BSS 92

Chapter 92

No matter how much I looked around, neither Lai nor the owner of the voice could be seen.

It was too dark here, and I was sitting alone on a cold stone.

“Here! Here!”

“Huh?”

[Here! Master!]

Only the voice came, but I couldn’t see its owner, and a sudden wave of anxiety hit me.

Could this… be inside the dragon’s stomach?

Highly likely!

As the moments before I fainted came back to me, cold sweat started pouring down uncontrollably.

“You idiot! It’s below.”

Below?

“……”

[Save me! Master!]

It looked like I was the one who needed to do the rescuing.

Judging from the situation, the small, squat creature clumsily holding Lai must be a polymorphed dragon.

From my perspective, standing down below was a blond dwarf, barely over a meter tall, and I stared at him silently.

I blinked my eyes wide.

The dwarf had the characteristic short, stocky body, messy abundance of beard and hair, and dark skin.

Holding Lai in his hands, the dwarf stood there with an angry expression.

If my guess was correct…

“Um… Dragon… sir?”

“Yes! It’s me!”

I couldn’t believe it—it really was true.

Why would a dragon, born to inspire awe, take the form of a short, diminutive species with zero intimidation factor?

What is a dragon?

From birth, like fish swimming and humans breathing, dragons naturally wield magic. They are the most powerful beings on earth.

Embodiments of overwhelming force with near-immortal lives.

Ancestors of magic, the masters of magic, the source and origin of magic itself—respected and revered by all creatures.

And yet…

“Dwarf?”

Where did all that majesty go, leaving only this shape?

Why specifically a dwarf?

It was utterly incomprehensible.

I almost glared at that dwarf—or rather, dragon—in disbelief.

As a dragon, it had been terrifying, but now, in the shape of a tiny old fairy-like dwarf, flapping its short limbs, it was impossible not to find it ridiculous.

Its tone even changed to that of a child, which made it completely laughable.

“What the! Never seen a dwarf before!”

“Well… I’ve seen them at the forge… but why does a dragon look like a dwarf?”

“It’s my preference!”

“Ah….”

“Respect my taste!”

Polymorph is a magic that allows a being to change into any form it desires.

In myths and legends, dragons often polymorph into humans or elves to hide their identities, adventuring with human heroes and saving the world.

But a dragon turning into a dwarf? That was unheard of.

No matter how I thought about it, it simply didn’t fit.

Dwarves are naturally incapable of using magic.

They are supreme on earth only as master craftsmen—carpenters, blacksmiths, sculptors—an exceptional species in terms of skill with their hands.

They do have strong constitution, high resistance to magic, and ogre-level strength as additional traits… but still, dragons and dwarves are as different as tigers and frogs.

“What is even…!”

Dwarves are born with wrinkled faces, aging uniformly for life, making it impossible to guess their age. Elves, by contrast, remain youthful forever. Naturally, a lifelong youthful elf seems preferable. Seriously, such a peculiar dragon…

“Ugh.”

I was about to give up trying to understand the dragon’s taste when something hard struck my face.

It was the metal spirit, Lai.

[Master!]

The pain was unbearable.

How solid was that thing to throw it at a human face?

And worse, Lai clung to my face, twisting and crying as if waiting for me to endure it.

This was maddening.

[Waaaah! That crazy dragon stripped all my scales! No mercy! Though I guess dragons don’t really care about mercy. Ugh, spit.]

“W-wait. I can’t breathe…!”

Lai clung to me, whining despite not even producing tears, and I felt a slight threat to my life.

So this is what choking Lai feels like. I really didn’t want to know.

“Hey, fall….”

“Hey! Did you hear me? What the hell is this! I thought this metal could withstand a dragon’s breath, but it’s just diamond! You think I brought you here for this nonsense?!”

My head was already ringing because of Lai, and now the dragon started venting its unknown frustration at me.

I was completely disoriented.

My face hurt, my head hurt—nothing about me was unscathed.

“Wait, wait a minute. Lai! Let go.”

