Chapter 525: The king and his heroes’s intentions
“The number of dragons has increased……hasn’t it? Really”
High Priest Duke looked at the two silver dragons following me and muttered in dismay.
“No, it’s not that they’ve increased. It’s more that they’ve agreed to cooperate with us”
“……? Is it different?”
“Well, something like……the three Rainer dragons and the other dragons”
I explain painstakingly about the distinction between the dragons under his control and the others. The other is that the dragons in the Misty Palace were so worthy that sometimes even I almost forgot that I didn’t have a contract with them and from the outside it’s hard to tell the difference between subordinates and the rest of the dragons.
“Well, don’t worry about us”
“It’s just that the silver dragons aren’t always on the side of Rainer-dono, that’s all”
The siblings say this and with a shuffle and a jump, they move over the cliff and into the valley.
“……Such an easy ally to have. Is being a dragon surprisingly simple?”
“That was me who said that earlier”
Tetes raises her hand and agrees with High Priest Duke in a roundabout way. Their values must be a mystery to the onlookers.
We take a break in our room and then discuss the future.
“First of all……what to do in the next audience?”
“Thanks, but if you get an audience, you’ll just have to talk as you’re asked”
Neia nods her head curiously. But Tetes interrupts her and holds up a finger.
“Maybe both Rainer and the King are playing the patience game through us like that”
“Eh?”
“Either we expose the king’s lies. Or they can continue to obediently befriend the king and we will become a line of defense against Rainer’s threats. I think that’s why neither of them are outwardly trying to get rid of us”
“……Such a political decision, is it?”
“From the king’s point of view, Rainer has too much power. No matter how many other heroes there are, no sane human can stand up to a dragon. If he flies away, you can’t do anything, and if his breath comes, you can’t block it. If you find a dragon rider, it would be reasonable to hit him”
“……I, Is there any chance that Rainer will denounce the king directly? Wouldn’t that be faster?”
“If they can do that on their own, then the question of what they’ve been doing……comes up later, doesn’t it? At least, in a normal country”
“Ah…….”
“Of course, one way to do it is to eliminate even such questions with dragons and sit on the throne at once……. But even if you ascend by such forceful means, the ill will directed at what you get is too great. For example, if this were a plains state, you could still drop the next place and the next country on the back of the military power you can get and make it go away……”
In an isolated state, there is not much you can get. If you forcefully get a royal palace, you get more room and better food, that’s all. If you use forceful and dishonest means to do just that, you will always have to watch your back at all times. All in all, it’s not a good way to achieve happiness.
“But on that note, if Master exposes the king’s crimes as solely outside, it will be smoother from there. The king who held the information and 『Deserved everything』 is only to blame and whether we then just say it and run away, or whether we eliminate the king by force, it will be Rainer who holds the greatest power who can then ascend the throne. ……So, he seemed to be very close to Princess Stana, didn’t he? It’s easy to get that one as well……with the help of Master”
“……That might be the 『Situation』 Shario was talking about”
The point is that Rainer wants to sit on the throne while getting the princess? Even though……. Well, anyway. If you agree with that, you can understand why we’re being treated strangely well. Now it’s a question of which way to go.
“Protect the king or get rid of him……the difference in power between the dragons will be the bottleneck”
“Is that so……? If we cooperate with Rainer, then we would be allies, wouldn’t we?”
“We know that afterwards, the Sword Saint Brigade and the Ace Knight Squadron will be here too. We won’t be able to leave the dragon umbrella open. Ideally, I’d like to see a more spread-out Presbyterian faction of dragons, where the dragons who follow Rainer are stuck in place”
“It’s not something to be greedy about, Master. It should be a goal to strive for. We need to get back in one piece first”
“……That’s true, but……”
A sense of obligation that I’ve come this far, I can’t just leave and a sense of responsibility that I have to fulfill Neia’s wish weighs heavily in my mind. If I just wanted to run away, I could have left everything behind. But I told the silver dragon elder that I didn’t want to do that.
“There’s no point in being cool. With Master and Rainer, if there’s a confrontation, that’s the end of it, isn’t it?”
“…………”
Conflicts between dragon riders can only be settled by the dragon riders themselves. I can’t beat a hero. In other words, I can’t go head-to-head with him.
“……Well, then, I guess we know what we’re going to do next”
Tetes claps her hands and her expression tightens.
“Have you decided?”
“If we don’t antagonize Rainer, then you will impeach the king. If that’s the case, it’s a field investigation to find out if the king is lying about his measures”
Tetes makes us all stand up and urges us to put on our cloaks.
“First, we’ll survey the farming villages. We need to confirm the king’s word that the fields are magically too thin to manage”
——————
Stepping out of the temple and looking out over the cliffs of the valley, Tetes shouts out.
“Leyla-san!”
“Hey!”
“That’s fine, it’s not an adverse action for Rainer, just declare it”
Oh, I see. Not long after……Leyla jumped out of nowhere.
“I would ask you to refrain from calling me that”
“Then what should I call you?”
“I don’t even think there is a need to call me. ……Ray, Emma, I know you’re there”
Leyla called upwards and the siblings jumped down.
“If you need the dragon’s help, they’re the ones you should turn to”
“No, it’s not like that. I’m just thinking of going to see a rural area and I wouldn’t want you to look suspicious, so I’d like to decline your request”
“……Unless you suddenly try to storm into the palace or go on a rampage with the blue dragon, I have no intention of getting involved”
She’s in a lot of trouble. She can’t shoulder us any more, but she can’t trust Rainer either. So now she has no choice but to let us swim. ……But I still don’t understand the aim of Rainer that Leyla distrusts so much, don’t you think? If it’s a simple axis of conflict like the one Tetes put together, I don’t think the smart dragons would be confused. I still think there is something more to it.
“Well then, that’s that. Thank you for your help”
“……If you’re going to an upstream farming village, use Ray and the others. If you go outside the valley to some extent, you won’t be seen in the sky, so you won’t startle the people’
Leyla advised us and walked away slowly, as if she had forgotten the momentum of her appearance. We look up at the cliffs of the valley (roughly a few dozen meters up) and ask the dragons to take us up.
“Take me up to the top”
“Yes”
Ray says, 「Excuse me」, and she takes Tetes and Neia, who are nearby, in both hands and tries to go up the cliff with a giant jump.
“Hyaa!”
“Th, That me!?”
He was slightly short of height and I thought he was going to fall straight down, but the moment I thought his feet were on the wall, he froze the cliff with his feet, pinned himself there and hurled Tetes and the others over the cliff.
“My brother, what an ugly thing to do”
Emma muttered with a raised eyebrow. She was a little worried, but I guess Tetes and Neia will be fine.
“Well then, Smithson-sama, I will”
“Nn”
Emma reaches out to jump with me in her arms, but Maia interrupts her. Maia jumps up on Emma’s hand with a sticky snap and then a staring contest ensues between the two of them.
“Ah, umm, Emma, are you confident in carrying me safely?”
“Of course”
I say this after splitting them to either side and then point to Apple, who is standing there looking out of place.
“Well then, Apple, please. She’s afraid of heights, so you have to be polite or she’ll cry”
“……I, I understand”
“Oh, I guess I have to act like that too!?”
Apple freaked out and took half a step back, but was quickly caught and taken away with her eyes closed. I then looked back at Maia and was about to say, 「Shall we go?」 when Maia gave me a very nice smile and said, 「You choose me」.
“……Don’t fight too much. Please”
“Yes”
……Immediate answer is conversely a bit unsettling.