Blessing from the Goddess and Transfer to Another World! ~No Thanks, I Don’t Need a Special Ability~

Chapter 81 – A Food Stall and a Chieftain Candidate

Author’s Note: A new character enters the stage.

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2 hours after we left the dungeon, in a corner of the Dragon Newts’ village, a crowd (or, should I call it a weyr, since they’re Dragon Newts?) had formed in front of a food stall. Needless to say, it was Mio’s handiwork.

“Yes~, one more kushikatsu and karaage skewer set! Coming right up!”

“Mio-sama! I brought another person who wants to be tamed! They want to try the karaage!”

“Got it! Then, I’ll quickly make some more!”

Mio rolled up her sleeves, and continued to prepare the orders one after another. In addition to Maria, Sera and Mikazuki, she also recruited a couple of tamed Dragon Newts to help her run the stall. Me? Sakura and I would be totally useless in there, so we are quietly playing with Dora in a corner instead.

Since Mio decided to invade the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area with food culture, the first thing she had to do was to make a list of all locally available ingredients. Obviously, she used the map for that. According to her, “Unexpectedly, there’s a good variety of ingredients and seasoning.”, to the point where, although they were laid by monsters, there were even fresh eggs available. We were also able to acquire all the other necessary items, like salt, sugar and flour. Looks like the previous Dungeon Master adjusted the environment within the barrier in addition to making various other preparations.

As for the stall itself, I asked the people of the Chamber of Advanced Commerce for help, and they immediately offered to set one up. Apparently, they have several stalls that the Maids have used in the past while performing various other tasks. …Like, for what?

A: They were selling croquettes.

…Yep, I still don’t get it.

By the way, when I fed one of Mio’s special croquettes to Mikazuki earlier, just to see what would happen, it was so delicious that it made her faint. And even after she woke up, she kept saying “croquette, croquette” all over again, so I had to have Alta bring her back to her senses. Apparently, the taste was too addictive. …Are those things even safe?

After that, we got permission from the Chieftain to set up the stall. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but eventually he just sighed and gave up. And with that, all the preparations were now complete.

And so, the dishes that Mio decided to unleash as a part of her invasion, are the deep-fried kushikatsu and karaage skewers that came up in the previous conversation. Incidentally, if you were curious about where we got the breadcrumbs, it seems that there’s actually a breadcrumb-like grain in this world. Damn fantasy grains…

Since the staple food of the Dragon Newts is meat, Mio’s initial tactic seems to be attacking with ‘meaty delicacies’. Furthermore, her tactics don’t just stop there. She gathered the tamed Dragon Newts (by the way, every single one of them showed up) and handed out two of each skewer, katsu and karaage, to them. She then instructed them to walk around the village while eating one of each slowly.

Even from a distance you can smell the delicious aroma of Mio’s food. If it had only come from the food stall, its effect would have been limited to just its surroundings, however, if the Patrol Group (as we’ll hence be calling them) were to walk around the village while eating then, what would happen then? Saying it simply, they’re what you’d call food terrorists. After the Patrol Group passes by, there’s a fair amount of drool dangling. …So messy.

And there’s even more to this strategy. The Patrol Group is allowed to share their deep-fried skewers with ‘untamed people’, and if they then agree to be tamed, they will get one more of each skewer. …This is totally a pyramid scheme!

“Eh? There’s no law against it in this world, you know.” (Mio)

“Everything that isn’t explicitly prohibited is technically allowed.” (Azuma)

Mio is just doing whatever she wants at this point. Also, I think I just caught a glimpse of my best friend there.

“Jin-sama, I’ve brought another person who wants to be tamed.”

“Yes yes, I’m going to use the ‘Monster Taming’ skill on you, so don’t resist. There, it’s done. You can eat now.”

The effects of Mio’s cooking and various other tactics are immense. Another 31 Dragon Newts have already been tamed. It was like an assembly line, once it got started. Being the one who tamed them, I don’t know if I should be the one saying this, but Dragon Newts are really weak against their appetite.

