Chapter 53 - But Still (1)

We counted the number of casualties while the dragon guided the ship.

The fact we learned as a result was that the damage was realistically small, but more than we had prepared ourselves for.

"Did you bring the alcohol?"

"Why would I bring something that heavy?"

"So you really don't have any?"

"Of course I do."

Two from Windhand's subordinates. Four from the former adventurer's side who had brought his friends over, saying he owed me. Three from the skilled sailors DeB had hired through asking around.

From the Temple's side as well, half the Priests who followed had died from overusing their divine power, and from the Mages' side, two people had unluckily died from having their heads cracked open after tumbling and bumping around.

One adventurer was also missing.

They were painful deaths. The reasons for their deaths, more so than injuries, were mostly from being swept away without a trace by the tsunami and going missing, making it impossible to even do anything about it, which was especially so.

"Pour it."

The sailors scattered the drinking water—alcohol—that they had brought just in case, into the sea. The adventurers, and the Priests who had at least regained their senses, joined them.

"It seems that is the sailors' way of mourning."

DeB, who had briefly stepped away in the meantime, flopped down into the seat right next to me. His head seemed to look around at the Mages surrounding me, before turning slightly toward my direction.

"... They say the Archmage has deep internal injuries and needs to recuperate for a few days. Sir Inquisitor simply fell asleep from exhaustion, so there's a high chance he'll wake up today or tomorrow. At the very least, they say neither of them has to worry about their lives."

That was... still fortunate news. Though it made me feel even more sorry for Windhand, who had gotten swept up in this mess for no reason and lost his subordinates.

"Hey, would you pour a glass for them?"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; at that exact timing, Windhand made a request of me.

"If the dragon slayer mourns for them, those bastards will be happy about it."

I quietly looked at the offered alcohol bottle before roughly snatching it.

Since most of the people who were going to step up had already done so, there was no one left pouring alcohol at the bow of the ship. I was the last.

But still, awkwardly pouring the alcohol glug glug there was a bit much. SWISH. I threw the alcohol bottle.

SLASH!

The rapidly drawn two-handed sword sliced the alcohol bottle in half and dropped it down. The alcohol spread out widely in all directions.

"Sir……."

"Uhahaha, how boisterous!"

"Whoa, with that much, those dead bastards must've caught and drank it all at once!"

"To receive the dragon slayer's alcohol, consider it an honor, you bastards!"

"If you could just show us the dragon's head……."

"Ah, why don't you guys just piss off!"

Fortunately, no one was offended by it.

The sailors' mourning, mixed with a little bit of noise, was wrapped up just like that.

* * *

The place the dragon led the half-destroyed ship to was, coincidentally, that village we had stopped by once before.

Whether due to the water level, the dragon stopped at a certain point, but the creatures that were carrying the ship accompanied us all the way to the beach. The battered ship was completely set down on the sandy beach.

"W-What is this……."

Led by the village chief, whose face we had seen before, the villagers swarmed out while gripping weapons and torches. Since everyone was skin and bones, they didn't look particularly threatening.

"We're not dangerous people! We're not pirates!"

However, it was the same for our side being out of stamina. If a fight broke out here, it would only increase unnecessary damage.

Windhand, who had disembarked first, took the lead, and DeB, who had been studying my reactions, joined him. Since they were acquainted with DeB, the atmosphere of the negotiation seemed to soften quickly.

SCREECH.

In the meantime, the dragon slowly began to retreat. Thanks to remaining on the ship until almost the very end, I was able to see that sight.

"……?"

Not only that, I was also able to receive something.

A marble that came out of the dragon's mouth and crossed through the air landed in my hand. THUMP, THUMP. A small vibration transmitted from the palm holding the marble.

["Since the child who was supposed to eat me and become the next generation's master has died, the ocean's cycle has been severed. There will no longer be a master in this ocean."]

'…Hey, wait a minute. You could speak?'

["That is the last of the power I possess, and what my child was originally supposed to eat. Now that the cycle has been severed, it is nothing more than something that will return to nature, so I shall gift it to you."]

I felt a truly profound sense of betrayal. Of course, it was its own freedom to speak or not, but no, just no.

["Keep it. It will be of help to you."]

'…Whatever. If we had just talked a little while fighting, I could have hunted it so much more easily, but still, this is after it was hunted. It even gave us a ride all the way here.'

Above all, I didn't know what it was, but it even gave me a reward. The fact that the item description wasn't popping up, making it impossible to know what it was, was a problem, but anyway.

["Thank you for saving my child."]

The dragon hid itself back into the seabed. The night sea began to take on its original form.

"What does it mean that there is no longer a master of the ocean?"

"Eating it to become the next generation's master! A cycle! This is a massive discovery!"

"Gaaah, to think the dragon is going back, I haven't even finished observing it yet!"

At the same time, the Mages beside me began to clamor as if a dam had burst. They hadn't dared to interrupt the conversation between the dragon and me, but the moment it ended, it was pandemonium.

"To think it's a power gifted by a dragon, good heavens…… What in the world is that? An agglomeration of mana? Damn it, I want to research it!"

Some of them even stared fixedly at the marble in my hand and the dragon's head. It was a gaze I had constantly received on the ship, so it wasn't anything new, but it was still a bit burdensome.

"E-E-Excuse me, Sir Knight……."

But still, my concept was all about walking my own path.

I completely ignored those gazes and the words coming my way, and inspected the pulsating marble.

There was still no item description. And treating it as an egg according to common clichés bothered me because of the dragon's words.

It called it 'power,' not an 'egg,' didn't it? It didn't ask me to take care of its child or say anything like that either.

Above all, even if it vibrated, it didn't give off the strangely 'alive' impression. At the very least, it didn't seem to be a living organism.

"Please, please, couldn't you show it to us just a little bit? Even a little bit is fine!"

"Please, Sir Knight!"

"We'll return it safely!"

'Yeah, no.'

I immediately shoved the marble into my inventory. It felt like the dead stock in my inventory had increased again, but it was better than leaving it out in front of the Mages.

Of course, the Mages of the Magic Tower I had gotten to know on the way back were…… innocent scholars to put it nicely, and crazy bastards obsessed with research to put it bluntly.

Like the eccentric scholar characters that frequently appear, or the types who lose all sense of fear if there's an interesting subject or material. It meant they had that kind of personality.

For reference, the reason the Mages had stared at me before we set sail originated from this as well. I thought I had gotten on their bad side because of the three harpoons I broke, but as it turned out, it was just…… they wanted to research me.

Even the reason I found this out was because the Mages had told me directly. More accurately……

["Could we research you! We've been wanting to research you since before we set sail!"]

["If the Archmage hadn't stopped us, we would have proposed it earlier! Please, just a single drop of blood, no no, just 5ml, no no, just 500ml, please!"]

["Excuse me, could you perhaps just sign this experiment roster once…… Ah, the fact that I made this proposal is a secret from the Archmage."]

It was closer to me catching on because they babbled on roughly like that. It was a fact I didn't really want to know. Now I knew why the Archmage had told me not to get involved with them.

"Please, please, just once─!"

'Teacher Archmage, just what kind of battle had you been fighting in places I didn't know about? Just what did you do to be able to control these crazy scholars?'

I jumped off the ship, praying that the unconscious Archmage would please wake up early.

"Sir Demon Kniiiiight─!"

The desperate cries of the frail stick figures—the Mages—who were too weak to catch up to me, followed.

"Whoa, your popularity is immense."

Right around the time I reached the shore in annoyance and settled down, one of the sailors approached me, giggling. It was the former adventurer fellow who had brought his friends over, saying he owed me.

"Shut up."

"Haha. I didn't know Mages were such eccentrics. Not that I've ever seen an adventurer with a Mage background, mind you."

Chattering like that, he plopped down near the rock I was sitting on. I thought only the Mages had thrown their caution to the wind, but this guy was no joke either.

"... Is that it? The dragon that tormented our ship?"

Then, the former adventurer turned his gaze to the dragon's head I had dragged over. Although it was split in half, the head, which was as tall as me, lay face down on the sand and exuded presence.

Honestly, if that thing wasn't light, I would have just cleanly cut off its horns or teeth and brought them instead.

"It's truly pathetic."

Since it was cut in half, its brain and eyeballs had spilled into the sea, all the blood had drained out, and the muscles on the cross-section were squishy and mushy, it was definitely a miserable sight. However, what the former adventurer was referring to was probably not just that.

"It's too... pathetic."

He lost four friends today.

"Mind if I smoke?"

Those words were closer to a notification than asking for permission. The former adventurer lit a cigarette that he got from who knows where.

As someone who used to smoke, I was severely craving one.

"Youngest, I'm counting on you!"

"Don't worry!"

Then suddenly, I saw a person running across the village. It must be the person who would contact the personnel waiting at Gamak Bay.

"Once we return... you'll receive a medal of honor again this time."

The former adventurer, who was watching that with me, spoke abruptly.

That was a matter I wasn't too sure about either. This wasn't a quest received through the Adventurer's Guild, so would they really give me one?

"The Lord might even call for you."

'Oh... that sounds like it would be a bit, very annoying. I don't really know the etiquette of this side either, and due to my concept, I don't seem like the type to follow that sort of thing anyway.'

'What if I act temperamental and it ends up with me being chased out instead?'

"Pfft. To think you'd resolve such massive incidents back-to-back. If there is a Hero, would they be like you?"

