94-Episode 94: Return of the Emperor

All right, now we have a corner in place!

After stopping Fluffy Fluff and the Golden Dragon from jostling each other, I was grinding and preparing the Golden Dragon's horns and scales.

''Grrrr........''

The horns and scales that had been growing and growing all over the place were in place, and the golden dragon itself felt refreshed.

''You sound kind of sad...''

Huh?　I don't think so, do you?

And in my previous life, I'm making the same kind of noises that the dragon knights made when they took care of their horns and scales.

''Cuuuuuuut.''

If you look at it, you'll see that Fluffy Moffy is refreshing at the Golden Dragon's feet, and he lightly taps his paw with a clunk.

The light of a golden dragon is caused by a reaction between the luminescent substance contained in its horns and scales and its own magical power. That's why if you take care of it like this, the light emission can be suppressed.

It was really shiny and dazzling until a while ago.

But by taking care of it, the Golden Dragon's body is now reduced to an appropriate level of luminescence.

It's really important to take care of them.

I guess it's more like a scale than a hairline.　

''Normally, parents are supposed to teach a golden dragon how to take care of its body, but this golden dragon's horns and scales are all stretched out, and it doesn't look like its parents taught it how to take care of itself.

So this golden dragon doesn't have parents?

'I don't know if it was an accident or if he lost a turf war with another demon, I don't know why, but I think it probably was.

I see...

Liliella and the others looked heartily relieved.

''But in a way, we may have been lucky. Golden Dragon material can be quite an excellent material, so thanks to not taking care of it, we were able to get quite a lot of scales.''

I heard that in the past, in some areas, killing material dragons was forbidden, and there was a rule that if you killed a material dragon and shaved it off without killing it, you would have to let it go, so even when adventurers came to hunt it, they would only find neatly trimmed material dragons that were broken.

This is why adventurers back then worked hard to improve their trimming skills, in order to shave off as much of the scales as possible, while still keeping the dragons looking good.

When you think about it, the dragon population seems to have recovered in modern times, so it's easier to hunt them.

They're just useful materials in spite of the fact that they're dragons from mythology.

In fact, it's called a material dragon.

It's also like Lex. And the scales that are shaved off are very beautiful and sparkling. It's like a block of gold.

To Megri, the Golden Dragon's scales are treated more like jewelry than a material.

''In fact, the Golden Dragon's scales are made of gold, you know.

""Money!"

Everyone rolls their eyes when they hear the word gold.

'Technically, it's not just gold, it's a substance like magic gold that can be a magical catalyst, like mithril.

I mean, great money!

Ha-ha, that's about it.

You're not going to be able to do that.

Perhaps it was because we had surrendered the Golden Dragon that the other dragons weren't attacking us, so we got to work packing the dragons we'd killed so far into our magic bags.

'This is the last time, isn't it?'

By the time I put the last dragon carcass in my magic bag, the sun had long since set.

''Well, it's getting dark soon, so I guess we should go home.

Yeah. I've fought dragons for a lifetime.

Liliera-san lets out a sigh, heartily tired.

''Yeah, we really have become dragon slayers...''

At Liliera's words, Jairo-kun muttered, his excitement still lingering in the air.

''Moreover, my brother can make the legendary Golden Dragon his disciple, and he's really awesome!

No, no, he's not that big of an opponent.

It's only a child of the Golden Dragon.

''But then again, I can't believe how much dragon material we've gathered.

Mina-san muttered something like that while looking at the magic bag with a dumbfounded expression.

''So many treasures!　That's a hell of a lot of money!

Indeed, Megri-san is right, for some reason, in this era, even green dragon materials are traded for thousands of gold coins for a lot of money.

Thanks to that, I've become rich enough to buy a house too.

I guess it's because the restriction on hunting dragons, which was planned in a previous life, has been implemented.

Maybe the reason everyone says dragons are a bad idea is because the government spread the restrictions on hunting.

Let's go home then.

Grrrrrr.....

Just as we were about to leave, the Golden Dragon let out a growl.

Then he came in front of me and planted his head on the ground.

"Guh.

Are you going to give me a ride into town?

"Guru.

Apparently so.

Maybe it's a thank you for taking care of my scales and making me feel refreshed.

Well, I'm not too tired, but everyone else is feeling exhausted already, so since it's a good time to ask for a ride.

""What? !"

No, no, no, no!　I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Lex!

Yes, it is, Lex!　It's not safe to ride a dragon!

'It's all right, you two. We're just like carriages.

No, no, not the carriage. Definitely not. There's a huge difference in the level of danger...

I don't know if I'm not good with carriages or not, but Megri-san is buzzing her head to the side with a greasy sweat on her face.

Oh, is she trying to say that dragons are flying in the sky, so if they were to fall, it would be a disaster?

Don't worry, Mr. Meghri. If it comes down to it, we all have the ability to use flying magic, don't we?　

No, no, no, I don't mean...

'Whoa!　Using the legendary Golden Dragon as a carriage!　You're my brother!

You shut your mouth, you idiot!

''Oboo!''

Ugh, Mina-san's sharp elbow strike was slammed into the side of Jairo-kun, who screamed out in excitement.

It's a good move for a wizard.

Mina-san might be able to do well in a fighting match.

''So, um ... yeah!　A dragon!　If a dragon comes to town, everyone will freak out!　

'Yes, that's right. A dragon attacked us just the other day, and if the Golden Dragon, the boss of the dragons, came in there.......well, you see, the kids might get startled and injured!

I see, that's indeed Norbu-san.

No matter how much of a big deal the Golden Dragon child is, a little one wouldn't understand such a thing.

If a large creature suddenly appeared in front of them, they might try to run away in a hurry and fall down.

