Dragon Across the Multiverse (Si-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 36: Unexpected Visit

Watching the wyvern finally reach attacking distance, it suddenly halted mid-air. Rearing its head back, it began gathering flames in its throat, clearly preparing to unleash a breath attack.

“Rurushi! Shield!” Tia shouted in panic, momentarily forgetting that I’d already placed a barrier around the village. She hastily raised her hands and formed a glowing shield of her own.

“Right!” Rurushi reacted instantly, throwing her hands into the air as well.

I calmly placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Relax,” I said evenly. “Did you forget that I already set up a barrier earlier?”

They blinked at me in surprise, then slowly lowered their hands, trusting my words.

A moment later, the wyvern finally released its inferno.

The torrent of flames slammed into the invisible barrier surrounding the village, only to be completely absorbed, leaving not even a trace behind.

“…Oh.”

Both girls stared in stunned silence.

“Hmm,” I mused, watching the wyvern thrash angrily in the sky. “I’ve heard wyvern meat is pretty tasty. What do you say we eat it?”

Rurushi turned to me, eyes still wide, before breaking into a grin.

“That sounds like a great idea~” she chirped, already back to her usual cheerful self.

“I’m sure everyone would agree,” Tia added, nodding as she finally calmed down. “I heard a king once sent his entire army to kill one just to taste its meat… only to tragically fail and most of his forces dying horribly.”

“Then we’d better not damage it too much,” I muttered.

Raising my index finger, I pointed it toward the still-rampaging wyvern and began condensing my aura at the tip, compressing it to a single, piercing point.

I aimed for its head.

Then I released it.

The attack was instantaneous.

One moment the wyvern was roaring…

The next, its eyes went white.

Its massive body went limp, spiraling helplessly as it crashed through the treetops before slamming into the forest floor with a thunderous boom.

Dead.

The attack had been so fast that the girls beside me hadn’t even seen it. Only someone with exceptional eyesight might’ve noticed the faint, laser-like streak of compressed aura piercing straight through the wyvern’s skull.

“W-Whoa… It’s already dead?” Rurushi muttered, staring. “I didn’t see anything. Did you, Tia?”

“N-Not at all,” Tia replied slowly, shaking her head before whispering, “I think we were really lucky we ran into the wolves…”

“No kidding,” Rurushi agreed flatly.

I chuckled and pulled them both gently against my sides as we started walking toward where the wyvern had fallen.

“You had nothing to worry about,” I said reassuringly. “I can sense hostile intent. Unless you actually wanted to kill me, I wouldn’t have done anything to you.” I smiled.

A little embarrassed at being overheard, Rurushi and Tia settled down and cuddled into my sides anyway. Meanwhile, Gran Maria, Kuudel, and Corone quickly took point and led the way, with Yaa and Ria joining us moments later now that things had calmed down.

“Is there anything you can’t do, Akari?” Ria asked curiously. Thankfully, she’d stopped addressing me so formally by this point.

To be frank, it would’ve been more surprising if she didn’t change her tone with all the times we fucked the past month and how close we’d gotten on a personal level.

All the fan theories and hints about Ria had turned out to be true after all. The elf was basically one step away from being a nymphomaniac, and honestly?

I was completely fine with that.

Ria was an elf, after all. It was expected of her.

“Of course there are things I can’t do,” I said with a sagely nod. “Why do you think I’m looking for so many people to join my world?”

I paused, glancing up in thought.

“Though… I do have an ability that lets me learn any skill, magic, technique, ability or even strange phenomena that I see for the first time. And once I try something even once, I instantly learn how to do it myself.”

I’d kept it vague, but it was still the truth, one of the perks of my Satou template.

For a moment, no one said anything.

I looked around… only to find everyone giving me the exact same deadpan stare.

Then they collectively sighed.

“Of course you can.”

I smiled at their expressions, enjoying the shared exasperation. But then, I noticed we’d arrived at our destination.

“Forget about that,” I said, changing the topic instantly. “Now… who wants to help me cook this thing?”

The shift was immediate.

Everyone perked up, and the group started rambling excitedly about the delicious meal we were about to have.

As I stored the wyvern in my inventory, I couldn’t help but silently thank my past self for buying the Creature Feature perk. With it, any wildlife I encountered would automatically begin populating my Demiplane.

Meaning this wouldn’t be the last time we’d enjoy wyvern meat.

‘I’m sure the others will appreciate it… once they get over the shock of wyverns being considered a “local species” now,’ I thought with a grin.

As we headed back to the village to prepare the delicacy, I glanced up at the sky, my smile turning into a faint smirk as I sensed several scrying spells lingering over the village from the moment the wyvern attacked.

‘I hope you enjoyed the show,’ I thought quietly.

=====

A Month Later

With all the residents now settled into the village, all that was left was to wait.

