Translation: Zioming
Editor: Zioming
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Chapter 77 – A Dragon and a Dragon Slayer
Author’s Note: There’s a clear contradiction in this chapter, but it’s pretty minute. Hint: A magic removed from the main storyline.
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Now, let’s put aside the unimportant stuff (like the Insect Bastard). Since we’ve been attacked, we can’t exactly just turn around and leave any more. I want to at least hear some explanation.
“Chieftain, if I may ask, what punishment will the Handsome… Akatsuki receive?”
I almost called him the ‘Handsome Guy’. Good thing I corrected myself at the last moment. …Mio is still grinning at me. I guess it was pretty obvious…
“Well, it might sound a bit unfair to you, but the most I can sentence him to is a few years in prison…”
“Meaning, you’re not going to kill him?”
“Well… I can’t.”
The Chieftain looked apologetic.
Originally, a punishment for people who attack others with intention to kill, would be a death sentence, but if they were to do that here, it would have been a pretty big loss for the entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. More importantly, killing someone in front of Dora wouldn’t exactly be good for her education, so I’m willing to compromise this time around (to a reasonable degree). That’s why I’ve already instructed Maria to “try and subdue people that might attack us, without killing anyone”.
“No, I’m not going to blame you for that. It’s just that I have a pretty bad feeling about him. I hope you won’t regret leaving him alive in the future…”
To be honest, from the moment I met the Handsome Guy, something felt off about him. And my premonitions tend to come true, so I’d better remain vigilant.
“Master’s bad premonitions are really spooky…”
“R-right? …They’re super scary.”
“Gah…”
Mio and Sera both hugged each other while shivering in fright. That final bit was Sera not adjusting her strength correctly, and crushing Mio a bit by accident.
“As you might imagine, I can’t exactly sentence a resident of the Hidden Area to death, simply because they gave you a bad feeling.”
Unsurprisingly, the Chieftain shook his head.
“Yeah, I’m not really asking you to kill him. I just thought I’d let you know. Anyway, since we’re done here, I guess we’ll be on our way then…”
A: Master. There’s an enemy attack.
I decided to warn the Patriarch just in case, but then, right as we were about to leave, a report from Alta came. An enemy attack? From where? What’s going on?
A: A dragon from the Dragon Forest broke into the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.
What’s the point of having a barrier then!? Oi, wasn’t the whole point of it to prevent this very thing from happening? How many dragons are there? Are the guards slacking off again!?
Looking at the map, I saw a single dragon entering the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, a considerable distance away from us.
“What’s wrong?”
The Chieftain asked, after I suddenly stopped talking. By the way, the whole exchange with Alta took less than a second thanks to the increased thinking speed.
“Oh, nothing really …is not something I can really say, now can I?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, it looks like a dragon broke through the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area’s barrier.”
“What the heck!!!???”
The Chieftain roared. Talk about too loud. The other Dragon Newts were also sent into a state of panic.
“W-where? Which way is it coming from?”
“That way!”
I followed the map and pointed North-ish. The Chieftain instantly jumped into the air through the hole in the Dragons’ Gate’s temple’s roof to confirm it. It’s still far away, so it’ll probably look pretty small, but there’s definitely a dragon flying towards us.
“I-it’s true… No, there’s no time to waste! Quickly, get ready to intercept!”
“””Yes!”””
Following the Chieftain’s order, the Dragon Newts sprang into action. Most of them turned into their dragon form, and flew towards the dragon to intercept it directly, while a couple others hurried to where the rest of their people lived to start the evacuation and bring reinforcements.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was just the six of us (plus the hidden Tamo-san) and the Chieftain left inside. The two gatekeepers also left to help subdue the dragon.
“What a hectic day this is…”
The Chieftain said and then sighed. Tell me about it. Things tend to go crazy wherever I go lately.
“Are dragon raids a common occurrence here?”
