The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World

“But what was with that dragon…” (Carol)

Carol said while chewing the bread little by little.

“I don’t know. Have you ever heard that dragons were used in a war against the Shanti?” (Yuri)

‘Maybe I just didn’t know, so I asked her for a moment. For domestic history, Carol, who is fluent in the ancient Shan language, has better knowledge.’

“No, I’ve never heard of it.” (Carol)

‘As expected, there seems to be no precedent.’

“I see…” (Yuri)

“What kind of creature is that? I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t think that I would actually see it with my own eyes.” (Carol)

‘A dragon is a reptile that lives from North Africa to the Middle East region in this world. It prefers warm arid areas and can be raised by hand from eggs.’

‘It’s mainly bread in the country of the Kurururan Dragon Empire and the country of the Entak Kingdom. It’s used as an animal weapon in the same way as the Eagle King.’

‘According to Eisa-Sensei, who is familiar with historical linguistics, the word ‘dragon’ in Shan language, is a loanword from the Tot language used in the ancient Nigros.’

‘As you can see from that, dragons have always been a distant existence for the Shanti. The habitats don’t overlap at all. The Kururuan Dragon Empire and the Entak Kingdom believe in the Cocolulu religion, so they didn’t participate in the Crusades. Rather, they were on the side of fighting the Crusaders, so there was no chance to see each other.’

‘A relatively famous book called ‘The Chronicles of Dragon King’, which is the biography of Ananta I, the first Dragon King of the Kururuan Dragon Empire, written about a thousand years ago. However, it covers the heroic adventure which mixed with fiction. It is interesting though. There is also a Shan language translation for this, so the person reading it knows the existence of the dragon like a fairy tale. To put it the other way around, that’s about it.’

‘I heard a lot from Eisa-Sensei. She knows a lot about the ecology of dragons, but I’m not sure about Carol.’

“Some animals generate heat by themselves and their body temperature is almost constant, while others are affected by the outside temperature.” (Yuri)

While chewing bread, I threw a twig into the bonfire. Since I couldn’t sleep anyway, it would be good to have a chat.

“Since they don’t generate heat themselves, they don’t have to eat much. However, there is a weakness that the activity of the body is greatly influenced by the outside temperature instead. They are fine in summer, but not in winter. They can move during the day, but they can’t move properly at night. There are such weaknesses, but the fact that they require a small amount of meals is an advantage which makes up all of that completely. Even if they can’t move at night or hunt even a tenth of it, they are good creatures.’

After muttering ‘Aah, certainly’, Carol said ‘That’s a dragon’.

“Yes. Horses, for example, don’t have much of a problem when they move from the warm south to the cold north. But dragons are different. It’s not alright to bring them to the northern area.” (Yuri)

‘They are poikilotherm, and they don’t produce body temperature at all. If they move their muscles, they will get fever no matter what. Human exercises and body temperature rises. In the same sense, fever remains the same.’

‘So, it’s not impossible to fly to the north and move.  If their muscles are moving while flying, their body should be warm.’

‘However, it can’t adapt to the northern climate. Since the climate is extremely different from the environment in which they originally live, it shouldn’t be possible to stay healthy for a long time in such a northern area.’

‘For example, how do you become active from a cold state in the morning or on a cloudy day? If it is in the south, it is much warmer than here. If you sunbathe in the morning sun for a while, it will be easy to regain your body temperature. But this isn’t the case here.’

‘I’m not familiar with the ecology of reptiles either, but I’m sure it’s quite unreasonable.’

“Is that why there was no precedent? But… they brought it this time.” (Carol)

“Well, I guess they are overdoing it quite a bit. For example, at night, they need to put the dragon under a curtain, and always burn a fire near it in order to raise temperature…” (Yuri)

‘The super VIP treatment would cost a tremendous amount of money, but that’s all I can think of. Otherwise, it would be strange if there was no precedent, not even once or twice.’

“I wonder if that’s the only dragon they brought.” (Carol)

“Maybe. If they have two dragons, they should use them at the same time… Besides, after I crashed down, the observation unit flew in the sky in a relaxed manner. If there is a spare dragon, it would attack them.” (Yuri)

‘Others may have died on the way, or couldn’t move due to illness, but… I can’t help thinking about that.’

I threw another twig into the bonfire.

‘When I think about it again, the dragon that fought at that time might not have been in good condition… Even so, I was attacked without any way to avoid it…’

‘If I knew that there was a dragon, I could devise any number of countermeasures, but I never imagined that there would be such a thing.’

