Chapter 5: A Dragon Invasion For This Kingdom!

Part 1

The next day, I went about my usual business of inspecting the Crimson Demon quarters.

Thanks to my publicity, the Crimson Demon quarters were now filled with the children of influential nobles and the general youth.

However, I noticed that there were people outside, carrying signs and causing a disturbance.

"Down with interbreeding!"

"Don't let our bloodlines mix with foreigners!"

"They are corrupting our youth!"

I went up to them and they started to quiet down. They probably thought that I would start arresting people.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

I asked them, motioning for my servants and entourage to stay back.

"...Your highness! Why are you encouraging our youth to have relations with the foreigners! This is appalling behavior!"

I shrugged and said,

"They're in danger of extinction and it's not like we won't benefit from this. Don't you want more powerful Crimson Demons in service to the kingdom?"

"If they're in danger of extinction, that's their fault!"

"Well, they're in danger of extinction in the first place because they were in a closed off community for a while…"

"Again, it's their fault if they never let outsiders in!"

How could they not see the irony of what they were saying?

"Alright, if I say that there's tax incentives for households that have let a Crimson Demon marry into them, will that make you guys shut up?"

They started murmuring to each other and some lowered their signs.

"Ah, I see. You guys are just misplacing your anger on other people because you're broke, huh? Go back to work you idiots!"

I shooed them away and they dispersed.

An attendant came up to me.

"Your highness, can we really afford to give tax incentives like you promised?"

"We'll see the profits in the next generation, when we'll double the amount of Crimson Demons we have. Besides, with Crimson Demons making houses and magic items for us, we can afford to cut back on some tax spending."

The attendant nodded, satisfied with my explanation.

After having had my fill of admiring the beauties in the swimming pool, I went to the newly established academy.

The nobles and Crimson Demon children were still being segregated in school, but like I instructed, they were made to socialize and have their breaks in the same area.

I watched the noble children excitedly interacting with the Crimson Demon children. What a cute sight!

"Why can't we be more like kids? Look how they're getting along with each other!"

The attendant who asked me about the taxes earlier said,

"Well, kids are also very naive and don't really think about the dangers of the world."

"Yeah, they do. They worry about monsters under the bed and spooky things at night. Paranoid adults do that, too, but they let that stuff actually affect the real world and it's a pain in the ass cleaning after them!"

After checking up on the kids, I went to the teachers lounge and saw an exhausted Arue-sensei and Haru-sensei. They were sitting on a couch, holding their heads.

"Hello, ladies. Seems you've been working hard?"

"...You think we can handle double the students we had just like that?!"

Arue-sensei said, with exasperation in her voice.

"...This is a bit too much for me to handle."

Haru-sensei said, looking more tired than I had ever seen her.

"Perhaps you need some help, then?"

"Of course we do!"

"Are there any other qualified teachers among the Crimson Demon clan who are free to teach right now?"

"Everyone else is busy. We're establishing a new community in a foreign country, after all."

I nodded at Arue-sensei's explanation.

"Well, Komekko-chan is currently free right now. She's mostly just eating and training…"

"No, not her! Are you crazy?!"

"I insist that you reconsider!"

They both shot down the idea immediately.

I suppose having the notorious book dumb Komekko-chan teach was a bad idea.

"How about Rueka, then? Right now she's just spending time in the palace. I wouldn't say she's slacking off, but she's relatively free."

"...Rueka, huh? We had to give her an emergency qualification exam since the war started, so she's technically allowed to teach."

Arue-sensei said, considering the idea.

"There you go. Have Rueka work as an assistant teacher for a week or so, then she can teach her own class. Are there any other concerns?"

They shook their heads.

"Good, good. Now, I'll start mixing up the classes a bit after a month or so. I'm working to ease the population into accepting the influx of Crimson Demons, but it'll take some time."

"...A month seems too early, doesn't it?"

"Trust me. If you don't do it, these people won't change their minds in a thousand years. You just have to force change and wait for them to get used to it."

"That seems kind of brutal…"

"There's probably people back then who thought cooking meat with fire was too radical of an idea. You just have to take risks!"

I laughed while they gave me unsure looks.

"Well, it's your country."

I bid them good luck for afternoon classes, to which they groaned and rubbed their foreheads again.

I went over to the village chiefs office to check up on him.

"Village chief! How are things going?"

He looked up at me with dark circles around his eyes. He pushed aside a stack of paperwork and said,

"I kind of miss the old village."

"Old village or new kingdom, which one do you prefer?"

"Old village."

"You gotta dream bigger than that!"

I was almost offended by his answer.

"Sigh… Look, it's not like I'm complaining…"

"It sure seems like you are!"

"Alright! I'm complaining! There's just way too much! I'm getting all kinds of complaints from the locals! There's a bunch of people proposing to the girls and I have to worry about being a mediator between the families! I have to worry about building codes here?! I never had to worry about building codes!"

"It's just a part of being in a bigger society, chief! Back in the village you guys didn't really have any rules, huh?"

"We can't even launch advanced magic spells in the sky!"

"Yes, that would cause a public disturbance. And, uh, not to mention a public hazard."

"There's no high level monsters around, so our people are getting restless!"

"...Normally, people should be restless if there are high level monsters around, not in the absence of them."

"But we're Crimson Demons! We're not suited for this sort of life! We want more freedom!"

I didn't consider the fact that the Crimson Demons would grow restless. I thought I just had to worry about the Elroad's citizens' concerns regarding the Crimson Demons.

I knew that taking in refugees was a difficult process, but I didn't think it was this hard!

"...Alright. How about this? Every weekend the Crimson Demons can take a field trip. You guys can afford to switch your teleport points, right? It's not like you're going back to Belzerg anytime soon."

When he nodded, I went on.

"I'll show you guys to a dangerous place filled with monsters and dungeons. You guys can set a teleport point there and go on your field trip during your days off. Go wild in that place. I'll designate it as a Crimson Demon territory, since no one usually goes to that place anyway."

"That sounds exciting! There's high level monsters and all kinds of dungeons, right?!"

"Yup. If you guys harvest exotic materials, I'll buy it from you."

"Deal!"

I sighed, narrowly averting a crisis.