“That shouldn’t be the case… but it already happened a couple of times this year. Before, there have only been single cases in the past 1000 years, so why…? It shouldn’t be possible, unless… the barrier is breaking down…”
The entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is over a hundred kilometres in diameter (with the Dragon Forest around it being even wider). If you put a barrier around such a huge area, it’s bound to deteriorate over time. …I mean, it’s been over a 1000 years…
“Ah! Is this the ‘barrier repair’ event?”
“No, it shouldn’t be, since they’re already asked us to leave.”
“Oh. That’s a shame…”
Mio made a pun via telepathy. Well, when it comes to ‘failing barrier’ events, in games, it could still go either of two ways (repair: 20%, destruction: 80% of times or so). …Yeah, it’s totally going to break…
“…Why are you so well-informed? You shouldn’t even know about the barrier around the Hidden Area, not to mention, to be the first person to notice that a dragon broke in. You know way too much…”
The Chieftain looks at me inquiringly.
“I’m sorry, but as I said before, there are things I can’t talk about. Oh, looks like the fighting has started.”
“Mmm…”
I casually dodged the Chieftain’s questioning and focused on watching the fight between the dragon and a dozen or so Dragon Newts that played out in the air above us.
Race: Abyssal Dragon
Level: 100
Skills: <Dragon Breath LV6> <Dark Magic Resistance LV6> <Magic Resistance LV5> <Flight LV6>
Note: A dark-element dragon.
At level 100, the invading Abyssal Dragon is even stronger than Akatsuki [Insect Bastard], though not as strong as the Chieftain. Its whole body is covered in matte-black scales, and has a lot of sharp edges. Honestly, it looks pretty strong.
With an average level of 60-70, the Dragon Newts’ stats and skills are clearly outclassed. I guess Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] is actually pretty high-levelled, as far as the Hidden Area goes.
Currently, they are exchanging breath attacks in the air some distance away from us, but while the Dragon Newts’ attacks have little effect on the Abyssal Dragon, its breath is strong enough to easily knock them down to the ground.
“The Dragon Newts seem much weaker.”
“That’s right… Ah, another one went down…”
“They’re not using their numbers to their advantage. They are pretty much taking turns to fight it one-on-one.”
“Pretty much. It’s a shame, since they have a lot of people.”
“Kyu~! Kyui~! Kyuu! Kyui! Ah~! Dodge~! That’s it~! You can do it~!“
“I’ll get us something light to munch on. I wonder what drinks would go well with it…”
We got into full-on spectator mode. We even took out a table to sit down at and relax, while enjoying some snacks and drinks made by Mio.
“Y-you… aren’t you way too relaxed…”
“Well, I’m sorry to say this, but it doesn’t really concern us, you know. You already asked us to leave, right?”
Since our business in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is already finished, we are free to go whenever we want. Still, since I already went to the trouble of telling them about the incoming dragon, we might as well stay back and watch the fight. That’s basically all the reaction I have to a place that I have no acquaintances in, and no good grace, or fond memories associated with, getting attacked.
“…I have a shameful request to make of you.”
“What is it?”
“Are any of you able to use ‘Recovery Magic’, or have some kind of healing potions on you? I want to heal those injured in battle…”
Certainly, it’s a pretty shameless thing to ask. Especially after you’ve already asked us to leave.
“Because we’ve been living in hiding, we don’t have many healing potions in the Hidden Area. We also have no one who can heal with magic. Some of the people who fell might still be alive. If possible, I would like to save them. And right now, the only way for me to do that…”
“Are you asking us to save them?”
“That’s right…”
A quick search of the map indeed revealed only a couple potions, and no one with ‘Recovery Magic’ or similar skills. Many of those hit by the breath attack are still alive, but if we leave them there, they will die before long.
“We have a lot of potions, and we can all use ‘Recovery Magic’. We can also protect ourselves from the Abyssal Dragon.”
