33 Dragon-chan, after two month-long timeskips

A month after that nightmare of a bath, the Golem Mines, as I had named the Dungeon I made, was up and running, as evidenced by the fact that you could see Earth Golems from the entrance. As such, I went back to the Core Room, put my hand on the core, and pulled up a menu. From there, I changed some settings, such as increasing the spawn rate, and the all-important settings of having the Golems do their best to not kill people, and to not attack those who aren't trying to fight them or go deeper. Basically, I made the Golems be sentries, not patrolling guards. In addition to that, I added some safe rooms, marked by having a door at the entrance, and made the Golems not attack Dragons. I also made the Dungeon itself be undamageable, unless it was being done by me. That took a LOT of mana to pull off, but I managed it. After that, I went around, mapping out where the transitions to each floor were, or rather, where the Golems changed from groups of one type to singletons of a stronger type. At those points, I added a gate made of orichalcum that needed to be opened by the Dragon that I had watching over it, with a sign identifying what types of Golems you could find in that area, and what rank of adventurer you should be to be safe in there, or what kinds of parties would have the same level of safety.

The Dragon was in charge of determining if a given party was eligible to pass, and if not, would point to the other sign saying as much. I made a large sign at the entrance to the Dungeon explaining how those checkpoints and safe rooms would work, how to identify them, and the rules for conduct in the Dungeon, as well as the penalties for breaking the rules, namely, getting knocked out by a Dragon and shoved into a safe room. The safe rooms were every floor, because the floors were large enough to have the {Gate} magic formations not interfere with each other, and I also had some formations at the entrance that were guarded by the same system as the floors, as they could take you to a floor you're strong enough to handle. I also made a system where you couldn't use the {Gate} system to enter the Dungeon if you didn't pay a small fee, at the suggestion of the commerce guild. In addition, I decided to take my large collection of item bags and rent them out to those entering the Golem Mines, so they could bring back a larger haul. I also had some Dragons (volunteers only) who were constantly farming the Orichalcum Golems and storing the farmed parts in the shared part of my Hoard. With that, the Golem Mines were up and running, and I opened the gates to the mine. I... forgot to do any advertising of it at all, so nobody was there... I mean, as I wasn't sure how long it'd take, I couldn't make it have a definite date of opening, but still. Oh well, I'll have to do some advertising of my own, I guess.

While thinking things like that, I walked along the old, worn-out road to Crimonia (or rather, to the highway that leads to Crimonia) while making it bigger and sturdier with earth magic. It took me a full day to do so, and I'd already spent five days in the Golem Mines, mapping the floors, modifying the behavior of the Golems, and so on, so I only returned to Crimonia after a week of not being there. At that point, I went to the guild and told the guildmaster that the Golem Mines are open for challengers, and then told the same thing to Sanya. As it turned out, in the month that the mines were turning into a Dungeon, they had been making a guild branch of both the adventurer's and commerce guilds, and getting a few smiths to be prepared to go there, to be able to use the materials from the Golem Mines to repair and replace the weapons and armor of the adventurers going Dungeon diving, as well as some merchants to be taking the metals from the Golem Mines to other cities than the former ghost town, which was getting renamed to Golm, thanks to, you know, the Golems.

However, it was partially my job to get some adventurers to go there, get a load of drops, and get (kinda) rich, before spreading the word to other adventurers. Fortunately, [Frozen Beacon] was still in Crimonia, so I could get them on board with it, but... a scythe can't really cut stone or iron, ice magic is... not very good at that either, and a blunt weapon, like Yang's gauntlets, are even worse for iron. Then again, I think Ruby's scythe is actually made of mithril, so it probably could work. Still, having only one person who can damage a monster is not a good idea... I guess they'd keep to farming Stone Golems for their cores. Who else do I know who could handle it? Hmm... Maybe that A rank summoner from the tournament? His summons could fit easily, and they're strong enough to take care of Iron Golems... I'll see if he wants to do so. The main problem would be finding him... What's his name again? Salamander? Ah, right, Solomon. Hmm... who else... Astra... she's got a good sword for this, and she's got skill. The problem is that she goes where she will, so I doubt she would be interested... actually, I doubt she'd be able to be found and asked if she'd be interested... I kinda feel like throwing that Goblin into the Stone Golem section... uh... Dumbrain? Was that his name? I always think of him as (a) Goblin, so...

I went back to the guild and asked if I could get the last known location for Solomon and/or Astra, as I figured they were both well-known enough to draw more adventurers, and strong enough to be able to deal with Iron Golems, but guild regulations say that I can't. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"Hey, little girl. You're looking for Astra? I guess you're looking for a tutor so you could be an adventurer once you turn 13, right? I think you'd be better off looking for a B or C rank, an S rank wouldn't tea-" (Adventurer A)

"An S rank is standing in front of you, for your information, and I'm already old enough to be an adventurer, so your saying 'once you turn 13' is based on a false assumption of me being younger than that" (Nene)

"Huh? Where is there an S rank? I don't see any. Besides, I doubt you're actually old enough to be an adventurer. You can't be more than 10 or 11" (Adventurer A)

"You're looking at her. This card hasn't been updated in a while, but... here's my old card. I figure that, now that I'm old enough to be an adventurer in this country, I may as well use my first card instead of my second one that restarted at a low rank, though I've gotten it back up to A rank in the last half a year or so" (Nene)

I handed him my old card, and he laughed as he ripped it in two, then he ripped the pieces in two again and threw them in my face, before grabbing my arm.

