Chapter 227

– Please… help… me….

‘Huh?’

Lloyd blinked.

He’d just heard a strange voice.

It was faint, like someone shouting from hundreds of meters away, so for a moment he wondered if he’d misheard.

But no.

‘A message just popped up, didn’t it? It said an option was activated.’

The [Half-Human Half-Dragon] option newly added to his [Mana Heart Skill].

It was an option he’d obtained after using Rapid Charge inside the Bone Dragon’s skull.

Its function was simple.

It made dragons grow curious about him.

‘Well, it’s not a bad option.’

Most dragons were hostile toward humans.

Like someone who spots a cockroach and immediately grabs a slipper or a rolled-up newspaper, it was common for them to think about killing humans on sight.

But with the [Half-Human Half-Dragon] option?

It seemed he wouldn’t be executed without question the instant a dragon laid eyes on him.

Because, ‘for now,’ they’d be curious first.

And just now, a message had appeared saying that option was activating.

Lloyd focused his hearing.

The voice from earlier gradually became clearer.

– Over there… Can you hear my voice…? I am the Ancient Dragon Enticus…. I request help from whoever is hearing this voice….

‘It’s real.’

He hadn’t misheard.

The voice kept coming.

– I am the Ancient Dragon Enticus…. Once a member of a great clan that commanded the world…. I beseech the one who has acquired my bones for help….

It was certain.

Lloyd guessed the identity of the voice.

‘Don’t tell me this Bone Dragon is the very one from when it was alive.’

It seemed so.

And that made Lloyd hesitate.

‘Ah, damn. I kind of want to ignore a voice like that.’

Should he ignore it?

Pretend he hadn’t heard and move on?

The temptation rose up like rich bone broth.

What good would come of listening?

– Help me.

– Have mercy.

It sounded like a shortcut to trouble.

‘I don’t know what it is, but it’s not my business, and I don’t want to get involved. I already have a mountain of things to deal with here anyway.’

Lloyd’s gaze swept his surroundings.

This place—the Termina Grand Garden—had been breathtakingly beautiful and majestic until just moments ago.

Now it looked like a bedroom after thirty elementary school nephews had rampaged through it on a holiday.

In a word, it was a disaster.

‘Pulling in the contract to restore this would probably be pretty lucrative.’

The money he earned would pile up nicely in the Frontera Estate’s warehouse, and it would be put to good use as his retirement fund.

Just thinking about it made satisfaction bloom.

So.

Lloyd decided to ignore the voice.

He tried to forcibly turn off the activated [Half-Human Half-Dragon] option.

But then—

– You who are hearing my voice now…. This is a request I make sincerely for your sake…. If you do not help me now…. my noble bones will turn to dust and scatter within three years….

“Yes, did you request my help?”

Lloyd responded at the speed of light.

His eyes sparkled as he answered the voice.

Queen Alicia Termina Magentano and Javier Asrahan, standing beside him, shot him puzzled looks as he muttered to empty air.

Lloyd ignored them.

‘Of course! The bones turn to dust in three years? The Bone Dragon will disappear? That absolutely cannot happen!’

He didn’t want to respond to a pointless request with no benefit.

But if the hard-earned Bone Dragon had an expiration date of only three years?

That had to be prevented.

He had to help with all his heart and sincerity.

So Lloyd replied at once.

The dragon’s returning voice carried clear joy.

– Huh, a kind… human, is it? By any chance, are you not part of the group of Black Wizards who misused my bones…?

“No.”

– Is that so…?

“Yep. Of course not. On the contrary, I defeated those bastards. The Black Wizard Targa—do you happen to know him?”

– I know… him…. He excavated my corpse…. And misused it….

Violent emotion seeped into the dragon’s voice.

The moment Lloyd sensed it, he quickly spoke.

“That bastard, I eliminated him.”

– You did?

“Yes. I just eliminated him. Wasn’t he parasitizing the parietal bone?”

– …Seeing that you know that… it seems your words about eliminating him are not false….

“Yes, exactly that.”

Now was the era of self-PR.

Lloyd eagerly advertised his achievements to the dragon.

Perhaps because of that, the dragon’s voice warmed a little.

Soon, something changed before his eyes.

Fwooo…!

The finger heart the Bone Dragon had been holding out since earlier.

From its fingertip, light slowly rose.

The light gathered and formed an image in the air.

‘Don’t tell me it’s a video letter?’

Lloyd had a feeling.

He was right.

Within the image, a dragon with green scales appeared.

It had horns identical in shape to the Bone Dragon’s.

Its scales were worn, its body covered in countless scars—clearly aged.

It must have been how that Bone Dragon looked when it was alive.

“What in the…?”

Queen Alicia’s eyes widened at the dragon image that had appeared out of nowhere.

