58 Chapter 58: Airing

After I was done with the recruitment, I headed back to the Blue Moon Inn for some privacy. Miranda greeted me politely when I showed up on her doorstep.

"Ah…Tanaka-sama! Father! Tanaka-sama has returned!"

"Oh, been a while, hasn't it? I haven't seen you in weeks. I assume you want to rent that same room out again? How long this time?"

"Tonight, please. I'll be heading on another mission tomorrow."

Miranda's father chuckled as he tossed up a bunch of pasta into the air, stir-frying it to a crisp. "Always the busy man, aren't you? I heard you got promoted again…to silver rank this time, eh? Will you be buying a house soon?"

"No plans to," I replied, puzzled. Miranda's father looked a little relieved.

"Great!" he then coughed when he realized what he had just said. "I mean, then it means you'll continue relying on our inn for accommodation?"

"Yeah, whenever I return here."

I see. So that was why Miranda's father seemed so relieved. He would continue to retain my patronage and make money off my stays here. Well, that was fine. I was happy living here and I had established quite the intimate relationship with the innkeeper and his daughter. Not in any romantic way, of course. Just business, you understand.

"You want a steak? The usual?"

"Yeah. Thanks. Put everything on one charge, please."

I paid for my room and meal with my mercenary card, only to gape when I saw the amount of gold I had received. Apparently I had made more than enough for my lifetime to safely retire after killing a demon noble.

"Here's your steak."

Barely after I had settled down on my table did Miranda show up with the usual steak with mango habanero sauce. I accepted it gratefully with a slight dip of my head. Miranda responded with a radiant smile and bowed before attending to other customers.

Unlike most of the girls in my class, Miranda didn't seem to think I was creepy and disgusting, or if she did, she didn't openly show those emotions. Most of the reason stemmed from me being her customer and she was making money off me, so obviously it wouldn't benefit her to be rude to me. Rather, it would be much better and more practical if we developed a professional relationship of mutual reliance.

Come to think of it, there were quite a few girls in my class who didn't seem to be that bothered about me being an otaku. Hoshizaki Kozue never really said a bad word about me, but as with Aoyama Aoi, I didn't talk much to her. Nagano Nanaka was the same. We didn't know each other enough or interact much for her to have any real impression of me, good or bad. At least neither of them were recoiling and overreacting like Tsukishima, Minamoto, Midorikawa, Yoshida or any of the other girls in our class.

After my meal, I headed to my usual room, which seemed to have been reserved for me. The innkeeper was too nice. Then again, I remembered how he treated me prior to my promotion to the middle ranks.

Yeah, I wasn't naïve enough to think people were nice for nothing. There was always a catch, wasn't there?

Once I made sure there were no bugs or eavesdropping spells casted in my room, or any such devices, I began to set up my stuff. As an extra precaution, I casted a silence spell to hem in any voices or sounds from within the room.

With that done, I retrieved my communication device.

"Captain Kratz? Lieutenant Dressia? Do you guys read me?"

Elia and Daniel appeared as holograms, beamed from my smartphone to the opposite wall. I couldn't believe I went to another world with my smartphone…except that this wasn't a smartphone by a communication device developed and manufactured in Restia itself.

"Major?"

"Sir!"

The two of them instantly saluted when they saw me. I returned their salute and then relaxed.

"At ease. Just want to check up on you guys."

"We're proceeding toward Helsfort just fine, Major," Elia reported. "We've stopped to rest and resupply at one of the fortifications along Ragia Ravine, but we should reach the capital before dusk tomorrow."

"That's good. And the royal couple?"

"Safe, sir." Daniel nodded. "We haven't been attacked at all."

I exhaled a sigh of relief. "That's even better. What about the prisoners-of-war?"

"They're slowing our progress because we don't have enough vehicles to transport them all, but they're fine."

"Make sure you feed them well and treat them…well, not like guests, but just don't abuse them or ill-treat them. If any harm falls on them, whoever inflicts it will answer to me."

"Yes, sir."

There was no Geneva Convention or equivalent in Restia, but that didn't mean I couldn't impose my own set of values. I wasn't a sadistic monster. These men, like us, laid down their lives to fight for their kingdom with honor, courage and discipline. They didn't deserve to be abused. I didn't care what the enemy did to their prisoners, but I wanted to hold the moral high ground above them.

I wasn't Kobayashi Kenji, after all.

"What about you, Major? Have you contacted the…human rebels?"

Elia clearly didn't know what to call the heroes who had turned against Kobayashi. I guessed rebel was as good a word as any.

"I have. There seemed to be a mishap and somehow I got transported to Havia. I'm going undercover and will try to blend in and find out more information, but I succeeded in establishing contact with the renegade Evelyn's Chosen. We'll spend a few days scouting Legnica and then leave to meet up with the rest of the group."

