Chapter 46:Opening of the Gate (1)

A woman with a pale complexion looked up at me.

Valentia, one of the three continental powers that, in alliance with Normare, checked the Kaiser Empire.

It was Queen Lykke III, who ruled that land.

“….”

‘Does she have good instincts? She’s trembling like crazy.’

Her body was shaking like an aspen leaf.

She probably wasn’t reacting that way just from seeing my meteor show…

Maybe she sensed it.

The transcendent aura of the Transparent Dragon, a fragment of it.

It was possible, since my aura was higher than Leo’s.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to go easy on them.

‘Gotta do what I gotta do.’

“Don’t you think we have something to talk about?”

“Eek!!”

The queen jumped at my words.

-Clang!!!

“A, a dragon!! How dare you trespass!!!”

The atmosphere immediately turned hostile.

A knight immediately pointed his sword at me…

‘Hey, that’s my tail you’re pointing at?’

Somehow, the sword was aimed at my tail.

Even the skilled guard knight was aiming at the wrong place.

This meant that the Transparent Dragon’s characteristics were still in effect, and at the same time,

-Bang!!!

“S, stop it!!!”

“…Lykke-nim?”

“I’m fine, so step back. I apologize for the rudeness, Teonar-nim.”

After scolding the knight, the queen met my pupils directly with her eyes.

This showed how unique she was.

‘Can she see me? Is she wearing some kind of holy relic?’

I was a little intrigued.

“Okay.”

“Thank you for your generous…”

“More importantly, don’t you have something to say? Especially you guys over there, you must have a lot to say to me?”

“H, hiiiek!!!”

When I asked with curiosity, I got a truly terrified reaction in return.

It seemed she was presuming that I was angry.

‘Well, it’s an understandable reaction.’

I had just demonstrated a meteor collision.

I had shown the power equivalent to several hundred tons of TNT with just a body slam.

Who would blame her for being scared?

How could anyone hold it together when a being whose basic attack was dropping meteors was standing right in front of them?

If I were her, I would have surrendered immediately, for real.

‘So, wouldn’t it have been better for everyone if you had understood when I was being nice, huh?’

“Sigh… Fear immunity.”

But at this rate, a conversation was impossible.

So I cast a rough magic spell.

It was a magic similar to an anesthetic that dulled the senses.

The effect was outstanding.

“…I apologize. I showed an unsightly appearance.”

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

“Thanks to your consideration, yes.”

Her gaze returned to me.

Her trembling voice had also calmed down.

It seemed her reason had returned.

“Now, can we start talking?”

“I request that you show a little more generosity.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I would like to have a short conversation with the other leaders. Visiting each country would be troublesome for you, so if it’s alright with you, I will gather their opinions in this place and convey them to you.”

Then she said.

Since you’re going to visit other countries like this anyway, let’s just end it here.

She made such a proposal.

It sounded like she was being considerate of me.

“Hmph.”

‘She doesn’t want to be the only one to die, huh?’

Her true intentions were obvious.

Subtly spreading the responsibility.

She was clearly trying to tattle, saying, ‘It’s not just me, they did it too.’

As if they had actually heard it, the illusion magic became noisy.

[Why are you deciding that?! Valentia and Normare dispatched the most troops!!]

[I have no choice but to agree with Vivian this time. We ask that you take into account that we had no choice but to go to war due to their coercion, and that we kept our troops to a minimum.]

[Y, you bastards!!! You were begging for my troops until just a moment ago!!!]

‘….What a mess.’

The rulers were fighting childishly.

I could only sigh.

My gaze turned to Leopoldus as a bonus.

‘Hey, it’s time to play your part as a hype man, according to the plan.’

Leopoldus. The ruler of Arkenia, who immediately told me about the Human Alliance’s proposal.

I had already finished talking with him behind the scenes.

Instead of antagonizing humanity, pretend to be on their side.

And when the Human Alliance was dragged to the summit, hype things up a bit – that’s what I asked him to do.

In other words, from Leo’s point of view, this was a staged WWE match.

There was no need to be afraid like them.

And that was indeed the case.

[——Silence!!!]

[…Hk!?]

[How can the rulers of a nation act in such a disgraceful manner!]

[No, are you crazy.]

[I am the one who wants to ask if you are crazy for making a fuss without even listening to what I have to say!!]

A rebuke that echoed through the office.

It was a refreshing reprimand.

Of course, it was different from their point of view, and their faces all turned pale…

[You guys sent the fewest troops, and now….]

“You said it well. Why are you fighting among yourselves? Is someone going to eat you?”

[……What?]

“I came to apologize, but this is troublesome.”

[A, an apology?]

Everyone’s expression changed at my words.

From ‘Is this human crazy?’ to ‘Is this dragon crazy?’

Even Queen Lykke III in front of me was the same.

“…An apology, you say? From Millenia?”

“Yes. The monsters we were using for experiments were ‘accidentally’ Teleportationed to your side.”

“An accident, you say.”

“Yes. That’s why I sent my vassals. I wanted to deal with it before you got scared.”

I explained kindly.

It was Millenia’s mistake that the Chaos Ogres were Teleportationed.

It was only natural to subjugate them.

Furthermore…

“But you guys sent a subjugation force first. Wow~ How did you find out so quickly? That the Chaos Ogres had appeared.”

“…That’s, well.”

“The reason you all gathered here, and the reason you dispatched troops so quickly, is all because of this, isn’t it? Isn’t that right?”

