Chapter 22 : Operation Decoy: Gaining Trust and Preparing for the Knight’s Arrival

Making Estel Village my ally is going smoothly. As my first ally, they will help me in the future.

But in terms of the kingdom’s power structure, they are at the lowest tier.

No matter how much they fight for me, they are helpless in front of the Count, who actually manages this place.

Estel Village becomes precarious with just one order from the Count.

In other words, if I want real help, it’s better to win over a noble with some power and authority.

And Count Craystist is the top priority among such candidates.

[This event is a turning point.]

No matter why the Count’s family sends a knight, it’s only a matter of time before they know about me.

If that’s the case, it’s better to start the attack from my side first. The Count’s knight will serve as the first stepping stone.

First, draw in the knight.

To break down a solid castle, it’s good to have a spy inside the castle. Someday, when I make the Count’s family my ally, that knight will be a great help.

First of all, I need to call the village chief to understand the details.

[Rachel.]

“Yes!”

[Tomorrow, come with the village chief.]

“······??”

[······The grandfather. The grandfather who gave you this letter.]

“Ah, yes!”

[So, are you leaving?]

“No!”

[·········.]

Eventually, I couldn’t stop playing with the water bubble until Rachel was satisfied.

I don’t know why it’s so hard to break Rachel’s will. Maybe Rachel is a biological natural enemy and such···.

It probably isn’t.

The next day, early in the morning, the village chief came to see me. As usual, he bowed his head towards me and first informed me of the village situation.

“Currently, we have succeeded in attracting more than half of the villagers. It seems that the fact that the Dragon God has steadily rained down has had an effect.”

[When everyone knows of my existence, do not bring them.]

“In that case······.”

[I will go, so let them know in advance.]

“Ah, I understand.”

That’s more efficient. It’s much faster for me to move through the sky than to lead dozens or hundreds of people to the cliff. If I show my face once and show them how to rain, it will end successfully.

Now that the report is over, I got straight to the point.

[How is the knight of Craystist.]

“There are a total of six knights in the Craystist Barony. Two 2nd-class knights and four 3rd-class knights.”

2nd class? 3rd class?

To summarize the village chief’s explanation, it’s the difference in strength.

When a normal knight awakens Aura after training, they become a Sword Expert. At this time, the Sword Expert divides the size, sharpness, and power of Aura into three levels.

In other words, there are two 2nd-class experts and four 3rd-class expert knights in the Craystist Barony.

“A 3rd-class knight can fight against a dozen or so red demons alone. Of course, there are individual differences.”

A 3rd-class knight named Failer is said to have fought nearly 20 red demons in a row alone on the previous red moon. That was said to be the best skill among the 3rd-class knights.

“Probably, the person who will come to the village this time will be Sir Failer.”

The village chief listed the praises of the knight named Failer. He said that he had the strength of a 3rd-class expert and the position of a knight, but he treated the villagers without hesitation.

Jonan’s expression, who sometimes hunts with him, also didn’t look bad.

It seems that the person’s personality is trustworthy. But the problem is that he is a knight of the Count’s family.

[The knight of the Count’s family wouldn’t come here to enjoy hunting at this time.]

Then the village chief’s complexion darkened.

As expected, the knight is visiting for official business. And probably that official business is······.

[The investigation of the abnormal weather in Estel Village is the purpose.]

“······That’s right.”

The village chief nodded at my words. It was true that the Count’s family noticed the abnormality in Estel.

I expected it to some extent. From the beginning, I kept that in mind and rained only on the great plains near Estel Village.

“There is one more thing.”

[What is it.]

“It seems that the fact that our village did not suffer any damage during the red moon played a big role.”

What······ Ah.

Come to think of it, that’s right. Because I pulled all the aggro of the red demons, Estel Village was not attacked by them.

But the village chief said that the Count’s family did not send support to Estel Village.

In other words, they deliberately gave up and tried to protect other places, but rather, they were embarrassed because Estel was more intact.

The only village that did not suffer any damage during the red moon escaped the drought. I would be suspicious too.

“So this time, he announced that he would visit our village for investigation.”

[When is he coming.]

“He says he’s coming in a week.”

A week······ It’s short if it’s short, and it’s generous if it’s generous. But we need to consider various variables, so we need to move quickly.

First of all, there is one thing the village chief has to do.

