Chapter 114: Dragon Hunters IV

「Oh. Be gentle there. Pull it out gently. Gently」

A little distance away, the dragon was resting on its back on a pile of rubble.

The dragon's wounds were being healed by the people of the healing temple, who were followers of Juma, the goddess of rain.

And there before the dragon knelt the king and his daughter.

「Lord White-Scale, Exuexküll・Oru・Gjermidya-sama. On behalf of my people, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your selfless service」

「No need to be so formal about it. This is what you're anxious about, right?」

The dragon brushed aside King Lemuria's greeting brusquely, then reached its hand into somewhere around the base of its wing and pulled out a small pile of jewels.

My appraising eyes went into overdrive.

Each of those jewels is worth about a hundred gold coins. How many millions of yen is that entire pile worth?

「Use these to fix up the city」

「Thank you very much」

King Lemuria bowed his head deeply. The dragon couldn't see it, but from my angle, I could see the smirk on the king's face.

He's now able to have new buildings built all along the main street, isn't he?

Along with the other maids, Lanseal, who was in a dress, got to work putting away the jewels into strongboxes.

「But, Lemuria, who's that girl? An adopted child? A new wife?」

「She's my daughter, Lanseal」

The current Lanseal looked to be about fourteen years old. Physically, she had grown to be about the same size as Maria.

「Huh? Since when did the kin of kings start to shrink as time passed?」

「She has regained her youth temporarily due to Gunmerry's elixir」

「Gunmerry? Ah, the armored one that fired the lightning. That tingled a little」

So all that managed was to tingle you a little, huh?

Leaving the king and the dragon behind, I checked on Rana.

She was also having her hands healed by a physician of the healing temple.

「Will it heal?」

「Hmmm, it’ll heal, but I can't say that she'll be able to move it as well as she did before」

The young female physician answered my question with a solemn look on her face.

After Rana's hands had been healed with magic, they were wrapped tightly in bandages. It appeared that she would have trouble in her daily life for a while. Adventuring would be out of the question.

「Dear, are you mad at me?」

「………………I’m not」

「I know you're angry………………」

「Well………………I'll punish both you and Maria later」

「O, okay」

Rana blushed happily.

Wait, I think you're misunderstanding something. I'm actually pretty angry with you. How could you do such a dangerous thing and ruin your hands?

「You're not one to speak」

Otou-san, who had already been healed, thumped me on the head.

「What’s with the way you fought?」

「Huh? I don’t know what you expect me to say in reply to that」

I was only following Misuranika-sama's teachings of accomplishing what needed accomplishing.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

「That's not the way an adventurer fights. If you are an adventurer, always think about survival first and foremost. Something like trying to defeat an enemy at the cost of your life is the most foolish thing a leader can do. An adventurer with a death wish is in bad taste, you know?」

「That’s………」

Certainly, Otou-san is right.

Risking one's life is what adventurers do. Throwing away one's life is how berserkers fight.

「Yeah, I'm sorry」

I showed some contrition.

However, there are parts of what he said that I can't accept wholeheartedly. There's an underlying principle behind why I can’t, one that’s similar to how an object thrown into the sky will fall back to the ground. There's some part of me that just can't accept Otou-san's very sound argument.

This thing, it's a matter of preference for me.

「I would hope that you're not just saying that」

I smiled wryly at Otou-san, who had seen right through me.

In the end, people can't change the way they live, even in death. Someone who wandered the dungeon for thirty years should know that.

「Princess Rana, this is the kind of person this guy is. Keep a tight rein on him」

「Yes, I understand. Next time, I'll rush over faster」

「That's not what I meant though. Good grief, both of you are hopeless」

Come to think of it, I don't see any of the other members of the party.

Barfuru-sama neither.

「Otou-san, where’s everyone?」

「Everyone is being chased away from this area as we speak. If Lord White-Scale is seen being this "friendly", it could become a problem for dragons as a whole」

What the heck? I thought to myself, and then……

「Kyaa!」

One of the physicians was holding her hands to the buttocks area of her clerical robes. She was a well-endowed beastkin woman who had been healing the dragon's belly.

「Kakaka, I apologize. My hands have a mind of their own」

It just touched someone’s butt with its claws. This sexually harassing dragon.

Come to think of it, the physicians of the healing temple are all young women. I see………it’s a pervy dragon, huh?

Oh no, my impression of dragons has completely gone down the drain.

「See? That's what I was talking about」

「………Yes, I get it now」

Paying no heed to our looks of disgust, the dragon and the king began to talk about the situation on the other continents.

「Elysium is as good as done. They're a complete joke」

The dragon's words intrigued me.

「Instead of fighting, they offered up their treasures instead. In that city, there are no more warriors who dare to fight. Sending out such warriors to other lands is the only thing keeping Elysium from collapsing.

That once beautiful city of white is now stained with feces and urine, and dark clouds hang over it.

As usual, the first hero was nowhere to be seen. The peasants were emaciated, and only the pig nobles had gotten fatter and fatter. The crowning jewel was the bunch of politicians known as the Popes. With one flap of my wings, they all fell down and crapped their pants. How about it, Lemuria? Why don't you go on the offensive and try to take them down? I don't mind letting you use me as a transport just the once」

「Hahaha, surely you jest, Lord White-Scale. My royal family owes everything to Elysium. To cut them down would be immoral」

The king simply laughed in response to the dragon's frightening suggestion.

He's laughing outwardly, but he's definitely not laughing inside.

「Now, is that so, I wonder? You've gotten more powerful in the while since I last saw you. In every era, the desire of those who seek power when they grow old has always been war and death. To say that you won't become like that is――」

「Surely you jest, Lord White-Scale」

The king gave the dragon a pointed look, silencing it.

An awkward moment of silence passed, and then they changed the subject.

「Very well, Lemuria. However, bear this in mind. Those who walk the path to ruin always seek companions for the road. The more powerful they are, the more people they lead down the same path. Ruin is a disease like that」

「I'll take the dragon's adage to heart」

「I would hope that you really mean what you say」

Somehow, the conversation they were having over there was quite similar to the one I just had.

「Alright then……」

The dragon held up my katana as if it were holding a toothpick.

It was what the physicians had been pulling out earlier.

「What is this? It possesses such dreadful beauty. It's surely not of this world's making」

「That’s…… Souya, come and explain it」

I walked over to them after being called over by the king.

Dreadful, huh? I've heard someone say the same thing about it before.

Leaving that for later, I knelt to the dragon next to the king.

「Well then, let me expl………my king, how much can I say?」

「Leave nothing out. Do not lie to the dragon. I have issued a royal order to all those present to keep their mouths shut」

「Well, if that's the case」

I'll tell the whole truth then.

Even if what I say gets leaked, it's the fault of the king and the people who violated the royal order.

「It is the claw of a dead creature that had eaten the remains of a dragon. It was encased in soft metal and then forged. The design is based on a bladed weapon called the katana from my hometown」

「One who has eaten a dragon, I see. It's no wonder it reeks of "the old ones" then. Those darned beasts that crawl on that land. They're abominable, no matter their form」

What is it talking about?

Is there a connection between the black wolves of the left continent and the dragons? In the first place, what’s going on with the dragons in the perennially cold left continent?

「But it's a shame. I can't put something that reeks so much of death into the treasury in my wings」

It returned the katana to me.

I didn't want it to feel upset, so I sheathed it quickly. But then something occurred to me.

「One more, owww」

The king had punched me in the ribs.

Huh? What?

「What, were there two of that woman's claws?」

「Yes, two demonic katanas were forged from her two claws. However, there's one that, ouch!」

I got punched again.

Hang on, that really hurts, you know? What the heck are you doing that for?

「How strange. Are there not "three" of them right here? Right, Lemuria?」

「………………」

The king glared at me like I had killed his parents.

「Right, Lemuria?」

「………………」

It said it a second time.

Oh. Is it exhorting him?

「Lord White-Scale………………please………please accept this. My beloved sword, Verxina」

Looking extremely heart-broken, the king presented his katana to the dragon.

The king had named his katana after his dead mistress. He must have really liked it.

The dragon dexterously drew the katana from its scabbard……

「Whoa, hoho～♪」

……then held it up to the light, looking rather delighted.

「The appearance of the metal is truly beautiful. Its wave-like splendor resembles the hue of a rainbow. The mirror-like polish and its fragile yet sharp blade. I've seen many famous swords, but I've never seen a sword with such beauty and sharpness. Mmm, in the name of Lord White-Scale, I shall bestow upon it a new name. The Shining Glory, Orgon――」

「It's called Verxina, Lord White-Scale」

The king said, interrupting the dragon.