I wrote up a contract with the chief, giving them ownership of that land.

After signing the contract and exchanging a firm handshake, I left the Crimson Demon quarters before they could give me any more complaints and issues.

Part 2

I went back to the castle and went to the study.

I thought about the people who were protesting about the arrival of the Crimson Demons.

It left unchecked, they could do some serious damage if they started convincing more people to join their cause.

"Hmm… There must be a way to change the mood…"

Since the mood in the kingdom was tense due to the war and the arrival of refugees, I needed something to distract the citizens.

Normally, a coronation would work wonders in increasing morale, but there were many who didn't want me to take the throne in the first place.

My many detractors included the military itself. That's just asking for a surefire coup.

While I was thinking about what to do, Iris came in.

"...That army of yours is really slow to learn! They can't remember the basic formations I'm giving them!"

She said, scratching her head in frustration.

"Why do you think I cut the funding on them?"

"They're incompetent because you don't fund them!"

"Relax, my magic crossbows and moguninin armor are already being mass produced. Even an idiot can use a magic crossbow. Just continue teaching them the basics. Hopefully some of it will stick."

"I really don't understand how your kingdom has lasted this long without being invaded."

"Because there are poor countries like yours who need handouts from us."

"Wanna say that again…?!"

She came up to me and started poking my forehead.

"Ow… Anyway, since you're the famous Dragon Slayer and all, you shouldn't have any problem keeping those idiots in the army in line…"

As I said that, I got an idea.

"Hey, Iris, do you remember when you gained that Dragon Slayer title?"

"Huh…? Hmm… Actually, I think the anniversary of that will be in two days."

"That's perfect! Come here, my convenient source of propaganda!"

I grabbed her and kissed her.

She smiled at the kiss, but she frowned when she realized what I said.

"What'd you call me, punk?!"

"My convenient little booty call!"

"It got worse?!"

After giving me several punches on the arm, I told Iris about my plan.

"You see, there's been a lot of civil unrest due to the arrival of the Crimson Demons…"

"That's your fault. Your kingdom isn't in any state to be welcoming refugees into the capital. You could have just reserved an unoccupied area for the Crimson Demons since they're self-sustaining. You could have avoided the political fallout."

I stared blankly at her.

"Are you serious? You're a ruler of a kingdom and you're seriously that narrow minded?"

"...You're the one who's narrow minded. Listen, I'll feel bad for them, but they can take care of themselves."

"Sigh… Iris, if we give them their own property, that would solve our immediate problems. If we call on them for help to defend the capital, they might actually do it because they'll be in trouble if Elroad falls…"

"Exactly, so why didn't you just do that?"

"Because I'm thinking ten or twenty years down the line! If I do what you're suggesting, they'll just leave after the war is over! Why would I miss out on the opportunity to have Crimson Demons become permanent citizens of Elroad?!"

They were a military asset, but they could also produce valuable magic items. They could even make houses in a short period of time, with limited resources. Crimson Demons increase a nation's value just by a thousandfold!

"Hah? Why are you thinking that far ahead?! Why do you think the war will end in your favor?!"

"...Does the Demon King army think that they'll win this war with 100% certainty? Of course not. They declared war knowing that there's risks, but they also envision themselves winning. Why would you start a war that you don't believe you have any hope of winning? In the same way, if you're on the defending side, you've already lost if you think the outcome has been decided."

"...I've seen your army. There's no hope!"

"Anything can happen in war. You should know that, since Belzerg's specialty is war, right? We've got deserts and all kinds of territorial advantages. It's not like we're helpless. We're going to fight a desperate battle anyway. What's the point in taking the safe approach and limiting risks? Might as well make as many high-risk plays as possible in the event that we win."

"That's the gambling mentality, huh?"

Iris said, looking unimpressed with me.

I grinned and looked out the window at the city.

"If I take the cowardly approach, if we lose, it'll end up the same way. But if we do win? What will happen? We'll gain nothing because we didn't take any moves to come out of a war better than we were before. We'll just end up being worse off than we started with. If we take risks, however…"

I gestured out to the city.

"Then we'll become the most powerful nation on the continent!"

She blinked, then sighed. Clearly she thought I was just being my usual, cocky self.

But I really did believe in what I said.

"So, what was that about using me as propaganda?"

She said, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Ah, right. I'm going to use the anniversary of you killing that Golden Dragon to lift the morale of the people up. I'm gonna throw a big party to celebrate your achievement as the Dragon Slayer."

She blushed and perked up at that. She said,

"A-Ah, really? Doing all that for me?"

"For you? I just told you I'm doing it purely for political gains, right?"

"Can't you just pretend to not be a scumbag for once?!"

In the end, I got her to agree to my request.

I needed to spend the afternoon in a lovey dovey session with her, though.

Part 3

Iris didn't seem too happy about me using her to spread my propaganda, but she had to agree that raising morale was for everyone's best interest.

We had two days to prepare for the celebration. I put aside a high budget for the event.

The usual group of detractors led by Lord Rickford were complaining about the expenditures.

"Your highness spent more on Lady Iris's celebration than he did on the military budget this month. This won't be a good look…"

"Half of the money I send to the military goes into your pockets, anyway, so it's not a big deal!"

"E-Eh?! W-What do you mean by that!"

They backed off once I revealed to them that I knew what they were up to.

Komekko-chan, who was watching the interaction, came up to me and said,

"...How long are you going to keep that guy walking around like he owns the place? You have enough dirt to imprison him and his buddies now."

She wasn't calling for them to be executed this time, but Komekko-chan was getting impatient. She had a strong sense of justice, I noticed.

"We learn more and more information everyday by sticking our spies on him. Dealings with the underground, corrupt police who turn their eyes away if they receive a big enough bribe… We're uncovering more and more of the criminal underbelly of Elroad simply by letting this guy walk around freely."

"What if he does something really bad?"

"My spies have permission to capture or even execute him on the spot if it gets to that point."

"The Devil doesn't really completely agree, but I trust Revi."

"Good. Now, why don't you stop slacking off and do your job?"

"Urk…"

I sent her off to help in the preparations. I watched her materialize an energy body of Hoost to lift a large table and place it in the castle courtyard, the venue for the event.

