We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A polyphony of clamor.
Through this training, the students were able to reaffirm the greatness of the Dragon Forest and the teaching that it must not be harmed.
No, it wasn’t just the students.
The adventurers who participated as guards. And even the people living in the capital city, seeing the Dragon Forest engulfed in natural disaster, felt awe and learned of its greatness.
So, it was some days later that the King and the country’s important figures tiredly told me this.
By the way.
“Hey, Elnea-kun. Could you look for Slaton for me?”
“Ah, Creacio. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I’m safe, but Slaton is still missing.”
“Hmm, how troublesome,”
“That guy said he’d handle it himself and went into the blizzard…”
“That is worrying, isn’t it?”
“No, not really?”
“…Well, the sun will set today, so maybe sometime after tomorrow?”
“Whenever you feel like it is fine.”
I had this conversation with Creacio after I had calmed down the people praying in front of the Dragon Forest and sent them home.
Then, Slaton was found standing alone by the southern lake.
“Oh, Elnea. I crossed the Dragon Forest in a short time. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah. If we wanted to, we could wander through the Dragon Forest too. Slaton just got lost, right?”
I delivered the troublesome lost person to Creacio the next day.
We fulfilled our mission of watching over the outdoor training and triumphantly returned to our family home.
Yes. We’ll all think about the problem of the increased wedding ceremony guests from now on.
“I’m home!”
I energetically entered the entrance of my family home.
Mistral and Ruiseine followed me into the mansion.
Then, I sensed the presence of Laira, who, in her despair, had killed her presence and was huddled small in a corner of the mansion.
“It seems Laira has returned. But she looks down. What’s wrong?”
“Laira-san has returned from Yorttenitos Kingdom, hasn’t she? But why does she look so dejected?”
“That’s strange. She should have met the King, so why is she down now? It’s not like the parting was that painful.”
“I’ll go check on her.”
“I will accompany you.”
“Yes. I’m curious.”
And so, after a brief greeting to our mothers who came out to greet us, Mistral, Ruiseine, and I headed towards where Laira was hiding.
“Laira, I’m home. What’s wrong?”
In the corner of the room given to Laira, wedged between the furniture, Laira was curled up with her knees to her chest.
Laira looked at me entering the room with a very troubled expression.
She looked like she was about to cry.
“Laira?”
I gently called out to her and embraced her.
Then, Laira sniffled and told me.
“I couldn’t meet His Majesty in the capital.”
“What? What happened?”
Actually, Laira had gone to the Yorttenitos Kingdom with Revalia for an important errand.
Although there were various circumstances in the past, Laira is now doted on by the King.
This autumn, she is finally marrying me, and the wedding attire was to be prepared by the Yorttenitos Kingdom. So, she went to deliver the invitation while getting fitted for the outfit.
Laira and the King, who wanted to see each other so much, couldn’t meet in the capital. What on earth is happening in the Yorttenitos Kingdom?
Not only I, but Mistral and Ruiseine also looked at Laira with worried expressions.
“No, I’m sorry. I did meet His Majesty. However…”
Laira looked at me with a somber expression and hugged me.
I gently rubbed her back to calm her down.
“His Majesty was already on the move.”
“On the move?”
“Yes. To be in time for my and Elnea-sama’s wedding ceremony, he had already left that capital and was on his way to the Armēdo Kingdom.”
“I see. Unless it’s a wyvern, it takes days just to get here. But why is that sad?”
“I could only talk to His Majesty for a little bit.”
“…When you get here, let’s meet a lot, okay?”
“Yes. This time, with Elnea-sama too.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Oh. Laira was feeling down because she couldn’t spend a leisurely time with the King in the Yorttenitos Kingdom.”
You worried me.
We gave a wry smile.
However, I would later learn that Laira was down for a different reason.
“Um… um…”
She wanted to say something but lacked the courage, looking at me with such an expression.
When I prompted her, asking what was wrong, Laira hesitantly opened her mouth.
“There was a long line.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“The people who are heading to the Armēdo Kingdom along with His Majesty.”
“His Majesty is coming by riding the Earth Dragon Gusferus, right?”
I had heard beforehand that the King, who has a lower body disability, would be coming on his beloved dragon, Gusferus, rather than his beloved horse.
“Yes. But not only that… members of the Dragon Knight Order, and nobles too…”
“We caused a lot of trouble for people there too, didn’t we? Are those people coming along?”
“…Yes.”
Laira’s response was unenthusiastic.
I have a bad feeling about this.
After all, we had anticipated a considerable number of guests from the Yorttenitos Kingdom.
I am on friendly terms not only with the King but also with the nobles. I also wanted to invite the Dragon Knights and the dragons living there.
That’s why I had Laira carry many invitations…
“H-how many people were in the procession?”
Trembling, Laira answered in a voice that seemed to disappear.
“Revalia-sama said there were over a thousand people.”
“…”
Is it my imagination? Did I mishear?
A thousand?
What kind of unit is a thousand?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Laira whimpered, shrinking in my arms.
I hugged Laira tightly, telling her it was okay.
“Laira, this is nothing to apologize for. You should be happy.”
Laira looked at me, puzzled.
Her large eyes were filled with tears, and large drops of tears streamed down her cheeks.
I wiped Laira’s tears and said with a smile.
“Because, so many people and dragons are celebrating you! They’re coming from far away because they want to see you happy.”
“That’s right. Elnea is right. You are loved by everyone.”
“That’s right, Laira-san. This is a happy thing.”
“Yes, yes. And, Mistral and Ruiseine also brought many guests to the Dragon Forest… Ouch!”
I was trying to cheer Laira up, but two fists flew at me.
I almost cried with Laira, but the tears were gone from her face.
She was smiling happily.
Even though I was hurt, I felt it was fine as long as Laira’s smile returned.
Laira felt responsible for the increased number of guests.
However, it was all our fault that the invitations were delayed, and it wasn’t Laira’s problem to bear alone.
We licked each other’s wounds and rejoiced in our reunion after several days.
However, at this point, I’m also worried about the other two.
Speaking of which, where did the most dangerous two disappear to?
Once Laira regained her spirits, we would take her to join our mothers.
Revalia was also in the garden, which was unusual, so we decided to have tea outside.
Mother has grown quite accustomed to the Dragon Race now.
She even approaches them familiarly, calling them “Le-chan.”
We spread a mat in the shade and reported on our respective activities.
Laira recounted her experiences in the Yorttenitos Kingdom, mostly about her conversation with the King.
We amusingly recounted the strange events in the Dragon Forest.
Our mothers turned pale and then laughed.
Just as we were enjoying Slaton’s story about getting lost, the two we had been fearing returned.
“Elnea-kun, welcome back.”
“Elnea-kun, I’m home.”
“Yufi, welcome back. Nina, I’m home.”
Wherever they had been, Yufilia and Nina joined our circle as if it were the most natural thing in the world and requested tea. But it wasn’t that simple.
“Yufi, Nina, where have you two been?”
“That’s right. Weren’t you supposed to stay and continue your work?”
I was in charge of overseeing the students and adventurers. Mistral and Ruiseine were my supervisors. And Laira was visiting the Yorttenitos Kingdom.
In the meantime, Yufilia and Nina had been assigned an important task.
Invitations had already been distributed to relevant parties around the capital.
Therefore, we had asked the twin sisters, who had no particular other business, to create the wedding favors.
They had said they would work in their room if they were making them alone.
Where on earth had they been playing?
Even I sighed, looking at their attire.
Yufilia’s forehead was red and swollen.
Nina’s clothes were dirty, and the hem of her skirt was frayed.
It was definitive proof that they had been out causing trouble!
Under our questioning, Yufilia and Nina awkwardly averted their gaze.
Oh, what a thing.
I had a bad feeling about this.
“It’s not true. We fell into Sefina’s trap.”
“That’s a mistake. To lose to Sefina.”
“…You went to visit Sefina-san for a change of pace, didn’t you? And you made a bet. If Yufi and Nina lost, you would do whatever Sefina-san asked.”
“As expected of Elnea-kun. You understand without us saying it.”
“As expected of Elnea-kun. You understand everything.”
Blown away by Ruiseine and Laira, who were on either side of me, they threw themselves at me. Mistral grabbed them and tried to pull them away.