In the end, we’ve successfully tamed 43 Dragon Newts with that single food stall. And since we’ve already tamed another 53 with meat skewers yesterday, that brought up the total to 96 Dragon Newts now under my command.

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“Ha~, that was fun! The Dragon Newts are surprisingly good at learning things. Given a couple days, I’m sure I’ll be able to teach these kids the basics of cooking, and then the food culture hazard will be as good as done!”

Mio, who continued to serve food at the stall till it got dark, said with satisfaction after we returned to the mansion.

In the end we didn’t go sightseeing outside the village that afternoon (except, to collect ingredients), and just wandered around near the food stall instead. Just as Dora had said, there really was nothing interesting here. …How unfortunate.

“Then, are you going to act separately starting tomorrow?”

“No no no, isn’t it obvious that I’m going to follow you, Master? I’ll just teach them for a bit in the morning and in the evening. I’m only teaching them the basics, and how to make deep-fried food anyway. After that, I want them to experiment on their own. It would have been boring if they didn’t get to develop their own unique food culture!”

“Is that so?”

“Yep, that’s the way it’s got to be!”

Since there was nothing I could really retort with, I just let Mio have this one.

“Then, Jin-sama, what are your plans for tomorrow? If there’s anything you’ll need, shall I have the Maids prepare it?”

Maria asked, so I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment.

“Hmm, I haven’t really decided yet. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to see around here.”

“Kyuu~. There isn’t~.”

“Rather, wouldn’t you say that Mio-san’s food stall has already become a noteworthy sightseeing spot?”

“Pretty much…”

As Sera correctly pointed out, currently, the most popular spot for the Dragon Newts to visit seems to be Mio’s food stall. We perfectly got our priorities backwards.

“Plus, no matter how I think about it, nothing is going to beat the dungeon anyway…”

To begin with, there are barely any sightseeing spots within the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, and none of them even come close to its main attraction, the dungeon. And since we went there first, and ended up conquering the place in barely half a day, it’s only natural that we’d have problems with coming up with other spots. Good job, me!

“Well, basically, I don’t have any plans for tomorrow. We’ll probably just go visit Dora’s recommended spots and explore the village some more, or something like that. At worst, if we really run out of things to do, we can just leave, but…”

“I’m supposed to teach the Dragon Newts how to cook, so if we leave tomorrow, it’s going to make things difficult…”

Since Mio is making a troubled face, let’s propose a solution.

“In other words, it’s fine if Mio stays behind alone. There, solved!”

“No~! Don’t leave me behind!”

“Or, you could just come here twice a day to teach them instead.”

“You should have just started with that one!”

In the end, Mio chose the latter, so even if we end up leaving tomorrow, she’ll still be able to hold her temporary cooking classes in the morning and evening each day. Honestly, it would have been much easier to just bring them back to our mansion in Kastal, and teach them there, but since I already promised the Chieftain not to take any Dragon Newts outside of the Hidden Area, we’ll just have to go with that. Even if he wouldn’t find out, I’m still not willing to go back on my word just for that.

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The next day, after we finished breakfast, I received a report from Alta. A sudden report means that, basically, something’s about to happen.

A: A girl who is a candidate for the next chieftain of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is approaching.

According to the Chieftain, Dora was originally a candidate to be the next chieftain (or empress, if you will) of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, but since she went missing, the second candidate was moved up and took her place. Considering that a 5-year-old like Dora was once the first candidate, I guess it’s not that surprising for another woman (or, a little girl to be exact) to be one as well.

It looks like she’s headed for the Chieftain’s Mansion as we speak. Usually, it wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary for a chieftain candidate to come meet the acting chieftain, but right now we’re also staying in the mansion, and since Alta reported to me, she’s obviously here for us.

