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

Chapter 38: The End of the Slow Life

Letting Lastimun’s attack hit, I watched as—just like the wyvern before—the blast harmlessly dissipated against the barrier protecting the village, only further enraging the female dragon.

“She’s certainly living up to her title of Crazy Dragon,” I muttered in amusement as she tried again.

“Tsk, another pest,” Velzard said as she appeared at my side, calmly looking up at the dragon doing its best to break the barrier, only to keep failing.

A few elves, Oni maids, the angel guards, and some Dragonewts stood behind us, keeping a careful watch on the dragon above, ready to act at my command. The others had remained behind going about their day not too worried about what was happening knowing me and Velzard could handle anything.

“Let me handle it. I want to try something I haven’t used in a while,” I replied, addressing both Velzard and the others behind me as I stepped forward and looked Lastimun directly in the eyes with a smile, causing her to growl in anger.

“Let’s see how you handle a fellow dragon,” I muttered before clapping my hands together and forming a snake seal while gathering chakra.

“Mokuton: Mokuryu.”

I intoned calmly. A moment later, a massive eastern dragon made of wood, easily twice Lastimun’s current size, burst forth from the forest in front of us and launched itself straight at her.

Seeing the wooden dragon, Lastimun stopped attacking the barrier and turned toward it with a furious roar of challenge.

Unfortunately for her, the wood dragon’s special ability to absorb chakra, modified by Ciel to also work on magic, quickly took effect. It wrapped around the smaller dragon, immobilizing her and rapidly draining her energy.

Realizing what was happening, Lastimun tried to bite and claw her way free, but it was useless. Any damage she dealt regenerated almost instantly, the wooden body continuously fed by my chakra.

Eventually, her struggles ceased. Having lost too much energy, she even dropped out of her dragon form and reverted to her human shape as the wood dragon carried her down to the ground.

“One down… now for the other one,” I muttered, turning my gaze skyward again.

This time, a white dragon was rapidly approaching, small flames leaking from her mouth.

Graffalun, Lastimun’s mother and Doraim’s wife.

And she did not look happy.

Through my empathic sense, I could feel her burning rage, wild and ready to destroy everything in her path.

Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t dealing with a pushover.

“You’re lucky you’re facing me right now and not Velzard,” I muttered quietly. “If she had her way, both your family, and probably your entire species, would be nothing but frozen popsicles by now.”

Using Magic Sense, I glanced back briefly at Velzard, who stood a short distance behind me, watching the dragons with a faint frown.

‘Yep… best I handle this,’ I thought with a sagely nod.

A moment later, my Eternal Mangekyō came to life.

Azure chakra erupted around me, rapidly expanding into a colossal humanoid form, a winged Tengu with four arms, as I activated my Perfect Susanoo for the first time since leaving the Naruto world.

Suspended within the construct’s head, I turned slightly, the Susanoo mirroring my movement, and saw Graffalun freeze mid-flight.

Her earlier fury vanished instantly, replaced by deep dread and unmistakable terror.

Behind me, I could hear the girls and Dragonewts gasp in awe as murmurs spread through the village about the colossal avatar I had summoned.

“Well, what’s wrong?” I called out, my voice carrying easily through the air. “Did you lose your nerve, little lizard, now that your opponent isn’t as weak as you thought?”

At my taunt, the mother dragon growled weakly, but before she could act, the Susanoo’s hand had already closed around her, squeezing just firmly enough to restrain without crushing her outright.

Like her daughter before her, she made a feeble attempt to break free, only to quickly lose strength and slump limply in the Susanoo’s grasp.

Just as I was about to set her down and dismiss the Susanoo, now that she clearly had no intention of burning the village anymore, a third dragon suddenly made its presence known.

“Please wait, Akari-dono! My wife and daughter didn’t mean to attack you and your village!” Doraim exclaimed, his dragon face filled with worry and fear.

“Doraim, I had a feeling these two were related to you,” I muttered as I dismissed my Susanoo and floated calmly in the air while Doraim quickly dove in to catch his fallen wife, who had reverted into her human form.

Next, I dismissed my wooden dragon before disappearing for a moment and reappearing a second later with Lastimun cradled in my arms in a princess carry, already unconscious. It was a bit difficult to hold her with her giant green tail, but I managed.

“Now why don’t we talk properly now that your wife and daughter have calmed down?” I asked. Without waiting for a response, I floated down to the ground and landed before a silent Velzard.

Taking my lead, Doraim also descended before transforming into his human form, his wife in his arms. Compared to her daughter, however, she was barely clinging to consciousness.

Pulling two Full Potions from my inventory, I poured the first one into Lastimun’s mouth before tossing the second to Doraim, who clumsily caught it.

“Use that to heal her,” I said simply.

Doraim blinked as he examined the potion curiously, but his attention quickly returned to his daughter.

