Chapter 386: The Dragon’s Sanctuary

「Well then, Shishō, I’m off!」

「Yeah, do your best as usual.」

「Yes!」

I see off Haru and the others who are on Satella’s back. Setting the girls aside, I was a little worried if it was okay for Hund-kun to ride on her back, but she said that there would be no problem if it only weighed that much. Today, I was reminded once again how powerful mothers are. Will Nell be like this in the future? Ah, no, she’s already powerful enough.

「Well then, Nell-shishō, I’m off….」

「Yes, be troubled as usual!」

「Y-Yes….」

The state of mind of the master and disciple over there is the exact opposite of ours. Chinatsu still can’t get rid of her anxiety, and she’s quite worried about confronting Rimudo. Well it’s a normal reaction. After all, one person with common sense is a must in a party. It feels much safer since Hund-kun is also there. So, Chinatsu, hang in there. You see, I was alone at that time…!

「Deris-danna, can you say something on behalf of Lily-shishō?」

「Hm? Ah, let’s see…. I think Haru will be fine, but I’m a little worried about Chinatsu. Can you pay attention so that she won’t accumulate too much stress? From my estimation, I think Touko is the right person for the job.」

「Me?」

「Haru has a broad view, but Touko has a better ability to support others. You can be confident of that.」

「Y-Yeah! I’ve been training like hell under Lily-shishō after all! Alright, I will live up to the expectations of Deris-danna! Danna, look at me. If possible, as much as Haruna!」

Touko, who said so shyly, got onto Satella’s back gallantly. Yeah, how should I put it….

「She’s admirable, huh.」

「When Nell says so, it’s pretty complicated for me….」

Even if she got permission to use the gate to another world, Touko probably would remain in this world. I mean, she declared so. Even if I use my marriage as a shield, I don’t think it will work on Touko, who has learned about the philosophy of love from Lilyvia. After all, Lily should have stopped if it could work on her. It’s about time to think about it seriously.

「Then, I will properly carry them to the eighth island.」

「Yeah, please take care of them.」

With a single flap of her dragon wings, Satella’s body, with the four people on her back, floats in the air. In a blink of an eye, she soared into the sky and flew to the eighth island.

「Are they going to be okay…?」

The one who muttered so was Weerel who remained here with us. The eye patch and the brand new bandage she’s wearing are still impressive. I wonder if she changes the bandage every time?

「It’s true that Rimudo is a strong opponent even among the Great Eight Demons, but at the same time, he is someone reasonable. The girls need to be acknowledged by the upper ranks of the Great Eight Demons, so they can’t be stumbling around here.」

「They are our pride, the disciples who have withstood our grueling training, you know? If we, their masters, don’t believe in them, who will?」

「You two believed in them… that they will clear this trial, huh….」

「Hm? Ah, no…. It depends on how Rimudo will do it, but my guess is that they currently have a 10%-20% success rate. Well, I think the probability of failure is overwhelmingly higher.」

「Eh…?」

Weerel is dumbfounded, perhaps that my words were unexpected for her. I could see her white skin is gradually turning pale.

「Y-You sent them… even though they have a low probability…!?」

「Yeah. I mean, they can just challenge it again even if they fail. Nobody said that it’s over once they fail, you know?」

「Ehh….」

「That’s right. Even if they fail, the experience they gain will last a lifetime. They can gain a lot of experience from the dangerous place that they can’t gain from normal training. When they get out of that place, they will become stronger. If they repeat it over and over again, they will be able to clear it one day!」

「In the worst case, I can see the possibility that the other side will get bored and give up. Well, Rimudo won’t do that, though…. Anyway, I will negotiate and lead to victory. If you think so, they will win no matter how it will turn out, right?」

Perhaps she was taken aback by our brilliant plan, Weerel is dumbfounded again. She always stays expressionless, but today she is very expressive.

「Um… is there any chance that something could go wrong on the way…?」

「Nope! I won’t let it happen after all!」

「It’s our job to prevent it. If you want, you can join them, Weerel. As for your safety, well, I can guarantee about 90%.」

「I-I see…. Well, I’ll pass….」

「That’s too bad. If the mage prime minister becomes stronger, Adelheit will be safe. Well, don’t worry! Instead, the vice leader, Chinatsu, will become even stronger!」

If the girls can use the gate to another world, Chinatsu is likely to return, though. If you think about the future of the knight order, it would be interesting to train someone such as Therese. Hmm, let’s go back to Adelheit after we finished this trial.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The eighth island, also known as the Dragon God Huge Rock, is a symbol of the archipelago, and shimenawa (sacred straw rope) is decorated everywhere. Tourists and islanders can only see this place from far away, and even dragons rarely enter. It is more appropriate to call it a sanctuary for dragons than a place where dragons live.

「Okay, we’ve arrived~」

「Thank you, Satella-san!」

「Umu, thank you for your help.」

Haruna’s group, riding on Satella, descended to the lowest position of that sanctuary and landed on the rugged rock surface. They arrived safely at the eighth island without encountering any obstructions as they had on the seventh island.

「Uhee, looking it up close, it’s so big. I’m getting a little dizzy.」

Touko held her hand above her eyes and tried to stare at the top of the rocky mountain. Far up ahead, there’s a sharp rock with a golden fruit being pierced by it. However, there’s no path leading to it, and the rocky slope is so steep that it’s more like rock climbing than mountain climbing.

「It’s okay, Touko-chan! I think it’s shorter than Mt. Fuji!」

「I can’t believe your mouth is making such an impression after seeing this environment….」

「W-Well, she’s Haruna after all. As for me, I think it’s faster to make a staircase with magic than to climb this wall. I’m worried whether my MP will be enough….」

「Everyone, please wait. I’m going to do the preparation now.」

After the four got off from her, Satella soared into the sky again.

「Preparation? Ah, that’s right. You have to inform Rimudo-san, right?」

「He’s somewhere on this rocky mountain, right? I’ve seen a glimpse of him when he was in human form, but I haven’t seen his dragon form yet. According to Deris-san, he is the biggest Demon King… in… the… world…」

「Chinatsu-chan?」

Worried about Chinatsu, who gradually slurred her words, Haruna looked into her face. At that time, Chinatsu made a face as if she regretted it.

「Satella-san! That preparation, could it be!?」

「Oh, you noticed? Yes, I’m working together with my children to set up multiple wind and water barriers so that it will be okay even if my husband is moving around. The children who usually prepare it are not here, so it took some time. But well, it’s done now. Everyone, do your best!」

「Ah, wai――」

Satella left the eighth island while blowing a tremendous wind. By the time Chinatsu spoke to her, she had disappeared.

「What’s wrong, Chinatsu? Why are you panicking?」

「That’s right, Chinatsu. We have to be calm at a time like this.」

「This is really bad! This island is Rimudo-san!」

「「Huh?」」

The moment Chinatsu shouted so, the earth shook.