Volu 2, Chapter 8: Dragon-san Is Encouraged to Work
Translator: Kurehashi Aiko
In my dragon form, I fell down on the rough terrain and let my consciousness drift away.
By doing so, I was surrounded by the signs of the minds of other dragons that were scattered all over the world.
It was a eting of all dragons held once every ten years.
I raise my hand and speak up, to which the dragon presiding over the eting pauses for a mont, and then he said.
The fact that they gave a permission like that was incredible in and out of itself, but when I gave my thanks I could feel lots of nasty glares directed at .
Well, it’s not like I couldn’t really understand where they were all coming from.
In any case, as usual we began to exchange information.
I was staying in the mountainous region for a dozen of years now, and I didn’t moved from it all that much, but at the sa ti I didn’t slack off with my responsibilities.
Besides, it’s not like I could allow myself to just leave and wonder around the region like that.
In my defense, I argued that I was improving my work by setting up working schedules and planning my next moves, while only occasionally going on short vacations!
I was doing my job properly, but for others it surely must have looked strange, but while I was listening to the reports of other dragons, I was reassured that my thod was the one that was producing the biggest results.
It was like that for decades, though.
Then, after everyone finished with their reports, the presiding dragon spoke up to everyone.
Just like that, everyone’s consciousness beca tense.
We all took it hard, that one of us fellow dragons passed away.
Dragons can live up to more or less five thousand years.
You can continue to travel, stay in one place, or beco one with the world –––––– until you happen onto the point of no return.
Passing away, at least for us dragons, is like sothing between death and a deep slumber.
You basically lose your consciousness and your sense of self basically disappears.
I try to think about it in a calm matter, but I have never heard of sothing like that happening to a dragon before.
Well, it’s not that I don’t understand, but see, the problem is ––––––
It ans that my work would increase by such amount.
There is only one other dragon that was born after I ca to this world.
In other words, it is Aru.
The dragon that recently passed away left no one behind who could continue to due his work for him.
Even though I’m not going to turn away from my responsibilities, I would be forced to do the amount of work equal to three dragons, how hard do you think that is!
That’s right –– That is exactly right!
I nodded my head energetically, but other dragon only stared at in silence, ready to take their share of the job.
It is precisely because of that that I know that it is going to be tough.
Uuh, geez, with that, the situation can only go more and more south from here.
I am quite comfortable with my current situation, for I’m doing my job properly and I have Nectar at my side to help .
Sotis I would even take on demons that ca looking for a fight.
Not to ntion that Vishanas Mountains are really rough terrain, so it is rather hard to disturb the flow of magic in that region once it has been restored.
That’s right, that is exactly it!
My words seed to have gathered a whole lot of attention.
I ant exactly what I said, and now I was doing my best to stick to it under the intense stares of other dragons present.
I took out such knowledge from the collective mory of us dragons and presented it to everyone, to which a strange silence befell the eting.
Hm, what, did I say sothing weird?
For a while, none of the dragons wanted to answer my suggestion so I just kind of stood there all embarrassed, when finally the presiding dragon said to :
With that, all of the dragons’ presences began to disappear.
Umm, in other words, for now we shall not ask others for help since we don’t have enough information?
…… I don’t mind the leisure, but for the sake of leylines stability we could get in contact with them right now.
While I was thinking like that, I was preparing to take my leave when I noticed that a certain consciousness was drawing closer to .
A graceful presence appeared in front of , and I imdiately knew what that was.
It was a dragon senpai who knew from the ti I ca to know Nectar. I wonder what he wants?
I return the greeting, and feel as if senpai frowned.
I smiled bitterly as I replied in a sarcastic way for his evident lack of flexibility.
While there were dragons out there that were far from being sympathetic towards , there were also those who were nice to . I was in contact with those ones.
Or rather, they were the ones to whom I reported when Aru was born.
At first I had my doubts about them, thinking that they were going to harass , but it turned out alright and I wasn’t rejected by them.
He was also the one whom I told that Aru began to go to school! Yeah, at least I think it was him.
From a dragon’s perspective, I ca in a very close contact with a human, but it’s not like I wanted to talk about it here, where everyone could listen freely.
For a mont senpai was silent, as if he got lost in thought,
Although it didn’t seem like he ant anything bad by that, I kind of felt as if he was making fun of .
Ouch, touchy subject! He found a touchy subject!
I don’t want to talk about it, so it would really help if he just dropped the subject right here right now.
I was surprised that he gave an answer so swiftly, and so spot on, at that.
…… Uh? Did I got too enthusiastic over there?
With that, Senpai’s consciousness went away, and I also returned to my own body.
Even though we just talked he had no real reason to go and talk to after the eting was over. So why……
…… Eh? Maybe, maybe he just wanted to casually talk!?
That dragon-senpai who is so hugely formal and uptight!?
It took so ti to realize that, and when I did I started to tremble with shock, but then I sensed Nectar’s presence right beside , and so I opened my eyes.
Nectar was standing in the center of the slowly fading magical circle, with his original green staff in hand. A true Sage, with his fair hair with crimson tips.
「How are you, Lava?」
「Yeah, there were so shocking things at the eting, but the overall conservation is proceeding smoothly as usual. What about you, Nectar?」
「I was making the dicine back at the shop, but decided to have a lunch break, that’s why I ca.」
「Oh, so it’s that part of the day already, huh?」
I look over the mountains to see the position of the sun. Also, while at it, I stretch and move my body, which has been immobile for quite so ti now.
It sure feels nice to be able to move just like that.
I walked over to where Nectar was sitting and I sat down on the ground as well.
Since I already did my job in restoring the proper concentration of magic around here, I could also sit down and relax for a little while.
Right now Nectar was a demi-spirit, so he mainly used magical energy to sustain his body.
Although you technically could incorporate magical power from eating als like any normal human, it is not a very effective thod since the amount of magic you would gain is simply too small.
Therefore Nectar would occasionally tag along with , to replenish the amounts of magical power he needed in natural places of high magical concentration like this one.
Since the amount of magical power in my surrounding was always high and pretty stable, it was a perfect al for spirits. But I also liked it because we could just stay together and enjoy the company of one another without resulting to words or anything else like that.
I also like to feel Nectar’s body resting right next to my own body.
When we are with Aru it is fun as well, but when are just the two of us, it is a whole different kind of fun.
「Would you like to practice your Dwarfish after that?」
「Hmm, maybe I should. For now I am keeping watch on them with my Far-Seeing spell, but just in case for now I should avoid entering their territory as much as possible.」
「I see.」
「In the first place, this whole thing was basically my fault, since I didn’t realize that there was a dwarvish village in the vicinity. Besides, it take a whole three days to reach them on foot, did you know that? There’s no way I’m going there!」
「Oh my, really?」
Nectar smiled gently at , while looking at from the ground.
「But, I think it is wise to know their language just in case you need to go and interact with them again.」
「Of course, and the textbook should also arrive pretty soon.」
「I’m looking forward to it.」
Nectar said that, and I used that opportunity to change the subject.
「By the way, Aru should be starting a new sester at school. What do you think?」
「He’s doing fine as usual, and lately he seems to greatly enjoy his club activities with this whole Elv-senpai of his. He even told that they taught him how to sculpt magical incantations into bullets.」
「Well, that good to hear. It should be ti soon for Elvie’s new gun to finally be completed.」
It’s been almost a month since that promised we’ve made to one another, and to that Nectar also answers in a gentle voice.
「Just the other day, Aru brought that boy back ho, as well as two other people from their club.」
「Now look at that!」
「It was an Elf boy and a girl from the beast clan. They seem to be a very unique bunch of young people with very different and interesting personalities.」
「All of the club mbers in one place. I wish I could have seen that.」
It is regrettable that because of the leylines I couldn’t go back sooner.
Nectar looked at sulking and swinging my tail with envy.
「Even so, I was surprised. He looks just like Kyle when he was his age.」
「You think? I think that they look completely different, though. Maybe your eyes are keener than mine.」
「Yeah, and because of that I couldn’t stop laughing when he started to get angry at Aru at so point.」
「They both inherited that trait.」
「Sure looks that way.」
Saying that, Nectar looked in the distance, looking all nostalgic.
It’s been already twenty years since both Belga and Kyle died.
「But, it was just as you said, Lava. The boy’s magical waves are really thin, even thinner than that of a man with low magical aptitude, but it is also strange. I can feel many forms of magical power emanating from him.」
While he was saying that, I could see flas of excitent sparking in Nectar’s eyes.
「So even you were able to see that about his magical waves, huh? Wait a minute, you didn’t try to question him about it, right, Nectar?」
「H, how could I!? I just thanked him for always taking care of Aru! And then I just asked them about ordinary school stuff, you know!?」
I didn’t wanted to rush anything, but oh well, since Aru was not saying anything, that must have ant that everything was okay.
I suddenly started to think about that strange feeling I felt coming from Elvie a month ago.
It was truly for a mont, but ––––––
「But even so, the sparseness of Elvie-kun’s magical waves is quite unusual indeed. Magical aptitude is a balanced evaluation of one’s current capacity, but maybe the problem lies in the output –––––– H, hey, what’s wrong?」
For Nectar it was rather vague, but I still decided to open my mouth.
