CH 115

Chapter 115 – I’m Not Really Dried Up… (Shudder)

Now that the policy has been decided, I’m going to start working for the Liberation Army in conjunction with everyone else. After all, a lot of things won’t get done without me!

“Kosuke, you’ll be taking care of Grande for a while and working to feed her.”

“Eehh?”

I didn’t get any work related to the Holy Kingdom’s army. Well, yeah, that’s true, too. It’s not about cutting and pasting; it’s about politics. I was told beforehand to accompany them to the meeting in order to connect them with Ellen, but for the preliminary negotiations before that, they have secured a communication line using the golem communication device and Lime and the others, so they don’t need my help.

The crossbows and bolts were already in production by the craftsmen of the Liberation Army, and all I had to make were aerial bombs for the harpies, ammunition for the riflemen, and grenades for the infantry.

And since there hasn’t been any real fighting since I was kidnapped, those weapons and ammunition haven’t been consumed too much. It seems that some of it were used to kill the monsters, but that’s about it.

“In short, you’ve been hung out to dry, haven’t you?”

“I wasn’t dried out! I am that, you see, a star performer or something like that.”

Grande looked at me with kind eyes as I desperately tried to defend myself. What are you laughing at? I’ll call Isla now.

In addition, because I was kidnapped once, so I was always accompanied by guards. But I guess they are afraid to get too close to Grande, so they stand by at a distance. Today’s guards are Bron, a pink-feathered harpy, and Fitch, an orange-feathered harpy.

“Anyway, you don’t want to be out in the open all the time, do you? I will build you a sturdy and comfortable dragon house.”

“No, I don’t want it.”

“What?

“I’m a Grand Dragon, you know. A bed is only a matter of digging in the ground.”

And so, with a bit of vigor, Grande plunged into the ground as if she were jumping into the water. Head first.

What happened was that the ground surged like the surface of the water and swallowed Grande without any resistance. After Grande sank into the ground, the ground rumbled for a while, but then it ended, and Grande crawled out, making a hole in the ground.

“See, it’s just like this.”

“What’s this?”

The hole in the ground was so deep that it was almost impossible to see the bottom.

“Grand dragons dig holes in the ground like this to make their dens. They stay cool in summer and warm in winter. The water that gushes out is protected by hardening the soil.”

Kuh, as expected of Di*blos. Digging holes is definitely their specialty.

[T/n: Probably Diablos from Monster Hunter.]

“…This will let the rain in, won’t it? I’ll put a roof on it.”

“Oh, that would be great.”

I built thick stone pillars on all sides of the huge hole in the ground to create a roof to keep the rain out. This is a piece of cake since the blocks can be placed together.

I put brick blocks on all four sides of the stone roof and put the name “Grande” on it. Hahaha.

“Good work.”

“It’s done.”

Because of Grande, my assignment was over in an hour. Damn it, I was going to build her some kind of ridiculously large doghouse, but I didn’t expect her to build herself a den. Even with the eyes of the Rihaku the ocean…! No, it’s natural if you think about it.

[T/n: Rihaku the ocean is a character from Hokuto no Ken, though I don’t know why he brought him up here.]

She’s a dragon, after all. There’s nothing wrong with the dragon’s hut or sleeping out in the open if you think about it. In fact, I was more surprised that they had the decency to build a den.

“Shall I build a dining area?”

“Oh, that’s good. I don’t want to eat wet Hamburgers in the wind and rain, after all.”

“It’s quite a challenge to make it easy for you to get in and out, out of the wind and rain, and easy for me to get in and out, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I thought. Speaking of which, is it okay to build a den here? Humans gradually expand their habitat, don’t they?”

“Oh, that’s true too. I think I will remove it for a while and ask about it.”

So, Grande and I decided to restore the den and remove the huge roof to consult with Melty.

“I’m afraid of that female demon species…”

“But isn’t it even scarier to build it in a weird place and then have someone get mad at you later?”

“I’m afraid of that too. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Sure.”

Grande is huge. She can’t go into Erichburg with me, so that means I’m the only one who can go to Melty’s place. No, there are three of us, including the Harpies, Bron and Fitch.

“I’ll be waiting in the back, okay?”

“Same for me.”

Bron smiles and refuses to participate in the discussion with Melty, and Fitch followed suit. That’s right; it’s none of your concern. I know that.

As I walked with the two of them through the bustling city, I was approached by the Liberation Army and residents along the way.

“Oh, you’re looking good today. It’s not easy having so many people to deal with.”

“It was hard to find you, so don’t get kidnapped again, okay?”

“Oh, it’s the dragon tamer. The guy who was feeding the dragon, can I feed her next time?”

Everyone was quite friendly. It’s a hundred times better than being treated politely. We arrived at the government office while returning the words to everyone appropriately. This is the stronghold of Melty and the other former civil officers and bureaucrats who were involved in the management of state organizations.

