13 - Dragon Diplomacy

Before getting into the main subject, let's talk about the roles of the Five Dragon Generals.

As I mentioned before, each of the five dragon generals is assigned a task by the Dragon God.

Dora-sama trains dragons.

Maxwell exterminates demonic beasts.

Chaos manufactures weapons.

Szilard is in charge of the dragon warriors.

In fact, besides these public jobs, there are also behind-the-scenes tasks, but let's leave that aside for now.

When I was appointed Dragon General, I was also given a specific task.

I was to be the assistant of Dragon God-sama.

Or, more precisely, his companion... but basically, I would act as his personal attendant.

In addition to inspecting the surroundings of Dragon God-sama, performing escort duties, offering suggestions, carrying his water...

Taking care of various tasks like these.

Even if these may be tasks, for a newcomer like me, always being by the side of Dragon God-sama was a huge honor.

Perhaps enough to displease the other Dragon Generals.

Because everyone, especially the generals of the Five Dragons, respected, admired, and adored the Dragon God.

So perhaps such an honor for a rookie like me might be a reason for envy.

Of course, even if they had complaints, they did not manifest them.

From my point of view, being an attendant was the right function for me.

There was no reason to oppose it.

Thus, I traveled alongside the Dragon God to other worlds.

The research on Teleportation Magic was not yet concluded at that moment, but there was another way.

In all worlds, there has always been a specific altar somewhere.

When Dragon God entered, I followed him. The altar was activated and took us to a space of pure white emptiness.

You can travel to the altars of different worlds by flying there.

The first world they brought me to.

A magical world full of venom and miasma... yes, the Demon World.

"That is..."

When I left the altar and saw the vision spreading out before me, I froze.

Demon World, a place of only bitter memories for me.

Naturally, those negative feelings began to return as I recalled them.

"What is wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Of course, now that I have fully grown, my perspective has changed.

Having much experience, the demon city I once longed for no longer interested me.

Nor did any feeling of anger.

I felt almost nostalgic for the demonic beasts wandering in the distance.

It must have been because I felt no remorse.

"Let's go."

"Yes, sir!"

Dragon God took off without explaining where to go.

Where am I? There's no need for such stupid questions.

Dragon God-sama leads, I follow.

The Dragon God was heading toward the heart of the Demon World.

A gigantic crater that, from afar, looks like a mountain range.

There were countless houses lined up inside and a huge castle of black iron at the center of the crater.

The center of the demon world, the Demon Capital Daileck and the Castle of the Demon God Gaileck.

As we approached the castle, I observed bonfires lit in a circular arrangement near the castle's roof.

Dragon God landed in the center of the circle without hesitation.

Countless demons were around the circle.

Demons of various races.

Those with multiple arms, those with bestial legs, those that glowed, those without eyes.

They did not seem very happy to see Dragon God and me.

They did not show any attitude, but I could immediately feel the tension in the air.

"Gahahahaha! Welcome, Dragon God-sama!"

Meanwhile, from the thrones of the Demons, someone stepped forward.

Among the tense crowd, he was the only unusual one.

He approached us with a friendly attitude, laughing loudly.

"Hum."

But he stopped when he saw me.

His smile disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression.

"…"

I also lost my voice when I saw him.

I knew him.

Black skin, six arms, purple hair, the upper part of his body completely naked.

Upon seeing him, I immediately began to tremble.

It was once, yes, a long time ago.

When I still lived in the Demon World.

The person who expelled me every time I tried to enter the city…

Yes, it is truly him.

The Demon King who defeated me many times in the Demon World.

"This is my escort. One of the Five Dragon Generals, Dragon Demon King Laplace."

Dragon God intervened, after seeing both of us frozen in place.

With those words, I remembered my position and the reason for my visit.

I immediately gave the greatest salute and greeted the Demon Lord.

"I am Dragon Demon King Laplace. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Mm..."

In response, the Demon King made a small, thoughtful gesture.

"Gahahahaha! I am one of the Eight Demon Kings, Necross Lacross! Remember that!"

He laughed heartily.

■

Reason for visiting this world?

To participate in the meeting.

The gods of each world hold regular meetings... I believe I mentioned that before.

That, of course, continued.

The location changed from time to time, but it rarely changed to Dragon World, Heaven World, or Sea World.

Other gods also bring assistants with them, and some of them did not know how to fly or swim.

