Legend Says There Was a Hero

Also titled "When the Princess and the Dragon Get a Different Beginning"

A princess who wants freedom in both body and soul x the world's strongest, laziest dragon

Synopsis:

There was a princess in the royal court who was very popular with the people.

But the truth was: Emergency! Emergency! The princess has run away again!

That's right. Every time she ran away and was brought back under house arrest, she passed along the bustling King's Avenue, and the people cheered for her.

Maybe it was because she was beautiful. And perhaps because she shopped as if she wanted to spend every last coin in the national treasury.

She boosted sales, stimulated economic growth, and raised people's incomes. The street vendors and merchants all loved her. When she bought more than she could use, the things would go to waste, so she had them distributed to the various departments as palace benefits.

The maids and guards loved her too.

So the restrictions grew lax, and it became easier for the princess to escape. Yet she had never once made it beyond the gates of the capital.

Not once.

Her father, the king, doted on her. But it wasn't because she was the daughter of his beloved consort or some other melodramatic reason. He spoiled her because she bore a mission: to await the arrival of a hero.

A hero appeared once every thousand years, and their arrival brought prosperity and abundance.

This kingdom had been founded on the legacy of the previous hero.

They wanted another thousand years of prosperity.

So she kept running away, again and again, only to see hope rise and fall, time after time.

Then one day, the sky was blotted out. A pair of massive wings beat through the air, fire spewed from its mouth, and its body was enormous, its horns terrifying.

At last, the evil dragon who would set her free had arrived.

The people panicked, the soldiers went on alert, and the entire kingdom was gripped by fear.

But in the princess's eyes, that wasn't an evil dragon at all. It was a hero come to rescue her from her plight!

Note: The main story begins after the dragon takes the princess away.

Theme: Pursue freedom and be no one's puppet.