The night is breaking, and the morning sun peeks out from between the mountains. Bathed in light, a glittering army of white gold marches forward without breaking formation, led by General Dan Dalba, heading east.
“I can’t believe it… The ‘Ironclad Knights’ are returning to Trisen!” Prince Kilt Gaun, the third son of the prince, exclaimed in shock. It was understandable, given that their enemy army was retreating on its own even though their own forces were supposed to be at a significant disadvantage in terms of morale and combat power. What’s more, the arrangements had been made without their knowledge.
While the princes were defending the fortress and repelling siege weapons, Leonhart, the ruler of the country, had infiltrated the enemy lines alone. While this was already an act unbecoming of a king, causing his ministers to despair, he succeeded and even returned unharmed, making it difficult to criticize.
“…Father, what exactly did you do?”
“Nothing much, I just spoke to General Dan about possibilities.”
Leonhart, surveying the Trisen army from the rooftop of the fortress, gave a vague answer to Yujil Gaun, his second elder brother, the prince. However, his back seemed to say, “Think for yourself.” Leonhart would push his own children into a valley and give them trials. Only by climbing out and demonstrating their strength would they be recognized by Leonhart. Though all three princes had overcome their trials in their own ways, they had been reminded anew of their helplessness and their father’s greatness in this battle. However, it wasn’t as if they had no complaints.
((((If only she hadn’t spoken in a maid’s outfit…))))
To the princes, unaware of the skirmishes in the enemy camp, it was unavoidable, and they were somewhat used to cross-dressing. However, they wished that such moving words could have been spoken while sober.
“You’re worrying about trivial matters again. But this battle was a surprisingly devastating defeat. If you keep this up, your bride will run away, Jereol?”
“Father, don’t mention Lisa… And why are you disguised as Lisa!?”
“Hmm, if I recall, our first meeting was…”
Leonhart’s form shifted from a maid to a beastkin woman. She was dressed in a passionate red dress, looking like a refined noble lady.
“Prince Jereol… I can’t like weak men. I’m sorry.”
“W-why are you recreating that scene at the party venue!?”
Jereol was clearly flustered.
“Brother Jereol… The reason you suddenly became engrossed in training for a while, could it possibly be…?”
“Th-that’s not it! Yujil, Kilt!”
As Jereol panicked, Leonhart began to change again behind him. This time, it was a slightly more mature Lisa.
“You told me once, didn’t you? That you couldn’t like weak men. …Let’s break up.”
“Uwaaaa–!”
What a cruel blow. Wounding his already injured body, Jereol fled into the fortress. Seeing him off, Leonhart returned to his maid form.
“Good, good. This should make him train even harder. He’s become sluggish since I gave him the Gaun name! By the way, Kilt, you fought quite well since the siege began. As expected of one of the few beastkin mages! You were always smart, so I’m proud of you!”
“Y-yes, th-thank you very much…”
He should have been praised, but Kilt’s voice trembled. After all, he had a terrible premonition.
“But Brother Kilt, studying all the time isn’t good for your health. Recently, Brother Jereol has been teaching me martial arts. Let’s do it together.”
In the blink of an eye, the young Goma appeared before Kilt. At this point, sweat was pouring down Kilt’s back like a waterfall.
“N-no, I’ll have to politely decline that kind of thing–!”
The trauma of his childhood resurfaced in his mind. Kilt desperately tried to refuse, as if shaking off the increasingly vivid and dreadful memories. Kilt would never refuse an invitation from his beloved Goma, but his brilliant mind told him that this was one invitation he absolutely could not accept.
“Eh… Brother Kilt, you’re not serious, are you? All out…? You’re a boy, I’m a little disappointed.”
“Uwaaaa–!”
Facing Goma’s dismissive gaze, Kilt, with an unprecedented burst of speed, ran into the fortress. Seeing him off, Leonhart returned to his maid form.
“As expected, a beastkin must also train their body! However, I hope Kilt’s brother complex will be cured by this.”
“F-father, we too have subordinates and are in positions of leadership. Please, be a little more restrained with your pranks…”
“Hmm? Hahaha, it’s just father-son bonding time. Really, Yujil has gotten good at telling jokes! By the way, your archery earlier was magnificent. A hundred shots, a hundred hits, you never miss your prey, right? Speaking of love, though–…”
That day, three screams echoed from the Gaun fortress…
—
Kelvin’s Residence – Garden
“…Hm?”
“What’s wrong, Sera?”
“No, it’s just that I seemed to hear screams from the north, like something traumatic was being dug up… And not just now, but from a while ago?”
“That’s strangely specific. I didn’t hear anything.”
“Hmm, it must have been my imagination!”
Sera’s interest seemed to have shifted elsewhere, and she no longer had the screams on her mind. A day had passed since we returned to Pars. I heard about the war situations in Gaun and Traage from Pritia, and both seemed to have succeeded in their defenses. Traage apparently didn’t even have to draw blades, but an investigation is underway to determine what happened. The change in the Magic Knight Corps’ general from Clive to Tristan was also concerning. According to Azgrad, Clive is already considered dead. We should assume Tristan is the key.
“Brother Kelvin! Is it okay to plow the land from here all the way to where Boga is?”
“There’s plenty of land in the backyard, so feel free to do as you please.”
“Alright! Let’s do this–!”
Although Dahak seemed dejected after being rejected by Pritia (?), he lit up the moment he was given permission to create a farm behind the mansion. Dahak, transformed into a black dragon, skillfully used his claws to plow the barren backyard at high speed. His large size made him unnecessary for farm machinery. Incidentally, Sera showed interest in this task.