A: Yes. It seems that one of her relatives was among the people Master tamed yesterday. She’s angry about that, and is coming to force Master to cancel their taming contract.

Ah, I see. No wonder she’d be pissed after hearing that her relative became a pet of some stranger, moreover a human.

“Then, Master, are you going to release them?”

“Why would I? It was their own choice to accept to be tamed. I didn’t trick them, or force them in any way, so there’s no need to accept any complaints after the fact!”

I decisively rejected the question from Sera who also heard Alta’s explanation.

“Besides, the Dragon Newts were already aware of the price they’d have to pay for eating Mio’s food. Even the Chieftain said so, so it would be our loss if we were to cancel the taming contract now.”

“It feels like a cheap price to pay for their loyalty though…”

Deep-fried skewers in exchange for loyalty… Certainly, that does seem a bit cheap.

“No, Sakura-sama, if you were to attach a price to Mio-san’s cooking, it would be ridiculously high. It seems that even the dishes prepared by the Maids who are Mio-san’s apprentices are rated among the best in Kastal’s royal castle. The Chamber of Advanced Commerce also sells the food prepared by them, and they are said to be quite successful in this venture as well.”

“I-I see… Ah, I do remember hearing about that from Sakuya-chan.”

“I heard about it too…”

As expected of Sera, she knows a lot about the culinary situation in different parts of the world. Ah, they’re both my subordinates though…

It’s true that if you call it ‘deep-fried skewers’, then it does feel a bit cheap, but if you were to call it ‘a future local speciality dish created by the world’s best chef using local ingredients’ instead, then it would instantly feel much more luxurious. …Probably.

“Then, if you consider the true value of Mio’s cooking, it would be an even bigger loss if I were to undo their taming contract. …Well, it’s not like I’m the devil. If the one who’s been tamed insists on cancelling it, and is prepared to pay an appropriate compensation, I won’t think twice about it.”

If the person themself is willing to cover for our loss, I won’t say I’ll never release them. Fortunately, we haven’t shared any of our secrets with the people I tamed in the Hidden Area, so it wouldn’t be a big problem if I were to let them go.

“It almost sounds as if you don’t actually want to cancel their contract. Someone master tamed …since they get to eat delicious food, it’s pretty unlikely for them to ask to be released. Not to mention that there aren’t many things left in the Hidden Area that could even be given as compensation at this point…”

“Pretty much.”

Like Mio just said, I don’t actually have any intention of undoing the taming contract. Honestly speaking, me saying that the possibility of doing it isn’t zero, was solely for appearances sake.

“And that’s why I think it’s going to get a bit noisy after this.”

“Understood. I will remain by Jin-sama’s side and protect him.”

Saying that, Maria positioned herself diagonally behind me. Apparently, it’s her ‘guard’s position’.

“Well, it being noisy around Master is basically as usual anyway.”

“Kyu~! As usual~!”

“That’s right, we’re already used to it.”

“You just have to get used to it…”

Somehow, it seems like I’m being viewed by everyone as a troublemaker. I mean, obviously, I’m not going to dispute that, since I keep sticking my nose into trouble (except for those unpleasant ones, related to nobles) time and time again… Hello, I’m Shindou Jin, a high school student, no, an adventurer, no, a dungeon master, no, and a troublemaker. Pleased to meet you.

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A little after that, the Chieftain Candidate Girl… It’s annoying, so let’s call her by name instead… Tenri arrived at the Chieftain’s Mansion.

By the way, here’s her status.

