[V10C20] Senpai Order

“Looks like the rain stopped. Good to see. I’ve always been bad with water. A little splash in the lake is fine, but that salty staff in the sea——that’s a no-go. We red dragons will sink straight to the bottom once we fall in there. I’d be a complete goner. Oh, but I remember hearing that humans float better in the sea than in fresh water. How weird. I wonder why there’s such a difference between us.”

The tanuki with golden eyes spoke fluently in the human language, patting its front paw against its cheek as it tilted its head.

Silas and Robson were left utterly speechless.

After all that talk about dragons being disasters, the red dragon turned out to be this. It was entirely natural for them to be confused.

Meanwhile, Monica was answering the dragon’s doubts in a nervous tone.

“Well, um, when you put something in water, the conflicting forces of buoyancy and gravity come into play. Seawater is denser than fresh water due to the salt content, which enhances the buoyant force and makes objects more likely to float. However, seawater also has the effect of disrupting the mana arrangement in a red dragon’s scales, which leads to a significant decline in…”

“Nee-san, Nee-san…”

Only after hearing Silas calling out to her did Monica realize what she was doing, and abruptly close her mouth.

Meanwhile, the tanuki fluttered its small arms in praise.

“Oh my, you’re so knowledgeable for your age. Like a real scholar.”

“T-Thank you…”

Monica bowed her head slightly and went back to observing the tanuki in front of her.

It had brown fur, and aside from its golden eyes, there were no visible differences from any other tanuki they might find in this forest.

“So, uh, Red Dragon…-san? Um… What should we call you?”

“Oh, I don’t really have a name. Well, greater dragons don’t interact with each other much, you know? So we don’t really need personal names. On the other hand, humans live in big groups, so I guess not having names would be inconvenient, right? By the way, isn’t it pretty hard to remember everyone’s name if they all have one?”

“Uh…”

“I guess if you need a name, you can call me Red Dragon or just Auntie. Pick whichever you like. Haha.”

Beside Monica, Silas murmured, “Auntie…?” in a hoarse voice, and his stern expression seemed strained at the moment.

Robson raised his hand and interjected, “Um, so… are you really a red dragon?”

“Yeah, did you want me to go back to my original form? But this is human territory, right? I didn’t want to show my dragon form too much. Auntie was trying to be discreet, you know?”

The red dragon (tanuki) had even started calling herself as Auntie, so Robson only grew more perplexed.

“Oh, um… Then you are aware that this is human territory? So why were you wandering around here? And you even returned to dragon form a few times, right?”

To Robson’s question, the red dragon drooped her head slightly. While her face was not as expressive as a human’s, it seemed to be conveying a sense of anxiety.

“Well, you see, my child has gotten lost in the forest… I went back to my original form to call out, ‘Mom is over here,’ but I just can’t seem to find him. His scales are still soft and he doesn’t have much experience flying, so I’m starting to get worried.”

Monica nodded in understanding, as Robson drew closer and began whispering in her ear.

“Silent Witch-sama, we may have a problem on our hands.”

“…Huh?”

The red dragon was friendly, showing no hostility toward humans. Furthermore, she had only entered human territory to search for her lost child.

In which case, their job was very straightforward. All they needed to do was find the lost dragonling.

Yet despite the potential solution, Robson seemed to be worried about something.

“Like the red dragon said, greater dragons have stronger vertical connections than horizontal ones. Dragons don’t usually interact with each other, but it’s a different story when it comes to parents and children. Female dragons, in particular, have a very strong attachment to their offspring.”

Monica recalled the curse dragon incident from two years ago.

A shaman had been experimenting with curses on a dragonling, leading to its death. Then, the enraged mother dragon devoured her own child and absorbed the curse in an attempt to take revenge on the one responsible.

Monica had accidentally touched that curse and saw into the memories of the green dragon——the deep despair, lamentation, and hatred of a mother who had lost her child. Even now, recalling those memories caused her left arm to ache.

“The red dragon may go on a rampage if anything happens to her child,” Robson continued.

“Um… But what if we find and protect her child?”

Monica whispered back her interpretation, but Robson still looked grim.

“When humans find a dragonling, we usually put it in a cage, right? But from the mother dragon’s perspective, it probably looks like we’re unjustly confining her child.”

Only then did Monica realize the truth in Robson’s words.

He was exactly right. It was common practice for humans to put protected creatures in cages, but obviously, the creatures themselves did not appreciate being confined. Moreover, Monica had another concern.

“Um, Robson-san… do you think Captain Dunning would protect a dragonling?”

“…”

His silence told the whole story. Robson always had dark circles under his eyes, but now they seemed to be darker than ever.

“Our captain knows very well how terrifying an enraged mother dragon can be, but…”

Robson glanced briefly at the tanuki looking up at them with round eyes, then lowered his voice even more.

“He might attempt to use the dragonling as bait to lure the mother dragon… Eight years ago, he tried something similar.”

Monica also lowered her voice to ensure that the tanuki wouldn’t overhear.

“Robson-san, please return to base and check for any sightings of the dragonling. If you find something, tell me immediately… preferably before Captain Dunning.”

Monica was essentially asking Robson to report to her instead of his direct superior. She half-expected for him to decline, but surprisingly, the man nodded without much hesitation.

“Got it. If there’s any sighting of the dragonling, I’ll raise three green smoke signals.”

“Thank you very much.”

Monica bowed her head to Robson and then turned to Silas, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. He was still glaring fiercely at the tanuki with his entire face scrunched up.

To him, dragons were enemies to be slain. This cute-looking tanuki speaking in a friendly tone went against everything he thought he knew.

Perhaps it would have been easier for him if the red dragon turned out to be hostile and attacked them at first sight.

“Silas-san.”

Despite Monica calling his name, Silas’s gaze remained fixed on the tanuki. Was he afraid that the red dragon might launch an attack the second he turned away?

Monica stepped in between Silas and the tanuki, looking her tall junior straight in the eyes.

“Let’s go find the red dragon’s child.”

“…”

Even when facing Monica, his expression remained stern. However, Monica knew that Silas was too kind to ignore a crying child.

“This is, um, a senpai order!”

“…Huh?”

“You have to do what I say because, um, I’m threatening you! So, uh, yeah…”

Silas was struggling with the internal clash of his kindness and his belief in slaying dragons. Thus, Monica wanted to use this ‘order’ to give him an excuse to go against his beliefs.

The sight of the not very articulate Monica desperately choosing her words brought a complicated expression to Silas’s face. It’s as if he was angry, exasperated and smiling all at once.

“I see. That sounds scary,” Silas replied.

“Yes, I am very scary! So, um… I know.”

Monica recalled a perfect line for such occasions, and put on the scariest face she could muster.

“Y-You have no right to refuse, junior.”

While saying that, Monica forced up the corner of her mouth. This was her imitation of the scary man who had once threatened her into taking a job she didn’t want to do.

Silas ruffled up his blond hair and put on a broad smile.

“Guess I have no choice if it’s a senpai order… Auntie Tanuki, got any of the kid’s scales? That’ll make it easier to find him.”

Auntie Tanuki, or rather, the red dragon, began scrounging around the fur above her belly.

“Wow, mages can do that nowadays? Scales, scales, pretty sure I’ve got one around here… Oh, a bug came out. You want it?”

“Hell no.”

Dragons tend to not care about names, but Thule is an exception. He loves calling Pikeh by name and getting his name called by her. That’s why he says, “Pikeh, Pikeh,” all the time.

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