Jeanne's Body Apron / The Boy's Dragon Face / Proof of Dragon Slaying

The voice came from the pendant around his neck.

Pierre looked down and saw it emitting rings of black light, one after another.

After a moment's hesitation, he grasped the pendant.

A chaotic sound echoed in the boy's mind.

"Do you need my help..."

"Right now, you really want to protect your younger sister, don't you..."

Pierre never imagined that the pendant his father had given him would contain such a voice.

"Who are you?!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise.

"I am you," the voice replied.

"I will help you solve the problems you are facing," it added, its tone confident.

"What are you talking about?" Pierre asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

[You certainly didn't believe such words easily.]

[After all, you had no idea why there would be such a voice in the pendant.]

[You threw it away.]

[But after a moment's hesitation, you picked it up again.]

[This was, after all, something left behind by your mother and then given to you by your father.]

[Throwing it away like that would be a bit disrespectful to them.]

But the voice disappeared at this moment.

It was as if everything just now had been a dream.

Pierre looked at the exquisitely crafted pendant in his hand, his expression somewhat complicated.

To be honest—

When the voice inside the pendant mentioned "being able to help solve your younger sister's problems," he was actually a little tempted.

After all, he really didn't have any other way.

And the boy didn't notice.

The pendant in his hand flickered again when this thought popped into his head.

[You returned to the front of the small wooden house.]

[But you didn't expect to see such a scene after pushing open the door.]

Jeanne was standing at the cooking area, preparing food for the two of them.

Of course.

If it were just this, it wouldn't be anything surprising.

But the problem was—

At this moment, her attire was a little too revealing.

Although he had long known that his younger sister was a beauty, Pierre still felt his eyes were struck by incomparable beauty when he saw this scene.

Jeanne's back skin was as white as snow, and looking down from top to bottom, it was like a roll of pure white cloth unfolded before his eyes.

It was a scene that he absolutely couldn't look down at; looking at it any longer would make his mind explode.

"Jeanne, you..."

Hearing the voice of her beloved brother, Jeanne turned around, her face slightly flushed.

Her shy expression had an even greater visual impact from the front.

The apron that was usually worn by the boy was now tightly fitted to her body, but it didn't really serve much of its intended purpose.

Even just looking at each other like this.

The boy could feel what was called the beauty of a girl's upper body line unique to this age.

And as Jeanne's body swayed slightly, this visual impact became even more terrifying—every frown and smile was a strong shock to his willpower.

"Brother, you're back~" Jeanne said shyly, but she seemed very happy.

Clearly, she seemed to be enjoying her appearance.

However—

"Jeanne, put your clothes back on right now!" Pierre said sternly, his voice sharp.

"Eh?! But..."

"Don't say anything else for now! Put your clothes back to normal!" he insisted, his voice firm.

"Otherwise—" Pierre turned his back to her.

"I won't say another word to you in the future," he declared, his tone resolute.

"No!" Jeanne exclaimed, her voice filled with panic.

[This was your nature as an older brother—you would never allow your younger sister to dress like this.]

[And Jeanne, feeling that she had made you angry, immediately began to change her clothes.]

[She was really worried that you wouldn't talk to her anymore.]

"I'm done changing!" Jeanne called out anxiously, quickly fixing her sleeves.

"Really done changing?" Pierre confirmed again, his gaze questioning.

"Really! If I lied to Brother, I'd immediately turn into a puppy!" she swore, her voice earnest.

Hearing his younger sister make such a "vow," Pierre finally turned around.

And what entered his eyes was indeed Jeanne, who had changed back into her usual clothes.

The apron was lying quietly on the bed to the side.

"Huff—" Pierre let out a sigh of relief, then reprimanded her in an extremely stern tone:

"Jeanne, why did you dress like that?" he asked, his voice sharp.

"Who taught you to do that?! Tell that person to come out right now! I'm going to beat them to death!" he threatened, his eyes narrowed.

"No one taught me to do that," Jeanne lowered her head, her voice soft.

"I... don't have any friends in the village at all," she confessed, her blue eyes downcast.

"Brother, this was all my own idea," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"..."

[You knew that what Jeanne said was indeed the truth.]

[Because not only was her situation like this, but you also didn't have any friends in the village.]

[After your father passed away, your situation had always been so awkward.]

[After experiencing the "angel incident," it had become even worse.]

Pierre's anger vanished in an instant.

His tone softened a lot.

"Then—"

"Why did you think of dressing like that?" he asked gently, his gaze kind.

