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Chapter 42.5: —Side Dragon King and Princess— Royal Capital and Fort City Counter-Measure Conference

 

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Late at night.
Dianeia and Anne were having a late dinner while talking.

「You really are a dragon king….really, I thought my heart was going to explode.」
「I’m sorry about that Dianeia-sama. Originally I had wanted to be more graceful and natural…but I lost control of myself.」

The two of them had been talking since they parted with Daichi. That was the cause of this late-night dinner.

According to what she said, the Chief of the Fort City did not know that she was a dragon king. It really seemed like she had obtained her position by chance.

Well, for now the fort city was developing peacefully and she seemed to be working to improve it, so Dianeia decided to leave it alone.

Because it can’t really be denied that Anne was working for the sake of the people.

…….but furthermore, as long as I can defend the royal capital nothing else really matters.

That’s why they are now exchanging information like this.

「But that black doll that you created really surprised me Anne.」
「I’m sorry for acting without informing you. That doll was a scout.」
「A scout?」
「Yes for the dragon vein man—-I knew that Daichi-sama was strong. So I wouldn’t be killed if I approached carelessly, I created the doll and had it go ahead beforehand. In addition, you might say that it was necessary to explore the forest.」

Now that she mentioned it, certainly the dolls chased them, but most of them went on ahead.

「That was for exploring the magic forest?」
「Yes. However, now that I understand that Daichi-sama is an unbelievably strong and kind person…it seems like I put in a lot of effort for nothing.」

Dianeia smiled wryly while scratching at her cheek.
Dianeia understood how she felt because she was scared of Daichi when they first met. She definitely understood why she sent the black dolls ahead to scout.

「But Anne,」
「Yes, what is it?」
「why….did they attack you as well?」
「That’s my hobby.」

Anne said with a serious look.

「Hob……is that so.」

It’s not nice to comment on other’s particulars.

「Haa……..haa……I should be able to make that doll’s attack feel even better. If it was only a little more viscous when I made it……..wait, would Daichi-sama’s magic maelstrom feel even better maybe….」

Actually I don’t think I should pursue this line of questioning any further.

Anne had entered her own little world and was making a naughty face.

「Lea-leaving that aside Anne-dono. What was the result of scouting the forest?」
「……Please excuse my impoliteness. That’s right. It’s honestly not very good. That phenomenon that we talked about earlier is still happening.」

Anne had told her the reasons she came to the royal capital.

One was to come and see Hesty, the other dragon king. That was the biggest reason, but without a proper reason she could not leave the fort city as the Deputy director. This reason was,

「From the magic forest all the way to the capital, the land is becoming richer in magic. Because of that the fort city’s dungeon is expanding huh?」
「Yes. Through my dolls’ scouting I have confirmed that the dungeon in the fort city have linked to this area. At this rate both the monsters from the forest and in the dungeon, will overflow.」

Thanks to the magic spot, the surroundings have become rich in magic.

But thanks to the overabundance in magic power in that land, the fort city’s dungeon was stimulated and seems to be growing.

「Because dungeons are almost like living things that eat magic. I think that it’s inevitable that it would reach out towards land that has such abundant magic.」
「*sigh* after the dragon threat disappeared, now the earth itself is a threat….?」

Apparently, there was already a dungeon linking hole in the surroundings of the royal capital.
If that hole opened the monsters from the dungeon would overflow from it. That was how Anne explained it.

Dianeia knew the basics about dungeons, while she was training to become a mage she had studied it.

But she had no idea what to do in such a situation.

That’s why she listened to Anne, an expert in dungeons, on this occasion.

「How much of an outbreak would it be? Do you know when?」
「We know the cycle of monsters appearing in general……but we cannot narrow it down to a specific date or time. But based on how far it’s come, it shouldn’t be more than a few days before it begins.」

「How can we reduce casualties?」
「That’s simple. I recommend a monster subjugation. Wipe them out. That is the best option.」

Subjugating the monsters before they breed, and reducing the number that would appear.

There would still be monsters that would be created all at once by the dungeon, but if the rest were subjugated, then a great number of casualties could be avoided.

「Currently, there are quite a few monsters within the fort city’s dungeon. The monsters are looking for places to hunt, so they will flow to a new area. They should be around these parts as well.」
「Ahh, is that so…」

Dianeia understood that well enough.

「If I put all my strength into a barrier magic then most of the town can be protected but…」

From her training, she could at least block a dragon by herself. With that much power most dungeon monsters would be unable to pass the barrier.

But in a drawn out struggle they didn’t have the advantage.
She didn’t know if her magic power could hold out until the monsters were wiped out.

「Well at least you could say that there isn’t much need to worry about the magic forest.」
「Regular dungeon monsters won’t even be able to approach Daichi. Yes, moreover Aneue-sama is there as well, I’m grateful for that.」

For instance, even if a dungeon appeared in the magic forest, it’d be fine because he’s there.
The only issue is the city’s defenses.

「Information has been tentatively spread and a request for adventurers to help has been sent. But still, we’re in quite a pickle.」
「If you don’t understand something about the dungeons, just ask me ok? I was quite satisfied just by meeting Aneue-sama but if there were less places that I could go on a date with Aneue-sama I’d be sad.」
「Yeah, I’ll be asking for your full strength, dragon king-dono of the fort city.」

While letting out a long sigh, Dianeia crammed the rest of her dinner into her stomach.
Her head was spinning as she thought of the all-nighter she’d have to pull to plan the counter-offensive.

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