"I see. In that case, we dwarves will naturally do our utmost. What kind of equipment does Your Highness have in mind?"
Anton pondered for a moment and nodded.
Regarding the matter of the dragon army, after three days of development, it was common knowledge throughout Brilliant City.
Countless people flocked to catch a glimpse of these miraculous creatures.
Dragons were considered miraculous because most of them possessed incredibly long lifespans.
Because of this, many dragons became living legends.
Even if the skysoar dragons themselves weren't legendary-rank dragons, with lifespans usually lasting only a few centuries, it was still an eternity compared to ordinary people.
"I only have a general idea for now. I came here to discuss how to forge it."
"Then, Your Highness, may I see these dragons first? After all, I can only come up with a design after seeing them in person."
"No problem. Mr. Anton, do you have time now?"
"Of course."
"Then I must trouble Mr. Anton to come with me."
Anton nodded, gave some instructions to his wife, and followed me out.
He certainly couldn't ride in the Saint's Carriage; the carriage was considered an extension of the Temple and was a restricted area for men.
Fortunately, Anton had his own mount. It wasn't a tall horse, but a pony.
It looked quite adorable, standing just over a meter tall, and seemed rather fun to ride.
Anton hopped onto his horse, and I returned to the Saint's Carriage.
After a journey of nearly an hour, we finally arrived outside the city.
We reached the Dragon District, which was currently under construction.
This Dragon District was built right alongside a small lake. There had originally been quite a few farmhouses nearby.
However, under the absolute temptation of money, they were quite 'unwilling' to give up their land for the price of five gold coins per household.
It cost me nearly fifteen hundred gold coins in total.
That is a full fifteen million in purchasing power!
Watching that much gold being spent made my heart bleed!
But for the sake of my dragon army... as a woman, I have to be ruthless with myself!
This was a place that Momo, the lord of the skysoar dragons, was very satisfied with.
To accommodate these dragons, certain concessions naturally had to be made.
The Dragon District was still being built. Since the skysoar dragons would be living here long-term, they needed a stable environment.
With Ligeia's help, the entire Dragon District was being constructed to mimic the environment that skysoar dragons preferred most.
This species of dragon normally lived a migratory life. They were omnivores and would eat almost anything, but their diet consisted mainly of fish.
The purpose of their migration was to avoid overtaxing a single area and limiting the growth of their tribe.
The demon army that had invaded the interior of the Kingdom of the Moon had also been completely cleared out.
For now, the area around Brilliant City was considered safe, so the city gates remained open.
As we traveled from the North Gate of Brilliant City to the designated Dragon District, we saw countless carriages and people on foot flocking toward the construction site.
On one hand, it was because of the high wages offered to hire workers for the district's construction.
On the other hand, many people simply wanted to see the spectacle and were heading toward the Dragon District to satisfy their curiosity.
Over the past three days, the north of the city had become incredibly lively.
As the carriage moved forward, I occasionally lifted the curtain to look outside.
After two battles against the demons and suppressing a rebellion, my status as the Saintess might not have changed much, but as a ruler... I had established my own prestige.
Particularly after the incident with the Cenotaph, many citizens who saw the Saint's Carriage now instinctively bowed their heads.
The previous fanatical frenzy was gone, replaced by a deep, heartfelt respect.
This improved my mood significantly.
However... that is just how things go sometimes.
Just as you start to feel happy, something unpleasant happens right in front of you.
When the Saint's Carriage was less than a few hundred meters from the Dragon District, a sudden commotion broke out outside.
I instinctively lifted the curtain to take a look.
And I saw this exact scene...
A few men who looked like thugs, wearing clothes similar to the Adventurers' Association uniform, were standing there with arrogant expressions and sneering faces.
They were blocking the road ahead.
Every time someone passed by, they would step forward to stop them and demand money.
However, they didn't dare offend those in carriages—especially those with noble crests. Instead, they specifically targeted commoners who had nothing.
Just as I lifted the curtain, I saw one of the thugs punch a man, knocking him to the ground.
A woman and a child were behind the man. The child was crying loudly, and the wife screamed as she ran over to help her husband up.
The thugs, who clearly looked like trouble, walked up and shoved the woman aside, planting a foot on the man's chest.