"Because!" Jeanne carefully leaned closer to Pierre.

"Brother seems to be under a lot of pressure lately," she said softly, her blue eyes filled with concern.

"I... am Brother's girlfriend!" she declared, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Since I'm your girlfriend—"

"Shouldn't I try to make Brother feel happy when he comes home?" she asked, tilting her head.

"But I don't have anything else that can make Brother happy... so I thought I'd just show Brother these things?" she said hesitantly, her voice barely audible.

Jeanne lowered her head.

"But... if I don't wear anything at all, it would be very embarrassing," she confessed, her blue eyes downcast.

"So I found an apron to cover myself... I didn't expect Brother to be so angry, I'm really sorry," she apologized, her voice filled with remorse.

"..."

[Jeanne's observation skills were still excellent.]

[She knew you were under a lot of pressure, so she tried everything she could to make you happy.]

[Of course, she also knew that this kind of behavior didn't fit the modesty that a girl should have, and could even be said to be shameless.]

[But for your sake, she was willing to put aside her pride and wear an apron naked.]

Pierre hugged his younger sister.

He rarely felt the powerlessness of being an older brother as much as he did now.

"I'm sorry, I'm too useless," he murmured, his voice filled with self-reproach.

"But I don't think Brother is useless," Jeanne said softly, shaking her head.

"In my heart—" Jeanne leaned against her older brother's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Brother is the best!" she declared, her blue eyes sparkling.

"And... the best boyfriend!" she added, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"..."

Pierre looked at his younger sister.

"Yeah... you're right," he said softly, a gentle smile on his lips.

That's right.

He had to become that kind of older brother.

He absolutely couldn't let Jeanne continue to be doubted.

[You made up your mind.]

[You wanted to completely solidify Jeanne's identity—to let everyone witness her doing things beyond the ordinary.]

[But the current you couldn't find any possibility of realizing this idea.]

[You remembered the dragon-shaped pendant that said it could help you.]

Late at night.

Jeanne was sleeping soundly in bed.

Pierre leaned against the bedside, taking one cold breath after another.

He couldn't sleep.

He simply couldn't sleep.

Once he thought of the dragon-shaped pendant, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

Let's give it a try.

Pierre took off the pendant around his neck.

It was a jade stone meticulously carved into the shape of a dragon's head, and the workmanship was impeccable from any angle.

Could it really help him achieve what he wanted to do?

[You held the dragon-shaped pendant tightly.]

[You hoped to get some solutions from it.]

[Talent Dragon's Protection has been activated: That mysterious voice began to respond to you once more.]

"You're back," the voice said, sounding not at all surprised.

"Yeah," Pierre didn't hide his helplessness.

"There's something I really want to achieve right now," he confessed, his voice earnest.

"Tell me—"

"What should I do?" Pierre asked, his gaze filled with determination.

Pierre had already made the worst plan in his heart—after all, being the strong-willed person he was, he knew the consequences of asking for help.

However, if it could really allow his younger sister to achieve that kind of thing.

He would willingly accept any price.

He wouldn't even be afraid of falling into hell.

However—

The voice's response was beyond Pierre's expectations.

"You don't have to do anything," it said, its tone calm.

"Because I will help you achieve what you want to achieve," it added, its voice confident.

"What do you mean by that?" Pierre asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Exactly what I said," the pendant began to emit a black light.

"I... will use your body to turn into a dragon, and then let Jeanne 'defeat' you once," it explained, its voice matter-of-fact.

"In this way, you can achieve what you want to achieve, right?" it concluded, its tone certain.

"..."

Although he had indeed prepared himself mentally, Pierre couldn't help but feel a little scared when he heard these words.

"So you're saying—"

"The price is that my body will be taken away by you?" he asked, his voice slightly trembling.

However, the voice once again denied Pierre's statement.

"Please don't describe it as being taken away—such a concept doesn't exist between us," it said, its tone gentle.

"Because—"

"You are me as a human, and I am you as a dragon, that's all," it explained, its voice calm.

"This kind of exchange... should have been tried several times before, right?" it inquired, a hint of amusement in its tone.

"..."

[You suddenly realized the truth about you using flames to kill the Burgundians.]

[You thought your memory was scattered by anger, but in reality, you had turned into yourself as a dragon.]

[You suddenly understood what happened that rainy night.]

Pierre looked at the pendant in his hand and asked in a slightly trembling voice:

"So you're saying, the person named Lev was actually defeated by you?" he inquired, his gaze questioning.

"You could say so, and you could also say not," the voice in the pendant replied.

