With the stalkers gone, the journey was now more bearable than before. The hostage—the one who got beat up—was perhaps too traumatized, so he just followed them as instructed. 

Ryuu's arm was also in better shape after bathing in multiple potions and was now in line for twenty hits before death. He had to empty almost all the potions in his stock, so he would have declared an all-out war on the system. But it did work out to some extent. Unless a rare-five-headed beast attacked out of nowhere, he was safe.

But problems never seemed to end. One was solved partially, then another one was created without a fail.

The vast blue lake was definitely soothing to look at. A soft, cool breeze flowed from the direction of the lake. The water was calm unlike a sea or river; so clean that one could see under it in places not too deep. A perfect place for relaxation or swimming. 

Unfortunately, Ryuu didn’t know how to swim. Which wasn’t really a problem because they could cross the lake with boats illegal businessmen left behind during their ventures. Although he couldn’t row either. That wasn’t a problem for now. 

As always, the system brought up the actual problem. No. The system created the problem.

[System: Special character-specific quest: Unlocked.]

‘Right now? Why?’

The system ignored his question as always.

[Just like waves of water, lost time can’t be returned. 

But some things can survive the passage of time, and remain valuable even after thousands of years.]

‘Yeah, time and tide waits for none. Now get to the point.’

[Such a thing was lost in the Lake of Grievance a thousand years ago.]

‘Wait. The lake has a name?’ This lake was the largest closed-water body of the kingdom, perhaps even the continent, but it was usually called Isle Forest Lake, because of its location. It was the first time the real name was mentioned.

Although it had such a name, it was this lake that gave life to the forest, being its largest source of water. In ancient times, the lake water was believed to have magical qualities because the water wasn't salty despite being so close to the sea. To this day, some believed that such a diverse forest couldn’t have grown in this kingdom if not for this lake. But Ryuu didn’t know that.

[You are to retrieve the ‘Key Of Eunoia’ from beneath the lake. The lost item can open doors to priceless information. 

This is a limited time unskippable quest. There will be future dilemmas if the quest isn’t completed.]

‘Isn’t that how most of my quests work?’ There weren’t any ‘skippable’ quests provided for character Ryuu Aoi in all the while he was here. Even basic training quests came with warnings of disaster. It was as if he was here to hear ‘there will be consequences’.

[System:…]

‘And I can’t swim. How do you expect me to get the key of whatnot?’

[You do not need to swim. Dive into the designated spot and retrieve the item.]

‘And how am I supposed to get out? Oh, something like the body will float up on its own after I cross the bridge?’

[...]

[Quest reward: A legendary grade potion manual of your choice.]

‘So, where do I dive?’ Bribes worked quite well on him if applied properly.

A location point appeared on the screen, which showed a green mark twenty meters from the north of the shore to the surface of the lake. The mark appeared on the transparent screen he looked through it.

[The system screen will guide you.]

‘How convenient! Couldn't you be this convenient from the beginning?’

There were a lot of random locations Ryuu had to go to in the beginning, the system didn't even give him coordinates back then. He had to look it up on old maps. As someone who grew up in the modern age, finding exact spots on the map was close to impossible for him then. This feature could have saved him a lot of time.

[System: Providing technical support during tutorials would hamper growth. The special features are only available for the main quest,] 

‘Yeah, whatever. Do I go now?’

[System: The best time for the task would be after sundown, but you’re free to attempt whenever you please.]

‘No risk of physical injury, right? My arm isn’t 100% healed yet.’

[None whatsoever.]

The two completely ignored the matter of getting out of the water.

The sun was still shining over their heads. Since the attack last night, they had been traveling without much rest to avoid the radar in case someone else chose to tail them. “Let’s camp out here for the day and head out tomorrow morning.” Askr slumped down on the grass, finally able to catch his breath. In his mind, this short-tempered assassin and the betraying guard were some creatures, unlike humans. It was as if they never got tired.

“Wouldn’t it be faster if we leave now?” Kai questioned.

“I have a mission here,” Ryuu whispered so only Kai could hear him. “So we’ll have to stay here for the day. But I was wondering…”

Ryuu walked over to the peace offering and observed him thoughtfully. The man seemed to be aging exponentially. “What do we do with this?” He did drag the thief along to offer as a sacrifice but didn’t really know how to treat one. “Do we feed him?”

“To the beasts?” Tempting.

“No, I mean giving him food and such, Ryuu clarified 

"Just the bare minimum, maybe?"

The two who had no experience keeping someone alive after a fight began looking at the supposed villain like a predator scanning its prey. In terms of their behavior, anyone would question who te real villain was if they didn't know the whole story.

“Don’t…don’t you people have any kindness in you?” The man spoke timidly. 

“It’s not like your life would be saved if we’re kind,” Ryuu remarked, “And I don’t really see any reason to treat you kindly.” 

Why would Ryuu look at him kindly when he didn’t even treat the nation’s first prince, albeit a dead one, with kindness? 

Askr was an idiot who picked up the dragon egg from the forest, and although his motive was questionable, he was just an idiot who wanted to get close to a dragon. Everyone wanted to get close to a powerful being if given the chance.

This man, on the other hand, probably wanted to kill the young dragon for materials. It was not only the highest level of crime, it could have put the whole kingdom in danger, but he didn't care about that, and probably planned to run far away with his earnings. There was nothing to pity about a greedy man.

“Little dragon, should we treat him kindly?” Kai asked in his usual unbothered voice. 

The dragon had settled down on the collapsed Askr’s stomach as if it were its throne. ‘The idiot prince has been promoted to the position of a chair. Where's your 'rare phenomenon!' notice?‘

[...]

The dragon flew up from its seat, circled the man for a minute then looked at the two. It tugged Ryuu's sleeve and guided them to a bush nearby. Nightshade. Scientifically known as Atropa belladonna. Ryuu had first encountered it while clearing land for farming. The nightshade found in the Ynistia continent was a bit different from Earth's. The black fruit's surface looked like polished metal but was soft. It reflected light, making it shine. 

Ryuu remembered what he told the dragon previously. "Do you want me to poison him?" The blue dragon nodded. ‘Well, at least we know it understands us now?’

"We can't kill him," He spoke. "But we can feed him one or two of this fruit." The dragon's tail began to sway like an excited puppy.

[System: You are corrupting the child.]

'Do you think a human can corrupt a dragon at will? Hah.'

[System: ... ]

Ryuu picked up a few black fruits and approached the already-petrified man. "You...you said you won't kill me!"

"I won't," Ryuu assured, "The child is curious. See how excited he is? We can't disappoint him. Don't worry, you'll be just fine." He forced the man to swallow the toxic fruit while the dragon observed with anticipation.

[System: You are beginning to live up to your notorious image.]

'Notorious? Who? Me?' It was just that he was still furious at the man.

Askr pretended to be asleep, thanking god for not letting him end up the same way.

Under the effects of the hallucinogen, the man began to speak utter nonsense. The dragon observed him carefully, as if looking at a research specimen. The man passed out after making a good enough fool out of himself and the dragon went back to sit on its designated spot.

“Looks like the dragon is appeased” Kai spoke then glanced at Ryuu, who looked just as appeased. “Satisfied."

Ryuu looked back with a pure smile that made him look childishly innocent. "Yeah." A smile earned with the cost of the dragon thief's dignity.