Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 8: Chapter 10

The following morning, the various representatives from countries across the continent sat around the table in the large meeting hall. Each of them was king or prince in their own regard, but they were waiting in silence without arguing over who would take the lead because of the respect they held for one person. Facing all of them was the mediator, Sakira. After taking a short breath, she exclaimed with a translucent voice.

“We will now begin the World Meeting…!”

She may have fumbled over her words by the end, but it was a proper and respectful greeting. She then continued to explain the meaning behind this whole meeting.

“This meeting is far more crucial than you all might assume. We are not bound by country or race, as we wish to discuss the future of humanfolk…This is a historical moment, and each and every one of you has made this possible.”

The one who thought of this initial speech, trying to keep it brief but impactful, while praising the efforts of everyone, was actually Shildonia. Most of the individuals present had already obtained high ranks. Hence, the goal was to tickle their motivation by suggesting this would be a historical event to leave their names behind. And by the way, she wasn’t actually really speaking all that, but instead, they were replaying a recording they had made when she had the script down to a T, using the [Replay Sound] magic. Sakira was trying to move her mouth to match the words played, and it was obvious to those who observed. That said, it was a necessary evil this time around.

After her speech finished, Sakira sat down back in her seat. Following that, as the representative of the meeting, Kyle stepped forward and looked around the participants. Nobody was observing him like a regular commoner. They all respected his opinion.

“Thank you very much for gathering today. As Sakira-sama has stated everything necessary already, there is nothing else for me to add. That said, I would like to introduce one more person to the meeting.”

Kyle pointed in the direction of the eastern sky, where the others could see a black dot. Something seemed to be flying their way. First, it looked like a regular Wyvern, but the bigger this being grew, the quicker people understood that it wasn’t just a Wyvern. Slowly but steadily, especially those who had experienced battle before, were filled with uncertain anxiety. Like a calamity was about to strike them. Then, even the Wyvern present in the fortress began to howl, as even listening to them made your hair stand on edge. Someone then recognized the approaching beasts and muttered.

“Dragons…”

They were the beings standing at the summit of life itself, the illusive and mystic beasts—Dragons.

“Rest assured! They have arrived to participate in the meeting!”

As everyone panicked, not knowing what to do, Kyle screamed in a loud voice. Dragons would participate in the meeting…None of the people present had even time to think about that, as two of the dragons descended. Just by being here, they robbed you of any power or will to fight back. Their presence made you question if you were even a living being in comparison to their greatness. Yet, the reason none of them ran away was because the ones closest to them, Milena and Korodes, remained calm. They knew of this for safety reasons, but even so, their facial colors had clearly changed when met with these giant beasts.

“So these are dragons…What glorious beings…”

“Understandably, I can see why our Wyverns are like small lizards in comparison.”

Milena and Korodes were bewildered all the same, but they tried to remain calm.

‘Humans. We have come to form a new contract with you.’

Irumera, one of the dragons, declared so, as she was surrounded by light and turned into a human. This made the entire hall murmuring. Nobody knew that dragons could change shape. The other dragon, Ghrud, sighed and also changed into the appearance of a human. It was the same appearance he showed when Kyle and the others met him in the demon territory.

“Thanks for coming, Irumera, Ghrud.”

Kyle greeted the two dragons and shook their hands. The dragons had no such greeting, so Irumera was a bit bewildered as she responded, but Ghrud just looked away.

“This is Zeurus-sama’s order. Also, why are things so noisy here? We came to renew our contract, and now this?” Irumera looked into the round of participants with a dubious gaze.

“Who knows? Maybe they haven’t seen a dragon yet?” Kyle tried to find an excuse, but he was satisfied to see this reaction happening.

The reason they had come to the meeting today was to renew the contract that the Dragon King Zeurus and Magic King Shildonia had created thousands of years ago. The contract was simple—The Dragons would not leave the World Tree where they lived, and in return, humanfolk were not allowed to approach the tree. However, with the fall of the Ancient Magic Kingdom Zaales, this contract had been nullified. Hence, Kyle wanted to form a new one, and so Zeurus sent the two young dragons to them.

