Chapter 83
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Fiery Uninvited Guest (3)
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"Cough... cough...!"
I clung desperately to my fading consciousness.
Seeing not just the wounds but blood pouring from her mouth too, Mnatsil could feel it.
'I won't live to see the dawn...'
She could sense that the end was truly near now.
To break through the magic array in the sky, she'd had to use up every last bit of her remaining strength.
Her body was like embers long since extinguished, slowly cooling.
No more heat came from the blood still trickling out.
She murmured to herself inwardly.
'My friends, I owe you a great debt.'
Time offered not even a shred of mercy.
The only reason she had held on this long was one thing.
Two fire spirits sharing their power and warmth with her from behind.
They had poured so much heat into her that they had abandoned even their humanoid forms, reduced to small flickering flames like will-o'-the-wisps.
'I won't waste my fate on the brink of ruin.'
Mnatsil turned her gaze back to the Central Officer.
In all her time among humans, she'd seen only two expressions on their faces.
Fear. And greed.
'The face of those who fear my immense power and seek to kill me. Fear.'
'The face of those who covet my body, my fame, and my riches. Greed.'
Her widened eyes caught excited breaths, mouths shouting curses and praises alike.
Those all-too-familiar faces danced before her vision.
Even the 'expedition' and 'dragon hunters' right here had worn the same looks.
'Is this one called the Central Officer... any different?'
She harbored a faint hope.
And made her bold decision.
- Thud.
To her, the most precious thing.
To a mother, the thing worth staking her life to protect.
She revealed it fully.
To see true sincerity, one must show their own.
"Raise it."
With those short words, she stared piercingly at the man before her.
'To a human, this egg must be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'
No one could hide their true feelings before such temptation.
But something was off.
An egg that would bring infinite glory, power, and untold riches.
Even faced with it, the man said nothing.
"..."
He merely cast a calm gaze, as if looking at a stone.
Even that gaze didn't linger but returned to her.
Jet-black eyes.
Eyes harboring no desire at all. The Central Officer slowly opened his mouth.
"I refuse."
Mnatsil realized it.
Her choice had been right.
"I refuse."
That was all I could say.
'Am I insane? Why would I take on this ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-dangerous item?'
A dragon's egg, of all things.
Shock was secondary; the gravity of it hit harder.
This wasn't even listed in entry regulations or banned items—it was the single most dangerous thing imaginable.
'Blood diamonds and unlicensed artifacts are toys compared to this.'
So I couldn't accept it.
No justification, no prior acquaintance, no clear purpose—taking it would spell disaster.
Especially at the border.
'And who entrusts their egg to a total stranger in the first place?'
It defied common sense.
Plus, you'd already broken through our defensive magic.
This was smuggling.
Before any personal favors, as an immigration officer, I couldn't tolerate this.
'Accepting it here would create a precedent at the border.'
That couldn't be allowed.
I forced down my trembling legs and stared straight at the dragon.
"I don't know your circumstances, but as Central Officer, I cannot grant your request after you forcibly subdued our nation's golems and declared you'll abandon custody."
Die here or accept illegal entry and get executed—same difference.
Better to go down with dignity.
But the dragon's expression upon refusal startled me.
The master of the volcano was smiling.
A smile of complete relief.
"Yes. The most perfect answer."
"Pardon!?"
No, I said no.
"I cannot accept this! I'm refusing!"
"That is why... you are all the more qualified..."
Her voice cracked more and more.
Like a puppet with cut strings, her massive body slowly collapsed.
"W-Wait! Dragon lady!"
And soon enough.
- Thud.
She laid her head on the ground at last.
"I beg you... Central Officer... protect the egg..."
With those words, the dragon closed her eyes.
The fire spirits on her back couldn't hold out either, exhausting themselves and reverting to tiny embers before collapsing.
"..."
And that was it.
An eerie, heavy silence settled before my house.
"Hello? Dragon teacher?"
"..."
Silence.
The dragon didn't respond. Her closed eyes didn't open.
"What in the world..."
Is going on?
Why?
How come?
Only questions remained amid all this.
I gazed vacantly at the dying master of the volcano.
I didn't know what it meant for a dragon to entrust her egg to someone.
