Chapter 517: The Unexplored Kingdom 4
“Now, enough of this nonsense”
“Are you saying it was just a joke… are you trying to make fun of me, human girl?”
“No, I’m a real female slave. I can show you if you like.”
I chop from behind to Tetes who says it plainly.
“Ah. ……Emm, sex isn’t the main reason I was called here, is it, Master?”
“That’s right. In the meantime, there’s already Maia.
“Ah. I was slightly hurt. If Maia-san was here, you wouldn’t need us, would you?”
“It’s not like I’m running out of outlets for my sexual desires!”
“Well, with just me, I wouldn’t mind if we stayed connected for a year or so”
Maia’s small chest puffed out. The High Priest Duke and Leyla, who are both looking at us with the same look of dismay.
“Not so. It’s time to get away from the simony. No, it’s not that”
“You need me for magic or disguise, right?”
“……Well, to be honest, I don’t want to use you for scaremongering”
Nevertheless, the only people who can negotiate, apart from Dianne-san, are Tetes or Aurora, or Becker. Of these, Tetes was the only one in the carriage. Besides, Tetes is more skilled at dirty tricks than the others and is a good back-reader. As long as she holds the reins, she’s the right woman for the job.
“Well, let’s see. Let’s start with the part I told you about yesterday when I met the king here……”
“Emm, can we leave the dragon guy over there alone?”
“They can’t touch me anyway. Besides, we wouldn’t have any secrets or anything”
Leaving Leyla alone, I begin reporting on the progress and holding a strategy meeting with Tetes. Occasionally, Neia will send a rescue boat and she will explain to Tetes the current situation of this country, Rainer’s military strength, and other facts that he had only shared with Neia up until now.
“……I see. In other words, 『It was inevitable that this country turned out like this』 is the king’s claim”
“Yes yes”
“『I don’t want to use the dragon rider’s power to save this country because it’s not my job』 was Rainer Exeliza’s argument”
Tetes summed it up like that and I was about to nod and say that I was pretty much on the same page, but Leyla, who had been standing there listening dutifully, intervened.
“No. My master does not move for such narrow-minded and lazy reasons……”
“Oh. Is that so?”
Despite the sudden intrusion, Tetes looked interested and normally urged her to continue. ……She deliberately said it in a provocative way.
“……Cough. He’s a man of the right caliber to be recognised as a rider, even if he is not. I hope you won’t talk too insultingly about him”
“Even so, I don’t know him at all. But I know that Neia-san is a great woman”
“I know that my master is aware that he has the power to save this country. With the dragons under his command, it is not a dream to conquer better lands and carry the people away. ……But he also foresees that the people of this country, who have been tamed by their king, will suddenly get an easy land like that and nothing but misfortune will happen to them”
“Hahaa. That is true, isn’t it? The people of this country are not educated in any way, are they? Not many of them can even read”
“……That’s right. If we just live our lives tyrannically oppressing those around us with the power of dragons, there won’t be much of a difference here either. Monsters are even better, just because they don’t have the desire to go out of their way to steal things”
“……Is that what you’re being told?”
“Watch your mouth, human girl. I am supposed to be reasonable”
“Yes”
Tetes responded by lightly raising her hand, not looking at all horrified. Looking at it somewhat wanly, Leyla turned to me again.
“But that is because you are not well educated. My master is going to propose to the king that by having dragons replace many of the roles of heroes, the burden of training and maintaining heroes will be shifted to educate the people by raising educators”
“Hee. That’s a far-reaching plan”
“My dear girl. Will you shut up?”
“Leyla”
I fold my arms and stare at the silver dragon beauty.
“She’s a close ally of mine. She won’t be in trouble if she gets too mean”
“Tss……!?”
She stared back at me for a few moments, then looked away. Oh. Surprisingly, my big-name pretend acting is effective.
“And I’m curious about the 『Trying to make declaration』part. Isn’t that what you mean?”
“……That’s”
“It’s still just a gut idea, is that it?”
“………….”
Leyla kept her eyes averted. ……I see. I’m starting to understand the intent of Tetes’ poking and prodding. This guy……she calls herself a subordinate, but she seems a little distant from Rainer. Don’t overdo it, but if you shake it, there will probably be some dust.
“Well……I know that Rainer doesn’t just have trouble getting out. But I don’t want to be sidetracked into saying that we’re just thinking about it. We’re here exactly for action. You suddenly interrupted me with a fighting tone and said 『I can do it, but I’m not going to do it』, that’s Rainer’s answer to me. Your words don’t carry more weight than that. You understand”
“……Yeah”
“And then we’ll make our decision. We’re absolutely lacking in information about what’s going on here. We’re not convinced why this is happening”
Yeah. Not convinced. Is it possible that the way of life that Neia describes is natural? Is the tragedy that has been created there absolutely necessary? At the very least, that’s what I want to find out. ……Doing so will make a big difference in the way we deal with this country and that king in the future. Yes. Maia is right, it is too much of a wishful thinking to judge them as sane at this point. I can only assume they were waiting for me and there’s no way they could have got away with such an anticlimactic meeting.
