"Ah, ahhhhhhhhhh..."
The village chief and the villagers collapsed to the ground, trembling violently.
The intimidation of an overwhelmingly strong being made the thought of running away not even crossed their mind.
There weren't many people who could think straight in front of an ancient dragon. Especially not a villager who wasn't a fighter.
Then Mile asked the ancient dragon Zalm.
"Ancient Dragon-sama, you acted as an interpreter between us and the wolves, right?" (Mile)
"YES, I DID……"
"And you testified that the wolves did not attack any of the village's livestock, right?" (Mile)
"YES, I DID……"
"The wolves don't have the intelligence or the courage to lie to the Elder Dragon-sama, do they?" (Mile)
"HMM, I DON’T THINK THEY HAVE…"
Mile turned to face the village elders.
"That concludes the proof (Q.E.D.)!" (Mile)
"......" (Everyone)
...It's over. In an instant...
Who would call upon an ancient dragon to prove that what they say was correct?
Normally, one would rather quietly accept a false accusation than risked their country being destroyed by an enraged ancient dragon after being summoned by a lesser creature for a trivial matter.
That was the course of action that a person with common sense should take.
Despite this, Mile and her group calmly summoned the ancient dragon.
...And there were two of them.
You must not oppose such crazy people.
Don't make them angry.
If you want to prevent a country from being reduced to ashes...
Take control of the village?
Making money from forest resources?
It was a complete joke.
What's the point in doing this when not only would this tiny village be destroyed, but the whole territory and country would be destroyed...?
"BY THE WAY, THERE IS ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU."
"Yees!!"
The village chief, having been told that by the ancient dragon, could only kneel down and apologize. There was no way he could say something sensible.
"SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS AGO, I MEDIATED A DISPUTE BETWEEN THE FOREST FOLKS AND THE HUMANS, AND FORCED THEM TO MAKE A NON-VIOLABLE AGREEMENT. SO WHY DID YOU TRY TO BREAK THAT AGREEMENT? WHY DID YOU DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD EMBARRASS ME, WHO WAS A WITNESS WHEN THE AGREEMENT WAS MADE?"
The conversation then stopped.
The village chief and most of his followers were foaming at the mouth and fainted...
"...And so, all the beasts and monsters of the forest know the simple legend that, 'This dragon is scary. Don't go where the humans are,' but the humans only tell the ordinary villagers, 'Don't enter the Forbidden Forest,' and the details are passed on orally only to the village chief and elders, but it seems that at some point this legend was lost. Well, you never know when the elderly will suddenly pass away, so over the years, it's not surprising that the village chief and the elders may pass away at the same time, or one after the other, before they can pass on their traditions to the next generation..." (Mile)
Certainly, even if they were elderly people who no longer went hunting, it would not be uncommon for them to die at almost the same time from the same cause, such as an epidemic or food poisoning.
And unfortunately, those people were the village chief and the elders...
"And so, all that remained was a vague legend that said, 'You shouldn't go into that forest,' and before long it turned into stories of, 'Maybe there's a legend that says not to go in because there are dangerous monsters there,' or, 'If we hire hunters to defeat the dangerous monsters, we can get the resources of the forest...' and so on, and so on. And so, conflict arose between those who wanted to protect the legend and those who wanted to obtain the blessings of the forest... So, I don't think they were trying to ruin Zalm's reputation, but rather they didn't even know about the existence of the agreement..." (Mile)
The ancient dragon, Zalm, growls in agreement as he listens to Mile's explanation.
"I AM AWARE THAT HUMAN BEINGS UNDERGO RAPID GENERATIONAL CHANGE. IT SEEMS THAT BECAUSE THE FOREST FOLKS ALL SHARE SIMPLE LEGENDS, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN LOST. I REALIZED THAT IT WASN'T THEIR INTENTION TO BREAK THE AGREEMENT OR TO LOSE FACE. …SO, FROM NOW ON YOU WILL ABIDE BY YOUR PROMISE PROPERLY?"
"Yeess!!" (Everyone)
And then, after the new non-violation pact between the forest folks and humans was confirmed, it looked like the ancient dragons were about to head home...
One of the wolves pulling the sled rubbed its body against Reina.
"Ahh! ...Oh my, are you sad to be leaving?" (Reina)
Saying this, Reina roughly stroked the wolf's body, but...
"HE SAID, HIS BACK WAS JUST ITCHY."
"…………" (Reina)
Then the white wolf cub licked Mile's face.
"Oh, good, good!" (Mile)
"IT'S SALTY AND DELICIOUS WHEN YOU LICK IT, HE SAYS?"
"…………" (Mile)
"Don't even try to translate unnecessary things!!" (Mile + Reina)
"......" (Both Dragons?)
It's better not to be able to communicate with animals through words.
That's what Mavis and Pauline thought...
And then the wolves and the ancient dragons went home.
The ancient dragon told Mile, "Call me again if you need anything"...
Moreover, it wasn't the younger Zalm who said it, but the older Ancient Dragon.
"Mile, it seems like they like you..." (Mavis)
"......" (Other 3)
Mile, Reina, and Pauline looked dejected after hearing Mavis's words.
"Well, that's the usual thing..."
"That's the usual thing..."
"What is that?!!" (Mile)
The villagers looked relieved.
It was not such an easy situation, but perhaps they did not really feel it.
The village chief's group was also slumped on the ground, crying tears of gratitude to God for having managed to survive the ancient dragon's questioning, a miracle on par with a myth or fairy tale.
...But they still haven't escaped the crisis at all...
"Now then, Village Chief." (Mile)
The village chief looked surprised at Mile's words and stopped crying.
"I said earlier that I wanted to prevent the ancient dragons from destroying this country, but... Mayor, you knew about the agreement, didn't you?" (Mile)
The village chief looked taken aback by Mile's words.
"Wh, why..." (Chief)
"Well, village chief, you instructed us to exterminate the wolves, especially the white wolves. That’s the kind of instruction you wouldn’t give unless you knew that the monsters and animals that inhabit the forest represent them against the humans. Even though there are many dangerous wild animals in the forest, including bears, and many other kinds of monsters, for some reason, you chose wolves. Moreover, you placed the highest priority on the white wolf, which is still a cub. So, is there any purpose other than to destroy them and erase the existence of the covenant?" (Mile)
"…………" (Chief)
"Plus, there is strong opposition. That means there is a strong sense of taboo that says, 'You must not tamper with the forbidden forest.' If that is not the case, then those who want to go can just go, knowing the risks, and die as they wish. …Well, even that was an attempt to deceive the Hunter Guild and push the danger onto the Hunters. You deceived the Hunter's Guild with a dangerous false request and attempted murder of a contract hunter. This was an act of treason that angered the Ancient Dragon and brought about a crisis that threatened the very existence of the country. Even though you were convinced that the ancient dragon hadn't been seen for hundreds of years, you still don't think you'll get away with this, do you?" (Mile)
"…………" (Chief)
The leaders of the village chief's faction quietly left the chief's side.
"Well, no, you're all just as guilty, of course!" (Mile)
And the other villagers gradually distanced themselves from the village chief's group.
"No no, the Hunter Guild, the feudal lords, and His Majesty the King don't care about the factions of the villages.
No wonder people think that such and such village was responsible.
It was decided by the village chief, the other leaders, and everyone in the village, right? So, of course, everyone in the village is in this together!" (Mile)
"Whaaaaaaaat?!" (Everyone)
Author's Note
This is an announcement. (^^)/
"Didn't I say to make my abilities average in the next life?" Volume 2 of the comic (Square Enix reboot version) will be released on Wednesday, October 12th!!
Thank you very much! (^^)/