Soon enough, Bizel of the Gargard Demon Kingdom and Doraim, ruler of the lands to the south, would inevitably pay us a visit.

Rather than waiting around, I decided to speed things up by messing with time again.

I surrounded the village in a temporal bubble and accelerated time outside of it. Outside, one whole year would pass, while inside it would only be a month.

During that period, Ciel finally completed the project I’d assigned her: creating multiple identical copies of the AFT, the All-Purpose Farming Tool. She even kept its transformation into a replica of the Holy Lance Gryme, the very artifact that had made Hiraku absurdly overpowered in the original timeline.

Once that was done, I gathered the girls—primarily the Elves, Oni maids, and Lizardmen, since they handled most of the farming—and taught them how to use the AFT properly.

After the initial shock wore off…

They went wild.

The results were staggering.

Thanks to their efforts, farm output increased by nearly nine hundred percent. And with my inventory handling storage, not a single harvest went to waste. We were stockpiling literal tons of food.

That wasn’t the only change.

Thanks to my habit of naming every settler, the entire village experienced massive growth. Some evolved outright, like the Lizardmen, who transformed into Dragonewts, while everyone else gained the intrinsic skills of their race from the Tensura system.

When they weren’t farming or experimenting (Rurushi and Flora), most of the villagers spent their time adapting to their new strength.

At first, there were… issues.

Holding tools without crushing them. Opening doors without ripping them off their hinges.

Thankfully, with the help of Toggle and enough practice, they eventually adjusted and returned to normal daily life.

I was pulled from my thoughts as my body automatically accepted the food prepared by the Oni maids.

Then—

The alarm bell rang.

Zabuton’s pattern was unmistakable.

An intruder.

I rose from my seat immediately, joined by several of the elves I’d been about to eat with, and headed toward the source of the disturbance.

I could already sense a new presence approaching, and escorted by our three angel guards:

Gran Maria. Kuudel. Corone.

Or as they were known—

The Angels of Annihilation.

After their naming and power boost, the title was no longer hyperbole.

Moments later, Ria, Yaa, Rurushi, and Tia joined me, and together we moved toward the village entrance.

It only took a few seconds before the village entrance came into view.

Just as I remembered, Gran Maria, Corone, and Kuudel were escorting a man with black hair, dressed in the refined clothing of a noble. He did his best to appear calm, but his emotions told a very different story.

Beneath the surface, he was terrified.

He was barely holding onto his composure, and that fragile balance nearly shattered the moment he caught sight of us, especially when his eyes landed on Tia, Rurushi, and the gathered High Elves at my side.

Coming to a stop before us, he straightened and offered a short salute.

“My name is Bizel,” he said. “I would like an audience with the one in charge here.”

Though his words were general, his gaze was locked firmly on me.

As I stepped forward, his fear spiked sharply. I raised an eyebrow internally but chose not to comment.

‘So… he already knows I dealt with the wyvern,’ I noted calmly.

“That would be me,” I replied with a relaxed smile. “I’m Akari Tempest, leader of this village. What brings a messenger of the Demon Kingdom here?”

Instead of answering immediately, Bizel extended his hand toward me.

That single motion set the angels on edge.

Gran Maria, Corone, and Kuudel instantly raised their spears, the points stopping inches from his face.

Bizel swallowed but remained composed.

A magic circle appeared above his palm.

“Then, in commemoration of our becoming acquainted…” A small wooden box materialized in his hand. He opened it, revealing a potion within.

“Please accept this gift.”

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the box and passing it to Rurushi, who immediately lit up at the sight and began examining it with great interest.

Only then did Bizel continue.

“I bring a message from the Demon Lord,” he said carefully. “He wishes to discuss the status of this settlement.”

“There’s not much to discuss,” I replied calmly, my smile never wavering. “As long as we’re left alone, there won’t be any problems.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“That said… I’d be willing to trade with your kingdom. I’m confident we have goods that might interest you.”

As I spoke, I mirrored his earlier gesture and extended my hand.

With a soft flash of light, two High Potions appeared in my palm.

Bizel’s eyes widened instantly.

These potions were made from hipokute herbs, cultivated endlessly in Veldora’s Cave within my Demiplane, where the magicule density was absurdly high thanks to the dragon himself.

They weren’t Full Potions, the kind Ciel could produce inside my body that could even regenerate lost limbs, but these were still the advanced potions crafted by the dwarves in the Tensura world.

More than powerful enough to be considered priceless here.

And judging by Bizel’s reaction…

He at least had some idea of what they were based on their similar appearance with the one he brought.

Bizel quickly accepted the potions from my hand, murmuring a small thanks before looking at me seriously.

“W-Well then! We are satisfied with this arrangement,” he said, just barely managing to avoid a stutter.

“Perfect,” I replied, clapping my hands together lightly.