"Havia?!"

Both Elia and Daniel stared at me in disbelief. I shrugged.

"Yeah, the Evelyn's Chosen have quite the insane abilities. No wonder we're losing the war. But don't worry, we'll figure something out."

My two senior officers exchanged anxious glances, but I put on an assuring smile to lift their dwindling morale.

"Come on, guys. Have a little faith in me. Anyway, as it stands, it might take me months to return to the regiment, so in the meantime I'll be leaving them in your hands."

"Yes, sir!"

"You can count on us, sir!"

Both Elia and Daniel saluted. I nodded.

"Well, I'll contact you guys again if there's any update, but assume the worst. I hope I'll be return before a month or so, but whatever happens will happen for a reason."

"May Hedas watch over you, Major."

"The Emperor protects," I agreed. "Oh, and one last thing. What do you guys know about the dragons?"

"Dragons?"

Elia and Daniel exchanged glances before they shook their heads.

"Not much."

"Are they part of the demon alliance?"

"No. dragons have always been on their own. They're a type of monster…but they're said to be sentient, so I am not sure if we ever had any dealings with them."

"They're known to be arrogant and look down on all other species, whether human or demon," Daniel added after Elia's explanation.

"Hmm…I see. So if a dragon gets attacked, we won't do anything?"

"Most likely we won't. We have no reason to help them. We're not allied to them…at least not as far as I know of."

I nodded at Elia's statement. Daniel seemed to concur as well. This was good news. It meant there wouldn't be any negative repercussions if I slew a dragon.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind in case I encounter any dragons while I'm undercover."

"Understood, Major."

"Be careful, sir!"

"I will. You too. Don't do anything reckless."

After that, I signed off and the communication device winked off. After that, I browsed through my pitiful contact list and immediately found the person I wanted to call.

The next person on my list was none other than his majesty himself, Demon Lord Regis Gremory.

"Oh? This is a surprise. I didn't expect you to call me."

The dark-haired Demon Lord watched me from his holographic image, pleasantly surprised. I bowed politely.

"I apologize for disturbing you at this time of the night, your majesty."

"Not at all. What's up?"

Even though Elia and Daniel had assured me about the dragon, I still needed to confirm that with a higher authority. That, and I also needed to keep my boss updated on my movements and location. So I quickly summed up my ordeal.

"I see."

Regis rubbed his chin as he mused, nodding in curiosity.

"So you're in Havia right now, and you've decided to go under cover?"

"That's the gist of it, yes."

"Interesting. That sounds like a good plan to me."

Really? It didn't sound like a good plan to me at all. Rather, wasn't this just me improvising under strained circumstances?

"You can find out about the humans' plans, their movements, logistics, etc. Plus you've found one of those renegade Evelyn's Chosen, haven't you? By joining her in undercover, you'll be able to build a rapport with her and her group."

"I'll try."

Regis must have noticed my skepticism, for he offered an explanation. Even though I deferred to him, I refused to offer any guarantees. I didn't know if I would be able to succeed, after all. That was why I refused to make any promises.

"About the dragon…is it really all right?"

"Yeah. No problems here. We never have any contact with the dragons, anyway. They're a sentient, powerful species of monsters who are fiercely independent and isolated from other species and cultures."

"So they're not part of the demon alliance."

"They were never part of any alliance throughout the millennia they've been in existence. At least none that I know of."

Regis's statement was reassuring. I breathed a sigh of relief and saluted.

"Thank you, your majesty. Then I'll play along and slay the dragon along with the Evelyn's Chosen and human mercenaries."

"Ah, about that…I'm not against it, but you had best be careful."

Regis looked at me seriously, and I suddenly felt a jolt of unease.

"Dragons are extremely powerful. Even though we're not friends or enemies, it's unwise to provoke even one of them. Each dragon possess the power to level an entire city by itself. Even Evelyn's Chosen will have difficulty fighting one, never mind slaying it. Do not underestimate dragons, no matter what."

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"I understand."

Regis regarded me for a few seconds, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, I've faith in you, Major Tanaka. I know you won't disappoint me. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you really went and slew a dragon." He grinned. "Though it's extremely unlikely, if the dragons find out that they're being killed by the humans and their heroes, they might turn to the demons for help and join the alliance."

"Really?"

"No, not really. It's extremely unlikely. Like I said, dragons have immense pride. They are more likely to declare war on the humans and fight them by themselves – and even then they have the potential to win on their own. We'll still benefit either way. Unfortunately, I doubt we would ever be that lucky. Most likely they'll just ignore the killing because even among dragons themselves, they aren't exactly close or intimate with one another."

