Dragon Buster
“Man, you liked alcohol and appetizers that much? Well it looks like we can communicate with words, so I guess we can move on with the negotiations, yeah?”
“The snacks were super tasty!”
I was just about to press the switch for the fourth ti. The next ti shouldn’t be a problem, though. Yep. If I recall, the next one’s stone spikes that’ll stab her.
“Now then, I suppose I should fill you in on what’s happening since you seem to be confused. First of all, you were caught by .”
“Eh? Oh, shouldn’t I escape now?”
“Wait. Take a look, see? Yeah. Let’s talk.”
I held up three fingers so that only Igni could see them. She should get it. It’s the third situation. The third one.
The one where she’s supposed to ad-lib and follow what I say. She’ll definitely rember… right?
“… Umm.”
“Could you hear us out without moving about, little miss?”
“Yep!”
It was a great response. She was able to read to mood properly, but can Igni put on an act?
“So, why did you attack that field in my village?”
“Well, I was just killing ti—I-I an… it was a prank! Surprising them was fun…”
Ooookay, I almost wound up pressing the switch when she was about to finish saying she was killing ti. It looks like she figured that was a bad thing to say when I smiled peeeerfectly at her.
I was trying to appeal to the group that the whole matter was because of Igni’s childishness. NO killing ti YES prank! That was also covered in our eting prior to this.
However, her eyes were darting this way and that. I guess she just barely rembered in ti?
“A prank, huh~? Even so, it was a field we use to grow our food. You can’t just go ruining it, we’ll lose our source of food and be unable to sustain our als to eat.”
“Being hungry’s bad!”
“Exactly. So you won’t do it again, right~?”
“Right! Sorry!”
… Her being so obedient’s actually making her less persuasive! Even her expression’s off, she’s way too serious.
I turned to Wataru and Gozoh.
“… So what do you guys think?”
“H-Hah…”
“W-Well.”
Wataru and Gozoh both responded imdiately, but neither felt too convinced on the matter. Obviously, even I think it sounded like a lie.
“It looks like the two of them aren’t convinced yet. Co on, apologize to them as well.”
“Eh? Why should I apologize to bugs—OW!? Umm, I’m sorry.”
I successfully activated the switch for the fourth ti. It was a conical shape this ti and looked much more painful than the previous balls.
“Kehma-san is amazing.”
“Huh? Oh, no. This was all just a child’s folly, let’s let it slide, how about it?”
“I’m not a child!”
BIKIIii!
The conversation’s flow I’d worked so hard to set up shattered.
Team Bacchus with Wataru in the lead took battle formation. at and Ichika also stood as interception between Igni and I. As though to protect .
… They moved crazy quick. They were on alert. They didn’t trust her at all, no doubting that.
Should I push the child route a bit more?
“Only children grow angry when called children.”
“Ah, then I won’t get angry! Because I’m not a child!”
“Oooh, how great of you.”
I walked over to Igni and pat her on the head.
“Kehma-san, she’s dangerous!”
“Huh? … Oooh, yeah, sure. She is a fla dragon. But co on, she’s already apologized and said she won’t do it again, it’s fine already. Right, Igni-chan?”
“Yeah! I’m an adult and I keep my promises!”
BWOOSH!
With that, everything fell apart. This brat just tried making so kind of adult-like pose. Probably.
Everyone reflexively held up their weapons ( included). Ichika and at both know about the circumstances…
Well, it’d be hard to get them to put faith in her anymore. I guess I’ll have to use my ultimate weapon?
“Hey, Igni-chan. Sit.”
“Kay.”
Doing as I said, Igni sat down.
“See? She’s very obedient. Why is everyone so tense around her?”
“No no no no, Kehma, aren’t you the one being too calm? That’s a dragon.”
Gozoh’s frightened!
Why’s Gozoh, a person who can head off and drink with a hero like it’s nothing, so afraid? Are the people of this world so horrified by dragons?
No, even Wataru’s on guard…
“… But she’s obviously a little girl?”
“But I’d lose if she went wild!”
Hmm. Gozoh wouldn’t let down his guard. Guess I’ll have to show off my true ultimate weapon.
I didn’t want to have to use it if I’d been able to avoid it. It’s an ultimate weapon so strong that it would’ve been fine even if I didn’t use it, but…
“Haaah, alright. I’ll let you guys know my secret then. You’ll agree with after knowing about it.”
“Huh? Your secret?”
I sighed deeply and clapped my hands.
“… Please co here, Ontentoo.”
Resolving myself and saying that, a whirlwind of fire appeared behind .
Within it appeared a single salamander.
