Chapter 73 - V8C3

Volume 8, Chapter 3: Return of the Explosive Dragon King Gouou

We arrived on the island on wyverns, where Bocchi was.

He was in what seemed like an old ruins within the forest.

I immediately spotted him and called out to him.

Needless to say, he was the Explosive Dragon King Gouou.

"Hey there, Bocchi King."

"I'm not Bocchi!"

As soon as I called out, he responded.

His enthusiasm is quite something.

"Hey..."

"Um..."

Princess Miyabi and Colonel Kunihito looked surprised.

"Wait! Wait! He's not the Explosive Dragon King Gouou!"

Princess Miyabi tugged at my sleeve in a hushed tone.

"Are you an idiot? Are you really an idiot?"

Colonel Kunihito was in high spirits as well.

"It's fine. He's already a comrade tied by the bonds of Bocchi," I said to Princess Miyabi and Colonel Kunihito, and we all laughed.

Apollito, Aoi, and Murasaki nodded in agreement.

"So, I'm not Bocchi!"

The Explosive Dragon King shouted as if flailing.

"Well, if it isn't Gouou."

The tree elder, Jurojin, spoke to Gouou.

"Isn't that the venerable Tree Elder Jurojin-sama?"

Gouou was surprised.

"Huh? -sama? -sama?"

Hearing Gouou's words, I looked at Tree Elder Jurojin and was surprised.

"You... Are you being disrespectful to Tree Elder Jurojin-sama as well?"

Gouou made a face of exasperation.

"Huh? Is that really -sama?"

I asked Gouou again.

"That person is a god."

Gouou answered with a look of exasperation.

"Huh? A god? Really a god?"

I said, looking intently at Tree Elder Jurojin.

"Well, if you put it in the terms of your former world, you might call him an immortal sage."

Tree Elder Jurojin said with a meaningful tone.

"No way, seriously?"

I shouted.

"It's true. You fool."

Gouou was angry.

"Then, instead of me, shouldn't Immortal Sage Tree Elder Jurojin take on the role of the savior?"

"Huh?"

Gouou and Tree Elder Jurojin both made strange noises in response.

"Why would that be?"

Tree Elder Jurojin looked puzzled.

"Well, I'm a merchant, after all."

I answered with a smile.

"You really lack motivation."

Tree Elder Jurojin sighed.

"Youngster, the fate you're born with is something you can't pass on to others."

Gouou said solemnly.

"Oh, so Bocchi King has a fate too?"

I answered, narrowing my eyes.

"I said I'm not Bocchi!"

Gouou shouted.

"Huh?"

I looked at Gouou with a strange expression.

"You, I'll really burn you to ashes!"

Gouou spread his wings and said.

"This one's really a problem. I wonder what to do."

Tree Elder Jurojin said.

"Maybe it's better to just kill and start over."

Gouou looked at me with a murderous intent.

"We don't have much time left."

Tree Elder Jurojin sighed.

"By the way, Bocchi King, what are you doing here? In a place like this?"

I asked with a question.

"I'm not Bocchi!"

The retort came immediately.

It's quite something.

"Were you, by any chance, Ryujo-san?"

Tree Elder Jurojin responded with a start.

"Yes. If has awakened, Ryujo-san should awaken too. That's why I came to check."

Gouou answered.

"Ryujo-san, is she the wife of who supports him?"

Mitsuki asked.

Huh?

Is that so?

Somehow, Aoi, Murasaki, and Princess Miyabi's eyes are kind of scary.

"Well, you know about that quite well. Yes, that's right. When Ryujo-san awakens, the Skyship Sora-fune, which operates the Holy Tree Armament Soldiers, will start moving."

Gouou informed us.

"The Skyship Sora-fune, that's a spaceship, right?"

Mitsuki said.

In their world, that seems to be the case. That's correct. During the , it's used to transport the Holy Tree Armament Soldiers and various monsters for battle."

This is the first I'm hearing of this.

Next to me, Tree Elder Jurojin looks rather reluctant.

"I wished he didn't have to know this."

Gouou and Mitsuki, alternately, look at Tree Elder Jurojin.

"Why is that?"

Gouou asked.

"I believe that if we fight with weapons against weapons, it will ultimately lead to endless slaughter, and that would make the a dreadful event. Even if we can't avoid it, I don't want it to end just in a slaughter."

Tree Elder Jurojin answered meaningfully.

"That's a difficult story."

Gouou had a complex expression.

"Hmm."

Tree Elder Jurojin also looked troubled.

"In the first place, is this guy."

Gouou pointed at me.

"Wow, that's incredibly convincing!"

Colonel Kunihito yelled beside me.

Everyone is nodding.

Leave me alone.

Then, suddenly, something grazed me, and the tree in front of me snapped.

"What...?"

I immediately lay flat, and everyone else did too.

"Oh, it's Patan again."

Colonel Kunihito muttered beside me.