I traveled to the Sun Castle on Hakuren’s back.
Our party consisted of the members of the First Conquest Team, along with Urza and Gral. Rusty followed behind, her back laden with various food supplies intended as gifts for the residents.
The Sun Castle sat at a high altitude, so I expected it to be cold, but that wasn't the case at all. I could barely feel a breeze. I wondered if the entire castle was encased in some kind of magical barrier. Come to think of it, it would have to be; otherwise, it couldn't possibly ascend any higher than this. The temperature felt like a pleasant spring day. I wondered if the climate inside was always like this.
Hakuren landed in an area that resembled a courtyard. There, I was immediately greeted by a scene of high drama.
“This child is innocent! I won’t let him hurt anyone, I promise!”
“It is a monster. All monsters must be purged.”
“No! What has he ever done to deserve this?!”
“It is a tragedy, but nonetheless...”
A young girl was being cornered by a group of adults. I could more or less gather what was happening, but... this little play. How long had they been performing it? I had a sneaking suspicion they had timed the start of their performance to coincide exactly with my arrival.
Furthermore, several of Kuro’s offspring were waiting in the background behind the adults. Judging by the way they were yawning, they weren't exactly acting as guards—they were just spectators.
The girl kept stealing glances at me. So did the adults. I understood then—they wanted me to be the one to step in and save the monster.
“Tell me what's going on.”
It was exactly as I had suspected. The girl had been secretly keeping a monster child within the Sun Castle. Up until now, it hadn't really been a problem—or rather, the fact that they were trapped in the castle meant they had more pressing issues to worry about, so it was overlooked. They likely saw no reason to go out of their way to kill a creature that wasn't hostile. There was even a calculated hope that if they could tame it, it might prove useful.
However, the situation changed once Kuro’s offspring arrived and began clearing out the various monsters and magic beasts. They weren't sure how to protect the hidden pet while the wolves, who had just finished their extermination, were watching.
So, they decided to appeal to someone in authority. The result was that little drama. Honestly, they could have just told me directly. Did they think they needed to tug at my heartstrings first? Well, I understood the sentiment.
If they were going to keep it here, it shouldn't be a problem as long as the castle's representative gave permission, right? And that representative was Kuzuden.
“Actually, I have a bit of a concern regarding that,” Kuzuden said, tossing the issue right back at me.
“Registration?” I asked.
Apparently, they had regained some degree of control over the Sun Castle. However, for efficient operation, a Castle Lord Registration was required. I told them they should just go ahead and register someone, but I was instead led to what appeared to be an audience chamber.
Occupying the throne in the center of the chamber was a massive, human-sized crystal.
“I have been waiting. Is this the one who shall become my master?”
Nothing moved, yet I understood that the crystal itself had spoken.
“This is a spirit-like being that governs the castle's functions,” Kuzuden explained. “It refuses to recognize the Devil Race or the Dream Demons as its master, which is why we haven't been able to fully control the Sun Castle until now.”
“So you aren't recognized as the master?”
“No.”
“Does it just need to be someone other than a Devil or a Dream Demon?”
“Well, about that...”
“I serve only the God-kin,” the crystal interjected.
“...That’s the problem,” Kuzuden finished.
“I see. In that case, Tia or Kierbit, could one of you handle the Castle Lord Registration?”
In addition to those two, Granmaria and the other angels had accompanied us.
“Village Head, I am not a God-kin,” Tia said.
“Neither am I,” Kierbit added.
The two of them turned away in synchronized rejection. I looked toward Granmaria and the others, but they gave me the same response.
“Hey, uh... do you have a name?” I asked, addressing the crystal.
“If you wish to know my name, have you no manners to introduce yourself first?”
“Ah, sorry. I’m Hiraku. What’s your name?”
“‘You’? Are you perhaps referring to me?”
What a tedious fellow. However, arguing would get us nowhere, so I decided to play along.
“My apologies. Would you be so kind as to tell me your name?”
“My name is the Sun Castle. The Glory of the Sun Castle.”
“May I call you Glory of the Sun Castle?”
“E-Eh... well, ‘Glory’ is just my own self-given title. You can just call me Sun Castle.”
“I see. Well then, Sun Castle. It seems the Angels really dislike being called ‘God-kin,’ so it would be a huge help if you could be mindful of that.”
“Are God-kin not God-kin? What foolishness.”
The moment the crystal spoke those words, Tia and Kierbit’s fists connected with it.
“The God-kin are extinct,” Tia said coldly.
“We are the Angel Race. We merely look similar,” Kierbit added.
A portion of the crystal shattered and fell to the floor from the force of their blows. I wondered if it was going to be okay.
“M-My sincerest apologies! To mistake the Angel Race for the God-kin, I truly am a clumsy fool!”
It seemed it was fine. The crystal began repairing itself automatically. That was quite a convenient feature.
Returning to the topic at hand, I asked Tia or Kierbit to register as the Castle Lord once more. Again, they refused. Tia claimed she could never take the title for herself by pushing aside her husband. Kierbit said that while she wasn't necessarily holding back, she couldn't accept such a title when she was essentially a guest of our village.
However, both were perfectly willing to serve as the Acting Castle Lord. In short, they were telling me to become the master.
The only ones opposed to this were me and the Sun Castle itself.
“Hold on, there’s no way I can be the Castle Lord.”
“Indeed,” the crystal agreed, finding common ground with me. “Even with the recommendation of the God-ki—my apologies, the Angel Race—I cannot make a mere human the master of this castle.”
