Chapter 35
“It’s not a big deal to fight, so why are you all making such a fuss about it?”
“Hey, sit down already!”
The startled Duke Starrafit tried to make the boy sit.
But the boy frowned sharply and slapped his hand away hard.
“Enough, all I need to do is beat whatever this Monlepe divine beast is, right?”
“It’s not that simple!”
“If it’s not simple, then make it simple. Hey, Monlepe’s divine beast! I’m Fear, the divine beast of Starrafit. Come out quick and fight me!”
“Fear!”
Duke Starrafit shouted pleadingly, but Fear was uncontrollable.
With both hands stuffed in his pockets, he scanned the surroundings of Edenber, looking for Monlepe ’s divine beast.
‘If I don’t come out here, Asil’s honor will be tarnished.’
Asil, the ferocious black dragon beast, jumped up abruptly.
“Bbi-ya!” (I’m Asil, the boss of Monlepe!)
“Hey! Monlepe ’s divine beast! Are you chickening out?”
“Bbi!” (I’m right here!)
“Where are you? Come out quick!”
“Bbi-ya!!!” (I’m right heeeere!!!)
The only problem was that she was too small to be seen from where Fear stood.
Unable to stand by any longer, Edenber lifted Asil with both hands.
“My divine beast is right here.”
At that moment, the crowd, finally spotting Asil, began to murmur.
“…That’s supposed to be the divine beast of the Monlepe Duchy?”
“They say it breathes fire and eats rabbits raw.”
“It looks like it’d get eaten by a rabbit instead.”
“It’s so tiny you can barely see it.”
Similarly, Fear, who only now noticed Asil, furrowed his brow.
“Not some divine beast’s lunchbox.”
“Bbi-yat-bbi!” (Asil’s not a lunchbox!)
“What, I’m hearing human speech?”
Fear, looking at Asil with disbelief, scratched his ear absentmindedly.
“Hey, you little lizard.”
“Bbi-yat!” (Asil’s not a lizard either!)
Fear’s eyes widened, and he stopped scratching his ear.
He hadn’t misheard. That tiny lizard was definitely speaking human words!
Shocked, Fear stared at Asil for a while.
Then, he threw a final confirmation question at Edenber and Duke Starrafit.
“This bald lizard is really Monlepe ’s divine beast?”
Bald?!
The shocked bald baby dragon’s jaw dropped.
“Bbi-yaaaa!” (Come to meeee!)
Thus began the most intense divine beast friendly match that had never existed before and would never exist again.
* * *
Standing tall in the arena, Asil glared at Fear across from him.
She had learned in kindergarten that only beastmen could take human form, so she didn’t understand how that guy could stay in human form.
But that wasn’t important right now.
What was important was that that jerk had called Asil bald.
That was the most important thing.
Fear sneered.
“What’s wrong with calling a bald thing bald, you bald thing?”
“Bbi-yat-bbi!” (I’ve got eggshell right here!)
“That’s not your head. If that falls off, you’ll be truly bald.”
“Bbi…”
Unable to retort, Asil tightly clenched her front paws in frustration.
Fine, Asil was bald. But calling Asil bald was unforgivable!
Fear, looking amused to death by the fuming Asil, flashed a devilish grin.
“You know what? A bald thing like you can’t be a divine beast.”
“Bbi?!”
“The stronger the divine beast, the more their eye color matches their hair color. But you—”
Fear’s condescending gaze landed on Asil’s head.
“You’re bald.”
“Bbi!”
“Not only will you never be a strong divine beast, you can’t even be a regular one.”
He shook his head as if it were a pity, but… could it really be true that a bald creature couldn’t be Moonlefe’s boss?
Asil, with a serious expression, started fidgeting with her bald head.
The crowd, watching Asil with skeptical eyes, began to murmur.
“Is that really the rumored monster?”
“It looks like it’d get blown away by one flap of Starrafit ’s divine beast’s wings.”
“It’s already losing momentum. Is it going to forfeit like this?”