"The fact that I'm asking you for money means I'm showing you respect! Don't you dare throw my kindness back in my face!!"
Hearing this, my brow furrowed.
"I really don't have any money! I already gave you everything!"
The man on the ground cried out in desperation. However, the thug had no intention of listening and instead waved a dagger in front of the man's face.
A normal person's reaction is to push a dangerous object away.
The man's actions were no exception; he reached out and gave a shove.
The result was... the man with the knife suddenly stumbled back and fell onto the ground, clutching the hand that had been pushed and screaming in agony.
"Ah! It's broken, it's broken! Argh!"
That scream was as fake as could be. Even a fool could see through it.
This was blatant extortion!
They were openly telling you they were framing you.
The situation was likely about to escalate.
As I watched, sure enough, things started to get out of hand.
Following the man's shove, the thug's companions began shouting and moved forward to strip the man of his clothes.
"No money!? If you have no money, take off your clothes!!"
"This kid isn't bad! He's quite fair and tender. The noble lords will probably like him, and he might be worth a bit. He's ours now! Consider it compensation!"
"This is the contract. Put your thumbprint on it now! You won't? Do you think I'm playing with you!?"
The scene instantly became chaotic. Although the commoners in the crowd felt indignant, not a single one dared to step forward. They all lowered their heads and hurried past.
The man on the ground was filled with despair.
And I... I honestly didn't know what to say.
In broad daylight, right here in Brilliant City, the capital of my Kingdom of the Moon, such a thing was happening right under my nose.
Not only did they have no respect for me, they clearly didn't have any respect for the entire Kingdom of the Moon.
"Rhodes."
"Present."
The one following beside the carriage was naturally not Hilda, Cain, or Nar.
Cain had been sent out as soon as he returned. After all, Yuna had too few people, and maintaining stability for a million people wasn't easy, so I sent Cain to help.
Hilda was still stabilizing the situation within the city; she couldn't let any petty criminals slip through.
Nar was too exhausted and had been sent to rest, as had Sake.
Currently by my side was only Rhodes, the deputy leader of the Guardian Knights.
Along with him were a hundred Temple knights and two thousand infantry.
"Break their arms and have them thrown into prison."
"Yes!"
Rhodes was a man who didn't hesitate. Although his strength wasn't top-tier, his ability to execute orders was excellent.
Without any refusal, he stepped forward. Under the stunned gazes of the thugs, he delivered a swift kick!
A crisp crack echoed.
This time, the thug's arm was actually broken.
The thug's companions saw this and instinctively wanted to rush him, but when they realized the person in front of them... was a Temple knight.
The group of thugs instantly withered. They tried to say something with forced smiles.
But what followed was the sound of bones shattering.
Rhodes didn't waste a single word. He stepped forward and delivered a brutal beating. After breaking the arm bones of every single one of them, he immediately ordered his men to seize them and haul them off to the dungeons.
Having finished everything efficiently and decisively, Rhodes returned to the carriage and bowed slightly.
"Your Highness, they have all been broken."
"Good. Let's move on."
"Yes."
The couple saw everything Rhodes had done and heard the conversation between him and me. They looked at each other and immediately knelt on the ground, too overwhelmed with gratitude to speak.
The carriage continued forward, ignoring the couple.
After this little interlude and a bit more delay, we finally arrived at the Dragon District before nightfall.
At this moment, the Dragon District was almost brightly lit.
As darkness descended, the magic lights standing along the streets all flickered on.
The workers were still laboring diligently.
In the distance, a row of strange buildings was starting to take shape.
The habits of skysoar dragons were quite interesting. They liked to live on cliffs, digging holes into the rock faces to live in, and their young grew to adulthood within these cliffside caves.
When skysoar dragons migrated, every group would leave behind pairs who had children to look after the hatchlings.
They would stay for over a decade.
When the migration returned to the site the following year, they would leave another batch and take away the newly matured dragons and those who had finished their rearing duties.
It was a continuous cycle.
So, when designing the habitat for the skysoar dragons, the first thing I thought of was a city wall.
Cliffs certainly couldn't be found near Brilliant City.