“Really!? Then…”
“But we don’t really have a reason to help out, since the thing with Dora is already over, and above all else, we’ve all been exiled from the Hidden Area.”
“…I know. I’m not asking you to do it for free. What would it take…?”
If you want to ask for a favour from someone who doesn’t owe you anything, obviously, there will be a price to pay. Thankfully, a suitable reward has already come up before.
“I want the treasure that you mentioned earlier. If there are several ones available, I want the option to choose.”
“…Very well. I’ll give it to you.”
The Chieftain nodded reluctantly. The aforementioned treasure is something he was already going to give us for bringing Dora back home. It seems to be something that he is able to give away as a reward, so it all worked out in the end. By the way, I don’t have a habit of forgiving liars, so if he breaks his promise, I can always just destroy the barrier around the Hidden Area myself. That would be one hell of a disaster though.
“It’s a deal. Then, we’ll go right away. For now, is it enough if we help the ones in need of healing?”
“Yes, that would be great… Wait! You’re not going to walk there, right!? How about I give you a ride in my Dragon Form?”
“No time. It will be faster to fly there myself.”
“Kyu~, Kui! Un, let’s go~!“
I quickly spread out Nosferatu [Wings of The Immortal] like wings, wrapping it around Sakura, Maria, Mio, and Sera. Incidentally, Dora turned into her angel form to fly along with me. So cute.
“What…!?”
“Then, we’ll be off.”
“Whaaaaaaat…!?”
Ignoring the surprised Chieftain, we flew towards the injured Dragon Newts. We should stay low or the Abyssal Dragon might notice us…
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By flying low and keeping a low profile, we managed to arrive at our destination without drawing the Abyssal Dragon’s attention.
“It should be fine around here. Looks like a number of Dragon Newts have already died…”
“That’s right. The reinforcements are here, but they don’t seem to be of much use.”
Looking up at the sky, the battle between the Abyssal Dragon and the Dragon Newts was still in full swing. There were more Dragon Newts than before, so the reinforcements must have arrived. However, just as Maria pointed out, it didn’t change their overall situation by much. At best, there were some minor scratches on the Abyssal Dragon’s body… Naturally, the number of killed and injured Dragon Newts was rising steadily.
“Looks like the fight is still not over, so we should heal them quickly.”
“That’s right.”
We can’t just stand around and watch.
“OK, let’s split up and cast some ‘Recovery Magic’ on them.
“”””Yes.“”””
“Yes~!”
At my command, everyone spread out to treat the knocked down Dragon Newts. ‘Recovery Magic’ has some pretty strong area-of-effect spells, like ‘Area Heal’ and ‘Area High Heal’, but since their effects are way too flashy, we decided to individually apply spells like ‘Heal’ and ‘High Heal’ instead.
The breath of an Abyssal Dragon seems to have a poisonous effect (the breath itself is bitck-black), as the HP of the injured Dragon Newts kept decreasing. Since it looked pretty strong, and they were all unconscious anyway, I liberally used ‘Restore’ on them to help them recover. It worked pretty well, as all the knocked down Dragon Newts were soon back to hull health. Well, they are still knocked out, though…
“But, they keep falling down…”
“The battle is still ongoing, so it can’t be helped. Jin-sama, should I take care of that dragon?”
We could easily keep up with the influx of new wounded, so we were able to keep talking as we walked around. By the way, we were moving in pairs of Maria and I, Sakura and Dora, and Mio and Sera.
“No, there’s no need to go that far. We’re only here to help them with healing. It’s the Dragon Newts’ job to fight off any intruders. It’s not really our place to step in.”
“I see. I understand.”
Of course, it would be a whole different story if the Dragon Newts were actually going to get wiped out. Even if they did kick us out, I didn’t want Dora to see her home town get destroyed (even if I was going to destroy it myself if they didn’t keep their promise), plus, if that was to actually happen, we wouldn’t get the reward…
Well, they still have some people to spare, and there’s always the Chieftain, the strongest among them, so the Dragon Newts shouldn’t lose in the end. Almost as if to prove my point, additional reinforcements appeared on the map.
