Perhaps because Eriri and the others had arrived at Mount Rokko earlier than in the original timeline, even after Laika finished introducing her family, the disruptive blue dragon group still hadn't shown up for another half hour.
To prevent their interference, Eriri and her group didn't leave the plaza but instead strolled around casually.
During this time, Laika reverted to her human form.
Compared to a town, the plaza was rather plain—other than being enormous, it had no notable features.
Red dragon weddings were typically held twice—once in dragon form and once in human form.
This plaza was the venue for the first ceremony, held in dragon form.
As Eriri and the others passed by, every red dragon they encountered bowed respectfully without exception. Such was the deterrent power of the Demon King's presence.
By the time they had almost finished their walk around the plaza, the blue dragon troublemakers finally arrived.
...
From the direction where Eriri's group had arrived earlier, a group of fewer than ten blue dragons soared rapidly toward the plaza.
In no time, they reached the airspace above it.
They didn't bother with any kind of threat or warning—they intended to unleash their frost breath and freeze everything below.
However, before they could do so, an overwhelming force pressed down on them.
Instantly, they dropped from the sky like dumplings into soup and were pinned helplessly to the ground.
A separate group headed toward the volcano town met the same fate.
"Huh?! What's going on? What's happening?!" the leading blue dragon exclaimed, frantically darting her eyes around in confusion.
The surrounding red dragons erupted with cheers.
"Ohhhh!!!"
"Trying to mess with us, huh? Bet you regret it now, blue dragons! Hahahaha!"
"Apologize now and maybe we'll let you off the hook!"
"We've got the Demon King as a guest today, and you lot pick now of all times to act up? Typical muscle-brained idiots!"
Hearing the jeers, the lead blue dragon finally realized what was happening.
"Ugh! Damn you red dragons! What did you do to me?!"
They struggled and thrashed with all their might, but no matter how much force they used, they couldn't budge an inch.
Before the red dragons could reply, Eriri and her group stepped in front of the pinned blue dragon.
Unable to move her head, she frantically rolled her eyes around to look at them. Her ridiculous expression drew smiles from their faces.
Eriri then reached her right hand toward the dragon's pinned head.
"W-what are you doing? Who are you?! What do you want with me?!"
But Eriri didn't harm her. She simply tapped the dragon's head with her index finger.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Just transform into your human form," Eriri said with a smile. "You don't want to stay like this forever, do you?"
Though Eriri had rendered them immobile, she hadn't blocked their transformation ability.
Of course, turning human wouldn't change their pinned state at all.
"Huh?"
Eriri's calm threat left the dragon a bit surprised, but she didn't resist.
"Alright, alright!"
She closed her eyes, and a radiant white glow enveloped her body.
When the light faded, the dragon was gone. In her place stood a beautiful girl with violet hair and green eyes—no less stunning than Laika.
Like Laika, the girl had two horns on her head. However, unlike Laika, she also had a dragon tail behind her, giving her a bit of a clumsy appearance.
Eriri's finger remained pressed against the blue dragon girl's forehead even after she had transformed into her human form.
"Honestly, why would you come mess up someone's wedding like this?" Eriri said with a smile, tapping her forehead again and again, making her head bob backward in rhythm.
"Think about it, you silly girl. Even if your sabotage worked, you'd still be stuck with the aftermath and compensation."
The blue dragon girl showed no signs of remorse. Instead, she defended herself indignantly, "That Laila girl is getting married when she's only just over 300 years old! I've been single for over 400 years! It's infuriating! So I came to ruin things! If I can't get married, the red dragons shouldn't either!"
As she spoke, she instinctively grabbed Eriri's hand that was still tapping her forehead.
Her tone then shifted as she pouted, "And my head's not dumb at all! I'm Flatorte from the Blue Dragon Clan! And I've never had to compensate anyone before when I've caused trouble!"
That's right. The blue dragon girl was none other than Flatorte—the sixth member to eventually join the Witch's House in the original story.
Known for leading her clan to stir up trouble in red dragon territory, she was nicknamed the "Queen of Chaos" among the blue dragons.
The reason she remained single was entirely her own doing.
Because of her infamous reputation, all the male dragons she pursued from other clans had flat-out rejected her.
If not for her antics, her good looks would've ensured she had no trouble finding a partner.
At that moment, Flatorte suddenly realized she could move her body again. That made her visibly cheerful—but she didn't try to stand up.
Eriri, of course, knew why Flatorte had come to cause trouble at the wedding, but that didn't stop her from lecturing her.
"Oh? Are you sure about that? No one's asked you for compensation before—but what if they all start now? You really think you can refuse to pay?"
Azusa chimed in as well, "Eriri is right, Flatorte. This behavior really isn't acceptable."
