“I only need to buy enough time for that to happen.”
“...You’re an idealist.”
“I can’t argue with that. Still, I believe that war is never the better option over peace. That is definitely one of the few truths in this world that the Dragon Realm has learned over the past seventy years.”
I am part of a generation that knows nothing but the peaceful and prosperous Japan. Of course, I know very well that my beloved homeland is far from a utopia. There’s a large class divide, and no one sees a difference in the supposedly improving economy. Crime is ever rampant, and the number of suicides grows every year. Political corruption is reported almost every day... Every news story only adds stress to our days. But still.
“I think it’s a million times better than being at war.”
I knew I sounded naïve, and that war did most likely drive the progression of our society throughout history.
“You solved the monster problem. Now you’ll ignore the danger this world is facing?”
Suddenly, a girl’s voice interrupted us. I turned to the entrance, a little surprised, to find Leon astride Baze. She was up... and apparently really liked the Fenrir. This Demon Lord couldn’t have used her own feet, at least within her castle?! Poor Baze was sulking, his snout down into the ground.
“I can’t ignore that. We plan to find effective foods in Noura, too.”
I shrugged, trying to avoid looking at Baze. In our journey so far, we had discovered that wild rice was effective at keeping beriberi at bay, and we had met people whose diets didn’t revolve around white rice. These were insights I hadn’t expected to gain. Now we were going to research seafood and bran, as planned.
“It’s always about food with you, isn’t it?”
“Well, our lives revolve around eating and sleeping. We can’t do anything if we don’t have a good foundation for those things,” I answered seriously.
These were serious matters. A brain surgeon acquaintance of mine had said that no illness can be cured without food and sleep.
“...Weirdo.”
Who’s weird, again?
“He is my betrothed, after all.”
Alas, I couldn’t even get a word of defense from Tiamat. Now the Demon Lord was nodding in agreement. There would be tears for this! ...My tears.
6.
We had managed to start our discussion with the Demon Lord, somehow. ...How did we get here, again? Leon was only tasked by the god on-site to bring about order to the world. That’s kind of vague. She wasn’t asked to destroy humanity nor to save the monsters. She just naturally took the side of the monsters since she had taken the form of a Hellion. This seemed inevitable; a Hellion couldn’t very well waltz around a human city without expecting any trouble.
“So, you started by waging war against our nation.”
Ruey grunted and crossed his arms. While he might not have liked it, this seemed only natural too. The ruin of Gannes was already inside Noura territory. However you slice or dice it, the first obstacle the monsters had to tackle would have been the kingdom of Noura.
“But you had no intentions of destroying Noura. You wanted to go north.”
Leon nodded at Tiamat’s confirmation. She went after that important port to access the travel roads.
“So you were already looking for a new land to settle in, Miss Leon?”
“Mm. That’s correct, Eiji.”
The plains to the far north, where no human had touched before. She had her eyes set on it from the very beginning.
“There would be no progress while we stayed in Gannes. Would have been too late if we waited,” the Demon Lord added matter-of-factly.
She meant that, if they had to fight eventually, she had to make a move while they still had the strength to win. Incredibly strategic for a highschooler. She had a good read on the future, and was decisive and even charismatic. I wished that she could be my boss.
“Was that the right strategy for them, Ruey?” I asked our only trained military personnel.
“I can’t really justify anyone forsaking their headquarters, Sir Eiji. However, the most terrifying thing about monsters is their ability to appear anywhere. It’s scary to know that they aren’t attached to Gannes.”
“Hm. I see.”
I crossed my arms.
“Why don’t you be honest, Eiji?” Tiamat asked.
“...I don’t see. At all.”
Well, could you blame me?! I was no expert!
“Well, no matter how well they try to hide it, Noura would have eventually found Gannes, like we did today. While we wouldn’t reach this conclusion this early into war, if we were to fight many more battles anyone would see that we’d have to strike their headquarters. There’d be no use trying to hide it then. As long as it was serving its function as a base, there’d have to be some manpower and resources going in and out of it.” Ruey broke it down for me.
All right. The city of Ebetsu, next to my hometown of Sapporo, tries to remain self-sufficient as much as possible, which means that they try to live off of things they make in the city. While that is a noble pursuit, it is difficult for that alone to cover all of the city’s needs. Many things have to be acquired from outside of the city. That’s economics.
“Once this location is discovered, a full-blown attack would follow. Then, Gannes would fall.”
“Wait, why? With all of the powerful monsters here?”
“There would be no need for combat. Once we trap them in and stop resources from going in, I believe the monster army would crumble on its own.”
“You’d starve them out!”
“I can’t say ditching your only headquarters is a good idea, but sometimes it’s required to stay hidden. If they already had a plan to find a new home, I could see merit in ditching the city and starting the move early. Like I said, monsters are truly formidable out in the field.”
Wow. It finally clicked. What a good teacher he’d make.
“...Weirdo,” the little Demon Lord mumbled.
You already said that. You know I can hear you, right?
“In any case, the quicker they get on the move the better, right?” I asked.
