https://re-library.com/translations/hero-king/Book 12: Chapter 487: 16 Year Old Inglis and The Two-Colored Dragon

**Gwon— Gwon Gwon—**

She woke in the middle of the night to the sound of a distinct vibration. Inside a flying battleship, this sound echoed constantly, never ceasing as the ship sailed through the skies.

At the same time, another sound mixed in, a low growling. It was, quite plainly, Meltina’s own stomach growling.

“…This is troubling.”

Meltina sat up on her bunk and rubbed her stomach, letting out a small sigh. Mealtime was still a ways off, but she was already quite hungry.

Right now, she was no longer acting as the princess of Venefique, but accompanying the Dragon God investigation as a student of the Charalia Knight Academy. Compared to life in the detached palace, with no freedom and no friends, the current life she had, surrounded by Inglis, Rafinha, Leone, and Liselotte, was far better.

She had come to realize just how precious and joyous it was to have people who would accept her as a friend. That said, the one inconvenient part was that she couldn’t eat whenever she liked, as much as she wanted.

Meltina stood up from her bunk.

“Nn…”

She stretched her body, loosening up her stiff joints. The bunk was a simple fixture set against the wall. It was hard, and sleeping on it left her body stiff.

There were four such bunks in total in the room. The space was so small that they nearly filled the entire area. The room was austere, clearly meant only for sleeping.

But this was a military ship, and there were many crew members aboard. The fact that she had a room to sleep in at all was already a luxury.

Liselotte also used this room to sleep, but she wasn’t here now—Meltina was alone. The two of them were taking turns watching over Rochefort in the adjacent room.

Having loosened up her body, Meltina made her way to the door. She figured she might as well check the ship’s provisioning station and see if she could get something to eat. She walked down the corridor lined with similar doors, heading toward the rear of the ship.

This section was at the front-right of the battleship. The provisioning station was all the way in the back. She passed a few crew members and knights along the way, and then:

“Lady Meltina. Is something the matter?”

She was called out along the way.

“Ah, Sir Raphael.”

It was Raphael who had spoken to her.

“Is something the matter at this hour?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing serious…”

Meltina made a slight gesture toward her stomach, and that alone seemed to be enough for Raphael to understand.

“Ah, I see. Well then, shall we go?”

With a smile, Raphael began walking, leading the way for Meltina.

“Um, I couldn’t possibly trouble you with something so trivial when you’re so busy…”

Right now, she wasn’t the princess of Venefique, just a student of the Knight Academy. Having the captain of the Holy Knight Order, the greatest knight in all of Charalia, guide an ordinary student just to get a midnight snack was unthinkable.

“No, it’s quite all right.”

**Guuuuu~**

That wasn’t the sound of Meltina’s stomach.

“I’m heading to the same place, after all. Haha.”

Raphael smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh… fufu. Then, I’ll be glad to accompany you.”

The two of them walked side by side, heading toward the stern of the ship.

“How is Sir Rochefort doing?”

“Ah, yes. There’s no particular change… he was in bad shape to begin with, so I can’t say he’s doing well…”

“I see. Rani, Glis, and Lady Arles are all doing their best to save him. Please keep encouraging him so he can hold out until they return.”

“Of course! I heard that you once fought Sir Rochefort on the battlefield… Thank you for showing such concern for someone who was once your enemy.”

“There’s no personal grudge between us. I’m sure Sir Rochefort feels the same. Besides, he’s now a teacher at the Knight Academy, supporting Rani and Glis. I’ve heard he’s taken good care of them. As someone close to them, I’d like for such a good teacher to recover.”

“Fufu, yes. I think he’s a wonderful teacher. It’s hard to believe he was once a general, he fits his current role so well. He even watches over our afterschool self-training.”

“I’ve heard Glis often drags him into combat drills.”

“Yes, that’s true. I usually do basic training beside them, but the Instructor always helps us, even though he grumbles the whole time.”

Remembering the scenes from her daily life, Meltina chuckled softly.

Physically, it was exhausting, and she was sore every day, but emotionally, it was peaceful and truly fulfilling, days that made her feel genuinely happy.

“…If possible, we knights blessed with Rune marks should fight not in wars between people, but only to protect others from Prism Flow and Magic Stone Beasts. Otherwise, we’re forced to battle people who aren’t truly evil.”

“Yes… you’re absolutely right.”

When she spoke with Raphael, every word he said resonated deeply.

She felt a similar impression when talking with Rafinha, perhaps that was only natural, given that they were siblings.