They were probably being considerate about that.

Putting that aside, a meeting of the gods.

The agenda of the meeting was the various problems that had arisen recently among the worlds.

The sudden appearance of demonic beasts, yes, the topic of sudden teleportation.

All the worlds were anxious to solve these problems, but no solution had yet been offered.

On the contrary, listening to the meeting while I was behind the Dragon God, I could say that the relationship among the gods was strained.

"They're the monsters again! They destroyed one of my cities!"

"One of my bosses disappeared during a transfer and thousands died when a war broke out."

"Humph, there are rumors that you have already completed the teleportation research? Are you sure it isn't a cover-up?"

"What..? How can you believe such unfounded rumors? Or should I believe that you freed those monsters?"

Sea God, a man with a large number of tentacles growing from his mouth and a slimy skin like that of a squid.

Beast God, a man with two heads, a dog and a cat, riding on a white wolf.

Sky God, a handsome man with twin eyes on his forehead and six wings on his back.

Demon God, a man with eight arms and six horns, standing over three meters tall.

In particular, the relationship among the four was terrible.

Every time they met, they cursed each other bitterly, as if they were ready to attack one another at any moment.

The majesty, the anger, and the overwhelming power of God were terrifying to behold.

"Well, everyone calm down. Fighting here won't help solve anything. It's all right. The research is going well, so I'm sure we will find the cause soon. Do not be deceived by these unfounded rumors."

"Exactly. It makes no sense for us to fight among ourselves. If we fight, it will only cost more lives for our people."

Meanwhile, only two tried to prevent the fight.

Our great Dragon God.

And the Human God with a mosaic-like appearance that is hard to remember.

Without them, the worlds would have severed ties with each other long ago, or perhaps even entered into war.

"…"

When the gods heard the word of the Human God, everyone fell silent.

The Human God commanded great respect.

As the founder of this conference, and due to the rapid development of the Human Race, he was frequently consulted by the other gods.

In other words, he gave more than he received overwhelmingly to the other gods.

Therefore, it was easy to see that everyone respected the Human God.

Dragon God-sama was no exception.

"Hmmph, as if you were so noble and fitting, Dragon God."

However, Demon God did not hold his tongue.

And the words that followed were enough to make me tremble.

"I've heard rumors that you kidnapped my son, Necrolia Nacrolia, tortured him, and killed him."

The words shook me inside.

This sudden statement could start a war between the Demon World and the Dragon World.

Because I knew that this rumor was true.

Although there is one case on the Dragon God's side, if we answer honestly, a fight would surely break out.

"...It's just a rumor. I do not know anyone like that."

Dragon God-sama lied.

That surprised me a bit, because I thought he was someone who would never lie.

No, it is only expected.

To be honest, we were already told never to expose the fact that Necrolia Nacrolia killed Crystal-sama.

Exposing that would only lead to fights and wars.

Perhaps Demon God was just testing us, but we cannot bite the bait.

Dragon God-sama chose a different path.

"Instead, look, Demon God, at this man."

Dragon God-sama looked at me, behind him.

I immediately gave the grandest salute.

Do not shame the Dragon God.

"That half-demon, half-dragon child? I thought you agreed to take him away? What about him?"

"He is now an important figure in the Dragon World, a living proof that the Dragon Race holds no hostility toward the Demons."

"...Hmmph."

Demon God looked at me and snorted.

Looking scowling at me.

In truth, his eyes were shining.

It must have been a kind of Demon Eye.

After seeing the result of his Demon Eye, Demon God slumped into his chair.

"I understand. I will believe you."

Originally, I was adopted for this purpose, but it was the first time it really worked.

For now, it would not be an exaggeration to say that we avoided a direct confrontation between the Demon World and the Dragon World.

"... I also do not want to fight."

At least, Demon God did not seem to want to deal with Dragon World.

No, it is not just Demon God.

None of the gods want a large-scale conflict to break out.

Frustrated with the strange circumstances, they began to suspect one another.

The meeting was always tense like this.

Perhaps it was more peaceful, but at that time everyone was frustrated and aggressive.

It was a meeting for exchanging information, but few personal stories were shared.

Perhaps they did not want to provide useful information to a suspect in the case.

It was an uncomfortable situation.

■

In a way, it can be said that my mission was to improve such a troublesome situation.