I got it. No more monsters around, no more battles. Perfect.
“We can’t.”
“Right, you can’t... Wait, why not?”
Leon chimed in so naturally that I couldn’t help but join in. How embarrassing.
“Since we couldn’t take Mostail, we’ll just be attacked if we go on the move.”
“Oof...”
I clasped my head. We did contribute in defending Mostail, after all. Now that war had begun, a band of monsters walking down a travel road like refugees would, of course, be attacked. What to do...?
“Help me, Tia-emon.”
“Stop being so pathetic in front of a teenager.”
Tiamat sighed as I easily resorted to begging for help. What was I supposed to do? I was not a strategist, nor did I have any knowledge of military action.
“No one is expecting you to have any. You have to use your talents to your advantage.”
“Oh!”
“Mm. We can negotiate with Noura with the recent turn of events in mind.”
The dragon princess laughed. The monster army attacked Mostail, only to be driven away by Eiji the Hermit and his companions. The Hermit’s party followed the monsters to their headquarters; there they negotiated with the Demon Lord and secured a promise to leave the kingdom of Noura. That’s our story.
If we could get the kingdom of Noura to swallow this, there would be no more bloodshed. There was the issue of reparations for the war, but maybe giving the castle of Gannes to Noura would take care of that. I wasn’t sure.
Of course, there is always an element of give and take in negotiations. Logic alone won’t cut it. Pinning the opponent down to the ground doesn’t count as negotiating. In fact it would be a miracle if such a thing could change one’s mind.
“I think we can do it...?”
I nodded, calculating our next moves in my mind. First we would save Noura from warfare, then from beriberi.
“Then it’s settled. Our next destination is the capital of Noura,” Hieronymus concluded.
Still, we couldn’t very well leave the same day we had arrived. For the night, we had decided to find lodging in Gannes.
“Domestic violence is actually a rather serious issue,” Tiamat said, as she sprawled out onto the bed.
It was well into the night, and she and I were once again sharing a room.
“Even I know that is a serious issue.”
“Mm. That’s why you’re not sure how close you can get.”
“Yeah.”
Generally, I try to speak to others in a polite manner, almost out of habit. At my job, a little informality could swiftly get me in trouble. That being said, I speak frankly to my coworkers, and, of course, to my friends and girlfriend.
As for Leon, I was having a tough time deciding how to speak to her. She was the same age as Syfer and Ruey, but I couldn’t exactly speak to her the same way I did to them. I hadn’t interacted informally with Miss Cielz, who serves Leon. Ordinarily I should keep things businesslike, regardless of age, since we were on opposite sides.
Now, it was a problem that Leon had been abused. It was a sensitive issue, and I had no firsthand experience. I was never struck by my parents nor was I ever bullied in school. I just knew about these things like something I read in a book. Even when I tried to get close, I felt myself being fake, somehow. I couldn’t tell how best to speak to her.
“That’s all right. You can’t be in her shoes. Neither can I, of course.”
Tiamat was being vague, but I understood the gist.
“I don’t really know how to act around a teenage girl, either. I don’t think it’s right to treat her like I do Syfer or Ruey.”
Those were boys. They could take a little less delicate treatment.
“That’s what we call sexism in our field of work. Just treat them the same.” Tiamat chuckled.
“Really?”
I was asking about the second half of her statement, by the way. It didn’t really matter how I spoke to Syfer or Ruey.
“Walk on eggshells around her and you’ll only hurt her worse. It’s imperative that you don’t treat her like an outlier.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Now, it’s a crime if you flirt with her.”
“I won’t! She’s a highschooler!”
“And with Cielz?”
“...I won’t.”
“I won’t ask why it took you longer to answer.”
The dragon princess teased me and stretched her jaws open in a yawn.
7.
It was early in the morning. As we were packing up to leave, we had visitors to our room: Leon and Baze. Did they sleep together the night before?! What a lucky guy you were, Lord Baze! So jealous! I wished them a lifetime of happiness!
“Boss Man... Sis...”
A voice boomed like it was coming from the bowels of the earth. Apparently he wasn’t in the mood to accept my congratulations. Yep. I already knew that.
Lord Baze didn’t know how to treat Leon either. This Fenrir had become very close to humans, but he preferred more feral or rough-housing friendships between men. Even in Mostail, he had sung with Earl Agamemnon, arms around each other’s shoulders. Being touchy-feely with girls was solely handled by Hieronymus around here.
“I hear a little thorn in your voice, Lord Eiji.”
The Cait Sith popped out from behind Baze. In human form, for some reason. His arm intertwined with Miss Cielz’s, for some reason. Okay. I silently begged him to not explain. Don’t tell me what happened the night before. I wanted to remain good friends with him. Damn it.
“Please... Tell her... Leon’s insisting on coming with us...” Baze muttered.
“Oof...”
That was a twist. Tiamat and I faced each other.
“Leon. We’re headed to Nourn. The capital. Don’t you have things you need to take care of?”
I took a stab at convincing her, after clearing my throat. I tried being informal without sounding uncaring.
“Cielz can prep for the migration. The skeleton is done. I don’t need to give orders about everything. Besides, I don’t entirely trust you, either. I can’t disregard the possibility that you will notify them of our location once you’re in the capital.”
She responded with an answer perfectly laid out with logic. It made sense. We weren’t on the side of the monsters; if anything, we were on the other side.
“So you’re coming along to keep an eye on us, Leon.”
“Yes.”
“But isn’t that the sort of thing you can delegate? What about Miss Cielz?”
“She can’t handle a situation if it goes south.”
Hold on a minute. She was plenty strong. She easily lost to Tiamat, but she’s like an outlier of the natural order.
“Mm. I am the strongest there is.”
“That wasn’t really a compliment, Miss Tia.”
“I’m about as strong as Tia,” Leon chimed in. “I can get away if something happens or destroy the capital if I need to.”
That wasn’t exactly a peaceful sight to imagine, but those were reasonable conditions. There was no reason for the monster army to trust us wholeheartedly. Even if we wouldn’t go as far as tell their secret location, we very well would have the chance to make a run for it. Someone had to keep an eye on us, and not anyone could do the job.
“Of course, we’ll take a hostage from you, too.”
“...Right.”
“I shall accept that role,” Hieronymus volunteered.
That would hurt. He was the brains of our party and my guard during combat. Going without him would be tough. But who else was there...? Not Tiamat. She’s the core of our team; that was out of the question. Baze was out, too. He’s our expert hunter and our best fighter when Tiamat isn’t involved. The job would be difficult for Ruey, too, as our navigator. The only one we could afford to lose...
“...is me.”
What a tragic realization. I wanted to cry.
“What’s wrong with you, you idiot.”
“Sorry.”
I was tasked with negotiating with the king, so I couldn’t stay here.
“From the process of elimination, the task befalls me.”
Hieronymus smiled, stroking his well-kept beard. Theatrical gestures suited him well. It couldn’t be helped, though.
“Give it up, Lord Baze. I don’t think there’s room for debate.”
“Boss Man...”
Hang in there.
I could only pray for him. Then I wondered why Leon and Miss Cielz gave each other a look, followed by a laughter. Perhaps there was some dark bargaining going on... pertaining to the allocation of Baze and Hieronymus, maybe? I was too scared to confirm anything though.
Tiamat and I walked side-by-side, led by Ruey holding the donkey’s reins. Baze followed us in the rear of the party, carrying Leon, sitting with her legs out to one side. It was picturesque... but couldn’t she have walked on her own? The rest of us were walking, after all.
A day and a half had passed since we left the castle of Gannes when we arrived at the main travel road. I expected that we would be able to spend nights at inns again. I was sure that a girl riding a Fenrir wasn’t something they saw every day, but they’ll just have to accept her as an adventurer. I think Tiamat had them beat in rarity, anyway.
“If we keep going down south we should reach Nourn in five days or so,” Ruey informed us as he checked his maps.
Still a little ways to go.
“I can finally sleep in a bed again.”
“We slept in beds just two nights ago,” Ruey pointed out.
“I’m getting used to it, but sleeping out here is still rough.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
We laughed. No adventurer or soldier slept under the stars by choice.
“Will you turn into a human at the inn, Baze?”
“Yeah. I can’t really go into a human town looking like this.”
“But you’re so cool.”
“If I don’t, I’ll have to go through the whole shebang that we’re Hermits and friends.”
A delightful conversation could be heard from behind me (by Leon and Baze, of course). They seemed to have grown quite fond of each other. I was glad they seemed to have formed a good friendship.
“It could be a turning point when he takes his human form,” Tiamat mumbled as she glanced behind us.
She had continued Leon’s counseling so far. Of course, an abused girl’s heart couldn’t be expected to heal right up after a few conversations. That would take a much, much longer time.
“Is it bad that he’ll be a grown man, Tia?”
I had to ask. I fit that category too.
“Not sure. Flashbacks aren’t something that anyone can predict. Still...” the dragon princess continued.
In most cases, a child’s abuser is one or both of their parents or step-parents. Apparently, other cases include the employees of the child’s care facility abusing them. Most of the time, the adults tasked with protecting the children are the abusers.
I wasn’t sure what to do with my indignation when Tiamat informed me that it wasn’t a newfound social issue. This formula is as old as time. The strong bully the weak, who bully someone weaker than them, and so on. Perhaps that’s a sort of incurable disease humanity hosts.
“Of course, ‘incurable’ isn’t going to cut it for those actually being abused.”
“Right. We can’t stop looking for solutions just because it’s a long-lasting problem.”
“The answer is never simple, but there could be various reasons why she isn’t triggered by you. Your image may be completely different from her father, or your age, or your smell...”
“Ah. Lord Baze and I do look very different.”
“That’s why I can’t predict what’s going to happen. If her mother figure was her abuser, she may be triggered by my human form.”
Isekai Rebuilding Project: Volume 2 Page 12