[Chief, you know your position, right?]

The village chief nodded carefully. If they make a mistake, they could be harmed by becoming a group that serves a monster.

Nevertheless, the village chief did not give up his relationship with me.

“I know. But more than that, the grace that the Dragon God has bestowed has saved our village. I will never give up.”

It’s a good will. I also had a strong desire to protect Estel Village. After all, they are the first force to support me.

[Chief of Estel, persuade the residents within a week.]

“Yes, I understand. When it’s over, I’ll let you know through Rachel.”

First of all, in order to win over the knight, the village must be completely under control.

[And Jonan, Gaiser. You two come the night before.]

And those two folding screens have something to do.

Two days have passed since the conversation with the village chief. In the meantime, I thought about the overall takeover strategy.

It’s called Operation Decoy. It was the best I could do with my naming sense, which was criticized.

First of all,

In order to minimize vigilance, I do not show myself.

Second, instead of me, I create an animal made of a lump of water and make it appear in front of the knight.

And finally, I do all sorts of crazy things and claim that I’m a good guy.

It’s a success if the knight recognizes the animal made of a lump of water as a spirit or a sacred beast.

It’s a strategy that uses the prejudice that appearance has. It was a decision made to approach as carefully as possible, as the opponent is a knight who uses Aura.

It was a big part that I learned that spirits and sacred beasts were almost harmless to humans through Rachel’s fairy tales and Jonan’s stories.

Of course, as the operation uses the opponent’s emotions, a follow-up plan was also established.

But it has been put on hold because it seems to have various side effects.

And there is an unexpected contributor to this operation, and that is Rachel.

The water lump puppet show that I made to make her play became the basis of this operation.

[Rachel, how far did you foresee······.]

“I can see up to theeeere!!”

[?!]

I turned my head in surprise at the voice that came from behind.

No, when did you come?

[You, you came again.]

“Yes!”

[Didn’t Jonan and Sophie stop you?]

“I came secretly!”

Oh my, that’s something to brag about. Someone control that kid.

Since it’s already like this, I decided to ask Rachel for advice. I thought that if I looked at it from a child’s point of view, I could implement a more dreamy and hopeful image of a spirit.

Besides, Rachel is a fairy tale maniac who has read countless fairy tales. That would be enough to help.

[Rachel, what kind of animal······.]

“Whale!”

[Whales can’t live on land.]

“Ugh, whale!”

[Ugh······. Among the animals on land, there’s no one you like······.]

“Whale!”

The stubborn little girl soon drew something in the air with her finger.

“Instead, the tail is more colorful······ and, there are a lot of teeth, and the wings are big!”

Is that really a whale? Maybe the wings mean fins. I changed the lump of water according to Rachel’s taste. A larger and more colorful one than a normal whale appeared.

“Wow! It’s cool!!”

The original author of the idea clapped her hands in satisfaction. I don’t know what she liked about that insignificant appearance, but I moved the whale’s fins with psychokinesis.

A fairly plausible movement was implemented, and the whale began to float in the sky.

“Wow, wow!”

Oh, are you satisfied again? Then this is it this time.

The whale moved its tail vigorously and jumped greatly. The whale, which floated in the air for a moment, collided with the invisible sea and created a huge splash. Rachel’s head tilted to the limit to look at the whale. It was to the point that it would not be strange to fall backward right away.

“Oops.”

In the end, I caught her with psychokinesis as she was about to fall backward and ended the puppet show. I used psychokinesis to bring Jonan, who was rushing through the forest, for Rachel, who was disappointed.

Leaving Rachel, who was crying and being dragged away, behind, I made a whale again and practiced the movement.

To deceive the knight, clumsy movements are not enough.

[To meet the power and the possessor of ability, and the outsider of this world at once.]

It was a different feeling from when I first met the residents of Estel Village. It’s not that I’m nervous. I’m a blue dragon, and they’re humans.

If I mess things up here······ I can go somewhere else.

Meet new people with a new heart in a new place.

I still had plenty of such opportunities.

[Of course, it’s best to maintain this relationship.]

When I raised my head, a clear night sky without a single cloud was spread out. A whale made of water was leisurely swimming in the night sky, which seemed to be painted with ink.

Another night was passing.

A few days later, Rachel brought the village chief’s message.

[All the residents have recognized the Dragon God.]

The time has finally come.