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HADIS was dozing off with a book in hand, sitting on a sunny terrace. His moment of peace was interrupted by Igor’s report: the Ark’s base had been destroyed.
“What did you just say?” Hadis asked.
“I have just confirmed that one of the Ark’s bases was destroyed,” Igor replied.
Destroyed… Hadis thought. It took a few moments for the word to sink in. Then he gazed back up at the sky. No doubt Jill was behind it. That’s her move… Is she really angry at me?
“You thought you wouldn’t get in trouble?” Rave replied. “You acted precisely because you hoped you’d get on her nerves.”
Rave wasn’t wrong, but as reality closed in on Hadis, he couldn’t help but feel dread. That was human instinct. I have to think of a way to defend myself pretty soon…
“The Ark members were tied up and left on the ground,” Igor said. “His Highness Risteard is investigating as we speak, but the Arks simply mentioned that demonic kids rained down from the sky. We might not get much information.”
“That’s just Jill…” Hadis said before he stopped himself. “Wait. Kids? Plural?”
The emperor sat up and blinked. Rave, inside Hadis’s body, and Raw, who had been snoozing away on the emperor’s lap for once, directed their sleepy eyes at the duke with surprise. They were saving their stamina for the battle to come. Speaking of which, that bird that was supposed to guard Raw’s gone. Did it go training on some steep cliff?
“That’s what the report says,” Igor replied. “The Dragon Consort is still missing.”
The Arks went back several generations, meaning that it wasn’t unusual to have child members. They were born and raised with the teachings of the Arks hammered into them, making them genuine members who truly had faith in their religion. When Rave and Kratos formed a pact to eradicate the Arks, the religion had grown smaller and weaker. Did it become difficult for the newer generations to follow? Did the younger members end up revolting?
“Has a new faction been created in the Arks?” Hadis wondered. “Any other news?”
“They did leave some graffiti of their name,” Igor said. “It could be some sort of code, but—”
“Your Majesty! Are you here?!” Camila called.
Things were getting rowdier by the second. Hadis was about to drink the remainder of his diluted juice—the ice had already melted—when he stopped at Camila’s voice. Igor scowled at the Knights of the Dragon Consort, who entered without providing even the courtesy of a knock, but the duke wasn’t going to discuss etiquette.
“Now what? What is it?” Hadis asked.
“We found the queen!” Camila shouted.
Igor was clearly surprised, and even Hadis couldn’t hide his shock.
“I brought her here and then handed her to Kratos,” Zeke said. “She’s not injured, but she’s not conscious either. I was told that she’s simply been drained of her magical energy, but we don’t know when she’ll wake up.”
“We shall ready a doctor immediately,” Igor said. “Dragon Emperor, may I?”
“After we receive Kratos’s agreement,” Hadis replied. “I wouldn’t want to receive complaints like poisoning and stuff. And where’s the Goddess—the Sacred Spear?”
“I don’t know,” Camila replied. “A weird group appeared in the city and left the queen. We only grabbed her. They called themselves the Gold Azure Dragon Wings, but does that ring a bell, Your Majesty?”
Hadis stared back blankly.
“You mean the Azure Gold,” Zeke corrected. “That’s what they said first.”
“The Azure Gold Dragon Wings?!” Igor cried suddenly as he approached Camila. “Did you catch any of them?!”
“S-Sauté showed up, and they all ended up fleeing,” Camila replied. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I received a report that the ones who destroyed one of the Arks’ bases called themselves such.”
“What?! Th-The ones who attacked us looked like kids to me. They were trained well, though.”
“Aren’t the Arks armed too?” Zeke wondered. “They got beat up by kids? What kind of stupid joke is this?”
Only now did Hadis’s mind begin to function. Kids that could destroy a base—I even mistook them for Jill at first… Gold and azure… Hadis’s eldest brother, who was adept at espionage, planned to become the principal of Radia’s military academy, set to open this fall. He would be a teacher for those kids.
The game fowl innocently tagged along behind Camila, and when Hadis cast it a glance, the bird used its splendid wings to give a bird version of a thumbs-up. Skillful fellow.
“I’ve never heard of such a group before,” Igor said. “I’m not sure if they’re called the Gold Azure or the Azure Gold, but…”
“They’re the Gold Azure,” Hadis corrected.
