[V10C19] Dragons Are Disasters

After staying one night in the town of Lugaroa, Monica and Silas entered Dalsmore the next morning on a Dragon Knight carriage.

The clouds from last night’s rainfall still lingered in the sky, delivering intermittent showers. The misty air dampened Monica’s robes and bangs.

Since the Dalsmore mountain range had several tall mountains in a row, the forest at its foothills extended for a great distance. This was why the 7th Investigation Division had little choice but to split into several groups. Even Captain Dunning himself had entered the forest and was participating in the investigation.

Monica and Silas, along with their guide Robson, decided to start at the southern part of the forest.

While they had Silas’s magical tool for locating dragons based on a part of the dragon’s body, its effective range was too narrow to cover the entire forest. They would have to physically walk around until they came into range of their mark.

Silas took out the pocket watch-like tool and set the red dragon scale he borrowed from Captain Dunning, then began walking through the forest with it in his palm. Monica and Robson followed behind him.

“What an interesting magical device,” Robson began. “Trying to locate a hidden dragon is a real hassle, so I would love to have one of those.”

“…It’s still incomplete, and the detection range is pretty short.”

Silas responded in a low tone, which prompted Robson to stroke his stubble and smirk.

“Well, we’re professionals at tracking dragons, so our expertise combined with your magical tool should narrow down the location considerably.”

After listening silently to their exchange, Monica tightened her grip on her staff and interjected.

“…Captain Dunning intends to slay the red dragon, doesn’t he?”

Monica had seen multiple throwing spears for dragon slaying piled up in the large carriage that Dunning was riding.

When targeting the forehead of a dragon, the most common weapons used by humans were throwing spears, ballistas, and offensive magic. Even now, Robson held one such spear in his hand.

Monica’s words caused Robson to frown slightly.

“Well, yes, it would seem so.”

Robson gave an ambiguous response, suggesting that he didn’t mind either way.

“…Does the 7th Investigation Division not bring a magical creature biologist with them?” Monica continued her questions.

“Yeah, I guess some of the other divisions do bring one… but our captain is not a fan of magical biologists.”

Under Monica’s continued stare, Robson awkwardly stroked his chin before continuing.

“About eight years ago, there were reports of a red dragon sighting in Dalsmore, just like now. So the 7th Investigation Division was deployed into the mountains to investigate… and there, we ran into a bit of trouble with a magical biologist.”

“A bit of trouble?”

“The biologist we bumped into started obstructing our investigation. Well, when I say ‘obstructing’, I don’t mean physically or anything; he just kept begging us not to kill the dragon.”

According to Robson, the biologist approached Dunning at every opportunity and claimed things such as “the red dragon doesn’t intend to harm anyone” and “I’ll send it back to its territory, so please don’t kill it.”

“But like, getting rid of the dragon is kinda our job. We can’t just let one roam around in human territory forever, right? So we really only had two choices: forcibly drive it back into dragon territory, or strike it down.”

Ultimately, the red dragon ended up disappearing before they could settle the dispute. Presumably, it had returned to its territory.

And now, eight years later, a red dragon has appeared in Dalsmore once again.

“That’s why Captain Dunning is so worked up. Since it might be the same red dragon from eight years ago, he keeps saying we should have killed it back then. He lost most of his family and countless subordinates to the dragons, so honestly, I can’t say I don’t understand that line of thinking.”

“And how do you feel about dragons?” Silas asked in a low tone, without turning to face Robson.

The majority of people who volunteer for the Dragon Knights were survivors of dragon disasters. Even those who weren’t will eventually lose many of their comrades to dragons.

Upon hearing Silas’s question, Robson looked off into the distance, as if reflecting on those he had lost.

“The dragons have taken many of my friends too. It’s just, you know… I consider them like a kind of natural disaster. I definitely fear dragons, but hating them doesn’t feel quite right.”

Silas finally turned around and glared at Robson, as if piercing him with his gaze.

“…If someone in your family got mauled by a bear or wolf, wouldn’t you try to take revenge?”

“Maybe I would, but dragons are on an entirely different level of power. Like I said, I find them similar to natural disasters.”

Monica thought back to Nero, who she had left at home.

Until Monica met Nero, everything she knew about greater dragons had been from books. She understood that they were creatures intelligent enough to understand human language, but somewhere in the back of her mind, they still felt unreal to her.

(Maybe the reason I wasn’t afraid of dragons was because I didn’t know much about them.)

However, the current Monica understood that there were all sorts of dragons.

The black dragon struggling with a bird bone stuck in his throat.

The white dragon who was calm and surprisingly loyal.

The green dragon who devoured a curse to take vengeance for her slain child.

Dragons sometimes exhibited human-like personality traits, but these were magical creatures who held an entirely different set of values from humans.

(Still, it would be nice if we could get along.)

This was Monica’s honest feeling after seeing Nero and Thule.

Silas went silent with a stern expression, probably thinking about his personal experience with a dragon disaster.

Meanwhile, Robson looked off into the distance and continued his muttering.

“——’Dragons are disasters.’ Apparently, some old priest came up with that saying. It was probably intended to be a jab at those who worshiped dragons as gods… but I think it hits the mark pretty well.”

The saying had come from a time of conflict, when the church was actively fighting against dragon worshipers. This was also when they branded dragons as evil and coined the term ‘dragon disaster’, which is commonly used in Ridill to this day.

“Dragons are disasters in the form of living creatures. All we can do is prepare, not confront. Well, though I suppose the Seven Sages might be strong enough to pull that off.”

Robson saw dragons as disasters, and Silas saw them as enemies to hate. However, Monica’s experience living under the same roof as a dragon allowed her to understand that dragons came in many types, just like humans.

