BSS 94

Chapter 94

“Hey, humans don’t live for a hundred years, you know?”

So this is what a dragon’s sense of time is like.

“Then what do we do?”

“Let’s do this. I’ll come once every ten years and spend about a month with you. How about that?”

I spoke, trying to slip in with the dragon’s sense of time that seemed so different from a human’s, but the dragon looked at me without blinking an eye.

Oh no, was that too shameless a bet?

Just as I was thinking it might have been a bit much and wondering if I should extend it to two months, the dragon smiled brightly, clapped its hands gleefully, and rejoiced.

“Wow! Really? That often?”

“Uh, yeah… Once I come, I’ll stick with you for a month.”

“Once every ten years is good, but a month is too short! That’s just a blink of an eye!”

“Then how about once every twenty years, for two months?”

“Good!”

So my little trick worked.

Am I… an idiot?

[Rai, this dragon isn’t pretending to be dumb to trick you, right?]

[It really does seem genuinely dumb.]

[Hmm…]

[Very young ones sometimes act like that. They don’t have natural enemies, so they lack a sense of danger. And Master! Dragons are a species that cannot lie. Lying is their only weakness—it can lead to death.]

[I didn’t know that.]

Then maybe I can trust it for now.

I had no interest in raising a child, but this was better than dying.

Once every twenty years for two months seemed doable.

I felt a deep sense of gratitude that the dragon who kidnapped me was so simple-minded, and oddly enough, some sympathy for this dragon’s parents.

Being born as a dragon must be frustrating for them.

“Well then, I’ll be counting on you.”

“This is my first human friend!”

A human pet, I guessed…

“My name is Magicos Gold!”

“Genie Crowell.”

Even if I said “Genie,” most couldn’t pronounce it, and I had gotten used to it myself, so I introduced myself that way.

I suppose even Genie had to admit that it was me, despite my terribly violent fate.

“I won’t eat you. I’ll take care of you!”

“So you were going to eat me…”

Magicos grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously, smiling warmly.

“Right! I have to give you food first!”

“Can we call it ‘meal’? I am a bit hungry.”

“There’s plenty to eat. Do you want ogre or gargoyle meat?”

“…What?”

“Ogre or gargoyle meat—which would you like?”

Ah… maybe I should run.

I didn’t know dragons ate monster meat.

Well, with that brute’s size, it wouldn’t survive on just plants.

“There’s also orc meat! It’s been a while since I hunted it, so it’s not very fresh. Personally, I like the minotaur’s hind legs, but I’d have to catch one… Where are you going?”

I found myself backing away automatically.

Uh… could you wipe the drool off your mouth first?

[Should we run, Rai?]

[I think we’d be dead in an instant.]

[Exactly…]

[Let’s survive first.]

I hope I can really survive this.

The cave of Magicos, the newly independent Gold Dragon, was vast.

Walking at a human pace, it would take about four hours without rest to make one full round. After walking once to understand the structure, I was exhausted, and from then on I only moved around on Undine.

I don’t know if it’s typical for dragon lairs, but it was completely closed off, and you could only enter or leave via teleportation.

It was clearly to prevent external intrusion.

This also meant I could never leave the cave without Magicos’ help.

I didn’t know how to teleport, and trying it before had caused terrible motion sickness.

After vomiting a few times from warp sickness, perhaps feeling sorry for me—or maybe just finding it gross—Magicos opened a passage to the outside on the seventh day of my kidnapping.

Whoooosh.

I rode on Undine, speeding through the narrow tunnel.

It was the only exit from the lair, and the wind was so strong that my hair whipped around wildly as we passed.

The lair was deep in the mountains, so it wasn’t a short ride.

Even at a decent speed, it took several minutes to pass through.

[Master, we’ll be exiting the tunnel soon. Hold on tight.]

I gripped the fins on Undine’s back and bent my body low.

Once we left the tunnel, we had to prepare for a steep vertical flight.

