NOTE FROM TL: This is the start of the 5-part The Legend of the Dragon arc. Just to give you a summary of where in the main story this takes place, the war with Parpaldia had just ended and in the chapter before this one, the HME delegation was preparing to head to Japan to invite them to the 11-country conference. This doesn’t have any bearing on the main story (yet, probably) so this is skippable but it’s interesting and there’s some worldbuilding lore to be found here so, here you go.
Previous Chapter: The Sun from Another World Rises from the East (A Mob of Deer)
Roughly 3000km northeast of Japan lies a mountain range with a height of 1500m. That mountain range forms a ring, like that of a caldera, enclosing a sea within. Going 100km inside the enclosed sea from the ring of mountains is an island half the size of Honshu. On that island are 3 countries.
A kingdom called Caluamique A nation called Poushe A republic called SeuaiThe island has no coast since its circumference is made up of cliffs.
Having discovered the islands due to their satellites, the Japanese government has decided to form diplomatic relations with the countries on this island due to its proximity to Japan.
This story is about the diplomatic delegation that risked their lives by getting entangled in the affairs of Caluamique as they tried to form diplomatic relations with them.
・・・
Wysk Manor, capital Archul, Caluamique, outside the civilized areas
The House of Wysk, known for being a big help in establishing the kingdom, is one of the 3 primary ducal families in Caluamique. Inside their massive estate was a woman reading a book. The book’s name was The Heroes of Legend.
Enecy, who has just turned 20, was drawn to the book where varios legends of heroes were written.
“Enecy! It’s breakfast time!Hurry up and come down!”
Her mother called.
“Yeees.”
Thinking of reading it again after breakfast, she left the book on her bed and headed for the dining hall.
The usual breakfast has started.
“Hey, Enecy! Don’t just read books like a little child! Have you even found a boyfriend yet? You’re already 20, you know?”
Her mother hit her where it hurts.
“Dear, Enecy is still too young for a… a boyfriend!”
Enecy’s father, the duke, was protective of her daughter.
“Young?! If a woman can’t find a man at the prime of her life, then she won’t be able to find one for the rest of her life!”
Her mother continued.
“Hey, exactly 1 month from now is the Founding Festival, right? It’s Caluamique’s biggest event! Do you have a boy that you could go with?”
“No.”
Enecy quietly answered.
“Then find one at the festival!”
“Hah… I don’t know if I could be satisfied with that…”
“???”
“I knew it… I want something dramatic! The kind of meeting that will have my heart on the edge!”
“Stop saying theatrical nonsense! Get yourself back to reality!”
It has become a dinner where every family member gets to say their inner thoughts.
“Right.”
Duke Wysk cut into the chatter.
“Recently, there have been a lot of monsters gathering near the crater of Mt. Loode. It shouldn’t be a problem for us since it’s far from the capital but just to be sure, we mustn’t step foot outside the capital. That goes especially for you, Enecy!”
“Okaaay.”
Dinner wrapped up.
Enecy went back to her room and opened the book she had left on her bed. Detailed in the book were the various heroic events that had happened in the kingdom up to that point. What she liked the most was the prophecy of the prophet Todorork about the danger lurking in the kingdom written on the book’s last page.
Magical beasts from another world will appear and when they endanger the kingdom, a knight from another world in control of a soaring magical beast, in allegiance with the Sun, will emerge. In the crisis which was born since the founding of the kingdom, the otherworldly knight will lead the way to salvation.
Since the passage made no sense, it was generally dismissed as the word of a madman. However, Enecy believed in the passage.
“My destined one… is surely this brave knight…! The kingdom being in danger is worrying but my knight will still show up!”
Enecy closed the book with a subtle mischievous smile on her face.
・・・
Mt. Loode, 100km north of Archul, Caluamique
“We found another one!!! Loose!!!”
From a group of 30 knights, 10 loosed their arrows. They found their mark on a bipedal lizard brandishing a primitive spear, piercing its scales.
“Groaaaaaar!!!”
Letting out a hideous scream, the lizard began to charge towards the group of knights.
Then, a blunt sound.
Splattering blood, the lizard fell to the ground.
“Hahaha! Got ‘em!!!”
A young knight proudly declared.
“Nice one, Morisaw!”
The leader praised the young knight.
In light of the recent surge in attacks by magical beasts on the villages near Mt. Loode on the border, groups of knights come and go in shifts to suppress them. To allow them to respond to even a strong monster, 30 knights were deployed in said groups.
Leader Kousse examined the corpse of the monster they had felled. It was a monster known as a granman. With its short temper, it attacks anyone on sight.
