Chapter 224 – Rapidly Changing Situation
It took about half a day for us to arrive from the pioneer village located at the end of the Balkan Mountains to Dragon Mountain, the home of the demon dragons.
This was also a disaster because Glinda’s golem was there. If I had just walked, I probably would have arrived here after the sun had set.
“Ah~ I’m tired~”
As Dorothea, sitting on the golem’s saddle, stretched out her arms, Hild, who was riding right behind her, smiled bitterly and said,
“I’m sorry. Because I don’t have any magic power, I just keep getting beat up.”
Then Dorothea waved his right hand and spoke calmly.
“What, are you saying you’re sorry for something like this? There are so many things in this world that I’m sorry for.”
“Still…”
“Oh, it’s okay. If you’re so sorry, maybe buy me a drink later.”
Dorothea spoke harshly of Hilde, who was secretly stubborn, and made it impossible for her to bring up the same topic anymore.
Anyway, when I and my companions entered the village of the Demon Dragon tribe, exhausted from the travel, we were greeted by Dragonewts in the form of half-humans and half-dragons.
“Welcome, Patrasche.”
Fortunately, they remembered my face.
He had previously participated in a martial arts competition held at Dragon Mountain and won, so it was actually stranger that he was not recognized.
I immediately looked for Gabriel, one of the people who came here on business.
Then Newt, an old drago with a long white beard, bowed his head and answered.
“Gabriel, you are at home.”
“Then guide me there.”
“Yes. Please follow me.”
The dragons received my request and started walking ahead.
Our group looked at each other’s faces and then followed behind those dragons.
***
The impression of the Demon Dragon Village was not much different from the last time I visited.
If I had to put it in one word, should I say it was ‘a mess’?
Since dragons are half active in their original form and half in polymorph form, they tend to build large structures.
So, contrary to its name as a village, the village of the Demon Dragon tribe was about the size of a city.
A village of this size would naturally require a lot of effort to manage, but since the Demon Dragons created artificial spirits and treated them as their servants, they were able to easily solve the problem of insufficient manpower.
We were guided by the friendly dragons we met at the village entrance, and headed to the largest mansion in the center of the village.
“Looking at this place again, it’s so big and ignorant.”
As I stepped into the mansion, which felt almost like a palace, Gabrielle, accompanied by numerous maids, approached me with open hands as if welcoming me.
“Patrasshu!”
It’s been almost a month since I’ve seen her.
She acted together right before she went to Elvenwood as an envoy, so I felt like she was a little happy to see me.
“It’s been a while, Gabriel.”
“Didn’t you go to Elven Wood on the Demon King’s orders? Why are you here?”
“It’s too long to explain. I’m tired from coming that far, so I want to rest for a bit.”
“If that’s the case, don’t worry. Treating guests kindly is a long-standing tradition of the Demon Dragon Clan.”
After saying that and looking at his companions, Gabriel looked surprised.
“Hilde! It’s been a while!”
Hild, who was pointed out directly by him, nodded his head with a shy expression and said.
“It’s been a while, Gav.”
“You’ve been stuck in the forest for a while and haven’t come out, so what kind of wind suddenly blows?”
“Something like that happened. I’m glad you look healthy too.”
“Well, if I don’t have health, I’m a corpse dragon.”
The two people, who I heard were old friends, greeted each other warmly.
“Okay then, since we can’t keep guests standing around forever, I’ll show them to their respective rooms.”
Gabriel snaps his fingers while saying that.
Then, the maids who were standing behind us came up and said they would guide us to our respective rooms.
“Then I’ll see you at dinner.”
The owner of the house, Gabriel, said that and smiled happily.
***
After unpacking my luggage in my room, I took a bath in Dragon Mountain’s famous sulfur hot springs and attended dinner looking much neater.
“Eat as much as you want. If you don’t have enough, I’ll prepare more.”
After all, it’s a dragon, so should I say it’s big?
The food served for dinner was so sumptuous that it could not be described as a sumptuous feast.
A delicacy made up of all kinds of animals and fish caught in the Western and Eastern Continents.
Rare ingredients that even a decent nobleman would eat once a year were used without hesitation.
