No, I'm not ready to give up.
　There's got to be a way. Think about it.

　I don't want to do this for a living.
　I don't want to make a career out of it, and I don't want people to know what I can do.
　That's what I've been thinking about for a long time.

　And I love that.
　I've been thinking about it day and night, so I had an idea.

　I blew up the house before I got here, and then I walked out of there without telling anyone, and I didn't hear from anyone for four days.
　It's not good, it's, uh... it's supposed to be a bad way to disappear.

　Let's say he got possessed somehow.

　He's possessed and manipulated, which explains my ability to take this thing down. In that case, my powers could be boosted, so we can say that's what happened.
　Or I can say that I don't remember anything.

...it's possible, it's possible in this setting.

　The more I think about it, the more I feel like I can do it.
　The fact that you disappeared so soon after your last run-in has had a positive effect on you here.

　To make the obsession even more believable - let's take the soldiers down.
　We'll fake a run-in and beat them all up in our own way.

　I'll be able to make restitution and visit them later when I come to my senses.
　I'm a nobleman, and I'm willing to pay a lot of money to cover up my mistake.
　I'm going to pay the Cano family to cover up my mistake.

　Yeah, this is getting better and better.
　All right, let's go with the--

"Your Highness!　It's not an optical illusion, the Dragon King's shadow is down.
It's that man, that bloody man, I think it was him!

　The moment he was about to jump on the soldier, his words snapped and he stopped moving.

　.........Your Highness?

　I pitter-pattered to a stop and looked at a group of less than 300 soldiers who were fearful.
　A man who looks like the captain of the team speaks to me in a fearful manner.

I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it. I'm the third prince of the Aegina Kingdom.

　...Prince?
　The prince, the prince?

　The King's third son or something, that third prince?

　I couldn't hit him in an instant.
　

　We can't defeat him, the option to defeat him has disappeared without a trace.

'Isn't your highness, Hermes Cano?

　And he knows who I am, prince!

Well, no...
''How did you defeat the Dragon King's shadow in a single blow?''

　Even worse, I'm quite aware of that.
　d*mn, you're going to raise your stock against the prince?

　　　　　★

You mean I'm supposed to pretend I didn't see it?

　Near the shadowed corpse of the Dragon King.
　I moved the soldiers away and spoke with the third prince, Shaw the Aegina, alone.

　Or rather, I asked for a favor.
　Thinking that I could no longer fool him, I asked him straight away to tell me that I was the one who had defeated the Dragon King's shadow, but not to tell others.

'Yes,'
Why? Why? You know about the Dragon King's shadow. If you defeat him, you will be honored as a hero.
'I'm sorry, Your Highness. Please do not do this.

　I didn't say why, just that it was a no-go, so I asked Shaw to do it.
　At first, Shaw asked me why, but since I said "no matter what", two feelings of resignation and dismay gradually appeared on his face.

'Hmmm ... just like I heard from Lina.
Her Highness Lina?
'Yes, you have the power, but for some reason you try to hide it. That's what I've heard.
Huh.

　That's what she's been saying all along?

Hey, relax.
What?
I'm the only one who's heard the story so far, as it should be.
Oh, really?

　I don't know if it's really true, but I have to believe it.
　And if Lina's talking to me, maybe she'll be a little more in tune with what I'm saying.

　So I asked with all my might, with all my might, to worship him anyway.

'Please, Your Highness!　Please!
Okay.
So?
'Oh, I won't tell anyone. We've successfully guided the Dragon King's shadow away from the human settlement to avoid provoking it. Even if they are dead, they are still the same as before in the sense that they don't appear in the human village. In fact, it's a permanent threat.
Are you sure?
Jerk. I will not change what I once agreed to. The word of a king is heavier than a mountain.
Thank you!

　I bowed my head in a flash.
　Oh no, I know this prince story.

　Shaw says he's going to get this thing in his gut.
　There's one more person who knows how strong I am, but if you don't say it, it's as if I haven't increased it.

　Just like with Lina, I can trust the royals when they say the words "royalism".

　I was relieved - then.
　The shadow corpse of the Dragon King's shadow began to groan.

　I heard a bobbing sound of boiling liquid, and me and Shaw looked in that direction at the same time.

　The mouth I had torn open further, and a black shadow flew out of it.
　The shadow attacked Shaw.

　I have to help - no, no.

　I hesitated for a moment, but then I thought about it and realized that Shaw already knows I'm "somewhat strong," so there's no need to hesitate in front of him.

　I just checked my surroundings, and the soldiers are far away, their backs are to my back, and they're not looking at me.
　We're good to go.

Excuse me.

　I pulled my longsword out of Shaw's waist and slashed at the shadow that flew at me.
　The first blow didn't cut it, the blade slipped through.
　Apparently it's not a physical presence.

　Then, he released a second blow like a swallow-attack.
　This time, a slash that is effective against the spirit body.

　Then the black shadow was cut in half and disappeared without a trace like smoke.
　This kind of thing--

It looks like you've been trying to get a hold of His Highness.

　If I had to guess, I'd say it wasn't far off.
　That could be the true identity of the dragon king's shadow that haunts the dragon.
　Well, now that you've defeated it, it doesn't matter.

　I pointed the blade of my longsword towards me and held it out to Shaw, as I would if I were returning a pair of scissors or a kitchen knife or something like that.

''Sorry to be intrusive...Your Highness?''

　I noticed that Shaw was staring straight at me.
　His expression is serious.

　....Not good!　There it is...

You saved my life.
No, that's not--
I am Shaw the Aegina, third prince of the kingdom of Aegina.
So, Your Highness. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this.
"Mm, royalty does not have two words for you. We'll take our defeat of the Dragon King's Shadow to the grave. But,

　Kah, Shaw's eyes widen.

'It's a royal name breaker if I don't thank you for saving my life.

　I said.

　Oh God, I can't stop this....
　I had to give up.

　Fortunately, Shaw said he'd keep the dragon king's shadow a secret.

　That was a blessing in disguise--.

　　　　　☆

　--It wasn't anything like that, in fact it had the opposite effect.
　Just like with Lina, Shaw sent me a second Order of the Cross of Koussifos for defeating the Slime Lords.

　Two Cross Medals for defeating the Slime Lords.
　It clearly had the opposite effect.

　What's this Hermes guy up to?

　The rumor was that it was the opposite in the kingdom.