“……Sure, by outside standards, this country may be strange. But in the body of a person, in a limited area of land……”
“First of all, that’s the question, isn’t it? Do you have a well here?”
“Well…….”
“Maybe you dragons don’t need much, but in the outside world, any place has a well. Life and agriculture are too precarious with only river water”
Tetes looks at Leyla probingly. She is bluffing. Tetes has not yet checked the area thoroughly. If you say there is, that’s all there is to it. However, Leyla’s gaze suddenly wanders.
“Oh, I’ve heard that the royal palace has something like that……”
“So you don’t have it in normal places?”
“………….”
Leyla nods hesitantly. Tetes squints and pursues further.
“If there’s plenty of water, that alone will reduce the incidence of disease. It also prevents labour shortages. And if you had 300 years, regulated births and had the means to manage the population directly, you could also adjust the population to a comfortable level to suit the land……. With a population on the edge of starvation, why stay without reducing it?”
“……That’s because we dragons are new to the country and we don’t even have obligations to defend the king in the first place!”
“Well, that’s true. Even though he’s a hero and in the intellectual class who knows everything, your master doesn’t show any signs of moving, so I don’t trust him a bit”
“……I, I don’t think anything is what you guys can see!”
It’s totally Tetes’ pace. I wonder if Leyla notices that she’s leaking a lot of crap from her attitude. No, I don’t think she’s aware that it’s a secret. Just as she was about to say something more, a sharp voice rang out from behind the bend in the rock wall.
“Leyla!”
“!”
Leyla stiffens with a jerk. She then turns around and after a moment’s distracting pause……another silver-haired woman appears with dashing footsteps. This was the woman who had been tufting Rainer in the castle yesterday.
“Shario……”
“You’d better back off now, Leyla. Any more and you’re an abomination”
“And…….”
“Back off”
The woman called Shario gave Leyla a shove in the direction of the road she had come from. The woman’s words and expression were harsh, but her tone of voice was not so cold.
“Have you tried to corral Leyla, foreign rider? I won’t keep quiet if you even think of doing anything stupid”
“Its a tangle…….”
A dragon’s hearing may have heard it from a distance, but I think back to see if there was any element that could have taken it that way. She wasn’t trying to be condescending, I thought for a moment, then suddenly realized. From a dragon’s point of view, the redefinition of 『Justice』 that they believed in would be a mistake if they didn’t do it right.
“I didn’t mean it that way, though. I just wanted to know what this country is really like. Through the person of Rainer”
“……Rainer-sama is aware of the mistakes of the royal family. He already has the power to overcome them. However, there is still a reason why he cannot ignore them”
“Reason?”
“……You will find out in time”
This woman named Shario seemed to know more about Rainer than Leyla.
“High Priest. I have a message from the royal family. Treat your guests as politely as you can. Treat Neia Grans in the same way”
“……Accepted”
High Priest Duke put his hand on his chest to indicate his approval and Shario quickly went on her way back. She seems to be much more impatient than Leyla.
“Wait a minute, Shario”
“……I don’t like it when you call me that, foreign rider”
“……Because of that 『Reason』, Rainer……the silver dragons are obedient to the royal family?”
Shario does not answer, but pauses for a step before zipping away again.
“Aryarya. The information level seems to be high, but it’s a difficult thing……new dragon”
“No. ……You’ve figured it out to some extent. At least with Rainer there is a difference between the front and the real intention. If that’s the case with Leyla, it means that a lot of the outsiders and the other dragons are only informed about the front side of it”
“I see……is there any way to cut through it?”
“Well, let’s see”
If we were to fight against each other properly, that 『Hero』 and I would have to fight it out in the flesh. It’s no good unless you avoid it. Even if I make a small estimate, it’s Master Knight class, there’s no way I can win. However, if I want to bring in other compositions, I can’t avoid the huge dragon force of Rainer. There’s nothing better than having the glimmer of hope that you can do even a little bit less.
“Anyway, the royal family……or rather, why can’t we neglect the king?”
Gradually, I could see the outlines of this little world, which I could not see from Neia’s words alone. It is by no means robust. No, it could be engulfed in flames at any moment. Such a dangerous, distorted kingdom. Well. Then maybe it’s not a good idea to move carelessly.
“Tetes. Let’s be careful. Rather than worrying about our own safety……I have a feeling that this country itself could be turned upside down in a flash if we make a bad move”
“Oddly enough. I generally agree with you”
What’s weird is that neither King Jedha nor Rainer seem to be afraid of it. Could it be that they’re both trying to use me for something? ……No way.