Chapter 4: The Dragon Girl
That day, I completed a quest as usual.
When I told the village that was being threatened by the monster that I’d defeated it, they burst into cheers.
I think being an adventurer is the best job because I can make people happy on top of being able to talk to Garnet-san.
“You must be tired. Please rest in the village first!”
“There might not be anything around here, but we’ll do our best to welcome you!”
“I’m fine with just your feelings. There’s another request waiting for me. If anything happens at all, please feel free to contact the guild.”
Just as I was about to leave, the uncle talked as if he remembered something.
“Speaking of which, my daughter said she saw a vegetable thief.”
“It’s been a few months since then but in the end, didn’t we come to the conclusion that it’s just a wild animal?”
“That’s right. It’s not really that big of a deal, don’t trouble someone like Jade-san with that kind of thing.”
“No no, my daughter said something strange. She said that the vegetable thief disappeared behind the bushes and then a dragon flew out.”
The villagers laughed.
I understand why they want to laugh.
“If a dragon really appeared, this village would have already been destroyed.”
That was the truth. I had a really tough time fighting a dragon back when I was a seven-petal class.
Even though I strengthened my entire body, my left arm was still broken and its fangs pierced through it. I thought it was going to be bitten off.
Though, by my second battle, I had already grown to a nine-petal class so the fight was a lot easier.
But, if possible, I don’t want to fight one again.
Of course, if I can talk to Garnet-san because of it, I’d gladly fight one!
“I saw a dragon! I really saw one!”
“I’m sure you were just half-asleep. You probably just mistook a bird for a dragon or something.”
“That’s not true! It was very big! It was definitely a dragon!”
The little girl had tears building up in her eyes because nobody believes her.
“Hey kid, where’d the dragon fly off to?” (Jade)
“Over there…”
She wiped away her tears and pointed at a small mountain.
“That place… If I remember correctly, that’s an iron mine, isn’t it?” (Jade)
“You know your stuff. Well, it’s been dug out long ago. It’s just an abandoned mine now.”
“Back then, this village used to be crowded with miners.”
When the iron in the mines was exhausted, the miners slowly dwindled in numbers and the mine was left abandoned.
If it really was like that, then it’s really possible for it to become a dragon’s stronghold without anyone noticing.
If there really is a dragon in there, it’s going to cause some catastrophic damage one day.
“Okay, I’ll go check if there are any dragons.” (Jade)
“Really?”
“Yeah, that means you can rest easy like you’ve always done.” (Jade)
“Okay! Thank you, Jade onii-chan!”
T/N: I already assume anyone reading knows but I’ll just put it here just in case: onii-chan = big brother, but there’s really no direct translation in cases like these.
“I’m really sorry for all the trouble…”
“Please don’t worry about it. This is also part of an adventurer’s duty!” (Jade)
I should hurry.
Otherwise, the guild will be closed and I won’t be able to meet Garnet-san today.
After being seen off by the villagers, I hurried to the abandoned mountain.
The old mine still had some huts left behind by the miners.
After being exposed to the rain and wind for a long time, most of them had decayed already. Probably because nobody was around to take care of them.
The mine is full of tunnels. It’s deep and perfect for hiding, but a dragon’s giant body won’t be able to hide here.
It’s probably true that something flew out of the bush but the little girl might’ve just hallucinated it out of fear.
The problem is the identity of the “something” that flew out of the bushes.
Judging from the fact that it took vegetables instead of aiming for the livestock, it’s probably a herbivore.
If it’s really only aiming for the vegetables, the villagers can take care of it themselves so there’s no harm in leaving it alone.
After confirming that it was safe, I turned around and headed home.
At that moment…
“Traveler, stop right there.” (???)
A voice talked to me out of nowhere.
It was a solemn voice, but the speaker also sounded very young.
I turned around to look at the source.
At first, I couldn’t see anyone there.
“Traveler, you smell pretty good. Do you have any food with you?”
“I have some salted dried meat and some sweet beans.” (Jade)
“…Gulp.” (???)
I heard the sound of someone gulping saliva.
If it isn’t a hallucination then that sound was pretty close.
If it’s a hiding place then the closest one is…
“Leave the food there. If you don’t, you’ll suffer my wrath—!” (???)
Paki!
When I opened the shed’s door, some planks fell.
The sunlight illuminated the figure inside the shed.
It was a little girl.
She was very short. She could only reach up to my navel.
Her hair was pure white. It was a hair color you don’t often see at her age.
Her face is even younger-looking. Just by looking at it, I’d say she’s around… 10 years old?
The clothes she wore were all ragged and worn, her white hair was all ruffled, and her hands and feet were covered in dirt. She must’ve been living in the barn for a long time.
She looked up at me while completely terrified.
“A…ah… Um… The owner of the voice is over there!” (Little Girl)
She pointed at the wall with a tearful expression.
I then told her with conviction.
“It was your voice just now, though.” (Jade)
“Eek…” (Little Girl)
Perhaps it’s because she already knew that her cover was blown so she quickly gave up and showed a fearless smile instead.
“Kukuku… It can’t be helped if you’ve already found out. Traveler, leave all of your food behind! Otherwise, I’m going to swallow you whole!”
“Wouldn’t you choke?” (Jade)
“Uuuu… That’s a really different reaction from what I was expecting… Wait, could it be that you think that I’m bluffing?” (Little Girl)
“Well, yeah.” (Jade)
“I’m not lying! This is just a temporary form! If I turn into my true form, I can eat you in one bite, you jerk!” (Little Girl)
“Temporary form…” (Jade)
I had heard about it before. Some monsters in this world can transform themselves into people.
