episode_0115

Dragon’s Lair, Roar

Dragons. Powerful creatures standing about six times the height of an adult human, capable of unleashing breaths imbued with their respective attributes from their mouths. With wings, they can dominate the skies, and their colossal arms, legs, and tails can shatter any rock. Furthermore, they possess fire-resistant skin, making fire attacks ineffective, and their piercing eyes can spot enemies even from a great distance. Such dragons… such dragons…

“Can’t you get it right?!”

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“…I did participate, but… this is quite a sight.”

They were cowering under Aria’s scolding… and knelt, encircling us. Their dignity and pride completely shattered, the dragons groaned in despair, as if the situation was too sad to bear. Even Dio V Runner, who had attacked the dragons with us, was speechless at the sight. Well… the dragons are pitiful, aren’t they… To think they had to fight the incredibly strong Aria and Dio V Runner, whose technology isn’t of this world… No, that’s not the point right now!!!

“I’m fine now, Aria?! So stop…”

“No!!! The sin of daring to attack Zeke-nim!! And the sin of ignoring Zeke-nim’s words!!! Lastly, the sin of making my hair, which Zeke-nim personally dyed, return to its original color!! These individuals are all sinners!! Ugh… If this were the old days, I would have twisted their necks and executed them all…!!”

“Gasp…”

When Aria said that if this were the old days, she would have twisted their necks and killed them, the dragons’ parts that had just been hit by Aria began to throb, and they cowered and started trembling. To think the strongest creatures were this afraid… No, is Aria the strongest now…? I was aghast at the dragons’ reaction, but Dio V Runner sighed and spoke to them.

“Why did you stubbornly insist on this, making things come to this point… Being stubborn only looks like a desire to fight more…”

“Still… We… we are dragons… No one dares to oppose us…”

“When did you come up with that idea… It’s a world where such thoughts are eventually shattered… And those words are typically spoken by people who wish to remain in the past… In the end, all those people have left is their pride, and this seems to be exactly that situation…”

“Sh-shut up!! You… in… *Gag*…”

A green dragon, stung by Dio V Runner’s blunt remark, seemed to have its pride wounded and tried to retort, calling Dio V Runner an insignificant creature. But at that moment, the other dragons next to him quickly covered the green dragon’s mouth. At least they have some sense… But we can’t keep this heavy atmosphere… Phew…

“Um… excuse me… esteemed dragons… The truth is… when we arrived here, you weren’t present. No… to be precise, we arrived near your momentarily vacated lair, and at the same time, you flew towards us…”

“Then why didn’t you run away?”

“And why did you attack us instead of talking…”

“Haaah… You were the ones who attacked first, and if we had run, wouldn’t you have chased us to the ends of hell…? And just now, Zeke was trying to resolve it with words, but some red one living somewhere called him an insignificant creature and ignored him.”

When the dragons asked why they were attacked instead of talked to, Dio V Runner sighed deeply and retorted that they were the ones who had attacked first. Then, hitting the mark by pointing out that running would have been useless and that a red dragon had ignored them when Zeke tried to talk, the dragons seemed to have nothing to say and lowered their heads, falling silent. Then, Dio V Runner looked at Aria and spoke.

“If you just apologize, Aria might forgive you… But if you don’t even want to apologize because of your pride…”

“Then I’ll have to conclude that they are hopeless creatures and turn them into meat. Zeke-nim dislikes creatures that show no signs of remorse. That means… I dislike such creatures too…”

“Gasp…!!”

Aria looked at the dragons with a murderous gaze, saying that she too disliked creatures that Zeke-nim disliked. At that, the dragons flinched for a moment and then recoiled in terror. Dio V Runner, seeing this, sighed again, as if the situation was truly outrageous. Ugh… This can’t go on. I’ll have to step in…!!

“Aria, calm down for now. These dragons might have their reasons for treating humans as insignificant creatures…”

“I don’t understand treating someone as an insignificant creature just because you have reasons. Aria, do you understand?”

“Hmm… But since it’s Zeke-nim’s words, couldn’t it be true?”

“You really think everything Zeke says is right, don’t you…”

When I said that the dragons might have their reasons for treating us as insignificant creatures, Dio V Runner could not understand my words at all. But when Aria said she understood if it was my words, Dio V Runner was flabbergasted upon hearing it. The dragons, who had been intimidated, seemed surprised by my words and raised their heads to look at me. Oh… So there were indeed some circumstances? Good, let’s keep talking…

“Dio V Runner-ssi might not know this, but previously in the Kryton region, I learned why the elves ostracized humans. And there was a misunderstanding between them, which we were able to resolve amicably. So, couldn’t this situation also be resolved amicably?”

