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Kafal’s home was currently facing its very first incident. Three uninvited guests had shown up there.

“…Grrrrrrr…”
“Kafal, wait, hear me out! These people mean no harm!”

Kafal groaned while glaring at the invaders, ready to attack any second. But Lucella was covering them and desperately appealing to her.

“Oh great mountain queen, we wish to speak of a certain matter. Please, hear us. Danger looms over you!”

Tim spoke up but Kafal remained baring her fangs. However, Lucella guessed this was more because she couldn’t understand his words properly.

“Sorry, Kafal isn’t great at human speech. I think she heard it for the first time when she picked me up. She only just became able to speak too.”
“I see, quite interesting. Dragons living in groups generally learn the human language in case they have to wage war or negotiate with humans, but it makes sense for dragons living independently to not know it.”
“Can you just shut up for now?”

Viola was vigorously inspecting Kafal with sparkling glasses even in this situation. Wein couldn’t help but elbow her to hush her.

Kafal and Tim, who was looking up at her, stared at each other. Normally, a staring contest with a dragon would’ve frightened one and some could even faint under its pressure and die. But Tim didn’t falter here, which showed that he was first class.

“Sorry, Lucella, but can you grab the sword on my back and throw it away?”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”

Lucella took his greatsword, which looked like a giant cleaver and was hard to imagine how one would even swing it, and threw it outside of the nest. The weapon flew with a spin and sliced through the first tree on its path and stuck into the second one and stopped.

Even after losing his weapon, Tim remained unwavering. And then, Kafal made the first move. Light gathered before Tim and a red, flame-like humanoid manifested there.

“Oh my! Not the transformation but its preliminary step, Puppet! I knew of its existence, but I never thought I would see it with my very eyes!!”
“I told you to shut up!”

Wein finally snapped and bound Viola’s hands behind her and plugged her mouth.

“Human… why… come.” Kafal’s expression remained stern and vigilant, but she decided to hear them out at least.

Lucella signaled Tim with eyes and stepped up in his place.

“Kafal, do you know the northern… Wait, you know what north is, right? There’s a human kingdom there, right?”
“Yes. Very… big… kingdom.”
“Those guys are trying to kill you! These people came to warn us about it!”

Maltgartz had apparently proclaimed to the Adventurer’s Guilds yesterday that Mount Kuguse was their territory. In other words, if you translated that political language into layman’s words, it was an official notice for the Adventurers Guild to treat Mount Kuguse as disputed land.

The Adventurer’s Guild which had a noninvolvement policy in politics couldn’t step foot in politically troublesome places.

They drew away the adventurers aiming for the mountain’s blessings and banned investigation from the Setulev’s side of the Adventurer’s guild too, so the question was, what would they do next and when?

Everything was in place now, and their next move would come sooner or later.

“That… human… can trust?”

Kafal asked Lucella. Lucella had just learned all this from Tim, so there was a possibility that Tim was lying to them with some goal in mind. Thus, Lucella couldn’t guarantee its validity.

“I speak the truth. I swear on my life and honor.”
“Kafal, I want to go down the mountain and head to the city. We have to confirm whether these people are telling the truth. And if it is… we have to think of a way to stop them.”
“Stop… them… how?”
“I have an idea.”

Tim’s voice turned tense at this critical moment.

“Setulev also wishes to stop Maltgartz. They would find it delightful to join hands with Mount Kuguse’s red dragon.”
“Uhh, I think you should explain that with simpler wording…”
“R-Right. In other words, cooperate with Setulev’s king and fight together.”

Kafal seemed to understand that and looked puzzled. Then she looked at Lucella, as if to ask whether it would really be alright.

“I know, don’t worry. It depends on what that king thinks of this.”

Lucella felt like he knew how frightening and despicable influential people tended to be. He also understood the danger of relying on a kingdom and making an alliance, not to mention fighting.

But regardless, be it forming the alliance or fighting, he first had to leave the mountain and grasp the situation before doing anything.

“At any rate, I have to go down to the city and gather information.”
“Kafal… will… follow.”
“…So it comes down to that, after all.”

Kafal answered without hesitation. It wasn’t to confirm things with her own eyes and ears, but rather out of pure worry for Lucella. Even now, she was worried about Lucella instead of herself.

—Kafal… Did she know it would turn out this way? Even if she doesn’t understand human politics, dragons normally leave the Variants be to protect themselves, right? Yet she fed them to me! She prioritized my safety over her own. I didn’t think she considered me so important…!

What Lucella felt was a little different from regret. Instead, he felt irritated at himself for failing to realize just how much Kafal treasured him.