TDAA Ch 70
by soapaAs he said that, the Demon King passed between them and strode towards the mansion. He acted as if he were the master of the house, ordering a servant to bring him wine and sprawling out in the drawing room. Occasionally, whenever he opened his eyes, fear would sweep through the room, but for the most part, he behaved himself. However, his appearance was like that of a well-fed lion, so the wolves took care to bring the lion whatever it desired, ensuring its full-bellied state would not end.
“…Wasn’t the Demon King supposed to unconditionally annihilate any falsehoods about dragons?”
Ryufen asked the dragon in bewilderment, having watched the Demon King, who had been enjoying the mismatched combination of hard liquor and apple pie, fall into a death-like sleep. But even the dragon couldn’t answer properly.
The Demon King is friendly to dragons, hunts down lies about dragons, and is a being that protects dragons.
But wasn’t the Demon King’s current behavior completely different from what they had heard?
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A small bird with an engagement party invitation in its beak traveled throughout the land of the beastmen. Among the beastmen who received an invitation were chieftains who didn’t particularly support the dragon, and even a reclusive city chieftain, but none dared to refuse the dragon’s invitation.
It was only natural. If it had been a simple summons from the dragon, they might have ignored it, but they couldn’t dare refuse an invitation related to the dragon’s mate. No matter how famously gentle the blue dragon was, was he not still a dragon? Moreover, this was a mate found after several hundred years. On the contrary, he might be even more obsessive than other dragons, more so than in any of the legendary tales of other dragons.
“Wow… It looks like everyone really came.”
At Siol’s exclamation as he hid behind the curtains and peered outside, Eorzen shrugged his shoulders, looking proud.
“They couldn’t not come. Didn’t I tell you?”
“But… at this rate, will they really not come to our wedding?”
“My. Are you already worried about the wedding?”
“What? Ah, no, it’s not that…”
Siol flustered, his cheeks flushing bright red.
“Siol, if you wish it, I will make them all come again. I would be glad to. I want as many people as possible to know that you are my mate.”
“…I don’t like things that are too big. To be honest, I don’t even need to have a wedding.”
“You don’t need to have one?”
“Even without something like that, you’re mine, Eorzen. And I’m yours.”
“Something like that…”
Seeing the dragon hang his head, looking dejected, Siol was startled and soothed him.
“No, I’m not saying I don’t want to do it. It’s just that I’m not used to these… kinds of events.”
Eorzen nodded, still looking crestfallen. Siol let out a groan, “ummm,” then pulled Eorzen into a hug and rubbed his back.
“If you want to do it, we will. I’m telling you, we’ll do it. Don’t be too upset.”
“I want to do everything I can with you as lovers. Of course, I also want to let people know that you’re mine.”
“Umm. I agree with wanting to do everything, though.”
“If we could live our whole lives holed up in a cave it wouldn’t matter, but if we must engage in public activities, we need to make it clear. It would be troublesome if someone were to fall for you.”
“Oh, honestly… As if anyone would fall for me.”
“Many probably will.”
Why couldn’t he understand that the only people who would be interested in a gloomy alchemist would be those who want his power? Siol felt awkward about Eorzen treating him as if he were a dazzling jewel that tempted others, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell him to stop.
Not only did any words he tried to say come out sounding self-deprecating, but it was also because, in truth, he didn’t exactly dislike being treated that way. He was too embarrassed to show it outwardly, but he was incredibly happy that Eorzen saw him that way.
Siol tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up, shaking his head resignedly as if he couldn’t help it.
“I understand. If you say we should, we will, so let’s talk about it again when the time comes. Not now.”
“You will give me enough time then, won’t you?”
“I said I would.”
Siol turned his body away as if to keep his distance and escaped to the window. He looked to be in a good mood, having completely forgotten his earlier nervousness. Eorzen smiled fondly as he watched Siol begin to scan the bundle of papers he had been holding again.
How much time had passed? A knock sounded, and the door opened.
“The preparations are complete.”
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The beastman chieftains did not look pleased.
As soon as they entered the mansion’s hall, they had realized that the story of a dragon’s engagement party was all a lie. There were no flowers or decorations in the hall. The wolves of Atum were never sloppy when it came to hosting such events, so if the wolf of Atum were truly the dragon’s mate, there was no way they would hold an engagement party in such a shabby place.