As the liberation of the former Merinard Kingdom progressed, people who had been used as slaves were gradually gathering in Erichburg. Some of them are old men who have been out of work for a long time, but that’s about it. It seems that they are currently focusing on human resource development by making motivated young people their subordinates.

“It’s the government office.”

“Oya, Hero-dono.”

“…Hero?”

As soon as the goat-beastman at the reception desk of the town hall saw my face, he said something unclear. A hero? Me? What is this fellow talking about?

“You’re the one who will take on the princess, Isla-dono, all of the Harpies, and even that Melty-dono. And you’re still alive.”

“It’s a new thing to be astonished by being alive. But, well, if it wasn’t me, there’s a good chance they’d be dead.”

In fact, if it weren’t for my peculiar constitution and survivor’s skills, I might have died on the inside because my automatic recovery didn’t work in time.

“Then, what in the world is this sexual hero-dono doing here?”

“Stop with that sexual hero. I’ve been thinking about where to build a den and dining area outside of town for the dragon I’ve brought with me. Considering the expansion of the city, I can’t just build it randomly, can I?”

“I see, so that’s how it is. Then I’ll call Melty-dono, so please wait a moment.”

The goat-beastman official retreated to the back of the office. When I casually looked around the bustling office, I saw that there were quite a few residents who had come to complete some sort of procedure. Some look like merchants, some are mothers with their children, some are young men and women, some are old people, but it seems that humans and subhumans live together without distinction. At least on the surface.

It hasn’t been long since the Liberation Army regained control of Erichburg and effectively took over the southern part of the former Merinard Kingdom. I think it’s been long enough for the conflict between humans and subhumans to become an issue, but things seem to be proceeding more peacefully than I thought.

It’s hard for me to say whether this is the result of Sylphy, Melty, and the others steering the ship well or whether the former Merinard citizens who were ruled by the Holy Kingdom have simply returned to their old ways.

However, even if a country is invaded and turned into a vassal state, it doesn’t mean that the people who originally lived there will be expelled or massacred, and their own people will be allowed to live there. Twenty years is not a short time, but it is not long enough to completely change generations. There must be many former Merinard citizens who have been living here since the beginning, and if it seems like this is the way it is, it probably is.

“Kosuke-san, did you call for me?”

I was sitting on a couch by the wall, sandwiched between Bron and Fitch, waiting to be muffled with feathers from both sides, when Melty arrived, accompanied by a goat-beast man. I felt a little pain in my chest when I saw that she was wearing a cassock-like hat to cover her head.

As for the regeneration potion that will restore Melty’s horns, Isla is in the process of gathering the materials and preparing them with alchemy. It will take a few days to finish, so if I can get some blood from Grande, we should be able to make it.

Isla said.

The fresh living blood of a dragon is a coveted commodity for alchemists. It is the key to reaching the secrets of alchemy.

That’s what she said. As expected of dragon’s blood. I’m also very interested in it as a crafting material. Grande, Isla is not the only one who is targeting your body in a material sense. I’m one of them too, fufufu.

“Kosuke-san?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You may have heard about this, but it’s about Grande’s housing.”

“Yes, the place, right? How big do you think it’s going to be?”

“Well… I’d like to have a 50m x 50m plot of land to spare. It can be outside the city.”

“I see; it needs to be that big, doesn’t it? Well, I don’t think there’s any problem if it’s outside the city. Considering the future expansion, I would prefer to have it in the northwest direction. There’s not much room to expand the city in that direction in the future.”

Melty took out a simple map and pointed to the northwestern part of the city. The gates of Erichburg are on the northeast and southwest sides of the city, so if I build it on the northwest side, it will be a bit too far for me to walk to.

“Can’t you move it a little closer to the gate?”

“No, not really. A lot of people are scared just by the thought of a dragon on the other side of the wall, but if it’s right next to the gate or on the side of the road, people and cargo won’t come from the west.”

She was so reasonable that I couldn’t even make a sound. If it becomes known that Grande is a safe dragon who just eats and sleeps and spends her days lazily, she might become a spot for tourists to test their courage, and if that happens, she might be treated a little better. Until then, let’s just be patient.

“All right.”

Well, if I want to take a shortcut, I can climb the city wall and leave a straw block at the landing point where I can jump off. I’ll have to walk home in the usual way, though.

“Yes, you’re very good at listening. By the way, Kosuke-san, about this evening…”

“Yes.”

“I’m a little busy with work, so I’ll take dinner here. You don’t need to prepare dinner for me.”

“Okay. I’ll leave something for you if you like. I have some food that tastes good even when it’s cold.”

“Oh, really? I’d love to.”

I gave the happy-looking Melty an assortment of sandwiches with cheese, ham, and raw vegetables and left the government office. On the way back, I should buy something from the food stall and give it to Grande to eat. Let’s go for a walk with Bron and Fitch, who are escorting me.