The Town of Mon Hunters: Part 2
Satou here. There’s something called “follow-through” in Japanese martial arts. It means keeping your mind on the battle and not getting overconfident and letting your guard down, even if you’ve defeated the enemy. It’s easier said than done, though.
The attack on the inn began not too long after midnight.
Tama and Pochi were immediately on the alert, so I had them wake up everyone who’d been resting, and then I took a break from the work I’d been killing time with.
I’d had the others get armored up before their nap, so they were ready for battle almost immediately.
Since we were trying to make it look like we’d been asleep, all the lights were off. Peering out from the third-floor window, I saw three suspicious groups of people with torches approaching from across the street.
The attack group consisted of five members of the pyro noble’s retinue, ten criminal guild members, twenty mon hunters, and ninety thugs. Definitely more than I’d expected.
The pyro noble himself wasn’t in the group, but he was waiting on horseback by the castle entrance, so I figured I’d lure him over by dragging out the battle.
Baronet Poton, his servants, and his family were all being kept in a room in the back of the castle in the Paralysis state. We could rescue them after we dealt with the pyro noble, though.
Still, why didn’t he use the City Core to deal with the paralysis?
Kena and her crew had infiltrated the opposing side and were lurking at the back of one of the groups.
I’d asked them to capture the pyro noble’s retinue or at least prevent them from escaping.
“Three booows?”
“The one on that roof makes four, sir.”
Tama and Pochi were keeping an eye on the outside, reporting any hidden archers they found.
I used my Remote Stun spell to quietly knock them out. The archers were all stationed alone, so hopefully they would just assume they’d been ambushed.
Some other criminal guild members tried to approach along the rooftops, too, so I knocked them out with Remote Stun as well.
Timing the stuns so they wouldn’t fall and severely injure themselves was a bit of a pain, but I managed.
Next, I used Enchant: Magic Protection and Enchant: Physical Protection to up my party’s defense; Enchant: Shield to protect Arisa, Lulu, and Mia from snipers; and Enchant: Sparking Blade to help the vanguard group with close combat.
As long as nothing crazy like a black dragon or a hydra showed up, they should all be perfectly safe.
“All right, shall we?”
Leaving the magic users Mia and Arisa, plus Lulu with her Magic Gun, on the top floor, I brought the vanguard group downstairs.
Mia and Lulu were to repel any would-be invaders at the back, while Arisa was using Space Magic to keep an eye on any monsters approaching from a distance.
When we got to the first floor, the inn’s sentries informed us that the door had been broken down.
So they’d finally noticed that something was up.
The sentries seemed surprised to see us coming out fully armed, but I simply sent them to defend the main building of the inn.
I had already sent the innkeeper and other guests to take refuge, so the sentries were just there to fend off any opportunistic robbers.
“Foolish upstart who dares to side with the accursed white tigers, take heed!”
Once the inn was surrounded, Attendant A of the pyro noble’s retinue began a dramatic speech outside.
“You have committed a grave sin by siding with those filthy beastfolk!”
It sounded like a rallying cry for some demonstration.
“Your sins are…”
Attendant A went on about my so-called sins for a while.
I wasn’t actually sheltering the white tigerfolk, so the whole thing was a misunderstanding in the first place. But this was a good chance to figure out their motives, so I heard him out anyway.
To summarize the speech: Marquis Dazaress hid the white tiger princess and company when she was being pursued by weaselfolk, but the tigerfolk supposedly turned on them one day and killed the marquis’s family, stole all their treasure, set the territory’s houses on fire, and massacred his people.
To make matters worse, they killed the former king who happened to be visiting at the time.
That certainly sounded like a good reason to hold a grudge, but the whole thing seemed highly suspicious.
The tigerfolk wouldn’t have gained anything by murdering the family who was hiding them, much less setting things on fire and slaughtering the masses.
It seemed more likely to me that certain parties who didn’t want the tigerfolk and humanfolk to become allies had framed the white tigerfolk.
Anyway, now I understood the situation, but that didn’t make it all right to burn innocent people in the process.
My plan to stop the arsonist had not changed.
I activated Clairvoyance, opening a window that displayed the inn and its surroundings from a bird’s-eye view.
There. Now I had no blind spots.
I opened the courtyard gate and stepped out in front of the mob.
“Foolishness! You plan to fight us for those white tigers?! You should be pleading for your life!”
Attendant A’s reaction to seeing us fully armed was to fly even further into a frothing rage.
“There aren’t any white tigerfolk here in the first place, you know.”
“A bald-faced lie! We know you gave them medicine and bought supplies to aid them in their escape! Your feeble excuses won’t fly here!”
“I did sell them medicine, yes, but the rest is all a misunderstanding.”
“Hmph, enough nonsense!”
Here I thought I’d try to enlighten them, but clearly they had no interest in listening.
“We won’t let you buy time for that white tigerfolk filth to escape! Get them! Kill them all!”
“““Kill the men! Capture the women! Steal everything!”””
The outlaws raised their weapons and shouted in response.
What a motley bunch.
“I am your opponent, you stupid VGs, I declare.”
Nana flung a “Taunt” at the charging outlaws.
By “VGs,” she likely meant “virgins,” although I wasn’t sure what purpose censoring herself served.
Nonetheless, more than half the approaching mob turned toward her, so maybe it worked after all.
Tama and Pochi darted around next to Nana, bopping the outlaws with their Soft-Stun-activated Magic Swords like something out of an action comedy.
“Piece of piiie?”
“Piece of meat, sir!”
I thought they probably meant “piece of cake.”
Nana was using Body Strengthening, too. It was impressive to watch her shove multiple people back with her shield and use her own Soft-Stun-activated sword to repel an ax-wielding mon hunter.
Liza was next, her spear tracing a red line in the air as it pierced Attendant A’s shoulder.
…Wait, what?
A red line?
Uh, Liza…
As far as I could tell from her rather abashed appearance, Liza had just gotten a bit carried away.
She didn’t actually activate Spellblade, so the attendant wasn’t dead or anything.
Still, the injury was enough to draw the attention of some of the mob, who started to back away.
“H-hey, isn’t that a Magic Spear?”
“Those three are using Magic Swords, too.”
“And they’ve got some kinda magic defense!”
“Hey, I didn’t hear nothin’ about this. I ain’t about to fight those guys for one lousy coin!”
Many of the outlaws turned and ran.
No, you’re not getting away.
“Urk, what’s this?”
“A throwing net! There’s someone else here!”
I’d hidden a net in the shadows before the battle began, and I used Magic Hand to cast it over them.
When it comes to catching criminals, I show no mercy.
“Gaaaah, my eyes! My eyesss!”
“Guh, c-can’t breathe…”
A few outlaws tried to climb over the wall behind the inn and met with Mia’s Water Magic spell Irritation Mist.