Name: Tenri (ED: It’s just short for Tenkuu Ryuu – Sky Dragon)
LV27
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Race: Dragon Newt (Sky Dragon)
Skill: <Draconic Magic LV2> <Body Strengthening LV1> <Flight LV5> <Zero Gravity LV->

Zero Gravity [Up or Down, Whatever]
While using ‘Flight’, it becomes possible to ignore the effects of gravity. Optional activation. (ED: The original joke in katakana was a sentence from a sticker you’d put on posted packages, like ‘this way up’ in English)

Perhaps due to her race being Sky Dragon, she even has a rare ‘Flight’-related skill. As expected of a chieftain candidate. …Thinking about it, when I first met Dora she only had ‘Draconic Magic’ and ‘Flight’. (ED: Her Draconic Magic was already at LV3 though)

While I was thinking that, Tenri and the Chieftain approached the room we’re staying in.

“This! Tenri, wait!”

“I won’t wait! It’s here, right!?”

Shaking off the hand of the Chieftain who was trying to stop her, a completely naked Tenri burst into our room. Fitting for a Sky Dragon, she has sky blue coloured hair that reaches her waist, and her clear blue, almond shaped eyes are currently glaring at me. Incidentally, her breasts are small, but not non-existent.

“You’re that human that came from the outside, huh!? Undo th-”

“I refuse!”

I cut off Tenri in the middle of a sentence.

She kept opening and closing her mouth like a carp, without saying anything. Well, It’s said that when a carp climbs to the top of a waterfall, it flies into the skies and becomes a dragon. Surely, Tenri must have been a carp in her previous life.

“Let me finish!”

“I refuse. You’re going to tell me to break the taming contract, aren’t you?”

“W-Why do you!? No, if you already know this then it will be faster! Un-”

“I refuse!”

“……”

Again without letting her finish, I cut her off in the middle of her second sentence.

Tenri is shaking and trembling while getting slightly teary-eyed.

“I am sorry, dear guests. This is Tenri, a candidate for the next chieftain. It seems one of her relatives was tamed by you, and she has come to speak to you about it.” (ED: The Chieftain’s been addressing Jin’s group politely from the start, but he never actually called them ‘guests’ until now, so I just went with ‘you’ before)

The Chieftain who chased after Tenri, politely explained (what we already knew). Tenri turned back to the Chieftain and said while pointing at me.

“Chieftain! What’s with this guy!? He won’t even listen to what I’m saying!”

“What are you saying ‘what’s with this guy’? You’re doing the exact same thing, not listening to me and running away, are you not?”

“Uh…”

Tenri, faltering, turned away from the Chieftain and glared at me again. Maria reached for her swords as usual.

“I also have some concerns on the matter of taming.”

“Then…!”

“But I hear that taming isn’t possible if both parties don’t agree to it. If there is an agreement, then the matter is between the parties involved. Besides, they have already said they aren’t going to take those they tamed with them, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. What really worries me is that so many Dragon Newts agreed to be tamed in the first place. Don’t you think it’s pitiful for them to give it like that in exchange for some food?”

“That’s… But these guys have been taming more and more people! They must be trying to take over the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area!” 

“Certainly, if any more Dragon Newts are tamed, it will be troubling.”

“Right!? And that’s why these guys-”

“Got it. From now on, we’ll stop taming people with food.”

“……”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Tenri’s lines exist to be interrupted.

“I appreciate the suggestion, but are you really alright with that?”

“Yeah, I’m aware that we’ve been acting without restraint and taming too many people.”

To begin with, it’s not like we came here with the goal of taming any Dragon Newts. It was just something I came up with on the spur of the moment as a price for Mio’s food. Mio didn’t have the goal of taming them either, she just wanted to spread her cuisine. If Mio stops serving her food, then ‘taming with cooking’ will naturally also disappear.

“Understood. I shall accept your proposal.”

“Got it… Then, you were saying something, Tenri. Is there anything left for you to complain about?”

“Ugh…”

I’m pretty sure I’ve already taken care of most of her complaints.

“T-There is! Of course there is! Why, of all people, is Shirayuki staying in this mansion!”

“Kyu? Eh?”

Dora tilted her head, as the topic of our conversation suddenly turned to her.