“Guaaa…”
Boga also tried to imitate him, but he only ended up digging deep holes and couldn’t do it properly. Incidentally, the backyard soil had already been modified by my Green Magic to be neutral in acidity and alkalinity.
For the time being, I’ve told the townspeople that I own dragons. I expected it to take considerable time to persuade them, but surprisingly, they accepted it quickly. With Rio’s permission, everyone readily agreed, saying, “Ah, Brother Kelvin should be fine, right?” I think they should have a bit more sense of crisis…
“Hey, hey, Haku-chan. Couldn’t you use your skills to grow things without making a farm? It wouldn’t take long either.”
“Miss, you’re too soft. It’s true that with my abilities, I could quickly grow vegetables, but that would decrease their freshness and taste by several ranks! The soil also becomes depleted quickly, so I generally don’t use my abilities like that outside of combat.”
Dahak, having returned to human form and wearing work clothes, wields a hoe. Ah, so he handles the finer details in human form. Oh, right. I should check the Status of the dragons who joined this time.
Dahak 162 years old Male Black Dragon (Ancient Dragon)
Level: 88
Title: Son of the Dark Dragon King
HP: 1833/1833 (+100)
MP: 480/480 (+100)
Strength: 969 (+100)
Durability: 733 (+100)
Agility: 471 (+100)
Magic Power: 737 (+100)
Luck: 288 (+100)
Equipment: Iron Hoe (Rank E) (Humanoid)
Work Clothes (Rank E) (Humanoid)
Work Boots (Rank E) (Humanoid)
Handkerchief (Rank F) (Humanoid)
Dragon Saddle (Rank B) (Dragon Form)
Skills: Genesis of Life (Unique Skill)
Black Soil Scales (Unique Skill)
Green Magic (Rank C)
Black Magic (Rank F)
Breath (Rank B)
Flight (Rank A)
Farming (Rank S)
Gardening (Rank S)
Construction (Rank A)
Passive Effects: Blessing of the Dark Dragon King
Summoning Magic/Magic Supply (Rank S)
Concealment (Rank S)
Boga 103 years old Male Rock Dragon (Ancient Dragon)
Level: 81
Title: Beloved Dragon of the Black Knight
HP: 1987/1987 (+100)
MP: 197/197 (+100)
Strength: 995 (+100)
Durability: 1001 (+100)
Agility: 619 (+100)
Magic Power: 183 (+100)
Luck: 340 (+100)
Equipment: Dragon Saddle (Rank B)
Skills: Breath (Rank E)
Armor (Rank S)
Flight (Rank D)
Earth Burrow (Rank A)
Loud Voice (Rank C)
Passive Effects: Summoning Magic/Magic Supply (Rank S)
Concealment (Rank S)
Mudophalac 63 years old Female Three-headed Dragon (Ancient Dragon)
Level: 74
Title: Encounter with Sweetness
HP: 1416/1416 (+100)
MP: 907/907 (+100)
Strength: 520 (+100)
Durability: 489 (+100)
Agility: 418 (+100)
Magic Power: 634 (+100)
Luck: 631 (+100)
Equipment: Dragon Saddle (Rank B)
Skills: Multi-Attribute Physique (Unique Skill)
Breath (Rank A)
Flight (Rank A)
Magic Absorption (Rank C)
Magic Conservation (Rank C)
Passive Effects: Summoning Magic/Magic Supply (Rank S)
Concealment (Rank S)
This is how it is. As expected, Dahak is superior in both stats and skills. As dragons, they have all lived for a considerable number of years, but the eldest among them is Rosaria, cough cough.
“Oh, so convenience alone isn’t enough, huh?”
“Let’s see, I’ll get to work too.”
Even Gerard joined in, holding a hoe. In his armor and with a straw hat, he looked surprisingly at ease.
“Oh, Master looks quite the farmer!”
“You mentioned you were a farmer before becoming a knight, didn’t you?”
“It’s been a long time, but yes. Well, I can still help with something like this.”
Now, why are we being so leisurely? The armies of Delamis, Gaun, and Traage, which succeeded in their defenses, are currently reorganizing and preparing their forces to invade Trisen. While it’s easy for a small group like ours to move, an army involves tens or even hundreds of times more people. Consequently, movement and logistics take time, and even with the utmost urgency, it’s said to take over a week. I considered a preemptive strike, but Rio stopped me at full force. Like the Heroes, my party, composed of people from another world, is the only force capable of damaging the Demon King, so Rio wants to proceed cautiously.
In short, we’ve ended up with a lot of free time while the army prepares. I had been on high alert in the Scarlet Grand Canyon for a long time. Now that I’m back home, I’ve decided to use this period for rest. I’m currently watching the backyard being developed from a sheet spread under the shade of a tree with Efil and Melfina. I’m not slacking off; I’m recuperating.
“In the end, we’ll end up fighting the Demon King. But this was supposed to be Touya and his companions’ mission…”
“It’s fine. They went to the Western Continent. More importantly, the Demon King is strong, right? Huh?”
“Sigh, it’s fine as long as you seem happy.”
Melfina has improved, eating her sandwich as if inhaling it while sighing. More importantly, the Demon King is strong, right?
“Master, the apples are peeled. Here, let me feed you.”
The apple Efil offered was surprisingly sweet. Yes, there are days like this too, and that’s good.
