「Come out, come out」
Same as before, Muriel pounded on the door.
There were screams of the citizens coming from behind them, but Iris and the rest didn’t pay it any attention.
I apologize for scaring you but it’s harmless, so put up with it.
「Noisy. I have nothing to say to you!」
Viscount’s voice came from inside the mansion.
His voice was loud, but there was more fear than anger to it.
There must be something inside the mansion he doesn’t want anyone to see.
「Don’t say that and come out already. Do this and This Mistress shall stop. Otherwise, This Mistress will pound nonstop」
This proved convincing and the viscount showed his face as he opened the door ever so slightly.
In the next moment, his eyes opened wide in shock.
The viscount didn’t look and Muriel, or even Iris. His gaze was fixed behind them.
There were two large dragons in his garden. 1
「GYAOON」
The moment one of them noticed the viscount, it raised a scream on top of its lungs.
The dragon in question was Jessica.
As a matter of course, the other one was Marion.
Both of them are reasonable dragons, they won’t attack people and buildings out of nowhere.
However, the viscount, being an ignorant party, trembled in horror.
「W-W-Why are there dragons here!? I-I’m going to be eaten!」
「Who cares about that. Let us investigate your mansion」
「It’s the other way around! Roshe-sama! Please protect this city!」
The viscount kneeled and prayed to Roshe with his hands put together.
However, the Guardian Deity shook her head.
「Impossible. I can’t do that」
「W-Why!? Is a Guardian Deity weaker than a dragon!?」
「No, I’m stronger. No Guardian Deity will fall behind a dragon. In theory, that is」
「In theory…..?」
「Ah, right. When did you visit my church last time? Don’t remember anymore? A Guardian Deity draws his power from faith. Yet you neglected to pray despite being a lord. It took a dragon for you to start praying again. With you as their leader, the citizens lost their faith in me. That’s why I can’t win against a dragon」
Hearing Roshe’s words, viscount’s face alternated between blue and purple.
However, Roshe was lying.
The apple pie they were treated with in the church was truly delicious.
She has believers who make such delicious apple pies for her. There is no way they lost their faith in her.
But the viscount had no way to know.
As the lord, he lacked the understanding of his own people.
「T-Then what is going to happen to this city!?」
「Everyone will be eaten or incinerated, I guess」
Roshe coldly proclaimed.
「It can’t be, I beg you! It’s the land of my ancestors! I’ll pray daily from now on! I’ll do anything! Please drive the dragons away!」
I’ll do anything – that’s what she wanted to hear the most.
「If it’s me and big sis Iris we can do that~. Will you really do anything~?」
Eclipse said the rehearsed line.
The reason Iris chose Eclipse for this was that she was too nervous to say it herself.
「I-If it’s something I can do!」
「Then let us inside~」
「Also, if we find what we are after, you are going to tell us everything」
「R-Right now!? What about the dragons…..!?」
「Spill the beans. if you don’t hurry up the city is done for」
The moment Muriel threatened as such.
「「Gyaooon!」」
The dragons roared.
To Iris, this roar seemed rather dull, but to everyone else, it must’ve been a ferocious roar.
「Gyaaa, I’ll speak! I’ll tell you everything! E-Everything was according to the contract between my ancestors and Gashe-sama!」
The viscount readily confessed everything.
It was so easy, Iris found it underwhelming.
However, faced with a dragon in his garden, the viscount was desperate.
Exchanging a secret regarding his ancestors for his own like seemed like a nice deal.
「Contract? Tell me the terms. Or I’m so going to eat you. Gyaoon」
「Hiyaa, save me!」
Not only dragon, but even Muriel was frightening enough to him now.
「As the inquisitor mention, the city was in trouble because of the apples two hundred years ago! My ancestor pleaded with Gashe-sama……to destroy the apple production of the Silverlight Barony」
「What!?」
Sheryl, the current Baroness Silverlight, screamed with wide eyes.
「I’m sorry! It’s my ancestors’ doing! I’m innocent!」
「Relax, Sheryl. Let’s hear him out first」
「Muu……If iris-sama says so……」
Sheryl reluctantly agreed.
She had a hard time staying calm knowing the reason behind her own ancestors’ downfall.
Even though the criminal wasn’t this viscount but his predecessor.
「Come on, viscount. I’m very much interested in this contract between them and my father」
「Y-Yes……Gashe-sama said『If we seal Muriel’s power, the problem will solve itself』. However, sealing another god’s power is difficult even for another god. That’s why Gashe-sama tasked my ancestors with collecting radiant magic stones. As a tribute for sealing Muriel-sama’s power」
「Radiant magic stones!? Ah, I see. So that’s why father suddenly became so much stronger…..」
Said Roshe downhearted.
「What’s a magic stone?」
Eclipse asked, Iris too didn’t know.
But considering how Gashe explicitly told them to gather those, they didn’t seem to be ordinary pebbles.
It sounds pretty powerful going by its name.
「Radiant magic stone is a stone that naturally emits magical power. If you combine your own magical power with that of a radiant magic stone you would be able to cast powerful spells. However, it’s rather rare and precious, not many even know of its name」
「Mmm……Muriel is so knowledgeable」
「Fufu. This Mistress hasn’t been alive for three hundred years for nothing!」
Being praised by Iris, Muriel unreservedly bragged with her humble chest puffed out.
「The ancestors spent great sums of money to collect radiant magic stones across the world. After taking possession of the radiant magic stones, Gashe-sama amplified his own power……and sealed Muriel-sama’s. Thanks to that, the Silverlight Barony went out of business and the Cunningham Viscounty’s apple sales reached its previous values. The funds spend of purchasing radiant magic stones were made up in a short amount of time」
「…..And so father became a strong god thanks to the radiant magic stone doping and ascended to Heaven. After leaving the city to me」
「Yes…..such is the story passed down in our family」
The viscount sat on the ground and nodded listlessly.
A Guardian Deity sealing the power of another Guardian Deity.
Whether it’s humans, gods, or demons, they have all kinds of personalities, thought Iris.
「Then what about magical power coming from this mansion?」
「About that……two hundred years ago, Gashe-sama passed my ancestors a certain pot. This pot allows for Gashe-sama’s magical power to fuel the seal all the way from Heaven」
「So that’s the trick behind it……This Mistress is breaking this pot. Got a problem with that?」
「I understand….but please do something about those dragons first!」
The viscount glanced in the dragons’ direction before trembling all over.
Disregarding the viscount, they couldn’t keep people in the city frightened.
Since he confessed everything, Iris and the rest honored the deal and drove the dragons away.
「Fly outside the city, you two. Wait for us near the gates. In human form, as to not to scare the gatekeepers.」
「「Gyaoon」」
The dragons nodded and flew away.
