Chapter 34
Governor Johan (4)
—Johan, you know your position is in danger.
“Yes.”
—Your achievement in bringing down the dwarves’ world was brilliant, but at this rate, we’ll have no choice but to summon you back. Failing to completely control the dwarves goes beyond your own incompetence. It diminishes the authority of our god as well. That is something we cannot tolerate.
“I understand.”
Governor Johan nodded.
The dwarves’ world was merely one of the hundreds of colonies belonging to their evil god. Losing it would cause little practical damage.
But this was a matter of authority.
Until now, their god had perfectly controlled and ruled every world that had fallen into his grasp.
Allowing even a single blemish to appear on that record was unacceptable.
And what if that blemish was caused by a god who had once been human?
Everyone in the World of Stars would laugh at them.
That could never be allowed to happen.
—So you cannot fail this time.
At that moment, Johan was no longer the cunning and vicious governor.
He was once again a soldier.
A soldier who had once burned and trampled the little creatures that had lived in the glory of a brilliant civilization.
A soldier who had already achieved the greatest victory of his life once before.
—As you requested, I will give you the dragon Partmos. Just as you burned the dwarves’ world in the past, make those little creatures understand clearly this time as well.
—Make them understand who we are.
—And who you are.
Governor Johan snapped into a formal salute.
When Johan rose from his seat, he was no longer a governor.
—You are cleared for deployment, Dragon Rider Johan.
After President Joel accepted Lee Shin’s proposal, he sent the military expert Raymond to Dawn Management.
Raymond was a renowned expert whose photograph appeared immediately if you searched his name online.
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lee.”
His first impression was that of an exceptionally polite gentleman.
“Ah, I see. So what you need from me is consulting. Fortunately, that happens to be what I do best. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like you’re asking me to provide consultation for a hypothetical world under hypothetical conditions. I’ve done things like that plenty of times over drinks with acquaintances. There’s hardly a more entertaining topic for small talk than, ‘What would happen if the U.S. military were dropped into a fantasy world?’”
“It isn’t a hypothetical world.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean...?”
“Our conversation won’t leak outside this room, will it?”
“Ah, yes. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Then it would probably be better if you spoke to him directly.”
However—
“Allow me to introduce you. This is Raymond, a military expert. And this is our blacksmith, Hephaestus. It’ll probably be easier if you hear the explanation directly from our blacksmith.”
“Huh?”
Once Raymond learned the truth, his first reaction was confusion.
His second was far stranger.
His nostrils flared, his face flushed red, and he somehow looked visibly excited.
“S-So everything you just told me is real? This war simulation about hunting a dragon with modern weapons... it isn’t hypothetical, but an actual situation...?”
“Yes.”
It was an utterly surreal situation.
But after seeing the tiny dwarf standing right in front of him, Raymond could hardly deny reality.
After stammering incoherently for a while, his eyes began to sparkle like a child’s. He grabbed both of Lee Shin’s hands.
“Th-Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“....”
“This is the moment I’ve dreamed of my entire life. Do you have any idea how furious I was when monsters started pouring out at the beginning of the new millennium, only for all those wonderful modern weapons to be practically useless against them? I was so upset that I spent three whole days and nights agonizing and crying at home back then.”
“Ah... right.”
“I’ll do my absolute best. Y-You can’t give this assignment to anyone else. Please. I have to be the one who does this!”
Lee Shin couldn’t understand why Raymond was acting this way.
Was this really something worth getting that excited about?
Still, if he was happy about it, then that was a good thing.
There was a saying, after all.
A genius cannot defeat someone who works hard, and someone who works hard cannot defeat someone who enjoys what they do.
“Forty meters long, and it can manipulate the weather. Then what’s the effective range of that weather manipulation? Ah, it can control the elements too? Then this isn’t simply a sentient airborne target. We’re dealing with something on the level of a large-scale tactical weapon. In that case, the operations we need to deploy would be....”
Raymond had entered—
Full enjoyment mode.
“Um, it’s lunchtime....”
“That’s fine! I’m not hungry at all!”
Hephaestus and Raymond.
The enthusiasm of the two men seemed capable of piercing the heavens.
“We absolutely need thermal detection radar. Does your world have any kind of identification equipment? If the dragon can manipulate the weather, it’ll be difficult to respond if it approaches under cover of fog or storms.”
“Radar? I don’t know what that is. We don’t have anything like that. Thermal detection... if you mean tracking heat, I think the Saintess could probably do that.”
“Excellent! Then assuming this Saintess can serve as our radar, we’ll need a weapon capable of intercepting the dragon while it’s airborne....”
Lee Shin felt as though he had found exactly the right person for the job.
‘That’s a relief.’
It somehow felt as though good people were always gathering around him.
