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Humans are weak creatures that, after just a day or two of starvation, see food shimmering like a mirage before their eyes.

Wales had to endure such human-like experiences for thousands of years.

A staggering thousands of years.

A being that does not forget, a greedy immortal, the embodiment of arrogance, a hedonist. Above all, a sloth.

But even sloth has its limits. Being sealed flat on the ground in the enclosure without moving a claw or consuming anything for thousands of years was a torment even for the laziest of beings.

It was only natural that Wales, known for being generous among the Red Dragons, would be angered, even if it was somewhat of a mutation.

And the common trait of dragons not forgetting only exacerbated this nightmare endlessly.

During every moment of suffering, all that Wales was allowed was just one thing.

To reminisce about past memories and sleep as a means of escaping the reality that stood in stark contrast.

If only I had never known from the very beginning, I wouldn’t have to suffer such torment.

Wales remembered not the fresh, dripping meat but rather the first mundane creature’s dishes that civilization, so to speak, had created.

And from the moment the lesser beings stepped into the enclosure, Wales could smell the aromas of food that surpassed all dishes ever experienced.

Of course, those dishes were stored in an expansion pocket, but that was of no use. Wales, who had starved for thousands of years, sensed everything.

Pancakes, doughnuts, castella, among desserts. The rich and seasoned fried chicken, teriyaki chicken, pizza, and numerous dishes that Karem and Mary had prepared—a feast fit for three people that could last a month—inundated the starving dragon’s senses.

Even the largest of the dishes, compared to Wales’s size, was smaller than his teeth.

[Hmm, oh my! How can food be like this aaahhh—]

With that alone, the storm of flavors and textures attacked Wales’s tongue, which had been reset to a tasteless state, causing his telepathy to stutter like a broken radio.

Roast beef, roll cake, teriyaki oven-baked chicken, sandwiches, tarts, pudding, and a myriad of both large and small dishes.

Wales savored every second spent consuming the food, but his immense size caused the dishes to disappear in an instant.

Catherine, who was blankly watching this scene, finally spoke up.

“…I never thought I’d see a dragon impressed by food in my lifetime.”

“More than that…how should we explain this?”

“What do you mean, um. Ah.”

The immediate reason for the dukes gathered in the capital was the demon tribe.

However, if the threat of the demons was gone, and we mentioned that the Dragon Lord, sealed deep beneath the catacombs, had been released, what kind of reaction would that evoke?

Would the king and the dukes even believe such an absurd tale?

Catherine had no desire to endure such inconvenience.

Then there was only one solution.

To ask.

The four here, no, they only needed to keep quiet.

Upon hearing this, Karem was taken aback.

“…Is that for real?”

“So you want me to explain this situation to the king right now?”

“Uh…”

Karem briefly handed something to Mary and then looked at Wales, who was flicking chicken into his mouth with the tips of his claws, then at the approaching Marta.

“So what will you do?”

“For now, demon tribe. Collaborate.”

If the dragon truly granted wishes, there would likely be only one intact demon in this city. Probably.

The one and only demon, Marta, tilted her head in confusion at the unexpected cooperation command and pointed at herself with her finger.

However, the problem lay with the will of the dragon itself.

[Hmm, ooh. What? You’ll do that? Even if you’re small like a lesser being, having tasted such flavors, if a price is paid, I’ll join in.]

The dragon’s two conditions felt almost ridiculously light. One of those conditions was to eat Karem’s cooking regularly. The period would be decided later.

Catherine, having asked for Karem’s consent, received an enthusiastic acceptance.

Then came the second condition.

“Wait a minute, dragon’s familiar!? I didn’t hear anything about that!?”

Marta soon accepted it as well.

*

*

*

“Huh. Is that really the case?”

Inamark raised his hand, and Catherine, Karem, and Mary stood up.

On either side of the spacious audience room, the dukes were watching them intently.

The gazes of the king and dukes in the audience room turned towards the demon who was lying flat before them, the succubus Marta.

Inamark clutched his temples as he glanced at Marta’s horns, tail, and wings, recalling the information he had just received.

