Oh, I thought I was going to die.
　That was the scariest thing I've ever seen.

　Me and Alice took a breath.

　After pulling Granada's heart money out of her, we passed out and collapsed in a stupor.
　Later, Ron and the others who came in worried, retrieved us from the side of Granada's corpse and washed away all the blood all over our bodies, and then we were finally able to calm down after Yulia broke the spell on us.

　Looking back on it calmly, it wasn't much of a task.
　Dismantling a collapsed dragon with alcohol and sleeping pills, that's all the work.

　But ... it was terrifying.
　It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life.

　I've been to many wars in my life.
　Of course, because of my position as king, I haven't had to stand in front of them very often, but even so, I stood on the battlefield, where it was the difference between life and death, and I was exposed to the enemy's fury many times.

　........But that was nothing compared to the terror of Granada.
　Granada's, that terror........

　You okay, Alms?　You're blue in the face, but...
　Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm still a bit of an aftereffect...

　I smiled bitterly.
　At any rate, I've already beaten Granada. I'm no longer in this world.

　We can rest easy on this point.

　''The undoing of the spell was successful, but it's still going to take some time to heal, isn't it?

　Even if they succeeded in detoxification, the body destroyed by the poison would not immediately recover.
　How, even if the curse is successfully lifted, the soul damaged by the curse will not recover immediately.

　However, I hear it's only a matter of time, so you can rest assured.

　''Speaking of which, what happened to Granada's corpse, Yulia-sama?

　Alice asks Julia.
　That's a sobering thought. I'm worried that I won't be able to burn it to ashes properly.

　"I am in the middle of scavenging all the Dragon Damascus steel blades in the country to process them.

　Julia's face broke out.
　She seemed to be thinking about using Granada's corpse to create a new poison or potion.

　'As usual, I guess,' she said.

　'Alms, it's good, isn't it?'
　Yeah, do your research all you want. But be careful.　
　Yes!

　Julia smiled happily.
　'That's quite a bit of research, isn't it?

　''Speaking of which, can we make armor out of Granada's scales?　I'm pretty sure there's dragon scale armor, right?
　Yes, but it's not very practical.

　Dragon scale armor, common in fantasy.
　Naturally, they exist in this world as well.

　However, they are rarely used in warfare.
　It's because they are hard to process, but they don't have much protection.

　First of all, dragons can be divided into many levels.
　Most dragons belong to the lower ranks.

　The scales of a dragon belonging to the lower ranks are not very hard.
　They are so brittle that even weapons made with the modern, immature iron-making techniques of the Adelian peninsula can scratch them well enough.

　The fact that it can't be melted down and shaped... like iron... makes it more expensive to process.
　And it's more fragile than iron armor.
　And even though it's lowly, it's hard to defeat a dragon, and on top of that, dragons have a small population.
　So the cost of materials is also high.
　Therefore, it's not very popular.

　Well, it has the advantage of being light, so it's not bad for personal use.

　

　By the way, the Dragon Damascus Steel Sword I've been using until now seems to use the heart metal of a high ranking dragon.
　However, it was torn to shreds by the dismantling of Granada.

　''But Granada's scales aren't so hard that Almus' sword would be torn to shreds?　Wouldn't that be awesome in armor?
　'Well, yes. Might be worth a try to make one.

　........but how, and who makes them?
　Oh, yes!

　'Julia, can I borrow some paper?　I've got a stroke to write.






　After we sent out the letters, we went home to leave Ron and the others to monitor the refugees.
　We were going to discuss our plans with Raimondo and the others.

　"Goodbye, Your Majesty. "Good afternoon, Your Majesty.
　Yeah, you've done a good job of keeping me safe. Now what do we do?
　Are you talking about the refugees?
　No, it's about the territory.

　It was already decided to return the refugees to their former places of residence.
　The royal capital was destroyed by Granada, but on the contrary, the fields and other places in the countryside outside the royal capital were safe.

　Those who were initially driven to flee in fear are slowly regaining their composure.
　Some of them even want to go back and work the fields immediately.

　The problem is that the people who originally lived in King's Landing and lost their homes are...
　We're going to give them food aid and help them rebuild their cities.

　After all, it would be good to have a home to live in.

　Well, I mean, the refugee problem is largely solved.
　If I had to guess, the wheat we bought up is going to go to waste, but it's better than the need for it.

　'I have already made a declaration as instructed by His Majesty that the country of the former King Karunu will be incorporated under our rule.
　'Good work, Raimondo. But I don't see how an expedition is possible in this mess.

　Originally, he had planned to conquer the West at once.
　That's why Ial had asked him to do some diplomatic maneuvering for me.

　But now was not the right time.
　We'll have to carry it over to next year.

　''Well that's the thing, Your Majesty. As a matter of fact... many great families, kingdoms, and city-state communities have already applied to join the Commonwealth of Romalia.
　"...a lot?　How long is that?
　Not yet. All over the West.

　...Why?

