Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I'm Going to Sleep-Chapter 80: Divine Punishment (4)

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Let me rewind time for a moment.

After sending the annoying Second Prince to the Arcad Kingdom, I lightly dusted off my hands.

Since I've already cursed him to be immortal, there shouldn't be any issues even if I aimed a bit higher.

So, before dealing with the Second Prince who has defiled this temple and myself...

"Let's move to a different location."

I extended my right hand towards the young boy I had hidden behind me.

"Come, let's go. Since you have been chosen as the hero, you have much to learn from now on."

"Uh, hey... Isn't something wrong? M-M-Me as the hero...?"

The small boy, clutching the hero's sword, began trembling. Hmm. Was it that shocking?

It would be best to give him some time to calm down.

"Let's move to a different location. We cannot avoid the gazes of others here."

I placed my right hand on the boy's shoulder and lightly snapped my left hand.

The surrounding scenery changed in an instant.

"Huh? Ugh?! Hieeeekk?! The surroundings?!"

"That's an odd reaction. Interestingly amusing. Come this way."

I pushed the boy's back, guiding him to a resting area.

The inner sanctum of the Temple of Life. A space that only a few of those affiliated with the temple can enter.

Aside from a few ventilation holes, there are no windows or doors, completely isolated from the outside.

The space is gently illuminated by the soft glow of white stones.

This space is where the dragons affiliated with the Temple of Life rest.

Well, since all those who can use this space are currently on a pilgrimage, I can freely come and go here.

This way, we can spend time leisurely without any disturbance from others.

"Where is this place?"

"The backside of the Temple of Life. It's a place that only a few with permission can enter."

"The backside of the temple?! I've never heard of such a place!"

"Un. It's not a place that's open to just anyone. Among the pilgrims, only a few are allowed to enter here."

Since only dragons can enter this place, and there are no external doors, one cannot enter without using spatial magic.

The dragons staying at the temple as pilgrims kept complaining that they needed a space to rest among themselves, so I prepared this place. I didn't expect it to be used like this, though.

Anyway.

"Now, have a seat."

I pulled out a nearby chair and forcibly sat the boy down, then lightly snapped my fingers.

Small ceramic teacups and a teapot appeared in the air. I used magic to fill the teapot with water and started heating it.

Snapping my fingers again, a transparent container and a spoon appeared this time. The transparent container, or rather, the glass jar contained a sweet and sour yuzu marmalade. Hmm, my memory of creating these items with my power seems to be accurate.

I opened the glass jar, put about two spoonfuls of yuzu marmalade into the teacup, then tilted the steaming teapot to fill the cup with hot water.

The yuzu marmalade in the teacup slowly dissolved as it met the hot water, and I gently stirred the spoon to mix the water and marmalade, creating a warm cup of yuzu tea.

"Here, drink it. Be careful, it's hot."

"Th-thank you..."

The boy, with a curious expression, examined the teacup and the yuzu tea inside, then slowly brought it to his lips.

And then...

"It's hot!"

I stopped the time of the yuzu tea splashing out of the cup, then rewound it back into the cup. Even after I warned him about the heat, he still got startled like this.

Perhaps he has never experienced eating hot food before?

"Be careful. I did tell you it was hot."

"I-I'm sorry..."

I absorbed some of the heat from the cup the boy was holding, lowering the temperature, and said,

"Don't be so tense. Since you've drawn the hero's sword, we'll be spending a considerable amount of time together."

"Huh, together...?"

"Yes. As the one assisting the hero, I'll be here. For now, just relax and drink that slowly."

I snapped my fingers again, and this time, a small basket of cookies appeared.

Ah, the cookies might not go well with the yuzu tea? Both are sweet, after all... hummmmmmm.

Well, it should be fine.

"Take a break and have a snack while you rest."

There is something I need to take care of for a moment.

I carefully picked up a cookie and took a bite, leaving the startled boy behind as I moved to a different room.

Let's see, first I need to inform the pilgrims affiliated with the Temple of Life.

I should explain in detail what the Second Prince has done, and advise them to refrain from going to the Kingdom of Arcad, in case that fellow causes them harm.

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If they find out what happened to the Second Prince, they might retaliate against the Kingdom of Arcad. It's best if they don't go there at all.

And next... Let's put the curse I imposed into effect.

Until the Second Prince is stripped of his country. Until the time when the country rejects him.

Until the one who abused the power of the nation realizes their wrongdoing.

Hmm, honestly, if he is punished for blasphemy, the most famous would be the great flood. But we can't drown all of humanity because of the actions of one prince.

