Chapter 766 - Chapter 6: Negotiations with the Dragonewt Race ⑤
Beatrix's stay was successfully decided. It was settled that Regnentes would pay for the stay.
There were also observers among the Morandine and Regnentes magic soldiers, but they were rejected by the Dragonewts. Beatrix is special because she is Gnome's disciple.
"Thank you. But you know, I'm a temporary instructor at the Regnentes Royal Magic School. If I learn the magic from just now, can I show it at the school after the work here is over?"
"Hmm. I don't mind. However, don't show it recklessly. It's limited to that school. And it's limited to those who have become at least a one-spell earth super-high-level user. The burden is too great, and the affinity with earth attribute magic must be good."
"Thank you. I understand."
The Regnentes soldiers cheered at the Dragonewt's words.
Seeing that, Seldic's second son started talking to the Magic Minister about something. He might be planning to send students.
It's good that Beatrix's stay was decided, but there's a matter I have to talk to the Dragonewts about. It's about the Harpies. This is something the Regnentes soldiers, let alone Morandine, don't know at all. Fortunately, Price-sama and Harris-sama, who understand the situation, proposed that since the greetings were over, they should return to the Royal Capital, and the Boy King agreed. The Henry Party and I decided to stay at the site for one night and return to the Royal Capital the next day. The pretext is to guide the Dragonewts through the Demon Realm. Although a report has been submitted, since it was the Henry Party who actually investigated, it was easily left to us.
In the afternoon, I go to the Harpy nest with the elder and one young one. When I called out from the entrance, the Arachne and the chicks peeked out.
While I was hugging the chicks who jumped down and approached while chirping... they've become so big I can't hold them anymore... a Dragonewt stood behind and peeked in. The startled chick started half-crying and clung to me. I hurriedly hid it with my sleeve and patted its head.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"Uh, this child is bad with strong monsters for various reasons. Could you keep your distance until you get along?"
"I-I see. Sorry."
He didn't seem to mean any harm, and he stepped back obediently.
"Hey, could that be a Dragonewt? Why are they here?"
The Arachne is also quite wary. Well, that's natural. There's no way she could have anticipated a Dragonewt suddenly visiting the nest.
"The Henry Party will explain from now on. Are this child's parents inside?"
"They're in the north now. They'll be back in a bit, so can you wait?"
"Uh, where shall we wait? It's better not to go inside without permission, right?"
Even though there's a house-sitter, there are Dragonewts and humans they're seeing for the first time. They would dislike it if someone they didn't know entered their home when they returned.
"Jeanne, can you guide us through this forest first? We'll show our faces again after that."
The elder said.
"Is that okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Unlike humans, we monsters do not like unexpected intruders. Well, it seems you understand."
He gave a 'nika' smile. His jagged teeth peek out, so it's quite scary.
"Then, I just need to tell the Harpy parents, right?"
"Yeah, Arachne. I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
Since the talk was settled, we return to the bowl for a moment. I hand the water bottle of honey water I brought to the Arachne and lead the chick by the hand to the entrance of the nest. Since the Dragonewts have already flown up, it's no longer scary.
"I'll be back later. Say hello to your parents for me."
When I said that and waved, she looked anxious but smiled.
After flying up, the elder also rode in the bowl. The young one is flying right next to it.
The reason the elder rode in was to see the map made by the Henry Party. We plan to complete it with the latest information through this reconnaissance-cum-guidance and hand it over to the Dragonewts.
Basically, in combination with super-high speed, we went around mainly to places where monsters gather, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers. To my surprise, the Dragonewts followed at super-high speed. And when we arrived at a place where a group of monsters was, they charged straight into the group.
"Is that the aim?"
Eleanor-sama asks the elder, who is watching the young one charge into the group.
"That's right. As expected, Eleanor-dono saw through it."
As he spoke, the elder looked at Price-sama. Price-sama nodded with a light smile. Apparently, Price-sama knows.
"Is he negotiating or something?"
The magic user, who is as unreserved as ever, asks.
"That's right. We Dragonewts will also participate in building the human defensive wall. So don't cross the wall, he's saying."
