The warning from Ian made Artoria become vigilant.
Soon—
She noticed the disturbance he was talking about.
That's right.
Although the surroundings looked as calm as before, something had indeed infiltrated them without her noticing.
"Hide well, Artoria."
The boy said this, then placed her in the carriage.
"Ian, you—"
"Don't worry about me."
"I am, after all, a descendant of Tiamat."
Crack—
Crack—
The sound of cracking knuckles echoed in the air.
That was Ian stretching his muscles.
The long years of immersion in the Sea of Life had already greatly strengthened his body.
"Over here?"
A red light flashed in Ian's eyes, followed by a powerful punch.
Artoria was very surprised.
Because in her eyes, it was a punch thrown at thin air.
But in the next moment, Artoria saw an unbelievable scene.
A sinister black figure appeared precisely on the boy's swinging fist.
As if it had run right into it.
In an instant, the black shadow was twisted by the dragon's punch, and then it vanished from the young woman's sight.
"Ian, what was that?"
"I don't know."
Ian's blood-red eyes scanned the surroundings.
"But—"
"They smell very wrong."
"And, it seems they have a problem with you."
"Eh?"
Artoria was stunned for a moment.
She hadn't thought these black shadows would be hostile towards her.
"Ian, then let's run!"
"Run?"
"Why run?"
Ian let out a puff of hot air.
Another forward punch, and the boy once again preemptively struck where another black shadow was about to appear.
"That will only make them think of us as prey."
"It has to be the other way around—"
"Make them feel like they're the prey."
"Artoria, just wait."
A fierce gust of wind flashed by.
Causing the campfire to flicker.
Finally, the light from the flames completely disappeared.
Inside the carriage, Artoria heard a long roar.
She couldn't see what it was, but she could feel that the sound came from Ian.
Because the voice in her dream was just like this!
And the young woman's intuition was indeed correct.
The moment the campfire went out, Ian's body transformed.
If his usual appearance, the one that had been intimate with the young woman, was the side that accepted humanity;
And the giant dragon in her dream that had driven away the figure of flowers was the side that came from Tiamat's nurturing.
Then—
The him right now was somewhere between these two states.
With a tail, and sharp claws and fangs.
But his face still retained the appearance that Artoria could recognize.
Not completely a dragon;
But also not completely human.
In the silent night, his blood-red eyes were the only light.
And before him, the black shadows were gradually gathering.
A fierce battle was inevitable.
Noisy sounds erupted outside.
Artoria knew it was him protecting her.
Unable to do much, the young woman clutched her chest.
Right now...
My heart is beating so fast...
An unknown amount of time later.
The first ray of morning sun shone into the carriage.
Artoria rubbed her eyes and woke up.
Almost instantly, the young woman recalled yesterday's sudden attack.
"Eh, how did I fall asleep!"
"I was supposed to—"
"Because you were sleepy."
The boy's figure appeared not far away, interrupting her words.
And after seeing his appearance, Artoria's face flushed red in an instant.
She turned her face away:
"Where are your clothes?!"
"Hurry up and put them on!"
"They're ruined."
"Ruined...?"
Artoria poked her head out of the carriage and saw a shocking scene.
With the carriage she was in as the center point, almost all the surrounding trees were bent over.
If even the trees were like this, then it went without saying for the clothes.
"Ian, did you do all this?" Artoria felt like her very eyes were shaking.
"Not all of it."
"Those things that smelled wrong had some strength too."
"Then—"
Artoria was about to speak, but her eyes noticed the wounds on his body.
Without hesitation, she said directly:
"Come here."
"Hm?"
"I told you to come here, hurry up—"
"Okay."
Inside the carriage, Ian, covered in wounds, sat face to face with Artoria.
"Idiot, why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
"It wasn't necessary."
"How could it not be necessary?"
Artoria fiddled with the buttons on her shirt.
If last night she was passive, then now, she was being proactive.
"You said you would protect me..."
"Then, I also have an obligation to ensure your basic needs are met, right?"
"Today—"
Artoria looked directly at the boy before her, her cheeks burning.
"You can be a little more excessive, you know."
"If you drink something, you'll recover a little faster, right?"
"Mm... it's a happy decision then, and it can also make up for what happened last night."
Artoria had clearly underestimated Ian's desire for her.
The moment she said this, she was pounced on and pushed down.
It was a feeling of being turned into food, to be devoured at will.
But only this way could she properly repay the heart that was so determined to protect her, right?
The carriage began to shake.
And at the same time—
The royal capital of Britain, Camelot.
A young woman with a somewhat similar appearance to Artoria was standing on the balcony of her room.
But her expression looked quite terrifying.
The young woman's name was Morgan, the eldest daughter of King Uther.
According to the traditional line of succession, she should have been the next king of Britain.
But...
Everything was ruined.
Artoria.
That girl, who was nominally her sister, had already been secretly designated as the heir by that damned father of hers.
The King Selection Ceremony was just a formality.
That sword was destined to be pulled out only by her.
What was this?!
What on earth was this?!
Clearly, she hadn't lost to that country bumpkin sister in any way, had she?
Jealousy and pain twisted her heart.
Britain was hers, all of this was hers.
Artoria must be eliminated!
But...
But why did it happen like that—
Recalling the half-human, half-dragon existence she had encountered while "manipulating" the black shadows, under conditions where absolutely no one could have known.
Morgan clenched her fists.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
What is that monster...
Why was it able to so easily erase the black shadows I had created?
Unable to understand, Morgan was left questioning everything.
"Artoria,"
"What on earth did you summon?"