The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

And so, the ambitions and schemes harbored by Duke Eclair came to an end without even properly beginning.

However, it was surprisingly not Kurt and his party who concluded that battle.

The one who ended the fight between Duke Eclair and Kurt’s party was Queen Fleurdelys, who noticed the destruction of Duke Eclair’s mansion and intervened in the battle.

At one point, Fleurdelys, who had intervened in the battle, misunderstood that Kurt’s party had attacked Duke Eclair, and the situation nearly worsened instead of being resolved. Fortunately, at that moment, Yuri arrived just in time with the kidnapped Prince Albus, explaining the situation and allowing it to be settled.

In such a situation, even Duke Eclair, facing not only Kurt’s party but also Fleurdelys, found it meaningless to continue resisting. Contrary to the fear that he might resort to even more desperate measures due to the queen’s intervention, Duke Eclair surprisingly surrendered without further resistance.

Perhaps Duke Eclair’s scheme had already been doomed from the moment Fleurdelys intervened—no, even earlier, from the moment the mansion collapsed and the commotion within became known to the outside.

Regardless, the important thing is that Duke Eclair’s dream of war with the Holy Kingdom, as well as the rise of the Regression Faction, had all gone down the drain.

And so, several days passed after the battle at Duke Eclair’s mansion.

Upon returning to the royal palace, Albus paused his studies and reflected on the events of the past few days.

After fighting with the queen and running away, Albus had been captured by Duke Eclair during his days of absence and nearly faced death. This time, he was dragged back to the palace, vowing never to run away again.

Contrary to the queen’s worries that he might still resist fiercely, Albus surprisingly walked back into the palace without a fuss. This was likely because Albus had learned something from this incident.

In recent decades, Fleurdelys had been hysterically rushing Albus through his heir lessons and trying to forcibly pair him with other female dragons.

Previously, Albus had thought her actions were simply due to her dislike of his laziness. However, through this series of experiences, he realized that all her actions were rooted in the intensifying conflict between the Civilization and Regression Factions.

To survive in the increasingly unstable political landscape of the Dragon Kingdom, Albus couldn’t afford to live carelessly forever. Thus, completing his heir lessons as soon as possible was essential for his own survival.

This was a fact that Albus, who had nearly died due to neglecting his heir lessons, felt more acutely than anyone.

Moreover, the queen’s attempts to introduce him to noblewomen were, in hindsight, efforts to connect him with women from the Regression Faction, easing tensions between the factions and giving Albus a political foundation.

Indeed, looking back, all the women the queen had introduced to Albus were from noble families of the Regression Faction. The last woman she tried to pair him with was Ecclesia.

Thus, while Albus was reluctant to be forcibly paired with noblewomen, he decided to take his heir lessons more seriously.

That night, Queen Fleurdelys secretly shed tears of emotion in her chambers, a fact known only to her.

However, more surprising than Albus’s compliance was the treatment of Duke Eclair.

Despite attempting to assassinate the heir to the Dragon Kingdom’s throne, Duke Eclair’s punishment was merely house arrest.

Considering the severity of his crimes, this was an absurdly light punishment.

This was because, in the politically volatile state of the Dragon Kingdom, it was impossible to officially reveal that Duke Eclair had tried to kill Albus.

Thus, the explosion at Duke Eclair’s mansion was officially attributed to a failed magic experiment, and Duke Eclair was publicly announced to be under house arrest for practicing forbidden magic.

Of course, despite the complex political situation, the leniency of the punishment was due to an undisclosed deal between Duke Eclair and Queen Fleurdelys.

Duke Eclair’s house arrest was merely a superficial punishment. In reality, he had surrendered all his political influence to the queen, effectively becoming her subordinate and barely saving his life and family from ruin.

Queen Fleurdelys explained this situation, expressing her own desire to execute Duke Eclair but stating that, as the queen responsible for the Dragon Kingdom, she had no choice but to make this decision. She repeatedly apologized to Albus, gauging his reaction.

However, Albus himself had little interest in Duke Eclair’s fate.

Instead, he found it amusing that both the Civilization and Regression Factions, despite believing in the superiority of dragons over humans, acted in such human-like ways.

Whether it was the Civilization or Regression Faction, the Dragon Kingdom might already be past the point of no return.

An irreversible change had occurred among the dragons.

Thus, the dragons were essentially arguing over whether to return to the past, despite the fact that the issue was already irreversible.

Even if all dragons were persuaded by the Regression Faction and fervently desired to return, they could not.

Whether this was the death of dragons as the once-dominant living calamities over humans or simply their evolution to adapt to a new environment remained unclear.

Kurt and his party were recognized for saving Albus’s life and crushing Duke Eclair’s scheme, and they were promised not only apologies and gratitude but also a great reward once the situation was resolved.