The mindfulness of a small child not to get injured, as expected of a monk who would try to help many people even after becoming an adventurer!

I understand.

Do you understand...

Would you like me to drop you off near the town?

""You don't understand!"

'Come on, come on, guys, get in. Fluffy is already on board.

If you look at it, Fluffy Mofo is already on top of the Golden Dragon's head and ready to go.

''No, look, we can use flying magic...''

You can't. You've never flown at night, have you?

Yes, flying in the night sky is dangerous.

''The night sky is dark, and there is a danger of hitting a flying demon, a tall tree, or even a mountain peak.

Really?

Yes, that's why flying at night is so dangerous unless you are trained and experienced. That's why flying at night is so dangerous unless you are well trained and experienced. Above all, it is difficult to distinguish the sky from the ground in the dark night sky, so there is a danger of crashing into the ground if you're flying too fast.

That's why in my past life, a runaway flying magic group, commonly known as the Violent Sky Group, used to crash into the ground and take me to the doctor.

It's going to be tough to walk back to town on foot from here, brother.

Gyro-kun looks at the town in the distance and mutters in disgust.

''Surely it might be hard to walk home after a series of battles with dragons...''

Even Megri, who seems uncomfortable with riding a dragon, grunts as she looks at the road back.

'So you might as well have the Golden Dragon carry you closer to town.

''Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.''

Liliella and Mina snorted, wrinkling their brows.

'Um, folks, how about we take a break and have them drop us off at some distance from town?'

And that's where Mr. Norbu comes up with a compromise.

'Well, well, then...'

'As long as they can't see that we were riding in the same distance, I guess...?

After Liliella and everyone managed to convince me, we finally got on the Golden Dragon to go home.

◆

A glowing golden dragon ran through the darkened night sky.

''Whoa!　Wow!　It's insanely fast!

Squeak!

When Jairo-kun shouted excitedly, the mofo on top of the Golden Dragon's head also squealed in a good mood.

''Grrrrrr!''

The Golden Dragon also squealed in a good mood as he was praised for his wings.

Then, with a flap of its wings, it increased its speed even more.

''Whoa!　You're still going to go faster?!

The further increase in speed causes Gyro-kun to let out a cry of surprise.

"Squeak!

Grrrr.

When Moh Moh Moh Moh Mohammed shouted in surprise, the Golden Dragon grinned and increased his speed even more.

''Hey, is it okay to go this fast?　It's not safe to fly at night, is it?

'Oh, it's okay. Golden Dragons emit their own light and illuminate their surroundings, which is handy for flying at night.

A golden dragon that doesn't need a light.

'You can't call a legendary dragon a torch...'

Well, in fact, even in a previous life, dragons that could provide their own lights, like the Red Dragon, were useful as a nighttime vehicle.

''By the way, it's getting close to town, shouldn't we have them drop us off around here?

Liliella said worriedly, and I gave the Golden Dragon the order to land.

''Can you drop us off around here?''

'Gruooh!'

The golden dragon lets out a yell of reply that it understands and its body moves closer to the ground.

Then its four legs touched the ground, but the Golden Dragon's body didn't stop and slid forward, scraping the ground without stopping.

"Wait, is this okay?　It's sliding around!

Yeah, that's because I was in a hurry and went too fast.

I mean, the town!　We're going to hit the town!

Mina-san shouts in a panic, pointing at the town ahead of us.

Indeed, if we keep going like this, we'll hit the protective wall protecting the town.

''It's okay, Chain Aerial Cushion!

I created multiple large aerial cushions of air vertically in front of me and let the Golden Dragon plunge into them.

Jumping into the air cushions greatly reduces the Golden Dragon's speed.

However, there wasn't enough power to stop this huge body, and the Golden Dragon immediately went through the air cushions.

However, the Golden Dragon's body quickly collided with the next cushion.

By hitting the air cushion of moderate resistance continuously, the Golden Dragon gradually slowed down without blowing us on its back.

And the golden dragon succeeded in stopping its huge body just before the entrance of the town.

Yes, it stopped at just the right place.

The Golden Dragon gets his body down and assumes a position that makes it easier for us to descend.

'Thanks for the ride,'

I patted his head as I said that, and the Golden Dragon let out a happy roar.

''Grrrrrr...''

So, let's go back to the inn.

He turned away from the Golden Dragon, which seemed to miss him, and turned back to the town.

And inside the town that I could see from the gate, I saw the townspeople who had stopped moving as if time had stopped for some reason.

''Huh?　What's going on here, folks?

It wasn't just the townspeople, even the guards guarding outside the gates had frozen in place.

What is this?　It's as if he's frozen like he's been hit by the petrifying evil eye of a basilisk.

''Um, what's going on, guard?

....

But the guards didn't answer our questions at all.

Did we really get attacked by someone?

Maybe something terrible happened while we were out of town!

...Go.

Hmm?　Did you just hear voices?

"Gogogogog....

Oh, the old man behind the gate spoke.

Thank goodness, it looks like he wasn't stuck under an attack from someone.

But if that's the case, why aren't the townspeople moving?

'Goal ... den ... Golden, in the dragon!

""Ugh, wow!"

Following the grandfather's words, the townspeople shouted in unison.

''Ah, I knew it was going to be like this...''

This is a tough one to explain.

For some reason, Liliera and the others are muttering sullenly behind me.

''They're all incredibly excited, but are they happy because the golden material dragon has arrived?

One material dragon is a fortune if you have one, you know.

No, it's not!

Huh?　Isn't it?

"Ryuu, Dragon Emperor!　The Dragon Emperor has finally come back to life........!

''Huh?　What's that?

The grandfather's sudden words cause us to speak in unison.

Well, what?　What do you mean?　Why does the Dragon Emperor's name come up?