The effect was so strong that they kept writhing around on the ground even after they dropped off the wall.
…Okay, maybe we should show a little mercy after all. Overkill is never a good thing.
As I used Clairvoyance to check inside the wall, I went to spray some water over at anyone else on the other side.
“Mia, your turn!”
“Mm, got it.”
Mia used the water to knock the outlaws down with spells like Balloon and Water Hammer.
Once Mia had defeated them, Ordo and his beastfolk slipped in from the shadows to tie them up and deliver them to the town guards.
They were arriving late because they had been explaining the situation to the guards at the city gate.
If the guards had been hostile, Ordo and the others would have had to take control by force, but judging by the movement of the dots on the map, it had gone well.
Our group was stronger overall, but since we were outnumbered, there were some individuals who made it past the four vanguard girls and came toward me.
But since they were so weak, I could simply knock them out with the fairy sword, even sheathed.
“They’ve got reinforcements! The beastfolk are coming from the eastern mines!”
The outlaws who’d been attacking from the east started yelling fearfully.
“Noooo!”
“St-stay awaaay!”
A broadsword flashed behind them, sending a spray of blood through the air.
Outlaws were falling like trees, filling the street with corpses.
“<It is I, Frost Knight Gargaolon! I swear on Princess Luniya’s name that I will help you!>”
The white tigerfolk man struck a pose with his bloody sword.
I appreciated the help, but I would’ve preferred he do it without all the violence.
I have a very low tolerance for the smell of blood, you know.
“Gargaolon! So you’re here after all!”
“I knew you were involved with him!”
The knightlike Attendants B and C, who were matching swords with Tama and Pochi, noticed Gargaolon and further bought in to their master’s propaganda.
“Brother! Don’t run ahead without us!”
“That’s right! We’re here, too!”
Two white tigerfolk men lined up next to Gargaolon, with another ten or so assorted beastfolk close behind them.
I decided not to look too closely at the carnage they’d left in their wake.
“Capture that man! Ten gold coins to whoever catches him!”
Attendant D shouted at the outlaws, trying to sic them on Gargaolon.
But they were terrified of the tigerfolk man’s ruthless fighting.
“Hmph, cowards! I, Oin the Goblin Eater, will be the mon hunter to claim those ten gold coins!”
A young man charged at Gargaolon, shield in one hand and ax in the other. Five more mon hunters came along with him.
“Pretty impressive, boy!”
“You’re not bad yourself!”
Oin the mon hunter parried Gargaolon’s broadsword with his shield and swung his ax, which Gargaolon dodged with an acrobatic leap.
I decided to let him and his bunch deal with the east side.
“Hey, mister! He’s coming!”
I heard Kon’s shout from outside the siege encampment.
I’d asked him to keep an eye on the castle.
“It’s Marquis Dazaress! The Flame General has arrived!”
At Attendant D’s cry, the outlaws turned to look at the road toward the castle.
“Gotchaaa?”
“All’s fair in tug-of-war, sir!”
Tama and Pochi delivered the knockout blows to Attendants B and C while they were distracted.
Okay, that one has to be “all’s fair in love and war,” right? I was beginning to suspect that Arisa was teaching Pochi these incorrect idioms on purpose.
The silhouette of the mounted noble approaching was accompanied by a flame several times the size of a normal torch.
Clearly, he’d already activated the Crimson Cane.
I didn’t think he would attack indiscriminately while his attendants were here, but then again, he’d already shown he was willing to use Fire Magic on innocent civilians. I couldn’t let my guard down.
“Mia, use Mist Coat, please.”
“Mm, roger.”
This spell would make the surrounding structures temporarily more fireproof.
All it really did was coat them in water to make fire less likely to spread, so there were no guarantees, but it was certainly better than nothing.
“So you’ve finally emerged from your hole, Gargaolon!”
“You are quite persistent, Marquis.”
The pyro noble and Gargaolon started shouting at each other.
I wished they could settle their score without dragging other people into it.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the pyro noble pointed his staff toward me next.
“You! The fool who supported these beasts! You and Gargaolon shall burn!”
His Crimson Cane started to produce even bigger flames.
That’s not happening.
I pulled out a pearl fruit from storage and chucked it at the pyro noble.
I held back on speed so it wouldn’t kill him, and it hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious just as he loosed a flame my way.
The flame licked toward me like a snake’s tongue, narrowly missed my head, and disappeared into the sky.
The pyro noble fell onto his back but was still holding the Crimson Cane, so the flames shooting out of it started flying toward his own allies.
“Enemy of Lord Dazaress!”
Blackened spear in hand, Attendant E slipped past Pochi and charged at me.
“Yaaaah, sir!”
Pochi body-slammed into Attendant E’s side, sending him staggering.
I used that opening to kick the man in the chin and yank his spear out of his hands.
“Thank you, Pochi.”
“Hee-hee! Sir.”
Pochi scuffled her feet shyly.
“Watch ouuut?”
A mon hunter leaped toward Pochi with a poison dagger, but Tama brought him down.
“Pochi! You must never let your guard down on the battlefield!” Liza’s voice was full of concern.
“…I’m sorry, sir.”
Pochi smacked her own cheeks to pull herself together.
“Master! In the sky to the south!”
Arisa’s voice reached me through our still-connected Telephone spell.
At the same moment, a fast-moving red dot appeared on my radar.
Soaring above the inn was a ten-foot-long naga.
“Fiiire?”
“Meat, sir!”
Sure enough, the naga was breathing fire.
According to the AR, it was called a Fire-Eater Naga. It was smaller than the naga I’d seen before, and it had black scales.
The pyro noble’s Crimson Cane must have drawn it here.
Belatedly, a warning bell rang out from the watchtower by the gate.
They must have been too distracted by our battle to notice the monster’s approach.
I thought there was an anti-monster barrier around this town, but I guess the lure of the cursed staff was stronger.
“D-dragon! It’s a dragon!”
“Run for it! We’ll all be eaten!”
As soon as they saw the naga approaching, most of the outlaws threw down their weapons and fled.
“You’re not getting away.”
Gargaolon and his beastfolk followers cut the outlaws down mercilessly.
Until Nana’s shield and Liza’s spear stopped them, that is.
“What foolishness is this?”
“Master forbids needless killing, I report.”
“We intend to capture these men and sell them as criminal slaves. Please refrain from destroying my master’s property.”
I do prefer to avoid killing, but that’s not the reason, all right?
“Fine, then. We’re just here to help. We’ll abide by your master’s intentions.”
I was glad that Gargaolon was willing to relent, since I really didn’t want to see any more blood.
The reason I didn’t participate in this exchange myself was that I was checking the map for monster movement.
There was a horde of them coming toward the town, including demi-goblin mages, fire-eater nagas, and regular nagas.
The reason that non-fire-attribute nagas were also approaching seemed related to the fire-eater nagas.