I went to check on the guests of honor. I made sure to invite as many Crimson Demons as possible.

Even though they were the guests of honor, they were doing a majority of the work setting everything up.

It didn't look good for the optics, since I didn't want them to be seen as nothing more than a convenient workforce, but they started working without even being told.

I gathered them up and decided to give them something else to do.

"Chief, how many people in your clan have something appropriate to wear for the event?"

The chief pointed to his very age inappropriate studded leather jacket and choker.

"What do you mean? Can't we just wear our usual, cool apparel?"

"To the clothing stores! All of you!"

I angrily forced them to come to a high end clothing store with me.

"Huh? Revi, you're going downtown with everyone to go shopping?! Aren't you the one slacking off?!"

I ignored Komekko-chan's complaints as I dragged the Crimson Demons out.

I went to a unisex clothing store that had clothes for men and women. The sales lady saw me and quickly made sure that the store was reserved for our use.

"W-We will attend to your entourage to the best of our abilities, your highness!"

They started bowing to me frantically. They were probably used to serving wealthy merchants and nobles, but royalty was a different kind of beast.

"You don't have to panic that much… Anyway, find some suits for the men and dresses for the women. Please don't worry about the expense."

I gave them a blank check. They bowed again while accepting the check.

The chief started blushing when the pretty sales ladies led him to try on some suits. That guy is actually kind of perverted. There was the matter with Sylphina, too…

Since the guys were reduced to obedient, blushing messes when the high class, pretty sales ladies started attending to them, I didn't need to worry about their behavior.

With the girls, however…

"Can I rip the dress over here? It looks cooler if it's ripped up."

"Does this black dress go well with my witch hat?"

"Ohhh! Can I use the fabric of this dress for a cape?! I can cut it up, right?"

The sales ladies couldn't control them.

I turned to Arue-sensei, expecting her to control them.

"Excuse me, this dress looks like it's a bit too tight for my chest. Do you have something else for the sexy and voluptuous me?"

She was acting willfully as well.

I went over to Arue-sensei and Rueka-chan, who was beside her. I said,

"...Why did I think bringing you all here would be a good idea? Whatever."

They seemed confused by what I said. They didn't even realize how many problems they were causing.

Arue-sensei said,

"Revi-kun, don't compare me to those bumpkins who are getting needlessly excited. I'm only concerned about the size of these dresses. The sexy, voluptuous body I possess can't possibly fit into these dresses…"

"Can't you find a better way to say that?! Well, I do agree, though."

I said, while staring at her cleavage.

Rueka-chan took out a dress that was a few sizes too big for her and said,

"It's always better to get clothes that one can grow into, no?"

"...These aren't hand me downs. Just get something that fits your size now."

Rueka-chan pouted and got a dress that was closer to her size.

After they picked up some dresses for them to try on, then went to the changing room.

I was about to check up on the guys, but Arue-sensei told me.

"Revi-kun, why don't you come in and help us choose which dress you like? After all, we could use your expertise…"

"...Well, I am quite the expert."

I'm not the same socially awkward virgin I once was.

Instead of blushing and stuttering, I confidently followed them in.

The sales ladies had a difficult time reigning in the other Crimson Demons, since I was busy attending to the two sisters.

Part 4

We were just in time to finish the preparations when the anniversary day arrived.

It was an open invitation and most of the city arrived.

One might think that it was inappropriate to hold such a big feast while our allied country was undergoing famine during a war, but nobody was complaining as they enjoyed the festivities.

Besides, with the arrival of the Crimson Demons, it was easier than ever to hunt for game. There were lots of uninhabited, monster infested lands in Elroad, since there weren't strong enough adventurers to clear them. With the Crimson Demons, our ability to hunt monsters for food and materials increased exponentially.

Of course, we were sending relief to Belzerg through the secret tunnels in the capital with our excess food.

The crowd cheered when Iris came on. She was wearing armor instead of a dress, to accentuate her status as the Dragon Slayer who saved Elroad. I also had her stand with Komekko-chan at her side and the other girls slightly behind them.

The majority of the crowd didn't know who Komekko-chan was, and there were lots of murmurs going around.

"My, my, what a diverse cast of heroines. It feels a bit forced, to be honest."

Lord Rickford said, coming up to me while I watched the girls addressing the crowd on stage. He went on,

"Theres Belzergians, Crimson Demons, a representative from the native tribes and even that goddess from that welfare nation of Uroburos! Our country is really quite progressive and magnanimous, isn't it?!"

"Are you done being sarcastic, old man?"

He was surprised when I responded casually.

I knew he was just trying to get under my skin, so I didn't give him the satisfaction.

"I admit, it was a good move to raise the people's morale, but look at the people. They're having mixed responses to all of the outsiders and foreigners on stage. This is doing more harm than good."

"...How so? They're just not used to having this many refugees. It'll be fine."

"Sigh… You really think that this will work out, huh? There will be an uproar sooner than later. Once the citizens realize that the Crimson Demons will make a lot of their work obsolete, how do you think they will react?"

"Well, in a hundred years or so, when the majority of people will have some form of Crimson Demon blood in their veins, then it won't be a problem since everyone will be capable, right?"

"Hah?! You really intend to let them integrate that much! You're speaking nonsense! And I'm talking about the next few years, not the next century!"

"Is that how narrow your vision is? Well, it's fine. You don't need to think that far ahead since you're not in charge of the whole country, anyway!"

"...!"

He looked around. After seeing that there was nobody watching us, he pulled my collar and glared at me.

"Listen, brat. I've been tolerating you for a while now. I even thought that if you let the real geniuses of this country pull the strings, like you used to do when you were a kid, we could have let you live a life of luxury with as many of these foreign girls, as much as you want."

"Living as a figurehead doesn't really appeal to me anymore."

It never did, I thought.

"Well, that's too bad, because you have two options now, kid. Option 1, we let you do whatever you want, but we get to run this country as we see fit. You can fool around with your harem or whatever, but you leave the decisions up to us."

"What's option 2?"

"Option 2 is we send you on a trip and have your ship mysteriously disappear out there in the vast oceans of the world."

