The Girl’s Awakening
* * *
Arriving at the rock, Oka greeted the villagers via 【ntal Voice】.
Cheerfully say good morning to people you et in the morning!
One of the rules her master had taught her.
It had now also beco one of Yamaok Village’s tenets.
“Good morning, Okachan! We are honored to be granted an audience!”
Representing the villagers, Village Chief gatonkohsuke gave his greeting.
To Oka, even the elderly gatonkohsuke as the current village chief was rely a newly hatched chick.
Yet he had grown enough to deliver such a splendid response.
Oka felt a warmth welling up, inadvertently smiling.
Though she already knew, Oka deliberately asked their purpose.
Before Oka, the villagers would beco overly deferential, basically never initiating conversation themselves.
Hence, she needed to prompt them.
“Yes! As you previously commanded, we have brought the young girl you requested! Please accept her!”
With those words, gatonkohsuke signaled to the village won, who began untying the ropes binding the litter.
Those ropes connected the litter’s base to the enclosed doors and roof section above.
Untying them would remove that covering, exposing the sacrificial victim inside.
Oka had been watching that process with a smile, but upon the doors and roof being removed to reveal the victim’s appearance, she froze in shock.
Oka liked observing humans.
That was why she had Yamaok Village established.
Even now, whenever she had ti, she would gaze down at Yamaok Village and the villagers’ affairs from atop the high mountain with her draconic vision, enjoying the sights.
Therefore, she was well aware of what villagers resided there.
She knew what Oyukipa, who was supposed to be the sacrificial victim this ti, looked like.
Oyukipa was supposed to be a girl with auburn hair, brimming with energy.
However, the young girl brought before Oka as the sacrificial victim did not match that appearance.
Curled up asleep in the litter like a cat, that girl’s hair was black.
Not Oyukipa.
Unable to hide her befuddlent, Oka tilted her head and exhaled with a ffshuu sound, mist billowing from her mouth.
In order to cull the village’s population and control future growth, Oka had demanded the villagers offer up “a girl around 10 years old” from the village.
But the girl brought as the offering was a complete stranger Oka had never seen before whose origins were unknown.
This would not reduce the village’s population.
It was aningless.
“N-No, who you say? Eh? Eh?”
Seeing Oka’s reaction, gatonkohsuke flustered in panic.
From the villagers’ perspective, they had simply been instructed to offer up “a girl around 10 years old.”
Since Oka only gave such a vague directive, the villagers never realized her true goal of population culling.
To the villagers, Okachan’s instructions were absolute, with any questioning itself considered disrespectful.
So without considering why Oka wanted “a girl around 10 years old,” the villagers faithfully followed the order’s conditions by offering up a vagrant girl who fit them.
The villagers assud this would satisfy Okachan and resolve the sacrificial victim matter.
However, that was not the case!
The esteed guardian dragon before them had said, “No, who?”
She did not accept the offering with joy!!
Though Oka had simply voiced her pure confusion, gatonkohsuke judged from her reaction that they had displeased her.
He imdiately began bashing his head against the rock with enough force to draw blood, prostrating himself!
“M-My apologies! For failing to et your desires, my deepest apologies!”
Gon! Gon! Gon!
The frenzied image of the elderly man repeatedly smashing his head against the rock slightly startled Oka!
“How fortunate! If this head-smashing show from this old fool can satisfy you, then by all ans! I would forfeit my life to continue head-smashing, so please, please! Forgive this foolish villager!!”
Gon! Gon! Gon!
“Oh, Okachan, thank you……How gracious you are.”
Saying that, gatonkohsuke clasped his hands and began praising Oka.
Unnoticed in her slight disorientation, his forehead was reddened and swollen, but without any bleeding wounds.
He had simply pretended to forcefully smash his head, skillfully mitigating the actual impact – the cunning wisdom of an experienced elder well-versed in both the bitter and sweet!
“Then, since you have forgiven us, we shall take our leave. Please accept our sacrificial offering child. Now then……”
Judging he had obtained Oka’s forgiveness, gatonkohsuke tried to conclude their exchange.
However, while not angered, Oka was also not satisfied with being offered a stranger as the sacrificial victim.
“Hah……?”
“Eh……?”
“Wha……!”
The villagers froze at Oka’s words.
The first to respond to Oka’s innocent words was Sabrown.
“P-Please, I implore you!! I implore you!!”
Shoving gatonkohsuke aside, he rushed up to Oka’s feet and knelt with both hands and knees on the ground, begging!
“I beg you! I beg you, please reconsider that much at least!?”
He vehently ground his forehead into the dirt, shouting!
Blood seeped from Sabrown’s forehead, staining his face.
“M-My daughter Oyukipa was chosen as the sacrificial victim! T-To serve Okachan is truly an honor I acknowledge! However, however!”
“S-Sabrown! You overstep your bounds……”!
gatonkohsuke tried to grab Sabrown’s shoulder and pull him away, but Sabrown desperately clung to the ground, refusing to leave!
“Oyukipa has a future ahead of her! I don’t mind what happens to ! So please, spare my daughter’s life, I beg you!!”
“Ffshuu——”
Moved by the father’s desperate plea to an extent, Oka shuddered as she exhaled a pinkish mist!
(Wowah, a father’s feelings for his daughter! Such self-sacrificing devotion! So dramatic!)
And yet.
(But I can’t help him, can I?)
Performing the culling.