I nodded, feeling we were finally on the same page.
“Oh? So you find my husband unsatisfactory?” Tia asked, her voice dropping an octave. “I wonder if you'll feel the same when you've been ground into dust.”
“Let’s conduct an experiment to see exactly when your opinion changes,” Kierbit suggested.
The two of them were clearly not on the same page as us. I had no choice but to step in and mediate.
“Sun Castle, who would be acceptable to you?”
“Hmm... let’s see...”
The Sun Castle began scanning the people in the room. There was Hakuren, Lu, Tia, Granmaria, Kudel, Corone, Kierbit, Daga, Galf, Ya, Rusty, Urza, and Gral. A dozen or so of Kuro’s offspring were also present, along with Kuzuden.
“Wait, uh... excuse me? Kuzuden? Can I have a word?”
“What is it?” Kuzuden asked.
“Are the people here the same ones who wiped out the monsters and magic beasts that were infesting the castle?”
“Yeah. Well, except for the Village Head and the little girls over there.”
“I-I see... And who was it that destroyed the massive rock formation anchored to the bottom of the castle?”
“That was the Village Head. He’s pretty incredible, isn't he?”
“Is ‘Village Head’... referring to Hiraku?”
“That’s right.”
“...”
The Sun Castle went silent for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
“The new Castle Lord has been decided! It's Kuzuden! Registration complete! No changes allowed!”
“What? Is that okay? He’s a Devil, isn't he?” I asked.
“I have come to realize that fixating on race is the sign of a fool. I am deeply sorry for my previous rudeness. Ah, Lord Hiraku, my apologies for not even offering you a seat. Kuzuden, fetch the chairs.”
Kuzuden, having just become the Castle Lord, began scurrying around to set up chairs. It felt a bit wrong to watch him do it alone, so I stepped in to help. Urza and Gral joined in as well. We ended up moving all the chairs and tables as a group; I couldn't just let the kids do all the heavy lifting.
Once the chairs were arranged in the audience chamber, the crystal spoke again.
“Kuzuden, stay by my side. Not there... yes, right there. Directly in front of me. It’s fine, really! You’re the Castle Lord, after all. I want you to be right in front of me. Please.”
As Kuzuden nervously positioned his chair, I found myself in a similar state of confusion regarding the seating chart.
“Even if I am the representative, isn't this arrangement a bit much?”
I was the only one seated in front, with everyone else lined up in a single row behind me. Kuro’s offspring were tucked into the gaps between the chairs in the back. To be honest, I felt a bit exposed.
Ultimately, Lu, Tia, and Hakuren moved to sit on either side of me. Once Hakuren moved, Urza and Gral followed suit. In the end, we all ended up in one long horizontal line, with the wolves interspersed between us. I remained in the center, which made sense as the representative, I suppose.
“Now that the master is decided, I’d like to get official permission for that girl to keep her monster pet,” I proposed to Kuzuden.
“Eh? Oh, yeah, that’s fine. Permission granted.”
And just like that, the matter was settled. Galf, deciding he wasn't much for formal discussions, volunteered to go and deliver the good news to the girl.
“Now then, let's discuss the future of the Sun Castle. I heard you set a course for the village because of some kind of contract?”
“Lord Hiraku, please, there is no need for such formality. You can just call me Sun Castle. You can even call me ‘Stone’ if you prefer.”
“You’ve certainly become humble all of a sudden.”
“No, no, as I am now in the service of my master, any rudeness on my part reflects poorly on him. I cannot allow myself to be a burden.”
“I... see. Well then, Sun Castle. Why did you come to our village?”
“Because of an ancient treaty.”
“May I ask the details?”
“The treaty stated that if ten or more of the Dragon Race were to gather in one place, I was to go there and offer my support to the humans.”
Ten or more dragons... was it the recent martial arts tournament? When Hiichiro was born, the whole family had gathered. But why support humans?
“Because it was said that whenever that many dragons gather, there will inevitably be a human at the center of it all.”
That was certainly true in this case, but... was the treaty talking about me? Or was it Hiichiro?
“It is a highest-level contract established twelve hundred years ago. I honestly thought it would never be triggered, but once the conditions were met, I began my journey. Unfortunately, there was a massive weight attached to the bottom of the castle, so I couldn't pick up much speed... it took a long time to arrive.”
I see.
“Now that I’ve made contact with the Dragon Race, that contract is currently on standby. Times have changed, after all. It’s a bit late to start siding with humans to fight the Demon Race...”
At the crystal’s explanation, Kuzuden glanced back over his shoulder.
“Hey now. You threatened us like crazy, saying you were going to side with the humans and wipe us out. Did you already forget that?”
“That was the deed of my foolish past self. Please, pay it no mind.”
“I took those threats seriously! That's why I went out of my way to make that call. Because of you, I had to prostrate myself in the freezing cold as an apology!”
“I am terribly sorry. I will apologize as much as you like later, but for now, please attend to our guests as the master.”
“What do you mean, ‘attend to them’? You're the one doing all the talking! I don't know the first thing about any of this...”
“It’s fine. Just having you standing there puts my heart at ease. Please, act as a firm shield—my apologies. Please, act as a firm host to our guests.”
“Wait, you said ‘shield’! You definitely just said ‘shield’!”
“Master, please. It is unbecoming to lose your temper in front of our guests.”
“Gugigigi...”
...Uhm, can I continue with the discussion now?