Chapter 81
The Dragon's Hometown
It was Saturday, the middle of June.
'Thanks for coming, gao! Welcome, gao!'
The four of us had come to Tatsumin-san's hometown.
After taking the train to the neighboring city, we rode a bus for about twenty minutes to a mountain town—or perhaps a village, judging by its size.
At a bus stop surrounded by nothing but rice paddies and fields, Tatsumin-san greeted us in that familiar mascot costume.
"Whee! Morning, Tatsumin! Can I rub your belly?"
'Morning, gao! Of course! Welcome, gao!'
"Thanks! Come on, Miyu-chi, you should touch it too!"
"Huh? Um, all right. If you insist."
Prompted by Riko-senpai, Miyu-san stroked the white belly of the dragon-like mascot costume.
Her amethyst eyes widened for just an instant, after which she devoted herself to enjoying Tatsumin-san's belly with a blank expression.
Feeling a little charmed, I gave Tatsumin-san a little bow.
"Please take care of us today, Tatsumin-san."
'Likewise, gao! I'm so happy you all came, gao!'
As Miyu-san and Riko-senpai rubbed her belly, Tatsumin-san waved her right hand back and forth. She seemed accustomed to people touching her costume.
Somehow, I felt as if we'd come to a theme park. It was nostalgic.
"Hmph... Azure Dragon, it has been some time. I commend you for coming to greet us."
Tatsumin-san raised her left hand toward Rosso-san, who held a parasol in her right hand and struck some mysterious pose with her left.
'It's been a while, Rosso~n! But aren't you hot dressed like that, gao? Be careful not to get heatstroke, gao!'
"Hmph... Yes. I'll be careful."
Though summer had only just begun, the daytime temperatures had already risen considerably.
While I and the others were wearing short sleeves, Rosso-san was dressed in gothic lolita fashion as usual.
"Um... If you're going to say that, are you going to be all right too, Tatsumin-san...?"
'No problem, gao! Tatsumin's a dragon, after all, gao! Besides, I'm dressed nice and cool, gao!'
The mascot puffed out its chest. Yeah, right. What part of that was cool?
"Um, do you at least make sure to stay hydrated in there...?"
'There is no one inside. Got it?'
"Ah, yes."
Her carefree voice suddenly changed into a sharp, husky one. Ah, this was one of those things I shouldn't point out.
I could almost feel pressure emanating from the mascot's unchanging face. She was really committed to the role, even though we weren't at an amusement park or event venue.
Still, ability users were generally quite sturdy. They weren't invincible, but perhaps they wouldn't collapse from heatstroke that easily.
'Well then, let's get moving, gao!'
"All right! Come on, Miyu-chi, let go already."
"Ah! ...My apologies. I got carried away."
'It's all right, gao! I'm a dragon who loves interacting with people, gao!'
Miyu-san hurriedly removed her hands from Tatsumin-san's belly and straightened up.
In the process, her breasts gave a soft 'jiggle.' They really were enormous...!
Her black T-shirt, lightweight white cardigan, and dark-blue jeans emphasized Miyu-san's figure, making her a serious assault on my eyes. Her T-shirt seemed to be creaking under the pressure of her massive breasts. Would they create a new crime for clothing abuse?
I wanted to applaud Riko-senpai for coordinating the outfit.
Of course, she was no less dangerous to look at herself.
Aside from a rugged belt around her waist, she wore a simple outfit consisting of a white T-shirt covered in some mysterious English-like writing and denim shorts. Together with the black hat she wore, it gave her a slightly sporty air.
More than that, though, her tanned legs were dazzling. They weren't as impressive as Miyu-san's, but she had curves where they belonged and a healthy sensuality that was hard to ignore.
Honestly, I couldn't look at her directly. And she radiated an incredible extrovert aura.
'Well then, we'll take that Tatsumin-mobile over there to the inn, gao!'
"Yes, please take care of us."
I readjusted my luggage and headed toward the blue van Tatsumin-san pointed—or rather, gestured—at with her hand. Looking closely, I saw a few pictures of Tatsumin-san painted on it here and there.
We would be culling dungeons for two days and one night. Even so, we wouldn't be visiting all thirteen of them.
That was still an absurd number. Why were they packed so densely together?
We greeted the old man in the driver's seat and climbed into the vehicle. Finally, Tatsumin-san squeezed herself in with a squishy wobble, somehow managed to sit down, and we set off.
"Um... Tatsumin-san, what about your seat belt?"
'This is private property, gao. It's the road to Yamaoka-sa... er, the driver's house, so it's fine, gao.'
"Ah, I see. Sorry."
