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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Do as you please.”
The harpies’ faces instantly hardened.
What exactly was the dragon folk’s way?
Fighting until one side died and then claiming everything as their spoils?
They thought of a few other possibilities, but all of them seemed like the worst-case scenarios.
How big was Peltir Hill anyway?
It was just situated at a high altitude, but considering its actual area, it wasn’t particularly large.
Harpies were inherently far from combat-oriented, so the only fighting force here was Jekkiel and the one vampire who had come with him.
What?
Do as you please?
“I understand perfectly. You’ll receive plenty of resentment from the harpies. Let’s see how this plays out by the end of today.”
With Malygos’s final words, the dragon folk spread their wings and flew away.
“Huh…?”
Tegaru stared blankly at their departure.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way this hill could remain unscathed.
Even if they trusted and followed Jekkiel out of their past affection, how could he create such a situation?
Wasn’t this essentially telling the harpies, ‘This place will be your grave~’?
Tegaru’s face wasn’t the only one that looked dumbfounded.
All the remaining harpies looked at Jekkiel with dejected expressions.
What had been the point of everything they had endured until now?
“L-Lord Jekkiel… What is this… Oh my.”
Tegaru clutched the back of his neck.
He had believed without a doubt that a savior had come to Peltir Hill, but now it seemed more like the grim reaper had arrived.
Even if he had stepped down from the position of the Sin of Pride, the fact that he had held that seat for a while didn’t disappear.
That’s why they had thought he would use that fact to lead the negotiations wisely.
They had believed he would resolve things peacefully…
‘This is bad.’
It was bad for those living on Peltir Hill, but Princess Parna’s condition was currently the most worrying.
A young harpy urgently approached Tegaru.
“…Tegaru sir, the princess’s condition has worsened further.”
“Worsened? To what extent?”
“At this rate… she might not last a week.”
“This is maddening. Truly maddening…”
Of course, no measures had been taken for Parna’s condition yet.
How could they treat something when they didn’t know the cause?
Because of this, the princess’s symptoms were worsening day by day.
“Bala Hill is still…”
“We can’t enter. The dragon folk have completely taken over.”
“Haah.”
Around Peltir Hill, there were several other hills of similar height, which were connected like a communication network to exchange information.
Among them, Bala Hill acted as the entrance to this information network.
Now that those dragon bastards had blocked it…
What should they do now?
Tegaru’s hands trembled.
“Tegaru sir, what do we do now?”
“Haah…”
Instead of answering, Tegaru clutched his heart tightly.
He felt incredibly frustrated.
Should they submit to the dragon folk now, or leave Peltir Hill to find another habitat?
As he pondered various options, his gaze eventually turned back to Jekkiel.
Jekkiel.
Since he had caused this situation, only he would know the right answer.
“Lord Jekkiel. What do you intend to do?”
“What else?”
Jekkiel extended his hand.
“Hand over the map.”
Tegaru sighed.
“After we hand over the map, what will happen to those of us who remain here? The dragon folk will soon descend upon us…”
“You’re wrong.”
Jekkiel’s tone was decidedly firm.
“I vaguely understand how difficult it is to leave a place you’ve grown accustomed to. Rather, you must hand the map over to me to prevent this place from being devastated.”
“What do you mean?”
“As soon as I receive the map, I will depart for Bala Hill. What they ultimately want is the map. They won’t have any business on a Peltir Hill without the map.”
Uh, excuse me, Demelie interjected cautiously.
“What if the dragon folk take the harpies of Peltir Hill hostage and threaten us…? If I were a dragon, that’s what I would do.”
“They absolutely can’t do that.”
“Eh?”
Tegaru seemed to have the same concern as Demelie, but his head tilted at Jekkiel’s resolute answer.
“Their attitude may be arrogant, but right now, those guys want the map more than anything else. They’re clearly plotting something behind Regita’s back, so they absolutely can’t act that way.”
Among the Sins, Regita was the most hot-tempered and reckless.
The fact that his underlings were moving meant there was a high possibility of some kind of plan that even Regita didn’t know about.
“Hmm.”
Tegaru’s expression became subtle.
“Then, Lord Jekkiel, after you move to Bala Hill with the map…”
“It will be devastated. Either I’ll make it so, or they will.”
