Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

「It's so quiet nowadays, isn’t it Runfeld-sama?」

The dark knight who is mounting on his own wyvern said carefreely.

「Don't let down your guard. There's a chance that the information about the annihilation of those holy knight chaps is a fake information. Let's continue with our usual patrol」

When I warned them, my wyfern is flying on top of the mountain, the boundary region of Nargol.

When I glanced behind, I can see the knights following after me.

「As I thought, rebuilding our force is a tough task, huh…」

I mutter those words which isn't mean to anyone.

More than half of the dark knights were killed in the battle against the hero a while ago. Even the survivors were bearing a wound or two.

In the first place, the people who possess enough aptitude to become a dark knight is scarce even amongst the demon race, it is even more so for one capable of riding a wyvern.

Almost all of the skilled knights had been done in by the hero. The only one who remained right now is the one who can get on the wyvern.

Currently, the number of the dark knights who can be dispatched is no more than twenty.

It's an urgent matter now that entirely depends on me to rebuild the chivalric order of dark knights.

Those holy knights of Elios were frequently trespassing the boundary lately.

When thinking about that, my head is filled with fury.

But then, they kept insisting that the skies of the entire world belong to the gods of Elios. It's us who are violating the airspace rules despite flying in Nargol territory.

Naturally, I have no intention to approve their claims.

Though they approached the boundaries of Nargol time and time again before the coming of the hero, they never invaded into Nargol territory.

And then, those guys started to invade Nargol territory almost everyday after the chivalric order of dark knights was almost annihilated by the hero.

They are trespassing into our airspace as if to mock us.

Though we advised them to leave, they acted as if they never heard us, so we had no choice but to watch them in silence due to our lack of war potential.

But, even their airspace violation was finally put to an end two days ago.

Moreover, when I think about the person who is the main reason for that, I feel nothing but pure fear springing inside me.

Our patrol also ended peacefully for this reason.

「Yosh, let's go back to the fortress！！！」

The wyvern circles around upon my order.

It maintained its altitude on top of the Akeron mountain, the natural dividing barrier between the human world and Nargol.

After continuing to fly in this way for some time, I can see the fort on top of the mountain range.

This fort is built for the sake of protecting Nargol from Elios.

We land on the wide space in the middle of the fort.

「Welcome back, Runfeld-sama」

I entrust my wyvern to my subordinate coming out from the fort.

I started walking toward my residence located inside the fort.

「Father！！！」

「Dear father！！！」

Two kids appeared before me from inside the fort.

「Reyli, Reyfaldo！！Why are you in this place？」

My kids rushed toward me.

Reyfaldo is a boy who will turn 120 years old this year while Reyli is a girl who will turn 90 years old this year. Both of them are my children.

They should have been near the demon king castle, since the demon race village is around its vicinity.

「It’s because mother wants to help father」

「Yes, mother wants us to help father in order for us to become a good demon knight in the future」

Reyli and Reyfaldo reply as such.

「I see…」

In fact, we're experiencing a shortage of personnel in the fort right now. Anyhow, as a matter of fact, even the people we recruited in the previous battle included non-combatants. Currently, we are even willing to go as far as asking a helping hand from a passing by cat.

But now, I'm hesitating whether it's okay to let my two kids in the fort as it is.

「Please father. Please let me[Boku]… No, please permit me[Watashi] to get on the wyvern」

「Reyli too wants to do the same!」

I'm troubled upon hearing their words.

Excluding the sortie for battles, the miscellaneous matters of the fort were numerous. Maybe there are some jobs that can be done even by children.

Maybe it's okay to slowly give them a job related to becoming a knight, especially to Reyfaldo.

It was when I was considering about such matters.

The wyvern house suddenly became noisy.

「What！ ！ Just happened！ ！ 」

I'm asking my subordinate who’s in charge of the wyvern house.

「I don't know！！The wyverns have suddenly become restless！！」

My subordinate is desperate while he’s still trying to appease the wyverns.

「RUNFELD-SAMA！！IT'S AN EMERGENCY！！」

A knight on watch duty in the tower shouted to me with an alarmed tone.