“Their recent surge is anomalous… What the fuck is going on?”
Kousse got a headache from all the frequent attacks that they had to deal with.
・・・
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, Japan
As per the decision of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a delegation to establish diplomatic ties with the countries in the island enclosed by a ring of mountains 3000km northeast of the Japanese mainland. However, they were facing a dilemma.
“Just how the hell do you get into this country?”
The island was over half the size of Honshu but since it is enclosed within a ring of mountains, going by ship is out of the question. On the other hand, they can go in by helicopter but they simply cannot just appear out of nowhere and land on some street. Outside the walls of their cities grew tall, obstructing forests. Some of the taller mountains don’t have trees but then they’d have to walk a far distance after landing. Since the island has no coasts with the circumference of the island consisting entirely of cliffs, they also cannot make any beach landing. If it were SDF personnel, they could drop in via rope but there was no way a diplomat could pull it off. Clearing off forest area to make a landing site is also out of the question. They’ve inquired with the Ministry of Defense about whether they can carry the diplomats and tributes through helicopter but since the trees were tall, there’s a possibility that the ropes will get caught. SDF personnel can be dropped but they decided that doing the same with inexperienced diplomats is too dangerous.
“Just how…”
Out of ideas, the diplomat in charge of the expedition asks his colleagues for wisdom.
“Those burly SDF guys could do it but surely you can’t, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What if you get buff and train?”
“Huh?!”
“Haha, kidding. Hmm. A wyvern can do VTOL, right?”
“I heard that they generally need a runway… Anyway, it won’t be able to carry more than one.”
“Those things can carry two people, you know! Isn’t this world filled with dragon knights whose wyverns can carry more than one? In any case, since they’re living creatures, they can train to make do without a runway, right?”
“Well… No harm in checking that out.”
The diplomat started to look more into wyverns.
・・・
Jin Hark, Louria Kingdom, Rodenius continent
Due to the war with Japan, the Louria Kingdom lost much of its working men. The capital, Jin Hark, is trying to return to a sense of normality.
“Alright, I need your signature on this contract.”
“Okay.”
The contract was signed.
New infrastructure businesses oiled with money from major construction firms were able to pop up to develop land purchased by Japanese infrastructure companies and employ native Lourians for their operations. After going through a fierce war with Japan, the number of standing troops that the military could keep was reduced and wages were also deeply affected, producing a huge number of unemployed people. To support his beloved wife and daughter, star dragon knight Muller moved on to be employed under a foreign (Japanese) company. Pay in Japanese companies was good and due to the infrastructure business, it was estimated that the value of land would rise. Muller, ever so shrewd, also purchased some land for himself. He was filled with hopes of real estate value increasing. As a top class dragon knight in the military, Muller advocated for the usefulness of getting wyverns to have vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and researched ways to train them to do so. As a result, his partner wyvern possesses the capabilities to take off and land vertically, the only one in the world to be able to do so.
Another day has passed and they were able to purchase new land for operations. Since some of the populace in Jin Hark still feared Japan, no one was opposed to Japanese companies purchasing land at extremely profitable values, causing business to go extremely smoothly.
“That’s enough for today! Time to go home and play with my kid!”
Finishing his work for today, Muller was about to go home.
“Hey, Muller! Hold up!”
“What is it?”
“Actually… They want you to go on a business trip.”
“A business trip?”
“Yes. It’s a foreign excursion.”
“Hmm… What can I do as a Lourian?… I don’t think I could pull off something so big. If it were a Japanese, maybe they’d acknowledge them, so won’t it be better if it wasn’t me who’ll go?”
“Alright, I’ll take it from here.”
A middle-aged man cut into the conversation.
“Ah! Branch director!”
It was out of the question for an employed native to speak to someone on the level of branch director. Muller felt nervous as he faced a man whom he thought was far out of his reach.
“In a conversation with Yasuda (Muller’s direct supervisor) a while ago, I asked if you can have someone ride on your wyvern with you and take off and land in an area with dense forest. He replied that you can easily pull it off. Is that true or not?”
“It is.”
“Then I’ll lay it straight. This is a request coming directly from the government of Japan. They want you to carry a diplomat on your wyvern and fly to an unexplored country. As for us, if you succeed here, we would earn great favor with the government and reap great corporate rewards! All you have to do is carry a diplomat and fly him there. Since it’s an unexplored country, there will be SDF personnel as escorts, so the danger is near zero. Succeed in this, and I promise to quintuple (5x) your pay and an opportunity at lifetime employment! Doesn’t sound bad, right?”
