◇

『U-umu, as I thought, fighting Kuro is fun.』
『Yeah, it"s a good way to sweat out for me too.』

When we arrived at the Black Dragon Mountains, Black Dragon Heiron said that he wanted to fight me so I made a copy of the mountains in the sub-s.p.a.ce and performed a mock battle there.
Since Black Dragon had his breath and fangs, I"m not sure if we could call it a mock battle, but I"m unhurt and the Black Dragon himself only has some parts of his body popped out, so there"s no problem.

Black Dragon"s fang broke again, but I swear to the G.o.ds of heaven and earth that it wasn"t on purpose.

It was because Black Dragon jumped in front of me when I shot a Magic Edge Cannon as a feint.
I"m really glad that it wasn"t the guillotine type Magic Edge Cannon I usually use to secure materials.

『I"ve stopped your bleeding, but your fang is not growing back.』
『I don"t mind, once I eat a lot of goats and whale, and sleep a lot, it"ll grow back in no time.』

"Kaka", Black Dragon laughs, in fact, his fang which was broken in our last battle has grown back.
It"s mysterious since he said that it"d take several years.

We went back to the safe location at end of the area where Liza was watching while we were talking like so.

"We"re back Liza."
"Master--"

Huh? I had let Liza watch my fight with Black Dragon since I thought she"d be happy, but her face is stiff for some reason.
Perhaps, she didn"t like the playful battle with Black Dragon?

"--Thank you very much for your teaching!"

Swoosh, Liza knelt down on the ground and began to speak earnestly.

"This Liza has burned in her mind, Master"s teaching who warned me to not feel self-conceited just by defeating a lesser dragon. A fight between true strong warriors are truly terrific like that."

Liza looks at me with dreamy eyes.

Certainly, even though the lesser dragon Bouryu"s and Black Dragon"s levels are close, their battle prowesses are utterly far apart.

Take the breath as an example, there"s a huge difference between a slow fire breath that you can evade by sight and a high-powered laser breath that can only be evaded by moving at warp-speed the moment you felt the omen.
Moreover, physical attacks unleashed by the large body of Black Dragon can change the shape of mountain terrains, and he can also shoot composite magic freely with short chants.
I even had a hard time against the new barrage-like magic shot from Black Dragon"s mouth.

"I"m sure soon Liza will become strong enough to fight Black Dragon."
"Can I really do it."
『Impossible--』

Black Dragon interrupted me before I could say "Of course" to Liza.
I had used Translation magic in order for us to converse during the journey to the Black Dragon Mountains, but as an unfortunate result, Black Dragon"s words were also conveyed to Liza.

"That"s not true."
『Kuro. It"s impossible.』

Black Dragon denied my follow up.

『That girl"s weapon cannot injure me.』

Saying so, Black Dragon picks up the magic spear in Liza"s hand.
Since Black Dragon"s sharp claws would have damaged the magic spear, he used light web-like magic to wrap and lift it up.

『Fumwu, it appears to be mainly made from [Origin Monster]"s materials, but this won"t be able to damage my scales. It"s likely going to have a hard time even damaging the surface.』

As the current Magic Spear Douma has been coated with Adamant.i.te, I think it could somehow damage the raw scales, but since Black Dragon"s scales are guarded by multiple powerful magic during a battle as expected, Liza probably won"t be able to break through them even with magic edge.

--For now that is.

『The only thing that can hurt a dragon is a dragon"s weapon--of course, my friend Kuro is an exception.』

I wonder about that, can"t Pochi equipped with Excalibur do it?
I feel that she could if she used the scripture.

"However, I am...."

Liza who received the magic spear back muttered with downcast eyes.

『If you like that spear, you can just fuse it with my fang that has been broken today. It"ll be much more stronger than being covered in some boorish magic metal. The skillful Kuro should be able to do it no?』

Black Dragon said it as if it was extremely natural.
Unfortunately, even my magic isn"t such a fantastical line up.

