#When I returned, my family was ruined (215)
[It’s been a while, Duke.]
A young girl’s voice.
It was a very familiar voice to Ethan. It was a voice I encountered again less than a month later.
[By the way, you found it very quickly this time? Has he grown again?]
A little joy, a little wariness, and finally, a quiet exclamation. The emotions in Anna’s voice were diverse.
[What is your business?]
[It’s strange. Aren’t humans creatures of emotion? The more I look at it, the more it looks like a piece of wood.]
[I am not your clown.]
[I never called you a clown. I just said he was a boring person. Hmm. The business is simple. I think it’s time to finish playing house and go to the Kingdom of Ameria.]
[Don’t these people who have built their own kingdoms know politics?]
[You know. It is also true that giving out government positions is quite important. But it’s not more important than killing the Iron Tyrant, right?]
“…I’ll end the award ceremony with this.”
As he spoke, a lot of food began to come into the main auditorium. Of course, it wasn’t just food that came.
Starting with the orchestra, small troupes and artists who perform tricks. Because various people who had contacted us in advance started moving around busily.
The banquet was held in an instant.
“Eat, drink, and have fun today. “It is a reward for your hard work.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Although the banquet started suddenly, its quality was comparable to that of the royal ball that I had only heard about through rumors.
It was an instant for everyone to be immersed in the gorgeous banquet.
“…Your Excellency, are you not planning on enjoying the banquet?”
Before I even left the main auditorium.
Nerian, who quickly caught on, asked.
“I have something important to do.”
“All right.”
If nothing special happened, it would have been nice for the lord to attend the banquet together, but the head of the family was not one to talk nonsense. Saying things like that means that there is really important work to be done. Nerian bowed his head politely.
As soon as I entered the office, a small figure appeared.
“Why did you come here?”
“Didn’t our religious leader promise us? “I will return the Metal Dragon’s gaze along with the artifact.”
Ethan nodded. The Hunt of the Iron Tyrant. There were two main things Lucreon suggested for him.
First artifact.
They said that even if it were an attack by the Iron Tyrant, the leader of the Metal Dragons, they would provide supplies that would be enough to block it a few times.
Secondly…
-I will draw the attention of the metal dragons to a different direction as much as possible.
“I definitely said that. “So are you here to hand over the artifact?”
“for now. “Please take it.”
What Anna gave me was a small bracelet. Ethan’s eyes lit up when he saw that. Even without necessarily concentrating mana into eye power, it was possible to roughly grasp the mana and circuitry inherent in the item.
This is even more so now that I have become a transcendental person.
“Did the cult leader produce it himself?”
“What roughly? “Anyway, this is a very valuable item… but don’t you think I’m reacting too calmly?”
“That’s amazing.”
“ha. You seem like a boring person. “If I knew that this was the reaction, the leader might cry.”
Anna stuck her tongue out.
Although the cult leader was not 100% involved in the bracelet’s production process, at least the engraved circuit and the magical power given were the cult leader’s.
-If this is enough, even the duke will be satisfied.
Was the production period one month?
It was when the bracelet was handed over that the religious leader, who had been hiding for a month without showing himself, appeared.
My face looked quite gaunt.
“Well, isn’t this an item that can only block a few attacks at most?”
“…Don’t you think that’s amazing? “Even if the Iron Tyrant is worse than the cult leader, he is still one of the top six monsters among the dragons.”
“That’s what I said. “It’s amazing.”
“….”
For an item that could be called the cult leader’s ‘masterpiece’, the reaction was quite boring.
If I tell you this news, I might be able to see the religious leader’s rather sullen face.
‘…That might be fun in its own right?’
Anna’s mood jumped as she imagined that scene.
“Well, okay. Anyway, I kept my first promise.”
“okay.”
“Then only the second promise remains… and it will begin when the Duke arrives in the Kingdom of Ameria.”
“Are you going to step forward yourself?”
“no way. “If we do that outright, won’t our church be pointed out as the culprit?”
but.
The religious leader was a strong man with the power to hunt down the Iron Tyrant. Nevertheless, he entrusted the task to himself.
Because of the external gaze.
So, I will try my best to avoid suspicion.
“We also have many hands and feet. “It’s not difficult to utilize it.”
“What if the tail is caught?”
“Hmm. Even if you get caught, that’s okay. On the surface, it doesn’t seem to be directly related to us… Even if you doubt it, it’s not like we’re ‘directly’ killing the Iron Tyrant here, right? “At best, it’s just something to draw attention to.”
“is it.”
“Besides, contrary to appearances… we are not a tribe with a strong sense of kinship.”
Anna grinned and continued speaking.
“I think it’s obvious what the rest of them will do if he gets cut in two by a human sword.”
I felt like I could roughly guess it. Rather than the fact that the cult leader’s faction intervened, attention will be focused on the fact that he was killed by a human being at best.
The point is that you might be treated as a pathetic idiot.
Even more so, if the Dragon Clan, like the cult leader, is imbued with the opposite ideology, unlike what he himself said was ‘moderate’…
‘That would be even more so.’
