"...So, a long time ago, an ancient dragon acted as an intermediary between the ancestors of this wolf clan and the villagers?" (Mile)
"THAT'S RIGHT. SEVERAL GENERATIONS AGO, BEFORE THE TIME OF THE SHORT-LIVED ONES, A QUARREL AROSE BETWEEN LOWER LIFEFORMS... BETWEEN THE INHABITANTS OF THIS FOREST AND HUMANS, RESULTING IN MANY NEEDLESSLY BEING INJURED AND KILLED.
A COMPASSIONATE ANCIENT DRAGON WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AND ACTED AS AN INTERMEDIARY TO BRING ABOUT A SETTLEMENT."
To the ancient dragon, humans and wolves alike were "short-lived creatures"...
"Oh! An ancient dragon who works so hard for the sake of lesser creatures!" (Mile)
In order to make the conversation go smoothly, Mile flattered the ancient dragon Zalm, but...
"YES. EVEN IF I SAY SO MYSELF, I THINK I DID A GOOD DEED."
"Is it you?!" (All CV)
Apparently, it was Zalm himself.
Perhaps, like Kragon, he enjoyed taking on lesser creatures.
Just like humans enjoyed playing with cats and hamsters...
Indeed, while to humans and wolves it might have been generations ago, to the ancient dragon it was only a short time ago.
And it seemed that the great ancient dragon brought Zalm along not because he was a trusted subordinate, but because he was a party to the matter.
"...So then, the white one...the 'promise' that Silva mentioned..."
And then Mile finally asked the most pressing question...
"NO, ACTUALLY, HUMANS HAVE GRADUALLY EXPANDED THEIR HABITATION AREA AND BEGUN TO DEVELOP THIS FOREST. THEY HAVE HAD CONFLICTS WITH THE BEASTS AND MONSTERS THAT LIVE IN THIS FOREST."
"...No, I said 'disputed'... Isn't that an all-out war, with both sides putting their right to survive on the line..." (Mile)
That's what Mile and her group thought, but to the ancient dragon, it probably just looked like two hamsters fighting.
"SO I ACTED AS AN INTERMEDIARY, AND BOTH SIDES BACKED DOWN AND A SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED.
EVEN IF THEY ARE INFERIOR CREATURES, THEY CAN UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER IF YOU SPEAK TO THEM..."
"With the Ancient Dragon intervening, there is no other creature that can attack!
No matter how dissatisfied you are..." (Reina)
Reina's remark was ignored.
As expected, Mile was the only one the ancient dragons respected, and the others were merely "inferior creatures."
If they happened to feel like it, they would tease them or play with them, but it's not okay for them to talk to without permission.
"So, the contents of that mediation are..." (Mile)
In response to Mile's question, Zalm proudly explained.
"TO THE HUMANS, NO NEW VILLAGES SHOULD BE BUILT CLOSER TO THE FOREST THAN EXISTING VILLAGES. FURTHERMORE, CULTIVATION OF FIELDS, HUNTING, AND GATHERING SHOULD BE LIMITED TO THE MIDPOINT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE AND THE FOREST. TO THE FOREST FOLK, THEIR RESIDENCE SHOULD BE WITHIN THE FOREST, AND HUNTING SHOULD ONLY BE LIMITED TO THE MIDPOINT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE AND THE FOREST.
...AND FOR SAFETY, A BUFFER ZONE WAS SET UP AT THE MIDPOINT, PROHIBITING ENTRY TO EITHER SIDE.
To make it easier to understand, the border was set at a place with obvious landmarks such as rocks and large trees, so there would be no chance of crossing the buffer zone by mistake. The distance between the village and the forest would be too far for the juveniles of both species to travel alone.
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT RACES OF FOREST PEOPLE, THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER'S LANGUAGE, AND SOME ARE PREDATOR AND PREY, SO IT IS DIFFICULT TO UNITE THEM. THEREFORE, WHEN IT COMES TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOREST PEOPLE AND HUMANS, IT WAS DECIDED THAT SILVA'S RACE, WHO ARE THE INTELLIGENT FOREST FOLK, LIVE IN GROUPS, AND PASS DOWN THEIR RULES, WOULD ACT AS REPRESENTATIVES.
WELL, I STILL THINK THERE ARE VARIOUS PROBLEMS, SO I'LL COME AND CHECK ON YOU EVERY NOW AND THEN.
WE FLY LOW TO THE GROUND AFTER DARK SO AS NOT TO DISTURB THE HUMANS, SO ONLY THE FOREST FOLKS LIKELY KNOW ABOUT US...
AND SO, THE HUMANS AND THE FOREST FOLKS LIVE IN PEACE WITHOUT FIGHTING.
…Well, if I may say so myself, I did a good deed!"
As if it was important, Zalm repeated the same lines as before.
"And so, we were asked by the people of that human village to kill Silva and her family..." (Mile)
"WH, WHAT THE HECK?!"
