Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 475

475: A Powerful Name

“I would like to grant your request… but…”

“—Have we not already been down this road?”

I was in a cave, under the jurisdiction of the First Army, near the capital, meeting with Lital-sama.

Lital, the Dragon Mother, the supreme commander of the First Army. A dragon with scales like a glacier, and probably the oldest and strongest being in this world.

The numbering of the Demon King’s army was not in order of importance, but even if it had been, the name of the First Army would have been given to the dragons she led.

“But my name has power. Not in a magical sense, of course… but I am the leader of the dragon race.”

Therefore, I understood why she was being cautious about my proposal. But I had anticipated that much, and I had prepared my words of persuasion.

“The dragon race has lost a great deal of its strength in the last war. …And with Your Majesty the Demon King’s abdication approaching, if we do not act now… do you think there will be anything to guarantee the position of the dragon race in a hundred, two hundred years?”

“…Yes.”

I continued.

“Many people are grateful to the dragon race, and they trust and respect them. …But they are also afraid.”

“Has not your proposal to use the power of the First Army not just for defense, but for transport, already been approved?”

“It is a joyous thing.” I nodded.

When we of the Sixth Army had invaded the human territories, the dragon race had served as our transport. It was a rough tactic, since the main components were skeletons and wraiths, and to transport personnel by dragon, even if they were undead, was a dangerous method of transport.

But what if it wasn’t personnel?

Iron goods and grain. There were many heavy transport items that would not be damaged by a little impact. And for light items, like cloth goods and their raw materials, the burden on the dragons would be small, even with a large-scale transport.

The military strength of the nation was now, for the most part, directed as a deterrent against the ‘threat’ represented by the magical beast species. The dragons had been at the forefront of that since the war.

But someday, without a doubt, the number of magical beast species would decrease, in inverse proportion to the increase in the population. Since the meat was being supplied to the market through hunting, the opinion to completely exterminate them would probably not pass. When I thought of the extinct animals of Earth, I didn’t want to be too reckless.

Someday, in a future where the continent had been fully developed, when the value of the land had risen to its peak, I didn’t know. But at least for now, there was a vast blank space on the map. —A land where there were almost no magical beast species, a land that had once been used as cities and farmlands. In some places, the human villages were being reused, and pioneer villages were being created, and the investigation and the settlement were progressing, little by little.

Even if I were to turn my eyes to our own country, if you went a little deeper into the Dark Forest, then aside from the scattered settlements, there was an untouched wilderness—how much of a luxury that was.

Preparations were necessary. But there was no longer a need to continue to prepare as if a war could break out at any moment.

Therefore, of course, there were others besides me who had thought of transport by dragon—though not of personnel—and it had been considered from time to time, but each time, it had been rejected, on the grounds that the dragon race was a preparation for wartime. And it was also a matter of it being only on this side of the Lital Mountains.

But for a distance that crossed the continent, a land route was difficult, and a sea route… I could only see a future where we would have a terrible experience, like feeding a sea serpent.

And for that, a ‘sky route.’

There were also people who deified the dragons, and I understood their feelings, but I had pushed it through, in my Lord of Disease style, with my mask and my formal attire.

And while the Listrea Demon Kingdom was a rather flexible country, the Demon King’s army was also an administrative organization with a unified military and political system. Once you had set a precedent and had made it a custom, then it was yours.

Vested interests and bedrock regulations were often criticized… but it was a gray area, where it wasn’t all bad. I believed that the future Listrea would have the capacity to maintain it, so that it would not rot, and the strength to ‘maintain’ it, if it were to rot.

Lital-sama stared at me with her golden eyes.

“…Do you really need my name?”

“I do. —At the very least, I do not believe there is a greater name. If I cannot have your approval, then this plan will be scrapped.”

“But, um… with my name… isn’t it a little… grandiose?”

“I do not think so, but even if it were, would there be anything wrong with that? And someday, it will surely be spoken of with affection.”

“…………”

Lital-sama turned her long neck and looked at Liz, who was standing a short distance away.

“…Lizlit, do you share Daisy’s opinion?”

Since her retirement, she had come to call me and Liz by our first names. I, on the other hand, had always used ‘-sama’ with Lital-sama, but I intended for that to be a sign of both respect and affection.

“Well, yes. A name is a precious thing. …The nickname that the master I served in the Sixth Army once used was spread because of its grandiosity, and it was spoken of with fear.”

Though it was a farce, Liz spoke of my past self with a slightly distant tone.

“…Lital-sama’s name may have that much power. Our master’s… no, our plan has a mountain of problems to be solved before it can be realized, but if we can have your name… I believe it will succeed.”

Then Liz looked at me a little and smiled.

“…My master has a bad habit of saying outlandish things and confusing those around her, but she has always made them a reality. I believe you are aware of that, Lital-sama.”

“Yes… that’s right. Yes.”

Lital-sama nodded, as if to agree.

“…I wondered what she was going to say… no, I still do.”

Lital-sama’s throat rumbled. In human terms, she was probably laughing.

“The First Army… no, not as the Dragon Mother of the First Army, but as just Lital… I will support your ‘business.’ I will give you permission to use Fort Four and the surrounding land. …And you may use my name.”

“…Thank you. I will invite you when it is complete.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

Again, Lital-sama’s throat rumbled.

“…But ‘Lital Hot Springs’ is a little embarrassing.”

Was there a better name?