Episode 58
Episode 58
It ended up being organized faster than I expected.
The Cult of the End bastards reacted like they never expected us to come, and even their core forces died easily because they were careless.
The rest were just guys I could lightly punch away, so it was actually kind of boring.
Staring blankly at the ruined Cult of the End hideout, I muttered.
"So now we can just go back?"
Aron also looked around for a moment and then nodded.
"Seems like it. We've smashed things up this much, so there shouldn't be anything left. Or is there somewhere you suspect?"
"No, it's not that... It's just that it was resolved too easily."
I never thought I'd actually see the speed that only veteran players achieve during speedruns.
Originally, if the Knight Commander and the Cardinal are together, they're on par with most bosses.
I guess I should thank the company for not fixing the bug.
"It's good if it's resolved easily. Let's hurry and get our reward from the Dragon Emperor."
While I was worrying if I'd forgotten anything, a tremendous power was suddenly felt.
As I was wary of the power growing in size with the momentum to swallow the surroundings, Aron let out a deep sigh.
"It's a dragon."
Aron, who noticed first, even put away his sword and looked up at the sky.
Following his action, I also lowered my guard.
After a while, clouds began to form puff by puff in the empty sky, and then a dragon appeared from within them. Why do they have to appear so flashily?
When I see Teleport Magic, they just appear in a flash.
"Aron, do you know why they appear so flashily like that?"
"That? What was it again... I think they said humans look up to them that way? They said if humans look up to them, they can even get food from them."
"That's a more realistic reason than I thought."
"Well, I guess dragons don't like going out hunting and farming themselves."
Well, even nobles try to avoid doing that.
— Are you having an impolite conversation? Why are my ears itching?
The voice came again this time.
It wasn't a sound heard by the ears but rather a sound that seemed to be injected into my head, but I immediately recognized its owner.
"The Dragon Emperor-nim has come personally."
— I had nothing else to do. More importantly... you succeeded? And much faster than expected at that. Is it because you have a Prophet?
"That could be it. I'm originally quite capable, you know."
— You do seem that way. Seeing how you casually carry around that beast.
At the Dragon King's remark, Aron opened his eyes wide and pointed at himself with his finger.
At his disbelief, the Dragon Emperor sighed.
— A guy who travels with three women and tastes them every day is a beast. If that's not a beast, then what is.
"..."
Aron avoided answering the sharp retort.
At the mention of tasting women every day, I clenched my fists tightly with both hands, but I took a deep breath in and out and barely managed to hold back.
"It's fine. As long as he's not doing it now. More importantly, you'll lift Aron's curse now, right?"
— Of course. I don't like helping that beast-like hero... but I must keep my promise with our pure Prophet.
"Then can we go back right away?"
The Dragon Emperor nodded.
— Since I, who was bored, came all the way here, let's return together.
And then the Dragon Emperor slowly descended to the ground.
Her enormous body returned to a small human form the moment it landed on the ground. By some principle, her clothes were exactly the same as the ones I saw before.
"Ah, ah. Communicating with voice is fun, but it's always awkward."
"That's because you always communicate intentions only through mana. By the way, why did you transform into a human? I thought you'd naturally let us ride on your back."
"I didn't know you'd want to ride on my back. But if I carry that beast, I feel a bit bad. So I'm thinking of using Teleport."
"What kind of grudge do you two have? You really dislike him."
The Dragon Emperor glared at Aron.
Aron rolled his eyes and then looked at the distant mountains.
"Wouldn't a dragon who came out to help and got attacked, and a hero who attacked such a dragon, be enough to be enemies? Isn't that right, beast?"
"Isn't it a matter of interpretation? From a human perspective, if a dragon suddenly appears, they might get scared."
"Normally, scared humans don't pick up weapons and charge. Or mercilessly attack the opponent and then say they'll spare them if they hand over their treasure."
"Th-that... Ahem."
Looking at it this way, Aron seems more suited to be a bandit than a hero.
Like when Seoryeong suggested stealing a carriage before.
"I'll give him a proper scolding later. So how about we hurry? There's a sandstorm blowing from far away."
The Dragon Emperor and Aron also turned their heads to where my gaze was directed.
Then, a massive sandstorm covering the sky and approaching us from afar became visible.
"Good. Then shall we go back for now? We can think about what comes after later."
The Dragon Emperor lightly grabbed my hand and waved her other hand through the air.
And then light enveloped everything.
*
The moment we returned to the Dragon Emperor's house? Cave? Anyway, her dwelling, she immediately cast a spell.