“What is the meaning of this!”
“You said it was an urgent engagement party, so we rushed here, only to find this!”
“Did you deceive us?”
“You had better explain yourselves properly.”
The short-tempered beasts were already starting to protest. The one listening to their grievances was Kadion, who was simply trying to pacify them, no matter what they said.
“Please calm down and wait just a little longer. The blue dragon will be here soon if you just wait a little.”
“How can you expect us to be calm right now! If you don’t tell us your intentions immediately, we will leave!”
“I said he will be here soon.”
“At the very least, shouldn’t the wolf chieftain be here? Where is Ryufen? Tell him to step forward and explain as the chieftain who provided the venue!”
Kadion glared at the half-transformed deer chieftain, who couldn’t hide his agitation, with sharp eyes. To call a chieftain by their name without adding the title ‘chieftain’ before or after it was an extremely rude act for those who were not on personal terms.
Kadion, the loyal subordinate of Chieftain Ryufen, found it hard to endure the insult.
“You should know that the reason I’m not telling you to get lost right now is not because I can’t behead you.”
“What did you say?!”
Just before a fight could break out, Ryufen and the blue dragon walked into the hall, with a small young man between them.
“Stop. This is not a place to dare shed blood.”
Kadion, not even bothering to hide his hostility, went behind Ryufen, still looking murderous. Even so, he didn’t forget to place a hand on the young man’s shoulder and greet him gently on the way.
Ryufen lightly raised his hand to gather their attention and then suddenly declared.
“First, I have some good news. My son has woken up.”
Before the deer chieftain could even question the out-of-the-blue statement, the chieftains close to her shot to their feet.
Naturally, all eyes went to the young man beside him.
“Then is he, the one next to you, your son?”
“You mean the son who never woke up after he was born?”
“I thought he would never wake up?”
“I thought he was already dead…”
“Yes. You thought he was dead, but he was alive? That child woke up?”
“Is he alright after being asleep for so long?”
Ryufen nodded with a magnanimous gesture and put his arm on Siol’s shoulder. As all eyes fell on him, Siol straightened his automatically shrinking shoulders with effort. This was a place to be introduced as Ryufen’s son and the dragon’s mate, so he had to act with dignity, if only for the sake of their honor.
“He is a bit weak, but he is perfectly fine. We even held a welcoming ceremony for him in the square a few days ago.”
“Wait. For you to say that now means…”
“Yes. My child is the blue dragon’s mate.”
As the shocked chieftains fell silent for a moment, Siol offered a greeting.
“My name is Siol, esteemed chieftains.”
“Goodness me.”
With the small bird chieftain’s exclamation, the hall became noisy again.
“Congratulations, Blue Dragon! You will finally find stability.”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard any news of you rampaging recently!”
“This is good news for both Chieftain Ryufen and the Blue Dragon. This is wonderful.”
All sorts of congratulatory words poured down on Siol and Eorzen. Siol, now quite used to the beastmen’s characteristic enthusiastic atmosphere, was able to accept the greetings calmly without getting flustered.
In the midst of it all, the deer chieftain tilted his head and said.
“Wait a moment. That name, I’ve heard it somewhere before…? Siol, the alchemist of death who took the lives of thousands of beastmen… Heok!”
The moment the name Siol had not yet escaped was called out, causing him to flinch, the deer chieftain’s magnificent antlers were severed just above his skull. Blood streamed from the bright red cross-section, but no one in the room could move.
Something sinister had instantly filled the hall, crushing them. Fear. It was fear. Rather than a fear of something specific, it was a horrifying terror that seemed to maximize and draw out any fear one held inside, pushing them to the brink. Escape? That was impossible. No, there was only one way. Only one escape was possible.
The deer chieftain tried his best to escape.
“Demon King, just this once! Please… forgive me just this once. It’s not as if I was completely wrong.”
The chieftains felt their vision, which had been dyed pitch black, clear up in an instant. They had all been frozen stiff with terror, and now they moved their bodies as if bursting into a cough. The deer chieftain looked at the dagger in his hand, gasped, and dropped it to the floor. Blood trickled down from the sword wound on his neck.
He had been just about to escape. Towards death. If the dragon’s mate hadn’t stopped him…
A cold voice cut through the chieftains, who had yet to fully escape their fear. It was the voice of a man who had been sipping from a glass in a corner of the room from the very beginning.
