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TL: ALT
Chapter 207 – Day 38 of Management Life
When I woke up this morning, I stepped out of the cave to wash my face, and Sylvia called out to me.
“What is it? Good morning.”
“Good morning. I drank too much dragon blood, so my head’s fuzzy. But I made a list of the dragons we defeated yesterday.”
Sylvia spoke while spewing fire from her mouth. When I asked her if that wasn’t hot, she said she had smeared cooled healing potion around her mouth. The dragon’s blood also seemed to have cured her stutter.
The list contained the proper names of the dragons, though some were marked as “Absent.” The names weren’t in their original language but rather phonetic transcriptions in human speech. The people of this world couldn’t read them.
“Ancient Dragon Speech is supposedly a secret language passed down to the King of Estinia. If you want to know the true meaning of the words, you’d have to ask a dragon directly or send a personal letter to the king.”
Hel explained. Sylvia, having drunk dragon blood, could pronounce the names but couldn’t grasp their deeper meaning.
“Never even thought of that. Are the dragons getting along well?”
“Seems they are. They just woke up and have huge appetites. They were happy when I told them why they woke up.”
“Because their sealed comrades were freed. What are they doing now?”
“They ate the rock crocodile at the crocodile park, burned the treant to savor its scent, and are now sleeping at the ruins of Midgard.”
“If they make that their home, they’ll clash with the ‘migrating’ monsters next year. We need to think about this.”
The botanical garden dungeon and the Sealing Clan dungeon are both empty. The northwest magic stone mine dungeon would work as well.
“Makyo, depending on which direction the escaped dragon flew, something terrible could happen. If the Elven Kingdom catches wind of it, they might invade again.”
Hel spoke of her homeland with utter distaste.
“Well, it’ll be discovered eventually. Even adventurers shouldn’t be able to handle a dragon that easily. If anyone spots it, we’ll have them report it. Ah, right. We also need to prepare for the giant magical beast.”
After washing my face and nibbling on some dried meat, I headed to the small stream at the entrance.
Perhaps because the flow of the earth’s veins had changed, the forest’s plants were thriving. Even the bendgrass jumped up and tried to bite me. It was rooted in place, so it couldn’t grow easily, but it seemed likely to evolve eventually.
No one was at the training ground. Mushrooms that could be used as paralysis drugs and sleeping flowers bloomed everywhere.
Although they kept monsters away, the area had become unique.
When I went out to the riverbank, Green Tiger was lying down. When I stroked his jaw, he demanded that I stroke his belly, too.
“Good morning!”
The elf guard greeted me from the other side of the stream.
“Good morning. Have the supplies arrived?”
“Yes! Um, have any dragons appeared?”
“Yes, they have. Did they fly here?”
“Yes, there was a commotion at the training facility in the middle of the night.”
“Ah…”
For now, I defeated the slime that had grown too large, extracted the magic stone, and offered it as an apology gift. The slime’s size was probably due to the earth’s veins. It would be pointless to dam up the stream.
I left behind the slime with hard skin, not the large one.
I gathered the extracted magic stones, tied them with vines, and carried them with palm sap.
“All right, I’ll go apologize. I’m bringing the dragon, so don’t leave anything important by the roadside.”
“Yes… Have a safe trip.”
The guards saw me off as I carried a large quantity of sizable magic stones.
The buzzing of Vespa hornets could be heard. The wild bears had retreated into their dens. The monsters also seemed wary of the suddenly appearing dragon.
GAAARGH!
Even before the military facility came into view, the dragon’s roar echoed.
“Good morning. Have you seen the dragon?”
I asked the lone scarecrow standing in the field, but there was no reply.
“Makyo-san! Thank you for coming! That’s a scarecrow!”
The soldiers who had come for survival training came to greet me.
“I know. Where’s the dragon?”
“We just cornered it in the arena!”
When I arrived at the arena, the hungry, listless dragon let out a sigh-like burst of fire.
“No good! The blades aren’t cutting through at all!”
“Is it taking any damage?”
“Since magic doesn’t work either, maybe we should poison it?”
Soldiers surrounded the arena, but the dragon seemed uninterested in the heavily armored humans.
“Hey!”
I leaped into the arena and smacked the dragon squarely on the head.
THUD!
