kscans

Chapter 136 - The Kingdom of the Earth Dragon Race and the Welcoming Party

The area beyond the door was a vast space, what you might call a col—a V-shaped valley, like a limestone cavern. It was about a hundred meters deep. It was too dark to see clearly, but the valley floor was deep and seemed to be an underground lake. The light from the torches flickered on the water's surface. Looking up at the ceiling, I realized just how far down we had come. There was no sky to be seen. From a height of several dozen meters, countless stalactites hung down. This space must have existed for a very long time. Paths had been carved into the steep cliffs in overlapping layers, with wooden bridges and aqueducts built across them. Along the paths were doors to what appeared to be residences. The living spaces were likely dug out of the earth like an ant's nest. We could see all this because some of the stones glowed faintly like fireflies, serving as a source of light, and torches were lit at regular intervals along the paths. The place where we entered from the door was about midway up this space.

"This is the capital of the Southern Earth Dragon Kingdom. About one hundred families live here."

We were walking through the city, led by Yanan. That is to say, we were sandwiched between five warriors in front of us and five behind us. We were being escorted. Cecily had been silent for a while. She was gripping her staff with both hands. Was she planning to find an opening, blast them with magic, and make a run for it?

"Are you nervous?"

I asked in a low voice.

"Of course I am. No matter how you look at it..."

she started to say, then clamped her mouth shut. No matter how quietly we whispered, the Earth Dragon Race could probably hear us.

"If it comes down to it, our friend will come for us, so don't worry."

"Ah, our sparkly friend. It's dark here, so..."

The tension left Cecily's shoulders. When I looked at her, she turned her face away as if embarrassed. Was she trying to protect me? I wanted to thank her with words, but I was also embarrassed and couldn't think of anything to say. I nudged her with my arm, and she pushed back with her shoulder.

"...I'm not confident I could escape from here carrying an unconscious Mash, so please don't call your friend,"

Cecily said. Just as she felt that way, I also felt I had to protect her no matter what. We walked on for a while until we reached a door with lavish decorations. A pair of men standing guard saw Yanan and bowed deeply. She raised a hand in greeting, and the two men opened the door.

"From here on is the royal palace,"

Yanan announced. The area beyond the door was a wide corridor. The floor was a mosaic of tiles forming a geometric pattern. And the walls were inlaid with translucent stones, changing the interior to one of artificial luxury. Cecily was staring at the stones with curiosity. There were many doors lining both sides of the wall, but we passed them all and arrived at a large door at the far end.

"Our king is beyond this door,"

Yanan said.

"Huh?"

An audience with the king, just like that? I wasn't mentally prepared. Come to think of it, we had slid down a dirt hole and walked through a cave; our clothes were filthy. Without any time to tidy ourselves up, the door was opened. We were led into a hall supported by marble columns lined up at regular intervals. A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the back. On a raised dais at the far end was a throne, where a portly man was seated. Below the dais, a man who appeared to be an official and a warrior stood on either side. A crimson mantle, a golden crown, and decorations studded with jewels.

"I am Kusanado, King of the Southern Earth Dragon Kingdom,"

a solemn voice echoed. It was exactly the image of a king from a fantasy world that I had imagined.


Yanan dropped to one knee and bowed her head. The warriors who had accompanied us did the same. Cecily and I were left standing, but we followed their example and took the same posture.

"Welcome, dwellers of the surface. Raise your heads."

At the king's words, we lifted our heads.

"We have no intention of attacking you. So why do you insist on destroying our gateway to the surface?"

the man standing before the throne spoke in place of the king. Was he the prime minister? His words, however, made the whole situation click into place. The Earth Dragon Race living here had been using the monster Earth Dragons to create a gateway to the surface. But the location they chose was the farm run by the Chairman. The farmhands, trying to eliminate the monsters, fought them every time they showed their faces on the surface. And so, the Earth Dragon Race's plan made no progress, and they were unable to create their gateway. Come to think of it, this was like an errand event that happens in a game. To take Shizuka to Miglutt, I took a rank-up test, and now that I'm on the quest, an even bigger expansion event is waiting. As Cecily and I exchanged looks, wondering what to do, Yanan signaled with her eyes for me to speak. I cleared my throat and thought. What kind of language should I use? But even if I spoke politely, my words were being converted into the language of this world. Just as Hyakka's Kansai dialect sounded like normal speech to the residents of this world, I wasn't sure how my words would be conveyed. I used as polite a tone as I could and explained the details of the request I had received at the farm.

"..."

After hearing my story, the faces of all the Earth Dragon Race members turned grim.

"Would it be possible for you to change the location of your gateway?"

I asked.

"It is late. You must be hungry. We will prepare dinner. We will also prepare a place for you to stay the night."

The prime minister dodged my question with his reply. A man who appeared to be a servant appeared, and Cecily and I were escorted to the dining hall.


The prime minister introduced himself as Kurya. He was a young man. A particularly lavish chair was placed at the far end of the long table, but no one was sitting in it. It was probably where the king was supposed to sit.

