We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Kid’s League is in full swing.
Humans. Humans. Humans. Beastmen. Dragons. Spirits. And all sorts of other beings.
Outside my family’s home, it was like a festival!
My family home was already a tourist attraction in the capital city, partly because dragons frequently visited and partly because beastman exchange students used it as lodging. Therefore, the number of people coming and going was usually high.
However, now, more than double the usual number of people were passing through the streets, and it was noisy with stalls and street performers.
What’s more, it wasn’t just people today. For some reason, dragons were walking among the crowds as if it were natural, and spirits were flitting about.
“W-what’s happening!?”
As I stood at the gate, bewildered by the festive commotion outside, people’s gazes turned towards me.
“Ah, Elnea-sama!”
Someone pointed at me, drawing the attention of everyone around. “Wah!” people exclaimed, and they began to surge towards the gate, or rather, towards me!
“Ooh, Dragon King. You’ve finally awoken,” the earth dragons rumbled, pushing through the crowd to reach me.
“Yoo-hoo! Wanna play?” spirits also began to gather one after another.
“W-wait! Everyone, calm down!”
But no matter what I said, the lively crowd didn’t calm down.
Or rather, why is this situation happening?!
From what Sefina told me, most of the humans remained in the capital, and more people from surrounding villages and towns were gathering to help, right?
The dragonfolk were also beginning to gather from various regions at Mistral’s request.
Therefore, even with the impending arrival of Kongo no Kirisame, it might not be strange to see humans and dragonfolk in the capital. But around my home, there were not only humans and dragons, but also spirits and magic beasts?!
And as people went by, they spotted me and rushed over.
This is bad. If this continues, I’ll be crushed by the wave of people, and my family’s gate might even be damaged.
Just as I thought I needed to use Spatial Jump to escape, a familiar presence emanated from under my feet.
From the ground, a beast with silvery fur leaped out.
The silver beast grabbed me by the collar and tossed me onto its back. As I settled onto its back, it effortlessly leaped over the heads of the surging humans, dragons, and spirits, rescuing me.
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, my vision became elevated, and I looked down at the people gazing up at me and the earth dragons roaring them farewell.
The one who rescued me from the festival chaos was a Great Wolf Magic Beast from the Dragon Forest.
“Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure. Shall we head towards the western foothills?”
“Yes, please.”
It was strange that the Great Wolf Magic Beast, which usually chased me around to play, was now saving me from the crowd.
The Great Wolf Magic Beast leaped from rooftop to rooftop as it sped west through the capital.
From its back, I gazed at the capital, which was bustling like a festival.
On the main street, people constantly passed by. And, just like in front of my home, dragons were casually mingling with them.
Isn’t this a bit too harmonious?!
Because of me, interactions between humans and dragons have slowly begun in the Armēdo Kingdom and Yorttenitos Kingdom. However, there are still many obstacles to mutual understanding, and problems, even incidents, sometimes occur.
That’s why dragons who visit the capital stay in my family’s yard to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble.
Yet, now, earth dragons were casually walking along the streets, and wyverns were flying at low altitudes.
People were being mindful of the dragons and trying to maintain a distance, but they weren’t afraid. Humans and dragons were blending together naturally within the same scenery.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on?”
When I asked the Great Wolf Magic Beast, it chuckled.
“It’s all because of your great deeds, isn’t it?”
“No, no, even I couldn’t possibly foster such rapid deepening of relations so quickly?”
“Nevertheless, I believe your influence is strong?”
“Is that so…?”
It’s true that I’ve been working hard, hoping for humans and dragons to get along, but if you look closely, it’s not just humans and dragons; even magic beasts and spirits are blending into the city and acting naturally.
There were children playing with spirits, and adults shouting as they were pranked by them. There were also magic beasts happily accepting food from people, and magic beasts sharing meat with earth dragons.
Elsewhere, throughout the streets and plazas, I could see Miko-samas and Shinkan-samas giving sermons.
What were the clergy doing?
I hadn’t heard any reports from Ruiseine or Madrine earlier, but would they tell me later?
As I pondered this, a minstrel’s song reached me from under the roof of the tavern the Great Wolf Magic Beast had landed on.
It seemed to be a song about my heroic deeds, but it had grown so many fins, dorsal fins, and wings – it was more like a fairy tale.
