Chapter 243 Zil Meina
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The very day that Viscount Nixfen Ray and Sister Amelia – who were departing for the west where the Stampede¹ was occurring – came to pay their respects.
Following the war, I found myself once again in the position of the one seeing others off, but this time I did not intend to just sit around twiddling my thumbs. That same day, I requested an urgent audience with Her Majesty the Queen.
The Queen, for her part, responded as if she had been lying in wait. “I will make time immediately,” she messaged back. She ushered me into her private office at an hour that, while late, was at least earlier than our usual midnight encounters.
”So, you have come, Lord Harvest…”
”Yes, I am here.”
”You are not going to try and headbutt me this time, are you?”
”…I will be on my best behavior.”
”Good grief, you…”
The Queen let out an exasperated sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead as she fixed me with a flat, weary stare. She did not press the point any further, however. She truly was a woman of immense patience.
”Well, no matter. I assume this is about that ‘───────’ project? I already know what you are going to say.”
Her Majesty was not only broad-minded but quick on the uptake. I gave a firm nod, locking eyes with her to signal that no matter what she said, I was absolutely going to build it.
”Do not give me that look… Even I want to find a way through this. It is just that there are other parties involved…”
”Is this really the time to be worrying about optics?”
”…Do you want to hear the truth of it?”
”What?”
”It would be wise for you to know exactly what kind of ‘enemy’ we are dealing with. However, what I am about to tell you is strictly between us. Not a word to anyone.”
”I… understood.”
It seemed that if I wanted her blessing, I had to listen to the briefing. Or perhaps she intended to measure my resolve by making me an accomplice to the secret. Whatever her game, I was ready. I nodded silently once more.
”Very well. Let us start with the name. In Ferguson, they have dubbed that Demon Dragon ‘Zil Meina,’ after the northern legends. Or sometimes ‘Aba Zil Meina’². Apparently, it means ‘The Wicked Matriarch.’ Our kingdom will be adopting that designation henceforth.”
”A dragon… So it is a female. But if she is a ‘Matriarch,’ does that mean there are males of the species as well…?”
I questioned her immediately. I did not care about the name or the type of monster, but I had to understand its ecology. Names mean something, and if they were going out of their way to emphasize that she was female, there had to be a specific threat tied to it.
”Oh, they exist, or at least they did… How should I put this…?” the Queen began. “In the northern ranges, ‘Zil Meina’ devoured the males in a dual sense. Some survived, some were slaughtered. In fact, the dragon that attacked our capital, Canarias³, might have actually been a refugee – fleeing because it sensed Zil Meina was coming to claim it.”
”Devoured in a dual sense… you mean she ate them physically… and sexually. Then, wait, does that mean…?”
A cold sweat broke out as a dark realization hit me. Even for monsters, the laws of biology generally apply. If they mated, then something was being produced.
”Precisely… Zil Meina is said to be flanked by a swarm of lesser drakes that fly as if they are her personal guard. They are her offspring and her consorts. And they are formidable. They are only called ‘lesser’ in comparison to Zil Meina herself. Some among them have been confirmed to be even larger than the dragon that attacked the capital…”
”A dragon… pack? I am no expert, but is that even normal?”
”…It is a rarity, from what I am told. There are only two or three recorded instances, and every single one is documented as a ‘Calamity’ that triggered a massive Stampede and devastated humanity. According to the records, this breed of dragon wanders the world searching for a male that catches her eye. With every move, she increases her collection of husbands and children, forming a group that eventually becomes impossible to manage.”
”That is…”
The scale of the story was becoming overwhelming. I could see why this was classified information. You could not just leak something this terrifying to the public.
”In those ‘past instances,’ how did they deal with them…?”
”…I do not know. The records mostly say people had no choice but to run for their lives. The only successful hunt was over a thousand years ago. It is written that the dragon ‘incurred the wrath of God,’ so it is believed the ancient Church of Demon-Subjugation⁴ was behind it. However, even the Church’s own people are divided on whether it was taken down by Holy Arts⁵, Martial Monks⁶, or a Holy Relic⁷. No specific records remain.”
Having finished her explanation, the Queen let out a long, heavy ‘Haaaaaaah…’ of an exhale. She massaged the corners of her eyes, rubbed the tension from between her brows, and let out a sharp crack of her neck before looking back at me, signaling that the real talk started now.
”One more piece of bad news. According to the ‘prediction’ from Count Popol, there was a monster in the south that was forcing the creatures fleeing from Zil Meina to change their course, correct?”