“So, she’s the sole survivor and betrayer of the demon tribe that had been secretly operating in the city.”

Marta’s report went as follows.

After the fall of the Demon Lord’s forces, Marta, having long sought peace since ancient times, had no choice but to conspire against the kingdom under the orders of the tribe’s king, Lucia.

However, Lucia was merely acting as the succubus queen’s representative.

Due to her lack of complete dominance, Marta saw her opportunity to betray, taking advantage of her kin who had relaxed their guard with the pieces of Naglfar in hand.

“I can’t believe the demon tribe was this close.”

“Should we strengthen cooperation with the Grand Sanctuary?”

“The influence of the Temple of Many Gods will widen…”

“That can’t be helped, right?”

“Wait.”

Brian, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Marta, clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention.

“Before that, my lord. I think we need to figure out how that succubus betrayed them.”

“That’s certainly true. You, succubus.”

Inamark shifted his gaze back to Marta’s nape and closed his eyes tightly.

Indeed, the succubus tribe was notorious. As he recalled his contract with Cordelia, Inamark steeled himself.

“Don’t lift your head, just blow as you are.”

“What should I say?”

“Tell me how you betrayed your kin without leaving a single one behind. You must have said it yourself.”

The most potent lies often come from the majority of truth with a sprinkle of deceit added like spices.

The scenario crafted by Catherine that Marta muttered was as follows.

The succubus queen’s representative, Lucia, had devised a plan to incinerate all sentient beings in the capital except for the demons and monsters using a scroll imbued with the dragon’s magic.

To do this, an enormous amount of mana was required, which led her to acquire the pieces of Naglfar. In a moment of excitement, the succubus and Lucia, having become careless, led to a scroll being snatched away.

“So, your infiltration into the catacombs was to use that scroll to betray your kin?”

“Yes. Although I was caught by Sir Atanitas, he listened to my circumstances—”

As Marta continued to speak, those listening couldn’t help but nod in amazement at each point. They seemed slightly disappointed that the scroll was one-time use and burnt away.

Of course, for this plan to work, Marta needed to become a dragon’s familiar, but the other three were indifferent to the details.

Karem, gazing silently, exchanged a sideways glance with Catherine.

‘This really works.’

‘Of course, but what’s bothering you?’

‘No, nothing at all.’

In truth, Karem had many grievances.

After all, their planned date had gone awry before even reaching a single night, let alone the intended three nights.

What about the dishes he had meticulously prepared? All the excitement that had been built for the date resulted in every single dish being consumed by the dragon, an innocent victim, rather than the intended one.

It had only been yesterday that such a situation arose.

So, Karem had a lot of grievances about everything.

Catherine instantly recognized this feeling.

‘Well, there’s no need to be so upset. The anniversary is just around the corner.’

‘True—’

As Karem was about to nod in agreement to Catherine, suddenly, he felt a tickle in his fingers.

Gazing down slightly, he saw Catherine’s finger gently sliding across her pinky finger while holding her staff.

The movement of her finger, unseen by anyone but the two, gradually revealed her slight disappointment.

“Your Grace, the Priest Kevin you requested for cooperation—”

“Tell him to come in right now.”

Inamark spoke even before the attendant could finish. Kevin entered shortly with a guard carrying four sacks.

“I didn’t expect to come here so suddenly—”

“Enough. Priest Kevin. Did you have the goods?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Kevin approached the throne directly without the aid of attendants and handed over a wooden box covered in barnacles before returning to his place.

“I’ve confirmed it. It’s definitely a piece of the dragon.”

“Good. What about that sack?”

“Oh, and I’ve also secured another irrefutable piece of evidence.”

At Kevin’s gesture, the guard dropped the sack onto the floor and opened it, spilling its contents.

Greeeeeh—

A half-burnt corpse, bound by sacred chains inscribed with divine symbols, lay there; only its wing bones and horns remained, as all skin had burned away.

As the demon’s blurred eyes, groaning in pain, turned towards Marta, a scream-like wail erupted in the audience room.

“Baeeeeeeel!????”

“Lu… Lucia!?”

