Evade The Hero and Flee!

loyal to me…

And when those uselessly capable underlings of mine ended up sweeping up all the achievements and caused my peerage to get upgraded, I… I had to accept the title of Count while shedding tears of lament, didn’t I?

All thanks to that, just how much envy and jealousy of the others did I have to suffer through?

“Your Highness!”

While swimming in the reminiscence of the terrifying days I’ve spent in the imperial court, the princess’s lady-in-waiting, Serel’s urgent cry exploded out from a spot not too far from me.

It seemed that they had successfully rescued the princess through the temporary teleportation gate.

“Is she unharmed?”

“Yes.
Other than the sleep magic cast on her, it seems that she’s not been harmed in any way.”

Several magicians rushed in and began cancelling the dragon’s magic.

It seemed that the dragon wasn’t serious about casting the sleep magic on the princess because she relatively quickly regained her consciousness after five magicians collapsed out of exhaustion.

“Where… am I…”

“Your Highness!”

“Is it… you, Serel?”

The princess’s soft, frail-sounding voice caused Serel, ever her loyal servant, to break down in a flood of tears.
The princess seemed a bit overwhelmed by her surroundings but still gently patted Serel on her back to calm her down.

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After the lady-in-waiting had calmed down, Yulkelis stepped up as the leader of the expedition and explained what happened so far, eventually recommending that the princess should evacuate back to the royal castle for her safety.
But then…

“No, I must not.
Our brave Sir Hero is battling against the evil dragon to save my life even as we speak.
I simply cannot forsake such courage just to ensure my safety!”

…She bloody announced in a forthright attitude that she must spectate on the dragon versus hero death match!

-You kidding me?! What about my perfect plan?!

-But master, I thought most of your so-called perfect plans end in abject failure…?

-N-no way that’s true! Hell no!

Thanks to the princess’s insistence, my perfect plan of taking her back to the castle, then fleeing the capital along with my daughter, was in danger of going down the drain.

“No, Your Highness! It’s too dangerous!”

“Your Highness, Sir Hero will definitely emerge victorious.
That is why we recommend that…”

“Since his victory is already assured, I shall not back down from my position!”

What the hell is up with this forthright attitude?!

If you’re really a royalty, shouldn’t you be saying things like, “Leave the lowly job of fighting to a commoner hero and let us evacuate to the castle!” and then, order your unwilling retainers to retreat from here? Isn’t that the usual course of action?!

“Your Highness, may I be permitted to speak?”

“Who are you, sir?”

That’s why she needed to be

talked out of this.

An average royalty would’ve thrown a fit while saying, “How dare a lowly commoner speak to me!” but she didn’t seem like your average royalty at all.
That’s why I chose to address her without holding back.

“Your Highness, this gentleman is Sir Naruan, a Grand Sage and the teacher of the Hero of Light, Sir Swinn.”

“Everything that has happened so far has unfolded according to Sir Grand Sage’s meticulous planning, Your Highness.”

“Yes.
And it was Sir Grand Sage who bravely ventured into the dragon’s lair to ensure your safe escape, Your Highness!”

When the princess locked her gaze on me, her close aides began pouring out all sorts of praises reserved for me, starting from Yulkelis himself.

-M-master, you just evolved from a sage to a grand sage…

-Huh.
To think that I’d become a Grand Sage overnight just because I rescued a princess.

Was it because I was referred to as the hero’s teacher, or because others called me the Grand Sage? If not, then maybe, it might have something to do with the revelation that I had saved her.

“This one is Vera rick Neidon, hailing from the kingdom of Neidon, sir.”

“Please call me Naruan, Your Highness.”

Judging from how courteously she bowed her head, yep, she was definitely an irregular, alright.

“The battle between my disciple, the Hero of the Light, and the evil dragon has been meticulously planned out, Your Highness.
Introducing a variable at this stage could potentially endanger his life.”

