Chapter 74: Fafnir’s Chains and a Risky Alliance

“Please, have you come to rescue me?”

The young man, Brunhilde, gazed at Roalsa’s face with palpable urgency, repeating the same question several times in quick succession.

“Ah… well, I suppose you could say that.”

Roalsa spread her hands in a gesture of resignation. Since she had already come this far and stumbled upon the young man, it seemed only natural to extend a helping hand and free him. Moreover, it was simply not in Roalsa’s nature to leave such a pitiful, vulnerable young man to suffer here.

“Really!”

An undisguised expression of delight instantly bloomed across the young man’s face. He tugged at his chains, attempting to draw closer to Roalsa.

“Does this mean you’ve defeated Fafnir?”

“Fafnir?”

A flicker of doubt crossed Roalsa’s mind, and she unconsciously repeated the name aloud.

‘Fafnir?’

‘Could it be that black-haired girl I saw outside?’

“Who is Fafnir?”

“She’s that dragon—the one with black hair, short stature, wings, and dragon horns!”

This description certainly matched the girl she had encountered outside. So, that was her name: Fafnir.

Cautiously, Roalsa edged a little closer to the young man, tilting her head as she probed, “Was she accompanied by a white-haired, blue-eyed girl?”

“A girl?”

Upon hearing this, Brunhilde tilted his head, pondering for several seconds before shaking it.

“I don’t know, I only remember she had a white horse, one with eight legs and wings.”

Roalsa had never seen a horse like the one Brunhilde described, but she decided it wasn’t particularly important. It was just a horse, after all, not worth dwelling on.

“Well, I’m not sure what to make of that horse, but let’s put it aside for now. My priority is to get you out of here first.”

As Roalsa spoke, she unfastened the greatsword from her back, beginning to channel energy into its blade, her eyes assessing the chains binding the young man.

“Forgive my powerlessness as I simply stare at you now.”

“Not at all! I’m incredibly grateful for your help!”

The young man shook his head, responding with profound gratitude.

“Alright, then—”

With the energy fully gathered, Roalsa raised her sword and brought it down with considerable force upon the chains—

“Clang—”

A sharp, resonant clash of metal reverberated through the vast room. The chains rattled loudly from the impact, and Roalsa noticed, to her surprise, a tiny nick on her own sword blade. In stark contrast, the chains remained perfectly intact, even appearing to be faintly shrouded in a dark green energy.

“Again.”

Seeing her first strike fail, Roalsa once more channeled energy, determined to discover just how resilient these chains truly were.

Energy coalesced, the sword was raised…

Time and again, no matter how many blows she delivered, Roalsa found herself unable to sever the chains. Her efforts yielded but a single result: an ever-widening chip in her sword’s blade.

Accompanying this was the young man’s increasingly somber expression.

“Once more—”

After countless attempts, Roalsa again raised her sword.

This time, however, she could not bring the blade down. Just as the sword was poised to strike, Brunhilde’s voice rang out, stopping her.

“Wait, please don’t strike again!”

A jolt of alarm ran through Roalsa. She instantly twisted her wrist, forcibly redirecting her sword’s trajectory with raw strength, causing it to cleave into the floor before the young man.

“What’s wrong? Is there some issue?”

Roalsa asked, leaning on her sword. She could distinctly perceive the shift in the young man’s demeanor; the face previously alight with surprise and eyes brimming with anticipation was now contorted with extreme tension.

Brunhilde cast anxious glances around, his legs trembling uncontrollably. The palpable fear emanating from him was so potent that Roalsa, standing several steps away, could feel it clearly.

“Please, please escape quickly. Don’t, don’t worry about me anymore.”

“Escape? Why? Didn’t you want me to save you?”

Brunhilde hastily shook his head, retreating several steps to widen the distance between himself and Roalsa.

“Please, please hurry and escape! If you delay, you will surely die. Please believe me, escape now!”

“Don’t rush, calm down first. Tell me what’s wrong, slowly.”

“Forget about me! I beg you, leave quickly! If it’s too late, there will be no other chance!”

The young man, like a startled fawn, cowered fearfully in the corner, his body trembling, utterly helpless and pitiable.

Seeing his extreme distress, Roalsa felt a pang in her heart. She took two steps forward, placed her hands on his ceaselessly shaking shoulders, and gently began to soothe his agitated emotions.

“Take it easy, take it easy. Don’t be afraid, it’s alright. Just tell me everything, I’m here, and you’ll be safe.”

“Don’t cry, calm down, just calm down.”

The young man sobbed helplessly. Roalsa spent a full half-hour comforting him before Brunhilde finally calmed down somewhat, his fearful weeping subsiding.

“Now, can you tell me why you want me to leave?”

Seeing that the young man’s emotions had somewhat stabilized, Roalsa gently embraced him, patting his back softly as she asked.

“These chains are linked to Fafnir’s very life. As long as she lives, they cannot be broken. So that last strike was a warning, reminding me that Fafnir is still alive, and her vitality shows no signs of waning; it remains incredibly robust.”

“Therefore, please leave quickly. If she discovers you are here now, she will surely kill you.”

The young man’s voice was almost a plea, yet Roalsa simply held him, continuing to offer comfort.

Though Roalsa had previously sensed Fafnir’s immense power, a force like a torrent capable of sweeping everything away, she knew she had to remain here now. She had come while Fafnir slept and found this young man; by all means, she needed to gather more information.

After all, opportunities like this were rare and fleeting.

“Can you tell me why you are here?”

Roalsa gently wiped away the tears from Brunhilde’s eyes, her voice soft as she asked.