That sounded pretty sad and lonely.

"I understand, your majesty."

"Keep me updated, Major. I'm expected great things from you."

I watched as Regis's hologram fizzled out, replaced by the empty space of my room. Sighing, I shook my head. Please don't expect anything from me. I wasn't that reliable or intelligent or skilled. And I only cared about revenge, not the demon alliance.

Well, with that matter taken care of, I had one last person to call. Swiping my holographic screen, I came to the next name on my contact list and tapped it to make a call.

"Excuse me…"

Nagano Nanaka's visage appeared on screen, looking a little sleepy. From the looks of the hologram, it seemed that she was still in her office, tiredly leaning on her desk as she worked on a weapon or something.

"Oh, Tanaka-kun! What's up?"

She must be wondering why I was calling her at this time of the night. I scratched my head sheepishly.

"Sorry for waking you up…"

"No, I wasn't sleeping at all! I just dozed off…so it was a good thing you called and woke me up!"

"Ah, I see. Well, I just wanted to notify you that I'm more or less done recruiting members for the rescue mission."

While eating downstairs, I received a message from Alicia that she managed to contact Alan and Sophia and convince them to cooperate with us.

Nagano smiled in relief.

"That's good to hear!"

"Yeah."

I nodded and hesitated a little.

"Speaking of which, do you know where the dragon is?"

"The dragon?"

"Yeah. I'm not very familiar with the geography of Legnica, so I don't know where the dragon flew off to. I asked Hughes, but it seems the guild isn't very well-informed about the details either, so he asked me to contact you instead."

"Right…"

Nagano paused as she considered for a moment.

"The nest of the dragon that abducted her highness should be in the Pendragon Mountains. I've received reports from royal scouts that there was where they saw the dragon descend and land. It's quite the dangerous terrain, and is known to be the habitats of dragons for millennia."

"Pendragon?" I asked blankly. "Where is that? Is it far from here?"

"Mhm…around a day or two if we travel by air."

"By air…!?" I blurted out. This was Restia, a fantasy world without planes. How the heck were we supposed to travel by air?

Nagano giggled when she saw my expression.

"Don't worry," she assured me. "I've already taken care of it and arranged it."

"Oh…" I was impressed. "As expected of Nagano-san, you're really very reliable!"

"Heh heh." Nagano looked pretty pleased with herself. "Don't underestimate the resourcefulness of the Eight Guardians of the Iron Knights!"

"Yeah, you guys are awesome. Anyway, I'm sorry for disturbing you. When are we leaving? Is tomorrow too soon?"

"Tomorrow is fine. In fact, that's the ideal timing."

"Good." I saluted, which amused Nagano further. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"

Switching off the communication device, I prepared to go to bed.

*

The next morning, I proceeded toward the meeting place that Nagano sent me through a text message in the communication device. Instead of meeting at the magic academy like I expected, Nagano had requested that we meet in what looked like a huge mansion in the city.

Apparently it was her home. The heroes sure had it great, living in such luxurious places while the rest of us commoners scraped a living.

"Nagano-san, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Don't worry, you're still early. And welcome!"

Nagano looked up brightly when I greeted her. I waved at her cheerfully, but carefully maintained my distance. Since she was a former classmate, I still couldn't quite completely trust her.

"So, are you ready for this dangerous mission?"

"Yeah, I am. I even stayed up a little to read up on dragons."

I couldn't sleep so I ended up conjuring my Library of Eden to read and research on dragons. After Regis's ominous warning, I had gotten a little anxious over confronting such a powerful enemy. I doubted I could get out of this unscathed if I went in half-assed. I spent a couple of hours reading up on dragons before I eventually fell asleep, and I managed to check out where the Pendragon Mountains were as well.

Here's a clue: they were pretty far. At least from Havia City, anyway.

"Ah, so how are we getting to Pendragon? You said by air, right?"

"That's right!" Nagano folded her arms smugly and grinned. "We're going there by airship!"

"Huh? Airship?" I blinked in surprise. "Where's the airship?"

"Don't worry. It has just arrived."

Nagano practically pranced toward the window of her mansion and gestured outside proudly.

"Look outside! This is a new model of airships that I personally developed!"

We really were reaching the industrial revolution age, huh? First rifles and cannons, then tanks, and now airships?

I stepped toward the windows and my jaw dropped when I caught sight of the gigantic airship hovering in Nagano's courtyard.

It literally was a ship. A ship that could magically fly in the skies. But there were differences – unlike its sea-based brethren, the airship possessed turbofans on either side of its hull to suck in air and expel it downward, creating a thrust. It was a literal hovercraft that combined engineering technology with magic.

"Get ready," Nagano ordered with a smirk. "We'll be taking off soon."