After we finished our conversation with Eingana-san, Grandireas-san still hadn't arrived. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to take the opportunity to drop by Fafnir-san’s location.
Like Flare-san and Eingana-san before him, Fafnir-san was busy delivering a motivational address to his own unit, the Wings of the Black Wind.
"At times like a gentle breeze, at others like a raging storm—the key is the precise transition between stillness and motion," he declared. "You must constantly grasp not only your opponent’s condition but your own and the surrounding circumstances, then play the best hand for that moment. It is easy to say, yet few can execute it. You do not need to be perfect, but you must strive with the constant awareness of standing beside perfection."
Based on my impressions so far, Flare-san’s squad was a hot-blooded bunch filled with ambition. Eingana-san’s was a group of intellectuals who prioritized knowledge. Fafnir-san’s unit, meanwhile, felt remarkably well-balanced.
If that was the case, I wondered if Grandireas-san’s group would be focused on defense or something similar.
We watched Fafnir-san’s address for a while. Once he finished, he noticed us and made his way over.
"Miyama-dono, Lilia-dono. Welcome. It is good of you to come."
"Hello, Fafnir-san."
"Fafnir-sama, thank you for having us today."
Both Lilia-san and I were already well-acquainted with Fafnir-san. He had served as our transport when I visited Rigforresia with Sieg-san, and he’d helped us out during the Six Kings Festival as well.
Looking at Fafnir-san now, however, he seemed quite small compared to Eingana-san.
Granted, Fafnir-san was still a colossal creature well over a hundred meters long, but when compared to Eingana-san, Magnawell-san, or even the yet-to-be-seen Grandireas-san—who was said to be second only to the Dragon King—the difference was undeniable.
In an environment like this, I finally understood why Flare-san was so sensitive about her height. Any place where a hundred-meter-long dragon looked "small" was inherently abnormal, but at only four meters and eighty centimeters, the gap between Flare-san and the others was astronomical. It was probably impossible for her not to worry about it.
"It seems Grandireas has yet to arrive," Fafnir-san noted.
"That guy practically invented the laissez-faire attitude," Flare-san replied with a shrug. "He’ll probably show up at the very last second. Though I’m sure even he wouldn't dare arrive later than Magnawell-sama."
Fafnir-san let out a soft sigh of agreement.
We spent a few minutes chatting with him until a deep, heavy rumbling shook the earth. It was a different sensation than the vibrations caused by Magnawell-san’s footsteps.
"Ah, looks like he’s finally here."
Following Flare-san’s gaze, I saw the ground heave violently before an unimaginably massive dragon breached the surface.
He was ten kilometers long—an overwhelming, mountain-sized beast. He had no wings and was covered in protrusions along his back, giving him a physique somewhat like a Stegosaurus. So, that was Grandireas-san.
A massive crater remained where he had emerged, but the ground shook once more—perhaps due to some form of magic—and the hole vanished, leaving the earth flat again.
After excusing ourselves from Fafnir-san, Lilia-san and I followed Flare-san toward the new arrival. A resonant, echoing voice reached us.
"En... cou... rage... ment...? Hmm... I... sup... pose... you... should... just... do... your... best... not... to... get... bad... ly... hurt..."
His voice was incredibly drawn-out, with every single syllable stretched to its limit. Still, I managed to understand that he was telling his troops to try not to get seriously injured.
Compared to the three leaders we had met so far, his address was remarkably casual. As I pondered that, we finally reached the hill that served as Grandireas-san’s face.
"Grandireas, you got a second?" Flare-san called out.
"Hmm-m-m? Ni-ze-be-l-rd? Did... you... need... some... thing?"
"I have some people I want to introduce to you. My comrade, Kaito Miyama, and Duchess Lilia Albert."
At her introduction, Grandireas-san slowly turned his colossal head toward us.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kaito Miyama."
"I am Lilia Albert."
"I... am... Qua-kle... Gran-di-re-as. Ni... ce... to... meet... you."
I’d expected it, but man, he talked slowly. It was actually quite difficult to follow. Apparently, his full name was Quakle Grandireas.
As a side note, I also learned that Fafnir-san’s formal name was Tornedia Fafnir.
"Grandireas-san, thank you very much for your help during that battle in the God Realm a while back," I said.
"That... pre-vi-ous... bat-tle... in... the... God... Realm? What... was... that... a-gain? Oh... right... I... re-mem-ber... now... that... bat-tle. Don't... wor-ry... a-bout... it, but... I'll... ac-cept... your... thanks. Mag-na-well-sa-ma... told... me... the... same... thing, so... if... you... ev-er... need... help... a-gain... just... let... me... know... okay?"
Listening to long sentences from him was exhausting. By the time he reached the end, I felt like I was on the verge of forgetting how the sentence had started.
"By the way," Serious-senpai remarked, "I noticed the thing about Bell and Rin’s voices being heard earlier. Are there other foreshadowing bits like that we haven't picked up on yet?"
"There seem to be quite a few," the Mystery Entity replied. "For instance, regarding Information Concealment Magic. During that first barbecue, Lilia-san and the others couldn't hear the names of people like Ein-san. However, after Kaito-san received the Blessing of Shallow Vernal-sama, he gained the ability for 'Information Concealment Magic Nullification.' Since then, those situations where people can’t understand what he’s saying have completely disappeared."
"Oh, now that you mention it, that hasn't happened in a long time... That’s actually a pretty interesting bit of behind-the-scenes lore."