Ch. 92
But no matter how much I looked around, neither Rai nor the owner of the voice was anywhere to be seen.
It was too dark here, and I was sitting alone on a cold stone.
“Here. Down here!”
“Huh?”
[Here, Master!]
Hearing only voices with no sign of the owners made me suddenly anxious.
Could this be inside the dragon’s stomach?
That actually seemed highly likely!
As the events before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind, a cold sweat started to pour out.
“You idiot! Down here.”
Down?
“……”
[Save me! Master!]
It seemed like I was the one who needed rescuing.
From the situation, that short, stubby creature gripping Rai was clearly a polymorphed dragon.
I silently stared at the blond dwarf, who barely looked over a meter tall and stood far below my line of sight.
I blinked my eyes wide.
The dwarf’s body was short and stout with messy hair and a beard, and dark skin.
A dwarf with a face like a chunk of rock stood holding Rai in his hand, looking angry.
Just as I thought…
“Um… Dragon… sir?”
“That’s right! It’s me!”
I could hardly believe it was true.
Why would a being born as a dragon, the most majestic of all, choose the form of such a short race, completely lacking in dignity?
What kind of being was a dragon, anyway?
The strongest creature in existence, born able to use magic as naturally as fish swim or humans breathe.
A living embodiment of overwhelming power and near-eternal life.
The ancestor and master of all magic, the very source, the beginning, and the origin of magic.
And yet…
“A dwarf?”
Why would you throw away all that dignity for this form?
Why a dwarf, of all things?
It was completely incomprehensible.
I stared at the dwarf—no, the dragon—almost glaring.
The dragon had been terrifying, but now, in the form of a small, fairy-like old man with flailing short limbs, it was just laughable.
Even its tone had turned childish, making it even more ridiculous.
“What? You’ve never seen a dwarf before!”
“No… I’ve seen them at the forge, but… why would a dragon take the form of a dwarf?”
“It’s my preference!”
“Ah…”
“I respect your preference!”
Polymorph magic lets you transform into anything you want.
And in myths and legends, dragons would often transform into humans or elves, hiding their identity, adventuring with heroes, and saving the world.
But a dragon turning into a dwarf? Never heard of it.
No matter how I thought about it, it just didn’t fit.
Because dwarves, by nature, couldn’t use magic.
Granted, they were the best on the continent.
The best carpenters, blacksmiths, and sculptors.
A race whose only exceptional trait was their skillful hands.
Sure, they also had resistance to disease, overwhelming magic resistance, and ogre-like strength, but…
Still, dragons and dwarves were as different as tigers and frogs.
“But what’s with this thing!”
Dwarves were born with wrinkled faces like old men and looked old for life. That’s why it was hard to tell their age.
Elves, on the other hand, kept their youthful looks forever.
If I had to choose, elves with everlasting youth seemed way better. Really, what peculiar taste this dragon had…
“Hmph.”
Just as I was about to give up trying to understand the dragon’s preference, something hard hit me right in the face.
It was Rai, my metal spirit.
[Master!]
Pain beyond words followed.
Seriously, how could you throw something this hard at a person’s face!
And to make it worse, the moment Rai struck my face, he immediately wrapped around me, bawling and wailing.
This is driving me crazy.
[Waaah! That lunatic dragon ripped off all my scales! He’s got no mercy! Well, I guess that’s what dragons are like. Ugh, ptooey.]
“W-wait. I can’t breathe…!”
Rai was clinging to me, whining even though he had no tears, and I was starting to feel my life was in danger.
So this is what it feels like to be strangled by Rai. Not something I ever wanted to know.
“Hey, let go—”
“Hey! Did you hear me? What is this thing! I thought it must be some amazing metal to block a breath attack, but it’s just diamond! Do you think I brought you here for this?!”
As if Rai wasn’t enough to make my head throb, the dragon started throwing his own complaints at me.
I still couldn’t think straight.
My face hurt, my head hurt—nothing was fine.
“Wait, wait. Rai! Let go.”
[Hic, hic! Master, I hate those water drop patterns!]
“Make that hard metal again!”
[No!]
“If you don’t want to die, hurry up and give it to me!”
Unbelievable. Can’t you give me a second to get my bearings?
Is this some kind of new torture?
“Both of you, stop it!”
Aagh! My shout echoed loudly as it bounced back in the cave.