I subtly changed their purpose.

From subjugating the dragon to subjugating the Chaos Ogres.

I couldn’t coexist with those who tried to assassinate me, so it couldn’t be helped.

‘It’s easy to say, but….’

[Let’s pretend we don’t know!? That’s ridiculous, Master!!]

[Let’s just kill all the inferior species this time~?]

[Just give the order. I will turn their land into a barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass grows.]

[I can start synthesizing sarin, which you forbade, right away. The humans won’t even know why they’re dying.]

‘Everyone was strongly opposed.’

It was a brilliant move in its own way, but everyone complained.

They said that we had to wage a real war.

They even mentioned sarin, a weapon of mass destruction that I had only informed them about and forbidden them from

producing, so that was the end of the story.

[I understand, but be patient. Let’s give them a chance.]

[Even if our lord is merciful, this is…!!]

[Don’t you remember when you were insignificant creatures? Back then, you tried to run away at every chance, watching your every move?]

[T, that’s… That’s because we were stupid and didn’t recognize our lord’s grace….]

[I’m not trying to blame you. It’s because you didn’t know. How could you know if I didn’t tell you?]

[……………..]

[Humans don’t know either, so let’s kindly tell them. Let’s tell them that they shouldn’t do that.]

But I persuaded them.

I even brought up things that happened more than 20 years ago, forcibly.

It was my effort for coexistence in its own way.

The fruits of my efforts were sweet.

“…Failures are bound to happen in magic research. I have no intention of blaming Millenia’s ‘mistake’.”

[T, that’s right!! How can rulers bicker over such trivial matters!!!]

[Seriously, you surprised me, Teonar-.]

[Rather, we are grateful. There was no damage, and thanks to you, we had a good show.]

The rulers nodded like dogs.

Some even held their hands tightly, as if thanking me for my mercy.

It was clear that even they, medieval people, finally understood how much we had endured.

‘I’ve done this much, so they won’t draw their swords again, right? I should be fine for about 30 years.’

There will be no worries about war for the 30 years they rule.

It was a brief peace won through a show of force.

’30 years is enough. For our culture to spread to them.’

“Krang. Thanks for understanding, everyone.”

My tail wagged on its own.

Queen Lykke’s gaze followed the movement.

“We are the ones who are grateful….”

“But, it would be a shame to end it here, right? Even if it was a mistake, it must have made your hearts flutter quite a bit.”

“……No, not at all.”

“Don’t say that. Since we did something wrong, we have to give you compensation.”

And I…

-I talked about the real purpose of the summit.

“I’ll start trading with you from today. Not just Arkenia, but all of you.”

Millenia’s opening of its borders.

An essential event for us to spread throughout the continent.

As if they understood the meaning of my words, the sound of gasps echoed.

“Trade, you say….”

“….”

“Millenia is in the center of the continent, right? Since we’re blocking the way, how difficult must trade have been all this time.”

“That’s, well.”

“We’ll handle not only our goods, but also the trade goods of other countries. We’ll also lay down railroads for free. How about it? Isn’t it good?”

My tail was wagging so much that it was spinning.

It was because I knew very well what benefits this would bring to Millenia.

‘Millenia is the center of the continent, adjacent to four countries. It can become a trade center surpassing Normare.’

‘Everyone will entrust us with trade brokerage. Unlike existing trade, we can transport goods cheaply and quickly.’

‘This alone is an astronomical profit.’

Now that the risk of invasion has temporarily disappeared, there was no reason not to fully open trade.

Especially since they will no longer mistreat other races.

The advantages of this are, well, it’s not worth mentioning.

All roads lead to Rome.

It was clear that it would be comparable to the status of ancient Rome, which even had such a saying.

‘We will break down the barrier of exclusion, which is the biggest obstacle for us.’

‘Taking advantage of the gap that they cannot block, we will fix the racial discrimination that is rampant on the continent.’

‘I’ll make racial discrimination as taboo as the N-Word in the future.’

It was also a very good thing for me personally.

After all, the reason they were trying to subjugate me was because of their hatred of other races.

I had seized the opportunity to eradicate the root cause.

I couldn’t help but feel good.

“This is a matter that needs to be discussed with the officials before a decision can be made. If you could give us a little time….”

[L, Lykke is absolutely right!! We are grateful for your generous offer, but how can we decide on such an important matter alone!]

[Please wait a little, okay? I’m asking you so cutely!]

Of course, the rulers guessed the repercussions this would bring.

They expressed reluctance to my proposal, but…

“That’s unexpected~ You sent the subjugation force so quickly, but this decision is surprisingly slow? I might ‘have to see you in a new light’.”

“…Come to think of it, there’s no reason not to accept it. It’s only beneficial to us.”

[I will order my vassals to prepare for trade right away.]

[S, Selicia also agrees~!]

Everyone immediately changed their stance.

It seemed they realized that they were the ‘eul’ (subordinate), and I, holding the meteor, was the super gap’ (superior).

I couldn’t help but smile.

[Teo’s will has been done. Congratulations.]

‘Thank you, Mother. It’s all thanks to you.’

[Lea is not Teo’s biological parent……]

Thus, the six-nation summit ended with Millenia gaining huge profits…

“——Teonar. I would like to ask you just one last thing.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“The ‘one with two souls’ mentioned in the prophecy. Is that you?”

“…Tell me more about it.”

‘What are you talking about?’

I was about to finish and leave.

But I heard something that bothered me.