“Did you create weapons to kill beastmen?”
“No.”
“Did you hate beastmen?”
“No.”
“Then what part of it wasn’t wrong?”
“That… that’s the king’s fault, too. Because the king intentionally spread those rumors.”
Siol insisted steadfastly. The Demon King frowned as if displeased, but soon closed his eyes and poured wine into his own glass. Did the terror the Demon King spread flow from his eyes?
The chieftains let out a collective, groaning sigh and collapsed or sprawled out in various ways.
The deer chieftain, who was trembling the most among them, darted his eyes around and hesitantly asked.
“Th-then… are we really having an engagement party?”
The deer chieftain didn’t even seem to realize he was using honorifics with Siol. To be so afraid of the Demon King, yet still ask what he was curious about… should one call that very beastman-like?
Siol smiled softly and shook his head.
“No. Rather, there is something I must tell you about the war happening in the human lands, so I have gathered you all here, knowing it was a rude thing to do. But I believe you will understand once you hear me out.”
Siol began to explain everything that had happened up to now, one by one, to persuade the chieftains.
At first, the chieftains were indifferent when the story of the human king came up, but they started to get serious from the part about the king having seized control of the Tower. When they heard that his reach had long extended not only to the human lands but also to the lands of the beastmen, they looked as if they were barely swallowing the urge to shout something.
By the time everyone understood the gravity of the situation, Siol called out the names of a few cities.
“Apelt. Esterian. Duberin.”
The tension in the hall heightened. The chieftains of those three cities, in particular, looked ready to jump to their feet.
“From these cities to the human cities, they have all been occupied.”
The tension transformed not into anger, but into shock and disbelief. Those three cities were near here, Atum, and Atum was located slightly off-center on the opposite side of the beastmen’s land. It meant that half of the beastmen’s land had been occupied by the king while the chieftains knew nothing about it. Did that even make sense?
However, with the Demon King right before their eyes, no chieftain could step forward and say they couldn’t believe the dragon’s mate.
From there, it was easy. They calmly listened to the role and possibilities of the Tower, and to Siol’s plan, and then agreed to it.
When the story was over, the Demon King spoke to them.
“You all, when you return this time, correct the falsehoods properly. Otherwise, you will be receiving a visit from me.”
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Siol finally handed a box to the gray wolf chieftain who was under Ladie. The gray wolf chieftain held the box and looked at Siol for a moment before extending his hand.
“I, too, saw you once, when you were just born.”
“Ah…”
“I am glad to meet you again.”
“Yes, thank you. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Siol replied awkwardly, but with a happy expression. The Siol who couldn’t show any reaction when he first heard words of welcome, unable to believe them, was now able to exchange greetings quite well. It was remarkable growth.
After the chieftain left, Eorzen approached him.
“Siol. You’re doing very well now.”
“Right? My diligent practice paid off.”
Siol said, puffing out his chest.
He tended to be full of confidence like this when his well-laid plans were going smoothly.
“I was hoping I would have a chance to help you.”
“You’ll have to keep helping me for the rest of our lives, so don’t feel disappointed. You can’t get tired of me later. Oh, first I should ask Ladie if things are going well.”
Siol sat down at a random table and took a pouch out from his bosom. He had a habit of not paying attention to his surroundings when focused on work, and everyone knew that by now. Ryufen smiled and shook his head but left the hall without disturbing him, and Kadion followed after him.
Eorzen sat beside Siol, who was focused on writing a note, and waited quietly for him to finish his communication.
[How are the preparations coming along?]
[Don’t worry. It’s going well.]
A reply came back as if it had been waiting. Siol excitedly wrote a response.
[Really? I thought it might be a little difficult. How did you do it?]
[I went on a little outing with the lords who wouldn’t believe me.]
Siol groaned lowly, and Eorzen chuckled.
Although she described it as an outing, it was clearly not that simple. Thinking back to when he had sent beastmen to the surrounding territories to deliver letters, it must have been an outing those lords did not want.
Ladie sometimes uses such drastic methods. Of course, they’re rational, but… Siol was a little worried that Ladie was becoming influenced by the ways of the beastmen. But it also seemed better than being full of fear and on guard. More so now, since there was no time.
[Don’t be too rough, Ladie. You have to become a king.]