“I see…” (Carol)

“…Before this, the enemies were done by Eagle Kings. Since we have eagles, they may bring it to bring down the eagles, or it might be that they want to inspire the troops with the dragon. Either way, we got the bad end of the bargain.” (Yuri)

‘If there was a report that they brought dragons, the report should have arrived via Liao. So, it must have been kept secret until the decisive battle since it was a secret weapon. Even so, I think it should be found out by reconnaissance.’

“Still, it wasn’t in vain because you killed it, and… you were able to avoid the army from getting confused.” (Carol)

‘What a positive thinking. Well, there is such an idea, right?’

“I can’t say too much because it seems that we lost in the decisive battle. Even if we didn’t come closer for the sake of supporting the main army, the damage might be worse in the case of defeat.” (Yuri)

I said it to ease the mind.

‘In this way, her life was in danger, so I don’t think it’s worth the risk where there’s been such an outcome.’

‘Although it was a relief, it was better to say that in this situation. If your heart breaks, it ends here.’

“But I’m glad that you came after I crashed.” (Carol)

Carol had a relieved expression, perhaps because she remembered when I came.

‘At that time, I felt like I was in a pinch of desperation, so it is indeed true.’

“I thought that I would miss the opportunity if I was too late.” (Yuri)

‘If it was a bit later, Carol might have sliced her throat and died. In fact, it was really dangerous.’

“Yes… I was wondering if you would come to help me too. Although I’m alive, I didn’t think you would die in a similar situation.” (Carol)

“I was praying for your safety.” (Yuri)

“Is that so? Were you worried about me?” (Carol)

“No, it’s about me. I wondered what I would do if we were in a state where I might have to kill you. Would you be in a state of your head half crushed or you breathe like an insect? That’s the worst thing I could think of. Compared to that, the current situation is heaven.” (Yuri)

‘Yes, really.’

‘If that really happens, my mind would be affected and I couldn’t escape. With that in mind, it seems like a miraculous gift of good luck to be talking about it now.’

“You’re right… I’m glad that didn’t happen. You’re going to be sick.” (Carol)

“Don’t fret it. I might have been standing up and crying for about a day only.” (Yuri)

“Eh?” (Carol)

Carol opened her mouth in shock.

“What?” (Yuri)

“N-no… I can’t imagine how you would be like that.” (Carol)

‘You… what kind of person do you think I am?’

“If I don’t care whether you die or get hurt, I won’t help you to begin with.” (Yuri)

“I see… that’s right.” (Carol)

Carol looked happy for some reason.

‘I wonder if it’s Dolla in this situation. Would I say ‘Did you get hurt? What a disaster. Well, hang in there. I’m sure if it’s you, you’ll be healed in a day with that much injury. Alright then, I’m going’.’

‘No, aren’t I a bit harsh? However, if it was him, even if I left him alone, he would be back next year.’

“Let’s sleep. We’re going to wake up early in the morning tomorrow.” (Yuri)

“…Yes.” (Carol)

“There’s nothing that can be laid underneath, but if you put this on and sleep, it would be a bit different.” (Carol)

I took out an oil paper out of my bag. It was a mixture of beeswax and volatile oil that was soaked in thick and durable paper. When it opened, it looked like a poncho.

Although it was for sale as a raincoat poncho, it was very lightweight, unobtrusive and convenient. So, I bought it for everyone at the expedition expense and gave it to everyone. There were three of them so far. One from Liao’s luggage, one from me and the last one from Carol.

It was made quite large because it was assumed to be worn from the top with a luggage on the back. The neck part had a slit like ordinary clothes, and it could be stopped with a button. Although it wasn’t originally worn when sleeping, it was encouraging to have a spare even if it was torn.

I had also worn this and slept. Since it was a material that didn’t allow air to pass through, it had some heat insulation. Of course, unlike cotton futons, it was recommended to wear seasonal clothing before using this.

Carol received the oil paper.

“…Aren’t you going to sleep?” (Carol)

She asked.

“I have something to do. Then, I’ll go to sleep.” (Yuri)

‘It’s true that I have something to do, but actually, I couldn’t seem to sleep.’

‘Maybe, my mind isn’t in a good state after killing Stardust and the Dragon rider. I should feel tired, but I don’t feel sleepy at all. It’s not that I’m clear-headed and it’s not that I’m going to think about it endlessly. The anguish in my head was like a book, and it seems like I’m in a complete mourning mode.’

