Chapter 26

### Night.

I had been practicing the magic key until the sun set, and Hestia had stayed with me the whole time.

However, as the darkness of night began to fill the air, I started to worry.

"It's getting dark, Hestia. Do you need to go home?"

"Hmm, this is the last one. I'll go now."

Oh, that's a relief.

I couldn't bear to send a young girl home alone in the middle of the night.

I stopped practicing and took a bite of an apple. This should last me until dinner.

"Do you want an apple, Hestia?"

"No, I don't need one today."

She usually eats about two apples, so her stomach must be full.

"Well, I'll be going then."

Hestia stood up and turned her back to me.

"Alright, see you later."

"Uh-huh. ...Goodbye (......)"

And with that, she disappeared into the depths of the forest.

### ●●●

There is a valley where water containing a large amount of magic flows.

This place, nestled between two steep cliffs, is not meant for human feet.

Only dragons live there, which is why it is called the Valley of Dragons.

Hestia was standing at a spot where she could overlook the entire valley.

Beside her sat a two-meter-long dragon with iridescent scales.

"King of Dragons."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"I can't hold them back much longer. It's only a matter of time before the foolish dragons start flying out."

"I can see that."

Hestia was watching the flying dragons in the valley.

About half of them were agitated, breathing heavily.

Their words reached her ears.

"Is it time yet? Can we go now!?"

"Just a little longer! The King of Dragons will soon be ready for battle. Then we can go!"

"Ugh... I want to fight, I want to fight!"

They are quite belligerent, but that's just their nature.

Dragons are creatures of the survival of the fittest, and they will absolutely obey the one who defeats them... but they can't stand the idea of someone who hasn't won acting superior.

They must be eager to fight that man from the Dragon Vein House.

Hestia understands this.

"I've already told him. It was fun, but it's over."

"I see... So when is the operation?"

"Tomorrow morning. We'll start the battle at sunrise. Everyone, prepare and wait."

"Understood!"

The Extreme Dragon flew to the center of the Valley of Dragons.

"Listen! The battle of the White Flame Dragon King, Hestia Raudna, is tomorrow morning! Everyone, prepare and wait!"

He spread her words.

The dragons, after a brief moment, erupted in a loud commotion.

"Finally, it's here—!!"

"Our opponent is just a small human—!"

"Right! We're bigger! So we're stronger!!"

"Alright, tomorrow we'll all go watch the King of Dragons' battle!!"

"**YEAH!!**"

Hestia sighed at the voices coming from below.

"Sometimes, I wonder why I'm in charge of these fools."

"Yes, they are quite... short-sighted."

The Extreme Dragon, who had returned to her side, bowed his head.

This Extreme Dragon has lived for a few decades.

In other words, it takes that much life experience, or rather, dragon experience, to think things through. Dragons are quite troublesome.

"Well, it's fine. I am the King of Dragons, and I said I would lead this group. So, I will help this group."

"I am honored, King of Dragons, for your diligent and warm heart."

This will probably be my last job as the Dragon King.

Dragons are creatures of the survival of the fittest.

If I win, they will continue to live under me as they have.

If I lose spectacularly, they will submit to him.

Either way is fine.

"King of Dragons, let's prepare."

"Hmm."

Hestia took off her clothes.

Under the white dress, her skin was pure white.

Her body, reflecting the moonlight, was beautiful.

"Hmm...!!"

Hestia focused her strength.

She filled her body with magic and transformed it.

Into something whiter and larger, more dragon-like.

"I need to fill my body with magic before the operation."

"Understood, King of Dragons."

And she began to change.

"I couldn't use my full power before. I'm a little excited to use it now."

She smiled faintly, her face now that of a dragon, as she returned to her true form.

### ●●●

That day, I woke up in the morning.

"Hmm, it's been a while since I woke up this early."

Thanks to the magic key technique I learned from Hestia, I didn't feel as drained.

From now on, I'll use the magic key when I want to wake up early.

"Hehe, I'm up a bit earlier than usual, Master. Breakfast is ready."

As expected of Sakura.

No matter what time I wake up, she is always up first and has breakfast ready.

