Chapter 46
#46. Taming the Dragon (1)
The moisture in the surroundings was sucked into the dragon's gaping maw.
Before long, the compressed water shot out like a cannonball.
Kuwaaaaaaaah!!
It surged forward with terrifying force, as though it would sweep away every human in its path.
But rather than dodge, Kylan did not even blink.
Because standing firmly before him were reliable meat shields—no, Winterwald's excellent full-time employees.
"We'll block it! Karak!"
“I know… I do…!"
Krok, the former chieftain of the Red Fang Tribe, and Karak, the former chieftain of the Twin Axes Tribe.
The two orcs, now respectable hot-spring resort employees, stood facing the breath head-on with steel shields.
Kuwaaaaaaaang—!
The blue steel reinforced with slime mucus deflected the breath in every direction.
A fierce spray of water scattered spectacularly.
A heavy impact traveled through the forearms of the two orcs gripping their shields.
"Grrrgh……!"
Krok gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, recalling the devastating blow that had sent the human knights flying in an instant at the hot spring a few days ago.
But then…
"……Hmm?"
As the stream subsided, Krok cautiously opened his tightly shut eyes.
"What?"
Karak also made a dumbfounded noise and peeked his head out from behind his shield.
The two orcs were still standing perfectly fine in their original positions, without being pushed back even a single step.
"……Heh. Nothing special."
Krok gave a derisive laugh and readjusted his grip on the shield.
"There were actually people who got sent flying by an attack like this? Winterwald is in trouble."
Karak snorted and chimed in.
"Yeah, make sure you hit my back with the next breath, too. My shoulders are aching after all that scrubbing."
Kylan watched the scene from behind them with a smile.
'Just as I expected.'
There was only one reason the knights had been sent flying at the hot spring.
The dragon had absorbed the hot-spring water and temporarily grown stronger.
Winterwald's hot spring was a place with such a high concentration of mana that it was called the Fountain of Life in the latter half of the original story.
But there was no hot spring here now.
Even if it forcibly inflated its body by gathering groundwater from the cave, it naturally could not produce even half the power it had displayed then.
Right now, it was all brawn and no substance.
"M-My breath……!"
Having abruptly become a dragon that had been given an orc massage, its eyes shook violently.
Vines blocked it on every side, and its attacks had no effect.
Pochi had even sealed off the way back.
The dragon glanced around nervously before slowly beginning to sink into the ground.
It was liquefaction.
It was the same method it had used when escaping through the hot-spring drain.
But Winterwald was not so easy that the same trick would work twice.
"Your Highness. Allow me."
Eleanor, who had been standing beside Kylan, gracefully raised one white hand.
At that single light gesture, the air itself rippled violently.
The overwhelming magical power the Green Mage Tower Master had praised until the Tower Master was hoarse with praise.
Eleanor had only just learned how to control it efficiently through her lessons.
Hissssss!
The dragon, which had been attempting to liquefy itself, recoiled in alarm.
Before anyone knew it, a blazing sun had risen in the night sky, evaporating the snow around them.
And even its own body.
"It's all right. If you stay still, I won't hurt you, okay?"
Eleanor smiled like an angel and pointed a finger at the dragon.
The sun in the sky then poured its merciless light solely upon the dragon.
"Eek, eeeek! M-My body……!!"
An enormous amount of steam burst from the dragon's body as it was struck directly by the sun's rays.
Its enormous body began shrinking at an incredible speed.
'Even though she's my wife, there really is nothing she can't do.'
Suppressing his urge to give Eleanor a tight hug, Kylan drew Frost Fang from his waist.
Now was his chance, while the dragon was engulfed in heat and unable to move.
Shing!
"E-Eeeek……! It's you again!? Why are you doing this to me?!"
The dragon trembled when it faced the terrifying cold that had nearly frozen it solid at the hot spring.
"If you cause a disturbance at someone else's establishment, you have to pay the price."
Kylan lightly swung Frost Fang toward the ground.
It happened in an instant.
A blue aura shot out like a flash of light.
Krrrccccck!
"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"
The water dragon's legs froze solid in an instant, binding it to the ground.
When Kylan sheathed his sword, Eleanor withdrew the sun as well.
The dragon, now incomparably smaller than when it had emerged from the cave, looked utterly terrified as it pulled a miserable face.
The retainers watching from behind stared blankly at the subdued dragon for quite some time.
- There was no need to bring knights or adventurers.
The lord of Winterwald had once again proven his words true.
A tremendous cheer soon erupted.
"Our lord has captured a legend of the Southern Continent!!"
"Long live His Highness the Grand Duke! Long live Her Highness the Grand Duchess!"
Not only Kylan's close retainers,
but also the countless adventurers who had come to watch despite not even having received a commission.