I stared at him, piecing it together.

"Well, I had my suspicions. So that's what happened, huh?"

"...Still keeping your cool? Whatever. I gave you the options, so what will it be?"

"How about option 3? It involves you and your buddies playing along to my tune and becoming hard working, proper nobles for the rest of your lives!"

He stared at me, then he started laughing. I laughed along with him.

"Hahaha! You're such a stupid kid! I was telling the truth, you know! I wasn't lying about giving you a comfy, stress free life!"

"Hahahaha! Don't you know that some stress is good for you in the long term?"

We both stopped laughing.

"...Fine. You made your decision. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy the feast, alright?"

I rolled my eyes and turned around to leave.

"Make sure to watch the skies, your highness. You'll see quite the spectacle later."

He laughed to himself again, then walked off.

I thought he was talking about the fireworks show, at the time.

Part 5

Iris was decked out in armor and showing off Calibur to the adoring crowd.

She was still very popular among the citizens as the Dragon Slayer.

Rori-san was using her illusion magic to make Iris appear in her original form.

I looked at Komekko-chan, who was holding a sword as well.

She was clearly trying to get people to look at her. She didn't like the fact that Iris was getting all the attention.

Since Komekko-chan was sticking out like a sore thumb, I equipped my crossbow and stood beside her. I made it seem like it was a show of power instead of Komekko-chan feeling attention starved.

As the festivities went on, however, I noticed that something strange was happening.

Even though the divination mages said that the weather would be sunny and clear today, the area started to get darker and darker.

I looked up and used my [Farsight] to see if there were any storm clouds brewing.

And that was when I saw it.

I rubbed my eyes, thinking that they were playing tricks on me, but when I looked closer, I saw that they were real.

Large objects were floating in the sky, descending at a slow pace. They casted large shadows down on the crowd, and soon, everyone else started to look up as well.

When the objects drew nearer, I saw what they were, but I still couldn't believe my eyes.

They were large landmasses that defied gravity, slowly floating down towards us. They were connected to each other by thick chains.

"...Are those floating islands?! That's so cool!"

Komekko-chan started admiring them while I started to yell for the guards.

My voice was drowned out by a deafening roar.

I saw gigantic winged creatures. As they drew closer, my breath got caught in my throat.

Large wings, scaled bodies, powerful tails that could crush buildings, fangs and claws that could rip apart a knight wearing full plate armor.

There were dragons descending from the sky. And there were many of them.

Serena, who was nearby, went up to me and said,

"Revi-sama, you really went all out with the presentation."

I thought she was a smart girl, and yet she said something stupid like this.

"What makes you think this is a presentation?! Why isn't the alarm ringing?! What are you idiots doing gawking at the sky!"

"I-I thought it was illusion magic from Rorisa-sama?! G-Guards!"

She ran to call out the guards. Finally, the evacuation alarms started ringing.

The crowd started to get into a frenzy. I tried to raise my voice to get them to calm down, but my voice was drowned out by the noise.

Iris, who was on stage, grabbed a magic microphone and said,

"Everyone calm down and evacuate in an orderly manner!"

Hearing the famous Dragon Slayer barking orders made everyone quiet down, although they were still very anxious and there were still some pushing and shoving as they filed out.

I made my way through the crowd and met up with the others. We looked at the sky, at the floating islands and the dragons watching us.

"...They're not attacking yet. Maybe they're friendly?"

Komekko-chan said, trying to wave at the dragons.

I looked at the scales of the dragons. Their red, blue and green scales were glowing brightly under the midday sun.

"They're chromatic dragons, so I don't think they're friendly. If they were metallic, maybe they could have been reasoned with."

There were no such things as completely good or evil dragons, but the metallic scaled ones were at least somewhat reasonable.

"What do we do? Do we shoot them down?"

Regina-sama said, as she stood on her tippy toes to get a better view of the sky.

"I don't think our ammunition can reach that high. I think they're intentionally flying above our range."

I said, seeing the dragons hovering just outside of my crossbow's range. They weren't taking any hostile actions yet, but they looked like they were ready to raze the whole kingdom.

I was wondering why there was a dragon invasion, but then I remembered Lord Rickford's words to Sonia.

He said that Maouko had a plan, and that Sonia was instructed to escape with him during the commotion.

This must be the plan.

She somehow got the dragons, who were normally uninterested in taking any overt action against Elroad, into invading us.

While I was thinking about how the Demon King army managed to negotiate with the dragons, I turned to Iris and said,

"Iris, check up on Sonia."

She nodded her head and took out a doll. I placed my hand on the doll and closed my eyes.

I saw through the eyes of the doll in Sonia's room. Lord Rickford had a key and was releasing Sonia from her cuffs.

"The carriage is waiting for us. The dragons won't attack us, so let's make haste."

Sonia looked at the doll. Iris made its eye slightly twitch to show Sonia that we were watching. She nodded to the doll, but Lord Rickfod interpreted it as her agreeing to his plan.

"Dragons, huh? What if the dragons attack us as well?"

"Don't worry. I painted Maouko-sama's crest at the top of the carriage, so they'll know not to attack us."

"I see… Give me some time to pack my things."

"Hurry up. We'll need to take the scroll with all the artifacts, too. I have access to the treasury, so it won't be a problem to take it."

Lord Rickford left the room. Sonia made sure he was out of earshot and said,

"What do I do?"

I was glad that she chose to cooperate with us. I let out a sigh of relief and said,

"First, get some pen and paper and show us what Maouko's crest looks like."

She nodded and drew the crest. Since my memory was good, I instantly stored the image in my head.

"Then I want you to retrieve the scroll and keep it safe. After that, knock out Lord Rickford and lock him in the treasury."

"Sure. You want me to keep the scroll safe?"

"Yeah, get Lord Rickford to tell you where the carriage is first, then take it and go to the deserts. Talk to the tribes there and tell them what happened. If the worst case scenario happens, at least the desert tribes will have your help defending the country."

The desert tribes were our best bet in the worst case scenario. They had geographical advantage and they knew the desert terrain like the back of their hand. They could pull off some nasty tactics with Sonia's artifacts at their disposal.

"Shouldn't you be running away too?"

