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Chapter 10 – Holy Merchant?
Reconstruction is within sight. Once things settle down, we’ll continue working until the project is complete. Then, we’ll head back to the northern continent, wait for the right moment, and invite the goddesses to a celebration in their honor. But then this old man showed up and threw a wrench in those plans.
“I reported it to the country—no, to the local lord—and requested that they handle it.”
The old man answered with a bitter expression. Normally, you’d consult the local lord, not the country.
I pride myself on maintaining a commoner’s perspective, but perhaps I’m out of touch with the world.
Well, I’m originally from a different world, so it’s likely that I’ve been out of step since the beginning.
“So the lord didn’t take action?”
If the lord had acted, there’s no way this exhausted old man would have come to me, kneeling and begging.
“Yes, they were the ones who started the conflict near what was originally a forbidden area. Yet, he said he had no time to entertain such nonsense—”
Whoa. My question must have triggered him. The old man’s face twisted into a demonic mask, and he began to complain.
A forbidden zone… Just the name alone screams “dangerous place,” and they started a war right near it?
Did they designate the ancient dragon’s sleeping place as a forbidden zone, and then get carried away with the war, causing the ancient dragon to start waking up?
Even though he reported it, the victorious nation didn’t believe him. Maybe they believed him, but they had no capacity to handle it, so they dismissed it as nonsense.
The former seems more likely. If it were the latter, then even if they were stretched thin, they would send out scouts to protect their own lives.
After listening to the old man until he seemed satisfied, I realized I was mostly right. The lord…
After despairing and heading home, it seems the old man heard rumors about us and came to Gothenburg, grasping at straws.
Upon arriving in Gothenburg, he apparently planned to gather intelligence. But, since we were so conspicuous, he got the information easily. I arrived right then, disembarked, and he rushed over to kneel and beg.
The timing was good for the old man, but it was a bit awkward for me.
Since we seemed to be his objective, the encounter probably couldn’t be avoided. With better timing, however, I think having him prostrate himself in public could have been avoided.
Incidentally, the rumor the old man had heard was that Gothenburg had a saintess, a holy beast, war goddesses, and a holy merchant who commanded them.
The saintess and the holy beast healed people free of charge, bringing salvation to the fallen town.
The war goddesses overwhelmed the thousands of invading villains with their weapons, capturing them alive.
The holy merchant, grieving over the town reduced to rubble, invested his personal fortune to become the linchpin of its reconstruction and light the flame of hope for the town.
The saintess and the holy beast are probably—no, definitely—Claretta-san and Rimu. I wholeheartedly agree that Claretta-san is the saintess.
Rimu as the holy beast… Rimu is certainly a sacred being. After all, he’s an angel. But the “beast” part bothers me a little. I don’t know how else to describe a slime, so I suppose I’ll just have to accept it.
The war goddesses refer to the members of Girasole, Ines, and Felicia. Donatella-san and Mear-san might be included, too, but the term “war goddesses” fits them perfectly.
So far, so good. I can’t find anything to disagree with here. I can only agree.
I agree with everything except the last part. What the hell is a holy merchant?
I don’t want to believe it, but is this about me?
Well, they seemed to be in trouble. Since it was a request from the God of Commerce-sama, I provided materials and supplies at rock-bottom prices. They needed buildings, too. Profits were concentrated, so I started some public works projects to spread things out. Isn’t that basically correct?
Well, rumors are like that, I guess. They grow fins as well as tails. I just wish I could have lived without knowing about this one.
After hearing this embellished rumor, the old man came to us for help. This is secondary damage on a level where you’d want to sue. Not that I know where to sue.
“So, what kind of dragon is this ancient dragon?”
[T/N: Since this is an ancient dragon, I’ll probably translate Ryu as “Elder Dragon” in the future.]
After venting his anger to his heart’s content, the old man was in a bit of a daze when Alessia-san asked him with sparkling eyes.
After all, it is intriguing. We’ve defeated dragons in the Earth Dragon Forest before, but the fact that it’s a forbidden zone feels off.
The Earth Dragon Forest is dangerous, too, but it wasn’t designated a forbidden zone.
“Hm? According to legend, it’s said to be a fire-type ancient dragon. Long ago, it burned the entire surrounding area to the ground before falling into slumber. The only thing that has been passed down is that it must never be provoked. Even in the village, people were skeptical about the tale…”
So it’s such an ancient story that even the old man’s village treats the legend with skepticism.
The scale of the damage is much greater than I imagined. Do fire dragons cause more damage than earth dragons?
Or maybe ancient dragons vary widely, and the longer-lived ones are stronger?
“So it wasn’t just half-believed?”
“Yes. Some time after the war ended, part of the mountainside collapsed. Even from a distance, we could see something glistening and reflecting light. Thinking it might be jewels, we went to investigate. It was dragon scales.”
Dragon scales, huh? The earth dragons’ scales were pretty, too, but not pretty enough to mistake them for gems. Still, those dragon scales really did look like jewels.
They call them ancient dragons, so maybe a dragon’s scales improve in quality over time.
I thought they’d get covered in fine scratches over the years, giving them a battle-hardened look, so this is unexpected.
