A Kind World
Come to think of it, there
were rumors of a dragon living in the high mountains beyond this point, weren’t
there?
「......While I’m at it, I’ll
also be dealing with a dragon I see.」 (Izayoi)
「......Dra, gon?」 (Tear)
「Yeah, a dragon.」 (Izayoi)
「Master! Are you planning to
fight the dragon, an S-ranked monster? Will you be okay?」 (Uri)
「......Elder sister, master is
strong. Something like a dragon is no match for him.」 (Reri)
「Well it’s an S-rank monster
after all. As expected of something that will become my opponent. Although you
might not get it right now, it’s been said that if you were to defeat an S-rank
monster by yourself, you would be able to become Emperor rank. Uri, Reri, what
do you think of giving it a shot? You might be able to become Emperor rank yourselves.」 (Izayoi)
「Fighting monsters is not
within our field of expertise! Since Uri and Reri are specialized in surprise
attacks, it’ll be no good!」 (Uri)
「......That’s how it is.
Furthermore, since we are spies, it will be bad if we stood out.」 (Reri)
「I see. Being Emperor rank a
pain after all. That’s why when dealing with a master it’ll usually become like
this...... It was also a pain for me.」 (Izayoi)
Although I had regrets,
there’s nothing I can do. I’ll continue forward from here. With dragons and
servants, we’ll gain a considerable amount of war potential.
With this, Tear’s anxiety and
concern have almost completely disappeared.
In order to reach the top of
the mountain, Rigolo steadily increased his altitude. A short time later, we
made it to the peak of the mountain.
The top of the mountain
wasn’t sharp. It was a flat, craggy cliff that continued throughout the
mountain range. The cliff was not ordinary, it contained ores and minerals.
Is this a mine?
Since people wouldn’t
trespass into this area, there might be something rare. I’ll look for it
afterwards. If there are materials for weapons, I’ll give a request to the
blacksmith Bogan to process it.
Once I finish dealing with
the guild master and have my Emperor rank restriction released, I’ll hand
blacksmith Bogan a letter of introduction.
For the sake of repairing my
weapon, I dealt with the trustworthy but irresponsible and stubborn blacksmith,
but I won’t have to pay the original cost. However I’ll have to prepare the
materials.
(Astrea, is the dragon here?) (Izayoi)
『Wait a bit...... Ah, it’s at
a distance but it's flying this way. Moreover, there are three of them.』 (Astrea)
Three? Aside from me, aiming
for them would be dangerous.
Let’s end this quickly.
「Oi, the dragon is coming.
Hide yourselves. After that, Fiere and Reri, get off of me.」 (Izayoi)
As they hid on the opposite
side of the large cliff, I would be the first to reduce my opponents' strength.
By weakening them, we’ll be able to make them our servants, but I’ll need to
injure them until they're powerless.
It’ll be fine if I don’t use
my sword, right?
After sheathing the sword in
its scabbard, I warmed up by rotating my shoulders. I could see their flying
figures approaching. As expected, they’re pretty big, huh.
The two in the back weren’t
enormous, but the one they were accompanying was absolutely gigantic. It’s
going to be hard to weaken that one.
The two red dragons in the
back raised a roar as they approached.
First, I’ll take the two in
the back out.
Kicking off the ground, I
forcefully threw myself into the air.
Leaping from one cliff edge
to another, I jumped into the sky.
Since I was jumping at the
speed of a bullet, they weren’t able to react. The dragons must have thought
that I suddenly disappeared.
I seized a dragon by the
neck.
Spreading my hands, it was
definitely not enough to completely surround the dragon’s thick neck. It was
rough.
「―Fall.」 (Izayoi)
With all of my strength I
twisted its body, and threw the large dragon over my shoulder.
I aimed the dragon at the
other one when I threw it.
They were unable to
communicate, and from the two dragons a noise similar to the impact of a
semi-truck could be heard. The two dragons collided with one another.
「*GYAAAAAAAA*」 (Red Dragons)
And so the two dragons fell.
「......What, with this much
they’ve been knocked out? What a disappointment.」 (Izayoi)
The two dragons that landed the
mountain wall fainted.
「You’re next.」 (Izayoi)
Comparing this dragon to the
red dragons, this one was about double the size. Its skin was like black
colored armor. It had an aura of intimidation in a different league compared to
the monsters I’ve fought till now.
「*GAAAAAAAAA......*」 (Dragon)
With a breath similar to a
voice, it had come down before me.
The ground shook, and I was
hit by a sudden gust.
Looking through the fingers I
covered my face with, I confirmed the presence in front of me.
「What? You’re not going to
attack?」 (Izayoi)
The dragon majestically stood
there.
「......You, what are you, he
says.」 (Tear)
(TN: The dragon uses 御主/おぬし/Onushi, which is an archaic
form of “you” that a samurai or an old guy would use.)
Before I knew it, Tear had
come out.
Being able to translate what
it’s saying, it’s probably something with high intellect like Rigolo.
「I’m just an adventurer. My
objective here is to make you ser...... my friends.」 (Izayoi)
「......Just like you humans,
you think you know your place, he says.」 (Tear)
「I see. Then pick. Stay silent
and become our friend, or be half-killed and become our friend.」 (Izayoi)
「......How laughable. Just
like you humans. Do you think that you can injure me, against my flesh of steel, he says.」 (Tear)
「Don’t worry. My body is also
as strong as steel.」 (Izayoi)
「......Very well. Then if you
are able to leave a scratch on my body, try it. If you are able to do so, then
I will listen to what you have to say. If you are unable to, then I will kill
you, he says.」 (Tear)
「A scratch, is it? Got it.」 (Izayoi)
I moved close enough to the
dragon’s large body so that I could touch it. The scales seem hard, don’t they.
Let’s see which of our bodies is harder.
「......You aren’t planning to
strike my body with your fist are you? Impossible. A futile struggle. Try it.
Come, come try it～」 (Dragon)
Extending my index finger,
stopping it with my thumb, I charged my strength.
I, with all of my strength,
shot a forehead flick at the dragon.
*Crack*
(TN: The sound when something
fragile starts to crack, like glass or ice.)
On the dark scales, a spider
web shaped crack emerged.
「......There was no way you
could injure me right～? My body～ My body～ Hurts, it hurts, he says.」 (Tear)
I felt pain in my fingers. In
other words―
「―It’s just an ordinary wound
isn’t it?」 (Izayoi)
I clenched my fist, and held
it as if I were going to strike the dragon.
「*GAAAAAAaaaaa......*」 (Dragon)
「......I’ll become your
friend, he says.」 (Tear)
「You should have said that
from the beginning.」 (zayoi)
A part of the dragon’s scales
had been crushed, and as he bled, his previous personality disappeared as he
hung his head.
And like that, we were able to talk things out and build up a friendship.