It was the diplomacy that was entrusted to me.

Of course, it was not to make friends with the other gods.

Instead, it was with their subordinates that I had to get along.

That is, other attendants like me.

Even as attendants here, at home they are important figures in their worlds.

If we build a relationship of trust among us, perhaps we can avoid the worst in case of an emergency.

That was my plan.

The first person I approached was a demon, with whose world we have had a tense relationship lately.

The people of Dragon World were becoming more hostile toward the Demons.

From what it seems in the meeting, it is also in the Demon World.

That is why I thought of offering an olive branch to the Demon World, to find a way for peace.

"Necross Lacross."

After the meeting ended, I called upon a giant and prominent man.

"I am the Immortal Demon King Necros Lacrosse of the Eight Great Demon Kings."

Necross Lacross looked back and was about to laugh loudly, but he became solemn when he saw me.

"You are..."

He looked at me, his face distorted with concern.

Perhaps thinking that I had come in search of revenge.

That is why I replied.

"I would like to introduce myself again. I am Dragon Demon King Laplace, of the Five Dragon Kings. Not a nameless humanoid demonic beast. It is Laplace."

"Mmph."

With that said, Necros Lacrosse displayed an expression befitting a demon king.

As I later learned, he decided never to bring up what happened in the past again.

I did not press the matter either.

It would have been useless.

Many things had changed from then until now.

"Recently, bad rumors about the demon world have spread in the dragon world. I hope we can help resolve this."

"Well, I have no objections to that, but I heard that dragons hate demons, right?"

"The fact that I, half-demon and half-dragon, was selected as General of the Five Dragons is proof that the rumors are nothing more than rumors."

"…"

"Dragon God-sama desires peace. If Demon God-sama also does not want to fight, I ask for your cooperation."

When I said that, Necross Lacross crossed his six arms and looked at me.

Testing me with an unpleasant gaze, but I decided to endure.

Perhaps determining if I was being sincere.

Depending on how you look at it, maybe I was chosen to lower the guard against the Dragon Race.

"Mmph."

After a while, Necross Lacross nodded heavily.

"Demon God-sama does not desire war! Mysterious things have been happening so much these days that things are a bit tense!"

"So?"

"Everything is fine. Let's cooperate!"

Thus, Necross Lacross and I shook hands.

I worked with Necross Lacross and recruited collaborators around the world.

Since I only traveled to different worlds while attending the gods' meetings, it took a long time, but... eventually, I visited all the worlds.

Sea World, a world without land, inhabited by people with scales and gills. And fins.

I was stunned.

After all, I had never seen an ocean before.

There was little water in the Demon World, much less a sea.

Dragon World has waterfalls and lakes, but nothing could be called an ocean either.

However, before me, who had never known such a thing, an endless ocean stretched out.

A world with nothing above to reflect on the ocean left me with some terrible memories.

Although there is nothing above the ocean, the bottom of the sea was truly lively.

Beast World, where dense forests and mountains continue indefinitely.

I was surprised by that place as well.

Certainly, there are mountains and forests in Dragon World.

But nothing as vivid, green, and full of life.

So incredibly dense.

Every step you take would cause some small insects or lizards to scatter.

All the other worlds seemed so barren compared to their richness of life.

Ah, but you came from the Great Forest, so that might not seem strange to you.

Then there was Heaven World, with its rocky masses suspended in the air, where only flying creatures could live.

Quite similar to Dragon World.

Except that in Dragon World, the surface was above, while in Heaven World, the surface was below.

Salt covers the land there. With a thin layer of water at ankle height above the salt layer. It was salty when lambi, so perhaps it was an ocean too.

The water was completely saturated with salt, so nothing could live in it.

All creatures live in the sky and are covered with feathers.

Looking back, I think Heaven World was the most beautiful of all.

But at that time I was frightened, since everything I knew was covered in scales.

Finally, Human World was an endless pasture.

Hills covered in grass spreading indefinitely.

Woodlands of trees not large enough to be called forests, hills not high enough to be called mountains.

A vast environment, perfect for human development.

The people there were incredibly fragile.

At the time, I wondered how those poor creatures could really live.

They are weaker than when I was first found by Dragon God-sama.

Compared with other races in the world, they were like babies.

However, the world was clearly more civilized than others.

Tall buildings, wide roads, well-armed troops.

