Chapter 814: Footsteps of Autumn 1【Tetes】
Several more days passed. The days flowed peacefully……after a few days of rain, the weather suddenly took a sharp turn, becoming noticeably chilly.
“……It’s cold today, isn’t it?”
Tetes tried to open the window, thinking it was morning, but shivered and closed it immediately. This proved the excellent insulation of the house the elves had built. Tetes hadn’t left my room since last night, so she probably couldn’t have guessed the outside temperature.
“It’s still early autumn”
“Snow will fall in another month”
“Seriously……even for the north, isn’t that early?”
“Probably has something to do with the elves’ ancient barrier or something”
The lands west of the Small Snake Mountains, on the royal capital side, apparently see snowfall a bit later and with milder accumulation. I’ve also heard that for this much heavy snowfall to occur naturally, the sea should be nearby. Snow is essentially the same as rain—it’s water—so for large quantities to be supplied, a substantial amount needs to be present upwind. But for that to cross over from the other side of the vast Elf territory……that should be a bit too far. But when it comes to the Elven Forest, where space itself is warped, common sense doesn’t apply. There are inevitably aspects that defy explanation, whether you call it strange or not.
“Maybe the Misty Palace has something to do with it. Those guys are the opposite of fire dragons—they just have to tense up a bit and it drops below freezing”
“But dragons changing the climate itself, that’s a bit much……”
Tetes’ eyes darted around as she started to speak. When it came to dragons, even the most extraordinary things weren’t impossible. Her tone inevitably softened. But this time, the dragon in question was right here. Emma was casting a lighting spell on the bed, repositioning it to illuminate the room, replacing the one she’d set up yesterday that was fading.
“I’ve heard that in the past, there were dragons whose very flight could stir up storms. But nowadays……as far as I know, there are no dragons with that kind of power”
“……There was one like that?”
“Did their power weaken over generations?”
Emma tilted her head at Tetes’ question, evading it with a I wonder.
“If I possessed such power, I imagine it would be inconvenient”
“……The premise is that you couldn’t control it at will?”
“Frankly, I don’t understand the situation where one would want to fly while causing a storm. The raging wind makes flying difficult and obscures the view of the ground. Even if ice dragons are strong in such conditions, it’s better not to have it”
“……Well, yeah”
A dragon flying in with a storm in tow. Visually, it’d be impressive, but honestly, the reason to actually do that……seems like it’d only be useful for threatening humans. And even for threatening, dragons are terrifying enough on their own. They don’t need the added bonus of a storm. So then……it’s a pretty useless ability……. Tetes pondered for a moment.
“How about bringing rain clouds to places suffering drought……”
But Emma shook her head.
“Dragons aren’t creatures that would do such a thing”
“……You’re saying it yourself?”
“There would be those who gain, those who lose, those who live, those who die……for each. For humans, drought is purely harmful, but some life finds its means of survival through parched land. If a dragon’s actions were to take that away, it would be an abuse of power, an evil thing. Dragons detest imposing such one-sided benevolence tyrannically, without firm conviction, merely because it is within their power”
“……U, Umm……”
Tetes makes a face like, 「Do you have to think so rigidly?」, but I somehow get the gut feeling that 「Dragons probably don’t like that sort of thing」. Dragons are always conscious and cautious about their immense power. Not just dragon breath or destructive violence, but the 「Power to stir up storms」 is fundamentally handled with the same sensibility. Even if it could be used beneficially, that benefit isn’t for the dragon race itself. To dragons, humans and other demi humans are just like any other wild animal – 「Others, different species」. Acting in line with human interests is nothing more than excessive meddling. From the dragon’s perspective, it’s taking sides too much; from the human side, it’s expecting too much. If there’s a dragon rider leading the effort, that’s a different story. But unless there is one, Emma’s opinion is that it’s 「Unthinkable Behavior」 for a dragon. And that’s probably how it really is.
But as it gets this cool……no, cold.
“Harvest Festival must be coming up soon……”
“Eh? Is there actually anything to harvest?”
“We do have fields, you know. Just barely, but we do”
It’s easy to assume that agriculture couldn’t possibly be satisfying in Polka, buried in snow half the year. But the sacred spring water possesses the power to grow crops healthy and large, so nearly every household has a field. More like a small garden than a proper field, though. With few young hands available, large-scale cultivation is difficult. Sprinkling the sacred spring water while it’s still potent is hard labor, and the summer months when the fields are active also coincide with the peak tourist season. So relying on crops as a main income is tough. However, growing enough to prepare each household’s winter preserves isn’t difficult. Of course, making it last until spring is quite difficult. Failures in pickling, spending on various money-making schemes, and such mean that by the time the snow melts, every household is usually scraping by.
“I couldn’t participate last year, but I should be able to join in this year. Heck, maybe I could even use the dragon’s mobility to help out with the festival somehow”
“Help……like what?”
“Well……hunting wild animals, or procuring things needed for the festival”
“But we trade with the Elf territory. Do we really need that?”