「A new name――」

「It's called Verxina!」

Apparently, that was not something he was willing to compromise on.

Well, I suppose it would be unbearable to have someone not only take away a beloved sword but also change its name on top of that.

「………Alright, Verxina it is. Mm-hmm～♪」

It gazed happily at the katana again.

I wonder. This reminds me a lot of a certain reptilian beastkin. Could it be that she is actually a dragon or something?

Suddenly, I sensed a killing intent from beside me.

（SO・U・YA・YOU・BAS・TARD）

The king mouthed to me.

（I'll get a dwarf to forge another one for you, alright?!）

Makina will, that is.

（Are you serious?! For sure, alright?!）

Aahhh, jeez, this is such a pain in the ass.

To think that I would have to compensate him when it got stolen.

「I'll leave the admiring of the sword for later. I must reward those who have fought well」

That's unexpected.

This dragon, is it going to give us something?

「First, the person contracted with the Gunmerry who threw the lance of lightning. I shall reward that one with this precious stone that shines as bright as lightning. Who's the leader of their party?」

「That’s me」

「Then you may pass it on to that person」

The dragon held out a small yellow gemstone.

I'll accept Rutsuko-san's reward on her behalf. This………………is worth about five gold coins, I’d say.

It's a bit of a letdown.

「Next, the magicians who created the crystalline spear. It has been over a hundred years since a dragon was forced to use its hidden spines, let alone have them destroyed. I'll give them these precious stones. They can split it among themselves」

I was handed nine small diamonds.

Well, by my estimation, they’re worth about three gold coins each. Their shapes aren't very good, and they'll end up even smaller after they're cut. Hmm………hmmm? Isn't that kinda cheap for something that hasn't happened in a hundred years?

「Next, the swordsman who cut my wing. Come forward」

「Yes」

A solemn Otou-san stepped forward and knelt to the dragon.

「It's been a while, boy. What happened to the elven swordsman that was with you back then?」

「Melm has retired from adventuring. He is now the king of the Forest」

「He had pretty good skills as well. Though he's no match for the you of today」

「Thank you for your kind words」

The dragon took out an antiquated round shield.

Depicted at its center was a dragon with a single wing. The edges of the shield were sharp, like a blade.

Hmm……What's this? I don't think it's made of Rmir steel. It's not normal steel either. It's a mysterious metal with a bluish tint.

「This is known as the Vestige of the Azure Sky, the proof of rank of a leader of a thousand men in the knight order of the now-departed Lord Blue-Scale Ultrop・Oru・Rossian. It is a worthy reward for you, who was able to inflict a wound on a dragon's wing. You may be a swordsman, but the sword may not be the only path to survival. There will come a time when you have need of this」

Otou-san took the shield and……

……for the briefest of moments, he grinned like a child.

「And where's the beast-headed man who broke my other wing?」

The king answered in his stead.

「Barfuru-dono is bad with formal situations like this, so……」

「I never knew that there was such a strong person in Lemuria. Now, you said his name is Barfuru? That sounds familiar, but where do I remember it from? With his strength, I suppose he must be a very famous warrior. Well, these should suffice as his reward」

It handed me more ores than I could hold in both hands.

They're heavy, I thought reflexively, but they're actually pretty light. ………Hmm, could this be the raw material for Rmir steel? Ehh, out of nowhere, it gave something that's worth a huge amount of money. He'll have a lot left over even after paying off the money he owes Tyutyu.

「Next, that buxom elf over there」

「Oh, yes」

Rana came over and knelt next to me.

Her hands were injured, so I had supported her by the shoulders and helped her kneel down.

「Your punches were truly magnificent. It was as if Gladvain―――――wait, are you not of Gladvain's lineage?」

「No, I'm not. My name is Rauaryuna. I'm a princess from the Heures Forest, though I've been disowned. I myself don't quite understand what I did today. I lost myself after my husband was engulfed in flames. When I returned to my senses, I found myself punching you, Lord White-Scale-sama. Perhaps it was an effect of the combination magic we cast to create the crystalline spear」

Rana isn't lying. She just doesn't know.

