CH 14.1

Chapter 14: Settlement (Part 1)

Things went fast from then on.

“To the villagers here, I promise to not attack you, humans. It has nothing to do with me. I only sleep in the bottom of my large den. Well, I will make sounds in my sleep which may cause the roar again, but please don't mind that."

I make the ice dragon speak with my magic and fly its wings back into its large den.

...The villages look dumbfounded by all this, but Lark shouts and the villagers begin to move.

First of all, Thanatos - he has been taken somewhere by the villagers. I am impressed that he didn't seem to be rampaging, but just quietly following behind.

The rest of the villagers just gaze distantly at me and Spica. The one who calls out to us is Lark.

"Come here for a minute."

At his request, we are taken to his house.

For a second I braced myself to see what will happen, but he silently takes out two bottles from the cupboard and pour them into a cup. Then he offers a cup to me and Spica.

“...Let's have a toast. This grape juice for you, girl."

I don't know what he was thinking when he looked at us seriously, but he opens his mouth and laughs.

“The name "Palouse" means "trust. But that word hardly seems to be appropriate for this village. ….Until today."

How can he not have a drink on such an auspicious day?  While saying so, he calls for another toast.

"Hold on a second. Excuse me."

I say this to Lark and make ice from the tip of my finger and drop it into the cup.

"Oh, thank goodness for that. It's nice to have Sun-kun around."

… A smug smile appeared on my face. Thanks for that.

"Spica too.”

"Thank you.”

"All right, then? Cheers!”

And so the story goes.

I am concerned about Spica's ability to drink human beverages, but my fears seem to be unfounded. She was slowly sipping her grape juice.

Without paying any attention to us, Lark poured another glass of liquor into his cup and drank it all at once.

"It's delicious! It's the best!

“Maybe Sun-kun and the little miss don't understand the situation at all. So let me explain.”

I wonder if he's talking to us, or if he just wants to talk, but he piles on the words like a gush of water.

"It was about six years ago. A man came to the village. You guessed it, it was Thanatos. He came to Paros in a haphazard fashion, all skin and bones. But soon got kicked out of this village for causing trouble.

Thanatos is a smooth talker, and he became the center of the village in an instant.”

Lark takes a moment to say it and then stares at the grain of the ceiling.

"He was good at first. He listened to the villagers' problems and gave them his best advice. But halfway through ......, he went crazy. He began to ask for offerings and stopped even doing his daily work. He has created an environment where this is considered a good thing.

“...Oh, Miss. Your cup is empty. Here's some grape juice, drink up."

He fills the cup with grape juice.

The sound of the melting ice hitting the glass as if it is talking to each other.

"It's a good thing I'm not the only one who's worried about the roar he was saying. It's Thanatos who made me feel anxious. If you don't believe me, the Lord of the Devil's Mouth will be very angry. Up until then, I had been able to coexist with the demon lord.

"He spread his fear of the roar which he had made up for himself. It's Thanatos who's been making everyone nervous. He said that if you don't trust me, the Lord of the Devil's Mouth will be very angry. But if they listen to him, we may be able to coexist with the demon lord.

First, only I believed in him. Next thing I knew, I had three believers, then five, then ten, and before I knew it, half the village believed in him. I think part of it was that I was scared. If they rebelled, they'd be killed."