Dragon-san Wants a Friend Chapter 168

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

Volume 5 Chapter 18: Dragon-san Lists the Possibilities

With this, the first ever multi-national conference of this world was finally switching to its main subject.

「First of all, we need a way to stop the 'Eclipse' from spreading any further.」

As I said that, Nectar came forward and held his hand over the map.

Then he started to point his finger at the map, and gradually there were red marks popping all over the map's surface.

Then, in the middle of the wide area that was currently separating Western Continent from Towa, a bright blue light was lit and Nectar proceeded to explain.

「According to our research, the sources of the 'Eclipse' are the fog dragons distributed all over the world by the Gods. Although we do not know the exact number of the fog dragons, we can safely assume that they are steadily increasing. The lands that remains are being protected by Lava's influence so far, but at this rate it is going to last for a week at maximum.」

「I can't stress enough just how important it is to stop those dragons from producing any more fog.」

To Makoto's words, Nectar nodded his head.

「Therefore we must work together to neutralize those dragons, and separate them from their Gods for good. That should stop the fog from destroying the land and should buy us some time.」

Next, the map of the land disappeared and what appeared in its stead was the deformed model of the fog dragon we thought at Taisha.

We made it together with Kyle, who advocated that it would be easier for the people to understand what they were up against if they had a visual of the threat. But even though it was made using magic, for me it was more of a sci-fi turf.

「And that is exactly why……」

I made a small pause here to underline the importance of the next words.

「We know that these dragons are controlled by the Gods, but we also believe that it should be possible to drag them to our side via the Dragon Network. To do that, we shall bestow upon you the special magical guns with bullets infused with Lava's magic, which should sever the connection that dragons and the Gods share, reprogramming them to helping Lava.」

It was Nectar who suggested this solution, and Belga confirmed that it could be done, at least in theory.

「At the moment, we know of at least three dragons that are situated near the safe zones. If we manage to free those dragons, our chance of survival shall increase dramatically.」

As both King Ballow and King Hessat had difficult expressions on their faces, it was Makoto who raised her calm voice.

「Please, leave this task to me, the Shrine Maidens and the Guardians. Let us show the Gods the strength of our resolve by setting those dragons free.」

「However, there was an 'Eclipse' outbreak in Towa only a few days ago. Some of the Shrine Maidens must be left there in order to maintain the peace inside your own borders. But to honor your resolve, we shall leave one of the dragons to you.」

「So there are two more……」

As they gazed at Mikado-san, both King Ballow and King Hesat had their faces tainted with embarrassment.

「My group shall handle the other two.」

One group would be Belga and Kyle, accompanied with Elvie who begged me desperately to let him do this.

Yes, one of the dragons that was near Ballow was most probably Vass-senpai.

「He is my friend. And friends do help one another in the time of need.」

Personally, I thought it was a bad idea, but seeing how Elvie made up his mind, he would not probably take a "no" for an answer.

Then even Ligurila joined in, saying that the whole ordeal looked interesting.

「Shooting a gun like that sounds annoying as hell, but oh well, you can count me in!」

I was surprised to hear her declaration just like that, but she was the one I would gladly have on board for something as dangerous as this.

「With that being said, there's the problem of monsters being born from the excess magical power coming from the leylines and white youmas being born out of 'Eclipse'. We'll have to leave them to you.」

When I said that, Isha spoke up with a complicated expression on her face.

「Lavsama, we want to protect our homeland with everything we've got, but I'm afraid that's impossible. Without knowing the secret techniques of Towa, we won't be able to get rid of the white youmas. How else are we going to fight them without succumbing to 'Eclipse's' effect?」

That's right, approximately two days after Adversa's awakening, the white youmas began to pop up throughout the regions where previously no one even heard of them before.

Although their numbers were small for now, they were getting dangerously close to the villages and cities.

It was weird for them to only linger near human habitats, but for now he didn't know the cause of this change in their behavior. It would be foolish to act without understanding that first.

And while the protective barriers that the Guardians of Towa erected around the cities were enough to keep the white youmas in check, it was only a matter of time before they would strike.

So we were thinking of a suitable countermeasure for that.

「We have an alternative. It's the latest spell that we've managed to come up with. It will allow normal magic users to resist the 'Eclipse's' effect.」

In response to some of the voices that rang throughout the table, Nectar moved his hand and continued to adjust the image accordingly.

「We shall deploy the spell based upon Towa's secret techniques on a worldwide scale, so that no one shall be in danger of getting eradicated by 'Eclipse'. This spell is also going to work on humans and demons alike.」

Everyone present was looking at us with awe, and Ishsan lowered her head in a sign of gratitude and respect.

It was a good thing that the Elves were up in this with us. Without their advanced spell-weaving technology, this whole plan would have been doomed to failure.

Everyone wanted to hear more details about the plan, but then I put my hand on my chest as I calmed myself and proceeded forward.

「If we are going to succeed with this, we need all the hands we can get. We are especially looking forward to demons helping out with the procedure.」

「W, well, of course our kind is going to help. Now it is our war as well as yours.」

King Hesat also bowed down his head, and now he also looked as if he wanted to speak up his mind.

Whatever might have been on his mind, I was grateful for his spirit, however, I needed to cut to the chase with this matter, preferably without any opposition.

「We estimate that the effect of the spell will last for about a day or so. In the meantime, I shall take down Adversa and stop the 'Eclipse' from spreading.」

「In other words, it shall be a short but intense battle.」

Said King Ballow as his voice resonated throughout the room. Then, the representative of the dwarves also spoke up.