Ignoring her reaction, Lloyd focused on the image.

The dragon in the image opened its mouth.

This time, it spoke in a voice everyone could hear.

– This is a record left by me, the Ancient Dragon Enticus—a distress letter thrown into the sea in a glass bottle. Furthermore, it is the greatest gift and favor I can offer to the one who will help me.

Enticus rolled its amber eyes.

It looked down on them with the force of a living dragon.

– First, I wish to know the name of the one who responded to my voice.

“Lloyd Frontera.”

Before anyone else could cut in, Lloyd answered promptly.

Enticus smiled, satisfied.

– Good. Human Lloyd Frontera. First, I thank you for responding to my voice. Are you, by any chance, prepared to help me?

“Hmm, I’d like to hear the conditions first.”

Conditions?

“Yes.”

Lloyd nodded as if asking why it even needed to be said.

“How can I blindly agree to help without even knowing what it is or what the conditions are?”

It was an utterly obvious point.

‘Seriously, that’s the most awkward question in the world. Asking, “Can you help me?” without even explaining what you need first. Asking me to answer before you tell me anything. What is that?’

At the very least, if you were asking for help, you should start by saying what kind of help you needed.

That was the proper order.

Frankly, Lloyd hated falling into conversational traps, taking a loss, and ending up stuck with responsibility.

‘Even if the Bone Dragon’s expiration date shrinks to three years.’

The Bone Dragon was a coveted addition to the Bone Corps.

Just imagining how to use it made him feel like a second heart he didn’t have was sprouting and beating in surround sound.

But if maintaining it meant overexerting himself?

If it meant suffering some enormous, unforeseen loss?

He’d discard it without regret.

Lloyd thought that was natural.

‘It really is. How is it any different from living under unpayable debt just to maintain an ultra-high-end imported car that’s far beyond your means?’

So what did this dragon want?

What kind of help was it asking for?

He needed to hear it clearly first.

Lloyd stared up at Enticus with a firm, unyielding gaze.

Enticus seemed to read it.

Huh.

A hollow laugh spilled from the dragon’s lips.

– Right. You are correct. When you think about it, I am in the position of begging for help. Fine. I shall follow your words. I will first reveal my business in detail.

“Yes, I’ll hear it.”

– To get to the point, my soul is currently trapped in a pit of hell.

“Hell?”

– Correct.

“Then what is this image I’m seeing right now?”

– This image is not my true form or soul. It is merely a hastily left letter—a message recorded just before I fell into hell. A magical letter thrown into the sea, which is this world, using my bones as the glass bottle.

“……”

So it was basically a video letter—equipped with enough magical pseudo-intelligence to hold a conversation, something like that.

That was how Lloyd understood it.

“Well, anyway. You’re trapped in hell, so what kind of help do you want? You’re not asking me to pull you out of hell or something like that, are you?”

– Correct.

“……Yes?”

– Your conjecture is correct. Because of the Black Wizards you eliminated earlier—those who misused my corpse for all manner of evil purposes—my soul, which was at rest, was cursed and dragged off to hell. So I beg you. Please, go to hell and rescue my soul that has fallen there.

“Yes, goodbye.”

The moment he heard it, Lloyd dipped his head slightly.

He was about to order the Bone Dragon to turn off the image.

If Enticus hadn’t urgently shouted, he definitely would have.

– Wait! Are you perhaps intending to refuse my request!

“Yes, and what of it?”

Lloyd shrugged and looked back at Enticus.

“Do I look crazy enough to go to hell?”

– Well….

“It’s obviously nonsense. I, for what it’s worth, have a future ahead of me. I have no business setting even a single toe in hell yet, so why would I ride the express train to hell myself to save you, whom I have no acquaintance or connection with?”

It was the honest truth.

The second he heard “go to hell and rescue my soul,” he genuinely thought it was insane.

“No, I’m not some hero from legends or myths, nor a son of a god. What gives you the nerve to send an ordinary person like me all the way to hell? Are you, by any chance, a drowning ghost? Are you trying to drag me down with you because you resent suffering alone in hell?”

– That is, of course, not it!

“I’m sorry, but wouldn’t it be better to just accept your fate and stay there? I really don’t want to go to a place like hell. I don’t even know how to get there.”

– The Hellgate leading to hell, I can open it for you right now.

“No, please, I don’t need that.”

Lloyd was horrified.

He’d only responded so fast because he heard the Bone Dragon would turn to dust within three years if he didn’t help.

He never imagined the request would be this absurd.

It felt exactly like happily opening the door after hearing “Package delivery!” only to be ambushed by an unexpected proselytizer.

‘A trip to hell, of all things.’

It was preposterous.

Even if he were offered ten Bone Dragons, he’d refuse.