“This girl is no longer a chieftain candidate! She shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the Hidden Area as she wishes! And she definitely shouldn’t be showing her face at the Chieftain’s Mansion! The seat of the next chieftain is mine! There is no place here for her, who left the Hidden Area, any more!”

I see, so that’s her real goal here. Tenri wants to become the next chieftain, but because Dora, who once had a higher position than her, is still in the Hidden Area, she’s getting frustrated, so she wants her to leave.

“Tenri! You’ve said too much! Shirayuki leaving the Hidden Area was the failure of our education. Also, Shirayuki is included among those we are indebted to for saving the Hidden Area.”

“They just finished off a dragon that we Dragon Newts have already weakened! With just that, they’re walking around as if they did something great, and taming people as they please!”

Hmm, that stupid bug said something similar. Apparently, Tenri also doesn’t believe that the Abyssal Dragon that we defeated, still had almost 100% HP left.

“Because of you guys the Hidden Area has become a mess, so leave already! Take Shirayuki and leave through the Gate of the Monkey immediately!”

Hm? What did she say at the end just now?

“If I may ask one thing, what is this Gate of the Monkey?”

Speaking as if she had read my mind, Sera asked that question.

“Well, there’s a certain naming convention to the Dragon’s Gates here. The 12 gates, starting from north, and going clockwise, are named: Gate of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig respectively. The Gate of the Monkey’s direction would be west-southwest.” (ED: There are actually two different kanji that translate as ‘dragon’, one that means a dragon in general, and one that usually means a Chinese dragon (think Shenron from Dragon Ball). Plus, they are both pronounced as ‘ryuu’. Dragon (monster species), Dragon Newt, and Dragon’s Gate use the former, while the Chinese zodiac sign of a dragon uses the latter)

“I never would have thought I’d hear the directions divided based on the zodiac signs here…”

“Right…? It’s increasingly likely that the Hidden Area was created by someone who reincarnated from Japan… or, more like, it’s pretty much confirmed at this point.”

Mio and Sakura mumbled after hearing the Chieftain’s explanation. The familiar twelve signs of the zodiac, which have various roles, such as indicating time and direction, were also used as they were. There is way too much circumstantial evidence that a reincarnated person was involved in all this.

Also, while it’s a bit late, I would like to explain something about the positioning of the Dragon’s Gates in the Hidden Area. As the Chieftain has just said, there are indeed 12 Dragon’s Gates within the Hidden Area, and now that I’ve discovered the existence of the dungeon, and have temporarily become its dungeon master, I know that they are arranged in a circle around the dungeon core. Plus, the Dragon’s Gates that they lead to, and the ruins surrounding them by extension, are also connected to the dungeon core via these transfer devices.

“Hey, Tenri. Why is it the Gate of the Monkey? We came here through the Gate of the Goat, did we not?”

“Eh…?”

Facing Tenri, I asked her indifferently.

As a side note, if you follow the line starting from the dungeon core, and going through the Gate of the Monkey, you will hit… Eludia Kingdom, the same area where I first met Dora.

“That’s true. If you were to exit the same way you came in, then it should be through the Gate of the Goat.”

“Why did you think that we entered through the Gate of the Monkey? Ah, if you exit the same way you entered, then by the same logic, you would enter the same way you exited, …is what you were thinking, right?”

“Um…”

Noticing the hidden meaning behind my words, Tenri’s face turned more and more pale as I spoke. Her hair and eyes are both blue, and now her face turned blue as well. Do Sky Dragons have a thing for that colour, or something?

“Incidentally, if you leave through the Gate of the Monkey, you will find a country known as Eludia Kingdom. That’s also where I first met Dora. Surely, that would mean that Dora originally left through the Gate of the Monkey.”

“U-Ugh…”

“I-Impossible!?”

Tenri groaned, shaking all over. The Chieftain also finally noticed the meaning behind my words.

