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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 177 - Summer Vacation at the Duke's House (8)
The Battle of Bueno Goji… it’s been a long time since I last heard that name.
That was one of the operations I was involved in while on the way to recruit Celine.
To be precise, it wasn’t an official deployment—I just happened to pass through the area and saw our forces struggling, so I decided to help.
At the time, the Demon King's army had taken control of a mountain overlooking the entire Bueno region, cutting off all transportation routes.
We desperately wanted to reclaim the mountain, but its treacherous terrain made a standard assault impossible.
Opening a dimensional gate above was out of the question due to interference magic, and to make matters worse, wyverns patrolled the sky.
The Human Alliance gathered catapults and mages to bombard the enemy, but the attacks were ineffective.
The demons had fortified their positions into tunnels, rendering long-range attacks almost useless.
Meanwhile, the Demon King's army had the high ground advantage and continued to inflict heavy casualties on our forces.
But Bueno was a critical location. Surrender was not an option, so despite the losses, we continued to surround the stronghold, locked in a stalemate.
When we arrived and saw the situation, we decided to intervene.
Since a frontal assault was impossible, we tried something different.
We used the very catapults that had been gathered for bombardment.
The plan was simple: while the catapults fired rocks, Linus and I would be launched alongside them.
After all, in a high-ground battle, victory is only secured when someone reaches the top and plants a flag. Throwing rocks and casting spells would never be enough.
It was a strategy I developed based on my experiences at the Ivronic Castle—a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.
"Are you insane?!"
The unit commander shouted in disbelief. But when I asked him if he had a better plan, he fell silent.
"You know, Dian."
Linus muttered as he crouched on the catapult.
"You're insane. Completely out of your mind."
"A sane man can never kill the Demon King."
With Lormane casting a divine shield on us, all preparations were complete.
"Remember this, both of you."
Lormane warned with a stern expression.
"My divine power isn’t strong enough to make this barrier invincible. If you hit the ground directly, you won't walk away unscathed."
"Got it. I’ll aim for the trees."
"Even so..."
Lormane looked up at the mountain, worried.
It had already been battered by countless bombardments, leaving much of it bare.
"Enough talking. We’re wasting time. Linus, ready?"
"Not that it matters if I’m not."
"Good. Let's go. Fire!"
The soldiers activated the catapult.
"Kuh?!"
The immense force launched us into the air, stealing the breath from my lungs.
The ground shrank below us in an instant, and the wyverns patrolling above grew larger at alarming speed.
"(What the hell?!)"
The wyvern riders recoiled in shock as we hurtled past them like bullets, giving them a thumbs-up as we zoomed by.
At the peak of our ascent, there was a brief moment of weightlessness, a sense of liberation.
Then came the gut-wrenching feeling of freefall.
"(Intruders! Catch them!)"
The wyvern riders dived to intercept us, but they couldn’t match our speed.
"(A-A meteor?! What the hell?!)"
Seeing us descend wrapped in golden light, the Demon King's soldiers scattered in a panic.
"Dian! We’re falling!"
"I know!!!"
I curled my body tightly and crashed directly into a trench road.
"Kuh…"
As Lormane had warned, the divine shield wasn’t omnipotent.
It saved me from having my skull cracked open and my body shattered, but it couldn’t fully absorb the impact.
I had landed about 90% of the way up the mountain—close to the peak.
Perfect.
As I stood up, demons began to swarm around me from all directions.
"Dian! Where are you?!"
I heard Linus shouting from a distance.
"Here! Meet me below!"
"Got it! Don’t die!"
Linus and I rounded up the Demon King's forces on the high ground and drove them downhill, where our waiting allies wiped them out.
As a result, the Human Alliance reclaimed Bueno Goji, regaining control of the region and restoring the supply lines.
This shift in logistics turned the tide of the war.
And now, it turns out that the Duke’s second son was there?
What a small world.
With his arrival, the table’s conversation shifted from Knightley’s marriage to war stories.
The Duke, his second son, and even Weaber—a recipient of the Third-Class Military Merit Medal—all had battlefield experience.
Weaber, in particular, had an incredible record, having slain a hundred demons with just a bow while serving in the Quorina militia.
As always, when veterans gather, they start competing over who had it the toughest.
With the topic of marriage completely forgotten, the Duchess looked increasingly displeased.
# # # # #
The party lasted late into the night.
With my talks with the Duke and Duchess fizzling out, I was pulled around by various people.
