Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [97]

Fujimaru Ritsuka had guessed correctly.

Bluey and Fou were indeed whispering about something rather “unspeakable.”

—Though it had nothing to do with conspiracy.

“Hm-hm, you say Mash’s best quality is being as soft as a marshmallow? Definitely a positive trait, I’ll give her a solid 95 points.”

“Fujimaru Ritsuka, huh… her extroverted personality earns her points with some people but loses them with others. Let’s settle on 87.”

“Elizabeth…a carnivorous, lovestruck type? Not really my thing. 85 points.”

“Kiyohime…honestly, she’s way too scary. Better leave her unrated.”

“That ahoge idiot king? 95 points?! That’s way too generous. She has no feminine charm at all—80 points at most in my eyes.”

“As for Jeanne Alter…she’s definitely stubborn, but being a tsundere is a virtue, got it? A fool who loves deeply and is easy to trick—absolutely perfect! Full marks, 100 points!”

This was the kind of idle chatter Bluey and Fou engaged in daily.

They evaluated every woman around them with blunt honesty, occasionally even bringing Merlin and Romani Archaman into their discussions. Incidentally, when Fou first saw Merlin’s virtual idol persona, the self-proclaimed "Magical Girl☆Merlin," it nearly vomited out yesterday’s dinner.

However, despite their leisurely gossiping, both of these “Beasts”—particularly Fou—were steadily growing stronger every day.

Cath Palug.

The Fourth Beast, who fed upon human rivalry, growth, envy, and regret, harvested abundant energy daily from Jeanne Alter alone.

That fact alone demonstrated just how much Jeanne Alter had grown recently.

“She’s becoming more and more human.”

Bluey could feel the flame inside Jeanne Alter growing steadier.

Born from rage, she had now learned to suppress her emotions—though she’d still occasionally lose her temper or swear angrily, she no longer experienced full-blown emotional breakdowns.

This showed she had finally mastered her powers and emotions.

Yet, it still wasn’t enough.

“Simply controlling it isn’t enough.”

“She must also learn to properly use this power.”

“She needs one final trial…a true awakening.”

Bluey’s gaze drifted westward, toward the city of Lyon.

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear, huh?”

—Was this just the kind of synchronization one could expect from someone who grew up alongside that ahoge king? Even though Bluey had deliberately cut contact, Artoria still managed to act exactly according to her expectations.

...

Moments later.

“What?! They’re planning to attack?!”

“Perfect! I haven’t even had the chance to punish those traitors, and now they dare come looking for trouble?”

“Great! I’ll crush them all at once!”

Upon hearing the enemy’s movements from Bluey, Jeanne Alter immediately started cursing angrily.

But despite her tirade, she didn’t neglect her responsibilities.

“Hey you, keep watching this side—this shed must be finished before sundown.”

“You, you, and you—each take a hundred troops and build three emergency shelters far away from the city outskirts. Move quickly; this is top priority!”

“The rest, come with me!”

With an unusually stern expression, Jeanne Alter called an urgent war council.

Perhaps this too was part of her growth.

After experiencing that humiliating defeat before, she’d finally learned to respect her enemies. No longer blindly arrogant, nor convinced of her own invincibility.

Especially since Jeanne Alter was fully aware—this time, they were at a severe disadvantage.

“Based on our current intelligence, the enemy has at least five Servants.”

“And as for our own fighting force…we have maybe two and a half.”

Jeanne Alter counted herself as one, the enthusiastic Elizabeth as another.

Kiyohime could barely be considered half—while she could certainly lend some strength, expecting her to fight desperately against powerful foes was impossible.

As for Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash…Jeanne Alter never counted on them in the first place. Honestly, she felt fortunate enough that they hadn’t already turned on her.

“But even that’s not the worst part.”

“What’s even worse is that almost every one of those Servants specializes in slaying Dragons.”

As the saying went: “Affinity overcomes all, Anti-Trait beats even gods.”

The advantage a dragonslayer held over Dragons was far beyond mere double damage.

“Wow, sounds terrifying.”

“How about we just run away—?”

This suggestion came straight from Elizabeth.

As long as one was alive, there’d always be another chance—fighting outnumbered was already scary enough. She definitely didn’t want to face two opponents specifically designed to counter her.

“I also think we can’t win.”

“The gap is simply too great.”

“But I can at least stall one Servant.”

Kiyohime voiced her opinion quietly.

But she didn’t mention “running away”—because that simply wasn’t who she was.

Though appearing gentle and delicate, the girl’s heart was fiercer than any man’s. The word “retreat” didn’t exist in her dictionary. For her, life boiled down to two choices: victory or death. At this moment, she was already considering taking one enemy down with her.

—But Jeanne Alter immediately shot down that idea.

“Can’t win at all...? I don’t understand that concept!”

“And you are absolutely not allowed to die! Nobody’s allowed to die!”

“So what if they have numbers? Does outnumbering us mean anything?!”

“They’re coming specifically for me—none of you need to join this battle. Just sit back and watch how I crush them!”

Jeanne Alter declared confidently.

Everyone, including Bluey, stared at her skeptically—hoping to catch a trace of empty bravado on her face.

It was common knowledge that she loved bluffing stubbornly. Even when she clearly couldn’t win, she’d never admit defeat.

But not this time.

Her eyes shone with genuine confidence, as if victory, impossible though it seemed, was already within her grasp. Her lips curled into a confident smile, and in mere seconds, everyone around her found themselves sharing that same confidence.

—Although they had no idea where her certainty came from, in that moment, they genuinely believed she could fulfill her promise.

“Kiyohime, you might as well start preparing our victory feast.”

“What about me, what about me? Can I prepare the victory concert now?”

“Hmm…I’ll allow you to hold a concert—for the prisoners. You can stay with them as long as you like!”

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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!