Chapter 47
#47. Taming the Dragon (2)
The spirit, with food right before its eyes, crept hesitantly toward the bars.
'M-Milk…… Just one sip……'
For a brief moment, it nearly drooled, its expression pure and innocent.
The spirit suddenly started and shook its head.
'……N-No! This great one is a mighty dragon! I cannot bow to some mere human……!'
Right! If it threatened him in the name of the great dragon, perhaps that human would be frightened into offering food?
'Y-Yes. Maybe he'll give me some if I threaten him!'
The spirit cleared its throat, puffed out its chest, and began to bluff.
"H-How dare you imprison the great dragon and expect to remain unharmed, human!"
The spirit banged its short forepaws against the bars and shouted.
"M-My kindred will soon come looking for me! When they do, know that all you humans will drown in a sea of water!!"
H-How about that…. Scary, right?
You want to offer me milk right away, don't you?
The spirit stealthily opened one eye and watched the human's reaction.
However.
The human's expression did not change in the slightest.
Rather, he simply smiled and leisurely crossed his legs again.
"……Good."
'……Huh?'
The human leaned deeply back into his chair and propped up his chin.
"Let's hear it, then."
Slosh─.
The human picked up the milk carton and popped open the lid right in front of the spirit.
A rich, sweet fragrance wafted gently into the cage.
'M-Milk……!'
Gulp.
The sound of the spirit swallowing its saliva echoed loudly through the prison.
"Those great kindred of yours. Exactly how many there are. When and where they'll be coming."
The human slowly brought the opened milk carton toward his lips and added in a low voice,
"There's no need to rush, so take your time."
'H-How many……?!'
The spirit's round eyes shook violently.
'W-What do I do! There were never any kindred to begin with! I just lived alone in a cave!'
"Th-That is……! U-Um, I mean…… I-I came from the southern sea…… Ah, no, the eastern lake……!"
Its round eyes rolled back and forth as it struggled to fabricate a lie.
Drip.
Without realizing it, a strand of drool slipped from the tip of its short snout.
'L-Looks delicious…… No, I need to get a grip……!'
***
Kylan quietly looked down at the spirit inside the cage.
Even while trembling, it rolled its pupils in every direction as it tried to concoct a lie.
'You have to tailor your threats to your opponent.'
Apparently, whenever it saw food, threats reflexively came tumbling out of it.
Kylan casually recrossed his legs and opened his mouth.
"Hiding it is useless. I caught you because I knew what you were from the very beginning."
Indeed, Kylan had more or less figured out its identity from the start.
"I… I am a great dragon……."
The true identity of the self-proclaimed great Water Dragon that had appeared at the hot spring.
It was the spirit of the hot spring.
In the latter half of the original story,
Eleanor and Kylan happened to dig up a hot spring and enjoy a brief period of relaxation.
Of course, they did not launch a massive enterprise like this one; it was merely a passing event.
Eleanor formed a contract with the hot-spring spirit at that time.
At first, it was merely a mascot-like creature that loved food, but it steadily grew stronger by constantly absorbing the hot spring's mana and occasionally eating rare magic stones.
By the end, it displayed a grandeur rivaling that of a true Water Dragon and earned a place of its own.
'It wasn't this headstrong in the original.'
It was completely different from when it first revealed itself to Eleanor in the original story.
Whether human or spirit, one's life could change because of some small incident.
In any case. Its arrogant attitude had to be corrected first.
That way, Kylan could take it along and put it to work.
"I-I really am a great dragon!"
The spirit shrieked as though it had been wronged.
Kylan rose from his seat without mercy.
"Eek……!"
The spirit flinched and hunched its shoulders.
Kylan simply turned his back.
"……?"
The spirit stared blankly at his retreating back.
Just then, a servant carrying a basket of food followed him out.
"Aah……!"
The spirit's pupils shook violently.
"I can't give delicious milk to someone who lies. Then starve here until your kindred come to rescue you."
"N-No……!"
Click. Bang.
Without even looking back, Kylan coldly left the prison.
"Aah……! W-Wait…!"
The spirit of the hot spring was left all alone.
Soon, not a sound could be heard.
***
Half a day later.
Click.
The door to the underground prison, which had been tightly shut, opened once more.
"……."
Kylan sat down in the chair with an impassive expression.
Then he took a carton of banana milk from inside his coat and conspicuously shook it.
"Have you decided to tell the truth now?"
But perhaps it was not hungry enough yet, or perhaps a tiny shred of pride remained.
"Ahem! D-Don't anger this great one! If my kindred all come rushing here at once, this puny little castle will be……!"
Its voice was more cowed than before, but it was still bluffing.
Kylan had no intention of listening to the spirit's clumsy lies to the end.
His time was too precious.
"It looks like you're still not hungry enough."
Bang!
Kylan shut the prison door without even looking back.
"A-Aah……! I-I hadn't finished talking yet……!"
The spirit clung to the bars and called desperately for Kylan, but the cold iron door never opened.
***
The underground prison was dark and cold.
Left alone, the spirit stamped its feet inside the steel cage.
"S-So unfair! I'm not scared! I'm not scared at all!"
But in the empty prison, only its own voice echoed back.
"……I'm…… not scared……."
Its voice grew smaller and eventually faded away.
Grrrrrrr.
When night fell, hunger came creeping in.
It felt as though someone had punched it in the stomach.
What a heartless fiend.
Was he really planning to starve it to death?
"I'm cold…… I'm hungry……."
……How much time had passed?
Fat tears began to fall from the spirit's eyes as it trembled with hunger.
"Sob…… I'm such an idiot…… I should have begged him nicely for milk……."
The spirit wiped away its tears with its short forepaws.
