Chapter 870

“Loot? There’s more loot besides the dragon meat… Ah!”

Stehrin, tilting his head as if confused, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Y-you don’t mean you plan to visit Martirus’s lair?”

“It’s not that I’m thinking about it, I’ve already decided to go.”

Raon shook his head lightly.

“It’s only natural to collect treasure that has no owner.”

Just as crows collect shiny things, dragons are known for hoarding gold and jewels.

According to old legends, back when the dragon lords ruled the continent, humans and monsters offered dragons jewels and gold coins. If Martirus was an ancient dragon, he probably had a mountain of gold and jewels.

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right, there would be treasures there.”

Stehrin cleared his throat and nodded.

“But as an elf, I’m not sure it’s worth bothering with.”

“That kind of remark suits you, Guardian.”

If anyone else had said something like that, Raon would have called them a two-faced human, but Stehrin was an exception.

Despite holding the highest position among elves, he lived more frugally than anyone.

“But people need money. Besides, wouldn’t it be fun?”

“Fun?”

Stehrin tilted his head again, not understanding.

“Aren’t you curious what the dragons would think if we used the gold and bones of the dragon that attacked us to make weapons to kill other dragons?”

Raon grinned and shrugged.

“Even if you have dragon bones and teeth as materials, you’d need an astronomical amount of money to make equipment. If we raid a dragon’s lair, it’ll help a lot in the wars to come.”

“Making dragon-killing weapons with their own bones and gold… I like the sound of that. I’d love to see the look on their faces.”

Stehrin stroked his chin and gave a broad smile.

“It’s a great idea. I want to take care of myself and join that fight.”

“You will. I’ll make sure you get to see it. I’ll even raid other dragon lairs and send equipment to Seiphia.”

Raon nodded calmly.

“O-other dragon lairs?”

Stehrin’s eyes widened.

“You mean you’re going to raid all three lairs?”

“Of course. I might leave the Red Dragon for now since I don’t know its name, but the Black Dragon was an ancient dragon, so its lair’s location must be known.”

Given the Black Dragon’s hatred for humans and the fact that it was an ancient dragon, someone surely knew where its lair was.

Even if it wasn’t the Light Wind Division, it was only right to send another unit to recover it.

“That’s right! It’s only natural for the victor to take the spoils!”

Martha shouted, stomping her foot.

“Will there be ice cream balls?”

Runaan licked her lips, showing no interest in money.

“There definitely won’t be…”

Krein shook his head firmly.

“Raiding a lair… Is that something a Zieghart swordsman should do? Isn’t that just stealing? Hmm, but if it saves a lot of lives, it’s the right thing to do…”

Burren frowned in thought, as if he was watching Karoon.

“Whatever the others do, we have to check out Martirus’s lair at least. We should report it to the family first.”

Raon looked up at the sky, thinking of his family after such a hard fight.

“I already sent the report.”

Burren nodded lightly.

“You did?”

“Yeah. I figured the Family Head would worry, so I sent the report after making sure you woke up.”

He said it was fine to contact them later and waved his hand.

“…Thanks.”

Raon gave a faint smile. Unlike his former vice-division leader Rimmer, who never reported things, Burren’s initiative made him feel strangely moved.

‘I really need to pick a new vice-division leader.’

After saying goodbye to Rimmer, Raon had been thinking about it.

In terms of strength, Runaan was the strongest, but she wasn’t the type to take the lead.

Martha had drive and initiative, but her head heated up too quickly to lead everyone.

No matter how he thought about it, only Burren was fit to lead the Light Wind Division in his stead.

“Woooh!”

Dorian, who had been eagerly grilling dragon meat, started drooling.

“Lair! Gold! Jewels! Supplies!”

He was already sparkling with golden eyes, as if he’d already stepped into Martirus’s lair.

-What are you doing! The meat’s going to burn!

Wrath, uninterested in gold bars, frantically waved his hands, urging him to turn the meat over.

“Ah!”

As if waking up, Dorian quickly flipped the meat at Wrath’s words.

“Uh, I think this is almost done?”

Krein placed a piece of Red Dragon meat with the red hue completely gone onto a plate.

“Since you wanted it, Division Leader, you should try it first.”

He offered the steaming Red Dragon roast to Raon, as if to say, “You ordered it, so you try it first.”

“That’s right. But…”

Raon grinned, stuck a fork into the meat, and pushed it into Krein’s mouth.

“It’s always Krein who eats first in Light Wind Division.”

“Uuugh!”

Krein wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t match Raon’s superhuman strength, so the meat ended up in his mouth.

“Chew.”

“Mmm… huh?”

He scrunched his face, clearly dreading it, but then his eyes widened as he chewed the dragon meat.

“W-what the? Why is it so good?”

Krein devoured the rest and licked his lips.

“Really? It’s actually good?”

Martha laughed in disbelief.