「So, could you present us with those magic guns and bullets you were talking about?」

「Yes, certainly, here are their schematics.」

Said Kyle while nodding his head and approaching the dwarf.

I heard that the dwarves are unmatched when it comes to handling metal and smithing techniques.

The catalyst for the spells inside of the guns and bullets would be my own scales, previously shed and divided into tiny pieces.

The guns themselves were also made out of metal with spells infused into them, and so the whole thing was nothing more than one big, complex spell that needed to be carried out.

In order to make it a reality, the cooperation of the dwarves was absolutely necessary.

Around Hibernia and in whole Ballow, there was only a bunch of people that would be able to handle something so delicate and intricate appropriately.

「Show them to me.」

Again, Nectar together with Belga were the ones responsible for creating the blueprints.

The dwarf gazed upon the blueprints and his face was covered in strange grimace and wrinkles before he finally said:

「Certainly, almost anyone can wield this thing, but because of how advanced it is, the production of the gun itself and but a single bullet would take almost more than a week.」

We wanted to make it possible for not only the first-rate magicians to be able to fire the gun, but the amount of skill in magic was crucial in whether or not you'd be able to hit your target.

Still, bullets were the most realistic design we could think of that would best serve our purpose.

「The end product should be a terrific thing to behold. You said you're the one who created it, elf-boy?」

Hearing the words of praise being directed at him, Iori nodded his head in a serious manner.

「It's only a prototype, but I can guarantee you that it will work.」

「…… Hmm, it might be problematic to get the spell's schematic just right, but realistically speaking I think we might be able to finish it within three day's time.」

Said the dwarf while mumbling to himself and stroking his thick beard.

Eh, does this really mean it can be done?

「So, Lava, was it? How should I say it? This weapon is supposed to be able to take down dragons. Is this really going to get rid of the 'Eclipse'?」

「Upon contact the bullet should dissipate and release the magic that will be held inside of it. That was it should be possible to hurt the beings that are born out of the 'Eclipse'.」

「In other words, we will need some kind of good magic conductor. Right. I shall procure some right away.」

「Thanks a lot for that…… Let me know if you need to talk about it some more.」

I quickly got up from my chair and followed the dwarf who was about to leave the place.

However, the dwarf only looked back at me with a funny expression on his face.

「I'm sure that most of this stuff will be too hard for poor old me to understand. I shall work it out once we get to the actual work.」

Then the dwarf looked over everyone present and turned towards Iori, directing towards him words that no one really expected to hear from him.

「I must say, he may be just a kid for now, but the kid's got potential. You said your name was Iori, right? I'm looking forward to see your growth as a craftsman.」

「R, right.」

Said Iori-kun while even the tips of his ears got bright red.

Iori loved tinkering with machines. It was because of this passion alone that he entered the Signos Academy and established a club there. And now, he was even able to meet one of the dwarves.

The dwarves are said to be master craftsmen when it comes to all sorts of mechanical devices and trinkets. Especially those whose destination was for war.

Looking at him now, I was so glad that Iori-kun's abilities allowed for his invention to be recognized by master craftsmen and laymen alike.

「Gustu. I will guide you to the workshop. Please wait a moment.」

「That would be great, Kyle. This meeting was so boring that I thought I could die!」

Gustuguss laughed dryly and then he left the room together with Iori and Kyle, and after that everyone else started to get up as well.

「I shall also head back, Black Dragon. I need tell my brethren that we shall work with humans to take care of the white youmas. After all, the fate of us all rests on successful defense.」

「Just remember that a contract is a must for you to not to die as a result of exposing yourself to 'Eclipse'.」

「I know that. And I shall do it soon, since believe me, I don't plan on dying anytime soon!」

Said Gustu on his way out in a frantic manner. Before anything else, he needed to pass on the news about the negotiations to his fellow demons.

He would also try to do his best to try to persuade the ones who refused to help us. His argument was that if the world was to end because of them and there would be no one else to form contracts with, they would be the ones at fault and history would remember them as nothing but fools.

And although he was giving some kind of mixed signals about that, it seems that he was also trying to establish some ties with the eastern demons as well.

It was also helpful to have Kyle to keep watch over him, making sure that the negotiations would run smoothly on their end.

Well, I do believe that most of his willingness to help was coming out of his trauma with Ligurila from the past, but the result was that he was helping us, so it was absolutely fine in my book.

It was thanks to him that the demons of the West would give us their help, even though they normally didn't even cooperate with one another.

「Thank you, Gus-chan! I'll be sure to show you my gratitude later!」

「That Gustu for you, you damn woman!」

When she saw him walking away, Aihansan waved her hand at Gustu in a cute manner.

With that, both the dwarven representative and Gustu were now gone.

「Well, it seems that they really like to throw words around…… those western demons.」

「Does that mean the gods in here are also like that?」

The other people must have thought the exact same thing, judging by their reactions.

But with that, probably everyone present understood what their role was. Above all else, they must have understood that they were all working towards the same goal here -- "to save the world".

We may have different approaches to it, but we are all heading towards one and the same goal.

It may sound strange, but I'm happy with that.

Then I was thinking like that, Nectar silently put his arm around me.

It may be a scene unique for right here, right this moment. In about hundred years from now or two hundred years no one might even remember about that. But what's important is that we're here right now, in this place.

「Let's do our best to protect it all, Lava.」

「Yup.」

With that in mind, I open my mouth again, trying to summarize everything we've managed to accomplish here.

「Right, so to sum up……」

There may have been some twists and turns on our way there, but the Multi-racial conference managed to end safely, and in three days' time all the preparation needed to save the world would be finished.

Chapter end