Chapter 35 Let’s Plot with the Evil Dragon!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The freight passage that linked the Underground Temple to the surface was, surprisingly, just a cargo elevator. Yaten’s miasma as the Evil Dragon was lethal to anything living, but it didn’t even scratch machinery, so it made sense. Because of that, and because telegraph-like comms and bulk transport tech had evolved, anything I wanted got sent down here like tribute. In return for playing the human pillar who kept the seal, I got whatever I desired, hand-delivered.
”Meeting about the Fūryūsai [T/N: 封龍祭, ‘Dragon-Sealing Festival’—ancient Shiryūin ritual held once every millennium] through letters is, how to say… absurdly old-fashioned,” Yaten sighed, her silver hair sliding off her shoulder like moonlight.
”Rituals that have lasted a thousand years put more weight on the process than the practicality,” I muttered, flipping through the piles of goods we’d been sent.
Tucked between ornate boxes of incense and silk was the detailed schedule for the Fūryūsai, happening in two weeks. My role as Head of the Shiryūin Clan was the same as ever, unchanged from the centuries of precedent—parading through the exact same ceremonies.
Scaring the world with the Evil Dragon’s might, showing off the terror of our duty, reminding the nobles that we alone kept the world intact. It was also my job to quietly make them understand that if the Shiryūin Clan was slighted, their nations would crumble. I hated how it made me sound like I was threatening them, but… that was exactly what it was.
Of course, there wasn’t a single power-hungry politician who’d just fold under that. They’d even try to use the clan that sealed the world-ending Evil Dragon to puff up their own power. Politics really was a den of demons.
”Same as every year… meaning the timing for our move will be when all the nobles gather at once—hm?” My voice caught.
”What is it, husband?” Yaten tilted her head, eyes flicking toward me like a cat’s.
”It’s vague, but… it says the branch family will be announcing something.”
I frowned at the schedule. The Fūryūsai was supposed to be a main-house-only event; the branch families almost never shoved their way into it, much less as the ones making an announcement. Writing that it was “from the branch family” could only mean one thing—they wanted the credit for whatever it was.
”Couldn’t have picked a more annoying time,” I muttered under my breath.
Right when our plan was ticking down to the final second before Yaten’s descent to the surface… this happens. Of course they’d pick the climax at midnight, when all the big shots would be gathered, but still. The idea of having our whole scheme tripped up at the start made my stomach knot. But Yaten only gave me a smile sharp enough to cut silk, like she was enjoying my worry.
”Do not fret. Whatever their scheme may be, before me, the Evil Dragon, it shall be nothing but trifles.”
”True… once you appear in your real form, nobody’s going to be thinking about politics anymore.”
Because Yaten, in her true form, was a dragon nearly one ri long [T/N: 1 里 = about 4 km]. Her body stretched past the horizon, and if she descended even once, the sight of her vast frame blotting out the heavens would burn away every human plot. Still… I had to make this absolutely clear.
”The core of the plan is that overwhelming presence of yours, but… you cannot harm anyone.”
This entire plan worked only because of the overwhelming might of Yaten as the Evil Dragon. That power, enough to make every noble bow, was how we’d force the world’s twisted exorcist politics to kneel and obey. It was blunt, yes—but when you had power like hers, blunt worked. The first impression had to be absolute, and for that—
”Be careful where you swing your tail. If you smack even a street—”
”I know that! I swear I will not let a single death occur, for the sake of our plan.”
No casualties. That was vital. A world-ending Evil Dragon showing that she could talk as an equal to humans—that was the carrot and the stick. If she showed the scale of an absolute being, they would have no choice but to negotiate. No politician stupid enough to pick a fight with something that spanned the horizon could survive to reach power in the first place. Show them they could gain something, and they would sit at the table.
”Leave the talks to me. I shall dazzle them with the wiles of a courtesan who topples nations,” she purred, eyes half-lidded.
”That makes me the support and the watchdog on the branch family. Even if they can’t beat an Evil Dragon outright, they’ll have some trick.”
Our roles for the Fūryūsai were set. Yaten would dominate the hall as the Evil Dragon and handle the negotiations—she was better at them than me anyway. A thousand years ago, she had toppled whole countries, not by brute force alone but by beauty and guile, leading their rulers into ruin. Humans hadn’t changed; her cunning would work just as well now.
”Humans always chase their own gain. First, I shall make sure they do not unite—rather, I shall sow discord among them… hm, how best to do it…”
There was no one else as terrifying to face, or as reassuring to have on your side. She would attack with both brute power and sly tactics, showing her whip of absolute strength and her sweet lure of negotiation, splitting the nobles at the Fūryūsai and turning them against each other. Then she would slip into the cracks. It was devilish… and yet her expression held no malice at all.
”Husband, help me map out the ties between each faction’s nobles again.”
”Fine. Guess that means another night without sleep.”
My job at the festival was to support her—to give her everything she needed to succeed. As Head of the Shiryūin Clan, I’d been drilled with knowledge of every major house, their tangled alliances and grudges. I’d use all of it to pave our way.
”It matters not. It is all for our children’s future,” Yaten said softly.
”To protect them with your divine throne and power, huh,” I said, and she nodded. “Then yeah. It’s our duty as their parents to give them a world where they can live free.”
We were ready to redraw the whole map of power, if that was what it took to give our kids freedom. To turn them from children of the Evil Dragon—feared, hunted—into honored children of a god, walking openly on the surface without shame.
Just like Yaten had cut ties with her innate evil nature as the Evil Dragon to become a mother, I had to cut off the Shiryūin Clan’s cursed tradition. Once we settled that thousand-year blood feud, we could finally leave the Underground Temple and start our lives on the surface.
And then Yaten licked her lips, eyes gleaming like a predator’s.
”Do not forget your duty as my Mate once the Fūryūsai is done… husband.”
”Only as long as it’s within the amount of kids we can actually raise, got it?!”
”Kufufu… do not be so wary. I know well that raising them matters more than birthing them.”
Yaten’s newly awakened joy in having a mate and children showed no sign of stopping. The thought of our half-divine, half-human children multiplying like wildfire across the surface the moment she was unsealed and free… yeah. That image was burned into my mind before I could help it.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply