Translator: Weslykan

  Late at night.

  Dianeia was having a staring match with her documents.

  On the paper was a map of the town with several red dots around it.

  「Here and here…fuu…somehow I’ve finished the deployment of the mages…….」


  After putting two final red dots on the paper, Dianeia set the document aside and let out a sigh.

  Then she grabbed it and handed it to the Knight Captain who was standing nearby.

  「Please arrange them like this Knight Captain」


  「Thank you for your effort Princess.」


  「If those things fall from the sky, then even if my subordinate mages are there we’ll need two of them at least. It was a real pain to gather them……I can only handle this because I’m looking forward to the festival tomorrow.」


  「I’m just wondering if the whole town can be covered sufficiently. I’d really like to delay the festival for a bit if possible.」


  「—It’s a real danger, but they don’t fall too often.」


  They may fall, but at this point it would be very difficult to postpone it.

  People had already gathered in the town and the merchants had already made their preparations…the reason had to be very concrete for it to be stopped or postponed at this stage.

  「Well, it seems like we’ll be able to do something about this……so I think it’s alright. Even though there have been quite a few irregularities nowadays, we’ve been relying on Daichi-dono far too much.」


  Prussia is their city. It’s their job to protect it themselves.

  They couldn’t keep relying on Daichi-dono’s help to solve everything.

  Even this time, they were only able to find out about the cause of the danger thanks to Daichi-dono’s lodger.

  「He is the man of the earth vein after all. I heard that he’d opened a shop.」


  「It’s a shop that sells delicious energy drinks. You should go see it for yourself if you’re ever tired.」


  「Hmm, alright. Recently I haven’t been energetic in the mornings…maybe I should give it a try. Well—I’ll send this document around.」


  「I’ll leave it to you.」


  The knight captain left the room and Dianeia sank back into her chair.

  「Fuu, thanks to Daichi-dono’s juice my body condition is alright. I think I’ll be able to hold out till the festival using only short breaks.」


  After drinking it her body temperature wouldn’t fall and her head would spin a bit.

  It was like taking magic power straight from a magic stone, it felt as though energy was being driven into her body.

  It was likely that there would be a backlash later but,

  「Really…Daichi-dono is amazing.」


  Even after taking in the magic from this fruit he could still contain it.

  After she felt the overflowing power within her after drinking the juice, she didn’t feel she could match him. Even so,

  「It makes me happy…that I’m getting closer and closer…」


  She said as a vigorous smile appeared on her face…then,

  *Knock**Knock*

  There was a small knocking on the window.

  「Hm?」


  This was pretty high up in the castle. She wondered if it was a bird or something, but when she looked,

  「Eh……..Hesty-dono?」


  「n……as I thought, you’re awake. Good.」


  Hesty was clinging to the edge of the window.

  「Wh-why are you here!?」


  「I flew. Can I, come in?」


  「Y-yes, I don’t mind but………」


  She opened the window and Hesty quickly entered.

  Then she shook her head from side to side.

  It seems as though when she climbed the castle wall the rocks crumbles and fell on her head and face.

  「I’m sorry for coming, so late, at night.」


  「N-no I don’t mind but what do you need?」


  「n, I wanted to talk a bit, so I came. It’s about the thing, we talked about.」


  「Last night? You mean the Star Dragon King? You don’t need to worry you know? I have deployed magicians around town to deal with the shedding of the scales so——」


  「That’s not right. It isn’t, shedding.」


  Hesty shook her head as she said those words.

  「Uuuummmm…what?」


  「The Star Dragon King’s scales that fell were all, very large, right?」


  「Ye-yes that’s right. What I showed you was a small piece that’d broken off.」


  「If it was shedding, then it’d be smaller. But this time, is different. The scales have, blood and skin, attached.—so it’s either, illness, or serious injury.」


  So the reason the scales fell was different?

  「So, Hesty-dono…you came here to tell me that?」


  「n, I gave you, incorrect information. I’m sorry.」


  「No, it’s not a big deal. Originally it was our responsibility to look into this.」


  Honestly the research group would have had to study it and figure out what it was first…this was basically a short cut. This was something they should be grateful for.

  「Yeah, you don’t need to be sorry Hesty-dono.」


  「n….but, if it’s not shedding, then we need to be especially careful. What might fall, won’t just be scales…」


  「What did you say?」


  「The Star Dragon King’s body itself, could fall.」


  Right now they could guess the Star Dragon King’s general location by the places that the scales fell.

  Based on that conjecture, Dianeia had placed mages around the area…in other words,

  「The Star Dragon King could fall anywhere from the magic forest to the city?」


  「Yeah. It’ll probably fall…before too long. That girl, fell like this, before. So, I think, it’ll be the same this, time.」


  A gigantic 300-meter large dragon would fall on the town.

  Hesty’s words were deadly serious. Dianeia sprang into action.

  「——I’ll get the Knight Captain to gather everyone for an emergency meeting. Hesty-dono, I’m sorry but could you accompany me? I need information.」


  「n, I understand. But can I return in the morning? I need to tell, him too.」


  「Eh? You haven’t told Daichi-dono yet?」


  「n, he was sleeping. I thought, I shouldn’t, wake him.」


  Dianeia remembered that nothing good ever came of waking Daichi…


  …but was it really okay to put that kind of thing off?

  She froze for a moment…but then she remembered her determination to take care of everything that she could. So,

  「I see. I will defend the town with all my strength. I’m in your care until the morning Hesty-dono.」


  「n」


  *Picture*

  「Once more, the counter-measure meeting begins…!」


  So, once more Dianeia’s office was filled with people throughout the night.