Well, whether I can actually cause a flood of that scale to wipe out all of humanity... I somehow feel like I could, but I can't do that!

Anyway, I'll punish that scoundrel of a Second Prince until he acknowledges his own wrongdoing.

As for individual punishment? I've already given him that through immortality. And since I've sent him away with spatial magic and marked him, I can track him anytime.

Thanks to that, his life is going to be quite difficult in various ways. I'll make sure of that.

Anyway, let's think about the Second Prince's personal matters later.

I created a communication channel with the gods of death and sent them a message.

"The Second Prince of the Kingdom of Arcad has insulted me, what should I do about this?"

[It would be appropriate to kill all the humans in that country.]

"No, killing them all is a bit..."

[Do they need to be spared? As the prince, he could become the next king. Wouldn't it be better for that country if you just killed him quickly?]

"No, I intentionally kept him alive. I plan to torment him until he regrets his wrongdoing."

[The commoners are pitiful, so why not just target the high-ranking ones? Dealing with the royal family and their retainers should be enough.]

The gods of death, being accustomed to death, immediately suggest killing.

[Especially that Second Prince... It would be best if he came to the Afterlife quickly.]

[I can arrange a tour of the lower levels of the Afterlife for him.]

[We'll make sure his soul and essence don't wear out as we keep him going.]

I see, it seems the Second Prince is destined to face a horrific fate in the afterlife.

"Anyway, just give him an appropriate punishment. Don't go too overboard."

[Understood. Then we'll use the gods of death to-]

Ignoring the three gods of death plotting something against the Kingdom of Arcad, I also sent the same message to Cloud Whale.

[What do you mean he insulted you?]

Ah, that's right. Cloud Whale doesn't understand that kind of thing.

To make Cloud Whale understand, I'll have to explain it in a way it can comprehend.

"It means he captured and imprisoned me, making me his own to torment for the rest of his life."

[How could he do such a terrible thing!]

It seems the simple explanation helped Cloud Whale understand easily. It's best to match the level of explanation.

[Captured and imprisoned? That means I can never fly freely again! How horrifying! Too horrifying!!!]

Ah, that one.

Well, from the perspective of the freely flying Cloud Whale, being confined would indeed be terrifyingly horrible.

[Who is that guy? I won't let him get away with it! I'll make sure no new life is ever born there again!]

"No, not to that extent..."

[No, I'll make sure not even a single blade of grass grows there! I'm so angry! I really am!!]

Ah, the gods of death are serious, but this one is also extremely serious.

Ah, I can't let this happen. If these two run wild at the same time, the Kingdom of Arcad will become a horrifying land with not even a single blade of grass growing, surrounded by death.

In this case, I need to...

"Don't do it right now. Later. It would be better to do it around 6 months from now."

[How long is 6 months?]

"Hmm. It would be after the sun has risen and set about 180 times." 𝒻𝓇ℯ𝘦𝘸𝑒𝑏𝓃𝑜𝓿𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓶

[180 times...? That's too many....]

The young Cloud Whale was still unable to count three-digit numbers.

Hmm.... I should have made Cloud Whale more intelligent when I created it as a god. It's still a childlike intelligence.

"I'll let you know when it's time to give the punishment. Don't touch it until then."

Ah, that's right. I should also tell the gods of death.

First, I'll explain through the pilgrims how to handle it, give them a generous time period, and even if they don't do anything after that period, it won't be too late to give the punishment then.

So I conveyed to Cloud Whale and the gods of death not to act right away, and sent the message through the pilgrims.

[The Second Prince of the Kingdom of Arcad has insulted me in my own temple.

Therefore, I wish to hold the Kingdom of Arcad responsible, so all pilgrims shall depart from the Kingdom of Arcad.

The punishment I will impose will fall upon their land, so those who wish to avoid the punishment can flee the Kingdom of Arcad.

However, you pilgrims are forbidden from directly harming them. The punishment that will befall them will be through birth and death, not by life.

But if the Second Prince who insulted me sincerely repents his wrongdoing and performs a pilgrimage of atonement, he may receive my forgiveness, and my wrath will subside.]

Hmm. Let's see, are we done here?

I've given a proper warning, explained the countermeasures, and told the pilgrims, especially the dragons, not to cause a ruckus. I'll say the divine punishment will start around 6 months from now.

Then... I'll stop worrying about the Kingdom of Arcad and properly focus on raising a hero.

Surely, making a human into a hero can't be more difficult than cultivating the world, can it?