Chapter 3

"Is it really you, Rain? What are you doing, even though you're tied up?"

"Tiara, it's because there's a deep reason for this..."

Princess Tiara looked at Rain with a puzzled expression.

She twirled her bright red hair, making a humming sound.

It seemed she still couldn't grasp the situation.

Rain also wanted to explain to Tiara, but there was so much to say that he didn't know where to start.

"Hey, you! Who are you!?"

"That appearance... you're not human!"

"Calm down! It's just a dragonkin! We can win with three of us!"

The soldiers who were about to board the carriage seemed to have noticed Tiara's presence and were brandishing their weapons in a threatening manner.

They weren't particularly experienced soldiers, but they could tell that Tiara wasn't human.

Given that Tiara has a very human-like appearance even among dragonkin, it was quite impressive that they noticed.

"Hey... isn't that tail unusually large for a dragonkin?"

"So what? It's just a bit rare, that's all."

"If we bring that tail back, we might be able to sell it for a high price."

The soldiers slowly closed in.

Their target was Tiara's large tail.

The larger a dragonkin's tail, the more it could be sold for.

With a tail as large as Tiara's, they could probably get enough money to live comfortably for a few months.

Whether they were going to kill her or not, they couldn't afford to injure her.

Though the difficulty of the battle would increase, the soldiers seemed to believe in their own abilities.

"Rain, are those your companions?"

"No. They're the enemy. They're trying to kill Tiara."

"What!? Me? You're quite a brave human! It's been a while since someone has challenged me!"

"Brave... not really, but..."

When Tiara heard Rain's words, she showed a very happy expression.

It seemed she had mistaken the soldiers, who were blinded by the prospect of money, for brave humans.

Her eyes were like those of a boy looking at a hero.

Such a sparkling gaze.

However, it was understandable that she would react this way.

After all, in the non-human world, no one would dare challenge Tiara.

"You guys, it seems you've been taking good care of my friend Rain."

"Friend? I see, so Rain is indeed a traitor as we suspected."

"The king's judgment was correct. I would have been deceived by Rain too."

"Whatever, I'll just take the tail and report back to the king."

The soldier gripped his sword tightly.

Then, they all ran towards Tiara at once.

They were quite fast.

It was clear that they had been well-trained.

In addition, the quality of their weapons was not bad.

The weapons the soldiers held were made by top-notch blacksmiths.

"---Take this!"

The soldier who ran first leaped.

He didn't show any mercy just because she was a female dragonkin.

He swung his sword at Tiara with great force.

"Too weak, human."

"Huh?"

He was supposed to cut Tiara in half with one stroke, but the reality was the complete opposite.

"You were too hasty to challenge me."

"---Guh!?"

What had happened?

Before he could even think about it, Tiara punched through his chest.

He didn't even have time to feel the pain.

The soldier died without ever knowing what had happened to him.

There were only two left.

The remaining soldiers took a step back, clearly shaken.

"You... you're not just a dragonkin, are you!?"

"Dragonkin? I am a dragon princess. Don't make that mistake."

To the confused soldiers, Tiara revealed a truth that filled them with despair.