"That felt rather anticlimactic, didn't it?"
Empress Emerita Hilde voiced her candid impression.
"It probably looks that way from an outside perspective. However, that tactic is the result of carefully devising a method that exposes the hunters to as little danger as possible."
When Sion explained this, Empress Emerita Hilde offered an apology.
"You're right. This isn't entertainment put on for our benefit. That was a thoughtless remark on my part. I am sorry."
Listening to their exchange from the side, Jin thought that being able to honestly acknowledge her own faults like this was truly one of Empress Emerita Hilde's greatest strengths.
Down below, the hunters had begun digging a large pit to drain the blood and butcher the internal organs.
While the meat was unfit for human consumption, drying it out and grinding it into powder made it useful as fish feed or fertilizer.
"Ah..."
It suddenly occurred to Jin that if Sham Dragon blood were processed, it might be possible to refine it into true serum.
The grade might be low, but Jin figured it should still be more than sufficient for making sunscreen.
"Sion, it's too late for this batch, but from now on, if you preserve the blood instead of throwing it away, I'd like to buy it from you."
Jin explained that it could serve as a raw material for compounding medicine.
"Oh, that would be wonderful."
For the Nord Federation, adding another export item was a welcome prospect.
Just then, Edgar delivered a report.
"Pardon the interruption. A single massive creature is approaching from upstream along the Lugarda River."
"What?!...All right, head in that direction."
"Understood."
Having a bad feeling about this, Jin gave instructions to Edgar and had Konron 3 fly upstream along the Lugarda River.
After two minutes of flight, the creature's identity became clear.
"A Grandragon...!"
Sion muttered with a grimace.
Grandragons were carnivorous beasts that preyed on creatures weaker than themselves. Naturally, Sham Dragons fell into that category.
They had a habit of forming packs and normally lived near the polar regions above 60 degrees north latitude... usually, at least.
"I wonder if it came south chasing after stray Sham Dragons?"
It was said that once every few years, one would head south from its natural habitat in pursuit of prey.
"This is bad. It looks like it caught the scent of Sham Dragon blood."
It would be disastrous if it attacked while they were in the middle of draining and gutting the carcasses.
"...Jin, is there anything you can do?"
Sion decided that turning to Jin was their only option.
And Jin, for his part, was not the kind of person who could stand by and do nothing when his friends and their companions were in danger.
"Reiko, can I leave this to you?"
"Yes, Father."
While they could have launched an attack from Konron 3, Jin chose the most reliable option.
It was time to deploy the world's strongest automata, Reiko.
"Reiko-chan, please take care of it."
"R-Reiko-san, we're counting on you!"
Both Sion and Marikka bowed their heads.
"I am on my way."
Since she had not brought Touka with her this time, she would be fighting bare-handed, but that was a trivial matter.
Leaping from Konron 3's emergency hatch, Reiko effortlessly handled the 50-meter drop and moved to confront the approaching Grandragon.
"Y-Your Majesty, is she going to be all right?!"
Flora, who knew the least about Reiko among everyone present, was in a state of panic, even forgetting to address Hilde by her alias.
Sion and Marikka, who had long since realized Hilde was the Empress Emerita, simply pretended not to hear.
"She'll be fine, Flora. When it comes to Reiko-chan, concepts like 'struggling' or 'worrying' simply don't apply. You'll see once you watch."
"Y-Yes, ma'am..."
While that conversation was taking place, Reiko prepared to intercept the charging Grandragon.
A Grandragon's top running speed was said to be around 100 kilometers per hour.
The beast closed in, shaking the earth with its heavy strides. Reiko stood directly in its path.
If the Grandragon had wanted to survive, making a U-turn right then and there was its only hope; however, it likely never dreamed that this tiny girl was a being capable of bringing it down.
Without slowing down in the slightest, it let out a roar and attempted to trample Reiko underfoot.
"...You are not turning back, I see."
Reiko set her output to thirty percent.
Fixing her body in place with her barrier projector, she wreathed her right fist in a physical barrier.
Whether the Grandragon felt any doubt upon seeing Reiko make no attempt to dodge or run, no one would ever know.
Facing the Grandragon as it lunged forward intent on crushing her, Reiko delivered a single direct punch with her barrier-clad right fist.
That fist broke the sound barrier, slamming into the Grandragon along with the barrier.
As if it had crashed into a steel wall at 2,000 kilometers per hour, the Grandragon's body caved in, crushed to the point where not a trace of its original form remained.
"Wh-What in the..."
While Flora was left utterly speechless,
"Incredible..."
"Yes!"
Sion and Marikka voiced their admiration.
"Wrapping her fist in a barrier was to prevent getting splattered with blood, wasn't it? As expected of Reiko-san!"
Marikka went so far as to analyze Reiko's combat method.
Afterward, Reiko dug a hole using Dig and buried the Grandragon's crushed remains.
As an exception among dragon species, Grandragons had very few parts that could be harvested for materials.
Or rather, more than that, the main issue was that no pieces of usable size were left intact.
Its meat was even tougher, foul-smelling, and worse-tasting than that of a Sham Dragon. Unless processed with extreme care, its hide lost all elasticity and became brittle.
The creature apparently reinforced its skeleton with magical power while alive, meaning its bones were porous and fragile.
The only parts that might have been useful were its fangs, but Reiko's strike had pulverized them completely.
Konron 3 lowered its altitude, saving the trouble of landing by allowing Reiko to simply leap back aboard.
"Reiko-chan, thank you!"
"Reiko-san, dat was amazing!"
Sion and the others praised Reiko in unison.
"Reiko-chan, you really are strong, aren't you?"
"R-Reiko-san, I am truly in awe!!"
Empress Emerita Hilde and Flora also offered their praises to Reiko.
However, for Reiko,
"Good work, Reiko."
"Yes, Father."
That single sentence from Jin seemed to be the greatest reward of all.
Konron 3 turned around and retraced its path.
Back at the site, the Sham Dragons—now fully drained of blood and gutted—were being butchered into materials.
"They certainly work fast,"
remarked Empress Emerita Hilde.
As expected, people living in this world faced far more mortal danger than those in modern Japan, which was why they could gaze upon such a scene so calmly—or so Jin felt.
Of course, Jin himself had grown quite accustomed to it lately as well.
"Using everything usable without letting anything go to waste—that is our way,"
Sion replied.
"Ah, that is a splendid philosophy."
Empress Emerita Hilde voiced her agreement as well.