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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The King, the Dragon, and the Witch
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[Sigh, Lucian.]
“What is it?”
It was almost funny how he answered every time, without so much as a glance in my direction.
[Do you really think I’m going through all this trouble just to kick you out?]
Lucian’s shoulders flinched.
[If I really disliked you, I would have scared you away long ago. Why would I bother cooking food I can’t even eat, teaching you how to write, and putting you through sword training?]
“That’s…”
[It’s all for your future.]
His pout softened a bit.
[Do you know how all the people who lived here died?]
At the mention of death, Lucian looked a little frightened and shook his head.
[They all died longing for other people. Alone and lonely in this place for years.]
On very rare occasions, someone would visit, but they only ever dropped off necessary supplies. There was no real interaction.
Most of the people who came here were living lives no different from exile.
[Do you understand? People can’t live alone.]
“…What about you?”
[Hmm? Me?]
“Yes. You’ve been here alone for over three hundred years.”
His words struck a nerve, and I fell silent before I knew it.
“You said those people were lonely because they couldn’t meet anyone for years. It must have been very hard for you, too.”
Lucian reached out his hand, his fingers fiddling in the air near my face. Of course, he was just stirring the empty air, but for some reason, I had the illusion of feeling his warmth.
As Lucian said, I had been bound to this place for three hundred years.
I had been alone for so long that I’d even forgotten the meaning of the word ‘loneliness.’
To think that Lucian understood the solitude of that long passage of time…
[…You strange child.]
“What?”
[It’s nothing.]
Even as Lucian clamored that he hadn’t heard me properly, I rose from my spot and ignored him.
To be precise, I couldn’t let him see my face, as I had no idea what kind of expression I was making.
[Ahem! In any case, what I’m saying is that you absolutely must continue your physical training, for your own future.]
“But it’s hard.”
[Then try it for a month. If you see no change in your body, you can stop. I’ll help you find another way to get by. But in exchange, you’ll do as I say for one month without complaining. How about it?]
“Umm…”
A month must have seemed like a long time to a child, as he appeared to be mulling it over.
They say it takes at least two weeks of consistency to form a habit. If he kept it up for a month, Lucian would build up some muscle and get used to exercising.
“So if I say I don’t want to after a month, we’ll stop?”
Good, he took the bait.
[Of course. You have my word.]
Only after repeatedly stressing that he would stop did Lucian make the promise with me.
Sheesh, with how much he hates exercising, I wonder if he’ll even do it a month from now.
* * *
That evening, after finishing all his chores and even brushing his teeth, Lucian lay down in bed.
[I’ll read you a story before you sleep. What do you want to read today?]
I levitated the storybooks I had prepared into the air. Lucian’s eyes sparkled as he carefully examined each one.
Storytime was Lucian’s favorite part of the day.
When he first started being able to see me, he had suddenly asked if I could read him a story. Since then, it had become our custom for me to read to him right before he went to sleep.
“The King and the… Dree-gon? And the Wi-ner…”
Even though he had learned all the letters of the alphabet, he hadn’t mastered all the words, so he couldn’t read perfectly yet.
I looked at the storybook Lucian was pointing to.
[You mean ‘The King, the Dragon, and the Witch,’ right?]
“Yes, that’s it! Isn’t this the story of the first Emperor?”
[Yes, it is. Sounds like you know it?]
“I do! It’s my favorite storybook!”
Lucian, bursting with excitement, shot up in bed and pretended to swing a sword.
“It’s about how the first Emperor defeated the evil witch with the help of a dragon and founded the nation.”
[Hmm? An evil witch?]
“Yes! An evil witch!”
It seemed this was a completely different story from the one I knew.
According to Lucian’s explanation, it went like this:
A horde of evil beings crossed over into the vast continent, threatening its people.
They tormented the innocent, plundered their homes, and stained the vibrant lands with darkness.
Just as many lost their loved ones and fell into despair, a hero appeared.
With golden eyes as brilliant as the sun, he defeated the wicked, performed good deeds for the people, and began to purify the continent tainted by darkness.
By his side was his friend, a Red Dragon. The Red Dragon became the guardian of the people.
As the forces of evil dwindled, they finally came face to face with the leader of the darkness.
The one leading the evil horde was a fearsome witch, and her followers had been brainwashed into committing their evil deeds.
The witch possessed outstanding beauty, eloquent speech, and power greater than anyone else.
But the hero, joining forces with the Red Dragon, finally defeated the witch and sealed her away so that she could never appear in this world again.
After that, peace returned to the world. The hero built a castle where he had vanquished the witch and founded what is now the Audrian Empire.
…or so he said.
[What on earth have you been reading? There’s no way the witch was the villain.]
“But the storybook and everyone else says the witch is evil.”
What in the world has been happening in the outside world? The witch wasn’t a villain, she was…
I was about to correct the misinformation, but I figured it would be better to show him the proper storybook rather than explain it myself.