"Nice forgery, but I'm going to have to hand you over to the guards for impersona-" (Adventurer A)

I used {Clock Restoration} to fix my card, and placed my hand on the one grabbing my arm after picking up my card. I put a bit of strength into my grip, though not enough to injure him... just enough to be painful and prevent his escape.

"I'm going to have to hand you over to the guards for destruction of guild property, actually. Though, as you think this card is a forgery, I guess I'll have to have guild staff inform you of the truth. By the way, you'll notice that I fixed my card with magic, right? That's an S ranked spell combining two of the rarest and hardest elements to learn. That should say something about my skills, and thus how likely I am to be an S rank. Hell, you could also ask anyone here who was at the tournament if they recognize me. By the way, the gazes of everyone nearby are looking at you with hate, or at least, with pity" (Nene)

It was even true, almost everyone thought he was a fool for messing with me, or thought that he was overreacting to what a little kid did. I think it was mostly the former, but I'm not sure.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" (Adventurer A)

"It means I was a contestant in the tournament who everyone there would remember, if prompted. It's not that they'd always recognize me, but those who were there would be able to figure it out if they were asked to associate me with the tournament. That would also imply that I either fought in a really flashy and memorable way, got really far, or caused a major upset by defeating someone slated to get far. In my case, all of the above. I fought with a different handicap and fighting style in every fight, won the whole thing, and beat Astra in an early round. The reason I was looking for her, by the way, was to ask her for a favor, and to see how she liked the sword I gave her to replace the one I broke. Now, let's go to the receptionist to have her tell you how much of what I said and what my card said is true, shall we?" (Nene)

"Oh, I heard and saw the whole thing. Dorcas, it's all true, and you are going to get a two-rank demotion for destruction of guild property. As Nene fixed it, you won't be handed to the guards or even kicked out of the guild, but you're going to have to start again from F rank. Also, Nene, I take it this means you do plan on going by your old rank now? If so, we may as well get your new card up to S rank as well. There's really no reason not to do that, as your old card has nothing that your new one doesn't. Shall we go back in back to arrange all of that?" (Sanya)

"That sounds good. I guess we also have to get out the announcement of my promotions, right? I mean, you can't have an S rank that nobody knows about, right? Even A ranks should get an announcement" (Nene)

"Indeed, I was about to talk about that. Let's continue in my office" (Sanya)

We moved to her office, leaving a room of people stunned into silence behind us, and worked out the finer details of my promotion announcement. I was being promoted to S rank for dealing with a large number of A and S ranked threats on my own, including several Elder and Ancient Dragons, Krakens, a Union of Bones, and a Death Knight, to name a few. In addition, my turning away an invading fleet on my own was added to the list of accomplishments, and so, there was no problem in strength, achievements, nor in the required number of guildmasters who supported my promotion. Specifically, I had a total of 27 guildmasters from all over the continent, when the requirement was less than a third of that, as well as having six S ranks supporting me.

"And now, we just have to decide on a date to put it out, and a date for the ceremony. How does tomorrow sound for the announcement, and a month from now for the ceremony?" (Sanya)

"Sounds good, I think that everyone who would want to come would be able to do so by then. I've distributed some communication stones to every major guild branch in the country, as well as the guild in the capitals of most of the other countries on the continent, so the announcement can go to every country, and if you wish, you could say that any nobles or royals could send a message through the guild to ask for someone who could use {Gate} to pick them up a day early for this one event, and they would also be brought back safely" (Nene)

"I take it that would be you going to pick them up? That's... I mean, there's no real reason for me to say no, but... Ah, whatever. I'll do it" (Sanya)

"Great. Now, there's one other thing. Do you think I should still go by Nene, or reveal myself to be Nene Drachen? Considering that I don't have any citizens or territory anymore, I'm an Empress in name only, so my being in this country shouldn't be a problem... I think?" (Nene)

"I think it would be a problem, but it'd have to be revealed if you reveal yourself to be a Dragon... As in, if you didn't, people would be wondering if others could be Dragons in disguise and maybe panicking about that, but if you were to say it's something exclusive to the imperial family, they wouldn't. However, you won't have to reveal that anytime soon, right?" (Sanya)

"Well... here's the thing... First, there's the problem of my lifespan being, like, thousands of times longer than anyone else's, and then there's the problem of... wait, I never told you that... uh... basically, I'm going to become an actual Dragon God in 60 years. Not a God Dragon, which is an arbitrary label humans gave us, but Dragon God, which means those higher than Gold-bordered Silver" (Nene)

I went on to explain about the way Dragons mature, and mentioned my recent rank increase.