The swarm was following the small number of fire-eater nagas like a cloud. Considering that the former were male and the latter female, maybe they were originally the same species.
Individually, they were pretty weak, but if that many of them descended on the town, everyone would be in danger.
Luckily, the Crimson Cane was currently with the pyro noble headed to the constable’s castle on the side of the western mountain, so as long as they were dealt with quickly, they shouldn’t cause any harm to the town.
I threw a spear at the fire-eater naga above us as it turned to head toward the castle, bringing it down midflight.
“Liza, I’m leaving you in charge here.”
“Understood!”
The beastfolk girls rushed toward the fallen fire-eater naga.
I couldn’t blame them. The soy-roasted naga we’d eaten before was delicious.
“Sir Gargaolon! Deal with Dazaress’s attendants!”
“Tch, fine. But I’ve got a score to settle with that bastard.”
“All right! Once I catch him, I’ll let you give him one good punch.”
“Heh. Looking forward to it!”
Gargaolon and company started to follow me at first, but I had them stay behind to deal with the rest of the outlaws.
It would be harder to dispatch the monsters quickly if they came along.
I headed toward the castle under cover of darkness.
Passing through the streets, I headed up the slope. In the distance, I saw the drawbridge of the constable’s castle rising.
One fire-eater naga landed on the castle gate, then another.
It would probably be too noticeable if I took them out from a distance with Remote Arrow, so I threw some pebbles to take out most of the monsters that were approaching the town. I left a few alive just to harass the pyro noble, Dazaress.
Let him sweat a little, since he’s responsible for this whole situation in the first place.
The castle was fortified against monster attacks, so as long as he stayed inside, he probably wouldn’t be killed.
The nagas who’d been chasing the fire-eater nagas descended on the castle walls and ramparts like an avalanche, breaking through the areas that were less structurally sound.
Ah, that damn idiot. Making my way up the slope, I cursed inwardly as I noticed movement on my radar.
Dazaress and his retinue had come out into the courtyard of the castle to fight the nagas.
His flames engulfed a group of them on the castle wall.
Seeing this, the rest of the nagas swarmed toward Dazaress and company.
I wasn’t obligated to help them, but I didn’t enjoy watching people get killed, either.
Diving into the forest next to the slope, I did a “Quick Change” into Nanashi. No Illusion effects this time, since it would’ve been too much of a pain.
Then I used “Warp” to arrive at the castle gate in an instant.
Just as I got there, a pillar of fire rose up from inside.
Huh?
The nagas that were trying to flee from the castle were sliced to pieces by a narrow, laser-like flame.
One of them managed to escape, only to be caught by a giant flame-covered hand and dragged back over the castle wall.
The situation became clear to me as soon as I leaped onto the top of the gates to check it out.
An intermediate demon, wrapped in flames, was slaughtering the nagas.
Shining on his forehead was the jewel from Dazaress’s Crimson Cane.
I should’ve known when I heard that he had “Count Bobino’s support.”
Count Bobino was a patron of the demon lord–worshipping cult Wings of Freedom. He must have given Dazaress a long horn, an item that turned someone into an intermediate demon.
I wasn’t sure whether he himself understood exactly what using the long horn meant, but that didn’t matter anymore.
Having finished off the last naga, Dazaress—no, the demon—spread his four wings and took to the sky.
I didn’t want to risk burning myself by getting too close, so I decided to defeat him with magic.
A blast should be able to put out a fire, right?
I picked out Implosion from the magic menu.
This spell caused an inward explosion effect in a sphere-shaped range, so it did less widespread damage than most other intermediate magic.
That being said, using it from this position would probably destroy the castle in the process, so I used all 120 Magic Hands to hurl the demon into the sky.
Just then, my “Sense Danger” skill reacted to something far south of here.
Again…? Come on—this isn’t a wanko soba restaurant. Don’t bring me seconds I didn’t ask for.
I turned around with a sigh and was greeted with a blinding flash of light.
The light evaporated the intermediate demon instantly and disappeared into the sky. A red shard of light fell into the river next to the town.
An enormous flapping sound and a powerful blast of wind blew down on the castle and the town of Puta alike.
And a blue dot appeared on my radar.
Fighting to raise my head, I squinted up at the peak behind the castle and saw a black dragon spreading its wings.
GWROW, GWROW, GWLOROOOOOURGH!
The dragon roared.
It must have been more than a mile away, but I still felt the vibrations prickling on my skin.
On the map, my party members’ status conditions all changed to Fear.
Same for the rest of the people in town.
But since I could understand dragon language, the roar that struck fear into the hearts of others sounded like this to me:
“WEAK! SO WEAK! I CAME ALL THE WAY DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN FOR THIS?!”
I guess it was disappointed that its battle with the demon ended so quickly.
I used “Skyrunning” and “Warp” to approach the black dragon.
“GWROO…”
Damn, that’s hard to pronounce.
“<Good evening, Sir Dragon.>”
It was all but impossible to speak Dragon with human vocal cords, so I managed to do it with the “Ventriloquism” skill.
This skill definitely didn’t work the same way as regular ventriloquism.
“<I apologize, but our children are sleeping. Could I ask you to lower your volume, please?>”
“<You speak Dragon, little one?>”
“<Yes, I learned it recently.>”
“<Very impressive, little one.>”
The black dragon lowered its voice as I requested. It was surprisingly accommodating.
“<You must be eager to challenge me to a battle!>”
…Huh?
“<A dragon never turns down a challenge from anyone!>”
With that, the dragon picked me up in its claws and took off into the air.
“<Wait a minute, you battle junkie…>”
“<Little one! You are correct! We dragons are ever in pursuit of a good fight followed by a good sleep!>”
Wow, it didn’t even deny it.
I continued protesting over the loud wind in dragon language, but the black dragon just roared happily and circled around above Puta.
“<We’ll damage the town if we fight here! If we must battle, let’s at least do it somewhere else!>”
“<As you wish, little one…>”
The black dragon nodded lightly.
“<…If I kill humans needlessly, I may never hear the end of it from the sky dragon of Mount Fuji.>”
Ignoring that particular name for now, did that mean there was a dragon monitoring other dragons like a human supervisor?
The dragon’s flight leveled out.
I couldn’t believe how fast we were moving.
It felt like we might break the sound barrier at this rate.
The wind flying into my face was hurting my eyes, so I used Canopy from the magic menu to protect myself from it.
Really, if I had a choice, I would’ve preferred to ride on its back instead of being carried around like prey.
Since I’d left town without saying anything, I sent Arisa and Liza a quick message with the Telephone spell: “Gonna hang out with a dragon. Back in a few.”
Both of them were still in the Fear state, so there was no response.
Meanwhile, the black dragon didn’t slow down. In an instant, we left the Ougoch Duchy and entered a new area: the Black Dragon Mountains.