She said, bringing up a fair point. As royalty, it was in my best interest to run away to the desert.

"The dragons have their sights on me already. I don't think we can outrun dragons. The best thing we can do is stall them as much as possible and hopefully the desert tribes will come help us. If not, then at least we'll buy time for them to get organized and get their defenses ready."

Sonia nodded, then took the doll with her, as it was our only method of communication with each other. Iris cut off the link when she started moving.

Iris put the doll back in a bag hidden underneath a cape she was wearing over her armor. She said,

"You're relying on the desert people this much? Won't your country be doomed if the capital falls?"

"Shani oba-san is the first queen, remember? She actually outranks me, so I have faith that she can rebuild the country even if the capital falls, and I become a hostage or whatever. The desert people have unique political advantages, since they don't have to listen to me. It'll be hard for Maouko to bully them on the diplomatic stage, even if they have me as a hostage."

"The easiest way to solve this is just to teleport!"

Komekko-chan said, she held my hand and started to cast teleport.

The dragons sensed the magical activity. They roared and flew down.

"Gack…!"

"You silly girl! Why are you always acting so impulsively?!"

Iris started to pinch Komekko-chan's cheeks.

"The devil doesn't like to wait around!"

As the dragons flew down, the archers let loose the arrows they had been holding.

The arrows pierced the scales of the dragons, and some of them got through and caused the dragons to let out a howl of pain, but they forced themselves through the pain and kept flying at fast speeds.

They were already close to us in a matter of seconds. They opened their mouths, ready to fire their elemental breaths.

"...Erm, sorry?"

Komekko-chan said, holding her hands up.

We heard chuckling from above. The floating islands were getting closer and there was a figure using them as platforms to hop down.

I expected to see another dragon, but there was a little girl coming down from the floating islands. She had blonde hair and golden eyes. She was wearing golden half-plate armor that was decorated with all manner of precious stones. The armor came with oversized pauldrons. She also had a golden helmet with horns on it.

A staircase of flying rocks formed for her and she climbed down, stopping midway to regard us once we were at speaking distance.

"Hello, monkeys! I am Tiamat! Queen of the Chromatic Dragons!"

The little girl said, with a smug smirk and her arms crossed.

Part 6

"Did that little girl just call us monkeys?!"

Komekko-chan said, raising her fists at the little girl and jumping around while screeching.

The little blonde girl who called herself Tiamat, started cackling when she saw Komekko-chan hop around.

"Hahaha! Thanks for proving my point while you hop around like that, monkey girl!"

"Grrr! That does it!"

Komekko-chan forgot about the dragons ready to fire their elemental breaths at us and charged at Tiamat.

She slashed at Tiamat with her sword after dashing to her at breakneck speeds.

Tiamat simply raised a finger to stop the sword.

"...?! I-Impossible!"

Komekko-chan said, while she chambered for another strike, and then another, releasing a series of fast cuts against Tiamat.

Tiamat easily deflected the slashes with just a finger. She said,

"Is this really the best you can do, monkey?"

She swatted the sword away, then spun in the air and unleashed a devastating spinning kick on Komekko-chan, who managed to block it with her arm, but the force of the kick sent her away, tumbling along the ground.

When Komekko-chan stood up, she was gripping her left arm in pain and glaring at Tiamat.

Our opponent was too powerful.

I was already looking for a way out, but the dragons were watching our every movement.

"...Now, now, there's no point in fighting. Let's settle this peacefully!"

I said, putting on a disarming smile while I stood in front of Tiamat.

"Fumu… One of the monkeys has a brain. You speak well for a monkey! State your name!"

"Prince Revi Elroad, at your service!"

"Prince…? Ah, right, they told me that the king is gone, right? Very well! Let us talk, leader to leader!"

Tiamat snapped her fingers. One of the dragons flew to the tables and snatched a table cloth with its mouth. It gently laid the table cloth down before Tiamat, before she sat on it. It was quite a surreal sight, seeing these big dragons acting like servants to this little girl.

She gestured for me to sit in front of her. I followed her instructions and noticed Iris doing the same.

Tiamat glanced at Iris and said,

"Ah, if it isn't the Dragon Slayer…"

Rather than animosity, I saw a look of respect in Tiamat's eyes as Iris sat beside me.

"You know about me?"

"Of course. You did defeat one of our own, after all, even if it was an old golden dragon getting by in years. It was the weakest among us, but you still did a good job defeating it! For a monkey that is!"

That golden dragon was the weakest?

So it's gonna follow this kind of development…

Since I couldn't sense any kind of power from this little girl, that must mean that my power level was too low to sense it.

"...So if you're invading Elroad on the day of the Dragon Slayer celebration, that must mean that you want revenge, right?"

I said, thinking that was the cause for it, but Tiamat looked confused.

"Huh? Why would I care if you killed that geezer? No way. It's only a coincidence that we're attacking on this day. It was my collaborator who planned it."

"Your collaborator being the Demon Queen Maouko, right?"

She nodded her head. She snapped her fingers again. A dragon flew by and dropped a bottle of wine on her lap and some glasses. She poured the wine in the glasses and offered it to us.

"Be my guest!"

Tiamat said, while offering us our own wine.

I didn't comment on it and thanked her for the drink. I took a sip of the wine, while Iris did the same.

I was surprised that Iris was able to keep her calm in this situation. A few months ago, she would have reacted impulsively like Komekko-chan did. She really matured ever since she became the queen of Belzerg.

"So… You called yourself the queen of chromatic dragons, is that right, Tiamat-sama?"

I said, being as respectful as I could.

"Indeed, but I'm also the goddess of Power and Ambition. Are you telling me that no one's heard of me?!"

My eyes widened.

"Ah! You mean that goddess of all chromatin dragons, Tiamat?!"

"Why are you so surprised, brat?! I already introduced myself to you, didn't I?!"

I thought that she was just being chuuni.

I couldn't really deny that all the dragons around here seemed to obey her every command, though.

Since she looked like a loli, I was reminded about Regina's condition.

"Erm… So why does Tiamat-sama look like that?"

I looked at her loli body.

"This childish body, you mean? Hmph… My powers were sealed away by a hero many years ago. You know, just usual dragon things."

