And so, well. We had already heard the story begin.
The story of how the Hilrae Church created the Dragon Chimera. The story of how it, under the control of an Evil God, tried to kill the Princess. The story of how Lady Kisea struggled to hold it off, and with quick wit, discovered that salt worked against it.
“Ranga, are you joking right now?”
Of course, the reaction was far from good. One person stood up, interrupted, and shouted.
That person was none other than the Archbishop Halonen, serving the Goddess of Earth, Nemi, in the Grantera Diocese.
“A mill that produces infinite salt? Where does such a thing exist?”
Lady Kisea glanced at him for a moment, then suddenly placed a bundle on the ground. From it, a mill… Wait, is that the salt mill that was nearby when we found the Princess?
I was so overwhelmed by the Princess, who was teetering between life and death, that I had forgotten about it. Who knows when she managed to pick it up.
Well, salt is precious in the grasslands, so for Lady Kisea, who hails from the Eastern Plains, salt must be a valuable commodity. How stealthily she must have taken it, that even Roka and I, who were right beside her, didn’t notice.
Indeed, her aptitude didn’t seem to be that of a mercenary. One could say she chose the wrong profession.
Just by looking at her skill in stealing Roka’s star candies, I could confidently say that.
Roll roll roll!
Seeing the mill continuously spitting out salt with my own eyes, the Archbishop who had stood up to speak closed his mouth in embarrassment. Then he quietly sat back down.
“Well, let’s say such a mill exists.”
Everyone looked at him with strange eyes.
Unable to bear the looks that could either be comforting or mocking, he added a word.
“Even so, a Dragon Chimera powerful enough to overwhelm a Master? Such a thing can’t possibly exist. How could the Hilrae Church create something like that?”
“No, it really did exist. What do you want me to do about it?”
“There’s no evidence of such a thing existing. Are you just going to insist with words?”
[If you’re talking about evidence.]
The dragon within the Dragon’s Sword responded.
[I can tell you.]
“Where… More importantly, who are you? Where are you speaking from? Who just made that sound?”
[Young one. Show some respect. The years I’ve lived surpass forty times your age.]
The Dragon’s Sword left the Princess’s hand on its own and embedded itself into the ground with a thud. Then it spoke.
Archbishop Halonen’s expression turned strange. He hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
“I’m over fifty now, so forty times that would be two thousand years? That’s four times older than the Empire. Are you the ego or spirit of that sword? Even so, it’s hard to believe something could last that long.”
[I am a dragon, you fool.]
“Right, unless you’re a dragon, a god, or a Demon King… A dragon?”
[That Dragon Chimera was made from my heart. I quietly watched it all.]
With the sudden participation of the dragon, people seemed too tired to be surprised anymore. With so many shocking events happening today, everyone had reached their limit.
As too many absurd events happened one after another, even His Majesty was at a loss for words. Only then did he realize the true nature of the sword and was startled.
“The Dragon’s Sword! Is that truly the royal treasure? How did it turn so black?”
“Well, when this dragon, Azahadaka, took residence here, it naturally…”
“Indeed, I’ve never heard of dragon bones changing color. Over time, dragon bones don’t fade! Only a dragon can affect dragon bones.”
As the Princess awkwardly explained, His Majesty looked at the sword with admiration. He couldn’t help but marvel.
Hearing a more detailed explanation, everyone expressed their amazement.
Hearing that this dragon had lost its body and only its soul remained, and that it had taken the sword as its body, His Majesty nodded.
“Well done. Very well done. You are on par with our ancestors. We must treat you as we would an ancestor. If there is anything you need, let me know.”
[Indeed, I wondered how such a person could exist, but it’s because of good upbringing. The moral education was done very well. I really like that mother and daughter!]
It seemed like he spoke to everyone, but no. Looking around, it seemed no one else heard him. He spoke only to me.
[You should learn from them. Try to serve me a bit. Try to be even half as good as that mother and daughter.]
All I could do was give a bitter smile. Anyway, His Majesty also turned his attention away from me and returned to the main topic. To the royal family, who pride themselves on being descendants of dragons, dragons seemed to be a more important concept than I thought.
[I can also tell you the location of the laboratory of those you call the Hilrae Church. In the northeast of the capital, the secret entrance of the Lingbelton Trading Company leads to an underground secret research facility.]
“Is that so?”
In fact, His Majesty treated the dragon as if it were an ancestor, and with each call, he raised the title.
After hearing Azahadaka’s story, His Majesty pondered for a moment and then called someone.
“Commander of the Rose Knights.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I, Sophie Well, am here!”
“You haven’t done anything. It’s astonishing.”
“Well, that’s…”
The knight’s face turned pale. His Majesty glanced at her and waved his hand.