「WHAT'S THE MATTER！！」

「IT'S A DRAGON！！A DRAGON… IS HEADING TOWARD US！！」

As I look toward the direction in the sky where the knight is pointing his finger at.

Something that’s flying like a bird is present in the sky approaching us slowly now.

The one flying at a distance isn't a wyvern – it's a dragon.

「What should we do, Runfeld-sama！！」

When I look around, the soldiers of the fort are holding their crossbows and bows in preparation to face the dragon.

「PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS！！DON'T POINT YOUR CROSSBOWS TOWARD THE DRAGON！！」

The knights are questioning my order.

「Why we have to drop our weapon, Runfeld-sama?!」

「JUST LISTEN TO ME AND DON'T QUESTION IT！！GATHER EVERYONE！！」

If it's really as I imagined, that dragon isn't hostile toward us.

All of the people in the fort have been gathered.

The dragon is nearing the fort at a terrifying velocity.

When it comes close, the dragon howls.

「UWAAAAAAAAA！！」

「Dear father！！」

「Father！！」

Several of my subordinates lost their composure due to fear, and my children Reyfaldo and Reyli are clinging onto my legs.

The howling of a true dragon is imbued with fear magic. People who can't resist it won't be able to move their body due to fear.

My emotions experienced another huge change when seeing a dragon from up close.

The dragon, whose body is many times larger than our wyvern, is occupying the entire space in central plaza after landing down in the fort.

It is a black dragon which lives in Akeron mountain range and once hailed as ‘Demon Dragon’. This dragon possesses a violent temper, and anyone who carelessly approached it will become the prey of it's breath.

But, that’s only until yesterday.

When I run my gaze at the back of the dragon, a dark knight is sitting there.

Dark knight Diehart.

Nargol’s hero who annihilated the chivalric order of dark knights a few days ago.

Diehart descends toward the fort.

「ALL MEMBERS, SALUTE！！！」

There are still some people who can't stand due to fear and ignore my order.

I bow my head while placing my hand on my chest.

「Lord Runfeld…. Such a thing is…」

Diehart unfastens his helmet while saying so.

Slender face with fair skin accompanied by black-colored hair.

To be honest, he looks like a man of gentle demeanor, he's nothing like an extremely strong individual. No matter how many times I look at him, he was a frail human being without any horn.

But, I must not let his appearance trick me. The true form of this seemingly weak looking man is a monster.

He defeated that terrifying hero and then annihilated the chivalric order of holy knights.

And then, I look at Diehart’s armor. The armor worn by Diehart is the armor of black devil. The armor worn by every member of dark knight is a weaker version derived from his armor.

And this man is just nonchalantly wearing the armor which could be worn only by people with sufficient magic power.

This hornless person can do something that the demon race unable to do. I'm frustrated just by thinking about it.

This Diehart is currently someone who’s just below our king.

Humans are inferior living creatures. Even some demons have antipathy for being placed under this human.

Naturally, such individuals also exist in this fort.

「Don't mind it, your excellency is a hero after all！！」

Diehart is showing a troubled face after hearing my words.

Diehart is not very good with being treated in such a way by someone who’s older than him.

But, it doesn't mean that I can just show my impolite attitude when the one I'm facing is a monster-like existence who annihilated the chivalric order of holy knights single-handedly.

「What is your order today, your excellency？ 」

My tone became slightly stiff since, to be honest, I don't want him to come to this fort.

「My apologies for arriving during such a hectic day, Lord Runfeld. I found you when I was practicing on riding Glorious, and…. I came to express my gratitude for introducing the dragon. And while I'm at it, I also decided to take a look at the fort, since I’m so curious about the fort on the boundary」

Diehart is looking at the dragon when saying those words with a slight hesitation in his voice.

The name Glorious seemingly means glory in Diehart’s world’s language. Truly an appropriate name for Diehart.

And then, the dragon named as such was a dragon which was feared as demon dragon until yesterday. Diehart made this dragon his personal mount just yesterday.

Suddenly, I recall the events that happened yesterday.

I introduced about the demon dragon living in Akeron mountain range to Diehart when he wanted his own personal wyvern.

That was something coming out of my own personal calculations.