The secret art of alchemy is capable of doing something similar to that, but it"s only applicable with materials that are slightly lower ranked.

『I don"t have such a handy technique really.』
『Fumu, then do it not with the present magic, you should just ask someone skillful with ancient magic. The ancient dragon granny-sama at the south continent and the Elder Trent at the east continent can do it.』

Fumu.... Someone good with magic huh.

If Aze-san is the default, then who will be the runner-up?
I could ask high elves of Biroanan and Beriunan clans but I think I"ll ask the ancient dragon at the south continent who surely knows about the spell.
Even though I"ve looked at the south continent from the orbital satellite I"ve yet to come there myself.

When I was thinking about it, a thunderous sound echoed.

『--Kuro, I"m hungry.』

So it really was Black Dragon"s stomach sound.

I consented to Black Dragon who gave a nice information to strengthen Liza"s spear, and then opened a gate to outside the sub-s.p.a.ce where Lulu and the others were preparing the party.

◇

"Mayouma~?"
『Umu, this spicy mayo is truly splendid. It"s not a good match with the goats, but the whale meat is many time tastier with it!』

Tama who"s sitting on Black Dragon"s nose tip is biting whale meat skewers smeared with mayonnaise.

Without minding Tama, Black Dragon gulps down a ton-sized giant whale meat skewer smeared with mustard mayonnaise.

Liza who usually would have scolded Tama seemed to be tired with her fight against the lesser dragon, she had gone to sleep exhaustedly after she ate her meal vigorously as if she was replenis.h.i.+ng her fuel.

"Deriglu sauce won"t lose either nodesu!"
『Umu umu, demi-glace sauce is also sweet and tasty. This one matches goats well. Humans" flavoring really are good. Although Kuro"s are certain, the dishes of the girl over there are also truly delicious.』

Pochi who was giving the whale meat to the lesser dragon Lyuryu a.s.serted to Black Dragon, and then Black Dragon nodded his big head.

Black Dragon puts a goat warmed with his breath and covered with thick demi-glace into his mouth, chewing it satisfyingly.

--Pipiru!
--KYEWWROUUUN.

A green Infant Dragon jumped out of the gate connected to the solitary island palace.
Hikaru is riding on its back, looks like she"s taking advantage of the ride.

I wave back to Hikaru who"s waving at me looking carefree.

--Pipiru! Piru! Piru!

There"s a jade green bird chirping proudly on top of Infant Dragon"s head.

Unlike the bold Hisui, Infant Dragon is getting scared of Black Dragon, it"s hiding behind my back.
Due to our size difference, it"s not being hidden at all.

『Aren"t you an Infant Dragon?』

--KYEWWROW?

Infant Dragon tilted its head in puzzlement to Black Dragon"s question.
I thought something was strange, turned out Infant Dragon couldn"t speak dragon language.

『Fumu, what are the parent dragons doing leaving a child who cannot speak words.』

It"s a remark with good sense I would never have thought coming out of the battle junkie Black Dragon.

『Alright, I"ll teach you dragon magic and language. I"ll temper strength befitting of a dragon and indomitable fighting spirit into you.』

Black Dragon spoke while smiling nicely to Infant Dragon.

--KYEROWN?
--Pipirurururu.

Since Infant Dragon couldn"t understand the words, Hisui answered in place of it.

Even though Hisui can"t speak, I feel that it can understand human and dragon language from its gestures.
Perhaps the G.o.d Bird race is an intellectual species.

◇

After we"re done with the party, I take Hisui along to the Royal Capital.

Infant Dragon can probably fly back to the Royal Capital from the Black Dragon Mountains by itself, but since it"s quiet impossible for Hisui who"s a small bird, I bring it with me.
Hisui"s owner, Princess Doris would be sad if Hisui were to be gone for several days.

--Piruru.