“I won’t know if I can do it till I hear the rest. I can’t say without doubt until I’ve seen the details.”
A few days later, Lourian dragon knight Muller decided to take on the request of the Japanese government.
・・・
Esthirant, Parpaldia Empire
“What the hell is with this request?”
Looking at the so-called request, a cute name for an order, Kaios raised some questions.
“…I also don’t understand what their intentions are.”
To establish diplomatic ties with a country outside the civilized areas, they need to employ the usage of wyverns, so they want Parpaldia to lend them a dragon carrier and its crew for 1 month. In addition, the dragon carrier will have the necessary accommodations for 1 wyvern.
“Don’t they have dragon carriers that are far larger than the ones we have? And why only 1?”
“…I don’t know.”
Japan has considered transporting Muller’s wyvern using their helicopter carriers but since dealing with wyvern feed and feces was bothersome and smelly, many were opposed to the idea. There were also opinions regarding the safety issues of a fire-breathing creature being kept inside the ships and were worried about it being agitated and setting off fires. Due to these factors, they instead considered Parpaldia’s dragon carriers.
“As the empire, we can’t just send them 1 ship, right? Since Japan might also send some ships, this is a good opportunity. Have 5 gunboats and 3 supply ships escort the dragon carrier. Since imperial soldiers could get close and see the Japanese ships, it will be of use to us in the future.”
The Parpaldia Empire has taken on Japan’s request.
・・・
Around a month later, early morning, 3000km northeast of Japan
“This is too slow for me. This was part of the estimates but still… Just how many days did it take for us to get here???”
Sitting on the bridge of the 248m long Izumo helicopter destroyer, fleet commander Araki Shōjirō complained as he let out a sigh.
“It can’t be helped since we can’t just carry the wyvern ourselves. This is also the government’s request.”
His subordinate was looking at a fleet of sail ships which was a sight that could no longer be seen back on Earth. It seems that they were the latest model of ships among those that weren’t destroyed in the war and carried their pride for all to see. For the preliminary step in establishing diplomatic ties, Japan decided to send a delegation limited to making first contact due to the target country’s terrain. The diplomat will ride behind a dragon knight on the wyvern while the SDF escorts will drop in through helicopter, along with the tribute. The Izumo helicopter destroyer will transport the helicopters and will be escorted by 3 other escort ships. Finally, a dragon carrier from the Parpaldia Empire will transport the wyvern that will ferry the diplomat and will be escorted by 8 other ships.
The 12 ship fleet from Japan and Parpaldia have finally reached their destination.
Inside the Parpaldia dragon carrier, Muller was looking after his partner wyvern.
Kyun (TL Note: from this moment forward, I’ll designate this as the sound a wyvern makes)
The wyvern was being spoiled by Muller.
“Easy now.”
It didn’t seem to be in bad condition.
The imperial soldiers who were also on the carrier said some things behind their backs.
“Ah. It’s a barbarian wyvern! Way smaller than the lords.”
However, Muller ignored all of them.
“Looks like a good one. The rider and beast relationship you got is great.”
One of the imperial soldiers went and spoke to them.
“Yeah. While Louria doesn’t have any lords, this one is still my dearest partner.”
Muller replied as he petted the wyvern.
“I am yet to introduce myself! My name is Reckmeyer, dragon knight of the empire. I heard that this one can take off and land without a runway and can even carry an extra person. Is that true?”
“Yeah.”
“…That’s awesome! No wyvern lord in the empire can do that. If we could pull off a vertical takeoff and landing, it would make operations and ground combat much easier!”
“The wyverns living in Louria are smaller than the ones found in Philades so it’s definitely possible once you train them.”
“I see! If there’s a chance after this, let’s go to a tavern and talk more about those wyverns, yeah?”
“Hahaha alright alright.”
“If you come to the empire, I know a good place! I might even introduce you to some fine girls!”
“Nah, I have a wife that I love. I don’t need any more women.”
Muller enjoyed his first contact with a dragon rider from a superpower.
・・・
“D-Do I really have to ride on this?”
While looking at the wyvern readied on the deck of the dragon carrier, Kitamura from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cursing his horrible luck.
Am I really so sorry that I have to ride this creature I barely understand for more than 100km?????
“Orders are orders, right? Since you’re working for the sake of your country, it’s natural that you risk your life for the sake of it. Please come aboard.”
Muller gave the diplomat a pep talk to try to encourage him.
“Errr…”
Kitamura sat behind Muller.