However, to Albus, the most important thing seemed to be that Kurt’s party had safely obtained their travel permit.

Despite their immense power and heroic deeds, Kurt’s party valued something as trivial as a travel permit more than honor or rewards. This made Albus feel that they were more remarkable than the dragons, who, despite considering themselves great and sacred, were entangled in factional and political squabbles.

This time, Albus couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Hehe.”

“…What’s so amusing?”

Ecclesia, who was attending to Albus, asked as he laughed unintentionally.

She was serving as Albus’s attendant, a part of the deal between Fleurdelys and Duke Eclair.

By making Ecclesia Albus’s attendant, they effectively held her as a hostage to prevent Duke Eclair from taking further action.

“Nothing much. I just thought that dragons, despite calling themselves great beings, aren’t really that great. In the end, what matters isn’t the species but the individual. Ever thought about that?”

“…You’ve said that before. Even as your attendant, I can’t agree with that.”

A normal woman in her position might have been intimidated and just gone along with it, but Ecclesia remained resolutely professional, refusing to yield in spirit.

However, Albus had no intention of tormenting Ecclesia just because she was his attendant, so he continued without any displeasure.

“Haha. No matter how great dragons are, they can’t even win a simple card game. I really tried hard to win the BOW regional tournament, but the best I could do was reach the top 8. And…”

Albus paused, as if hesitating.

Though Ecclesia had shown little interest in Albus’s words, her curiosity got the better of her when he stopped mid-sentence.

“And what?”

“…And they can’t even control a single human heart. What’s so great about that?”

Albus answered as if reminiscing about someone.

Albus hadn’t even been able to properly say goodbye to Yuri before she left.

Perhaps it was because he realized where her gaze was directed.

In the end, she would be a woman he could never forget, but to her, he was just one of many encounters during her journey.

Even Ecclesia, who had been cold toward Albus, couldn’t bring herself to mock his lonely expression.

“Ah, right. Come to think of it, that adventurer party gave me some cookies before they left the Dragon Kingdom. Let’s finish studying for today and have a snack, shall we?”

“…Cookies? Very well. I’ll prepare tea.”

Breaking the silence, Albus suggested a tea time to Ecclesia, and at the mention of cookies, she seemed to perk up, preparing the tea with unusual enthusiasm.

“Ah, these cookies are quite good.”

“Hmm. Of course. Yuri made them.”

“There’s a unique flavor I’ve never tasted before—sweet yet with a peculiar bitterness. It’s strangely addictive.”

“Yeah. Sweet and… bitter.”

And so, the two young dragons shared the cocoa-flavored cookies made by Kurt, enjoying their afternoon tea time.

“Ah, by the way, Ecclesia. Do you know how to play BOW?”

“BOW? Isn’t that just a lowbrow pastime for humans? Do you think a noble dragon like me would enjoy such things?”

“Oh? A rookie who doesn’t even know how to play BOW, yet so talkative. Only fools judge things they know nothing about. Don’t you think that assuming anything humans enjoy is automatically lowbrow is a rather low-level way of thinking?”

“Huh? Fine. If you insist, I’ll humor you. It’s part of my duty as your attendant to indulge your whims. Though I must advise you, as your personal attendant, to worry about whether you can even beat me with your skills that barely made it to the top 8 among humans.”

And so, the two dragons began an impromptu card game during their tea time.

Albus had no lifelong dream like Yuri did.

It didn’t seem like one would form anytime soon.

But he had found something he wanted to do.

Both the Civilization and Regression Factions, despite their differing rhetoric, fundamentally believed in the superiority of dragons over humans.

What Albus wanted was for at least some dragons in the Dragon Kingdom to recognize that not just dragons, but all beings in the kingdom, were people.

And if Yuri ever visited the Dragon Kingdom again, he hoped she would see a better version of it and be slightly surprised. Then, they could laugh and share the stories they hadn’t finished.

And if, someday, he could look back on the Dragon Kingdom and remember it as a truly wonderful place, that would be enough.

“To achieve that, spreading dueling to foster emotional exchanges is the only way.”

Being young is like a plain pizza dough without any toppings. Thus, they sometimes absorb the ideologies and long-held emotions of the older generation without filtering.

That’s why Albus held no ill will toward Ecclesia, who had simply been indoctrinated by her father.

And sometimes, because there are no toppings, the younger generation can imagine futures that the older generation could never conceive.

Albus and Ecclesia.

Whether the future these two young dragons are building will be the first step toward true harmony between humans and dragons remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain.

“Wait! I activate the Water Attribute Magic Card, Magic Block! That card is nullified! Nullified!”

If you torment a beginner learning BOW with a permission deck, you’ll soon get slapped.

---