City of Magical Beasts

Our party now had a new member, who happened to be the mortal enemy of the Purple Dragon Asp—the Life Dragon Eli.

Leaving the previous battlefield, the entire area had been completely devastated with nothing left, and Asp's undead army had also vanished. The question now was where we would go—should we return to the kingdom where the heroes were recovering? Probably not; I would head somewhere else.

Along the way, Asp slept on my shoulder as usual, while Eli slept on Yui's shoulder after the exhausting battle. But one thing was clear: these two dragons absolutely did not get along. They bickered constantly over everything, starting from the moment they woke up until they were utterly exhausted. Although I couldn't understand what Asp was saying, Eli would occasionally translate for me.

Despite having two dragons, neither was willing to carry the other on its back. And if both flew, they would end up racing to see who was faster. Thus, the four of us had no choice but to walk out of this ruined battlefield.

The army that appeared earlier belonged to a large town near the border; perhaps I would head there, even though barely anyone from that army had returned alive.

“Hey Yui, what do you think of Eli?” I asked Yui as we walked with the two sleeping dragons on our shoulders.

“Eli is very strong and quite proud, but I think he also has a soft and cute side,” Yui replied.

“But I wonder, can any dragon shrink into such a tiny form?” I said, pointing at Eli and Asp.

Yui only smiled happily.

After some time, we finally made our way out of the land ravaged by the battle. From here on, the terrain was fairly flat, and I guessed there would be towns or villages nearby.

It was starting to get dark, so we would probably camp out tonight. It had been quite a while since we last slept outdoors. Yui would handle the cooking, while I would check our equipment and map out our next steps.

I sat on a rocky ledge, took out the scrap of paper left behind by Yui's father (the Elemental God) and pondered over every word. Where were the missing pieces, and what were they for? Should I even get involved in this? Countless questions arose that even I couldn't answer.

“Sechi! Come and have dinner,” Yui's voice called out to me from the campsite.

Ah, I had already found my answer long ago. Anyone who harmed Yui and my loved ones would die, with no exceptions—not even the supreme gods.

I walked into the campsite.

“Where are Asp and Eli, Yui?” I asked when I didn't see those “young” and “weak” dragons around.

“Ah, they challenged each other to see who could hunt a tastier monster. They flew into the forest to find prey, so let's eat first.”

With both dragons away, only Yui and I were left to have dinner together. This scene reminded me of the first time we met and dined outdoors.

A moment later, Asp and Eli returned in their baby dragon forms, carrying a few small but rather strange-looking monsters.

“Master, I brought back some strange monsters I caught!” Eli quickly ran over to show off his achievement.

Immediately, Asp rammed his head into Eli, sending them both rolling on the grass as they fought over who actually caught the prey. And so, they began bickering again.

Those monsters indeed looked strange; they were smaller than usual and seemed to have been crossbred, no longer resembling wild species. But whatever, I stored them in my inventory, stocking up on food for the two gluttonous dragons.

Late at night, the group went to sleep. Yui lay near me, while the two dragons slept far apart, each perched on a high rock to keep watch.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I felt something slipping into my embrace. I opened my eyes to find Yui snuggling into my arms, resting her head on my arm and hugging me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her as well, gently stroking her hair.

“It's so cold, isn't it, Sechi?” she smiled happily, her eyes still closed.

We slept in each other's arms until morning.

When I opened my eyes, Yui was still in my arms. I gently woke her up to prepare for a new day. Our next destination was the large town that had dispatched the military during Eli and Asp's battle.

Once preparations were complete, we all set off.

Along the way, I spotted a carriage, but it wasn't pulled by horses—it was drawn by a monster. This sight surprised me and made me curious about our destination.

Continuing forward, I saw a massive and modern city in the distance, enclosed by a colossal wall that was even larger than the kingdom's capital. There were many vehicles moving outside, and notably, countless monsters. The four of us approached curiously.

As we neared the city gate, a child in a carriage shouted, “Look, dragons!”

Everyone turned to look at us, then turned away. The mother in the carriage laughed and said to her child, “Those are just two flying lizards, dear. Dragons are extremely violent and would never follow humans.”

I gradually understood the situation as we entered the city. This was a city that allowed humans to use domesticated monsters, as long as they didn't harm others.

This city was far more advanced than any place I had visited, even possessing technologies that other cities hadn't even dreamed of. The mindset here was also much more open. It could practically be considered an independent nation with an extremely developed economy.

Strolling around the city, I saw not only monsters but also various other races like Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen... They appeared everywhere. There were many goods I had never seen in this world, which left the four of us quite surprised.

We looked for a large inn near the Guild for convenience. Since Eli and Asp weren't invisible, passersby stared, but they only thought they were lizards and said nothing. Perhaps it was the same everywhere: dragons were always feared as terrifying, intelligent, and fierce creatures.

We entered the inn to register for a week. The receptionist also looked at my two dragons but said nothing and proceeded with the check-in. Perhaps they were just unusual pets to her. A few people resting in the lobby also stared and pointed but didn't approach, likely because Yui, Eli, and Asp were too striking.

We got our room and went upstairs, ignoring the gazes behind us.

We had arrived at a new city with new rules. A city where different races lived together and the use of magical beasts was permitted. Truly an interesting city. Surely, other unique things would exist here as well.

The two of us stayed in our room until the afternoon, then went down to the streets for a walk and dropped by the Guild to gather more information.

***

Deep within the Demon Continent, inside a vast castle, the Demon King and his four close subordinates were gathering.

“As you know, the Demon Race will conquer this entire planet. Therefore, we will plan an all-out assault on the human continent and eliminate the heroes, including my sister, who is believed to be dead.”

Following the Demon King's words, all four subordinates bowed their heads in unison.