Almost all knowledge of dragons had been lost from this world anyway.
'No idea why she chose me either.'
But I knew what it meant for a mother to entrust her child.
Just one thing: the expression on this being's face in her final moments was clear.
Desperation.
And earnest longing mixed with faint hope.
The exact same face Erzena and Elaine had shown me.
"..."
Why me?
Why did the western dragon—the destroyer of the volcano—come to me for this?
I had no clue.
The lone egg was all that remained, slowly hardening in the cold night air.
"...Fuck!"
I gritted my teeth.
Then I kicked open my front door and shouted.
- Bang! Crash!
"Erzena! Erzena!!"
"W-What's wrong!?"
"I need your help, right now!"
Who decided to dump a kid on me and leave?
No more watching someone die in front of me.
Never again.
"M-My goodness..."
Erzena couldn't close her mouth at the sight of the fallen dragon before her.
"Nathan, what's your connection to this dragon? What did you do for her to entrust her egg to you? Sell your soul or something?"
How would I know?
I'm the victim here.
I swallowed my frustration and said,
"That's exactly why I need your help."
The master of the volcano had no time left.
If we dragged this out, we might end up with just the egg and no answers.
"Please help, Erzena. No one else can do this but you."
"Never thought I'd live to treat a dragon..."
She stepped forward slowly.
"F-Fine. I'll give it a shot."
Erzena placed her trembling hand on the dragon's body and closed her eyes.
- Whoosh.
Golden holy power immediately enveloped the dragon's form.
But that was it.
"H-Huh?"
Not a single wound that should have healed cleanly mended.
"Looks like the dragon's scales repel holy power."
"Does that mean it's impossible?"
"No, not at all. Probably... like this..."
Erzena furrowed her brow and focused again.
This time, twice as much.
- Whoosh.
Only then did the split scales begin to knit slowly.
"It... it's working!"
Her eyes widened in her own surprise.
"Excellent!"
I let out a sigh of relief.
'As expected of Erzena's holy power.'
To heal even a dragon.
Regular recovery magic would've bounced right off.
Since holy power was fundamentally different from mana, it could force through.
But relief didn't last.
- Crack!
The scales and wounds split open again.
The holy power suddenly dissipated.
"Wh-What? That can't be! It was definitely starting to heal!"
The startled Erzena opened her eyes and examined the dragon's body.
Then she shouted in horror at what she saw.
"Mithril!?"
A pure white metal arrowhead was deeply embedded in the dragon's chest.
"That's blocking the healing! The holy power's getting sucked into it!"
Mithril.
One of the three great anti-magic materials, the ultimate metal.
The scales were bad enough, but mithril interfering too?
Mountain after mountain.
"I'll pull it out right now!"
I reached for the arrowhead.
But the moment I touched it,
- Spurt!
A stream of blood sprayed fiercely.
I cursed.
"Damn it! It's straight into the heart...!"
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Erzena said gravely,
"If we don't remove that... no amount of healing will stick; it'll revert every time."
Holy power couldn't heal until it was out.
But pulling it might tear the wound wider or pierce the heart.
"Then what do we..."
That was when.
[I'll handle it.]
A familiar mumble came from behind.
"Elaine!"
The princess, briefed on the situation, approached slowly.
[Never imagined an actual dragon...]
She couldn't hide her shock either.
But she quickly composed herself and turned to the dragon.
"Eee-yea."
Erzena looked up at Elaine's call.
Three word cards floated before her.
- Telekinesis. Arrowhead. Remove.
"Princess... you'll do it?"
She eyed the princess with mild surprise.
Elaine raised one hand instead of answering.
Seeing that, Erzena knelt properly before the dragon's head.
"...Alright. Let's try. Give the signal, and I'll start right away."
"Euu."
For the first time, the two women aligned their wills.
"Huuu..."
Elaine steadied her breathing.
Very slowly, ever so slowly, she nudged the arrow with telekinesis.
- Twitch.
The arrowhead began to wobble.
Everyone held their breath.
To avoid widening the wound. More precisely.
- Spurt.
But she'd used a bit too much force; blood sprayed from right below the arrowhead.
"Eek...!"
Elaine panicked and released her hand.