“Da—ebuuu—”
“Hoh, what an obedient fla dragon child.”
Ontentoo held down Igni, who’d began to stand up.
Ontentoo, my true ultimate weapon. A familiar existence to , as well as an existence capable of suppressing a fla dragon. Because he is her father.
“Wataru, Gozoh. This is my secret… I’ll introduce him. My friend, Ontentoo, the salamander.”
“Kehma’s friends? Hello.”
Ontentoo grinned and let his fangs appear on his reptilian face.
My friend to the end. A real friend.
“… What.. the… you subdued a salamander… a great fire spirit…?”
“Huuuh!? Subdue my ass!”
“Hey now, calm down, Ontentoo. They’re just startled, your face is pretty scary.”
I tapped him on the shoulder. So far, this is how our eting went. We were going for a whole ‘appeal through a hard to please existence that can’t just be used whenever’ kind of thing.
Moreover, Ontentoo was keeping Igni under his foot. When all’s said and done, parents can make their children bow… yep.
“Ah, sorry then… now! You apologize to them too! Properly!”
“Eeeh, s-sorry! Hyah!? I’m sorry!?”
“You’re not gonna go off and burn any more fields, RIGHT!?”
“Right! I won’t!”
“Goooood. Next ti you do, I’m gonna break off this horn here and give it them!”
“Hyah!? Sorry! That hurts, I’m sorrryyy!!”
Igni, urged on by Ontentoo and her mind reeling, apologized. As expected of Ontentoo, he’s good at this.
As an aside, her horn takes around ten years to regrow. I wonder if recovery magic could speed that up? Maybe mass-production’s possible…
“So. That’s how it is. Maaan, it’s a great thing we could solve that so easily. Yep!”
“I-I see. So it was the salamander? Yeah, for a salamander, a great fire spirit, a fla dragon would definitely be below a normal dragon, but…”
“Team Bacchus is good with this too yeah? It’s an existence that can make a fla dragon submit whenever it wants.”
The effectiveness was obvious. No one had any complaints about that.
“And I guarantee this guy’s trustworthy.”
“Oi, you’ve got Kehma’s guarantee yeah? So dwarfy over there, can you trust with his guarantee?”
“Of course I can! Village Chief Kehma’s guarantee is more than enough and there’s no dwarf alive who wouldn’t trust a salamander, the great fire spirits!”
“Riiiight!? Kakakaka!”
So he couldn’t believe about the dragon but the salamander’s just fine? That’s a bit weird, but I guess we sohow ca to an agreent…
I guess dragons are just no-gos after all?
“So Ontentoo, I’ll leave Igni to you. Please educate her properly.”
“Yeah, leave it to . I’ll discipline this brat.”
I went with the strategy of leaving the whole Igni matter to Ontentoo. The drawback of this plan is that it brings
Ontentoo’s existence to the surface. The advantage is that it ans Igni can continue her stay ho.
It didn’t really matter much to either way, so I was totally willing to go with it when Ontentoo agreed to it.
“Oh, you can have this alcohol as paynt. Well, it’s just the leftovers of what we brought for her.”
“Ooooh! Thanks for the gift!”
Ichika, Gozoh, and Roppu… I told you guys I’d already prepared the sa alcohol for you to party with when we get back, so stop it with the drooling.
“Kehma-san. Could you co over here for a mont?”
“Hm? What’s up, Wataru?”
“How the heck did you get to know such a big shot!?”
“Ah… parents are great, don’t you agree?”
“… Huh? You were a second generation?”
I was talking about how the salamander was able to reign in his daughter, the fla dragon, of course. Not about having Japanese parents that introduced the salamander to . (I won’t have anything to do with redying that misunderstanding, though.)
“Oh, and it’d be great if you all could keep knowing Ontentoo a secret. I don’t really want to be asked about it.”
“Understood… but… how should I put it? You’re friends with such a strong spirit…”
“… What, Ontentoo’s that strong?”
“Oh co on! Salamanders are great fire spirits! It’s said that all fires bow their heads before salamanders!”
Fires? Heads? How though.
“Kehma-san, have you not heard of the four great spirits? Gnos of earth, Undines of water, Sylphs of wind, and Salamanders of fire. They’re famous…. You don’t happen to be friends with other spirits, right?”
Famous huh. I’ve definitely heard nas like that in gas before at least.
… Huh? But Ontentoo isn’t a salamander, he’s a salamander-type core. I wonder if that puts him on the sa level as them?
Eh, either way, with Ontentoo pinning down Igni, we managed to end it all with my last resort.
We did it.
Right?
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