255 – Two Options

“I’m throwing down a rope! Please climb out as fast as possible!”

Tatark shouts down while I’m thinking.

…Seriously, what should I do here? If we join them in running away, letting ourself get caught will become pointless.

I don’t know how the manticore will react to its sacrifices breaking out, nor can I predict how the village will react. If we’re unlucky, the village could fall into chaos, tipping the manticore that something was off.

“Wh-what’s your plan in having us flee? Won’t other children get brought here instead…?”

The eldest girl says, looking up at Tatark. He shakes his head in response.

“This village is already on its last legs. The manticore has been demanding sacrifices heedless of the low population. At this rate, in two years time, there will have no girls left.”

“I-I haven’t heard anything like that…”

“It was hidden from the children. Nagrom-sama was planning to start a war with the dragon-god village in order to kidnap children.

That ossan[1] was planning to do such a thing?! Even if he’s got no other way, that’s not an option, surely.

“…But the reason the manticore came to this village was the dragon-god’s return. The dragon-god is there, so there’s no way this village can do anything to them. This village is over!”

“…”

The children fall into silence. That would shock them, yeah. To hear that their hometown would soon be wiped out.

The manticore seems to be aiming specifically for children, but I can’t predict how it will act when it loses them. Either they’ll be ruined by the disappearance of the children, or the manticore will eat them all. Either way, it might not be inevitable, but their outlooks not good.

“…T-tatark-san, will you also come to the dragon-god village?”

One of the girls opens her mouth. Tatark bites his lip in silence for a few seconds, before shaking his head.

“Just the other day, I abandoned them. To get accepted here, I told this village about their war potential, the states of their fields, everything…”

Tatark says in a heavy voice, hanging his head.

“For the sake of that village, the dragon-god would pass a ruthless judgement on me. If I go there, I’ll be burnt alive by dragon breath to be made an example of.”

…To burn someone to death, their god must have been really scary.

As I’m thinking that, the girls all turn to look at my partner in unison. Mixed into their crying faces and scared faces are faint looks of reproach and disappointment.

P-Please wait a sec! I’m not going to do anything like that!

For that matter, you’ve got the wrong dragon! There were those three-headed camels all over the desert, so there’s got to be lots of two-headed dragons out there! Even though the only one I’ve seen is my own reflection in the water’s surface!

“Ga, gaa…”

My partner takes a step back, faltering. Oi, your dragon is showing again.

“I will stay here and propose reconciliation with the other village to Nagrom-sama. It’s likely that today’s meeting has already touched on that topic. If all the sacrifices have run away, Nagrom-sama’s alternatives will be reduced.”

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Reconciliation…huh, From my point of view, that would be the best possible outcome, though I wonder if it’ll really go so well, since it looked like their antagonism runs quite deep.

“…Though even if persuading Nagrom-sama goes well, I’ll most likely be killed for intentionally narrowing his options. In the first place, there’s no guarantee the dragon-god side won’t spurn a peace deal and massacre us instead…”

If one mistake is enough for everyone to die, then that’s no good! Either way, this ossan’s going to die!

Even though rescue has come, the children look like they can’t say anything. Will they sacrifice themselves to save their hometown, or will they run away and shorten their hometown’s lifespan. It’s a cruel decision. As a bonus, the person who is proposing their escape, Tatark, is asking them to abandon him as they flee, so it’d feel bad through and through.

…Hmm? N-no, this, if I look at it differently, couldn’t it be a chance for me?

In that village, the dragon-god should be able to speak out on important matters or punishments. Indeed, it was there that the plan to offer sacrifices came about, and Tatark said something along the lines of 『There’s no way the dragon-god would permit me to return now 』. If that’s the case, then I should hold quite a lot of sway.

With my crane’s voice,[2] no, with my dragon’s voice, not only should I be able to push the reconciliation through, I should be able to avoid having the blame forced on anyone.’

…However, the risk involved is high. If we aim for reconciliation, then it’s clear that it would be disastrous if we can’t get Nagrom to agree. In the worst case, the manticore slips away and war breaks out.

It’s… best not to rush here. If I choose to push forward reconciliation now, a single mistake would spell this village’s doom. As long as I’m recognised as the dragon-god, there’ll be another chance at it. It’s not what I should be prioritising while we’re in a situation where lives are at risk.

Besides… There’s something about the dragon-god that I can’t overlook. There’s something that unsettles me, something that doesn’t feel right…

“…Oi, ossan. Plug the hole back up and stand watch.”

My partner calls out to Tatark.

“H-huh? How are you… The rope…”

“For tonight’s sacrifice, I’ll go. You just gotta go back to the front entrance. I’ll send that monster flying.”

She points to herself with her thumb as she declares.

From around us, I hear the sounds of gasping. The sacrificed children seem to finally understand the reason we came here.

“Th-there’s no way you could… You can only say that because you’ve never seen the manticore! It’s not a monster that a person can handle! Never mind that, hurry up and climb! Please climb up! The one with miko’s blood has strangely good intuition! I don’t know when they’ll come chasing after you!

In response to his appeal, no one moves at all. The one person who doesn’t know what’s happening, Tatark, looks around the cavern.

“Someone… Hurry… If you don’t run away now, Nagrom-sama will think he can still curry favour from the manticore and will proceed with his war preparations! But as long as that ruthless dragon-god is around, he doesn’t stand a chance of winning. He’ll just be pointlessly making corpses. That’s why, not just for yourself, but for the village too…”

The eldest girl stands up, looking around at the other girls. Even though they look bewildered, in the end they all nod their heads.

Having gotten each person’s approval in turn, she turns to my partner. My partner gives her a small nod, smirking.

“We will not run! We will stay here!”

“Wh-why… At this rate, war will…”

“We believe in dra-… in this person! That’s why we’re staying here!”

The eldest girl declares that. Tatark steps back weekly, grimacing.

[1] Ossan: middle-aged man
[2] A crane’s voices: a voice of authority

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