Chapter 2

"Ow... ow..."

Rain wakes up with a headache.

There doesn’t seem to be any blood, but there’s a dull, throbbing pain.

The anger towards the king hasn’t subsided.

If anything, it feels like it has intensified.

This is the first time he’s been manipulated so unjustly.

Even with Rain’s countless experiences with people, he has never seen someone as stubborn and forceful as the king.

"Where... am I?"

His mind gradually becomes calmer.

First, he needs to figure out where he is.

The king said he would be permanently exiled from the human kingdom.

That means he must be quite far from the human kingdom.

...There’s no choice but to see for himself.

Rain, using his body bound by ropes, manages to open the door of the transport carriage.

And there, a scene he has never seen before spreads out before him.

"Huh? You’re awake? Saves us the trouble of waking you up."

"Y-You... guys..."

Confused by the unfamiliar scenery, Rain is addressed by one of the soldiers who had restrained him earlier.

There are three of them.

It seems they were given the task of transporting Rain out of the kingdom.

"Don’t take it personally. It’s the natural end for a traitor."

"I’m not a traitor! How many times do I have to say it!"

"Sure, sure. Don’t exhaust yourself by making a fuss."

"What... what do you mean..."

The soldier kicks Rain’s bound legs, making him fall neatly to the ground.

Unable to move as he wishes, Rain can only glare at the soldiers from his prone position.

"You’re all alone here. If you waste your energy, you’ll starve to death, and we won’t care."

"Wh-What? In a place like this—"

"More likely, you’ll be eaten by a monster before you starve."

"Monsters swarm this area at night."

"Scary, scary. We should get back to the kingdom quickly."

The soldiers start chatting among themselves, showing no sympathy for Rain.

It’s as if they don’t consider him human, but rather some kind of animal.

That’s how they treat him.

"Ugh! Let me talk to the king!"

"Huh? That’s impossible."

"I can gather evidence to prove I didn’t sell any information! Just give me a little time!"

"It’s too late for that."

No matter how desperately Rain tries to stop them, the soldiers show no intention of listening.

Rain feels a strong anger he has never experienced before.

If he weren’t bound, he would have definitely attacked them.

"Let’s head back. Before we run into any monsters."

"Wait, wait! At least untie me—"

"No can do. Figure it out yourself."

Ignoring Rain’s pleas, the soldiers start heading back to the carriage.

He knows it’s futile to say anything more.

He can feel it.

Rain is almost at the point of giving up.

All he can do is watch the soldiers climb into the carriage.

Rain kneels on the ground—

At that moment,

"Huh? Isn’t that Rain? What’s going on?"

With those unexpected words, a dragon princess he knows well appears.