Mushoku Tensei – Old Dragon’s Tale
16. Angry Dragon God
The search for the killer has begun.
The big case for me always starts with finding the killer.
Even so, it's still the second time.
Now, a being who snuck into the dragon kingdom, wandered the eyes of the dragon tribe, went to the house of the dragon god, and tried to kill Lunaria, and hence your son.
You find it hard to find?
It's a lot easier than looking for one demon tribe somewhere in the dragon kingdom.
Anyway, this is a very limited situation.
Unlike when it was Crystal, it was a grand case of daylight, and it happened all over town.
Besides, I also have the power of the devil's eye.
There's no way I can't gather evidence.
The evidence was quickly gathered.
'Cause it was easy, and we got together.
Easier than I think the one who killed the most honorable man in the dragon kingdom, Master Lunaria.
As strange as it was that it left no trace at the scene, it was light.
It seemed somewhat hidden, but with a cover-up method so dodgy that the sooner it was found intentionally.
It was so unnecessary, such as the power of the devil's eye.
I wish I had a little doubt about that, too.
Unfortunately, when things are going well, people don't wonder.
I acted on the exact steps, so it worked, naturally.
Now that we've gathered evidence, we've narrowed down the suspects.
But by the time I narrowed it down, I was flabbergasted.
I re-examined the evidence and checked it again and again.
But the list of suspects, no matter how much they looked, never changed.
And a meeting took place where the intelligence gathering and suspect clearance were almost complete.
■
"Is this the suspect?"
We, the Five Dragons, gathered in the conference room where the Dragon God waited and presented the contents of each investigation.
Everyone in General Wu Long had the same suspect on the list.
Yes, everyone came to the same conclusion as I did.
That list had four names on it.
Pudria Dordea.
Nartakiel
Enupadon Ballard
Crisis calicis.
The first three are names I'm not used to hearing from you.
But in the name of the last one, I guess I somehow guessed?
Yes, they are inhabitants of another world.
And at the same time, it was the technicians I had spent years adjusting and inviting into the dragon world.
"They said they had gathered in a building and had a meeting more than a few days before Master Lunaria was killed. Also on the day we think Master Lunaria was murdered, we have witnessed a suspect travelling around town in suspicious behavior. What's more, take that day to the border, they're disappearing"
……
Shillard's description goes hand in hand with what I looked into.
But I wanted to deny it.
There is no way they would do that.
They came for the dragon kingdom.
I came for peace in the world......
But I didn't have one that could deny the "evidence" arranged there.
Isn't it proof that Crisis Calicis is close to Master Lunaria?
No, no, upside down.
I can also say that I approached Master Lunaria because I was about to make this case.
"What's the matter, LaPlath, you look pale"
To Shillard's words, my wings trembled.
If it was true that they had extended to the crime, it was not strange, above all, for me to be suspected myself.
I devised a plan to kill Master Lunaria, and that's why I invited them into this dragon kingdom.
And I didn't have one word to deny it.
Even if I didn't mean to, there's no substitute for me inviting them in.
To me in battle, Shillard said.
"LaPlath, I don't doubt you"
That was a reassuring word.
Looking around, the other five dragon generals looked at me with the same eyes as Shillard.
It's a reassuring gaze.
"You are more grateful to Master Lunaria than anyone else. Everyone also acknowledges their loyalty to the Dragon God. You can't possibly cause such a tragedy."
"... thank you"
At the same time I felt relieved and proud.
From this proud Five Dragons General, you will be treated as a companion without any doubt.
"Probably, but you've been used. The killer must have approached you knowing what you were doing and targeted the life of Master Lunaria with the intention of putting all the blame on you."
"But why did you take Master Lunaria?
Anyway, I wanted to know why.
Who, for what purpose, killed Master Lunaria?
Did you try to kill your son?
I wanted to know why.
"... it's just a guess, but I guess the rest of the world doesn't prefer the dragon kingdom to have any more power. In particular, the Dragon God entered into marriage with the divine daughter of the people and made children. You must have put this at risk."
"What do you think is dangerous about that?
"Don't you see? People are the weakest, but do not allow other worlds to follow in the rate of cultural development. And although our dragons are slow to develop their culture, they are the strongest species in the individual. If the ties between man and dragon become stronger, we can overwhelm the rest of the world and take the lead"
"Stupid! You think Dragon God is trying to tear the whole world up with people gods!?
"Even if someone thinks so, it's not weird."
Schillard's reasoning was not satisfactory to me.
At least, the gods I've seen, everyone only thought about their world.
There was a little bit of swordswallowing on the other gods because they could have been attacked by other worlds, but none of them were serious about fighting.
If we had done this, the wise gods would have known that we were not silent.
But that's why some parts of me were convinced.
It's good to have an equal world.
But once we have a clear inequality, things like this will not continue.
The one above may look down upon the one below and treat him like a slave.
If you hit your hand first to avoid it, you can't even be convinced.
"But if that's what it's all about, it's bad. Killing Master Lunaria means nothing!
"Well... then maybe Lunaria's murder was meant to kill your son the second time"
"And?
"Your son is the king of the Dragons and the people, of both sides… No, he is the next generation of God"
The title of Son of the Dragon God makes the Dragon tribe follow loyalty.
The title of Son of Lunaria compels the people to be faithful.
Under your son, there is a chance that the Dragons and the people will join hands.
I therefore tried to kill him.
But Master Lunaria showed more resistance than I expected...... I couldn't kill him.
Regardless, killing Master Lunaria would have been in perspective from the beginning.
Even if I kill your son, if I have a second child, it doesn't make sense.
"I don't care why"
It was the Dragon God that blocked the words of me and Shillard.
