Published: January 4, 2026
A few nights later, I stepped outside the city of Leararat.
Just beyond the city lies the vast desert of Salaria Province.
Even now, I was standing right in the middle of that desert.
“Ugh…”
Startled by a girl’s groan, I turned around.
There, Peiyu and Ivy were clasping their hands over their shoulders, hugging themselves.
It seemed they were cold.
No wonder—the desert night’s temperature plummets drastically from the scorching heat of the day.
For young girls, this cold was especially biting.
“Bahamut, warm them up.”
“As you wish.”
Bahamut responded to my command.
Immediately, faint flames flickered around Peiyu and Ivy.
“Ah, it’s warm…”
Seeing the flames Bahamut produced, Peiyu’s expression relaxed in relief.
Her body, which had been curled up while hugging herself, now seemed to loosen and relax.
“Th-this is…”
Meanwhile, Ivy, who was witnessing Bahamut’s power for the first time, was wide-eyed with surprise.
“It’s Master’s power.”
“Power…”
“Master can use many kinds of power. This is just the beginning.”
When Peiyu spoke to Ivy, she naturally took a superior tone.
As the senior maid, though she wouldn’t say it outright, her words often carried a “You didn’t know that?” nuance.
Peiyu boasted, and Ivy admired.
Ignoring the two, I looked up at the sky.
A cloudless night sky, with a full, round moon hanging high above.
A full moon.
I had waited for this full moon night to receive the messenger from Oscar at the inn.
“Bahamut.”
“Yes!”
“Is that enough?”
I called Bahamut and pointed to the full moon above.
I wasn’t calling Leviathan because I was using Bahamut to keep Peiyu and the others warm, so this was just a side task.
“Indeed, it’s an impeccable full moon. With this, the dragon vein’s power should be maximized.”
“Mm.”
I gave a small nod.
I had come to Salaria Province, to its capital Leararat, to excavate a new dragon vein.
However, I couldn’t immediately lay hands on the dragon vein.
The vein here had been severed for so long that it was even more dried up than in Almeria.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be usable at all—and even finding the vein was a significant challenge.
So, Leviathan and the others proposed a plan.
The dragon vein is greatly affected by the moon.
The full moon night activates it the most, while the new moon causes it to wither almost entirely.
Therefore, we decided to wait for the full moon night and start by locating the vein.
And now was that full moon night.
“What should we do from here?”
“Use us, master.”
“Us, huh. Understood.”
I nodded and closed my eyes.
In my mind, I pictured the image of all of them.
Leviathan.
Bahamut.
Behemoth.
Fuwawa.
Apophis.
Jiz.
The beings who far surpassed humans and followed me—I summoned them.
Using the ring as a medium, all of them were called forth.
Leviathan and Bahamut were especially majestic, but the other four also gave off a mysterious or intimidating aura, creating an incredible atmosphere.
Just as I was about to begin connecting the dragon vein—
Thud.
I heard a sound behind me.
Turning around, I saw Ivy had collapsed onto the sand, seemingly fainted.
“What… what is this…?”
She was so surprised she had completely forgotten to use polite language.
Not only had she collapsed, but her entire body was trembling slightly, as if terrified.
“There’s no need to be afraid. These beings all obey me.”
“They obey?”
“The one warming you now is Bahamut. Right, Bahamut?”
“Yes!”
Bahamut responded with a slight nod, different from human gestures.
Bahamut appeared as a fiery dragon, parts of its body truly wreathed in flames.
“They’re this big… amazing…”
Ivy looked back and forth between Bahamut’s main body and the flames used to warm them.
She was increasingly amazed.
I turned back and faced all six of them once again.
“You can see the dragon vein, right?”
“Yes, though it’s fragmented.”
“Leviathan, do we connect the fragments?”
“Yes.”
“Can you do it?”
“Probably.”
Leviathan answered, and the other five nodded or moved slightly, showing their consent.