"So, what you're saying is that it's going to have to come out at some point soon, and it may as well be in five years as in fifty, right?" (Sanya)

"Yeah, pretty much. I also figure that having my name revealed when I become an S rank would be better than revealing it as a 'sorry, I hid this, but now I have to tell you because something came up' due to one of them coming off as a 'look, I've got a lot of secrets, I probably have hundreds more' while the other could be taken as me saying 'I have a few secrets, but I revealed most of them already' or something like that" (Nene)

"I can see that, but I also feel like... well, honestly, it's your choice. I'd recommend not revealing your name, but that's mostly because of people then acting more... annoyingly aware of the difference between their commoner status and your... being the ruler of an entire country, even though it's nonexistent" (Sanya)

"Fair enough, but they'd already be annoyingly aware of the difference in status between an S rank and a commoner, so a little more respect wouldn't be that much of a problem. Same for the difference between an ordinary humanoid and a God Dragon, so..." (Nene)

"I guess you, being someone who has a lifespan on the order of millenia, wouldn't care about an extra year or two of awkward interactions, right?" (Sanya)

"I will make it clear that I don't care for the flattery and respect that comes with a social or strength inequality, so that I can minimize the amount of those sorts of interactions... But, if you really think it would be a bad idea, I'll wait to reveal it for when I reveal my being a Dragon" (Nene)

"I think that would be a good idea" (Sanya)

After that, we actually drafted the announcement, sent it to all of the other guilds, and put the announcement up in various places, such as on the guild boards, the government message boards in town squares and such, as well as at the gates to the cities, so that everyone going in or out of a large town or city would know it. After that, I got a few dozen requests from nobles, kings, queens, and an empress for transfer with {Gate}.

In the month before the ceremony, I spent time building Crimonia's Dungeon, which I named the Dragon Spire, but that's for another chapter. It'd feel like an unnatural break to put it in here, so... Temporary timeskip, I guess?

The day before the ceremony, which was to be held at the plains outside of the capital due to the influx of several tens of thousands of people, I spent time using {Gate} to bring people to Erufanica from all over the continent, which included several interesting conversations. I'll put those here, because I need to pad this chapter - I mean, I would like you to find humor in my experiences... yeah, that's totally what I meant to say...

When I went to Ordesia, I first took the Queen and her guards, then returned to bring the nobles, who were told to wait outside, next to the capital gates. I used {Gate} to enter the forest just outside the gates, and then went to the area encircled by the nobles' guards.

"Excuse me, coming through" (Nene)

"Get lost, little girl. This is the area that various nobles, including his lordship, the honorable Lord Empiron, are waiting for the messenger of Erufanica. We don't have time for beggar girls. Scram!" (Guard)

"That's an interesting thing to say to the aforementioned messenger of Erufanica. Is that how Ordesians greet one another? Wait, Her Majesty didn't greet me that way, nor did any of the guildmasters I visited a few months ago... Oh well, I guess someone is just a bit rude and prone to jumping to conclusions. If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with His Highness, Prince Donovan" (Nene)

"Get lost. I don't believe you are the messenger who will use some relic item to bring us or whatever, so please go and shove it up your-" (Guard)

"So, you want me to prove myself? Here's my card. On it, you can see that I'm the S rank that you are going to the debut ceremony of, and also the one with the seal of both Erufanica's Royal Family, and Ordesia's Royal Family. But please, go on about what I should shove where, I'd love to know what you were thinking" (Nene)

"I would too, actually. Nene, it's good to see you again. I don't know if you recognize me, as I was never introduced to you, but I'm the Prince Donovan you were wanting to see. Now, shall we go?" (Prince)

"Sure thing. {Gate}" (Nene)

I opened a {Gate} large enough to have a dozen horsemen pass through at once, and the nobles and their guards quickly went through to the area outside of the gates to the capital of Erufanica. After that, I moved on to some other areas, including my trip to Alayzard, where I brought the two guildmasters, and a trip to Regulus, where the new Emperor was waiting with a few of his Empire's nobles.

"Wow, for once, nobody tried to stop me when I came to bring you... wait, where are you all going?" (Nene)

"Away from the monster who leveled our castle, of course!" (Noble)

"Looks like you really would hate to come to the ceremony then. Surely you heard the name and description of the one getting promoted to rank S, right?" (Nene)

"Eh? Now that you say it... yeah, I'm out!" (Noble)

"Lord Ambross, you may leave, in that case. However, I for one, figure it'd be interesting to see how people think of you in your home country. By the way, I'm the new Emperor of Regulus. It's nice to meet you, and I hope that we can get along going forward. This trip will also serve to allow me to meet the King of Erufanica, and thus hopefully allow us to move past my foolish predecessor's mistakes" (Emperor)

"I hope so too. Now, all who wish to back out should leave the area, and those who still wish to go should gather around. The {Gate} will be going up... about now, actually" (Nene)

As I said that, I used {Gate} in much the same way as I did in Ordesia, large enough for several horsemen to pass through together, and eventually, everyone who wanted to be there was there. The inns were full, but I made several dozen large houses (temporary) outside the city that I lined with expensive furs and such to accommodate the nobles, as I placed several Dragons watching over the whole area, alongside the noble's guards and the ones from Erufanica.