A loud sound echoed, and the arena shook slightly.
The dragon suffered a concussion and passed out. I’d like to think the damage was minimal.
“My apologies. Here, take this magic stone as compensation.”
When I handed over the magic stone, the soldiers finally took notice.
“Ah! The Margrave!”
“Makyo-san. So the dragon really did come from the demonic land.”
“It seems a few more are flying in. Should we issue a warning?”
“There are more?”
“Yes, please do.”
“Then you should exchange that magic stone for a bounty.”
Somehow, the captain was now beside the dragon, stroking its scales.
“Wow, it’s beautiful. The sunlight makes the colors shift. Materials like this rarely come onto the market. Pursuing this will raise adventurers’ levels by a notch. Could we get a temporary hunting permit from the Kingdom of Estinia?”
The captain made an unexpected proposal.
It’s true that even if we report now that a dragon has appeared, it will take time to retrieve it. We also need to prepare for the giant magical beast’s arrival. In that case, it might be better to trust the kingdom’s adventurers to handle the hunt. However, there are concerns.
“It’s fine by me, but you should know rogues might come from the Elven Kingdom seeking dragon bones.”
“I see. I’ll relay orders to East Kenya to bolster defenses and watch for illegal entrants. Are there any other precautions?”
“Dragons are usually hungry when they wake up. They don’t seem to prefer humans, but they might attack livestock, such as cattle or pigs. The demonic land won’t accept compensation claims for that.”
Somehow, I had become capable of speaking like a frontier lord. I had turned into a despicable adult.
“We’ll compensate them with the assets gained from slaying the dragon. No problem.”
“For now, I’ll take this dragon back.”
“Hold on a moment! You might be able to carry it weight-wise, but given its size, it’ll drag along the ground. Its scales will come off. Couldn’t the soldiers carry it instead?”
“I don’t care if the scales come off, but the captain probably wants the soldiers to touch a dragon from the demonic land, too.”
“Understood. Then I’ll take you up on that offer. I’m heading to the adventurer’s guild in the trading village to report, so it’d be helpful if you could have it ready by then.”
“Got it.”
By the time I left the arena, ropes had already been secured around the unconscious dragon. I hope they’re fireproof.
I ran straight down the highway toward the trading village, an enclave within the demonic land. Dead leaves swirled on the stone pavement. It was harvest season, but, unlike in the demonic land, the plants here didn’t attack.
As I neared the village, the scent of roasting chestnuts wafted through the air. It seems they’re baking bread with chestnuts.
The buildings were still under construction, but I suppose they had the luxury of enjoying seasonal treats in the meantime.
“Smells delicious.”
“Oh my!” Lazy Taro-chan. What’s up?”
The prostitute sister who was baking bread looked startled.
“Did a dragon fly this way?”
“There was a huge roar last night. A dragon was flying! I was so scared that I put on my hat just in case, but it flew off somewhere.”
The woman held up what looked more like an iron pot than a hat and made a funny face.
“I see. I’m glad there was no damage. Be careful. Dragons are starving when they wake up, so they might eat goats or pigs.”
“So, should humans stay skinny, then?”
“No, make sure you eat properly and prepare. Did the Adventurers’ Guild come?”
“Ah, over there.”
The sister pointed to a hut near the fort.
“The adventurers are here, but they’re just getting drunk on menial jobs. Give them a good scolding.”
“Got it.”
As I walked towards the hut, I spotted Sasha.
“Margrave! Reports of dragon sightings are coming in from all over. There was a sighting in this village last night, too…”
“Ah, it seems a few escaped from the demonic land. I’ll send a request to the Adventurers’ Guild now. Watch out for the elves.”
“Ah! Yes! Everyone, don’t neglect your weapon maintenance! Expect combat to start at any moment!”
She was rallying the female soldiers.
This village seemed to be run by women.
Most of the drunken adventurers were women, too.
Merchants, perhaps finding the demand here to be different from that in other towns, argued with cart drivers outside their shops. They said things like, “This won’t sell in this place.”
“Hello.”
I stepped inside the Adventurers’ Guild hut, which was mostly just a tavern with the guild’s table tucked away in the back. Such was life in a small village.
Apparently, in the morning, they let the drunks sleep outside while burning incense and cleaning up.
