I Married the Dragon I Killed

“C-Captain of the Guard! I think something is approaching!”

The guards immediately entered a level-one alert state.

They drew their rifles and took cover behind defensive positions.

Shortly afterward, the source of the vibrations emerged from the dense forest.

It was an enormous rock.

The rock was moving.

But that illusion lasted only for an instant; as it drew closer, they realized it was not a golem, but a suit of armor.

No, could it really be called armor?

Every step it took generated tremors due to its immense weight.

It looked as though one of the golems that could only be found underground was walking toward them.

It came closer and closer.

Despite standing only about two meters tall, its presence felt like a mountain.

Once it was close enough, the captain of the guard tried to fulfill his duty.

“H-Ha…!”

He could not even properly pronounce the short word “Halt.”

Upon reaching a sufficient distance, the armored man stopped of his own accord and placed his shield before him.

BOOM!

With a deep resonance, the man stopped moving.

The guard cautiously approached and asked.

“W-Who are you?”

Fear for his own life naturally made his tone respectful.

The armored man silently unfolded a crumpled and battered sheet of paper.

Although it was torn and worn, the seal stamped upon it belonged to Count Consilus.

“I certify that this knight, who earned merits during the recent monster extermination campaign, is authorized to request an audience with Regent Perda Valdrova… Huh?”

The guards looked at one another after reading the document.

“That can’t be right… Could there be some mistake?”

“Didn’t the armored knight we were expecting already arrive?”

“Yeah. They said he would arrive this morning, and he did arrive this morning…”

Even with the certificate, they could not deny him entry, so the guards wore awkward expressions.

“Y-You may pass.”

When the captain returned the certificate, the armored man raised his shield and resumed walking.

His incredibly heavy footsteps carried him toward Hestia Village.

***

Meanwhile, Erika was delighted that the Armored Knight, Valdrova, had accepted her proposal.

‘I thought it would take much longer to convince him. I never imagined it would go this well.’

She clenched her fist to suppress the trembling brought on by her satisfaction and expressed her gratitude.

“Ahem! Thank you very much. If the day ever comes when the continent of Serdes is saved, it will undoubtedly be possible thanks to the Knight’s assistance.”

Taking advantage of the favorable atmosphere, Erika asked another question.

“I guarantee your anonymity, but could you at least tell me a little about your identity?”

No, no, no!

“I understand. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”

Lorga’s children possessed a tendency to never leave unanswered anything that sparked their curiosity.

Making a private promise to uncover the knight’s true identity someday, she decided to let the matter rest.

She then dispelled the magical barrier.

“Then tomorrow, come to the Adventurers’ Guild first rather than the Workers’ Union. There are a few things we need to coordinate, and besides, I know you don’t work solely for money, so we’ll have to adjust the schedule.”

Nod, nod.

With that, their conversation ended, and Valdrova left together with Erika.

Hanson, who should have been waiting outside the door, was standing nervously in the union hall.

The reason was a statue standing before him.

“Uh… this isn’t the Adventurers’ Guild, it’s the Workers’ Union. I don’t think this is where you should be…”

But it was not a statue.

It was a man so covered in heavy armor that he could be described as a fortress.

The armor and shield appeared to have been melted and hardened countless times, creating rippling layers across the surface.

They looked so heavy that even taking a single step seemed difficult.

And at the same time, they demonstrated that he possessed such monstrous strength that no one could stop him once he decided to move forward.

Faced with that breathtaking figure, Erika tilted her head slightly and asked Valdrova.

“Is he someone you know?”

Shake of the head.

If it were someone she knew, it could only be another dragon.

And there was no dragon who walked around wearing armor like that.

Even when taking human form, dragons preferred to present themselves as they were rather than completely covering themselves in such a manner.

Then the knight’s helmet, motionless like a statue, moved.

Valdrova felt a gaze piercing through the visor.

He was looking at her.

“Was it… you?”

A deep voice broke the prolonged silence.

“The shameless thief who stole another person’s merits?”

At that very instant—

Valdrova’s combat senses, superior to anyone else’s, clearly perceived the prelude to an attack.

That man intended to crush her head with his club.

A thick and solid club began to move.

“What do you think you’re doing…?!”

Erika reacted immediately.

She used magic to immobilize his arm with restraining chains and stop the attack.

CRASH!

She failed.

Erika’s efforts shattered together with the magical chains she had cast.

“What…?!”

Erika’s magic was a fifth-circle defensive spell capable of restraining even an ogre.

And that man had destroyed it.

From the moment she saw that armor, she had estimated that he was strong, but even that assessment appeared to have fallen short.

That strength descended directly toward Valdrova’s head.