Just how big was this cave?
“You! How dare a human shout at me!”
“Hey! Dragon!”
“…Huh!”
“My head hurts so much I can’t think! I can’t even think!”
The dragon trembled, looking at me with a face full of shock and fear, but I wasn’t scared anymore.
After all, I’d been dragged into a dragon’s lair; the odds of getting out alive seemed slim.
“Stop whining and be quiet for a second!”
“So arrogant! For a mere human!”
I just dug at my ear.
Whether it was a dragon or a spirit, neither would leave me alone, so I couldn’t exactly treat them nicely.
Besides, it felt like they were both acting on the same level, and that definitely wasn’t my fault.
The once-fearsome dragon was acting like a bratty child, and as for Rai…
[Anything but water drops!]
When Rai’s white scales were ruined, I’d joked we should make him a water drop-patterned snake. He hated the idea so much he was throwing a fit.
What’s so bad about water drops, anyway? They’re cute. Water drop patterns.
“You, human! I’ll kill you!”
“Here, my neck is right here. If you’re going to do it, please make it quick and clean.”
The dragon raged, but even throwing a fit as a short, stubby dwarf, it wasn’t scary at all.
I was quick to grasp the situation, and as far as I could tell, I was already as good as dead.
What hope could I have after being dragged off by a dragon?
This was no different than being inside a dragon’s belly already.
Fine, kill me. Just do it. To hell with this rotten world! Ptooey.
“…No!”
“Hm?”
“If I kill you, the spirit disappears too! Then I can’t get that metal!”
At that moment, the dragon who’d covered the palace collapsed on the floor and started rolling around.
Just like a child throwing a tantrum in a supermarket, refusing to go home without getting what they want.
“Give me the metal! The metal! Give it to me!”
Come to think of it, this was exactly how he acted in the palace, too.
Throwing a fit, threatening to destroy everything if he didn’t get the jewels. Same exact dragon.
He might not have rolled around on the floor back at the palace, but…
[Master, is that thing crazy?]
[I think so.]
[Don’t you think he’s a little short on something?]
Even though we were talking telepathically, Rai whispered as if to keep his voice down. I thought the same thing.
“Giiive it!”
“Why do you even need it?”
“You don’t know?”
“How could I know if you don’t say anything?”
The blond dwarf jumped up and shouted like it was the most important thing in the world.
“I’m going to make a sword!”
“A sword?”
“That’s right!”
“A dragon?”
“My dream is to make the greatest sword on the continent! Swords are all about the material, you idiot!”
Just when you think you’ve heard it all, life throws something even more ridiculous at you.
A dragon wanting to make a sword—it made no sense at all.
It was the most pointless thing in the world.
Looking at this tantrum-throwing dragon, it didn’t seem impossible, but dragons were supposed to be the gods’ most carefully crafted creation.
They wield magic at a level unattainable even with a lifetime of human training, and their physical power was beyond compare!
The strongest beings on the continent—over and over, it’s emphasized!
Able to breathe underwater, bathe in lava, their scales impossible to pierce even with a mithril sword!
Undisputed apex predators of the continent!
At the very top of the food chain!
So why would you want to make a sword?
Might as well say a tiger wants to make arrows!
‘Why do you even need a sword? You could just smash anything with your body! And you’re calling me the idiot!’
I bit back the retort that rose to my throat, barely holding it down.
Because at that moment, I was certain—‘this dragon really is missing a few screws.’ And that tiny thread of hope that I might actually survive made me force a smile.
“The continent’s greatest idi—no, sword, right.”
“Did you just call me an idiot?”
“So, you need Rai’s special metal for that. Just want to make sure I’m getting this right.”
There’s a saying I don’t really trust, but it goes: even if you’re dragged to a dragon’s lair as a sacrifice, you can survive as long as you keep your wits about you.
“Yeah! That’s it! Can you make it?”
Now that I looked closely, there did seem to be a reason for the dwarf form.
As he perked up and approached, I noticed several hammers and unknown forging tools strapped to his waist.
Given how he’d demanded mithril from the emperor, this dragon really seemed to have a peculiar hobby for ‘sword-making.’
I still couldn’t figure out what a dragon would even do with a sword.
After all, the greatest sword would be one that could slay a dragon.
‘Anyway. If I play along, maybe I’ll make it out alive.’
I put on my best business smile.
