I Haven't Eaten That Much
Ding~
"Thanks for your hard work!"
"Sigh..."
In the Harzen Earldom of the Legion Kingdom, far from Lea's home on Red Mountain, Haring and NyaNya were conducting their search.
Over the past three months, they'd scoured every mountain on the central continent. But excessive hope only led to disappointment, and even now, Lea remained unfound.
NyaNya, clad in an elegant silver-white robe, patted Haring's shoulder.
"We'll find her. Haring."
"NyaNya..."
"Let's keep at it just a bit longer. We're steadily ruling out candidates, right?"
"...Okay."
Haring let out a small sigh and walked through the city with NyaNya.
Back when she was a noob, Haring had found Lea, so she had some confidence.
'Worst case, I'll find her within a month.'
She'd searched diligently for 12 hours a day that first month, and Lea's other disciples—not to mention other players—had joined the hunt.
But one month turned to two, two to three, and quitters multiplied. Now, only Haring, NyaNya, and Yugi were still seriously looking. The rest were just pretending or had given up entirely.
"These traitors... We agreed to search together!"
"Three months is a long time. I heard Kazan went to the Magic Kingdom. He already got his apprentice mage certification."
"Tch. They just sucked up all the benefits and bailed?"
"Don't get too mad. Everyone has their own circumstances."
"Circumstances my ass. And you could get apprentice mage certification anytime too."
"...Hehe. True?"
NyaNya scratched her head at Haring's grumbling.
They'd searched hard for three months without slacking on training. Haring now had two mana cores. NyaNya had inscribed three stars in her heart and was preparing for a fourth soon.
If they'd focused solely on training, she might've hit four already.
"......"
She said that, but deep down, Haring understood the quitters. Honestly, without a single clue, combing every mountain on the continent for three months was insane.
Even the gallery posts about finding Lea had dwindled, the heat far cooler than before.
Haring turned her head toward the direction of Lea's nest.
"I miss Lea-unnie."
"Me too."
"She hasn't even gone back to the nest. Where the heck is she and what’s she doing...?"
"Probably sleeping? Peacefully?"
"...No way. Maybe she's hiding in some out-of-the-way spot."
"Hiding?"
"Yeah. She left the nest 'cause too many players showed up."
Lea had ditched her nest because of the players' racket. She was more likely holed up in some obscure corner than out in the open.
That was why Yugi was checking remote canyons, but no luck so far.
NyaNya shook her head sadly at that.
"Poor Lea-unnie... She can't even revert to her true form 'cause she's scared someone might show up."
"Must be super uncomfortable. She left in a rush, so she couldn't even grab her favorite snacks."
"We gotta find her, Haring. At least bring her some treats."
"Okay."
Imagining Lea anxiously waiting for someone to show up somewhere.
Today too, Haring and NyaNya kept moving.
"Great Flame Dragon."
"Hm?"
"Please, return to your nest already."
"Nooope."
"......"
At that moment, hundreds of kilometers from Haring and NyaNya.
I lounged half-reclined on a luxurious sofa, looking up at the middle-aged man with his curly mustache peering down at me.
He'd been visiting steadily for days, his face full of distress. Something about being the finance minister.
I chewed on a perfectly grilled premium steak and tilted my head.
"Bahamart said to stay as long as I want."
"Yes, he did say that... but even he didn't expect you'd stay this long."
"Nah, he knew."
He knew full well I could hole up for years once I settled in.
When I'd shown up here three months ago, Bahamart had chuckled with his wrinkled old face and told me to stay comfortably.
So duration didn't matter.
Slurp.
I nodded while sipping sweet juice made from traditional Century Herb.
The cultivated version was nice, but traditional Century Herb wasn't bad either.
Herb juice might sound like bitter herbal medicine, but surprisingly, it tasted like junk food.
'Tastes like junk food but good for you?'
This was practically a miracle drug. No wonder they'd mass-produced Century Herbs.
'Gotta mass-produce this stuff.'
"Mm-hmm."
"......"
The golden banquet table overflowed with constantly arriving dishes—exquisite as expected from the royal chefs serving the palace.
The finance minister sighed softly and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"The food you've consumed matches the kingdom's annual budget. At this rate, the kingdom might go bankrupt."
"Kingdom's broke?"
"Not quite, but such excessive spending causes issues everywhere. The bigger problem is the chefs and servants."
"Hmm..."
"To prepare your meals, they're cooking nonstop every day. Their fatigue has reached its limit."
"Not every day."
I didn't eat every single day. Since I'd come here to hide from heroes, I mostly slept 3-7 days straight, then gorged and slept again.
Large portions, sure, but meals themselves weren't that frequent.
I flopped back onto the sofa, looking at the troubled minister, then rolled side to side.
The huge room and sofa let me tumble freely without issue.
'So comfy.'
Sleep whenever without disturbance, wake to maids handling baths, dressing, and meals.
No heroes nagging for quests. Pure paradise.
"Lemme stay like three, no, four years. Then I'll leave right away."
"Four years would bankrupt the kingdom..."
"Fine, cut costs then. Not premium—regular quality's okay. Oh! But gotta keep the golden threadfin! That's delicious."
"If you mean the golden carp, even His Majesty the Emperor can't have it often. It's exceedingly rare."
"Emperor's eaten tons already. Tell him to hold back a bit."
"...Isn't that the same for you, Great Flame Dragon?"
"I haven't eaten that much."
Precisely, not in the last 60-70 years, but anyway.
As I crossed my arms and said that, the minister's face screamed disbelief.
I pondered briefly, then had a great idea. I grabbed a few steak pieces, ate them, and stood.
"Food bill's the issue?"
"Several issues. Food costs being the biggest."
"Then do work worth the food costs."
"Pardon? What do you—"
Money overflowed, but fetching it from the nest was a hassle. Bahamart had asked a favor before; that'd do.
Long-term, better for the kingdom than a few coins.
"...What exactly are you planning."
"Where's Adella?"
Adella Measis recalled the chaos three months ago when the Legion Kingdom flipped out.
'G-Great Flame Dragon...?'
'Adella, it's me. Staying a bit. Gimme a room.'
Supreme and exalted... if a tad too cute, but still the legendary Flame Dragon from history books and founding myths had arrived at the royal palace.
Bahamart, the former emperor, had told them to accommodate her properly, so the kingdom gave Lea top treatment.
What Adella had seen of Lea since...
"Eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping..."
A bit irreverent, but disappointing. Her illusions had shattered once before, but a dragon was a dragon.
Despite the laziness and fatigue, a legendary being.
Yet three months of just eat-sleep-repeat?
"Ugh... No. She's definitely far greater."
History books proved her mighty deeds. Sure, she roamed corridors sucking on a lollipop like a spoiled lady, but still mighty...
"Huh?"
'She came outside?'
The Flame Dragon who never left her room?
"Found you."
"Flame Dragon?"
"Where's the training grounds?"
"Why the training grounds?"
"Where."
"Ah, that way."
"Lead me."
Crunch.