Chapter 135
“Pathetic humans, gathered together here.”
The dragon was an object of worship.
She was feared by all living creatures,
and was the being closest to a god.
Gold Dragon Pamela gazed down at the human city and smiled.
As luck would have it, that city had a tower suited to her.
“That tower would make a perfect home for me.”
The humans would surely cheer.
Reaching this place had made her even more certain.
The world had been destroyed.
Monsters teemed everywhere, and the land had grown barren.
If a great dragon like her descended, they would gladly surrender that tower and worship her.
“In that case...”
In a slightly more magnificent form.
-Thud!
“Kraaah!”
Pamela descended atop the Mage Tower in her splendid dragon form.
As she let out a great roar, she could see the humans below panicking.
“I am a great being, a dragon! I have deigned to descend and personally look after you.”
In truth, she had simply woken up from a nap.
She had flown here after sensing something that made her flinch, but...
“Worship me!”
When she shouted loudly into the city, someone soon rose from the Mage Tower beneath her feet.
A woman with striking red hair and extravagant clothes.
“Oh-ho, are you the leader of the humans?”
Pamela smiled faintly.
If she promised them treasures of gold and silver and magical power, they would offer her their liver and gallbladder.
That was how humans were.
But the woman seemed strangely different.
Rather than tension, anger and irritation seemed to waft from her.
“Hmm? Wait.”
By the time Pamela realized that scent was strangely familiar, it was already too late.
“You stupid lizard!”
“Eek.”
A being whom dragons that usually acted alone had, unusually, recognized as their queen.
Dragon Mom Felicity hurriedly slapped Pamela across the cheek.
*
[Title: I'm Sorry]
Author: Malang
(GIF of a woman with platinum-blond hair and wearing only a white T-shirt kneeling with both hands raised)
I had no idea someone already ruled the world.
I had even less idea that you had put Fel—no, Dragon Dragon Will Die, beneath you...
I won't act up again...
I've prepared a small gift, so please forgive me...
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 0]
- This guy lol, where does she think she is, trying to collect protection money lol
- A mysterious-element beauty doing a dogeza lol
- Whoa, she's a girl.
- So she didn't recognize Head Mod, then knelt down crying and begged forgiveness?
ㄴ Oh
ㄴ Until all the ice regions in the world melt
“No, forget forgiveness—who are you?”
But then a dragon suddenly appeared...
It wasn't some meme; it was real.
And before I could even figure out what to do, Felicity hit her and she came to beg forgiveness.
[Dragon Dragon Will Die has shipped ‘Ashes of Fate’!]
Dragon Dragon Will Die: Hmm... so, you there?
Dragon Dragon Will Die: Please don't misunderstand me.
Dragon Dragon Will Die: A young dragon failed to notice your presence and interrupted your recreation.
Dragon Dragon Will Die: As an apology, I prepared and sent a gift myself, so won't you forgive her?
She had even received a gift.
“Ashes of Fate? What an unnecessarily grand name.”
It was a name that gave me no clue what it was.
This was when I needed to call upon the system's power.
[Ashes of Fate]
A leaf made by the Gold Dragon from mana.
Burning it and inhaling its ashen scent, or steeping it as tea and drinking it, are both beneficial.
It helps restore mana.
The name was given directly by the Gold Dragon herself.
“So it's just a try-hard dragon thing.”
No wonder I'd thought from her first appearance that she talked like a cringey eighth-grader.
But maybe she thought I was angry because I hadn't replied while looking over this.
[‘Malang’ has requested a trade!]
She skillfully contacted me through the trade window, which had now transformed into a Head Mod socializing tool.
“Did Felicity tell her?”
Curious what she would say, I accepted the chat.
Malang: Um... hello.
Head Mod*: Hiya
Malang: It wasn't that I was trying to interrupt your recreation... I just thought no one was here...
Malang: I'm really sorry...!
At the same time, a barrage of cringing chat messages flew from Malang.