His father had always said that no matter what you tried to accomplish, people were ultimately the greatest source of problems.
At least Lee Shin had never encountered that kind of problem.
「TIP: What a relief.」
「TIP: You got lucky again this time too, didn’t you?」
Almost as if—
Only “good people” were permitted to remain by Lee Shin’s side.
While Hephaestus and Raymond worked on preparations for the approaching crisis, there wasn’t much for Lee Shin himself to contribute.
His role had essentially ended the moment he summoned Hephaestus.
If he tried to interfere and tell them what to do, he would probably only get in their way.
So Lee Shin left them alone and went to do what only he could do.
「Third World.」
「Moving to Earth No. 7,777, [The Huge but Lazy World].」
He went to fulfill his role as a god.
“The new... master... came again.”
“Yaaawn.”
As always, the dinosaurs were sprawled around lazily.
A fertile grassland stretched all around them.
And in the middle of it was an unexpected visitor.
“Pick me up!”
The moment Lee Shin arrived, Jude, who had been lying among the dinosaurs, scampered over to him.
Why was Jude here?
He was usually glued to Eve every single day.
When Lee Shin asked, Jude immediately answered.
“Because there’s lots of grass and flowers!”
『Grass and flowers?』
“Jude likes grasslands. This world is overflowing with living things. Just walking around makes me feel happy without even trying!”
Jude was a skeletal boy who had spent an incredibly long time in a land of death.
Compared to Jude’s original world, this place was practically paradise on earth.
At that moment, one of the dinosaurs who had been listening to Jude spoke.
“Hmph... that’ll only last... for a little while.”
Its voice was languid.
“Anyway... nobody wants us.”
“They’ll lose... interest soon.”
“Neither us... nor this world... can ever be loved by anyone. This is a place... nobody wants.”
Those pessimistic words stood in stark contrast to the abundance of the world around them.
For the first time, Lee Shin heard what the dinosaurs truly thought.
‘...Why is everyone here so negative?’
As he wondered about it, the baby dinosaur Rex spoke.
“New master... you don’t have to force yourself to come.”
『....』
“I know... you already heard everything before coming here.”
Rex’s eyes looked strangely lonely.
“Don’t... try to do anything with us. Don’t expect anything... from us. We won’t expect anything... from our new master either.”
『....』
“We’re not going to do anything. So you don’t have to do anything either, Master. If you don’t do anything... there’s nothing to fail at. Then you won’t be disappointed... or hated.”
It wasn’t laziness.
It was helplessness.
“I’m just... going to take a nap.”
Rex turned around and lay down.
The other dinosaurs did the same.
As Lee Shin watched the dinosaurs sprawled out asleep, memories from the past suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Back when he was young.
Back when his precious friend had not been as spirited as she was now, and had spent all her time lying in a stark white hospital bed.
‘I don’t want to. I don’t want to do anything.’
Back then, Choi Bom had been no different from them.
‘What if the surgery fails? They said the success rate is only one percent. Only one person out of a hundred survives. I’m sick of being in pain. I don’t want any more of this.’
“....”
‘And what if it succeeds? I’ve spent my whole life in a hospital. What could I even do once I got outside? I wouldn’t be able to attend school properly, and I wouldn’t be able to make real friends. I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life. Someone like me should never have been born in the first place.’
‘If there really is a god, I don’t understand why He let someone like me be born. Because of me, Dad hasn’t been able to sleep even two hours a night for years. He barely eats, and every day he secretly cries behind my hospital room. I’m useless. All I do is burden everyone. So why was someone like me even born? Why...?’
For some reason, Rex’s back didn’t look unfamiliar to Lee Shin.
As he briefly sank into those old memories, Jude spoke.
“Why wouldn’t anyone love you? Why would nobody want this world? Jude really, really likes this world. And Jude really, really likes all of you too.”
“....”
“Jude’s feelings won’t change.”
The tiny skeleton stood there boldly.
Jude said,
“It’s okay. Everything will work out.”
His teeth clicked together as he spoke.
The dinosaurs gave no answer.
They turned away as though they didn’t want to hear him, but Jude simply kept giggling and ran across the grassland.
Watching that scene, Lee Shin realized there was no need for him to do anything.
The dinosaurs pretending to sleep—
Had already flinched once at Jude’s words.
Lee Shin knew.
Sometimes, something small could change everything.
And with that, Lee Shin left the world.
Then—
“Wow! This flower is so pretty! What’s your name, little white flower? You’re so pretty. Jude would really like to be friends with you!”
“...Daisy.”
“Huh?”
“That flower’s name... is daisy.”
“Waaah, even its name is pretty!”
“...You can pick it... if you want.”
Little by little, the lazy dinosaurs were beginning to notice the tiny skeleton who had entered their everyday lives.
Without even realizing it themselves, Jude was slowly seeping into their hearts.
