Volume 5 - CH 23

Our initial plan was to relocate most of the mythical beasts of the floating island to the <Empty Wilderness>. However, several old mythical beasts didn't like the idea of separating from Dragon Grandpa and made a stand to remain on the floating island.

To that, Dragon Grandpa's words were------

<If the young ones can cultivate new seeds in the new land, and the elders, with their limited time left, are so concerned about me that they want to stay behind, then there is no other choice but to embrace a gentle death together.>

His tone was a mixture of joy and sadness.

This floating island's power and internal mana were sustained with the help of Dragon Grandpa's mana. And he can't stay away from the floating island due to the intricate connection between him and the floating stones located in the center of the floating island which dated back 1200 years ago.

Due to that, only Dragon Grandpa would be left behind on this floating island after relocating all the mythical beasts and inhabitants.

So, it wasn't just the mythical beasts who were worried about him, but also the members of the other two races.

"You guys don't have any pride! Have you forgotten the favor of Dragon Grandfather under whose protection you could live peacefully in the past?! You traitors!"

"We're not betraying anyone, and we have never forgotten our debt to Grandfather. However, this is Grandfather's request to Majou-dono. It's to expand our race, and also to bring prosperity to our children."

"What, are you dissatisfied with our past lifestyle?!"

"We're not dissatisfied. However, we've learned of the things we can never get on this island. We've also learned the technique to make them by ourselves. In that case, why can't we have them then?"

"That's the poison of the Witch! It's her deadly poison to make us lofty ones depraved!"

Yahada was spearheading the migration faction consisting of many young ones.

The young ones gradually became aware of the outside world as they received lectures in the open-air classes of the service dolls that I dispatched or when they heard stories about the royal capital from Yuishia.

Another turning point for them should be the change in food.

The triggers for it were just some trivial things.

—Like the cookies Yuishia made with sugar which she distributed to the kids who were there for the exchange.

—Like the drinking water they usually stockpile from rainwater on the floating island copiously gushing out of the ground in the <Empty Wilderness>.

—New things like sweets, iron, and water were enough to invite a drastic revolution in their common sense.

There were also things besides these that were encroaching on their lifestyle.

"I, I will never accept this!"

So said Sheall from the conservative faction who voiced her thoughts loudly. She was apprehensive about the cultural invasion that she felt was just wearing the skin of a migration plan, but seeing the same stoic expression on Yahada's face even after saying so, she turned her back seemingly in regret and flew away from there.

"......Aren't you going to show yourself, Majou-dono? You've already seen everything you need to see."

"So you noticed, huh? And, sorry...... it's happening because we intervened with the floating island."

We, who were seeing all of this from the shadows, showed ourselves in front of Yahada after Sheal left.

I then saw bitter smiles appear on the faces of the Dragon-Demon race members, which I've become proficient enough to more or less read in these five years.

"No, Majou-dono isn't to blame for that. Besides, it's hard to say if we would still have a peaceful life like this if it wasn’t Majou-dono but someone else who visited this floating island."

Well, indeed, in the future where abundant mana would become commonplace in the world, the floating island might fall somewhere on the ground, or maybe it would be visited by the other people who gained flight capability as the magic technology advances.

It was possible that they might capture and kidnap the mythical beasts or the members of the two races as slaves or some kind of precious samples.

They would surely choose to fight in that case, wouldn't they?

"You've imparted us with your wisdom, of course not all of it was fairytale-like, you also passed down the worst of the stories."

"What about it? Knowledge from a single perspective isn't enough to convey the true nature of things, that's why I just made sure you got to hear the stories from multiple perspectives."

"However that knowledge, for the ignorant us, has become a tool to protect us, too. I'm really grateful for that."

Yahada, who bowed his head after that, knelt on the ground, causing a thud sound, and made a deep sigh.

"However, I also understand Sheal's point. Although not everything was sunshine and rainbows, I can't deny that it does indeed feel like we're disrupting our serene life so far. People are really complex creatures, aren't we?"

Was it because he was ignorant about the things that he already felt happy with, or maybe he thought that there would be even more fun things waiting for him after gaining more knowledge? He chuckled in self-derision, perhaps because he felt his desire took precedence in his heart.

We quietly listened to Yahada's monologue, as we maintained our silence for a while.

SIDE: Angel Race - Sheal

"Damn it, just why isn't it getting into Yahada's head? They're trying to destroy our lofty traditions and culture!"

Their life which had been calm, and unchanging for the last 1200 years suddenly faced an upheaval in the last few years.

The various things like the tools and food created by that person named Witch easily destroyed their culture.

Her meals that were made using sugar and spices seemed to show us just how crude and simple our traditional food, which we took pride in, was.

It wasn't just that. They, angel race people, were still flying to the sea surface to throw nets, and capture fish but our hauls were no longer something that the people of the island sought after. Rather, those fish had become just mere things to barter for the items the Witch had.

Aside from that, they also tried to barter with the fangs, claws, or fur that the mythical beasts had shed over the years, but that Witch refused to exchange with them.

From Sheal's perspective, the Witch's reasoning should be that since all those mythical beasts would one day move to her land either way, why would she bother to trade for these things?

Those dragon warriors also gained chicken as livestock in their exchange with the Witch, and now, since they could now get eggs at fixed intervals, the value of fish the Angel race members caught has relatively plummeted.

Some of the other angel race members switched to river fishing since catching fish from the sea was dangerous and their harvest was also just so-so.

"At this rate, there will be no one left on this island. Have they never thought about Grandfather who will be the only one left behind?!"

Even the conservative faction as well as the members who didn't leave because of their concern for Grandfather were also slowly having positive thoughts about the relocation plan under the persuasion of Grandfather, and the Witch's honeyed words.

"What should I do? How can I protect this island? Please tell me, Leriel-sama......"

Sheal offered her prayer to an old goddess's idol that was worshiped by her ancestors, the apostles.

The weathered idol has already lost its limbs and wings after the effects of the <State Preservation Spell> on it vanished due to the passage of time.

But that weathered idol was the only thing she could cling to at this moment.