“Now, who would know which gate Dora left through? Someone who had seen her leave, someone who directly heard it from her, or perhaps, someone who had sent her through the gate themself? Which one of those are you, Tenri?”

“Ugh…”

The only thing that escaped Tenri’s mouth was a groan that couldn’t even be described as a word.

“…Now that you mention it, I never taught Shirayuki the method to activate the Dragon’s Gates. Shirayuki, how did you leave the Hidden Area?”

“Kyu, kyuu~. Kyui, kyuu~n. Umm, so, Dora had some free time so she went outside. Then Dora had a nap, and when she woke up, she was in a place she didn’t know~.”

It’s also the first time I’m hearing this. I actually never asked her in detail about how she left the Hidden Area. Or rather, how she was carried out through a Dragon’s Gate while she was asleep, was it? It’s quite a bold crime if you think about it. And it definitely isn’t something a single person could pull off. At the very least, the gatekeepers must have been in on it.

“For now, should I just follow the template?”

“Ugh…”

I said, pointing at Tenri, who’s looking at me with frightened eyes.

“The criminal who took the sleeping Dora and carried her outside of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area through a Dragon’s Gate… It’s you, Tenri!!!”

Wow, I never thought I’d actually get to use the ‘The criminal is you!’ line from the ‘Top 10 lines you want to say’, when in another world. (ED: By Mio?)

“W-w-w-w-w-w-what are you saying! I-I-I-I-I w-wouldn’t do such a t-thing… R-right, p-proof! Where’s your proof!!!?”

While trembling to an absurd degree, Tenri denied the accusation. Her lines are broken, her eyes are swimming, and her knees are shaking in an interesting way …also, she seems to be leaking a little.

However, to think that she would respond to ‘The criminal is you’ with ‘Proof! Where’s your proof!?’. Tenri understands how it’s done, doesn’t she? If possible, I’d like to tell her that she has what it takes to be a mystery novel writer, but it seems rather difficult under the circumstances.

“There isn’t any proof.”

“S-s-s-s-see! T-treating someone like a criminal without proof…”

“But then again, do we really need proof any more?”

“…Eh?”

When she heard that I didn’t have any proof, Tenri showed a clearly relieved face, but with my following line her expression froze.

“Tenri said something earlier that only the culprit could have known. If it were somewhere else, it might have been fine, but now that both the judge, the Chieftain, and the victim, Dora, are present, isn’t it fine to say you don’t need more proof than the verbal slip itself? All that should be left is for the Chieftain to hand down his verdict.”

It’s a common tactic in mystery novels to get the suspect to utter information that only the culprit could have known. Well, I didn’t really use such a tactic, Tenri just self-destructed on her own…

“Hmm, I don’t see any other way than for you to have carried Shirayuki away, Tenri.”

“Y-You’re wrong! I-I didn’t do it! Believe me, Chieftain!”

Tenri desperately begged him, but the Chieftain just looked at her, and sighed.

“…If you say you want me to believe you, shouldn’t you at least try looking me in the eyes?”

“Ugh…”

Saying ‘believe me’ while your gaze is swimming all around. How much would you be able to convince someone like that?

“Tenri, as Chieftain, I must bring you to justice for your actions against a chieftain candidate.”

“By the way, what will Tenri’s punishment be? Will she be imprisoned like Akatsuki?”

I casually asked the Chieftain what was on my mind.

“Let’s see. At the very least, she’ll be given the capital punishment.”

“N-No! I-I don’t want to die!!!”

Tenri clung to the Chieftain and pleaded desperately.

Is the punishment for attempted murder, death? It seems a little heavy, but it makes sense, considering the other party’s status.

“Unlike Akatsuki’s imprisonment, it became a pretty heavy punishment, huh…”

“In Akatsuki’s case, although it was just barely, he didn’t break any rules. Tenri however, clearly broke multiple. No matter how I think about it, anything less than the capital punishment is insufficient…”

I see, so the problem is whether or not the rules were broken. If it’s like this, I don’t think the Chieftain’s decision will change, even if the victim, Dora, were to say she forgives her. I’ve only talked with Tenri a little bit, but she seems like she’d be pretty fun to tease. Such a waste.