How terrifying!
It’s embarrassing enough to hear my own story, but a story so exaggerated… it’s painful to even hear.
In addition, people on the street were constantly talking about me and my family, and they were enthusiastically discussing a bright future.
This is not a scene that can be explained solely by my influence.
Without thinking too deeply, I realized that other factors must be strongly involved, not just me.
And the person who has a stronger influence on those around me than I do…
“Hey, I haven’t seen Priscilla-chan at my place, do you know where she is?”
“I know. She’s in the west.”
“I see. Alright, I’ll question Priscilla-chan first!”
The Great Wolf Magic Beast that was carrying me west was laughing merrily.
“I can only go this far. I’m too scared to go any closer.”
Saying that, the Great Wolf Magic Beast dropped me off at a checkpoint.
“Thank you.”
“Do your best.”
“Yeah. When things are peaceful again, let’s all play tag in the forest, okay?”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
The Great Wolf Magic Beast disappeared as if melting into the ground.
After seeing off the Great Wolf Magic Beast, I passed through the checkpoint and headed towards the foothills of Dragon Peak, where Old Man Sleigsta and Asher were waiting.
The Great Wolf Magic Beast couldn’t go any further because it was scared of Old Man Sleigsta. Like Hero Lisuter and his companions, Old Man Sleigsta is someone to be revered. Therefore, ordinary people would be too afraid to even approach him. But I’m fine. After all, he’s the master who raised me, and he’s my dear Grandpa!
Using Spatial Jump, I could reach the foothills in no time.
After a few uses of Spatial Jump, changing the scenery that came into view, I hurried towards Old Man Sleigsta.
I was initially determined to quickly report, “I’ve recovered!” and convey our future plans! But as I approached Old Man Sleigsta and Asher, my feet suddenly stopped.
“Wh-why!?”
Why are they here!
“That’s quite a thought to have, calling them ‘they’?”
“Hiiieee!”
It was the Giant Demon Lord who had read my thoughts and glared at me!
“Elnea-kun, you’ve woken up rather late, haven’t you?”
“Charlotte, too!”
No, it wasn’t just the Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte.
I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t sense their presence. But by intuition, I knew.
“Why is Kusharilla here too!?”
As I let out a scream, the space behind me flickered slightly.
“Hate you, Dragon King. To break your pact with me and return to this land.”
“No, no, I kept my promise with Kusharilla!”
Well, it’s my fault for not reporting the results yet.
I scrambled to Old Man Sleigsta’s feet, trying to escape the killing intent behind me.
“Grandpa. Good morning!”
“Hmm. It’s good that you slept well. Your complexion is good too. It seems your weakness is gone, is it not?”
“Yes! As you can see, I’m all better.”
I bounced around to show how energetic I had become.
“I might have slept a bit too much… But while I was away, Mistral and the others were working hard, so our preparations for the next step are proceeding well!”
“I see.”
Old Man Sleigsta looked down at the unexpected guests with his golden eyes.
Giant Demon Lord. Charlotte. Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla. And others. Why were they all gathered here?
Well, what should I talk about first?
Or rather, what should I ask about first?
“You may proceed as you wish. We have waited this long. Both I and the Demon Lords will wait until you are satisfied.”
“Thank you.”
I thanked Old Man Sleigsta. Then, the first thing I turned my attention to was the “others” lounging next to Asher: Nimia and her group.
Nimia was in her large form, relaxing beside Asher.
“Now, Nimia, please bring out the one you are hiding.”
“Nyan.”
As Nimia let out a cute meow, six faces popped out from her long, beautiful fur around her belly.
One was Priscilla-chan. And then, Nimia-chan from the beast race?! Next to them were Fiorina and Rim!
And then, another pair…
“It’s a bear! No, Momo-chan is here too!?”
“Gugugu, Elnea, surprised.”
Momo-chan, wearing a bear costume, laughed. On top of Momo-chan’s head, a Great Eagle was also laughing. The surrounding Priscilla-chans, caught up in the mood, also laughed joyfully.
“It seems everyone has gathered…”
I never expected that not only the Giant Demon Lord and his companions, but also Mei-chan and Momo-chan would come.
“Sigh,” I let out a wry smile.
“Well then. There are many things I need to talk about and ask. First, Priscilla-chan, may I ask about the festival in the capital?”