「I used the occasion to talk with El-kun about the ti when he was attacked by the Earthworm.」
「Aah, it was at that ti that you felt that strange magic coming off from him, right?」
「Yup. I feel like I rember what it was, but at the sa ti I can’t really rember.」
「I tried a simple magical scan on him when we shook hands, but I couldn’t really sense anything else than my own power.」
See, so you DID try sothing.
Well, I can easily imagine Nectar trying to pull of sothing like that quite easily.
I, on the other hand, tend to rember each and every one magical wave pattern that I have co across in my life, but since there were so many of them recalling the right one usually takes a lot of ti and effort.
It is quite botherso to do, but there is no other way to do it.
「Oh well, it must have been my imagination.」
「Even so, maybe you encountered the sa pattern before, or maybe the one that is at least very similar.」
I think that one of Nectar’s good points is that he can listen to stories such as this and take it very seriously.
「Mhm, thanks.」
「You’re, welco?」
Nectar narrowed his eyes and gave a strange look, but I decided to pay it no mind at all.
「In any case, Elvie-kun wanted to pass the ssage onto you, that the gun is finally ready. And that if you don’t mind, you are more than welco to visit them in their clubroom to see it.」
「Oooh, now I definitely want to go and see it!」
「It’s alright, I already told them that you will gladly co and see them whenever they are ready.」
「Now, what should I do? I want to see it as soon as possible!」
In the first place, repairing the magical circulation around the land is a slow process, so not to overload it by going too fast. Now, in the past, whenever I wanted to go and et Nectar once a month I would plan my repairs accordingly I advance, so that I would have a day or two of free ti on my hands, so it would be okay to leave my job for a short while.
Now, it was possible for to adjust the leylines from so distance away, all thanks to the spell that I have co up with during the years of properly doing my job. I have been working hard, you know.
As soon as I got to adjusting the according places, Nectar spoke up again.
「I’ll say this now, but maybe you should more careful around that beast girl from East.」
「What? Did sothing happen?」
「She had a really strange look in her eyes when she looked at . My disguise is flawless, but I get a feeling she might have grasped my true nature sowhat. Maybe she is especially sensitive to strong sources of magical power from all the contact she had with Aru.」
「If the Sage himself says that, I am going to be extra careful when I et them. Or maybe that is simply the characteristic of every beast n.」
Hmm, I felt kind of sorry that it has to be that way, but there was also one mre important thing that I needed to know.
「Nectar, what did you tell Elv-kun about ?」
「I explained that you are my best friend and that we sotis work together as fellow Hunters.」
「I see. I must be extra careful not to show up in my basic female form. At any rate, good thing that they think that Nocturne and I are completely different people.」
For once, I took the role of ‘mother of very poor health’, so there was no need for them to actually et .
Since because of my leyline adjusting job I was at ho for only but a few days a month, this was the only setting that I could think of on the spot. Surprisingly, it was a really handy one.
「Although it seems lonely to be in contact with others as another person, I don’t think it’s all that bad of a thing for you to do, Lava.」
My heart almost skipped a beat hearing Nectar say such a thing with a charming smile like that.
My long tail dances around against my will.
「Ah, Lava, are you perhaps embarrassed?」
「N, not really.」
Nectar gazed upon my face, smiling all the ti.
I was slightly disappointed in him, and so I slowly answered him with a nasty glare.
「Does this look like being embarrassed to you?」
「Yes, and I think that you are oh-so-very cute.」
…… It’s impossible. I cannot hope to win against this guy.
Nectar’s face began to co closer while he put his hands on my draconic mouth, and I quietly accepted that without any kind of resistance.
But then, I suddenly heard the sound of gravel moving onto the ground, and when I looked at the source of the sound I have seen a hunter-like dwarf man hiding in the shadows not so far away from our location.
Umm, this is……
When he saw that I noticed him, the dwarven man raised a terrified scream.
「A, a dragon is eating a human!?」
「W, wait just a mont! I, it’s not like that at all! It’s just a misunderstanding, you hear???!!!」
I tried to change into my human form in order to try to clear the misunderstanding with that dwarven man, but right now he was way too panicked to ever realize that.
「…… How dare you interrupt my precious alone ti with my beloved Lava! And just as I was about to taste her lips!!! Stop right now and erase that mory from your head or I’ll do it for you!!」
「Hii, please don’t eat eeeeeehhhhhh!! I have a wife and a cute little daughteeeeeerrrrrr!!」
While I was still at a loss for words, Nectar began to chase after the dwarf, all the while intimidating him with trendous amounts of spiritual pressure he was currently emitting. The dwarf just continued to haul ass.
「Wait, wait, wait, you don’t have to chase him, and why are you so nacing like that!? And what’s with those embarrassing words, you stupid Nectar––––––…………!!!!!!」
It was a real challenge for to regain my composure and stop Nectar in his tracks from chasing the dwarf any further, letting him escape in peace.
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