Dragons and Armies

With ninety percent of his clan members with particularly high combat power assembled, Soya executed his operation.

It was a forceful plan that would have long-lasting consequences. It violated the law, and there would likely be casualties. But he had his reasons for not being able to return to Earth.

Standing on the rooftop of a nearby building, he watched his clan members storm in.

Their attack didn't seem to be going very well. The wounded were being carried to the rear one after another. However, whether the enemy was holding back or simply couldn't afford to, there were no reports of deaths.

His Gift: the War God.

He didn't know if a group of merely one hundred could really be called an army, but the effect was definitely working.

His subordinate explorers, who would normally be shrewdly calculating their survival, were now fearless warriors who did not fear death.

Even if the enemy had four powerful fighters who, like himself, had broken through Level 100, they wouldn't be able to resist this overwhelming force of numbers.

"I'd rather not kill Tsubaki-san if possible, but…"

He had given orders to capture women alive if possible. But that was probably being interpreted in another way. Well, since few demon races get aroused by humans or elves, there wouldn't be any "Kuh, kill me!" developments.

While thinking such things, Soya muttered.

"I hate this…"

The moment Soya looked away slightly.

Two presences burst out from the inn's window.

The ability to grasp the battlefield, similar to Sei's Map, was one of the War God's Gifts.

One was Sei, whom he'd heard about from Mako. But the other's status was unknown.

An entity of unknown strength was an uncertain element on the battlefield. It should be eliminated first.

However, before Soya could respond, the situation had already moved.

 

*

 

Lavi, who had burst from the window, had transformed into a dragon in an instant.

Flying alongside Sei, who soared through the air with flight magic, she headed toward Soya.

And then she roared.

A dragon's roar causes status abnormalities in human minds. No matter how much morale was raised by the War God's protection, this was a divine dragon's roar.

It was easy to change the atmosphere of the battlefield and strip away the abnormal morale from Soya's subordinates.

Sei gripped his katana's handle in mid-air and attacked Soya at full speed.

"Hah!"

He swung his blade with the breathing technique of iai, but Soya's guards intervened between them.

However, they had merely intervened.

With a single flash of his blade, the guard's limbs were severed, serving only to buy time for the remaining guards to get in front of Soya.

But that was still enough. Soya drew his sword, and the Dark Elf beside him began using spirit arts.

However, then came another roar.

The low-level combatants couldn't resist and became confused. Since they were unfortunately packed together, some were even attacking each other.

The Dark Elf's spirit arts had dissipated. She would need to call upon the spirits again.

"What do you mean by attacking an inn in the middle of the city like this?!"

Sei landed on the rooftop and shouted at Soya while neutralizing guards with almost every strike.

"I simply devised a strategy with a high probability of success."

Soya answered in a surprisingly cold voice, yet with a hint of suppressed emotion.

The descending Lavi swung her claws with her massive body.

Some of Soya's elite subordinates dodged the attack, but others took direct hits.

It was a dragon's attack. They would need immediate healing or it would be serious.

But Soya couldn't take his eyes off Sei in front of him. If he did, he could see a future where he'd be killed in an instant.

 

*

 

A Level 100 magic warrior. That was Sei's status, as Identified by Soya's mage subordinate.

Even after hearing the skill levels, he had thought he could definitely win. Soya's combat power grew through legitimate means compared to other blessed heroes.

But this was different.

This must be that principle magic called disguise.

Otherwise, there was no way he should feel this much pressure from a mere Level 100 opponent.

(Don't falter.)

He thought to himself. Those who admired him. Those he needed to protect. The grotesque yet delightful demon races of this land.

Soya was about to charge forward with a war cry when—-he realized his opponent had already entered his range.

Sei's sword stroke was a single flash.

It cut through his metal breastplate and sliced from Soya's chest through to his lungs.

It wasn't instant death. But Soya had no way to heal this instantly.

With just a single strike, the match was decided.

As Soya fell onto his back, Sei's blade was pointed at the tip of his nose.

"Surrender and stop your men. Before more people die."

 

*

 

As Soya's fighting spirit vanished, the power affecting his subordinates also dissipated.

