After resupplying their food stores and repairing the fields, I inquired if there was any further assistance I could provide them with. Assuring me that I had already done more than enough, it was clear that Kaine did not want to bother me further with their issues. Much to her dismay, Myui interjected herself and said there was something else I could do to help them.
"After what my father went through with my sisters, he refused to involve me in the logistics and political aspects of our territory. I do not blame him for trying to shield me, but it has left me vulnerable now that he is gone. My inexperience and lack of knowledge will be a bigger threat to my people than the enemies you slayed were.", Myui admitted, "I…I want to be a beacon to my people in these dark times and become the leader they need me to be. Is there any wisdom or knowledge you can impart to me to achieve this?"
Smiling at her, I patted the young girl on the head and praised her for openly admitting this. Most nobles would never dare show weakness to others, only the few who truly cared for their people would willingly lay everything out so readily.
"Your openness and willingness to do what was necessary shows how good of an upbringing you had.", I praised her, "Your father was a great man."
"Thank you for your kind words.", she replied, smiling brightly.
"As for what I can offer you, I know two girls around your age who can help you navigate things.", I told her, "Give me just a moment, I will go fetch them."
—A Few Minutes Later—
Teleporting home to get Malty and Melty, I found the two of them playing cards in the kitchen. Quickly explaining the situation to them, both girls agreed to help me out. Setting their cards down, the two ran down to their rooms and got dressed in more formal attire. Bringing a few books back with them when they returned, I teleported the three of us back to where I left everyone.
"Sorry for the delay.", I said, pushing Malty and Melty forward, "These are Malty and Melty Melromarc, the First and Second Princesses of the Melromarc Kingdom. They have already been informed of your situation, and have agreed to help provide you with some guidance."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Countess Formal.", Melty stated, reaching her hand out to Myui.
"Likewise…Your Highness", Myui replied, giving her a firm handshake.
"If it is all the same to you, can we refer to each by our first names?", Melty inquired, with a friendly smile.
"Of course!", Myui answered, with a relieved expression, "Thank you for your assistance in advance. I may be inexperienced, but I am willing to do anything for my people!"
As Melty worked on gathering additional details from Myui, Malty stood beside her taking in the surroundings. Making mental notes of things, she stopped looking around when she noticed a few shadowy figures not far from our location.
"Friend or foe?", she whispered to me.
"They are Myui's servants and bodyguards, most of the servants in her home are assassins or fighters.", I explained, "Unless you threaten or harm Myui, they will leave you alone. Given the situation in the city, all of them are on high alert in case some disgruntled citizens attempt to attack her. Up until thirty minutes ago, the city was under siege from seven thousand deserters and brigands."
Nodding her head, Malty let it go and continued taking everything in. Once she was done observing everything, she turned to Melty and whispered her findings into her ear. Listening to everything she had to say, Melty nodded her head and thanked her for the information.
"Myui, we should probably return to your mansion and go over the books.", Melty remarked, looking at Kaine, "Could you lead us there, please?"
"Of course, Princess Melty.", Kaine agreed, "Will you three be joining us as well?"
"No, we are going to hunt down a Fire Dragon for my son. He has been wanting a Dragon for almost a year now.", I said, "Since they are a grave threat to humanity here, capturing one should not be an issue…right?"
"Of course not, by all means, please take more than one!", Kaine exclaimed.
"Haha, we will see.", I chuckled.
Seeing them off, I turned to Ciri and Ghislane to confirm if they were okay with our detour. Giving me a thumbs up, both of them were very excited to fight a Dragon. Having heard of their herculean strength and devastating magical power, they were ecstatic to encounter one for the first time.
"A word of warning, the Dragons of this world are nothing short of bloodthirsty, serial killers. They will not hesitate to turn the landscape into wasteland, do not get carried away.", I warned them.
"Easy enough, we just have to hold back a bit right?", Ghislane inquired, not understanding the dangers they posed to Ciri and her.
"Ghislane, have you ever fought a Dragon before?", Ciri asked.
"They are similar to the Mantite Hydra we fought before, right?", Ghislane remarked.
"Oh no!", Ciri said, shaking her head violently, "Dragons are far more cunning and intelligent than Hydras are, especially when the Hydra is a Labyrinth Guardian. My father, Geralt, told me that Dragons have human-level intelligence, maybe even greater than that depending on the Dragon."
"Add in their incredibly durable scales, their enormous mana pool, and potent ancient magic…many powerful Adventurers have met their end at the maw of a Dragon.", I remarked.
"We will see how tough they are when I see one in the flesh.", Ghislane stated, convinced we were downplaying her strength.
Realizing that words alone would not convince her, I shrugged and decided to let her see for herself how strong a Dragon was. Forming a Light Platform for us, we immediately headed toward the Dark Elf Territory to capture the hopefully still-sleeping Dragon.
—Schwarz Forest—
Using my skills to chart our course, I used my knowledge of this world to help guide us toward the dormant volcano where the Dragon slept. As we drew near our destination, Ciri noticed that the landscape beneath us was giving way to scorched earth. Closing my HUD, I leaned over the edge to see what she was talking about.
"Great…it looks like the Dragon is awake.", I sighed, "So much for quick and easy."
"Wait…a Dragon did all of this?!", Ghislane questioned, taken aback by the widespread damage.
"A Fire Dragon specifically, yes.", I answered, looking around for any signs of the Dragon. 'Without the JSDF here, I wonder where it will end up. They were the ones who managed to push it back here, without their intervention, a lot of people are going to die.'
Increasing our flight speed, I flew us over the volcano to see if anyone was home. Finding nothing but broken eggshells and remnants of those who came to slay the beast, it appeared that the beast had not been here for several days.
"Seems like we are a few days too late.", Ghislane remarked, agreeing with my assessment, "What now?"
"We ask the local Dark Elves about where it went. If we leave it unchecked, a lot of people will die needlessly.", I said, returning to the valley we had flown over a few minutes prior.
Descending into the valley, Ghislane began sniffing the air while I looked around for any signs of life. Detecting roughly thirty life signs in front of us, one of them loosed an arrow at Ghislane which I promptly caught before it reached her. Taken aback by the sudden appearance of the projectile, both of them were shocked that they had not detected it sooner. Reaching for their blades, I told them to stop as the Dark Elves were only acting out of self-preservation.
"That was an excellent shot, too bad you were not a bit more cautious.", I said, flinging the arrow back at the archer and burying it just a millimeter away from their face.
Falling flat on their rear end, the young Dark Elf boy let out a scream which prompted the others to emerge from their hiding spots. Realizing how many of them were present, Ghislane looked a bit upset that her nose had not detected them sooner.
"They are masters of stealth, it is to be expected.", I reassured Ghislane, "In a one-on-one fight, you would still hold the upper hand."
"Who are you?", one of the Elders called out, from within one of the caves.
"My name is Cole, I am hunting the Dragon that scorched this area. We just came from the volcano, which way did it go?", I replied.
"You expect us to believe two humans and a beastman are capable of fighting a Dragon?!", one of the archers spat.
"I am no mere human…", I said, dropping several bolts of lighting close to them.
Seizing control of their muscles, the Dark Elves collapsed to the ground allowing me to bind them with Earth Flow. Seeing their warriors subdued in an instant, the Elder who spoke a moment ago came out and asked for mercy.