I used my long-neglected “Search Entire Map” skill to gather information about the place.
There were a few small villages among the mountains.
I added markers to the villages so I wouldn’t hit any by accident, along with the flag icons for quests. I’d never used them before, but they worked just fine.
When we arrived at the snow-covered peak of the tallest mountain, I could see an enormous forest on the other side of the range.
I couldn’t say for sure, since it was on a different map, but it was probably Bolenan Forest, the location of Mia’s hometown.
I could see a thread-shaped World Tree in the center, like the one we’d seen from a distance before.
I continued to gaze at the stunning scenery until the black dragon spoke to me.
“<Can you fly, little one?>”
“<Yes, I can.>”
Once I answered, the dragon slowly opened its claw, so I hopped away with “Skyrunning.”
Once the black dragon saw this, it descended onto the peak with a loud bang, sending a cloud of fresh snow flying up around it.
“<I am the black dragon, born of the Valley of Dragons! No other dragon can oppose me, save an ancient dragon or a sky dragon! Long have I waited at the peak of this mountain for a worthy opponent, but none hath appeared before me. Tonight, we shall enjoy a battle to the death.>”
The black dragon spread its wings, looking excited as it declared its warlike intentions.
I definitely felt obligated to fight it now.
Judging by the difference in our levels, I didn’t think I would lose, but I didn’t want its “Dragon Breath” to burn up my good robes.
“<I am Nanashi the Hero: a simple human. Go easy on me, please.>”
Once I’d given a brief response, the dragon breathed in deeply.
I put some distance between us with “Skyrunning,” then produced the max amount of thirty-two Flexible Shields in front of me.
A flash filled my vision, and a thunderous roar crashed through the mountains.
I dodged right away with “Skyrunning,” but two of my Flexible Shields still disappeared.
Judging by how that felt, I was pretty sure seven or eight of them could protect me from even a direct hit, but I still activated my “Magic Power Armor” skill just in case.
The attack that had just missed me melted the ice on the peak, and the boiling-hot stream of muddy water began to cause an avalanche.
Behind me, no less than two ridges crumbled to pieces.
“<Here I come!>”
The black dragon sprang into the air with just its rear legs, accelerating to top speed in the blink of an eye as it charged toward me.
The roar just before the speed increase must have been some kind of dragon magic.
The rapidly approaching dragon’s horns bore down on me.
I fired a Lightning spell from the magic menu.
But it vanished almost immediately.
The spell had somehow dissipated before it even reached the dragon’s scales. It came nowhere close to paralyzing it.
I avoided the black dragon’s horns by a hairbreadth and smacked it point-blank with an Air Hammer spell to the back of the head, but that disappeared, too, before reaching its target.
The black dragon must have been able to negate lesser magic, just like that demon lord.
Still, using intermediate magic would be dangerous. Those spells made short work of the giant monster fish, which was much higher level than the black dragon.
I couldn’t just murder what might be one of the last living dragons.
As I was watching the back of the dragon’s head while thinking about these things, I suddenly felt a “Sense Danger” reaction behind me.
The tail.
To be precise, the spike on the end of the dragon’s tail was fast approaching.
I used “Skyrunning” to accelerate in a downward slant, narrowly avoiding the giant spike.
However, the “Sense Danger” alarm didn’t let up.
Behind me, I saw the black dragon twisting around in midair.
Come on, what about the laws of aerodynamics?!
The centrifugal force sent the tail flying toward me like a whip, right in my blind spot.
Judging that I couldn’t possibly dodge it, I quickly crossed my arms in front of me to block the tail.
One of my Flexible Shields got destroyed, but that was the extent of the damage.
Normally, the enormous weight difference would be enough to send me flying, but my absurd STR stat and the secure foothold “Skyrunning” provided managed to prevent that.
Without losing its momentum, the dragon swung its right claws toward me next.
I could have dodged them, but I decided to parry instead.
They had less than half the force of the tail attack.
This one was no worse than the physical attacks of the black greater demon in Seiryuu City and was far lighter than the blows from the Golden Boar Lord.
If it hadn’t been for our vastly different physiques, I could have pretty much fought on an equal level with the dragon in terms of close combat.
I used “Skyrunning” to brace myself, then flung the black dragon through the air with the help of Magic Hand.
“<What—?!>”
The black dragon roared with surprise as it tumbled backward, taking off chunks of the mountainsides as it went.
…This dragon would have had a good career as a stuntman.
The black dragon shook its head to rid itself of dirt and rocks, and its eyes glittered as it launched itself back into the sky.
As the black dragon flew toward me, it unleashed a single roar—and a flash of black lightning struck me from above.
> Skill Acquired: “Lightning Magic: Dragon”
> Skill Acquired: “Dark Magic: Dragon”
That must have been a spell of some kind.
That was the first time I’d acquired two different skills from a single magic attack.
It was pretty powerful, perhaps because it was a combination of two attributes. Even with my Flexible Shields in high-density mode, it managed to find a gap and reach me briefly. Only one of my Flexible Shields got destroyed, but my clothes got burned a little.
My skin tingled for a moment, but there didn’t seem to be any lasting effects.
Using the lightning as a distraction, the black dragon flung its left fist toward me.
I intercepted it with a fist of my own.
KABOOM!
With a sound like a wooden board cracking in two, a broken scale flew off the black dragon’s fist.
I quickly stowed the blood spraying from the wound in Storage, narrowly saving my clothes from disaster.
As before, I felt a slight resistance just before the scale broke, like glass cracking.
There must be some kind of magical defense field over the scales.
The dragon’s fist kept on flying toward me, so I blocked it with my Flexible Shields this time.
That way, I wouldn’t end up bloodying the black dragon unnecessarily.
As if to punish my arrogance, the black dragon threw a knee kick at me while I was stopped in place.
I was completely taken by surprise, since I’d never expected a dragon to do a kick.
I guess I’d been relying on “Sense Danger” too much.
The kick knocked me into the air, where a “Dragon Breath” attack followed close behind.
My Flexible Shields were getting destroyed one after another.
If this were an old-fashioned tabletop RPG, the dragon would only be able to use its breath up to three times, but apparently the real world wasn’t so forgiving.
Just then, I suddenly felt someone watching me.
I recognized the sensation as someone monitoring me with Space Magic. It didn’t feel like Arisa, though.
As I dodged the breath with some careful maneuvering, I used magic to reel in the would-be watcher.
What I saw was a beautiful platinum-blond woman, somewhere in the direction of the World Tree in Bolenan Forest.
> Skill Acquired: “Reverse Sonar”
> Skill Acquired: “Sonar Blocking”
For now, I activated the latter skill, cutting off the beautiful woman’s view.
Now I could concentrate on fighting the black dragon.
After the “Dragon Breath,” I avoided the barrage of ultrahigh-speed fireballs that followed like a bullet-hell game.