"Without your body, I cannot appear," it explained, its tone matter-of-fact.

"And without my appearance, you could not have defeated Lev," it added, its voice certain.

Everything suddenly made sense.

Pierre finally understood how he and his younger sister had survived that ordeal.

But he suddenly realized something very important.

"Wait—"

"According to what you said... the figure of the angel that Jeanne saw, could it possibly be you?" he asked, his eyes wide with realization.

"Angel figure?" This time it was the voice in the pendant that sounded puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" it inquired, its tone confused.

The voice's confusion made Pierre realize something.

That was that the human side and the dragon side didn't share the same memories.

It was time to share.

[You described the "angel" that Jeanne saw that rainy night to the voice in the pendant exactly as it was.]

[You felt that things were developing in a very unfavorable direction.]

"That sounds like it was indeed me," the voice in the pendant replied affirmatively.

"Heh, to think I was mistaken for an angel?" it mused, a hint of amusement in its tone.

"..."

This confirmation sent a chill down Pierre's spine.

Because it meant that Jeanne had actually never come into contact with an "angel."

What she had encountered was just himself as a dragon.

This was an unimaginable lie.

But—

It was a lie that even Jeanne herself didn't know.

And the source of everything was himself, who had turned into a dragon.

[This truth made you feel very painful.]

[But you quickly thought of something even more important.]

[That was that this lie about the angel couldn't end.]

[If people knew that what your younger sister had seen was not an angel at all, everything would be in vain.]

[She would forever be regarded as a liar.]

[You absolutely could not accept such a thing.]

[Since there was no so-called angel, then you would become her angel yourself.]

Pierre's mind was clearer than it had ever been before.

"Are you sure you can help me?" he asked the dragon-shaped pendant in his hand.

"Yes," the voice replied affirmatively.

"However... I have to tell you one thing beforehand," it added, its tone serious.

"What is it?" Pierre asked, a bad premonition in his heart.

And it soon became a reality.

The voice said:

"The more my power is released... the more your existence, or rather, my existence as a human, will become thinner."

"I don't want to replace you—because I can feel that your performance as an older brother is very good," it admitted, its tone sincere.

"There's absolutely no way I could do better than you," it added, its voice certain.

"So—"

"Even so, are you still willing?" it asked, its tone serious.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Then, there was a unified laughter from both inside and outside the pendant.

This question didn't need an answer at all—Pierre would never let go of any opportunity that could help his younger sister.

The human face and the dragon face reached a consensus at this moment.

"Oh, right."

"What's your name?" Pierre asked. "Are you also Pierre like me?" he inquired, his brow furrowed.

"No... Pierre is a human name. When I am a dragon, I should be called Fafnir," the voice replied.

"Then why are you in this pendant?" Pierre asked, a little puzzled.

"Mother did this... she used her life to divide us into two sides," Fafnir explained.

"You are outside the pendant, and I am inside the pendant," he continued.

"But it seems it wasn't completely clean, there's still some of me left in you, so that's why we can communicate," he concluded.

Pierre could understand such a thing.

No mother would want to see her daughter come into contact with a dragon.

And the reason for handing over the pendant—perhaps she really felt it was safe and wanted to leave some valuable things for her children.

Pierre took a deep breath.

"Then I'll ask you... no, I'll ask 'me' as the dragon," he said, his voice filled with determination.

"Don't worry, 'me' as the human," Fafnir replied, his tone confident.

"Just like you, I always keep my word," he added, his voice firm.

[The plan began.]

[Jeanne mistaking the dragon for an angel was an extremely accidental thing.]

[So if you wanted to achieve your goal, naturally you couldn't rely on you as the dragon side to pretend to be some kind of angel.]

[However, things would become easier if you changed your perspective.]

[That was to have Jeanne "defeat" you as the dragon with fire.]

[This method was also full of persuasiveness.]

The forest outside Domremy village.

Pierre lay on the ground, listening to the voice in the pendant.

He knew he had done it—Jeanne had indeed driven him, who had turned into Fafnir, out of Domremy village in front of everyone by waving a torch.

The crowd acknowledged her meeting with the "angel" because of this.

After all, only someone who had once met a messenger of God would have the ability to slay a dragon.

At this moment, Pierre thought of a possibility.

"Fafnir, I have an idea," he said, his voice thoughtful.

"What idea?" Fafnir replied, his tone curious.

The boy looked at the clear blue sky and spoke his wild fantasy.

"You say—"

"Is it possible to make Jeanne a saint in the eyes of more people?" he asked, his gaze determined.