When I woke up, I was in Rose's lap. I asked, "What are you doing?"

Rose turned pink and squealed, "You saved my life! I will upgrade you to be my boyfriend!"

All: "What?!"

Rion: "Okay, I accept, but I think it was my older self talking through me."

I stayed like that for the rest of the ride, despite Celus and Kain telling me and Rose to stop.

Finally, we arrived in the capital.

First things first, Kain and I had an audience with King George.

King George: "Kain and Rion, you two have saved my daughter from two dragon attacks. I am very thankful."

Kain: "My lord, thank you."

Rion: "For praising us with your kind words."

King George: "For this, I grant both of you a perigee, the title of Dragon Slayer, and permission to join the Dragon Slayers Guild as G-rank Dragon Slayers."

Kain thought to himself, *Oh no, I just want to learn magic in peace. Why?*

Other nobles: "No chance! You're granting these children a perigee and funds?"

Rion: "I humbly accept."

(A perigee is when the king appoints someone a noble title of baron and funds them.)

King George: "These boys single-handedly defeated two dragon fleets and their leaders. Do you think any of you can do that?"

Kain, with a frown on his face, shrieked: "I accept, my lord!"

King George: "And come to the parlor later; I want to chat about something personal."

Both surprised, we told him: "Okay."

Then we left and headed to the parlor.

King George: "I want to thank you, not as a king but as a father."

Both: "It's no problem, my lord, really. We just happened to be there."

Then the Duke popped up.

Duke Helem: "I thank you for saving my daughter."

Both: "It's no problem, really."

Duke and King: "Then we would like to ask that Kain get engaged to Celestia, and that Rose get engaged to Rion."

Both: "What?!"

King: "Well, are you saying our daughters are not good enough for you?"

Rion: "No, my lord, but—"

Kain: "We’re too young!"

Duke: "It’s fine; it will not be official until you’re old enough."

Rion: "Well, I am already in a relationship with her, so I accept."

Kain: "How could you—so…"

King: "Oh, so she isn’t good enough for you? I see Rion is the only one who is humble and understanding. Is that it?"

Kain: "No, my lord, I accept," he whispered.

Celestia was shy at first, but Rose had already accepted.

Well, since Kain and I were barons, we had our own mansion. We thought we would check it out, but when we first saw it, it was falling apart—cracked pillars, super dusty, and spiders everywhere. My magic was mostly for attacking, but Kain knew how to use his magic for cleaning and remodeling, so it worked out. We decided that I would sleep in the master bedroom on the top floor and he would be on the bottom floor.

The next day, Kain had gone to visit, so I headed to the guild to redeem my adventurer's card and find a dragon-killing quest.

Rion: "Wow, so this is the guild?"

Guild worker: "Hi there! I’m Roxy. This is the Tiger Guild. Want to sign up? How old are you?"

Rion: "Hi, I’m Rion. I’m 14, but the king gave me this letter and told me to sign up."

Roxy: "Oh, I find that hard to believe. Maybe show me the letter?"

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I handed it to her.

Roxy: "Oh wow, you must be really powerful. You can sign up, but you will start from G rank. The highest is S rank, but only those who take out elite dragons and shrine monarchs get that rank. Only one person has ever done that."

—though that was the founder of this nation, Valdom, who was Grim Valdom.

Rion: "Okay, thanks for this information. But even if I’m low rank, can I take dragon extermination quests?"

Roxy: "Since you’ve been appointed, your rank will be decided by which quest you pick from the board there."

Rion: "At the moment, what is the most challenging quest?"

Roxy: "Well, there’s a fleet of mid-level dragons with a superior ice dragon. You would be upgraded to C rank for that. For B rank, you have to take down ten higher dragons, and for A rank, an elite dragon. For S rank, you need to face a dragon monarch, but those aren’t available right now. The first rank quest is available, but I wouldn’t recommend it for your age. You could get killed."

Rion: "I will take it. I’ll bring back their horns as proof."

Roxy: "Are you sure?"

Rion: "Yes."

Roxy: "At least get some equipment first."

Rion: "Okay, then I want one of your best incite swords."

Roxy: "You’ll need more than that."

Rion: "Just give it to me."

Roxy: "Okay, but it’s your grave. That will be 1 gold."

Rion: "Here."

Then I left for the Forest of Fall where they were spotted. I arrived, but there was no sign of dragons. Then I heard a scream. I rushed there and found that a traveling merchant was being attacked by the dragons.