When one occasionally came at me with a curved trajectory, I parried it with a Flexible Shield.
> Skill Acquired: “Wind Magic: Dragon”
So the dragon was manipulating the fireballs with Wind Magic… What a versatile fighter.
However, it was far too focused on firing at me.
When I was right above the black dragon’s head, I put up fresh Flexible Shields and took out a huge meteorite from Storage, holding it above my head.
Of course, I wasn’t going to hit the black dragon with this.
That would probably just kill it.
I used Magic Hand to press myself against the giant meteorite.
Then I kicked with all my strength.
The resulting high-speed hail and a few fireballs both hit me in the process, but I was fully protected by my diagonally arranged Flexible Shields.
Although I did lose half of them.
I pushed the remaining half against the black dragon, slamming it down on a mountain.
The tough bedrock cracked, creating a circle of rocks and dust.
I finally touched down on solid ground again and, with the help of Magic Hand, grabbed the dazed dragon’s tail and swung it around and around.
“GROWWWWWWWR.”
Ignoring its meaningless shrieks, I kept swinging the tail in giant circles.
The dragon struggled to stop the spinning, but its sharp claws worked against it, leaving deep scratches in the ground that scarcely slowed it down at all.
When I’d built up enough acceleration, I flung the dragon as far as I could.
The target was a particularly sturdy-looking ridge.
I chose it because it had an exposed mithril-ore streak and looked more solid than the others.
The black dragon crashed hard into the ridge, and I chased after it with “Warp,” then used “Skyrunning” to deliver a fighting game–style kick to the dragon’s chest.
The Flexible Shield I’d put between us to cushion the blow shattered immediately.
Uh-oh.
Panicking, I skidded my kick to a halt with “Skyrunning.”
The scale on the black dragon’s chest broke, but the kick stopped before piercing the dragon’s heart.
Half-buried in the ground now, the black dragon’s limbs sagged.
Phew. Looks like I won.
That was a careless mistake.
The black dragon’s final attack wasn’t magic or its deadly breath.
It was a simple bite.
Inside the jaw closing down on me, the white fangs sparkled.
Their radiance was enchanting.
I remembered what Miss Ringrande had said before.
A dragon’s fangs can pierce anything.
Dragon fangs are the ultimate blade—they spell destruction even for a demon lord.
The dragon’s fangs broke through all ten of my remaining Flexible Shields like paper.
The white glow of death was closing in—
“I don’t think so!”
Just as a fang was about to pierce my shoulder, I punched it with all my strength.
The broken fang cut the black dragon’s mouth, sending fresh blood everywhere.
I used the momentum of the punch to twist myself around, delivering a kick to the side of the dragon’s face. Spiderweb-like cracks formed in several of the scales on its face, and I felt its jaw break underneath.
The black dragon’s status condition changed to Fainted, and it crashed into the surface of the mountain, sending tremors through the ground.
Now I truly understood why it was so important to never let down your guard.
I never imagined that something could break through intermediate defense magic like Flexible Shield so easily.
I was planning to make a counterattack once the Flexible Shields stopped the fang’s approach, but they got crushed so easily that I panicked.
All things considered, it probably would’ve gone the same way even if I’d had all my Flexible Shields out.
Nullifying defense like that was the kind of power only the worst video game bosses had.
I gazed at the black dragon, which was still lying motionless beside me.
Did I kick it a little too hard?
I thought I’d felt some bones cracking, but since its status condition was only Fainted, it was probably fine.
Still, it didn’t move even after I waited awhile, so I used the intermediate recovery spell Healing: Water on the damaged scales and other injured areas.
An intermediate spell shouldn’t have the power to regenerate missing parts, but it somehow caused the broken scales to grow back anew. Unfortunately, the fang was still broken.
I was guessing it worked that well by merging with the black dragon’s own self-healing ability.
Since there was nothing else I could do, I contacted Arisa and the others with Telephone to see how they were doing.
“Everyone’s safe here. The attackers have all been captured and handed over to the guards, and that Gao-Gao guy and his friends apologized for something and went home. The mon hunters who helped us are finishing up with transporting the captured outlaws.”
As I listened to Arisa’s report, I used Clairvoyance and my map to see the situation in Puta for myself.
There didn’t seem to be any need for me to hurry back, then.
“I’m almost done here, but it might take a little longer before I get back. I’m sure you’re all tired, so make sure everyone goes to bed soon, all right?”
“Okey-dokey!”
Ending the call with Arisa, I looked up at the unmoving black dragon.
Sitting around waiting for it to wake up was a bit boring, so I killed time by collecting the scales that had fallen in battle and mining the exposed mithril ore.
Eventually, the black dragon’s status condition changed from Fainted to None.
Its eyes opened slowly but snapped shut in a hurry as soon as it saw me looking.
Um, it’s a little late for that.
“<You’re awake, aren’t you? Why not share a drink with me as we speak of each other’s prowess in battle?>”
I placed a cask of sake near the dragon’s nose.
It was a particularly strong sake called Rock Fairy Slayer, which I’d acquired from a sake-loving noble in the old capital. Its alcohol content was high enough to compete with dwarf spirits; the name came from its rather harsh taste.
I broke the lid open with my fist, sending the scent of rich sake wafting all around us.
Soon enough, the black dragon’s nostrils flared.
I knew it. Dragons loved drinking.
“<Hmmmm. Very well. I suppose we can call it a draw, just this once.>”
The black dragon made a show of reluctance as it pulled itself upright.
I understood that it was trying to preserve its dignity and all, but the way it was staring at the cask the whole time kind of ruined the effect.
What a goofball.
“<What boon shall I grant you in commemoration of our draw?>”
“<How about…we become friends?>”
This was a serious suggestion; I’d grown pretty fond of the lighthearted dragon.
“RWOOOOOOLRGH!”
The black dragon roared with amusement.
“<Very well! Then friends we shall be. As proof of our friendship, I grant you the name Kuro. It was the name of a human child I raised long ago.>”
A name as a present, huh? That’s a new one.
Come to think of it, I noticed that the black dragon didn’t have a unique name in its AR display.
“<I’ll give you a name, too, then. How about…Hei Long?>”
I couldn’t actually think of anything creative, so I went with a name that meant “black dragon” in Chinese.
Honestly, I’d forgotten how bad I was at making up names.
“<Excellent! From now on, I shall be known as Hei Long!>”
The black dragon roared happily, and his name in the AR display changed to Hei Long, while my name in my networking tab changed from blank to Kuro.
This made me a little nervous, so I quickly checked to make sure I could still change it.
That roar must have been the dragon using the “Name Order” skill.
“<Whew… I am parched.>”
Hei Long glanced furtively at the barrel, so I tactfully offered up some sake.