Rafinha was cheerful, energetic, and full of vitality, whereas Raphael had a calm, refined demeanor and the poised kindness of an adult. Though they were different in those ways, Meltina truly thought they were both wonderful siblings.

Especially with Raphael, just talking to him made her heart race a little. It might have been the first time she’d ever felt this way. Her eyes kept drifting to his beautifully sculpted profile without her meaning to.

In that way, chatting as they went, Meltina and Raphael eventually arrived at the supply station at the rear of the ship.

“Hey there, thanks for your work. Sorry to trouble you, but is there anything we can eat?” Raphael called out to the man in a white cook’s uniform working inside.

“Sir Raphael. Again?” The man in charge, who seemed young but had a stout build, sighed as he replied.

“Sorry about that. My brain just stops working when I get hungry. And I still have plenty of paperwork to finish up…”

“Why not have Lady Ripple help you? If you slept properly at night, we wouldn’t be so tight on rations.”

“Ah, Lady Ripple isn’t very good with that kind of work. Lady Eris would help, but… not until she returns.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I suppose it can’t be helped. In that case, the usual, quantity over quality, is that all right?”

What he pulled out was a large loaf of bread, about the size of a person’s head.

It was a tough, crusty bread, but the surface had been sprinkled with sugar and toasted over fire, giving it a delicious-looking caramelized finish.

“Of course. I actually really like this, it’s tasty.”

“Thank you, that means a lot. This is nothing but a meal prep, but I do bake them myself.”

“But I’m sorry to ask, could I have one more?”

As he said that, Raphael glanced over at Meltina.

“Hm? Ah, for the young lady? Got it.”

When he saw Meltina’s face, he nodded in understanding and brought out another large loaf just like Raphael’s.

“Thank you very much.”

Meltina bowed politely as she accepted it.

“I never thought there’d be a girl who eats as much as Lord Raphael. And there are two more like her…? I was seriously worried the food we loaded would be wiped out. Please let us know in advance if those girls will be on board next time.”

“Ahaha… Sorry about that. Well then, we’ll dig in. Thanks.”

The supply room had several chairs that could be pulled out from the wall, and Raphael and Meltina took seats there.

Each took a bite of the bread they’d received.

“Oh, the crust is nice and firm, but the inside is so soft and fluffy. And the caramelized sugar on top is wonderfully fragrant…”

“Right? He always says it’s more about quantity than flavor, but it’s actually really tasty.”

“It really is. The way it’s baked is so well done.”

As they were enjoying their tasty midnight bread—

“Sir Raphael! There you are. Apologies for interrupting your meal.”

One of the knights spotted Raphael and hurried over.

Sensing the urgency, Raphael’s expression sharpened slightly.

“No need for formalities. What happened?”

“Actually, several of the night watchmen have gone missing. I came to report it—”

“What!? Then has there been some kind of attack—?”

“We’re not sure. A few of us searched, but we found no signs of struggle or any bodies.”

“No trace of an attack? But they’re also nowhere to be seen?”

“Correct, sir.”

“That’s troubling. Then we should take every precaution. Gather more personnel and conduct a full search of the ship. If anything happens, we have no escape route, this is the sky. I’ll come as well. Take me to the location.”

“Yes, sir. This way.”

“Lady Meltina, please be careful. Meet up with Liselotte and stay alert. Especially with Sir Rochefort’s condition.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Raphael quickly stuffed the rest of his bread into his mouth and left with the knight.

Meltina wished they could’ve talked a little longer, but the situation clearly took priority.

She quickly finished the rest of her bread as well, and then peeked into the back of the supply station to thank the man who’d served them.

“Um, excuse me—”

No reply. In the stillness, only the distant hum of the airship’s engine echoed unusually loud.

“Huh? Did he go somewhere…?”

She hadn’t seen him leave the supply room, maybe there was another passage? She wasn’t sure, but there was no point lingering when he wasn’t in sight.

“Thank you. It was delicious.”

Meltina voiced her gratitude aloud, bowed, and began walking back through the corridor toward the front-right side of the ship. The room where Rochefort was recuperating was just beside the one she had been sleeping in.

Right now, Liselotte was with him. Just as Raphael had suggested, she intended to regroup with them.

“Gather up! Units One through Three, to the lower cargo hold!”

“We suspect an intruder! Commence a full ship-wide search!”

As the ship began to stir with rising urgency, Meltina opened the door to Rochefort’s room.

“Liselotte, how is Professor Rochefort—?”

**FWOOOOOOOOSH!**

But instead of Liselotte’s reply, a fierce wind howled through the room. A massive hole had been blown into the outer wall, and the air from outside was pouring in.

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