"With the king present, you would not be able to speak your minds. Let us have a frank exchange of opinions,"

Kurya said. Kurya was seated at the head of the table, near the king's seat. Yanan sat next to him. And across from them, Cecily and I were seated. The others who were present during the audience with the king had also joined us. Wine was poured into the metal goblets lined up on the table. We raised them and drank. It was sparkling wine. It tasted a bit sour, but the fine carbonation made it refreshingly easy to drink. For a moment, Famu's face, looking serious as she critiqued it, flashed through my mind.

"It's fizzier than ale. It feels strange..."

Cecily said, tasting it with a curious expression.

"It is said to have been originally brought by a transmigrator, but now, this is the taste of the Earth Dragon Race's wine."

I wondered if there had been a transmigrator who was passionate about brewing. Come to think of it, Aidan, who had subjugated the Demon King with Akitsuki Uta, was also a brewer. I wonder if Uta liked to drink too. If a transmigrator passed on brewing methods, it was likely that various types of alcohol had spread throughout this world. When Famu and Mizuki came of age, it might be nice to travel the world in search of such drinks. Kurya swirled the sparkling wine in his metal goblet with a satisfied look. As he did, bread, soup, salad, and roasted meat were brought to the table. But what caught my eye the most was the pile of worm-like creatures heaped in the center of the table. To say it was fresh would be an understatement; it was glistening and looked as if it were still alive.

"..."

Seeing it, Cecily turned pale and looked at me. Even I couldn't stomach it. But to them, it was probably a delicacy.

"The cooked food is probably safe... I think."

Neither Cecily nor I touched it, eating only what was placed in front of us. The sight of the heaping pile of worms made it impossible to taste any of the other food.

"So, is it impossible to change the location of the gateway?"

With the king gone, I switched back to my usual tone.

"Our gateway requires two conditions: fertile land and a plain,"

Kurya replied. It made sense; it would be difficult to dig through tree roots in a forest. Even if they could, the growing roots would likely encroach on the gateway and cause it to collapse. He wet his throat with wine.

"North of here, far north of the city of Heilon, lies a great plain. That was once our home. But a monster called the Earth Dragon King appeared there."

"The Earth Dragon King..."

"Yes, it is nearly ten meters long."

That was too big. My attacks would be no more than a bee sting to it. Besides, a normal animal Earth Dragon (mole), a monster Earth Dragon, its king the Earth Dragon King, and the humanoid Earth Dragon Race, and their king the King of the Earth Dragon Race. It was all too confusing.

"We challenged the Earth Dragon King many times, but we could not achieve victory. Our kingdom was divided into north and south, and we lost control of the great plain, driven to a remote land like this."

The prime minister said this and sipped his soup.

"This city isn't an ancient one, then?"

Kurya nodded at my words.

"This place was originally the southernmost fort of the kingdom. Now it is the last city left to us. And a few months ago, the gateway to the city we had built on the north side was attacked by the Earth Dragon King and destroyed."

"So that's why you were trying to build a gateway over there?"

"Yes. That is correct."

Kurya nodded. Next to him, Yanan bit her lip, a frustrated expression on her face. Had she also participated in that battle?

"And so, we have a request for you. We ask that you subjugate the Earth Dragon King."

At Kurya's words, Cecily and I instinctively looked at each other.

"Don't be ridiculous! How can you expect us to defeat an enemy that destroyed a kingdom and that your knights couldn't beat? Especially underground!"

Cecily replied.

"You don't have to fight alone. You can summon as many people as you need from the surface. As for a reward, we can offer you the minerals we have mined."

"Then why didn't you just ask a nearby city for help before it came to this, instead of doing something so roundabout?"

Cecily pressed further.

"The human race... We asked the city of Heilon for help. But the Empire does not accept non-human races. They will not listen to what is happening in our world,"

Kurya said. It was true that for the Empire, there was probably no benefit in sending their knights. And their relationship with the Demon Kingdom was deteriorating. They couldn't make a careless move like dispatching troops to a place where a battle could break out at any moment. So it would be up to the nearby cities to deal with it, but dealing with it at the city level would be even more difficult. They were at the level of hiring mercenaries for battles. In the end, the only ones they could turn to would be the Adventurers' Guild or a mercenary company. But even if it was a battle on the surface, how were they supposed to deal with a ten-meter monster lurking underground?

"Is there only one Earth Dragon King?"

Yanan nodded in place of Kurya.

"So if we defeat that one, things will work out somehow?"

I asked, my tone suggestive. Yanan nodded. She had experience fighting the Earth Dragon King and knew its power.

"I can defeat the Earth Dragon King."

At my mutter, everyone's gaze turned to me. Yanan shot up from her chair.

"You say you can defeat an enemy you've never even seen?"

Yanan challenged me.

"That's right. I have a special skill. But I need an opportunity to face it one-on-one in a large, open space."