She spoke about it flippantly, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"So, Tiamat-sama, can you tell me why you chose to collaborate with Demon Queen Maouko? If she paid you with treasures, I can assure you that Elroad can pay for twice… no, triple the amount she paid."

We'd suffer a lot of damages if we fought dragons, anyway, so I could handle paying an obscene amount of tribute money to the invaders if I could avoid a war altogether.

"...It's not about the money or treasure, monkey prince. I chose to support Maouko simply because she showed me her ambition, that's all."

"Her ambition?"

"That's right. My aspects are Power and Ambition. Naturally, I gravitate towards those who have both. As you can see, I'm not in a state where I can realize my ambitions. The best I can do in this form is to support an up-and-coming conqueror. Maouko's ambition is to rule the entire continent, and then after that, the world…"

I whistled, honestly a bit impressed by Maouko's ego.

"Hoh. And how does she intend to do that?"

"By military might, of course."

"Huh? Seriously? Like, she's planning to annex every country's capital with her army?"

"Indeed. Isn't it admirable?"

I spit out my drink, then I started laughing.

"...What's so funny, monkey prince?"

Tiamat said, glaring at me. She looked down at the wine I spat out. It stained the table cloth we were using as a picnic table.

Iris was also looking at me strangely.

"Revi, why the heck are you laughing so much?"

So even Iris couldn't see why I found Maouko's so-called ambition hilarious.

"How many conquerors do you think tried to pull that kinda stupid shit off? There are so many forgotten civilizations because of overly ambitious fools who think their army is the best and all that braggadocious shit. If you know history, you know why it's impossible."

"...Hmph. I was wondering why you were laughing so confidently. So you're just a weak willed ruler. You don't have grander ambitions like Maouko. Very well. I'll offer you a deal if you surrender now, no harm will come to your country. You'll have to serve under Maouko's flag, though."

She offered her hand to me. I laughed again and shook my head.

"No, no, I'm not saying that she's wrong in wanting to conquer the world. I was laughing because you said that she was planning to do it through military might alone."

"...Spineless cowards like you don't have the right to mock those with ambition."

"Oi, I have ambitions, too. I also want to try my hand in ruling the world someday. Seems fun. I'm not gonna go around razing and annexing cities, though."

Iris turned to me with narrowed eyes.

"...Huh? Where did this come from? I never thought you had this kind of ambition… For anything, really."

She really thought I was that lazy and weak willed?

I shrugged and said,

"What? Once you're in a position of power, isn't it natural to dream about gaining as much power as possible?"

What's the point in being king if you don't want to expand your territory, spread your ideologies and culture to all the heathen nations of the world?

"If that's how you see things, then it would be beneficial for you to join Maouko and myself…"

Tiamat offered her hand to me again, but I shook my head once more.

"Like I said, I don't agree with the whole brute force, military method. There's more humane and civilized means to achieve world domination, you know?"

"...You mean to say that you'll use political tricks and diplomacy?"

"Sure, that seems more fun than causing trouble for innocents, don't you think?"

Tiamat sighed, then she grabbed the wine bottle and chugged the rest of the drink. She wiped her mouth and stared at me in the eyes,

"Oh, please. Such naive thinking won't get you anywhere. Domination achieved through paper won't hold the same weight as victory achieved through bloodshed."

"The only kind of blood I want spilled for any of my victories is the kind you stamp on paper, which signifies that a truce has been made. I don't want any pain in the ass wars and campaigns. Most conquerors die before they can even get out of their own continent."

I pointed to her and said,

"I mean, I know your history, too. You tried to rule this continent but got stopped by a hero from Belzerg. That's what you were talking about earlier, right?"

The look in her eyes darkened.

"You better watch what you say, monkey prince."

I shrugged and chuckled,

"Those who rule with tyranny and senseless cruelty produce an age of darkness, while those who rule to protect the interest of the weak are remembered as champions."

I turned behind me to one of the attendants who remained behind.

"Oi, note keeper, you got that? Make sure that quote makes it in my bestselling biography."

My faithful notekeeper gave a thumbs up as she wrote down what I said.

"...You're a peculiar one, but I do sense a lot of ambition in you."

Tiamat said, eyeing me with interest.

"Notetaker, write down that Tiamat got a little wet listening to my speech!"

"Gotcha, boss!"

The notetaker gave me another thumbs up and proceeded to write that down.

Tiamat didn't react, only raising a brow, then, she said,

"Alright, then I'll give you a test, to see if you're truly worthy to rule."

She turned around to her dragons and raised a hand. They nodded their heads and flew away.

Tiamat stood up, throwing the wine bottle away after she was done with it.

"Let's play a little game. My castle is all the way up there, on the top island."

She pointed up the floating islands at the highest one. I used [Farsight] and saw the castle on top.

"If you can prevent me from entering my castle in under five minutes, then I'll consider it your victory and I'll withdraw. I'll even restrict my flight capabilities."

She held up her hand, raising fire fingers.

"Hmm… I'm afraid I'm not much of a combatant by myself. I won't be able to stop you."

"Then why were you talking so much shit?!"

She gave me an astounded look, then sighed,

"Fine, you can have two others to help you, but no more."

I looked behind me. Iris was an obvious choice, but Komekko-chan was hurt, so I was reluctant to choose her.

However, she limped her way over while holding her arm. She had a determined look on her face.

"...Revi, let the Devil take on that dragon loli! I won't forget this humiliation!"

Tiamat gasped when she saw Komekko-chan.

"W-What determination! I can practically feel her lust for power! She's probably the most self-centered and egotistic little girl I've seen!"

I knew that Komekko-chan had an arrogant streak, but I didn't know it was that bad.

"Oi, Komekko-chan, a literal dragon goddess is impressed by your ego. You need some serious help with your personality, got it?!"

"...The devil doesn't know what you're talking about."

She turned away, refusing to acknowledge her faults.

"Alright, I'll choose these two as my partners."

"Very well! Then… Let the game commence!"

Tiamat said, pointing at the sky and shooting out a beam of energy from her finger tip. The beam flew out to the sky and erupted in an explosion of fire.

With that, the game was on.