“If you’re lying…”

“I’m not! It’s got an amazing grilled flavor! I’ve never had anything like it!”

Krein urged Martha to try the dragon meat herself.

“I’ll go first.”

Runaan stepped up and tried the dragon roast.

“Delicious.”

Though it wasn’t ice cream, she gave a big thumbs-up to express how good it was.

“Hmm…”

Martha, not wanting to lose to Runaan, frowned and took a bite.

“Huh, it really does have a great fire-grilled taste? Totally different from beef!”

She said it was really tasty and started eating more.

“It’s true.”

“It’s really good!”

“I never imagined dragon meat could be this tasty…”

Other Light Wind swordsmen also praised the Red and Gold Dragon meat as they ate.

-Nice, it’s great seeing everyone enjoy the dragon meat!

Wrath beamed, delighted by how much everyone liked it.

‘But they’re not eating that one.’

Raon narrowed his eyes at the pile of Black Dragon meat to the right. No one dared touch it, worried about being poisoned.

-Fools. Black dragons have strong poison resistance, but their bodies aren’t full of poison! Whatever was there is gone after roasting!

Wrath shook his head, saying any remaining poison would’ve burned off.

-If the others won’t eat it, then you should! I can’t wait any longer!

He waved his hands frantically for Raon to eat.

‘Fine, fine.’

Raon nodded, picked up a piece of the untouched Black Dragon meat, and put it in his mouth.

First, a salty wave of flavor washed over his tongue, followed by a flood of rich juices.

It felt like the entire inside of his mouth was filled with sticky dragon breath.

-Yeah! That’s it! This is why you eat dragon!

Wrath exclaimed, trembling his fist and dancing in the air at the flavor.

“A-are you okay?”

Dorian glanced at Raon, asking if there was any poison.

“Yeah. Seems like it’s all gone.”

Raon smiled and nodded, and the other swordsmen began to eat the Black Dragon meat.

“Handsome Raon leads everyone without fear, even with food…”

Siyan hid behind a tree, scribbling in her notebook, not showing her face. Just hearing “Handsome Raon” made his head hurt.

“That book is scarier than any dragon…”

Raon shook his head and was about to eat another big bite of roasted Black Dragon when—

[The trait <Gluttony> has been activated.]
[The trait <Poison Resistance> has increased in proficiency.]
[The trait <Poison Resistance> has advanced in rank.]

A sudden reward message popped up.

-Huh?

‘Hmm?’

Both Raon and Wrath blinked in surprise at the message.

-Wh-what! Why are your traits increasing!

Wrath opened his mouth in disbelief.

‘Ah, it was strange I didn’t get poison resistance from the rewards, but I’m getting it now.’

Raon smiled at the reward message.

Apparently, Gluttony’s authority let him gain the Black Dragon’s poison resistance.

‘Then…’

He put down the Black Dragon meat and tried the Red Dragon’s.

-Yeah! Red Dragon really is the best for fire flavor! It’s like the meat itself is infused with fire!

Wrath stuffed his cheeks, his anger forgotten, and beamed.

[The trait <Gluttony> has been activated.]
[The trait <Fire Resistance> has increased in proficiency.]

Same as before, the proficiency in fire resistance rose, though the rank did not.

-Wha!

Wrath, happily chewing, opened his eyes wide.

-It wasn’t just the Black Dragon?

He looked dumbfounded.

-It didn’t happen with the blue one before!

‘I didn’t have Gluttony back then.’

-Argh!

Wrath clutched his head, unable to believe it.

‘What happens if I eat the Gold Dragon?’

-Wait!

Ignoring Wrath, Raon smiled and took a bite of the Gold Dragon’s meat.

-So good! It’s so tender, it melts like ice cream!

Wrath’s eyes glazed over with bliss.

[The trait <Gluttony> has been activated.]
[The trait <Light Resistance> has been acquired.]
[The trait <Light Resistance> has increased in proficiency.]

As expected from Gold Dragon meat, a resistance to light was gained.

‘So that’s how it works?’

Raon grinned.

It looked like tonight’s dinner would let him max out all three resistances.

‘I should just eat it all…’

-Don’t! Don’t eat it all!

Wrath jumped in front of him.

‘Really?’

Raon crossed his arms, acting indifferent.

-Uh…

Wrath glanced back at the steaming meat, eyes trembling.

‘I really don’t mind. Are you sure?’

-Argh!

Wrath drooled, head lowered.

‘So I really shouldn’t eat it?’

-Just one…

He held up a finger.

‘Okay.’

Raon nodded, eating the Black Dragon again.

-So good! Maybe it’s because I can’t eat it often…

Wrath moaned in bliss, his words as bland as ever.

[The trait <Gluttony> has been activated.]
[The trait <Poison Resistance> has increased in proficiency.]

-Argh!

Wrath screamed at the message.

-Stop! No more!

He shook his head.

‘Got it.’

Raon put the meat down without regret.