BOOM!!

A shockwave exploded outward.

“Aaaagh!”

“Uwaaaah!”

The people nearby were knocked off their feet, and the dust gathered on the rooftops burst loose all at once.

Had that attack landed directly, not even a trace of its target would have remained.

But that did not happen.

The club never reached the ground.

It had stopped above the Armored Knight’s head.

Just as the man had swung the club with one hand, the Armored Knight had caught the tip of the weapon with one hand.

“Hmm…”

The man let out a snort.

“So, even if you’re a thief, at least you have some skill.”

Valdrova held the club while observing her surroundings.

People were sprawled across the ground.

The buildings had shaken violently.

‘The buildings… almost collapsed.’

An emotion arose within her.

‘The buildings I built…’

It was the first time since the Godwin incident that she had felt genuine anger.

Just as that emotion was about to surge from the depths of her heart—

“What kind of commotion are you causing in someone else’s territory?”

A young voice suddenly rang out.

It was hard to believe it belonged to someone who was not even twenty years old.

It carried a weight that could not be ignored.

Upon hearing that voice, Valdrova’s anger dissipated like steam.

The person who had stepped between them was someone she knew very well.

‘Perda!’

Her fiancé.

The man she thought was unbelievably cool.

***

Before the incident occurred, Perda received a report from Isabella.

“The Armored Knight had already entered the village, but we’ve received news that another Armored Knight has arrived.”

Perda asked what in the world that was supposed to mean.

“One is the Armored Knight who has already been working here, and the other is a man carrying a certificate from Count Consilus.”

“I see?”

The first was undoubtedly the Armored Knight they had known for a long time, and the second was, without a doubt, Alberdo, known as The Walking Fortress.

Up to that point, it could have been dismissed as a simple misunderstanding.

And Isabella would not have reported it.

But the problem came afterward.

“That man is heading to the Workers’ Union instead of Valdrova Castle.”

“Does he also intend to start working?”

Perda even wondered whether that man was another eccentric like the Armored Knight.

“It doesn’t seem that way. Rather, we believe he harbors resentment toward the Armored Knight who arrived first.”

“Resentment?”

“It seems people assumed that the Armored Knight who was supposed to arrive today was the same one who works here, so they welcomed him enthusiastically. Our hypothesis is that this caused him resentment.”

Isabella’s words made sense.

There was probably no other worker as peculiar as that Armored Knight.

And if he had gone somewhere completely unrelated to his purpose, the theory fit.

“I thought there might be trouble, so I came to inform you before heading there myself.”

“I’ll come as well.”

Two men with monstrous strength gathered in the same place.

Perda was curious to see what would happen, so he decided to witness it with his own eyes.

And when he arrived, he found a surprising scene.

BOOM!!

A terrifying shockwave had erupted in front of the Workers’ Union.

Tables, chairs, and even people had been pushed away by the impact.

‘Incredible.’

Perda had assumed that the Armored Knight would be the one at a disadvantage.

Although he possessed extraordinary strength, comparing him to Alberdo’s reputation was like comparing a firefly to the sun.

However, reality was different.

The fact that she had stopped that attack with a single hand proved that she was not an ordinary person either.

Two colossal forces had collided.

That was why the shockwave had occurred.

That was why the buildings had trembled.

Perda became curious about which of the two would be stronger if they fought seriously.

But he could not allow it.

This was not a battlefield.

It was Hestia Village.

He could not stand by and watch the buildings collapse.

“What do you think you’re doing in someone else’s territory?”

With Perda’s appearance, the atmosphere that had been on the verge of turning violent dissipated.

Perda positioned himself between the two knights and looked toward Alberdo.

He had already seemed enormous from a distance.

Up close, he appeared even more gigantic.

Alberdo handed him the certificate.

“I don’t believe this document that allows you to enter here means you can do whatever you want.”

“I was only trying to catch a thief who stole another person’s merits.”

Perda was slightly surprised.

‘So he can speak.’

The Walking Fortress, Alberdo.

Perda had never heard him speak.

That was why he had assumed his tongue had been cut out.

But that was not the case.

He had simply never had a reason to speak.

Even that man opened his mouth sometimes.

Meanwhile, the armored knight behind him still had not said a single word.

“I’m sure that wasn’t his intention.”

In the end, Perda had to defend him.

“He took a Vow of Silence. The situation probably spiraled out of control, and he never found an opportunity to explain himself. The matter of stealing merits was nothing more than a misunderstanding caused by other people. Isn’t that right?”

Perda glanced at the Armored Knight.

He nodded quickly.

‘Perda…’

Valdrova was so happy she could barely contain herself.