“It pains me, but such is the law. Tenri, if you honestly tell me everything, I will agree to postpone it somewhat, but the execution itself has already been decided on.”

“I… I did it…”

She confessed that fast!?

In response to the Chieftain implying that “if you don’t confess, you will be executed immediately”, in order to stay alive even a little bit longer, she probably had no other choice but to confess. Well, the Dragon Newts’ sense of time seems to be a lot different than ours, so it could be that the ‘somewhat’ in Chieftain’s words meant a few years or more in this case.

“That’s good. Tenri, I want you to tell me the whole story without omitting anything.”

“Ugh, yes…”

Tenri’s earlier domineering attitude was nowhere to be seen, as she answered listlessly with her head hanging down.

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Now then, let’s summarise the self-confession of the suddenly and surprisingly honest Tenri. 

First, the perpetrators were Tenri and her attendant, and their accomplices seem to be the 2 gatekeepers. Tenri and her attendant carried off the napping Dora through one of the Dragon’s Gates, while the 2 gatekeepers pretended not to see anything. After using the transfer device to reach the ruins in Eludia, the two of them returned, while leaving Dora behind. The idea was, that since Dora didn’t know how to activate the transfer device, she wouldn’t be able to return on her own.

The motive was of course, to take the seat of the next Chieftain. It seems that there are several branch families, in addition to the main family, and Tenri just so happens to be from one of them. Originally, before Dora was born, she was the first chieftain candidate, and, from what I’ve heard, ever since she was a child, she spared no effort in working hard to achieve that position. However, once Dora was born, her position was automatically dropped to number two. Apparently, she couldn’t forgive Dora for taking it away from her, just by the virtue of being born into the main family, after she had already worked so hard to obtain it.

“Hmm, so there was such a story behind Shirayuki’s disappearance…”

“Other than ‘You should have investigated it properly’, I don’t really have anything to say.”

To the groaning Chieftain, I replied with such a pointed comment. Still, if it weren’t for Tenri trying to covertly dispose of Dora, we wouldn’t have been able to meet her in the end, so it’s not like I’m going to complain.

“Dora got to meet Master, so Dora is okay~!”

Just to be sure, I asked her what her thought about it were, but in the end, she didn’t seem to mind.

“Unbelievable. I may have been a little too lenient with them, just because they are my relatives. There’s also Akatsuki’s case. …Perhaps It’s time for me to re-evaluate my surroundings a bit.”

The Chieftain said while making a troubled face.

Tenri, who tried to kill another candidate, because she wanted to be the next Chieftain, Akatsuki, who is quick to turn to violence, in order to protect his position, and all the people who allowed themselves to be easily tamed in exchange for some food… When you spell it out like that, they certainly seem like a pretty useless bunch. I’ll have to make sure to raise Dora properly, so that she doesn’t become like that in the future as well.

After that, the Chieftain had some subordinates take away Tenri for further questioning.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to be a little busy after this. Please excuse me.”

With those words, the Chieftain left to go somewhere. There are still the accomplices left to deal with, so this chieftain candidate scandal is going to be quite troublesome for him, won’t it? 

I was a little curious, so I asked the Chieftain before he left, and apparently the position will next pass to the person who was previously the third candidate. Their name is Hisui, and they’re from a branch family, the same as Tenri. Still, according to the Chieftain, “I’m worried that she is a little unfit for the job”, is what he said.

After the first candidate, Dora, left the Hidden Area, and the second candidate, Tenri, was arrested, for the third candidate to be unsuitable, it’s certainly too bad in many ways.

Combined with the matter of the barrier, the original future of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area would have looked pretty grim…

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Author’s Note: The new character leaves the stage.