"Aww! Your voice is too loud, Zalm-san!!" (Mile)
Both Mile and Silva were unable to withstand the ancient dragon's loud voice and fell backwards.
And the whole forest was silent.
...Of course. All the insects and animals would be rushing into their homes, trembling with fear.
The larger ancient dragon didn't seem to notice anything and just remained still.
Perhaps this was because, unlike Zalm, they did not consider caring for or helping lower lifeforms to be a hobby, pastime, or charity, and therefore did not care about it.
"TH-THE PROMISE I BROKERED. YOU'RE BREAKING THE RULES WE'VE MADE TO ENSURE THAT YOU, AS LOWER SPECIES, CAN RESPECT EACH OTHER AND LIVE IN PEACE? ...UNFORGIVABLE!"
Saying this, Zalm glared menacingly at Mile and her group...
"No no, we have nothing to do with it! However, we received a request from the Hunter Guild branch in the port town, and we thought the request was a bit suspicious, so we came to investigate.
Otherwise, there's no way we could be friends with Silva and the others, or that we would have gone out of our way to invite Zalm and the ancient dragons!" (Mile)
"…I SUPPOSE THAT’S TRUE…
YES, I UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC OF THAT EXPLANATION AND IT MAKES SENSE. CONTINUE."
"As expected of an ancient dragon superior to humans! I am eternally grateful that you understand!" (Mile)
Mile had had quite a bit of experience with ancient dragons, so she had learned how to control them and flatter them to a certain extent.
And then, they had accepted the "Salting request" as a volunteer at the port town's Hunter Guild branch, and there was an uneasy atmosphere in the village, suggesting that there was something ulterior motive behind it. And the villagers' opinions seemed to be divided.
When she explained them...
"IS THIS A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE UPPER ECHELONS, WHO ARE PLANNING TO BREAK THE AGREEMENT AND TAKE OVER THE FOREST, AND THOSE WHO ARE OPPOSED TO THIS? AND THEN, THEY SENT A FALSE REQUEST TO THIS GUILD OR SOMETHING, AND TRIED TO FORCEFULLY WIPE OUT SILVA'S FAMILY, IS THAT RIGHT?"
"That's right!!" (All CV)
"BUT WHY DID THEY DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS? IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE WOULD BE ENRAGED BY THE IDEA OF YOU BREAKING AN AGREEMENT THAT INVOLVED US, AND WIPE OUT THEIR VILLAGE..."
Ah~~…… (Everyone's Mind)
All the members of the Crimson Vow had an idea as to why this was the case.
"Umm, earlier Zalm-san said that you're fly low to the ground after dark so the humans don't cause a fuss, right? Does that mean that only the forest residents know that Zalm-san has been watching over them to make sure their agreement is being kept, and that it's been many generations since the villagers last saw Zalm-san?
So, they thought that the ancient dragon who mediated the agreement was just a whim at the time, and that it had nothing to do with them after that..." (Mile)
"AH……"
"Furthermore, perhaps the legend was only passed down within the village chief's family, or the previous chief died in an accident before being able to pass it on to the next generation, or the legend's contents were altered so much by the addition of fantasies, delusions and desires that they became unrecognizable from the original, and for various other reasons the correct information was lost...
Even so, it seems that there are still some village-wide traditions that say things like 'Don't meddle in the forest' and 'Don't antagonize wolves, especially white wolves.'
Or rather, that part has to be taught to all the villagers, so it makes sense...
And so, when the reason came up that the profits to be gained from the forest should take priority over the forgotten legends, the people were divided into those who supported it and those who opposed it..." (Mile)
"Ah! Those were the villagers who were hostile towards us..." (Reina)
Mile nodded in response to Reina's comment.
"HMM. FOR AN INFERIOR CREATURE, YOU'RE QUITE CLEVER...
HOWEVER, IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO KEEP THEIR PROMISE, I CAN'T JUST BURN DOWN THE WHOLE VILLAGE WITH A SINGLE BREATH. WHAT SHOULD I DO?"
………… (Everyone's mind)
"This is bad," said Reina and the others, their faces grimacing.
No matter how much they tried to deceive them into accepting false requests, they didn't want to see an entire village, including women and children, wiped out because of a few people.
Zalm didn't seem to have any such intentions, but it's an ancient dragon after all. If he got angry or it became a hassle, it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up killing them all at once.
They'd heard that an ancient dragon's rage at having its reputation ruined was incredible, and this one had reason to be angry.
What on earth should they do...?
"Hmmmm...," Reina and her group thought hard, but no good ideas came to mind.
Reina, Mavis, and Pauline all turned their attention to Mile, knowing that they could count on her in times of trouble.
"The truth is, I have a plan to punish those bad guys so that they'll never think of breaking the agreement again..." (Mile)
Mile turned out to be a useful after all.
Author's Note
This is an announcement. (^^)/
...
If you have time, please take a look. (^^)/