C316: Dragon Family Feud

It’s me.

Ardheg’s coronation ended without a hitch. Now, we’re having a peaceful meal.
Everyone is eating with relish the dishes we prepared in advance while having lively conversations.

“Ah… I’ve really become the Geyser Dragon… What should I do now?”
“Don’t worry, Lord Ardheg, we’ve got your back!”

Ardhreg is chatting with his former travel companion, Prince Arowana.

“…Mm, the comestibles in this place are so pleasing to my palate that I doth not wish to return to mine own realm.”

And Gaia, the Mother Goddess of All, is still with us.
She cunningly joined us in our meal and devoured the food greedily.

“This dish resembling cured flesh doth delight my palate most of all. The more I sink my teeth into it, the more its savor doth increase!”
“Oh, that’s dried squid. Why don’t you try dipping it in this chili mayonnaise, Your Radiance?”

In addition to the Creator munching her dried squid away, other people are also present, such as Veil and Platy…

“Look, Junior! It’s meat! Meat is delicious, you know~”
“Gah! No, meat is too much for a baby his age!!!”

And then, Alexander the Grauglintz Dragon and Al Gor, now an actual ex-Geyser Dragon…

“Blegh! It’s got onions in it!”
“You mustn’t be a picky eater, Father.”

I really can’t tell which of them is the child and parent.
They were originally not on good terms, but it’d be great if this occasion could be the spark to their reconciliation.

Then, Bacchus comes over to Alexander’s side.

“Hey there, dragon prince. Been a while.”
“Well, I’ll be. Aren’t you a demigod? I never thought I’d see you here.”

They seem to know each other.

“Since we’re celebrating a special occasion, why don’t you taste my new brew?”
“No doubt your brews taste divine. I’d love to try it.”
“Nice! Here you go.”
“…This is delicious. What kind of alcohol is this?”
“It’s wine with extract from a certain dragon… Man, what a relief. It’s not something I can offer to anyone, so I was starting to worry about how to consume it. Though, it should be fine if it’s you guys, so drink to your heart’s content.”

And so, this peaceful mood is ubiquitous on the farm.

“Ngh…” suddenly groans Alexander.

What’s wrong?
You’re making me feel like something grave is about to happen with that expression!

“No, I was wondering if this would be enough food…”
“Huh?”

No way.
We won’t run out of food.

Our stock is more than enough for everyone present today.

“But, you know, considering the number of guests that will be arriving soon…”
“What?”

More guests?!
I didn’t hear anything of the sort!

“I’ve sent out invitations to my dragon brethren to come if they’d like. The more the merrier, as they say.”

Why did you do that without telling me?!
I thought he had an outstanding personality, but at the end of the day, he’s just a dragon who does things crudely.

“What? So, this means there will be a surge of dragons any minute now?!”

You’ve gotta be kidding me!

“Oh, speak of the devil. There they are.”
“Huh? …Ah!”

He’s right!
I spot a group of dragons coming toward us!

They flap their wings at breakneck speed and stop just above us, still hovering in the air.

“Where is that presumptuous and cowardly Geyser Dragon named Ardheg?!” says one dragon. “His deceit is unforgivable! Bloody Mary, the Graugrinzel Dragon, the strongest of all dragons and the true Geyser Dragon, has come to punish him! Take it away, Sis!”
“Mm.”

Another dragon moves forward.
I can tell from her pitch-black scales that she’s completely different from the others.

Dragons here are usually gold or silver, but this is the first time I’m seeing a black dragon.

“Ah, if it isn’t Mary,” says a child looking up at the sky.

But this is no ordinary child, it’s the human form of the oldest dragon—Al Gor.
He may look like a child, but his brain is an adult’s.

“…Meh, I’m not good with alcohol at all. Juice! Someone bring me juice!”

Okay, maybe he is a child inside.

“Well… Before that, could you please introduce that dragon to us?”
“Bloody Mary is the second duplicate I created. She’s my daughter.”
“Second? Who’s the first?”
“Alexander, duh.”

Right.

“She’s the elite Grinzel (Imperial Princess) Dragon, so her prowess is no joke. She was also speculated to be the last one left in the succession race.”
“So, what would she do if she suddenly found out that Ardheg has become the Geyser Dragon?”
“She’d be furious. What was Alexander thinking when he sent out the invitations? It could’ve been a provocation, but there’s also a slight possibility that it was purely out of goodwill…”

Well, Alexander does have a bit of an airheaded side to him.
I’ve come to understand that these past few days.

Anyway, this black dragoness that suddenly appeared descends alone and rapidly shrinks her body.
This is how dragons revert to their human forms.
And Bloody Mary’s is a mature and alluring lady.

“Is Ardheg here?”

She dons a sleek black dress that contours her curves.
And her flesh—imbued with plumpness, undulating proportions laid bare.

This seductive lady is one of the strongest dragons in the world?

“Hey!”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!”

Never mind.

Just from Alexander’s sharp roar, Mary and the other dragons in the sky backed out like little mice.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Scary!!!”
“Brother Alexander is here! But why?!”
“No way I’d win! I’m going to skedaddle out of here!”

They’re all so scared.

“You know no manners. What kind of attitude are you showing at someone else’s home? Did you come here to wage a war?”

From the looks of it, probably.

“Today is supposed to be an auspicious day. I invited you here to celebrate it with us. Don’t you feel ashamed to Lord Saint if you’re just here to display your rude behavior?”

No, it’s okay, so please don’t mention my name in this intimidating situation!

“Brother Alexander, I didn’t expect you to be behind all of this. This just makes things even trickier.”
“Hm?”
“You’re the one who plotted Father’s assault, weren’t you? You just used this puny dragon as your pawn. Is this your revenge for getting your candidacy rights revoked? But why go put your pawn on the throne and stubbornly refuse to show yourself?”

She’s completely misunderstanding the situation.
Though, I can kind of get why she’d arrive at that assumption.

“The Geyser Dragon’s succession should be carried out legitimately. I cannot allow what you did. Therefore, I, Bloody Mary the Graugrinzel Dragon, shall be the true Geyser Dragon!”
“Hear, hear!!!”
“Lady Mary is the rightful Dragon Archon!” says the other dragons in the sky.

…I see now.
They must be her followers.

“What pathetic dragons you all are…” says Alexander, shaking his head. “You only know brute force to make things bend your way. So be it. I’ll show you how it’s really done on behalf of Ardheg, now emperor.”

A pure white aura emanates from the body of the wise old man, also called the strongest dragon.
I feel like everything’s going to end the moment he gets serious, but…

“Wait, brother,” interferes someone. “Leave this to me, Veil the Grinzel Dragon!”