Taking off, Muller’s wyvern and helicopters from Japan flew off towards Caluamique to establish diplomatic ties.
・・・
Within a forest, 10km west of Archul, Caluamique
Roughly 10km west of Archul, in a forest area cut off by a mountain from the capital, the diplomatic delegation disembarked. Since there was a mountain in between them and the capital, the view of their arrival was obstructed. A small hill also covered their approach from the north, blocking them from eyes on a mountain road. The delegation was a mishmash of a diplomat, 20 SDF soldiers, a dragon knight, and a wyvern.
“I’m sorry but you gotta stay here, bud. If you sense danger, you can fly off for a while but be sure to come back. Also, don’t you dare eat people, okay?”
Kyun kyun
Giving his wyvern instructions, he also left preserved food specifically for wyverns nearby. With the helicopter gone, they were readying themselves to head off for the capital when…
“Kyaaaa!!! Someone, help!!!”
The scream of a woman echoed throughout the forest.
“Monster!!! Monster!!! Noooo!!!”
“W-Where is she?! Where is the scream coming from?!”
The screaming seemed to be coming from the north but they weren’t able to pinpoint the woman in question due to the forest blocking their view.
“I’ll take a look!”
Muller climbed on to his partner wyvern.
“Hiyah!!!”
With a flap from its wings pushing the air beneath, the wyvern took off.
・・・
Wysk Manor, Caluamique
The sole daughter of Duke Wysk, Enecy, decided to do something against her parents’ directions.
The Founding Festival was coming up and as the daughter of a duke, she was to wear a dress, but she absolutely cannot leave out benon flowers. She already called out to the merchants in the city but they said that this year’s harvest was bad and whatever benon flowers they had left in the storehouses had already been bought up. However, Enecy remembered seeing a plethora of benon flowers growing alongside the mountain when she was younger.
It’s still daytime so I’ll be fine!
She prepared to go out.
“Monsters are dangerous so don’t go out of the capital!”
The words from her father passed through her mind but not minding the advice, she headed for a mountain outside the capital.
It was a sunny day. Looking up at the sky, the clouds were high up and the great, big blue unravelled in all directions. Enecy walked under the cover of the tall trees. There was a stream nearby making small splashing sounds. There were birds singing. It was a truly great feeling to be in the mountains. She thought that there should be benon flowers in bloom everywhere once she scaled this small hill.
Using her scarless hands, she scaled the hill.
Upon reaching the top, she saw a forested meadow of benon flowers, just as she remembered.
“Wow…”
Beautiful flowers all around. Taking interest in a particular flower among the bunch, she picked it out.
Snap!
Hearing a sound, she looked back, finding wild, double-edged eyelids bearing wild boars. These types of wild boars are much more tempered and take kindly to people so they’re generally friendly.
“Come on! Don’t scare me like that!”
Oink oink!
Almost immediately afterwards, a massive thing flew into Enecy’s sights.
“Eeeek!!!”
Enecy let out a shriek.
“W-w-wha…”
Right in front of Enecy was a black magical beast that was 3m long, had 6 feet, ripped muscles, and eyes slanted upwards. Jutting from its head were 12 horns. The figure of the 12-horned beast, which she had only heard of in books, was there right in front of her, eating a wild boar.
“T-That’s certainly a 12-horned beast…”
It’s extremely hostile against humans that even when it’s not hungry, it will attack on sight.
She remembers what she read about the monster.
“N-Nooooo!!!! Help!!!!!”
Feeling death right on her doorstep, she ran.
I’m still young!!! I… still don’t wanna die!!! I wanna get married and I wanna have a child!!! Am I really going to die here and now?!?!
Against a 12-horned beast, she had no choice but to run so run she did.
ROAAAR!!!
Letting out a roar, the beast gave chase.
It’s fast!!!!!
At this rate, the beast will catch up to her.
Help… Help… Somebody help me… My knight!!! What are you doing?! Your future bride is gonna die!!!
Various thoughts criss-cross through her head.
It was no use. The beast will catch her, she thought as she prepared to meet her doom. Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the sun.
Kyuuuuun!!!
A body-trembling roar came. Like a heavy blanket hitting a bed, the roar clasped against the ground and the trees.
“Wha???”
Its body was grey and its wings were jet black. All around it were scales that were as sharp as thorns. She remembers a creature which she had only seen in the book of legends.
No way… A dragon?! Oh!!!
Only now did she realize that…
“T-There’s a person riding it!!!”
The gods… The gods have finally sent me my knight!!!
It was the beginning of Enecy’s splendid misunderstanding.