[Waaaah! Master, I hate the spotted pattern!]

“Make that solid metal again!”

[No!]

“If you don’t want to die, hand it over quickly!”

Really, they were too much. Couldn’t they give me a moment to understand the situation?

Was this some new form of torture?

“Both of you, stop!”

I shouted with all my strength, and the sound echoed back at me.

How big was this cave, anyway?

“You! How dare you shout at me, human!”

“Hey! Dragon sir!”

“…Huff!”

“My head hurts so much I can’t think! I can’t think!”

The dragon trembled with shock and fear, but I wasn’t scared anymore.

After all, having been captured by a rare dragon, my chances of survival seemed slim.

“Stop whining and just be quiet for now!”

“You impudent human!”

I pinched my ears.

Neither dragon nor spirit left me alone, so I couldn’t treat them gently.

Moreover, their levels seemed almost equal, and that wasn’t my fault.

The terrifying dragon now behaved like a spoiled child, and Lai…

[Not the spots!]

When I suggested turning it into a spotted snake if its shell broke, Lai had thrown a fit.

What was wrong with spots? They’re cute!

“Human! I’ll kill you!”

“Yes, the neck is here. Since we’re at it, please make it clean.”

Even if the dragon flailed and roared, its dwarf form made it utterly unthreatening.

I was quick to assess the situation and decided, for now, that I was already a dead man.

What hope did I have being captured by a dragon?

It was basically as if I were inside the dragon’s stomach.

Fine, kill me. Just kill me. Filthy world! Spit.

“…No!”

“Huh?”

“If you kill it, the spirit disappears! Then you won’t get that metal!”

It was then, like a child throwing a tantrum at the supermarket, that the dragon rolled on the ground.

“Give me metal! Metal! Give it to me!”

Come to think of it, it had been the same in the imperial palace.

If it didn’t get the gems, it would destroy everything—a very similar tantrum. Truly the same dragon.

Although in the palace, it hadn’t rolled around…

[It’s gone crazy, Master.]

[Seems like it.]

[Doesn’t it seem a bit lacking in sense?]

Even speaking telepathically, Lai whispered. I felt the same.

“Giiive it!”

“Why do you even need it?”

“You don’t know that?”

“How am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?”

The blond dwarf leapt up, shouting as if it were the most important thing in the world.

“I’m going to make a sword!”

“A sword?”

“Yes!”

“The dragon?”

“My dream is to make the greatest sword on the continent! A sword is all about the materials, idiot!”

I never thought I’d hear such a ridiculous statement.

A dragon making a sword? Completely incomprehensible.

Utterly useless in the world.

From the looks of this tantrum-throwing dragon, it didn’t seem likely, but dragons are creatures most carefully crafted by gods.

They wield magic beyond human reach and possess indomitable physical power.

As emphasized repeatedly, they are the strongest beings on the continent.

They breathe underwater, withstand lava, and their scales cannot be pierced even by a mithril sword.

The ultimate predator! The apex of the food chain!

And yet… making a sword?

‘Why do you need a sword! You can just smash things with your body! Who’s the idiot here!’

I suppressed the urge to argue.

Because at that moment, I realized, ‘This dragon is quite something.’ Maybe there was a slim chance I could survive, which made me grin wryly.

“The continent’s greatest fool… I mean, sword.”

“Did you just say fool?”

“To make it, you need Lai’s special metal. I hope I understood that correctly.”

There’s a saying, not entirely trustworthy, that even if you’re offered as a sacrifice to a dragon lair, as long as you stay alert, you can survive.

“Yes! That’s it! Can you make it?”

It seemed the dragon had a reason for taking dwarf form.

Looking closely as it approached excitedly, it had a belt full of hammers and unknown smelting tools.

Judging by its request for mithril from the emperor, this dragon truly had the unusual hobby of “making swords.”

I still couldn’t comprehend why a dragon would need a sword.

But a “greatest sword” is, after all, a sword meant to slay dragons.

‘Anyway, if I just go along with it, I might survive.’

I forced a sales-like smile.