The Empire’s Eight Seats
So much had changed.
No—if I was being precise, it was more accurate to say things were still in the middle of changing.
The first priority was to make sure Dialugia’s ownership was firmly transferred to our side.
That turned out to be less difficult than I’d expected. Castle Rock had already promised me compensation, and everywhere I looked people seemed to have the impression that the Blue Guild had been the biggest force behind this expedition. There were guilds and clans that felt cheated, of course, but a little extra monster carcass was enough to shut them up.
It was true that we’d defended our hometown together, but there was no reason to hand over Dialugia’s precious scales and hide to those bastards. A little selfish, maybe, but Dialugia was indisputably something we had earned.
Thinking in terms of “sharing” her was, honestly, weird.
The real problem was the damage Dialugia had done to Castle Rock.
The bereaved families had to be compensated properly, but that alone obviously wasn’t enough. I handled the matter by giving them sufficient personal compensation and, on top of that, arranging for Castle Rock itself to offer them public gratitude.
Of course, that didn’t mean the matter could truly be wrapped up, but at least I’d managed to close the book on it somehow.
There had been suspicions that Dialugia might have been the instigator behind the monster wave, but the heresy inquisitors sent by the Holy See had naturally brushed those doubts aside without hesitation.
This is why power is great.
On this issue, I made excellent use of my Honorary Bishop status, something I hadn’t really used to its full extent before.
I started by seeking assistance from Archbishop Juda, who had roots here in Castle Rock, and then appealed to the senior figures in the Holy See whom I’d been in contact with for some time. Bishop Jessica, Inquisitor Helena, Archbishop Andurin of the Holy See—and of course Cardinal Basel, who adored me beyond all reason. The result was the product of those constant petitions.
Since the secret auction house beneath Castle Rock had to remain in operation, I also had no choice but to bury the fact that Little Rock had kidnapped Toltol-i. In the end, Toltol-i was simply classified as another victim influenced by the monster wave.
That left us with no choice but to conclude that there had to be another cause besides Dialugia.
The heresy inquisitors and the Holy Knight Order ultimately declared that the source of the monster wave was an unidentified dungeon deep in the forest outside Castle Rock, and naturally, most humans who didn’t want to be branded heretics didn’t dare argue with the Holy See’s announcement.
In its own way, it was a fairly clean ending.
Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was the official relationship between Dialugia and me.
The one chosen by the dragon.
Officially, Dialugia was a pitiful dragon who’d been dragged into the city after falling under the control of an unknown dungeon, and in order to save herself she had no choice but to choose a human named Lee Kiyoung. It was a contrived, absurd setup, but I forced it through anyway.
It was the kind of thing that would only happen in a third-rate novel, but I didn’t think it was bad.
At the very least, it was less trash and more plausible than the story that she’d chosen the Dragon’s Spouse out of necessity to protect her own child.
Besides, if a hero could be chosen by a god, there was nothing weird about a dragon choosing someone either.
With a legendary-grade named monster practically rolling into the lap of the Holy Empire, it was only natural that the imperial faction would back me aggressively as well.
The imperial knights, who were always preaching self-reliance in national defense, were worried about the danger posed by dragons, but at the same time, they were quietly hoping that Dialugia would become a dragon that protected the empire.
“Dragons are valuable.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
“I….”
“Yes?”
“Th-thank you.”
“I’m not sure what exactly you’re thanking me for.”
“For… many things.”
“Don’t worry about it. Things worked out well partly because of you too.”
“Pardon?”
“Dragons are precious. Your own history is longer than the entire history of the Benigore Holy Empire, so from a human perspective, your existence is bound to feel extraordinary. You’ve lived for four thousand years, after all. Books dealing with dragons are all but lost, too. As much as I’d like to keep you close, the Holy Empire would have wanted to possess a complete dragon as well.”
“Ah….”
