Kaien was impressed by how well-informed the king was.
'What happened at the city gate already reached his ears? That fast?'
To rule in a place surrounded by magical beasts, to develop a kingdom this prosperous, and to dare take on a dragon—he had to admit, the man was far from ordinary.
But Erza quickly composed herself.
"Since His Majesty has already made preparations, then why issue an SS Rank Mission and request our help?"
The king explained,
"The reason is simple. The dragon's seal lies deep within the Forest of Monsters. The monsters in the inner region have been corrupted by the dragon's power over the years, transforming into terrifying beasts. I once sent troops to subdue them, but the losses were severe. Without clearing out those creatures, it's impossible to even reach the temple."
"So our job is to clear the monsters?"
The king nodded.
"Yes—but that's not your primary task. Your main mission is to protect the Dragon Slayer swordsman… or more accurately, protect the sword itself."
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, since we're dealing with a dragon, wouldn't it be more appropriate to report it to the Magic Council?"
Erza asked with a hint of confusion. Dragons were considered magical beings, and anything magical fell under the jurisdiction of the Magic Council.
At the mention of the Magic Council, the king's face showed a trace of disdain.
"The Magic Council? I reported it two years ago. Do you know what solution they offered?"
Both Kaien and Erza looked at him curiously.
"They suggested using Etherion."
"Etherion?!"
Erza's expression changed drastically. Etherion was the Magic Council's ultimate weapon, capable of striking anywhere on the Ishgar continent using a satellite magic array. Its destructive power was enough to wipe out an entire nation.
"Exactly. And even if Etherion could kill the dragon, once it's fired, this city could be annihilated. Even if the city survives, the Forest of Monsters will be destroyed—and that forest is a critical strategic resource for our kingdom. If it's lost, our national economy would suffer a massive blow."
Kaien thought for a moment and found the reasoning sound.
Despite being dangerously close to the Forest of Monsters, this kingdom had managed to thrive precisely because of that danger.
If the Magic Council were to fire Etherion, it would be like smashing the kingdom's rice bowl. There was no way the king wouldn't be furious about that.
"That's everything about this mission. What are your thoughts?"
The king looked at Kaien and Erza expectantly.
Erza turned to Kaien.
"What do you think?"
Kaien went quiet in thought. He understood all too well how terrifying dragons were.
Even a weakened dragon was not something ordinary mages could take on.
Dragons had powerful resistance to human magic, and their physical durability made them practically immune to weapons.
Without that sword, the odds of victory were less than 10%.
But with it, they could maybe push that up to 30%.
Thirty percent—still low, but actually quite high given the circumstances.
By all logic, if the odds weren't at least fifty-fifty, walking away would be the safer move.
But he could feel it—his blood was boiling, his heart pounding.
Just the words "slay a dragon" were enough to awaken something in any young man.
And besides… there were those two 10x Draw rewards sitting on his system panel.
"I think it's worth trying."
"Yeah… I feel the same way. His Majesty clearly won't give up on this plan, and honestly, he's right. If the dragon breaks free and regains its strength, it'll definitely take revenge on humanity. That'll mean heavy casualties. I can't just sit back and do nothing."
"Your Majesty, we've reached our decision."
"And what is it?"
"We accept the mission."
"Excellent!"
The king looked visibly pleased.
Although he wasn't entirely sure how strong the two were, the fact that they could accept an S-Class request meant they were undoubtedly powerful mages.
That alone gave the dragon-slaying plan a much better chance of success.
"You two may stay at the palace for now. Tomorrow, the preliminary round of the Continental Swordmaster Tournament will begin. If you're interested, you're welcome to join. The winner's prize is quite generous. Once the champion is determined, we'll move forward with the dragon-slaying operation."
Erza declined politely.
"There's no need to trouble yourself, Your Majesty. We'll stay at an inn instead. We'd also like to explore the city a bit and see the local culture."
The king nodded.
"That's fine as well."
Kaien and Erza left the palace and found a nearby inn to stay at.
After three days of nonstop travel, Kaien was exhausted.
He crashed almost immediately after checking in and didn't wake until the next morning.
When he woke up, he noticed Erza wasn't in the room—clearly out exploring.
Kaien figured he might as well head out too, maybe pick up some local souvenirs.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw the streets bustling with activity.
Crowds were all heading in the same direction.
He overheard people chatting and finally remembered—the king had mentioned the preliminaries for the tournament started today.
Everyone was headed there to watch.
Despite having inherited the memories of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Kaien was still a total novice when it came to swordsmanship in practice.
No way he was going to embarrass himself by entering the tournament.
But large events like this always interested him, so he decided to follow the crowd toward the arena.
Before long, Kaien arrived at the entrance.
As with most of this kingdom's architecture, the arena was massive—far larger than any soccer stadium he'd seen in his past life.
"The registration deadline for the preliminaries is almost up! Just ten minutes left! Anyone not signed up, hurry and register!"
Kaien had just reached the entrance when he heard the shout.
"I heard His Majesty put up a huge prize pool for this tournament."
"How much are we talking?"
"First place gets 20 million J."
"20 million?! No way!!"
"Yup! That's why sword masters from all over the country—and even from abroad—have come to join!"
"That means the matches are gonna be amazing!"
"Obviously! I can't wait!"
Meanwhile, at the registration booth—
"Hmm… Looks like we're just about done. Probably no more sign-ups now."
Suddenly, a voice rang out:
"Wait! I want to sign up! I'm entering the tournament!!"
"Name?"
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni."