Chapter 2 – Resurrection of Demon Queen (2nd)

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【Sophia-chan’s Point of View】

After resolving herself, this maid confessed everything. At this point, I gave them the whole truth without holding back anything. Naturally, while I was prostrating myself on the floor in the office with my forehead rubbing the ground. I told them everything about how I obtained the powder in the Great Holy Land, how I brought it back to Dragon City, and how I lost it in the end.

At the same time, I resolved myself for the worst and provided an explanation of the situation to Dragon-san, who would soon become a mother, right in front of Elf-san and Gonzales-san. She was yet another victim of this maid’s clumsiness. So much so that my feelings of guilt had won over my fear.

However there was one piece of good news. A single, small piece of goodness. When I asked Dragon-san about the father of the child in her belly, she readily brought up Tanaka-san’s name. That’s great news as it means that I still have a small, tiny hope. If it had been the child of some unknown guy, this maid would have doubtlessly received capital punishment.

However, that in itself was still a problem for the current Dragon City.

“Is it really the child of that man!?” Elf-san howled.

Her face was ghastly pale. On the other hand, Dragon-san looked awfully happy.

With her cheeks looking soft and round, she answered, 『Hehe, hehehe, that’s right! This is his child, yeeep!』

“Guuh…!”

She said yeeep! Dragon-san really said yeeep. The powder is truly dangerous. It caused even Dragon-san to act like this.

That very powder was now, after having been taken from Dragon-san, lying on the table. The remaining quantity was nothing worthy of mention anymore, but it was more than enough to make sure of its authenticity. After we relied on Elf-san’s extensive knowledge to confirm it, she gave us her official approval that it was definitely the drug in question. Moreover, it seemed to be fairly high-quality.

Very likely Dragon-san has been enjoying the powder, which she had picked up, all by herself atop the tower until today after doing it with Tanaka-san before his departure. After all, this maid lost the powder after Tanaka-san had left Dragon City. I informed everyone of this fact as well.

Thanks to that, this maid still had a tiny shred of hope to keep her life.

“Umm, t-this sort of drug causing such an effect even for a person like Dragon-san means…”

“It’s the same as alcohol. If you drink it yourself, you can enjoy it quite a bit. It’s p-propagation is also a fact. And it might have been something c-convenient for this dragon. Otherwise, s-she wouldn’t have become silly from it to such an extent. W-Well, I also tried it i-in my early days, so I c-can understand.”

“I-Is that so…?”

Elf-san sounded awfully well-informed. I learned something new once again. In the end, everyone gets interested at least once in their life. In the powder.

All is fine. This maid still counts as being normal.

“Ain’t nothing you need to fret over so much, Missy. Some members of our clan are also hiding these sorts of drugs. Besides, you lost the drug after Boss left, didn’t you? In that case, the current state of the mayor’s belly must be based on the mutual agreement of both parties involved in it.”

“…Umm, i-is that how it works?”

“But well, I think you should learn your lesson from this, you know? While you’re still young.”

“Y-Yeeesh!”

I got consoled and chided by Gonzales-san. Thank you kindly. Nothing is as joyful as having someone care about you so deeply.

“Still, she’s looking quite happy, isn’t she? My first time seeing her like that.”

“Whether she might be happy or whatever, w-we will be in a bind if she stays like this!”

“Won’t the drug’s effect run if we let her to her own devices for some time? I mean she got down from her tower on her own two feet. If we let her rest for a night, she’ll likely get back in tune soon enough. The drug itself was quite superior in quality with little impurities added to it. It won’t have much, if any, lingering aftereffects.”

“T-T-The problem lies with the child!” Elf-san’s expression was extremely severe.

For a change, she managed to even overpower Gonzales-san.

“No good! I-I cannot wait! I’ll g-go and check it with him in person!”

“Whoa, wait a minute, that’s a bit…”

『Gooo…?』

“With e-everyone! We’ll a-all go together!”

『Baby…I’m going to have a baby, so…moving around too much…auooaah!?』

Elf-san made Dragon-san float with her magic. Just when I thought so, the scenery around us completely changed. It’s probably the magic called space magic. The hunk serving Drill-sama has been using it almost daily, so even I have learned to recognize it.

Looking around, I realized that I was floating in the sky. A cityscape sprawled into the distance below me. Without a doubt I remember having seen this layout of houses before. It is the capital Charis.

Okay, what should I do? Somehow the whole issue is continuing to escalate further and further.

＊

Getting on the carriage prepared by the princess, we headed straight for the docking place of the airship. In addition to her, Mercedes-chan and Neumann were accompanying us on this unauthorized endeavor. If possible I wanted to also call out to Princess Bitch. However, as I didn’t know her whereabouts these days, I refrained as my only option would have been to get in contact with her through Princess-sama. Let’s deal with that issue separately on another day.

With this and that happening, we were currently being jolted around inside the carriage as we passed through the noble district. By the way, our current seating arrangement saw this ordinary Japanese flat-face sitting next to Neumann while the imperial lesbo sat next to the princess, both pairs facing each other.

As the carriage for royalty was luxury incarnated, a table had been installed between our seats. Pretty flowers adorned the table as decoration.

“T-Tanaka, there’s something I’d like to confirm with you…” Neumann addressed this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

While repeatedly casting fleeting glances at the princess.

“What might it be?”

“Hadn’t you been executed? I was also present on that square a few days ago. A-And I certainly witnessed with my own eyes how your head got chopped off by the hands of the Imperial Knight Lady sitting over there.”

“I understand.”

“And yet, w-why are you alive? And above all, why are you together with the very knight who killed you and moreover the princess….?”

“To explain it shortly while omitting the details: I partnered up with Her Highness. The same also applies to the imperial knight. It is a temporary measure, but for the time being, we will be acting together. As for the execution, I would be more than delighted if you could regard it as acting of sorts.”

“…W-Was that so?”

Maybe Neumann worried about me? If that’s the case, I’m super happy.

“I am terribly sorry for advancing things in various ways without informing you.”

“N-No, that’s f-fine. As long as it’s like that.”

“We will hurry back to Dragon City and take a look at the situation over there. I plan to defend that place until the attacks by the demon queen stop. Since I had intended to call out to you as well, Neumann-san, it was a big help for me that Her Highness brought you along.”

“Oh my, is that so? Then I did something tactful, I suppose.”

“Thank you kindly.”

Neumann still looked like he couldn’t quite come to terms with this. But, with the princess being right in front of his nose as well, he didn’t pursue the matter any further. I will have him wait for the detailed explanation until we get back to Dragon City, so I can tell it to him while also informing Gon-chan, Sophia-chan, and the Loligon at the same time.

Even so, it sure is striking…,” muttered Mercedes-chan while gazing out of the window.

“Meaning?”

“Usually, the streets around here would be a bit livelier around this time of the day.”

“The information about the incident at the Pussy Republic has already spread among the nobles.”

“Rumors will likely start to spread to the city through servants working at the palace and merchants, who have good connections to quickly get a read on the inner workings, in a few days. Once that happens, I can’t even begin to imagine what will happen to a city with a big population like Charis. Some people will probably act in order to flee while others might see this as a chance to take other measures.”

“Did something like this never happen in the past?”

“At least I haven’t heard of anything like this. Even if it did happen, it’s only part of fairy-tales nowadays.”

I see. Then it’s obviously unclear how things are going to pan out. It’s a sort of unprecedented event.

“…Oh my, I wonder what that might be?”

As this ordinary Japanese flat-face and Mercedes-chan had a noncommittal chat, the princess suddenly raised her voice. It was something related to what was going on outside the window.

Now then, what could it be?

Naturally lured by her pointing at it, we followed her finger’s direction with our eyes. Thereupon…

Ough, this is bad news…

“gh…”

A huge magic circle was floating in the sky above the castle in the center of Charis.

＊

【Sophia-chan’s Point of View】

Immediately after we switched our location to the skies above Charis, we noticed the abnormal situation over here.

“H-Hey, Missies, what the hell’s that!?”

Gonzales-san was the first one to address the elephant in the room. His finger was pointing at a part of the sky above the castle located in Charis’s center, where a huge magic circle was currently visible. The magic circle, which shone in an ominously crimson light, was big enough to swallow the whole castle.

“Wh-….”

In no time, a groan escaped Elf-san’s lips.

“Eh? Umm, w-what is…”

This maid ended up being totally confused. That magic circle must be something amazing to stun Elf-san who knows so much about magic. No, if anyone told me that it is obvious from just looking at it, I would find no words to refute their rebuke. After all, it is a gigantic magic circle that is so crimson that it ‘s sinister.

“Wait a sec, just what’s with all the shit going on around here?”

Gonzales-san’s expression looked awfully cramped. Him still being able to use a casual, calm way of speaking was proof of him being the leader of large clan. No matter the situation, he always acts composedly while keeping in mind how others see him. That’s very cool.

“The castle is going to fall!? If that gets invoked, even we won’t come out unscathed!”

“For real, Elf missy!?”

“It’s Extreme Magic! Just w-who’s planning to blow away t-the center of this country!?”

“D-Don’t tell me, Boss Tanaka!?”

“No, that’s impossible! That magic circle is very likely a creation by demons!”

This maid didn’t fail to hear this. At this rate, we will apparently be in danger as well. Now that it’s clear, we should withdraw from here right away. However, while being in a state of floating in the sky thanks to Elf-san’s magic, this maid cannot free her arms and legs. I’m still stuck, unable to move out of my own power.

“Y-You can tell by just looking a-at it?”

“It’s s-something you can understand t-to a degree once you’re able to decipher a magic c-circle’s composition.”

“W-Wow, you’re incredible…” Gonzales-san adjusted his opinion of Elf-san.

Now that I think of it, she has only shown him his clumsy, foolish side so far.

“Considering the structure of the magic circle, it’s very likely that it’s being exercised from extremely far away. If that m-man’s words are t-true, it’s probably s-safe to assume that it’s a creation by the r-revived demon queen. She is quite likely plotting to weaken the humans’ fighting spirit and forces by burning their lands f-from the Dark Continent.”

“The current demon queen is quite the cautious one, isn’t she?”

“It’d be bad if the castle fell as a result of that, don’t you think?”

“Can’t you do anything about this?”

“I’d love to do something about it, but…”

A serious exchange of opinions took place between Gonzales-san and Elf-san. As for this maid, she doesn’t believe that now is the time to keep having a leisurely discussion. Ah, but if I consider my parent’s home in the capital, I start feeling somewhat conflicted. Won’t the damage possibly spread beyond the castle?

Meanwhile, the glow of the magic circle has been gaining in intensity. Each time light flashed across its surface, something similar to crackling sparks scattered. At times, those sparks fell on the ground, prying holes open on the walls and streets.

All of this already while it’s still in the middle of getting ready. I wonder what will happen to the castle and the city if this thing explodes.

『M-My baby…even though I’m with child…something like this….something like this…』

Dragon-san has been trembling in a corner of my eyes. She is holding her own belly very cherishingly. Her face looks as if she’s going to start crying at any moment.

I’m sure she’s worried about the child in her belly. And above all, it’s a sigh that stimulates my own feelings of motherhood. It’s strong enough to make the likes of a maid like me feel like wanting to somehow protect her child.

『Uuh…my babyyy…my baby…babyyy…』

Dragon-san looked very troubled. She restlessly looked left and right, being all nervous. It triggered an urge in me to immediately hug her.

However, after trembling for a while, she suddenly stopped and lowered her face.

I wonder what’s going on…?

Elf-san and Gonzales-san also noticed her strange behavior.

After staying like that for a while, she suddenly and energetically jerked her chin upwards. And unlike earlier when she was lowering her face, I could now sense a strong will from her expression. It looked as though she made up her mind on something.

While lovingly holding her belly with both hands, she stared at a certain spot in the air with a clearly stabbing look. Her sorrowful expression from before had transformed into the face of a mother who made her resolve.

At the end of Dragon-san’s point of attention I could see a bright red magic square.

『Baby…my cute…baby…I must protect…』

“…Ah, hey…”

A change had occurred to Dragon-san. It was very conspicuous too.

『Baby…my…cherished…baby…I must save it』

Her body started to glitter brightly. The magic square in the sky also grew as it started to give off a dazzling light. It looked as though the sun was going to fall on the surface.

All of us narrowed our eyes due to the too strong light. Naturally, this maid held her head with both hands while curling up her back, as if to protect herself.

At that moment, I abruptly felt a doubt about the phenomenon in front of me. This maid remembered having seen this spectacle. And just like in the past. I had closed my eyes while Dragon-san stood in front.

Is this possibly…

Accompanied by that thought, I opened my eyes. And as the glow died down, I was faced with the same sight as I had imagined it.

『Gururururururu』

It was Dragon-san. She was here after having turned into her dragon form. It felt very nostalgic to me to to see her like that. After all, she was always running around in her human form these days.

“H-Hey!! What do y-you plan to do!?” Elf-san shouted at Dragon-san.

But, it seemed as though her voice hadn’t reached Dragon-san.

Dragon-san opened her muzzle. It was such a huge muzzle that it looked like even one of the buildings below, let alone a normal human, would completely fit in there. Each of the fangs lining up in there was bigger than our bodies, giving the whole an even stronger impressiveness.

『My, baby! B-B-Baby…! My lovely, baby…!』

A golden, magic square manifested in front of Dragon-san. It was situated right in front of the muzzle she had just opened. It seemed as though its flat surface was facing the crimson magic square floating above the castle. A light as golden as the square itself congregated inside its center, turned into a sphere, and gradually continued to expand in size.

“O-Oi, Mayor!?”

“Kuuh, don’t t-tell me, she’s planning t-to offset it!? That’s i-impossible!”

Gonzales-san and Elf-san became very flustered. But, no matter how much of a racket they caused, they wouldn’t be able to stop Dragon-san with her awakened motherhood.

Before long, that moment arrived. The magic square above the castle lit up conspicuously powerfully as if throbbing with a thump. Immediately following, a torrent of red light began to pour out of its surface.

As if identifying this as the perfect moment, this maid urinated. And the instant she felt how the hot, wet sensation kept traveling down her thighs, Dragon-san reacted as well. Matching the change in the crimson magic square, she jerked her widely gaping muzzle even further open.

At the same time, a roar, which was so loud that it felt like it tore my eardrums, hit me.

『My babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!』

A mother’s love, her heart that loved her child was announced in the skies above Charis. That was released from the magic square, which had formed in front of her muzzle, transformed into a huge torrent of light, and headed for the crimson magic square.

On the other hand, the opposing magic square also released its red gleam at that very moment. All of it was swept away with a tremendous force, as if getting swallowed, by the golden gleam released by Dragon-san. The atmosphere was ripped apart.

This maid felt how the inner walls of her stomach trembled as she was all of this play out.

The crimson light had extended towards the castle and its circumference just now, but it never reached its destination as it got wholly blown away by Dragon-san’s golden light. The crimson brilliance quickly dispersed into the far distance.

Wow. Dragon-san, you are truly amazing.

“T-This is the breath of an ancient dragon…!?”

“Mayor! Y-You surely won’t destroy the castle, will you!?”

It appeared as though Elf-san and Gonzales-san were just as shocked.

The red light raged in order to accomplish its objective. It seemed as if it writhed in agony so as to let its own gleam reach the surface. But, the blow unleashed by Dragon-san swallowed it altogether.

It was an overwhelming spectacle of absolute might.

＊

A magic square. A huge magic square was floating in the sky. I didn’t know the details, but there was no doubt that Demon Queen-sama’s menace had reached Charis. She had probably unleashed the Extreme Magic, which she had used to attack the capital of the Pussy Republic, at this very moment to attack the Penny Empire.

This also went beyond my imagination.

“Sorry, but I will head out to deal with that.”

This ordinary Japanese flat-face flew off into the sky in great haste. From the carriage’s window.

However, after I took to the sky, I started to rack my brain. I wonder what sort of hand I can play against a magic square which could spew out whatever so far as I know. Even if I were to summon a fireball, it doesn’t look like it’d be able to handle this issue here. And if things go really badly, I could magnify the damage instead.

Having said that, it doesn’t look like I can handle this with healing magic either. It’s got plenty of power when it comes to curing wounded people, but I fear that the thing floating up there won’t give me any time to simply heal those injured by its magic. I feel like not a shred of flesh is going to be left, if you’re hit by that thing’s magic. And in such a case, healing magic bears no meaning either.

In other words, the time to learn a new skill has finally come. It’s the skill window. Skill window, come on.

Passive

Magic Power Recovery: ＬｖＭａｘ

Magic Power Efficiency: ＬｖＭａｘ

Language Knowledge: Ｌｖ１

Active

Haling Magic: ＬｖＭａｘ

Flame Magic: Ｌｖ１２５

Purification Magic: Ｌｖ５

Flight Magic: Ｌｖ55

Civil Engineering Magic ：Ｌｖ10

Remaining Skill Points: １０５

Alright, there it is. I’ll──

It happened just as I focused in order to spend my skill points in some sort of defensive magic. Suddenly a dazzling brilliance was released from another part of the sky.

Wondering what was going on, I focused my attention over there, just to find a gigantic dragon floating over there.

“Wh-…!?”

It was a dragon I remember having seen before. Is this possibly the Loligon? Looks like it. I mean, I don’t know any other dragons who are so huge.

As I was pondering about all this, there was some change ahead of me. This ordinary Japanese flat-face put himself on guard as he didn’t know what she was planning. At the same moment, the dragon’s big muzzle opened and matching that timing, a magic square with a size close to her own body manifested in front of her. That one was also glittering in a golden color.

Don’t tell me, she’s planning to deal with Demon Queen-sama’s magic square?

No sooner than I asked this question myself, a roar reached me.

『My babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!』

It was shouted at such a loud volume that I actually feared for my eardrums. I ended up covering both my ears on reflex.

At the same time, a golden light was released from her muzzle. It plunged in a straight line through the air, heading straight for the crimson magic square in the sky. That light had such a scale that it’d have swallowed many of the noble mansions lining up in Charis if it had been fired at the surface.

I’m slightly bothered by her crying about a baby. Maybe the Noble Mage knocked her up or something? No clue. If…If that’s the case, it’d be slightly mortifying. No, it’d be terribly devastating.

However, what’s bothering me even beyond that is the mingling of crimson and gold.

“Oohh…”

The attack unleashed by the Loligon had nicely hit Demon Queen-sama’s magic. The red light, which had been released just then to lay waste to Charis, was completely blown away by the Loligon’s magic. This ordinary Japanese flat-face had considered putting up a defensive spell, but the method chosen by the Loligon was far more efficient in getting the job done. It was the correct choice with no room to doubt.

Loligon, that was amazing. The virtue of her resolution has probably born fruit here.

After a while, the crimson magic square lost its radiance. Demon Queen-sama’s magic, which had been completely scattered, and even its last remnants of reddish glowing vanished altogether. In response to that, the magic unleashed by the Loligon gradually lost in force as well. Light and light, which was so strong that it made you squint your eyes, clashed, before it all converged after a few minutes had passed.

The magic square above the castle disappeared. After making sure of that with her own eyes, the Loligon’s body experienced a change. Her gigantic frame got wrapped up in a dazzling glow. And then, in the next instant it vanished with a soundless poof.

She must have reverted to her little-girl mode. And certainly, once I strained my eyes, I was able to spot a person dropping towards the surface. But, to my regret, I couldn’t see any details as it was too far away.

I have to head over to her in a hurry.

＊

The Loligon fell towards the ground. As I quickly flew over to her location, Edita-sensei showed up at my destination. She had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a teleportation that clearly reminded me of the transfer magic of Deviant-Longhair. And then Edita-sensei splendidly caught the Loligon, resulting in my rare chance to shine being stolen by her.

However, me not feeling bad about that stemmed from the great visual of a lolita hugging another lolita. Coupled with the state of the Loligon who seemed to have fainted, sensei’s gallantry has increased by 30%. Edita-sensei carrying the Loligon in a princess-carry was a very precious sight.

As I got involuntarily charmed by it, Gon-chan and Sophia-chan floated over for another spot in the sky. Given that neither was capable of using magic, I think it’s safe to say that sensei is moving them.

“For her to truly offset it…I guess that’s an ancient dragon for you…,” Edita-sensei muttered after having gazed at the area where the magic square had existed until moments ago.

She appeared to be quite astonished. Going by her look, this must have been an incident going beyond sensei’s imaginations. Considering it like that, the attack just now was very likely an arbitrary action by the Loligon. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, but this time it startled all of us.

Thanks to that, and as I had more questions, I used my flight magic to hurry over to everyone. As I did, the people in front quickly noticed the approach of this busamen.

“Oh, Boss!”

The first to spot me was Gon-chan. After noticing me, he revealed a broad and fine smile while cheerfully calling out to me. He’s a hunk who never forgets to smile, no matter the time and occasion. Someday I want to become a man like him, is something this virgin keeps wishing for.

“Are all of you alright? I had never expected that the hostilities would reach the Penny Empire so quickly. The present demon queen might be a lot more forceful and active than I have estimated.”

“So this had been an attack by the present demon queen after all?”

“You might not be aware of it, but as a matter of fact, a similar magic attack directly hit the capital of the Pussy Republic earlier. It has become a topic at the imperial court that the royal castle over there got pulverized in one blow.”

“Hey, wait a sec, that ain’t not funny at all.”

“That is why I was also trying to head back to our city in a hurry, just to run into this situation in the middle of it.”

My attention was naturally drawn to the Loligon who was still being held in Edita-sensei’s arms. She looked completely exhausted and didn’t even twitch anymore. Even her tail, which usually wagged around so energetically, was hanging down lifelessly at the moment. Given that she was usually so lively, her being so silent all of a sudden caused me to be anxious instead.

“Is Christina-san alright?”

Maybe her earlier spell was a blow that used her whole power and thus put her life at risk, or something like that? As I thought about this, feelings of regret and affection towards the Loligon naturally started to pour out of me to no end. How to describe it…I totally feel like wanting to hug her tightly.

“N-No, I think she has taken too big a dose o-of the drug. I think she got all giddy, gave free reign to her feelings, and then r-ran out of steam. It sounds as though her b-breathing is normal. So I believe, she’ll b-be back to normal if we let her rest f-for a night…hmm?”

“Drug, you say?”

I naturally spoke up when an unexpected term was mentioned here. However, sensei roared without paying any heed to the question of this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

“Hey, h-her belly has caved in!?”

Her eyes were fixed on the Loligon’s abdomen. But, as far as I could tell, it didn’t really look like it had caved in. It was the usual, pretty Loligon tummy.Compared to sensei’s flab, it looked somewhat tighter.

“Whoa, a miscarriage!? That’s a bad joke!”

But, seeing how Gon-chan appeared to be terribly shocked as well, I wonder what’s going on here. All of them were staring at the Loligon’s belly with grave looks. It didn’t seem as if they were trying to prank me or lying around. Their atmosphere felt bloodcurdling instead.

Or rather, what’s the deal with a miscarriage here!?

“Umm, sorry, but I cannot quite follow your conversation…”

I’d like them to share some information with me. But, it seems like we’re currently in a situation where they don’t even have the spare time to do so.

Everyone’s attention shifted away from the Loligon, towards the surface.

“W-We’ll look for the baby! As long as it has the life force of a dragon…!”

“Aye! Please let me down at once, Elf missy!”

“You help as w-well! You’re the father, a-aren’t you!?” Sensei shouted at me as I continued to be confused.

Father? How? What?

Although I was full of questions, I didn’t have any chance to confirm the circumstances. Edita-sensei and Gon-chan quickly headed towards the surface. Because of that, I felt totally left out here, like a fifth wheel. I’d love to get some sort of explanation here, guys.

But well, I get that it’s a critical situation. I don’t know what’s going on, but if it’s an emergency, it can’t be helped. The guy, who doesn’t get anything, will unleash his healing magic or some such in a way that shows how he doesn’t get anything.

This busamen got carried away that he might be of use if it’s now, and unleashed one shot of a great heal that covered the entirety of Charis, before following sensei.

＊

Immediately after touching down on the ground, this ordinary Japanese flat-face immediately questioned sensei. Gon-chan and Sophia-chan had already run off somewhere. Given that both wore fairly serious expressions, I have no doubt that we must currently be in a dire situation. Probably.

Thus, I feel like it’d be saddening to be left out of the loop all by myself.

“I would like you to give me a bit of an explanation. What do you mean by father?”

“W-What are you asking!? F-Father obviously means just that, right!?”

“No, I mean, calling me father means…”

My blond, thicc-legged loli sensei was staring my way with a fairly stabbing look. The expression she was showing me right now closely resembled the one from back then when we had only met. Vividly feeling an unimaginable sense of distance, I was forced to realize our relationship now after all this time. This is what they call a hedge between keeps friendship, right?

Most recently she allowed me to feel quite close to her, so this ordinary Japanese flat-face misinterpreted the distance in our relationship. As is common for virgins, I got carried away a bit too much. I became too familiar with her. And now I’ve finally done it.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing. I was just thinking…”

“A father is a father! Y-You’re the father w-who knocked up the dragon!”

“…Eh?”

What’s up with that? The Loligon was pregnant? That’s my first time hearing anything about this, though. Or more importantly, whose child is it?

“Did she get married? Or rather, who is the partner…?”

“A-As if I’d know any of that! The partner is o-obviously you bastard!!”

For real? I made a baby as a virgin? No, wait, that’s clearly impossible, right?

“But rather than t-that, the baby c-comes first for now! You help with the s-search as well! Very likely, the baby came out, unable to endure the impact when she unleashed h-her magic. But, if that dragon is truly an ancient dragon, then there’s more than enough p-potential for her baby to still b-be alright. All the more so, if we got y-you with us as someone excelling a-at healing magic!”

“Please wait a moment. What do you mean by calling me the father of that child?”

“D-Don’t tell me…you p-plan to feign innocence now that t-things have developed this far!?”

“No, as I’m telli…”

“Bah, the life of a baby is in d-danger! I have no time t-to argue with you!”

Apparently getting tired of talking with this ordinary Japanese flat-face, Edita-sensei cut the conversation short. With fretfulness dyeing her face, she hurriedly made her body float up with flight magic. No sooner than I noticed her doing that, she flew to a place several meters above the ground with a frightening speed so as to search for something.

If I believe her, Sophia-chan and Gon-chan, who I can’t see anymore, must have also headed to search for Loligon’s child. By the way, speaking of the dragon in question, she was still being carried by sensei, so she was accounted for as well. That left only me behind.

“……”

I don’t really get it, but it sounds like Loligon’s child is in a predicament. Moreover, it seems to be a miscarriage.

“…For starters, I’ll go with that, I suppose.”

Leaving aside the matter of her father, it’d be a disaster if something terrible happened to Loligon’s child. Setting my sight on parts of the neighborhood, I repeatedly showered the area with somewhat stronger healing magic.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face left the search to sensei and the other two while pooling his efforts into providing life-support for the baby he still couldn’t see. I think this qualifies as the perfect assignment of work, if I assume that this aid is definitely needed.

But, still….who is it? Who’s the guy who knocked up our mayor?

＊

After a short time, sensei came back. Her face didn’t look all that happy. From the fact that I couldn’t see anything close to a baby with her, I could deduce that her search proved to be fruitless. Her appearance of trudging this way with a dispirited look was ― how to describe it best? ― very painful to look at?

“…How did it go?”

“As you can see. I’m only carrying the mother with me.”

“I see…”

How troublesome. The term miscarriage, which I caught earlier, suggests an extremely perilous situation. I suppose today I’ll cast my healing magic all night long. Well, if it’s for the sake of the Loligon, this isn’t much of a bother anyway, though.

“Why d-did you leave her side when she was p-pregnant!? As a father, it’s your duty to stay at the side of your pregnant w-wife and take care of her and the child, right!? Besides, w-why don’t you even a-acknowledge the child’s existence!? Unbelievable!”

“Did Christina-san personally tell you that I am the father?”

“Of c-course!”

Maybe the means of conception are different for dragons?

The theory that I knocked her up without me even realizing suddenly experienced a rise in credibility. A pregnancy through holding hands, or a pregnancy by looking at each other ― this is a fantasy world of sword and magic, so it wouldn’t be weird for those sorts of conceptions or virgin births to actually exist.

Yep, it wouldn’t be weird. This virgin had a premonition of having experienced a mysterious defloration.

“There is one thing I would like to confirm: what sort of act is needed to impregnate an ancient dragon? Is it different from what humans have to do? If they use a different method, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me.”

“Haaah!? W-What the hell are you t-talking about!?”

“Well, I was just asking about the means to impregnate an ancient dragon.”

“Idiot! W-W-Why do you ask m-me something l-like that!?”

“For the sake of confirming the situation.”

“Confirming the situation!?”

A flurry of questions and answers unfolded between this ordinary Japanese flat-face and Edita-sensei. Sensei was panicking a bit.

Maybe because she had perceived how sensei’s tone gradually gained in intensity or maybe thanks to the effect of my chain casts of healing magic, a change occurred to the dragon in sensei’s arms. After having been unconscious up until now, the Loligon began to stir, albeit weakly. Before long, her eyelids started to twitch repeatedly.

Naturally, sensei and I became silent and looked at the Loligon. At the end of our sights, Christina’s eyes slowly opened up.

“S-She woke up…?” Sensei muttered with her shoulders jumping with a start.

As for the Loligon, she became shocked as soon as she discovered sensei’s face right in front of her nose. She reflexively started to get away as if having been touched by something hot. She escaped sensei’s arms by leaping up with force, and at the same time, she distanced herself by several meters, before putting herself on guard while facing our way. It was a reaction you’d expect from a wild animal that was completely unaccustomed to humans.

『Gurururururu』

She began to growl throatily as if it was only natural.

“H-Hey! A-Are you alright? What about your body’s state…?”

『W-What did you do!?』, the Loligon howled at sensei, who had asked full of concern, with her tension still at max.

Thanks to that, the receiving side revealed a face filled with bewilderment.

“Well, u-umm…the baby…your b-baby has…”

This was going to turn into a scene of carnage. My heart ached.

『B-Baby? What are you talking about? I don’t understand. I-I don’t understand anything at all!』

“Calm down and look at your own belly. It pains m-me to tell you, but your baby has been m-miscarried…”

『……』

The Loligon checked her own abdomen. Apparently sensei had previously confirmed the bulging of her belly. On the other hand, this ordinary Japanese flat-face had no memory of any swollen bellies before his departure from Dragon City. In other words, her belly must have suddenly become inflated over the course of the last few days.

Draconic ecology is truly full of surprises.

『…Nothing in particular has changed! All’s normal!』

“No, look, your belly, which had been swollen until a little while ago…”

『A-Are you still asleep!? Why would my belly swell!?』

“……”

For an instant, I believed that her mind might have broken due to the miscarriage. But, I couldn’t sense anything especially unusual from Loligon’s mannerism as she spoke with sensei. Rather, looking at their exchange, it was sensei who seemed a tad odd here.

Time for a confirmation.

“I think Edita-san has been worried about you. She said that you were pregnant, but lost the baby when you offset the attack by the demon queen. She has been frantically searching for your baby all the time since then.”

『O-Okay, but why would I have a child!? I don’t get it!』

“What was that!? Didn’t you cherishingly stroke your big belly a little while ago!?”

『As if I’d know anything about that! I haven’t been pregnant or anything like that, okay!?』

“……”

The Loligon insisted on her line of argumentation while raising her voice at the same time. Because of this, sensei didn’t know how to proceed and fell silent. Her face clearly stated that she didn’t understand what was going on.

In the meantime, Sophia-chan and Gon-chan came back. Both were empty-handed and didn’t seem to have any result worthy of mention to show for them. But, once they discovered Christina standing on her own two feet close to us, they sped up into a full sprint.

“A-Are you fine with standing up all of a sudden!? How are you feeling?” Gon-chan hurled his worry at the Loligon the second he reached our location.

Answering this, the Loligon declared as always, 『I’m alright! Totally alright! No problem whatsoever!』

She was consistently denying her pregnancy.

“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll call over the other guys from the clan, I suppose. No, wait, it’d be best to gather the guys who had been active around the capital in anticipation. If it’s the baby of an ancient dragon, the other folk won’t stay quiet ’bout it. We need to find it before them…”

『Gurururururururu』

The Loligon growled in front of Gon-chan who had started to consider all sorts of things. No matter how you looked at it, she was clearly in a bad mood.

Somehow it sounds like we’re talking past each other.

『…What’s going on with you people!?』

“I heard from Edita-san that you have been pregnant, but is that true? I also heard that your baby miscarried during the chain of events. If that is the case, we want to help you in any way possible.”

『As I’ve been telling you, w-why would I be with child!?』

“Wh-…!?” Sensei’s face stiffened up due to the Loligon’s obstinate denial.

She looked as if she couldn’t believe a word she was being told. But, when I looked around, I saw that the other two were reacting in a similar way. Going by the fact of the three’s argumentation being coherent, I doubt they fell for an optical illusion. But even so, the Loligon’s belly was as flat as a board right now.

“I-In that case, what a-about that inflated belly of yours!? Why was i-it so big!?”

『My belly hasn’t been big! Are you blind or something!? My abdomen is flat!』

“Certainly, right now it’s not bulging. But, it did bulge until just a little while ago!”

『It did not! That’s impossible, isn’t it!? It’s completely flat!』

“It was no one other t-than yourself who described i-it as your own baby, wasn’t it!? Didn’t you h-happily brag about it being the child y-you had with that man!? I’ve seen with m-my own eyes how you’ve been l-lovingly caressing your belly!”

That man most likely referred to this busamen. Going by the flow of the conversation, being treated as ‘that man’ is somewhat miserable.

『W-W-Why would you bring him up here!? I don’t know anything about a baby!』

It was a dialog that didn’t seem to have a foreseeable end. Personally I felt doubts about Edita-sensei’s insistence. But, based on her having acted alongside Gon-chan, I felt like there might be some room to doubt Loligon’s body in some way. I can’t believe that he’d leave Dragon City without any reason either.

“Umm…p-please forgive me for the sudden q-question, but…” Sophia-chan suddenly butted in as I was considering various things.

She was bringing up her point while timidly clasping her sweaty hands.

『…What?』

“H-H-Has the drug’s e-effect…abated?”

『…Drug?』

“I-I-I am terribly sorry for h-having c-caused you s-s-such big problems b-because of the drug I d-dropped. P-P-Please forgive me…,” she apologized while looking so frightened that I feared she might collapse at any moment.

The sight of her maid uniform’s color deepening around her armpits as she got drenched in sweat delighted me as if I had just spotted the first color changes when casually gazing outside a window on a clear, sunny day in autumn. Maid-san’s armpits were experiencing an autumnal equinox right now and here.

But, what does she mean with drug?

Just as this virgin deliberated that question, the Loligon’s eyes suddenly flew wide open.

『Ah…!』

Hearing Sophia-chan’s words, she had apparently realized something. Or possibly comprehended a certain fact.

『Was that possibly the cause of me having felt so floaty!? That white powder laying in my room!』

Edita-sensei landed a retort on this, “…What do you mean with floaty?”

『gh…』

Thereupon, the Loligon reacted in such a striking way that it was funny to watch. She trembled very exaggeratedly. With her acting like that in front of us, everyone’s attention focused on her. As if questioning just what she actually meant with floaty.

Even Edita-sensei, who probably knew about a lot of things, was confused. Because of that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face, who distinctly fell behind her when it came to information, didn’t know what was going on at all.

“What do you mean with floaty?”

『G-Gurururururururu』

This was her growl when she found it hard to say something, right? On the other hand, Edita-sensei seems to have heard quite a bit about the drug mentioned by Sophia-chan.

Apparently noticing something about the Loligon, who had strengthened her vigilance even further, she continued calmly, “There’s s-something I’d like to confirm. Even while your belly had been inflated, you were conscious, weren’t you? It’s not like we exchanged that many words, but even so, I could tell that you were probably under the drug’s influence. But, on the other hand, your awakening just now was triggered by the repeated exposure t-to that man’s healing magic. Correct?”

Keeping a somewhat calm tone, she maintained a composed attitude as she asked the Loligon. The Loligon answered by growling.

『Gurururururururu!』

“If you’re okay w-with me, I’ll help y…”

『No clue! I-I don’t know anything! Yeah, I have absolutely no clue!』

Sensei showed her concern for the other party by mellowing down her expression. But, the Loligon shattered that kindness without any concern.

Going by the stark contrast in behavior between both, my suspicions towards the latter party somehow kept growing.

“Sophia-san, excuse me, but please allow me to confirm something with you. What do you mean with drug? Did one of our acquaintances fall ill? If that is the case, I would like to return to Dragon City at once to examine their condition.”

“kh…”

For the time being, I directed my attention at the drug or whatever it is and requested Maid-san, who was the origin of this topic, to provide me with further details.

Thereupon, Sophia-chan froze with a crack for some reason. At that point, she had turned into a splendid statue. She didn’t even twitch anymore.

I’ve gone through joys and sorrows together with her during the few months since our first meeting, so I could tell. It’s pretty clear to me. This maid is definitely hiding something!

＊

When I started to thoroughly question her, Sophia-chan quickly confessed everything. Apparently the Loligon had taken the secret drug which she had brought back from the Great Holy Land, and entered a state of ecstasy. The drug’s effect lasted until just a little while ago. And, according to Edita-sensei, the Loligon’s belly became big over the several days of the Loligon taking the drug.

So basically, having sex while being on drugs. Moreover, she got knocked up from it. Ultimately, she rehabilitated herself by having a miscarriage.

Still, that’s crazy shit. The mental damage gotta be terrible. It’s a course of events a virgin like me wouldn’t be able to stomach.

I wonder who her partner was. Maybe the Noble Mage? In that case, I could still…well, barely to be precise…forgive it. However if she told me that she got fucked silly by some random stranger under the influence of the drug, I would start to cry for real. Seriously, that would be impossible to bear.

It’d mean my farewell and bye-bye to Dragon City. This ordinary Japanese flat-face would depart on a soul-searching journey together with Goggoru-chan. You see, virgins are extremely sensitive creatures when it comes to sex.

“I see. For something like that to take place during my absence…”

“It’s d-definitely not y-y-your child?”

Edita-sensei checked whether I made that baby. For the umpteenth time now. And of course, the answer hasn’t changed. It’s a clear no.

“I will reply on the premise that the act of breeding among ancient dragons is similar to that of humans. I have not done any such act with her. It might be kind of rude to say something like that in front of the party concerned, but just in case, I think I should make things clear on this occasion.”

“I-I see…”

I had her allow me to answer this question honestly and straight to the point. In response, the one immediately starting to look fidgety in some way was sensei. The one frowning on the other hand was Gon-chan.

“Hey, wait as sec, so who knocked up the mayor then?”

『……』

As might be expected, I’m the wrong person to ask. Or rather, that’s part of the Loligon’s privacy, so don’t snoop. You’re putting her on the spot, aren’t you?

“I am certain there are various parts confusing you about this, but could we stop this topic? Everyone has secrets they cannot readily tell others, right? She told us that she isn’t pregnant, so wouldn’t it be considerate and proper to take her word for it?”

But, well. How to put it? Dragons seem to be beings whose bellies expand quite easily, aren’t they? Her abdomen was as flat as a board up until the night of the day before my departure. Seeing how her belly then expanded to such an extent that it was clearly visible to others over the course of a few days, that’s quite a stunning bodily function there.

“No, look, if she herself wants to drop the matter, I don’t particularly mind, you see? But, if the life of a baby is about to be lost any moment now, I think it’d be a damn loss. In the eyes of humans, dragon larvae ain’t much more than tradable goods.”

“In regards to that point, it is just as you say, Gonzales-san, but…”

『……』

Having said that, the one showing the least interest is no one other than the supposed mother.

At any rate, Loligon’s true form is that of a dragon, so I wonder whether oviparity or viviparity applies to her. It’s said that chickens create their eggs in their bellies over several days, so if we assume dragons to be similar, it might be just as Gon-chan says.

Still, I so wanna see the Loligon pop out a huge egg from her pussy. Watching her pressing with all her might while having a bright red face would rock.

“……”

Oh, I could be onto something here. This busamen might have noticed something crucial.

“Christina-san, please forgive me for confirming something like this in public, but are ancient dragons possibly born from eggs?”

『gh…』

The Loligon’s shoulder jumped with a start. It was trembling quite obviously. Moreover, her tail was standing on end. This behavior…I guess I must be correct on all accounts.

“I see, so it was the e-ejection of an unfertilized e-egg, huh!?” Edita-sensei cried out in no time. “I had completely overlooked that p-possibility since she had always b-been in her h-human form recently. Now I understand. That w-would explain the s-swelling of her belly. Usually, p-pure-bred dragons lay eggs. They never give birth to live children.”

This ordinary Japanese flat-face’s doubts were resolved by sensei’s explanation. It looks like dragons lay eggs after all.

“However, larger creatures, which are actually spearheaded by dragons, shouldn’t ovulate as easily as the small birds which are kept as livestock by humans. Was there some sort of reason?”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. Once red dragons and similar start to ovulate due sexual arousal…,” Sensei began to profoundly explain the physiology of dragons, but suddenly stopped.

She looked as though she had realized something. And even this ordinary Japanese flat-face ended up noticing a bit due to the explanation just now. Two keywords gave it away: Drugs and sexual arousal.

“Hey, y-you’re not going to t-tell us that you’ve become h-horny because of the d-drug, are you…?”

『I-I-It’s my private matter when I’m going to ovulate, isn’t it!? That’s completely unrelated to stuff like sexual arousal!』

This reaction…it looks like Edita-sensei was spot on.

I see.

That’s great to hear.

I was saved.

The sensitive heart of this virgin was saved.

『Gururururururu!』

Everyone looked at the Loligon while being appalled. Thanks to that, her face turned crimson and she started to growl. Repeatedly scowling one way and then the other, she threatened not only Edita-sensei, but also this ordinary Japanese flat-face, Gon-chan, and Sophia-chan. An ovulating dragon who kept growling with her face dyed in shame and anger.

“In short, you went mad because of the drug, devoting all your affections to an egg that h-hasn’t been fertilized…”

『Shut up, elf! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you, okay!? If you say any more, you’re dead!』

“nh…W-W-Want to have a go!? Y-You want to fight!? The me right now is different from my past self! I’m the strongest, invincible, and a-a-almighty! Even if my opponent m-might be an ancient dragon, I w-won’t falter away b-bravely…”

Yeah, it’s wonderful. She wasn’t a dragon who got knocked up through sex on drugs, just to have lost her egg to a miscarriage.

I could feel how a huge amount of damp sweat had accumulated inside my tightly clenched fists without me noticing. I realized that I’d been more nervous than on the occasion of having the glowing magic square of the demon queen float above Charis right in front of my eyes.

Man, that’s a stone off my heart. It’s a real relief.

Also, good job, Sophia-chan, for allowing me to see the Loligon getting all bashful over her ovulation. You performed outstandingly there, Maid-san. This completely justifies a bonus payment.

A fake pregnancy; how beautiful that is!

Thanks to that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face obtained yet another, new possibility in this world. If I prescribe a lewd drug to the egg-laying Loligon, I’ll be able to enjoy her having a pot-belly, even while keeping her unsullied, virgin body. At this point, it might be like Jesus being christened.

＊

After resolving the various issues surrounding Loligon’s pregnancy, I shifted to the next topic. As before, we were still situated in a section of Charis.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face allowed himself the liberty to talk a bit to everyone present, even if they were here by coincidence. My explanations mostly revolved around the information about the uproar related to Demon Queen-sama which I had received from Mercedes-chan and Princess-sama just a little while ago, and the critical situation of Dragon City and its surroundings which I deducted most recently.

“A d-demonic transfer gate connected t-to the Dark Continent, huh…?”

“Yes.”

The ones already knowing about Deviant-Longhair’s warp gate in the FitzClarence Viscounty were the Noble Mage, the Loligon and Gon-chan, who were present back then, and sensei with whom I shared the information later on.

“It is just as you say, Edita-san. The gate is linked to the deepest part of the Dark Continent.”

“Okay, then w-we cannot leave it unattended.”

Edita-sensei put on a grim expression while checking the linking points of the magic square once more.

“Because it had been managed by Geros-san thus far, it did not pose a problem in particular. But, now that the demon queen has revived, we cannot disregard the possibility of her using it for her own devices.”

“…I see.”

“Fortunately, we were able to prevent the demon queen’s attack thanks to Christina-san. However, since we have not checked on the transfer facility,I think we should urgently take countermeasures from now on.”

Originally I had planned to head to the Great Holy Land, though. Bad things keep occurring without so much as a break.

“Rather, y-you’re trusting t-that demon to such an extent?”

“I trust Doris-san whom he believes in.”

A masochistic slave and his master. It’s worth putting my faith into that relationship between them.

“gh…R-Really? Well, i-i-if that’s h-how it is…mmhm…”

“That is why I believe that we ought to promptly return to Dragon City.”

“Y-You’re right! Let us h-hurry back! I’ll g-go as well, okay!?”

“Thank you very much. It is very reassuring to have you with us, Edita-san.”

“Leave i-it to me! After all, I’m t-the strongest! T-The s-s-strongest!!”

『Gurururu, hurry it up then』

“S-Shut up!”

Just as initially planned, we flew to Dragon City.

＊

The journey to Dragon City was almost instantaneous thanks to Edita-sensei’s space magic. The familiar scenery sprawled in front of me after mere seconds, when it’d have taken half a day to get back here with flight magic.

Our point of arrival was several dozen meters above the ground. The Loligon Tower, which stabbed into the sky next to us, was clear proof of us being in Dragon City right now. I had also picked up Neumann and Princess-sama, who had assumed that we’d travel by airship at first, before all of us got transferred together.

By the way, it seems space magic counts as extremely advanced magic. All of those experiencing it raised their voices in astonishment and admiration. Because of that, the Loligon pulled an extremely dismayed face. It was the very first victory for Edita-sensei. She herself didn’t realize it at all, though.

“H-Hey, aren’t those l-lesser demons over there!?” Edita-sensei roared while pointing at a part of the city.

Ten-odd monsters with somewhat dangerous-looking silhouettes were rampaging over there. Going by their appearance, they were certainly monsters with a demonic design. They were around two meters tall. Large wings grew out of their backs and they looked like lizards who had awakened to walking on two legs. Their skin was mostly violet and two pairs of horns grew on their heads.

By the way, of all things, the monsters were going berserk in the slum quarters that had been built in the southern district. That means it won’t be much of an issue for that district to become devastated. Rather, the exceedingly natural damage patter of the city being overrun by monsters will add a wonderfully appropriate flair to the slums.

Still the refugees, who lost their villages as a collateral damage of the dispute between the Penny Empire and the Pussy Republic, should be staying over there. It’d be absolutely unthinkable for me to abandon them. It’s a fact that I accepted them, albeit somewhat unwillingly. And protecting his people is a lord’s duty.

“What kind of beings are they?”

“They aren’t o-overly intelligent, but in exchange for that, they’re e-equipped with physical abilities r-rivaling lower dragons. They are too tough opponents for the city’s residents to take on. Even the members of the Twilight Company w-will likely suffer a significant n-number of casualties, if they have t-to deal with several lesser demons a-at once. Having said that, they fall far behind the demon y-you’re acquainted with.”

As expected of Edita-sensei, she possesses a vast pool of knowledge, which she kindly used in this case to bring me up to date. Or rather, I should stop being a lazy bum and simply check their status.

Let’s choose random samples and take a look.

Name: Dohman
Sex: Male
Race: Lesser Demon
Level: 121
Job: Temporary Employee
HP: 9101/10001
MP: 10003/15003
STR: 9310
VIT: 5500
DEX: 3435
AGI: 8903
INT: 13001
LUC: 9555

Name: Hermann
Sex: Male
Race: Lesser Demon
Level: 109
Job: Temporary Employee
HP: 4500/9900
MP: 7999/13010
STR: 8100
VIT: 5000
DEX: 4010
AGI: 7009
INT: 11999
LUC: 10055

Those are stats that would make them strong opponents for a red dragon.

And these demons were currently fighting some sort of tiny, fluffy creatures. What were they called again? Look, I mean, those small creatures who served as harmful animals of the slums. Ohh, right! They were called nui. Those small beasts with ridiculously high stats.

“…The ones fighting the demons are the nui?”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

The small creatures were energetically bouncing around the lesser demons. Moreover, the nuis’ stats, which I already checked in the past, were basically no different from those of red dragons. And as if reflecting their respective stat values, the battle between both sides looked as if it was mostly evened out.

If I consider how they got in the way of my slums project in the past, I’d also have the option of pretending to not have seen their current struggle. It might be possible to get rid of the nui without actually dirtying my own hands. Maybe, it’s even a perfect opportunity for that.

But, they’re fighting. They fight not for someone else, but for the sake of the slums. Hence, I’m dutybound to assist them as someone loving the slums just like them.

“There’s no way we can just keep watching without doing anything under these circumstances, right?”

When it comes to this happening now and here, it’s probably safe to say that his has been triggered by Demon Queen-sama or someone corresponding. If I take my recent friendship with him into account, I cannot believe this to be Deviant-Longhair’s deed.

It’s creepy to admit, I have to reconfirm that I’m trusting that guy enough to say so with certainty. I can declare so while betting Drill-chan’s hymen on it.

“I will head over.”

“Wait! I-I will go as well!”

『It’s a mayor’s work to protect her city! Move out of the way!』

Pushing this ordinary Japanese flat-face and sensei aside, the Loligon dived down first. The rest of us hurried to the battlefield while following her back.

As for the companions, who couldn’t use magic such as Sophia-chan, they were moved through Edita-sensei’s flight magic. We flew across the city’s sky, heading straight for the district in question.

＊

What entered our visual field immediately after arriving at the slums were lesser demons and the nui who were resolutely fighting the lesser demons. There were around twenty or thirty nui, so they have been multiplying just as I suspected.

Why did they increase so much despite this ordinary Japanese flat-face supposedly having only picked up two or three nui? I feel like their numbers have been growing each time I’ve run into them. But well, I suppose we should be thankful for this under the current circumstances. Because of their numbers, they could put up a fight.

Moreover, the nui seemed to not only protect the slum quarters but also its residents. If you measured the power relationship between nui and the slum inhabitants, it shouldn’t be much more than nui and refugees preying on each other. And yet, both sides were interacting in these slums in a way that contradicted this normal logic.

Considering it as the lord of this place, it’s somewhat frustrating.

Still, thanks to that, the nui won out in numbers, but couldn’t land any decisive blows on their foes.

『Hoh…』

The Loligon exclaimed in admiration while looking at the spectacle taking place in front of us. She was apparently satisfied with the nui’s performance over here.

While folding her arms, she commented with an arrogant attitude, 『Aren’t they quite brave!? Even if they might be at the bottom of the hierarchy, they aren’t related to the same bloodline as me for show! Boldly challenging opponents far above you is what being a dragon is about!』

“Christina-san?”

It felt out of place for Loligon to talk about challenging higher-ranking opponents when she faltered by default whenever she faced one herself. But oh well, let’s be nice this time around and allow her to show her good side. Whatever one might say, she’s still the mayor of this city.

Besides, she daringly challenged Demon Queen-sama’s attack in Charis.

『But even so, lesser demons as opponents are probably too high a hurdle, so this is my time to shine as mayor! Listen! Don’t butt in, okay? I must teach the shitty demons about the fearsomeness of dragons!』

She declared, addressing not only this ordinary Japanese flat-face, but everyone else as well. Her attitude reminded me of what a senior did after getting triggered by his junior doing his best but sucking at the job. It looks like she surprisingly got some sort of reliability when it comes to the same species. Also, if the Loligon takes over, I can feel relieved for the time being. Let’s hold back here and entrust things to her.

“Understood. We will leave everything to you.”

『You can count on me!』

The Loligon murmured curtly before flying over to the battlefield. We watched it all happen while afloat in the sky. If I trust Edita-sensei’s words, Christina should doubtlessly have an overwhelming advantage here. But, I wonder whether the nui will really realize that it’s her while she’s in her human form.

After confirming the Loligon who had stepped in between both sides, the nui stopped moving. They stared at her while looking very surprised. But, that only lasted a moment before they bared their fangs and started to growl.

It appears they’ve become wary of her. They must believe that a new enemy has shown up. The Loligon has been completely designated as hostile.

『Do not mistake your enemies! I’m the mayor of this city, okay? I’m a bigshot. Got it?』

On the other hand, the Loligon didn’t pay any heed to the nui, and faced the lesser demons while showing the nui her back.

An unexpected intruder had trespassed onto the battleground, so the lesser demons raised their voices, threatening her. Their many, overlapping roars echoed across the vicinity. Thanks to that, the nui became even more wary and put themselves on guard.

Several meters away from that whole scene, the refugees had huddled together in one place while trembling in fear.

『I shall personally teach you what happens if you look down on a dragon』

At the same time of announcing that, the Loligon swept her arm sideways. It was a very casual motion. Yet, the body of a lesser demon got bisected ahead of where she’d swung her arm. And on top of that, it was a clean, horizontal cut.

Apparently something invisible came flying and sliced through the target’s body. Like an air cutter. To be brutally honest here, that’s damn cool. I wuv stuff like that.

“!?”

The lesser demons all focused their attention on the Loligon. And as soon as I noticed that, they moved as a group, as if they’d arranged it in advance. The whole unit swarmed towards the Loligon.

『Hah, what a spirited bunch you guys are!』

Smiling at their response, the Loligon swung her arm several times. Each time a demon collapsed. She was precisely aiming at their lethal spots. It was perfect targeting. Whether the demons got bisected vertically, bisected horizontally, or fileted into several pieces, neither had any time to scream.

Over the course of a few minutes, all lesser demons had bit the dust, tolling Christina’s complete victory.

“D-Dragon-san is a-amazing…”

I could Sophia-chan murmur in admiration from right next to me. Once I cast a glance at her, her knees were trembling. It looks like this whole scene was a bit too nerve-wracking for Maid-san. And once I let my look wander further, I spotted Princess-sama next to her, her eyes sparkling. I truly wonder just what she’s thinking about the Loligon’s gallant display of power.

『So, what do you think!? This is the power of a dragon!』

Our smiling mayor’s victory proclamation resounded across the whole neighborhood. After making sure of the monsters’ demise, we headed over to her. Given that Sophia-chan and Neumann are with us, it’s safety first.

We landed right in front of the Loligon whose body was slowly bobbing up and down as she was making her own body float with flight magic.

“Good work, Christina-san.”

『This wasn’t anything worth mentioning! I haven’t even broken a sweat!』

“So it seems.”

The Loligon threw her chest out while roughly breathing through her nose. She was giving people the expression as if she had performed an outstandingly awesome job. Or in other words, she was getting carried away.

The ones reacting to this remarkably were the nui.

“Kyuun.”

“Kyuun, kyuun.”

“Kyuuuuuun.”

They started to squeal adorably and toppled over one after the other for some reason. Lying on the ground sprawled with their faces pointing upwards, they appeared to show off their bellies to the Loligon. And seeing many of them lined up like that, it all looked very soothing.

『Hahaan, it appears they properly know who I am even while I’m using this appearance!』

The Loligon looked awfully smug as she stared at the sprawling nui. I suspect this to be their way of expressing their absolute obedience or respect towards a higher-ranked being. The nui flashed their bellies with its fluffy white fur while squealing cutely. Their current behavior widely differed from their behavior when they encountered this ordinary Japanese flat-face in the past.

As I thought, it’s slightly frustrating.

『I’m the mayor of this city! I’m very satisfied with your brave exploits. You may cherish this city in the future as well. If you do, I shall always watch over you. You have my word!』

“Kyuun.”

“Kyuun, kyuun.”

“Kyuuuuuun.”

They squeaked in response after listening to the words of the mayor. At long last, the Loligon has obtained her own private army. It’s not like I don’t feel slightly worried, if I recall their stats. Even the Twilight Company would be hard pressed if they should ever stage a revolt.

But well, their relationship with the residents seems reasonably good, so it doesn’t seem like it’ll be much of a problem to leave them alone and look at them from afar. Rather, any unksilled attempts to get rid of them might be quite risky, I’d think. At the very least, it’d likely be met with lots of resistance by the Loligon.

Being dragons despite all their fluff gotta be a scam, I’m sure.

Still, did they call over their brethren from some place? The size of their colony has grown a dozen-fold compared to the beginning when I kidnapped them from that area. I feel anxious just how much their group is going to grow if we leave them to their own devices. It’s something I’d love the Loligon to take proper care of.

“Hey, T-Tanaka, is that f-fine? The nui walking around the city as they please and so on….,” Neumann asked, his voice colored with anxiety.

But, I guess it’s only natural for him to make that appeal. If the nui bared their fangs at ordinary humans, it’d become a deadly danger for the humans.

『…Don’ tell me, you’re going to k-kill them? Hey, that’d b-be a really bad j-joke, okay!?』

The Loligon croaked after turning this way with an extremely shocked expression. She was totally panicking and petitioning to me with a look as if she couldn’t believe that it’d be possible for us to cull the nui.

Her cheeks, which were usually squishy, had instantly cramped up.

That’s bad. Yep, really bad.

“Neumann-san’s concerns are justified. But, what would other people think if we got rid of them just because they are no humans? They have been co-existing with the other residents of this city. And just moments ago, they fought for the sake of protecting this district. I do not wish to return good with evil.”

“B-But…”

“Christina-san, I shall bestow citizenship to the nui as lord of this fief.”

『Seriously!?』

“Please become their mediator and intervene whenever there are any problems between them and the other inhabitants as mayor of this city.”

『Of course! A-After all, I’m the mayor!!』

“Thank you.”

The Loligon lacks preconceived notions and bias, and that’s the very reason why she’s so reliable. If I can have her get along with the nui as fellow dragons, I won’t be able to ask for anything better.

However, putting that aside, what should we do about the refugees? Just like with the nui, the number of refugees living in the slums seems to have grown once again. And on top of that, the slum treatment, which I had applied before my departure, was already showing signs of coming undone. Even the flower beds on the roadside have revived.

Damn it! Where did my ideal slum go to?

＊

A little while after witnessing the Loligon’s efforts on the battlefront, we flew off into the sky once again, and checked out the city’s overall situation from above. It’d be terrible if monsters were to ravage the city at other places. However, even after scrutinizing every nook and corner, we couldn’t find any other threats worth mentioning.

Very likely, the earlier group had been all of them. The usage of the facility protected by Deviant-Longhair was limited to once a day. Its scale wasn’t that big either. If you consider the possibility of monsters having been transferred over a span of several days since the revival of Demon Queen-sama, I wonder whether you can really call this a proper invasion yet.

While at it, we also checked for possible damage done to the city, but luckily we couldn’t spot anything. It appears the lesser demons immediately came across the nui in the slum quarters after reaching this place.

All hail the greatness of Edita-sensei’s space magic.

With that said, I felt sorry about this happening right after she came back, but I had Edita-sensei take Deviant-Longhair with her to head over to confirm the state of the facility’s seal. At the same time, I asked the Loligon and Sophia-chan to check the vicinity of Trichuris. Maid-san going with her was for the sake of someone reining in the Loligon where necessary. Thinking back on the events in the Great Holy Land, this combination might not be all that bad.

And as for those remaining behind; this ordinary Japanese flat-face had to take care of Princess-sama.

“But I have to say, you built a fairly exaggerated city without even notifying father about it. I cannot even see the top of the tower visible over there. Just how much technological prowess is necessary to build such a construct?”

“Your Highness, allow me to tell you this much in advance: In case any trouble should befall this city, including the tower over there, it will likely lead to the destruction of the Penny Empire. I shall strongly warn you that even your status would be gone within less than a day.”

“…That sounds very intriguing in and of itself.”

Challenging her straight from the front by provoking her was my duty. As for our current location: we were in the parlor of the mayor’s mansion which also served as our home. The ones present besides me were Princess-sama and Mercedes-chan.

“If you still say that you would enjoy the despair caused by your own actions, I will not stop you in any way. But, the tower would be back to normal as soon as on the next day, I think. Yet, the same could not be said about the Penny Empire. I can promise you as much with absolute certainty.”

“You’re quite confident, aren’t you?”

“Personally I do not consider my life in the Penny Empire to be all that bad. But if you say you are going to cause harm to this city, I shall not hold back at all. Even if you might end up becoming my opponent, I shall deal with you swiftly in any way necessary. If you like, I can show you at this very moment.”

“Are you saying that something like that is truly possible?”

“Did you believe the scene, which you witnessed in the capital, to have been a fake?”

“……”

“The last place standing would not be Charis, but this city.”

This alone was something I wouldn’t entrust to anyone else. This ordinary Japanese flat-face was threatening the princess at full throttle while he still could. While she was a vehicle in order to lift us up, she was a very dangerous and treacherous friend at the same time. We shared a very complicated and odd relationship, but since it was our reality, it couldn’t be changed either way.

Maybe you could describe it as something like reluctantly catering to the wiles of a superior for the sake of borrowing their power. Yeah, okay. It might sound strange, but considering it like that makes me feel a bit better about it.

“Y-You are quite sure of it, aren’t you?”

“I believe you have seen the demon queen’s attack as it approached the castle in Charis too, Your Highness.”

“…What about that magic circle?”

“The one blocking the attack was the mayor of this city.”

“gh…”

When I tried to inform Princess-sama of the Loligon’s glorious deed, her expression changed completely. She looked terribly astonished. Let’s give it the finishing touch then.

“Should I see you off to Charis?”

“I understand. I value my life, so I’ll comply with your suggestion.”

“You have my gratitude.”

If I earnestly tell her this much in advance, I believe that I’ll be able to avoid any bigger issues with her for the time being. But well, so far as it goes, I think I should inform Gon-chan’s unit about her true identity. It’d be a pain in the ass if it otherwise led to some unwanted misunderstandings later on. Having the people in Dragon City pass on for generations that the present Princess-sama of the Penny Empire could be labeled as an extraordinary sadist would be good.

“Mercedes-san, please take care of Her Highness’s surveillance.”

“Leave it to me! I will definitely corrupt her!”

“You’re supposed to be my imperial guard, and yet you’ve lost all restraints in various ways, haven’t you…?”

“I’m a woman before being an imperial guard!”

“……”

I’m sure it’s going to be okay at this rate. It should be fine to leave things to Mercedes-chan for the time being. Even Princess-sama’s authority as royalty didn’t count for much inside Dragon City where the influence of His Majesty the King was negligible. I doubt it’s possible for things to develop into any bigger problems.

Rather than that, the current problem lay with Demon Queen-sama’s movements.

＊

The next destination of this ordinary Japanese flat-face was the room of Ester-chan, which was located inside the mayor’s mansion. Ever since the day after the succubus uproar, I had failed to visit her for various reasons. As such I thought it was about high time to do a sick visit and check on her condition while at it. According to Sophia-chan, Ester-chan had regained consciousness just the other day.

After walking through the corridors for a while, I arrived in front of the room in question. I lightly knocked on the door, causing a hollow sound to echo into the hallway.

“…Ah, yes!”

Thereupon, I heard Allen’s voice responding from inside the room instead of Ester-chan. Were they possibly in the midst of having some fun? Couples all over the world seem to fuck to celebrate times of joyous events, don’t they?

While imagining the steamy action inside the room, I waited for a few seconds before speaking up, “It is Tanaka. I came to visit Ester-san, but…”

“O-Okay! I’ll open the door right away!”

Noisy footsteps could be heard as they approached the door. A little moment later, the handsome guy made an appearance in the door frame. Behind him I could see the princess bitch sitting on a sofa. Naturally that sight triggered a trauma in this virgin. About the past events in the inn. I started to feel like rushing over to the Goggoru House in the suburbs.

But, the silver lining here was the fact of everyone wearing their clothes normally. I couldn’t spot any of the clothes to be particularly disheveled or messy, and no sickly-sweet scent was filling the room either. It looks like they haven’t been going at it.

“With this, all of us are together again.”

At some point, Sophie-chan had apparently arrived here as well. She was sitting on a sofa opposite of Ester-chan. The existence of tea cups with steam rising from them being placed on the table between the two was like a wind of relief to the frail heart of this virgin while also making him feel uncertain.

“gh…”

The face of the half-succubus in question cramped up as soon as she spotted me. Her expression became so strained that you’d think she was tormented by her bladder. On the other hand, the other two people present in the room behaved ordinarily.

“It looks like you woke up. That is wonderful to see.”

“Y-Yes…it appears I caused various troubles to everyone.”

For some reason Ester-chan’s voice sounded awfully nostalgic to me. Even though less than a month has actually passed since we bid farewell from each other.

“How do you feel?”

“Thanks to you, I recovered. Y-Y-You have my g-gratitude for taking c-c-care of me.”

“It is normal to help each other out in times of need, right?”

Her complexion didn’t look bad either, so it seems like she truly recovered. I guess I can feel relieved. Because of that, I calmed down, allowing me to talk with Sophie-chan.

“But, I did not expect for you to be present as well, Sophie-san. The capital Charis is currently in a terrible uproar, and I came back here in a hurry as well. I believe it would be smart for you to stay over here for the present.”

“…A terrible uproar, you say?”

“Have you heard about the happenings in the Pussy Republic?”

“What do you mean?”

“Then, how about the demon queen?”

“Oh, I have heard about her. That story is all over the city here.”

“That makes things quick then.”

I informed them about the Pussy Republic’s castle having been downed with ranged magic by Demon Queen-sama. I also told them that the same magic had been unleashed on the Penny Empire too, but was luckily repelled in a hurried joint-effort by the mayor of Dragon City.

“…S-Something like that has been going on?”

Sophie-chan is a cool girl with her scornful gaze being her charm point. Hence, her eyes flying wide open out of surprise was a true rarity. But, I guess it’s only to be expected for her to be startled.

Not only her, but Ester-chan and Allen were also very shocked when they learned about their homeland being exposed to lethal danger. Over the course of several days, this sort of surprise would probably infect many people and spread to many areas through the flow of people and wares traversing the lands.

“I had planned to visit the Bitch family later on as well, but as you are already here, it will save me some time. At the very least, I believe this place will be able to withstand much longer than Charis.”

“……I see.”

The princess bitch’s expression regained its usual composure alongside that quiet murmur. On the other hand, the other two showed no signs of being able to calm their raging feelings.

“In that case, I-I must return to Charis at once!”

“I also have my duty as a member of the knight order!”

As always, they were a fairly hot-blooded couple. Though I didn’t dislike that part about them.

However, nothing much would change, even if a womanizer and one of his bimbos headed over to the capital. Rather, I would prefer them to settle down since they made it hard for us to keep calm.

“I am sure you have all sorts of thoughts on the matter, but please bear with it patiently for the time being.”

“B-But!”

It’d be a problem if they acted recklessly. Thus, I allowed myself to use a slightly stricter tone.

“The royals have begun to evacuate. If we are talking about your acquaintances, I think they have already started to move out as well. The capital is currently in the midst of chaos. Even if you two were to head over right now, you wouldn’t be able to gain much while at the same time being able to lose much.”

“ng…”

“…The situation is this bad?”

Ester-chan and Allen looked very mortified. I experienced a pang of guiltiness. I felt like phrasing things tragically because I know the characters of these two all too well.

In exchange for those two, Sophie-chan spoke up, “By the way, there is something I’d like to confirm with you.”

“What is it?”

I’m sure she’s going to tactfully support my efforts.

“What happened to our marriage?”

Which reminds me, I feel like something like that was up for discussion as well. It was part of the hustle and bustle before departing to the resort. But it completely slipped my mind due to all the troublesome incidents at the Great Holy Land. And before I realized, things had been neatly settled in a way as desired by both parties.

“Eh…?”

A weird grunt escaped Ester-chan’s lips.

“…Ester?”

“No, ah, eh? Ah, no? It’s nothing! Nothing at all!” She responded while flapping both hands in an exaggerated manner.

Did a bug enter her pussy or something? Oh well, whatever.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face turned to Sophie-chan and honestly informed her.

“If it is about that, I dare say that it has most likely been called off by now.”

“So far as it goes, I’d like to know the reason.”

“That is because I have already lost my peerage. This territory, including the city, was placed under Richard-san’s control a few days ago. From now on it is likely going to continue as part of the FitzClarence Dukedom.”

“You are serious about that?”

“……Eh?”

“T-Tanaka-san, that’s…”

For the first time since I visited the room, it was a group sex of them all being utterly surprised. Given that there was no particular need to hide it, I decided to explain the events surrounding that matter together with the things about Demon Queen-sama. It also included the news of me being hated by the present Saint-sama because of the affairs at the Great Holy Land, her complaint about this ordinary Japanese flat-face through the king of the Penny Empire, my being imprisoned, and the disappearance of my status in the Penny Empire underneath a naked guillotine blade.

“A-All of this took place while we were living here in peace…”

“For this reason, I would like to ask you to think of me as a dead person.”

“Was it for the sake of protecting this city?”

“It wasn’t anything so noble.”

When it came to this busamen’s social standing, Ester-chan had been putting much effort into it, without even paying attention to her own standing. If I consider all the things she did back then, I feel terribly sorry. But, I guess you could call it a blessing in disguise that she didn’t possess any memory of that time.

“Umm, I want to c-confirm o-one thing, if that’s o-okay!”

“Go ahead, Ester-san.”

“The one making you fall was doubtlessly the saint of the Great Holy Land, right?”

“’Making me fall’ is a somewhat misleading way to express it, but I think it is true that she filed a protest with the Penny Empire. If you wish to know further details, you might learn more if you ask Her Highness the Princess, seeing how she is currently staying with us.”

“E-Even Her Highness has come here!?”

The hunk raised his voice into something close to a scream upon the casual murmur of this ordinary Japanese flat-face. Once I cast a fleeting glance at her, Sophie-chan was yet again quite surprised, too. But, I could understand why they were so shocked. It’d probably lead to a major issue if His Majesty found out.

Still, now that I had the goal of reviving Neumann, being somewhat unreasonable was permissible. Even a middle-aged guy must take a risk or two every once in a while, correct?

“Various things happened, but no place is as safe as this city.”

“That’s…umm, is that something following His Majesty’s wishes?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you that. If I did, you would end up getting dragged into this. But, I can assure you that I didn’t bring her here by force or anything like that. I merely went along with what she herself desired.”

“I-I see…”

The hunk’s face had turned pale. Sophie-chan’s complexion didn’t look good either. Just as it existed between commoners and nobility, a huge gap was also present between nobility and royalty. Even a ducal daughter like Ester-chan had been obediently kowtowing as playmate of Princess-sama.

“…Where are you trying to go?”

“Who knows.”

I insisted on playing the fool here. After all, I couldn’t afford them getting in my way. And just as I was answering all kinds of questions by Allen and Sophie-chan, Ester-chan suddenly made a move. Seemingly having reached some sort of conclusion, she stood up with a very serious expression. That behavior of hers drew the attention of everyone else.

“E-Ester?”

“Is something the matter?”

Ester-chan answered with a mumbled whisper to the questions of the other two.

“…I’m going to talk to Her Highness for a bit.”

She quickly headed towards the door leading to the corridor. Her profile…for some reason it looked awfully imposing, making me worried. Her gaze, which had clearly gained in sharpness, seemed to be fixated on the far distance as she approached in front of me and then passed through the door. That loli bitch occasionally has times when she pulls such a cool expression. And each time she does, it brings great strife.

“Ester-san, I would ask you to not be too unreasonable. The situation inside and outside the country is extremely unstable after the aggression by the demon queen. Even if you might be the daughter of the FitzClarence family, you should be taking the worst case into account.”

“…So you worry about me even during times like these, huh?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Are you saying that this is also based on a promise with a certain person?”

“Yes, it is as you say.”

“gn…”

I tried to show off to the utmost, but after she left her seat, loli bitch left the room without looking back at us. The bang of the door being slammed shut reverberated through the room. On the other side of the wall, I could hear how her presence gradually grew distant.

“…Ester.”

Allen’s casual murmur remained as something oddly impressive in the ears of this busamen.

＊

On the same day, around the time when the sky was dyeing madder red, Sophia-chan, Edita-sensei, the Loligon, and Deviant-Longhair returned from their investigation outside Dragon City.

First off, I should probably be thankful for all of them having come back safely.

We gathered in the usual parlor and exchanged the information on hand.

“We have c-checked the transfer gate’s seal. There h-have been no sign of recent u-use,” recounted my blond, thicc-legged loli sensei.

“I see. That is most important.”

“Even your w-wall that surrounds the magic circle i-is still around. No average d-demon will be able to pass t-through it. However, even if no one e-else is capable of it, it’s v-very likely that the demon queen herself excels at space magic. Y-You cannot declare with c-certainity that no other demons will be sent here.”

Her argumentation was quite reasonable. The demon queen is talented enough to launch a large-scale spell from a far distance without actually showing up near the target in person. Moreover, if you consider that Deviant-Longhair, another demon, believes her to specialize in that sort of magic, we cannot be careless no matter what comes.

“Thank you very much. You were a big help.”

I honestly thanked the two for their efforts. In response, Deviant-Longhair unleashed a barrage of complaints at me.

“Let me just make it clear, it’s not like I cooperated with you. All of it is for the sake of my mistress.”

“I am well aware of that.”

I ignored our local demon who was acting like a tsundere just as always.

By the way, speaking of our seat arrangement: this ordinary Japanese flat-face was sitting on a sofa with the Loligon on his right while facing Deviant-Longhair and Edita-sensei on the opposite sofa. Sophia-chan had obstinately refused all offers to sit down and was now standing next to the Loligon.

『H-Hey, I also went to take a look, you know!? I looked all over the place!』

Next the Loligon spoke up.

“How was the situation?”

『I flew around the whole city and its circumference! I didn’t find any weirdos!』

“That is great news. Thank you for your effort.”

『Well, if you possess such awesome wings and eyes as I do, this much is nothing!』

“I am sure it must be just as you say. Nothing less of you, Christina-san.”

『…You piece of shit…aren’t you somehow listless only when dealing with me!?』

“No, absolutely not.”

I understand that this sort of exchange is no more than hypocritical courtesy. But, I think it’s important to keep at least this much of a distance to maintain a smooth relationship.

“Sophia-san, thanks to you as well for having gone along with them.”

“No, u-umm, I have not done anything noteworthy, so, umm, f-forgive me…”

“You having cooperated with these two on that matter bears a profound significance.”

If nothing else, we should rejoice in not having suffered any noteworthy damages so far. And what we have to do next is to maintain this peace.

I think we ought to devote ourselves to defense for the present. As we don’t know how often Demon Queen-sama is going to attack, gauging the opponent’s abilities in preparation to deal with them is the correct approach. I feel sorry to the Loligon, but for the time being I will have her focus on her duties as mayor.

If I consider her recent city love episode, I don’t think I need to spell it out once more.

“The ones I asked to gather here today are those forming the core of the combat forces this city possesses,” I explained while surveying those present in the parlor.

At that point, I suddenly realized. Goggoru-chan was missing. But that makes sense. After all, I was the one who didn’t invite her. Protecting her promise with me more stringently than I expected, she stopped going outside on her own accord most recently.

Let’s reserve some time after this to visit and apologize to her.

“Because we do not know the limits in regards to the approach by the demon queen, I would like us to pool our efforts into expanding the scale and defenses of the city. I feel terribly sorry as it will become a battle with an unpredictable outcome, but could I ask all of you to lend me your assistance nonetheless?”

I concentrated on bowing as neatly as possible. At an angle of 90°. I thank you very much in advance for your help.

『Humph! No need to ask. This is my city!』

In response, the first to answer was the Loligon ― with a very reliable declaration. Somehow it made me very happy.

“Well, i-it’s the city you love and I’ve g-got nothing to do right now anyway. S-So I might as well help you o-out. An invincible and almighty b-being like me won’t ever b-be inferior, even if the enemy m-might be the demon queen! You’re i-in good hands!”

I also got consent from sensei. It had a pinch of tsundere air to it, though.

The Loligon faced sensei, who had talked big, as if wanting to rebuke her. However, nowadays when it was common knowledge that sensei had trashed the previous Demon King-sama on top of having had her powers sealed, a little dragon, who lost against an older generation of Demon King-sama, could only pull a mortified look, unable to take that last step of actually speaking up. One way or another, it was cute. I’ll keep a close watch on the relationship between those two, now that their power balance from before has crumbled.

I’d love to jump into a small, one-room modular bath together with those two and get all soapy.

On the other hand, the one staying true to himself without caring about the motives of the non-human lolitas was Deviant-Longhair.

“Let me tell you right here and now: I have absolutely no intention to make a move for your sake.”

“I do understand this without you repeating it over and over again. One of the reasons for protecting this city also comprises the existence of your mistress. Because of that, I ask you for your cooperation on this, even while understanding that you must be very unwilling to comply.”

The connections Deviant-Longhair possesses as a demon are powerful. If possible, I’d like him to win over his comrades. However, considering whom I’m dealing with, I expect that to be quite difficult. At present he’s maintaining his position as Drill-chan’s manservant, but if Demon Queen-sama were to personally call upon him, it might become impossible for him to ignore it.

Just as I was thinking that…

“…How much of a compensation can you prepare for a demon like me, bastard?”

…he finally went along for some reason and entered negotiations with me.

Seriously? That’s a huge surprise. Is that truly going to be alright? In regards to personnel affairs.

“L-Let’s see…”

What should I do about this completely unforeseen response? No, I think I should give him the truth straight into his face. The other party is a living being who has lived for a much longer period of time than I have. As soon as he got involved with Drill-chan, he turned into something like an idiot, so he felt careless, but he should be much smarter than this ordinary Japanese flat-face at the very least. I doubt any silly schemes or tricks would work on him.

“I like my current lifestyle quite a bit.”

“So? How does that matter to me?”

“Your mistress is a part of it. And you are next to her, making you a part of it as well.”

“……”

It turned into a cornier line than I had intended. But oh well, whatever. It’d be too much of a bother to gloss it over now anyway. I’ll just give it to him straight.

“…Could you please help us?”

“Humph…”

I tried asking him upfront. Thereupon, Deviant-Longhair snorted lightly and turned his face away. As he folded his arms and so on, I wondered what he’d say. With all eyes gathered on us, the room became silent as the following words were still missing.

However, that lasted but a short time.

“…Very well. I’ll cooperate.”

I couldn’t see his face, but I think it should be okay. That’s the feeling I get.

“Thank you kindly. It is very reassuring to have your assistance.”

Thinking back on the dispute from some time ago, I would have never expected that I’d welcome a day where I’d shake hands with this demon. I won’t go as far as saying that having my head lopped off has turned into a nice memory these days, but well, in the end I got through it. You really never know which way things will go in life.

For this very reason, this virgin can still chase after a hymen he hasn’t seen yet. He can continue to chase after his dream.

And then, after I got a consent from everyone, Maid-san spoke up last.

“Umm, I-I…I don’t h-have such a-a-amazing powers like e-e-everyone else…”

She looks like she’s about to cry, pee, and become disheartened at any moment. However, she, who’s appealing so with teary eyes and trembling knees, might be more omnipotent, invincible, and powerful than anyone else in this room. This ordinary Japanese flat-face believes that she’s hiding that much power.

“You might not have realized it yourself, but Sophia-san, you possess a special power. That power is very likely so powerful that I cannot even hold a candle to it. Unlike the brutal powers wielded by us, it is a glorious might that will grant utter bliss to other people.”

“I-I-I-I-I-I don’t have a-a-a-anything like that! I’m just an o-o-ordinary maid…”

Sophia-chan, who had apparently accepted being a maid at some point, was adorable. As I thought, I want to fuck her. However, since it looks like the questioning and answering will become slightly long, I’ll cut it short here.

“Once more, thank you for your help in advance,” I indirectly repeated my request for their cooperation while bowing my head towards everyone.

＊

【Sophia-chan’s Point of View】

I was on my way back after having received the future plans from Tanaka-san. As I was walking towards the office, I discovered a familiar person in the corridor. It was Ester-sama. She had just left the office. As soon as she spotted his maid, she revealed a faint smile and ran up to this maid with a pitter-patter.

“Sophy, I have a request for you!”

“O-Okay! What might it be!?”

Having my name called out so loudly, I reflexively straightened my back. Does she need something from me?

“Where can I find Lord Fahren’s room?”

“Eh? Ah, in that case, allow me to guide you there.”

“Thanks. That’s a huge help.”

I could feel the bounce and energy from Ester-sama’s way of talking. These days, Fahren-sama tends to coop himself up in his research building. I assume that he can be found over there right now as well. While making that guess, this maid took the liberty to guide Ester-sama.

“Please come this way.”

Fahren-sama’s laboratory was built separate from this mansion. We arrived at our destination in no time. It was a relatively big building across the street from Mayor-san’s mansion. It had three floors. The second floor was used as Fahren-sama’s laboratory while Elf-san’s laboratory was to be found on the third floor. According to Tanaka-san.

By the way, the first floor was used by both of them together.

“Is something the matter? It’s rare for Richard’s daughter to visit me.”

Once we entered his room, Fahren-sama was kneeling on the floor while facing a magic circle he had drawn down there. Noticing Ester-sama’s visit, he stopped in the middle of his work, stood up, and turned around to us.

“I have come here because there is something I’d like to consult you about.”

“Consult me? Alright. Let’s hear it over there.”

Fahren-sama pointed with his eyes at two sofas facing each other, located in a visitor’s space that had been set up in a corner of the room.

“No need. We can talk while standing.”

“I see. Then ask away without holding back anything.”

“It’s about the magic circle drawn on the floor over there. I heard that it was found inside a demon ruin when he had a dispute with Doris’s attendant. But is that right? I also heard you brought it back here.”

“To be precise, this is an imitation I recreated with my own hands.”

“Then let me ask you straight: does that work?”

“Hoh. Are you interested in demon arts?” Fahren-sama’s expression changed after hearing Ester-sama’s question.

Now he was happily smiling like a little boy.

“Yes, I’m very interested in it.”

“I see! If that’s the case, I’ll gladly teach you. As a matter of fact, this one has already reached a state where it’s possible to activate it. I finished it just yesterday night. All that’s left is to pour mana into it to test it out.”

This maid is well aware that the noble lord over here is a huge magic lover.

Just like a boy who’s showing off the toy, which his parents just bought him, to his neighborhood friends, he began to talk with his eyes sparkling. This extremely innocent conduct somehow tickled my maternal instincts despite him being much, much older than I am.

“How far can it actually move you?”

“Going by the theory, it’s probably possible to leap all the way to the Dark Continent. However, the mana required to activate it increases in proportion to the distance to be traveled. If you limit it to what a human body can provide in mana, I think it’ll be limited to the neighboring countries at the most. For anything beyond that, the necessary mana increases drastically.”

“I see. So that’s how it is…”

“But, lo and behold! I improved the original magic circle, succeeding in embedding a function that allows to activate the magic circle from a mana supply that has been poured into the circle over the course of several instances. With this, it’s possible even for a human body to travel fairly big distances as long as they invest some time into injecting mana!”

Fahren-sama has been talking with a smile plastered all over his face. Very likely, this is an astounding invention. At the very least it causes him to look awfully joyful.

“Moreover, this improved magic circle has no limitations on the possible destinations! The device originally created by the demons had the precondition of being a pair. On the other hand, this magic circle uses the user’s imagination as an indicator for the transfer destination. But well, this part comes with some stability issues, so it’ll probably be necessary to verify the function plentifully.”

“In short, the difficulty of learning it has gone up, but its utility has increased accordingly, right? It also depends on the skill level of the user, but the realistic point of compromise here is that you use it while narrowing down the transfer destination linked to the individual, right? Still, if you have enough users, it will be possible to operate the routes in a fairly systematic manner.”

“Yep, you totally got it! That’s how it is!”

“Is it possible for several users to pour mana into the magic circle?”

“Hah, of course! What would be the point in me giving up on the biggest advantage of humans?”

I think Fahren-sama’s invention is very wonderful. It’s so amazing that even this uneducated maid can somehow understand its value.

But, I suddenly realized. Elf-san had been using the magic, which they had been talking about now, on a daily basis. Since I have personally experienced it on several occasions, there is no doubt about it. The trip from Dragon City to Charis took an instant. It was something that took place within the blink of an eye.

Because of that, I can only regard it as very scary, if I imagine the shock Fahren-sama might encounter if he were to learn of this truth. As he keeps rejoicing over the process of his research, I cannot help but dread the conclusion waiting for him further down the line.

“……”

But, yes. I will stay quiet about this for the time being. For now this maid shall honestly admire his appearance as he gets all giddy over his new invention.

“As expected of you, Lord Fahren. What a marvelous invention.”

“Oh, so you do understand, Richard’s daughter!? Personally I’m also very satisfied with this invention. However, it’s not over yet. I will improve it into something even better. Ah, in addition to that, I must also advance my research on the life potion!”

“You’re also dabbling in that?”

“I was allowed to inherit that guy’s research. It truly never gets boring if you’re together with that man.”

“Indeed, I think so as well…”

Ester-sama’s smile felt somewhat scary as she had a cheerful talk about magic with Fahren-sama. It seemed as though Fahren-sama wasn’t even reflected in her eyes, despite standing right in front of her, drowned out by the dangerous light gleaming within.

“…That’s why we must take good care of him.

A cold chill ran down my spine. I wonder what this unsettling feeling might be.

＊

One night had passed since coming back to Dragon City.

Now that we had decided on our current plan, all of us proceeded towards taking action. As always, things moved along quickly once we had decided on everything that had to be decided. Mostly because of the outstanding personnel that had gathered in this city.

To be frank, I was overwhelmed.

The project we would tackle first and foremost would be the expansion of Dragon City.

『Hey, isn’t the territory of another country starting over there?』

“It doesn’t matter. Let us steadily reclaim the area.”

I gazed at the border far below while floating in the sky with flight magic. At present the Pussy Republic should be in the midst of chaos since its royal castle had been obliterated. I think it’s only logical for the Penny Empire to use this opportunity and expand its realm into the domain of its neighboring country. Especially seeing how both countries have shared bad blood for a long time.

Yeeeaah! Now’s the perfect time to take a risk. I’ll get Drill-chan’s permission afterwards. So, let’s do my best here.

Very likely, the political map of humanity will be greatly altered after the countries suffer Demon Queen-sama’s offensive moves anyway. It’s necessary for us to overcome this big wave to the bitter end in order to vindicate Neumann’s honor. And Dragon City’s expansion is indispensable for that.

The scale of the city is directly linked to the power of its lord, I think. The story of this busamen’s rise has had only a slight scenario change after coming here. With the current flow of things, it’s very probable that I’ll be able to somehow manage the situation, even if I ignore some random saints.

『Is it really alright? We’ll be able to build a lot, you know?』

“That’s great. Let us build a lot.”

『Until now you told me that it’d be wrong to do so, didn’t you? You said that the area from here to there is off-limits』

“Let us bury this huge region with our works of art.”

『…You mean it, right?』

“I do. Or did you really think that I would get cold feet this late in the game?”

『Gururururu, bring it on! It’s going to be a match!』

The Loligon happily declared while laughing in a way that exposed her high canines.

“That is just what I had hoped for.”

It’s city-building for the first time in a while. Now then, I suppose I’ll take the liberty to do my best with the mettle of surpassing the Loligon’s magic.

＊

Several more days after I returned to Dragon City.

We’ve been receiving information about Charis every day from people referring to themselves as messengers of a certain duke. According to them, the attacks by Demon Queen-sama are still continuing. Just the other day, her magic blast seems to have hit the capital city of the neighboring country x.

Thanks to that, all human countries are currently in a big panic. Demon Queen-sama sure isn’t kidding around. I don’t even feel a shred of resistance to call her a demon queen, if she displays such a mighty power.

“Tanaka-san, umm, I’m done over here, so could you please check it for me?”

“Oh, right.”

Currently I’m together in my office with Sophia-chan. I’ve been in deep thought while keeping an account book.

This place with no one other than us two present on a bright, early afternoon was very quiet. The only sounds audible were my and her breathing as well as the pen’s scribbling. What a calm and relaxing space that completely contrasted the extremely harsh situation in the world around us.

Once I cast a fleeting glance at Maid-san, I saw her profile as she was seriously staring at the desk in front of her.

Wonderful.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face, who was checking the documents she finished while sitting on a stool next to her, wondered whether this whole scene wasn’t just like the one-on-one tutoring as it was done during my active duty as student.

Yep, this position had been a dream of mine for many years. The home tutoring which I as a student was never able to do because I failed all the interviews. Thinking back on all those humiliating failures, I now felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

This virgin had fulfilled one of his dreams after crossing worlds, hasn’t he?

Tutoring a teen girl ― I think it’s good to have such small dreams. Probably.

“……”

And I dearly pray that this tutoring will someday evolve into a passionate, private lesson.

Sophia-chan in her maid attire is so friggin’ cute.

Man, I wanna fuck her. I wanna totally mess her up by screwing her from behind. And then I’d love to take a picture of us in a photo booth with Sophia-chan smiling and doing peace signs while her big belly would be just barely covered by her maid uniform.

“Excuse me, Tanaka-san, about this document here…”

“Yes. What might it be?”

However, that blissful period of time didn’t last for long. A rude knocking reached the ears of this busamen as he felt like being in paradise.

“Yo, boss! You’re in!?”

What reached those ears next was Gon-chan’s voice.

Fuck, I wanted to enjoy my time with Sophia-chan for a bit longer. The sense of loss is quite real here. It’s the same sort of sadness you’d feel when a female student in a cute uniform coincidentally sits down next to you on a train, and then gets off before you after reaching her station several minutes later.

If I had known that this would happen, I’d have glanced at her profile a lot more.

“Oh, Gonzales-san. Is something the matter?”

“Pardon my intrusion.”

After giving that short warning, the skin macho showed up from the corridor. No sooner than the door was powerfully opened and closed, he walked up our way――the desk where Sophia-chan was sitting――at a brisk pace. No sooner than he slid up to the place where this ordinary Japanese flat-face was sitting, he moved to face me directly opposite.

“I need your advice on somethin’, boss.”