“Hmm… Zeke-nim’s words are right, Dio V Runner-nim. Well… it was an urgent situation to the extent that I reacted physically first… But if we listen to what Zeke-nim said just now, couldn’t it be resolved well?”

“You truly have a good personality, Zeke. Well… if that’s possible, I welcome it too. Then from now on, Aria and I will be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances, so you handle the rest.”

“Of course.”

When Dio V Runner told me to handle things, saying that Aria and he would be watching, I gave a thumbs-up and replied that I understood. Then I approached the black dragon, who seemed to be the leader of the dragons, and spoke.

“Do you perhaps have a reason or an incident that caused you to hate humans? Even if not, was there something so important that you had to rush simply because we arrived in the forest near your lair?”

“This is the first human who has tried to initiate a conversation like this. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

“Yes.”

The black dragon, impressed by my continuous attempts at dialogue, looked at me with a surprised gaze and began to build a consensus among the surrounding dragons. As expected, these dragons weren’t stubbornly insisting for no reason…

“I’m curious about your name, human. I’ve never seen a human like you, one who tries to converse rather than resorting to fists like those others, so I’m intrigued.”

“My name is Zeke. I’m an explorer. And this black-haired woman beside me is Aria, a Saintess.”

“A Saintess? I knew long ago that there were those called Saintesses among humans… But that punch and power just now… Is she really a Saintess…? She’s completely different from the Saintesses I knew.”

When the black dragon expressed great bewilderment at Aria being a Saintess and asked if she was truly one, I nodded with an awkward smile. At that, the dragons, realizing Aria was truly a Saintess, began to murmur. As the other dragons started to murmur, the black dragon spoke again.

“Enough. Let’s be surprised later. Then what about that human who uses fire? We’ve never seen a human with such equipment. And those flames that can even burn dragon skin… What exactly is their true identity?”

“This red-haired, short-haired man is Dio V Runner… he’s human, right?”

“Yes, he’s human.”

Still unaware that Dio V Runner was human, I was about to introduce him as human but instead asked Dio V Runner if he was human, and Dio V Runner nodded, replying that he was. You never know… he might not be human…

“Ah, anyway… He’s someone who came from a distant place. He came from a place where mechanical devices are advanced. That’s why he can unleash flames with firepower beyond our imagination.”

“Unbelievable. A human capable of unleashing flames with properties similar to the black flames I breathe… Anyway, we should introduce ourselves… But before we tell you our story… Hmm… it would be inconvenient to continue talking in a place like this.”

“Huh?”

As the black dragon began to ponder something, saying it would be inconvenient to continue talking in such a place, the other dragons, seeing his reaction, also began to ponder. What is it? What on earth are they pondering about…? Just as we tilted our heads, puzzled by the dragons suddenly pondering as a group, the black dragon seemed to make a decision, nodded, and looked at me, speaking.

“Alright. I’ve decided, Zeke. I am impressed by your understanding actions. Therefore, I will specially permit you to enter our lair.”

“What?! Didn’t you say you were ostracizing all outsiders because of something important?!”

When the dragons invited us to their lair, I was greatly astonished. Didn’t they cause such a fuss because of something so important that they had to repel intruders?! But why are they suddenly letting us in?! Is it really okay?!

“Of course. But I am pleased with you. My instincts tell me I can trust you. So, hurry and enter. Now, climb onto my back by riding my tail.”

“Gasp… I-is that true…?”

Is this a dream or reality… We merely talked, and a dragon… offered us its back… No one… no one in history had ever ridden on a dragon’s back… This means I would be the first human to ride on a dragon’s back, wouldn’t I?! Realizing this, I quickly ran to the black dragon’s tail and began to climb onto its back. Aria and Dio V Runner, seeing how excited I was, exchanged glances, shrugged, and then followed me onto the black dragon’s back. Then, Dio V Runner, who had climbed onto the black dragon’s back, asked me.

“You haven’t ridden on a dragon’s back before, have you?”

“N-no one in human history has ever ridden on a dragon’s back! But… to be the first human to do so… It’s truly an honor… Wait. But that reaction just now… Dio V Runner-ssi, have you perhaps ridden on a dragon’s back before?!”

