Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [16]

Twilight, in the territory of Hector.

With Merlin accompanying her, Artoria no longer had to sneak over the wall like a thief. Instead, she could walk openly through the front gate, chin held high and back straight, under the scrutinizing gaze of her foster brother, and stride “with perfect justification” back into the stable she had long called home.

But the moment Artoria stepped inside, the smile on her face vanished.

She sat heavily on her bed of straw, her expression somber, eyes fixed on the foals nestled beside their mother. She stared blankly, lost in thought.

She seemed upset—but the more she considered it, the more she realized she had no real reason to be.

No one had done anything wrong. Everyone had made the choices that were best for them. The outcome, though complicated, could even be described as “a happy ending”—no one had died, not even among the injured villagers.

And when she tried to put herself in another's shoes, Artoria had to admit that she likely couldn’t have done any better than the girl named Wenna.

As for that young dragon...

“Lily, you were fooled by its appearance.”

“Just like others are often fooled by yours.”

“You may look human, but your body was designed according to the standards of a dragon. So in essence, you truly are a dragon.”

“And that white dragon… Though still a child, it is without a doubt a genuine god.”

“It’s just that this ill-fated god happened to manifest in the form of a dragon, that’s all.”

The ever-fussy Magus of Flowers refused to step into the messy stable. Instead, he stood outside the doorway, explaining more about the white dragon to Artoria.

“To be honest, even I was shocked when you hatched that thing!”

“But now it seems I needn’t have worried. Even at the end of the Age of Gods, that divine being is still doing its best to fulfill its duties… though it may not realize it itself.”

The magician marveled at the strangeness of fate—and Artoria’s improbable “luck.”

“A miracle, in the moment least likely for miracles to happen.”

“And now, I’m starting to think… maybe you really can save this island, even though it’s already on the brink of its own apocalypse.”

…

Artoria remained deep in thought.

She couldn’t deny it—what had happened today had shaken her.

Even though she hadn’t been directly involved, merely watching as a bystander, perhaps because she had been on the outside looking in, she had been able to see the full picture—and had been prompted to reflect more deeply.

A king and their retainers. The path of the ruler and the path of the subject. The king’s ideals and the follower’s convictions… These tangled thoughts lingered in her mind, obscure yet profound. They left her uncertain, yet oddly hopeful for the future.

…

Meanwhile, in a distant corner of the land—the Dragon’s Valley—

The young girl, her shoulder now fully healed by divine blessing, stood silently. The young dragon gave her a wave, clearly ready to send her off.

“You’re healed, right? Then go do what you need to do. Stop hanging around here and bothering me.”

The words sounded a little cold, even laced with disdain. But since awakening her dragon nature, Wenna now understood clearly: Bluey wasn’t rejecting her.

He simply took it for granted that, as a fellow dragon, she should have her own life, her own ambitions.

And that—was the greatest difference between a servant and a retainer.

“King and vassal” might sound like a hierarchy. But in truth, the bond was more like family—perhaps even closer than blood.

After all, in the face of catastrophe or inescapable fate, blood ties could be torn apart. But those bound by shared ideals stood or fell together; they shared glory and ruin alike.

“Go do what you want. Do what you love.”

“If you get into trouble, don’t worry—just fight your way through. And if you lose, that’s fine too. Come back to me. I’ve got your back.”

“Also, I have a mission for you. I need you to go out and find relics for me—things like magical weapons, enchanted armor, or maybe jewelry forged by the fae.”

“You might not get what I mean right now. But once you see them, you’ll understand.”

The young dragon-god had just issued his first command to his first retainer.

And it was a critical mission—one that would determine whether or not he could complete his next evolutionary stage, and grow stronger.

[Mystery]—that was what he lacked most.

As the Magus had said, in this twilight era of the gods, the world no longer held enough [Mystery] to nurture a true dragon-god.

But Heaven never closes all doors.

The System had carved a new path for him—a way to grow rapidly, even at the end of the Age of Gods:

[Devour the Mystery bound to other Noble Phantasms, and evolve faster.]

Everyone knew: Noble Phantasms were “materialized miracles.” High-level Phantasms were often infused with conceptual power—like the sword in the stone that symbolized the King, or the Sword of Promised Victory that invoked the Sun or the Stars.

The [Mystery] sealed within these artifacts was formidable. Even gods considered them rare and potent nourishment.

And on this island, there existed an artifact that looked like a towering spire—but was in fact the Holy Lance [Rhongomyniad], the anchor pinning this world in place.

“If I could eat the [Mystery] in that thing…”

The young dragon trailed off—then shook his head violently, forcing the thought away. That was a fantasy so extreme, it might just create an entirely new Lostbelt.

“No, forget it. That lance still serves a purpose. I’ll leave it alone for now.”

Even a glutton knew not to eat everything at once.

But there was another Noble Phantasm, equally famous, that he had his eyes firmly set on.

“Sorry, Ahoge.”

“But that sword in the stone? I am going to eat it.”

“You can’t protect it. I’m telling you now!”

---

T/N: so blueys nickname for artoria is ahoge i see i see

This is a fan translation of 综漫：青眼幼龙，被骑士王捡到了 by 歌冰丽月. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!