Chapter 524: Silver Dragon Meeting
Back in the craftsmen village, the villagers were still prostate.
“I don’t have any more love for you”
“Oh, really? I mean, is it okay for you to do something like this? I don’t know, but dragon riders are great, aren’t they?”
“It’s not like that. It’s just that I have a good dragon friend, that’s all”
“……That’s a great thing, isn’t it?”
“In terms of luck, maybe, but it’s the dragons that get on with you that are great, not me. I’m a craftsman”
He looked like he didn’t really understand, but that’s okay. That’s what a dragon rider is. I’m sure what’s being recognized isn’t my outstanding awesomeness, but my will as 「Just a human」.
“Ha…………no, I still think you’re awesome”
“?”
“I wouldn’t have that look on my face. Dragons are like that. They’re actually tens of meters long. They’re probably as strong as the heroes. If that’s your ally, then you can’t do a job like this”
“That’s probably true. But there are stronger people in the world”
“You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“It’s not a lie. And dragon riders sometimes get into fights with each other”
“……Th, That’s true……”
“So it’s not so safe to be friendly with dragons. It’s not something you can get too carried away with. ……Dragons are not gods, so even if they are all powerful, there are some things they can’t solve”
“…………”
“So dragons are dragons and I am me. ……Don’t forget that you can always have a limb of your own. There’s more that one person can do than you think. Don’t ever stop to think about that”
“…….Haa”
“That’s what my mentor used to say”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s just a tip. I’m a sell-out at most things. That’s why I’m not great”
I laugh with the villagers. I guess I can say 「I dare to be a craftsman」 because I am in a position where I can 「Choose」 to be one. ……If I had no choice in life from birth to death like they do……then I could understand why they wouldn’t want to be a craftsman if they had a dragon on their side. Looking back, I’m a half-wit who’s never been anything, but I guess I just had a lot of choices. I could be a Celestinian or a Trotian. I could be a soldier or a blacksmith. I can choose as many girls as I want, whether I’m from the countryside or from the city. ……That last one is unusual. Yeah.
“But you know, I really envy you. We’re the ones who get our heads chopped off as soon as we upset the heroes. And with the dragons on our side, that’s not going to happen, right?”
“………….”
Ah…….when you say something like that, I can’t argue.
“The old man Bismarck was killed for expressing his opinion to the heroes.
Dave from the cliff house, too. He was just a little boy”
“Even if your hands and feet are ruined, if the dragons are on your side, you won’t be used as food during the famine……”
The villagers say this with a hint of jealousy. Of course, since I’m accompanied by someone with the same fighting power as the hero, I can’t just attack head-on. That’s why I think it’s inevitable that I don’t really like it even though I’m so relaxed.
“Sorry”
Then, Neia, who was listening from the corner of the room, took off her hat with a sincere apologetic look and drooped her head.
“Ah……no”
“It’s not your fault, Neia-sama. In fact, you thought about us well”
“I, I understand. If we keep complaining to hero-sama, we won’t get anything done……it’s just complaining, so don’t think badly of it”
……Ah. It’s my insensitivity that’s bad, but Neia saved my life……. Even Neia is in a delicate position right now and I know it’s not easy psychologically. I’m not good enough.
————-
Next morning. I went back to the temple with Neia and just as the temple came into view, Maia, Tetes and Apple came running to meet us.
“Andy-sama”
“Master, are you safe!”
“Andy-san!”
“……You guys don’t trust me”
Even Neia is there, in case they’re wondering. They know how strong she is.
“What’s there to trust? A handsome silver-haired man came to me this morning and said he had a meeting with Master at night!”
“Why do you do that sort of thing when I’m not here?”
“I was worried even if you weren’t!”
……Ah. Those Presbyterian brothers and sisters have already appeared in the temple.
“That Leyla came out of nowhere. I couldn’t turn her away”
“Then I wish you would have called me, even if you had to let Neia run……”
Maia has a swollen face. She’s entrusted with my safety by Laila. Well, isn’t she worried about touching someone without permission?
