Before I could finish my home visits in Village One, a new group of guests arrived at the Village of the Great Tree.
They were three dragons.
"I am Ojes of the Flame Dragon race."
"I'm Hyfryguta of the Wind Dragon race."
"And I am Kihatroy of the Earth Dragon race."
There were three of them... though since they were in human form, I suppose I should call them three women. All three were from the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Races I had heard about before.
Their objective was the Dark Dragon Giral. Apparently, they wanted Giral to bestow the title of "Demon Dragon" upon them. Personally, "Demon Dragon" sounds a bit more imposing than "Dark Dragon," but I decided not to let it bother me. It was simply a matter of tradition.
This tradition had been obsolete for several thousand years, but recently a debate had broken out over who was the strongest among the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Races. The title was sought as proof of that strength.
"Is 'Demon Dragon' the highest title?" I asked.
"Among the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Races, it is," Raimeiren replied.
She was the one who had guided them here. Initially, the three hadn't known about the title; they had simply come to Raimeiren to ask her to prove who was the strongest. Knowing about the title, Raimeiren decided she couldn't settle the matter herself and passed the responsibility to Giral. Since Giral also knew the history of the title, he had no choice but to interview the three of them. He was expected to select one and grant the title.
"I understand that, but why conduct the interview here in the Village of the Great Tree?"
"Because to obtain the title, one must overcome a trial."
I wondered if we even had proper trials in this village. Regardless, since I didn't need to handle it personally, I left the matter to Giral. I had my own work to do with the home visits in Village One. At that stage, the three women were in high spirits, eagerly awaiting the trial Giral would set for them.
By the time I finished visiting the households in Village One, Village Two, Village Three, and Village Four and returned to the Village of the Great Tree, the three were sitting on the ground with their knees hugged to their chests, looking utterly depressed.
When I returned again after visiting some of the households in Village Five, the three were facing a wall and muttering something under their breaths.
And by the time I finished my rounds of every household in the Village of the Great Tree, the three were... seeking life counseling from Aegis, the Phoenix Chick. Aegis was patting them on the shoulders as they wept. What on earth had happened? When they first arrived, they had ignored me completely, but now they were bowing deeply to me.
"How did it go?" I asked Giral.
"It’s no good. With their current level of strength, I can't give the title to any of them."
"That sounds harsh. Was it really that bad?"
"Umu. I intended to make the trials simple, though."
Originally, the tradition involved the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Races selecting one representative. Giral, as the Dark Dragon, would then give that person a trial, and upon completion, bestow the Demon Dragon title. Because of that, the trial wasn't supposed to be particularly difficult—it was more of a ceremony. However, because there were three candidates this time, Giral had to choose just one. As a result, the trials had become a bit more competitive.
For the first trial Giral set, he prepared a log about one meter in diameter and five meters long. He threw it into the Forest and declared that whoever brought it back would receive the title. All three transformed into their dragon forms and gave chase. Immediately, they got tangled in Zabuton’s webs and were rendered immobile. To make matters worse, they started thrashing around, which prompted Rusty to punch them since she was nearby.
"Lananon just fell asleep! Stop being so noisy!" she had apparently shouted.
For the second trial, Giral enlisted the help of Kuro's children. He declared that the title would go to whoever could retrieve a log guarded by them. Initially, thirty of Kuro's children were on guard. The three dragons were completely helpless against thirty of them, so the numbers were gradually reduced until only one wolf remained. Even then, the three dragons couldn't manage to take the log. That final wolf was Uno.
"Were they in human form at the time?"
"No, they were in their dragon forms."
Uno had successfully defended a log against three dragons at once? That was impressive. I went over to him and gave him a good head pat.
"Still, if the three of them together can't beat Uno... if they actually went into the Forest, they might lose to a rabbit," I mused.
"I’d like to think it wouldn’t go that far... but it's starting to look doubtful. That said, I believe that Inferno Wolf is the strongest in history."
Uno looked pleased to be praised as the strongest. Hahaha. Kuro, Kuroichi, Kuroni, Kuroyon—don't start drifting over here with those looks. You're his parents and siblings, even if just in name. Get along, now. Here, I'll give you all pats too.
For the third trial, Giral asked Ria, Daga, and Galf for help. The dragons were to fight three rounds of one-on-one matches, and the one with the most wins would get the title. To ensure fairness, the opponents were decided by lots, and three matches were held simultaneously. They rotated opponents after each round. Apparently, they even used recovery magic between matches, but... all three dragons suffered total defeat.
"The martial arts tournament is coming up. We aren't about to let our guard down," Ria said.
"I wish they had a bit more bite to them..." Daga added.
"Breaths are cheating. The tip of my tail got singed a little," Galf complained.
The three of them continued their training while critiquing each other's performances. Seeing that level of dedication seemed to be what finally broke the dragons' spirits.
"If they're at a level where you're worried about them losing to rabbits, wouldn't anyone in the Knight Division be too much for them?"
"That's what I thought. So I lowered the rank to participants from the Warrior Division and the General Division, but..."
Perhaps because they were already discouraged, they couldn't win. Finally, when Giral asked a resident who had come from Village One for a match, the dragons were apparently defeated instantly by lightning magic.
...
"Wait, I’ve heard even the rabbits here can dodge that magic," I said.
"So it seems. I expected them to dodge, but they took a direct hit. I was quite surprised. I feel like I did something cruel."
"Still, aren't they a bit too weak?"
"I agree. Even if I'm told to choose one, I'd be at a loss."
"True enough."
Choosing just one seemed impossible.
"But if I don't pick someone, these trials will go on forever. I'm stuck."
"Can't you just tell them they're all rejected?"
"They’re carrying the pride of their respective races. If only one were chosen, that would be one thing, but if they're all deemed failures... they won't be able to go home."
"I see. ...Then, how about giving it to all three of them?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let all three of them hold the 'Demon Dragon' title together."
"Hahaha! The 'Demon Dragon' is usually limited to one—wait, no, there isn't actually a rule like that. I see. Ah, well, I can't decide that on my own. I'll have to consult with Dos and Raimeiren."
The martial arts tournament was coming up soon, so Dos would likely be arriving any day now. It looked like those three would be staying in the village for a while longer.
"By the way, Hiraku, what do you say? Want to grab a drink for the first time in a while?"
"I'd like to, but I still have some home visits left."
"I thought you finished the houses in the Village of the Great Tree. Is there still more?"
"Yeah, some very important places."
I pointed toward the Dog Area, where the entire Kuro family had assembled. Are you guys ready? Just a little longer? You don't have to line up so perfectly, you know.
"And over there, too."
The Great Tree was being decorated by Zabuton's Children. One of them noticed my gaze and made a gesture asking me to wait just a bit longer. Seeing that, Giral roared with laughter.
"Those certainly are important places."