CH 301.2

(It’s about time now.)

The fact that she is beginning to rub their thighs together is a sign that the sweetness is becoming unbearable. Her tongue, stretched high out of her mouth, is wagging like a metronome, probably because she is eager to kiss him.

(The preparation is ready)

I leave the room and whisper to the Thief Beard concierge waiting outside.

While I was waiting in another room, Herbivorous mechanic came with his back pushed and entered the room.

「Are you alright?」

Behind the slightly opened door, a slender young man removes the eye mask from the girl with red hair in braids with concern.

(It’s a job well done)

Her upturned cheeks and eyes were moist but glazed with strong desire. I saw this and nodded at my work.

As I thought, she pounced on her prey immediately after the lock on her arm was removed.

(….That’s a very long-phrase, but can the Herbivore mechanic hold his breath?)

Even in band practice, they would not play such long tones. As much as I think so, the mouth and mouthpiece stay attached to each other and won’t move apart.

The only sound in the room is the sound of tongues entwining in the mouth.

(Fuu)

When the Herbivore mechanic’s complexion begins to turn purple, she finally releases him. A big breath escapes from my mouth as I watch them.

Out of the corner of my eye, the braided red hair pushes the Herbivore mechanic down on his back on the bed, and then impatiently pulls his trousers off.

(But still, I don’t think that’s a good thing for a girl her age to make that kind of expression in public.)

Her face, looking down at the Herbivorous mechanic’s conductor stick pointing upward, was greatly distorted in vulgar joy.

I was once again feeling satisfied with my workmanship, but the surprise of the next scene blew me away.

(Woah!)

The braided red hair unleashed a 『Flying Hip Press』 that would make me think as if I’m looking at Werewolf Onee-san.

It will be all fine if each of it is precise thrusts, but it would have broken if it misses even once.

(It’s a dangerous technique.)

It’s one thing if she works in one of the top three brothels, but she doesn’t have that level of skill working in a lower-class brothel.

In other words, she just happened to get lucky.

(She has lost herself in lust.)

This is a major reminder for the future.

Fortunately, the Herbivore mechanic’s switch was flipped. If I were to compare him to Goblin Jii-chan, he would be a young Goblin Jii-chan who had lost his reason.

He is a beastly man who will continue to pursue his own desires until his strength is exhausted, without reserve or mercy. Once this happens, not even a round-trip slap* can stop him.

In other words, he won’t suffer any accidental injuries as a result of his one-sided attacks.

(May happiness be with them.)

I gently closed the door and walked away while listening to the roars of the two beasts behind me.

***

Now the stage is set in the Eastern Country, adjacent to the east of the Kingdom. We move to the vicinity of its northeastern border.

Two golem carriages were parked on a grassy plain after sunset, with a campfire burning between them.

「Leader. Do you have any interesting stories to tell us?」

An old man with hollow cheeks asked as he roasts a skewer of meat over the campfire.

The five men around the campfire are members of the adventurer party, 『Robust』. They were on their way to the site to investigate a ruin but had set up camp as the sun was setting.

「Let’s see…」

Their leader, a burly, hairy man, Dolba, gazed at the appearance of the fat of the popped meat turning into sparks in the campfire with his squinted eyes as he scoured his memory.

They are a party of adventurers from the Kingdom that had made a name for themselves after they killed a Lesser Salamander that had appeared in a mine. However, the party members got a burn injury from it and nearly went bankrupt.

『We don’t take small jobs.』

『I don’t need cheap drinks. Bring them to me from the most expensive ones.』

It was only natural since they were always saying something like that.

Embarrassed, they moved their base to a neighboring country where they knew few people. Recently, they have come to be entrusted with big jobs in recognition of their solid work performance.

「This is when I was in Cathedral city, doing a preliminary survey of the ruins. There, I heard a rumor.」

As they listen in silence, the hairy Dolba continues to speak.

「They said there was a dragon around there a few years ago.」

At these words, the eyebrows of the other three men rise wide, and only the man with the hollow cheeks shrugs his shoulders.

Dragons are often sung about in stories and are widely known among people, but they are rarely seen. For adventurers, they are a sight to be seen at least once in a lifetime.

「The one that was defeated at the expense of many Knights, right? I’ve heard the rumor too, but it was a lie. The religious order of the Eastern Country had no Knights lost at that time.」

While looking at the men who sighed in disappointment, Dolba opened his mouth with a meaningful smile.

「It seems you didn’t investigate enough. It’s not like you, you know?」

And he continues, proudly.

「It wasn’t the Religious Order that suffered losses, it was the Kingdom’s knight order and the Lily Knights. The Kingdom’s knight order lost some of their pilots, While the Lily Knights lost an A-class Knight.」

The man with hollow cheeks eyes widened in surprise, and the other members of the group couldn’t hide their shock.

The Lily Knights is a famous international mercenary knight order on the continent.

『They once owned an A-class Knight, but it was lost some time ago, and so the current commander is riding a B-class Knight.』

This is a well-known story, but no one knows the details. If Dolba’s story is true, it means the truth of the details has come out.

「I heard that nearly ten Knights participated in the event. I don’t know whether I should say as expected of a dragon or whether I should praise them for defeating it with only ten Knights.」

A stubbly-bearded magician, having finished listening to Dolba’s story, strokes his chin and asks.

「What about the drops? Any part of a dragon would have fetched a tremendous price.」

Here, Dolba’s expression turned grim as he glanced around. He was afraid that someone else would hear him, but of course, no one else was there.

「Here’s where things start to get strange. It seems that the Kingdom’s knight order brought back the dragon’s head to the country. However, this has never been made public.」

The other members look at each other. A dragon’s head could be considered a national treasure. It would not be surprising if it were showcased to the public in a grand event.

Even if they didn’t go that far, it would be impossible for anyone not to know about it.

「You remember, don’t you? The job we took soon after we came to the Eastern Country.」

Everyone nodded at the leader’s following words. It was about a survey near the border with the Kingdom, on the opposite side of the eastern border of the Eastern Country where they are now.

Burned villages and destroyed Knights. It sent a chill down their spines each time they remembered it.

At that moment, the stubble-bearded magician spoke, as if he had noticed something.

「….Don’t tell me that was… because of Dragon Breath?」

Dolba’s eyes light up and he nods.

「I also think that was the case. There are other dragons out there, and they’re looking for their buddies’ heads to take it back.」

His companions gulped and became speechless.

If, as the story goes, dragons are highly intelligent beings, it would be dangerous to reveal the head’s whereabouts. That would explain why the Kingdom has not disclosed its existence.

「About the ruins we’re heading to right now, it is not impossible that it may have been the nest of dragons. If that is so, and if the owner has left his lair in search of vengeance…」

Piles and piles of never-before-seen treasures are likely to be left behind there.

The old men gulped at these words, imagining the classic scene in the illustrations of picture books.

Satisfied that he had managed to surprise them enough, Dolba chuckles and concludes his story.

「That is why the danger is so high. And we should go in with our heads held high.」

He then put the cooked meat in his mouth and pulled the skewer to the side.