Chapter 1 – The Conclusion of the Alliance (Part2)

Chapter 1 – The Conclusion of the Alliance (Part2)

9

“W….What’s happening……?”

Naga, who tumbled to the floor, tried to lift himself up by putting his strength into his limbs, nevertheless, his body didn’t move as he wished.

“W….What’s the meaning of this….oh, that’s right, is this your magic?”

Once he desperately turned his head around and checked the surroundings, everyone from the Harrigan and Sraymeyer’s households were crawling on the floor.
The only one to be standing was Vita herself.

“True. This is my magic. People call it ‘Song of Gravity’. How’s that? You probably can’t move.”
“I…I cannot move.”
“Mother, please….keep your power… down.”

One of Sraymeyer’s witches said it as if being in pain.

(Speaking of which….why is she repressing her own members…hey, that’s right!)

“Oi….Vita-san…..”
– Hou? You’re still able to talk? Certainly, you’re a big deal. Then, what do you want to know, Dragon King?”
“Y….Your power isn’t working just on a specific person…..but equally on everyone within its range…..right? You cannot choose….your target….on your own…right?”
“Hohou, so you were able to figure it out with a single look?”

(Despite him probably being in agony, he’s got a good discerning eye)

“It’s just as you say, but,”

Her power which suppressed Naga suddenly loosened up….or rather, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say his body became lighter?

(Did my body get lighter? It may be that it just returned back to its normal weight, but…)
Those who regained their movements squirmed with their body while trying to lift themselves up.
Suddenly, Vita jumped up lightly. Dancing high in the sky with no resistance, she landed calmly and gently in front of Naga.

“I can do things like this too, but well,”

Once she said so, Vita placed her hand on his head.

“Guhaaa.”

Naga gasped as if all the air in his lungs had been shot out and lay on his belly on the floor.
His limbs wouldn’t move even if he tried, and his organs felt oppressed, like they were being squashed.

(This is….There’s no way for my muscles…to move. As one would expect, it’s the result of my body turning heavier.)

Naga recalled the miserable appearance of a frog squashed on a roadside that he had once witnessed.

(Hey, it isn’t time for remembering that…..if you have time for that……think of something more useful….!)[talking to himself]

“Gueeh.”

Not being able to endure, Naga leaked such a groan.

“How about that? I can also aim for specific people?”

With the weight of his body alleviating a bit, Naga somehow managed to raise up his head and looked around him. The other witches were lifting their bodies and standing up with confidence.

His eyes met with Harrigan who seemed to be worried about him.
Sorry – She put up her right hand and bowed down as if saying so.

“…No wait. Why are you placing your hand on my head? Could it be that you need to touch your target in order to mark it with your power?”
“Uhahahaha.”

Vita suddenly burst out in laughter.

Withdrawing her hand, she turned on her heels while laughing.

(….I can move! Speaking of which, my body returned to its original weight. Then, it means I was right.)

Naga raised his head and stared at her back.
Vita, who returned to her stool, turned her expression back to a serious one after she stopped laughing.
“You’ve caught my eye, Dragon King-dono. Hey, don’t just lie there, stand up.”
“Y…Yeah”

Naga lifted his body, which had returned to its original weight.

“Hm? Harrigan, are you able to stand up with that heavy pair of breasts? If so, wouldn’t it be fine for me to caress and lighten that unreasonably large chest for you?”
“It would be too much of a favor!”

Harrigan had been watching attentively and anxiously, the exchange between Naga and Vita, before she sprang up.

“Despite that, Harrigan, you came to me in order to ask for a favor, didn’t you? Not to mention, I’m your great benefactor, right? Then shouldn’t you be more prudent in your actions? Hm?”
“…….T-That’s….”

Harrigan, who was searching for the right words, finally hung down her head in disappointment.

“I am sorry.”
“No Harrigan, you don’t have to go that far.”

At Naga’s words, Vita ogled him.

“Should I understand that you don’t need my support, Dragon King?”

“No that’s not what I mean” – Sitting on the floor, Naga waved his hand.

