Fantastic Dream Upon This Wonderful Existence

The next day, Megumin and I decided to take a stroll in the capital. We're also meaning to visit Dust and the rest, since they haven't returned after their sudden departure.

"Here,"

Megumin pointed at a small bench at the side of a street. We sat down on the bench and simply gazed at the bustling streets of the capital.

Civilians and adventurers alike walked through the stone paved streets. Knights in uniform patrolled the streets. Merchants and shop vendors shouted their products to the masses.

I turned to the kebab in my hand and took a bite out of it. It has a slightly sweeter flavor than the one in Axel City, but no less delicious. Beside me, Megumin is already halfway through it.

"Ne, Megumin…"

"What is it Kazuma?"

"I feel like we should figure out a new goal for our party,"

Megumin finished her food and looked at me.

"What's wrong with out current goal?"

"Megumin, the Demon King is already dancing in my palms. There's literally no reason for us to usurp his throne. Heck, at this point, I am doing more Demon King work than the demon king himself."

"I see… How about World Domination?"

"World Domination?"

"Well, you have the Kingdom of Belzerg on your palm, after this you're going after Elroad. So why not go all out and take over the world? Finish the demon king's work for him and begin our conquest."

I blinked a little at her statement. There's nothing inherently wrong with her logic. At this point, with my connections and my might, I may as well aim for World Domination.

But still… Being an overlord? I think that's a little too much, even for me…

"If you don't want to, then I'll gladly take the spot," Megumin added. "I've always wanted to be the Demon King since I was little,"

I don't know how to feel about this. I also have no idea how to respond to this.

Thankfully, I was spared from this conversation going even further when I saw a dragon knight and the pope of Neo Axis Order walking together like a happy couple. Between them is a silver haired little girl about Liz's age.

"Ne, Megumin, I didn't know Dust has a daughter,"

"Yes, this is news for me too, I always thought Lynn is the more sensible one of us."

Dust and Lynn snapped their attention to us.

"Ah! Sensei!" Lynn exclaimed in panic. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Senpai, don't pull this on me, Liz must have at least told you about her,"

I just chuckled a little and pat the spot beside me. Dust and Lynn sat down beside me with Faitfore sitting between them. The White Dragon is currently staring at me in slight curiosity.

"Well hello there Faitfore," I said while activating the slightest bit of my dragon charm skill, just below Dust's level. "I am Satou Kazuma, it's nice to meet you,"

Faitfore blinked a little as she stared at me with an emotionless look on her face. "Good afternoon Kazuma sama, my name is Faitfore, it's a pleasure to meet you," she spoke in her soft monotone voice.

I gently pat her head a little. She looked a little bit bothered but didn't resist.

"So, I'm sure you've heard of me?"

"Yes… from the Empress and her highness the other day,"

"The Empress? Hee… so you're already well acquainted with my daughter huh? What do you think of her?"

"The Empress and her highness are cruel tyrannical ruler. They caged me the moment they set their eyes on me and demanded answers from me,"

Why am I not surprised?

"Did they hurt you?"

"Yes,"

I decided to leave it at that and made a note to ask Liz more about this later.

"So, Dust, what are you doing here? Enjoying a castle's life?"

Dust groaned a little.

"Elroad suddenly decided to cut off their financial support on our kingdom," Dust explained. "I had a very, very lengthy conversation with your daughter that war is not an ideal solution."

"Was it successful?"

Dust nodded a little. "Just barely, especially after the King of Elroad dem… mmph!" his words were cut short when Lynn suddenly put a hand over his mouth.

"If nothing! Don't mind him sensei!" Lynn said with a sheepish smile before shooting a warning look at Dust.

"Lynn, chances are, I will learn about this in the near future. I think it'll be safer if you were the one to tell me instead of me discovering it myself."

Lynn bit her lip and nodded a little. "Okay so…" her gaze lingered at Megumin for a moment before she shook her head. "Long story short, Elroad stopped the funding on our kingdom. They will however, reconsider if…"

"If?"

"If the Princess would agree to a political marriage…"

Hmm… I see now…

I turned to Megumin. "So about that World Domination plan…"

Megumin nodded in agreement. "Yes, should we start with Elroad now?"

"Sure let's…"

"No!" Lynn exclaimed suddenly. "Ahh this is exactly what I feared! Please don't overreact sensei, we don't really need Elroad's funding. No need to wage war for petty things like this."

Well, Paradox did do all this to make sure war never happens. Hmm… Then what should we do then? Let's see… What exactly can we offer to Elroad? If I'm not wrong, Elroad is an economically powerful country but lacking in military.

There's also the sin industries there, like the casino and stuff…

I literally can't think of anything… At least for now…

"I can't think of anything, I'll notify you when I figured out a better way aside from war. By the way, where's everyone else?"

---

After short trek through the capital, we finally made it to the castle. The knights guarding the gate let us enter without another words. Some saluted at me the moment they realized who I am.

