Ryu: "!"

Nemroy: "The Hydra wasn't a naturally existing creature. It was a wicked dragon, modified and created by human engineers."

Come to think of it, dragons should obey Ryujeen, who is a Dragonkin, but the Hydra hadn't listened to him. It was a mad dragon, filled with hatred for everything around it, and it wanted to kill. He wasn’t sure if it was mad or hateful, but it had been made into this monstrous dragon that spread poison, not by its own choice. Thinking about it, the Hydra was a sad creature, Ryu thought.

Nemroy: "But after they defeated the Demon King’s army, humans turned the Hydra against us, the Vampires. They probably wanted to exterminate the Vampires, who were also Demons like the Demon King’s army. We were foolish to trust humans, who could betray a species they had been working with without a second thought. In the end, high-ranking Vampires defeated the Hydra, and the human country that had sent it was destroyed in retaliation. But we discovered that the Vampire clan had also suffered damage as a result of this conflict. We don’t know if it was because it was artificially created poison, but the Hydra’s poison corrupted the bodies of Vampires, who were supposed to be immortal, and shortened their lifespans. Over time, the Vampires whose lifespans ran out disappeared, and the number of high-ranking Vampires dwindled."

Ryu: "..."

Nemroy: "In the end, both humans and Demons were significantly reduced in number. After that, we both decided to break off negotiations and aim for revival. But humans, with their short lifespans, have a strong ability to reproduce. It takes hundreds of years for Demons to raise a child, but humans increase in number rapidly. Eventually, the world became like it was meant for humans. But the Demons who had fought as part of the Demon King’s army weren’t extinct. A great war might break out again. You should be prepared. We will not lend humans a hand anymore. You may be strong, but you can’t fight the entire world alone. Well, I don’t know if you’ll side with humans or Demons."

Ryu: "I... don't intend to fight for humans…"

Nemroy: "But you’ve come here for revenge, haven't you?"

Ryu: "My family was killed. I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”

Nemroy: "...Right. Let it be. Now… go ahead and behead me and take my head. You can also take all the treasures in this castle as compensation. Can we call it a truce then? I doubt you want another all-out war between Vampires and humans."

Ryu: "..."

After a moment of thought, Ryu said:

Ryu: "...The Queen said that if you apologize properly, make a peace treaty with the kingdom, and pay compensation, you can call it a truce..."

To be honest, Ryujeen was overwhelmed with information and feeling deflated.

It seemed the Vampires currently had no intention of waging an all-out war against humans. In reality, they could easily destroy a human country if they fought. The Vampires were small in number, but if they went to war, there was a good chance that humans would be destroyed.

With the Hydra as a trump card on the human side, the Vampires would be taking a risk, but for now, it was dependent on Ryujeen's abilities alone, and it wasn’t a weapon that humans could freely use. However, for now, Nemroy didn't realize it.

And Ryujeen himself was unsure whether he would side with humans if it came to war.

In the end, Count Nemroy made a complete concession, agreeing to all of Ryujeen's demands. Ryujeen decided to cancel the operation to unleash the poisonous dragon on the Demon city and took Count Nemroy to the royal palace to determine the amount of compensation and the conditions for peace.

…The kingdom was in an uproar, as it was the first time they had seen a Vampire. However, now that the existence of Demons had been proven, after a long period of skepticism, it would be easier to move forward.

A Demon country like the Red Demon Empire, which viewed humans as food, wouldn’t easily become friendly with humans. But for the humans, it was a stroke of luck to have opened a communication channel, even a thin one, between the leaders of the Demon Vampire country, which had been incommunicado for two thousand years.

Meanwhile, the Chagamga Republic in the north needed to be retaliated against for their act of invasion.

While Ryujeen was in the Red Demon Empire to the west, the Queen had sent a messenger to the Republic. It was a strong protest against their act of invasion and a demand for compensation. They were warned that they would be retaliated against if they refused to comply.

But the Republic’s response was to behead the messenger and throw his body at the gate of Biero city.

Upon hearing this, Ryujeen suggested unleashing the biological weapon, the Hydra, which he had intended to use against the Red Demon Empire. It was put into action.

The depths of the "Earth Dragon's Lair" dungeon. A teleportation circle appeared there, and the poisonous dragon was teleported to the capital of the Chagamga Republic.

The poisonous dragon, the Hydra, spread its deadly poison everywhere, so they decided to send it deep into the Republic to avoid causing any damage to the kingdom.

And…

The capital of the Republic was destroyed.

The Republic had no way of defeating the Hydra, and they couldn’t just leave it there, so Ryujeen eventually had to take care of it.

(They couldn't return the Hydra to the dungeon, as a new boss monster was probably already being generated within the dungeon because they had taken the boss monster from it.

Ryujeen hesitated to use it and then kill it, knowing its origins. He decided to never use the Hydra again.)

To kill the Hydra, they had to cut off all its heads and destroy its magic stone simultaneously.

But Ryujeen’s space magic had become quite proficient, and it was easy for him to cut off all its heads simultaneously and extract the magic stone.

Even so, the capital of the Republic, where the Hydra’s body remained, was a poisonous swamp, and people wouldn’t be able to live there for a long time.

With the core of the dictatorship destroyed by this attack, the surviving Chagamga people, when rebuilding their country, successfully established democracy. A rare occurrence in this world, a democracy without nobility. But that's another story…

He had retaliated for the act of invasion.

Ryujeen was finally ready to begin his journey.

There was so much Ryujeen didn't know about this world. He had learned about this world's history from the Vampires, but he couldn’t have learned it while he was in the Garriza Kingdom. His desire to travel the world and see it for himself grew stronger.

Sophie was very disappointed to hear about Ryujeen’s decision. She had wanted to travel the world with him as an adventurer.

But she had responsibilities as Queen now.

She couldn’t abandon the country. She was a member of the royal family after all. She had been taught how to be a ruler by her father, a good king, and she had inherited his spirit.

Sophie would surely become a good queen.

Ryujeen promised to share information about foreign countries with Sophie during his travels.

Sophie established a status called “Honorary Citizen” to guarantee Ryujeen’s position. Ryujeen had no obligations as a citizen, and the people were forbidden from taking away his freedom.

She announced to the country that Ryujeen was a hero of the kingdom and that she would take responsibility for any issues that might arise from his actions.

Ryujeen initially refused this special treatment but was persuaded by Sophie, who begged him to accept her gratitude, and he agreed, half-heartedly.

And then, Ryujeen left…

To be Continued...

Next Time

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