We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Deepening Confusion
Should I chase after the Mimicho people who ran away, or what should I do? After a moment of hesitation, I ask Lily and have her descend into the fort.
Responding to our movements, Revalia also descended.
The dragon arts barrier that had been covering the fort was lifted, and we safely landed in the plaza within the fort.
“Elnea-kun!”
“Hello, Friel.”
“As always, a noisy arrival.”
“No, no, I don’t want to hear that from Grave-sama and the others who were arguing with the Mimicho people?”
“We were also confused by that. Well done for driving them away.”
“But was it okay to just drive them away?”
Friel was the first to rush towards us as soon as we landed. Next were Grave-sama and the Dragon Knight Order. As we exchanged greetings of reunion, Mistral, who had descended from Revalia, pointed this out.
“Wasn’t it very different from what we heard?”
“It wasn’t old and young, it was all adults.”
“It wasn’t old and young, it was all warriors.”
“Hahahaha! What does that mean?”
Lyra, who had not only heard the circumstances in the Armēdo Kingdom but had also directly met the Mimicho people who were the cause of this commotion, was also confused. And, as Yufilia and Nina said, the Mimicho people who were attacking the fort were not the old, young, men, and women who had fled from the Great Forest to the east, as we had heard, but all of them exuded a warrior-like aura.
I wanted to ask what was going on, but it seemed that Grave-sama and the others hadn’t grasped the situation either.
Everyone gathered in the fort’s plaza with expressions of confusion.
“Let’s move for now. I’ll tell you what happened before you arrived.”
“Brother, I will continue to maintain vigilance as I am.”
“Alright, I’ll leave the vigilance to you. Wyvern Knight Order, fly to the nearby forts. Since we were attacked, they may also attack other bases. Maintain a state of alert and prepare for emergencies.”
“Yes, sir!”
I heard before that there were several forts guarding the east of the Yorttenitos Kingdom, with about ten Dragon Knights stationed at each. This fort had five Wyvern Knights, seven Earth Dragon Knights, and Grave-sama’s rider dragon, as well as Yugra-sama. Five of the Wyvern Knights immediately took off under Grave-sama’s orders.
“Hey, Lily. Can you track the people who ran away from the shadows?”
“Leave it to me~”
I also asked Lily to pursue the footsteps of the Mimicho people who had attacked the fort.
The reason I didn’t chase the Mimicho people who ran away was that it was difficult to capture the Mimicho warriors without understanding the situation. If they resisted, I wouldn’t be able to gauge the degree of counterattack if I didn’t know if they were friend or foe. And that’s why I thought Lily might be able to track them.
Lily sank her huge body into my shadow and disappeared from within the fort. The people who gathered let out cries of surprise at Lily’s dragon arts.
Once I confirmed that Lily had disappeared into the shadows, I moved towards Yugra-sama.
Although I wanted Grave-sama to guide me, I had to greet Yugra-sama first.
Mistral and the others also moved towards Yugra-sama with me.
Grave-sama and the others waited at the entrance leading to the inner part of the fort as if to wait for our movements.
“Earl Yugra, it’s been a while.”
“Earl, happy New Year.”
“You’ve come well. I’m sorry to have gotten you involved in trouble, but please bear with us. By the way, what happened to Fio and the others?”
“Fio and Rim were celebrating New Year’s Eve at Earl Yugra’s nest. It was a sudden request, so I didn’t have time to bring them here.”
“No, there’s no need to bring them. They must fulfill their duties at Dragon Peak.”
“That’s right.”
“It would be fun to spend time with you, but you won’t become splendid adult dragons if you’re always pampered. You must also be strict.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
I exchanged greetings with Yugra-sama. I then exchanged New Year’s greetings with his three attendants and finally returned to Revalia.
“Revalia, it’s time for a break.”
“I’ll rest without you telling me. For now, you can move on your own.”
“Lady Revalia, I will fulfill my promise later.”
“Lyra, what kind of promise did you make with Revalia?”