Thanks to this, I ate dinner like a person who had starved for the past few days. I asked while rubbing my bulging stomach due to overeating.
“So, how have you been since we broke up?”
Then Gabriel drank wine and answered calmly.
“I’ve been busy. I’ve been going back and forth between Nidavellir and the Demon King’s Castle, acting as a middleman that I don’t even have.”
“That dwarf named Dverg, is he listening well?”
“Maybe it’s because I got scolded last time, but I’m still a good listener. And as I said before, the elf side’s movements are unstable, so I guess they’ve decided to cooperate now.”
“Indeed.”
The good news among the misfortunes is that dwarves hate elves as much as dragons.
Dwarves are a race created by the Goddess of Wisdom after elves, and were originally called dark elves.
However, unlike regular elves, the short and ugly dark elves were ostracized by the existing elves, and as a result, the dark elves who held a grudge left Elfheim and established their own force.
That is the identity of the city-state called Nidavellir.
“So, Kaldrashu, what happened to the mission you went to Elven Wood?”
“Don’t say anything, I got stabbed in the back.”
I grumbled and told about what had happened.
Departing from the Demon King’s Castle and meeting the beastmen of the Great Forest, negotiating with the owner of the forest, being scouted by Mayer, the 5th Archon in Elven Wood, killing assassins afterward, being branded as criminals and being chased, etc.
I felt like it would probably take all night to explain everything, so I condensed it appropriately.
And Gabriel’s reaction upon hearing all of this was-
“Gyahahahaha! You made it so hot!”
In a way, it was as expected.
“I’ve never heard of a magic that makes a meteorite fall on your head. Is that something you want to fight with in the future?”
Gabrielle said that and looked at Glinda with a confident expression.
Then Glinda smiled bitterly and said, “Because I’m not good at controlling my strength.”
If you think about it, Gabrielle is said to be just over 200 years old, so it wouldn’t be strange for Glinda to look like a child.
Anyway, the dinner went more lively than expected, and the atmosphere wasn’t bad.
It was a time when such pleasant times were passing by.
“Gabriel.”
One of the servants suddenly came to Gabriel’s side and whispered in his ear.
“What’s going on?”
Then the servant took out a letter with a red seal from his pocket.
“A message has arrived from the Demon King’s Castle.”
“What?”
After hearing that story, Gabriel opens the letter as if he is annoyed.
However, after reading the contents of the letter, his expression hardened.
When I saw that, I asked.
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
Then Gabriel folded the letter and said.
“An order has been given to the Four Heavenly Kings to convene. I think we have to go to the Demon King’s Castle tomorrow.”
“Order to convene?”
“It looks like the Elven Wood guys started a war.”
“What…?”
I couldn’t help but voice my confusion at the elves’ faster-than-expected actions.
There were definitely signs of war, but I didn’t expect it to move this quickly.
Perhaps the fact that we resisted Septentrion’s pursuit and escaped Elven Wood safely may have influenced the Archon’s judgment.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for scattering ashes on the happy atmosphere, but I think today’s banquet should end like this.”
“Ah, yes. That can’t be helped. Rather, when you go to the Demon King’s Castle tomorrow, can we go together?”
“Of course.”
After hearing what I said, Gabriel readily accepted the request, and we exchanged glances and stood up.
***
The next day.
Without even having time to relieve our fatigue, we rode on the back of Gabriel, who had returned to his dragon form, and headed toward the Demon King’s Castle.
When Gabriel fluttered his large wings and landed on the parade ground in the backyard of the Demon King’s castle, the house owner, Seneca, who was waiting below him, looked at us with a surprised expression.
“Patrasche? How did you get here…”
“If I tell you the story, it will get long, so I will talk to you first after seeing the Demon King.”
With that answer, I jumped off Gabriel’s back and told the others to wait here.
Since I am on my way to meet the Demon King, the only people who can accompany me are Dorothea, the former Four Heavenly Kings, and Camilla, my exclusive maid.
“Let’s go, Patrasche.”
As Gabriel, who had polymorphed from a dragon to a human, stood next to him, Seneca, the head deacon, slightly lowered his head and took the lead and started walking towards the Demon King’s office.