A moment later, Lastimun stirred in my arms, looking as good as new. Any scratches she had received were nowhere to be seen. Her eyes fluttered open—

—and were immediately greeted by my smiling face.

“Yo. I see you finally calmed down, little dragon,” I greeted with a small grin.

Lastimun blinked again before her eyes widened in recognition. The moment she realized her position, her face flushed a deep red. She let out a cute eep and froze in my arms like a cornered animal.

“Hahaha, finally recognized me, have you?” I asked rhetorically as I gently set her down on her own two feet.

Lastimun let out another small eep before lowering her head and quickly waddling toward her parents, who were watching our interaction with nervous expressions that slowly eased when nothing happened. Guchi had also arrived beside them at some point.

Turning my gaze to Graffalun, I didn’t comment when she visibly flinched, tightening her hold on her husband’s arm while avoiding my eyes. I also noticed her cast a wary glance toward the girls and Dragonewts behind me, likely assessing their strength, and clearly not liking her odds.

Realizing my Eternal Mangekyō was still active, I let it fade and allowed a relaxed smile to return to my face.

“Now, Doraim, why don’t you explain the misunderstanding to your family?” I instructed calmly, prompting the man to nod rapidly, sweat pouring down his face—

—before he suddenly paled as Velzard finally chose that moment to speak.

“Yes, worm. Didn’t I make it clear last time that I would not tolerate any disrespect toward my beloved?” Velzard asked calmly, her icy blue eyes nearly burning a hole through the poor man’s head.

Doraim all but whimpered as he suddenly dropped to his knees, his forehead hitting the ground.

“Please forgive us, Velzard-sama! My wife and daughter didn’t know about you and Akari-dono! I’m willing to offer my head in recompense for this foolish mistake, but please spare my family!” he declared firmly, shocking both his wife and daughter beside him at his actions.

Deciding to step in before Velzard made good on her promise and turned the terrified family and their devil servant into ice sculptures, I placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn her head my way.

As she did, I leaned down and surprised her with a soft kiss on the lips before pulling back seconds later, leaving her slightly flushed, her previous expression forgotten.

“Relax, love. I felt no lies coming from Doraim, so I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding. Could you let this pass for me?” I murmured softly against her lips as I gently caressed her cheek.

That’s right, I had discovered Velzard’s weak spot.

Mainly, that she turned into putty when I displayed acts of affection like this in public. Holding hands was fine, and even a kiss on the cheek wouldn’t earn more than the tiniest smile from her, but a kiss in full view of others was another matter entirely.

As expected, Velzard blushed until the tips of her ears turned red before letting out a small huff and turning her head to the side, arms crossed.

“Hmph. Do whatever you want,” she muttered cutely, making me smile.

Giving her another kiss, this time on the cheek, I pulled away and faced Doraim’s family. I noticed Graffalun and Lastimun watching our exchange with very different expressions.

Lastimun’s cheeks were flushed as she tried to cover her eyes in embarrassment.

Graffalun, however, looked thoughtful, her gaze shifting between me and her daughter as if coming to some private conclusion.

‘That’s right. This is the woman who all but ordered her daughter to get close to Hiraku to prevent him from ever pointing his AFT at the dragon kingdom,’ I thought silently.

“Please get up, Doraim. As I just told my lover, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all this,” I said to the still-kneeling dragon king.

“T-Thank you for this opportunity, Akari-dono!” Doraim said as he stood, shooting me a grateful look that I simply acknowledged with a nod.

Doraim then turned to his family and spent the next few minutes clearing up the misunderstanding.

Velzard and I waited calmly while they spoke. I signaled for everyone behind me to return to their duties before pulling Velzard into a small hug.

“Tsk. You know I hate it when you do these kinds of things in front of others,” Velzard muttered quietly so only I could hear.

Despite her words, she made no move to pull away. If anything, she settled more comfortably against my side.

“Right,” I replied in a teasing tone—

—and earned a sharp elbow to my ribs for my trouble.

=====

An Hour Later

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Graffalun and Lastimun properly apologized for their behavior before the family finally departed, leaving Lastimun behind.

As I had expected, Graffalun requested that her daughter remain here to live as a representative, and I agreed. They also mentioned they would be sending servants later to tend to any of Lastimun’s needs so I wouldn’t have to worry, and that I was free to put her to work without reservation.

The blonde dragon was now following me, Tia, Rurushi, and Ria as we gave her a tour of the village. Velzard had already returned to lazily doing whatever she usually did in her free time, most likely sampling every fruit that caught her interest.

“These are so yummy~ What are they?” Lastimun asked, cheeks slightly red as she stuffed her face full of the strawberries she had curiously discovered.

As Ria began explaining what they were, I turned my attention toward the southern edge of the village, sensing several presences approaching.

Familiar ones, along with a few new signatures.