Everyone was swept up in the excitement and shouted themselves hoarse.
Only then did Rick, who had been trembling near the cave, let out a sigh of relief and collapse onto the ground.
"Hah, haaah…… I survived……."
Playing the bait had made him feel as though he had aged ten years.
It was just as he was sitting sprawled out in the snow and catching his breath for a moment.
Smack!
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
Rick screamed and turned his head at the sudden, stinging slap that landed on his back.
Standing behind him was Gale, beaming broadly.
"Well done, Rick! Thanks to you, our entire party gets a six-month free lodging pass at the hot-spring inn, plus enough banana milk to make us sick of it!"
"Ah…… yes."
Rick stared blankly into the air for a moment before making a dissatisfied face.
"But, Big brother…… If you think about it, I was the only one who risked his life as bait…… Why are you and Sis getting rewards, too……?"
Another stinging slap flew into his back.
It was smaller than Gale's hand, but far more painful.
"S-Sis!!"
Sena was standing there, though no one knew when she had approached, shaking out her hand with a mischievous smile.
"Hey, don't be so petty between party members. Are we strangers?"
"You idiot. Even if I didn't say anything, do you have any idea how worried I was watching from outside…? How can you not understand Big brother's feelings?"
Sena nodded and chimed in with Gale's shameless words.
"That's right. Our bodies didn't go in, but our hearts went in with you!"
"G-Going with you in your hearts earns you a six-month free lodging pass……! This is a scam!"
When Rick protested with tears welling in his eyes, Gale placed a hefty money pouch in his arms.
Not from Sir Walter.
It was no less than a payment personally handed over by Grand Duke Kylan himself.
"His Highness the Grand Duke gave you twenty gold coins. Aren't you one step closer to having a foxlike wife and rabbitlike children now? Huh?"
"Yeah~ You'll have a cozy house in the new city and twenty gold coins. Northern women will follow you around saying they like you! Or maybe…… I could introduce you to my little sister?"
"……Ah."
The weight of the twenty gold coins nestled in his arms.
Six months' worth of free lodging at the inn.
And even a date with Sis's little sister?
His sense of injustice melted away like snow.
As always, Rick scratched his head foolishly.
"Now that you mention it, you're right, Big brother! Hehe. At this point, doesn't that make me the North's most eligible bachelor? Th-That aside, Sis, how old is your little sister……?"
Rick moved right up to Sena with a goofy grin.
"I really need to make sure this guy doesn't get scammed wherever he goes…."
Sena snorted in disbelief and shook her head.
Amid the peaceful banter of the Southern adventurer party,
Kylan merely looked down impassively at the dragon by his feet.
As though he could not hear the enthusiastic cheers of his retainers at all.
The faint smile at his lips concealed some vicious capitalist scheme.
Not a single one of the cheering retainers noticed.
***
Beneath Winterwald's Grand Ducal Castle.
The entire city was bustling with a festival celebrating the dragon's defeat, but this place was quiet as the grave.
A small solitary cell sealed behind a thick iron door and layers of magical barriers.
At its very center, a tiny life-form no bigger than a kitten trembled inside a steel cage.
"Whiiine…… sniff……."
A plump little nose.
Round, enormous eyes.
Short legs and tiny wings on its back.
The grandeur of the enormous Water Dragon that had once made the tourists in the hot-spring town tremble was nowhere to be found.
Its true identity was nothing more than a small and adorable spirit that could fit snugly in one hand.
The spirit wiped away its tears with its short forepaws and paced around the cage.
"……"
There was no one around.
Only cold stone walls.
"Whiiine…… Is this great one…… is this mighty one going to starve to death like this……?"
Grrrrooowl.
Its stomach was crying out for food as well.
A full day had already passed since it stole and ate eggs and milk from the human who had entered the cave.
"I wanted to drink more sweet milk……. I wanted to pick out only the yolks from the eggs…… Waaah!"
Its pathetic, pitiful cry echoed through the underground prison.
Creeeak―.
That was when it happened.
The tightly shut door slowly opened.
"Eek!"
The spirit recoiled in fright and crouched in the corner of the cage.
The one who crossed the threshold had black hair and blue eyes…
The very person responsible for putting it in this state.
'T-The vicious human is here again……!'
Just as the spirit cringed and drew its body in as tightly as possible,
"……!"
The spirit's round eyes fixed on something behind the human.
A basket held by a servant who had followed him inside.
Inside were golden, glistening hot-spring eggs and a round milk bottle of an extremely familiar shape.
'F-Food……!'
Gulp.
The spirit's short tail, which had drooped in fear, began to flap of its own accord.
'I-I want to eat it……! I want to eat it so badly……!'
The human dragged over a chair, set it down in front of the cage with a thud, and slowly crossed his legs as he sat.
"All right. Shall we have a little talk?"