Part 7

Tiamat jumped up onto the island she came down with. We immediately gave pursuit.

However, since I didn't have any means to jump across falling islands, I fell behind.

I watched Iris use her [Shadow Thread] to sling herself across the islands. As for Komekko-chan, she manifested Hoost to boost her jumps across the floating platforms.

Meanwhile, I had to use a grappling hook and slowly make my way up.

"...Maybe I can just leave this to those two."

"I heard that! You're the one who instigated this game, so you better get climbing!"

Iris said, as she was slinging over to another floating island. She was already gaining distance from me.

I stopped at an island and looked up at Tiamat, who was starting to pull quite a lead. Instead of chasing after her, I pulled out my crossbow.

"[Ensnaring Shot]!"

I shot a bolt at Tiamat and waited for it to connect.

Once the bolt connected against her golden armor, vines appeared and wrapped around Tiamat, restraining her.

She only chuckled and easily broke out of the vines.

I felt like I was way out of my depth here. I watched her keep jumping up.

"The Devil won't lose in this contest…! [Devil Boost]!"

She concentrated all the devil energy into her legs and jumped straight up at Tiamat. With the super powered jump, she surprisingly reached the same platform as Tiamat.

"Hoh… You show potential, devil monkey. Let's see how you fare in melee combat!"

"I'm still a newbie with a sword, anyway! I'm way more experienced with my fist!"

That could be taken the wrong way, Komekko-chan.

I watched as they engaged in a clash of martial arts, punching and kicking at such speeds that my eyes couldn't keep up.

Tiamat smiled as she blocked a kick from Komekko-chan.

"Not bad! I wonder how you'll deal with this!"

She pointed a finger at Komekko-chan, then released a fiery beam of condensed heat from it. Komekko-chan dodged to the side and watched the finger beam pierce through the clouds above.

"Heh… I have a similar technique. [Vanir Style Death Beam]!"

She released her own beam, shooting it from her eye. Tiamat released another beam and the two energy attacks clashed in the middle, fighting for supremacy.

"You have a lot of potential, devil monkey! But unfortunately, I've been doing this way longer than you!"

The size of the beam increased and overwhelmed Komekko-chan's beam. It broke through and the beam reached Komekko-chan, hitting her on the chest.

I was about to scream out in concern, until I saw Hoost manifesting in his energy avatar form, blocking the beam in front of Komekko-chan.

"[Devil Trigger]!"

Komekko-chan charged at Tiamat, with the energy avatar of Hoost flying in front of her. Hoost released a barrage of punches at Tiamat, who seemed to be having a bit more trouble blocking them.

"...Amazing! Manifesting a devil through your energy… You've come up with some interesting tricks!"

"Heh… So you acknowledge the Devil's superior talents?!"

"Let's not go that far, devil monkey… You're still too arrogant!"

"Gack!"

A tail suddenly appeared behind Tiamat and it lashed out and grabbed Komekko-chan by the neck. The energy manifestation of Hoost disappeared as Komekko-chan lost focus.

"Just like I thought… That technique takes a lot of concentration out of you…"

"Gurk!"

Tiamat tightened the tail's grip, intending to choke Komekko-chan out.

Komekko-chan grabbed the tail and bit on it.

"Oww! You really are a monkey aren't you?!"

Tiamat released the tail, making Komekko-chan fall and gasp for breath.

"...I wasted enough time with you. You're too dangerous to keep around in this game. I guess that's why that monkey prince was so confident when he brought you in. Time for you to leave."

Tiamat rushed over to Komekko-chan and unleashed a brutal roundhouse kick on her stomach. Komekko-chan let out a grunt of pain as she was sent flying down. I watched her falling all the way to the castle, crashing through the treasury room's wall, creating a large opening through it.

If it weren't Komekko-chan, I would have thought that she died on the spot, but I knew that she was more durable than that.

Taking advantage of the opening Komekko-chan made, it was Iris's turn to stall Tiamat. She took a normal longsword out and tried to cut Tiamat down while she was open, but Tiamat was still aware of her surroundings.

She stepped out of the way of the slash, while Iris chambered for another attack, which Tiamat blocked with her hand.

"...Coming at me with a mundane weapon like this… Why don't you use that one you have over there?"

She pointed at Calibur, which Iris had been using for the festivities.

"I guess I have more than enough time…"

Iris said, referring to the time limit of her transformation.

She took out the vial Regina-sama made for her and drank the contents. A white light and a puff of smoke surrounded her body. The illusion dropped, revealing her true form.

She took out Calibur and held it out in front of Tiamat, who chuckled in excitement at seeing the famous Dragon Slayer in her original form.

"That's more like it!"

Iris came forward, her speed noticeably faster than before, and managed to land a slash on Tiamat. Calibur, the famous magic sword, managed to scratch Tiamat's golden armor, but it didn't do any noticeably damage to her body.

"A legendary sword wielded by a skilled warrior! This brings me back! Plus, you're the ancestor of that bastard who sealed me away, aren't you? Oh, I'm gonna have fun fighting you!"

Instead of blocking the attacks with her hands, Tiamat focused on dodging. She used her tail as a supplementary limb to help her dodge the attacks.

With Iris stalling her, I reached the platform they were on.

I held my crossbow out, but they were moving so fast that I couldn't get a good shot.

"Hmm… I guess I'm kind of useless here…"

"You think?! Just stand over there and look pretty!"

Iris said, while trying to cut Tiamat's neck with a horizontal slash. Tiamat used her tail to bounce away.

While Iris was engaged in the fight with Tiamat, I noticed movement on the ground.

Komekko-chan had emerged from the hole on the castle wall, but I saw that she was holding a sword.

It was the fake magic sword that Rickford and his cronies bought while I was away.

I was thinking what she was doing with that toy sword, but I noticed that it looked different from the last time I saw it.

Komekko-chan's devil energy was mixing with the sword, giving it a metallic sheen and luster.

She jumped up and I was expecting her to hop onto the platforms, but red wings of devil energy came out from her back, imitating Hoost's wings.

She could do that trick before, but I remember it took a lot of energy for her to use the technique. However, she was doing it seamlessly now.

