Offer Your Tributes
“Huuuaaaahm……”
I yawned languidly and opened my eyes. Uncoiling the body I had curled into a tight ball, I stretched luxuriously. Swooosh—streeeeetch— If I had to rate the quality of that sleep, it was nothing short of perfect. How long had I been out? A day? Two days? Eh, didn’t matter. The important thing was that I had awakened in an absolutely fantastic mood.
“Kakat! Now that was one magnificent dream.”
In the dream, this grand self had been the undisputed king of terror. My colossal wings blotted out the sun while my breaths of annihilation reduced the entire continent to cinders. Beneath my claws, lesser creatures shrieked for mercy, and I savored my feast with their screams as the perfect background music. It was the very ideal of draconic life that this grand self pursued.
“Just wait. I shall turn that dream into reality!”
There was no longer any reason to remain holed up in this cave, hesitating. I sprang forward with vigor and spread my wings wide. Whoooosh!
Right, then. Shall we pay another visit to those insolent tribe fools?
*
On the path leading toward the village, I lowered my altitude slightly and gazed down at the rocky mountain where I had unleashed my breath before. Heh. It was a masterpiece no matter how many times I saw it—an overwhelming scar of pure destruction.
“If anyone can still babble about benevolence or grace after seeing this, they must simply lack a brain. Hmm, hmm.”
By now those insects should have grasped the situation. They would have realized that the being they once hailed as their savior was in truth an avatar of annihilation capable of erasing an entire forest in a single exhalation.
Satisfied, I nodded and shifted my gaze to the forest’s edge. Thanks to this grand self’s genius memory, those crude huts should have been clustered right around there.
But.
“…What the hell is this?”
I slammed on the aerial brakes with a screech. The number of huts had multiplied several times over, and their size had grown substantially. The village had expanded straight toward the rocky mountain I had obliterated.
…They just planted themselves there because empty land appeared? What shameless bastards.
Well, no matter. The larger the scale, the greater the satisfaction of trampling it all. I dove sharply toward the central plaza.
THUD!!
Drums thundered. Boom. Boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom.
The humans poured out in a frantic wave. Warriors gripping bone spears formed ranks while women and children peeked from behind them. Their equipment stood out—spears carved from beast bones, ribcage chest plates, skull helmets.
Oh-ho. They’ve armed themselves rather well.
Still, before a dragon they were little more than toothpicks. Excellent. Come at me with everything you have. I shall teach you the meaning of absolute power.
That was when a familiar red-haired man pushed through the crowd. Only now he was no longer the lean young hunter I remembered. A bushy beard framed the face of a robust, middle-aged warrior.
The Red-haired Chief strode directly before me and drove his bone spear into the ground with a heavy thud. At the signal, the hundreds of tribespeople behind him simultaneously slammed their weapons against the earth.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“Ooooh! You have finally awakened, O Great Divine Dragon! The sons and daughters of the tribe welcome your glorious return! Across the passage of dozens of winters, not once have we forgotten your benevolence for even a single day!”
…Did I really sleep that long?
The flow of time for lesser creatures really does move like lightning. No, that wasn’t the point right now.
“Listen here. You lot appear to be laboring under a rather severe misunderstanding. I trust you got a good look at what happened to that rocky mountain over there?”
They say ten years can change mountains and rivers. If the village had grown and their equipment had improved, their intelligence should have progressed as well.
“Of course. We witnessed it clearly—the miracle performed by the Divine Dragon.”
“Miracle? That was a catastrophe!”
“Precisely! It was a catastrophe for the magic beasts! The rocky mountain beyond the forest was originally the domain of dangerous magic beasts, and at its summit the Monkey King held dominion. It was an entity our ancestors’ ancestors revered and feared as a god. Our tribe dared not tread even in the mountain’s shadow.”
The chief’s voice swelled with rising emotion.
“But on the day the Divine Dragon descended! Your single breath changed everything! To annihilate the king of the magic beasts without leaving so much as a trace!”
“No, that was literally just me venting with a breath…”
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The tribespeople beat the ground in unison, cheering wildly.
“We grew fat, carved weapons from bone, and forgot the pain of hunger beneath your grace!”
“Neighboring lesser tribes saw our prosperity and willingly knelt to join us!”
“The flourishing of our tribe is entirely thanks to the paradise the Divine Dragon has guided us toward!”
So, to summarize:
I blew up the rocky mountain because it annoyed me. → All the powerful magic beasts living there got wiped out. → A high-tier hunting ground opened. → The tribe leveled up dramatically.
“N-no, that’s not it!”
I lashed my tail in frustration.
“Do not misunderstand! I simply smashed everything because I was angry! I did not create a hunting ground for your sake!”
The chief slowly lifted his head.
“…Ahhh. Destruction.”
“Exactly! Chaos! Destruction! Oblivion!”
A strange light of realization flickered in his eyes.
“Re-creation through destruction… life blooming atop ashes…! That is the true way of the Divine Dragon!!”
“Gyaaaaaaaak!”
Do these people not understand the concept of progress? Their weapons and armor evolved, so why did their brain cells stay exactly the same?
I had sworn never to become a sap dragon who showered humans with favors. A pathetic ally dragon was the absolute worst. Ruthless, cold-hearted, overwhelming fear—that was the essence of a true dragon!