Even the demon race has a hard time taming a wyvern, much less to say that it's hundred-fold harder to have a true dragon as a personal mount.

Naturally, I thought that Diehart would also have a hard time taming it.

At that time, I said, 「Your excellency should be able to ride on a dragon, right?」with hints of sarcasm in my voice.

As a result, Diehart easily got a dragon for himself.

Nowadays, I feel miserable for saying those words with hint of sarcasm in my voice.

And then, he came to convey his gratitude to me who spouted such sarcasm. It’s like I'm spitting on my own miserable self.

「I'm unworthy of such gratitude…」

I'm saying so while looking at Diehart’s face.

For some reason, Diehart is looking toward my feet.

When I follow his line of sight, I find Reyli and Reyfaldo continued to clutch onto my legs.

「Children？」

Diehart questions me about the children.

「Yes, these children have come to provide a helping hand for the fort…」

But, I couldn't finish my line.

Because I felt a strong pressure emanating from Diehart.

「Are you harassing children and forcing them to participate in battles？ 」

His voice is completely different from his previously timid voice. This voice was extremely cold. My spine froze when I heard this voice.

「My deepest apologies, your excellency! We are currently experiencing shortage of soldiers after the battle against the hero…. My deepest apologies！！」

I apologise twice.

But, Diehart became calmer when hearing my words.

「No, my apologies, I’ve been too ignorant about your own situation…」

Diehart said in an apologetic manner.

I heave a grand sigh when Diehart’s pressure calmed down.

This man is even more terrifying than the dragon behind him.

「They're my children, Reyfaldo and Lely. Come and greet his excellency」

「Y-Your excellency, my name is Reyfaldo！！」

「M-My name is Lely, Diehart-sama！！」

Lely and Reyfaldo are giving their greetings while slightly fumbling with their words.

「You have such good children, don't you………」

Diehart’s praising the children.

「Now, I don't mind if everyone returns and continues with their job. It's busy time, after all」

Diehart is walking toward the fort.

「I'll guide you inside the fort, your excellency」

「No, it's okay. I think I'll be back after inspecting a bit…」

After saying so, Diehart went into the fort alone.

After a brief inspection of the fort, I ride on Glorious.

「It seems I'm an annoyance, huh….」

I unintentionally mutter it.

「That's not true. It's thanks to Diehart-sama that those guys have survived！！」

Nut’s resentment voice resounds from inside my armor’s pocket.

The members of demon race fort were obviously troubled against me. Nut became angry due to that.

According to Nut, I was summoned in order to save them. Practically, I saved them and took out the hero.

Even though I was summoned without my consent, I'm not the type of person who feels happy for doing something cruel.

Unexpectedly, I think that I’m enjoying this world in my own manner like Reiji.

I heard many things that maligned him on my way to Holy Republic Lenaria. Things like he was quite a selfish person or that he was always doing things with brute force.

But, I think that I won't live in a such manner.

Well, it's mainly because I care about the people’s impression about me. I won't be able to feel calm even if a stranger hostile toward me.

That was why I continued to show appropriate manners toward the demon race.

But, it seems I was being an annoyance since they're not even welcoming me.

To be honest, I think the only one who would warmly welcome me in this world are just Nut and Modes. Naturally, I would have been angry if the ringleader who summoned me was a cruel individual.

Though there might be someone else who also welcomed me, I just couldn't consider them, since I don't know them.

But, it's not so bad when they're only being hostile toward me. However, there were people gazing at me with killing intent.

It feels like I can't stay at the same place with them.

「It's okay, thank you for your worry, Nut」

I convey my gratitude to him since he got angry for my sake.

「Rather than that, where are we going to now?」

I pat Glorious neck.

There’s nothing better than doing something else when something unpleasant happens. Currently riding on a dragon, I point my sword toward the vast expanse in front.

The one who gave this name was me. Though the meaning of that name is exactly opposite to my fame, it is still a good name after all.

It seems subduing a dragon is a hard thing, but it was unexpectedly easy for me.

We are flying on top of the Akeron mountain range.

Previously, I had flown on top of this mountain range on a wyvern when I travelled from that fort to the nearby human city. Flying like this with my own dragon feels even more satisfying than riding on someone else’s wyvern.

