CH 440

Spreading of Thoughts (3)

When the man saw Yuki talking to the Dragon, he must have thought something like, “Now that would be a good time…”

He had been put in charge of maintaining the ballista in case of an emergency, and had just loaded the bolts.

Thinking that a plan he set up the other day simply failed, so now he was once more thinking about what to do.

He knew that the situation was a bit dangerous, and this time, in addition to Enne, Nell and Lyuu were also there.

So, he checked all the crew in advance to make sure there was no danger…

He used his analytical skills and was aware of the dungeon’s [map] function and crisis detection skills to see if anyone strange had crawled into the dungeon.

That was why he had been waiting at the airship depot in the Rogard Empire from the time they had not yet arrived.

Although it was troublesome, he went out of his way to be greeted by other passengers and the captain of the airship.

He was not showing any hostile presence at that time, so that man must have really impulsively shot at them.

That was the result of reports regarding the man that they reported to Yuki.

(T/L: Author has intentionally written this part vague.)

***

“I’m not going to do anything. Your country is taking care of me and I don’t want to escalate this matter. So, I’ll leave the rest to you. As for the guy who tried to kill me, and most importantly, turned his blade on my wife. I’ll say it again. I’ll leave you in charge of the idiot, you understand, right?” (Yuki)

“Ugh. I will make sure that he gets the justice he deserves. I apologize for the trouble I have caused you…” (Captain)

After the situation was under control, the captain rushed over to us in a panic and bowed his head, dripping with sweat from impatience.

“…It’s okay. I know it’s not your fault. As long as you fulfill your responsibilities as captain, I won’t say anything. We both know we don’t want to make an international issue out of this.” (Yuki)

You know, if this situation continued, I might as well buy one of those private airships for myself.

I mean, I was the emperor, shouldn’t I at least have a private airship, rather than a private jet?

…No, I would probably use it very rarely, and I would feel a little sorry for the people who would have to maintain it, so I might not want to. It would be too much trouble.

I suppose the root of this case must have been those people – the human supremacists.

That incident started as a revenge against the Allysia Kingdom… but the ideology itself may be slowly spreading among humans like a slow-acting poison.

A good example of this would be the fact that the idiot who started the whole thing was from the Ellen Coalition.

That country was a war victor, and furthermore, they made a lot of money by trading airships. In other words, by connecting with other races, I heard that their economy was booming now, but even so, this kind of man appeared.

Other races suddenly appeared and took away their jobs because of the country’s policy of increasing their interaction.

Other races came to the country and crime rates started to increase.

The other races might have killed their family members in battle, and the resentment was building up.

With the current transformation of the world, negative feelings in this regard could erupt.

This might not be limited to humans… but it seemed to be a sign that humans, who individually tend to be weak and tend to focus on the power of a group, would more likely be affected by this.

I did not know what kind of frustrations that man was building up, nor was I interested in knowing them, but he was certainly showing a sign of being hateful against other races.

Besides, depending on how one looked at it, a human nation – one of the largest on the continent – was destroyed by another race in the Corpse Dragon War.

No, it wasn’t really destroyed, but it became an entirely different country, and in addition, its Emperor was no longer a human, but a member of another race, me.

There was no doubt that there would be anxiety, and those who had ill feelings toward other races would probably see me as a truly evil mastermind.

Rapid change always causes friction.

No matter how well anyone tried, no matter how well that King of the Demon Realm devised a plan, friction would never be reduced to zero.

…I knew it, but this was a really tough time for me, right now.

Although this trip ended with no further problems, it made me want to shut myself away in the Demon Forest for a while.

For the first time in a while, perhaps I should work hard on expanding the realm.

***

“I can only thank Your Majesty for his consideration. So, I’d like to ask you one question… who is the lady over there?” (Guard)

“Yes. Oh, right. A guest of mine.” (Yuki)

Right in front of their eyes were three members of my family and… an old woman.

The old lady was wearing a loose-fitting robe, with rugged, rock-like horns on her head and a tail sprouting from her hips.

Currently, the four of us gathered around one of the tables, where everyone could see that we were having tea pleasantly.