Is that okay? Isn't he favoring humans too much?
"In exchange for the monsters not crossing the wall, humans won't cross it either, right?"
"That's right. I heard this wall is originally to function as a boundary between monsters and humans. If that's the case, humans shouldn't enter either."
Well, that's how it is.
"So, we're telling the monsters living in the forest that we Dragonewts are cooperating to build the wall."
I see. If they break what the Dragonewts made without permission, they'll incur the Dragonewts' wrath and be attacked. The Orcs will also have no choice but to accept. And the same goes for humans. Breaking the wall means turning the Dragonewts into enemies. In other words, the Dragonewts are trying to establish a complete mutual non-aggression zone by participating in the construction of the encirclement wall of the Demon Realm. It's something only Dragonewts can do.
"Morandine also knows this. Because it's stated in the document from the Grand Archbishop."
I hadn't seen the Grand Archbishop's document. I understood well why there was an exchange about the neutrality of the Dragonewts at the Royal Capital Grand Cathedral.
According to Price-sama, he realized this aim at the same time the Dragonewts said they would cooperate. And the Dragonewts have a historical fact of acting as mediators between dragons and humans; more importantly, they have never participated in the battle between humans and the Demon Race. Other beastmen and dragons have participated on one side or the other. The Earth Dragon easily turned for money... no, let's stop there.
"What happens if the Demon Lord is resurrected?"
"There will probably be no change here. It's always been like that, and it's a place where humans didn't try to take the offensive just because there was a wall and monsters wouldn't attack livestock."
Now that you mention it, she said it was the undisputed number one in the ranking of Demon Realms that didn't fight humans, bypassing the place managed by the female demon.
Thinking about it, it's a place where conditions are very well met for this attempt.
First, the Demon Lord is not resurrected. So there's no sense of crisis. Moreover, there were certainly skirmishes, but there were no large-scale offensives. On the contrary, neither the monsters nor the humans took the offensive against each other. That is still ongoing.
On the monster side, a strange one intervened, but the humans defeated it. On the other hand, on the human side, the momentum for Demon Realm conquest increased throughout the White Island, but Morandine lacked military power.
More importantly, since hunters didn't approach either, humans wouldn't be troubled even if this forest became completely off-limits.
"It can only be said that the Dragonewts were insightful to choose this land."
Price-sama says admiringly.
For the Dragonewts, since they are involved, they can't afford to fail. There aren't many places where it's convenient for humans and the monsters living in the forest.
"What are you saying? The fact that you humans tried to encircle this place was insightful. We just heard the talk and jumped on it."
"You're too modest."
It's Eleanor-sama. She's grinning, so it probably includes self-praise.
After guiding them around and returning to the Harpy nest, the two parents had returned and were flying over the nest.
We had the young Dragonewt ride in the bowl, and when we approached, the male one boarded. Perhaps wary of the Dragonewt, he came next to me, who was in the front, not the back where the Dragonewt was riding. He doesn't take his eyes off the Dragonewt.
"It's been a while. Are you well?"
When I stood in front and faced him as if to cut in between him and the Dragonewt, he looked at me for a moment and smiled, then immediately returned his gaze.
"Let me introduce her. It's Germana. One of the five great spirits."
For now, I introduce the interpreter. Since the Arachne isn't here, we can't have a conversation.
Germana is calm and elegant, and since she's small, she wasn't being wary at all. But she's surprised to hear she's one of the five great spirits. When Germana greeted him, he said something back with a blank look and then looked at me.
And it's the Dragonewt. Germana is standing in between and introducing both sides, and both sides are saying something. Basically, since they are monsters, the stronger one is absolutely superior. That said, since they have experience of being treated terribly by a vulgar low-ranking demon, they should be wary. However, as the talk between both sides proceeded while Germana interpreted, their expressions gradually softened. The Dragonewts' idea is, in a sense, the protection of the monsters in the Demon Realm. Since they also have experience hunting boars inside the wall, in short, the Dragonewts' territory... the wall the Dragonewts made can be said to be the Dragonewts' domain. Whether it's a human or a monster, if they break it without permission, they won't get away with it. And even if the Demon Lord is resurrected, as long as they protect their territory firmly like the female demon of Engrio, they won't be complained to.