“Next time you—or another representative—visit, please be sure to use the main entrance. There’s a barrier protecting the village from outside threats, and we wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt by it.”

Sweat immediately beaded on Bizel’s forehead.

Amused, I let the barrier briefly become visible, its vast, shimmering outline wrapping the entire village, before turning it invisible once more.

Bizel gulped.

“W-We’ll take that into consideration. Thank you,” he said quickly. “Then… that’s how we’ll proceed from now on. I bid you all farewell.”

With that, he turned and retreated at a brisk pace, wasting no time putting distance between himself and the village.

“Nicely handled, Honey Buns~” Tia said the moment he was gone, rising onto her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Since we won’t be staying here long-term, there’s no need for more than a casual relationship with them.”

“And we even got this!” Rurushi exclaimed, holding up the bottle Bizel had brought like it was a priceless treasure. “The almighty medicine that works whether you drink it or apply it directly to a wound!”

I stared at her.

“…That just sounds like a potion,” I said flatly. “You know. Like the same ones I just gave him?”

In the next instant, Rurushi was right in my personal space, peering at me intently.

“By the way, Darling,” she said sweetly, “what did you give him? It looked just like this.”

“Were you not listening, Rurushi-san?” Ria asked with a slight head tilt. “Akari just said it was a potion… though I don’t actually know what that is.”

‘…So potions exist in this world, but they have only been researched to the point of the being here knowing its effects,’ I realized. ‘No real understanding of quality or tiers. Which when you think about it it’s not too surprising going by how Flora was so surprised by fermentation and bacteria.’

‘Which means I just casually handed the Demon Kingdom two High Potions.’

…Oops.

“A potion is a medicinal item that does exactly what you described,” I explained, making several bottles appear in my hands.

“Here, take some. These are actually a higher quality than the ones I gave him.”

Before anyone else could react—

“Waaah~!”

Flora suddenly appeared, snatching one with literal stars in her eyes.

“I can’t believe you hid something this amazing from me!” she gasped. “Nee-sama, we must research this immediately!”

“Yes—immediately!” Rurushi agreed without hesitation, grabbing several bottles before giving me a quick kiss goodbye and vanishing with Flora in tow.

I blinked.

“Those two are… enthusiastic,” Yaa muttered as she accepted a potion.

“That Rurushi never changes,” Tia said with a fond shake of her head, examining her bottle. “Still… this is incredible, Honey Buns. Your potions could be lifesavers in a real emergency.”

“I agree~” Ria added cheerfully, hugging my arm. “Akari just keeps getting more amazing.”

With everyone’s spirits high and no immediate threats in sight, we soon returned to our daily activities, as if a meeting with the Demon Kingdom had been nothing more than a brief interruption.

=====

Following Day

‘That was fast,’ I thought silently as I looked up at the massive blue dragon towering over the trees.

Beside him stood a devil acting as his subordinate, clutching a metal chest tightly to his chest.

“My name is Doraim,” the blue dragon declared in a booming voice. “I am the one true ruler of the dragons.”

‘Of this world you mean.’ I added silently in my head.

Then, unexpectedly, he lowered his head in a gesture that could only be interpreted as an apology.

Taking that as his cue, the blonde devil stepped forward calmly. A few Oni maids were accompanying me today, and they watched him carefully as he came to a stop before us.

“This is a gift from us,” the devil said. His name was Guchi if I was not mistaken, the poor bastard.

He opened the metal chest, revealing a beautifully crafted sword inside, with gold lining the pommel.

Ann stepped forward, accepted the chest, and presented it to me. I gave a small nod, and she closed the lid.

“Thank you for the gift,” I said with a relaxed smile.

“It’s our pleasure,” Guchi replied.

“So,” I continued calmly, “what’s the purpose of your visit?”

All of a sudden, I internally froze as a familiar presence brushed against my senses, one only I could feel.

‘Is that?’ I thought silently already knowing who it was and feeling a bit nervous if I was being honest.

“It is.” Ciel confirmed it for me, sounding a bit too gleeful for my liking.

Before I could react outwardly, Guchi spoke.

“Of course,” he said patiently. “My master, Lord Doraim, has his lair to the south of here. Though there’s considerable distance between us, we still consider you our neighbor. We’ve come to offer a formal greeting.”

“That’s very polite of you,” I replied with a smile.

Then I tilted my head slightly.

“As much as I’d like to invite you inside… could you wait a moment?”

“It seems one of my precious companions decided to pay me a visit without informing me first.”

Confusion rippled through the clearing.

Even so, Doraim and Guchi nodded politely.

“Of course,” Guchi said, subtly glancing around.

I nodded my thanks and turned to the left, focusing on a seemingly empty patch of air. Everyone else followed my gaze, only to grow more confused when they saw nothing.

I smiled.

“Now then… how about you stop hiding and greet me properly—”

My grin widened.

“Velzard.”