“I’d like to request a job from an adventurer…”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
A middle-aged woman holding a broom wiped her hands on her apron as she approached me.
“The request is dragon slaying. Here’s the magic stone as payment.”
“Huh!?”
The seemingly friendly adventurer guild clerk stared at the magic stone, mouth agape, for a moment.
Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing a magic stone as big as a human torso until I lived in the demonic land.
“It’s actually not that big. The heat melts the sap, so it can be split apart. But if you sell it for cash, it should fetch a decent price.”
“I suppose so. Is the request to slay a dragon?”
“Yes, it escaped from the demonic land.”
“Hmm… All right. This is the Demonic Land Adventurers’ Guild, after all. Understood.”
The clerk hurriedly pulled out some paper and drafted the request for me.
“I’m tied up for the next few days, so I need an adventurer to take care of it.”
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for. It’ll be a great achievement for the adventurer.”
The adventurer can keep all the materials from the slain dragon—the hide, bones, and so on. But before you take it down, it might damage livestock or something, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like the slayer to cover that.”
“I see. If we don’t take it down soon, the damage costs will keep climbing. I’ll send request forms to all the locations where there have been sightings.”
“Please do. Normally, if you brought a dragon report to the demonic land, I would come collect it. But for the next few days, I have to deal with a monster bigger than a dragon.”
“There are monsters bigger than dragons!?”
“Quite a few in the demonic land.”
The dragon was probably about the size of a Haze Turtle.
“Sorry. It might take me a while to adjust to the scale of the demonic land.”
“I see. It’d be a big help if you could get used to it.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“All right, I’ll count on you.”
“Understood.”
I left the hut, carried the passed-out adventurer back to the fort, and returned to the demonic land.
“Taro-chan, here.”
The sister handed me a chestnut-filled bun.
“You can’t do good work if you push yourself too hard.”
“Yes.”
“And if you find any sweets in the demonic land, bring them back!”
“Yes.”
The sisters saw me off, and I quickly returned to the military facility.
The dragon had been thoroughly drugged and was snoring loudly on the cargo bed of the carriage.
“Take your time returning it to the demonic land. Leave some wild bear meat for when it wakes up.”
“Understood.”
The soldiers reported that they had tried to peel off its scales, but they couldn’t manage it at all.
“Iron won’t work. How did Makyo-san defeat it?”
“I should have shown them in the arena, but it happened so suddenly that they didn’t see clearly.
“He beat it with his bare hands.”
“Ah, right. That guy was a monster, wasn’t he?”
The soldier voiced what everyone had been thinking.
“Ah! Sorry!”
“No, it’s fine. But it just goes to show that if you can master both bone and magic, even a human can become a monster.”
“Yes! I’ll work hard!”
After receiving supplies from the guards, I left the dragon with the soldiers and returned to the demonic land.
Apparently, the dragon had been in the desert, too. Jennifer and the others had transported it there.
“It was in the middle of the desert, slumped over while eating a sandworm.”
“Saketsu wanted the scales it shed. He said he’d use them for golem materials.”
Katan peeled and sliced the cam berry. I suppose I’ll leave the sweet treats of the trading village to Katan.
“We have to finish moving the dragon before the giant magical beasts arrive.”
“Aren’t there limited places dragons can live?”
“A dungeon would be good. It’d be a hassle if they rampaged. What’s the dragon’s personality like?”
“Hmm… It’s gentle but gets irritable when hungry. If it’s given a role, it handles it properly. It seemed to react to anything shiny and glittering.”
Sylvia explained, looking at her notes.
“If you give it work, it’ll do it?”
“I think they would if they don’t mind.”
“Then let’s take them to the northwest mines. The earth veins run through there, and we need to transport magic stones to the Meiju Kingdom before winter.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to build a ranch nearby?”
Chel suggested.
“What kind of ranch? It’s too cold in that area for rock crocodiles.”
“D-dragons won’t eat meat unless it’s roasted first.”
“How extravagant!”
Katan was eating raw cam berries.
In the end, we caught various monsters that day and fed them to the dragon. It did seem to eat them only after roasting them, but it consumed everything—insects, beasts, and anything else.
There were seven days until the giant magical beast’s arrival. Late at night, I secretly started training in the swamp on my own.
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