Mako, who had been fighting on the upper floors of the inn, knocked down an enemy with the butt of her spear and realized the battle was over.

Sei used simple healing magic to moderately heal the wounds of Soya and the warriors around him.

Enough that they wouldn't die, but enough that they couldn't fight—-that was the idea.

"So, why did you launch this attack?"

Sei asked while pointing his blade's tip at him.

He knew Soya no longer had any will to fight, but the Dark Elf at a slight distance was glaring at him with hatred.

"… Striking when your opponent is off guard is common sense in battle, right?"

"No, that's not what I mean…"

Sei scratched his head with one hand.

"Did you think you'd get away with fighting in the city? Don't you want to return to Earth in the first place?"

"The governor doesn't have enough power to stop me. Because the governor lacks power, I had no choice but to take his place…"

Soya's words, spoken while still on the ground, conveyed that his actions hadn't stemmed from personal desire.

Soya, who had been transported near this town, was utterly bewildered at first.

After all, it was a city dominated by demon races. Moreover, among them, races with human-like appearances such as vampires, three-eyed people, and Dark Elves were in the minority.

But at the same time, he wasn't discriminated against either. There might have been curiosity about him, but it wasn't as if there were no humans at all.

And as he began exploring the former Demon King's castle, he noticed a problem with this city.

There were many orphans. They were children who had lost both parents to explorer work.

The governor wasn't taking any effective measures against this. At most, providing minimal rations for survival.

Children with no home to rest in, wearing tattered clothes, sleeping under the eaves of the slums.

He couldn't just leave this alone.

Soya quickly thought of a solution to the problem.

He would train the explorers to some degree so they wouldn't die easily, and he would hire the orphans to work for him.

He would give experience and knowledge to novice explorers, and hire people to maintain his vast estate while also teaching jobs to the orphans.

In the future, he would create something like a school to train explorers in advance, give education to the orphans, and enable them to find work.

That was his plan.

It would still take a very long time before all of this could be fully realized. Perhaps even a lifetime wouldn't be enough.

But he had chosen this path. Not out of some misguided hero complex, but as steady, honest efforts to help people.

 

*

 

"So even the Great Demon King-sama's eyes don't see everything…"

When viewed as a human, Ferna seemed both benevolent and excellent as a ruler.

But no human was perfect in everything. If she was excellent as a ruler, there must also be parts she coldly discarded.

And Sei had also noticed the problems with this town.

This town's distribution infrastructure was poorly developed compared to other imperial cities.

Even if they hunted magic stones and magic crystals, there was no railway to distribute them to where they were needed.

It was a city that was complete in isolation, in a sense. There was little economic fluidity, no elements to attract talented people, and probably racial issues as well. Not quite discrimination, but there were few races with human-like appearances.

When he said this, Soya, who had apparently recovered enough to sit up, nodded. Though the blade was still pointed at him.

"Even to go to other towns, the forests on both sides of the highway are dangerous. Armed caravans do come, but negotiations inevitably favor them."

It was difficult to create farmland around the town, and even hunting in the surrounding forests that hadn't turned into demon realm was dangerous.

He wondered why this town even continued to exist in the first place, but the ruins of the city must be attractive.

While there was more variability than with labyrinths, it was still the former Demon King's castle. There was a high possibility that treasures lay sleeping within.

There were also wealthy tourists, so explorers of a certain level could expect income from that as well.

Listening to him, Sei was impressed by how deeply Soya had thought about things.

"That's why I wanted to at least build the foundation while I'm still alive."

Having sheathed his katana, Sei sat down on the spot, crossed his arms, and nodded repeatedly.

"I never thought it would come to fighting a dragon, though."

Lavi was still in dragon form, vigilant of the surroundings.

Her blinking appearance was cute.

Setting that aside, Sei needed to persuade Soya.

The Return Stone wouldn't activate unless one wished to return. Or he could kill him.

However, the option of killing this boy didn't exist for Sei.

"I don't have time to solve everything, but I'll help."

At Sei's words, Soya looked surprised.

 

*

 

First, developing farmland.

Using fire magic with careful control to moderately clear the forest.