“Anyway, it seems like some of the silver dragons are cooperating with us. There’s no longer any danger of us suddenly being attacked and defeated by the heroes or the dragons from the other faction”
I say this and snap my fingers a bit coolly. And two figures jump down from the top of the cliff holding the temple on either side of me. I’m just trying to see if they’ll come, but they’re so flippant.
“Once again. My name is Ray from the Silver Dragon Presbyterians”
“My name is Emma. Pleased to make your acquaintance”
These siblings have a unique hairstyle in which part of the hair that extends to the back of the neck is gathered at the top of the back of the head and tied up with a dong. Both of them together. The younger sister looks good, needless to say and the older brother is incredibly good-looking, so it’s a bit unfair that they don’t look like idiots even though they’re matching.
“From now on, we siblings and the rest of the Presbyterians will support Smithson-sama”
“Feel free to ask us for anything from escorting you on a long journey to transporting you or even a little hunting” “I hear that meat is a luxury in this valley”
They are as enthusiastic as ever in their assertions. But Maia folds her arms in response.
“I’ve done enough of that myself. Stay back”
She suddenly replied firmly. The older brother, Ray, was somewhat taken aback. In response, the younger sister Emma stepped forward.
“You won’t be enough”
“I’m enough”
“There are other people to protect besides Smithson-san. You don’t have enough men to protect them all”
“There’s Neia too. She’s stronger than a dragon, when she gets used to it”
“Umm, I can fight too, in a manner of speaking……no, that’s fine”
Tetes’ claims were ignored by both dragons.
“And if you make a bad move, you’ll give Exeliza’s handlers an opening to take advantage of you. Wouldn’t just being in dragon form be seen as an act of defiance?”
“I don’t care about…….we will fight whatever it takes”
“We are originally from here. We can fly in the sky of the valley and say whatever we want. It is definitely freer for us to move”
“……But we don’t want it”
“I’m here”
“I don’t want it”
“I’m here”
Are you children?
“Well, that’s fine. Whenever you need our help, just call us like you did now and we’ll come running”
Ray regains his composure and comes between them.
“Yeah, I’ll be relying on you. Besides, we may need the knowledge of the elders”
“Knowledge, you mean?”
“There’s a lot we don’t know about this place. Even before this place was called the demon territory, it was called the Crystal Palace, right? It existed there, right?”
“Is it called demon territory……?”
“From the outside, it’s a demon-controlled territory”
Besides, I’d like to know how Rainer came to have dragons, if possible. At the very least, they shouldn’t be able to make contact with a dragon until after that guy became a hero, or at least when he went away with his predecessor in the preliminary stage. But why did the dragon, who never saw him as a rider when he came into contact with Neia, see Rainer? If there is a dragon who knows how it happened, then maybe that eeriness can be unraveled. No, if there are other dragons besides the three under his command.
“We came here with nothing. If there is power to be lent, I want it as much as possible. There’s plenty of danger out there. We need as many people as we can get to help us get home safely, Maia”
“……If Andy-sama says so”
Maia reluctantly backs down. Tetes was watching us while scratching his cheek.
“How can I say……”
“?”
“It’s Master’s face, isn’t it? Somehow, he’s making allies everywhere before you know it”
“Come to think of it, Dianne-san said you’re 『The guy who makes three times as many allies as enemies』……”
Apple also agrees. Well, I didn’t think someone would go out of their way to be my ally, but this time around.
“Do not control the mind with force, but control power with the heart. This is the principle of goodness that the dragons respect”
Ray says and nods as he puts his hand on Emma’s head.
“Smithson-san has shown his will to do that. If so, the dragons are impressed. It is inevitable that we will join in”
Tetes laughs in response.
“Sometimes I think dragons are so much simpler than we think they are……”
Ray smiles.
“They are simple. But that’s only because they have a track record of riding dragons and not drowning in their own power”
“……I see. Simple and difficult, isn’t it?”
Tetes nodded in agreement. So Maia and Emma continued to glare at each other subtly and directly after returning to the temple. ……I thought for a moment that it was like the territoriality of dogs and cats. I guess the reason I got along so well with Laila was because she was an adult.