Wasn’t it the forces including the Metal Dragon that had the ambition to farm humans as livestock?
A leader-level entity.
If more than one such entity is hunted, you may think that the person who killed it is strong rather than that the person who was killed is an asshole, but by the time at most one animal dies, the former thought will dominate.
This is especially true if you are being hunted by ‘humans’.
Ethan asked after seeing Anna.
“Who is mainstream?”
“mainstream?”
“If what you said is true, isn’t the dragon clan divided into two factions?”
One side seeks to moderately rule over humans, and the other radical side seeks to treat them as food.
“Well, to put it bluntly, we can say that we are on the fringes… Even if we are treated as a special type, we have nothing to say.”
Ethan nodded.
‘The predictions are somewhat correct.’
In the past, the Dragon clan started a huge war. Starting with the dragonlord.
If we look at it from that perspective, the overall policy of the Dragon Clan would be close to cultivating humans.
Then, the dragon lord was defeated by the previous head of the family, and from then on, the strategy of dealing with humans began to change.
It would be like thinking of them as a lower species and then getting a taste of the heat.
‘Even so, not many people would agree with the idea of cultivating ideas and minds.’
At best, the idea of gradually increasing activity in the shadows, dominating humans, and then entering the next form is probably the limit. Probably most of the dragons are like that.
Only now was it possible to infer the reason why the cult leader did not move directly.
The power itself is small.
Even a tiger is bound to get hurt when multiple wolves attack it. So, he must have arrived at the idea of using humans to eliminate the hostile forces one by one.
‘They said they were going to use me with that card…’
Ethan smiled.
“So is there a way?”
“What way?”
“You’re not going to make any preparations just because you’re going to point the finger at someone who was attacked by a human, right?”
“Preparation?”
“Have you already forgotten? The dragonlord was wronged by my father. “If I were an extremist, I would roll my eyes the moment I learned that my people were harmed by the head of the Ardan family of the time.”
“….”
“Do you think we’ll just end up treating him like an asshole like you said?”
“That’s…”
Looking at his blank face, it seemed like he hadn’t even thought about that.
“What if things go that way and the opposing factions band together and invade Ardan?”
“…Then you will die.”
“Isn’t that a difficult situation for you too?”
Anna’s face became astonished. There was nothing wrong with what the duke said.
As they have different ideas from the mainstream of the dragon race, the power of the cult leader was not yet large.
At most, the church’s roots were planted in human kingdoms, including the Zeno Empire. In that sense, the Duke was a stepping stone to a reversal.
This means that it is a hand that is too precious to lose, at best, just for hunting down an iron tyrant.
“…Hmm. It’s difficult. Okay, I’ll ask the religious leader. “At least you have to hide your identity.”
The duke’s words are reasonable.
Because an unknown human killing an iron tyrant and a descendant of Ardan killing a tyrant were completely different stories.
Ethan nodded.
“You know the dragon clan well, so find a way to avoid being noticed. Without such a method, it would be difficult to kill the Iron Tyrant.”
Anna nodded.
At least at this moment, he seemed to be taking his opinion seriously as it was a cooperative relationship.
‘That’s it.’
Lucreon, ruler of the language worshipers. He must have a solution. Perhaps we can find a way to kill the Iron Tyrant without being noticed by the other dragons.
‘The situation is not bad.’
The cult leader wouldn’t want to be satisfied with hunting just one animal. There was a high possibility of helping oneself in both material and spiritual ways.
‘It will at least disrupt information.’
This is to delay the period when they develop a sense of crisis.
It forms a temporary alliance with the cult leader and eats the ruler-level individuals one by one. There was quite a lot that could be gained from fighting them.
In addition to pure enlightenment, a ruler-level body was bound to become a material containing powerful power.
In the case of the Iron Tyrant, an example would be an outer shell with strength comparable to that of Ardenheit.
‘Grows quickly.’
Until you apply enough force that cooperation is no longer necessary.
Thus, until all the dragons were driven out from the western continent.
The plan was set.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Are you planning to eat it all?”
“This is information that may be of decisive help in this matter.”
“…What?”
“Do you know anything about Muradni?”
“The Dwarf King?”
“okay.”
“What exactly are you curious about?”
“Whether he is in collusion with the dragon clan or not.”
“That strict dwarf? no way.”
“It hasn’t been a day or two since the Dwarf Kingdom seemed to be supporting the dragon race. “It wouldn’t be surprising if the king’s will was included.”
Depending on whether Muradni is in collusion with the Balaur or not, the difficulty of hunting down the Iron Tyrant will vary greatly.
Of course, according to the information obtained from the Marquis of Bessus, it seemed to be the will of a group called the ‘Kingdom Council’ rather than Muradni’s will… but
there was nothing certain in the world.
Cross-verification of information was a means of increasing reliability.
“good. I’ll ask the religious leader about that too. That person probably knows something about it. There was also an attempt to make religious inroads into the dwarf world. Although I failed.”
Ethan nodded.