We walked around the castle to the courtyard where the garden is located. There's also a small clearing near the garden where Claire and the rest of the knights would do some light training.

Though, right now, the knights aren't training. Instead they made a circle around the clearing, watching intensely at the two figures standing in the middle of the clearing. They both faced against one another, each one holding a sword.

One of them is a black haired little girl with crimson red eyes. She has that look of excitement on her face as she waved around an ordinary great sword as tall as herself like it weighs nothing.

The other is a blonde haired girl with bright blue eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her breathing while brandishing her rapier. Her stance was elegant and calculated as she gazed sharply at her opponent.

Standing between them is a dark haired girl with bright purple eyes. A pair of dark red wings are tucked neatly behind her back.

"...between Komekko of the Crimson Demon Village, and Belzerg Stylish Sword Iris of the Belzerg Kingdom shall commence. All combatant ready?"

"Yes, let's go Iris chan!" Komekko replied cheerfully.

"Ready," Iris said a little more seriously.

Liz raised her hand to the air. "On my command!" she exclaimed as magic built up on her palm. All around us, the knights watching and even Claire stiffened a little. "Blast!"

An explosion rang from her hand and the two combatants went into action. Komekko charged in first with her great sword, moving at a speed impossible for her age and the weight she carries.

Iris held up her rapier to block the strike. She then made a follow up attack which Komekko dodged by using her great sword as a support. Then, Komekko made another counter attack at her.

The Crimson Demon seems to have figured out how to make sure of her short and light figure to her advantage. She used her great sword like a pole that she used to spin around an attack and sometimes to block Iris's own advance.

But when she wills it, the Crimson Demon was strong enough to lift up the great sword like it weighs nothing and deal devastating blow. Her strikes are low and she rolls around the battlefield like a break dancer to deliver a whirlwind of strikes straight at the princess.

The Princess however was no pushover. She moved around the battlefield in a quick, graceful, and practiced manner. Her rapier was mere blur as she deal unrelenting blow at Komekko who struggles to dodge and block everything.

If Komekko was a free style dancer, Iris is a trained ballet dancer. She flows through the battlefield in a choreographed movement. Her sword deflected and parried away Komekko's powerful strike like blade of grass against sword.

We all moved closer to Rain and Claire, watching the two fight in fascination. Behind them, the knights are already taking bets on who would win the fight. Personally, it's hard to see exactly who would win, both has vastly different style and combat technique.

However, I couldn't help but go with Iris. As over powered as Komekko is right now, her style of fighting are equipped to fight against groups of monsters and even an army of baddies. Iris however has a much longer practice with Claire who is a sword user of my calibre.

"What do you think Megumin?"

"I think Komekko is going to win,"

"Really? What makes you think so?"

"Because…" Megumin smirked a little and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Iris.

"Iris chan! Onii chan is watching!" Megumin yelled.

Iris froze a little before snapping out of it a split second later to dodge a roundhouse from Komekko. "O-Onii sama!?" she exclaimed before jumping away from Komekko's relentless strike.

Komekko pulled the great sword out of the ground behind her and used her momentum to spun straight at Iris like a freaking cannonball. Iris narrowly dodged the strike and tried to finish her off.

But the Crimson Demon was faster and jumped on to the tip of her great sword handle. She then dodged one more time and pulled the sword out to go in for another relentless strike.

"Ah, Otou sama, Okaa sama, welcome!" Liz walked towards me with a proud smile on her face. "What do you think, Okaa sama? After grinding dozens of monsters and consuming a whole one hit bear a day for 27 days, young Komekko has become a force to be reckoned with."

A whole bear a day? Uhh, run that by me again?

Megumin just nodded in satisfaction. "Good work, Liza chan, now Komekko won't be in trouble anymore," she turned to look at Iris and Komekko. "Though, I do wonder why they don't use their weapon of choice…"

"Okaa sama, this is just a light spar. The castle won't survive if they were to bring the Chunchunmaru and the Excalibur into the fray," Liz turned towards Komekko and Iris. "Though, even without those, they are evenly matched against each other."

"What's the score Liz?" I asked in genuine curiosity.

Liz turned to the knights. "Has anyone here been keeping track of the score?"

"Eleven-twelve, Elizabeth sama," a knight said. "Princess Iris is taking the lead,"

We all watched the battle continues to unfold. Komekko's unyielding relentless blow and Iris sharp graceful strikes. Two vastly different sword play, fighting each other for dominance.

But then… I saw a very good reason why Komekko is superior in her tactics against Iris. While Iris fought like a traditional knight, using her sword to deliver strikes, Komekko isn't really bound to her sword.

More than once, Komekko would stab her sword on the ground, actually let go of it, and simply maneuvered around the blade. This means that most techniques Iris has to disable and disarm her opponent is practically useless against Komekko.

However, Komekko hasn't really used that to her advantage. Which is natural because Komekko is used to fight mindless monster and not clever human opponent. Komekko never learned how to use an enemy's intelligence to her advantage.