After releasing Hisui who looked reluctant to part way on top of Echigoya Firm"s rooftop, I moved to the office room with Unit Arrangement.

"Thanks for your hard work. Eat this with everyone."
"Thank you very much."

I gave the party food in boxes to Tifaliza.
It seems she likes Lulu"s cooking too, her icy beautiful face loosened for a little.

"Oh my, Kuro-sama! Welcome back!"
"I"m back Manager. I"m hearing if you have important matters to report."

I listen about the situation in the Royal Capital and the recruitment progress for immigrants in the city where I serve as the governor in Muno territory from the always high-tension Manager.

The Royal Capital is generally peaceful, but the disturbances at the western part of the continent still haven"t been quelled.
Among them, it seems the Holy State Parion has been re-invaded by the neighboring countries, and lost several cities.

As for the domestic strife, it seems they"ve successfully captured Bishtal"s Duchy Capital, and the eldest son of the capital who crowned himself as the king has ran away to the fortress city at the northern end of the territory.
Apparently, the reason why it didn"t completely settled was because Duke Bistahl who had returned from the Royal Capital did many unnecessary things which held back the royal army.
It seems a not-insignificant number of refugees were fleeing to the territory under direct control of the royalty and Marquis Eluett"s territory, although it wasn"t as bad as Earl Lesseu"s territory.

"Due to these circ.u.mstances, there were around 10 times the applicants of the targeted 200 immigrants."

Perhaps because Manager knows that Kuro"s ident.i.ty was Satou, it looks like she"s put some extra effort to the immigrant recruitment which should have been only an additional job.

"Still, 10 times huh, that"s a lot."
"There"s a rumor spreading among the commoners that Sir Pendragon is someone who"s merciful and very wealthy, which might have an effect."

I see.... It can"t be that the ones who spread that rumor are people of Echigoya Firm right?

"In addition, due to the increasing populace, there"s a surge of jobless people in the downtown that resorted to crimes, thus the kingdom"s government has asked for us to provide the downtown"s people with jobs."
"I allow it."

Since Manager is capable, she"s probably going to find the good balance if I just allow her to.
Echigoya Firm is currently extremely in black, so there"s no problem even if some red appear.

"It appears the kingdom"s government are racking their brains regarding the immigration problem too. A letter regarding that has arrived from the prime minister to Kuro-sama."

I receive a letter from Tifaliza"s delicate fingers.
I open the envelope which has neat pattern and give the inside to the manager after scanning it.

"To allow the fourth and fifth large wars.h.i.+ps soon to be completed to be used in the emigration plan..."

After reading it, Manager muttered in shock.

I understand her feeling.
Normally they will never deploy newly-made wars.h.i.+ps to move commoners.

Since the king and the prime minister don"t know that Nanas.h.i.+ and Satou are the same person, it"s probably correct to a.s.sume that what they want is the accommodation of Echigoya Firm which had helped restoring the Royal Capital.

Now that I"m able to freely use magic, I could make 100 big airs.h.i.+ps easily during the journey, but it wouldn"t be funny if the G.o.ds set their eyes on me if I did so, so I restrained myself.

"We will gratefully make use of them. Each one can hold around 100 people, but if we disregard the livability, it can hold three times the number."
"Th-three times?!"
"Yes, it"s possible."

Contrary to Manager who stiffened hearing my suggestion, Tifaliza flatly spoke while maintaining her icy beauty.
Since Manager"s worry is reasonable, I"ll tell her more.

"There is no need to worry. Normally the journey will take five days but I"ll shorten it to an overnight trip. There should be no problem with livability if it"s just for a night."

Manager finally convinced after I explained.
I"ve reformed ghost towns and fields in Muno Territory, and thinned out monsters around them, so the territory can accept immigrants anytime.

Formally, Satou paid an enormous sum to Echigoya Firm to make Kuro perform the deeds.
Although it"s troublesome, some duties are unavoidable in order to smoothen these multiple life.