Though the Nargol’s sky isn't that pretty due to the existence of magical power-filled clouds covering it, that itself made me feel happy.

But, I'll try to fly toward a slightly different place right now.

After crossing the Akeron mountain range, I'm flying toward the nearby plot of land where the humans are residing.

According to Nut, the Akeron mountain range below us is the boundary separating human world and Nargol.

But, it seems that the expanse of the Akeron mountain range starting and ending points are still a mystery.

That was the source of dispute with the holy knights of Elios.

That Akeron mountain range is the greatest home for the goblins of this world, and there are a variety of goblin kingdom in this mountain range.

That's why I can see many goblins as I fly on top of the Akeron mountain range.

Though it seems that the majority of these goblin kingdoms follow Modes, it seems the one on human side is not so, and there’s even the possibility of them showing hostility toward them.

It seems they won't go as far as attacking a dragon, but let's raise the altitude a bit higher just to make sure.

It was when I was thinking about it.

I saw an impossible thing halfway up the mountain.

「Nut！！Those are humans, right？ 」

There were figures of human beings in the middle of Akeron mountain range.

And then, those human-like figure were being assaulted by the goblins.

「Glorious！！」

I unintentionally lower Glorious toward that place.

The goblins scatter at once while screaming loudly when they see the figure of a dragon.

I'm looking at the human crowd. There were around twenty of them. There are no adult males amongst them, they are comprised mostly of women and children.

The humans show dread on their faces because of the dragon’s howl.

「What's your name！！？」

I ask as such to the humans while continuing to maintain my position on Glorious.

But, the humans aren't replying as they are still terrified due to the dragon that appeared out of nowhere.

It's starting to get on my nerves.

What's with these people, don't they know that they'll be attacked once they enter the territory of the goblins?

Maybe it was unnecessary for me to save them, it's just like the event at the fort a while ago.

But, seeing that I already saved their life, I should hear their situation.

After going down from Glorious back, I take off my helmet.

They're starting to raise a ruckus.

「Hu-… Man？」

「The dark knight is… Human？ 」

The faces of the humans who saw my face were softened a bit.

「My name is dark knight Diehart！  ！ Is there someone amongst you who can tell me about your situation！！」

The humans become noisy once they hear Diehart’s name.

A while later, a woman comes out.

She's young, maybe around the first-half of her twenties. Upon a closer look, her dress is the best amongst these people.

「Uhm… M-My… My name is Regena, the princess of Algore kingdom. These people are my blood relatives….」

The woman is replying with a stuttering voice.

「….Princess？ Why would a princess be in this kind of place？ 」

I couldn't comprehend the situation. A princess, or should I say royalty should be living in the castle, right?

What are they doing in this kind of place？

When I asked Nut, it seems he also doesn't know about Algore kingdom. Nut’s knowledge is only about human kingdoms that are considered powerhouses, which means that Algore isn't a power house.

「….We were exiled, and we came to this land」

Regena timidly said, but then she started explaining their situation.

It seems Algore is a certain kingdom that’s located close to Nargol.

It seems that the king is chosen from amongst the few clans who live in Algore kingdom.

Regena’s clan monopolized the king throne for these few decades. As a result, the other clans who couldn't take that incited a rebellion. Thus, Regena’s clan was defeated and banished from the kingdom.

「Banishment, huh….」

It's more like an execution rather than banishment.

The people who incited the rebellion feared that Regena’s clan will come for revenge after restoring their power in another city. That's why they drove away Regena and the rest toward Nargol. Naturally, they will become goblin food. I feel that it's quite a cruel exile.

Regena is telling me that while crying. It seems at first there were hundred of them, but the number dwindled after the attacks of the goblin. The adults became victims first for the sake of protecting the women and the children. She also mentioned that her older brother and her father were amongst them. That's why there’s none but women and children amongst them.

「Please. Please save us….」

Regena is pleading to me. According to Regena’s story, Algore is on bad terms with the neighbourhood kingdom, so no kingdom will welcome Regena, a royalty of that kingdom. That's why Regena has nowhere to go. They were refugees.