“Your assistance is indispensable for us. I’m more and more interested in your power now that I’ve just witnessed it. However, you see, it’s not like we are here just to beg you for help.”
“…Then, for what other purpose?”
“I’ve already told you, but we want to create a new world together with you. That means, we are going to cooperate with each other on equal terms. It’s not the matter of who’s more superior or inferior nor does it matter who’s the one making the request.”

Naga, who said so, stood up and folded his hands in front of his chest. Striking a daunting pose, he gazed at Vita.

“I’ll repeat it one more time, Vita-san. Won’t you join us in making a new world where both the humans and the witches can coexist with each other in peace? This is the only way to create a bright future for the witches.”
“The only way.”

A spark rose in the air as their sights collided with each other’s.

10

The witches from Sraymeyer’s household whispered to each other while making troubled faces.

(T, This guy, despite him knowing how fearsome Mother is, he still has the guts to talk back.)
(He will be definitely killed by Mother.)
(Even if he’s together with Harrigan & the rest, he won’t be able to escape from Mother’s spell.)
(Since it seems our side here will be involved as well, I’d rather have him pardon us.)
(He’s, indeed, a bothersome man.)

And then,

“A—hahahaha.”

Because Vita abruptly started to laugh, her daughters tilted with their heads unintentionally.
Continuing her burst of laughter for a while, she finally ceased to laugh.

“I like you. I really like you, Dragon King-dono.”

Rising up, she stared again at him.

“Despite suffering from my magic, you were still able to calmly judge your surroundings and see through the nature of my ability. It was a splendid work, but what fascinates me the most is thehow you can grasp and calculate the situation without losing your composure.”

While the members of Sraymeyer’s household were taken aback, Harigan put her hand on her chest with relief.

(It seems we were able to please her.)
(As one would expect from Naga-san.)
(It’s because he possesses a strange talent for captivating his listene-rs.)

Harrigan, Ais, and Lela thought about that; hower, Langeais:

(I’ve heard rumors about him, but he’s even stranger than the rumors say.)

Such was her personal evaluation.

Descending the steps, Vita once again walked in front of Naga.

“Since you’re saying ‘on equal terms’, there’s no way for just me to be in a high position.”
“Oh? Then, it’s fine to consider our request as being accepted?”

Vita, who stood in front of his eyes, looked up at him without replying back. Naturally, it would make him look down from above.

“Even though I said so, there’s a difference between our heights. This fact doesn’t make me keen on working with you on equal terms. Oi, Elysio.”
“Yes, Mother?”
“Bring me a stepladder or anything similar.”
“Yes, right away.”

Elysione waved her long mantle, ran away, and immediately returned back.
Once she placed a small box-like thing under Vita’s feet, Vita stepped on it. However, the top of her head could still only reach Naga’s shoulders.

*Whack*

The soles of Vita’s feet sunk into Elysione’s face, blowing her backwards.

“As always you’re one useless girl, you rascal. Are we supposed to be on equal terms like that?!”
“M, My apphologies”

Elysione held her nose and stood up, then tried to bring another stepladder-like thing once again.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to. Become my stepladder instead, you rascal.”
“E….Eh…?”

Elysione warped her face miserably.

“Do you have any complaints?”
“……None.”
“Then come here quickly.”
“Uuuuu.”

Elysione dashed with a tearful face and crept on all fours in front of Vita.

“O, Oi, Vita-san….”
“Ahh, do not mind, Dragon King. That’s because this is a ceremony where we need to be on equal positions in order to join our hands.”

Saying so, Vita tried to step on Elysione’s back with her right leg.

“Yea, I got that, I got that. By the way, I’m still not familiar with your customs, but if you say we need to be on the same height to form an alliance, I can just lower myself.”
“Hohou. Are you raising an objection against what I do?”

Vita stared at him; nevertheless, Naga didn’t pay attention to that.

“For now, I’m probably your guest. You shouldn’t make your daughters that uncouth in front of your guests.”

Elysione, who was on her hands and feet, looked up at Naga with a strange expression.

“Fuumu. Unlike your appearance, you seem to be quite good at being considerate.”
“There’s probably nothing wrong about my appearance. From the way it looks, I’m most likely a gentle and considerate person!”
“Where do you see that?”
“……Then, what am I in your eyes?”
“That’s right. A careless, reckless, unrefined….pervert?”