Malang: (GIF of a dragon tail fluttering)
Head Mod*: Oh
On top of that, she sent an apologetic dragon-tail wag.
In truth, I wasn't angry, apology or no.
More importantly, was there anyone in the world who could stay angry after seeing that GIF?
A beautiful dragon girl in nothing but a white T-shirt wagging her tail?
“I can't resist this.”
I suddenly became curious while saving the GIF.
Head Mod*: But is that outfit okay?
Head Mod*: I mean, I like it, yeah.
In the GIF, she looked extremely embarrassed.
I asked in case she was being forced into it, and a reply came immediately.
Malang: My big sister said Head Mod would like me dressed like this...
Malang: She said that if something's cute and pretty, Head Mod would be into it even if it were the same sex...
Head Mod*: What
“That's true, but what does ‘same sex’ have to do with it?”
I started to correct the misunderstanding, then stopped.
In my experience, explanations didn't get through.
More than that, I was curious about the leaf called Ashes of Fate.
“It helps restore mana?”
Wouldn't this be exactly what the elves needed?
There were even a lot of them.
At a glance, it seemed to consist of hundreds of tea leaves, so it looked like it would make quite a lot of tea.
Of course, I wouldn't know how effective it was until I tried it...
“It's from a dragon, so it can't be defective, right?”
Head Mod*: But this
[Ashes of Fate]
Is it really guaranteed to restore mana?
Malang: Yes, yes! Even if it's not on the level of Big Sis World Tree, you can expect mana recovery!
Head Mod*: No,
[Ashes of Fate]
Is it really that good?
Head Mod*: Wow, seriously, thanks. I needed this.
[Ashes of Fate]
I'll put it to good use.
Malang: I'm glad it helped!
Malang: ...But could you not emphasize the tea leaf's name?
Malang: I gave it that name when I was young, and now it's a little embarrassing...
Head Mod*:
[Ashes of Fate]
Malang: Hingㅠㅠ
Besides, teasing her was fun.
“Come to think of it, you said Big Sis World Tree?”
When she called Felicity “big sis,” I figured that was understandable.
Felicity had introduced herself as the dragons' queen, after all.
But I'd never expected her to know the World Tree too.
Head Mod*: By the way, how do you know the World Tree?
So I asked.
If I was curious, I had to resolve it first.
Malang seemed to hold back for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
Malang: Actually, I did the same thing in the Elad region a few centuries ago...
Head Mod*: ?
Malang: I mean, just like I did earlier...
Head Mod*: Ah.
So, like she did in Kellierton, she invaded Elad to play queen.
And the World Tree that had been there first beat her up, just as Dragon Dragon Will Die had?
Head Mod*: Legendary.
Malang: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
She was a repeat offender, through and through.
*
Golden leaves.
When I handed the leaves Malang had given me to the elves, they immediately set about testing them.
[Title: Review of Using Ashes of Fate...jpg]
(GIF of elves gathered in small groups and burning leaves in a heater)
(GIF of elves steeping and drinking it as tea)
This is absolutely the best!
I feel vitality surging through my whole body, like I've gone back to how I used to be!
(GIF of elves leaping through trees)
Elkiyaaaak-hoo!!!
[Upvotes 102] [Downvotes 552]
- Ah, damn, they recovered after all.
- But I figured the problem would be solved the moment Head Mod touched it, yeah;
- Those elf bastards, seriously, if only Head Mod weren't around, ah lol
ㄴ Author) ㅇuㅇ ㅗㅗ
To put it simply, it worked perfectly.
The elves succeeded in regaining their vitality, even if not quite to the level of the World Tree days.
“There was a time I thought there was no bigger problem child than them...”
Seeing the whole species get stunned because they hadn't drunk alcohol this time changed my mind.
[Title: Elves Are Famous Trolls, Yeah]
They can't even manage their mana, yet they absolutely refuse to give up alcohol, tsk tsk x
Ah, it's just an elven racial trait o
[Upvotes 3921] [Downvotes 1021]
- For real, watching elves makes it seem like heaven itself is helping them.