There will come a time when I will tell her the truth. I hope I get the timing right because this is not something that concerns her alone. It's a problem for the entire Heures clan. It's hard to know when the right time to tell her is.

「It's certainly unthinkable for an elven princess to have Hemu blood running in her veins. Forget I said anything. Perhaps this miracle is merely a prank of the gods. Hmm? Who's your husband?」

「This man here is my husband and companion」

Rana turned to look at me.

You’re making me blush.

「So it's not just your appearance that's weird」

And, this dragon.

I have a feeling that it knows. If it knows but is pretending not to, then it might be a pretty decent dragon. Or is it merely calculated?

「Well, it's fine. It's not like this has never happened before」

The dragon stuck its hand somewhere under its wing again and rummaged around, seemingly looking for something.

「You are hereby forbidden from participating in the Dragonfall Festival next year. It reflects badly on the reputation of dragons to have that happen at the hands of a woman」

I think you meant to say "beaten down by a woman," was the retort that I kept to myself.

The dragon's hand came out with something hooked on its claw.

「I'll give this to you. It was once worn by Gladvain. It's the traditional female gear of the Velsvain school. It’s truly a suit of armor befitting a woman who punched a dragon」

It was a bikini armor.

In all likelihood, if Rana wore it, fighting would be the last thing on my mind. Leaving aside Otou-san, it would be hard for Shuna to keep his eyes off her, given his age.

Hey, wait.

Why does this dragon have something that belonged to Gladvain-sama? It's not some kind of underwear thief, is it? If it is, I'm going to call up all of the kin and hunt it down right now.

「Th, thank you very much」

Rana's smile was twitching.

I'll receive it for her since her hands are hurt. Its surface area is tiny! It provides no protection at all. It's definitely too small to cover them. By all means, please wear it when we're alone.

「Well then」

The dragon turned to me.

Alright, it's my turn.

「You, the recreant over there」

「Yes」

It changed its tone all of a sudden.

「What would you do if a rat threatened to kill you?」

「Huh? Err, I suppose I’d be troubled……」

I had no idea what it was trying to say, but I imagined it in my head and gave my honest opinion.

「That's what you were doing, in case you haven't realized. Sneakily running all over the place, going squeak squeak, squeak squeak. It was so annoying. As a dragon, I can't retaliate seriously against a rat for threatening me either. Do you not understand the point of this Dragonfall Festival?」

「And what exactly is the point of it?」

I asked without thinking.

「The Dragonfall Festival is meant to be a test of the country’s prosperity. This is a tradition that occurs before every winter. Don't you even know that? What kind of rural area did you come from?」

「I'm a foreigner, actually」

「As if that matters, moron. There's a limit to how ignorant a person can be. You hopeless moron」

Tell me! Someone tell me!

This is the worst kind of tilting at windmills. I seriously came close to dying this time.

Also, Rana, please calm down, alright? You've got the same look in your eyes as you did when you were punching the dragon. I don't want you to hurt your hands any more than you already have.

「You get low marks for your half-baked use of the magic sword and sword techniques. However, I will give you credit for completely blocking my flames」

「That was all thanks to a fishman friend of mine」

「A fishman. I see I see」

The dragon gently peeled off one of its scales. Each of the dragon's scales was about 10cm in size. It threw it at my face. It landed with a thud and stuck to my cheek, reeking of blood.

It is really starting to piss me off.

「This is not for you. Give it to the fishman. Be sure to say to him the following, "Your blessing that brought forth the water was truly impressive. This is a token of my admiration. This dragon scale shall protect you from all heat"」

「Certainly」

Will this scale be enough for him to forgive me for the broken necklace, I wonder?

The dragon looked around at all our faces once more.

「Lemuria, looks like you've got some new blood this year as well」

「Yes, the country shall surely prosper once more」

「That's good. Don't let the shadows of Elysium get the better of you. It would be boring if the number of countries to visit were to be reduced any further」

「I'll keep that in mind」

「Alright then, let's wrap up the Dragonfall Festival」

The dragon stood up on two legs and turned to the sky.

By some kind of miracle, the very atmosphere rumbled and clouds gathered in the blue sky above.

This dragon, it can control the weather, huh?

No wonder kings kneel to it. If it wanted to, it could easily destroy any human country.