[To become a king, you need a bit of a rough side. Don’t worry. I’ll only do as much as necessary.]
It was a statement that she would continue to do so in the future. Siol sighed inwardly but took a step back.
[Alright. I’m sure you know what you’re doing. Things are going well on this end too. It’s a bit strange to say it like this, but with the Demon King behind me, there was nothing to fear.]
[That’s a funny but unlaughable joke. No, honestly, it’s a little scary, Master Siol.]
[Sorry. But it was true. No one even doubted it and believed everything, you know? Though it’s all true.]
[That’s a relief. Then the date is still three days from now, no changes, right?]
[Yeah. It’ll take at least that long for the chieftains to go back and persuade the beastmen.]
[It seems like things will be somewhat wrapped up on this end in that amount of time as well. However… I think the king is up to something too, so we need to prepare more.]
[Can you find out a bit more from the control room? Don’t overdo it.]
[I’ll try. I’ll contact you if I find anything out.]
Having finished his conversation with Ladie, Siol spun around to face Eorzen.
“Eorzen, I don’t think this will be enough. We need to prepare more.”
“What can I help you with?”
“Let’s leave right now! We need to secretly look around the area near the royal capital.”
“Secretly, you say?”
Wondering why he was asking again, Siol tilted his head, then sighed when he saw Eorzen subtly gesture with his chin toward the Demon King.
Could they really move about secretly while dragging around such a conspicuous man? Unconcerned by that wavering gaze, the Demon King was leisurely tilting his wine bottle.
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The sky was thick with clouds, as if it would snow at any moment. Thanks to that, the territory at night was nothing but pitch-black darkness. There were soldiers patrolling the top of the castle walls periodically, but they were infrequent, and the torches they carried could barely distinguish what was right in front of them, to the point where one wondered if the patrols had any meaning.
The fact that a territory near the royal capital was so lax was regrettable, but for Ladie at this moment, it was a good thing.
She, hanging onto Asios’s feet, passed over the castle wall and landed softly on the roof of the lord’s mansion.
“Are you really going to do this?”
“I have to. If you don’t want to, you can go back.”
“If it gets out that a princess is trying to assassinate a lord, all hell will break loose.”
“There’s no reason to kill him if the lord just listens.”
Ladie continued speaking as she watched Asios return to his human form.
“Don’t complain now after you heard everything and agreed.”
“I said I would help because I thought it would be of help to Siol. Separate from that, I’m worried about you, princess.”
“I’m grateful for that. But I’m the only one who can control the Tower, so it can’t be helped.”
Ladie said resolutely and jumped down to the balcony below the roof. The layouts of lord’s mansions were all more or less the same in any territory, so she could now find the lord’s office with her eyes closed.
Gently pulling on the glass door, Ladie gave Asios a look. Asios sighed, landed softly, and pulled a feather from his hair, poking it between the doors.
Click. The moment the door opened, a rough voice shouted from inside.
“Who’s there!”
“My. Was he working this late.”
Ladie clicked her tongue, entered the room through the curtains, and crossed her arms.
“Your Highness the Princess…?”
“Yes. It seems you know my face.”
“What is this outrageous behavior!”
Inside the room, only a single candle was lit, making it just as dark as outside. The lord, who had been sitting in his chair, shot to his feet. He was so surprised that he couldn’t even hide his bewilderment.
“Knock him out.”
“Do it yourself. I only agreed to help with transportation.”
Asios retorted primly, closing the glass door behind him and carefully drawing the curtains.
Ladie scrunched up her face in dissatisfaction, but it wasn’t an untrue statement, so she just went up to the lord herself and punched him in the jaw. The lord, who had been unable to decide what to do at the princess’s approach, was knocked out cold without being able to properly defend himself.
“You do it just fine on your own.”
At Asios’s words, Ladie shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ll be back.”
Asios gave a nod at Ladie’s words and began to tie up the unconscious lord with a rope. Ladie took the chair the lord had been sitting in just moments before, took a ring out from her bosom, and put it on.
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The lord regained consciousness after being slapped across the cheek. He was tightly bound with a rope and secured to a table leg. He tried to move but couldn’t budge an inch.
“That’s enough.”
“…Your Highness the Princess.”
“Let’s get straight to the point. This city is now under my command.”
