“Wow, Lord Belial, you’re quite mischievous! Watching in secret, were you?”
“I thought I’d probe the little girl’s trump card. As expected, she had one!”
“Indeed, it was quite the effective charm…”
“…Even the magic circle—I, of all beings, cannot touch it. Utterly infuriating.”
After buying some wine, I returned to the inn and summoned Lucifuge Rofocale again.
Thus began a daytime banquet that carried on to this moment.
The two seem to get along and are in rather high spirits.
Lucifuge Rofocale is apparently one of Belial’s close associates, serving another demon. Since my own subordinates immediately grovel, he deliberately had me summon someone else this time. Incidentally, Belial subtly guided my choice of whom to summon. No way could I perform such a ritual in that place without knowing who would appear.
Still, I regret letting myself get carried away when Belial taunted, “That one knows nothing of true summoning—demonstrate it to that ignorant fool.” I dislike summoners who enslave and abuse summoned beings, but I fell for his provocation nonetheless.
“Your Excellency, the wine seems to be running out. Shall I go fetch more?”
I thought I had brought plenty, but it’s already almost gone.
“Oh, go and fetch more! Lucifuge, what would you prefer?”
“If it’s shared with Lord Belial, any drink is fine wine! But, my, how well-mannered your retainer is!”
“It’s because my subordinates drilled ‘call him Your Excellency’ into her without my knowledge. Truly exasperating.”
That’s how it went. Belial had me learn summoning as my first lesson in magic, intending to have his subordinates teach me. When I succeeded, he had me summon a demon as a tutor.
Of course, the first thing that tutor taught me was, “Always address him as ‘Your Excellency.’” That stuck, so even now, I sometimes call him that unconsciously.
To avoid further mishaps, I stick to calling him “Your Excellency” when only demons or those in the know are around. I don’t want to accidentally use honorifics and get punished by having to repeat “Your Excellency” a hundred times.
I bought as much wine as I could carry to keep them drinking to their hearts’ content. The streets were bustling and noisy as usual.
As I walked along the edge of the road, avoiding people, I saw Rainey and Esume running toward me.
“Oh, Iriya ! Big news—the northern defense city was attacked by a dragon!”
“They say it’s a fire-breathing dragon. It’s dangerous, so we’re leaving town. You should hurry too!”
Rainey, the shaken healer, and Esume, the unusually unsettled mage, explained the situation.
A defense city in the north was attacked by a dragon. However, no messenger arrived as expected. An adventurer who witnessed the battle two nights ago ran all the way here on foot to report it. He arrived last night, and after emergency meetings, the news was shared with the public this morning.
The town was growing tense. Citizens without combat skills and adventurers below B rank were barred from traveling north. Meanwhile, reinforcements were being organized, and messengers were sent to the capital and surrounding cities. Evacuation plans were also under discussion in case the dragon turned south.
“Thank you for letting me know! I’ll leave my inn as well, even though Valen arranged it for me.”
“Oh, then why not come with us to Renant?” Esume suggested.
I shook my head.
“No, I’m going to gather dragon materials! I’m running low, and this is a rare opportunity!”
Apologizing for my haste, I headed back to the inn.
“…Hey, Esume,” Rainey muttered.
“…Yeah, Rainey,” Esume replied.
“Shall we go to the Trent Forest instead? It doesn’t seem like we need to run.”
“What a coincidence—I was thinking the same thing…”
“Your Excellency! The banquet is over—we’re departing!”
I burst into the inn and shouted as I opened the door.
Belial turned to me, displeased, glancing at the wine bottle in his hand with a puzzled expression.
“What is this abrupt rudeness? The wine is still in your hand, is it not?”
“This isn’t the time for that! A fire dragon has appeared in the north! Reports say the battle is not going well. We should move before reinforcements arrive!”
“Ah, Lord Belial loves a good hunt. Then it’s decided—I’ll take my leave,” said Lucifuge, standing up and swiftly excusing himself. He was astute enough to understand the situation.
“A dragon, you say! Let us depart at once. Here, take this wine as a parting gift,” Belial declared, visibly thrilled.
“My thanks. Then, farewell…”
I performed the ritual to dismiss Lucifuge back to the underworld and quickly prepared for departure. After a brief word with Valen, who had arranged my lodging, I made ready to leave.
When I knocked on Valen’s door, his secretary, an older man in dark brown attire, opened it.