She landed on the platform we were on, holding the sword out in front of her. She was looking at the sword in wonder.

"What are you doing with that toy sword, Komekko-chan? Did getting kicked that hard knock a few screws loose?"

I asked, while I looked at the sword.

I called it a toy sword, but it didn't seem like that anymore. It looked like a real sword, with Komekko-chan's energies gradually filling it.

"I don't know… The sword fell on the Devil's head when I crashed through the wall. I was about to snap it in half out of frustration, but the sword suddenly became metallic when my energy came in contact with it, and then I felt it absorbing my energy…"

She focused on the sword and I saw that she was putting more of her devil energy in it. The sword started to glow bright red, as if it were wreathed in crimson flames. In response, Komekko-chan's energy spiked up, materializing around her.

Her eyes glowed bright red as her body was cloaked in her own energy. The sword became fully enveloped by the devil energy. She grinned and swung it around.

"The Devil doesn't know what's going on but I feel powerful!"

She held the sword in front of her and dashed over to Tiamat, who was still engaged with Iris. She left a trail of energy as she instantly appeared at Tiamat's side, almost as if she teleported there.

Tiamat's eyes widened as she blocked the attack with her gauntlet. She let out a hiss of pain as the energy sword cut through the gauntlet and drew blood.

"What is that sword…?!"

Tiamat said, looking at the sword with covetous eyes, her instincts as a dragon awakened by the unknown treasure in front of her.

"I don't know, but the Devil is happy that I finally found a magic sword! I went to a desert to find one, so I deserve this!"

She still didn't get over that whole ordeal, huh?

Tiamat glanced at Iris and Komekko-chan, both of them holding powerful magic swords, Iris's glowing yellow and Komekko-chan's glowing red.

Based on my estimations, three minutes had passed since we began our game. If Tiamat wasted any more time fighting these girls to a stalemate, she'd lose the bet.

"Hmph… It hurts my pride, but losing to that monkey prince is unacceptable."

She jumped up, ignoring the two girls and going for a full speed dash up the floating islands, making her way to the castle at the very top.

"...! She's running away?! The Devil won't accept this!"

"Wait, hang on!"

Just as Komekko-chan was about to fly up, I grabbed her waist.

"Eeeep?!"

I yelled out as she flew up at fast speeds. I tightly grabbed onto her waist, trying not to look at the ground.

"Huh?! Revi, what are you doing?! You're slowing me down?!"

"You're saying this is slow?! Don't move around so much, I'll fall!"

She kept still while we flew up. I saw Iris jumping around, her speed and jumping ability increased now that she was in her original form.

We saw Tiamat quickly making her way up. Komekko-chan flew towards her, making the both of us crash into Tiamat.

"Oww!"

I tumbled around as we used Tiamat as a landing cushion. We were two platforms away from the castle and there was about a minute and thirty seconds left.

"Tsk! This is getting annoying! Take this!"

Tiamat recovered herself and stood up. She held her arm up and formed a spinning disk made out of golden energy. She threw it at Komekko-chan.

Komekko-chan held up her sword and deflected the disk. She gave an arrogant grin and moved to attack Tiamat, however the disk came around to home on her.

"...!"

The wings transformed into Hoost arms that blocked the attack. Komekko-chan sighed in relief, then she aimed her sword at Tiamat again.

She swung it and unleashed a crescent energy slash that flew towards Tiamat. The crimson energy slash was fast and powerful, but Komekko-chan wasn't used to using this sword and its strange powers.

Tiamat was able to dodge the attack.

"Hah… All that power and you can't even aim… Well, then I'll be taking my leave…"

She turned around to see me. I smiled at her.

"...Move away, monkey prince. You said it yourself, you can't fight."

"And you believed me?"

I held out my magic crossbow. The magic absorbing core that Hyoizaburo-san invented was glowing bright crimson.

The whole time I was clinging to Komekko-chan, I was absorbing her magic energy with the crossbow. I was also absorbing the stray energies that were filling the air, especially after her errant attack.

I held out the crossbow in front of her. The core transmitted the stolen energy into a bolt, supercharging it, turning it bright red.

"Take this! [Revi-style Death Beam]!"

I unleashed the bolt filled with devil energies. I was blown back by the recoil as the air exploded in front of me. A blitzing dart of magic and hellish energies blasted towards Tiamat, who couldn't avoid the precision of a crossbow.

The attack landed square on her chest, shattering her golden armor. When the dust cleared, I saw that her armor had shattered to bits, leaving her naked.

"..." x 2.

We stared at each other.

"Erm… You have a hot body?"

I said, smiling at her.

"I'll kill you!"

Unable to take the blow to her pride, she dashed towards me and wrapped her tail around my neck, picking me up.

"Urk!"

I felt the air circulation stop as I tried to gasp for breath.

I tried to take a page out of Komekko-chan's book to bite the tip of her tail, but she moved it away and slapped me with it.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind being seen naked, especially by a handsome young man like yourself?"

I looked at her hopefully, but she still looked pissed.

"However… Destroying my beloved armor is a serious insult! You will pay with your life!"

I saw Komekko-chan and Iris making their way over to me, but the tail was about to snap my neck. She wasn't waiting for me to lose oxygen. She wanted to break my head clean from my body.

Running out of options, I played my last card.

I called for Poke, using our telepathic link.

"Po-ke!"

The imp teleported in front of me and Tiamat.

Tiamat stared at the little imp, confused by it.

"Huh? What's this little thing gonna do?"

I mentally commanded Poke to open the pocket dimension.

I didn't have any secret weapons.

I was so busy with preparing the event and running a country that I didn't even think about it.

I was so busy, in fact, that I forgot to take out the evolved Horned Rabbit that we captured in the pocket dimension.

The angry rabbit let out a screech and attacked the closest thing it could find.

This ended up being Tiamat.

"Gaagghh! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

The evolved Horned Rabbit was too fast even for Tiamat. It let out an animalistic screen as it chased her around.

Tiamat ran around naked while the rabbit poked her butt with its horn. She'd yelp and jump whenever it poked her.

"Ow! Ow! Owiiiee?!"

Komekko-chan and Iris stared blankly at the scene.

And with that, five minutes passed.