‘If those are the conditions, I can just return the Bone Dragon. It’s disappointing, sure, but losing the Bone Dragon won’t affect my livelihood.’

At the very least, losing the Bone Dragon was far better than falling into a fiery pit of hell.

No matter what, safety first was best.

That was what Lloyd believed.

But then, Enticus fired off something even more urgent.

– Wait! If you rescue my soul! I will give you an unimaginably colossal reward!

“Huh?”

An unimaginable reward.

On a massive scale.

The moment he heard it, Lloyd’s ears perked up on instinct.

‘Ah, damn. I shouldn’t get tempted.’

Lloyd hesitated.

Well, he could at least hear it out.

He silently looked up at Enticus.

Enticus spoke rapidly, as if anxious.

– Didn’t I say it earlier? That this image is the greatest gift and favor offered to the one who will help me.

“So, what is this colossal reward?”

– The official patronage of the Dragon King Verkis.

“Huh?”

The Dragon King’s official patronage?

As Lloyd fumbled through his thoughts, Enticus continued.

– If you help me—if you rescue my soul from the pit of hell and guide it onto the path of rest—I, Enticus, will surely inform the Dragon King of your good deed. I will relay in detail the courage full of goodwill that you showed.

“So you’re saying you’ll introduce me so the Dragon King Verkis will patronize me?”

– Correct.

“Then what good would come of it?”

Lloyd asked.

This was the core.

Patronage was good, sure.

But if it was vague, it was worthless.

He needed to confirm what exact benefits he’d receive.

‘Of course. Even when you sign up for a cell phone plan, you compare benefits first. It’s a world where you check point accumulation even for a neighborhood mart membership card. This is the Dragon King’s patronage. I have to check the perks. I need to pinpoint the advantages precisely.’

It was an obvious step.

He looked at Enticus with the gaze of a meticulous customer.

Enticus seemed flustered as it retorted.

– What good would come of it, you ask?

“Yes.”

– Hmm, well, for starters, you would never lack wealth for the rest of your life. Because the Dragon King’s dwelling, the Dragon’s Lair, holds treasures of gold, silver, and jewels equivalent to all the wealth of this world combined.

“Ooh. Nice. And?”

– You would gain a second life.

“Huh, don’t tell me that’s a resurrection benefit?”

– Correct. The Dragon King’s magic is supremely lofty, and I’ve heard it can even revive the dead once.

“And?”

– The basic benefits, for now, end there.

“There’s no more?”

– I don’t know. Any additional benefits granted would depend on how much the Dragon King takes a liking to you. But instead, there is one thing I can promise you.

“What is it?”

– A sure means of safely escaping hell, should you accept my request and go there.

“A sure means of escape?”

– Yes. Exactly once. If you so desire, I will engrave upon your hands a one-time-use magic that can open an escape Hellgate connecting to this world from any time, any place.

Enticus’s explanation of the Dragon King patronage membership(?) benefits—and the method of escaping hell—ended there.

Lloyd bit down on his lower lip.

‘Hmm.’

He was conflicted.

‘The Dragon King patronage benefits are stronger than I expected?’

Honestly, it exceeded his expectations.

It wasn’t just “a powerful backer.”

A lifetime wealth benefit that would never run dry.

A resurrection benefit that could revive you once even if you died.

And possibly premium-plus benefits on top of that.

On top of that, he could extend the Bone Dragon’s expiration date indefinitely.

‘Ah, damn, this is trouble. This is tempting.’

Forget the wealth.

Forget the Bone Dragon.

The resurrection benefit was too alluring.

This brutal world where even living while hugging a honey jar was hard as hell.

Being granted one resurrection chance in that life.

Didn’t that mean he could spend his remaining years sucking honey more safely?

‘But the condition is a trip to hell. Ugh.’

It felt uneasy.

But there was at least a minimum safety device.

He’d be given a one-time escape from hell, anytime, anywhere.

Those crumbs Enticus offered looked even more tempting.

‘Hmm. With conditions like this… it might not be impossible.’

Lloyd’s gaze slid sideways.

To Javier, who’d been watching his exchange with the dragon.

Javier noticed the look and made a puzzled face.

Lloyd grinned silently.

‘Right. Let’s call this the reason you became a Grand Master.’

Even if it was a trip to hell.

Even if it was a perilous journey.

Wouldn’t it be less brutal with a Grand Master?

Wouldn’t they be able to overcome serious adversity a little more easily?

Lloyd armed himself with a tenacious, drowning-ghost-like resolve.

He made his decision.

He raised his head and spoke to Enticus.

“Very well. On a national scale, with a grand, generous heart, I shall help you, Lord Enticus. However—”

His hand moved.

Pointing at Javier, still wearing that puzzled expression, he spoke brazenly.

“Please make sure to take that guy along with me too!”