A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

To the Dwarf Village (3)

I told Nell and Lyuu to stay on the observation deck so that they could see the situation and escape as soon as there were any signs of things going haywire.

After that, I went to the soldiers who served as my guards.

“Your Majesty, how can I help you?”

“We have detected a Dragon outside. It seems that it is heading toward this ship. I’m going to the helm to know what it wants, so one of you should follow me.” (Yuki)

When I told this to the escort soldiers, they froze for a moment as if they did not understand my words, and then the female Demon Tribe soldier quickly recovered from her frozen state.

“Dra, a Dragon?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have enough time for questions and answers.” (Yuki)

At my words, their expressions immediately changed and the air turned tense.

Hmm, they were elite after all, huh?

And so, the one who followed me was, after all, that female demon soldier from before.

Her name was Elanna, I think?

Apparently, she was the representative of the guards.

By this time, the crew of the ship also seemed to have noticed something was wrong, and I could see them moving around in a very panicked state.

The other guests also had a suspicious look on their faces as if they were wondering what was going on.

If we didn’t do something about it soon, a panic would likely ensue.

“–Captain!” (Soldier)

I pushed aside the ship’s crew, who tried to stop me by saying that this area was off-limits to all guests, and entered the wheelhouse on my own accord.

When the captain of the ship, who had been yelling instructions to the crew, saw me, he was surprised for a moment. He then gave me a look as if to say that someone troublesome had arrived.

Well, from his point of view, it was surely troublesome for me to show up here in the current situation.

We both knew each other’s faces, as we had been greeted once before our departure.

“…I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but we are currently in a state of emergency. If you need me, I will visit you later–” (Ship Captain)

I cut him off mid-sentence and quickly got down to business.

“I’ll go ask that dragon what it wants. So, please keep this ship going.” (Yuki)

“…What? Seriously?” (Ship Captain)

“Yes. So, just fly the ship on its original course.” (Yuki)

The captain looked understandably reluctant.

“But then, we won’t be able to escape…” (Ship Captain)

“We are already within that Dragon’s attack range, so trying to escape would be pointless. That’s why we should not make any moves that might provoke it. The dragons are generally easygoing, so as long as we don’t bother them and show hostility, it would be alright… Also, it doesn’t matter how many of us are here. If that thing attacked, we’re all finished.” (Yuki)

The dragon race was not wild creatures or anything like that. They were an intelligent and sympathetic species.

But well, there were exceptions.

As long as we knew nothing about that Dragon, it would be a fool’s errand to try doing something against it.

I said this unilaterally. Ignoring the sailors who were trying to stop me from going out, I opened the hatch of the airship I had used several times before and went out.

As the wind rushed in like a roar, I looked at the incoming Dragon.

“Look, for God’s sake, don’t do anything unnecessary! And don’t let any of the Winged Demon Tribe come outside, other than you! Okay.” (Yuki)

“…What if it turns against us?” (Elanna)

“Then – give up.” (Yuki)

And then I let two pairs of wings appear on my back and took off from the airship.

***

It seems that the dragon was still aiming this way.

It must have noticed me coming out of the airship by now.

We might have entered that dragon’s territory. No, that should not be the case. If there was a Dragon’s territory in this area, I would have known about it from my prior research.

To begin with, there were many human nations in this area.

Humans would not build a city in a place where there was a territory of Dragon, and Dragon would not usually go out of their territory either.

This was because human settlements were limited to places with low levels of magical elements.

If that was the case, this dragon probably came from somewhere else… But what in the world was its purpose in coming here?

By chance, was it someone who also wished to become the Dragon King who wanted to see me?

“…Enne, if things don’t go well, I’ll be counting on you.” (Yuki)

[I’ll take care of it. Enne will always be Master’s Sword.] (Enne)

Enne was not overbearing, but simply conveyed with a quiet eagerness that this was her role and her way of life.

I couldn’t tell how much courage she had given me just by being with me.

We continued to fly through the sky, and soon we were close enough to have a conversation.

[Demon race… No, it’s close, but it’s something more. And this familiar feeling. Who are you?] (Dragon)

The dragon looked at me as I approached and asked me a question, somewhat curiously.

From the sound of its voice, it was probably an old lady dragon.

There was no trace of hostility in her voice.

There was a sense of intimidation, but no sense of heightened magical power.

Thank God, everything seems to be alright…

I answered her question with a sense of inner relief.

“I am Demon Lord Yuki. I’m the current Dragon King for a variety of reasons. Nice to meet you.” (Yuki)

She stared at me from top to bottom after I said my identity.