Because Harrigan, Ais, and Lela nodded deeply in agreement, Naga snapped and pointed at three of them.

“Hey there! Don’t nod at the same time!”
“Kukuku, it appears my judgement was no mistake.”
“Nono, it’s full of mistakes. Speaking of which, don’t you all have a negative opinion about me?”
“Won’t you start showing us your good side? Since we’ll be fighting together as allies from now on, there will be plenty of opportunities for that.”

Naga couldn’t help but drop his head with a dissatisfied face.

“Well, I guess you’ve got a point.”
“Hey, Elysio, you can stand up now.”
“U, Um, am I really allowed to do so?”
“It’s for making Dragon King look good. If you want to express your gratitude, say it to this man.”

Elysione stood up and bowed down deeply toward Naga.

“I’m thankful for your consideration.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t mind.”
“Even though I thanked you, I don’t particularly mind.”

Once she said it bluntly after raising her head, Naga made a pitiful expression.

“Yeah, you’re right. Well, guess that’s fine, so”

As soon as Naga faced toward Vita, he kneeled down on one knee and lowered his back. With that, the height of their heads turned equal.
She held out her hand.

Hm? – As he made a doubtful face, Vita too became suspicious and withdrew her hand.

“Ah, that’s right, didn’t the Dragon King fall from another world…?”

Vita who muttered shifted her eyes toward Harrigan.

“You still haven’t told him about that?”
“Ah, true, I still haven’t.”

What you talking about? – Naga looked at them alternately.

“In other words, you see,”

Vita again stuck out her palm.

“Putting our palms on top of one another’s is the sign of forming an agreement.”
“I see, so this is how it works here?”

(I wonder how it would be done in my world. I have the feeling it would be something like putting a seal of blood on a document, or passing someone on as a hostage. Nevertheless, a traitor is bound to betray others, I guess. Anyway, if it’s about the form of agreement, this method here is far more convenient.)

Naga tried to recall his past events.

Making an obviously sarcastic smile, Naga tightened his face in a hurry.

Hey, stick it out – As if being in a rush, Vita urged him to place his already spread out right palm on hers.

“With this, we are now formally allies, the so called – alliance treaty. It’s fine for you to call me Vita.”

Vita uttered with satisfaction.

However, Naga stared at their palms seriously.

“What? Is there something you’re not content with?”
“No…I just thought your palm looks cute.”
“Wha?!”

“Your appearance is also cute, but your small palm is soft and lovely as well. Yet you’re telling me you’re older than Harrigan, I can’t believe it.”

(Ah, are you a fool? If you touch upon Mother’s age….)

Elysione averted her eyes while imagining Vita bursting in rage.

(She’s going to get angry! Very angry!)

“Fumu. Naga is indeed quite an honest guy.”

(Eh? She isn’t angry? Rather, she seems to be in a good mood?)

Elysione turned back her face with a surprised expression.

Certainly, it looked like Vita was laughing humorously.

Elysione felt that Harrigan had a discontented face, but she touched her chest in relief at the fact that Vita didn’t get mad at Naga’s unreasonable words.

“I’m honestly not sure how should I say it, but you and Harrigan probably look like parent and daughter.”
“Haahaha, you mean so, you mean so? Parent and daughter? Then shall I refer to Harrigan as Mother from now on?”

Harrigan’s face turned much more displeased.

“When it comes to that, wouldn’t Harrigan be the mother of Elysione’s mother, in other words, her grandma?”

*Startle*

Elysione’s body turned stiff.

“Hey, Elysione, how about you call Harrigan grandmother?”
“Eeeh? N,n,n,n,no, no, um…”

Harrigan’s hair squirmed in the air, which was greatly ominous.
Once her eyes met with Harrigan, who was staring fixedly at her, Elysione felt her body tremble.

If you dare to call me grandmother, I’ll pulverize all your bones.

Harrigan’s eyes seemed to say.

However,

“Hey, what’s the matter? Won’t you quickly call her ‘grandmother’?”

Was Vita in a good, or perhaps a bad mood? She said an unreasonable thing with her usual manner.