Laika quickly added, "Seriously, Flatorte, you need to grow up. You're lucky you didn't actually cause any damage yet—otherwise I'd make sure you paid dearly for it."
The combined scolding—especially Laika's mention of compensation—made Flatorte lower her head and flop onto the ground.
"Ugh… and I even sent a squad to mess with the volcano town too…"
"You don't have to worry about that. The blue dragons over there are in the same condition as you are. Let me reunite you all."
Eriri retracted her finger from Flatorte's forehead and snapped her fingers.
In the next instant, the blue dragons who had been sent to the volcano town appeared in the plaza, now huddled with the rest of Flatorte's group.
Everyone—including the red and blue dragons, save for Laika—stared in wide-eyed shock.
Being transported without a summoning circle was far beyond anything they understood. From Eriri's words, it was clear she had done this to all the blue dragons.
The display of power immediately subdued any lingering defiance in the blue dragons. They now looked at Eriri with reverent awe.
Flatorte was no exception.
Even as airheaded as she was, she knew better than to mess with someone like this.
"I'm sorry, I know I was wrong. I won't cause trouble again."
"Mmhmm~ Good girl, good girl."
Eriri chuckled and patted Flatorte on the head before turning to Azusa.
"Azusa, I'll leave Flatorte to you."
Eriri didn't say more, but Azusa understood what she meant.
She knew that Eriri was entrusting her with the decision of what to do with Flatorte. And Azusa had no objections.
Thanks to the memory recordings, she already had a general understanding of Flatorte. She was open to making her part of the family.
Though she didn't plan to force it, she also knew it wouldn't do to let Flatorte continue running wild.
So Azusa decided to follow the path shown in the memory images.
And thus, a few minutes later, Azusa successfully touched Flatorte's dragon horns, completing the domination ritual.
...
After the blue dragon incident was resolved, Eriri and the others left the plaza and headed for the town located inside the volcano.
The town wasn't very large—only a few blocks in size.
Its architecture wasn't much different from ordinary human homes, save for minor differences suited to life near a volcano. It was where red dragons lived in human form.
Because it bordered the volcano's mouth, the local hot springs were world-famous. Tourists came daily to enjoy the experience.
Following the local customs, Eriri joined Azusa and the others for a soak, even though hot springs didn't particularly interest her.
Though Pecora, as usual, clung to her—even sitting nude in Eriri's lap—the public setting meant nothing untoward happened.
Rosalie, now capable of taking physical form, was especially excited to experience her first hot spring. She had a great time playing in the bath with Falfa and Shalsha.
By evening, the second wedding ceremony was held smoothly at a luxurious estate in town.
Nothing went awry during the event.
By the time the ceremony ended, it was already past 7 PM.
Having already enjoyed the hot springs earlier, the group decided not to stay overnight.
Unlike their journey here, on the return trip Eriri directly teleported everyone back to the highland near Prata Village.
Laika returned with them and didn't remain behind at Mount Rokko.
Flatorte, now under Azusa's domination, naturally came along too.
It had been a full day since Eriri brought Pecora from the Demon King's Castle. While the time wasn't long, her unannounced absence could still stir confusion among her aides.
Pecora was a responsible ruler, and to avoid disorder, she planned to return to the castle that night.
But before that, she used every trick in her book to convince Eriri to visit the Demon King's Castle for a while.
Eriri didn't refuse. After saying goodbye to Azusa and the others, she took Ophis and Scarlet and left with Pecora and Beelzebub for the Demon King's Castle.
As Pecora expected, her unexplained absence had caused some minor unrest.
But it quickly subsided once she returned.
For the next few days, Eriri traveled freely through this world with Ophis and Scarlet.
Pecora and Beelzebub occasionally joined in their adventures.
As for Azusa and the others, the day after the wedding ceremony, they used the world gate to embark on a long family vacation across various worlds.
Just like that, a week passed quickly, and Eriri decided it was time to end her travels and leave this world.
Though Pecora was a little disappointed, she didn't try to stop her. After all, her bedroom now housed a World Gate leading directly to the Saekano world.
Before departing, Eriri also planted an energy seed within Pecora.
With its aid, Pecora's strength would eventually surpass even that of this world's goddess.
...
"Eriri, you're finally back!"
As Eriri stepped through the World Gate with Ophis and Scarlet, she was immediately spotted by the Gorgon Sisters, who were lounging in the living room watching TV.
Euryale, completely enamored with Eriri, rushed straight toward her the moment she saw her.
Eriri didn't resist her affectionate pounce and simply opened her arms to catch her.
"I missed you so much during this past week!"
Euryale clung tightly to Eriri, staring up at her flawless face from every angle, feeling her warmth and inhaling her enchanting scent.
She suddenly broke into an infatuated smile.
At that moment, Eriri had not lifted the seal on her natural charm.
Euryale's obsession was entirely of her own doing.
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