kscans

Chapter 126 - Restriction on Dragon Transformation

The next day, despite various troubles, they had gathered a large amount of ingredients, so Hayato began creating the Super Eclairs.

As usual, Hayato worked in the dining hall.

Today, the members of the Black Rose and the maids were not there, so Ash was also in the dining hall, drinking coffee. Ren and Esha were also there, each drinking their favorite juice.

"Still, Esha-san, you surprised me yesterday. I never thought you'd pull out your Beelzebub."

"That was your fault, Ren-sama. If I say it's not true, then it's not true."

"Eh? Even so, I think pulling out a gun is going a bit too far."

"There were a lot of my colleagues there, so I just acted the way I do at the Maid Guild. I regret that part. However, the use of force is necessary to get your own opinion across."

"...Esha-san, or rather, what do you maids do at the Maid Guild...?"

"Maid training, of course?"

Ren looked unconvinced, but Hayato thought, that's just how it is, as he continued to make the Super Eclairs.

After all, he had been abducted by the Maid Guild once before. Even the Maid Chief herself had no hesitation in using force. He figured that was influencing them.

Besides, he had delivered swords and other weapons to the Maid Guild as part of the Royal Capital's reconstruction support. He had also heard the term "martial arts faction," so they were probably a considerable fighting force.

(I wonder if the Butler Guild where Relic-san is has a decent fighting force too? I helped with the reconstruction a little, but I heard it was so popular with the female players that it was fixed right away.)

The Butler Guild, which was competing for supremacy with the Maid Guild. It would be a normal way of thinking that they would need a fighting force if they were competing for supremacy. Hayato hadn't heard anything like that from Relic, but he somehow felt that way.

(Maybe thanks to Relic-san and the Maid Chief-san, the guilds seem to be on good terms lately, so I don't think anything strange will happen.)

With such thoughts, Hayato silently continued to make the Super Eclairs.

After a while, Ash spoke up.

"I haven't seen Ney and the others lately. What are they up to?"

"I had Ney and the others go to gather the Lightning Grass and Wind-Snow Grass. As expected, Pat-san's group seems to be there, so they haven't been able to gather any."

"Is that so? But you should be fine with the countermeasures if you have the Super Eclairs you're making, right, Hayato?"

"That's true, but to keep them from figuring out our hand, I'm making it look like we need those herbs. By making them think we can't prevent poison and paralysis without those herbs, I plan to make them let their guard down in the next Stampede."

He had told Ney's group to deliberately lose to Pat's group and come back. As long as they didn't have the herbs, they couldn't make the medicine. His strategy was to make them think that, which would invite their carelessness.

It was confirmed in the Demon Country that the hardline dragons could attack in human form during a Stampede. If they tried to go gather the herbs, Pat's group would have to protect the area, so it was also effective for pinning them to that location.

Ney had said that deliberately losing wasn't good, but he had persuaded her by telling her it was a strategy.

"I think I can finish making them today, so be ready to fight. Though when the Stampede will occur is up to the enemy."

"That's true. But we'll retake the stolen treasure fragment in a direct confrontation, so we can do the last part at our timing. The problem is our fighting strength. We might have to call on various people."

"The stolen treasure fragment is with Agres, right?"

"That's right. The treasure fragment that was stolen in the Royal Capital is with Agres. We plan to settle things in his territory, Boboda Mountain."

Boboda Mountain was a famous hunting ground with many dragons. Hayato had been there with Ash and the others before.

And there, a dragon called Agres Berion, which boasted considerable strength, appeared as a rare monster every two hours. It couldn't be defeated by a small party, so you had to gather a decent number of people to subjugate it.

To reclaim the treasure fragment, they had no choice but to defeat that Agres Berion.

Since it wasn't a Stampede, there wouldn't be hundreds of people like in a large scale battle, so they would have to defeat it in a normal battle. Even including Ash's group and Ney's group, they had less than fifty people. They would need at least a hundred.

However, this was a normal battle. There were no restrictions based on the country you belonged to, so anyone could participate in the battle.

(Should I ask my clan members and everyone else to cooperate? And should I try asking Adrian-san from the Demon Summoning Research Association? Also, I have almost no connection with them, but should I try contacting the Bandit clan...?)

The clan that was ranked number one at the time when Hayato's group fought in the Clan War, Bandit. Their leader had a goofy feel to him, but Hayato thought he was a reasonable person to talk to.

They had been in the top five of the rankings in the end and received prize money in the Clan War, but he hadn't heard anything about them retiring from the game. He still heard stories about them defeating rare monsters and such.