“Oh, looks like more reinforcements came… wait, it’s that Insect Bastard!”
The newcomer was actually Akatsuki. You know, the Handsome Guy [Insect Bastard]. He’s actually pretty strong, so they must have rescinded his punishment.
Up in the sky, a golden dragon, shining brightly in the sunlight, joined the battle against the Abyssal Dragon. Wow, it’s really bad for my eyesight. Especially in this strong light. Maybe I should scale him…
…As I was thinking that, the golden dragon crashed to the ground after taking a full-powered breath attack to the face.
“He crashed.”
“He did crash.”
It was an instant kill. Well, at least his level is pretty high for a Dragon Newt…
“Personally I’m against it, but I did promise the Chieftain. Let’s go heal him.”
“Yes.”
When we split up into three groups, we split the area into three parts as well. Unfortunately, the Insect Bastard happened to fall on our side.
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And so, we arrived at the crash site.
“*gasp* Grr…, damn it!”
Looks like his body is pretty resilient. Not only is he still conscious, he even has the energy to curse, unlike the other Dragon Newts who all got knocked out cold after taking the breath attack and crushing to the ground.
Oh? Come to think of it, even though the Insect Bastard is in his dragon form, he’s still speaking human language. Can you actually do that when not in human form?
A: Yes. When asked before if Dragon Newts can speak human language, I answered with “once they’re 10-years-old”.
Ah, back when I tamed Dora, right?
A: To be more precise, from the age of about 10, they can use both human and dragon language in both their human and dragon form. Until then, they can only use dragon language in both forms.
I see, I guess I misunderstood you a bit. I thought they can only use human language when in their human form. On that topic, it looks like they can speak dragon language while in their human form (Dora also does), so I guess it wouldn’t be that weird for it to work both ways.
The Dragon Newts sure are a pretty mysterious race.
Well, let’s leave it at that.
Now, while I don’t really feel like it (again), I wonder if I should heal the Insect Bastard (lying on the ground below me).
“Yo, you okay?”
I tried to speak as casually as I could to the bugger.
“Y-you! You’re that human intruder! Why are you here!?”
But he glared at me as if I had killed his parents. On a side note, Maria has already reached for her swords.
“The Chieftain asked us to treat the wounded Dragon Newts with our ‘Recovery Magic’. If you have any complaints, you can take it up with him. So, do you want me to heal you?”
I tried to provoke him a bit.
“D-don’t be silly! Who would ask a human for help!?”
“Got it. Then, we’ll go help the others.
“Huh!? Hey, wait a minute…”
If you’re still conscious and you don’t want to be healed, I shouldn’t force you, right? Ignoring the Insect Bastard’s screams, we left to treat the other Dragon Newts, who started to fall down again.
It probably won’t take more than 15 minutes for the rest of them to fall.
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Five minutes until the annihilation of the entire Dragon Newt race.
“…Now then, we’ve treated all the knocked down Dragon Newts, except for Akatsuki. However, except for him, they are all still unconscious, so they won’t be able to join the battle any time soon.”
“…Akatsuki, you fool. You still won’t back down even now…”
Maria and I came to report our progress to the Chieftain.
“As you might expect, I won’t forcibly cast ‘Recovery Magic’ on people who are conscious and refuse to get treated. All I promised was to ‘help the ones in need of healing’.”
“Mmm… It can’t be helped…”
If someone says they don’t want to be treated, they clearly don’t fall under ‘the ones in need of healing’. It would have been a different story if I agreed to help ‘all the injured’.
“Did you already expect this to happen when they said that?”
“Well, I did expect it to some extent.”
