How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1

They say a raging dragon can level a kingdom. Dragons have vast stores of magical powers within their bodies, and those reserves remain in their bodies after death. Normally, the magic power gradually drains out, but when a dragon dies with regrets (or, rather, when its body is left in a bad environment for too long), on rare occasions, it may turn into a skull dragon.

These skull dragons are designated by the country as Special A-Class harmful creatures. Winged ones can fly, even though they have no membranes between their wings, and they spread a miasma that brings death to all living things. They can also use the dragon’s Dragon Breath technique from when it was alive, so when one appears, it is a living (unliving?) disaster that requires the full mobilization of a country’s military to defeat. That alone was reason for smaller countries to go to the Star Dragon Mountain Range, where the dragons live, to seek assistance.

However, this time, things were different.

“If that were it, Parnam would already be enveloped in miasma,” I said. “The scholars performed a magical test to make sure there was no risk of that happening, after all. There shouldn’t have been any magic left in that fossil.”

“I see… That’s good.”

“Still, that’s why I don’t get it. Where did those dragon bones vanish to?”

It had already been close to a month since the dragon bones vanished. Despite that, there was still no sign of them, so did that mean they had been carried outside the walls somehow, after all? If so, what was the purpose? There was apparently little use for the bones once the magic left them. They had lost their value as a magic catalyst. The best that could be done with them was to put them in a museum (of course, I would need permission from the Star Dragon Mountain Range for that) and use them as a tourist attraction.

I didn’t get it. That was why it bothered me.

I lay down on my side. Liscia frowned at me, but I didn’t care.

“You’re getting your clothes dirty, you realize?” she commented.

“They can be washed. Besides, considering my position, I can get someone else to wash them for me.”

“A king can’t let himself get dirty all over,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m sure dignity is important and all, but… it’s a pain in the butt.”

“As one of the people who forced this on you, it’s not my place to say it, but give up and accept it.”

“Right, right. Whew, having time where I’m off completely sure is nice.” I stretched my arms and legs wide. How relaxing it was to not have a single part of my spirit working.

Now that I thought about it, I had been working constantly since coming to this world. There were things to do, things I ought to do, things I had no choice but to do, piles and piles of them, and so I had been using my head all the time. Having this sort of time where I didn’t need to think about anything… it was the best.

“Ahh… I wish I could just melt away and return to the soil,” I murmured.

Liscia was silent. After seeing me like that, she seemed to think for a moment, then hesitantly said, “Do you want… to rest your head in my lap?”

◇　◇　◇

I sat with my knees bent, resting Souma’s head on my thighs.

When someone rests their head in your lap, they can either do it with their body lying horizontally or vertically from your perspective. This was the vertical variety.

When I peeked down at him, my face was reflected upside-down in his eyes. Souma’s head was lying between my two thighs, and it tickled a little.

“Th-This is… kind of embarrassing, you know.” Souma’s face was a deep shade of red.

…I was sure mine was, too.

“Who do you think this is most embarrassing for?” I asked him. “The person giving the lap pillow, or the person using it?”

“I don’t know… Maybe it’s ‘for the people watching,’ don’t you think?” he said.

“Ha ha ha! You could be right.”

If Aisha hadn’t been asleep, what expression would she have made?

When she saw us looking like a couple who were engaged, would her face have turned red? Or would she have said, “Princess, I’ll not allow you to do that! If anyone is to be his pillow, it will be me!” or something oblique like that?

When I saw the fondness that girl showed Souma, sometimes I felt there was something more than just loyalty there…

Somehow, I suspected that out of those two options, it would have been the latter of the two.

“…Do you think we look like we’re engaged?” I asked.

“Well, in name only,” he said.

“In name only…”

Any time it came up, Souma always told those close to him that our engagement was just temporary, and he was only holding onto the crown for a little while. Once the kingdom was reasonably stable, he probably planned to abdicate the throne to me. I felt like that was the reason he always carefully explained the reforms he was carrying out to me. I think I understood enough of who Souma was as a person to figure out his intentions there.