“<Mm, very good. Human-made liquor truly is delicious.>”
The black dragon lifted the barrel carefully, poured some sake into his mouth, and let out a satisfied “Ahhhh.”
“<But dragon liquor is no lesser, mind you. Here, a drink for a drink…>”
The black dragon gave a long howl that was almost like a song, and the ground reshaped into a concave mirror.
After a while, spring water gushed from the center.
The water gradually turned into liquor bearing the same translucent green color of melon soda.
Dragonspring liquor.
But it was miles above the stuff I’d tasted before.
Freshly brewed dragonspring liquor was beyond comparison to dregs that had sat for a while. It had an incredible scent; a smooth, clear mouthfeel; and a deep, all-encompassing flavor.
“<Delicious.>”
“<It is indeed, is it not? Come, come, drink more!>”
The black dragon gleefully offered me more of the dragonspring liquor.
I would’ve loved to spend the night partying together, but I still had things to do in the town of Puta.
The dragon was toying with the now-empty barrel, so I provided a new one and stated that I had to head back but promised that we would have a real party soon enough.
I was too far away to make it with my Return spell, so Hei Long brought me to a mountain near Puta.
“<Well then, I’ll see you again in seven days’ time.>”
“<Indeed. Do not forget the sake and the goat.>”
“<Of course.>”
We grinned at each other as we made plans. Having a party with a dragon sounded like way too much fun.
I watched the black dragon fly away before I headed back toward Puta.
On the way home, I stopped off to pick up the Crimson Cane that had fallen into the riverbed. All that remained was the part with the jewel, but it would be dangerous to just leave it lying around.
Then I snuck back into town and made my way to the forest near the castle.
The official story was that I’d chased Marquis Dazaress there.
Some guards were looking for me, so I let them “rescue” me.
When we returned to the path that linked the castle and the town, we ran into some mon hunters heading toward the castle.
“Mr. Noble!”
Kon came flying toward me from the crowd.
He seemed to have been worried about me.
“I’m glad you’re all right!”
“Kon was whining that you might’ve gotten eaten by the demon or the dragon.”
“I know you already paid us, but I’d hate to see a young kid like you die.”
Kon’s comrades, the female mon hunters, all greeted me as well.
“Kena, we’re going on ahead!”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there! See ya later, Mr. Knight. We’re going to go save that stupid constable now.”
Smiling despite their exhaustion, the mon hunters followed the guards toward the castle.
Checking on the map, I saw that Baronet Poton was still trapped in the remains of the castle.
No one inside was seriously injured, so the situation wasn’t too urgent. As soon as I determined that, I headed back to the inn and crawled into the giant bed where the rest of my party was already asleep.
Well, good night.
I had only a few things left to do in Puta.
I threw a big party in the mon hunter tavern to thank the people who’d helped me. For the young boy Kon, who’d convinced the others not to join up with the enemy, I made a simple artificial arm and some good-quality equipment.
The white tigerfolk had nowhere safe to go, so I suggested they head to the Muno Barony. Baron Muno and Miss Nina wouldn’t discriminate against demi-humans, and Gargaolon and company would make powerful allies for them.
The outlaws who participated in the attack became criminal slaves, and the surviving members of the pyro noble’s retinue were taken to the old capital.
As for Baronet Poton, the assistant secretary sent from the town of Kuuche confirmed that he hadn’t participated in the attack on the inn.
However, the rumors about him taking bribes turned out to be true. I decided to let the leader of his faction, Marquis Lloyd, decide what to do about that.
Between the sale of the criminal slaves and the reward money for maintaining public order (which was really more of a solatium), I ended up receiving quite a bit of cash.
I didn’t want to hoard it all for myself, though, so I decided to redistribute it to the less fortunate people of Puta.
Specifically, I donated it toward the reopening of the closed-down orphanage and the establishment of a mon hunter training school. For the teaching staff, I suggested some of the mon hunters who had retired due to injuries and such.
I left the management of these facilities to the former director of the orphanage.
As for its continuing operation funds, I planned to give my ketchup recipe and exclusive sales rights to it by way of Marquis Lloyd.
Then, on the day of our departure…
“Larvae, we must say farewell for now.”
“Hey, are you leaving? Where’re you going?”
“Nana, stay with us? Please?”
“Don’t go, Nana!”
Nana patted the children’s heads as they clung to her.
I half expected her to ask to take them with us, but she was surprisingly realistic about it.
“These larvae have a base here. The journey would be too dangerous for them, I conclude.”
The “base” she was referring to was probably the orphanage.
So far, all it had was some mats and beds, but that was probably still better than letting them sleep under trees or in alleyways.
Nana had gathered about fifty children from the streets to live at the orphanage. There were actually almost three times that many orphans in total, but she wasn’t able to gather them all. The director and the citizens could probably take care of the rest.
“Mr. Noble, come see us again sometime!”
“Heh-heh, thanks again, Sir Knight. You didn’t need to give the rest of us such nice equipment, too.”
Kon flexed the hand of his artificial arm while Kena and the rest of her group struck a sexy pose in their new armor.
I gave them some mon-hunter-style leather armor, with breastplates and shoulder pads made from beetle monster shell.
The sets looked like ordinary leather armor, but the interior used hard newt and hydra skin, so their defense was higher than it looked.
“Sir Knight! Take these freshly picked tomatoes with you!”
A young apefolk boy handed me a big basket.
Some of the other burn victims I’d healed and their families had come to see us off, too.
The people of Puta—children, beastfolk, and mon hunters alike—all gave us a grand send-off as we left the town behind.
Some of the faster children sprinted alongside the carriage for a while, but they soon got tired and went home.
Nana looked back at the town several times, looking as sad as she could with her expressionless face.
And so the carriage rattled down the weed-covered dirt road.
We traveled along a road even bandits feared to tread, crossing the mountains and valleys.
“Master, we have repelled the lance beetle, I report.”
“Companyyy?”
“This one’s a one-horned serpent, sir.”
“The nagas from yesterday were delicious, but this monster looks as if it would have a splendid texture, too.”
We exterminated any monsters that showed up to be hunted, enjoying the gradually changing vegetation around us.
There were even some tree and mushroom monsters.
“Mushrooooms?”
“Figs.”
Between Tama’s sharp eyes and Mia’s wide knowledge of plants, we were able to collect a lot of rare plants.
“Master! Look at this fruit!”
“Hey, it’s a pomegranate! Man, I’ve missed that seedy texture!”
“Mm. Yummy.”
There was an abundance of natural growth out here, probably due to the lack of settlements in the area.
“Here’s as good a place as any, I’d say.”
We’d been traveling about half a day since we passed the Farthest Village, so I stopped the carriage, planning to switch to the air route from here.
Checking on the map, I made sure there was no one else around.
No one human anyway.
“We’re taking an airship from here, right?”
