"Anyway... first things first, we need to clean this place up."
The buildings had been burned down by flames and smashed apart by storms, and the ground was carved deep with sword scars.
After two [Catastrophe]-class beings fought however they pleased, the only thing left in ruins was the land of an innocent village—or what used to be one.
I managed to deal with the fire to some extent using [Elemental Magic] that Guy taught me, but there was nothing I could do about the sword marks.
"...Couldn't you have held back a little? Because of Veldora's sealing, humans won't be able to live here anymore, but monsters could still have used this land."
At my question, Hinata looked slightly guilty for a moment, then lifted her chin with a bold expression, like she was making excuses.
"...If my opponent hadn't been a True Dragon, I would have paid attention to the surroundings too."
Even on the verge of death, Hinata still couldn't bring herself to admit it was because of her competitive streak.
*
After that, we checked to see if anyone was still left in the village, then confirmed that Veldora had fallen into a peaceful sleep inside [Unlimited Imprisonment].
"Ugh... where is this...?"
His recovery really was absurdly fast. Even after fighting at full power, Veldora opened his eyes again in barely half a day.
"You finally awake now?"
Veldora, freshly awake, widened his eyes so much it looked like a cartoon sound effect should pop out, then glanced around.
I had even brought Chronoa along in case he went berserk after realizing he'd been sealed, but apparently that wasn't necessary.
"...You are a demon? Why is a demon in this place? And this barrier—ah... I see. It belongs to that Hero, doesn't it...?"
"You're calmer than I expected. You said you got sealed unfairly, so I figured you'd be thrashing around like a lizard."
For all that he was a True Dragon, it seemed even a reckless idiot like him knew what embarrassment was.
"Ahem... this battle does not count! I was not fighting at full strength! I had not even used a quarter of a quarter of my true power!"
"......"
...Never mind.
Embarrassment, my ass. He was just a stubborn idiot.
I'd forgotten that every last one of the True Dragons had a screw loose...
"Oh? Really? In that case, I could always fight you again."
...Come to think of it, Heroes all had a screw loose too.
"Ha! Just what I wanted! This time, I shall show you my real power...!!"
And so the Hero and the Storm Dragon launched into round two—this time as a verbal battle.
Watching their unbelievably childish clash of pride, all I could think was:
'...These two are both thousands of years old?'
Their mental ages were both alarmingly low for their actual age.
*
The absurdly long argument finally ended about three hours later.
"...Now that you're done arguing, can I speak?"
".........Hinata actually said, 'Mm...'"
".........Ahem..."
After letting out a short sigh, Adelio shifted his gaze—one that had looked like he was watching two dimwitted younger siblings—and turned serious as he faced Veldora.
"Veldora."
"...W-What is it?"
"...Aren't you frustrated?"
"Hm...?"
"......"
In the original story, Veldora attacking the village had definitely been explained as an accident.
It was never explained in detail why he made that mistake, but I had guessed it was probably because he couldn't properly control his vast amount of magicules.
After all, among the three True Dragons currently in existence, Veldora was the one with the greatest amount of magicules.
'Even if that's true, there's nothing I can really do to help... but still... I don't feel like just letting it pass.'
And Veldora, as if my question born from pure curiosity was somehow unexpected, tilted his head.
Looking at him, I continued.
"You're a True Dragon, so you already know, don't you? This prison will never disappear before you do, and you'll stay trapped here for hundreds of years before quietly fading away."
The Unique Skill [Unlimited Imprisonment] was one of the stronger Unique Skills that appeared in the novel.
Its ability was simple—it created a prison that lasted until the target was destroyed—but unless one possessed power that had reached the ultimate level, that prison could never be broken.
Which meant the current Veldora had absolutely no way of shattering it.
Because the current Veldora had not yet met that slime's skill.
"...Ha. So that was all you wanted to ask?"
After taking a moment to steady himself, Veldora muttered, "What a simple question," and began to speak.
"There is no need for concern, young demon. We True Dragons are immortal beings who revive even after death. We are used to dying. And above all—having lost according to the law of the strong devouring the weak, do I have any right to complain?"
The law of the strong devouring the weak.
The most basic law of nature, and the one rule shared by all monsters.
No matter the era, no matter the environment, it was an unchanging rule that never disappeared.
"We True Dragons may be revered as gods or natural disasters, but in essence, we are monsters just like you. Merely being a superior species does not grant us the right to reject the laws that govern monsters. So no—I have no dissatisfaction with this result."
There was no trace of playfulness in Veldora's answer. He was completely sincere.
And hearing that answer, I couldn't help widening my eyes.
"...I see."
For a very brief moment, Veldora looked like an absolute ruler worthy of a throne—just like Guy.
'...So this is why he's called the sovereign of storms.'
That was the kind of talent one could only be born with—something like charisma, or aura.
That was probably the real proof that, despite always acting like an idiot, he did have the qualities of a ruler.
"Of course! Next time, I shall win perfectly!! Kahahaha!!!"
...Probably.
...............
After waiting through about another hour of Veldora praising himself while I let it go in one ear and out the other, he finally started talking a little less.
"...Are you finally done bragging about yourself?"
"What are you talking about! If I were to properly explain my greatness, I would still need much more time!"
He must have been desperate to brag to someone. Starting from stories about when he was born thousands of years ago, he rambled on and on all the way to completely uninteresting tales about trespassing into the land of the giants.
"All right, that's enough. I've listened for an hour, so I'm heading back for today."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
...I'd thought this before, but this guy really had no sense for these things.
"Honestly... I listened to your ear-splitting bragging on purpose because I figured you'd be lonely. You looked like you were secretly miserable over the thought of rotting away in here for hundreds of years."
Well, part of it was that I felt a sense of kinship with him because of my own past life spent stuck in a hospital bed.
The loneliness of being alone was a poison that was terribly harmful to the mind.
"I'll come by from time to time and check how you're doing. I've got plenty of time to spare anyway."
If I didn't come, I could already clearly see the future where he'd spend all his time trembling in loneliness until he met that slime three hundred years later.
Seriously, what a shut-in dragon.
"Hmph... I-I am not so weak that I would lose to something as trivial as loneliness, you know?"
"......Oh?"
'He's really going to play hard to get here?'
Using the same sly tone Guy might have used, Adelio looked at the dragon, who was still nothing but pride, and continued.
"Really? If that's how you feel, then I guess I don't need to come after all..."
"W-Wait! Th-That's right! I also happen to have gained a great deal of free time, so as a form of amusement, I shall specially grant you the right to converse with me for the next several hundred years! Well?!"
The moment he thought Adelio might really not come, Veldora's words sped up in a panic.
But Adelio didn't stop.
"I don't know. More than that kind of 'right,' I'd prefer an attitude that sounds like a sincere request."
Thinking, 'Before I teach him how to read the room, I should teach him who's in the superior position first,' Adelio smiled a sharp smile exactly like his master's.
"Wh-What...? B-But... I am the ruler of this great forest and the storm's—"
It looked like this might fail because of Veldora's pride, but then—
"Five, four, three, two..."
"A-All right! I admit it!! I absolutely hate spending time alone in a place like this in lonely isolation—second only to my sisters!!"
It worked surprisingly easily.
"Mm, accepted."
He should've just said so from the start.
..........
Ah, right. Later, I should make sure to tell Velzard properly that Veldora said he hated his sisters.
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