Even though she was using a different appearance, he had taken her side.

And although she was physically larger because of the armor, his back seemed incredibly broad and dependable.

‘Do you really think someone that clumsy would do something like that?’

Thinking about how she had ended up working at the Workers’ Union, it was obvious.

She had probably simply thought she should help with something without truly understanding the situation.

To Perda, that Armored Knight was simply someone absurdly kind and honest.

It was far easier for him to believe everything had been a misunderstanding than a deliberate attempt to steal merits.

“Hm…”

Alberdo let out a snort.

He seemed to be thinking.

But his club remained pointed at his enemy.

“Not even a person truly knows the corners of their own heart. How can you be so certain?”

“I agree with that.”

That was why consistency was such an admirable thing.

The human heart could change as easily as one turned a hand.

“Even so, you’ve personally clarified before everyone that this was a misunderstanding. Don’t you think it’s time to let the matter end here? You’ve already caused enough trouble by using force on your own.”

Perda spoke seriously.

This was Valdrova’s land.

And he could not tolerate anyone threatening that territory.

If Alberdo insisted on crossing the line, Perda was prepared to fight.

“Very well.”

Alberdo stepped back without resistance.

From the beginning, he had not come looking for a fight.

His objective was Perda.

Fortunately, he was not unnecessarily aggressive.

“Follow me.”

With that, Perda left together with him, and the incident came to an end.

Alberdo rested the club on his shoulder.

At the end of the weapon, the marks of five fingers could clearly be seen.

***

Perda brought the conversation to Town Hall, the largest building in Hestia Village.

Since it was the place where village affairs were handled, it had a proper reception room for receiving guests.

The reason they did not go to the castle was simple.

‘Ruri.’

The rules required knights to clean themselves before entering.

And to do that, they had to remove their armor.

But Alberdo never removed his armor.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t smell bad or anything like that.

Ruri still harbored a certain resentment toward knights, so it was impossible to expect her to show flexibility toward Alberdo.

That was why they decided to talk at Town Hall from the beginning.

Alberdo did not seem to mind either.

“Then what reward do you want?”

Following the instructions written in the certificate, Perda asked the question.

“I don’t need anything.”

Exactly the answer Perda had expected.

He had not come out of greed.

He had come to see Perda.

“Then what is your purpose?”

“Do you know a white-skinned demon?”

Demons usually had black skin.

But there was one exception.

One of them possessed white skin.

It was the Curved Demon.

“I know him.”

“I found him.”

That did not surprise Perda.

If Alberdo was a wandering knight who eliminated everything that threatened the world, demons would naturally be among his primary targets.

It was only natural that he would eventually find one.

‘Does he want to cooperate in eliminating him?’

If that were the case, it would be good news for Perda.

“He told me something.”

“What was it?”

“That he had found the next candidate for Demon King.”

The Demon King.

Although the Black Dragon Godwin was considered the source of all evil, the Demon King was not someone who could be underestimated either.

The Twelve Heroes had fought to their limits to defeat him.

And in the end, the hero died alongside him.

If someone had told Alberdo that, the logical course of action would have been to seek out that supposed future Demon King.

However, the fact that he had come all the way here allowed Perda to easily deduce the reason.

“And that candidate is me?”

“That’s right.”

“And you believe the words of a demon?”

It was an elegant way of asking whether he was an idiot.

“No. I don’t believe him.”

He was not an idiot.

“But I also saw no reason to ignore the warning.”

Nor was he reckless enough to dismiss it.

Perda leaned back in his chair.

“What will you do if you discover that I truly have the potential to become a Demon King?”

“Everything for the sake of the continent of Serdes.”

In other words…

He would kill him.

“What is a Demon King?”

“An idiot who wishes to turn this continent into a void.”

“And you think I could become something like that?”

“Anyone can become something like that. First comes loss, then emptiness. After that, the emptiness is filled with the wrong emotions. That is a Demon King.”

Perda understood those words perfectly.

After his mother’s death, every emotional bond had disappeared.

And eventually, he had been cast out.

Exactly like the Perda from that distant future before his return.

Back then, he too had practically been a Demon King.

“That is why I’m asking you. Are you certain you will never become one?”

Perda thought about it.

For Valdrova, he would be willing to do anything.

“No.”

That was why he could not say so.

Because that desire to do everything for someone could become distorted.

And eventually corrupt even the original intention.

That was how human beings were.

And Perda was human too.

“Then allow me to make you a proposal.”

Perda extended his hand.

“There is an abandoned territory not far from here.”

The territory that had once belonged to Tesalos Wolcher, whom he had executed.

At last, the time had come for it to find a new owner.

“What do you think about watching over me from there?”