‘Seems the Beastman tribe finally returned… along with our new residents,’ I thought silently.

During their last visit to discuss trade, we had reached an agreement. I would send one of my clones to restore fertility to part of their land using the AFT, and in return they would send twenty members of their tribe to live here.

All girls, of course.

‘With Sena’s arrival, our stay in this world is quickly coming to an end. The only thing missing now is Bizel’s daughter, Fraurem, before we depart,’ I reflected, looking around at everything we had built over the months I’d been here.

Fields stretched far in nearly every direction.

A livestock area housing pigs, cows, and chickens.

A beehive producing abundant honey thanks to the giant bee the wolves had captured.

Designated spaces for Coco and the Inferno Wolves.

The large mansion we lived in.

An onsen.

The guest house.

The Dragonewt residence.

And finally, the massive tree standing proudly at the center of it all.

“It’s been a lot of fun living the slow life… but I’ve got to return to the Eminence in Shadow universe soon to finish things there before finally heading to the Tensura universe,” I muttered quietly to myself.

“Akari-sama, is something wrong? You seem lost in thought,” Ann’s voice called out, pulling me from my thoughts as she approached to announce that lunch was ready.

Turning to the Oni maid, I smiled and shook my head.

“It’s nothing, Ann. Just thinking about the future and everything we’ve built here.”

“I see. You’ve created something wonderful, in my opinion, and that won’t change even if we move to another world. I’m sure that wherever you go, that will remain true,” Ann said with a small, confident smile.

“Hahaha, thanks for the vote of confidence, Ann. Now let’s hurry before our gluttonous dragon eats all the strawberries,” I replied, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Ann blushed faintly and nodded obediently as we turned back toward Lastimun, who, true to my words, was stuffing her face full of fruit while the others tried in vain to stop her.

=====

A Month Later

It was finally time.

Just as I had predicted, Fraurem arrived at the village a day after Lastimun began staying with us, nervously asking for permission to live here as the Demon Kingdom’s representative. She had tried to sneak into the village, only to be repelled by the wards and knocked unconscious, where the Inferno Wolves found her and brought her to me.

Our next cheeky visitor was actually Lastimun’s aunt, Hakuren. She tried teasing us but one death glare from Velzard had immediately cowed her and made her compliant. Angry and jealous that her niece had found someone before her, she decided to stay as well. She was just a loser and another Christmas Cake that needed attention in the end so I welcomed her.

It definitely helped that she was another beauty.

After I agreed, Fraurem, Lastimun, Hakuren, Sena, and the Beastman girls quickly got used to life in the village, with things returning to normal for the most part.

During that time, I got to know them better and used the opportunity to grant them my Shroud, ensuring their loyalty. When they eventually learned that I was from another world, they were nervous at first about leaving everything behind, but relaxed once I explained they could return whenever they wished and that distance meant nothing to me.

When I asked whether they would inform their families, mainly directed at Lastimun, Hakuren, and Fraurem, they simply shrugged and said they could always come back later once they were settled.

At first, it almost felt like I was running away with them like in some trashy romance novel… but I quickly pushed the thought aside. This was their decision.

During the past month, I had been preparing the village for our departure, storing most of it inside my inventory and leaving only a few fields active while dismantling the rest. Alongside that, Velzard and I reinforced the area with multiple layers of barriers, effectively turning the village into the most protected location in the world.

With everyone’s input, we ultimately decided to leave behind a small base in this world that the girls could use if they ever wished to return. Because of that, I admittedly went a bit overboard with the defensive measures.

With everyone aware of what was coming, we worked together, and before we knew it, the time for our departure had arrived.

We were now gathered outside the massive tree, where a portal already hung open in the air, leading back to my personal world.

The only one accompanying me to the Eminence in Shadow world would be Velzard. Everyone else would head to my personal world first so they could settle in and begin building another farm with the help of my clones.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” I asked the gathered crowd.

I was met with a resounding reply.

“YES!”

“Good. Just follow my clone, and he’ll help you get settled into your new home. By the time you’re done, I should be finished with my business in the other world, and we can meet again,” I announced with a reassuring smile, noticing the worried and pleading looks from some of them at the thought of being separated from me.

Honestly, that had been the biggest hurdle to deal with.

Fortunately, I could create an endless number of clones, and even parallel existences, so we wouldn’t truly be apart. That had been enough to convince them, especially once they learned that my Parallel Existence leading them there would feel everything I did and vice versa.

The elves, in particular, looked especially excited, considering we hadn’t been able to resume fucking like rabbits since Velzard’s arrival had put a firm stop to that.

One by one, they stepped through the portal, each giving me a kiss in farewell as they passed, until only Velzard and I remained.

“And then there were two,” I muttered quietly, looking up with an amused smirk.

“Three, if you include the peeping tom,” Velzard said calmly, also looking upward with bored eyes.