Ladie, who had placed a chair in front of the lord sitting on the floor, declared arrogantly.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I mean that the authority to appoint the lord of this city, as well as the authority over its walls, belongs not to the king, but to me.”
The lord’s expression was one of not knowing whether to believe her words or not. It was only natural that he couldn’t believe it, as what Ladie said meant she had stolen a power that had been passed down through the king’s authority for a long time.
Fortunately, Ladie had obtained a hint today on how to give her counterpart perfect faith.
Ladie took a small box out of a pouch in her bosom and dropped it onto the lord’s lap.
“This item was bestowed by the mate of the blue dragon.”
“Pardon?”
“It is an item created with the cooperation of the blue dragon for the purpose of executing the human king. To kill the king. I have decided to share this with as many human lords as possible to unite in this cause. Do you understand what I mean?”
“…Your… Your Highness. If you do this…”
“If my words were a lie, I would have to fear the Demon King. But I have no reason to be afraid.”
“……”
Because she hadn’t told a lie. Ladie smiled sweetly.
“That man imprisoned the blue dragon’s mate and deceived him into making alchemical weapons. Countless beastmen died because of those weapons.”
“Are you saying the alchemist of death was the dragon’s mate?”
Before the lord could even finish his sentence, a dagger was plunged into the floor right in front of his groin. The lord gasped and shuffled his bottom backwards.
Ladie spoke with a cool face.
“That is a false name given by the king. I warn you, if the blue dragon finds out that you called Master Siol that, it won’t end with just your life.”
“I apologize…”
“The blue dragon’s mate feels responsible for the deaths of the beastmen. Someone has to pay the price.”
“…In that case, we must offer the king’s head.”
The lord squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.
“I understand. What must I do?”
Ladie smiled. A long explanation was not necessary. Now that it had been revealed that this affair was not simply a fight among humans but one involving a dragon and the Demon King, the lord could no longer be stubborn. Besides, it seemed the reason the lord had been looking at a map, unable to sleep until this late, was because he had been pondering what to do next.
Ladie gave the lord detailed instructions on what he needed to do, one by one, then hid herself in the darkness and left the territory.
She had to visit as many hostile territories as possible within the day.
Asios, transformed into a large bird, flew up with Ladie dangling from him and asked.
“What happened with the information?”
“It’s still unclear, but I’ve obtained a clue. Perhaps the king…”
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
Eorzen spoke frankly to the Demon King.
He wanted to go to a territory near the royal capital to investigate the king’s schemes, but the Demon King’s presence was too conspicuous and would be a problem. At that, the Demon King fell into thought for a moment, then pointed a fingertip at Eorzen’s shoulder. A black bird then sprouted upon it.
“Take that bird with you instead.”
The black bird on his shoulder was also conspicuous, but it was still much better than the Demon King, who spread fear around him whenever he opened his eyes. It would be a bit of a hassle, but it couldn’t be helped. Eorzen gave a nod, and the Demon King sank back into the sofa and lay down.
As Eorzen was about to return to Siol, Kadion appeared.
“Blue Dragon!”
“What is it?”
“We didn’t finish our conversation last time. We haven’t even agreed on a wedding date. We might let other things slide, but we need to at least confirm the date…”
The Demon King, who had been lying reclined on the sofa, sat up and asked.
“The dragon is holding a wedding here?”
Kadion seemed unaware that the Demon King was still in the drawing room. Startled by the Demon King’s sudden appearance, he took a step back and then answered reflexively.
“That is correct. We decided to hold one wedding in the dragon’s land first, and then another one here upon their return…”
“How do you plan to prepare?”
“We plan to follow the traditional wolf wedding ceremony, but…”
“In detail.”
Kadion, despite having an expression that said he didn’t understand why he had to explain this to the Demon King, began to diligently explain with his mouth how a wolf wedding ceremony was conducted. A string of various topics followed, such as the scale and decorations, the people to invite, and the food to prepare.
Eorzen watched the scene for a moment, then left them to their conversation and departed.
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
“Why do you have so much luggage?”
Ryufen, who had said he was going to meet Ryufen for a moment, returned with a large backpack. When Siol asked, aghast, Ryufen let out a deep sigh.
“How should I know? Go ask your dad.”
“…Ah, father packed it for you…?”