Hayato didn't know about the clans other than the Demon Summoning Research Association and Bandit that he had fought in the Clan War, but since he hadn't heard any rumors, he assumed they had retired.

There was no such thing as an account suspension in this game, but if you did something inhumane, you would be disliked by the NPCs. That would completely corner you in this game. It would be a waste to pay a monthly fee in a situation where the game was severely restricted, such as not being able to enter towns or being thrown in jail. You couldn't make another character either, so you would have no choice but to retire.

(Gardel from the Blood Knights had the Thieves' Guild interfere with other clans. I heard he was caught by an NPC, so even if he logged in, he'd probably be in jail. Even if he hadn't retired, I wouldn't want to fight alongside him.)

Thinking that far, Hayato suddenly had a thought.

He remembered what Ash had said at Boboda Mountain before.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say before that you could defeat Agres if you transformed into a dragon, Ash?"

"Sorry. I forgot to tell you, but for some reason, my Dragon Transformation seems to be restricted."

"Restricted?"

"It feels like I can't transform unless I meet some condition. This is the first time this has happened... Maybe the hardliners did something. Still, thanks to you, Hayato, we've been able to subjugate them without transforming, so I think we'll be fine in the fight against Suien and Agres too."

(Meeting a condition, huh. Did the backup Diite-chan do something?)

Regarding this event, it was not the original Diite but the backup Diite who was handling the settings. It was probably possible for her to apply such a setting to Ash.

Hayato looked at Ren, who was talking with Esha. He thought there was a possibility that Ren also had some kind of restriction placed on her.

He was about to speak to her but stopped for a moment. He remembered that this was a delicate issue.

Ash and Ren, the so-called Genesis Dragons, were naked when in their dragon state. That had come to light during the Clan War, and Esha had even called him a pervert.

Hayato stopped cooking and asked Ash in a low voice.

"Ash, is Ren-chan restricted in some way too? She doesn't usually do it, but maybe she can't use her Dragon Transformation or something?"

"No, I wonder? I don't talk about that kind of thing either... It was a big deal last time, after all."

Ash also seemed to remember that time and was trying not to repeat the same mistake. It was a wise decision.

"In Ren's case, she doesn't transform normally, so maybe it's fine? Her Dragon Curse is strong too, so there's no need for her to become a dragon."

"You're right. I think we shouldn't poke the hornet's nest."

Hayato and Ash nodded to each other.

"Big brother, what are you and Hayato-san whispering about?"

"Whether Ren can transform into a dragon—ah."

Ash blurted that out, and the surroundings froze over. It would be fair to call it the return of the ice age. Hayato had of course never experienced it, but that's what it felt like.

"Big brother, we need to have a little talk."

"N, no, that's not it. It's important, you see. My own dragon transformation is being restricted, so I was wondering if the same was true for you, that's all."

When Ash hurriedly said that, the ice age ended.

She seemed embarrassed, but since it was an important matter, Ren seemed to have decided to answer.

"I can't use my Dragon Transformation either, it seems. I haven't tried in the last few years, but I can somehow feel it."

"Is that so? I'm sorry. For whispering about it."

"Ah, I'm sorry too. I should have been a little more considerate. But thank you for telling me."

Ren had a complicated expression on her face, but then she looked up as if she had realized something.

"Hayato-san, my feelings have been hurt."

"Even if you say that with such a smile..."

"Do you have any leftover Super Eclairs, by any chance? I'd really like to try one! This is, you know! I have to test if it's effective!"

He could make the highest quality Super Eclairs with a fairly high probability. Even at this stage, he had quite a few five star ones. Still, he wanted to avoid using them needlessly. So, he decided to give her a three star Super Eclair with a shorter effect duration.

"Um, one three star one should be fine."

"Yay! I'll take it!"

"Since it's a three star, it'll be less tasty than a five star, but look forward to the real thing. I'll give you two five star ones on the day of the battle."

Hanzo handed Ren a three star Super Eclair as he said that.

Ren was all smiles as she was handed the rather large eclair. And after looking at it for a moment, she opened her mouth wide and took a bite. Then she chewed.

"Wow! Even the three star one is delicious! I'm looking forward to the real thing!"

"That's good—Esha, I'm not giving you one even if you make that face."

"Is force necessary in the end, after all?"

"Could you not ready your Beelzebub? I'll give you a chocolate parfait, so be content with that."

Even though it was still morning, it had turned into snack time, but they were both eating so happily that Hayato thought, well, whatever, and started making the Super Eclairs again.