“Well, that was the plan at first…”
On my map, a blue dot quickly approached from the south.
“Dangerrr!”
As I was talking with Arisa, Tama suddenly scrabbled up onto my head, her eyes wide. She must have sensed the black dragon’s approach.
Soon, the sound of flapping wings filled the air as he descended from the sky.
I lifted the horses and runosaurs up with Magic Hand so they wouldn’t run away.
“<Kuro! I’ve come to collect you!>”
“<Hello, Hei Long.>”
The impatient black dragon had arrived to pick us up two days ahead of schedule.
“<Are these horses and lizards for me?>”
“<No, they’re our traveling companions. Please don’t eat them.>”
“<Very well. I’ll just eat a wyvern or a land urchin later.>”
“<Sounds good. I’ve been wanting to try land urchins, myself.>”
After a brief chat with the dragon, I turned around to introduce him to my party, only to find them all frozen and pale-faced.
Hmm?
I’d told them ahead of time that I’d made friends with the black dragon. What was the big deal?
“N-nice to meet you, Mr.… What was it again?”
“Hei Long.”
“Wow, lame… All right then, Hei Long. My name’s Arisa!”
“Tamaaa.”
“P-Pochi, sir.”
Once Arisa greeted the dragon, Pochi and Tama crept out from behind me and timidly followed suit.
Their ears were still flattened with fear, and Pochi’s tail was between her legs.
“<They said, ‘Nice to meet you.’>”
I interpreted everyone’s statements for the black dragon.
“<Greetings, little ones. I am the black dragon Hei Long.>”
“I am the youngest elf of Bolenan Forest, Misanaria Bolenan, daughter of Lamisauya and Lilinatoa.”
Mia gave her usual lengthy introduction.
“L-Liza of the orangescale tribe.”
“I am Nana, I declare.”
“I-I’m…Lulu…”
Liza seemed nervous, while Nana was indifferent. Lulu looked like she was about to faint.
Well, that should do it for introductions.
Hei Long wanted to get the party started right away, but we were a little too close to the nearest village, so I suggested we go somewhere else.
“Nya-ha-haaa?”
I never thought we’d get to travel on top of a dragon’s head.
Tama was playing around by putting her weight on the horn in the center of the head, and Hei Long responded by tilting in the corresponding direction. He was as playful as ever.
There were several other horns besides the one Tama was playing on, too.
I was leaning against one of them like a chair, sitting on a cushion and enjoying the breeze.
Normally, the wind and the movement of the dragon’s head would be enough to send us flying off, but I was using Canopy to fend off the strong wind and supporting everyone with Magic Hand to make sure no one fell.
“Oh, what a view!”
“Mm. Pretty.”
Arisa and Mia were scared at first, but they had calmed down enough to enjoy the view.
“Tama, let us go faster, I entreat.”
“Okaaay!”
Like Tama, Nana seemed to enjoy the thrill-ride aspect.
But other riders were not so happy.
“It’s not okay, sir! We’re gonna fall! We’re gonna fall, sir!”
“Precisely! Tama, get down at once. We are in the sky, you know. If you fall, you won’t be able to fly on your own.”
Pochi was sitting on my lap, and Liza was glued to my left arm.
“’Sfiiiine.”
Tama was unfazed by their protests.
“I-it’s not fine, sir.”
“Listen, Tama. You’re in for the scolding of your life once we’re back on land.”
Clearly, Pochi and Liza were not good with air travel.
Both their voices were frighteningly serious.
I’d figured Pochi would be scared, but I definitely hadn’t been expecting this from Liza.
“Master! Stop laughing and keep your hand here, sir! If you don’t support me, I might fall, sir!”
Sitting in my lap, Pochi flinched every time the black dragon tilted his body.
Her ears were flat on her head again. Just sitting in my lap didn’t seem to be calming her down, so I let her put my hand on her stomach.
Incidentally, Lulu was silently clinging to my right hand with her eyes closed the whole time.
My hands were occupied, so I used Magic Hand to make a silk glove pat her head reassuringly.
Our mostly pleasant air trip continued halfway across the Black Dragon Mountains to a plateau blooming with flowers.
“<Is this location acceptable?>”
“<Sure. Let’s set up the party.>”
The black dragon stretched his wings to the ground, and Nana and the younger kids slid down them into the flower garden below.
Liza and Lulu were still latched on to me, so I carried them down to earth with “Skyrunning,” then sat them gently among the flowers.
The sleeping potions I’d given to the horses and runosaurs to keep them from getting frightened didn’t seem to have worn off yet, so I used the Magic Hands supporting them to lay them down on the ground.
“…M-master, I apologize for my shameful behavior.”
“I’m sorry, master.”
“No need to apologize. It was your first time traveling by air, after all. Anyway, would you help me get the party ready?”
“Understood!”
“Yes!”
Liza and Lulu still looked somewhat pale, but they perked up a little when I gave them jobs to do.
Next, I took out the gifts I’d procured for Hei Long.
Namely, several barrels of liquor and thirty freshly slaughtered goats.
I’d bought these in the old capital in the dead of night. It would’ve looked strange if I’d suddenly shown up there, so I’d disguised myself, of course.
“<Ooh! You brought goats! How considerate you are!>”
The black dragon roared excitedly. Goat was apparently one of his favorite foods.
Everyone else flinched at the black dragon’s roar, but they calmed down once I explained that he was just excited.
Pochi’s tail was still between her legs, but Tama was gazing up at the black dragon with great interest.
“<And these barrels must contain sake! Then I shall call forth some dragonspring liquor!>”
Hei Long gleefully created a spring of the delicious liquor, then picked up a goat and skillfully roasted it with a small fiery breath.
“<Gah-ha-ha-ha! Goat is so delicious!>”
The black dragon proceeded to chomp on the goat from the head down, bones, horns, and all.
“Yummyyy?”
“I-it does look tasty, sir.”
Tama and Pochi started drooling as they watched the black dragon eat.
He certainly knew how to make food look tasty.
The goat wouldn’t last long at this rate, so I decided to bring out some whale meat, too.
I produced from Storage several pieces of whale that I’d divided into two-hundred-pound chunks, cutting them into giant skewers for the black dragon and barbecue-ready pieces for us.
We’d gathered other monster ingredients on the way, too, like land urchins, monster mushrooms, and rocket bamboo.
“Meeeat?”
“The skewers are bigger than I am, sir!”
“What a wonderfully large cut of meat.”
The beastfolk girls smiled brightly when they saw the skewers for the black dragon. I guess they didn’t particularly care whether they got whole-roasted goat or not.
“<What are you cooking down there, Kuro?>”
Taking a break from chowing down on goats, the black dragon peered at the giant skewers with interest.
“<Giant-monster-fish meat.>”
“<G-giant monster fish?! Those gluttonous creatures?!>”
Hei Long’s long neck recoiled in surprise.