Nestled in Roalsa’s embrace, Brunhilde found a rare moment of warmth. He took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his voice from trembling too much.

“I was originally planning to visit my grandfather in Alastor, but… but I didn’t expect to get lost while passing through this mountain. I ended up in a place I didn’t recognize, and there, I accidentally witnessed Fafnir killing someone. I wanted to escape, but I was so nervous that she discovered me.”

“So, you were brought here?”

“Yes. Fafnir said she took a liking to me at first sight. She wanted to keep me as a prized possession and make me her wife. However, my resistance angered her, so she forged these chains and confined me here, saying it was for me to reflect until I was willing to admit my mistake to her.”

At this point, Brunhilde swallowed hard.

“And, when I was brought here, there were two other boys about my age…”

“Originally… originally…”

“We had planned to escape together, but one day, after Fafnir took them out, they never returned…”

Roalsa distinctly felt Brunhilde’s tremors intensify. She tightened her embrace around him once more, striving to offer him a greater sense of security.

“Then, when you saw her, who else was with her?”

“She was accompanied by about ten women who looked like bandits, and a white horse. And then, there were a few bound people.”

“Bound people?”

“Yes, but I was too nervous to clearly see their faces, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, that’s not your fault. Anyone would be frightened witnessing such a scene. It’s truly alright.”

Roalsa began to silently tally the number of bandits in her mind. Including the white-haired girl, there were now twelve known bandits. The strength of the others remained unknown for the moment, but it was clear that both the black-haired girl and the white-haired girl were extremely dangerous entities.

“So, to your knowledge, how powerful is Fafnir?”

“I don’t know. Fafnir has never displayed her full strength in front of me, but she did casually mention that she is merely a young dragon, and her power is not yet complete.”

“A young dragon?”

As if grasping at a lifeline, Roalsa pressed on with her questions.

“Yes, she mentioned it when she came to see me before. Her current power is incomplete, so she can’t cast powerful magic and must stay in this cave to slowly recover. She said that once her power is fully restored, she could easily destroy an entire kingdom, and her poisonous breath would spread to every corner of the earth. At that time, she would personally officiate our wedding.”

The power to effortlessly destroy an entire kingdom, and poisonous gas capable of spreading across the entire land…

Roalsa’s heart seized with alarm. She had personally witnessed the potency of that poisonous gas. If Fafnir were allowed to fully recover, not only the kingdom, but the entire Midgard would be plunged into hell.

However, this was merely the young man’s account, and its veracity remained to be confirmed.

Nevertheless, to be safe, Roalsa decided to gather more information.

“If that’s the case, how long will it take for her to fully recover?”

“She said it would take about another year, because the people of Midgard she’s encountered are too weak, and the power they provide isn’t enough for her to use.”

Roalsa nodded slightly.

A year’s time. If the young man’s words held true, there was still room to maneuver. As long as she seized this opportunity to secure support from the royal palace, there would be a chance to defeat Fafnir.

Yet, until she acquired all the definitive intelligence on Fafnir, an additional safeguard was imperative.

“Then, could you promise me one thing?”

Roalsa retrieved a pale green stone from her hand.

“This is a small teleportation stone, used to transmit small items, like letters, understand?”

Holding the stone in one hand, Roalsa picked up a tiny pearl from the ground with the other and placed it upon the stone. With a faint flash of light, the pearl slowly vanished.

Although the young man didn’t understand Roalsa’s intentions, he nodded gently, and Roalsa offered him a satisfied smile.

“But I don’t have a magic circuit in my body, how would I use it?”

“It’s fine.”

Roalsa shook the stone.

“A small magic resonance stone is embedded within it, allowing even those without a magic circuit to use it with ease.”

As she spoke, Roalsa placed the stone into the young man’s hand.

“Want to try?”

The young man assented, picking up a pearl from the ground and placing it on the stone. Though he did nothing else, the pearl still emitted a faint glow, and after the light faded, the pearl too was gone.

“Yes, excellent. Now, may I ask a favor of you? This matter concerns not only your safety but also the survival of the entire kingdom, so please listen carefully, alright?”

Roalsa placed an arm around the young man’s shoulder, striving to meet his gaze directly.

“Please, tell me.”

Clutching the stone, the young man responded to Roalsa with earnestness.

“Very well. I need you to apologize to Fafnir, and then find a way to ingratiate yourself with her. Can you do that?”

“What?”

The young man’s hand twitched, and the teleportation stone he held tumbled to the ground. He stared at Roalsa in horror, his eyes filled with suspicion and fear.

“Don’t be afraid, just listen to me, okay?” Roalsa tightened her embrace around Brunhilde once more, gently patting his head.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. I want you to win Fafnir’s favor simply to gather more information. Try to extract as much intelligence from her as possible, figure out how to defeat her, write it on a note, and use this stone to transmit the information to me. Can you do that?”

“But, but…”

Brunhilde was visibly hesitant, stammering, unsure how to respond.

“Don’t be nervous. I promise you, I will rescue you completely unharmed, alright?”

Roalsa continued to pat Brunhilde’s back, soothing him with a gentle voice.

Compelling a man to do something against his will had never been Roalsa’s way.

“If you are truly too afraid, then never mind. I will find another method. Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”

“No… no need…”

Unexpectedly, Brunhilde responded to Roalsa, his voice trembling. Although his body continued to shake incessantly, a newfound resolve had crept into his words.

“If, if you can save me, I will help you.”

“There’s no need to force yourself if you’re unwilling.”

“No, I won’t. Because I… I also want to escape safely, so I will help you. Please, you must save me.”

“In that case, I’ll count on you.”

Roalsa gently stroked the young man’s back, holding him close, and spoke no further on the matter.