CH 131

Chapter 131 – The Dragon Family

As I walked out of the house, holding my aching temples, I saw the flying lizards buzzing above the village and the residents of the Elven village in a state of panic at the sight of them. Ohh, geez… how am I supposed to get this under control?

“Grande.”

“Aah!? Kosuke!”

I called out to the sky, and when Grande noticed me, her face lit up with a vicious glow. Yeah, she was probably happy, but it looked like she was terrified.

“Oh! You’re the bastard who seduced my daughter, you shitty small-fry humaaan!”

The Grand Dragon, which is at least twice as big as Grande, shouts at me from the air. It’s too loud, too loud, way too loud. The air is chattering and shaking. And your breath stinks.

“For now, let’s talk about this rationally and reasonably. Grande, what is your relationship with the other three?”

“They are my mother and my two brothers.”

“I see. Grande’s mother and brothers, can you take the rampaging dragon to the open space at the village entrance so we can eat and drink?”

“Yes.”

“Alright!”

“Booze!”

Was that last one supposed to be a reply too?

“W-what are you all doing!”

The Papa-dragon was dragged by the three dragons and crashed towards the village entrance. There was a loud sound, and the ground shook… but well, it was nothing to worry about with the sturdy body of the Grand Dragon.

“Sorry, Kosuke…”

“Don’t worry about it; I had expected it.”

When I heard that Grande was going to meet her family, I kind of knew that this was going to happen. It’s just a vague idea, though.

“Sylphy, it seems that Grande’s family has come to visit us. Except for her father, the other dragons didn’t seem to be angry, so I’ll go talk to them. Can you tell the people in the Elven village not to worry?”

“That’s fine, but… are you sure you’re okay?”

“Maybe. But just in case something happens, it would be great if you could come back as soon as possible.”

“Alright. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Sylphy’s figure disappears in an instant. What’s that? Is that ninjutsu or something?

“Kosuke, is that woman Elf also a demon species…?”

“No, I don’t know. Maybe she’s an Elf evolved for combat?”

“For a brief moment there, she seemed almost as dangerous as the demon species…”

“Seriously… Well, it’s Sylphy, after all.”

To be honest, I don’t know how much stronger Sylphy is compared to Melty. I know that Melty is crazy strong, and I know that Lime and the other two slimes are stronger collectively than Melty because they told me so. Maybe I should ask Sylphy about it next time.

“Grande, go to the square first. I’ll run after you.”

“Okay.”

Grande, who was hovering in the air, flew toward the village entrance. I started running after her. I ran with my own feet and also moved forward with command input. My stride and distance are not quite right, and I might trip if I’m not careful, but I’m used to it.

In this state, I can run much faster than normal — more than twice as fast, in my opinion. If I added strafe jumping to the mix, I could go even faster, but I didn’t want to do that because it would make me look bad in the Elven village.

As I approached the village entrance, I could hear the noise of screaming and shouting — what a noisy bunch.

“Let me go! I must remind the worm who seduced and hurt my daughter!”

“You can’t do that, father. That girl is not a child anymore. You can’t be overprotective. Besides, she was given the name Grande, so you have to call her Grande.”

“That’s right, father. Grande is already a full-fledged dragon. Or rather, you just neglected her when she was with us.”

“More importantly, if you hurt this Kosuke guy, we won’t be able to drink anymore. I won’t allow that to happen.”

The dragons wrestled with each other. They make a ‘Gyoaa’ and ‘Gaooo’ sound! But the content of their roar was, to put it mildly, a minor quarrel between family members. The Elven soldiers guarding the village gates looked as if the end of the world had come as they watched the dragons roaring and fighting each other.

“Oh, I’ll talk to them; just try not to attack.”

“W-what do you mean by talking to them…? O-oh, hey, human!”

I ignored the Elven soldiers who hurriedly called out to me and walked over to the roaring dragons.

“Yes, yes, I’ve shown myself in. I’m Grande’s friend, Kosuke. It’s nice to meet you.”

As I clapped my hands and called out, the four dragons all turned their heads towards me at once. They are all Grand Dragons, yes. Their faces are vicious. I’ve already gotten used to them from Grande, though.

“The first thing I want to say is, thank you for taking the rowdy one out of the village. Since I’m a man of my word, I’d like to offer you the food and drink I promised before we talked. Okay?”

“Food and drink? You would do such a thing to our proud dra――”

“Yes, yes. I’d like to try some of Grande-chan’s favorite hamburgers.”

“Me too, me too.”

“Booze!”

The booze dragon is really consistent. And Papa Dragon looked betrayed when he saw his family members, who were quickly hooked on food and alcohol. Yeah, that’s a genuine Grande Papa gesture, isn’t it?

I used a block of wood to make a temporary dining table and piled up a bunch of oversized burgers for Grande on it. I also placed a large barrel of honey wine next to the dining table.

“Here you go, eat up.”

“Itadakimasu.”

“Delicious… It’s so delicious…”

“Booze! I can’t help drinking it…!”

