Chapter 8:
Development & Personnel Acquisition
“AND THAT’S what happened.”
“Melty’s crazy scary.”
Bela was piloting the airboard while giving me a rundown on how the raids went after the failed assassination attempt on my life. We were en route to the construction site of the first pioneer village.
“Melty was just being Melty.”
“Ha ha ha… Well, that’s just how she is,” Shemel said with a wry smile.
Well, that was rare for her considering she usually looked so unphased. If she was shaken, then what she’d seen must have been bad. Grande was with us too, though she was sound asleep in the back, buried under a mountain of cushions. Dragons sure loved sleeping.
“You don’t seem all that bothered.”
“I know how terrifying Melty and the slime girls can be, but more than that, I know how loving they are too. If they ever turned that scary side of themselves on me, it’d be because I’d done something wrong. There’d be no point being afraid; I’d just accept my fate.”
“Huh. I feel like you could probably put up a decent fight though.”
“I probably could, but I honestly couldn’t say if I’d even try to resist unless it actually happened.”
I knew what Melty and the slimes were capable of and vice versa. If we ever went head-to-head, it’d probably be a one-sided defeat either way and the collateral damage would be catastrophic. I’d have to avoid them and render them incapable of fighting back.
“Mm, now that’s true love.”
“Is it?” Tozume asked, tilting her head.
This is where you’re supposed to agree, Tozume.
Unless I assassinated Sylphy and the entire royal family, I couldn’t imagine a world where Melty or the slimes would ever be angry enough to come after my life. And that was fine by me because I would never, ever do something like that, so I had no reason to fear any of them.
If it ever came down to a choice between killing Sylphy and the others or dying, I’d fight whatever force made that demand, even if it meant my own death.
Hell, if the world itself was doomed unless I killed Sylphy, I’d choose to destroy the world right beside her. My love was full-on heavyweight championship material.
“We’re almost there!”
“Aye!”
This time, I wasn’t building new pioneer villages near Merinesburg. Instead, the plan was to head out to the regional territories. After all, the main goal of this trip was recruitment. We’d already found most of the talent in the Merinesburg area, so I was using this whole pioneer village project as an excuse to scout people out in the territories.
Now our destinations were the western and northern regions of Merinard. I’d spent last winter and early spring up north, so that area was familiar ground, but I decided to start with the west, a region I hadn’t explored much. Besides, it had been a while since I’d last seen Madame Zamil, and I wanted to check in on her.
“Oooh, now that’s a nice city.”
“Yup. ’Bout as big as Arichburg, I’d say.”
Sprawled in front of us was Museburg, the biggest city in western Merinard, and the heart of trade with the Federation of Small Nations and the Dragonis Mountain Nation.