“Iriya , is it? Please come in,” he said politely, allowing me inside.
The room was occupied by Valen, the caravan guard captain, and several merchants, all engaged in a serious discussion over a map.
“You’ve heard, I presume? A dragon attacked the defense city of Zadoltosh two days ago. We don’t know if they’re still fighting, but the dragon must still be nearby. Given the lack of messengers, the city might have fallen…” Valen said gravely, glancing briefly in my direction.
I stood nearby and nodded firmly.
“Yes. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but we’ve decided to leave immediately.”
“…No need to apologize. That’s the right call. We’re debating whether to halt our business and return ourselves,” Valen admitted.
The people in the room all have grim expressions.
With such a large caravan, it seems there’s some concern about setting off amidst the confusion.
“As for the dragon, we will go to hunt it now, so if that’s your only concern, I don’t think we need to hurry,” I said.
“Yes, quickly go out and hunt it… Wait, are we really going to hunt it?”
“Yes. I need its materials. We must go before reinforcements arrive. I apologize for the rush, but I must take my leave.”
The room fell silent as I quickly turned on my heel. Just like when I arrived, the secretary opened the door for me, and I left in a hurry.
After leaving the room, I heard a sudden loud noise coming from the other side of the door, as though everyone had started shouting.
We left Tenatite and flew along the road toward the defense city of Zadoltosh .
The wide road was empty of pedestrians, with mountains on the right and vast grasslands on the left, with the long, winding Tisty River flowing through.
After flying for a while, we finally spotted our target! A mid-level fire dragon, Fire Drake!
We were about a third of the way to the defense city, and the ones being attacked were five cavalrymen. They seemed already exhausted. The fire dragon had apparently been wounded by magic and sword attacks, and it was becoming more ferocious due to its injuries.
“Quite the catch! Iriya, do not interfere!” Belial said.
“Yes! I will go assist those soldiers!” I replied.
“Flame, surge forth like a torrent! I am the Flame King, Belial! Arise, my sword forged from the inferno!”
Flames erupted from Belial’s shoulder area, intensifying as they reached his palm. The fire condensed, forming into a sword that Belial wielded.
This act of using magic in the name of one’s own title is called a “declaration.” It is similar to humans acting in the name of their gods. The overflowing magical power concentrated into a terrifyingly powerful force. This dragon, with its strong fire attribute, was a perfect match in that sense.
The dragon opened its massive mouth and unleashed a powerful, waterfall-like breath of flame.
The breath was capable of engulfing several buildings with ease.
The knights, who had lost their defensive means and had resigned themselves, faced a near-impossible situation. Some had already given up.
I landed behind them while chanting, quickly activating a defensive spell.
“From the scorching heat of the oncoming sandstorm, to the icy grip of the glaciers that carry us away, protect us from all disaster. O atmosphere, grant us a soft membrane, an invisible shield. Sufer Defense!”
The dragon’s massive breath of flame surged forward, only to split apart and flow around the shield I had cast. The knights’ expressions shifted from panic to amazement.
“Nothing… happened?” one knight cautiously moved his arm, which had been protecting his face, to see that the flames had dissipated, flowing around us without causing harm.
“Please do not worry, I have cast a protective spell,” I said calmly.
The knights, who had clearly been unaware of my presence, all turned toward me in surprise. Despite their training, they had not noticed me until now, given the tense situation.
“The dragon is strong and spits fire, a dangerous foe. Will reinforcements come?” one knight asked.
“They are still organizing. If we get there first, we can control the situation, so I left ahead of them,” I answered.
The Fire Drake reared up, its massive form towering over us. It then opened its mouth wide, releasing an even more intense flame.
“Is he alright? He’s going to be hit!” one knight shouted.
“Don’t worry. That’s just fire,” I said, undeterred.
Belial, unfazed, stood firm against the incoming flames, seemingly immune to the dragon’s attack. His title as the “Flame King” was not without merit.
As the flames died down, Belial swiftly moved in, using the dragon’s momentum to slice through its neck, severing it in one clean motion.
The knights, watching in awe, were speechless.
“That wasn’t easy! You made things difficult for me,” Belial muttered, clearly annoyed at the unexpected mess.
I couldn’t help but be pleased with the quality of the dragon’s materials I had managed to collect from its body. While it wasn’t particularly large, I was excited to use the materials for various purposes.
