Peace Hunter

"Can you really defeat a Dragon?" asked Commander Asier.

"Defeat a Dragon?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. In the match earlier, I heard you call your technique the ~Dragon Slayer Technique~. Then you used that technique to defeat your opponent and his created Dragon. That makes me wonder if you can actually defeat a Dragon, a real Dragon, I mean. And also, where did you learn that technique?" asked Commander Asier.

"Ah, about that. This technique is called the ~Dragon Slayer Technique~ because that's what it says in the book I studied. So I didn't just name it. I learned this technique from a book my parents left me. And if you're asking me whether I can defeat a real Dragon or not, I don't know because I've never fought one. Let alone fought one, I've never even seen one," I said.

"Is that so," said Commander Asier.

"You suddenly came and immediately asked Rid something. Isn't that a bit rude?" asked Irene.

"You're right, we should have introduced ourselves first. My apologies," said Commander Asier.

"Oh, no problem," I said.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Asier Emerald San Lucia. I'm Irene's older brother," said Commander Asier.

"My name is Rid Archie. As you said, I'm Irene's boyfriend," I said.

"Let me introduce one more person. His name is Irwin Emerald. You may already know Nadine, he's Nadine's father and our uncle," said, Commander Asier, turning to Mr. Irwin.

"Nice to meet you," said Mr. Irwin.

"Greetings too, sir," I said.

"We both saw your match earlier, it was truly amazing. And congratulations on winning this tournament," said Commander Asier.

"Thank you, Commander," I said.

"Commander? I told you not to be so formal, didn't I? Take it easy," said Commander Asier.

"Okay, I mean, I'll get used to it. But I don't know what to call you, so I'll call you 'commander'," I said.

"Hmm, since you're Irene's boyfriend and Irene is my sister, shouldn't you call me 'brother' too?" asked Commander Asier.

"Brother?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Are you serious about that?" asked Irene, also slightly surprised.

"Of course, you'll be part of the San Lucia family soon. That means you'll have to call me 'brother' from now on," said Commander Asier.

"Wait, does that mean you've approved of Rid as my boyfriend?" asked Irene.

"Yes. After watching his match earlier, I admit he's very strong, despite his social status. You're quite impressive in finding him and making him your boyfriend, Irene," said Commander Asier.

"...Yeah, that's how it is," said Irene.

"I not only approve of Rid as your boyfriend, but I also approve of him as your husband and part of the San Lucia family," said Commander Asier.

"Husband?" I said, surprised.

"That's too far away to discuss, brother," Irene said.

"It's okay, right?" asked Commander Asier.

"I was only pretending to be dating Irene to get her to cancel her participation in the ~Matchmaking Battle~. In return, Irene could help me obtain a strategic position in this kingdom, such as a commander of the knights. But why am I being approved as Irene's husband? This fake relationship only lasts until the ~Matchmaking Battle~ is over."

"Well, I'd better think about this later," I thought.

"I saw in the match earlier that Rid can use one of the ~San Lucia Art~ techniques. Was it you who taught him that, Irene? By teaching him the San Lucia family technique, it seems like you want Rid to become part of our family as soon as possible, doesn't it?" asked Commander Asier.

"No, I didn't teach him that," said Irene.

"Then who taught him that if not you?" asked Commander Asier.

"Irene's right, she wasn't the one who taught me that technique. It might be hard for you to believe, but I can copy the techniques of other people I've fought. Because Irene and I often spar, I can copy her ~San Lucia Art~ when she uses it against me," I said.

"Copying a technique? This is the first time I've heard of this ability. Do you know anything, Uncle?" Commander Asier asked Mr. Irwin.

"I've heard that copying techniques is possible, but it's not easy. I was surprised when he said he could copy techniques. Come to think of it, he also used the San Fulgen family technique during that match. So you can use that technique because you've fought against its users, so you can copy it?" asked Mr. Irwin.

"Yes, I can copy that technique because I've fought Charles, who uses that technique," I said.

"Copying a technique, huh? It's truly an extraordinary ability. Plus, you can also use the Dragon Slayer Technique," Commander Asier said.