Caught up in the glory and emotion of being the first human in history to ride on a dragon’s back, I enthusiastically began to explain why to Dio V Runner. Then, recalling that Dio V Runner had asked me, looking bewildered, if I had never ridden a dragon before, I instinctively knew that Dio V Runner had ridden one. At that, Dio V Runner sighed and said.

“Sigh… Did you forget? I told you I have a dragon friend? I’ve ridden one before, a long time ago.”

“T-that can’t be…”

I, who had recalled Dio V Runner mentioning having a dragon friend after hearing his words, realized that I had been the only one making a fuss and was greatly shocked. At that moment, the black dragon, having heard Dio V Runner’s words, spread its wings and spoke.

“Hmm… It seems dragons and humans can be friends in distant lands. Hearing that makes it even more interesting. Hold onto my scales tightly. I’m going to ascend at a rapid speed.”

“Huh? Wh-what… Waaaahhhh!!!”

When the black dragon, now intrigued by Dio V Runner as well, said it would ascend quickly and told us to hold onto its scales tightly, I was enveloped in an inexplicable sense of unease. At that moment, the black dragon launched itself from its spot… Aaaaahhhh!!! It… it ascended to a height similar to that of the distant, giant mountain peak!!

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!!”

“Bear with it a little longer, Zeke. We’ll soon arrive at Roar, our lair. Keep holding on tight!!”

“W-wait… Aaaaaaahhhh!!”

I understood why people didn’t ride on dragons’ backs. No… well… while dragons ostracizing humans might be one reason… from our perspective, dragons were too fast for anyone not incredibly strong to ride… So, I lost my senses while holding onto the scales tightly. After about three minutes, the dragons arrived at Roar and landed on what appeared to be their respective homes, rock peaks. The black dragon also landed on a rock peak, and upon reaching the destination, I, drained of strength, precariously dismounted from the black dragon’s back. And immediately, my legs gave out.

“Gasp… pant… gasp… I… I saw something for a moment… in my eyes…”

“Oh no… Zeke-nim, are you alright…?”

“My apologies. If I had known you’d be this dazed, I wouldn’t have let you ride… I just thought it would take humans 20 minutes to get here, so…”

Seeing my legs give out and Aria deeply worried about me, the black dragon apologized. Well… well… this is also the black dragon’s consideration, showing us they’ve opened their heart… so it can’t be helped… Ugh… I might not be able to do this again… Gasp… pant…

“But your personality has changed. Earlier, you said you would ostracize us so much…”

“That’s because I had closed my heart, human called Dio V Runner. Now, we have opened our hearts to you, haven’t we? Well… anyway, this rock peak is my resting place. I’d like to introduce you to my home, but it’s a bit far. And… if I carry Zeke on my back again, he might faint next time, so I can’t introduce my home… I can’t put him on my back again, can I?”

When the black dragon said he couldn’t introduce his home because I might faint if he carried me on his back again, Aria and Dio V Runner nodded in agreement. Ugh… To think I’m this weak physically… Me, who even rode on the World Tree’s body… Ugh…

“Gasp… pant… But… are there dragons who live here as their home…?”

“Ah, this is both a lair and a resting place. There are also dragons for whom this is home.”

“Hmm… Simply put, it’s like a villa here. And there are also dragons for whom this is their real home.”

“That’s right, Aria… the Saintess. Since the rock is very large and tall, there’s ample space even for dragons living on top of it. Won’t you look around, Zeke?”

“A-around…? Gasp…? Gaaasp…!”

At the black dragon’s words to look around, I gasped and looked around. At the sight before me, I nearly stopped breathing. The giant rock we were standing on wasn’t the only one; there seemed to be over fifty of them on the plain, and dragons were plentiful both on and below the rocks. But… there seem to be dragons that weren’t visible before… So, the lair wasn’t empty after all?

“There are hardly any places as suitable for dragons to live as this one. That’s why we originally lived separately. Then I discovered this place and suggested to everyone, ‘How about we all live together here?’ And all the dragons I knew agreed, so we came to live here. That is the history of Roar.”

“Ah… A-aah… I… I’ll have to record this later… I happened to need such history.”

“And… the reason we were so sensitive… is this, Zeke.”

“Huh?… Oh?!”

As the black dragon explained the history and pointed a finger at something on top of the rock, I was greatly shocked by what I saw, and Aria and Dio V Runner were also greatly flustered by it. And we all understood why the dragons had been so sensitive.