Chapter 24

Chapter 2 begins. (Feeling like a bowl of cold ramen)

The number of bookmarks has somehow reached nearly 100... I am deeply grateful for the evaluations and points.

In the darkness, Node stood.

A heavy atmosphere dominated the surroundings, making it hard to breathe.

Where was he?

The darkness offered no visibility.

Node felt a vague sense of unease as he moved through the darkness.

However, no matter how far he walked, the unease did not dissipate. Instead, his fear of the darkness grew deeper.

He felt something approaching from behind.

An unseen presence seemed ready to crawl out of the darkness at any moment, and Node couldn't help but start running.

──Haa, Haa, Haa

Running through the darkness, Node was drenched in sweat.

But the sweat wasn't just from running.

What is this, what is this place!

No matter how far he ran, he couldn't go anywhere.

Node's fear of the darkness had transformed into sheer terror.

He was afraid to look back.

A terrifying monster might be right behind him, mouth wide open. This thought dominated his mind. There, something warm seemed to brush against his spine.

No, no, no!

To escape the terror, Node increased his pace.

His heart pounded, threatening to burst.

Still, he kept running.

──This far!

How long had he been running?

Node finally stopped, turned around with a burst of courage.

Indeed, there was nothing but darkness in front of him.

“Hah...”

There was nothing there.

Node wiped the sweat dripping from his chin with his arm.

The fear that had gripped him moments ago had vanished.

What was he running from?

Relief made his legs weak.

“Uwa...”

To keep from falling, he took a few steps back to regain his balance.

At that moment,

Bang!

A shockwave hit his body.

What was it?

Trying to identify it, Node turned around and saw...

A terrifying dragon's head, covered in deep green scales.

“...Ah, ha? ...Run...!”

Thick, rock-like scales and golden eyes. The vertically slit pupils were fixed on Node.

His mind froze at the sudden turn of events.

His body stiffened like a frog caught by a snake, but instinct or experience as an adventurer soon made him start to run. However,

“GYAOOOOO!!!!!”

A fearsome jaw, lined with sharp teeth, opened wide, and a roar of savagery was unleashed.

The thunderous sound at close range made his body shudder, and he couldn't move.

In front of him, the mouth was open wide, revealing a mouthful of sword-like teeth, dripping saliva, and a red throat that seemed to lead into darkness.

──Death

Node imagined.

The fear that had supposedly disappeared had grown several times over, and then...

“GUAAAAAA!!!!”

As the dragon's jaw approached his face, Node couldn't help but scream.

“Uwaaaaaa!!!!”

§

“──Aaaaaaaa! ...Ah?”

Before he knew it, a groan-like scream had escaped his lips.

Where was he? The answer came before the thought fully formed in his mind.

Node's vision was filled with the familiar ceiling of his room in the Felis household, the wood grain pattern etched in his memory.

“...A dream...”

Muttering, Node felt a weight in his chest.

His gaze moved from the ceiling to the wallpaper, then to his chest.

There, he saw a mound-like bulge.

“...”

Silently, Node pulled back the blanket.

There, on his chest, was a young dragon, snoring softly, Kupi, Kupi.

Was the nightmare caused by this?

Node glared at the cause of the dream he was already forgetting.

It was only natural to have nightmares with a creature the size of his torso, covered in scales, sleeping on his chest.

The dragon, with its scales and armor, was heavy, as heavy as the armor Node used.

With such a weight on his chest, it was no wonder he had nightmares.

Node took a deep breath, as if it were a prelude to the dragon's roar.

“–Neut!!!”

Node's loud voice echoed through the room.

The young dragon, Neut, woke up with a start from its favorite sleeping spot, its body trembling.

Its half-open, drowsy eyes, hidden under green scales, caught sight of Node's angry face.

The young dragon, happy to see its beloved, remembered where it was.

It was only natural that a lecture would follow, as Node's scolding voice rang out.

The morning sun, shining through the window, reflected off the deep green scales, making them sparkle.

§

The Kingdom of Hamil, located in the eastern part of the Ilva continent, has a total of seven knight orders.

There are four regional knight orders, each based in the east, west, south, and north of the Kingdom of Hamil, primarily composed of local lords.

Additionally, there are two more: the largest and most prestigious order, the Hamil Kingdom Knight Order, directly under the kingdom, and the Royal Guard Knight Order, which is directly commanded by the royal family and primarily tasked with protecting the royal family.

Lastly, there is the Iron Dragon Knight Order, the smallest in scale and history but the strongest in terms of combat power in the Kingdom of Hamil. Together, these make up the seven knight orders.

These orders are collectively known as the "Seven Great Knight Orders" in the world.

Node was a member of the Iron Dragon Knight Order.

The Iron Dragon Knight Order is an elite group of dragon knights, all of whom ride flying dragons.

As a member of the Iron Dragon Knight Order, Node was, of course, a dragon knight – a trainee, though.

Why the word "trainee" was attached to his title had two reasons.

The first was Node's lack of skill and knowledge.

In the Kingdom of Hamil, those who aspire to become knights almost always attend the "Military Academy," a facility run by the kingdom.

At the Military Academy, students live in dormitories, learning group living and teamwork, as well as combat techniques and various knowledge.

Many nobles, raised as heirs, need to be trained to become full-fledged knights. It is believed that training them under the kingdom's name, with peers of the same generation, is better than keeping them in the narrow world of their noble families.

