Chapter 40

After riding on Midgardsormr’s back for a while, a massive castle and its gates came into view.

“Is that it? It looks even grander than a human castle.”

“That is the place. That castle and the entire surrounding town make up the territory of the Dragon Emperor.”

The territory was huge! Just how wide was the Dragon Emperor’s reach? Moreover, the castle and the town looked even better than those of a major human power. What was the deal with that? It felt like the culture and the standard of living for commoners were significantly better here than in human lands.

“But you know, the Dragon Empire has all these restrictions, so I’m not a big fan of iiiit.”¹

Oh, a complaint from Midgardsormr.

“Hmm? Restrictions?”

“Yeeaaah. While we’re in this country, we have to use Humanization Arts to make ourselves small.”

“Huh. What’s that for?”

“It’s out of consideration for the Draconewts. Also, they say it’s easier to build things like castles and houses when you use humans as the baaase.”

I see. So, those castles and houses were all built to human scale.

“We monsters must likewise disguise ourselves in human form. That is why the members of my pack here are all capable of humanization.”

Now that piqued my interest. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of forms Grandfather and the Pack Leader would take.

“We’re almost theee-re.”

Oops, almost there. I was excited to see what kind of country the Dragon Empire was. I wanted to buy souvenirs for Ril and Karin too—I wondered what would make them happy. Food? No, something lasting would probably be better.

“Everyone, get ooo-off. I have to humanize toooo.”

Ah, right. Midgardsormr had to transform as well, so we had to dismount.

By the time everyone was on the ground, the Fenrir pack members had already humanized. Ho ho, so this is what they look like. Rather than pure humans, most looked like demi-humans—similar to Ril—with beast-like features. To be honest, I’d wondered if animal ears on men would look weird, but surprisingly, it felt quite natural.

Grandfather and the Pack Leader, however, had completely hidden both their ears and tails. Grandfather’s human form wasn’t so much “cool” as it was “refined and rugged.” Though he had wrinkles on his face and hands, he had the look of a kindly old man combined with an aura that radiated the fact that he had lived for ages.

The Pack Leader looked surprisingly young, appearing as if he were right in his prime. His body was lean without any wasted muscle, and he seemed to overflow with energy.

“What is it? Why are you staring at us so intently?”

“No, I was just thinking that this is what you guys look like when you humanize.”

“And? How do we look through the eyes of a human?”

“Grandfather, you look rugged and cool. The Pack Leader looks like a cool adult with the ideal male physique.”

“So he says, my son-in-law.”

“Hmph.”

The Pack Leader, however, didn’t pay me much mind. Normally he’d be picking a fight, but right now he was still ignoring me. I guess last night really was the cause… I’d even thought it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d realized what happened this morning and come to kill me, yet he hadn’t poked at me once.

“Sorry to keeeep you waiting. It’s oookay nooow.”

It seemed Midgardsormr’s humanization was finished too—but he was huge!! He had to be at least two meters tall. Despite his size, he had a very gentle-looking face.

“Well then, let’s go to the gates, shaaall we?”

…His way of talking didn’t change at all. It felt a bit late to notice that, though.

With Midgardsormr leading the way, we headed toward the castle gates. There, what looked like humans in armor were standing guard. The reason I say “looked like humans” is because the amount of magic power inside them was far greater than any ordinary human’s. These were likely the Draconewts.

“Lord Midgardsormr, welcome back. Are these the reinforcements for this occasion?”

“Yuuup. They’re my sworn brother’s pack—the Fenriiirs.”

“What?! Are these the legendary magical beasts? This is a reassuring reinforcement indeed!”

“Since the situation is what it iiiis, I had to ask a big faaavor of them.”

“Understood! Good work, sir!! By the way… who is that human?”

Hmm? Me?

“This boy is the Fenrirs’ disciple, and he’s also the granddaughter’s husbaaand.”

“The Fenrir’s disciple? Hey, human. Are you actually strong? If your strength is half-baked, you’ll just be in the way.”

Whoa, getting some harsh words right out of the gate. Seriously, judge a person by their looks and you’re going to have a bad time.

“You. Do you have some problem with my daughter’s husband?”

An unexpected person got angry: it was the Pack Leader. Why was he getting mad at an insult directed at me? I didn’t quite get it.

“No, the ‘problem’ is simply whether he can actually serve as a combat force.”

“In other words, you are saying my son-in-law is weak.”

“No, well… that is…”

“Pack Leader, could you leave it at that?”

If I didn’t step in, the Pack Leader was going to do something drastic. Besides, this was my problem.

“You there, gatekeeper. Go call the strongest guy who can get here right now. If I beat him, you’ll let me into this country.”

This was the condition I set—a standard part of monster ecology. To put it bluntly, monsters are muscle-heads. The one who wins, the one who is strong, is right. The existence with the combat power and the will to survive is the victor.

“What’s it gonna be? A ‘pathetic human’ just picked a fight with you Draconewts. If you don’t take it, I’ll go around telling everyone that you guys are more pathetic than me.”

“You…!!”

He was good and angry now. But hey, I was a little pissed off too.

“Wait right there!! I’m going to call the Captain!!”

“Brat, are you sure about this?”

“It’s fine. I can handle anyone around here with room to spare. Don’t worry. Besides, Pack Leader, you got angry on my behalf. All that’s left is for me to show them what I can do.”