Drunk off her feet, Lina clung to me, only for Felimia to drag her away. Hindrasta kept making strange hand gestures, insisting we’d “see each other later tonight.”
Merilda kept refilling my glass in a quiet but persistent manner, while Knightley kept interrupting the Duchess every time I tried to speak to her.
Ismera sat in the corner, glaring at everyone as if she wanted to kill them all.
Anna was nowhere to be seen—probably in the stables again.
Meanwhile, Kaiden and Orendi were deep into their magic studies, pushing plates aside to clear space on the table.
Above Orendi’s head, colorful illusions swirled and burst like fireworks.
But where was Kirrin?
I searched everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Where’s the headmaster?"
"No idea."
Felimia, struggling to keep Lina upright, shook her head.
"Maybe she went to bed early?"
"But she didn’t do anything today…"
"Professoorr… Marry meee…"
"Good grief."
As Lina slurred nonsense, Felimia sighed and dragged her away.
Maybe Kirrin really did go back to her room.
I glanced toward the mansion and spotted something unusual—a pair of eyes peeking over the window frame.
When I raised my hand, Kirrin quickly ducked out of sight.
Looks like I should check on her.
Weaving through the crowd, I entered the mansion.
But when I reached the window where she had been, she was already gone.
Where did she go?
I took a deep breath, focusing on the faint scent of her usual perfume.
It led me to her room.
Just as I raised my hand to knock—
A sudden force wrapped around my neck.
"Kuh! What the—?!"
"Hehehe, finally, we’re alone."
Hindrasta’s sinister laughter echoed in my ears. This crazy dragon again?
"Come here. There's something we need to do."
I was caught in a chokehold from behind, completely overpowered by the dragon’s brute strength.
Where the hell is this lunatic dragon dragging me now...?
Hindrasta’s destination was my room.
There, she threw me onto the bed and, without warning, stripped off the bikini she had still been wearing.
"What the hell are you doing, you insane dragon?"
"You've treated me well all this time, so I thought I should repay you."
"Repay me?"
"From what I’ve seen, you lose your mind over females. What greater reward is there than giving you someone with a body as magnificent as mine?"
With that, Hindrasta lunged at me fiercely.
The moment her naked body pressed against mine—
Instead of feeling any rising desire, I was completely crushed under her overwhelming mass. My vision darkened as I struggled to breathe.
Too heavy. Way too heavy.
It was like someone had taken a full-sized dragon and forcibly compressed it into a human shape—just as unbearably heavy.
"Get off! You're gonna kill me!"
"No! I won't move!"
"I said, get off!"
Summoning all my strength, I threw Hindrasta off the bed. She tumbled onto the floor but immediately sprang back up.
"You have no right to refuse! Dragons never forget a favor—or a grudge—until death!"
"Then forget it!"
As she charged forward, shattering the floorboards, I grabbed her by the throat and hurled her backward.
"Gah!"
She crashed into the wall with a heavy thud, the impact making the windows rattle.
"You goddamn idiot! Can't even appreciate what you're being given?!"
"I don’t eat lizards!"
"Eat! It’s delicious, so just shut up and take it!"
"I refuse!"
After an intense struggle, I finally managed to plant Hindrasta head-first into the floor, knocking her unconscious and ending the ordeal.
I wrapped her up in a blanket and dragged her off to her own room, sighing.
I knew full well what she really was—a massive dragon.
And when I remembered the sheer hell I went through chasing her around battlefields, there wasn’t an ounce of attraction left in me.
No matter how absurdly voluptuous she looked in this form, some things were just a hard no.
# # # # #
Meanwhile, in her room, Kirrin was buried under her blanket, silently crying.
Earlier, at the barbecue party, she had seen Dian surrounded by people.
There was no place for her beside him.
Even so, she couldn't tear herself away completely and ended up peeking through the hallway window, watching him from afar. But the more she watched, the more it hurt.
As the party dragged on, drunken women began clinging to Dian, and she couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Then, when Dian finally noticed her, Kirrin fled back to her room.
Later, she heard his footsteps pause in front of her door, and she hesitated.
Should she open it? Pretend she didn’t notice?
But before she could decide, she heard the voice of Sophie, one of the students, calling out to him.
And then, he walked away.
Not long after, the sound of a violent commotion erupted from Dian’s room.
A long while later, he finally emerged—carrying a completely unconscious Hindrasta over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hall.
Just how much did they even do…?
That was when it hit her.
It was over for her…
She had met Dian first at the academy…
She thought she was the first to fall for him…
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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