NOTE FROM TL: This is the start of the 5-part The Legend of the Dragon arc. Just to give you a summary of where in the main story this takes place, the war with Parpaldia had just ended and in the chapter before this one, the HME delegation was preparing to head to Japan to invite them to the 11-country conference. This doesn’t have any bearing on the main story (yet, probably) so this is skippable but it’s interesting and there’s some worldbuilding lore to be found here so, here you go.
Previous Chapter: The Sun from Another World Rises from the East (A Mob of Deer)
Roughly 3000km northeast of Japan lies a mountain range with a height of 1500m. That mountain range forms a ring, like that of a caldera, enclosing a sea within. Going 100km inside the enclosed sea from the ring of mountains is an island half the size of Honshu. On that island are 3 countries.
A kingdom called Caluamique A nation called Poushe A republic called SeuaiThe island has no coast since its circumference is made up of cliffs.
Having discovered the islands due to their satellites, the Japanese government has decided to form diplomatic relations with the countries on this island due to its proximity to Japan.
This story is about the diplomatic delegation that risked their lives by getting entangled in the affairs of Caluamique as they tried to form diplomatic relations with them.
・・・
Wysk Manor, capital Archul, Caluamique, outside the civilized areas
The House of Wysk, known for being a big help in establishing the kingdom, is one of the 3 primary ducal families in Caluamique. Inside their massive estate was a woman reading a book. The book’s name was The Heroes of Legend.
Enecy, who has just turned 20, was drawn to the book where varios legends of heroes were written.
“Enecy! It’s breakfast time!Hurry up and come down!”
Her mother called.
“Yeees.”
Thinking of reading it again after breakfast, she left the book on her bed and headed for the dining hall.
The usual breakfast has started.
“Hey, Enecy! Don’t just read books like a little child! Have you even found a boyfriend yet? You’re already 20, you know?”
Her mother hit her where it hurts.
“Dear, Enecy is still too young for a… a boyfriend!”
Enecy’s father, the duke, was protective of her daughter.
“Young?! If a woman can’t find a man at the prime of her life, then she won’t be able to find one for the rest of her life!”
Her mother continued.
“Hey, exactly 1 month from now is the Founding Festival, right? It’s Caluamique’s biggest event! Do you have a boy that you could go with?”
“No.”
Enecy quietly answered.
“Then find one at the festival!”
“Hah… I don’t know if I could be satisfied with that…”
“???”
“I knew it… I want something dramatic! The kind of meeting that will have my heart on the edge!”
“Stop saying theatrical nonsense! Get yourself back to reality!”
It has become a dinner where every family member gets to say their inner thoughts.
“Right.”
Duke Wysk cut into the chatter.
“Recently, there have been a lot of monsters gathering near the crater of Mt. Loode. It shouldn’t be a problem for us since it’s far from the capital but just to be sure, we mustn’t step foot outside the capital. That goes especially for you, Enecy!”
“Okaaay.”
Dinner wrapped up.
Enecy went back to her room and opened the book she had left on her bed. Detailed in the book were the various heroic events that had happened in the kingdom up to that point. What she liked the most was the prophecy of the prophet Todorork about the danger lurking in the kingdom written on the book’s last page.
Magical beasts from another world will appear and when they endanger the kingdom, a knight from another world in control of a soaring magical beast, in allegiance with the Sun, will emerge. In the crisis which was born since the founding of the kingdom, the otherworldly knight will lead the way to salvation.
Since the passage made no sense, it was generally dismissed as the word of a madman. However, Enecy believed in the passage.
“My destined one… is surely this brave knight…! The kingdom being in danger is worrying but my knight will still show up!”
Enecy closed the book with a subtle mischievous smile on her face.
・・・
Mt. Loode, 100km north of Archul, Caluamique
“We found another one!!! Loose!!!”
From a group of 30 knights, 10 loosed their arrows. They found their mark on a bipedal lizard brandishing a primitive spear, piercing its scales.
“Groaaaaaar!!!”
Letting out a hideous scream, the lizard began to charge towards the group of knights.
Then, a blunt sound.
Splattering blood, the lizard fell to the ground.
“Hahaha! Got ‘em!!!”
A young knight proudly declared.
“Nice one, Morisaw!”
The leader praised the young knight.
In light of the recent surge in attacks by magical beasts on the villages near Mt. Loode on the border, groups of knights come and go in shifts to suppress them. To allow them to respond to even a strong monster, 30 knights were deployed in said groups.
Leader Kousse examined the corpse of the monster they had felled. It was a monster known as a granman. With its short temper, it attacks anyone on sight.