“Of course, my own power was helpful, but this outcome was created by a tangle of various interests working together. It’s an excellent result, so you really don’t need to thank me so much. Isn’t that right, Toltol-i?”
“Kieek! Huff huff!”
“Oh, our Toltol-i, come here.”
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
“Wanna play airplane with Papa?”
“Huff, huff! Kieek!”
“There we go! Our Toltol-i is so good! Good, good, good!”
“Kieek! Kieek! Kieek!”
Of course, it wasn’t just the broad background that had changed.
That little bastard… he’s way too cute.
Toltol-i, who I’d intended to handle casually, had turned out to be cuter than I’d ever imagined.
The sight of him bouncing up and down on the sofa all by himself in time with the clapping would look adorable to anyone. Those big eyes blinking, his tail and hips swaying back and forth.
Even his cry, which had been a little annoying before, now sounded cute to me.
He kept pressing himself against me and licking my face, which was occasionally irritating, but for the most part Toltol-i had wormed his way into my heart before I realized it.
And since his appearance was what it was, it felt less like raising a real child and more like keeping a pet—enough that I could almost understand why people on Earth became obsessed with dogs and cats.
“There we go! Come here, Toltol-i!”
“Huff huff!”
“Want a snack?”
“Kieek! Kieek! Kieek! Huff huff! Kieek!”
The way he reacted like a maniac to the words snack and walk, wagging his tail so hard it practically slapped the floor, made me want to scoop him up and hug him without even thinking.
“A snack? H-he already ate one earlier!”
“Kids are supposed to grow by eating. Isn’t that right, Toltol-i?”
“Kieek!”
“He gets snacks twice a day. That’s the rule.”
“He’s so happy, though. A little snack isn’t a big deal. Isn’t it better if he can store up nutrition?”
“He’s already getting more than enough nutrition. And candy isn’t exactly what I’d call good food. It’s an artificial product made by humans, and anyway, when a few years have passed he can eat all he wants. For now, it’s better to keep the amount reasonable.”
“You’re too strict, Mom, so that’s no fun.”
“Kieek!”
“Dialuria… m-Mom is saying this for your own good….”
“I’ll only feed him two a day starting tomorrow. For today, let him have one more, Toltol-i.”
“Kieek! Huff!”
The look on his face as I took a slightly larger round piece of candy from my arms was priceless; his eyes were already wide as saucers as he stared at me.
His pupils kept tracking the candy as I moved it back and forth in front of him.
He stayed still, but his tail was beating the floor furiously. The moment I slipped the candy into his mouth, he tore around the room in a frenzy, and somehow that was even cuter.
“Kieek! Huff, huff! Huff!”
“Oh my, our Toltol-i is excited?”
“Huff huff huff! Huff! Kieek!”
“Good boy! Good, good, good!”
Clapping my hands again made him bounce on the sofa once more, as expected.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I gave him treats just so I could see that reaction. He was so happy he was practically drooling at the mouth, and even Dialugia, who had been insisting he should only have three pieces, began to let a smile tug at her lips.
She still seemed to be wary of me, but at the very least, she apparently believed it wasn’t a lie that I genuinely liked Toltol-i.
And that was only natural.
I didn’t even need to try too hard to act like a good father—I was showing her the kind of family she’d always idealized.
This little thing is just too cute.
I’d caught myself wondering whether I was spoiling him too much, so there was no question how she felt. Lately, she’d often just smile quietly while watching Toltol-i and me.
“Toltol-i stood up!”
“Oh my. Dialuria.”
The little guy, who had been crawling on all fours, was now standing firmly on two feet. This brat showed me something new every day.
Grow up big and strong and take care of Papa in my old age, okay, Toltol-i?
It wasn’t as if that thought never crossed my mind, but in any case, the fact remained that Toltol-i was undeniably adorable.
The other members of Blue also adored him, so it wasn’t as if I was the only one feeling this way.
Of course, not every party member found him adorable.