Mama Dragon holds one oversized hamburger in both hands and begins to eat it elegantly, while Brother Dragon A holds one oversized hamburger in each hand and begins to eat them alternately. Brother Dragon B is… sticking his head into a large barrel and blubbering. You should not do that…

By the way, Grande was standing by my side, probably to stop her father from coming at me. But she seems to be distracted because her eyes have been glancing towards the dining table for a while now.

“Here, Grande.”

“I-is it okay?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s heavy so take it quickly.”

“U-umu.”

Grande took the oversized hamburger directly from my hand and started to chew on it. When Papa Dragon saw his family members enjoying the hamburger, he began to tremble.

“Y-you… You are being fed by a human! Don’t you have any pride as a dragon?”

“You can’t eat good food with pride.”

“It’s delicious… Delicious…”

“Gulp, gulp, gulp.”

“M-mughh…”

Aren’t the two brother dragons too loyal to their appetites? They don’t even answer. Only Grande is giving off an awkward vibe, but she is the first of the two that has been fed. She’s already immersed from her toes to the top of her head in the allure of the food I create. I don’t think she’ll be able to nod at Papa Dragon’s words now. But I still don’t know about the two brother dragons.

“Kuh…! You bastard――!”

The Papa Dragon bared its fangs and roared. Oh, it’s quite powerful. I mean, it’s just plain scary. If he bites me, I’ll die in just a single attack.

“Well, well, let’s talk calmly. Grande’s father. I’ve heard from your daughter that dragons are wise and rational beings. Perhaps a discussion will clear up any misunderstandings.”

“I won’t fall for that trick, human. You are cunning. You’re trying to manipulate me like that, aren’t you?”

“Manipulating you is not a very nice thing to do. I’m just trying to have a sincere discussion and clear up any misunderstandings we may have. It wouldn’t have hurt to discuss the matter first.”

Maybe it’s because of the precedent of Grande returning home after being seduced and her family members being baited at a fast pace, but Papa Dragon seems to be maximally wary of my speech. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

“First of all, what are you so angry about?”

“You hurt my daughter!

“Hurt…?”

When I looked at Grande, she averted her gaze awkwardly.

“Um, you took my blood before, didn’t you? That is what father was talking about.”

“I see; I did cut a bit of Grande-san’s skin to get some blood. But I did not force her to do it. I asked her to do it in exchange for food, and she agreed to it.”

“Do you think there’s a father who wouldn’t be angry at having his daughter’s skin scratched before her wedding day?”

“Hmm…”

Certainly, if I were in the father’s position, I would be offended.

“You’re right, indeed. Unfortunately, I don’t have a daughter, but if I did, I’d certainly be offended.”

“Wouldn’t you! You know what I mean, human.”

The Papa Dragon nodded his head and straightened his chest. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, so I decided to switch it back.

“Yes, I think so. But only if the child is too young to make decisions for themselves.”

“Mmm…!”

“That’s right. Grande is already an adult when she leaves the forest. It’s not right to criticize her for making her own decisions.”

The Mama Dragon roared in a slightly high-pitched voice beside the silent Papa Dragon.

“Y-yes, father. And Kosuke removed the scar without a trace. And when I tried to offer him my blood again afterward, he refrained, saying he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting me again and again. Kosuke is not after my power, blood, or scales; he is really just treating me as a friend.”

Grande also provides support for me. Kuh, Grande’s pure words hurt my heart! I’m sorry, Grande, I’m not as innocent as you think… I was definitely approaching you to use your power… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…

“Gnununu…”

The Papa Dragon slapped his tail on the ground with a terrific sound. It’s either he’s in a bad mood or just a habit of his when he’s thinking… Either way, it’s very annoying. It’s noisy and shaky.

“Or rather, you should try it too, father. It’s delicious.”

“I won’t give you the booze.”

Brother Dragon A picks up one of the oversized burgers and offers it to Papa Dragon.

“I don’t want it!”

And Papa Dragon slapped his tail to the ground. To the ground. To the ground, huh?

Hmm? Is that what you do? This is an education.

“Ogohh!?”

With a tremendous sound, the Papa Dragon’s head shot up into the sky. There was a clattering sound, and something fell from the sky. It was red blood and shattered pieces of something.

“Delgis? No matter what, you can’t let food go to waste, can you?”

“Yes…”

The Mama Dragon roared ‘Grrrr’… in a very low, terrifying voice. The secondary voice I hear is very soft, but it gives me a chill in the pit of my stomach.

“Grande, your mother is so scary, isn’t she?”

“It’s against the rules to mistreat food in front of my mother…”

Grande is trembling. I see, she’s basically a gentle lady, but she’s very strict when it comes to things that shouldn’t be done.

When I looked at them, I saw that Brother Dragon A was eating a hamburger in a well-behaved manner before I knew it, and Brother Dragon B was also… No, Brother Dragon B is still sticking his head in the barrel. He’s not shaking, is he?

“I’m sorry, Kosuke-san. My people bothered you. Aside from this idiot, I don’t intend to say anything about Grande-chan and Kosuke-san’s relationship. You can ignore him if he says anything in the future, okay?”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“But if you betray Grande-chan… You know that, right?”

Mama Dragon makes a cute little voice as she looks down at me. Yes, it sounds cute, but it’s terrifying. I feel like I’m going to suffocate from it. Sylphy, help me.