The Lesser Dragon Butchering Mission

After spending a night in the post town at the top of the pass, we set off for Sobana, the border city.

We descended the pass in the H○-Ace with everyone aboard. With Melissa gone, there was one fewer passenger.

It was downhill all the way. We followed the winding, snake-like road downward. Since I was using engine braking, I stayed in third gear.

I was especially careful around blind corners. I never knew when someone might come barreling around one.

Since this world drove on the left, our side was the cliff side, putting us at a disadvantage if someone hit us.

It wasn't called Hell Highway for nothing. But on the way back to the royal capital, we would have to take this road again.

Just thinking about it filled me with anxiety.

Along the way, we passed wagons climbing uphill and overtook slower ones wherever the road offered good visibility. One wrong move and we'd end up at the bottom of the valley.

We slowly descended at about thirty to forty kilometers per hour. Even so, that was quite fast compared to a wagon.

But then we saw a line of wagons ahead. There were lines going both up and down the pass—it seemed there had been an accident.

"Lilith-sama, it looks like there's been an accident."

"Indeed."

We couldn't dawdle here. I didn't want to spend a night halfway up the pass.

But apparently, people traveling by wagon overcame this difficult stretch by stopping partway and spending several nights along the way.

I opened the door and went to take a look. Myaree and Nyamena, who had nothing better to do, came down with me.

We passed the line of wagons and headed for the accident site.

Apparently, two wagons had collided after failing to make it around a corner. Their wheels were badly damaged.

The two tangled wagons were blocking the highway.

The merchants had gathered and were trying to move the wagons, but they didn't seem to be having any luck.

"Hey! Let me handle this!"

"What? Who are you?"

"I'm in a hurry. You need this wagon moved, right?"

"We're in a hurry too—"

Explaining would be a hassle, though—.

"There aren't any living creatures loaded in this wagon, are there?"

"Yes."

I put one of the wagons into my Item Box.

"Ohhh?!"

Then I brought it out again a short distance away.

"Ooooh?!"

"You have an Item Box? And a huge one, at that!"

"Well, sorry, but since I moved it, I'm going through first."

I returned to the car, started it slowly, and threaded my way between the wagons.

"Wh-what?!" "It's moving without horses!" "Is it magic?!"

"Sorry, I'm going ahead!"

I waved to the astonished line of merchants through the open window as we passed the accident site.

Then we resumed our descent.

There were quite a lot of wagons. Since beastfolk messengers had headed for the post town at the foot of the pass as soon as it opened, the news must have spread.

"Your Item Box is convenient. Couldn't you transport military supplies with it?"

"No way. It can't hold that many things. It's already full with two large monsters inside."

In reality, even I didn't know how much it could hold.

I had to say that, or they might conscript me for military transport—even though that was already a distinct possibility.

"With that, it seems you could make any kind of business work."

"If I wanted to make money, I could earn as much as I wanted, so I have little interest in royal or noble patronage."

"Hmm..."

"However, once a business starts succeeding, jealousy and harassment get worse. I expect the writ Your Majesty gave me this time will prove extremely useful."

"You're unusual. Most people dream of receiving a noble title or family name and work desperately toward that goal."

"Exactly!"

Suddenly, a face appeared from behind us after slipping between the seats—it was Primula. She must have been listening to our conversation.

"My father always said that his dream was to receive a family name and turn Marrow Trading Company into a major firm. Thanks to you, Kenichi, that dream came true."

"That's because Marrow-san—no, my father-in-law—is so capable..."

"No, my father was so deeply moved after receiving a family name that he said he would support you no matter what happened, even if he had to abandon Marrow Trading Company to do it..."

"I'm very grateful, and it's an honor, but people work at Marrow Trading Company, and they have families too. I can't ask him to do that."

"No! Please ask him!"

I was overwhelmed by Primula's serious gaze and forceful enthusiasm.

"All right, all right. I understand."

"Besides, Kenichi, if you return to the royal capital like this, you'll be treated as a hero. There's no doubt you'll be granted a title."

"What? I don't need anything that troublesome... Can't I refuse?"

"Y-you'd refuse?! Were you listening to anything I said?!"

"I was listening, but my impression of the royalty and nobility in the royal capital is already terrible."

"I understand how you feel, but..."

The princess went on and on about how prestigious it was to be granted a title, but honestly, I had no interest in it at all.