“…”
The Chieftain looked as if he’d been made to swallow a bug. I purposefully paid attention to my wording when I made the promise to use ‘Recovery Magic’, in order to leave myself an out, since I didn’t want to have to do things that I didn’t agree with. I wasn’t really thinking about the Insect Bastard at the time, but since it helped me deal with him, I guess my gut feeling paid off in the end.
“That aside, there’s something else I’d like to ask you about. You mentioned that there have already been a couple dragons that broke into the Hidden Area this year alone, but is there always this much damage?”
“Of course not. Dragons of this class only attack once every 500 years or so, but one already came a couple of years ago, so I thought he had a lot more time before another one came…”
“How did you fight it off at that time?”
If you think about it rationally, you should just repeat what you did back then.
“Our strongest warriors managed to defeat it at the price of their own lives. Shirayuki’s parents also fell in that battle…”
“Ah… So Dora’s parents passed away after all…”
I already searched the map of the Hidden Area, but apart from the Chieftain and Dora, there was no one else with titles like Emperor and Princess. Isn’t that the real reason why Dora has no real attachment to the Hidden Area and other Dragon Newts?
“They were excellent warriors, but… It’s not only Shirayuki’s parents. After the last two attacks, there is barely any strength left in the Hidden Area.”
“So, in other words, you can’t repeat the same tactic you used back then… By the way, aren’t you going to fight as well? Won’t the Dragon Newts be wiped out if you don’t?”
Before I knew it, the remaining reinforcements got depleted and the moment of total annihilation of the Dragon Newt race was quickly approaching. Are you still not going to use your trump card?
“I can’t… I don’t know if I can’t fight it…”
“Hah…”
The Chieftain shook his head in response to my question. He must have some reason not to fight, even with all his strength.
“So, do you have any other moves left?
“Well, there is one other way… But we’d have to sacrifice our people in order to use it…”
Sacrifice Dragon Newts? What are you talking about?
A: There’s a weapon in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. By using Dragon Newts as sacrifices, it can perform the equivalent of a high level ‘Draconic Magic’ attack.
Whoa… Is there really such a thing? It certainly sounds like a last resort. I guess there are such weapons in this world too.
A: Technically, it’s classified as a magic tool, but functionally, it can be called a weapon.
The Chieftain was visibly struggling as he kept mulling it over. If things stay the way they are now, I guess he’ll have no other choice but to use it.
“So, after all, are you going to sacrifice your people to use that weapon?”
“You… You really know too much… I’d like to avoid having to use a weapon that makes me sacrifice my own people, if possible. Especially, given how the sacrifices have already been decided beforehand… Even though I knew it was a bad habit, we kept choosing human sacrifices in each generation, hoping we’ll never have to actually use it…”
In case of an emergency, the sacrifices have already been decided ahead of time. Even if it’s necessary, it still doesn’t sit right with me. …I guess I’ll have to barge in.
“Hey, Chieftain. Why don’t you give us more rewards?”
“……Huh?”
Looking at his confused face, I guess he didn’t understand what I was getting at. It’s not that hard to figure out, now is it? …I guess I’ll give you a hint.
“I’m saying that, for a big enough reward, we could take care of that Abyssal Dragon for you.”
“What!? You can defeat that dragon!?”
Any one of us, who came to the Hidden Area this time (including Tamo-san) could solo that Abyssal Dragon.
“No problem. We thought it would be better for the Dragon Newts to deal with it themselves, so we weren’t going to intervene, but if you can’t defeat it without resorting to using such a weapon, I guess it’s not a problem if we take it off your hands, right? Of course, it’s still pretty dangerous, so give us a big reward please.”
“…If it’s like this, then I can’t really refuse. They might be our treasures, but they can’t equal the lives of our people. If you can defeat that dragon, I promise I’ll give you additional rewards.”
“It’s a deal. And it looks like it’s just in time, since the last fighting Dragon Newt just went down.”
“…Please help us.”