I heave a sigh while looking at the sky.

I don't think that I'll save them if the story ended just like that. Even if I guide them to leave the habitat of the goblins, they won't be able to enter the kingdom as refugees. They might become victims of other demons as long as they stay outside the rampart.

Though they might be able to survive if I brought them to one of the powerhouse kingdoms, but myself aside, I can't take everyone amongst Regena's group.

「Please… I'll do anything for you….！」

Regena is pleading to me. Maybe they've suffered thoroughly while travelling to this place. Her voice is already hoarse.

The other people are also bowing toward me.

I thought that things have become even more troublesome.

What should I do….? It's easier if I just run and abandon them to their fates.

The goblins might come for them as long as I leave them in this place.

There won't be any future issues as long as I do so.

Suddenly, I'm wondering what Reiji will do if he is in my position.

I look at Regena. She's quite a beauty herself.

Reiji will definitely save her. And then, he would push the job of taking care of them to someone else in an unknown place. No one could go against him as long as he uses the privilege of the hero, and then, he would only take the sweetest part of it. In the worst case, if something ever happened later, he held no responsibility for it.

Seeing Regena, it made me a bit worried. When I was thinking that Reiji wouldn’t fret over such things, I decided.

「KAKKA！What does that mean！！」

Runfeld is raising an objection inside the fort.

「I'm bringing over my slaves since you seem to be lacking the members for taking care the daily chores of the fort, Lord Runfeld」

I'm saying that as I pointed to Regena's group.

In the end, I moved back to the fort with magic and then taking someone along till the defense location of Regena's.

Naturally, it's for the sake of making them work in this fort.

I have faint expectations that they won't dare to act too rude if I said that Regena's my property, in other words they are my slaves.

「Children won't do for such things, right！！」

It seems that they can't take them.

「Oya, last time I heard that this fort is experiencing a shortage of personel that they went as far as borrowing the hands of the children, right？ 」

I return his words while implicitly pointing toward Runfeld’s children.

There's discontentment echoing from the members of the fort of the demon race.

The demon race look down on inferior creatures like human race. It was natural for them to feel so since those humans had come to work in this fort.

But, I ignore those voice.

「No need to say your gratitude, Lord Runfeld. Please make full use of my slaves, be it dish-washing or cleaning. But, I want you to at least give them meals and a place to sleep」

I say so while acting dumb.

It made me look like that I am truly worried about the fort, but, in fact, I'm just dumping the job of looking after them upon Runfeld.

I can hear the demon race members secretly muttering, "Stop doing such things" behind my back.

It seems they think that I can't hear them, but I could hear them since I’ve become a superman in this world.

I think there won't be any problems later.

I then glance at Regena. I give a simple explanation since they felt anxious.

Maybe there was the possibility that they'll be killed by the demon race in an unknown place. But, I don't know what I can do for them anymore than this.

I can't look after them till the end. I just feel that this is better than becoming goblin feeder.

「KAKKA！ ！」

Runfeld is still trying to raise an objection.

「Lord Runfeld, my apologies, but I have to go back to demon lord castle. If you have something to talk about, please tell me on another day. I'll leave my slaves to you UNTIL THAT TIME, LORD RUNFELD！！」

I put more emphasis at the end of my words so that he won't make any further objections.

It seems that Runfeld couldn't reply anything in seeing my attitude.

「I'll return to demon king castle, then」

After saying so, I mount on Glorious while completely ignoring the discontented Runfeld.

Glorious is raising a howl as it soars into the sky.

The people in the fort raise a dreadful voice.

With Glorious soaring into the sky, the fort instantly turned into a small dot.

In the skies, I’m wondering as I ride on Glorious.

In the end, I'm just acting like Reiji, doing whatever I want without taking any responsibility for my action, receiving even further hostility from the demon race.

I don't know what will become of Regena and the other members later.

But I definitely will regret it if I did not save their life. Reiji, who does this kind of act, definitely won't be troubled at all.

That's why I shouldn't think about it either.

Rather than that, I should just think about the goddess to be created starting from tomorrow. That is more enjoyable.

I'm riding on Glorious and yet, my heart is as dark as the skies of Nargol.