A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 183: Desperate Situation
“H-How could this happen...?”
“.......”
“T-The dragons... They’ve all frozen solid? I’m seeing this correctly, right?”
Once again, Ember was panicking, raising her voice—but honestly, this time I couldn’t blame her.
It wasn’t the Ice Age, and yet seeing every dragon frozen stiff and standing in rows... in a way, it was almost majestic.
“...Do you have any idea what might’ve caused this?”
We couldn’t just stand there in awe forever, so I asked the dragon girl standing in front of us in a low voice.
“M-Maybe they’re hibernating?”
But once again, the voice that echoed in the cave was Ember’s.
“A-A creature like a dragon probably uses a lot of energy... Maybe they hibernate now and then to conserve strength...?”
“...We do not hibernate.”
Of course, her suggestion was instantly shot down by the girl’s cold reply.
“Hibernation is for weak beings. Do not compare dragons to such lowly beasts.”
“S-Sorry...”
“......”
The girl glared at Ember, who was now scratching her head awkwardly, then slowly stepped into the space filled with frozen dragons.
“Maybe it’s some kind of curse. Be carefu—”
“A curse? You think we would fall to something like a curse? If that were the case, your party would’ve been dealt with first.”
Her voice dripped with killing intent. For a dragon—supposedly a creature of pure individualism—it was an unexpected response.
Could it be that dragons actually possessed some minimal sense of community?
“No... it’s not camaraderie. She’s simply infuriated that beings with power equal to hers have been taken down.”
“...Huh? Ah.”
I twitched in surprise when the Death Knight suddenly whispered that in my ear, having drawn in close beside me.
“Stay on alert. Creatures that believe themselves to be transcendent often react unpredictably when that belief is shattered.”
Her reasoning was sound... but the distance was the issue.
“...What’s going on with you?”
The Death Knight was standing extremely close to me, one hand on my shoulder, whispering right into my ear.
That was quite different from the way she had previously kept as much distance from me as possible.
‘What is this feeling...?’
Strangely enough, it felt... natural—at least until I remembered she was a top executive in the Black Magic Union.
It was like I’d known her for a long time...
“Look, I ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ know this might not be the best time to ask, but...”
“......?”
“...Are you sure we haven’t met somewhere before?”
I just couldn’t shake the feeling. I hesitantly voiced my suspicion in a low whisper.
“...What?”
She responded a beat too late, quickly pulling her hand from my shoulder and stepping forward.
“...That’s impossible.”
The icy chill she’d left on my shoulder began to fade.
The cave was cold enough on its own, but her touch was something entirely different.
It wasn’t just cold—it was like death itself had reached out to grab me.
‘Just... who is this woman?’
And yet, she still felt inexplicably familiar. I couldn’t help but feel more and more suspicious.
“This is...”
But I didn’t have time to dwell on that.
“...Heh... Haha...”
“...!?”
“Hahahahahaha...”
The dragon girl, who had been stroking the ice encasing the dragons, suddenly began laughing in a low voice.
“D-Did you figure something out?”
“...Yeah. I figured it out.”
That was when I felt a chill run down my spine.
“I wasn’t going to bother explaining, but... might as well say it.”
‘Her tone just changed.’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
She was using informal speech now—a way of speaking that, from what I knew, dragons used only when showing their true selves.
Which meant one thing:
She no longer considered us guests.
But why? It seemed like her investigation of the frozen dragons had triggered the change, but we had nothing to do with it.
After all, we’d only just arrived here—she should know that better than anyone...
—Craack, craaackle...
As I wiped the sweat from my brow, a loud cracking sound echoed through the cave.
“W-What was that!?”
With survival instincts on high alert, Ember looked around in panic. But unlike her, I didn’t look in every direction.
“...I don’t know what’s going on, but try to stay calm.”
Because I already knew exactly where the sound was coming from.
—Crrrrk...
Frosty steam was rising from the dragon girl’s mouth.
From the moment those sounds had started, the mist had begun to freeze in midair, crystallizing and falling to the ground.
That was definitely the source of the noise echoing through the cave.
“Damn it.”
And seeing that... I could tell she fully intended to attack.
“U-Uh...”
“......!”
Unfortunately, Ember had stepped slightly ahead while talking to me, and the Death Knight had also moved forward after whispering earlier.
Which meant that, in the blink of an eye, I had to decide what to do.
‘Wouldn’t it be smartest to turn and run right now?’