Convinced, the Harpies accepted the Dragonewts' offer and introduced their family. However, they don't go inside the nest. It's a place a little away from the entrance, on the ridge where the trees are sparse. The female, the chick, and the Arachne were already there.
The Harpy couple sat side by side, with Germana, the Arachne, and me with the chick on my lap on the right, the Henry Party on the left, and the two Dragonewts facing the Harpies.
Will and Bonnie distributed bowls, and liquor was poured. Since there was some left in the water bottle of honey water I gave the chick, I had it drink that.
With Henry-sama's words, we toasted and explained the encirclement wall again.
What's different from the previous explanation is that the Dragonewts are involved in the creation of the wall. As a result, the explanation for when the Demon Lord is resurrected changes. The Dragonewts are saying that no matter who it is, don't break the wall without permission. There's no mention of what they'll do if it's broken. However, it's easy to imagine that they'll turn the Dragonewts into enemies.
"Will there be any change in their treatment?"
Germana asked. The condition the Dragonewts gave was only about the wall.
"There is no change at all. It's the same as before. What's different is that the Dragonewts are participating in the wall construction, so they have to be sufficiently careful."
At Eleanor-sama's words, the elder, who is stroking his loach mustache with his right hand, nods grandly. His eyes are stern. He looks as if to say he won't allow any objections.
The chick on my lap is looking at me anxiously. I patted its head while saying, "It's okay."
The Harpy, who heard Germana's interpretation, wasn't surprised, and the male answered simply. Next, the female answered somewhat longer, and the male nodded as if in agreement. Both have stern gazes.
"It seems there's no problem. They say it's better to build the wall. And if something happens, they'll flee to the north. They say it's cold in winter but feels good in summer."
In contrast, the Harpies are easygoing.
Originally, whether the Dragonewts participated or not, they had no complaint about the wall. Or rather, they welcomed it. For the Harpies, their own life is the priority. They just dislike the struggle for the forest that would hinder that, and it doesn't matter who the owner is.
The Dragonewts seemed anticlimactic. They probably thought they would say things from the standpoint of the Demon Lord's army.
"Then, you have no complaint about our argument, right? If you strike out from the forest as the Demon Lord's army, the wall we make will be a great threat."
"We had no intention of striking out from the start. Since a high-ranking demon came, I thought about cooperating, but after his subordinate came, I lost that feeling too."
"Subordinate?"
Eleanor-sama explains briefly. The Harpy male, who heard Germana's interpretation, shouted something in a huff.
"He was a truly nasty guy. Many chicks were killed. I thought I'd kill him someday. I couldn't because the remaining chicks were taken hostage."
"I see. He was a terrible guy."
"Yeah, a truly terrible guy."
"Unforgivable. Where is that guy?"
The Chieftain lowered his hand from his loach mustache and became serious. He's clearly angry.
"He died. Look, this is the proof."
His expression changed completely, and he laughed heartily.
And he pulled out the knife he had at his waist from its sheath. It's the pitch-black blade that demons use. The sheath must have been made by the Arachne. I think it's boar leather.
"It's a demon's knife. Since you have it, he died."
"Jeanne and the Henry Party killed him for us. They also freed the chicks. They also secured an escape route. So, I don't want to cooperate with the Demon Lord's army anymore."
He points to the Henry Party with his chin.
"Well, that doesn't mean I'll favor humans either. I'll just live as I please like in the old days."
Eleanor-sama gave a detailed explanation again. That they fought the Harpies in this forest. That they defeated the demon and freed the captive chicks, and reconciled with the remaining Harpies. On top of that, they would build an encirclement wall. That they had the northern demons and Dryads cooperate so they could flee to the north if something happened. That the caring Arachne is still cooperating as she is by their side.
And that the other Harpy adults died in the struggle with the Henry Party... including me... but they accepted that as the result of the battle...
"Hmm. Is that so. You have met good humans."
The Chieftain said with a smile while looking at the chick sitting on my lap.