When it came to discussing business, the Arbiter of Light glanced at Aurina and asked, “Is she listening too?”
Whether as a little girl or a dragon, her presence wasn’t suitable for this conversation.
Richard looked at Aurina, her face screaming boredom, and thought for a moment.
Recalling past incidents, he said seriously, “Lord Arbiter, for the safety of others and their property, I’d better keep an eye on her at all times.”
“She’s a dragon, but a young one, not even a year old, right?” the Arbiter said.
“Someone else could watch her.”
“Trust me,” Richard said.
“She’s far stronger than she looks.”
“Ah…”
Aurina yawned.
Her beast of burden held her hand tightly—so tightly that no living creature had gripped her claws like that in a long, long time.
Only the strongest little bug could manage it, and only when she was at her weakest.
“Since you vouch for her,” the Arbiter said, “I trust you. I hope her mouth can keep secrets.”
They spoke at length, and while Aurina wouldn’t usually listen to what little bugs said, it was different with Richard.
She perked up her ears, twisting them to catch their words, hoping to find a way to outsmart him.
Aurina wished she could refine the fiancée spell to truly enslave Richard, making him entirely hers.
“…Your arrival will surely inspire us.”
“Those nobles… committing god-cursed atrocities without any punishment. Does Count Warren know?”
Richard said, “The infamous chosen of Bane.”
The Arbiter continued, “He and his mercenary legion plundered countless villages, extorting the rich and enslaving the poor as sappers, slaves, or camp followers. They took part in the massacre at Magdeburg. The city’s judge, a priest of Tyr, knelt and begged him to stop the slaughter, but he refused.”
“They also crushed a knightly order sent to stop the carnage, including the Knights of Tyr’s Hand. His crimes are far worse than those of an evil dragon. Yet, because he served the king, he was buried with the title of archduke—a ‘good end’ compared to his deeds.”
“…Your judgment wasn’t wrong. Otherwise, after you left, the death of one Black Boar Pete would’ve led to a second, a third. The true culprits go unpunished. Your personal arrival in the capital, risking yourself, truly boosts morale.”
They rambled on at length.
Aurina grew sleepy, her ears drooping.
In essence, there was already conflict.
The church believed its laws should govern nobles, and church property in noble lands should be under its control.
Nobles, however, thought what was on their land was theirs, and a scripture-quoting priest only had divine favor to back them up.
When news spread of Richard publicly executing a knightly noble, the Alliance of Good Gods used it as a shining example to attack their opponents.
In monasteries, hordes of nearsighted, bald, celibate monks frantically penned praise for Richard’s heroic deeds with quills.
This won widespread support from noblewomen—who didn’t want to end up as sex slaves—and married men, who cheered, “Well done, Richard!”
But they also questioned, “You’re just a paladin. What gives you the right to publicly judge a knightly noble?”
Initially, the matter wasn’t a big deal.
The knight’s liege lord, at most, might issue a bounty for Richard in their own lands, though enforcement would likely be lax.
But the Emperor intervened, using debts and distant familial ties to attack Richard and, by extension, the Alliance of Good Gods.
Richard voiced his dissent.
“I suspect the Emperor simply wants the dragon—meaning Aurina.”
Aurina, who had been yawning, perked up, her tail rising.
“Gah? Are we finally fighting? What are we waiting for? Let’s go to the palace now and take back what’s ours.”
The bug leader’s treasury is magical, sprouting shiny gold coins every so often.
There must be new shiny things in it by now.
Richard said sternly, “We’re not robbers, Aurina.”
As Aurina expected, Richard was too dumb.
Before reclaiming gold, he always insisted on convoluted rituals—trials, paying slaves’ passage home, and the like.
Despite her great mercy in sharing a tiny bit of her spoils with him, he still didn’t get it.
Aurina mimicked Richard’s sigh. “Gah, you’re so dumb.”
“We hold the moral high ground,” the Arbiter said.
“Many don’t want us to resort to force; they want a peaceful city life. Of course, we don’t expect the Emperor to keep his promises. The Good and neutral churches supporting us have called for volunteers and knightly orders to come to the capital.”
“And the Emperor’s side?”
“The Cult of Bane is undoubtedly with him. The deep-sea queen despises this city’s calm strait and safe harbor; her priests would love to see the capital in ruins.”
“The Emperor’s Royal Knights will likely withdraw from the headquarters of Tyr’s Hand, allowing him to claim he honored his promise of ‘withdrawing troops once you arrive.’ His personal guard and city defenses are also his. But in the city, armies can’t easily deploy. It depends on how many wavering nobles are willing to pay a bloody price for the Emperor.”
“Many nobles are sitting on the fence. Those fighting for the Emperor support him most. But noblewomen, their suitors, and the convent sisters strongly back us. Nobles who slaughter entire villages without blinking might hesitate if their aunts, sisters, or mothers stand in their way.”