As she began casting magic with both hands, a magic circle appeared beneath Aron's feet.
"Stay inside the house for about a week. Otherwise, the magic circle will disappear. Don't worry about things like food—just ask for it to be brought inside."
Aron stared intently at the magic circle beneath his feet and then asked the Dragon Emperor.
"Moving around inside is fine, right?"
"Do as you please. That much doesn't matter."
"Then..."
Aron slowly approached me.
"Where should we stay? Do we just stay here with you?"
"There's no other choice besides that. Or what... should I leave?"
'We'll stay here, so could the homeowner please leave?' That would be strange in its own way.
Aron seemed convinced and nodded lightly.
"That's true too. Then, is there something like a bed? My back hurts if I sleep on the floor."
"A bed? Look over there. There's plenty of everything."
The Dragon Emperor's finger pointed behind her.
To be so casual about a treasure pile stacked like a mountain.
I felt anew that she was truly a dragon.
"Then can I use anything?"
"Uh-huh~ Feel free to use it. If you see something you want while looking around, just let me know. I need to at least know what's missing."
Though Aron, who accepted it as casually as the nonchalant Dragon Emperor, also seemed strange.
I followed behind Aron, who walked toward the treasure without hesitation.
"Is it really okay to use anything? What if I touch something and you get angry?"
"I won't even pay attention. These treasures here are common anyway... I probably stored the important treasures separately."
"Really? Then I should check it out~"
I walked toward the treasure with excited steps.
Arriving in front of the treasure piled like a mountain, I walked slowly and looked at each piece one by one.
Necklaces, gold ingots, jewels, swords.
I don't know about their prices, but each one looked expensive, scattered around like trash.
"Is this expensive? Should I ask for this?"
I picked up a jewel and showed it to Aron.
It was a blue jewel that roughly looked like a sapphire or diamond.
"She'd probably allow you to take anything you like."
"Really? Then I should pick various things~"
I picked out things I liked one by one and threw them to Aron.
Aron caught them, got permission from the Dragon Emperor, stored them with magic, and I repeated throwing them to him.
"Mia. How long are you going to choose? It seems like we could already take turns wearing them for about ten years."
"Huh? Did I already pick that many?"
At Aron's voice, I glanced back and saw him wave his hand through the air.
Clatter...
The jewels and accessories piled up as high as Aron's height.
Even the Dragon Emperor, who had been watching indifferently, chuckled.
"I don't mind you taking those, but you didn't pick a single weapon and only chose pretty accessories. I thought you weren't interested in such things."
At the Dragon Emperor's words, I checked the mountain-like pile of treasures again.
Rings, necklaces, jewels, earrings.
Literally full of accessories that women would like.
The moment I realized that, my face grew hot.
'Have I finally gone crazy? Why only things like these...'
If this was before I met Aron? No, at least before my first experience, I would have definitely chosen weapons primarily.
Because surviving was the top priority until then.
But this selection now is clearly that of a woman who wants to be pretty.
"Ah, there were only those kinds of things in front! And anyway, I don't need weapons, right? Since I use a shield, I don't need swords or spears or anything!"
"Then use the shield next to you. That one was used by some famous warrior about 100 years ago."
"Huh, huh?"
At the Dragon Emperor's words, my gaze immediately turned to the side.
At the very top of the treasure pile I was diligently picking from just moments ago. In a position clearly visible even at a glance, a nice-looking shield was placed.
Moreover, it's the same type of giant shield that I use.
"..."
The moment I saw that, I lost my words.
To make the excuse 'I didn't pick it because there was no shield' when I didn't even pay attention to the obviously high-quality shield right in front of me.
I quietly bent my knee and grabbed the shield with one hand.
"Th-there's something like this? Ah, ahaha... It's a good shieeeld..."
I tightly gripped the shield and covered my face.
It was so hot that I could tell my face had turned red without even looking in a mirror.
Aron, who had been watching intently, slowly walked over, stored the shield in his magic storage, and laughed.
"It's for money, not because you want to look pretty, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
Even though I knew it was an obvious lie, I nodded while avoiding Aron's gaze.
Aron pinched my cheek softly as if finding it cute.
"Mia considered our travel expenses in advance. It's fine to take all of these, right?"
The Dragon Emperor, who had been watching, swished her tail through the air.
"As you wish. They're just surplus anyway."
After hearing the answer, Aron stored all the treasures and then pointed to a distant spot with his finger.
My gaze followed the direction of his finger.
"Shall we use that bed over there? It looks really nice."
"Yeah..."
Too embarrassed, I only nodded quietly.