　Seeing my face, Raimondo smiled as he read my thoughts.

　''It's because His Majesty has defeated the ancient evil dragon. ........Already, it has been rumored throughout the country. The evil dragon that had ravaged the Adelunian peninsula a long time ago has been revived. But it was defeated by you. This is so widespread in our distant country. To the western nations under direct threat, you are a great hero to the western nations.
　Is the cross-dressing episode going to be widespread?
　Yeah, well.

　
　Well, it can't be helped.

　At any rate.........

　Can you imagine if the southern half of the country had been conquered by now? Can I take that as a yes?
　'Yes, Your Majesty. Finally, a third of the unification project is complete.

　Yes!





　Then I immediately issued instructions to my vassals.
　First, I gave Bartolo ten thousand troops and stationed them in the country closest to King Gilbed's country among the countries that had applied to join the Romali Federation.

　Then he sent diplomats, led by Ial, to the western countries to negotiate an alliance.
　Brief Raimondo on the domestic and original member states.
　And the other senators were left to handle the paperwork.

　Condemnation from King Gilbed's country.
　A complaint from King Fardham's country.
　An inquiry from King Domorgal's country.

　And while we dealt with them all appropriately, we ensured that the Western Kingdoms were incorporated into the Romanian Commonwealth.
　And a month later, they succeeded in incorporating it fully, in form only, as a territory of the Commonwealth of Romalia.




　A week later.
　I had come to the country of the former King Karne.

　I was in the former King Carnu's country, because I had received news from Ron and his men who had been monitoring and supporting the refugees.

　It was.....

　...This is great.

　I swallowed my spit.
　Yes, it's deep in a cave on the coast at the southern end of King Carnu's country, a place that could be called the Treasury of Granada.

　The treasury of Granada, you could say.

　When I hold up my lamp, it glistens with gold and silver, glass beads and precious stones.
　It's a treasure trove.

　"How did you find this?

　I ask Lulu, the first discoverer.
　Then Lulu proudly puffs her chest out.

　'Hmph, I followed the residue of the smell of Granada. There was a strong smell left behind, as if it had been going back and forth a lot.'

　'Well done!　Lulu!　You're the best!

　I labored over Lulu.
　

　But.........

　That Granada guy, he's got a lot of experience. Yeah.

　I can't help but smile.
　Now, let's hurry up and take it all out and put it in the treasury of the Romarian palace.

　We don't want someone to steal it.
　I don't want someone to steal it.

　I will instruct the soldiers to remove the gems one by one.
　But still.....

　This is probably two years worth of Romalia's national budget, right?
　We won't know if it will reach two years' worth without an accurate appraisal.

　But it will be enough for a year.

　'Li, Leader!
　What's up, Ron?

　I head over to Ron, who is in a huge mess.
　There's ....

　Oh, come on. Really?

　There was a large, reddish stone there.
　It glittered in places, indicating that it was a gemstone.

　I'm a king, too.
　I've seen ornaments in my own way. And as a nobleman, Ron is no different.

　"Are these rubies?
　Oh, I get it.

　It's a layman's opinion, so I can't say for sure, but...
　It was like a ruby in the rough.

　It was like.........
　The reason is that they are too big.

　The height and breadth seem to be at least fifteen centimeters each.
　Of course, this is a rough stone.

　If I shaved it off, it would become smaller.　
　But even so, there is still about one adult fist's worth left.

　If that's the case ... this is the world's largest ruby ...

　'Ron!　Carry it carefully, too.
　'Yes!　I can't, I can't. Not like this!
　'Don't worry, rubies are the second hardest gemstone after diamonds!
　Well, then, Your Majesty will have to take it away.
　If I drop it, it will be my fault!

　After that, we all got along well and carefully carried it out.




　And as soon as they finished carrying all the treasures into the treasury........
　Finally, the person I've been waiting for comes to Romalia.

　I meet her in the audience chamber.

　'It's been a long time, King Almus, Lady Yulia. I hear you have obtained a wonderful heart money. Leave it to us. We will process it for you responsibly.

　A brown-skinned, beautiful blonde woman smiled and said.

　''Yes, it's been a while. It's nice to meet you.''

　Julia smiles at her and bows her head lightly.
　I greet her politely too.

　''Ah, it's been a while. Please take care of this matter. After all, we've gotten a lot of things we can't handle. By the way I've heard that you guys can also process jewelry?
　Yes, I'm proud to say I have the world's best jewelry processing techniques.

　This is reliable.
　After all, we'd just turn it into a rubbish stone if it were us.

　Hey, Alms. Who's that?

　Tetra tugs on my sleeve and picks up my ear.
　Well, come to think of it, Tetra is the first time we've met.

　"The desert people, Chief Ayesha-dono.
　"I asked to be introduced to you. I am Ayesha, Chief of the Desert Nation, a clan of ironmongers and merchants and warriors. I come to you in iron and trade. Henceforth, I hope you will get to know me.

　Ayesha smiled at that.