“Their recent surge is anomalous… What the fuck is going on?”
Kousse got a headache from all the frequent attacks that they had to deal with.
・・・
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, Japan
As per the decision of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a delegation to establish diplomatic ties with the countries in the island enclosed by a ring of mountains 3000km northeast of the Japanese mainland. However, they were facing a dilemma.
“Just how the hell do you get into this country?”
The island was over half the size of Honshu but since it is enclosed within a ring of mountains, going by ship is out of the question. On the other hand, they can go in by helicopter but they simply cannot just appear out of nowhere and land on some street. Outside the walls of their cities grew tall, obstructing forests. Some of the taller mountains don’t have trees but then they’d have to walk a far distance after landing. Since the island has no coasts with the circumference of the island consisting entirely of cliffs, they also cannot make any beach landing. If it were SDF personnel, they could drop in via rope but there was no way a diplomat could pull it off. Clearing off forest area to make a landing site is also out of the question. They’ve inquired with the Ministry of Defense about whether they can carry the diplomats and tributes through helicopter but since the trees were tall, there’s a possibility that the ropes will get caught. SDF personnel can be dropped but they decided that doing the same with inexperienced diplomats is too dangerous.
“Just how…”
Out of ideas, the diplomat in charge of the expedition asks his colleagues for wisdom.
“Those burly SDF guys could do it but surely you can’t, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What if you get buff and train?”
“Huh?!”
“Haha, kidding. Hmm. A wyvern can do VTOL, right?”
“I heard that they generally need a runway… Anyway, it won’t be able to carry more than one.”
“Those things can carry two people, you know! Isn’t this world filled with dragon knights whose wyverns can carry more than one? In any case, since they’re living creatures, they can train to make do without a runway, right?”
“Well… No harm in checking that out.”
The diplomat started to look more into wyverns.
・・・
Jin Hark, Louria Kingdom, Rodenius continent
Due to the war with Japan, the Louria Kingdom lost much of its working men. The capital, Jin Hark, is trying to return to a sense of normality.
“Alright, I need your signature on this contract.”
“Okay.”
The contract was signed.
New infrastructure businesses oiled with money from major construction firms were able to pop up to develop land purchased by Japanese infrastructure companies and employ native Lourians for their operations. After going through a fierce war with Japan, the number of standing troops that the military could keep was reduced and wages were also deeply affected, producing a huge number of unemployed people. To support his beloved wife and daughter, star dragon knight Muller moved on to be employed under a foreign (Japanese) company. Pay in Japanese companies was good and due to the infrastructure business, it was estimated that the value of land would rise. Muller, ever so shrewd, also purchased some land for himself. He was filled with hopes of real estate value increasing. As a top class dragon knight in the military, Muller advocated for the usefulness of getting wyverns to have vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and researched ways to train them to do so. As a result, his partner wyvern possesses the capabilities to take off and land vertically, the only one in the world to be able to do so.
Another day has passed and they were able to purchase new land for operations. Since some of the populace in Jin Hark still feared Japan, no one was opposed to Japanese companies purchasing land at extremely profitable values, causing business to go extremely smoothly.
“That’s enough for today! Time to go home and play with my kid!”
Finishing his work for today, Muller was about to go home.
“Hey, Muller! Hold up!”
“What is it?”
“Actually… They want you to go on a business trip.”
“A business trip?”
“Yes. It’s a foreign excursion.”
“Hmm… What can I do as a Lourian?… I don’t think I could pull off something so big. If it were a Japanese, maybe they’d acknowledge them, so won’t it be better if it wasn’t me who’ll go?”
“Alright, I’ll take it from here.”
A middle-aged man cut into the conversation.
“Ah! Branch director!”
It was out of the question for an employed native to speak to someone on the level of branch director. Muller felt nervous as he faced a man whom he thought was far out of his reach.
“In a conversation with Yasuda (Muller’s direct supervisor) a while ago, I asked if you can have someone ride on your wyvern with you and take off and land in an area with dense forest. He replied that you can easily pull it off. Is that true or not?”
“It is.”
“Then I’ll lay it straight. This is a request coming directly from the government of Japan. They want you to carry a diplomat on your wyvern and fly to an unexplored country. As for us, if you succeed here, we would earn great favor with the government and reap great corporate rewards! All you have to do is carry a diplomat and fly him there. Since it’s an unexplored country, there will be SDF personnel as escorts, so the danger is near zero. Succeed in this, and I promise to quintuple (5x) your pay and an opportunity at lifetime employment! Doesn’t sound bad, right?”