Also, isn’t it forbidden to go check it out since it’s a restricted area?
Well, if a gem is exposed, you can’t help but check it out, can you? Thanks to that, I discovered the ancient dragon, so it all worked out in the end.
“Huh? It’s still buried?”
“Yes, we can’t risk disturbing it and waking it up. We’ve evacuated the villagers and are monitoring the situation. But the vibrations are gradually growing stronger, and we fear it will awaken soon.”
If it’s an ancient dragon, it must be enormous. If it’s slept for so long that legends about it are only half-believed, then it’s probably taking a while to wake up.
Dragons reign at the top of the food chain; they don’t need to be as jumpy as wild animals.
They probably possess the enviable ability to sleep and wake as they please.
Now, while this ancient dragon is sleeping so soundly that it’s buried in the earth, humans are waging war nearby, which could potentially rouse it.
If it’s a groggy ancient dragon, there probably won’t be any damage. However, if it’s the type that rampages before settling back to sleep—especially a fire-type dragon—and it’s awakened by the surrounding noise, expecting it to wake up refreshed and clearheaded is unrealistic.
If this were a bet, the odds would be heavily stacked on “wakes up instantly furious” that it’d practically be a sure thing.
“Can’t someone use sleep magic?”
If we could make it fall back asleep and properly bury it in the earth, wouldn’t that keep us safe for a while?
“I can’t do it. My magic is illusion-based, so I can confuse it, but I can’t put it to sleep. Besides, how many people can cast magic on an ancient dragon?”
Impossible? I thought there might be a chance with an illusion spell, so I glanced at Ilma-san. She flatly denied it, though.
“I see. It’s hard to cast spells on an ancient dragon, isn’t it?”
The girls nodded, but their faces clearly said, “Huh? You didn’t know that?” I didn’t know.
Of course, I knew that pattern existed in fantasy settings. But we’d literally beaten sea serpents to a pulp. Honestly, witnessing the earth dragon’s misery up close had changed my opinion of dragons.
I mean, it’s a dragon.
In this world, they’re rumored to be extremely rare, with only one of each elemental type. They’re considered the strongest dragons. Yet this one was just a middle manager, mentally shattered and begging to retire.
It’s no wonder my impression of dragons was downgraded significantly below the earth dragon.
Even in that situation, I deserve praise for my situational awareness—recognizing dragons and ancient dragons as terrifying foes, and deciding that this was a matter the country should handle.
“Then, about filling in the exposed part…”
“Since it’s already starting to wake up, I think vibrations would collapse it immediately.”
Alessia-san’s merciless denial.
If it were me on a cold winter morning, having the futon pulled back over me would easily make me fall asleep.
The women’s gazes fixated on me.
Most of those gazes were filled with excitement. They were filled with anticipation: “Are we actually going to hunt an ancient dragon?”
Claretta-san had a troubled look, Carla-san seemed uninterested, and Felicia seemed to be saying, “I’ll follow your lead.” Even Donatella-san and Mear-san had expectant expressions.
“Um, first of all, can we really beat an ancient dragon without pushing ourselves too hard?” Also, why are you two so eager to do this? You two aren’t joining the fight, are you?”
The biggest question is whether we can win without getting seriously injured.
Considering how overpowered we are, I don’t think we’ll lose. However, land combat doesn’t allow me to use my abilities to their fullest.
If we can’t win without serious injuries, I’d feel terrible for the villagers. I’d want them to evacuate to Gothenburg to escape the danger. Abandoning them would feel wrong.
Donatella-san and Mear-san, even though you’ve leveled up, you’re still amateurs at fighting. Please don’t get carried away just because your levels are high.
“I can’t say for sure, since even ancient dragons have varying strengths, but I don’t think we’ll lose, even in the worst case.”
“Why are you so certain?”
It seems that even ancient dragons vary greatly in strength. I question how she can make that judgment when we don’t know if they’re top-tier or bottom-tier.
“Because Paris has defeated dragons and drawn with ancient dragons. While we haven’t technically caught up to Paris, I believe we’ve matched or surpassed his level. At least compared to Paris when he fought ancient dragons.”
Alessia-san explained the reasoning behind my question.
So even Alessia-san and her group, whom I consider to be godlike in their skill, judge that they haven’t technically caught up to Paris?
Paris is handsome and seemingly approachable, yet he’s actually a battle maniac. His S-rank isn’t just for show.
Ah, so being a battle maniac means his technique is insane, too. Makes sense, in a way.
Technically, they might not match him, but we have six A-rank adventurers with extensive combat experience who are either on par with or better than him. Plus, Ines and Felicia are joining the fight.
While it wasn’t mentioned here, the Ship Summoning’s defensive capabilities are probably factored in, too.
Even if the ancient dragon is significantly stronger than expected, I can see why they’d judge defeat as unlikely.
Hmm… Evacuating the villagers and further increasing Gothenburg’s population density seem questionable. Should we challenge the dragon if victory seems possible?
Honestly, I’m scared. I’ll make a decision after hearing Donatella-san and Mear-san’s thoughts. However, it feels like the hunt will be confirmed…
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