I've told her before that she works too hard and that she should take it easy,

"Are you trying to take away my only joy, the one who hardly sleeps!?"

But when she said this with teary eyes, I didn't know what to do.

So, as usual, I ate the breakfast she had prepared for me.

"Sakura's cooking is always delicious."

"Thank you."

I slowly ate the hot rice, miso soup, and grilled meat.

"Recently, it seems you and Hestia have been getting along well. I'm trying to keep up and improve my charm."

Her words made me choke a little.

"Huh? Uh, Sakura? You're not angry, right?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm not angry or jealous. After all, you come back to me (this house). I just have a bit of competitiveness."

She's smiling, but her eyes are a bit scary, Sakura.

I'm just getting along with Hestia, nothing more.

"Basically, I'm just learning from her."

"Oh, you mentioned that you learned the form of magic yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, the magic key."

Sakura's method is more versatile, while Hestia's is more efficient. So, I use Sakura's method when I want to do anything, and the magic key when it's more troublesome.

"I'm very grateful to Hestia. She even gave me this staff."

I took out the staff that had been at my waist and placed it on the table.

"I saw it last night, but this staff is filled with a lot of magic. ...I think it might break if you use it at full power."

According to Hestia, it's quite sturdy, but according to Sakura, that's what it is. I need to be careful about when to use it.

"Did Hestia make this staff? It's quite intricate."

"She knows a lot about materials, so it's possible. That girl is really mysterious."

She always seems to appear in the apple orchard and then return to the western forest in the evening.

"If her home was closer, I could visit her. But I don't know where she lives."

I looked out the window.

From the living room, the western forest and the rocky area are clearly visible.

According to what I learned before, there is a place where dragons live.

"Maybe I'll take a walk and sneak around there someday. There might be a village."

As I muttered this, a shadow fell on the western rocky area.

"Huh? What's that?"

A large body floated in the sky over the western rocky area.

It was a huge, white dragon.

The largest I've ever seen. It was heading this way.

Clearly, it was looking at me.

"Sakura, there's a strange dragon."

"Huh? What's wrong, Master?"

"There's a strange dragon over there. It's coming this way."

"Oh, it's a very large dragon."

It must be about thirty meters long.

It looked like a huge rock mountain was flying towards us.

Behind the dragon were many flying dragons.

"What's that group? Are they migrating? Or are they coming to my house?"

"I'm not sure. They don't seem hostile, and they might just be heading to the forest."

Right. Whatever it is, I hope they move quickly.

The wind from their wings is quite strong. My house is swaying.

"It will get even stronger if they pass nearby. Should we go down?"

"Let's do that."

So, I and Sakura were about to go down.

That's when it happened.

**BOOM!!**

A flash of flame swept from west to east around the house.

The house didn't burn, but the middle layer was scorched, and some of the golems inside were damaged by the heat.

The apple orchard didn't burn because the flames were high, but part of the forest behind it turned to ash.

—Ah, I see.

"Sakura, it seems this is just routine."

"...Yes."

It doesn't seem like they burned it to clear the way.

After all, they had taken up a position above my house.

Their large wings beat the air, creating a strong wind that made the house and the apple orchard sway.

And then, the final touch,

**"I have come to fight. Those who dwell in this land, fight me. If not, I will burn you with my white flame."**

He spoke in the language of dragons.

So, ah, I see.

I was drawn by the novelty of his appearance and had a bit of hope, but,

"...Are you also threatening my home?"

If so, let's fight.

If I don't fight, I can't protect my home.

The opponent is about thirty meters long, much larger than a Wood Golem.

Very large, but,

"I will defeat with my own power anyone who threatens my home!"

Anger filled me, and I infused magic into Sakura and the staff.

I will use synchronization and the magic key, as well as the results of my training.

"Let's go, Sakura."

"Yes, Master. Whenever you're ready."

"Wood Armor. Mode **Gold-Steel-Warrior**...!!"

And the wooden giant stood up.

Next, a rather serious battle.

I'm writing this in a hurry, so please wait a few hours. I'll post it by 1 PM on Sunday at the latest.