CH 111

Chapter 111 – It’s Much Faster Than Salamander!!

“So, how did we end up eating with a dragon?”

“Well, well, I have a few ideas.”

“This is delicious!”

The dragon roared to the heavens and excitedly picked up a large pile of hamburgers one by one on a hastily made dining table ― a block of wood 2 meters high, 2 meters wide, and 2 meters long ― and began to toss them into its mouth.

“What’s the idea?”

“Well, well, you’ll see. If it works, we might be able to shorten our journey significantly… Look, we have drinks.”

“Drink?”

“Oh, it’s elf honey wine. Here, have a drink.”

I took a barrel of honey wine from my inventory, removed the top panel, and offered it to the dragon. The dragon sniffed the barrel, then held it in one hand and sipped some of the contents.

“Delicious! So sweet!”

The dragon must have liked the taste of the honey wine because it began to slap the ground with its mighty tail and gulp down the contents of the barrel. And in its other hand, it grabbed a few of the burgers and smashed them together.

“Hey, you’re not behaving.”

“Oh, this is disrespectful.”

The dragon threw the crushed burgers into its mouth and licked its ketchup-stained hands with its long tongue. I don’t think that’s very polite, but there’s no point in bothering with it.

“Shall we eat too?”

“Huh… Well, that’s fine.”

We start eating the same hamburger as the dragon. The best way to get to know each other is to eat the same thing together, right? The dragon seemed to be watching us with interest as we snacked on our burgers.

“It’s strange to see a dragon and a human eating the same food.”

“Is that so?”

“What does the dragon say, Kosuke-san?”

“It says it feels strange to see a dragon and a human eating the same food.”

“I see. That’s true.”

Melty nodded her head in agreement. Is it really that strange? I think humans, dogs, and wild bears enjoy eating hamburgers. Food is like that, I think.

“But it’s good, right?”

“Umu, it’s delicious! Are you a magician? How can you make something like this out of nothing?”

The dragon, probably sobered up from drinking the honey wine, roars in a good mood and asks me questions. Yeah, it’s super loud.

“I’m marebito, you know. I’m special. By the way, I’m the only one who can make that hamburger.”

“What… did you say?”

The dragon was astonished. I think it’s possible to make something similar, but no one else can match me in terms of mass-producing the exact same thing. At least not in this world.

“Don’t you want to eat more?”

“I want.”

“Do you want to eat every day?”

“I want it.”

“Would you follow me? I’m the only one who can make that.”

“I’ll follow you.”

The dragon nodded its head three times. Okay, I’ve successfully baited it.

“Um, Kosuke-san? I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Haha, it’s probably just your imagination.”

Melty, who had been watching the exchange between the dragon and me, questioned me as if she had sensed something disturbing, but I brushed it off. I’ll surprise her when we are done eating.

☆★☆

“This is unheard of, isn’t it?”

“Is it? In a world like this, don’t they have legends like this?”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Hou.”

As I pulled the rope as hard as I could to make sure it was firmly in place, the ground shook.

“I feel a little itchy.”

“It’s just a quick fix. I’ll have something more comfortable for you to wear when we get to Erichburg.”

“Mmm… Okay.”

The shaking ground let out a sigh as if it had given up. It’s not the ground, though. This is the same dragon that had been gobbling up hamburgers earlier.

Right now, I’m preparing for our flight by tying a lifeline to the spiky scales on the dragon’s back. It’s hard to make progress because it sometimes wriggles a lot as if it’s itching for us to be messing around on its back.

“How did you come up with the idea of flying on a dragon?”

“It’s a rather common story in the fantasy novels circulating in my world ― adventure stories.”

“Do you have dragons in your world, Kosuke-san?”

“No, there are no dragons. They are imaginary creatures. I heard that there was a creature that looked like one a long, long time ago.”

They were probably imagined from dinosaur fossils, though.

“Hmm?”

“Well, I’ll tell you more about it when I get a chance. All right, we’re ready. Let’s fly, Grande.”

“Umu, hold on tight.”

The dragon, which I named Grande since it didn’t have a name, spread its large wings and roared. Then, even though it had not yet flapped its wings, the wind began to roar and create a strong breeze.

“Whoo-hoo! That’s a lot of wind!”

As Grande hit the air with its wings a few times, its huge body began to float softly. It seems that dragons don’t fly directly with their wings, but by applying wind magic, just like the Harpies. No, it looks like the dragon has a higher weight of magic. The momentum of the swirling wind is incomparable to that of Harpies. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Eventually, the violent updrafts subsided, and Grande began to glide through the sky. It seemed to be going quite fast, but there was no wind blowing at all. Why is that?

“How’s that? My wind-shielding barrier. It’s quite good, isn’t it?”

“Oh, it’s comfortable. As expected of Grande.”

“Yes, yes. My father and mother have always praised me for my skill.”

Grande shouted happily in response to my honest praise. I looked at Melty, who hadn’t said a word since the flight, and she looked very pale and shaking. Could it be that she was afraid of heights?

“Do you know where Erichburg is?”

“Umu, if it’s the big human dwelling place in that direction, then no problem. I’ve seen it from a distance a few times.”

“That’s good. The sky view is amazing.”

“Fufufu, that’s right, that’s right. It is a world that only we, dragons and birds, can see. You’d better enjoy it.”

“I will.”

That’s right; I should use the golem communicator to contact Sylphy and the others. If not, there will be a big commotion as soon as we arrive in Erichburg ― or rather, they might intercept us. Since yesterday, I haven’t been able to contact Lime and the others in Merinesburg, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if we’re within range of Erichburg by now.

Everyone will be very surprised when we return with the dragon. I’m really looking forward to seeing their reactions.