Ember had admitted just minutes ago that she was completely useless in this situation.
And the Death Knight, for whatever reason, was suffering from extreme mana depletion.
More importantly, none of these people were ones I was obligated to protect.
Ember had made a deal with the "Great Shadow" and had even taken out the other Demon King candidates.
And the Death Knight? An executive of the Shadow Union, ranked third overall.
If I turned and bolted toward the exit right now, no one could blame me.
In fact, one could even argue it would be the morally correct decision...
“......!”
I had just made up my mind and was about to turn my feet to flee—
“...Tch!”
But in that very instant, the Death Knight gritted her teeth and stepped in front of me.
Not even a second later, the dragon girl exhaled a massive burst of magical energy straight toward us.
“Huh?”
And for some reason, I was grabbing the Death Knight’s shoulder—pulling her back behind me.
‘...Why did I do that?’
Even as I acted, I couldn’t understand what had made me do it.
“......!?”
But one thing was clear:
The look in her eyes, when she was pulled by me—was eerily familiar.
***
—Zzzzzzz...
The storm of snow, mana crystals, and dust began to slowly clear.
“Ah—Ah? Ugh...”
“...What the...”
On the ground, Ember and the Death Knight—both knocked down—looked up to see:
“......”
Whitney, kneeling on one knee, head bowed, having taken the brunt of the dragon girl’s magical blast.
“Eek!”
Ember froze for a moment, then began retreating with a pale face.
“Take even one more step, and you’re next.”
“......!”
The dragon girl’s icy voice stopped her cold.
‘What the hell—dragon breath was supposed to just be glorified burping...’
Even now, Ember couldn’t stop herself from thinking absurd thoughts—but it was only half-true.
Yes, for dragons, their “breath” was more like residue mana expelled from their bodies.
But when forcibly concentrated, like the girl had done just now, it became a full-on offensive weapon.
It just wasn’t usually explained in detail because among dragons, it was considered an informal and crude technique.
Which only meant one thing:
The girl before them had lost all concern for decorum—she was livid.
“W-Why... Why are you doing this?”
“......”
“W-What did we... do wrong...? H-Haha...”
Ember was practically frozen with fear, her voice trembling.
“Well, why don’t you tell me?”
“...What?”
“If you confess now, I might let you live.”
The girl released a wave of murderous dragon fear as she spoke.
“U-Uh... I... Well...”
If it were any other day, Ember might’ve shamelessly confessed to every misdeed since birth.
“R-Right...?”
But now, she truly had no idea what she was being accused of.
“I-I don’t know what we’ve done wrong... Haha...”
And really, that wasn’t unreasonable. As Whitney had already deduced, the party had no connection to what happened here.
At least, they thought they didn’t.
“You stole our artifact.”
“Huh?”
“That’s why we all ended up frozen like this.”
Apparently, the girl saw it differently.
“The previous Dragon Lord placed a vow upon every future Dragon Lord.”
“W-What kind of vow...?”
“That if we fail to protect the artifact that could awaken the Demon King, our entire race would be frozen in punishment.”
Ember’s pupils trembled rapidly.
“That Dragon Lord was sympathetic to humans.”
“......”
“Being a dragon himself, he knew our race’s tendency to ignore outside matters. That’s why he forced the vow.”
At last, Ember spoke in a trembling voice.
“Then... this situation is...”
“Yes. The artifact we kept in the nest has been stolen.”
And before Ember could say anything else—
The girl whispered coldly, “And I’m certain the culprits... are you.”
“W-Wait a second!”
Ember quickly cried out.
“If that’s true... then why you? Why weren’t you frozen too?”
“...You still haven’t figured out why I was chosen to guide you?”
The girl’s expression twisted further as she replied in a low voice.
“I’m a half-breed.”
“...What?”
“Half-human, half-dragon.”
She raised her right hand, now slowly turning to ice, as proof.
“That’s why I was only partially affected by the vow.”
“Ah...”
“In other words, if I take the artifact back from you—everything will return to normal.”
She no longer hid her power—she was gathering mana openly now.
“Ah... Aaah...”
And now, there was no one left in Whitney’s group who could stop her.
“S-So... this is the end...”
So Ember thought, closing her eyes.
“...Sorry, but that’s not true.”
“......?”
From deep within the cave, a man’s voice suddenly echoed.
“I’m the one who stole the artifact.”
“......!?”