[Lucian, I don’t know where you read that strange version, but everything you know is a lie.]
“No way!”
[It’s not ‘no way.’ Do you know when this book was made?]
I pointed to the publication date written in ‘The King, the Dragon, and the Witch.’ It read, ‘Kingdom Year 1.’
[This book was published back when the empire was still a kingdom. In other words, in the empire’s earliest days.]
Lucian’s eyes wavered at the mention of a time far beyond his imagination. Still, he didn’t seem to readily believe me.
[Here, I’ll read it to you.]
Before he could argue, I quickly settled down beside him and opened the storybook.
◆ ◆ ◆
In a winding mountain valley, a boy was born.
His name was Rion. He was an ordinary child.
Raised in an ordinary village with the love of his parents, he learned to hunt from his father, a hunter.
He thought that he, too, would one day become a great hunter like his father.
But the peace did not last long. A wicked lord descended upon the village.
‘From now on, I will collect money every month! Anyone who cannot pay will be banished from this village!’
The lord demanded a sum of money equivalent to a month’s living expenses. Those who resisted or failed to pay were beaten by the knights, and the women were dragged away to the lord.
Rion’s father hunted diligently and earned money to survive. Yet, it was impossible to prepare the amount demanded by the lord each month.
Eventually, the people who harbored resentment toward the lord gathered one by one to try and defeat him. Among them were Rion’s father and mother.
They armed themselves and charged the lord’s castle. But they failed to subdue the lord and were captured instead.
In the end, Rion lost his father and mother forever.
‘Father, Mother…! I, I will avenge you…!’
Rion vowed revenge and left the village. He built upon the hunting skills his father taught him, learning the way of the sword.
As he wandered the world, he realized there were many others just like that lord.
‘The rich get richer, and the poor have more taken from them.’
Rion believed the world had to change. He set out to find others who shared his ideals.
But while everyone agreed with Rion’s words, no one would follow him.
‘Why? Why won’t anyone step up?!’
‘It’s because they’ve all grown used to the way things are.’
As Rion cried out in solitude, he heard a woman’s voice.
She was a woman of incredible beauty, like an angel.
‘…Who are you?’
‘I am Aria. A witch.’
Aria was intrigued by Rion. She thought his ideals would make the world an interesting place.
Aria was a great witch, the most powerful of them all. Seeing her power, Rion asked her to join him. Aria gladly accepted.
The two set out once more to find companions.
They wandered through many villages and roamed through forests. One day, they entered a cave and lost their way.
There, they discovered a Red Dragon, covered in wounds.
‘I will help you.’
Aria used her great power as a witch to heal the Red Dragon’s injuries.
Rion asked the Red Dragon how he had gotten hurt.
‘A damn human tried to capture me. He thought he could live forever if he ate my heart.’
The Red Dragon had been attacked by a human. The attacker was none other than the nearby lord.
The Red Dragon dreamed of revenge on all humankind, but thanks to Rion and Aria’s persuasion, he decided to seek vengeance only on the lord.
With the Red Dragon joining them, people began to gather around Rion one by one.
‘This world must change! Let us all join forces and change this damn world!’
At Rion’s words, everyone roared in agreement and stormed the lord’s castle.
With the power of the great witch and the Red Dragon, and Rion’s brilliant strategies, they were able to defeat their enemies with ease.
As they defeated one lord after another, there was no one left to govern the lands.
To calm the people of the fiefdoms, who would otherwise be in chaos, Rion decided to unite all the territories and become king.
‘We will help you wherever you go.’
‘As long as I am here, no one will be able to touch you.’
Thanks to the protection of the Red Dragon and the vow of the great witch, Rion was able to become king.
Rion declared a kingdom, centered around the village where he had lived.
Rion became the first king, a wise and benevolent ruler who embraced all people.
◆ ◆ ◆
[This is the true story of ‘The King, the Dragon, and the Witch.’]
“It’s very different from the one I know.”
Perhaps because I had read it with such captivation, Lucian’s initially skeptical eyes were now shining brightly.
[Maybe that’s because this is the original version?]
“What’s an original version?”
[It means the very first book that was made. The storybook you know was probably adapted to be easier for children to understand.]
The version I had just read was indeed a bit difficult for a child to comprehend.
Things like the lord’s tyranny and the deaths of the people were expressed rather graphically, so they were likely softened to ‘horde of evil’ or ‘darkness.’
[Still, the story has been twisted far too much.]
The witch, Aria, was purely on the Emperor’s side. She had never been on the enemy’s side; she had always stood by the Emperor, serving as his reliable right hand.
“Then why did the version I read say the witch was the enemy?”
[I wonder. I don’t know either. What did your version say again?]
“It said the witch was the leader of the enemies, and the Emperor and the dragon defeated and sealed her away.”
Indeed, that’s a passage not mentioned at all in the storybook I have.
I understand that stories change over time to suit the tastes of people and children, but why would they go so far as to completely alter the original content?