“Hundreds of knights beaten by that thing? No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem right… Must be a false rumor.”
Public opinion quickly tilted toward Starrabbit.
Duke Starrafit, who had been looking grim, was completely revived.
Meanwhile, Selena, who had been grinning at the thought of making big money from both the knights’ friendly match and the divine beast friendly match, hardened her expression.
‘What’s that kid doing right now?’
Even though the friendly match had started, Asil was too busy sulking, touching her head after falling for the opponent’s mental attack.
Of course, as a fellow woman, she understood how infuriating it was to be mocked for being bald, but now wasn’t the time for that.
Besides, wasn’t she actually bald?
With that thought, Selena shouted with all her might.
“lady Asil!”
Asil, who had been moping, turned to look at her.
“I know a way to make Fear grow!”
At that moment, the president of the Bald Association, who happened to be nearby, turned to her with gleaming eyes.
“And where I come from, the less hair someone had, the stronger they were!”
“Bbi…!”
Right, bald or not, that’s not what matters. What matters now is becoming a strong dragon, a ferocious dragon!
Asil perked up.
Nodding to Selena, who was fleeing from the Bald Association president, she shot a fierce glare at Fear.
Fear clicked tongue as if disappointed.
“I could’ve ended this easily.”
“Bbi-ya!” (Come to me!)
“Who’re you telling to come and go? Baldy, you come here.”
“Bbi-yat-bbi!” (Fine, Asil’s coming!)
Finally, the divine beast friendly match began in earnest.
Da-da-da-da-da! Asil charged quickly and launched a headbutt.
Hmph, Fear snorted and raised one hand. How much could a hit from that tiny bald thing hurt?
But the moment he collided with Asil,
his expression hardened, and he had no choice but to pull his other hand out of his pocket to defend.
“What the—!”
Even with both hands blocking, he was pushed back.
His sliding feet barely stopped just before he was knocked out of the ring.
Fear felt cold sweat trickle down his back. He had almost been humiliated by an out-of-bounds loss.
The moment he realized this, disbelief washed over him. How dare a mere bald thing try to humiliate him?
Fear, whose fiery temper matched his attribute, was, in crude terms, pissed off.
“No more holding back!”
With a fierce roar, his body was momentarily engulfed in flames.
Just as the imperial mages brought by Iokaste completed a protective barrier, he transformed into his divine beast form and took flight.
“Hooouuuuk!” (You baldy, if you beat me, I’ll call you big brother for life!)
Fear’s true form was a massive firebird.
Its enormous size cast a shadow over part of the arena.
The nobles cheering for Starrabbit erupted in excitement.
“Waaaa! Lord Fear!”
“Show that bald lizard who’s boss!”
“You’re awesome, Lord Fear!”
On the other hand, the nobles who had bet on Monlepe grew grim.
A lizard on the ground couldn’t beat a bird in the sky.
“Enduring is the best we can hope for…”
Edenber let out a groan.
He had tried to oppose Eokaste’s suggestion, knowing this might happen, but Asil had stormed out, fuming at the word “bald.”
Worried that Asil might get seriously hurt, he clenched his fists tightly, but an unexpected event unfolded.
Asil hesitated for a moment, then swiftly flew into the air, positioning herself at eye level with Fear.
A lizard flying in the sky!
Everyone was stunned by the unexpected situation.
In the arena, now silent except for the sound of the two creatures’ flapping wings, Asil shouted boldly.
“Bbi-yat-bbi! Bbi-ya!” (Asil’s not a big brother! I’m a female!)
“Hou houuu. Houuuuu!” (Then I’ll call you big sister for life—if you can beat me, that is!)
With his red eyes glinting, Fear spewed flames.
Fwoooosh! Asil, taking a deep breath, unleashed her breath with all she might.
Boom!!
The two flames collided in midair.
Since Fear’s flames were far larger, to the audience, it looked like Asil was engulfed in Fear’s fire.
Edenber, horrified, leapt to his feet.
“Asil!”
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By Anna 💓