"Hmm... Primula, what do you think? Do you want me to receive a title after all?"

"Th-that... I'll leave it up to you, Kenichi, but... if you became part of the nobility, then, um... it would be good for business, and, um... I said I didn't want to use you, but... I'm a horrible woman. You may insult me if you wish..."

"It's not like that. All right, all right. I'll think about it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Kenichi!"

Primula hugged me from behind. I hadn't expected her to be so happy, but in the provinces, the power of the nobility was absolute.

I could understand how she felt, in a way—better a nearby noble than a distant member of royalty.

That was why she had also received a marriage proposal from Baron Northpole.

"Wait, wait! Be careful! What will you do if we fall off the cliff?!"

"Faaah..."

Primula, still clinging to me, wore an ecstatic expression.

"Hey, Primula, let go."

"Primula, you're too close! If that's how it is, I'll hug him too!"

Anemone came over as she said that.

"Hey! You two, stop it! It's dangerous!"

What if we fell off the cliff? But the princess, who had been listening to our conversation, looked serious.

"Primula, are you sure this is what you want?"

"Lilith-sama, what do you mean?"

According to the princess, a first-generation noble or a baron might be able to take a merchant's daughter as his primary wife, but considering the great deeds I had supposedly accomplished, I was likely to receive a much higher title.

At that rank, it seemed almost impossible for a commoner woman to become the primary wife.

"So there's a good chance I'll be forced to take a noblewoman as my wife?"

"Indeed. And now that you have become a Holy Knight, there is also a very real possibility that your partner could be royalty."

"Eeeh? I'd rather not become related to Her Majesty the Queen. Besides, would any member of the royal family really agree to marry me?"

"Well... for example, as a concubine..."

"Eeeh? That wasn't a joke?"

"What is that supposed to mean?! Do you object?!"

"I wouldn't say I object, but isn't this getting ahead of ourselves? Besides, I heard your partner had already been decided..."

"She is only a candidate for betrothal!"

The princess continued explaining how significant it was that I had become a Holy Knight, but—.

"What will you do, Primula? If I become a noble, things are going to get troublesome in all sorts of ways. Are you really all right with that?"

"Auuugh... Th-then again... The secret to making money at Marrow Trading Company—the secret to making money is sometimes lying to your own soul..."

That was a remarkably harsh secret. There was a line somewhere saying, 'Money weighs more than life...'—but Primula was seriously agonizing over it.

Even if she didn't become my primary wife, becoming the concubine of a high-ranking noble would offer enormous benefits to her merchant family.

It would also give her an opportunity to expand into the royal capital, something every provincial merchant dreamed of. Perhaps she couldn't resist her instincts as a merchant.

"Regardless of what your wife wants, the nobles will come swarming in with their daughters, won't they?"

"I have the writ Your Majesty gave me, don't I?"

"Of course, you can use it, but if you turn away nobles who come in good faith, you will damage their impression of you, won't you?"

"I don't care how bad the nobles' impression of me gets..."

"And that's why! If I were your designated partner, the nobles wouldn't be able to interfere at all! That's the idea!"

The princess was extremely confident in her plan, but I couldn't imagine it working that smoothly.

"In any case, there is no way His Majesty or Her Majesty the Queen would approve of something like that."

"Exactly! That is why I said I would renounce my status as a member of the royal family when the time came!"

"Let's calm down and think about this, Lilith-sama. Why would you need to marry some ordinary middle-aged man like me?"

"You are a hero who saved the kingdom!"

The princess hugged me too.

"Fwaaah! What is this?! She was right—this really does make me fall for you! I feel like I could spread my legs right now!"

What on earth was this princess talking about?

"Careful!"

I panicked and stepped on the brake, bringing the car to a stop.

"Lilith, you're too close to Kenichi!"

"What are you saying, Anemone? Lilith and I have formed a 'Holy Pact,' you know?"

At some point, Anemone and the princess had become comfortable enough to call each other by name.

"Hey, Lilith-sama, what does that mean?"

"They say that people who form a Holy Pact will meet again in the next life!"

"What's that? I've never heard of it."

"Naturally, because I just made it up."

"Then I'll be with Kenichi in the life after the next one too!"

"Then I shall be with him in the life after the life after the next one!"

"Gnh..."

What were they, elementary schoolers? Well, by age they were technically an elementary schooler and a middle schooler...