At those words, I felt a little strange.

Seeing as he didn't seem to know that the Inquisitor was the Hero, he was a fellow who had unintentionally guessed something somewhat close to the truth.

"If you are the Hero... then those guys who died would have fought alongside the Hero."

The almost entirely burnt-out cigarette fell to the ground. Within the acrid scent, what was newly raised was another cigarette.

'Chain-smoking without mercy.' I turned my head.

"... Hero or whatever, it doesn't really matter. Instead, if possible, please continue to make a huge name for yourself from now on. So that the families of the guys who died can feel a sense of pride."

The cigarette held an ember, and white smoke hazily drifted up. It was just like an incense stick.

"... What am I even saying. Forget what I just said. You've done more than enough. Get some rest now."

'Saying it nicely now after basically cursing me to be endlessly involved in incidents won't change anything.'

I crossed my legs and didn't answer even once. As if he had expected it, the former adventurer chuckled and left.

Now, all that remained were the moon, the stars, and the sound of the waves.

SWOOSH.

Leaving the still-noisy village behind, I quietly enjoyed the loud silence. I could faintly hear the sound of DeB running here and there, but it wasn't my business.

'My concept absolutely doesn't help out!'

"Ah, there he i─."

"I told you guys to piss off! Do you want to be slashed to death by my sword!!"

'…Because of the Mages, I'm helping even less!'

"Hey, get those Mages out of the way."

"To act so vulgarly just because their leader disappeared, the Mages of the Magic Tower are just……."

"Are you finished talking, Mister Priest?!"

Thank the heavens, the others blocked the Mages in my stead. Even the people who were thinking of preparing something for me discussed among themselves to just leave me alone.

If it was Windhand who directed that, it was a very good judgment.

Thanks to that, I felt like I could very comfortably ponder over my body's condition, future plans, and the questions I had gained from this raid.

SPLASH, SPLASH.

Watching the waves rushing in up to my vicinity, I checked my HP, fatigue, and the like.

Everything was fine. Perhaps because I slept for about three hours on the way here, my HP was fully recovered, and my fatigue had dropped to around the 20 mark.

The arm and ankle bitten by the Dragon Tooth Warriors weren't severe enough wounds to incur an injury penalty either. More than that, they had healed so much that it seemed I wouldn't even need to wrap bandages around them.

Well, if there was a single problem, it was that my stomach still felt queasy, but... that was largely due to my seasickness. It would resolve itself once time passed.

Compared to the time in Tatara when I had become utterly battered, this couldn't be anything but a very sweet situation.

Unlike me, the Archmage and the Inquisitor were completely knocked out, but as long as their lives weren't in danger, it was fine.

"……."

'Then my next worries are the whole truth of the incident and the aftermath processing.'

'Is there honestly... anything to worry about with this?'

Of course, it wasn't that I didn't have any curiosity. But thanks to the last words the dragon had left behind, I was able to catch on to quite a lot of things.

Meaning, thanks to the remarks about the 'cycle,' 'my child,' and 'eating,' my experience as a fantasy reader worked hard.

So, to roughly predict the whole truth, the Sea Dragon and the black dragon were parent and child; handing over the position of master by being eaten by the child they birthed was the cycle, and this incident had ended up breaking that cycle.

I still didn't know the reason for its corruption, but there were absolutely no clues to find that out. I didn't necessarily want to force myself to find out either.

Yeah, if it was story-related, they would let me know later, and if not, it was just self-satisfaction, so was there a need to know? I wasn't the type to only be satisfied if I knew every little detail.

Rather than the cause of this incident, I had more questions about what would happen going forward.

For example, when would the corruption spread by the black dragon disappear? Would we have to find and exterminate all the Dragon Tooth Warriors it must have spread? Would this incident end up repeating itself again? Things like that.

You could consider it a sort of gamer mindset, caring about the possibility of additional quests. Though even if one did pop up, I wouldn't be able to clear it since another quest—Windhand's—was being forced on me.

Ah, the reward part was important too. They said the Sea Dragon had given me a strange marble, but that was given by the dragon.

The payment, or rather, the distribution of the dragon's corpse according to my contribution level, was highly on my mind.

If we had hunted it at the coast, the Magic Tower and the Lord would have taken most of it, but... right now, I saw my contribution level as being extremely high.

I didn't expect to have it all, so I hoped they would give me at least enough to make a sword. Whether or not it was possible to make a weapon out of a dragon's corpse was a bit of a problem in the first place, but anyway.

"System."

'Now, then, lastly... shall we talk about the highly anticipated new skill? And going a little further, about this game itself.'

'Since putting it off has reached its limit by now.'

"Let's have a chat, you and I."

'To put it more bluntly, it means let's stop deceiving each other.'