C309: The Birth of a New Emperor

“Please wait, brother!” says Ardheg in a strained voice, caught off-guard by the sudden proposal. “I-I-I am not worthy of becoming the next Geyser Dragon! In terms of rank and ability, I believe you deserve it better-”
“Ardheg, you know how I detest hassles.”

The crown prince dragon’s image as a benevolent ruler immediately vanished.

“I only want to focus on managing my dungeon and watch over the human adventurers who enter it. I don’t have time to become a Geyser Dragon and subdue other dragons’ conflicts.”
“But…! I do not have the confidence to make all dragons obey me! It was only with my friends’ help that I defeated Father. Besides, there are many dragons out there stronger than me, including you!”

Dragons are humbler and more auspicious than I thought.
Or maybe it’s just these two?

“…! Oh, right! Why don’t you become the Geyser Dragon, Sis Veil?”

Next, he passes the baton to Veil.

“You’re one of the ten most powerful dragons in the world, plus you’re stronger than me! Wouldn’t it be better to leave everything to you?!”

Is Veil really that strong?
She has always lost to Sensei since day one, so she never really gave me that impression.
Of course, being a dragon, she’s one of the strongest beings out there, but I thought she wasn’t that strong among her race.

If so, that just goes to show how strong Sensei is…

Now, as for Veil’s reply…

“No, thanks.”
“Sisssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!”

She flatly refused.

“Are you sure, Veil? Didn’t you always want to be a Geyser Dragon?” I ask.

She even stole the holy sword from Sensei for that purpose.
It feels like a long time ago, though, so thinking about it makes me nostalgic.

“Too naïve, Master. All living things change with time, and we dragons are no exception. I, too, have changed over time, as well as my desires!”

What do you want now, then?

“Protect Junior!!!”
“Wha…”
“I will protect Junior for the rest of my life and destroy anyone who tries to harm him, mortal or not! It is my delight to protect such an adorable child!!!”

…
My son has surpassed the title of Dragon Emperor.

I’ll make Veil learn to let go of Junior over time, so things should be fine for now.

“There you have it, Ardheg. You’ll be the Geyser Dragon.”
“Huuuuuuh?!”

Ardheg is cornered by his sibling dragons.

“You’re the one who defeated Father, our predecessor. There is no other unequivocal condition than that. Resign yourself and become emperor.”

Being a ruler is not something you want to be but something you are forced to do.
And here, we have a perfect example of it.

“No, no, wait! I still think this is all too much for me to take in!”
“You can do it.”
“No, I can’t. I have to be as good as Brother Alexander or Sis Veil…”
“You can do it.”
“You can do it, seriously.”
“You too, Sis Veil?! But…”
“You can do it.”
“You can do it.
“But, um…”
“You can do it.”
“We’re telling you, you can do it. You’re so persistent.”
“O-Okay…!”

What did I just witness?

Anyway, it was decided that the new Geyser Dragon would be Ardheg.

“Well, I’ll participate in spreading the word of your enthronement. If they know I’m backing you up, the other dragons won’t do anything absurd.”
“If so, why don’t you do it from the beginning?”
“It’s not a question of who will do it; it’s what you do.”

Thus, ended the conversation and settled the matter.
It’s up to Ardheg, the new Geyser Dragon, to unite the dragons and bring peace to the world.

“Now then, how about we have dinner inside to celebrate Ardheg’s inauguration?” I say.

I wouldn’t want to stand here and talk forever.
Plus, I’ve only been an onlooker so far, so it’s time I made my presence felt.

“No, human. I’ve caused enough trouble by coming uninvited. I can’t possibly bother you any more than this…”

Seeing Alexander’s modesty, uncharacteristic of dragons, left an even better impression on me.

“Don’t say that. Please allow us to entertain you with a meal.”
“Well then, I’ll accept your kind offer… Speaking of which, Veil, are you living with this human? That’s pretty brave of you.”

Alexander asks Veil as we walk to the main house.

“Even I, who pride myself on being one of the most pro-mankind dragons in the world, don’t feel that comfortable with them.”
“Hehe! That’s because Master is amazing. You’ll soon realize that too, Alexander!”

Veil, don’t just go raise the bar out of nowhere.
It seems I have to cook to the best of my ability for today’s lunch.

* *

It was a little late for lunch, but I decided to serve the pork (horned boar) stew that I had prepared last night.
I also boiled some yoschamo eggs in it, soaking up all the broth’s goodness.
There are also pickles I got from the brewery and onigiri miso soup I hastily prepared.

Alexander, the most powerful dragon, wasn’t afraid to taste the food he was unfamiliar with.

“…It’s delicious,” he says, in a way highly-regarded character in a gourmet manga would react. “I’ve never had anything like this despite receiving offerings from the humans! This square boar meat, one of the five great meat delicacies, has been cooked to perfection and is easy to chew!”

Now, he’s reviewing it like a character in an actual gourmet manga.

“This wasn’t directly cooked… It’s been heated with hot water! And it’s not just water, it’s probably water that’s been mixed with something flavored. The meat absorbed all of that.”

This dragon and his taste buds are amazing.
He doesn’t know the concepts of “boiling” or “seasoning,” so he can’t use such vocabulary; but that’s what makes him incredible.

He knows exactly how to cook something without knowing the techniques.

“I told you Master is amazing! I can tell you’re impressed by his cooking too!”

For some reason, Veil is bragging about it as if she cooked the food.

Also, you get to eat with us day and night, so show a little restraint. You’re eating twice of Alexander and Ardheg’s portions.

“To be able to cook food like this is phenomenal… Oh, by the way!”

He recalls something.

“I heard there was a dragon who intervened in the Human-Demon War, wasn’t it you, Veil?”
“Oh, you knew about that, Alexander?”
“As usual, you are poorly informed about the affairs of dragons but are always gathering information about the world of mankind, brother.”

How nostalgic.
I remember hearing about that too.

It was when Veil raided the battlefield in her dragon form and said, “I am a servant of the Saint, and I will burn anyone who messes with my master!”

“…Which means this human is the Saint?!”
“This dragon has good intuition.”
“I never expected to meet you like this… You’re being talked about extensively in the Human Kingdom and how the almighty Saint lives on a farm!”
“Oh, no, I’m sure they’re just exaggerating things…”
“To think this is the place!”

Alexander sure has good discernment.

His reactions are so entertaining that I feel flattered.
Maybe it’s partly because dragons are the strongest…

“Um, if you’d like, do you want to take a look around?”