Chapter 14: War of Dragons (2)

The children, who were nervously looking at my very angry face and rolling their eyes around, slowly opened their mouths.

"W-well..."

"It's just that. The children got a bit out of control..."

"We couldn't stop the children's rampage once the hatchling died. We're sorry, Mother."

"Ah! Erebos! That's unfair!!!"

"Sagar and I were neutral, but we couldn't completely stop the children from jumping into the fight on their own."

"Yes. Same as Yggdrasil."

"But didn't everyone experience Black Dragons invading their territory at least once? I think Erebos bears a lot of responsibility for this."

Is the problem the territory invasion, or is it the killing of the hatchling?

Of course, both are big problems. Big indeed. But that doesn't mean they can wage a war where they kill each other.

I let out a big sigh, and with the sigh, flames that burst out burned the area right in front of where the children were standing.

"So, who's going to take responsibility for this?"

"W-well, that..."

It felt like I could hear the sound of their eyeballs rolling.

Do they understand that they did wrong? Or are they just trying to avoid my anger?

Either way, it doesn't change the fact that I need to scold these children.

"While it is the Black Dragon children's fault for invading the territory, this is a mistake that can be forgiven and the territory can be returned. However, I think harming the hatchling is an irreversible mistake."

Erebos speaks calmly. Certainly, those words are correct, but why does it feel like he's trying to avoid his own fault?

Is he trying to hide a small mistake behind a big one to avoid the situation?

But the other children couldn't make any excuses against Erebos's words.

"Do you all think so too?"

"That's..."

"Certainly, it might be so, but..."

At the point where they can't properly refute, the answer is already decided.

Therefore.

"It's sad..."

The dragons who waged war, the seven children who couldn't properly control such children, and me who was asleep in hibernation not knowing such a thing had happened.

Everything was just sad and lamentable.

"When did the hatchling die?"

"Well... It's been about a month."

Erebos hesitantly answered my question.

A month... It hasn't been that long.

I took out the pocket watch that rewinds time.

"If I make all of this as if it never happened, will the war disappear?"

"What? Make it as if it never happened?"

"Mother...? Somehow I have a bad feeling about this...?"

I pressed the button on the pocket watch and quickly rewound the hour hand.

12 hours per rotation. One day for two rotations. After winding and winding and winding, the time about a month ago is displayed on the pocket watch.

"I'll rewind this world to before the mistake was made. That should be fine, right?"

"What? Mother?!"

I let out a small sigh and closed the lid of the pocket watch.

[Requesting consent from the past point...

The past point has consented.

Do you want to turn back time? Y / N]

Unlike when I tested it alone, this is rewinding a world where other children and dragons are present...

But isn't it better than leaving this wearisome war as it is?

And so, the world began to rewind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I forcibly moved my body, which wasn't moving well due to the long hibernation.

My whole body was not just stiff but rigid, but I couldn't just stay still.

Why did I rewind time? Wasn't it to prevent mistakes before they were made?

"Phew..."

While loosening my stiffened body, I summoned the children.

[Erebos. Shamash. Ifrit. Tethys. Sylphid. Sagarmatha. Yggdrasil. Appear before me.]

Then the children's figures suddenly appear in the cave where I was sleeping.

A sudden summoning. Having never experienced such a thing, all the children looked confused.

"Mother?!"

"Mom?! Weren't you sleeping?"

"That's right. I can't sleep comfortably."

I spoke while forcibly moving my stiff body.

I can't use the excuse of having a stiff body since I need to prevent the war.

"I want to set a rule for you all."

"What? A rule all of a sudden?"

"Calling us out of nowhere, and suddenly a rule... Mother, you seem somewhat strange, unlike usual..."

"There are circumstances. Circumstances."

I can't tell them that I saw the future and rewound time, can I?

And judging by the children's reactions... It seems the memories from before rewinding time have disappeared.

Well, it doesn't matter.

"It's a rule that should have been set long ago... But I think I need to tell you before it's too late, before a big problem arises."

"A big problem... What kind of problem could there be for you to say such things?"

"It's a rule about hatchlings."

At my words, all the children tilt their heads.

"Hatchlings?"

"Why suddenly about hatchlings, Mom?"

These children don't know what will happen in the future, so they can react like this.

So I have no choice but to set rules even if it's a bit forced.

Isn't it better than a war breaking out?

"After the dragons changed with my magic, hasn't laying eggs and raising hatchlings decreased?"

The children nod at my words. They must all be feeling the drastically reduced birth rate.

So.

"I'm going to set a rule that prohibits harming these hatchlings, and if someone injures or takes the life of a hatchling, all dragons must unite regardless of scale color to destroy the culprit."

Only by speaking this strongly can we prevent hatchlings from being killed or harmed in the future.

"Who would harm a hatchling?"

"No one in their right mind would do such a thing."

Well, I wonder?

If they were in their right mind, would they have killed a hatchling and waged war before I rewound time?

How deep must the emotional divide between the dragons have been for them to act so irrationally?

It was hard for me to understand.

"Anyway, spread the word to the other children. Tell them that anyone who harms a hatchling will not be forgiven."

Even if it's another dragon.

I will not leave any room for it to become a pretext for war.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And so all problems were solved.

Or so I thought...

"How could you wage such a fight..."

A localized fight between Black Dragons and Red Dragons. As a result, two Black Dragons and one Red Dragon lost their lives, and many suffered injuries of varying degrees.

I caught the culprits who waged this fight and asked for the reason.

"But those pitch-black guys are so annoying!"

"How can we avoid a fight when those red-hot guys pick one? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Attack for attack."

The red ones and black ones screaming at each other. Each claiming they're right, they're better. Just yelling and getting irritated, it makes me feel like a thousand fires are rising inside me.

"To think you'd wage a fight like this..."

I sighed while massaging my throbbing head.

When a hatchling was killed, I could suppress them by nitpicking about rules and such, but it's not easy to stop these big and small conflicts.

No, for those children, the hatchling was just an excuse for war.

Even without killing hatchlings, the dragons who wage big and small fights with various excuses were becoming detestable.

Despite my presence as a deterrent, the dragons slightly avoid my warnings and growl at each other, escalating conflicts.

No matter how much I stop the fights, these cunning dragons ignite flames where my gaze doesn't reach.

Sigh... I just want to give up on everything. I want to drop a meteor and clear away all dragons and everything else.

But I can't do that. At least from the position of being responsible for sowing life on this land, I couldn't do such an irresponsible thing.

Then should I rather subjugate all dragons and exert oppression under numerous restrictions?

[The future point is trying to rewind time.

Do you want to synchronize with the future point? Y / N]

Eh? What's this now?

Could it be that this pops up when rewinding from the future to the past?

Wait, rewinding time again? At this point??

I carefully pressed Y with my finger and.

[What Creation God Dragon! Aren't you rather a dragon that destroys the world!]

[Impossible... Even with all dragons combining their powers, we can't win...!]

[Mother....]

[It's sad. It's so sad...]

Memories from the future flow into my mind.

At the end of my memories of trying to forcibly control the arrogant and haughty dragons, there was only a wasteland where no living beings could survive.

The seven children had their scales taken away and returned to being natural phenomena, and all the dragons who tried to resist despaired and took their own lives in a miserable future.

Dinosaurs, Lizardmen, tiny mammals, all disappeared, and on the desolate earth, I, who had decided on oppression, could only shed tears.

That's why I must have rewound time.