing was difficult, perhaps because the oxygen was scarce at the high altitude.

“Hey, Spirit, isn’t this a place where humans can come bare-chested?”

“I’ll protect you.”

Then, a red light appeared on Trine’s body, and he could no longer feel cold or heat.

“Thank you… When you’re done, will you send me back to where I came from?”

“huh.”

Trine took a closer look inside the crater.

Steep cliffs, bright red lava, and rising black smoke.

And in the middle of it all, I caught a glimpse of the silhouette of a huge dragon.

However, it was impossible to check in detail because the distance was so far and the view was obscured by smoke.

“I think it will take a day to get to the bottom anyway.”

I looked around, but couldn’t see a way to safely get down to the inside.

The slope is so steep that one wrong step would be the end of it.

Since it is not a place for people to travel in the first place, there is no way.

As I thought about whether I should eventually go down like climbing a rock wall, the spirit said calmly.

‘Jump down. Even if you fall into lava, you won’t die.’

“I absolutely hate it.”

‘It would be safer than falling down.’

It was a ridiculous statement, but if you think about it, it wasn’t really wrong.

As long as there is protection from the spirit, the lava will be just like an ordinary lake.

“…Okay, well, let’s give it a try.”

Trine took a deep breath.

Then, he spread his wings and used a high-speed movement spell facing forward.

“Let it happen!”

Trine’s body flew horizontally and came to rest in the middle of the crater.

And then it started to fall.

“Kwaaa!”

If I had known this would happen, I would have practiced flying magic.

In any case, Trine was able to fall ‘safely’ into the middle of the lava.

“…I survived.”

Trine swam and climbed onto the rock.

It wasn’t hot, but the lack of oxygen made it quite difficult to breathe.

No, there was actually someone else who was so shocked that Trine couldn’t even breathe.

“W-what is this…”

A red dragon crouching in the middle of lava.

It was so huge that it was barely visible.

The dragon that the Yumano priest had summoned before looked like a lizard.

Fortunately, the dragon had its eyes closed so it didn’t seem to notice Trine.

‘As expected, he was sleeping.’

As the spirit spoke, Trine took a step back from the dragon and asked.

“What now?”

‘Wake up. Kick ass.’

“Do you think if you do something like that, you’ll be eaten in one bite?”

‘are you okay. trust me.’

Trine wanted to believe the spirit’s words, but he couldn’t dare.

You can kick the ass of something that creates waves in lava just by snoring.

In the end, Trine decided to try waking the dragon up in a less rude way.

“If this happens, it will happen.”

As I opened the flower pot, the loud crow of a chicken rang out.

Immediately the dragon opened its eyes and glared at Trine with eyes the size of his own.

“What are you doing?”

That one heavy word rang loudly, as if an earthquake had occurred.

Trine quickly covered Hwaran and smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, hello?”

“Why are humans in a place like this?”

“Well, I heard the volcano might explode…”

At those words, the dragon, who had been staring at Trine for a while, suddenly raised his eyes wide and shouted.

“Oh! Oh my! I’ve been asleep too long!”

Rocks fell from all directions.

While Trine struggled to avoid falling, the dragon raised its heavy body.

Then, a huge, hot, bright red crystal was revealed from inside the dragon’s arms.

“I was thinking of resting for a while because this stone was moderately warm, but I guess I fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.”

“Is that so?”

“If it had stayed a little longer, the rocks could have exploded and the volcano could have really erupted.”

The dragon laughed out loud once and started flapping its huge wings.

“Then I’ll just leave.”

“Huh? Are you just going to leave like that?”

“What? Are you hoping for some treasure?”

“No, that’s what I meant-”

“You’re a greedy guy. Okay, I’ll allow you to take one of my scales in particular.”

“Well, thank you for your words, but-”

“Are you sure you’re going to ignore my favor?”

For some reason, it reminded me of someone who was unnecessarily flashy and overbearing.

Thanks to this, Trine relaxed a little and took a step closer to the dragon.

“Well, then I will be grateful.”

I tried to remove the loosest looking scale from the dragon’s front paw.

However, because it was so hard, I had to borrow the power of the grip gloves to finally remove it.

The size is huge and sturdy, but it is very light,

For some reason, it seemed like it could be used as a large shield.

“Then I’ll just leave.”

“Oh, yes. Take care.”

“Somehow, I feel like I am destined to meet you again soon.”

After saying those words, the dragon powerfully flew up out of the crater.

Only after the dragon was completely out of sight did Trine catch his breath.

“Is this settled?”

The spirit answered those words.

But there was so much noise in the voice that I couldn’t hear it well.

“Huh? What?”

‘… Magical flow… abnormal… for now… Once you get out… ‘

After saying those words, the spirit’s voice suddenly stopped being heard.

“Now, wait a minute! You promised to send me back when I’m done!”

But there was no response.

For some reason, I couldn’t even communicate with the nameless devil, Yumano, or even Hwaran.

Trine, who had been struggling to summon them somehow for a while,

Finally, after a while, he sat down on the floor with a devastated expression.

“Surely I have to walk back like this?”