I saw the final Dragon Newt fall down after taking the Abyssal Dragon’s breath attack. The dragon was a bit hurt, but other than that, it was still ready to fight.
Now then, let the battle with a powerful enemy, an Abyssal Dragon, begin.
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“Raise your hand if you want to fight the dragon.”
Is what I went with.
“””I do”””
When I asked them via telepathy, Dora, Mio and Sera all volunteered to subdue the Abyssal Dragon. Sakura doesn’t like to fight to begin with, and Maria prioritised my safety as usual.
“Then, let’s decide with ‘rock, paper, scissors’.”
“””Ja~n~ken…””” (ED: What you say when counting down while playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ in Japanese, same as ‘one, two, three’ in English)
And with that, the right to fight the Abyssal Dragon, went to the victor, Mio.
“I won! Finally, my chance to experience the staple of the fantasy genre! Now I can finally slay a dragon!”
“It’s a shame.”
“Dora wanted to fight the dragon~…”
“By the way, Mio, shouldn’t we already have a ‘Dragon Slayer’ title after defeating the Flame Dragon?”
If killing a dragon is all it takes to get that title, then we had already done that when we defeated the Flame Dragon back in Estia’s dungeon. Incidentally, it’s also been defeated by both Cynthia’s and Tiramisu’s parties since then. …I guess it’s already been conquered.
“It’s a dungeon boss, so it’s treated differently. It disappears when defeated… Not to mention, in order to call yourself a true ‘Dragon Slayer’ you ought to take down either a dragon that lives secluded on a mountain, or one that attacks towns and villages.”
I see what you’re getting at. Only by defeating a dragon living on a mountain, or an evil dragon, like in the legends, can you become a true ‘Dragon Slayer’. And this time, it’s the latter kind. Even though the Dragon Newts, who got attacked by it, are technically monsters themselves…
“Then, I’ll make quick work of it. Let’s do this!”
The next moment, 10 arrows the size of clothesline poles pierced through the Abyssal Dragon mid-flight. They naturally came from Mio’s ‘Star Bow – Meteor’. By the way, Mio and Dora aside, but how did Sera plan to fight the dragon? She can’t fly, and she has no long-range attacks… Javelin throwing, perhaps?
The Abyssal Dragon got easily defeated and crashed to the ground below. It was a pretty formidable opponent (the clothesline pole that is).
“Master, It’s done.”
“Yep, good job everyone. It looks like the first aid is also finished, so you can come back now.”
“Yes” x4
After killing the Abyssal Dragon, we put its body in Inventory [Infinite Storage]. Is there even a use for it?
A: Yes. It can be used to make weapons, armour and potions. It’s not suitable for eating though.
Um, yeah. As you might imagine, I wasn’t really going to eat the pitch-black dragon corpse. Rather, I’d much prefer to know if there are other dragon races that are suitable for eating.
A: That would be the Feather Dragons. They don’t have much meat on them, but it’s considered to be the most tender and delicious.
……………………I wish I didn’t ask.
When I looked back to the Chieftain, he was in a state of shock, his mouth wide open.
“As you’ve just seen, my companions subdued the Abyssal Dragon. You’ll keep your word, right?”
If you still want to make an enemy of me, feel free to break it.
“…I saw. I’ll keep my promise. …To think you were so outrageously strong. You easily defeated a dragon of this class…”
“Even Dora could have done that. This time, it was Mio, the second youngest among us.”
“Truly… I’m not even sure what to say…”
The surprised Chieftain smiled, as he said so.
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“I’m back.”
“Kyui. I’m back.“
“I’m back.”
“I’m back.”
A few moments later, Sakura, Dora, Mio and Sera all returned, having finished healing the Dragon Newts.
“Oh, good job. Especially you, Mio, good job taking down that Abyssal Dragon.”
“Ehehe~. With this, I can finally cross off ‘becoming a Dragon Slayer’. I’m almost done with my ‘Top 30 things to do after coming to a fantasy world’ list.”