With engineers as the top priority, we have put several requirements for the immigrants.
Since there are foreign immigrants from the snow kingdom--Kiwolk Kingdom and such, I tell them to prioritize people who don"t have prejudice against foreigners and people of different races, and also people who are engaged in primal industry like agriculture and stock-farming.

The less seeds of trouble there are, the better.

◇

I returned to the party place and then took my companions back to the solitary island palace.
I thought Infant Dragon would follow along, but since it had become quite attached to Black Dragon, I left it in the Black Dragon Mountains.
I expect it to become an excellent true dragon.

"Then I"ll synchronize myself with the doll for a bit."
"Hoi! I"ll guard Master"s body to prevent it from being played with."

Arisa cheerfully replied me.

--No no, I completely can"t trust her.

"Lulu, Mia, I"m sorry but please watch over Arisa so she won"t mess with my body."
"Yes, leave it to me."
"Nn, acknowledged."

I leave it to the two and then I use a magic to synchronize myself with Satou doll in Silga Kingdom.
The magic was originally for synchronizing with a familiar, but I arranged it a little so that it can be used with the living doll, Satou doll.

『....Satou-san?』
『Yes, that"s right.』

Sera sensed that it was me when I had just blinked once.
I feel that Sera"s face was close when I opened my eyes, but it must have been my imagination.

『--Then, the audience with Silga King hasn"t started yet?』
『Yes, it seems they"re currently in a big meeting regarding the wild uproar about the [female warrior overwhelming a lesser dragon], so the audience with us, who visited in short notice, is scheduled for tomorrow.』

Even though we couldn"t meet the king and the n.o.bles, it seems there was a lavish dinner since it was a visit from a large country"s high officials.
I can"t use radar and map as Satou doll, so I have no way of knowing how big the meeting is.

--No wait, I"ve used All Map Exploration here, so I can see the information from solitary island palace.

It seems important n.o.bles and leaders of the Five Scale Houses have gathered in the castle.
The macho warrior from before is attending too.

Fumu, it looks like they"ll probe about Liza in tomorrow audience, I"ll just play dumb.
She"s formally in Selbira Labyrinth anyway, if I make her come out of the labyrinth tomorrow morning it"ll be a good alibi, and they"ll probably regard it as a case of mistaken ident.i.ty.

Furthermore, there"s no problem even if the truth is exposed somehow.

『Princess, even though it"s a proxy, you shouldn"t wear s-such clothes in front of Satou-san.』
『Ufufu, it"s a practice show for my future husband. Right, Karinsama.』
『I-I wasn"t intending to...』

From the adjourning room, Princess s.h.i.+stina wearing see-through thin silk negligee on her body, Lady Karina wearing nightgown with s.e.xier-looking breast area than usual, and Zensan wearing simple neat pajama appeared.

--Ooh.

With my sheer willpower, I forcibly twist my line of sight from jumping into Lady Karina"s breast.
Exerting my fighting spirit, I control the fight between angel and devil in my mind that"s even more intense than a fight with demon lords.

『SSatou-san! You"ve come here?』
『Yes, just now.』

I replied to Zensan who saw through it at first sight like Sera.
Of course, that"s while I"m averting my face from the beauties.

The princess and Lady Karina blushed and then they ran to the adjoining room while screaming cutely.

--Dear me, t"was a sight for sore eyes.

If silk negligee that show body lines were more popular, I feel that there won"t be anymore royalty troubled with getting successors.

『Mou, oh Satou-san! Size isn"t everything you know.』

Sera held my arm and whispered.
It"s extremely unfortunate that Satou doll cannot transmit touch sensation.

I ended up listening to Sera"s and Zensan"s impressions about this country and the situation in the castle until the two came back from the adjoining room.

As a postscript, I had to scold Arisa halfway through.

Good grief--be more moderate with your pranks okay.