Volume 9: The Floating Island of Dragons

Chapter 207: Annoying Ryoma for the First Time in Half a Year 

Ryu became engaged to Stingray, and Ryoma to Alice.
Half a year had passed since then.

Though Arden and Tosa remained loosely connected through the dungeon network, the two of them had not met even once during that entire period.

Each had been overwhelmed by responsibilities—engagement matters, territorial affairs, political obligations.
In Ryoma’s case, managing an entire domain was practically equivalent to governing a small nation. Between paperwork, military matters, diplomatic exchanges, and endless travel, there was scarcely any room to breathe.

At most, they occasionally left messages for one another through the Dungeon Master.

And so—

Today, for the first time in a long while, Ryu and Ryoma finally reunited.

At present, the two stood deep beneath the Second Mansion, inside the underground mining dungeon.

“Hm? You aged a little? You look like a worn-out old salaryman.”

“To tell the truth, several new duties were added to my workload. For the past six months, I have been flying all across Hinomaru without rest.”

“So you haven’t been seeing Alice much then?”

“We meet every single day.”

“You aristocrat-lady-loving samurai bastard.”

“Hahaha! At present, I am an aristocrat-lady-fiancé samurai.”

If anything, it was Alice who constantly teleported herself to Tosa every day, lying in wait to capture Ryoma the instant he returned home.

Still, Ryoma himself was endlessly grateful for it.
Each exhausting day ended with Alice soothing away his fatigue, and those moments had become an irreplaceable source of comfort to him.

After regrouping, Ryoma naturally assumed they would head outside.

Instead, for some reason, Ryu led him deeper into the mine.

“There’s actually a reason I called you out exactly six months later,” Ryu said casually. “Wanna guess what it is?”

“Hm. I cannot even begin to imagine.”

“But once you see it, you’ll probably go, ‘Ahhh, so that’s it.’”

“I await this surprise with great anticipation.”

The two proceeded through the mining tunnels.

Even near the entrance, low-grade ores jutted openly from the walls in ridiculous abundance.
Anyone seeing the place for the first time would instantly believe they were standing inside one of the greatest mineral deposits in the world.

And the deeper they went, the more valuable the exposed ores became.

In a strange way, the dungeon felt almost like an attraction park—one designed specifically for mineral enthusiasts.

Any mining fanatic would probably drool themselves unconscious here.

“This is… quite extraordinary,” Ryoma muttered in admiration.

“Right? You can come harvest here whenever you want too. Go make a ton of swords for your samurai.”

“You have my gratitude. This was already an excellent surprise.”

“The destination’s still ahead, though. This part’s just the hallway.”

“…What?”

Ryoma’s eyes widened.

Several more minutes passed as the two chatted idly while walking.

Then—

They arrived at a massive domed cavern.

The entire space glittered like a star-filled night sky.

“…I find myself speechless.”

“You’re literally speaking right now.”

“Do not ruin the atmosphere.”

Even to Ryoma’s untrained eye, the value of the ores surrounding them was obvious.

(Orichalcum… Adamantite… Hihiirokane… and that one there… could it perhaps be meteoric iron? Honestly… this best friend of mine never ceases to astonish me.)

The cavern shimmered with mystical brilliance.
Countless rare minerals emitted faint lights of gold, crimson, silver, and deep blue, illuminating the dome in an almost divine radiance.

It felt less like a mine…

…and more like the treasury of the gods themselves.

Unable to stop himself, Ryoma asked,

“Constructing a place like this must have been difficult, no?”

“Nah, actually we’re on pretty good terms with Duke Mondo’s family. They sent all of this over. Then we handed it to the Dungeon Master, and voilà.”

Ryu shrugged casually.

“Depending on the material, even after mining it out, the same ore starts growing back from the same spot in about two or three months.”

“I see… So preparations to welcome Muneshika are complete, then.”

“You figured it out already, huh.”

Ryu clapped his hands together as if suddenly remembering something.

“Oh yeah, speaking of Duke Mondo—I sent him one of your fangs as thanks, so keep that in mind.”

“…Hah!? Don’t tell me… the one from the Grassland Dungeon!?”

“Yup. The first dragon material ever circulated on the surface came from Ryoma’s shed tooth. Be proud. You’re a pioneer.”

“Guh… this disgraces me as a swordsman…”

“Why’re you talking like some old-school samurai?”

“I am, at least technically, a samurai…”

Ryoma collapsed to his knees in anguish.

Ryu placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

“But hey, look at it this way. If Duke Mondo’s army gets strengthened using your materials and pushes back the Principality Alliance forces, it’ll indirectly benefit Hinomaru too. Cheer up.”

“That is… certainly true…”

Ryoma slowly nodded despite himself.

As always, Ryu was absurdly good at talking people into accepting things.

A truly rotten dragon through and through.

“Anyway, this is the real objective.”

Ryu pointed toward a mysterious ore glowing with pale light.

“That is… a levitation stone?”

“Correct. I tried handing one to the Dungeon Master as an experiment, and apparently it can cultivate those naturally too. Now we can harvest them once every six months.”

“Ohh. So that is why you summoned me precisely after half a year—to mine them and bring them as gifts to the Floating Island.”

“As expected of Ryoma. You catch on fast.”

“Well, I am technically a dragon species myself.”

“Yeah. A dragon species carrying the embarrassingly lame title of ‘first dragon to have his materials processed by humans.’”

“Guh…”

Having teased Ryoma enough for the day, Ryu finally turned serious.

Using the mining techniques he had painstakingly practiced over and over again, he skillfully began excavating the levitation stones.

“Your handling of the pickaxe is magnificent.”

“At this point I could probably kill an SS-rank monster using nothing but a pickaxe.”

“What!?”

“I’m joking.”

“Guh…”

Ryu could not stop grinning.

It had simply been too long since he last messed with Ryoma like this.

Eventually, the two leisurely made their way back toward the Second Mansion.

Incidentally—

Against an actual SS-rank monster, Ryu would only need his fists.

◇◇◇

Evening arrived.

Ryu wore his familiar magician’s robe, with Kurikara at his side.

Ryoma stood beside him in traditional Japanese attire, carrying Futsunomitama.

Both were dressed exactly as usual as they exited the mansion.

“Give my regards to Muneshika!” Estelle called out cheerfully.

“Yeah. I’m absolutely making her join the Dragon’s Path, so wait patiently.”

“We shall return,” Ryoma added, waving lightly.

After saying their farewells to Estelle, the two headed toward the forest near the capital.

Night fully descended.

Darkness swallowed the forest whole.

And within that sea of blackness—

Two gigantic silhouettes emerged.

“If we leave now, the time difference means it’s probably daytime on the Floating Island,” Ryu said.

“Mm. A midday assault, then.”

“Well… let’s go.”

The two dragon beings took flight.

◇◇◇

“……………”

“My king, is something the matter?”

“They are coming.”

“Coming…?”

“They approach this place. Two powerful dragons.”

“If they are new dragon kin, we should welcome them warmly.”

“No. One of them possesses power equal to you Five Heavenly Dragons…”

The king paused.

Then his eyes narrowed sharply.

“And the other—”

A deep tension spread through the air.

“─────is lightning itself.
The attribute befitting a king.”