“…………”
Tetes’ words left me speechless. Yeah. That kind of thing probably won’t be needed in time. As for meat, Christie would want to sell unicorn meat, and as for alcohol, now that the 「Raging Whale」 and several other fine liquors have arrived, there’s no sudden need for dragon-related items. I want to be useful, but hmm……
“Just having your female slaves attend the festival will surely make them happy”
Emma said that, but is it really enough for me to just sit here satisfied? But when asked what I can do……I crossed my arms, looked up, and thought. Tetes traced my chest with her finger, as if writing letters.
“……Shouldn’t we put that sort of thing off for now? Everyone’s about to arrive……”
A hint of lust tinged Tetes’s tone. Right. Naturally, since she and Emma spent the night in my room, we had plenty of sex last night, taking turns. The slightly slutty Tetes, of course, was still naked except for her collar. And she was implicitly demanding the first creampie of the morning before everyone arrived. Emma looked slightly puffed up, as if about to say, 「Are you just assuming I’ll let you have me like it’s a given?」. But well, Emma was the blue-collar pet slave, Tetes the yellow-collar pregnancy slave. In situations like this, priority belonged to Tetes.
“……Then I’ll think about it while impregnating you”
“Ehehe, that sounds nice~♪ Getting impregnated casually while you’re thinking about other things really turns me on~♪”
“You pervert”
“♪”
Rather than preparing and focusing on sex, she’s treated like fertilization is just a trivial part of daily life. Tetes seems to get aroused by that very thing. And actually, it’s not just Tetes who secretly desires this.
“……Master. That……personally, I’d also like you to insert yourself casually with that intention”
“……Emma. You don’t have to force yourself to keep up with this perverted behavior”
“No! Hee, pervert or whatever……that’s not what I meant! I mean, treating a dragon’s female hole with that exact intention is the proper way, I say!”
Trying to deny the word 「Pervert」, Emma hesitates, worried that outright rejection might actually earn my displeasure. Her inner turmoil, leading her to settle on this phrasing, is adorable. But ultimately, it boils down to the same radical opinion: 「Just fuck me and leave without a second thought」. But you know, Emma. Honestly, I’m not some starved beast. With a girl like you—a bit prim and composed—I want to take my time and savor it. I don’t want you rushing. And another thing.
“Exactly!!”
Bang! The door burst open, and in strode a similarly naked, highly motivated Leda.
“Please don’t hold back, anytime! Use me freely in front of anyone! I’m prepared to spread my cunt and beg for seed on my knees, no matter who scorns me!”
……I can’t compete with these extremists, so please refrain from such statements.
“I told you! How many times do I have to say it’s only fun for you guys and I get nothing out of it?!”
……I shouted as I came inside Tetes from behind. 「Aah♪」 moaned Tetes, blissfully receiving the spurts of semen. Her face was now that of a female utterly devoted to pleasure, bearing no trace of the noble knight who’d once used the Dragon Slayer for her country. ……Well, that whole thing was a colossal misunderstanding anyway. Next to arrive were the Black Collar Group.
“Well, it does look like fun, that’s for sure”
“Since we’re here, why don’t we have the sisters make their grand debut right in the middle of town♪”
“……I’m already as good as dead. If you’re going to play with me, go all out”
Why are they talking as if it’s going to happen? I absolutely won’t do any weird erotic festivals in Polka. ……I never said we wouldn’t do them elsewhere.
————- —————
As the autumn wind grew colder, Naris stopped holding the Southern Dialect lessons outside and moved the location to 「Leslie´s House」. Here, Cima-san sometimes let me sample her experimental dishes, and other southern dialect speakers gathered too. The dark elf sisters were among them, and Sharon often came as well. When she got tired of teaching, she could pass the baton.
“Now, please translate the line I’m about to say”
Sharon spoke something a bit quickly. After it passed through my ears, I paused a beat to pick up the words, constructing the meaning in my head. Just then, the cat beast girl who’d followed from the cat beast house raised her hand.
“『Lister can use a sword, but he’s only shown it three times. Because he hates his father』!”
“Close. The one Grand Knight Lister hates is his grandfather. Everything else is correct”
“Wait, Sharon. Don’t use that kind of strangely intriguing story as an example sentence”
“It’s precisely because it’s intriguing that you’ll want to hear the rest, right?”
Sharon playfully pressed a finger to her lips and winked. ……She looks so elegant. Even though she’s younger than Dianne, those older-sister-like gestures suit her perfectly. Sharon smoothly delivered another line, longer than before. Uh, umm. Lister’s grandfather……wait, could you repeat that? Just as I thought that, a different cat beast girl smoothly translated.
“『The sword Lister learned was one that gouges eyes and severs legs. Grandpa used to brag about how many opponents he’d ruined in practice. He ruined his own brother too』”
“Yes, correct. Ruined means incapacitated”
“……His own brother? Grand Knight Chief Lister’s brother? That old man’s brother?”
“I’ll give you an example sentence for that too”
“Wait, hold up! I wanna hear that in plain language!?”
The Southern dialect lesson went very smoothly. It bothers me that the cat beasts seem to grasp things faster than I do overall. Well, I do admit I’m not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed……I do think that, but still. How come they pick things up so easily? Are they actually good at studying?