"All right, all right. I understand, so let's get moving. We need to hurry, or it'll be a problem if it gets dark."

I started the car again. Since the people traveling up and down by wagon couldn't proceed after dark, they apparently spent several nights even partway up the pass.

"Tiger, did you hear? Kenichi's going to become a noble. He mentioned it a little while ago, but now it looks like it isn't just a joke anymore."

"After everything the Boss has done, it wouldn't be strange for him to become a noble. We were saying the other day that we might be able to become nobles' mistresses too, remember?"

"Yeah, but if the Boss becomes a noble, he'll have his pick of women. They'll probably throw us away."

"The Boss would never do that!"

"All men are the same."

I could hear that conversation from behind, mixed with the sound of the H○-Ace's engine.

Then Nyamena came forward from the rearmost seat to the back of the driver's seat.

"Boss! Kuro's saying things like that! You wouldn't do that, would you?!"

"I wouldn't do that. Why would I abandon beautiful, hardworking women like you? I'll stay with you until I die, so don't worry."

"Boss!"

Nyamena hugged me too.

"Hey, stop it! It's dangerous!"

"Kuro! The Boss says he's different, you hear?!"

"Really~?"

Myaree seemed to have a habit of taking a step back and thinking things over. She always used it to tease Nyamena.

She called herself rational, and perhaps this was what she meant.

"Myaree, I suppose I don't need to pet you anymore, then?"

"Oh! Boss! Then pet me instead!"

Nyamena reacted to my words.

"Yeah, sure."

"Wait! Why did it turn out like this?!"

Myaree hurriedly flew forward from the rear seat as well.

"But Kuro doesn't trust the Boss, right? Then I'll take her place."

"No way!"

A heated argument began behind my seat.

"You two, it's dangerous, so sit properly."

Everyone had been patting and touching me, so I was hungry. Unfortunately, my ability activated when people touched me too, which made me hungry.

I took a banana out of my Item Box. But I wanted something to drink too...

I stopped the car for a moment and bought tomato juice from Shangri-La.

"Lilith-sama, would you like some too?"

"Indeed!"

Seriously, she was going to eat it too? Where did she put all that food? I asked the passengers in the back what they wanted and brought out drinks and the like for them as well.

Primula wanted the Ka○pa E○sen she had eaten before.

"Give me some of that snack as well."

I handed the princess Ka○pa E○sen and tomato juice, then started the car again.

I wondered if the tomato juice would be all right. Even in my original world, quite a few people disliked it.

"Oh! These are crispy, savory snacks! Salty snacks are unusual. And this drink—juice from a salty fruit—is unusual as well!"

Surprisingly, she seemed to be enjoying the Ka○pa Ebi○n and tomato juice. She really was a princess with no food preferences at all.

I let Anemone have a sip of the tomato juice too, but she couldn't handle it. She rejected it with an incredible expression on her face.

Everyone else was drinking milk.

"Salty snacks! But they're incredibly delicious and leave you wanting more." "They have such a strange, crunchy texture."

The maids eating in the back seemed to like them too.

"Over the hill we go..."

After that, I handled the steering skillfully and made good progress. Before noon, the post town at the foot of the pass came into view.

Beyond it stretched a vast golden field as far as the eye could see—a great granary region.

"Wow! This is an incredible granary! Everything is golden!"

"Indeed! It is famous enough to appear in songs: 'We advance through the eternally swaying gold, making our kingdom shine.'"

Then we overtook the three wagons traveling ahead of us.

"That wagon looks familiar..."

When we passed them and looked over, we saw three beastfolk women riding in them.

"Oh, we have already caught up with them. Naturally—we descended the pass in only one day."

"If the road were better, we could climb and descend it in a single day too."

"Good heavens..."

The beastfolk saw us and waved, shouting something, but we couldn't hear them.

They say travel is best with companions, and life with kindness, but we couldn't travel together. Still, they were also headed for Sobana.

We might run into them somewhere.

"Lilith-sama, isn't there a proverb in the royal capital about how traveling together is more enjoyable?"

"Hmm... I don't know if it applies here, but there is one that says, 'When people are together, they share both joy and sorrow.'"

That's a pretty good saying.

"Now, we only have a little farther to go, so I need to stay alert. You never know what might happen. 'Don't let your guard down until you leave the forest,' as they say."

Around here, it would probably be, 'Don't let your guard down until you reach the bottom of the pass.'