“I won’t know if I can do it till I hear the rest. I can’t say without doubt until I’ve seen the details.”
A few days later, Lourian dragon knight Muller decided to take on the request of the Japanese government.
・・・
Esthirant, Parpaldia Empire
“What the hell is with this request?”
Looking at the so-called request, a cute name for an order, Kaios raised some questions.
“…I also don’t understand what their intentions are.”
To establish diplomatic ties with a country outside the civilized areas, they need to employ the usage of wyverns, so they want Parpaldia to lend them a dragon carrier and its crew for 1 month. In addition, the dragon carrier will have the necessary accommodations for 1 wyvern.
“Don’t they have dragon carriers that are far larger than the ones we have? And why only 1?”
“…I don’t know.”
Japan has considered transporting Muller’s wyvern using their helicopter carriers but since dealing with wyvern feed and feces was bothersome and smelly, many were opposed to the idea. There were also opinions regarding the safety issues of a fire-breathing creature being kept inside the ships and were worried about it being agitated and setting off fires. Due to these factors, they instead considered Parpaldia’s dragon carriers.
“As the empire, we can’t just send them 1 ship, right? Since Japan might also send some ships, this is a good opportunity. Have 5 gunboats and 3 supply ships escort the dragon carrier. Since imperial soldiers could get close and see the Japanese ships, it will be of use to us in the future.”
The Parpaldia Empire has taken on Japan’s request.
・・・
Around a month later, early morning, 3000km northeast of Japan
“This is too slow for me. This was part of the estimates but still… Just how many days did it take for us to get here???”
Sitting on the bridge of the 248m long Izumo helicopter destroyer, fleet commander Araki Shōjirō complained as he let out a sigh.
“It can’t be helped since we can’t just carry the wyvern ourselves. This is also the government’s request.”
His subordinate was looking at a fleet of sail ships which was a sight that could no longer be seen back on Earth. It seems that they were the latest model of ships among those that weren’t destroyed in the war and carried their pride for all to see. For the preliminary step in establishing diplomatic ties, Japan decided to send a delegation limited to making first contact due to the target country’s terrain. The diplomat will ride behind a dragon knight on the wyvern while the SDF escorts will drop in through helicopter, along with the tribute. The Izumo helicopter destroyer will transport the helicopters and will be escorted by 3 other escort ships. Finally, a dragon carrier from the Parpaldia Empire will transport the wyvern that will ferry the diplomat and will be escorted by 8 other ships.
The 12 ship fleet from Japan and Parpaldia have finally reached their destination.
Inside the Parpaldia dragon carrier, Muller was looking after his partner wyvern.
Kyun (TL Note: from this moment forward, I’ll designate this as the sound a wyvern makes)
The wyvern was being spoiled by Muller.
“Easy now.”
It didn’t seem to be in bad condition.
The imperial soldiers who were also on the carrier said some things behind their backs.
“Ah. It’s a barbarian wyvern! Way smaller than the lords.”
However, Muller ignored all of them.
“Looks like a good one. The rider and beast relationship you got is great.”
One of the imperial soldiers went and spoke to them.
“Yeah. While Louria doesn’t have any lords, this one is still my dearest partner.”
Muller replied as he petted the wyvern.
“I am yet to introduce myself! My name is Reckmeyer, dragon knight of the empire. I heard that this one can take off and land without a runway and can even carry an extra person. Is that true?”
“Yeah.”
“…That’s awesome! No wyvern lord in the empire can do that. If we could pull off a vertical takeoff and landing, it would make operations and ground combat much easier!”
“The wyverns living in Louria are smaller than the ones found in Philades so it’s definitely possible once you train them.”
“I see! If there’s a chance after this, let’s go to a tavern and talk more about those wyverns, yeah?”
“Hahaha alright alright.”
“If you come to the empire, I know a good place! I might even introduce you to some fine girls!”
“Nah, I have a wife that I love. I don’t need any more women.”
Muller enjoyed his first contact with a dragon rider from a superpower.
・・・
“D-Do I really have to ride on this?”
While looking at the wyvern readied on the deck of the dragon carrier, Kitamura from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cursing his horrible luck.
Am I really so sorry that I have to ride this creature I barely understand for more than 100km?????
“Orders are orders, right? Since you’re working for the sake of your country, it’s natural that you risk your life for the sake of it. Please come aboard.”
Muller gave the diplomat a pep talk to try to encourage him.
“Errr…”
Kitamura sat behind Muller.