Laila, being an elf, had no objection to clearing forest for fields. Even elves clear forests sometimes.

Rather, she actively chose the land that should be developed. Areas where there weren't many useful trees.

Ideally, they would eventually be able to make crafts unique to this town, but there wasn't time to teach that much.

But creating souvenirs and specialty products was a good idea. The locals would have to figure out the details, but that couldn't be helped.

Next was maintaining the highway.

The elves gathered together and lined the highway with trees and plants that emitted scents that repelled monsters. They also set up magical barriers for now, but that would only buy time.

It would be best if trains could pass through, but there was nothing they could do about that. At most, they could send a letter to the Great Demon King-sama saying "there's a town like this."

Leaving it entirely to others, but this was a politician's job.

For training explorers, they created a school and invited retired explorers as teachers.

Explorers who had earned enough and retired often went to other towns, but some still stayed in their hometown.

For them too, better transportation and an abundance of goods from various places would be welcome.

For explorers who had retired with only enough earnings for a modest living, this would become a second career.

They would need to properly establish an adventurer's guild and organize things, but again, this was a politician's job, and requests would need to be made from the governor to the central government.

… Thinking about it this way, the governor of this town hadn't been doing much work.

He would include that in the letter to the Great Demon King-sama.

And lastly, there was the matter of the orphans.

They would create an orphanage. Not just gathering and supporting orphans, but teaching them some education and a trade.

Garhart had a high literacy rate, but this town wasn't quite the same.

If they could do arithmetic and read and write, the jobs available to them would increase dramatically.

Some might have talent and be able to advance to higher schools in other regions. In that case, the town could provide scholarships.

They might even be able to create something like a vocational training school by asking retired craftsmen who were idle.

Everything would be entrusted to those who would carry it out, though.

 

*

 

All of this was accomplished in three days with the help of Sei and his companions.

But whether this would actually continue would depend on the willpower of those who would lead.

Once Soya was gone, who would lead?

"Katarina, sorry, but can I ask you?"

The Dark Elf woman who was asked shook her head vigorously.

"I can't replace Soya. I don't have that power."

"Even if you can't do it alone, you can do it together with everyone. Right?"

The demon races and demi-humans surrounding Soya nodded firmly.

"If it's you, Boss Lady, we're not worried, but even so…"

"We can't make Aniki Soya worry about us."

A High Orc indistinguishable from Bungol and a goblin who looked like a mage with a staff affirmed.

Taking a deep breath, Soya looked at his subordinates—-companions, in truth.

Beings so different from Earthlings. But there was definitely a genuine exchange of hearts.

"Well then, I'm going. If we talk too long, it'll be harder to say goodbye."

Saying that, Soya walked over to Sei.

"Do it."

When Sei pressed the Return Stone to his forehead, after a brief moment, Soya's figure vanished.

Seeing this, some demon races couldn't hold back their tears any longer.

"Alright! Let's get started! If we keep moping around, Soya will laugh at us!"

At Katarina's voice, the companions began to move.

Watching this, Sei and Mako breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's over."

"Well, we still have one more job left."

Sei said this with a furrowed brow.

 

*

 

A carriage traveled down the highway.

It was a pleasantly warm day. Sei, sitting inside, had a refreshed expression.

"Doing good things feels good."

"It really does."

Lavi nodded silently, but the parting gift the three had left was quite impactful.

Whether incompetent or unenthusiastic, he didn't know, but they needed the governor to work or it would cause extra trouble for Katarina and the others, so they had visited the governor's residence.

Lavi in dragon form with Sei and Mako riding on her back descended into the governor's mansion garden.

After noisily neutralizing the guards, Lavi grabbed the governor's clothes in her fangs and dangled him in mid-air.

In that state, Sei had "persuaded" the governor.

It was a very smooth persuasion, and the content was so wonderful that the governor did nothing but nod.

… Let's pretend not to notice the unpleasant smell coming from his crotch.

With that, Katarina and the others' work should become a bit easier.

A carriage traveled down the highway.

Its destination was the sea.

Sei and his party were finally crossing the sea to head for the Dragon Wing Continent.

 

*

 

End of Garhart Arc