This meant he would handle all the dragons that came rushing in by himself.
It was difficult to even say out loud, and even more difficult to actually do in reality.
“You say it so easily…”
“I answer easily because I’ve made my decision, but I’m certainly not joking.”
No matter how firmly Jekkiel spoke, the doubts and worries in Tegaru’s heart weren’t easily dispelled.
It was natural.
With the princess bedridden and all the harpies’ lives threatened, how could he easily feel at ease?
Just as Tegaru was about to open his mouth to ask something else,
“The fact that harpies move based on affection and intimacy, and thus have provided a lot of information over time. Vampires never forget that fact.”
Jekkiel’s words were faster.
The man’s attitude was so serious that Tegaru forgot the question he was about to ask.
“The grace doesn’t disappear just because I gave up being the Sin of Pride. It’s something that should be repaid, and if it must be repaid, now is the time.”
Jekkiel subtly showed Tegaru the ring on his left ring finger.
“The claim that I’m acting independently is actually a lie. Don’t forget that what I just said is the answer from all vampires to you.”
Relief quickly spread across the faces of the harpies, which had been full of anxiety.
Jekkiel.
He had never neglected his affection for the harpies.
The other vampires were the same.
Out of immense gratitude,
“It must be, must be… an incredibly difficult task, yet you’re still doing this for us?”
Tegaru couldn’t help but ask.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jekkiel replied,
“…It’s easier than working overtime.”
Truly, sincerely.
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“I’ve finished summarizing all the information gathered at Bala Hill, Lord Caligos.”
Caligos, a dragon with a few impressive red scales on his nape, nodded with a satisfied expression at his subordinate’s words.
“Good work. Those harpy bastards, to think they’ve been monopolizing such valuable information all this time.”
“Indeed. There’s really a lot of useful information. Once we get the map, it seems like everything will be completely wrapped up.”
A smile never left Caligos’s face as he conversed with another dragon.
“Since Lord Malygos is taking action personally, we should obtain it soon. There’s absolutely no way we can fail.”
“True, that’s right. I’m already looking forward to it.”
Yawn—
Both of them stretched without distinction.
Because harpies were completely incapable of fighting, standing guard here was far too easy.
If one were looking for a comfortable and good workplace, wouldn’t this be it?
Getting paid regularly without doing anything…
If they had to find some work to do, chatting with the person next to them was about the only task.
“Lord Caligos, by the way, I heard that Jekkiel visited Peltir Hill. They say he declared war on Lord Malygos without any title…”
“He’s finally lost his mind.”
“Indeed, no matter how you look at it. Even with his birth as a vampire lord, taking on the dragons alone was a foolish act.”
Puhaha! Both of them burst out laughing without distinction.
“I heard he even acted arrogantly. Saying things like ‘Go ahead and scorch the earth if you can.'”
“It will be scorched soon enough, I pity only the harpies.”
“Indeed.”
Puhahahaha! Their laughter grew even louder.
The subordinate, glancing at Caligos’s expression, cautiously brought up a suggestion.
“You look tired, why don’t you get some rest? I’ll stand guard.”
“You will? No, just rest too. What is there to guard here… We just need to greet Lord Malygos properly when he visits.”
“Oh, can I really rest too?”
“Rest, rest~ There’s nothing wrong with it. We could beat the harpies even in our sleep.”
Puhahahahahaha! Their laughter grew even louder.
“Excuse me.”
But then, one subordinate who had been silent until now spoke up. Their gazes naturally turned towards him.
“There’s something strange flying this way.”
“Is it a harpy?”
Caligos, who had already lain down, asked indifferently.
“It doesn’t have feathers on its wings like a harpy.”
“Is it Lord Malygos?”
“It’s different from dragon wings too. It’s bigger.”
“That’s nonsense! You fool! What wings could be bigger than dragon wings?”
Caligos kicked another subordinate lightly.
“You go check. What’s flying in?”
“Ah… um…”
The subordinate’s face turned slightly pale.
“Yes. This guy is right. No feathers on the wings, and not dragon wings either… but they’re incredibly large…”
“Are you guys joking? Speak properly!”
“No, wait. Th-that…”
After swallowing hard, the subordinate said:
“That… that is… a bat wing?”
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[Jekkiel is playing with fire lmao, gonna go on a rampage]