The corpse, which could have died at any moment, let out Lucia’s screams, and no one doubted Marta’s claims any longer.

*

*

*

“Phew, I was unsure if it would work out as planned.”

As Karem returned to the lodge from the audience room, he let out a long sigh.

The burnt-out corpse of the demon known as Lucia, plus the wooden box containing the piece of the dragon Naglfar that Kevin presented.

Not only that, but with Marta’s testimony about the existence of the lizardmen tribe that commanded orcs, Inamark ordered a disband of the session for the time being.

In that process, leaving behind the dukes, the priest, and the knights would imply that Catherine’s slightly manipulated testimony from Marta was regarded as fact.

“Contractor. Dra—”

“Wait.”

“Ugh.”

Catherine abruptly halted Mary with a gesture, swiftly setting up a soundproofing barrier that enveloped the entire room. At Catherine’s signal, Mary spoke again.

“Are we really going to bury the truth about the dragon like this?”

“Of course. It’s annoying enough to handle just that guy Karem here.”

“Are you saying I’m the problem?”

“Then wouldn’t it be so?”

Catherine shot a sharp glare at Karem, who looked wronged.

“I mean, what did I do wrong?”

“What does the commander of the guards call you right now?”

“I’m sorry.”

Just before entering the audience room, Michael executed a sudden worship as soon as he saw Karem, painfully rekindling Catherine’s discomfort.

“How am I supposed to resolve that atrocious surprise worship? Why does Lord Jackson’s head pound every time he sees you?”

“…Do you know what he said to me?”

“How would I know?”

“He said he wouldn’t mind if I denied it.”

“What?”

“He says he believes himself to be a god.”

“What kind of absurd talk is that?”

“What do you think my feelings are hearing that right in front of me? It’s causing me quite a headache.”

“Ugh, you should just leave the capital.”

Catherine wished to leave this capital if possible, but the reason for coming here—because of the anniversary—had yet to even start, making it impossible.

“If the people of the capital learned the truth, they would be horrified.”

Mary brought snacks she left at the lodge and gazed out at the cityscape below. More precisely, at the enclosure far below.

“The dragon wants to live under the city.”

Strictly speaking, it would beneath the catacombs, but it was nonetheless under the city, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

Although it had an original nest, after being released from its seal, it found the enclosure cozier than expected and decided to make it a vacation nest, so to speak.

She had even planned to block the access path and elevator and forcibly convert Marta into a familiar servant while also redecorating.

Catherine understood why she was inquiring about that.

Given that the anniversary was near, along with the plan of the demon tribe.

What if all those facts were revealed at once?

“Things would really turn upside down, right?”

“Would it end there?”

Wales stated that he would merely adopt that enclosure as a nest and had no intention of burning down the kingdom at all.

“Dragons may be arrogant, but because of that, they do not lie. Thus, we must trust them.”

“True… it’s already complicated enough with just the demons, let alone the dragon…”

After all, this was a dragon.

Conversely, even if it rampaged, they’d have no means to respond.

Could it be that Catherine’s feelings upon hearing Michael’s surprise worship were like this? Karem felt he could understand her feelings.

“Contractor. Karem junior. What do you intend to do about the pot?”

“The pot? The pot that sealed the dragon?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll look into it once we return to Coldon.”

Catherine waved her hand, encompassing all the weariness of the world.

Unlike the anticipated date in the catacombs, unexpected succubi, the plans of the demon tribe, and the dragon had all entered the picture.

While she hadn’t felt it at the time, now that matters were ‘for now’ resolved, exhaustion surged over her rapidly.

Moreover, the Crystal Jubilee was just around the corner.

“…No way around it. Karem, sit on the bed.”

“…Huh?”

Despite the bewilderment, upon seeing Catherine’s haggard face, Karem sat down on the bed. Catherine lay her head on Karem’s lap.

“…Miss Catherine?”

“Quiet.”

Catherine closed her eyes just like that.

It conveyed her intent to rest all over her body.

Let this compensate for the date that couldn’t happen.

Catherine fell asleep, inhaling the complex aroma of spices and the calming scent of something savory wafting from beside her.

 

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