Fragments of absolute terror ripple outward.
“Grrrrrrrr……”
The air crackled as shards of Dragon Fear spread in every direction.
“H-hurk…!”
The chief, who had been boldly singing my praises, suddenly froze rigid. The faces of the prostrating tribespeople behind him drained of all color in an instant.
Oh? It actually worked?
“D-Divine Dragon…”
Yes. I’m furious. Absolutely, incandescently furious.
“The Divine Dragon is extremely hungry!”
“…Rwa?”
The chief whirled toward the tribespeople.
“Bring the tributes at once! Having awakened from such a deep slumber, his hunger must be immense! Stake the honor of the Hunter Tribe and offer the freshest, most delicious meat we possess!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The moment the chief’s command rang out, the pale-faced tribespeople bolted toward the storehouses.
Wait, you lunatics! Do I look like I’m growling because I’m hungry right now?!
“Who said I would eat any of the slop you—”
“O Divine Dragon, this is a black mammoth we hunted at dawn this very morning!”
Rumble— Ten burly men dragged forward a massive log laden with meat. Grilled meat. Mountains of perfectly barbecued meat glistening on the wood.
“…Eh?”
“O Great One, though it is humble, this is the sincerity of our Hunter Tribe. Please accept it.”
Slurp— Saliva involuntarily pooled at the corner of my open mouth.
Wait. Calm yourself, Yumitas. I am extremely angry right now. These fools have been treating me like their savior and it has me boiling with rage. There is no way I would fall for such a cheap bribe. That pathetic pile of meat should be reduced to ashes immediately—
It was then.
GURGLE!!
Thunder roared from my stomach. Come to think of it, I had been asleep for decades. My stomach was so empty it was practically glued to my spine.
“……”
Gulp. My throat bobbed noticeably.
The chief gently slid the meat closer, eyes shining with desperate hope. The oil droplets sizzling on the surface sparkled like tempting jewels.
Wait… let’s think about this rationally.
The internal debate was surprisingly short.
Accepting tributes is an extremely dragon-like action, is it not?
Indeed. A ruler possesses the right to exploit the labor of the ruled. That meat represented the blood and sweat these lesser creatures had poured out while hunting with everything they had. To seize and devour it was to mercilessly plunder their labor!
“Hmm. Your sincerity is commendable. Very well—I shall specially sample it.”
Discarding all hesitation, I opened my jaws toward the mountain of meat.
Chomp. Munch. Crunch.
“Waaaaah! The Divine Dragon is eating the meat!”
“There is no greater honor for a hunter!”
“Bring more! Do not stop until the Divine Dragon’s belly is full!”
Using the roaring cheers as background music, I tore into the feast with wild abandon. It was delicious. Honestly, it was disgustingly, sinfully delicious. The sharp aroma of wild herbs perfectly neutralized the gamey flavor, while the crisp grilled exterior and juicy interior created a heavenly harmony. The title of Hunter Tribe was clearly no exaggeration. These bastards’ grilling technique was phenomenal.
“Ooooh! The Divine Dragon has gladly accepted our tributes!”
“Bring the next cart! This time it’s whole-roasted forest boar!”
I opened my maw wide and swallowed each new load they delivered. There was no need to chew—I simply gulped them down my throat.
After devouring for quite some time…
“Buuurp.”
An involuntary dragon belch escaped me. How much time had passed? With my stomach full, drowsiness began creeping back in. My eyelids grew heavy.
No good. If I fall asleep here, I might seriously be treated like a pet.
Time to retreat. Dragging my heavy body, I staggered upright.
“That will be all for today! I came merely to collect the tributes!”
I immediately launched my weighted frame into the sky.
“We shall prepare the finest game for your next visit, O Great Divine Dragon!”
The chief and tribespeople pressed their foreheads to the ground, seeing me off with utmost reverence.
*
The moment I reached the cave, I flopped onto the smooth stone floor, belly exposed. The cold, sleek touch of the rock felt wonderfully soothing against my overstuffed stomach.
“…Hold on a second.”
I tapped the floor with my tail and replayed the recent events from the beginning.
I woke up. Went to the village. Growled threateningly. They gave me meat. I ate it all deliciously and returned.
“Gyaaaaaaaaak!”
Overcome by shame and self-loathing, I thrashed and rolled across the floor. I had been completely played! I went there to trample them and instill terror, yet the end result was a well-fed pig of a dragon!
Worse, they were probably strutting around right now, proudly declaring, “We are under the Divine Dragon’s protection,” all because they had offered me meat.
“Despicable. Utterly despicable!”
The more I thought about it, the hotter my anger burned. Who gave them permission to hunt in the first place? This world belongs to Lord Yumitas. The world is mine! Every mountain, field, forest, and river naturally belongs to this grand self.
Yet they dared to hunt my beasts without permission and then offer them to me as if bestowing a favor? Such insolent deception against this grand self! This is treason against a dragon! I can never forgive it!
How should I punish them?
“They called themselves the Hunter Tribe, correct?”
They live by hunting. They derive pride from hunting. In other words, hunting is their very identity. So what would happen if they could no longer hunt?
Their pathetic pride would shatter into pieces. They would fall into despair and wail in agony.
“Kakya-kat…!”
As expected, this grand self truly is the most wicked dragon in the world!