Chapter 16: The Elder's Visit (1)
It was raining.
All across Greiks City, heavy rain was pouring down. The rain, which had started around noon, grew stronger as time passed. Although it was still afternoon, the sky was as dark as midnight. The city was completely shrouded in dark clouds.
It wasn’t a day to expect customers.
Nobody would come up the hill in this weather, unless they were a regular.
But you never know, they might come if they really crave my cooking.
I woke Rurin up, and she, finding her bed damp and the weather disagreeable, unusually sprang up and came downstairs. She gazed at the rain while sipping a beer, then slumped over the bar table, blinking her eyes lazily.
“What a day to do nothing. Don’t you agree? Ugh.”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t argue. It was that kind of lethargic weather.
Yet, in this world, rain was essential.
Although a dragon’s magic could control the weather, it wasn’t right to defy nature unless a life was at stake.
So, I couldn’t stop the rain just because the dampness was bothersome. This rain played a significant role in replenishing water supplies.
Amidst the torrential downpour, an unexpected guest entered. A strikingly handsome man. As he stepped into the restaurant, he started grumbling immediately.
“Human cities are always so unpleasant.”
A human city, he said.
Annoyingly, he was more handsome than me. Damn it, he was so handsome he didn’t even seem human.
No, the more I looked, the less human he seemed. For one, his hair was black.
The handsome man’s thick black hair swayed.
Of course, just having black hair doesn’t make someone a Black Dragon.
But this man was openly exuding dragon fear, leaving no doubt he was a dragon.
“Oh, oh! Isn’t that the Elder!”
Rurin, startled, jumped up from the bar table and ran towards me.
If he’s the elder of the Black Dragons, he’s someone I’ve seen before. I just didn’t recognize him in his polymorphed state.
“Your name was Medidana, wasn’t it?”
Unlike Rurin, he’s an ancient dragon over three thousand years old. That’s why he’s the elder.
“It’s not a name for a human to call.”
This dragon said the same thing Rurin did when we first met.
Given that they’re called the strongest race, it’s natural for them to have such pride, but it’s remarkable how similar they all are.
Despite the rain, the elder didn’t get a single drop on him.
In this context, the title “elder” refers to the head of each dragon clan.
He had only one reason to be here. It must be because of Rurin. I’ve never heard of an ancient dragon over three thousand years old coming to play.
“What brings you here now? I don’t believe anyone has the right to contest me taking Rurin.”
Some among the Black Dragons thought Rurin was being held captive by a human, meaning me.
But of course, they lost to me. So, they couldn’t openly rebel.
“You may have consumed the heart of the most revered dragon among us, the Dragon Lord, but you are still merely a human! Do you dare to place yourself on equal footing with a dragon?”
Medidana’s body began to radiate with a powerful dragon fear. The murderous intent was immense. A normal human would have died many times over from it.
Of course, it didn’t affect me.
“The fact that you lost to me is the only truth.”
When I spoke calmly, the dragon immediately retorted.
“You may have the power to face multiple dragons at once. But can you defeat the entire Black Dragon clan simultaneously?”
Medidana glared at me, talking about a gang attack.
Saying they’d gang up on me because they can’t win alone? It was a statement that only fueled my rebellious spirit.
“Bring it on. If you plan to break the agreement and take Rurin back.”
“Elder! I’m on El’s side! I will fight with him! What are you trying to say after abandoning me once!”
At Medidana’s words, Rurin stepped forward. Come to think of it, at some point, she had firmly taken my side.
To the extent of turning her back on her clan.
Though I was aware of it, seeing it again made the dragon in front of me seem endearing.
“Child, who said we abandoned you? It was merely delayed. You are one of the few precious young ones among us Black Dragons…. Well, that’s enough of that.”
It’s not false that her clan once tried to abandon Rurin due to issues involving her parents.
But what the elder was trying to say now was this. Dragons over two thousand years old can no longer lay eggs. The Black Dragon society had aged significantly, making dragons like Rurin, who were under a thousand years old, extremely rare. Not entirely absent, but relatively scarce.
“Anyway, I didn’t come to cause trouble. I have no intention of breaking our agreement.”
“Then why have you come today?”
“Human, your hospitality is lacking. Do you intend to leave this Black Dragon elder standing and merely exchange words?”
I had nothing to say. He was right. At over three thousand years old, he was like a seventy-year-old human. I couldn’t just treat him roughly if he wasn’t here to fight. I would love to throw salt at him, but…
“Rurin, he doesn’t seem to be here to fight, so stop glaring and seat him at a table.”
At my words, Rurin glanced back and forth between Medidana and me. Then, with a resigned expression, she trudged over to the elder.
“Elder, did you come alone?”
“Who else would I bring? If I came alone, do you think I’d fight? You fool… I keep telling you….”
“Enough nagging, come here.”
Rurin shook her head and pointed to a seat at the bar table. Medidana looked around the restaurant, then made a snide remark.