“Thank you, but I’ll pass! If Jude picks this pretty little one, it’ll die. Then Jude would be really sad. Jude might cry all night and not be able to sleep. Though Jude’s a skeleton, so Jude doesn’t sleep anyway!”
Jude clicked his teeth together.
“So your name is Daisy. You’re really pretty. Much prettier than Jude, who doesn’t even have flesh or eyeballs. Jude wishes Jude had been born as a flower too.”
“...You’re pretty enough too... little skeleton.”
“Really?”
“The meaning of the daisy... suits you.”
At Rex’s words, Jude stretched both arms wide.
“Hug me!”
“If I do that... you’ll break.”
“Even if I break, that’s okay!”
Rex let out a dry laugh at Jude’s answer.
For the first time in a very long while, he rose to his feet.
Then, with heavy thuds, he walked over and embraced the eerie yet lonely little skeleton.
Strangely enough—
Rex felt that this skeleton was warm.
Even though a skeleton should have possessed no warmth at all.
“But what does a daisy mean?”
At Jude’s question, Rex answered quietly.
“Modest... beauty....”
「[★Blue Star★]: A predator-prey relationship event has occurred and you’re just going to fight? Don’t tell me you’re planning to use the world I gave you. You’d better not expect anything from those children. I hate to say it, but... they’re useless.」
「[Lee Shin]: I have a way.」
「[★Blue Star★]: Really? Hmm, I’m worried. I’ve grown rather fond of you. I’d be upset if you fell apart like this... If you want, I could help you. The price would be fairly high, though.」
「[Lee Shin]: It’s fine. I’ll handle it.」
After saying that, Lee Shin looked around the world.
The Red City of Gepetto.
Many things that had never existed there before had appeared.
Sunday had arrived, and he had invested the newly harvested divine power.
Most of it had been spent fulfilling the things Raymond and Hephaestus had requested.
He had also listened to his father’s advice.
Every preparation he could make was complete.
“God! God! Please trust us!”
“This time, we’ll definitely survive, God!”
“Thank you, as always!”
Eve smiled brightly.
Looking at her and the other believers, Lee Shin smiled proudly.
They had all become precious to him.
He didn’t want to lose even one of them.
As he watched the dwarves who trusted and followed only him, Lee Shin quietly sent Blue Star a message.
「[Lee Shin]: Don’t call them useless, Blue Star.」
「[★Blue Star★]: Why?」
「[Lee Shin]: At least we shouldn’t be like that.」
「[★Blue Star★]: Is there a reason?」
Blue Star sounded genuinely curious.
So Lee Shin answered.
「[Lee Shin]: Because to those children, we’re everything.」
No matter how terrible the circumstances, parents must not abandon their children.
A master should never throw away a dog simply because they had adopted it on a whim and later lost interest.
That was what relationships meant.
The bonds between those tied together by something special were more precious than anything else in the world.
When two beings became unique and irreplaceable to one another, the responsibility born from that relationship needed no reason.
It was simply natural.
「[Lee Shin]: That’s how something becomes special.」
Things that should never have been normal happened all the time in Lee Shin’s world.
Parents abandoned their children.
Owners discarded the dogs they had once raised.
Countless people lived while casting aside their responsibilities far too easily.
Lee Shin decided that, at the very least, he would never be like that.
No matter what happened.
「[★Blue Star★]: I don’t really understand, but I think I understand one thing.」
Blue Star’s response came a little late.
「[★Blue Star★]: Why that fate was given to you.」
「[★Blue Star★]: And who gave such a fate to a human like you.」
Blue Star’s final message was somewhat difficult for Lee Shin to understand.
「[★Blue Star★]: It seems the original owner of my name was rather whimsical. Well, that one was always absurdly unpredictable....」
Yes.
For now, at least.
Time passed quickly.
“...It’s coming.”
And then—
“Everyone, get ready.”
At last, the time had come.
Ding!
「The Cunning and Cruel Lord of the Skies」
「Name: Johan」
「Class: Dragon Knight」
「Soul Grade: Hero」
「Overall Evaluation: A Dragon Rider who burned down the world of the dwarves when their civilization was at the height of its glory. By the hand of this cunning lord, the dwarves’ priests were burned alive while impaled on stakes, countless fathers were trampled to death, and orphaned dwarves were shackled and reduced to slaves.
Serving beneath the greediest of evil gods, he destroyed eight worlds and fought in more than a hundred wars without suffering a single defeat.
Those who know him call this Dragon Knight “Johan of the End.”
The Dragon Knight who brought the dwarves’ brightest and most glorious age to an end has taken to the skies once more, intending to repeat the cruel and horrific history of the dwarves.
Defeating this Dragon Knight will be extremely difficult.
Truly, extremely difficult.」