“So, what did she ask you to do?”
“Mist, listen to us. We have never lost to Sefina before.”
“Mist, believe us. We had no intention of losing at all.”
“Enough with the excuses. Now, tell me.”
Under Mistral’s intimidating pressure, Yufilia and Nina reluctantly spoke in unison.
“Sefina said that if she won the match, she wanted us to grant her request.”
“If she had said she wanted to become Elnea-kun’s wife, we wouldn’t have considered her offer even before the match.”
“But you see. She didn’t challenge us for her own sake.”
“She might seem like that, but she’s a very kind girl.”
We have also sent an invitation to Sefina-san for our wedding ceremony.
Therefore, I understand that she has put our matter behind her, but… then, what did Sefina-san demand?
“You know. Sefina said that if she won, she wanted us to let the adventurers participate too.”
“You know. Sefina said that if she won, she wanted us to invite regional nobles who were not invited.”
Sefina-san is the one among the royal family who engages the most with commoners.
In other words, she is the one who assesses people who want to enter Dragon Peak.
As a result, she hears many requests and desires from adventurers and merchants.
Sefina-san, among them, understood the feelings of those who wished to attend the wedding ceremony.
It’s a bit of a troubling request for us, but Sefina-san, as a member of the royal family, wants to work for the people as much as possible.
And Sefina-san is someone who doesn’t shy away from any means to achieve her goals.
Yufilia and Nina had never lost matches against Sefina-san or Cerise-chan before.
The three of them, fully aware of this, proceeded with the match.
The twin princesses were confident they absolutely would not lose.
Sefina-san, carrying the hopes of the people, challenged them anyway.
Even if she lost, it would at least serve as a pretense and an excuse for having worked hard for the people.
But, it’s typical of Sefina-san to win in situations like this…
We had no choice but to laugh.
As I applied the universal nasal medicine to Yufilia’s forehead, we resigned ourselves, thinking it couldn’t be helped.
No one could be blamed.
After all, everyone had increased the number of guests for some reason.
Only Mother was utterly dumbfounded by our runaway behavior.
Revalia, in the garden, seemed unfazed by our noisy daily lives.
Just as we were dealing with this, further chaos arrived.
“Is Elnea-kun here?”
A person who casually visited my family home.
It was Rudoriado-san, the second prince of the Armēdo Kingdom and currently one of the generals of the national army.
Rudoriado-san arrived with a large contingent of soldiers.
Only Rudoriado-san seemed casual; the soldiers behind him had pale faces or were in a panic.
Around the unusual appearance of the soldiers, onlookers who were sightseeing in the vicinity of my home started to gather.
“What’s happening?”
“Actually… it’s a big deal.”
“Bigger than the natural disaster in the Dragon Forest?”
“Ah, it might be comparable to that, or possibly even more so.”
“Judging by Rudoriado-san’s tone, I can’t feel any sense of crisis at all.”
“Don’t say that. It’s really serious.”
For those who didn’t know the circumstances, the natural disaster in the Dragon Forest seemed to be Sleigsta’s anger.
The people of the capital were in a state of great alarm, having angered the Guardian Dragon of the Dragon Forest. And now, is a crisis of similar magnitude approaching?
I asked Rudoriado-san about the situation.
“Depending on the circumstances, we may need to mobilize all our forces, just as we did when the Demon Race attacked, not only us, but also the dragons, dragon people, and even the demon race.”
I swallowed hard.
Everyone else listening to the conversation also held their breath, waiting for Rudoriado-san to continue.
“Listen. A terrifyingly huge monster has appeared in the Wyvern Hunting Ground!”
“Ah, that’s Teruru-chan!”
I clapped my hands.
My lack of tension, Mistral and the others’ exasperation, and the soldiers and Rudoriado-san’s confused expressions.
“It’s the Thousand-Handed Spider, a legendary magic beast close to being the strongest!”
At my explanation, the soldiers finally foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Furthermore, the commotion quickly spread throughout the capital due to onlookers who were watching from outside the mansion grounds.
And so, the Armēdo Kingdom was once again plunged into unprecedented chaos.