“With such an event happening, there should be at least some small achievement. Go and check if there really is a Chimera research facility at that Lingbelton Trading Company. You may take the entire Rose Knights.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I’ll go right away!”
In a hurry, the knight ran off. His Majesty, lost in thought for a moment, then called Lady Kisea in a much more respectful tone.
“Ranga. If it’s true that you defeated the Evil God within the Chimera, then it’s not just a matter of saving my daughter. It’s a great merit. You thwarted the Evil God’s ambition to swallow the continent, so perhaps not only the royal family but also the other side will give you a great reward.”
“As for that part…”
Archbishop Halonen, with a somewhat more troubled expression, replied with a slightly pale face.
“We will also verify the facts in our own way. But if it’s true, the Goddess will not only forgive Ranga for betraying the contract with the temple but also grant a great reward. The Goddess is already listening attentively to the current story.”
“The Goddess of Elysia will do the same.”
Archbishop Arice hesitated, then suddenly knelt before His Majesty. His Majesty looked at her with a somewhat calm expression. Somehow, it felt familiar.
“What is it?”
“Your Majesty. Not as a believer but as a human, I apologize for my mistake. The witnesses who saw me kill Armata… Their testimonies match the Dragon Chimera that was just mentioned.”
“So, at least this matter is not anyone’s fault but a misunderstanding between parties.”
“Since the royal palace is the most knowledgeable about dragons, we suspected Your Majesty based on circumstantial evidence. This is clearly my and Halonen’s fault.”
In a somewhat softened tone, His Majesty spoke.
“Our royal family takes pride in being descendants of dragons.”
[That’s right!]
“A Dragon Chimera? As descendants of dragons, how could we create such a blasphemous thing? Hearing that the Hilrae Church did such a thing, I am furious.”
[Exactly! That’s how it should be!]
The dragon, in a good mood, chimed in.
Of course, he wasn’t so careless as to reveal his words to everyone. So, the one he spoke to was…
[You’re tight-lipped, which is good. No matter what I say, it won’t be leaked.]
Me, just me?
Somehow, I felt like I had become the companion of a lonely old man.
“However, there’s one thing I must ask.”
While I was silently listening to the dragon’s voice, Lady Kisea also found herself in an awkward situation.
“Ranga. The story of defeating the Evil God with just salt… I still can’t understand it. Could you explain the situation in more detail?”
“No, I already told you everything. What more do you want to know?”
“The person above me is also curious. Are you deceiving the Goddess of Elysia with that statement?”
With a look as if she had been pricked by a needle, Lady Kisea was held by Archbishop Arice, who questioned her thoroughly.
“I just sprinkled the salt I had…”
“That mill, let’s see the mill again. This defeated the Evil God?”
She dipped her finger in the salt from the mill and brought it to her tongue, making a strange expression. That’s right. That salt is just salt to those who are not impure.
You could take it and use it in cooking. Using salt as salt, the Lord wouldn’t be angry.
*
“That guy, really, leaving something like this behind.”
In the Citadel Republic. Robert, the Minister of Finance, smiled as he looked at the automatically turning mill. He had been promoted from the head of the tax bureau, skipping several steps. Of course, it was a promotion gained because all the higher-ups had fled in chaos.
Unlike the Empire, the Citadel had just regained peace. Of course, it was thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Robert. The administrative power had completely collapsed. Before recovering this, they couldn’t properly collect taxes.
Moreover, since the capital had burned down, the national treasury was practically empty. There were overseas assets, but bringing them in required procedures and time.
Without taxes, there was no money to hire civil servants. Thus, the administrative power couldn’t recover. That led to not being able to collect taxes again… It was a difficult problem.
Of course, they could send the military to search homes and take money the old-fashioned way. But that’s not collecting taxes; it’s plundering. Plundering their own citizens.
They had already gone through one chaos. The citizens were already greatly disheartened. If they plundered now, it would be like cutting the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs. Many probably wouldn’t be able to endure it.
The thing that solved all of this.
That is this mill that endlessly produces salt.
“Thanks to this, the reconstruction has been much faster. I’ll keep it safe until it’s needed again, alright.”
This salt has no cost. It’s truly free. No matter the price, there’s profit. Moreover, unlike gold, salt is a necessity.
If it were a mill that produced infinite gold, over time, gold would become worthless, but salt, once consumed, is gone. If the supply is too much, just throw it into the sea, and it completely disappears.
By selling this salt at a low price, they won the hearts of the people while securing national funds. This discarded mill is now under national-level protection, still producing salt.
In a way, nothing has changed. Instead of taxes, they receive payment for salt. Since the cost of salt is free, the profit is similar to collecting taxes, but the people’s satisfaction is much higher.
The reconstruction of the Citadel is steadily progressing. When the nation and economy recover to the point where they no longer depend on this mill, then this mill will finally get its rest. In the Citadel Museum.