That said, even without the contract, it was virtually impossible to approach the World Tree, as the surrounding area was riddled with strong beasts. The only exceptions were strong adventurers, but the chances of them reaching the dragons were close to zero, and no problem happened since the fall of Zaales a thousand years ago. Not only that, but dragons never created any paper, so this contract was more like a verbal promise. The main reason why Kyle asked them to come here was to have them be witnesses. Even if they didn’t actively participate, the fact that dragons were present during this meeting was crucial for its historical value.josei

Betraying the decisions and promises made here would be the same as going behind the backs of the dragons. And nobody would be foolish enough to do such a thing. Even if they held physical strength to grant them confidence, the mental pressure would be too much. And it was already good to keep the what-ifs in mind.

“Though it seems like Zeurus had already guessed our intention,” said Shildonia with a bitter smile, as she remembered his reaction when they talked about a renewal of the contract.

“That said, I didn’t think you’d show up today, Ghrud.”

Just as Kyle said, Dragon King Zeurus allowed it so that Irumera would join the negotiations today.

“I didn’t wanna come here, either. But Gramps forced me to,” Ghrud complained.

It seemed like his rebellious phase still hadn’t ended yet. After Kyle’s battle with him, he was awarded the title of [Dragon Slayer]. That said, Kyle never finished him off, and he had fully recovered. With the arrival of the dragons, Kyle looked around and wondered if this made his achievement seem illegitimate. But in reality, nobody could see the dragon from afar, and they weren’t even present.

Worst-case scenario, I’ll just say that it was his twin or something like that. But I guess there’s no need.

Of course, Kyle didn’t know if the concept of twins even existed with dragons, but he was relieved.

“Nice to meet you, Irumera-sama, Ghrud-sama. I am the princess of Zilgus, Milena. It is truly an honor to meet you. I hope we can form an amicable relationship in the future.”

Milena acted as the human representative, as she introduced herself. Korodes was hoping to do exactly that, but he lost her chance. That said, a greeting from some human country’s princess didn’t mean much to Irumera.

“We simply came to renew the contract. We have no intention of getting involved in human affairs. However, I understand that we cannot forever remain isolated, so if you wish for it…then please use Kyle to convey your messages.”

Irumera had no particular interest in Milena, but this only put more attention on Kyle again. No human was ever known to be able to influence the great dragon race, and the closest anybody would ever come was the Magic King during the prime of the Ancient Magic Kingdom.

Now I’m just a messenger…

Kyle tried to remain confident and proud at Irumera’s words, but on the inside, he was left shaking his head. Dragons could be rather difficult to deal with, so being the messenger could be more trouble than it was worth, but it also raised his standing, so he didn’t lose much.

“So, when can we do the renewal?” Ghrud asked, sounding like he was already tired of waiting.

“We’ve got some important matters to attend to…so I would say in three days.”

“Say what? I just wanna get this over with and head back.”

“I understand, but I ask you to remain here during that time. You don’t have to do anything. All I want is for you to inform Dragon King Zeurus and the other dragons of what we have discussed here.”

Irumera nodded, and Ghrud clicked his tongue.

If possible, I’d like for the dragons to change as well, not just humanfolk.

To ensure that the dragons wouldn’t abuse their overwhelming might, they had set a lot of rules in stone. That in itself wasn’t particularly a bad thing, and Kyle respected their self-control, but he still wished for them to change into something better. He wanted them to be more interested in the world beyond the World Tree and support humanfolk as best as they could. Even now, this very meeting was the best chance for them to get in contact with humans, so Kyle wished they would grow more curious than before.

“By the way, is that human called Lieze with you?” Irumera asked.

“What about her?”

“She’d promised to treat us to another of her dishes.”

As dragons ate even rocks or soil, they weren’t particularly picky about their food, nor did they do any cooking. When Lieze heard about that, she offered them some of her own dishes.

“At first, I couldn’t tell the taste very much, but having tried it several times, I could pick up on the differences. This time, she apparently had the proper equipment to feed us with a feast.”

“Ah, yeah, she said something like that. Though I don’t know what’s on the menu this time.” Ghrud joined the conversation when Lieze’s name popped up.

It seemed like Lieze was feeding the dragons and training them.

“R-Right…That’s great, I guess…?”

This wasn’t exactly the direction Kyle hoped their revolution would go, but he certainly wouldn’t complain.