Most of them are just half-baked changes. One of the most noteworthy ones would be the werewolves who are a combination of wolves and humans.
However, there are also monsters that can completely turn into humans.
Such is the case with dragons.
However, there’s no actual reason for a dragon, the apex of monsters, to transform into a human.
Because they rarely transform into humans, fewer and fewer of them can use it with each passing generation. Dragons that appeared in recent years don’t even know that they can do it… or at least, that was supposed to be the case.
It might just be a little girl pretending to be a dragon but her expression somehow convinces me that she’s telling the truth.
For the time being, I decided to listen to her with the assumption that she wasn’t lying.
“Then, why don’t you live as a dragon?” (Jade)
“I can’t fill my stomach with such a huge body but with this body, I can even survive several days with just a single vegetable.” (Little Girl)
A really dragon-like problem…
“The truth is that I really want to eat meat but I have to hold myself back. Because, if I don’t then I might get killed…” (Little Girl)
“Isn’t it easier if you hunt as a dragon?” (Jade)
“Well, when I snuck into the village and eavesdropped on the villagers, I heard that monsters were targeted by dangerous people called ‘adventurers’.”
“So you only transform into a dragon when you’re on the move?” (Jade)
“H-how do you know about that?!” (Little Girl)
“I heard about it from the villagers. They said they saw a dragon.” (Jade)
“I-I was seen! This is bad! You never know when those adventurers will come for me!”
“I’m one of those adventurers, by the way.” (Jade)
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” (Little Girl)
“Calm down! I won’t hit you when you’re a little girl!” (Jade)
“R-really? I’m glad…” (Little Girl)
“But if you transform into a dragon, I might.” (Jade)
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” (Little Girl)
Hmm… This is a problem.
It’s the first time I’ve seen a monster like this. Also, she’s using her human form so I can’t exactly beat her up…
But as an adventurer, I can’t exactly overlook a dragon.
Ah, but if I remember right…
“Hey, are you a white dragon?” (Jade)
“What is that?” (Little Girl)
“It’s a type of dragon. Red dragons and black dragons need to be subjugated but white dragons are an exception made by the country.” (Jade)
“I’m white! I’m a white dragon!” (Little Girl)
“I need to confirm it for myself. I won’t suddenly attack you so can you undo your transformation?” (Jade)
“…You swear?” (Little Girl)
After I made the promise, she stepped out of the shed.
She suddenly began stripping her ragged clothes so I closed my eyes.
At that moment, her body gave off a dazzling light.
She revealed her true form.
Her body was about as tall as the shed and it was covered in white scales.
She’s smaller than I thought she’d be but she does look like she can swallow me whole with that size.
However, she didn’t do that. She ignored the fact that I was her enemy and her body was once more covered in that same dazzling light as before.
“H-how was it?” (Little Girl)
After returning to her human form, she nervously asked me.
“It was definitely a white dragon.” (Jade)
“Yay! I knew I was a white dragon!” (Little Girl)
She raised her clenched fist and bit her lip in joy. After that, she began putting on the clothes she had removed earlier.
“So, what now?” (Little Girl)
“First, I want you to take a look at this.” (Jade)
When I showed her my greatsword, she let out a high-pitched scream “Eek!?”
“I’m not going to cut you so calm down!” (Jade)
“T-then, why did you draw your sword?!” (Little Girl)
“Because I want to show you something. Look, there’s a dragon engraved into this sword. This is a white dragon.” (Jade)
“Why is my form engraved there…?” (Little Girl)
“It’s not you, specifically. It was more than a hundred years ago but my country was at war with another country. It seems that a white dragon helped us win in that war.” (Jade)
“Hmmm…” (Little Girl)
“The king thanked the white dragon and created the rule that white dragons shouldn’t be hunted. That’s why I won’t be able to lay a hand on you.” (Jade)
“I’m so grateful to my ancestors…” (Little Girl)
She fell to her knees and let out a relieved sigh.
“Of course, an evil white dragon is an exception.” (Jade)
“I am a good white dragon! Even when I eat vegetables, I show my gratefulness to the farmers!” (Little Girl)
“Those are stolen vegetables.” (Jade)
“I am a very good white dragon so I can apologize and reflect on my actions! I won’t do it again!”
“How are you going to survive from now on?” (Jade)
I’ll probe her for more information first.
“I’ll do my best to find something I can eat! I’m good at climbing trees so I’ll make fruits my staple food!” (Little Girl)
She doesn’t look like she wants to turn into a dragon.
If that’s the case, then I can take her out of here with peace of mind.
“I’m going to bring you to the royal capital. If you get the king’s permission, you’ll be able to live a safe and comfortable life where you won’t have trouble getting food.” (Jade)
“No trouble getting food and a safe environment…?! Isn’t that just too good?!” (Little Girl)
She looked extremely moved.
If the king wanted to, he could just order a subjugation quest on her on a whim but if I vouch for her, I don’t think she’d be treated badly.
“If you’ve sorted out your feelings, I’ll bring you to the capital now.” (Jade)
“Umu. I believe you!” (Little Girl)
Since it’s decided, I have to hurry.
Otherwise, the guild is going to close.
I carried her on my back and hurried to the capital.