Even though they were weak, with no natural predators, they dominated their world.

Later, I gradually increased my number of collaborators.

It took a lot of effort, but things worked out when they learned that Necross Lacross was working with me.

Everyone thought that Dragon World and Demon World would fight to the end.

After all, Dragon World and Demon World had a crushing combat power compared to other worlds.

If the representatives of these two worlds declare their intention for peace out loud.

Although a bit skeptical, no one refused.

During the gods' conferences, I invited their participants and held our own meetings.

About our future plans.

How can we achieve lasting peace?

By inviting a variety of opinions to create constructive plans.

But not everything went well.

Why?

Because the faces of the attendants changed from time to time.

Especially for the beasts and humans.

They may live only for a moment compared to dragons and demons.

A short life.

The Celestial Race lived comparatively longer, but they too eventually changed.

The life expectancy of the Marine Race varies greatly depending on the individual, so their numbers change irregularly.

When people change, their thoughts change as well.

Some expressed hostility toward other races.

But I did not give up.

Working hard with Necross Lacross to unite them.

The gods have no intention of fighting.

We must move forward and seek a path of peace.

We must take the initiative and set an example for us, who are closest to the gods.

Some changed their minds and others did not.

When everyone is united, we can achieve progress.

Of course, it's not just meetings.

In fact, we did many things to promote peace.

I also tried several things that did not work.

Cultural exchange was particularly effective.

Take residents from two worlds and have them work in each other's worlds for a while.

If you play an active role there, it will help improve the image of other worlds.

Yes, just as I did in Dragon and Demon World.

Of course, environmental limitations make places like Sea World difficult to visit by others, but with God's help, it was not impossible.

Dragon World invited experts from other worlds.

Although Dragon World was strong, we were one or two steps behind other worlds in technological progress.

Food conservation, paper manufacturing, agriculture...

It was faster and more effective to bring a technician than to transmit information verbally.

No, it certainly wasn't the fault of Dragon God-sama.

Dragon God-sama was always bringing new technologies from other worlds.

However, technology advances day by day.

By the time we, the Dragon Race, adopted a new technology, it was often already outdated.

Our slow technological development may be related to the long lifespan of the Dragon Race.

However, if we welcome engineers from other worlds, this can be resolved.

In exchange, Dragon World sends warrior dragons to other worlds.

The Dragon Race is strong.

From the perspective of people from other worlds, it is not an exaggeration to say that we are as powerful as God.

They go to other worlds to subdue monsters.

I learned at that time that the power of monsters varies from world to world.

Strong worlds will generate strong monsters.

The Demon and Dragon worlds are the strongest compared to all worlds.

Having fought against the strongest monsters, our Warrior Dragons were very active in other worlds.

But, at the same time, feared.

Well, I'll leave that aside from now on.

Several experts came to Dragon World.

Among them, one woman from Demon World stood out the most.

Demon Emperor Kirisis Calisis.

Wife of Demon God.

She was more concerned than anyone about the deterioration of the relationship between Dragon and Demon World.

And she visited Dragon World on her own.

A brilliant mage.

It is magic, not magical techniques.

It is hard to explain the difference between magic and magical techniques.

The ability to freely manipulate magical energy to create supernatural phenomena.

Magic can do even more advanced things without chants or magical circles.

In fact, she was the one who invented the magic circle.

It is no exaggeration to say that she was the source of all the magic known today.

She did her best to serve Dragon World.

The rudimentary research of Dragon World on "Ki" made enormous progress under her guidance.

In Dragon World, demons were considered barbaric and stupid.

However, many people changed their perceptions after meeting her.

Intelligent, competent, and calm.

She reminded people of Lunaria-sama.

Their personalities were quite similar.

Before I realized it... she was getting along very well with Lunaria-sama.

They must have found a kinship as the wives of gods.

Kirisis Calisis and I.

Thanks to the efforts of two of us from Demon World, the hostility toward Demon World gradually diminished within Dragon World.

Even Chaos, always so hostile to demons, restrained himself.

My hard work paid off.

It was going well.

Meetings with other races gradually became more peaceful cultural exchanges.

Sudden teleportation and monster appearances still occurred... but we no longer suspected one another because of that.

Dragon God-sama also praised my work.

Well, one good thing led to another.

A still happier piece of news arrived.

Lunaria gave birth.

The child of the Dragon God!