And then, getting herself dragged into quarrel was the same as usual for Elysione.
Elysione searched for an escape in the surroundings with bloodshot eyes, but she understood there wasn’t one from the very beginning.

The other witches averted their eyes and looked at the ceiling as if telling her not to come over, there was no courageous person who would try to save her.

Ais and Lela looked at each other with a trouble face, whereas, Langeais wasn’t concerned about it.

Harrigan’s eyebrows twitched upward more and more.

“Ha….hahaha….”

Putting a stiff smile on her face, Elysione wondered whether it would be more painful to die from getting punched by Harrigan’s solid hair or squashed by Vita’s magic….such was her thought. Then, a rescue came from an unpredicted place.

Naga stood up and called out.

“Oi, Vita-san.”
“That’s why I told you it’s fine to call me Vita.”
“Then, Vita.”
“What?”
“Don’t pick on your own daughter like that.”
“Mu?”
“And Harrigan too.”
“W, What?”
“Your expression looks scary”
“Hnn?”

Harrigan covered her face in a hurry with both her hands.

“Starting from today, we’re going to be allies, so get along with each other.”
“Mu…true. I’m of the same opinion.”
“A, Ahh, I’ve no objections….”

Despite saying so, both of them couldn’t hide their blatantly dissatisfied faces and attitude, but Naga didn’t care about that.

Hey hey – He called Harrigan.

“It won’t do if it’s just me and Vita. Harrigan and Vita as well, unless you two show that you approve of the alliance, it will be hard to demonstrate that to your daughters.”
“Mu? Still…”
“No, that’s……”

As they both had sullen faces and didn’t feel inclined to reach out their hands, Naga stretched out his arms horizontally and kneeled on his knee once more time.

“Hey, Vita this way, then Harrigan, this way.”
“W-What do you intend to do?”
“That’s why, if you dislike putting your palms on top of each other’s, just place them each on mine at the same time. At this rate, it will make me some sort of a mediary….but, with this, we should be able to form an alliance between both households.”
“O…Oh, indeed, that’s true.”
“Right, if that’s the case…”

Saying so, Vita placed her right palm on Naga’s left and Harrigan placed her left on Naga’s right.

“Excellent, with this, the alliance between the households of Sraymeyer and Haindora is formed. From now on you will be fighting together as allies….isn’t it nice, Vita, Harrigan?”
“U, Umu, that’s right.”
“Well, so it came to that, I guess.”
“Splendid!”

Naga, who said so, took his arms back and stood up.

“It might be sudden, but Vita,”
“What?”
“There’s something I’d like for you to tell me.”
“Is it about my magic?”
“Yes. Your ability will be the key for capturing Fort Ein.”
“Using my ability for capturing Fort Ein… you say? Fufun, interesting. Then, should we hold a strategic meeting and get dressed up?”

Once Vita moved her sight toward Elysione, who restrained herself in a kneeling position, Elysione trembled in fear.

“How long do you plan on sitting there, Elysio. Go and prepare seats for the meeting. But this time, use the nicer ones.”
“Y,Yes, Mother.”

It looked as though the storm passed Elysione without hitting her. Standing up, she bowed down toward Naga.

11

Everyone sat on the folding stools placed in a circle.
On the right side of the circle, there were Naga, Harrigan, Ais, Lela, and Langeais taking up their position, whereas, on the left side, Elysione, and then witches whose names were Nemumone, Dora, Karamaya sat behind Vita.

Summing up, there were 10 people together, discussing the plan to capture Fort Ein.

“First, we’d like to know more about Vita’s ability to control weight.”

is how Naga started the discussion.

“Primarily, I don’t tell that to other clans, but well, fine by me.
To begin with, it’s not like I didn’t anticipate we would have to get along with Harrigan and the rest. Not to mention, we are going to be allies starting from today.”

After a short introduction, Vita explained her magic.
Listening to her talk, Naga tried to sort the facts inside his head.

