So this marks the first chapter of part 3 t.i.tled Various Strange Stories. Similar to the start of part 2 you"ll probably notice a major tonal shift again. It"s kind of funny really. The first part was over half the chapters, so part 2 feels like it went quick and part 3 is even shorter than that. Still, I hope you continue to enjoy things from now on as well.
Shota This was the newly prepared living/conference room created inside the renovated neighboring mansion. And inside it, there were four people who stood stunned with their mouths agape.
The Thieves" Guild guild master Baltis.
The Adventurer"s Guild guild master Theseus.
The Workshop Guild guild master Flint.
The Merchant Guild guild master Maria.
There were five girls standing before these four people, but they weren"t what had left the four guild masters so shocked. No, that feat belonged to the five guys hanging off the girls.
“How is it, my lovely style!” the Land Dragon Rchin was sitting on top off Ellis"s lap.
“My cute style is the strongest!” the Storm Dragon Su-chan was sticking to Reeve"s chest with only his head turned toward the masters.
“What! Can"t you talk now that you"e fallen in love with my pretty style!” the Frost Dragon Ah-nyan slipped his head out from underneath his body which was coiled around Katie"s neck.
“Perhaps, you have all fallen madly in love with my charming style!” the Phoenix Dragon Fe-rin came out from his spot underneath Frau"s hair just enough so that he could be seen over Frau"s shoulder.
“I am the former Metal Eater Pi-tan. I am debuting once again with this fancy style,” the Chaos Dragon Pi-tan carefully bowed from on top of Claire"s head.
“Ah. Ellis, a moment.”
“What is it Uncle Baltis?”
“Could you please explain this situation?”
“Even if you tell me to explain, I can only reply with what you see in front of you.”
“Right now, the residents only know about three dragons. Rchin, Su-chan, and Pi-tan.”
“Yes Theseus. Ah-nyan and Fe-rin are still a secret for now.”
The four guild masters had to think for a moment.
“By the way, do you five honorable dragons have any intentions on causing harm?”
Each of the dragons answered in their own way.
“I am Warren"s Guardian Dragon. I will allow no harm to come to the inhabitants here so long as you don"t make a move against Ellis.”
“I"ve also declared myself as a Guardian Dragon. I don"t plan on being hostile to any specific resident, but I"ll kill anyone who tries to touch Reeve.”
“I"m here to hara.s.s the Demon Lord and Hero. Anything else has nothing to do with me. Oh, unless somebody lays a hand on Katie.”
“I have a grudge against that Hero, but I won"t directly confront him. But, the enemies of Frau are my enemies as well.”
“I"ll just keep doing what I"ve been doing. Honestly, I don"t remember what my ability does, but I won"t forgive anyone who tries something against Claire.”
The guild masters all sighed. In short, there would be no problems so long as n.o.body tried to oppose Warren"s Jewelry Box. They doubted Skycastle would accept something like that though.
“Anyway, now that you"ve all been introduced to the Council, I"ll have to immediately report this to Duke Marsfield. Well, the capitol won"t try and confront the matters of the dragons directly, but we should prepare for some kind of investigation. Everyone, please be good.”
“Yes, leave it to us.”
At this point, it"s impossible to avoid Ellis"s and the other girls" names from sweeping across the continent. That"s why is was important to spread information leaving the connection between them and the dragons as arbitrary as possible. The top priority was hiding the girls" total fighting power.
The night"s meeting ended there. During the next gathered council meeting, the girls would introduce each of the dragons to keep fear from the city to a minimum. It would also be imperative to stress that it was the dragons" intentions to stay there. For example, if somebody were to come by and insist they become the Guardian Dragon of a different city, then those people need to believe that they need to convince the dragon rather than the girl.
After all the masters went home, it was decided between all the girls to keep the Ultimate Release as their own personal secret.
And a few days later. This was the temporary meeting spot for the Council. Baltis stepped forward and started the conversation.
“Everyone, thank you for you cooperation during the Pi-tan search the other day. What we have gathered you all here for today may surprise you, but I promise it"s nothing bad.”
As he talked, Ellis and the others stepped before the group. And for some reason, there were a group of men who looked exactly like them standing behind them? These five men soon took front stage.
Behind Ellis was a fearless looking boy with emerald green eyes and short blonde hair.
Behind Reeve was lanky man with blue eyes and a tied back hairstyle.
Behind Frau was a gentle-looking boy with red eyes and shoulder-length trimmed hair.
Behind Claire was a rustic boy with pitch black eyes and brushed up hair.
Behind Katie was a scowling young beastman with gray eyes and pure white fur covering his body.
Naturally the site quickly grew rowdy. Many female council members and some of the more manic males sighed at the brilliance of the boys in front of them.
There Baltis continued to speak.
“Everyone take a look at those standing behind the Jewelry Box. All of them, are dragons. You should all know the Land Dragon and the Storm Dragon, and you were there when Pi-tan himself transformed into a dragon. Right now, a total of five dragons have come to call our city their home. This is the truth. Before anything else, I want you all to understand this truth. Ellis, if you"d provide the introductions.”
Ellis took control of the scene after Baltis handed the floor over to her. She took a deep breath before finally starting to explain.
“Everyone, the people gathered behind us are each a dragon. You know that I have formed a contract with the Land Dragon Rchin, but the other four have signed contracts as well. They will never hurt the people of Warren, including you, and all they want is to stay in this city. Please be understanding. Also, they"ll spend most of their time inside the city while in their miniaturized forms, so don"t be afraid to talk to them.”
Then Ellis ordered each of the dragons to return to change their forms, and as they stripped themselves of their disguises, they did just that.
The Land Dragon reminiscent of a salamander dragon.
“I am Rchin, the contract dragon of Ellis.”
The Storm Dragon reminiscent of a winged dragon.
“I am Su-chan, the contract dragon of Reeve.”
The Phoenix Dragon reminiscent of a bird dragon.
“I am Fe-rin, the contract dragon of Frau.”
The Chaos Dragon reminiscent of an evil dragon.
“I am Pi-tan, and it seems I have become the contract dragon of Claire.”
The Frost Dragon reminiscent of a serpent dragon.
“I"m Ah-nyan, Katie"s contract dragon.”
Each dragon had transformed into their miniature sizes in front of the council. For them, this was their first time seeing the Phoenix and Frost dragons.
“Now then, this matter will be reported promptly to Duke Marsfield. We"ll wait for the eventual instructions from the capitol. Also, we will continue to follow the capitol"s decree and search for information on any new dragons and a woman qualified to form a contract with it even if we already have five of both with us right now. Everyone, everything"s going to be okay.”
There was nothing to be disagreed with in Maria"s remarks.
“The fact that we have five dragons here means we"ve become a threat not just to our neighboring cities, but to the kingdom as well. From now on, we have to take a more moderate approach in our relationship to the other cities more than we"ve ever done before. Our biggest fear is that our city will undergo a war of contrition and be starved out. We must avoid that at all costs no matter what. Thank you for listening.”
Silence festered after Maria stepped down. The other council members all knew what had to be done.
In this way, Trade City Warren became protected under the five dragons and left its name in history.
“This has become pretty big.”
“It can"t be helped Reeve. It was bound to turn out this way when we refused to allow Fe-rin to end up in the Hero"s hands.”
“Frau"s right. However, I never would"ve thought that Pi-tan would be the Chaos Dragon.”
“Nyat surprised me too Claire, but well, there"s nothing to do about it now nya.”
“Just as Katie says, there"s nothing for us to do until we find out how the royal family is going to act. Until Duke Marsfield shows up, let"s just live like we always have.”
Everyone agreed to Ellis"s words.
For the time being, the Dragon Maiden"s decided to think positively. With the truth out there, they shouldn"t have to tiptoe around for the time being.
“Let"s try some of the pickled food we got at the Pottery City for tonight"s dinner.”
Frau"s words acted like a switch, and each of the girls began thinking about their lives right now rather than the future.
That, can come later.