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I’m A Villager, So What? – Chapter 35

「Humanity”s strongest…? Fumu, now that’s an interesting story, isn’t it?」

the Dragon King’s roomーa human is kneeling before the Dragon King sitting on a throne with crimson carpet laid through the room.

「This is a survey sponsored by the Adventurer’s Guild in the Imperial Capital… We are seeking the opinions of experts from various fields regarding this matter.」

「By the strongest, you mean a strategic-class individual… so that it’s a candidate for humanity’s strongest, correct?」

「Of course… not a tactical-class, but a strategic one. An individual capable of significantly affecting the outcome of a war with great nations… That is the level we are talking about.」

In a relaxed manner, the Dragon King sways his wine glass while still sitting on his throne.
He is wearing a black suit with a rose-patterned cutaway shirt, and a Japanese sword is propped up against the throne.

According to Lute, he is referred to as a “Host Samurai”, and it’s a pretty accurate description of him.

Anyway, the Dragon King, sporting asymmetrical gold and silver hair, laughs before saying,

「Fumu… for now… you?」

「Yes… Is there something you would like me to do, Dragon King-sama?」

With that, the Dragon King snapped his fingers.

A young woman in a gothic maid outfit entered the room with a bow.
She placed an uncorked wine bottle in front of the human man.

「I want you to try something nice.」

Thinking for a moment, the human looked at the wine bottle and the Dragon King alternately.

「Fumu… something nice… is it?」

「This is a story from another world, but… Apparently, there is a place called a Host Club, which is like a miniature garden of beauty.」

The human man furrowed his brow in confusion.

「A Host Club… is it?」

「It’s a style of beauty that takes place there. That is what I mean by ‘try something nice’.」

「…So… that… just what is meant by ’try something nice”?」

「Anyway, just chug it down. 」

「Chug it down… is it?」

The Dragon King nodded.

「Ahh, that’s right.」

「What will happen if I do that?」

「Fumu…」The Dragon King put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment.

「…」

「…」

「…」

「…」

After about thirty seconds, the Dragon King grinned and nodded.

「Well, that’s up to you. If you show me a little bit of your skills, then we’ll see what happens after that.」

「After that?」

「After thatー」

The Dragon King winked, before continuing.

「ー”Let’s partyーnight.”」

「…?」

「Opening a bottle of Dom P*rignon and all that, well, it’s that kind of vibe.」

Ignoring the man’s troubled expression, the Dragon King clapped his hands. It seems that the comedic act had come to an end, and he was going to get down to business.

「So… the strongest among humankind, right?」

「Yes, that’s correct.」

Looking up to the air for a moment, the Dragon King nodded.

「First of all, it depends on where you place the definition of humanity.」

「Beastmen… or Elves. Are you talking about demi-humans?」

「It’s natural to include those around you… Using the magic of Humanization, we usually look the same as humans… Do you want to include dragon-kind too?」

「Isn’t Dragon tribe different from humans?」

「Why? We understand human language, and we basically take the same form as humans, don’t we?」

At that, the human man shook his head as if he had given up, or rather, he understood the intention of the Dragon King.

「It’s okay to include the Dragon Tribe in the tournament to decide the strongest.」

Nodding in agreement, the Dragon King said,

「First of all, as the strongest member of the Dragon Tribe… I am an indispensable candidate.」

「… Or rather, you didn’t just forcefully included the Dragon Tribe in order to participate, did you?」

「Well, in a battle to decide who’s strongest, wouldn’t I want to include myself?」

「Haa…」

The mischievous Dragon King laughed.

「So… should we get to the main point? Next, we have a human who aims to be a god while still alive, The Seeker Hermit of the Farthest Land, Liu Hai.」

「A famous Sennin. It is said that he has been alive for 500 years…」

「Well, to be precise, he’s not a Sennin yet. Also, his actual age is a little over 800. He’s almost the same age as me…」

「And…?」

「A lot of things happened in the past. Well, he’s not a Sennin. A Sennin is someone who voluntarily discards their physical body and becomes one with nature as a soul… a very spiritual and conceptual lifeform.」

「…?」

「Simply put, he’s waiting for his own body to decay at the same time as he achieved divinity on his own accord… that is the kind of existence he is.」

「…I sort of get it and sort of don’t…」

After that, the Dragon King clapped his hands again.

「Next, and this one is indispensable as well… The forbidden spell user of the Demon World… The Dark Elf: Merlin Onyx. Despite being a demi-human, she resides in the Demon World and has become a half demon… No, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call her a Demon God.」

The Dragon King continued,

「The Undefeatable of the East… The samurai with two thousand wins and no losses: Retsuto Ito. Next, the Chaos of Death and Rebirth… The great elven sage who mastered recovery and destruction: Rimuru Kiss.」

Hearing those names, the human man looked a bit disappointed before saying,

「They’re all famous people, aren’t they?」

「The current heroes are not yet adults, so… this is the expected outcome. The Hero of the West, Olmsted Yorgusten, is only 18 years old and is still in his growing stage, so he will be significantly inferior to the top level in the present.」

Then, the human man expressed his dissatisfaction and said,

「It’s still all famous people, isn’t it?」

The Dragon King smiled. However, there was no smile in his eyes, and there were slight blue veins visible on his forehead.
ーit seems that the Dragon King is a small-minded man.

「In that case, shall I bring out some unknowns?」

「Unknows…?」

The Dragon King nodded and said,

「Lute Mclane.」

After thinking for a moment, the human man asked,

「Who is that?」

「The strongest villager in the world.」

「…A Villager?」

The human man looked completely bewildered and didn’t seem to understand what was said.

「You’ll understand eventually. He… chose to walk alongside the Hero.」

「…?」

「And soーeven if he didn’t like it, he’ll have no choice but to stand on the world stage and carve his name into history.」

「…His name in history… is it?」

To the human man asking with an indescribable expression, the Dragon King replied with a smug face.

「You’ll understand eventually. Besides… including me, many of us who were mentioned earlier… are being dragged along by hum quite a bit.」

「…」

The Dragon King pointed at the wine bottle in front of the human man.

「For now…let’s try something nice.」

「… Drink it all at once… is it?」

The Dragon King nodded with a smile.