“Yes. I told him I don’t need this much, but he insists. Gosh. He’s gotten so fussy after seeing his child as an old man, really.”
After grumbling for a moment, Ryufen put down the bag and lay down next to it.
“Siol, you take out the things you don’t need. If I do it, I’ll get a beating later, so you have to do it.”
Guilty of having a worried father, Siol began to rummage through another’s backpack to take out unnecessary items. A pillow, about ten soft towels, pills that looked like health supplements—.
“Not those pills. Your body is in that state, and you’re trying to take out the medicine he specifically made for you to eat? Gosh, this won’t do. I have to watch you to make sure you don’t take out anything strange.”
“Hey, what did I do to deserve being watched?”
Ryufen ignored Siol’s grumbling and started to meddle, taking things out of the backpack. After telling him to do it himself at first, seeing him do it all himself now, it was clear he planned to organize it as he pleased and then, if Kadion asked, insist that Siol did it.
What a nasty wolf.
Just as Siol was about to say something, Eorzen returned.
“Eorzen. The bird is… black!”
Siol shouted in surprise upon seeing the bird sitting on Eorzen’s shoulder. Eorzen’s bird had always had blue feathers like his eyes and was small and plump, but this black bird not only had a different color but also a sleek silhouette.
“This is the Demon King’s bird. I told him he would be a hindrance since we have to go near the royal capital, and he told me to take this bird instead.”
“I guess it’s for surveillance. That’s great. A small bird will be much less conspicuous.”
Siol’s face brightened, and he offered a small almond he had been keeping as a snack, but the black bird only opened its eyes for a moment before closing them again, showing no reaction. Its personality was just like the Demon King’s.
Eorzen pulled that hand and ate the almond instead, asking.
“Are you all ready?”
“Yes, I’ve packed everything. But can we really get to the human lands in just one day? It took several days to get here.”
“That time we had to come secretly, but now it’s alright to fly in my dragon form. We’ll reach the human lands by evening, and by the time the moon reaches the top of the sky, we’ll be able to reach a territory near the royal capital.”
As Siol exclaimed, “Wow,” Ryufen tilted his head.
“You’ve ridden one before. Don’t you remember?”
“I have? When did I?”
“The day you first came to the land of the beastmen…”
Ryufen let out a groan.
“Captain. Don’t tell me he fainted before he even got to ride back then?”
Only then did Siol realize what they were talking about. It was about the day he woke up in the hut. The day he had been rolling his eyes in confusion because of the group of beastmen plundering the hut, and then fainted as soon as Eorzen transformed into a dragon.
As Siol fell silent, Eorzen changed the subject and chided Ryufen.
“But why are you packing as well?”
“Because I’m going too, of course.”
Eorzen’s eyebrows twitched, and he scanned Ryufen from head to toe.
“Looking like that?”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”
“You fool. We’re not going straight to the royal capital right now, but are planning to stop by a few other territories. How do you plan to sneak in looking like that?”
Only then did Ryufen look at his own huge form and groan. In the land of the beastmen, there were often beastmen like this, so it wasn’t particularly conspicuous to walk around in this body, but the human lands were different. Except for dog beastmen, beastmen themselves were rare, and Ryufen was not a size that could pass for a dog.
“So you’re telling me to stay here?”
Ryufen asked with a scowl. He was clearly not about to back down.
“Then you can just get smaller, Ryufen.”
“How do I get smaller? I can get bigger, but I can’t get smaller!”
“You said you became smaller before. When you got kicked by the Demon King and fell into the human lands.”
“Ah… right… But that was…”
“The Demon King is here, so go and ask him to do it.”
Hearing that, Ryufen jumped up in shock. It was the first time Siol had seen Ryufen’s tail tuck between his legs. He even trembled and sat pressed right up against Siol.
“What a terrifying thing to say. How could you ask me to make such a trivial request to the fearsome Demon King? If I had to…”
“…You mean me?”
“Yes. If I absolutely have to, I will ask you, Captain.”
Ryufen said in a sullen tone and squeezed his eyes shut. In truth, all he had to do was say he wouldn’t follow, but it seemed he was determined to go along, even if it meant going to such lengths.
“Please be gentle.”
“Even if you can grow big again later, it can’t be good to draw out the magic that maintains your body.”
Eorzen said, sounding dumbfounded.