‘Guess we should head back.’

He felt he’d received plenty of rewards already and didn’t mind what happened next.

-There!

Wrath waved frantically.

-O-one more bite…

‘Okay.’

-No, don’t eat it!

‘Okay.’

-Just eat! Don’t eat!

Wrath’s eyes filled with tears of frustration while his mouth watered with hunger, and he clawed at his head.

‘What do you want from me…’

-System! You angelic bastard!

(T/N: Poor Wrath. HAHAHAHAA)

—

A small cave entrance, barely large enough for one or two people to enter.

“Hmm…”

An old goblin named Bobor let out a thin sigh in front of the cave.

“Why hasn’t he come?”

Martirus, who said he’d destroy Seiphia and return, hadn’t appeared for two days. Even the distant great forest seemed only slightly scorched, not wiped out.

“What in the world…”

Bobor, frowning, was pacing in front of the cave when—

“Here?”

“Yes.”

With an expectant voice, a black-haired woman and an elf appeared.

“H-human?”

Bobor recoiled in fear. It had been hundreds of years since a human entered Martirus’s lair.

“A talking goblin, that’s a first.”

The black-haired woman smiled at him.

“How dare you set your lowly foot here! This is the lair of Martirus, lord of the mountains—”

“Yeah, I know.”

She smiled as if it were obvious and drew her sword.

“You know and you still came? If you draw your sword here, you’ll incur Martirus’s wrath!”

Bobor shook his head frantically. Martirus was gone, and most of the guardians had left with him, but bluster was all he had.

“How can the dead get angry?”

The black-haired woman smiled and shrugged.

“D-dead? Master Martirus is dead?”

The old goblin’s jaw trembled.

“Yeah. He was delicious.”

The woman licked her lips, saying she’d grown fond of dragon meat.

“Don’t lie! There’s no way he could be killed by a human—”

“Enough. Go join your master.”

She raised her sword, promising a painless death.

‘Can’t dodge…’

The only reason he was left to guard the lair was because he was clever and good with languages. He had no hope of stopping even a low-ranked guardian, much less that gleaming sword.

“Uh…”

“Wait.”

As Bobor closed his eyes, bracing for death, a calm voice came from down the hill.

He looked up, trembling, to see a gold-haired, red-eyed human standing right in front of him.

“It’s good to have a guide.”

“Ah…”

Bobor’s jaw trembled. This human’s presence was as heavy as Martirus’s.

“You’ll help, right?”

The gold-haired, red-eyed human gave him a cool smile.

“Y-yes…”

Bobor could only nod.

—

Martirus’s lair, in contrast to its narrow entrance, was enormous—like the whole mountain range had been hollowed out. It was even bigger than Seiphia.

But there was not a single item or treasure inside. It was just a huge empty cave.

“What the! There’s nothing here!”

Martha frowned at the empty lair.

“No ice cream…”

Runaan hung her head in disappointment.

“I told you there wouldn’t be any!”

Krein clutched his chest in frustration.

“Hmm, maybe he was just frugal…”

Burren stroked his chin as if he’d expected this.

“Yes, that’s right…”

The old goblin, who introduced himself as Bobor, bowed his head.

“Master Martirus was always frugal, focusing only on sleeping and not really gathering treasure.”

He shook his head, saying Martirus was different from other dragons and didn’t collect human treasure.

“Really?”

Raon narrowed his eyes at Bobor.

‘Seems a little off.’

It felt like acting, but it was hard to tell with a goblin’s face.

He also couldn’t interrogate him roughly, since a regular goblin might just die on the spot.

‘Might be true, though.’

Raon spread his aura through the whole lair but didn’t sense any hidden space.

-See, I told you, let’s just go grill more meat!

Wrath scowled, wanting to go eat.

‘Can we really?’

-Uh…

Wrath’s lips quivered as he remembered the rewards from the meat.

-Don’t eat! No, eat! Ugh…

Wrath flopped to the floor, battling with himself like playing rock-paper-scissors in a mirror.

‘Should I look for the other dragons’ lairs instead?’

He was about to look for the Black Dragon or Red Dragon’s lair when Dorian, sniffing the ground, suddenly started.

“There’s a smell! A supply smell!”

Dorian, eyes spinning, pulled out a pickaxe and started smashing the cave floor.

“What are you doing?”

Martha frowned at him.

“It’s here! I’m sure of it!”

When the ground didn’t break, Dorian tossed aside the pickaxe and swung his aura-infused sword.

Kwaaaaang!

With his full strength, the cave shook and the ground split open.

And in the dim light of the cave, a faint golden glow appeared. Under the broken ground, gold bars were stacked like marble tiles.

“……”

“……”

Raon and Bobor’s eyes met.

“Uh, well, this is…”

“So it was here, huh?”

Raon grinned and stomped his foot.

Kwaaaaang!

The thick floor shattered, and brilliant golden light filled the lair.