Then Commander Asier seemed to think. A moment later, she began to speak.

"With your Dragon Slayer technique, would you like to try killing a real Dragon, Rid?" asked Commander Asier.

"Killing a real Dragon?" I asked.

"Brother, don't tell me that's what you mean..." Irene said, sounding a little Irene.

"Yes. The Dragon I'm referring to is the Ice Dragon that lives in the Orokho Mountains, north of San Lucia. Would you like to try killing that Dragon, Rid?" asked Commander Asier.

"Killing a Dragon, huh? I've heard about an Ice Dragon living in the Orokho Mountains. At first, I thought it was just a rumor, but Irene told me it's true. That Ice Dragon is what keeps the climate in San Lucia cold to this day. And Irene also said her goal is to find and kill the Ice Dragon so that the climate in San Lucia can return to normal," I said.

"I'm sure that's not what Irene's real goal is."

"Your real goal is to avenge that Dragon, right, Irene?" asked Commander Asier.

Irene remained silent when her brother asked her.

"Revenge?" I asked, confused.

"I don't think Irene told you about this, so I'll tell you. Before that, have you ever asked Irene about her mother, or did Irene tell you about her mother herself?" Commander Asier asked.

"I asked Irene once, and she said her mother was fine," I said.

"I guess you don't want to worry your boyfriend, Irene," Commander Asier said.

Irene didn't respond, choosing to remain silent.

"Actually, our mother is not in good condition. Our mother is in 'Frozen Sleep,' a condition that occurs when the heart or Mana core of a person with 'Frozen Sleep' is enveloped in frozen ice, preventing the body from circulating blood or Mana. This condition will render the sufferer unconscious until the ice surrounding the Mana core melts."

"Regarding the cause of our mother's 'Frozen Sleep,' we assume she was put into 'Frozen Sleep' by using one of our family's forbidden techniques. This forbidden technique can cause the user to fall into 'Frozen Sleep' after using it," said Commander Asier.

"So what does this have to do with Irene's revenge?" I asked.

"That's because our mother was found in that state during an expedition in the Orokho Mountains. Every year, we conduct expeditions to search for the Ice Dragon. But no matter how many times we search, the Ice Dragon, the leader of a pack of Ice Dragons that previously lived in the Orokho Mountains, has never been found."

"But a few years ago, when our mother decided to join the expedition, our mother's expedition group lost contact in the Orokho Mountains. Our family then sent reinforcements to search for our mother's expedition group. After several hours of losing contact, the expedition group was found. However, when they were found, our mother was unconscious with numerous wounds on her body. The other members had all died in terrible conditions."

"They brought our mother back to San Lucia City. After treatment and recovery, our mother never regained consciousness. After an examination, it was discovered that our mother had fallen into 'Frozen Sleep.'"

"If our mother fell into 'Frozen Sleep' because she decided to use our family's forbidden technique, then we assume that what our mother fought in those mountains was the Ice Dragon. The reason we assume this is because the Orokho Mountains are an area avoided by people. Besides the extremely cold climate, the mountains are also inhabited by many monsters. Even large bandit groups would not want to live in those mountains. When it comes to monsters, I'm confident that our mother and her expedition group can handle them. But something that injured our mother and used our family's forbidden technique, as well as the death of all her expedition members, could have done that except the Ice Dragon that had been hiding in those mountains.

"That's why Irene wants revenge on that Dragon for what happened to our mother. Not just Irene, I do too. But I'm not sure Irene and I will be able to defeat that Dragon," said Commander Asier.

"Even if you're a Troops commander?" I asked.

"That Dragon isn't an easy creature to defeat, especially since we're talking about the leader of the Ice Dragons who previously led the Dragon herd that lived in those mountains. Therefore, when I heard you used the ~Dragon Slayer Technique~, I thought you could actually defeat a real Dragon."

"Earlier, you said you've never seen or defeated a real Dragon, right? How about I take you to see one? And as I asked before, would you like to try slaying one?" asked Commander Asier.

-To be continued