Taking off, Muller’s wyvern and helicopters from Japan flew off towards Caluamique to establish diplomatic ties.
・・・
Within a forest, 10km west of Archul, Caluamique
Roughly 10km west of Archul, in a forest area cut off by a mountain from the capital, the diplomatic delegation disembarked. Since there was a mountain in between them and the capital, the view of their arrival was obstructed. A small hill also covered their approach from the north, blocking them from eyes on a mountain road. The delegation was a mishmash of a diplomat, 20 SDF soldiers, a dragon knight, and a wyvern.
“I’m sorry but you gotta stay here, bud. If you sense danger, you can fly off for a while but be sure to come back. Also, don’t you dare eat people, okay?”
Kyun kyun
Giving his wyvern instructions, he also left preserved food specifically for wyverns nearby. With the helicopter gone, they were readying themselves to head off for the capital when…
“Kyaaaa!!! Someone, help!!!”
The scream of a woman echoed throughout the forest.
“Monster!!! Monster!!! Noooo!!!”
“W-Where is she?! Where is the scream coming from?!”
The screaming seemed to be coming from the north but they weren’t able to pinpoint the woman in question due to the forest blocking their view.
“I’ll take a look!”
Muller climbed on to his partner wyvern.
“Hiyah!!!”
With a flap from its wings pushing the air beneath, the wyvern took off.
・・・
Wysk Manor, Caluamique
The sole daughter of Duke Wysk, Enecy, decided to do something against her parents’ directions.
The Founding Festival was coming up and as the daughter of a duke, she was to wear a dress, but she absolutely cannot leave out benon flowers. She already called out to the merchants in the city but they said that this year’s harvest was bad and whatever benon flowers they had left in the storehouses had already been bought up. However, Enecy remembered seeing a plethora of benon flowers growing alongside the mountain when she was younger.
It’s still daytime so I’ll be fine!
She prepared to go out.
“Monsters are dangerous so don’t go out of the capital!”
The words from her father passed through her mind but not minding the advice, she headed for a mountain outside the capital.
It was a sunny day. Looking up at the sky, the clouds were high up and the great, big blue unravelled in all directions. Enecy walked under the cover of the tall trees. There was a stream nearby making small splashing sounds. There were birds singing. It was a truly great feeling to be in the mountains. She thought that there should be benon flowers in bloom everywhere once she scaled this small hill.
Using her scarless hands, she scaled the hill.
Upon reaching the top, she saw a forested meadow of benon flowers, just as she remembered.
“Wow…”
Beautiful flowers all around. Taking interest in a particular flower among the bunch, she picked it out.
Snap!
Hearing a sound, she looked back, finding wild, double-edged eyelids bearing wild boars. These types of wild boars are much more tempered and take kindly to people so they’re generally friendly.
“Come on! Don’t scare me like that!”
Oink oink!
Almost immediately afterwards, a massive thing flew into Enecy’s sights.
“Eeeek!!!”
Enecy let out a shriek.
“W-w-wha…”
Right in front of Enecy was a black magical beast that was 3m long, had 6 feet, ripped muscles, and eyes slanted upwards. Jutting from its head were 12 horns. The figure of the 12-horned beast, which she had only heard of in books, was there right in front of her, eating a wild boar.
“T-That’s certainly a 12-horned beast…”
It’s extremely hostile against humans that even when it’s not hungry, it will attack on sight.
She remembers what she read about the monster.
“N-Nooooo!!!! Help!!!!!”
Feeling death right on her doorstep, she ran.
I’m still young!!! I… still don’t wanna die!!! I wanna get married and I wanna have a child!!! Am I really going to die here and now?!?!
Against a 12-horned beast, she had no choice but to run so run she did.
ROAAAR!!!
Letting out a roar, the beast gave chase.
It’s fast!!!!!
At this rate, the beast will catch up to her.
Help… Help… Somebody help me… My knight!!! What are you doing?! Your future bride is gonna die!!!
Various thoughts criss-cross through her head.
It was no use. The beast will catch her, she thought as she prepared to meet her doom. Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the sun.
Kyuuuuun!!!
A body-trembling roar came. Like a heavy blanket hitting a bed, the roar clasped against the ground and the trees.
“Wha???”
Its body was grey and its wings were jet black. All around it were scales that were as sharp as thorns. She remembers a creature which she had only seen in the book of legends.
No way… A dragon?! Oh!!!
Only now did she realize that…
“T-There’s a person riding it!!!”
The gods… The gods have finally sent me my knight!!!
It was the beginning of Enecy’s splendid misunderstanding.
