Chapter 15
A small but wriggling beam of light, alive as if it had a will of its own, flew straight into the dragon’s mouth.
“KIEEEAAAOoooooK—!”
“Bull’s-eye!”
My lovely magical beam struck right on the dragon’s weak spot.
The dragon, suddenly attacked, let out a shrill scream and thrashed violently.
“Jiana!”
As the dragon twisted its body furiously, the startled duke shouted and rushed toward me.
But the dragon was faster.
The mighty dragon, whose presence had seemed enough to swallow the sea whole, suddenly lost its strength and drooped, falling right toward me.
Just before the dragon’s massive body touched my head, it shrank to the size of a human forearm and plopped onto the deck.
For a brief moment, silence fell over the deck.
“We… we caught the dragon!”
“A hero has been born!”
The duke’s soldiers and the knights of the Dragon-Slayer Order roared in unison.
“The duke’s cook has slain the Blue Dragon! Victory for the Bellentine!“
“Wooooaaahhh!”
“Congratulations, Your Grace!”
In an instant, the Bellentine turned into a festival ground.
The excited soldiers spun around me in circles, celebrating as if it had been their own achievement.
“I thought you were just some cook who knew a bit of magic, but you’re an incredible powerhouse!”
“I knew it since Quok Island! The way you hauled up that octopus, I could tell you weren’t ordinary.”
“Hey, is that how you speak to a hero? Show some respect!”
“Oh, right, right. Haha. Hero, my name is Urson!”
“My name is Khan! You mustn’t forget it!”
“Izak! Izak!”
All of them scrambled just to get a word in with me, but I only offered them a haughty smile.
At that moment, the duke, staring intently at the dragon, gripped his sword with his left hand and slowly approached, exuding a deadly aura.
“Perfect. This is just perfect.”
“Your Grace…?”
Silence swept across the deck in an instant.
“I wanted to take revenge with my own hands, without anyone’s help. But if this is how things turned out, then so be it.”
The duke slowly raised his sword, and all eyes turned toward him.
The blade’s tip pointed straight at the limp dragon lying on the deck.
I swallowed hard.
In the original novel, Duke Lupellen never killed the dragon directly, but the situation now was different.
The dragon, utterly weakened, lay before him defenseless. There was no way the duke would let it live.
Honestly, that worked in my favor. The sooner the dragon was taken care of, the sooner I could end this contract.
“Sorry, but this must be your fate.”
I moved aside, giving the duke a clearer shot.
That’s when I heard a tiny voice, no louder than a dying ant, whisper in my ear:
“You mean… to kill me…?”
What the—? Did I imagine that?
I looked to Duke Lupellen. His brow furrowed slightly, ears twitching.
“Chef, did you hear that? I think I just heard something strange.”
“R-right? I heard it too, didn’t I?”
“S… spare me…”
Huh?! Was that… the dragon’s voice?
Tilting my head down, I saw the dragon—who had seemed utterly limp—open one eye ever so slightly, wearing the most pitiful expression.
“Wait. Dragons can talk?”
I frantically flipped through my memory of the novel and the lore, but there was no such thing.
In the original story, the dragon ruled its sea territory viciously until it was ultimately sealed away by the Tower Master.
But in all that time, the only sounds it ever made were shrieks and roars like Kieeeek! or Kyaoooook!—never actual speech.
“Say that again.”
I quickly grabbed both of its wings, lifting it up so we were face-to-face.
“K-kegh! Put me down and I’ll talk properly!”
“Whoa. You really spoke.”
I had no idea the dragon in my novel could talk!
A secret about the dragon that even the author didn’t know? I’m dying of curiosity now.
Even the duke, who had been radiating killing intent, seemed intrigued. He moved closer to me, though the bloodlust hadn’t faded.
Still staring at the dragon, I said to him:
“Your Grace, isn’t this fascinating? A talking dragon!”
“…All the same, it’s still a dragon destined to die by my hand.”
“Please, just give me a little time. I want to talk to it.”
The duke said nothing, lips pressed in silence.
Of course, I knew well that Duke Lupellen had dedicated his whole life to revenge. But come on—how often do you get a chance like this? Once the dragon’s gone, when would I ever meet one again?
So I pushed harder.
“Just 30 minutes! After I’m done talking, I’ll hand it right back to you. You can do whatever you want with it then.”
“‘Do whatever I want’—?!”
The dragon squirmed frantically in my grip, but I only tightened my hold.
Surprisingly, the duke agreed rather quickly.
“Fine. I’ve waited a lifetime for this revenge, so I can endure a little longer. But 30 minutes is too much. Ten.”
“Ten minutes is way too short…”
“No. Ten.”
If I pressed him further, I risked losing even that. So I bowed quickly.
“Thank you!”
And with that, I dragged the dragon to an empty cabin, its reprieve no longer than ten minutes.
Inside the cabin, the dragon kicked and flailed, but it was pointless.
“If you keep wriggling, I’ll just hand you back to the duke right now.”
At my threat, the dragon went quiet immediately.
Only after making sure the door was closed did I finally let it go.
“We don’t have time. You heard him—ten minutes, then you’re back with the duke.”
“You wicked… vile humans!”
“Let’s skip the useless chatter. First question: could you always talk?”
“How dare you think dragons are so insignificant! Of course we can speak!”
“No way. Then how did I not know that?”
When I stared at it with my mouth agape, the dragon retorted:
“The real question is—what are you, to have been able to attack me, the mighty dragon?”
Tears glistened in its eyes, as though bitter at its near-death.
“To think a human mage strong enough to harm a dragon even existed…”
“Well, I am a mage, but I could hurt you not because of that—because I’m your creator.”
“…What? Creator?”
The dragon froze mid-flap.
Not wrong. Since it was the final boss I had written into my novel, I technically was its creator.
“You, my creator? Ha! Don’t make me laugh.”
“Look who’s talking. Acting all proud when you’re about to die. Oh, look at that—you’ve only got eight minutes left.”
“‘About to die’? How dare you say that to the great dragon!”
I just smirked at its tantrum.
“Oh yeah? Then let’s see. On your left hind leg, third toe—you’ve got an ingrown claw, don’t you?”
“…!”
“And when it rains buckets, you always get indigestion.”
“How could you possibly know that…?”
“This sea’s your territory, right? I bet a school of anchovies comes by your nest once a week and annoys the hell out of you.”
“Human! What are you? How do you know so much about me?”
“I told you—I’m your creator.”
The dragon gaped at me in shock, completely stunned.
“You’ve got only six minutes left. Why don’t you tell me why you committed all those atrocities?”
“Atrocities? What atrocities?”
“You don’t remember? You’ve terrorized this sea, sinking every passing ship. You’re infamous for it.”
“W-what?”
“And you caused a tidal wave that destroyed an entire village. The duke’s parents were killed in that very disaster. To him, you’re the murderer of his parents.”
“I… did that…?”
“You’re not seriously going to claim you don’t remember, are you?”
I glanced at my watch.
Only four minutes left.
“It may sound like an excuse, but I truly don’t remember! Since I was born, it’s like my head has always been full of fog.”
“Not remembering doesn’t erase what you did.”
I answered coolly.
“Eight years ago, you definitely caused that tidal wave. Too many witnesses. You can’t escape it.”
“Wait—did you say eight years ago…?”
The dragon, who had been flustered and defensive, suddenly looked puzzled.
“But… I’m only five years old…”