“In other words, it can be summarized like so:

・The effect of her magic will work on those inside a specific range, with her being in the center.
・The range can be adjusted to a certain degree by Vita using her magic.
・Once the magic is activated, the range cannot be changed. In order to do that, she needs to cancel it first.
・The magic can be used to either increase or decrease the weight of a target.
・However, when it works in an area of effect equally on every target, she cannot aim for specific people.
・In case Vita wants her magic to work on a specific person, she has to touch that person.
・If there’s a short distance between her and the target, the magic will still continue to work.
・The magic will work well on living things, but poorly on inanimate objects.
・She can control her own weight at will.

Is it okay to understand your magic this way?”
“Hohou, you understand it quite easily, don’t you?”

(No, that’s mainly because of your indirect explanation.)

“Is there something you want to say?”
“No, nothing.”
“Fumu, that’s right, it’s fine if you understand it like that.”
“Is that so? Then, we might be able to use it.”
“That’s why, I’m asking you for what.”
“Basically, you will sneak into Fort Ein and activate your spell there. Once you do so, not a single guard will be able to move, right? Well, it will also depend on how wide the fort is, but…”
“Oooh!”
“What a plan!”
“Exactly!”

Voices of admiration were heard from here and there.

“Even without sneaking in, we can place you just before the fort’s walls and immobilize the guardians inside. By doing that, all our members can enter confidently without worrying about the enemy’s attack. Later, I’d like to steal the fort without sustaining any injuries, so if it’s this method, there should be no casualties on either side.”
“I, I see.”
“What a fearsome resourcefulness.”
“As one would expect, you aren’t the Dragon King for no reason.”

Such things were said among the Sraymeyer witches who were full of admiration.

“Wait a moment, Naga-sa-n.”

Lela lifted up her hand.

“Certainly, I think that method should work if you put Vita-san inside the fort, or perhaps, near the fort. Still, how do you plan to do that while being unnotic-ed?”
“Ah!”

Elysione and the rest looked at each other’s faces.

“True, herein lies the problem.”

Naga said while scratching his head.

“Did you not think about that?”

Harrigan retorted.

“It’s not just that. There are various other problems to consider. Rather, aren’t there too many of them?”

Vita took a glimpse at Naga.

“Yeah, that’s right. I know there are lots of things that need to be solved.”
“Hearing that from you, it makes me a bit anxious.”
“Um, Mother.”
“What, Elysio?”
“If it’s about hiding Mother inside the fort, then I can help.”

Hearing her words, Naga reacted.

“What do you mean?”
“This girl, you see, Elysio can move between the space where her mantle was previously put…things like that.”
“What on…so there was such a convenient magic? You’re incredible indeed.”

As soon she was given words of praise, Elysione’s face turned a bit red.

“Ah, no, it’s not something I should be praised, for……”
“Ain’t you praising her too much, Naga? This girl tends to get carried away quickly.”

Elysione dropped her shoulders in disappointment.

“Isn’t that fine? You ought to admit that something is incredible whenever there are things like that.”
“Well, I’m ready to accept that about her magic, but it’s not like her power is almighty or anything.”
“Ah… is that so?”
“Right, Elysio can fly to places where she prepared mantles. In other words, she can only fly to those places.”
“Ah, so it was like that?”

Hmm – As if understanding each other’s words, Naga and Vita slightly groaned.

“Still, there’s the problem of how we should place the mantle inside or near the fort, right?”
“Indeed. Once it’s done, we will be able to travel easily. Is there any idea that crosses your mind?”
“No, I can’t think of anything out of the blue.”

Vita looked at him with cold eyes.

“It’s no good when it comes to important points? Guess you ain’t that great, Dragon King.”
“Don’t say it like that. I’ve only received the explanation about your magic just now, so there’s no way for me to come up with something that easily.”
“Well, you’re right about that.”
“Uhm, Mother.”
“What, Elysio?”
“You’ve mentioned it before, but what kind of other problems will there be besides this one?”

Since Nemonumo, Dora, and Karaimaya nodded as well, it was clear they had no clue, just like Elysione.

“You girls are truly simpletons.”

Vita exhaled a blunt sigh.

“Naga, you can probably understand it, right?”
“It’s still not clear what we are going to do after the enemy soldiers are restricted with your magic, right?”
“A….Ah!”

Elysione clapped her hands together.

