We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Conquerors of the Sky
“It will cause another disturbance if everyone sees us, so I’ll be leaving now.”
After visiting the temple in the Necropolis with Ruiseine, we took a short stroll around the area before heading back to everyone’s usual spot.
Just one more corner, and the area where everyone is staying would be in sight. There, Ruiseine released her arm from mine.
Ruiseine’s warmth left me, and the cool air on my arm stole away its comfort.
I wished I could have felt Ruiseine’s soft presence and warmth a little longer.
Seeing my slight lingering reluctance, Ruiseine smiled bashfully.
“Let’s go for a walk by ourselves again sometime.”
“Yeah. Together again.”
As we rounded the final corner, smiling at each other, we could see the figures of the Dragonkin in the distance.
Though our arms were no longer linked, I walked back, talking with Ruiseine beside me.
“Hey, welcome back.”
“We’re back.”
We, myself and Ruiseine, replied to the Dragonkin who greeted us.
I looked around, wondering where everyone was.
The Twin Princesses are nowhere to be seen. Are they inside a building? It’s scarier when I don’t know where those two are. I wonder what they’re doing…
Mistral was among a group of Dragonkin. As the Dragon Princess, Mistral seems to be a source of support for the people who were held captive.
Right now, it seems like her care for the Dragonkin is more demanding than for me or everyone else.
When I asked about Laira and Priscilla-chan, someone told me they were at a park a little way off.
Ruiseine and I headed towards the park.
Revalia and the others were also at the park. And there were lots of Dragonkin children!
There were a few adults too.
The children were playing with Priscilla-chan. Fiorina and Rim were within that group.
The children seemed very interested in the young dragons.
Even though Fiorina and Rim are young dragons, they are about my height. Including their tails, their body length is quite considerable, and when they spread their wings, they are quite large. But the children played with them happily, without any fear.
They touched Rim’s four wings, chased his wagging tail, and even rode on Fiorina’s back, flying low.
Watching their joyful antics was really heartwarming.
Meanwhile, Nimia was relaxing on Priscilla-chan’s head, as usual. She seemed to be very popular with the girls, who would pet Priscilla-chan’s head along with Nimia.
Fiorina and Rim also seemed to be enjoying themselves, showing no wariness towards the children who gathered around them.
“Don’t hit them too hard.”
Priscilla-chan, with her hands on her hips, cautioned a boy who was handling Fiorina and Rim a bit roughly. But that boy was clearly older than Priscilla-chan.
However, the boy, upon being cautioned by Priscilla-chan, obediently listened.
The boy wasn’t intentionally being rough. He just seemed unsure of how to interact with dragons.
“Those who wish to ride Fiorina, please line up properly and wait your turn.”
Laira seemed to be managing the line for aerial tours with Fiorina, who could fly at low altitudes.
“When you receive a ride, please offer your thanks. You may not understand the dragon’s language, but dragons understand human speech. If you thank them with all your heart, they will take you again.”
“Uwaaaan, thanks are good, but I want meat!”
“Me too!”
Speaking of which, we haven’t had raw beef or lamb, which Revalia and the others seem to prefer, for a while.
Perhaps we are imposing greater hardship on Revalia and the others in terms of food than they expected us to.
I waved to Laira to say hello and headed towards Revalia and Lily, who were quietly curled up a little further away.
Laira seemed to want to come with me, but she was unable to move due to attending to the children.
“I’ll go help Laira-san.”
Ruiseine, being considerate, went towards Laira.
I asked Ruiseine for a favor and headed toward where Revalia and Lily were curled up.
Tyrant Revalia. This is a name deeply etched in the hearts of those who live on Dragon Peak with awe.
Recently, she has reformed and is contributing greatly to Dragon Peak. Even so, anyone who encounters her up close for the first time would naturally feel fear.
Unlike Fiorina and Rim, who are popular with children, no Dragonkin approach Revalia casually. The adult Dragonkin were gathered at a distance, talking while watching Revalia and Lily.
“Is that the tyrant…”
“To tame that fearsome tyrant, is that boy truly Jiludo-sama’s successor?”
“The black dragon next to her is also large.”
“According to the Miko, that one is attached to the Giant Demon Lord.”
“As expected of a Demon Lord. To tame an Ancient Dragon Species.”
“Hey, hey, if you’re going to say that, the cute one on top of that Mimicho girl Priscilla-chan’s head is also an Ancient Species.”
“Ah, a fearsome child…”
They were having some strange conversation, but I ignored it and approached Revalia.
For Revalia, the fact that no one was approaching was actually a good thing. She didn’t seem bothered by the onlookers, curling up quietly with her four pupils closed.
“Good morning, Revalia.”
When I greeted her, Revalia opened just one eye and glared at me.
“Why are you glaring at me?”
“Because of lending you my strength, I’ve only been burdened with trouble.”
“Ugh, I apologize for that. I’m sorry.”
As I gently stroked the scales between her eyes and nose, Revalia bared her sharp fangs, pulling her mouth back.
“Hii!”
I heard a scream from the Dragonfolk.
But I wasn’t scared.
“You mustn’t scare the people around you.”
“Why must I be considerate of mere humans?”
“Jeez!”
This part hasn’t changed. But even though she says aggressive things, I know best that Revalia won’t do anything malicious.
I snapped her exposed fangs shut and stroked the scales between her eyes and nose again.
Then, without complaining, Revalia became docile, letting me do as I pleased.
“I’m sorry. When this disturbance settles down, I will definitely repay your kindness. So please hang in there a little longer.”
“Hmph. You said the same thing to me in the Eastern Kingdom and tricked me. I won’t be fooled by you anymore.”