"You are cautious."

"There was a master tree climber in my hometown. He never said anything while climbing, but he always called out just before climbing down."

"Is that so? Why?"

"Apparently, accidents were most common when people let their guard down while descending."

"I see."

Of course, it was a made-up story based on the famous tree climber passage in Tsurezuregusa.

We drove through the post town at the foot of the pass. It was nearly lunchtime, but—.

Even though we had food with us, there was no reason to stop for the mediocre food at the post town.

"Now, where would be a good place to eat..."

As I was thinking about that and driving along, we saw—.

"Kenichi, there's a lake between the trees!" "Wow, that's a pretty big lake!"

Following the beastfolk's words, I looked to the right and saw the glittering surface of a lake through the scattered trees.

The road was slightly elevated, so we were looking down at it.

"Nice. Is there a road over there?"

I searched for a side road to the lake and found one, so I turned the car onto it.

"I'm getting hungry too."

"That too, but I want to process the monsters in my Item Box."

"I see. With all that water available, you can do that here. It is a very large creature, after all."

Exactly. I wanted a large, uninhabited place. There should be plenty of room beside the lake.

The side road was a little rough, but the H○-Ace was four-wheel drive. It couldn't lock its differential like a La○d Cruiser, but it had an optional LSD, or limited-slip differential.

We passed through tall grass like reeds and reached the lake. After getting out and looking around, I saw what seemed to be a fishing village two or three kilometers away.

Bell got out first and began patrolling the area. It must have been her first patrol in a while. The beastfolk stretched enthusiastically too.

I took binoculars from my Item Box and checked the surroundings. No problems.

A river flowed in from the mountains on the right and seemed to flow out toward the lower reaches near the village on the left.

Looking through the binoculars, I saw something that resembled a raft. Perhaps they cut timber in the mountains and transported it downstream by river.

"Maylen! I need to gather flowers!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Well, if Bell wasn't on guard, there probably weren't any monsters around. Maylen-san seemed skilled too.

I took a table and chairs out of my Item Box and prepared a light lunch. Then we all sat down to eat.

"I want to bleed the monsters, so would it be all right if we spent the night here?"

"Sure. I don't sense anything suspicious." "Yeah, it's a pretty nice place."

"Indeed. I'll leave it to you. If you can process the meat properly, we will be able to eat even more delicious meat, won't we?"

"Exactly."

"I look forward to it."

The princess was definitely the sort who preferred food to flowers. Anemone and Primula agreed too, so I took the house out of my Item Box and set it up.

There was plenty of water here, so we could use as much as we wanted.

"We'll be butchering monsters, so anyone who can't handle internal organs should stay inside the house."

At that, Primula hurried into the house.

"Is Lilith-sama all right?"

"Haha, I was told it was to help me get used to blood, so Mother took me to battlefields and scenes of purges."

That was some heavy education. Perhaps a member of the royal family couldn't afford to be frightened by things like that.

First, I brought out Ko○tsu-san and dug a hole beside the lake. Water began seeping in partway through, but I ignored it.

Then I spread a blue tarp I had bought from Shangri-La over the hole.

I would pile the organs here, put the tarp and its contents into my Item Box, and then throw them into the trash bin.

I could bury them in the ground, but I would have to dig extremely deep.

The lesser dragon first. It was the larger of the two.

Since I needed to turn it on its side, I used the wheel loader I had taken out of my Item Box to flip it over.

"What incredible strength. Normally, several hundred people would have to do this, you know?"

"All right! Now I can cut open its belly. Myaree, Nyamena, put these on and help me."

I bought another set of the disposable protective clothing I used so often from Shangri-La.

"Sure thing~. We have to wear the white stuff again?" "It keeps us clean, but it's hot, nya."

"That's better than being covered in guts, right?"

I completely covered my entire body, but the beastfolk left only their heads exposed.

I wanted them to wear the suits because of the risk of infectious diseases, but since I had learned to use Heal after Anemone, we could probably manage.

I peeled off the scales covering the lesser dragon's belly and slit it open in a straight line. Its pressurized organs burst out like an inner tube.

"Aaaagh! I'm covered in blood, damn it!"

If I hadn't been wearing the protective suit, I really would have been covered in guts. Since I had put it into my Item Box immediately after killing it, it was still warm.

It was work I wanted to finish quickly, but if the organs were damaged, the meat would become inedible, so I couldn't use heavy machinery for this.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"Haha, this is incredible."