The only exceptions are the heirs of major lords, who are tutored by experienced knights selected from their own knight orders, learning various military knowledge.

However, in recent years, the strong connections formed at the Military Academy – the so-called "fellow soldiers" – have led to more nobles sending their children to the academy.

As for Node, the Felis family's financial situation had deteriorated significantly (due to his parents having too many children!), leading him to give up on becoming a knight and instead become an adventurer without attending the Military Academy.

In other words, he had received no knight training (except for some basic training at the Felis household).

While he had combat experience from his adventures, which had earned him the rank of Crystal-level adventurer, the knowledge and experience of dealing with monsters as an adventurer and the knowledge and experience of dealing with people as a knight are fundamentally different.

Therefore, when Node was recruited into the Iron Dragon Knight Order under certain circumstances, he was required to quickly acquire the necessary knowledge and combat skills of a knight.

While rare, there are noble heirs who enter the Military Academy later than the recommended age.

Most of them are younger siblings or relatives who were appointed as heirs after their older siblings (and sometimes their "backups") died suddenly.

Thus, even though Node had been an adventurer for only about a year, he could have chosen to attend the Military Academy.

However, he was directly recruited into the Iron Dragon Knight Order as a trainee for another reason.

This was the second reason.

Node glanced at the green creature sitting on the floor next to him while eating breakfast.

It was devouring the large slices of meat in the feeding dish on the carpet under the big table in the Felis family's dining room, making loud chewing sounds.

Its body was covered in deep green scales with a beautiful sheen. Its limbs, pressing down on the meat, had sharp, spear-like claws that dug into the cold meat.

The head at the end of its long neck, similar in length to its body, still had a childlike innocence. However, its mouth was lined with sharp, saw-like teeth that could tear the meat apart.

“Kyu?”

Sensing Node's gaze, the young dragon stopped eating and looked up, tilting its head to stare at Node. Its eyes were round and cute, with vertically slit pupils that were both reptilian and cat-like. However, its gaze was full of trust and contained no hostility.

Node gestured, “It's nothing, keep eating,” and the green young dragon, understanding, resumed its struggle with the meat.

The young dragon, with its deep green scales, showing its voracious appetite in front of Node, was the second reason why Node became a trainee knight.

A few months ago, Node needed to earn a large sum of 200 silver coins for a certain reason. However, as a newly promoted Crystal-level adventurer, it seemed impossible to earn such a large sum through normal means.

Therefore, Node aimed for a quick fortune and planned to sneak into a dragon's nest and steal an egg. Despite various difficulties, he succeeded in his plan.

However, just before he could sell the egg, it hatched into the green young dragon, Neut.

Stunned by the hatched egg, Node stood there, unsure what to do. He confided in his father, who had been consulted beforehand, and his father brought a middle-aged man to Node's place. This man was the deputy commander of the Iron Dragon Knight Order, the strongest group of dragon knights in the Kingdom of Hamil, Goldwin.

Deputy Commander Goldwin confirmed that the young dragon had bonded with Node and ordered him to join the Iron Dragon Knight Order.

Node later learned from Deputy Commander Goldwin that the reason for this was not only the Iron Dragon Knight Order's desire to increase the number of dragons (and thus dragon knights) but also the young dragon's unusual bond with Node.

According to Goldwin, the dragons of the Iron Dragon Knight Order were all hatched from eggs by humans, but they were notoriously difficult to tame. This was true even for young dragons, who, though weaker, would become more resistant as they grew.

Therefore, the Iron Dragon Knight Order assigned powerful knights – those capable of slaying dragons – to care for the dragons from a young age, sometimes feeding them, sometimes educating them, and sometimes subduing them by force to build a relationship of trust.

However, the young dragon hatched by Node showed a childlike affection, much like a child seeking comfort from a parent.

When Deputy Commander Goldwin heard this story from Node's father, Albert, a fellow graduate of the Military Academy, he visited the Felis household and saw it with his own eyes.

He then decided that Node's "technique" should be studied by the Iron Dragon Knight Order and recruited him.

Later, in the presence of dragon researchers from the kingdom's research institutions, Node recounted his adventure of sneaking into the dragon's nest and its aftermath. From this, it was inferred that dragons might recognize their mother dragon and her "scent" even while still in the egg.

The difference between Node and previous dragon handlers was whether they had the mother dragon's "scent." After a while, even when Node lost the scent – the mother dragon's "feces" – in the bath, the young dragon, though initially confused, quickly recognized Node as its mother and resumed its affectionate behavior.

Further observations confirmed that, even after several baths and the use of deodorizing herbs, the young dragon continued to show affection for Node.

The researchers concluded, “The young dragon recognizes the human Node as its 'parent.'”

This report was sent to the kingdom's upper echelons and the Iron Dragon Knight Order.

Node's accidental "technique" was deemed significant enough to influence the future of the Iron Dragon Knight Order and the kingdom, leading to an order from the "upper echelons" to continue observing the young dragon's development within the Iron Dragon Knight Order.

This was why Node, without attending the Military Academy, was a trainee dragon knight in the Iron Dragon Knight Order.

The plot is still largely nonexistent, so even the author can't predict how the story will unfold.

I can't guarantee the posting frequency as before, but if you're still interested, please stay with me.

It's been a while, so I'm not sure how to write the text anymore.