Merchant: "Help!"

Rion: "Infernal Incite Battle Arts!"

I leaped into battle and landed on the head of the dragon and popped his blood everywhere. I then saw why Roxy did not want to go there; there were 50 dragons, and the ice dragon was currently asleep. Twenty-five came, and the other 25 remained asleep with the ice dragon.

They rushed at me. I drew my sword. I rushed at them. One clawed at me. I leaped in the air. Then 3 flew up, breathing fire at me from every direction. That's when my hatred reawaked.

I first grabbed the neck and bashed them to gather and throw them down, then the 3rd thought he could surprise me. I caught it with one hand, ripped his wings, threw it down, and shot a contracted bolt of energy, wiping them out 20 more. I used my sword to put everything into one slice, cutting through 2 the other 18 shots, and fired a concentrated blast of fire.

Rion: Infernal incite battle arts full of power, he shouted.

My aura burst out. I had been suppressing it, but now that I could realize it, I sliced through their blast and

Rion shouted: Slayers cutter!

The sheer power of my incite broke the sword; it didn't matter; I defeated them, but with that, the ice dragon woke up, and the 25 dragons guarding it and sleeping attacked. The ice dragon lay not taking it seriously, thinking the fleet could defeat me. I was enraged even more. I babared them with all my power and shot my swords. It was blood.

I fought through the freezing air, but the ice remained, and I could feel myself reaching my limit. Just as the ice dragon prepared to finish me off, something within me awakened. My aura shifted from red to a blazing orange—I had taken a crucial step closer to my future self's power.

The ice dragon surged forward, unleashing its mighty breath of frost. I dodged to the side, leaped into the air, and activated my Slayer Flash—the evolved version of Slayer Cutter. With a swift strike, I severed one of its arms, but it continued to fly, retaliating with a magical claw strike known as Dragon Talon. I tanked the blow; it injured me, but I refused to give up.

Leaping high into the sky, I shouted, “Rion: Dragonic Slayer!”

A colossal blast erupted from me, wiping the ice dragon from the face of the earth. All that remained was a shattered piece of its heart. I cut off its horns, collecting my trophies as I stood drenched in dragon blood.

As I approached the city gate, the guards recognized me. I walked into the guild, a bag filled with fifty dragon horns and one heart piece from the ice dragon slung over my shoulder.

“Oh my god!” Roxy exclaimed.

“Who is that guy? Are those horns? He’s just a kid!” murmured the adventurers.

“Rion here. I completed the quest. I want my reward and a rank up to C,” I announced, my voice steady despite my exhaustion.

As the world faded around me, I suddenly passed out. When I came to, I found myself in an isolation room, and there was Rose, sitting beside my bed.

She rushed to me and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her in return, feeling a rush of warmth amidst the exhaustion.

Rose: "Don't ever scare me like that again."

Rion: "Okay, okay."

She gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I turned red.

Rion: "Rose, you're moving too fast."

Rose: "Well, I want to, so let me handle this."

Rion: "Okay, okay... Oh, and where am I?"

Rose: "You're in the guild. You've been upgraded to C-rank, and you need a bath. You smell like a dragon, even though they wiped the blood off you. Oh, and did I tell you? I'm sleeping over at your mansion tonight and taking care of you with the maids until you recover. Got it?"

I stood up and then fell back down.

Rose: "The doctor said the strain on your body is too much. You've ripped your shoulder tendon and fractured your hip. Let me support you."

Rion: "So, how long until I heal?"

Rose: "Full recovery will take at least three months."

Rion: "I'll be up and running in a week. I'll be fine."

Rose: "You can’t keep doing this."

Rion: "I just unlocked Infernal Incite Battle Arts V2."

Rose: "But no, you can’t! You'll die."

Rion: "I have to. I need to exterminate them to protect you and everyone I care about."

Rose: "Then get stronger—so strong that you won’t get hurt or die. Promise me you will."

I hugged her, and she started to cry.

Rose: "I was so worried."

Rion: "It’s okay. I’ll never leave you, I promise."

That's when Rimuru saw us.

Rimuru: "Unhand Miss Rose this instant, you weak and pathetic filth!"

Rose: "That's enough out of your mouth. He is no longer your servant. If I see you again, I'll have Father strip your title and send you to prison. Got it?"

Rimuru: "But—"

Rose: "No buts! Now, get out of my sight."