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My conscience was pricked by the idea of simply throwing that idiot in front of the dragon, so I begrudgingly had some traps installed for him.

As such… he should be able to look after himself, at the very least!

“That’s why I strongly recommend that you patiently wait for my disciple’s return back in the royal castle, Your Highness.”

Yes, and with me, too!

“No, Sir Grand Sage.
I believe it’ll be fine.
I cannot, in my good conscience, forsake the one who is risking his life for my sake.”

“Ah, aaaah… Your Highness, our princess…”

“As I thought, Her Highness is…”

Hey, listen here, you dolts.
It’s all good and nice for you to be moved to tears by the princess.
It’s also acceptable to sing praises of her, too.
But there’s no way our hero can win against a dragon, you know? Let’s be realistic here!

“Your Highness, even if Sir Grand Sage has come up with a perfect plan, a dragon is the strongest lifeform in existence.
A creature that a lone person cannot hope to best.”

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As expected of a magician.

As expected of the top dog of a profession filled with geniuses, the archmage! Sir Yulkelis, I knew you’d see the reality as it is!

“That’s why, I, Yulkelis, will… sacrifice my life if Sir Hero finds himself in danger and protect him!”

That’s not iiiiit!

“Sir Yulkelis!”

“I am of the same opinion! I cannot abandon the brave hero who is fighting the evil dragon for the sake of our sovereign, Her Highness!”

“Yes, me too!”

That damn Yulkelis became the spark lighting up the fuse, prompting the number of suicidal idiots wanting to risk their lives to protect the hero to swell up in no time at all.

“Everyone…”

And to make matters worse, the princess began tearing up emotionally at this scene, too!

N-no! This can’t be! I know that it’s super fun to watch things burning down and people fighting each other, but this is different.
You’ll only be signing your death warrant by trying to spectate on the mortal combat between a hero and a dragon!

“The dragon is bound to notice a large gathering of people showing up, Your Highness.
Which could negatively interfere with my disciple’s fight as well.
I understand all of your noble sentiments, but…”

I must stop this.
I must stop this madness at all cost!

With how things are going, I’ll definitely get dragged into the ranks of these suicidal idiots, too!

“That’s why all of you must…”

“Yes, all of you must do as recommended and stay here.
The Grand Sage, Sir Naruan will surely protect me while we are there.”

What on earth is this dumb little girl even spewing here?!

“Yes, if it is Sir Naruan accompanying you, we can rest easy!”

“Indeed, if it’s the Grand Sage who broke through the dragon’s lair without any injuries!”

“We shall leave it in your capable hands, Sir Naruan!”

I hadn’t said a single thing yet, but these damn idiots went ahead and decided it all by themselves.

“Of course.
You can leave it to me.”

However, some said that with great risks come great rewards.

Showing her the scene of our hero being wrecked by the dragon should make it easier for me to convince her to safely evacuate back to the royal castle.

As for where we should stay and witness the fight, I figured that some distant hilly location with a full view of the hero’s epic struggle against the dragon should suffice.

“Allow me to accompany you!”

“Well, if it’s one more person…”

It’d not be such a bad idea to have another person when convincing the princess.
Especially more so if that another person happens to be the princess’s closest confidante, her lady-in-waiting!

And so, we arrived in a location with a good view of the hero versus dragon fight.
But when we got there, I was struck by a certain realisation.

“…Ah.”

That realisation was about the fatal flaw in my so-called perfect plan.

“Ah, ah…!”

“Oh, Sir Hero…!”

I glanced at the princess and her lady-in-waiting as the duo’s eyes sparkled so brightly, then turned my head to take in the spectacle of the hero’s battle against the almighty dragon.

-Diiiie, you evil dragon!

-Kuwaaaaahk!

…Which happened to be the spectacle of the evil dragon screaming and falling down at the hero’s sword strike!

Yes, that’s right!

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If the hero manages to defeat the dragon, then… Then my entire plan would go down the drain, just like that!