The person whose hostility was clearly directed at Dialugia and Dialuria was obvious enough.
“O-oh… Oppa.”
It was Jung Hayan, coming through the door.
“Ah. Hayan, you’re here? You worked hard today too.”
“N-no. It wasn’t anything much. I was just watching over the people doing the work… and we’re almost done sorting the monster carcasses now.”
“I see.”
“More importantly, are you feeling better?”
“Yes, of course. I’m healthy now. I just passed out from mana exhaustion, and there weren’t any serious injuries.”
“What about the others?”
“I think they’ll all be gathering in a little while. Hyunsung asked everyone to have dinner together as a party for the first time in a while….”
“I see.”
“You can make it today, right?”
“Of course.”
“Th-that’s a relief….”
It was obvious what was causing this: she thought Dialugia and Toltol-i had stolen me away from her.
After seeing me wake up, there hadn’t been time for her to cry or throw a fit—she’d had to start working immediately to bring Dialugia over to our side. Right now we had a little breathing room, so we could occasionally spend time together, but until just a few days ago we’d been so busy I could barely sleep.
Given the nature of the work, I’d still been spending time with Toltol-i and Dialugia in the middle of it all, so it wouldn’t have been strange for Jung Hayan to feel as though she’d been robbed of me.
Dialugia might be a monster, but even in human form she was strikingly beautiful, and Hayan had surely seen plenty of me holding Toltol-i in my arms, despite my best efforts to be careful.
She didn’t say it, but…
She might have felt like she was looking at a happy family.
The decisive blow was when I announced that Dialugia and I shared life.
For reasons I didn’t understand, she seemed to feel an enormous sense of loss. She stayed shut in her room all day and never came out, and when I went to see her, she even refused to open the door once.
She seemed to be studying magic, but no results had appeared. No—it was just that the results hadn’t appeared yet.
If Jung Hayan were studying magic, then the spell she’d probably be working on would be one that linked her life to mine.
In theory it might have been impossible, but maybe…
Maybe she could’ve finished it.
Maybe she could have finished something even worse.
Her talent for magic had always been monstrous, and she’d grown enormously through this wave, after all.
Jung Hayan was someone who needed to be managed almost as much as Toltol-i, so I figured I had no choice but to pay her a little more attention.
If I’d bluntly announced that I’d become the Dragon’s Spouse, controlling Jung Hayan would have become quite a bit harder.
Even now, just from the way she was talking to me as if she didn’t notice Dialugia and Toltol-i at all, that much was obvious.
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Hayan slipped her arm through mine and pressed her body close.
“Let’s go together now!”
For some reason, it felt like I had to be careful of Dialugia and Toltol-i’s reactions.
I wasn’t confident enough to cheat on someone so blatantly, so I supposed there was nothing to be done about that part.
“Then I’ll be going now, Dialugia.”
“…….”
“And Dialuria, stay quiet.”
“Kieek! Huff huff!”
“P-please hurry up, Oppa. Everyone will be waiting.”
Just like the anxious Jung Hayan staring at me, Toltol-i’s eyes were trembling too.
It was a pity, but this was probably the moment to ignore his feelings.
“Kieek! Kieek!”
“Hurry up, Oppa!”
After I closed the door and stepped out, she finally let out a shaky breath, like she was only just relaxing.
The instinctive sense that she had noticed something made me strangely uneasy. It was only natural that I needed to divert her attention.
As soon as I opened my mouth, her lively voice returned.
“By the way, is there a special reason Hyunsung asked everyone to gather today?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm?”
“Ah, so Oppa hasn’t heard yet… I guess not.”
“No. Was there some new development?”
“I’m not sure of all the details either, but… I heard there’s talk that the Holy Empire is going to choose its Empire’s Eight Seats this time.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a lot of talk that even two people from the Blue Guild might make the cut.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
The news was so sudden that I couldn’t help being a little taken aback.