The gap between them was not something that could be easily bridged.

People like Cyril, who was trying to teach human logic to a dragon, were likely pretty rare.

(I wonder how Cyril-sama would react if he learned Nero’s identity…)

Monica knew that Cyril Ashley was a man willing to listen to her circumstances. Still, she could not help but hesitate to tell him about Nero.

Black dragons and curse dragons were classified as First-Class Dangerous Species. Once discovered, the law mandated their immediate extermination. As such, Nero’s existence was a secret that could not be revealed carelessly.

Since Monica had been deep in thought while walking through the forest, she ended up slipping on a patch of muddy ground and losing her balance.

“Uhyah!?”

“Whoa, careful there!”

Robson, who was walking beside her, quickly grabbed Monica’s arm before she fell.

Saved at the last moment, Monica exhaled a sigh of relief. Silas, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned toward Monica.

“Sorry, Nee-san. Was I going too fast?”

“N-No, you’re fine. It’s my fault…”

Silas and Robson had already slowed their pace considerably to cover for Monica’s lack of stamina and height. Monica was aware of their consideration and didn’t want to trouble them any further.

(I need to be more careful where I step…)

Most of the Dalsmore mountain range was covered in a layer of reddish-brown soil. And when wet, this soil became pretty slippery.

Though they were currently walking through a forest, it was different from the lush greens of the forests closer to the capital. The forests of Dalsmore were sparsely populated and consisted mostly of coniferous trees. Meanwhile, the terrain was rugged, making it difficult to traverse.

As Monica focused on walking carefully to avoid slipping again, she heard Silas speak in a whisper.

“…Got a reaction. Northeast from here.”

“So the opposite direction from where Captain Dunning and the others are…” Robson muttered. “Not a good idea to use smoke signals outside of an emergency, since the dragon might notice. Should we head back and regroup?”

Rather than answering Robson, Silas turned to Monica. He seemed to be giving precedence to Monica’s opinion as his senior.

Monica tightened her grip on her staff and answered in a firm tone.

“No.”

Rather than regrouping, it was more convenient that Dunning and his supporters were not present. If possible, Monica wanted to try talking to the red dragon.

“Let’s keep going,” Monica continued. “I have a slight understanding of the spirit language so… I believe we can negotiate.”

Robson, who was looking at his map, turned only his eyes to glance at Monica. He seemed to be probing her intentions.

“What if the negotiations break down?” Robson asked.

Monica looked straight back at him and made her declaration of resolve.

“In that case, I will slay the red dragon.”

＊　＊　＊

To reach the location indicated by Silas’s magical tool, they would normally have to take quite a detour due to the steep terrain.

However, Silas was skilled in flight magic, so he could carry Monica and Robson to their destination without much delay. In the meanwhile, the dragon had hardly moved at all.

According to Robson, red dragons hated getting their scales wet, so the target was likely taking shelter from the drizzle.

“…Around here.”

Silas led the way and scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze.

It would be impossible for a large dragon to conceal itself in a sparse coniferous forest. Considering how the dragon was likely taking shelter from rain, it was reasonable to assume the dragon had transformed into a smaller animal to fit into a reasonably sized hiding spot.

Robson pointed toward a cliff in the distance and said, “Over there.”

There was a boulder leaning against the cliff, which seemed to act like a perfect makeshift roof for blocking out the rain. The gap between the boulder and the cliff was even big enough to comfortably fit a large bear.

Silas raised his staff and began chanting. A spear of ice formed at the tip of the staff, and this was no ordinary ice; the high mana density contained within had the power to pierce through a dragon’s forehead.

“No use hiding, Red Dragon. We see you there.”

Silas’s warning was followed by a faint sound from behind the boulder.

Then, Monica tugged at the hem of Silas’s robe. Silas took a step back to yield the floor to Monica, but his ice spear was still held at the ready.

Swallowing a gulp of saliva, Monica began speaking to the entity hiding behind the rock.

“Um… Could you please tell us why you’ve entered human territory?”

After a brief pause, Monica also asked, “Why are you here?” in the spirit language.

Her pronunciation was a bit clumsy, but Monica wanted to convey her willingness to negotiate by adapting to the dragon’s language.

Faint footsteps could be heard on the damp soil. As expected, the dragon had transformed into something else. A human? Or perhaps an animal?

The three held their breaths at the appearance of a tanuki with mysterious, golden eyes. It was covered in a thick layer of fur, as if right before winter.

The small tanuki looked up at Monica and opened its mouth.

“Oh my, you know the spirit language at such a young age? Impressive, you must have studied so hard. I hardly see any humans fluent in our language these days, so communication is such a bother. Well, though I guess that’s why we started using human language instead… Oh dear, I’ve been running my mouth off, haven’t I? Sorry about that. It’s been ages since I saw a human speaking the spirit language, so I got a little excited.”

The tanuki spoke with the voice of an older woman. Moreover, it gave the impression of a pushy aunt who went on and on about the most trivial of topics.

Robson pointed at the tanuki and looked at Silas.

“…That? That’s the dragon?”

Apparently, even a seasoned veteran of the Dragon Knights was bewildered by this turn of events.

Silas took out his magical tool and squinted at the display again. The magical tool displaying the dragon’s location clearly indicated that the tanuki in front of them was indeed a dragon.

As the three stood in shock, the tanuki stood up on its hind legs, reached into the fur around its belly, and pulled out something white and wriggling.

——An insect larva.

Holding out the plump larva in its small hands, the tanuki offered it to Monica and the others.

“As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll give you a little bug. It’s quite tasty and even rich in nutrients. Youngsters need to eat a lot in order to grow, you know.”

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