”Y-yes. He suspected the Aglowvulture⁸ he found had entered our lands specifically to avoid that monster…”
”Well, that monster… there is a high probability it is a male dragon.”
”What…?”
”The old records in Ferguson mention a legend of a colossal dragon living hidden in the southern forest belt. The natives call him ‘Ur Hamit’⁹. There had not been any sightings for a long time, so it was dismissed as a myth, but…”
”Was he finally spotted?”
”No. However, Zil Meina reached a point just before the forest where Ur Hamit is said to dwell, and she suddenly surged ahead – flying at a speed that left her husbands and children in the dust. It was an unmistakable movement, as if she had found ‘something’ and was rushing to claim it…”
According to the ‘prediction’ from Martin Popol, the brother-in-law of my love slave Lily, the battle with this southern monster might result in Zil Meina’s death and the natural end of the Stampede, but…
”We have not seen hide nor hair of Zil Meina since then. That information arrived this morning, and it is already a week old.”
”So, depending on how things went, either Zil Meina is dead…?”
”Or she is already on her way here.”
”And that info is already a week old…”
”Exactly. At this point, all we can do is pray that this old dragon ‘Ur Hamit’ is an impotent bastard who will not be swayed by a young dragon’s charms… In the worst-case scenario, we are going to be caught in the middle of a ‘Honeymoon’ from hell between a pair of nightmare monsters.”
The Queen spat the words out with venom, then reached for a Uterine Massager¹⁰ sitting on her desk and began pressing it into her shoulder. It was clear she was only holding it together through sheer force of will.
I did not imagine this information had just fallen into her lap. There had likely been a messy game of cat-and-mouse with Ferguson and tense negotiations with the Church to piece this together.
And now, her job was to take that information and issue the orders to stop the catastrophe. Meanwhile, I was in a position where I needed her final call.
”Because the movements of those two are still unknown, are you telling me to put a pin in the development?”
”I did not say that. Only a fool bets on optimism when lives are on the line. However… I am essentially betting my entire fortune on you, Harvest. The least you could do is offer a few words of comfort. Tell me… can that ‘───────’ of yours really bring down something like Zil Meina?”
She put the massager back on the desk and pierced me with a sharp, interrogating gaze. Unfortunately, I could not give her a sweet lie. But I could give her a push.
”I cannot say for sure. Who could? But I can promise you this: once it is finished, I will blow away a dragon of that last one’s caliber in a single shot. And… if I do not start building it now, we will not have it in time. That is the one thing I know for certain.”
The Queen did not look disappointed or angry at my bluntness. She simply gave a firm nod, then stood up with a sudden, regal energy, thrusting a hand forward as she made her declaration.
”Very well! Then prove it! Go and show me what you can do! Build that Ddo-Buddy Cannon¹¹ of yours!””
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Summary:
Harvest meets with the Queen to seek approval for a new secret weapon. The Queen reveals the terrifying ecology of Zil Meina, a female dragon that forms a destructive swarm of consorts and offspring. She further explains that Zil Meina is likely pursuing a legendary male dragon, Ur Hamit, creating a risk of a catastrophic ‘honeymoon’ between the two.
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Character Insight:
The Queen’s desperation is palpable; she is a ruler pushed to her limits, utilizing an adult massager just to soothe the physical manifestations of her stress. Harvest demonstrates his growth by refusing to provide hollow comfort, instead offering the Queen the only thing a strategist can value: a cold, hard certainty of schedule and potential power.
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Behind the Scene:
The author uses the ‘dual sense’ of the dragon’s consumption to maintain the series’ adult themes while establishing high-fantasy stakes. The juxtaposition of a grave military briefing with the Queen using a ‘Uterine Massager’ on her shoulder is a signature comedic element of the series.
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T/L:
Notes:
• Amelia – The Sister of the Church of Demon-Subjugating, who usually buys from Kento, has light blue hair.
• Nixfen – A viscount aristocrat who has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district. He is described as a ‘pretty boy’ or ‘gentle-looking man’ (yasao) but is a territory-holding noble likely trained in combat.
• Ray – A Viscount with flaxen-gold hair in a men’s wolf cut. Possesses a sweet mask and a prince-like aura. It is revealed at the end that Ray is actually a woman. She has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district.
• Martin – Lily’s non-blood-related younger brother. Considered the strongest candidate to succeed the Popol family due to his lineage and manifested ‘power. He has pink hair.
• Lily – the sl*ve and primary experiment subject for the magic shop, ‘Harvest.’ She has striking pink hair, Blue eyes, medium breasts, which the Protagonist associates with being ‘wanton’. She has a working knowledge of magic, which she kept hidden from the slave trader.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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