“<I hunted them a good while ago. Would you like to try some?>”
“<C-certainly, yes.>”
The black dragon eagerly dug in to the three chunks of meat on the skewer.
“<D-delicioooous!>”
I’m glad you like it, but please stop firing breath attacks into the sky to express your happiness.
“Yummyyyy!”
Tama bit into a regular-size skewer and imitated the black dragon.
“Dangerlicious!”
“Dragons certainly are lively.”
Pochi and Liza didn’t seem to be quite as relaxed as Tama.
Pochi’s comment was probably a combination of dangerous and delicious, although I wasn’t entirely sure whether that was on purpose.
It took a while for everyone to get used to the black dragon, but eventually they followed suit after Tama and me.
“<What in the world is that?>”
“Th-this is called mustard mayonnaise…”
I interpreted for Lulu.
Lulu put some of her freshly made mustard mayonnaise on one of the giant skewers, and the black dragon gleefully popped it into his mouth.
“<This is especially delicious! The spiciness is rather addictive.>”
As it turned out, dragons were big fans of mayo. Who knew?
“Hmm? What’s this glass-looking thing?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Dodging Arisa’s question lightly, I used Magic Mold to make an instant kiln, spread some tomato sauce on some thinly stretched dough, and sprinkled shredded cheese and various toppings over it from above.
“N-no way… Could it be?!”
Arisa opened her mouth to guess, but I stopped her by putting a finger over her lips, then slid the covered dough into the flame-filled oven.
As the scent of bubbling cheese filled the air, even the beastfolk girls stopped eating meat long enough to look over curiously.
I took out the finished product with a huge wooden spatula, then cut it into fan-shaped slices.
“All right, it’s ready.”
“I knew it! Pizzaaaaa!”
Arisa shrieked and grabbed a slice with both hands.
I made two kinds to start: a standard pizza with bacon and salami and a veggie pizza with plenty of sliced tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, paprika, and other toppings.
“Careful—it’s hot.”
“Stretchyyy?”
“So hot, sir.”
“Oh my God, this is so freakin’ good!”
“Mm, yummy.”
The pizza proved especially popular with the younger crowd. Tama and Pochi were dripping with cheese, so I’d have to make sure they washed their faces later.
“Master, I have been burned by the pizza, I report.”
I comforted the teary-eyed Nana with some Healing Magic.
“Master, this would go well with teriyaki chicken, would it not?”
“I think the dwarves’ sausages would be good, too.”
Liza and Lulu correctly guessed some classic pizza toppings.
Those two really were good at cooking.
“<Kuro! I would like to try that dish as well.>”
“<Sure, no problem.>”
I had figured the curious black dragon would want to try it, so I made plenty of pizza dough in advance.
And since the oven was made with Magic Mold instead of physical materials, I could resize it however I wanted.
I used Magic Hand to spin the pizza dough in the air, stretching it to thirty feet in diameter.
“So thiiin?”
“The sunlight goes through it, sir!”
Tama and Pochi gleefully ran around the circumference of the giant pizza.
“Make sure you don’t hit the dough, please.”
“Don’t worry, be happyyy!”
“We won’t, sir.”
The pair barely looked back as they chased the fluttering pizza through the air.
Just then, a mischievous wind blew through, flipping up a few girls’ skirts, like Lulu’s and Nana’s.
And of course, it did more than just that.
“Pochiii!”
Tama’s warning came a little too late: The wind knocked Pochi off her feet, and she tumbled right into the pizza dough.
“Waaah, sir!”
“Yaaargh!”
The impact sent the pizza dough flying around, engulfing the nearby Arisa in the process.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Ugh, my hair’s all sticky now…”
I collected the unsullied dough with Magic Hand and used the Soft Wash spell to clean the dough off the two girls.
“Arisa, I’m sorry, sir.”
“As long as you know better now. If you bring me a reeeeally tasty skewer, I’ll forgive you, Pochi.”
“Roger, sir!”
Watching the pair out of the corner of my eye, I finished up the black dragon’s pizza.
“<Mm, quite the peculiar delicacy. Perhaps not as delicious as the goat or the giant monster fish, but it’s certainly tastier than wyvern meat.>”
At first, I thought this meant the dragon didn’t really like it, but then he added, “<By the way, is the next one ready yet?>” so I guess he did find it pretty good after all.
We weren’t exactly eating from the same pot, but after spending the party enjoying delicious food together, we all ended up being great friends with Hei Long.
Once the festivities had concluded, we rode dragonback again to cross the Black Dragon Mountains, coming down to earth at the base of the mountains on the Bolenan Forest side.
“<Kuro, my friend, this is as far as I can take you. Though I would like to help you go farther into the forest, that wretched high-elf woman becomes cross whenever I venture too close.>”
The black dragon grimaced.
I’d gotten the hang of reading the dragon’s expressions over the course of the day.
“<The last time I got too close, she rained lightning down upon me and broke half my scales. It hurt for a hundred years till next I molted. Kuro, you would be wise to refrain from approaching by air.>”
Wow, so the elves’ defenses were strong enough to repel a dragon.
“<Thank you. You’ve done more than enough by bringing us this far.>”
Before we parted ways, I wanted to make sure of something.
“<Are you sure it’s all right for me to take the leftover dragonspring liquor and your broken fang?>”
“<I have no further use for them. Consider them thanks for the delicious goat and giant m—erm, proof of our friendship.>”
Was he about to say it was payment for the food?
The black dragon carefully looked away, so I decided not to press the matter.
“Bye-bye, Hei Looong.”
“<Yes, let us fly together again someday!>”
Tama hugged the black dragon’s nose sorrowfully.
“Tama! Don’t be rude to Sir Hei Long! …Please pardon us, and I pray that you shall triumph in all your battles.”
This dramatic greeting was apparently a common saying in Liza’s tribe.
“Good-bye for now, sir.”
“I am saddened to part with such a good friend, I report.”
“See you.”
Pochi, Nana, and Mia all gave friendly farewells.
“E-erm, Sir Hei Long, please take this pot. It’s the mustard mayonnaise that you liked from before.”
“<Ooh! A splendid gift for a mayonnaise enthusiast such as myself. Take this spike, child. It will make a fine staff.>”
“Th-thank you.”
Lulu gingerly accepted the spike, which looked like an iron spear.
Seeing this, Arisa and Mia seemed a little envious.
“<Until we meet again, Hei Long. I’ll stock up on goats and sake for our next party.>”
“<Indeed. And do not forget the giant-monster-fish meat and mustard mayonnaise.>”
With these casual parting words, the black dragon took to the air.
He circled around us a few times as we waved, then headed back toward the peak of the Black Dragon Mountains.
I’d set up a few seal slates at the peak and the plateau there, so I could visit anytime with the use of a Return spell or two.
Magic really was convenient.
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