“The Thousand Crows, that mysterious and ruthless enemy, use fear to intimidate nobles. If we can bring them to justice, many nobles would lose their reservations and openly support us.”
“And your former teammate, Frostsilver. She’s leading an elite Hellknight Order. As a fearsome dragon-blooded sorceress, it’s said she could transform into a dragon to fight at age ten. Is that true?”
Richard said, “She’s even more terrifying than the rumors.”
“Can you sway her to neutrality?”
“I’m afraid not. She’s likely with the Emperor.”
“That’s a pity.”
Aurina felt her brain overheating, her ears catching too much useless bug chatter with no hint of the strongest little bug’s weakness—annoying.
Though she didn’t fully understand, she judged from the length of the white-robed lightbulb’s talk about both sides’ strengths and drew a conclusion.
“So, lighthouse old bug—”
Richard swiftly cut her off, pressing her palm firmly. “As a little girl, you should call him Grandpa.”
“Lighthouse Grandpa,” Aurina said.
“Sounds like the Good Alliance is super weak, gah, just a bunch of green snacks.”
The Arbiter laughed.
“The real battlefield is in the courtroom, not with swords. Strange to a dragon, isn’t it?”
Aurina pouted, now certain some foolish thing wasn’t just rooted in the strongest little bug’s brain.
It might be some weird disease.
Using her wisdom, she pointed out, “So dumb. What if they come to rob you?”
“If the Emperor breaks his word, it’ll undermine his rule. Few would serve a deceitful, tyrannical Emperor.”
Aurina said, “But you’ll die.”
“It’s fine. We’re prepared to sacrifice,” the Arbiter said.
“We may lack martial strength to rival the Emperor, but covering your escape from the capital should be manageable.”
“Did you hear that?”
Aurina tugged Richard’s hand, which gripped her claw tightly, like her weak little sister clutching her claw as a hatchling.
“So, let’s just grab the shiny gold and run.”
Richard shook his head.
“No, we’re here for a courtroom confrontation.”
Aurina looked at them both like they were idiots.
Richard crouched down, explaining patiently, “If we win, people won’t be able to openly put bounties on you or hunt you like a beast for sale. You’ll be able to walk freely in society, meet many people, make friends, and make enemies. You’ll have a rich, colorful life, not become a man-eating monster in the wild.”
Aurina tilted her head, staring at him.
Dragons typically tilted their heads at things they couldn’t comprehend.
“Why?” Aurina asked.
“It’s like you, Richard, really love society, always trading shiny gold for all sorts of messy things.”
He said, “Society serves us. None of us can live without a community.”
Aurina thought about it.
The largest community in her dragon life was as a hatchling, leading nineteen young red dragons and larger siblings, competing for food.
Food was critical.
It could be weeks, days, or even months before their dragon mother remembered her many offspring and brought food, dropping it from the sky into the valley.
By the time her wings were strong enough to fly out of the dragon valley, only six of her siblings remained as companions before they scattered.
Aurina concluded that the great Dread Dragon didn’t need a noisy crowd of bugs providing “social services” to grow.
At least, she’d never eaten social services, so they weren’t important.
They talked more, mentioning the Thousand Crows multiple times.
Aurina yawned, tugged Richard’s hand, and said, “I want to sleep. On your head.”
He agreed.
Probably because I called him Grandpa, boosting the little-girl spell.
With that thought, Aurina climbed onto his bug shell, sat on his shoulders, propped her hands on his helmet, and closed her eyes.
After an unknown time, the surrounding bug chatter grew loud.
“Gah!” Aurina opened her eyes, displeased. “Keep making noise, and this king will eat you all into my belly.”
Opening her eyes, she saw a bustling, colorful market unfolding before her, filled with exotic fruits, local delicacies, self-walking mushroom soup, golden ale, palm-sized colorful peppers, cocoa beans, coffee, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, dried figs, hanging purple grapes, and countless seafood.
Pale blue conches, large enough to crush a person, with transparent shells revealing white flesh inside.
Aurina desperately wanted to bite down and suck out the meat.
Mackerel, eels, octopuses, and shellfish were too numerous to count.
“Where is this?”
Aurina was astonished.
She’d never seen so many types of food at once.
Her servants’ most common tribute was green snacks.
She’d attended bug banquets, but the dishes were never fully served before interruptions.
“You’re awake? Perfect.”
Richard’s voice came from below, pointing to a swordfish hanging high nearby.
The crowd swarmed around it, an old fisherman standing proudly beside it, selling it.
“Want to try swordfish? It’ll be gone if we’re late.”
“Quick!”
Aurina smacked Richard’s helmet. “Hurry and take back our swordfish!”