"Sweet banana milk…… soft, fluffy bread…… I want to eat them…… Waaaaah……."
Was it going to starve to death in this cold cage?
It was just when its misery had reached its peak.
Creeeak─.
The iron door opened cautiously.
"Hic!"
The spirit suddenly raised its head in fright. It thought that demonic man had come again.
"Shh…!"
Along with a gentle whisper, a dazzling platinum-blond woman approached on tiptoe with one finger pressed to her lips.
The woman that icy-cold man had called in such a tender voice.
What was her name again…… Eleanor, was it?
In one hand she held steaming banana milk, and in the other, soft, freshly baked bread that filled the air with the scent of butter.
"You must be very hungry, right? I brought these secretly."
Whispering, the woman carefully unlocked the cage.
Then she gently gathered the spirit huddled on the cold floor into her arms.
"Poor thing. You must have been so cold."
The warm solar mana flowing from Eleanor's fingertips gently enveloped the spirit's frozen body.
Spring arrived inside the cold prison.
'A-An angel……! An angel has appeared……!!'
The spirit opened its eyes wide and looked up at the woman.
It was the first time in its life, having been alone since birth, that it had felt a mother's warmth.
Bluster? Pride? The dignity of a great dragon?
Such masculine notions sometimes lost all meaning before a kind woman.
"Here, eat slowly. No one is going to take it away from you."
When Eleanor brought the bread and milk to its mouth, the spirit snatched them from her hands and began inhaling them frantically.
"Mmphmmph! Gulp! Gulp! Munch munch! Kyaaah!"
After devouring three pieces of bread in a single sitting and downing the banana milk, the spirit panted heavily.
"Hehe. Eat slowly. You'll get indigestion."
With a tender smile, Eleanor gently wiped the spirit's mouth, which was covered in bread crumbs.
At that warm touch, the spirit's pent-up misery finally burst forth.
"Waaaaah! Th-Thank you……! Thank you so much……!"
The spirit buried its face in Eleanor's arms and began to sob loudly.
"Actually, this great one…… No, I…… I'm not a dragon……! It was all a lie……! I don't have any kindred…… I'm all alone……!"
While chewing tear-soaked bread, the spirit began spilling out the truth without even being asked.
The false image it had built with its bluster crumbled along with its tears.
Eleanor nodded sympathetically and patted the spirit's back.
"I see. You must have been so lonely and frightened on your own. Poor thing."
Before it knew it, the spirit was chewing on a second piece of bread in her arms.
Eleanor quietly looked down at it and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Don't you want to eat warm bread like this and sweet banana milk every day from now on?"
"E-Every day!? I do! Every day! I want to eat it foreverrr!"
"Then, would you like to make a contract with me? If you help His Highness and me, I'll feed you plenty of delicious food every day in a warm room instead of leaving you in a cold, dark prison."
The spirit nodded vigorously without a moment's hesitation.
It even clung tightly to Eleanor's sleeve, afraid that she might change her mind.
"I'll make a contract! I'll do anything!"
The moment they both consented.
A magic circle of the contract appeared over Eleanor's snow-white hand and the spirit's round forehead.
A thin ray of light connected the two of them before seeping into both their skin.
It was the moment the hot-spring spirit formed a soul contract with Eleanor.
'Hehe. It worked just as His Highness said.'
As she stroked the spirit nuzzling against her, Eleanor smiled slyly.
In truth, all of this had been Kylan's script.
Breaking the arrogant spirit's pride required more than just the stick; the stick alone fell 2% short.
At the height of its hunger and fear, Eleanor would appear like a saint and offer it a sweet carrot—or rather, banana milk.
The so-called North Wind and Sun operation.
It was a plan perfectly suited to Kylan, the Grand Duke of the North, and Eleanor, the North's sun.
***
The next morning.
Thud, thud.
Kylan opened the underground prison door and stepped inside.
It had been about forty-eight hours since the hot-spring spirit was locked up.
Had the North Wind and Sun operation worked……?
"……Gasp!"
The moment Kylan crossed the threshold, the spirit sprang to its feet and pressed its forepaws tightly beside its head.
"Salute!"
It was a booming salute.
No one knew where it had learned it, but the angle was as perfect as that of the Northern Defense Force knights.
"I greet the great Grand Duke of Winterwald! From now on, I shall serve you loyally until my bones shatterrr!!"
At the sight of the spirit, which had become a newly disciplined private overnight, Kylan nodded with satisfaction.
'Yes. To earn your keep under me, you need to know how to function in society at least this much.'
The arrogant figure that had prattled about being this great one and having kindred was nowhere to be seen.
‘The North Wind and Sun operation was a huge success.'
Now only one thing remained.
What mission to give that tamed subordinate, and how to put it to work.
"It seems you've finally grasped reality."
Kylan slowly approached and stood before the spirit.
"I am someone who gives definite rewards to those who remain loyal to me and prove their worth."
Kylan took something from inside his coat and held it out to the spirit.
"Th-This…… What is this……!"
The spirit's round eyes bulged at the sight of the jewel.
A blue gem as large as its own head, radiating a potent magical aura.
It was a fragment of the King Slime's magic stone.
The corners of Kylan's mouth lifted slightly.
The secret behind how that spirit eventually came to possess a grandeur rivaling that of a Water Dragon in the original story.
It was none other than gluttony.
Anything that entered its mouth became nourishment, steadily helping it grow stronger.
The fact that it spent its entire life drinking in the hot spring's mana and came to be called the hot-spring spirit was, when you got right down to it, also thanks to that endless gluttony.
'With bait this tempting…….'
That gluttonous spirit would serve as a loyal subordinate. Forever.