He almost burst out laughing—it was too easy to imagine the kids bickering about what to call their group. Since I’ll watch over them as the Dragon Emperor, I’ll have that as their public name. That’s how this world works. For a brief moment, Hadis had been involved with the kids when he came for Jill. The emperor had spent more time with the Gold Dragon students, and their eyes had sparkled with joy when he showed them the Heavenly Sword. Not once did they cast doubt on the Dragon God that they couldn’t see, and they all drew a picture of Rave, using their imagination to envision the deity.
“Any other information?” Hadis asked. “I’m all ears.”
“They said you were next, Your Majesty,” Camila replied awkwardly.
“A threat to His Majesty?” Igor wondered earnestly. “But then why would they return the queen? I don’t understand.”
Hadis felt bad for everyone’s serious demeanor, but he burst out laughing.
“Your Majesty, you know something, don’t you?” Camila accused.
“Nothing at all,” Hadis replied. “I’ve never heard of them before. All I know is…”
Clearly, Jill was using the kids to crush every single one of the Arks she could find. She must’ve been crushing the enemies in her path, her eyes gleaming. Hadis found himself enchanted by her when he imagined her whirling around to face him.
“You’re next,” she said.
“…That Jill’s absolutely livid with me,” Hadis finished. “Wh-What do I do?!”
“You didn’t have a plan there?!” Camila shouted.
“When the Dragon Consort returns, I demand an opportunity to defend myself and insist on Lehrsatz’s innocence on the matter!” Igor declared.
“D-Don’t worry,” Camila said. “I’m sure Jill will— Ugh, now I feel so anxious! I’m gonna throw up!”
“Someone fetch us a basin!” Zeke hastily yelled. “Drink some water! Here!”
As he rubbed Camila’s back, she slowly caught her breath. Then an idea hit her. “Hey, why don’t you get sick?” she said. “Maybe she’ll go easy on you then.”
“Yeah, go for it,” Zeke replied. “But only if you’ve got the resolve to eat Captain’s homemade nutrient regimen.”
“Nah, that’s not good. Let’s not do that plan,” Hadis decided almost immediately as he sat up.
What’s important to her is for me to be her cool emperor and exquisite cook. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just need to start preparing this instant. With that, Hadis got up and grabbed a pen.
“Prepare the ingredients that I’ll write down,” Hadis said. “I need to borrow the kitchen later. Where did I leave that apron…”
“That’s the order you’ll be giving us, Your Majesty?” Igor asked.
“Do you want Lehrsatz to be destroyed?”
“And whose fault is that?! Your Majesty, why did you even get an empress candidate? Speaking of which, where is the young lady?”
“She said that she wanted to see the dragons of the Lehrsatz Dragon Knights and went to the stables. But Raw said that she wasn’t there. I wonder where she went.”
All three made different expressions; Hadis was grateful to have such excellent subjects. The emperor set the pen down and handed the list of ingredients to Igor.
“Gather these all for me,” Hadis ordered. “And make sure to praise the Gold Azure Dragon Wings properly. Since they have no relation to me or the Dragon Consort, we can’t be so loud and public about it, but…”
Igor sighed with a grimace as he took the list. “A righteous group for the people, making them popular with the public. I understand how to use them now.”
Hadis felt it was a good experience for the kids to be used by a cunning adult. But perhaps the kids were utilizing the adults as they liked. I hope they’ve grown up to be that strong.
“Now, it’s a race against time,” Hadis said. “Will the panicking Arks try to do something, or can we crush them before that?”
Everyone turned solemn as they quickly scattered to fulfill their role.
“I shall tighten the security for the queen and our surroundings,” Igor said. “There’s a good chance that they might aim for the Kratos queen, who may have some sort of information. It would be rather troublesome if an incident occurred in my manor.”
“I’ll think of a plan with the Raccoon Boy,” Camila said.
“Hey, Your Majesty, I’ll be on standby outside your room,” Zeke said. “Call me if anything happens.”
“I’m headed for the kitchen,” Hadis said as he searched for his apron.
The other three turned pale.
“I’ll guard you so that no one will get in your way,” Zeke said.
“Good luck!” Camila said. “And good luck, Your Majesty! Jill’s stomach relies on you!”
“I shall have all the ingredients carried to the kitchen immediately,” Igor added. “I’ll ensure that this is prioritized before anything else.”
“Thank you! I’ll do my best!” Hadis cried.
“This is where everyone comes together?” Rave grumbled. He was as fussy as usual in Hadis’s body. “I guess whatever works… I wonder what Missy’s up to. I hope she’s doing well.”
Personally, I want the Arks to shave off Jill’s stamina as much as possible. That would make her hungrier. Hadis spotted his usual apron, put it on, and rolled his sleeves as he headed for the kitchen.