「Forty-five days from now, winter will come to this country. This is a＜respite＞for prosperity. But there is no season that doesn't end. No prosperity that lasts forever either. So be thankful for the new buds that sprout. Through your efforts, a spring of peace is promised. Wait for the next season with bated breath」

The dragon's body was enveloped in white flames.

Even the signs of healing disappeared like an illusion. I witnessed immortality in that one moment.

It seems that the fight we had was merely a game for it. No, I would imagine that interacting with people is just amusement for dragons.

「We shall meet again, Lemuria. I wish you strength」

「Lord White-Scale, may you be in good health as well, and see you again in the coming season」

「The majesty of dragons never wavers」

You regained it at the end, but it wavered quite a lot earlier though.

It flapped its wings powerfully, whipping up the air around us.

The dragon suddenly shot up into the sky, sending the surrounding debris flying. A thunderous roar rang out. Clad in a Mach cone, the shock wave produced when an object exceeded the speed of sound, the dragon climbed higher and higher.

As a final gesture of farewell, it breathed flames into the skies above.

White-hot bursts of flames filled the overcast sky. They looked almost like fireworks.

The flames faded quickly, and with a roar, the dragon flew away.

A hush fell over the city.

「All of you, this year's Dragonfall Festival was truly impressive」

The human king turned to look at us in appreciation.

「Especially you, Princess Rauaryuna. Sending the dragon flying with a punch despite being a magician is such an unprecedented and unheard-of feat that it deserves to be passed down in Lemuria. I'll call for minstrels, so please recount the details to them」

「………I understand」

Rana didn't look all that happy.

She’s not very good at receiving praise. That's because she's very shy. Seeing her face turn bright red is also sheer bliss.

「The other adventurers were no less impressive. Show your faces at the Guild at a later date. You will be rewarded」

Yes! Shogaku tickets please. Lots of them!

I'll have to quickly ask for them the next time I'm there before anyone forgets.

「Medimu, let me have a look at that shield」

「It's just a look, okay? I'm not giving it to you」

「………tch」

What a greedy king. This king is as bad as that dragon.

「Souya! Well done! Also, Rana, you too!」

「Oh, thanks」

Lanseal clung onto me, climbed up, then patted me on the head and rubbed her cheek against me.

She still looks younger than me. I have mixed feelings about this, but it doesn't feel bad.

………My sexual preferences. They’re steadily getting more and more warped. Mostly, I blame the women of the alternate world.

「Hmm, we'll need to get the carpenters out in force to rebuild the city before the snow piles up」

Like the king said, white snow had begun to fall from the sky. The air was also somewhat colder.

Winter had come to Lemuria.

All that remains is to get married to and go on a date with separate women, neither of whom the woman I'm married to. I was so desperate to get enough people together that I didn't realize it at the time, but………………in a lot of ways, that is just the worst.

Now, Exuexküll is quite a name, isn’t it? Many “x”s and even an “ü”. Alright alright. If you are the type who likes to theorize, take out one extraneous syllable, and it’s the last name of a real person. And what that person does isn’t unrelated, let’s put it like that. By the way, the dragon has an archaic manner of speaking. In English terms, it’s kinda like it uses thy/thine/and so on. I’ve always disliked it whenever I had to read it as the unfamiliarity with it sometimes causes confusion, so for ease of reading, I’ve been leaving them out. But I’ll take this chance to mention that there are three people who talk in such a manner in this story. Misuranika(a demigod, hence very old), Maria(from over a thousand years ago) and this dragon(also very old).

We’ve seen the old ones eat the dead on the left continent. From what the dragon said, presumably they must have eaten dead dragons or something. At the very least, this might be a link to why Lola ate a dragon’s remains to try to gain strength.

Haha, bikini armor. Did you see that one coming? I laughed so hard.

All’s well that ends well, huh? Yeah, the dragon was never a real threat, but no one actually mentioned that to Souya. And the dragon is a pretty interesting character, isn’t it? It won’t be often, but we will see it again.

There are some points that I haven’t commented on, but that’s because I don’t want to say too much and potentially spoil things. To give you an idea, I’ll just mention one briefly. Haven’t we heard of a country that was ruined by abnormal weather? You’d think it pissed off something that can control the weather, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, one more arc to wrap up this exciting volume. Stay tuned!