There are quite a few things she wanted to try. …Perhaps, this was also one of them?
“Mayonnaise…”
“Stop! Master, why would you keep bringing that up!?
“Master, you love to mess with Mio…”
“Well, it’s pretty fun to do.”
Mio is so cute when you tease her.
“Exchanging friendly banter with Jin-sama… I envy Mio, but I can’t play that role…”
“Maria-chan… I don’t think that’s something to take so seriously…”
“I don’t care if it’s Maria-chan or Sakura-sama, either of you can replace me if you want…”
Mio complained to Maria and Sakura.
“Kyukyu, Kyu~? Mio doesn’t like talking to Master~?“
“I don’t dislike it! But please stop with my mayonnaise trauma…”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Please promise me…”
I won’t make any promises.
While we were talking [doting on Mio], the Chieftain approached us.
“Hmm, did this little girl really defeat the dragon…? I know you have no reason to lie, but I still find it hard to believe…”
“Well, it’s true! I put an arrow through it with my bow! Like this!”
Saying that, Mio drew her bow and fired at a nearby rock. Naturally the clothesline-poles-sized arrow pierced right through it.
“I-I see. It seems to be true… I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“No worries. I know I don’t look that strong.”
Well, If he were to actually take my word for it, that this little girl defeated the Abyssal Dragon, I would probably think he must be wrong in the head.
“Speaking of which, Chieftain. What do we do now? Should we leave once we get the rewards? If you want the Dragon Newts to take the credit for defeating the Abyssal Dragon, we can always sneak out. I won’t give the credit to Akatsuki though.”
Without doubt, it would be better for the Dragon Newts to take the credit for defending the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, though, as I said, I won’t allow Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] to take all the credit…
“Do you really think so little of us?”
The Chieftain looked slightly displeased.
“Well, since we did try to chase you away, I guess you won’t exactly look up to us… Still, even we wouldn’t be so shameful as to tell you to ‘sneak out’ and ‘let us take all the credit’.”
“Oh, I don’t really mind… I was already prepared for it when I made that deal…”
It must be pretty awkward to admit that ‘All the Dragon Newts were wiped out and the human intruders took down the dragon’, so I was already prepared to leave in secret after getting the rewards.
“That’s not something I can agree to. One of the Dragon Newts’ Rules states that you should ‘pay back for grace’. Even forgetting what you did for Shirayuki, it’s not enough to let you leave with some treasures… Please stay. As a special case, I’d like to permit you to stay in the Hidden Area for the night.”
“Is that OK? What about your rules?”
“I don’t mind. And I doubt anyone else would complain about it after all you’ve done for us.”
“Well then, we’ll be staying for the night.”
Unexpectedly, we were given permission to stay in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. It’s true that I wanted to go sightseeing here, but I don’t think we’ll be able to squeeze that in during a single night’s stay.
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Backstory – Abyssal Dragon
Abyssal Dragon is a high-ranking dragon species of the dark element. Its breath attack can cause abnormal statuses like decay and poisoning. It’s among the strongest dragon species, easily strong enough to destroy most cities. Specifically, a single Abyssal Dragon could half-destroy a city the size of Quindam, the capital city of Kastal Queendom. …That is, unless Queen Sakuya cries about it to Jin, and he instantly kills it. This time around, Mio killed it with little effort, but under normal conditions, its body is covered with scales hard enough that most adventurers wouldn’t even be able to deal it a single wound. There’s no doubt that if one were to turn it into weapons, they would catch a considerable price. Nevertheless, Jin didn’t even hesitate to feed its body (half-burned) to Tamo-san.
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Author’s Note: Rubies have been added where needed. If they are hard to see, I’ll think about putting them only at the beginning of each episode.
As for the Abyssal Dragon, it looks like a crimson-eyed western-style black dragon.
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