“Elnea-sama, please help me too.”
“?”
I don’t quite understand, but Revalia worked hard for me. I’ll give her a pat on the head later.
After we finished our business, we joined Carly and the other Mimicho people who were waiting in a corner, and were guided by Grave-sama and the others into the fort. However, for some reason, we were led underground.
We were led to a place like a prison cell.
“N-no way, are you going to capture us!?”
We, who have friendships with the Mimicho people. Furthermore, we have Mimicho people named Carly, Kate, and Erion with us.
Could it be that we are recognized as enemies?
“…Huh? They’re Mimicho people.”
It seemed my worries were just delusions.
However, the situation was worse than I had imagined.
In the basement of the fort, behind sturdy cages, the Mimicho people were imprisoned. And not just any Mimicho people, but all of them, old, young, men, and women.
“Grave-sama, please explain.”
Carly and the others became tense at the treatment of the Mimicho people. We also sensed the unusual atmosphere and looked at the Mimicho people and Grave-sama with serious expressions.
“This morning, the Mimicho people from earlier attacked.”
Grave-sama looked at the Mimicho people with sharp eyes. However, I didn’t feel any hostility or killing intent.
The Mimicho people seemed intimidated by the atmosphere emanating from Grave-sama and the soldiers, but we could not detect any hostility or intent to resist from them either.
I don’t understand.
Since I had no choice, I decided to listen to Grave-sama’s explanation in silence.
“Those we have captured here are the refugees in question. We had originally allowed them to stay in front of the fort, but Lyra, you probably recognize these people too?”
“Yes. Indeed, you are the Mimicho people I told you about.”
“It seems that the Mimicho people who attacked intended to capture these people. We haven’t been able to get any information yet, but…”
“Then why are those Mimicho people imprisoned here?”
Carly pressed Grave-sama.
She seemed to be feeling indignant about the treatment of her fellow Mimicho people, especially since there were children, the elderly, and women among those imprisoned.
“I’d like to ask you the same question. These people claim to have been chased by giants and lost their homes. But when we opened the lid, it was their own kind, the Mimicho people, who were chasing them. When we asked for an explanation, they just dodged the questions and didn’t explain properly. Not only that, but they asked us to shelter them instead. Fiel insisted on sheltering them, so we let them into the fort, but we don’t understand the situation. There’s a possibility that these people are bad people. Therefore, we have no choice but to house them like this. The attacking Mimicho people also had no intention of talking, and only said to hand these people over. I think we deserve to be praised for defending ourselves without retaliation.”
Besides the Dragon Knights, Yugra-sama and his three Dragonfolk attendants, who were acting with Fiel, were also at the fort. If they had wanted to go on the offensive, they could have attacked as much as they wanted. Even so, Grave-sama acted to understand the situation without retaliating against the other party. However, the Mimicho people did not cooperate with this. Both those imprisoned here and those who attacked.
Understanding the current situation, we exchanged glances.
Carly and the others frowned at Grave-sama’s explanation and looked at the imprisoned Mimicho people.
The imprisoned Mimicho people were pale at first. Perhaps they had mistaken the situation, thinking that the attacking Mimicho people and Grave-sama had reconciled and were being led to be handed over to them. However, from the flow of our conversation, they seemed to realize that they were from a different tribe and looked at us as if to gauge “Who could they be?”.
“Hmm. Aren’t you Old Man Gorigal?”
“Mumumu. And aren’t you Old Man Erion!”
Then, Erion, who was looking at the imprisoned Mimicho people one by one, noticed someone and called out to them. The old man who was called out to also noticed Erion and responded.
“Is he an acquaintance of Erion?”
“I know him. We hit it off when I visited the eastern forest thirty years ago.”
So, putting aside the question of whether Old Man Gorigal is also a pervert.
“Um, then please tell us what you know.”
Erion answered my question.