This dragon army was the strongest trump card in my hand right now, and I couldn't just throw them outside, so... I could only build them into the walls.
When building the walls, one side would have stairs for people to climb, while the other side would have large hollows for the skysoar dragons to live in.
In this way, we would have artificial nests.
And while this wall wasn't massive, I still designed it with the requirements of a castle in mind.
The walls had to be at least fifty to seventy meters high to accommodate the skysoar dragons' habits.
All the nest entrances were placed thirty meters up or higher.
The height inside the caves had to exceed five meters, and each nest needed at least a hundred square meters of space.
This fortress was being built with four surrounding walls.
In the future, this would be the long-term garrison for my dragon cavalry regiment.
It was easy to say, but much harder to do.
This was no different from building a small city.
Fortunately, I had the help of one more person in this city.
Ligeia.
Her mage tower stood at the center of the Dragon District currently under construction.
Based on the attack range of that mage tower, this city would be a standard military stronghold in the future!
Aside from military personnel, no outsiders would be allowed entry.
Skysoar dragons lived inside the four walls, while heavy ballistae and infantry manned the tops. In the center was a mage tower with an attack radius of ten kilometers.
In the event of an urgent mission, everyone could quickly enter the nests and fly directly from the inside of the city to the outside.
Because the walls were open on both sides, the purpose was to give the skysoar dragons a sufficiently free area to move.
The openings on the inner side of the wall were reserved for the knights, for daily supervision, feeding, cleaning, and so on.
The openings on the outer side were for the skysoar dragons to move freely and for emergency deployments.
Of course... all of this was still under construction.
Right now, they had only just begun building the foundations for the walls. Everything was at the starting point. It would take at least a year or several years to fully build this city.
For now, those skysoar dragons could only live in temporary tents set up on the ground.
"Your Highness is here."
As the Saint's Carriage reached the entrance of the Dragon District, Ligeia led a group out to meet us.
"Yes. Ligeia, Mr. Anton is here. Take us to see the skysoar dragons. I need to discuss our future cooperation with Mr. Momo in detail."
"Alright, Your Highness. Please come this way."
Ligeia nodded. She had long known of my plans, so she didn't say much and led our group to the largest tent.
This massive circular tent was nearly a hundred meters in diameter.
Just as I thought I was about to see Mr. Momo, a slight tremor suddenly vibrated through the ground beneath my feet.
From inside the tent, a series of rough, low roars could be heard from a distance.
"What's happening? Are the skysoar dragons fighting amongst themselves?"
I turned to Ligeia in surprise.
However, Ligeia leaned in with an excited expression and whispered in my ear.
"They are busy preparing new dragon hatchlings for you."
"Huh?"
For some reason, my brain didn't register it immediately.
Seeing my blank expression, Ligeia shrugged helplessly. She then made a fist with her left hand, leaving a small hole in the middle.
She poked her right index finger inside it.
"Your Highness really is young~ They're doing this~"
I blinked, and a bunch of age-restricted thoughts instantly flooded my mind.
My face turned beet red in an instant!
Good grief, I've been so busy lately that my brain had almost completely forgotten about these things.
I almost forgot that this is an eroge world!
"So... they're busy. Then, it's probably not good to disturb them, right? How about tomorrow?"
Feeling the ground shake and hearing the rough roars from the tent, I was actually a bit dazed.
It had been so long since I'd thought about those things that I almost forgot I was an expert in the field.
However, I was a bit curious—how do dragons do it?
At least from their appearance, I couldn't tell the difference between a male and a female dragon.
Except for the reverse scale on the chest.
As if sensing my confusion, Ligeia first blinked, and then... she suddenly revealed a lecherous, old-man-like grin.
"Does Your Highness... seem to have an 'interest' in this?"
I was stunned. Hey, sister, Mr. Anton is right next to us! What kind of nonsense are you trying to fill my head with!?
"Actually, it's no wonder you're curious. I was curious too. But I've seen it with my own eyes. That thing on the male dragon... it's usually hidden inside the belly scales. But when it comes out, it's thiiis long~"
She even gestured the length for me.
Based on her gesture, it was at least half a meter long...
'It's very big, just bear with it?'
Rate on N.U.