“You’re staying in such a small place. Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“No.”
Rurin nodded without hesitation. There was a certain something in the elder’s gaze that seemed genuinely concerned for Rurin.
“Of course, it’s true that your parents committed a grave sin against the clan, and others treated you harshly, but that’s all in the past, my child.”
“…My mother didn’t commit a crime.”
Rurin shook her head repeatedly at the elder’s words. Medidana sighed at the sight.
“Alright. That’s not why I’m here either. By the way, human, what do you plan to serve a guest who’s come a long way? If it’s subpar, be prepared for ridicule.”
“Then how about some alcohol?”
The Black Dragon clan had a peculiar fondness for alcohol. It wasn’t for nothing that Rurin had a beer habit. Though she was weak to alcohol compared to how much she liked it.
But that was just Rurin’s trait. Most Black Dragons were known to be strong drinkers.
“Oh, alcohol. If there’s one thing I like about human culture, it’s the alcohol. But are you sure? I have high standards. How many times do you think I’ve dabbled in human pleasures?”
Medidana’s eyes gleamed with a challenge.
“Well, probably quite a lot.”
“If you can’t serve a satisfying drink, I’ll take Rurin with me.”
“I’m not going!”
Rurin shouted loudly.
“Hahaha. Just kidding. I wouldn’t break the agreement over something like that.”
The elder laughed meaningfully and looked at me again.
“I don’t know what your intentions are, but since you’re here, I’ll serve you a drink that will blow your mind. So much so that you’ll realize you’ve been drinking inferior stuff all this time.”
“Oh, human, you’re confident. This isn’t some imperial palace, is it? For your information, I’ve been an emperor among humans. I wouldn’t even look at a place like this during my leisure. So, let’s see…?”
An emperor, huh? You sure enjoyed a variety of pastimes. Since you’re provoking me, I have no choice but to respond. I don’t know the real purpose of your visit, but it doesn’t seem to be a good intention. So, I want to break your spirit before we get to the main point. Of course, I’m confident.
In this world, alcohol is either distilled or fermented. That’s the same here as it was in the modern world I lived in.
Among them, what could satisfy a dragon?
This world’s alcohol had one major drawback. There was no aging. The technique of aging distilled liquor was not developed at all.
So, no matter how much you ruled as an emperor, you wouldn’t have tasted aged liquor. Even dragons couldn’t use dimension travel magic, so even more so.
Although the restaurant sells cheap, mass-produced diluted soju by the box, I have a special ace up my sleeve for occasions like this.
Due to the limitations of summoning magic, I can’t sell it openly at the restaurant, but in situations like this, I have a special summon.
For Rurin’s anxious sake.
I took out a cherished bottle and spoke.
“Rurin, come here.”
“Got it!”
Rurin ran back to the kitchen, looking up at me. Her intense gaze seemed to say, “Do something about this.”
Let’s see.
What I’ll serve is aged distilled liquor. Specifically, single malt whiskey. Given his confidence in his drinking abilities, he won’t get drunk easily.
Typically, the longer the aging period, the deeper the flavor of distilled liquor.
In the case of wine
, a representative fermented drink, it’s not necessarily true that older is better. Wine reaches a certain maturity and then spoils if it goes beyond that.
But distilled liquor is different. Its flavor changes the longer it’s aged in oak barrels. Distilled liquor, which is originally high in alcohol, doesn’t spoil over time.
This world has no aging method using oak barrels. No one has ever tried it. The taste of whiskey is determined by the oak barrels.
The brown color of whiskey is also a result of being aged in oak barrels. Naturally, this world has no such liquor.
I took out a bottle of The Macallan whiskey. I planned to gradually increase the aging years, leaving no room for complaints. First, I chose an 18-year-old The Macallan whiskey aged in sherry oak barrels from Spain.
I poured the whiskey straight and handed it to Medidana.
Medidana looked at the glass with an expression that said, “Can you satisfy me, a 3,000-year-old dragon, with human liquor?”
And then he drank. The elder’s face contorted in shock.
It was only natural.
Eighteen years.
After eighteen years of aging, it’s undeniable that it’s far superior to other unaged distilled liquors.
“Human…! What have you done to this liquor?”
“What do you mean? This is a drink I’m proud of. I wouldn’t serve just any drink to the Black Dragon elder.”
“…”
The glass was also a top-tier glass crafted by dwarves, enhancing the taste of the drink. The scholarly opinion is that even the glass affects the flavor of aged liquor.
Of course, only those who can discern subtle taste differences would notice.
“This fragrance and rich density… I’ve never tasted anything like this, even in the imperial palace. How…?”
Ignoring the confused dragon, I prepared the next drink.
This time, it was a 30-year-old whiskey.
Here, thirty years means it was aged in an oak barrel for thirty years, not just sitting in a bottle. This aged whiskey, with its deep oak flavor and subtle fruitiness, was confidently handed to Medidana in another glass.