“Mu, indeed it’s as you say.”

Harrigan too nodded down.

“I want to apprehend the enemy soldiers when they are unable to move, but the moment we enter inside the fort, we will also be seized by Vita’s magic.”

Naga shifted his sight toward her.

“What should we do?”
“Don’t ask me about that.”
“No, that’s why I was thinking if there’s anyone among your people who can move when your power is in effect.”
“There’s nobody. It’s because my magic is the strongest and so I can’t choose the target. Be it humans, witches, enemies, or allies, everyone is influenced. Uhahaha, are you giving up now?”
“E…Even though it’s not the time for throwing out your chest.”

Naga put on a fed up face.

(To begin with, Mother doesn’t have any chest to throw out.)

“Elysioooooo, is there something you want to sayyyy?”

*Shivering*

Elysione shook her head from side to side with all her power.

“What’s more, there’s also the problem of choosing the right place to put the mantle, I guess.”

The moment Naga asked, Elysione braced herself and asked as if trying to escape from Vita’s sight.

“Naga-dono, what do you mean?”
“You see, with Vita’s magic centering around her, its effect will probably just cover a fixed range. Saying so, if we don’t place the mantle near the inside of the fort….no, wait. Rather, wouldn’t it be better to put it near the fort’s walls? Hm…I have to investigate the fort’s surroundings a little bit, or else…. As one would expect, I’d like to have more information on its territory.”

Naga, who folded his arms while pondering, immediately lifted his head.

“Whatever the case, the plan won’t succeed as long as the enemy spots the mantle. They might be suspicious of it, but even if they aren’t, they will probably consider it as garbage and tidy it up.”
“My mantle is…. garbage…”

Elysione looked down at her body with a face indicating her being in shock.
Because she appeared to be honestly shocked, Naga hurriedly made an excuse.

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean to say it’s dirty or anything in particular, you see?”
“Good grief. Wouldn’t it much better to destroy the fort? We already don’t use our own forts really, so their forts would also be useless, so destroying it would be almost the same as taking it.”

With Vita saying so, Harrigan continued.

“I agree with what Vita says. It’s probably the fastest way.”

However, Naga clearly denied that by shaking his head.

“In order for us to advance toward the Kasandora Kingdom, we need a military position at all cost. I want to capture the fort without sustaining any damage if possible. Not to mention, if we can’t take over a single fort, there’s no way for us to bring down a fortified city.”
“Well, I understand what you want to say.”

Vita shrugged with her shoulders.

“I’ll manage to come up with a method. Fret not, I’ll certainly do so.”

Naga remained positive til the end.

“You mean it? If it’s someone like you, who was able to play with an army of 2000, then perhaps you will. What’s more, do you expect anything from us, or is there anything else you need?”
“Needless to say, I need more information about the inside of the fort. Just knowing about its territory makes a huge difference in how hard the capture will be. Is there anyone in your group who can sneak inside?”

“If there was, we would probably be able to place the mantle.”
“Ah, that’s right!”

Holding his head, Naga looked up.

(Will this guy be okay?)

Vita gazed at Harrigan as if saying this.

Harrigan smiled clumsily.

“I, It will be fine… I believe.”

Is what she responded.

“I can’t really say it makes me feel at ease.”
“Vita, won’t you give me a single day?”

To Naga, who fixed his posture and made such a request, Vita nodded slightly.
“I don’t particularly mind.”
“I’ll come up with something no matter what, and return here the day after tomorrow.”
“Fumu, in that case, shall I also try to think of something?”
“You mean it? It feels reassuring to know that you guys will help.”
“No, the one to think will be me. That’s because…”

Vita jerked her chin and pointed at Elysione and the rest who were waiting.

“…they’re basically idiots who are bad at thinking.”

*heads dropping in disappointment*

Elysione and the rest hung down their heads in dismay.

“Rather, wouldn’t it be faster to have Lela assist?”
“I originally planned to have her help, but well..”
“If we gather both of our thoughts, we might be somehow able to find a key to our solution. At least, do your best. I’ll do mine as well.”

With that, Naga and the rest promised to meet once again the day after tomorrow and left the fort of Sraymeyer.