“…Granny, this tea is very delicious.” (Enne)

“Haha, you are quite an outgoing girl, aren’t you? I wasn’t certain whether to make it sweet or not, but I’m glad you liked it.” (Cicerius)

“I eat and drink a lot, so I know what’s good.” (Enne)

“Oh, I see, I see. They take good care of you.” (Cicerius)

The old woman’s eyes narrowed as she watched Enne enjoying her tea.

“This is really delicious. There is a girl in our family who is an excellent cook, and the taste of this tea is as addictive as the tea she makes for us!” (Enne)

“Hmm, really. Tea is something we are used to drinking, but I can’t believe how the flavor can be changed so much by simply adding the seasoning you used… Cicerius-san…. What did you put in that?” (Nell)

“Oh, it’s the ashes that remain after the Phoenix burns.” (Cicerius)

“By Phoenix… you mean that Phoenix? The one from fairy tales?” (Lyuu)

“No, no, they exist. I like to drink tea with it. But they are very rare, that’s for sure. Whenever I run out of ashes, I look for them, and I have been flying all over the world for about a hundred years before I finally find one.” (Cicerius)

“Well, that sounds like something a member of the Dragon Race would do. I mean, are you sure it’s alright to share this with us? Such a precious thing…” (Nell)

“Your husbands taught me some interesting things. Not that I needed to thank him, but I’ll at least offer this as a treat.” (Cicerius)

“…Big Sisters. It is only polite to eat and drink good food together and praise it. It’s not polite to ask more than that.” (Enne)

“Enne is right, Cicerius, thank you very much for the delicious tea.” (Nell)

“Yes, Enne, you are right. Cicerius, thank you very much.” (Lyuu)

“Fufufu, I’m glad you’re enjoying the tea so much. Enjoy your drink.” (Cicerius)

While watching the girls having such a heartwarming conversation with each other, I turned to the captain and told him.

“That’s the dragon from earlier – Cicerius.” (Yuki)

She was the form that Grandma Cicerius had changed into using the [humanization].

She was worried about our situation, so she changed her appearance and came to us.

I was surprised at first, but… well, Lefi also used that magic to change into her current form.

Incidentally, the first time Lefi was humanized, she was completely n̲a̲k̲e̲d̲, but Cicerius was humanized with a normal robe on.

I wondered if that changes depending on the level of skill in the technique.

“It’s spectacular what other races can do…” (Captain)

“Well, I don’t know any other race who can do that kind of transformation, except for the dragon race. Apparently, a powerful creature is capable of taking on the form of humans.” (Yuki)

As I was saying these words back to the captain, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse, we were approached by Cicerius herself.

“Sorry, human captain. It seems I’ve caused you some trouble with my presence.” (Cicerius)

“No, no, I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused you. I should apologize for my lack of supervision and the attack on Cicerius…” (Captain)

“No, no. I’m a part of the reason that you were surprised by my sudden arrival, so I’m also at fault. Don’t worry about it. I know there are many species of humans, and I know there are many unique races as well. But this time, it was an individual problem. I’m not going to take it out on anyone else.” (Cicerius)

The captain apologized, trying desperately to keep his cheeks from twitching with nervousness, while Cicerius waved her hand, seemingly not the least bit bothered by the situation.

I wondered if the captain’s life expectancy had shortened a little just from today alone.

But anyway, she was a good old lady.

I guess the dragons must be a very hospitable race.

Lefi was a woman for whom the word generous or rough would be more suitable to describe, but this old lady was a dragon for whom only the word generous would be appropriate.

It was evident in the way Enne got attached to her in this short time.

“So, human captain. I hate to say this after I am all aboard, but may I bother your airship for a moment? I’d like to enjoy a little more conversation with these children and the Dragon King there.” (Cicerius)

“The Dragon King? Yes, yes, of course, no problem. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” (Captain)

I was certain that he would have wanted her to leave as soon as possible, but the captain desperately tried to put on a smile as he replied.

Well, he was trying his best, I’ll give him that.

I also had some good contacts, so I would tell them a word or two later so that the captain’s position would not be compromised.