“I see… Then, I’m going to sleep first.” (Carol)

“Alright.” (Yuri)

‘It would be helpful if you do so. Although I only need to carry her on my back, the weight I feel is different depending on whether she is sleeping or awake. She has to stay up in the daytime. So, the better you sleep, the faster the feet will heal. I’m not sure whether it’s a sprain, a torn muscle or a bone fracture though…’

“Yuri.” (Carol)

Carol called out to me when I thought she lied down after putting on the raincoat.

“Hmm?” (Yuri)

“Thank you for today. I really appreciate it…” (Carol)

‘What is it now?’

“It’s fine. I’m just helping myself.” (Yuri)

“Hehe.” (Carol)

Carol smiled as if she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“What are you smiling for?” (Yuri)

“No… I can feel your kindness… It’s just a bit difficult to understand.” (Carol)

‘To be told that I’m kind when I killed two lives in a day is… I just don’t get it.’

“…Go to sleep now.” (Yuri)

When I said that, Carol obediently closed her eyes. After squeezing a bit, she fell asleep in no time. Perhaps, she was very tired.

—

When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I felt asleep. It seemed that I slept in a way of falling asleep during the class as I was sitting on the luggage placed on the ground.

When I looked around, the firewood had disappeared.

“Yuri… could it be that you can’t sleep?” (Carol)

Carol, who was up, asked.

She woke up with a rustling sound. Then, I noticed. Somehow, the order of waking up was mismatched.

Of course, I was asleep, but it seemed that she thought that I was awake. I wonder if it was a very stone-line way of sleeping.

“No… I woke up after hearing your voice. It seems that I fell asleep before I realized it.” (Yuri)

‘How many hours did I sleep?

I can’t remember well.’

I took out the pocket watch from my pocket, and opened the lid to see the time. It was around 7 AM.

It wasn’t necessary because I wound the clock last night, but just in case, I turned the crown and wound the mainspring to the full. Once stopped, there was a way to adjust time.

“…Are you alright?” (Carol)

Carol looked at my face anxiously.

I was sleeping while I was sitting, and I opened my eyes at the same time she woke up, so she was still concerned if I was really sleeping.

I put back my pocket watch.

“I’m alright. More importantly, try this.” (Yuri)

Then, I gave Carol a stick. Two short horizontal sticks were attached to the end of the sturdy wooden stick. It was the position of the armpit and the position of the palm.

“A walking cane, is it… can you make something like this?” (Carol)

“I could only make one. You should have it. Use it when you want to move a little bit.” (Yuri)

‘Humans don’t want to be seen by others… especially when there is something that they don’t want to be seen by the opposite gender. It’s too much to call it a crutch, but with this, she can walk a bit and reduce the burden.’

‘I definitely want it if I’m in the same situation.’

“Thanks, that really helps, but… this stick is…” (Carol)

“It’s literally useless in the woods. However, it’s still better to have it.” (Yuri)

The stick used for the cane was just the right length and was in the shape of a perfect round stick. It wasn’t something that could be made on the spot.

I used the spear thrown by Liao. I cut it and used it to make the cane. Whether it was horizontal or vertical, a stick that was taller than a person would become a hindrance in the forest. Anyhow, it would still be effective to use.

“Yeah… you’re right.” (Carol)

Carol nodded unexpectedly smoothly. I thought that I would have to say something about the Knight’s soul.

“By the way, I buried your armor last night.” (Yuri)

“Is that so? I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you.” (Carol)

“It’s fine.” (Yuri)

I just did it as a diversion.

“More importantly, let’s have breakfast quickly. Or do you want to do your stuff first?” (Yuri)

“Stuff…!?” (Carol)

Carol blushed as if she had been told a profanity.

‘I would also be embarrassed if I were asked that…’

“If you have any other expression to replace the word ‘stuff’, you can just tell me.” (Yuri)

“Hey… stop it.” (Carol)

‘Even if you tell me to stop… Anyhow, I understand that you are embarrassed.’

“If you’re embarrassed like that, what are you going to do when you want to do it while you are on my back? I’ll be angry if you do it on my back, you know.” (Yuri)

“Ughh…” (Carol)

Carol looked down with her face bright red.

“Well, you have the cane, so if you want to do it, go ahead. Aah, don’t worry, I won’t get close.” (Yuri)

I pointed to the place where I made a preparation for that stuff.

She said ‘Uhh… Got… it.’ in a faint voice.

“I’m going.” (Carol)

Carol stood up with the cane, and walked away by using it as a crutch.