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Today’s Destination, The Sermon Room!
—————————-
Four Kururukans are circling above us. It seems they have come not to welcome me but to repel these attackers. That means we have already entered Kururukans territory.
“These are Fairy Dragons, indeed.”
“Fairy Dragons? Are they the same species as fairy? Their colors are different, though.”
For now, I enclose the fallen dragons within the barrier. Then I send a “thought” to the Kururukans circling above.
“I am Linos. I have been granted permission to pass through here by your comrade, Ferris. I have also heard that I have the permission of the chieftain.”
“You are our guest. We are aware of that. Rest assured, attacking those who entered our territory without permission will be forgiven.”
“What about these Fairy Dragons?”
“We shall consume them.”
“But before that, may I ask why they attacked me?”
“
Very well.”
The four Kururukans make a large circle and descend. One of them is about five meters tall. It’s quite a spectacular sight with all four of them.
“Now, shall we wake them up?”
I blast heavy metal music at high volume within the barrier. Within seconds, all the Fairy Dragons wake up, making noisy cries like “Agaaa!” and “Kyaaa!”.
“Shut up, you bastards!”
“Gaaaaa!”
Since I sent a “thought” with a loud voice, the Fairy Dragons flinch and everyone becomes quiet, but it seems the Kururukans also sensed it. All four of them shake their heads. My apologies.
“Why did you Fairy Dragons attack me? What grudge do you have that led you to attack?”

No one responds. Could it be that the “thought” didn’t reach them? No, it reached them, right? They reacted. However, if they have no intention of dialogue, it would be a waste of time to deal with them any further.
“Hey, Kururukans. You can eat these guys? They’ll probably run away if I release the barrier, so should I just kill them all first?”
“Originally, it’s more delicious to consume them while they’re still alive
 but they are fast runners. There’s no helping it, I suppose.”
“Understood.”
“Just wait a moment.”
“What?”
“Just wait.”
“You idiot, I’ve been waiting since earlier.”
“Sorry, just wait.”
“Who the hell has been talking all this time?”
One of the Fairy Dragons timidly stands up and walks towards us.
“Me!”
In an instant, he flew to my location, crashing his face into the barrier and squatting down. Oh, Kururukans, I’m sorry for shouting again. Oh, Gon, you heard it too, huh? I startled everyone.
“Hey, hurry up and speak. The Kururukans must be hungry, right?”
“There is a reason for our sudden attack. We do not attack indiscriminately. We are different from other dragon clans. Listen to the reason why we attacked
”
“Just spit it out already!”
“Guest, please calm down a bit.” One of the Kururukan said
“Oh, sorry. I startled you again. I apologize. Hey, Fairies. Your laziness is causing trouble for the Kururukan brothers! Even my family is greatly inconvenienced! Hurry up and speak! What’s the reason?”
“
It’s because you took Shinjo.”
“Shinjo~?”
“Master, he refers to Lady Fairy.”
“Are you idiots? Shinjo came to me on her own. Don’t say such disrespectful things.”
“In that case, we want Shinjo returned to us.”
“Refused.”
“What? Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
“Let me ask you, even if I return Shinjo, what will you do with her?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Apologies for the wait, Kururukans. It’s mealtime.”
“Wait! Wait a minute! The conversation isn’t over!”
“I don’t care.”
I cast individual barriers around the four Fairy Dragons and throw them towards the Kururukans. They immediately put them in their mouths and start crunching on them.
“Gakiyyyyin!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Kyuuaaaaaaah!”
“Kyuukyuukyuukyuukyuuuuu!!!”
The Fairy Dragons panic. However, upon closer inspection, the ones I thought were eaten are still inside Kururukan mouth.
“Guest, what is the meaning of this?” One Kururukan asks.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot to remove the barriers,” I respond.
“Hurry up and remove them. No, wait. Let’s just crush them like this,” Another Kururukan says.
The trapped creatures inside Kururukans mouth desperately try to escape, but they are immobilized by the barriers. Furthermore, every time they exert force with their jaws there are more and more cracks on the barrier.
“You
,” a Fairy Dragon glares at me.
“Hey, know your place before speaking. This is your fault. You led me to take this action. Don’t forget that I hold your lives in my hands. There won’t be a next time,” I say.
The Fairy Dragons bow their heads, trembling. The ones barely surviving within Kururukan mouth can only emit a voiceless sound,
“Akyuu
”
“One last question. What were you planning to do with Shinjo?” I ask.
“
To offer her as a sacrifice to the Dragon King,” they reply.
“Denied. I won’t give someone like you, who caused all this, my Fairy
 Oh, I mean, your Shinjo. You won’t get her back,” I declare.
“
”
“Besides, when I found Fairy, she had already lost a wing and a horn. I healed them and raised her up until this point. It’s all thanks to me. Yet, without even showing gratitude, you attacked me. I can only see you as idiots. Do you really think I would return my precious pet to such fools?”
“Pet? Referring to Shinjo-sama as a pet
” they mumble.
“She became like that willingly, so there’s nothing to be done about it,” I say.
“Kill us,” they demand.
“Huh?”
“We, who cannot receive the Dragon King’s protection, don’t believe we can live on from here. Kill us in one fell swoop,” one pleads.
“I don’t want to! I still don’t want to die!” one of them cries.
“Please stop! Don’t kill us!” another pleads.
Once again, there is commotion within the barriers.
“It was the right decision for Fairy to escape from this group, even if it meant sacrificing her wings and horn, which were equivalent to her life.”
The inside of the barriers falls silent, as if hit by a wave.
“She exerted all her strength to change her circumstances. As a result, she obtained the happiness she has now. And what about all of you? Instead of making any effort yourselves, you just rely on others.”
“But, we
”
“But nothing! Why don’t you realize that your ‘buts’ are robbing you of your future? Instead of making excuses, why don’t you think of ways to live on your own strength? Do you think the Dragon God will protect such individuals like you? You were abandoned by Shinjo and the Dragon God because you were meant to be abandoned.”
“
”
“Finding ways to live on our own
”
“You should have tried your best to think of solutions and put them into practice. Even if you failed, but kept trying, eventually you would have found the right answer. You had skills that seemed useful, but this is such a pity.”
Silence once again fills the barriers. And in the surroundings, we can eerily hear the sound of Kururukan attempting to crush the barriers.
“Please, help our clan. We will dedicate our lives to you. We will be your hands and shields. Please,” they plead.
“Huh? Did you not listen to what I said
”
“Please!”
“Please!”
“Please!”
“Please!”
“For crying out loud! Shut up! You’re so annoying! Fine, I get it! Be quiet!”
Finally, the pleading stops.
“
I understand. I will take you under my command. In return, my orders are absolute. Disobeying them means death. For a while, you will not be allowed to leave these barriers.”
I reapplied the barriers around the fairies that were inside the Kururukans mouth. Then, I move them towards me.
“Guest, that is quite
”
“Sorry, it might not be the best solution, but how about this?”
I summon four Curse Chalories from my infinite storage. Kururukan and the others swallow them in one gulp.
“Tasty. Delicious, my guest. It was a feast. Now then, let us guide you to our territory.”
“I apologize. Also, I would like to meet up with Ferris
”
“I am aware of that. Leave it to me.”
“By the way, is Ferris’s younger brother, Larc, doing well?”
“Larc? Ah, Larc
”
“What’s wrong?”
“You
 you will understand.”
The other three remain silent. A dreadful premonition begins to rise within me