I said quietly,
"Elaine... I think you have to pull it all at once."
One shot.
Mess up, and it pierces the heart.
Dawdle, and the dragon dies.
Hesitate, and we ruin everything.
[One shot...]
Deep breath.
"Huuu..."
She glanced at me briefly, then turned away.
[Recall... a good memory.]
Elaine extended one hand gently forward.
The telekinesis field, once broad, narrowed bit by bit.
From finger-sized to nail, to needle, to thinner than a hair.
Then she wrapped that force around the arrowhead.
And...
[All at once...!]
She yanked with all her might.
- Shunk, clang...!
With a sharp sound, the large white arrowhead rolled across the ground.
The dragon's heart was revealed simultaneously.
- Thump... thump...
The slowly fading spark of life was there.
Elaine cried out.
"Euu! (= Now!)"
Erzena didn't miss that split-second.
She closed her eyes and offered a prayer.
"Lord... your creation lies dying here. One who burned her body to protect her child now seeks aid. Let her know that any being can be saved, as you showed me through Nathan—grant her that hope too."
As if answering, a massive surge of holy power poured from Erzena.
Golden energy blanketed the dragon like a quilt.
- Whummm...!!!
The faded scales roughly repelled it again.
But Erzena poured twice, three times the power straight into the heart.
Only then did the finger-sized wound begin to close.
She gritted her teeth and muttered,
"Unbelievable...! How strong is the barrier in those scales...!?"
But she couldn't stop now.
- Gush!!!
Blood poured madly from the hole in her chest.
Like filling a leaking barrel, she poured more holy power than was bouncing off.
Erzena held on for a while before shouting,
"Princess! My power alone... isn't enough! Keep the wound and scales from splitting!"
"...Euu!"
Elaine thrust both arms forward.
Erzena pushed healing through the violent rejection of the faded scales, bit by bit, nail-sized patches at a time.
Elaine sealed the blood seeping through gaps with telekinesis and locked the wounds tight.
The two powers enveloped the lone egg and fallen dragon alike.
For a full two hours.
And finally...
- Sss...
Sliced and torn wounds sealed shut.
- Thump, thump.
The stopped heart began beating again.
Even the chest pierced by the mithril arrow fully mended—no wounds remained on the dragon.
Only a perfectly restored, sleeping dragon.
"D-Did it... work...?"
Erzena slowly withdrew her hands, anxious.
15 seconds passed, but no wounds reopened.
"It worked...! We did it...!!!"
"U... uuua..."
Confirming success at last, the two women collapsed in utter exhaustion.
Golden and formless energies scattered, drifting from their owners.
"A month's worth—no, two months' holy power... all gone..."
[Dizzy... Gonna puke... So tired...]
They flung aside manners and decorum, sprawling on the ground.
Then closed their eyes.
"Erzena! Elaine!"
I rushed over in alarm to check them.
- Sigh... sigh...
- Mmm...
Fortunately, steady, regular breathing.
Total exhaustion.
They'd already been drained from dealing with disaster victims and refugees all day.
Then went all-out healing a dragon on top—small wonder they passed out.
I smiled faintly at the two sprawled out.
"...You did great. Leave the rest to me."
And I regretted those words in exactly two seconds.
"Ah."
The wrecked street.
The sleeping dragon bigger than my house.
The princess and former saintess passed out in the road from exhaustion.
The fire spirits barely flickering as tiny embers.
The guard captain still pinned by the magic array.
And finally, the egg neatly placed, witness to it all.
In this dead of night, I was the only conscious one.
"...Don't tell me I have to clean this up alone?"
That was when.
- Flash!
"Eugh...!"
Dazzling light burst from the dragon's body.
Then it vanished.
As if it had never existed.
"Master of the volcano... ma'am?"
The reply came from near my feet.
- Sigh... sigh...
With regular breaths.
I looked down.
And I saw it.
"Mmm..."
A naked woman curled up asleep at my feet.
Fiery red long hair, dragon tail attached—a woman huddled in slumber.
Tiny scales dotted her dazzling white skin.
I knew what that meant without asking.
Polymorph.
I let out a hollow laugh at the unbelievable sight.
"Ha... haha..."
What an absolute mess.