I still thought she should wear one, but it wasn't my place to keep nagging her about it.
Perhaps he had heard our exchange, because the driver turned only his head around and smiled at us. I bowed to him and looked out the window.
Lush green rice plants stood in orderly rows, with barely any weeds in sight. They must have been well tended. The leaves and water's surface swayed in the breeze. A little farther away, perhaps as part of midseason drying, one rice paddy lay exposed, its cracked earth showing.
In another field covered by blue netting—perhaps a fruit orchard—people who looked like an elderly couple were working on something.
Faintly, I heard the sound of 'pop-pop-pop' firecrackers. Miyu-san reacted to the explosive noise and started to draw her revolver-shaped wand, so I hastily stopped her with one hand.
It was nostalgic. My great-grandfather on my father's side had been a farmer, if I remembered correctly. Apparently, the family had quit farming during my grandparents' generation after a typhoon ruined the fields. When I was in elementary school, I had gone to help out several times.
The fields and rice paddies had been passed down to my uncle and his wife, but I had heard that they had since sold the land as well.
Well, farming was absurdly hard work, so it couldn't be helped. Even when I thought back to my elementary-school memories, all I remembered was how exhausting it had been. But the juice I drank after we finished helping had been unbelievably delicious, and that part had stuck with me.
It was a secret that I was glad our family hadn't ended up inheriting the farm. That work had really been brutal.
Even now that magic and abilities existed, pruning and thinning fruit would surely still have to be done by hand. Harvesting alone was grueling labor. I absolutely did not want to do it. Seriously.
"Kota-san? What's wrong? You look pale..."
"Don't worry. I'm just feeling a little nostalgic."
"Oh..."
Miyu-san, who was sitting beside me, looked concerned, so I gave her a wry smile and shook my head.
While all this was going on, the inn came into view.
Land was relatively cheap in the countryside, but the property was still quite large. According to Riko-senpai, a forestry family that had once prospered in this area had built it as a retreat for its employees.
Although the building was impressive and it was called an inn, apparently it was essentially a guesthouse. The elderly couple who ran it usually stayed at their house near the fields in the mountains, too.
"Well then, let's leave our luggage in our rooms and head to the dungeon."
"Yes."
'The girls' room is over here, gao. The boy's single room is over here, gao.'
Tatsumin-san opened the front door with a rattle, popped off the pieces on the soles of her feet with a 'clop,' and entered the inn.
...Those parts were shoes? And they were removable, too?
I followed after her, marveling inwardly.
'Well then, make yourselves comfortable, gao!'
I was shown into a single room, but at twelve tatami mats, it was awfully spacious for just me.
The toilet and bath were outside the room, right? Riko-senpai had told me roughly where they were before we came by bus.
'Wow! It really is spacious here!'
Right on cue, I heard Riko-senpai's voice through the wall. The large room where the girls would be staying was next door.
'This much space, and this many people... At night, the legendary battle—the pillow fight—is possible...!'
'Battle? In a room we're borrowing, I can't recommend acts of combat, even recreational ones.'
'Don't worry, Miyu-chi! Pillow fights are a traditional event! It's not combat!'
Apparently the walls were rather thin. Thanks to my elven blood, I could hear their voices.
...Yeah.
I was really nervous.
It was nothing short of a miracle that I'd managed to keep up a calm façade this long.
Even if the trip there and back was a bit of a hassle, spending a night under the same roof with several young men and women was something I still couldn't believe was happening.
There were several toilets at the inn, separated by gender, but the bath was assigned by time slot. In other words... I would be soaking in the same bath Miyu-san and the others had used.
Apart from school trips, this was my first time staying overnight with members of the opposite sex outside my family. The moment I heard their voices through the wall, my heart began pounding loudly.
Could this—just perhaps—actually lead to something?
At this old country inn, a whirlwind of rosy youth events might occur───
My gray matter sprang into action and began running simulations at full power.
Eating together... sharing a bath... an accident... a pillow fight... pajamas... a design for a special golem I'd thought up in a late-night burst of inspiration but rejected the next morning... No, that last one had nothing to do with it.
My eyes flew open with a snap, as if an anime cut-in had appeared.
It took only three seconds. The answer I arrived at was...!
"────Nope. No."
Reality was merciless. Staying at the same inn wasn't going to magically produce some rosy romantic event.
Besides, we weren't here for fun in the first place.
"Otaku-kun! Are you ready?"
"Ah, yes! Coming!"
I set down the bag containing my change of clothes and shouldered the backpack that held only my adventuring gear.
It was time for work. To get an introduction to the paper factory, I would do everything I could.