"Royal blood left behind outside the palace... Could this be..."
Reinhard's explanation made Subaru's mouth fall open in disbelief.
"The legendary Felt route..."
Smack—
"Guh!"
The instant Subaru finished speaking, someone struck him hard on the head.
"Ow! Why'd you suddenly hit me?!"
He rubbed his reddening forehead.
Reinhard was one thing, but why did someone as tiny as Felt hit so hard too?
Did everyone in another world have ridiculous arm strength?
Felt shook out her equally red hand.
"I have no idea what this 'Felt route' thing you're talking about is, but hearing it somehow really pisses me off."
Ignoring the two of them fooling around, Shiro turned toward Reinhard.
"So you want to take Felt back because you plan to make her king of this country?"
"That is not exactly the case."
Reinhard first glanced toward Emilia before shaking his head.
"A nation cannot remain without a ruler, and that is especially true for the Kingdom of Lugunica."
"The reason Lugunica is called the Dragon Kingdom goes back several centuries."
"At that time, King Farsale Lugunica formed a covenant with the Divine Dragon Volcanica."
"Afterward, whenever the kingdom faced a major crisis, the Divine Dragon repeatedly came to its aid and helped it prosper."
"The Divine Dragon Volcanica also bestowed upon the kingdom the Dragon History Stone, which reveals the path the nation should take."
"Whenever Lugunica falls into crisis, prophecies representing heaven's will appear upon the tablet."
"Those prophecies have saved the kingdom from disaster countless times."
Hearing this, Shiro roughly understood Lugunica's political structure.
Simply put—It was divine right of kings.
Or perhaps more accurately, rule granted by heaven.
In ancient societies dominated by religion, monarchs often strengthened their authority by claiming they had been appointed by gods or heaven itself.
Ancient Chinese emperors, for example, commonly called themselves the "Son of Heaven."
Alexander the Great had also portrayed himself as a divine incarnation.
Even in feudal societies where gods did not truly exist, people could show tremendous reverence toward imaginary divine beings.
So in Lugunica, where a being effectively equivalent to a [God] actually existed, that reverence would naturally be even stronger.
To the people of this country, the Divine Dragon Volcanica was probably no different from the gods worshiped in feudal societies.
And unlike imaginary deities, Volcanica had genuinely helped the kingdom survive countless crises.
No wonder it was called the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
The word "Dragon" was placed even before "Lugunica" in its title.
That alone showed how deeply the people revered Volcanica.
Seeing that Shiro had finished processing his explanation, Reinhard continued.
"This time is no different."
"When the Lugunica royal bloodline approached extinction, the Dragon History Stone revealed a new prophecy."
"'When Lugunica's covenant is severed, a new leader of the dragon shall guide the nation.'"
"'There shall be five candidates to lead the new kingdom.'"
"'From among them, choose one priestess to form a new covenant with the dragon.'"
"Wait."
Shiro interrupted.
"If the next ruler is chosen by the Divine Dragon, then the old royal bloodline shouldn't matter anymore."
"So why exactly do you want to take Felt away?"
"That is true."
"Normally, as a descendant of the former royal family, even if she no longer belongs to the ruling house, the Astrea family should still receive Lady Felt with the utmost courtesy."
"But..."
Reinhard took Emilia's insignia from Felt.
The insignia had been glowing with a dim crimson light in Felt's hand.
Yet the instant Reinhard held it—The glow vanished completely.
"This insignia is a special magical tool."
"The glowing jewel embedded within it is called a [Dragon Jewel]."
"If you collect seven of them, do they grant the owner a wish?"
Subaru immediately leaned closer after hearing the name, apparently trying to see whether there were stars inside it.
However, Emilia turned toward him with an extremely serious expression.
"Even if there are many disappointing things in life, you shouldn't always rely on someone else to make your wishes come true."
"Rewards only go to children who work hard."
"That's why they're called rewards."
Her painfully sincere response left Subaru, who had merely been trying to make a joke and lighten the mood, awkwardly scratching his head and laughing.
Reinhard continued explaining the Dragon Jewel.
"This magical tool has only one purpose."
"To determine whether its holder possesses the qualifications to participate in the Royal Selection."
His voice was not loud.
Yet it echoed clearly through the surrounding ruins.
Only now did everyone understand why Reinhard had reacted so strongly when he saw Felt holding the glowing insignia.
Felt was not merely someone who might possess royal blood.
She was also one of the Dragon Maidens chosen to participate in the Royal Selection.
And even more importantly—She might become the ruler whom the Astrea family, which had served Lugunica for centuries, would one day swear loyalty to.
However, the moment Reinhard finished speaking—Felt exploded.
"Hah?! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?!"
"Who the hell wants to participate in some damn Royal Selection?!"
She roared at Reinhard.
When Reinhard said she might be a descendant of the royal family and possessed the qualifications to enter the Royal Selection, Felt's first reaction was simple.
She was pissed off.
That was all.
Felt had grown up in the slums.
To survive, she had stolen plenty of things from those so-called nobles.
And during those years, she had seen exactly what the nobility was like.
The nobles and knights of the royal capital constantly preached etiquette, honor, and virtue.
Yet they never cared whether people born in the slums lived or died.
Even if someone starved to death right in front of a noble, most of them would not even raise an eyelid.
Felt had seen people like that her entire life.
In her eyes—Knights.
Nobles.
They were nothing more than hypocrites.
Even Reinhard was no different.
The knight among knights?
Then where had he been when she was starving as a child?
Now that the kingdom suddenly needed someone to renew its covenant with the dragon—They remembered she existed?
If the people Felt hated most were the slum dwellers who did nothing but complain without possessing the courage to change their situation—Then these hypocritical nobles and knights unquestionably ranked second.
Under certain circumstances, they were even worse than the people in the slums.
At least the slum dwellers had never tried forcing Felt to become something she hated.
She had finally worked hard enough to nearly save the money needed to leave the slums with Old Man Rom and start a new life somewhere else.
And now Reinhard had suddenly appeared to tell her she had to participate in some Royal Selection.
To Felt—That was practically the same as denying everything she had struggled through in the past, then forcing her to become exactly the kind of person she despised.
So as Reinhard tried to take her away and make her participate in the Royal Selection—Felt erupted with overwhelming fury.
…