- It used to be the World Tree, and now it's Head Mod lol
- There are no trolls like these trolls.
ㄴ Head Mod*) For real lol
ㄴ ...Head Mod?
ㄴ (Crying elf emoticon)
“Elves are famous for being ridiculously fragile.”
No race liked the elves.
Ever since the World Tree abandoned them, the elves had become complete loners.
Perhaps that was why the elves were becoming more and more dependent on me.
- Head Mod, take this too!
- It's a precious fairy fruit, but I'll give it to Head Mod!
- We made fruit wine at home this time, so...
[There are 999+ undelivered packages.]
The growing pile of delivery items proved it.
Most of them were from elves.
“Don't ever press the Collect All button.”
Once, I'd accepted them without thinking and almost caused the warehouse to explode.
Even now, I was considering moving or building something in the front yard because I was running out of space, but what if I received gifts on top of that?
There was a serious possibility I'd be suffocated by gifts pouring into the bunker.
[Notice: Stop!!!]
Author: Head Mod*
(GIF of gifts piled in a mountain-like heap in the corner)
Stop the gift barrage
I don't even have anywhere to live, so please stop
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 0]
- Oh, there's a gift I sent in there lol
- Wow, I'm fucking jealous lol. I wonder what it feels like.
- But at a glance, doesn't that seem to include some lewd elf drawings too?
- Hehe, I don't like it!
- Heehee, I'll send more.
- (Elf emoticon licking cheeks all over)
- Head Mod, you can't abandon us... If you do, we'll come grab you for sure...
Of course, it didn't work at all.
“So this is what it means for them to have a serious dependency problem.”
The World Tree, which had helped the elves before, had once advised me.
I hadn't understood it then, and never realized that “be careful with the elves” meant this.
Leaving the gifts that continued piling up behind me, I contacted Malang, who had helped me with this matter.
Head Mod*: Thanks, thanks. This helped a lot.
The golden leaves Malang had given me were more effective than I'd expected.
A small amount had an enormous effect.
A single leaf kept dozens of elves from running out of mana for several days.
Malang: Hehe, I'm glad.
Head Mod*: So I'd like to get more. Is that possible?
Malang: Ah.
I had been thinking of making it a regular supply, but her response was ambiguous.
“Can it not be mass-produced?”
I wondered if the item was more valuable than I'd thought, but the reason was surprisingly the exact opposite.
Malang: Um, well...
Malang: I make them myself using my own mana...
Malang: I-I don't mean I can't, but I have to eat shiny things to replenish my strength...!
Malang: I'll somehow prepare some by tomorrow, so please give me a little time ㅠㅠ
Head Mod*: No.
Just from the conversation, I looked almost like I was extorting her.
“Shiny things?”
Apparently, Malang was a Gold Dragon who ate gemstones.
“There are plenty of gemstones in the market, but...”
What kind of gemstones did she mean?
I searched through the shop and managed to find synthetic gemstones.
[Shop/Category/Gemstones]
[12-Color Gemstone Set – For Decorative Use] - 26p
[25 Diamond Toy Gemstone Chips] - 12p
[Fancy Stone – Heart-Shaped] - 5p
They cost only a few points each, but were artificial gemstones with appearances as beautiful as real ones.
“Would something like this work?”
She had definitely said shiny things, right?
To the eye, they were no different from real gemstones.
I picked up a few of each kind and had them shipped, figuring it was no big deal if they didn't work.
[‘Toy Gemstone Set’ has been shipped to ‘Malang’!]
Head Mod*: How about this?
Head Mod*: If it doesn't work, I'll send you real gemstones, yeah.
“Besides, even actual gemstones have plenty of cheap ones.”
That was the moment I shipped them, just in case.
Malang: Wooooah.
Malang: Aaaah... Th-this is so pretty...
Malang: How can gemstones like these exist...? How have I never seen them until now?
“They're toy gemstones, though?”
Her reaction was better than I'd expected—no, far too good.