第１０８０堀：ドラゴンのことはドラゴンに (Part2)
"Of course. I told Yuki-dono and the others to leave the care of Gaur and his kin to me. Besides, if this concerns another dragon, that is vital information for our national defense."
With that settled, we waited patiently for Gaur to finish his cake before moving to a conference room in the General Government Building to get down to business.
"So, what kind of dragon is it?"
"This is the photo."
Labyris placed a photograph on the table, and it indeed showed the unmistakable figure of a dragon.
"Oh, a jet-black dragon. Is there anyone like this in your village?"
"No. There are no black dragons in the Dragonewt village," Gaur replied.
"So, this dragon is a stranger to you?"
"It would seem so."
"I see... a stranger. In that case, it might be difficult to convince them to move through peaceful negotiation. Since this dragon is the cause of the water shortage, I was hoping we could settle this with a talk, but..."
"Hmm? Princess Shera, what do you mean? This dragon is the cause of the water shortage?"
"It hasn't been confirmed yet, but the recent drop in the river's water level isn't due to a lack of rain. Apparently, this dragon created a reservoir for its own use, and that seems to be the cause."
""Huh?""
Looking at the provided information regarding the water shortage, there were no records of dragons ever living in the Kingdom of Defaio. Furthermore, the river from the mine didn't branch off; it flowed straight down from the mountain into the town. From that town, it was then diverted into tributaries to supply water to the various villages.
"...It's as good as confirmed, then."
"Indeed. It looks like this dragon secured water for its own lifestyle, and as a result, the villages' livelihoods are being ruined."
Princess Shera was avoiding making a definitive statement, but no matter how one looked at it, this dragon was the culprit.
"I'm glad you understand so quickly, but the problem is what to do with this dragon," Labyris said. "Simply defeating it would be easy, but as I mentioned before, if it belongs to a village like Gaur's, there might be retaliation. Our goal is strictly to help the Kingdom of Defaio, but..."
"There's no point if we end up triggering a draconic disaster that destroys the kingdom instead."
"Exactly. That's why Yuki asked us to consult with Gaur-san to see if we could settle this through dialogue. Even if Gaur-san doesn't know that dragon, would you be willing to come along as a negotiator? I think they'd be more likely to listen to one of their own than to us."
That was true. There was a much higher chance the dragon would listen to Gaur than to any other race. If things continued as they were, that dragon would likely end up being easily hunted down by Yuki-dono and his group. In that case...
"Gaur. What will you do?"
"I can't exactly say no here. We need a track record of having attempted negotiation, after all."
"Oh? You understand well. Don't worry, I shall accompany you. Now, do you have any other information about this dragon? It seems it has already incinerated the investigation teams."
Yes, the troublesome part was that the dragon had apparently attacked and killed those who came to investigate the water source. Weapons and armor were scattered near the place where the dragon slept...
"We have no information on that dragon. Well, it was common for the Dragon Tribe to attack humans back at our village too. Aside from what we can see, we'll just have to talk to it directly to gather information."
I suppose we won't know until we go there. Well, I was getting tired of nothing but meetings lately anyway. It might be a nice change of pace to head to another country for once.
"You'll come? Thank goodness."
"...I'll go contact Big Bro."
Vilia and the others, having fulfilled their promise to Yuki-dono, beamed with smiles like blooming flowers. Yes, seeing those smiles made accepting the request worthwhile. As for the danger, there was no need to worry with Yuki-dono and his group around.
And so, I found myself getting involved in the troubles of the Kingdom of Defaio.
Leave it to the experts.
Leave dragons to dragons.
Simple enough.
I think it's a good thing to have more talent on board.
Now then, will the negotiation with the dragon succeed?