“Old Man Gorigal is from a village in the Akatsuki Treacherous Forest, protected by the Light Spirit, isn’t he? The village we visited was the Village of the Wind Chime Trees, protected by the Wind Spirit, but he even came all the way there.”
“When you visited about thirty years ago, were Mimicho people from other villages also gathered there?”
“Yes. That was also for a matchmaking event for young people. Young people from our village also participated. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. The young people from that time are busy taking care of the spirits now, so only us old folks could come…”
“I never thought Old Man Erion would come. Human girl… That girl said she would call for reinforcements, but it’s good to have an old man like you.”
“Uhyohyo, I get so embarrassed when you praise me like that, my backside gets itchy. However, we were asked to come by this boy.”
Saying that, Erion pointed at me.
“This human is the one who will consult with us old men. His name is Elnea-kun.”
“Hello. I’m not sure how I can help, but I look forward to working with you.”
Although I greeted them as introduced by Erion, the Gorigals’ faces clouded over.
“To think that the one everyone was talking about would be a human boy…”
I don’t know what kind of stories they had heard from the soldiers and Fiel in this fort, but the Gorigals were clearly disappointed when they saw me.
Well, I can’t help it. After all, I still look like a boy. It’s normal thinking to wonder what a child can do. Even I would be confused if the person who appeared as a collaborator seemed unreliable. However, we won’t be able to proceed without earning their trust. How can I build a trusting relationship with the Mimicho people? Should I tell them about our past activities? Should we try sparring? Should I ask Carly and the others to explain about us? Hmm, what should I do?
I think Fiel and the others have spoken about us by the time we arrived. As for sparring, I don’t see any skilled warriors among the prisoners. It would be best if Carly and the others spoke, wouldn’t it?
Given that the Mimicho people have the ability to discern races, they must have noticed Mistral’s race standing beside me. So, would it increase my trustworthiness if I said she was my wife? Would they trust me if I said that Priscilla-chan, holding hands with Ruiseine, is the next tribal chief of the Mimicho people living in the Dragon Forest, and that we are looking after her? Come to think of it, Ares-chan has disappeared since we arrived at this fort. Perhaps they would understand us better if I introduced Ares-chan, the Spirit Tree Spirit.
As I was wondering how to gain their trust, Lyra spoke.
“Speaking of which, one person is missing. What happened to representative woman named Yun-sama?”
“Huh? There’s no representative for the Mimicho people?”
Come to think of it, the one talking to us now is Old Man Gorigal. I don’t see the woman who Lyra said had led the Mimicho people beforehand.
“That woman, she disappeared after Lyra left.”
“What!?”
“Even if we question the remaining people, they won’t talk. How are we supposed to trust them like this?”
Grave-sama continued to direct his sharp gaze at the Mimicho people.
Of course. The representative disappears, and they don’t explain themselves. Yet they demand to be given a new forest to live in, or to be sheltered from the attackers, asking for only what is convenient for them.
“Old Man Gorigal, it seems you’re being a bit too selfish. We can’t cooperate if we don’t know the circumstances.”
“We… we don’t care about that forest anymore. We just want to live peacefully in a new land…”
“Even so…”
The imprisoned Mimicho people all wore gloomy expressions. The reason was partly that I, whom they had expected something from, was a child who seemed unreliable, but also they seemed completely exhausted. They looked as if they had despaired of everything and lost their will.
We also exchanged glances, wondering what we should do.
This seems like a more troublesome incident than we had anticipated. Mimicho people who won’t try to communicate. Mimicho people who attacked. A representative who disappeared. If things go wrong, I have a feeling we’ll get caught up in problems with the giants as well.
“Um, a strange spirit?”
Then, Priscilla-chan reacted to something.
“This is… a Fire Spirit!?”
“No, there’s a trace of wind too…!”
Next, Carly and Kate reacted.
What’s going on? As I sensed their presence, I detected a powerful being outside the fort.
“I-I must report. A Flame Giant has attacked the fort!”
The soldier’s report, rushed in with haste, made us anticipate further chaos.