The exit opened in the middle of a sheer cliff, and the opposite side was another cliff.

A rough river flowed below, so falling would be fatal.

Even a slight lapse in attention could make me fall off Undine.

[Going up.]

I hugged the dorsal fin tightly as I looked at the tunnel’s bright exit.

The opposing cliff peeked out from the dazzling light outside, and Undine shot straight up before we could crash into it.

“Rising” was more accurate.

I clung to the steeply ascending Undine, eyes half-closed.

The wind was violent when defying gravity.

It was always nerve-wracking.

Of course, I wasn’t a mere human who would die if I fell into the river, but for an ordinary person, it would be fatal. So it was genuinely scary.

The exit was deliberately harsh to prevent intrusions.

“Phew.”

[Master, what shall we look for today?]

After surviving that ordeal, a view I could never see in the city stretched endlessly before me.

A sea of green forest welcomed me on all sides.

I finally realized how pleasant the smell of thick greenery could be.

Magicos’ lair occupied an entire mountain, and no humans lived in this ancient forest.

I sat on Undine’s back, surveying Magicos’ forest.

The first time I went outside, the sensation was like being reborn. Now, it wasn’t as extreme.

Magicos made a passage for me for a simple reason:

“Today, it’s ogre!”

Because of the meal.

Using a high-level person like me as a delivery service for food…

If it weren’t for the dragon, that would have been impossible. Still, I tried to appease him to survive, which felt pathetic.

Humans are adaptable creatures.

“You said you want to eat an ogre, so let’s find one.”

[Yes, Master.]

“Magicos gets sulky if he doesn’t get what he wants, so let’s be diligent.”

Undine slowly flew over the forest.

Being a mid-level water spirit, Undine wasn’t suited for flight, but it depended on how the master used it. And I was a genius at using spirits in various ways.

I’m saying it myself, but it was true.

“Looks like something’s over there.”

Flying over the wide forest was pretty amazing.

Except for the strong wind.

Flying a bit further, my face was hit hard by the wind, making my nose cold.

If it were a wind spirit, it could probably block it.

Hmm? No, water spirits aren’t restricted in such ways.

“If I put a water barrier in front… like a motorcycle.”

Worth trying. I really am a genius.

[Found it, Master!]

“Where?”

[There, it’s an ogre.]

Undine, shaped like a dolphin, pointed to a part of the forest with its long snout.

I saw the ogre wandering in the forest.

It looked sturdy enough to be a good meal for Magicos.

I lowered my body, clinging tightly as Undine silently flew over the ogre.

Lately, I was unintentionally leveling up my monster-hunting skills.

Ogres are sensitive creatures, but their senses don’t reach the sky.

“Unbreeding.”

I cast the spell, and only then did the ogre notice, looking up at the sky.

Our eyes met, and it bared its yellow teeth angrily.

Monsters generally have two tendencies:

Some are aggressive attackers, while others flee first.

The ogre belonged to the first group.

It was a formidable predator.

“Grrk!”

Still, compared to a dragon, it was like a puppy.

The ogre leapt, but water swirled from below faster than it could jump.

Leaves were caught in the water, spinning violently inside droplets.

Suddenly trapped in a massive water bubble, the ogre screamed, showing off its strength.

The bubble rippled under its violent thrashing.

I thought Unbreeding was invincible when I was young, but it could burst under strong internal impact.

“Ador.”

The ogre’s lungs were strong, making it take a while to suffocate, so keeping it in the water bubble would waste mana. I called Ador for a quick finish.

[What now? What, Master? What should I do?]

As soon as it was summoned, Ador circled me impatiently.

“That one.”

I nodded.

Ador was trained to understand my commands without speaking, like Undine.

[Why not just say it?]

“Listen carefully. This is the voice of your master’s mind.”

[Hmm… I don’t get it.]

“Focus and feel it. That’s all! You’re just not trying hard enough, Ador!”

[Uuuuuh.]