“Um, Priscilla?”
“Yes. That festival was definitely your doing, wasn’t it?”
Not only humans, but dragons, spirits, and even magic beasts were mingling and having a lively time.
If it were just humans and dragons, I might have thought it was the influence of one of my wives. But with spirits and magic beasts involved, there’s no one else who could have done it but Priscilla-chan, right?
*Pop!* Priscilla-chan vanished from Nimia’s belly and in the next instant, hugged me.
“You know. Priscilla worked hard!”
“Yes, you worked very hard, didn’t you?”
As I encouraged her, Priscilla-chan excitedly reported her great accomplishments.
“Um, Priscilla asked the spirits!”
“What did you ask them?”
“You know, ‘Please play with my Older Brother a lot!'”
“Priscilla-chan, what have you done!”
So, I’m going to have to play with the spirits until I’m exhausted, aren’t I?
“Hiiieee!” I screamed, and I sensed laughter nearby. But it wasn’t Kusharilla. Kusharilla was standing a little distance away from us.
So, who is it?
The answer is simple: Yunyun and Rinrin, who were entrusted with Priscilla-chan’s care.
“Allow me to add a detail. Priscilla visited the spirit village and desperately persuaded the Spirit Kings of the Dragon Forest,” Yunyun said.*
“We had a terrible time too! The spirits from the Dragon Forest, the Dragon King’s Forest, and our homeland’s Great Forest all gathered and started making a huge fuss. Ran, Istericia, and all of us desperately tried to handle them! We’re exhausted! You’d better take responsibility later!” Rinrin said indignantly.
“Istericia is here too, huh? And spirits from the Eastern Great Forest and Ranran came… Thank you all so much.”
Priscilla-chan persuaded the Spirit Kings and gathered spirits from all over. However, it’s impossible for so many free-spirited and boisterous spirits to gather without causing some commotion. The three wise sisters, Istericia, and Grandma Yuuri, the Great Elder, were assisting and helping to harmonize them so they could get along with humans and dragons.
“Priscilla-chan, you summoned the magic beasts too, didn’t you?”
“Um, I’m going to play with Mei!”
Mei-chan, with her cute, toddling steps, took Momo-chan’s hand and came over.
“The beast race will also fully cooperate with Elnea-onii-chan.”
Then, she gave a polite greeting, unbefitting of her childlike appearance.
“Thank you, Mei-chan.”
As I stroked Mei-chan’s fluffy head, she smiled a soft smile that seemed to heal anyone who saw it, and she rejoiced. I was happy too.
The fact that Mei-chan, as the representative of the beast race, was here was proof that the beast race was fully cooperating. More importantly, it meant they were confident that I wouldn’t fail!
If there had been even a slight element of doubt, Mei-chan, as their representative, would have remained in the northern land.
“Uwaaaan. I worked hard too!”
“Ream too!”
Finally, Fiorina and Rim rushed towards me, butting their heads against my stomach.
“You’ve gotten bigger again since I last saw you?”
When Fiorina and Rim stretched their necks upwards, they might have already been taller than me.
“I gathered the dragonfolk! Praise me!”
“Rim asked the humans, magic beasts, and spirits to get along! Praise me?”
“Good, good, both Fio and Rim, you worked hard.”
Fiorina used her power as the “Meishu of Dragon Peak” to summon the dragons living on Dragon Peak. And Rim asked them not to be rowdy?
Hmm. I don’t think the dragons listened to Rim’s request, but rather feared Revalia behind Rim and obeyed?!
In any case, thanks to Fiorina and Rim, the dragonfolk were able to blend into the capital’s cityscape.
I thanked the children who had gathered around me and, one by one, petted their heads or held them.
As I did so, my wives, riding on Revalia, arrived from the sky.
“Everyone’s cheating! As soon as I left my house, I was almost crushed by the people of the capital!”
I complained to Mistral and the others who dismounted from Revalia, and they replied with wry smiles.
“Elnea, we can no longer control the situation, so we’ll leave it to you.”
“Grrr. But, I understand. Leave the rest to me!”
With that said, I turned back to Old Man Sleigsta, who was looking down at us quietly with my family.
“Grandpa. Well then, I’ll report various things. About the previous failure and this new plan!”