Then, however, Komekko made a very daring move. She straight up spun her sword like a whirlwind and jumped to the air in a very wild and unpredictable fashion. The mass difference between her and the sword in her hands are too great for even Iris to predict where she's going to land.

But then, Komekko threw her great sword in midair straight up the sky. This in turn lets her to rocket straight at a very bewildered Iris. She tackled the princess to the ground, narrowly dodging a strike from her rapier.

A glint came from the heavens and Komekko's great sword went soaring towards the two. Komekko who was smaller than Iris stood up and caught the sword's handle, just in time to stop the blade milimeter away from Iris's neck.

"I win!!" Komekko with a bright grin on her face. She helped Iris up before running straight towards Claire and Rain watching. "Claire nee chan! I won, that means an all you can eat dinner right!?"

Claire just sighed a little and turned to Iris. "Your Highness, this one comes straight out of your personal savings," she muttered. Then she noticed me standing beside her. "Good afternoon Kazuma dono, Megumin dono,"

"Hi Claire, hi Iris chan, Komekko chan,"

Iris smiled brightly at me. "Onii chan, what are you doing here? Are you here for another secret mission? Can I help you with anything?"

Komekko grinned at Megumin. "Onee chan! I've defeated the princess!"

Megumin gently pet Komekko's head and I did the same to Iris.

"Good job Komekko chan/It's alright Iris chan," we both said in perfect sync.

After that, they all turned to Faitfore who's visibly hiding behind Dust's back.

"Aha! Otou sama, have you meet her yet? This one is called Faitfore," Liz said, gesturing at Faitfore. "She's quite the troublemaker and her appetite rivals even young Komekko,"

"I've heard… and uhh, you didn't bully her did you?"

Liz narrowed her eyes. "Have faith in me Otou sama, I am not one to stoop as low as to bully those weaker than me," she then walked closer towards Faitfore. "And you, Faitfore, what nonsense have you been telling my father? Come, let me educate you more in the art of war and state of being,"

"N-no, don't bother, please…" Faitfore struggled, but was powerless against Liz and Komekko's iron grip. "Ma-master! Help me!"

Dust was about to say something, but Iris seemingly teleported beside him. She looked at him with wide eyes as she pulled on his shirt a little.

"Dust Onii sama, can you tell me more about the stories of your adventures when you were a knight? Please…"

"Wh-what? I can't possibly remember something like that, hey wait!" Iris grabbed Dust's hand and he was powerless against her might. "Ly-Lynn! Help me!"

Just like that, Dust and Faitfore was taken away at the mercy of the trio. I couldn't help but feel bad for them and turned to Lynn who has already regrouped with Keith and Taylor.

"So, Kazuma sama, what brings you here?" Taylor asked.

"I was meaning to check up on you, but then," I jabbed my thumb at Lynn. "She told me about the current state of affairs with Elroad. So, is it true that the prince demanded the princess's marriage for their continued support on our kingdom?"

Taylor nodded a little. "Yes, or at least, that's what I've heard from Claire sama,"

I turned towards Claire who has that disturbed look on her face. She sighed a little as she looked at me. "Kazuma dono, do you mind if we have a chat in private for a moment? Megumin dono, you can come with us too if you want,"

…

With that, Claire led us into the castle. We walked through the hallways of the castles, noting that it's slightly more crowded than usual. The maids and butlers walked around the hallway carrying trays and various items.

"How many representative from Elroad stays here?"

"About a dozen," Claire replied while leading us upstairs. We walked through the hallway of the second floor towards the door at the end of it. She opened the door, revealing a small office chamber of some sort.

Claire led us into the room and closed the door behind her. She then sat down on the desk, put both hands beside her head, and started yelling like a mad woman.

"AAAH!! Kazuma! You have to do something!!!"

"Huh?"

The girl slammed her fist on the desk and glared at me.

"It's because of you, her highness becomes too mature and responsible. She actually considers her marriage because she doesn't want to be selfish!"

Oh… Well that's a problem…

"I can't stop her if this is her choice…"

"Your daughter is soul bonded to the princess,"

"War it is then," Megumin said simply.

"Megumin?"

"There will be no marriage,"

Claire gave Megumin a thumb up. "I am glad we're on the same page, Megumin dono!"

Megumin returned the gesture before looking at me.

"Well? Mr. Billionaire? Do you have a better idea than a war?"

Goddammit! Okay, fine, I'm doing it!

"Claire, I need you to give me the compilation of all the trades, past affairs, and any sort of relationship we have with Elroad. I also want the data on everything we know about that country. Their economy, politics, military, trends, everything."

Claire nodded a little. "I will have all of it delivered to your mansion tonight, is that fine with you Kazuma dono?"

"Fine by me," I turned to Megumin. "Okay Megumin, we are going to pull off a Japan and turn Belzerg into the single most advanced country in this world,"