And he saw Shirad with his sitting eyes, after he had made his eyes clear to the list, and said,
"Shillard, what is this?"
"Huh?... Ha, is that a list of suspects?
"What did I command you to do?"
"Killer... ah"
Shillard understood his own lapse.
The Dragon God told me to look for him, not the suspect. The killer.
Which means we weren't able to accomplish our mission.
A regular dragon god wouldn't have pointed that out to that extent.
But the Dragon God was different then.
If I hadn't brought the killer in front of me right now, you'd have been exasperated to tear him apart.
"Sorry!
Shillard immediately gave his most salute.
I advanced to the Dragon God with a face that determined I was ready to die.
"We will now fly to each world, find the culprit, and drag him to this place!
"Wait."
Dragon God sent a sharp gaze at Shillard telling him to scream and fly out of the conference room.
Shirad was shaking.
The dragon god kept getting really angry.
There is no such thing as a man who can take his gaze directly from the front and stay calm.
Even if that's the analogy, General Wu Long.
"Shillard, you have a killer on this list, don't you?
"Ha! We think it's likely!
The Dragon God seemed to think of something.
Another reason why the killer killed Master Lunaria?
Or how to find the killer...
However, they didn't get an answer any time soon.
For a while, I was looking at the list with a frozen eye while putting together signs that would burn everything down.
It's like saying you can't forget the names on that list, even if you die.
"Mm."
Eventually, the Dragon God raised his face as if he had noticed something.
Did you find out something?
That's what I thought. We saw the face of the Dragon God.
But the dragon god's sharp gaze looked behind us.
"What can I do for you?
That's what Dragon God said, and I finally realized.
In the room, a man stood.
Signs so rare that I don't know if I'm there or not.
Only the space he was in seemed a little distorted.
It's like you're always standing in a blind spot.
"Is it so weird that I'm coming?
He was changing the vibe a little bit when we met before.
Somewhere, he seemed angry.
It would also be natural to be angry.
"Did you think I was murdered and you were gonna shut up?
Yes, his name is God of Man.
He was the one who hit Master Lunaria's father.
"You're gonna have a vendetta, aren't you? I want you to join me. Our people have no power, but wisdom."
……
"Please. Let me help you, too. Can't you?"
"... no, it helps"
"Can you show me the list?
When God said so, he took the list that was on the table without waiting for permission and looked at it.
Put your hands on your chin and pose like you think.
"Hmmm... it's still these four worlds..."
"Something on your mind?
That's what I overheard.
Then God turned to me, saying that he had listened well.
"Yeah, and you know these four worlds were in a state of mutual evil."
"Yes."
"But these four worlds have been strangely quiet from time to time"
"It's..."
"Yes, LaPlath, thanks to you... You have the courage to serve as a bridge between worlds, so we can make our way between worlds."
Praised, I stretched my chest naturally.
But the word that Man God continued to say was a denial of it.
"But because of that, the study of demons and metastases became known"
In the words, some of the five dragon generals shook their shoulders pickly.
I had no idea.
Every world studied demons and metastases.
I know that in itself.
I have also been given several tours of the study of the Demon Nation.
One way or another, the Demons had a lot of research into demons, and there wasn't much progress in studying metastases.
Most of all, the boom didn't make any difference.
As a by-product, some special magic had been developed.
But the truth is, at the time, I was ignorant about how far the dragon world's research was going.
To be honest, I thought the dragon kingdom was similar.
To the extent that I occasionally heard reports of "research results," it was as if I didn't know how much results had actually been achieved.
No, now that I think about it, I guess that report was somewhat covered up too......
Well, we'll talk about that in a little while.
I didn't know that around this time.
"They must have been surprised. I can't believe the Dragon Clan, who thought there was only power, was getting that much skill... Maybe they thought the Dragon Clan might be the mastermind of demons and transfers."
"What the hell are you talking about!?
No one answers my question.
But the Dragon God and the Five Dragons all looked horrible.
You look like you've got a satisfactory answer.
"Why, you killed Lunaria"
"Lunaria must have found out. that they" have learned ". And at the same time, they knew about it."
……
They found out about the secret.
Given our own fate afterwards, it would be possible to try to kill a known opponent.
At the time, I didn't know what they were talking about.
Exactly, though I had no doubt that the Dragon God and the Five Dragons could be masterminds of demons and metastases.
But I wasn't being blatant.
"I see. They stole a glimpse of our research and judged it to have caused demons, metastases, etc., and even killed Lunaria and tried to put my son in their hands."
The Dragon God said that quietly.
But the sound lowered the temperature on the spot.
It was a horrible word.
It seemed like Dragon God's wrath was leaking out of his mouth.
"... don't be ridiculous"
Finally, when the Dragon God said so, he stood up.
Then, teasing his shoulders, he headed for the exit.
"Which way?
"Going from the top"
Everyone could not understand the meaning of the word.
Me, too, Shillard.
Dora, Maxwell, and Chaos.
No one understood.
The dragon god's condition.
It was that dragon god who insisted on peace even when Crystal was murdered by demons and was out poorly at the conference.
Or even as we unleashed waves of anger, everyone thought we had an abyss idea about the later.
At that moment, if we had been able to bow down and stop the Dragon God, or maybe a slightly different future would have come.
But that's an impossible story.
For us, Five Dragons, the word and deed of the Dragon God are absolute.
You know what I mean by absolute?
Dragon God's words, his actions... it all means he's right.
Until then, it has always been.
The Dragon God never said anything wrong.
It's all for the future of the dragon kingdom, so I've been doing the right thing.
Therefore, it is not impossible to fail to notice the other faces of General Wu Long.
That's why I should have noticed.
I was the one who was closest to the Dragon God, but for the shortest time we were together.
Even dragon gods can lose their normal judgment through anger...