To Oka, that had already been decided.
She could not overturn that decision simply because a human protested.
To sustain the terrarium she had created, cruel judgnts must sotis be made.
She had done so until now.
(If I change how I do things now, what did all the sacrificial girls who died until now an? Adhering to precedent is important, you know.)
Furthermore, the option of releasing sacrificed children into towns at the mountain’s base away from the village did not exist for Oka.
Yamaok Village had purposefully severed outside interactions to cultivate its own culture.
If she released even a few villagers outside, the village’s existence could be exposed and outside interactions begin.
That would cause the distinct culture she had cultivated to be lost!
Oka absolutely did not want to take any action risking even that possibility.
In any case.
Oka bluntly conveyed her conclusion in one phrase to the villagers:
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!”
Sabrown broke down sobbing.
gatonkohsuke……even gatonkohsuke trembled as he grasped Sabrown’s shoulders.
“Endure it!……You must endure! Obey Okachan! That is the village’s tenet! You too, when I die, must live by those tenets as the next chief! Endure it……!”
A tear glistening in the morning sunlight rolled down gatonkohsuke’s cheek.
Growing weary of watching the humans’ drama, Oka tried to move things along.
Flapping her wings basaribasari to stir up wind, she tried to drive away the prostrated, sobbing Sabrown and other flustered villagers.
Just as Oka tried to unilaterally end their exchange with that 【ntal Voice】 declaration……that was when it happened!
Byun!
Making that sound, a fist-sized rock ca flying straight at Oka’s left eye!
“Gy-Gyaaaaaaahhh!?”
The rock struck Oka’s left eye dead-on with a sickening guchariiii! splatter!
Oka shrieked in pain!
As a long-lived dragon, her trendous life force ant her eye would regenerate within three days even if gouged out.
But it still hurt!
(Wh-What’s going on!? It really hurts! Who did this!?)
Bleeding from her left eye and tearing up from her right, Oka glared in the direction the rock had co from!
Standing there was a burly, thick-eyebrowed man.
The village hunter, Gonpeter!
“Don’t ss around……Don’t ss arouuuuund!!”
Trembling under Oka’s glare, Gonpeter’s face flushed red as he shouted without averting his gaze from the dragon!
“Okachan! The villagers were raised to obey you and live properly! ……And yet!!”
He had contemplated this endlessly.
“To kill my benefactor, kill my close friend’s daughter! Is that the proper thing!?”
He had contemplated it endlessly!
“Are you, who would make us do such things, in the right!?”
And finally, he had reached his conclusion!!
“There’s no way……There’s no way that’s right!!”
As soon as he shouted that, Gonpeter drew the knife from his waist and charged at Oka!
His body, honed from constantly roaming the mountains to hunt, was extraordinarily sturdy!
With trendous leg strength, he dashed toward the dragon like the wind, leaping to plunge his knife into her elongated neck, only to be swatted away by her long tail, his back slamming heavily against a large boulder.
“Ugh……”
He then fell motionless with that grunt.
“GAAAAAAAAHHH!!”
Oka extended her neck straight toward the sky, letting out an unrestrained roar of rage!
The terrified villagers scattered like spiders fleeing in every direction!
(Don’t ss around!? That’s my line, isn’t it!? Injuring and making lose face!)
Zushun!
Descending from the rock stage with her massive body, Oka approached the fallen Gonpeter with a rage.
(I’m doing this for the village’s future, yet you give that attitude!)
She raised her right arm bearing long, sharp claws high into the air.
(I absolutely won’t forgive this!)
Driven by impulse, she prepared to bring that arm swiping down on Gonpeter.
Yes, she prepared to strike –
But could not.
For at that very mont:
“…………Noisy.”
With that murmur, a murderous aura potent enough to instill dread even in the draconic Oka exploded forth from beside her with furious abruptness!
“…!?”
Startled, Oka leapt sideways with unimaginable speed for her massive fra, putting distance between herself and the source of that murderous aura.
Just what had appeared!?
Had another dragon flown in without her noticing!?
Or had so formidable spirit suddenly materialized!?
In her confusion, Oka montarily speculated such possibilities, but both guesses were completely off the mark.
It had been there from the very beginning.
It had simply awakened in this mont.
The source of that murderous aura was the black-haired, black-eyed young girl brought as today’s sacrificial victim.
Always grouchy upon waking, she indiscriminately emanated that murderous aura while yawning and stretching her body as she rose in the litter.
Her raven black hair fluttered gently in the breeze, glistening under the morning sun.
She then looked around, tilting her head.
Now, hadn’t she fallen asleep in the village hut last night?
Why was she in this rocky area?
While her inner voice drowsily remarked that, she rubbed her belly.
Guuuuuuuuu……
She was hungry again today.
She suddenly recalled last night.
Recalling the taste of the Uguuso at, of which she was only able to eat one out of the ten birds.
Guuuu! Guuuu! Guuuuuuuuuu……!!
Oh no.
Her ravenous belly had begun roaring loudly.
She needed to put sothing in her mouth soon……!
It was then that the young girl finally noticed.
……Emi’s gaze t the imnse creature keeping its wary distance, its shimring pink scales dazzling even brighter to Emi’s 【Magic Perception】 due to the trendous magic power contained within.
Seeing that, a single strand of drool trickled from Emi’s mouth, along with an utterly inhuman impression:
“…………Looks delicious.”
……Ah yes, ti for breakfast!!
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