BSS 93

Chapter 93

Smile.

“Of course, it’s not that I can’t do it, but…”

“Then hurry up and make it! Why are you dragging your feet?!”

“Well, the thing is—”

“My spirit doesn’t listen to me!”

“There’s just one thing I’m curious about.”

“What?! You’re just a human—do as you’re told! What kind of questions are you asking?!”

I could tell naturally.

The dragon raging in front of me was relatively young.

That explained why it was so short-tempered and reckless.

And surprisingly, I was fairly confident when it came to dealing with kids.

There used to be a rumor that ghosts haunted my training room at the Academy, so elementary kids often came to do courage tests there.

This dragon felt about on that level.

“If I make that metal for you, will you spare my life?”

I desperately hoped the dragon I’d met was the dumbest one on the continent.

“No!”

Tch. Then maybe second dumbest.

“Mom said letting humans live is a disgrace to our clan!”

“But if you end up with the greatest sword on the continent, wouldn’t that make it a source of pride for your clan?”

“…Is that so?”

Nice. Definitely dumb.

“If you promise to spare me, I’ll make you plenty of that special metal.”

“Plenty?”

“Yes. Aren’t dragons supposed to be symbols of generosity?”

More like the continent’s biggest bullies.

“Hmm… but Mom said…”

“You could just not let your mother know.”

“That’s true!”

“Keeping secrets from your parents is one of the ways you become an adult.”

“That’s also true!”

“May I ask… your age?”

“Five hundred and three!”

A mama’s boy, but still pretty young. Dragons live to ten thousand, after all…

[Lie, when are dragons usually considered adults?]

[Around five hundred. That’s when they undergo the coming-of-age ceremony and start living independently.]

[Then that means this one…]

[You ran into an immature one.]

Whether that was good luck or bad was debatable.

“I’ve only been independent for three years, but I’m a full-fledged adult dragon!”

“I see.”

The real question now was how badly this dragon wanted the special metal Lie could make.

The fact that it hadn’t killed me immediately suggested it valued it quite a bit.

Ahem.

Clearing my throat, I asked Lie in a voice meant to sound reliable.

The dragon’s eyes sparkled.

Brightly.

“Our good Lie, can you make that metal again?”

[Of course, as long as there’s mana. But that voice is creepy, so could you please stop?]

“Heehee, but what exactly was it?”

[An alloy. I mixed a bunch of things in a hurry, so making the exact same thing is impossible. I can make something with similar strength, though…]

“Great news! Lie says he can make the exact same thing!”

Since the dragon couldn’t hear Lie anyway, I interpreted freely.

In my favor.

“Make it right now!”

“I’m a bit low on mana at the moment, so it’s difficult. I’ll need some time.”

“What?! See, Mom was right after all. Pathetic humans! How can you possibly be short on mana?”

Excuse me. You’re a dragon. The one with supposedly infinite mana.

“Oh! Then I’ll just take that spirit from you!”

This was bad. It was a little smarter than expected. Smarter than a dolphin, at least.

“Just give me the spirit!”

“…How?”

“I don’t know. You’re the spirit contractor.”

Like hell I would. If I gave it away, I’d die. Even if I knew how, I’d pretend I didn’t.

My business smile was reaching its limit.

This kind of top-tier smile was reserved for audiences with kings.

“You’re not pretending not to know, are you?”

“Don’t you know, Dragon? They say dragons know everything in the world.”

The dragon flinched, then put its short hands on its hips and puffed up proudly.

“That’s only in fields I’m interested in! No dragon is interested in spirits!”

Apparently, it was interested in blacksmithing. And that was somehow better than spirits? Tch.

“Then ask the spirit! See if there’s a way for it to move over to me!”

“Yes, yes. You heard that, right, Lie?”

[Nope. Spirits aren’t objects.]

“He says there isn’t.”

[If there were, it’d mean breaking my contract with you and forming a new one with that guy.]

Are you telling me to die?

[And I have absolutely no intention of doing that. Once my contract with you ends, I plan to rest for a long time. And I’ll never contract with a dragon!]

“Why?”

[Once you contract with them, they work you for ten thousand years without dying! I prefer short-lived humans!]

Should I be happy about this?

Somehow, I felt worse.

“What did it say?”

“Lie says he has no intention of ever contracting with a dragon. Once I die, he’s going to rest for a long time.”

“Ugh! Then don’t you have any other metal spirits?”