The expression of Gon-chan was exceedingly serious. As it looked like I had no choice, I ended my Sophia-chan time with a heavy heart.

“Is there something troubling you?”

“That Neumann went out on patrol while leadin’ my guys, but he came back with quite a shockin’ report. Accordin’ to him, a brigade-sized group of refugees is on its way to our city. The precise number remains unclear, but as far as he told me, there’s close to a thousand of them.”

“…Neumann-san went on a patrol, you say?”

It’s unusual for him, the prime example of an office worker, to step outside.

“Yeah. I know what you wanna say, boss. But, this was somethin’ he insisted on. I tried to stop him as well, though. However, since he basically begged me to let him go, I had my best men go with him. But well, I didn’t expect he’d come back with such a huge problem in the bag.”

“I see.”

It’s just a guess, but he must have reconsidered many things in regards to the change of his relationship with his wife. Men have times when they want to be little rascals. And I could fully understand if Neumann is going through such a phase right now.

“Is Neumann-san alright?”

“Of course. Please don’t underestimate our company, okay?”

“Thank you for your effort.”

Seeing Gon-chan talk with a nice smile was very soothing and made me feel relieved. Maybe the whole adultery drama will naturally vanish if I leave everything up to this man. It looks like Neumann’s outlaw-ish adventurer life after getting trained by the Twilight Company and subsequently shedding his skin as a man isn’t that far off into the future anymore.

Be that as it may, this ordinary Japanese flat-face won’t give up. I’ll set everything in motion so that he’ll be able to triumphantly appear at the imperial court once again.

“By the way, where are those refugees coming from?”

“From the Pussy Republic.”

“I understand. If that’s the case, we will deal with them appropriately.”

“Are we goin’ to drive them away? Then…”

“No, we will welcome all of them.”

“H-Hey, you sure about that!?”

Hearing this busamen’s decision, Gon-chan pulled a startled expression.

But, that makes sense. If it comes to a group reaching the four digits, they exceed those currently in charge of managing Dragon City by leaps and bounds. It a figure that would allow them to overwhelm us by just approaching us from the front.

The most we can expect after kindly accepting them would be them usurping our city instead. And even the other side can be considered to be on the move with quite a few of them thinking something like that.

But, we have power. Inhuman power that outclasses human strength by several levels.

“Still I think we must first check what sort of people we are dealing with.”

“…Gotcha. We’re talkin’ about you here, so I’m sure things will go down smoothly.”

“Thank you.”

If the Loligon and I put some work into this, we’ll likely be able to expand the city as much as we want to. But, the same can’t be said about the people living in the city.

Considering our future objectives, I think it might be necessary to wave goodbye to the initial idea of going with an inn town and shift towards a design that allows people to genuinely inhabit the city. It’s what you’d call a mid- to long-term goal.

This will definitely require more than just doing our best.

＊

My feet carried me outside the wall surrounding our city. After leaving through the gate facing the Pussy Republic and walking for a bit, I ran into two groups facing each other. One among them contained a few faces this ordinary Japanese flat-face was familiar with. It looks like the scariness of their faces stands out even among the members of the Twilight Company. I could also spot Neumann at the head of that group.

Facing them was most likely the group of refugees Gon-chan had told me about. Their appearances were a lot neater than I had expected. I could also see many carriages in all shapes and sizes. It might be more appropriate to call them a huge travel group than refugees. Since I could also spot a few people that seemed to be nobles going by their attires and demeanor, this is quite a bit beyond what I had imagined.

“Oh, you came over as well, Tanaka.”

“Thank you for waiting, Neumann-san.”

Together with Gon-chan, we lined up next to Neumann.

“I would like to confirm the situation with you, if possible.”

“Ah, about that…”

“Is something the matter?”

“It seems like they’re a group led by a noble whose territory adjoins ours.”

“I see.”

For real!? Doesn’t that mean those people come from Drill-chan’s fief?

This is definitely a development I hadn’t foreseen. Maybe they’re secretly scheming to take advantage of the confusion caused by Demon Queen-sama to get revenge on us for the dispute. In such a case, a talk about accepting the refugees would be off the table right away.

I faced the other party with a fairly tense expression. Their group was situated at a distance that would barely allow them to hear our voices. Meaning, they had grouped up at a spot that was a few dozen meters away from Neumann who stood at the front of the Twilight Company.

How far should I walk up to them? I guess I’ll move up to a distance where the other members won’t get dragged into things even if it should develop into a battle.

Before long, the other group, this ordinary Japanese flat-face and the residents of Dragon City formed a line with equal distances in-between.

“I am the representative of the Penny Empire who has been entrusted with the territory around here,” I addressed them with a loud voice. “What might be your purpose in coming here?”

Thereupon, there was a reaction ahead of me. A single noble-looking man at the head of the group raised his voice as he sat on a horse.

“We are people who have been living in the Pussy Republic’s Ahan Viscounty and its circumference.”

Okay, just as I thought. It’s people from Drill-chan’s place.

“So what sort of business do you have with our city?”

If all of them received training as soldiers and as long as they are only armed with combat power as would be suitable in scale for a town like Dragon City, I think I’d be able to fully take down all of them even if they came at me from the front.

Whatever the actual circumstances might be, it’s a situation where it wouldn’t be weird even if they charged at me right now and here. The experience of being chased around by a huge amount of rainbow-colored spells in the skies above the plain is still fresh in my mind. To be honest, that was scary as fuck. And it’s a combat asset that would give them more than plenty of confidence, if they feel like attacking the enemy general.

As I thought about this and that, the noble continued, “Please allow me to make a shameful request. Would you find it in yourself to allow us to defect to the Penny Empire as refugees? We do not intend to cause any problems to you. If you say that you cannot trust us, we would be fine with being allowed to stay outside the wall for the time being. Of course, we also brought a suitable amount of money and information with us.”

“……”

What the hell is up with that? It’s so far outside my estimations, that it’s actually shocking.

“Ah, I remember having seen you before. You were the man leading the army in this area during the skirmish a while ago, weren’t you? We are very grateful for your leniency back then. Your order to not cause a single casualty while embroiled in a battle of such a scale was truly remarkable.”

“…Would it be alright for me to inquire about the reason for your defection?”

It’d be ridiculous if they cut off our heads during our sleep the instant after we welcomed them into the city. As might be expected, I felt like something was terribly off here.

However, the reply I received was likewise completely out of the ballpark.

“…Our Lord hasn’t come back.”

“Your Lord as in…?”

“Viscountess Ahan hasn’t come back. Ever since leaving with the words that she would be back soon, we haven’t seen her again. In other words, our lord is absent with her whereabouts remaining unclear. All while her castle remains gone. Moreover, the capital city of the Pussy Republic was lost due to an attack by the demon king. What would you do if faced with such worrying circumstances?”

“……”

“We could not sit still any longer. Would you please, please take us in? If that proves to be impossible, could you at least tell us the whereabouts of Viscountess Ahan, if you happen to know? I would like you to tell us even the most trivial piece of information you might have heard. We do not wish to live near that town any longer.”

That cursed Drill. It looks like she really came here after throwing all kinds of things to the wind. At least tell them where you’re going, damn it!

Still, normally you wouldn’t go that far, would you? I mean, the mice will play when the cat’s away. I’m sure they’d find as many candidates to run the place in the lord’s stead as they want. Being able to unexpectedly become a viscounty’s lord is like winning in a lottery. There would be no reason to reject the post.

And yet, they request asylum in a neighboring country, which they constantly fought in countless skirmishes, to the extent of abandoning the available land where they were born.

I surveyed the expressions of the people in their group once more. Each of them, be it woman, child, man, or elderly, were looking my way with eyes full of pleading and imploring.

“If I consider that our town could be attacked again at any time, we…we absolutely…”

“…I understand.”

I’m sure their suffering, which had started with the Loligon’s attack, might have been considerable. Their loss against the Twilight Company which overcame their combat forces which were almost ten times as big, their lord’s castle which hadn’t been rebuilt at all ever since Ester-chan’s memory loss, and the destruction of their own country’s capital by Demon Queen-sama’s attack; all of these must have been very terrifying.

I suspect their hearts must have been crushed after they got repeatedly struck by such disasters. Probably some parts of them have already given up on all sorts of things, too.

But, I can totally understand. That feeling of wanting to abandon everything and rely on someone else.

“Please grant our request. All places are in chaos, so we have no other place to go anymore. All of us are tormented by anxiety, making it impossible to sleep, whenever we think about how we could be burned to death as soon as the next magic attack comes flying at any time.”

Drill-chan has stayed true to herself as well. I’m sorry for her playing the role of hostage as means to neglect everything else.

I kind of feel like she proudly talked about her fief’s population and so on as lord when I met her first. But well, how to put it…? She’s the type of person who won’t pay much attention to her surroundings as long as she can enjoy herself. At this point, it might already have completely slipped her mind that she’s got a territory to run. And thanks to that, her fief’s residents have experienced this very pitiable situation.

“These are rumors I heard out on the streets, but according to them, the town over here houses a very famous magician who can even overpower a group of lesser demons. If possible, we would like to request an audience with them by all means…”

“I understand. We will accept you.”

“Seriously!?”

Beginning with the noble man, who had been my negotiation partner thus far, the faces of everyone in their group broke into broad smiles. It was a very striking reaction. Somehow, I started to feel pathetic.

“Yes, seriously.”

Besides, it’s not a bad offer for our side either. Taking in our neighbors is definitely much better than accepting refugees with completely unknown backgrounds. I can feel much calmer like this. And now that it’s decided, I’d like to expend all my efforts to welcome them as wonderfully as possible.

They assisted with a courteous handling during the previous dispute and their sentiments towards us aren’t bad either. The generosity of the representing noble, who brought the residents along with him instead of fleeing just by himself, is nice too.

“But, that does not mean that we can unconditionally take in all of you on the same day. First we shall allow those of high standing and their relatives to enter our city. We will prepare buildings outside the walls for everyone else, so please make use of those. As you might expect, our city is not big enough to house all of you.”

“We are truly grateful! That much is more than enough!”

“We will send someone over in a little while, so please get everything sorted until then. We can take in around twenty to thirty people. The remaining people will need to wait for a bit until we prepare the buildings.”

“I understand. Also, about the buildings, how much time is it going to take you to arrange for them?”

“I think we will need several weeks to prepare everything, including glass windows and furniture. If it’s just the walls, roofs, and floors, those should be done within two or three days. If there are any particular facilities or equipment you desire, please tell us in advance.”

I’ll get the Loligon to cooperate as well. Since we’ve already built some, I think it’ll be fine to allocate those to this place. The construction work outside the wall has considerably advanced over the last few days.

Yeah, since we’re going to do it anyway, we might as well listen to the various requests of the residents and build stuff that will make them happy, right? I mean, if they’re going to live there, it should be the individual home they’ve always been longing for. Like Papa gets a library, Mama gets a garden, and I get a secret base in the attic. Yep.

“…Eh?”

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no, two to three days means…”

“Camping outdoors for an extended period of time must be hard. I will visit later to ask you about the detailed requests.”

“Y-You don’t need to go that fa…”

“Please look over there,” I interrupted the man with a slightly raised voice and pointed at a place next to the wall.

Just at that moment, you could see the Loligon exiting the city through the gate while walking briskly. Seeing how she’s whistling, she got to be in a good mood.

The man reflexively closed his mouth as soon as he spotted her. As for why: he had noticed the Loligon’s destination. The same also applied to the others with him.

They kept following the Loligon with their eyes as she walked for a while. Before long, her feet carried her to a somewhat open patch of land outside the wall with only a few buildings dotting the area.

“………”

Next she looked right, then left, before deciding that her current spot would be good. A short time later, she exercised engineering magic. Right after a magic circle manifested under her feet, a huge wall rose into the air. Moreover, it wasn’t just a simple wall either. The ruggedness of its surface that reminded one of a deliberate stonework had been designed like a wallpaper, making the wall look awfully fashionable. And just as one wall after the other grew out of the ground, she finished erecting the framework of a building in no time. Just like a pop-up book.

“Wh-…”

The faces of the refugees were uniformly dyed with shock.

“She is the mayor of our city. Despite her current appearance, she is a dragon who has lived for quite a few years. She has been using Stone Wall, but it is nothing that will crumble apart within our short lifetime. I think you will be able to use those buildings as residence with peace of mind.”

Her engineering magic has proven to be sound- and windproof. It’s truly mortifying that I cannot imitate it as of yet. Seriously mortifying.

“……D-D-Dr-Da-Dragon!?”

“Please talk to Neumann over here to sort out the details.”

My eyes pointed at Neumann who had arrived next to me at some point. He responded by respectfully bowing his head. Him adopting a posture that looked like it came out of a textbook about etiquette was probably owed to the other party being a noble, even if from another country. This sort of integrity in each and every aspect of life made him seem like a good match with people like Richard-san.

“Well then, please excuse me at this point.”

This ordinary Japanese flat-face’s turn was over, so he did a right about-face.

I must report the chain of decisions to Gon-chan and Sophia-chan.

＊

【Sophia-chan’s Point of View】

It’s a disaster. Tanaka-san has accepted a huge amount of refugees.

“But Boss, what are we going to do about food for them? Public order will become an issue, too.”

Gonzales-san offered his opinion at once.

Most recently, the city had been gradually improved and settled. At present, I doubt that the residents have any problems with the taxes they pay to the authorities. Moreover, it might not be worth much in the grand scheme of the whole, but the city has also started to slowly save up money due to this maid’s independent decision.

But, the incident this time will have such a large impact that all of those savings will be blown away. As the one entrusted with the accounting, I could immediately tell as much, even if it was quite saddening.

“You are right…”

Maybe Tanaka-san is just now in the process of considering this?

This maid is beside her with worry. While still facing my desk, I listened in on their conversation with my hands having stopped processing the documents, too. I could feel the first signs of my armpits slowly but steadily becoming damp. These days, the sides of my underwear have been turning yellow. Over a period of just a few weeks, they have continued to dye yellow.

I don’t want to admit it, but my body is going through changes. I can’t laugh at the yellow tint of Tanaka-san’s shirts anymore either. At long last, I have become his yellow-tint-comrade.

“……”

With things like this, it would be better if I didn’t look at the situation of the city’s budget any longer. Immediately after my mother left our home, I got an urge to take a look at our family’s account book which was nothing more than a sum of numbers. That threw me into panic. I felt like I wasn’t alive anymore. And it was at this moment that the word slave crossed my still childish mind for the first time.

“If we go with a frontal attack, clinging to Richard-san while begging in tears would be the easiest way out.”

“That was actually an option? If I remember correctly you mentioned before that borrowing help from outside would be impossible, didn’t you? Also, I know that you and the missy have been worrying together ’bout this and that because of it, okay? Are you going to be alright doing something like that?”

That is a rule we had for a period of time. If I’m not mistaken, it stated that it wouldn’t be allowed to accept financing from outside. I heard we had that rule imposed on us directly by the prime minister of the Penny Empire.

Back then, I got completely discouraged as it was something I could not quite label as sane order. I had wondered what would happen to us and whether this country had gone crazy.

“In reality, the ownership of this city, no, of our entire territory has been entrusted to Richard-san. Because it used to be my territory until now, it had various troublesome restrictions imposed on it, but now you can safely consider all of them as abolished.”