Ryufen was a congenital magic user and, as was typical for those with such a constitution, could not accumulate magic in his body. However, like ordinary people, a minimal amount of magic to sustain life circulated through his body along with his bloodstream.
Ryufen was now asking to have that survival magic drawn out. Just like when he was kicked by the Demon King and the magic maintaining his body was completely drained, making him smaller.
“It’s not good for his body?”
“Yes, Siol. If Ryufen hadn’t been a congenital magic user, he would have already withered away and died back then.”
Siol turned to Ryufen, aghast. He had only suggested it because Ryufen had spoken of it as if it were nothing at all, making him think it truly was no big deal. If he had known it was that dangerous, he would have never brought it up!
“It’s okay, Siol. The captain is a dragon, isn’t he? I’m sure he’ll do it without it being dangerous.”
In fact, the reason Ryufen had been fine was the result of a series of coincidences. He normally absorbed and used only the minimum amount of magic from the atmosphere, but in battle, he didn’t hesitate to take in the maximum his body would allow and overspend it. As the magic inside his body repeatedly grew and shrank, his body had become accustomed to such fluctuations. Thanks to that, even in a situation where his body’s magic was completely sucked away by the Demon King, he was somehow able to adapt, with the effect being limited to his body shrinking.
Moreover, since Ryufen was originally a large, giant wolf, a wolf who knew how to make his body bigger, it was not difficult for him to return to his original size even after shrinking.
The Demon King might have intended to kill him. No, he definitely had.
“Eorzen, can you do it?”
Eorzen, who was about to refuse Ryufen, found himself smiling sweetly and nodding at his mate’s worried question. He didn’t want to bring that troublesome Ryufen along, especially not by doing this, but he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘I can’t’ to Siol.
Instead, he began to painstakingly extract Ryufen’s life-force-like magic with a great deal of malice, making it painful.
“Ah, it hurts. I said it hurts! Ugh! Aaack!!”
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
The only one who came to see Siol’s party off as they finished packing and left was Kadion. This was because Siol found a large farewell party to be a burden. Ryufen had really wanted to come, but he didn’t have the time as he was going around to the neighboring wolf cities in turn to discuss the current plan. The agreement had already been reached in front of the Demon King, but unlike other cities, the wolf cities supported and followed the chieftain of one city, so it was customary for her to take the time to visit them when such a major event occurred.
“Siol. Please be careful. I believe nothing will happen to you as you are with a dragon, but…”
No matter how much a dragon protected him, a parent’s worry could not be stopped.
“Don’t worry. You saw everything I prepared. I’ll be sure to return victorious.”
“…Siol. What if I were to go with you…”
“This is a problem we have to solve. Too many people might just become a variable.”
“Then isn’t it better for that puppy not to go either?”
Kadion said disapprovingly, looking at Ryufen.
Ryufen, whose magic had been completely drained by Eorzen, had shrunk to the size of a large dog. Actually, Siol thought he should be a bit smaller, but this was the limit his prosthetic leg could handle. No matter how state-of-the-art the prosthetic leg Siol had made with all his might was, there was a limit to its adjustments. Ryufen, knowing this, let out a blatant sigh of relief. It seemed he didn’t want to get any smaller.
Ryufen, who had been feigning indifference the whole time, pouted and glared at Kadion.
“Brother-in-law, why are you trying to stop me from going too? Do you think that will help Siol?”
“…Please pretend you didn’t hear what was just said, Siol…”
Siol found the argument between the two amusing and chuckled, nodding his head. Siol also thought that Ryufen, having shrunk this much, wouldn’t be of much help. But since Ryufen insisted on coming along, it couldn’t be helped.
After saying their goodbyes, Siol was lifted into the air in a basket held by the dragon.
And surprisingly, Ryufen immediately proved his worth.
“C-cold…”
The dragon’s flight was high and fast. He had thought it would be cold and had deliberately bundled up until he was hot, but the wind still pierced through his cotton clothes. Eorzen was about to quickly cast a spell to block the wind, but Ryufen swiftly pulled Siol into his embrace.
“Gosh. You really are a weakling. See? What would you have done if I were smaller?”
Ryufen said boastfully as he carefully held Siol.
As Eorzen’s magic calmed the chilly wind, Siol leaned his body against Ryufen’s soft fur, blinked his eyes slowly, and soon fell asleep.