“Probably not. Lie likes to brag that he’s one of a kind.”

Lie’s voice was only audible to me, his contractor.

He didn’t have the ability to project his voice outward, and to do so he’d need to change his body into a human or demi-human form with a mouth capable of speech.

Temporary partial transformations were possible, but those required mana too.

“So… even if I kill you, I can’t get it?”

The dragon had a transparent brain—you could practically see its thoughts turning.

“Think about it. What spirit would ever contract with the enemy who killed its master?”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yes. So if you kill me, you’ll suffer an enormous loss in terms of materials.”

“Then… I guess I have no choice.”

Did I survive?

“You’ll have to be my pet. You’re house-trained, right?”

Insane.

“Mom said humans are ungrateful, so you shouldn’t keep them… but I want that metal spirit.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you mean—”

“I’m just taking you as a whole package!”

Am I a dog?!

“I refuse.”

“You’re refusing? I’ll kill you!”

Why would I want to live with a dragon for the rest of my life?

I’d rather just die!

“Yes, please. I’d rather you kill me. Like I said, my neck is right here.”

[No! Don’t die, Master!]

I was completely in a “to hell with it” mindset.

I wasn’t so attached to life that I’d accept slavery.

If anything was regretful, it was not beating that Robenin bastard.

The fact that he was the last thing on my mind made me even angrier.

Seriously, that Robenin jerk had a talent for pissing me off.

“S-sheesh…! Then that won’t do! Why? Do you really hate living with me that much?”

“That’s a stupid question.”

“Come on, I’ll treat you well! Huh? Live with me! I’ll give you jewels! A crown? What do you like?”

The more I listened, the more it sounded like a proposal.

“I’ll give you a room! I’ll feed you and take you for walks!”

“I don’t want to end my life as a pet.”

“Then let’s be friends! Friends!”

The dragon—disguised as a dwarf—clung to my leg, throwing an absurd tantrum.

Have you ever seen a rabbit and a tiger become friends? Might as well ask me to become lunch.

“Just kill me already.”

“No! If you’re gone, the spirit disappears!”

“That’s not my problem. Either kill me or send me back.”

No matter how I thought about it, dying cleanly now was better than running errands for a dragon for decades.

Just imagining it was exhausting.

Why should I have to live my life pandering to a dragon?

Once I’d grasped the situation, all I felt was anger.

What a ridiculously twisted life.

I didn’t need to be the one to have the rare experience of being kidnapped by a dragon.

Isn’t that usually a princess’s role?

I’m just a harmless spirit contractor with no connection to power. How much worse is my luck going to get?

No, why does life have to be this harsh to begin with?

Every time I stepped outside the Academy, I got beaten down from all sides, so I had no choice but to hole myself up in my training room.

It wasn’t like I wanted to become a recluse.

“Come on, live with me! Please?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why do you hate me so much?!”

“You kidnapped me, tried to kill me, tried to steal my spirit, and you only ever do what you want.”

I counted them off on my fingers, giving it a lesson at eye level. Only then did the dragon look a bit guilty.

“You can compromise a little!”

This young dragon didn’t seem to want to kill me, and it clearly had no idea what push-and-pull negotiations were.

It also seemed a bit… slow.

“Compromise?”

“I’ll spare you! I’ll let you out sometimes! I won’t take your spirit! I’ll raise you free-range!”

Who are you calling livestock—though, wait, “let you out” sounded promising.

Tempted, I uncrossed my tightly folded arms.

“You’ll let me go?”

“Yeah!”

“What if I don’t come back?”

“I’ll have no choice but to find you and kill you!”

Cough.

“…Then how often will you let me go?”

“Um, um… sometimes?”

“How often is ‘sometimes’?”

At some point I’d completely dropped formal speech, but the young dragon didn’t seem to mind.

Did it like me?

Or did it just need Lie that badly?

“If I let you go, you won’t die and you’ll help me, right?”

“Depends on the conditions. If I like them, I’ll help you make swords with Lie, gather materials, and I’ll even try to persuade Lie to contract with you later. How about that?”

[Excuse me? What about my opinion, Master?]

[As if that matters.]

“Really?”

This dragon was extremely gullible.

Probably because it was young.

“You’ll let me go, right?”

“Yeah!”

Did my life-or-death gamble work?

Maybe it worked because I’d had no intention of living anyway. I casually packed my things.

Which was really just Lie.

“So I can leave now?”

“No! Help me first!”