"Kenichi! Can I cut open the intestines that fell into the hole?"

"Sure, but what are you going to do with them?"

"I see. Dragon Incense?"

The princess seemed to understand what the beastfolk were doing.

"Is Dragon Incense a stone used for incense?"

Even in my original world, I remembered hearing that ambergris from whales sold for a high price.

"Exactly. All right! If you find a stone, I'll buy it from you."

"How much does it sell for?"

"Depending on its size, somewhere between 200 gold coins (40 million yen) and 400 gold coins (80 million yen)."

"Eeeh? Is it really worth that much?"

"Indeed. If a wyvern had such a stone, it should be worth even more. I have no idea how high the price might go."

"All right! Kuro, you have a royal guarantee! Search with all your might!"

"Leave it to me! This is the biggest gamble of my life, nya!"

Nyamena was scooping out the organs while Myaree cut them open and searched through their contents.

In the meantime, I asked Anemone to use magic to cool the body. At first I thought about sinking it in the lake, but it was so large that it would take too long to cool.

The meat would spoil in the meantime. I handed Anemone the aluminum plate used as a magical catalyst, keeping it out of the princess's sight.

"Mmph! Refrigeration!"

Since the body was so large, I had her cool it in several sections—but once she finished, Anemone ran away.

The smell was that terrible, but the huge sum of money waiting for them was enough to make it bearable.

Naturally, the beastfolk were putting their backs into it. If they found nothing, all that work would be for nothing.

Once the organs were removed, I hung the body from the wheel loader to drain its blood.

But the tail was so long that it touched the ground. I made another cut at the base of the tail and summoned Yu○bo.

I raised the tail with it. Using the wheel loader and Yu○bo, I suspended the lesser dragon's corpse in a V-shape—.

"C-can you really summon three enormous familiars at once? Who exactly are you?"

"I'm a mage from the frontier, but... I suppose I'm the princess's Holy Knight now?"

There was no way I could tell her that all of them were actually stored in my Item Box.

I also had a La○d Cruiser, a large dump truck, and a cherry picker in there. Oh, and nine-meter scaffolding and logs too.

Thinking about it again, this was incredible—an ability that could truly be called a cheat.

However, I probably didn't need the cherry picker now that I had Anemone's golem. Should I trade it in?

No, I shouldn't rely on Anemone's magic for everything... But she seemed to want me to rely on her...

If my Item Box ever ran out of space, I would have to organize its contents too, but I still didn't know how much it could hold.

I decided to leave things as they were for the time being.

Blood streamed from beneath the enormous suspended corpse.

But according to the princess, dragon blood could also be sold, so I decided to collect it in plastic cases.

Could it really be sold? The heart and gallbladder were apparently valuable too, so I cooled them and stored them in my Item Box.

I also set aside the liver and the intestines the beastfolk had cut open, since they might be edible.

They might taste good grilled as offal or cooked in a hot pot.

"What do you use dragon blood for? Do you drink it?"

"Indeed. Apparently, drinking it is supposed to promote eternal youth and longevity, but—"

How about making blood sausage out of the intestines?

"Would Lilith-sama like some too?"

"I'll pass."

The princess didn't seem to believe it. Apparently, the heart and gallbladder were said to cure all illnesses.

Naturally, true dragons such as red dragons were more valuable than dragon variants.

Meanwhile, Myaree and Nyamena were swimming in the pool of organs.

"Nooo!" "Nothing here, nya!"

Apparently, if there had been a stone, it would have had a scent. The beastfolk's highly sensitive noses should be able to detect it even among the organs.

"Give it up."

"Boss, we didn't find Dragon Incense, but we found this!"

Nyamena held up a large black stone. It wasn't Dragon Incense, but a magic stone supposedly found inside monsters.

I had no plans to use it, but I put it into my Item Box for the time being.

"Damn it! No luck!" "We'll bet on the next one, nya!"

With everyone's help, we brought the four corners of the blue tarp containing the organs together and made it into a bag.

If I stored the tarp now, the organs should go into my Item Box with it—right?

If they didn't, I could simply bury them with Ko○tsu-san.

"All right, store!"

The blue tarp in front of me disappeared—success. Then I immediately threw everything except the liver and intestines into the trash bin! Perfect.

Then I moved on to butchering my next prey—the wyvern.