“Ugh, I’m sorry.”
In the Yorttenitos Kingdom, I was only able to repay their kindness a little. Compared to Revalia’s achievements, I have so much more to repay.
But there’s nothing I can do to repay her right now, other than perhaps comforting and petting her.
So I gently stroked Revalia.
“It feels good to be petted, doesn’t it?”
“Silence, little girl!”
Lily, who had curled up next to Revalia, grinned. Then Revalia roared.
The tyrant’s powerful roar caused not only the adult Dragonfolk watching from afar but also the children playing at a distance to scream and flee.
“Hey. You mustn’t surprise everyone.”
“Hmph, I don’t care about that!”
“This is quite something.”
“Indeed.”
Lily and I sighed together.
“Dealing with you all is exhausting.”
Revalia flapped her four large and small wings wide.
Ah, she’s trying to escape into the sky!
“Wait, please wait!”
As if sensing Revalia’s intention to take flight, Laira, now free from attending to the children thanks to Ruiseine, hurried over.
“Fwahaha. Do you think you can catch me?”
However, Revalia didn’t wait for Laira and roughly ascended into the sky.
I took Laira’s hand as she ran over.
Fufufu. I won’t let you get away!
Holding Laira’s hand, I activated my Spatial Jump with all my might.
A moment later, Laira and I were on Revalia’s back.
“Tch.”
Revalia clicked her tongue in frustration.
And she thrashed in the sky, trying to shake us off.
“Revalia, stop your futile resistance.”
“Even if you try to shake us off, we’re clinging on tight.”
“Guh. You guys…”
Laira’s “Sticking Dragon Art” completely adheres to the target. No matter how much she thrashes, she can’t shake us off.
Seemingly resigned, Revalia ascended high into the sky and began flying normally.
“Thank you very much, Revalia-sama.”
Laira bowed and gently petted Revalia’s back.
However, it wasn’t a pleasant sky stroll.
“It’s the demons.”
Being high up, we could see far into the distance.
We noticed a demon army assembling far to the south of the Necropolis.
The Black Winged Demon Race guarding the Necropolis below also noticed Revalia’s tension in the sky, and then the approaching demon army.
“I’ll go dispatch them.”
Lily ascended from the ground.
Revalia, despite being an Ancient Dragon Species and a black dragon, wouldn’t stand by and watch as a child like Lily went to battle.
Revalia and Lily descended southward at high speed, approaching the demon army that hadn’t yet fully established its formation.
That is undoubtedly Kusharilla’s national army. The nearby defense forces have mobilized against us, who have intruded into their territory and seized the Necropolis.
However, upon seeing Revalia and Lily’s rapid approach, the demon army on the ground descended into chaos.
The terror of the Demon Race Army, it seems, lies in their overwhelming numbers.
A single kingdom can number in the hundreds of thousands, or even over a million troops.
Last year, my teacher told me in a lecture that the terrifying aspect of the Demon Race Army is large-scale warfare with overwhelming numbers.
Furthermore, I learned something additional from the Giant Demon Lord.
No matter how large the army, those who are not part of the main military force are essentially miscellaneous rabble.
Even for the Demon Race, who prefer conflict and violence, maintaining an army of hundreds of thousands constantly is difficult. Therefore, the main military force is not that large.
So, how do they create armies of hundreds of thousands or more?
It means that when it comes to war, even regular citizens of the Demon Race, who prefer conflict and violence, take up arms and become soldiers.
When the Giant Demon Lord told me about this characteristic of the Demon Race, I couldn’t help but laugh inappropriately.
However, even if they are rabble, they are still lower-class demons. This alone is a threat to the Human Race. Even five knights from the Armēdo Kingdom struggled against a single lower-class goblin.
But for the Dragonkin and Dragons, who possess superior combat abilities to any other race, even such demons are seemingly nothing more than dust to be swept away.
Therefore, for the Demon Race army under Kusharilla to enter Dragon Peak with such a large force was extremely unusual.
Additionally, I was told to be cautious, as bringing along lower-class demon soldiers, who would be a hindrance, into Dragon Peak must have a considerable motive.
Putting aside the actual situation and movements of the demon army.
Lily and Revalia, who launched a surprise attack, let out terrifying roars in the sky.
Then, the winged demons who rose to intercept them screamed and scattered, fleeing into the sky.
On the ground, demons who were not part of the main force began to flee in disarray.
And then, Revalia mercilessly unleashed her infernal flames.
The ground instantly transformed into a sea of fire.
The demon army screamed and fled in panic.
Lily, aiming from above, bathed the gathered main force of the demon army in dark energy.
In an instant, the main force of the demon army vanished without a trace.
Without their main force, the demon army’s confusion deepened further.
With this initial strike alone, there were no demons left who dared to challenge Revalia and Lily bravely.
From various parts of the fleeing demon army, signals indicating surrender began to appear.
As we circled in the sky, observing the situation, the demons on the ground fled in all directions except the north. Before long, only the corpses of demons caught in Revalia’s flames remained on the ground.
With such overwhelming combat power, can they really defeat the demon army that has invaded Dragon Peak?
“I wonder about that. Armies led by Demon Generals are not this weak. I believe Demon Generals are also strong.”
“That’s right.”
I agreed with Lily’s words.
Complacency is our greatest enemy.
The movements of the demon army that has invaded Dragon Peak are being tracked by everyone in the Dragonkin and Dragon Alliance south of here. From the direction of the Demon Race’s Country, the subordinates of the Giant Demon Lord were investigating their actions.
Once we return to Dragon Peak, we will likely be thrust into battle.
For a brief, peaceful rest, I spent time with Laira in the sky.