“Really!? No, wait. The other party is a duke who represents the country, right? Is that going to fly with him?”

“That is the very reason why I think this can be resolved with some pocket money. If we are talking about him.”

“…If you say so, it’s gotta be like that.”

“Getting indebted to Richard-san is somewhat scary, but I think it would be best to honestly use that option on this occasion. Us expanding the city right now bears a very significant meaning, I believe. Of course, it’s also for his sake.”

“Gotcha. If that’s your decision, we’ll just become your hands and feet, Boss. Whatever you say, in the end the Twilight Company is the chivalric order of Baron Tanaka! I know I’m repeating myself here, but we don’t plan to serve anyone else. Don’t make any mistakes about that part, okay?”

“Thank you kindly. In the worst case, let us strive together to make a name for ourselves in another place. I am sure the mayor will come with us as well. I believe a place like the Dark Continent, for example, might actually be quite thrilling.”

“Whoa, wait a sec. This would be way above our heads.”

It looks like they wrapped up the conversation in the form of receiving help from Ester-sama’s home. For this maid, who has the privilege of managing the accounting, this feels like yet another cause for big worries. If possible, I would have liked to resolve this within the city.

Ah, my armpits have become sopping wet. Am I going to be okay with my smell under these circumstances? I mean, it’s often said that people have difficulty perceiving their own smell.

“The problem will be public order…”

“So far as it goes, we plan to handle things on our side.”

“You might say so, but you cannot disregard their numbers. At present, our mayor is increasing the number of buildings while brimming with enthusiasm, so it’s pretty much set that we will have a remarkable labor shortage in the near future. Having said that, I don’t wish to indiscriminately add new people to your company, Gonzales-san.”

“That’s definitely music in my ears. But, in that case, what else do you plan to do ’bout it?”

“Let’s see…”

Seeing how we have welcomed the refugees, maintaining public order and security is of utmost importance. You can find too many examples of countries which became impoverished after taking in refugees throughout history, or so it seems. You can hear those kinds of stories even out on the streets. It means policies, which were intended to increase a country’s national power, backfired and caused the country to ruin itself.

I think that’s only natural, though. It makes sense that a region will be tossed into chaos if people without any attachment to that place arrive in droves. For this reason, this maid is very worried.

I feel very uneasy, fearing that this city, which has only recently achieved a certain stability, might turn into something akin to a slum of the Penny Empire. It appears that I have grown very fond of this city.

If it’s something that is possible, I would like for peace to last forever. Even our slum quarters revived into a residential area on their own accord, even though the city didn’t pay them a dime. I consider this city, which is prone to such mysterious development, as very dear.

“…Let us ask the nui.”

“Haaah? The nui!?”

“Yes, they should possess more than enough power to suppress any quarrels.”

“No, wait a moment there, Boss. I mean, isn’t that kinda problematic? The nui might be smaller, but they are dragons after all, no? Sure, they seem to have become emotionally attached to the townsfolk, but isn’t it next to insane to ask so much of them? If things go south, the city could be destroyed from within, you know?”

“As with everything, we won’t know unless we give it a try. Actually, I have confirmed that the nui will act in order to protect the residents of the city when faced with a threat attacking from outside the city. If things go well, they could become perfect partners for us.”

“…As always, you’re outside of any common sense.”

“I simply believe there is merit in giving things a chance.”

“Well, if you say so, I ain’t goin’ to stop you…”

“Thank you for your understanding. I will ask the mayor later on. I know it’s a bother, but Gonzales-san, please pass on the information that the nui will be patrolling the city. After all, it would spell a lot of trouble if they were to be attacked by the residents by any chance.

“A-Aye.”

Since it would be terrible if this maid got dragged into the conservation, she decided to return to her work.

I shall take the liberty to pretend how I’m tackling the account book for dear life. Also, I think I should slightly increase the fodder expenses, which are listed on this document over here, starting with next month. Wanting to eat more than usual in proportion to a workload increase should be the same for humans and dragons alike, I’m sure.

Also, surprisingly few problems crop up as long as people have a full stomach. As the daughter of a restaurant owner, I think that it is important for everyone to not be hungry.

＊

————— End of Part 9 —————

With Gon-chan spearheading the operation, the residents of Dragon City were briefed about the deployment of the nui over a period of three days. As for the noble district, we judged that it’d pose no problem to disregard it for the present since the standard of living over there was deemed to be fairly high.

The reaction by the visitors of our city was quite shallow as well. Mostly you could describe it as them lightly cocking their heads when hearing about it from a passerby while walking on a crowded street in the business district or such. Most likely, they had frequently run into nui up until now. As such, something of this level wouldn’t be much of a surprise for our visitors anymore.

As a matter of fact, I spotted a nui receiving jerky from the owner of a roofed stall as I was walking through the city myself. It was completely being treated as a pet. The nui in question splendidly caught the piece of jerky, which the stall owner had thrown, by jumping, before happily chewing on it. With the jerky-provider being all smiles while watching.

Seeing that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face concluded that the residents were more than willing to accept the nui.

Anyway, together with the Loligon, I visited the slum quarters. The area, which had completely changed each time I had visited it recently, had been rebuilt to such a level that you couldn’t call it a slum any longer. Nowadays it appeared to be more like a regular residential area. Looking at the children cheerfully playing out on the streets, it was quite hard to imagine this as a place where you could enjoy some outdoor sex.

And, starting from the conclusion, the nui obeyed the Loligon without any issues.

『Alriiight! You lot, do your best and work hard for the city, okay!?』

“Kyuuun!”

“Kyuuun kyuuun!”

“Kyuuuuuun!”

Maybe you could explain it away with her voice of authority. Either way, the nui spread from the slums all over the city to perform their new task as soon as they heard the instructions from their mayor. Their appearance as they energetically kept dashing around on their four legs engendered a loveliness standing in stark contrast to their brutal status. As I thought, they’ve turned into pets through and through.

The Loligon puffed out her cheeks in satisfaction while watching all of this happening.

『Hihi. Adorable, aren’t they?』

She looked quite proud of them. Very likely she’s regarding the nui as something akin to her personal henchmen. Well, going by their species, you could classify them as dragons, so it makes sense in a way.

“Thank you kindly. Because of you, it looks like things will work out smoothly.

『Right? But, I’m the mayor, so doing this much isn’t anything worth of mentioning!』

The Loligon boasted with a smug face after having successfully finished the talks with the nui.

With this, all I’ve got to do is to wait and see how things develop further down the line.

I can’t tell how nicely it’ll work out in the end, but as long as the Loligon continues as mayor of this city, I can optimistically assume that no bigger problems should occur. After all is said and done, she has a track record of having been chummy with the slum’s residents, too.

By the way, it’s scheduled to have the residents, who are living over here, to relocate into the new, developing residential area outside the wall. At first they had been hesitant, but when I informed them that we planned to build another wall around the new residential area before long, they agreed to it unexpectedly willingly.

Thanks to that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face could get started on the restructuring of the slums with a peace of mind.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, but why are nui living in this city?”

By the way, for some reason Drill-chan was standing next to this busamen. We had coincidentally run into her on the way to the slums. As usual, she didn’t know what to do with all her free time, so she told us that she’d come along as well, before putting this right into practice. On a side note: she told us that Deviant-Longhair was currently resting in his room. These days, that guy has been slacking around quite a lot.

“Well, isn’t it fine either way? It is nothing that unusual, I would say.”

“I highly doubt that you could dub it as sane,” Drill-chan replied.

『What? Got any complaint?』

“N-Not really…that’s not what I meant…” Drill-chan lost her drive when threatened by Christina.

Come to think of it, they’re a weird combination.

“I plan to properly pay them a salary. They are of equal status with us.”

“…I didn’t mean it like that either.”

There’s no way I could honestly admit that I went to personally pick them up from a nearby forest after having confirmed their status. Moreover, at first it was just a few nui, but before I realized, their numbers had increased into the three digits. I suspect that they’ve called their friends over from somewhere.

“Let us get along with them. I think things will work out that way.”

『Okay, I’m off then! There’s still lots of stuff I need to build!』

“Understood.”

The Loligon departed full of energy. I saw her off together with Drill-chan.

After her figure had disappeared on the other side of the road, Drill-chan made sure that the Loligon couldn’t be seen anywhere anymore, and said, “Arbitrarily expanding the city into the Pussy Republic is a risky move. Don’t complain to me later on that I haven’t warned you, okay?”

“I do feel sorry about it. But, is that something you should say?”

“I mean, even if I tell you off, you’ll do it anyway, right?”

“Well, yes, you are right about that…”

“Aren’t you forcing your hand a lot more than usual? What a terrible man you are. On top of that, for you to tell me about it only after the fact is unfair.”

I could understand what she was trying to say. But, this ordinary Japanese flat-face had a clear objective right now. The extremely concrete goal of restoring Neumann’s honor. And I decided that I wouldn’t shy away from conflict to achieve this goal either. I feel bad for Drill-chan, but I’ll have her let me do as I see fit in this regard.

“This time I am following a certain agenda, so forgive me, but I will have the city expand into your territory to some extent. In the future, once the management of the city has stabilized, I will gladly pay a suitable compensation as rental fee for the territory I exploited. How about this?”

“Oh my, are you fine with that?”

“Yes, I promise you.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun. Yes, I’m looking forward to it very much.”

A tinge of sadism lit up in Drill-chan’s eyes as she flashed a grin at me. But sure, having all my stuff ripped off by a maiden would be a dream come true. Virgins are great. Virgins are desirable.

“Well, it has a slightly personal reason.”

“…Mmh? A personal reason, huh?” Drill-chan placed a hand on her chin as she looked my way as if to gauge my true intentions here.

Neumann’s NTR drama is a top secret of Dragon City. I’m sure she will never be able to reach that truth. At least, until his honor has been reinstated.

“Oh well, so be it. If that’s how it is, I will cooperate with you.”

“Thank you very much.”

As a matter of fact, I had been fairly worried about the expansion of our city into Drill-chan’s fief. Fortunately, I was now able to obtain the lord’s personal permission. From the Pussy Republic’s standpoint, this might come with lots of problems, but for the time being, this much will do.

Afterwards, I continued to talk with Drill-chan about this and that. And just when we were chatting about ruling a fief, someone called out to us.

“V-Viscountess Ahan!?”

It was a voice I had heard not too long ago. Once I turned my attention in its direction, I found a man standing there I remember having seen before. It was the noble of the Ahan Viscounty who had requested asylum in Dragon City after bringing the Viscounty’s population along. Moreover, I could see several other people looking like nobles around him. All of them were staring at Drill-chan while being utterly astonished.

It seems like it was true that they’re people of the Ahan Viscounty.

On the other hand, the one standing at the head of the group, as if leading them, was Neumann. Maybe he was in the middle of guiding them through the city or something.

But, why did they come to the slums then?

“Neumann-san, how come you are here?”

“This is the city’s sole residential area, right?”

“Well yes, that is certainly true…”

“For the time being, I had planned to offer them a tour so that they could get an idea of the atmosphere around here. Besides, the nui are over here, too. So far, they had been frequently addressed by people who know about their existence. So I thought it would save us some problems, if I let them know in advance.”

“I understand.”

This is no residential area, however. It’s a slum.

“Viscountess Ahan!”

Disregarding this ordinary Japanese flat-face and Neumann, the male noble headed towards Drill-chan. In a dash. He was running so quickly that he almost fell over midway.

Him closing in on a teenage girl like that must mean he’s been quite frantic, or so I assume. Despite being an adult man at a good age while being one head taller than this ordinary Japanese flat-face. I wonder just how discouraged and forlorn he must have felt until now. This busamen wants to be pampered by Drill-chan, too. He wants to be plentifully spoiled by a virgin.

“L-Long time no see, I guess? W-What a coincidence to meet in a p-place like this, isn’t it?”

On the other hand, Drill-chan totally looked as if she’d been caught red-handed while cheating. She had probably forgotten all about him until he called out to her just moments ago.

While her retainer had been weeping over the fate of their territory, she had fully enjoyed the luxury of a resort by herself. Quite the nasty story, I have to say. Going by the flustered state of that noble, he might have been in charge of finding Drill-chan or he might be a low-ranking noble possessing territory next to the Ahan Viscounty.

Considering it like that, I could also understand his initial confusion after running into her over here.

“What have you been doing in a place like this!?”

“Err, umm, let me see…umm…”

She was clearly troubled as her eyes were wandering all over the place. Before long, she spoke up while appearing to have suddenly realized something.

“An inspection! I have been inspecting the Tanaka Barony up until today!”

“An inspection…you say? Why would you be inspecting a barony in our neighboring country?”

“Isn’t that as plain as daylight!?”

“Even if you tell me that, it’s not all that clear to me…”

“I shall declare here and now as Doris of Ahan, the lord of the Ahan Viscounty! From now on, the Pussy Republic’s Ahan Viscounty is going to join up with the Penny Empire’s Tanaka Barony! We will support each other while forming an alliance of equals that transcends borders!”

“Wh-…!?”

The nobles’ expressions froze with a speed I haven’t observed so far. But, it’s only natural, I think. Even this ordinary Japanese flat-face is startled.

“Doris-san, are you not taking things a bit too far here?”

“You’re not going to tell me you forgot what we talked about earlier, are you?”

“No, certainly now, but still…”

Holy shit! As always, you can’t be careless around this lolita. You won’t find anyone else with her overwhelming ability to judge and decide things on the spot.

“I have obtained a verbal oath from Baron Tanaka that he’d never treat our fief’s population unfairly, even if our territories were to merge into one! And that he’d welcome us with the same hospitality as the citizens of his own country!”

“I-Is that true!?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

Considering the relationship between the Pussy Republic and the Penny Empire, this sort of story would usually sound totally bogus. It’d be impossible.

But, while that might be true, they weren’t able to deny it outright under these circumstances. Being evasive about it wouldn’t be tolerated either. Because this virgin loves maidens.

“Very well. Let us implement it in such a way.”

As I had no other choice, I gave my blessing to it. I had only intended to expand our city a bit onto her fief, but now we’ve ended up becoming one. Maybe I can now understand a tiny bit the feelings of a maiden, who had a dick thrust into her to the root despite having repeatedly pleaded in mutters to only put in the tip.

“Did you hear? Those are the words of the man who repelled the demon queen’s attack on the Penny Empire, you know? As long as we side with this city, our safety will be guaranteed! You guys won’t oppose this either, will you?”

“Whaaat!? Is that true!? He defended against that merciless, terrifying blow!?”

“Quite so! So he did!”

No, that was the Loligon’s work. This busamen had only watched.

But well, I should keep that to myself for now. I think it’ll make many things easier.

“That is the young lady of the Duke Ahan family for you! What a magnificent decision! I, your humble servant Senior, are deeply moved to see that you have seen so far ahead and moved accordingly! I shall serve you with all my heart and soul from now on until the end of my days!”

The group of nobles from the Pussy Republic bowed their heads in response to Drill-chan’s remarks. Neuman looked troubled by all of this.

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooohohohohohohohohooo!”

Drill-chan’s high-pitched laughter echoed throughout the slum quarter while being much louder than usual.

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