Dragon Taming
Veritas knelt and delivered her report.
"Young master. We've received another report from the mountains on the outskirts of the territory."
"Which mountain?"
"The rugged peak at the eastern edge of the Berghart Viscountcy. A forbidden zone no human has entered for a thousand years—"
"Summarize."
"...A dragon lives there."
I took a bite of my apple. I'd bought it at the market yesterday. I'd been savoring it bite by bite, but Veritas's report was dragging on, so I chomped down hard.
"A dragon?"
"Yes. A black dragon. It hasn't left the mountain for a thousand years, but in the past month, reports of it raiding livestock in the villages below have come in three times a week. The territory's people are gripped by terror."
"Hm."
I chewed the rest of the apple.
The territory's people were scared? Those same folks who trembled at the sight of me in the market yesterday? And now they feared the dragon more than me? That stung my pride a bit.
"Let's go for a walk."
"...Pardon?"
Veritas's gray eyes narrowed.
"To see the dragon. Call it a stroll."
"......Y-Young master."
Veritas's voice trembled. The stoic vice-captain who hadn't shown a flicker of emotion until yesterday now had her facial muscles fully relaxed after just 24 hours. Side effect of fanaticism level 1.
"That mountain is a forbidden zone untouched by humans for a thousand years. The last one to attempt the climb was a great archmage from the continent 200 years ago, and he never returned alive."
"Yeah?"
"And the black dragon... it's rated Catastrophe Grade. The whole continent would need to debate whether it can even be subjugated. Even mobilizing the imperial family's elite knight orders—"
"Veritas."
I spat out an apple seed.
"Yes."
"What'd you feel when I showed you that move yesterday?"
"......"
Veritas fell silent.
Her eyes trembled faintly again. The sensation from when I'd handed her that broken sword yesterday must have flooded back into her mind.
"......I felt it was a realm I'd never comprehend in my lifetime."
"Right."
I stood from my seat.
"Then think of the dragon the same way."
Veritas stared blankly for a moment, then rose from her kneeling position. The same tremor from yesterday flashed in her gray eyes.
"...I shall serve."
And so, to that back mountain.
It was two hours by carriage from the viscount's castle at the eastern edge of the territory. So I didn't take the carriage.
I scooped Veritas around the waist with one arm and leaped.
"Y-Young maaaaster—!"
Veritas's scream echoed through the valley. A rare sound. How many times in her life had Vice-Captain Veritas ever screamed like that?
We reached the mountain entrance in 20 minutes.
I set Veritas down. Her legs buckled like jelly, and she staggered for a moment.
"...Young master. A warning next time would be appreciated."
"Got it."
I looked up at the mountain.
Black mist shrouded it from midway up. Magical beast corpses littered the base. The mountain itself felt alive, like a massive beast.
A mountain no human had entered in a thousand years.
"Nice."
I grinned.
I started climbing.
Along the path, magical beasts lunged out—wolf-types, bear-types, even unnamed ones. Back in the territory, it'd take a full knight squad to handle them.
Just as Veritas reached for her sword.
I waved my hand lightly.
Seven magical beasts exploded simultaneously.
"......"
Veritas froze mid-draw.
"Let's go."
I kept walking.
Veritas slowly sheathed her sword. That same resolute tremor flashed in her eyes from yesterday. I could see her fanaticism gauge fill another notch.
Mid-mountain.
Where the black mist was thickest.
A cave loomed there.
A massive cave. The entrance alone could swallow a hundred grown men side by side.
Something stirred inside. Something enormous. The mountain vibrated faintly with each breath.
The presence drew closer.
And then.
"How dare—"
A colossal voice boomed from the cave. The entire mountain shook.
"How dare a puny human set foot in my domain!"
A massive black dragon emerged from the cave.
Its size rivaled the viscount's castle manor. Black scales absorbed the sunlight, gleaming even darker.
Two yellow eyes glared at me and Veritas. Black smoke curled from its maw. The millennium-old black dragon's dignity crushed the air around us.
Veritas instinctively stepped back. Her hand gripped her sword hilt. The vice-captain's instinct—drawing steel at the scent of death.
But me?
"Whoa."
I clapped once.
"You're big."
"......What?"
The black dragon's yellow eyes narrowed.
"This wretched human dares spout nonsense before me—"
"Hey."
I pointed at the black dragon.
"What's your name?"
"......What did you say?"
"Your name. Even dragons have names."
The black dragon's yellow eyes narrowed further. It looked like it had never encountered a human ignoring its majesty in a thousand years.
The black dragon slowly raised its massive head.
"You wish to hear my true name? Very well. For a worm like you, etching it into your soul before death is an honor. Listen well and carve it deep."
The black dragon drew a deep breath. Then, in a voice dripping with grandeur, it proclaimed its name.
"Calamity of the Black Mountain. Sovereign of the Millennium. Ruler of Black Flame. Devourer of Stars. Nebarisia von Schwarzbacht—"
"Too long."
I cut it off.
"......What?"
"Name's too long. Shorten it."
"......?!"
The black dragon's yellow eyes widened round.
A millennium-old dragon making that face for the first time in its life. It had surely never met a human trying to abbreviate its true name.
"Hm."
I stroked my chin.
"Nebarisia... sia... Nah, too plain. Nia."
"......!!"
"From today, you're Nia."
"Y-You wretched human dare arbitrarily alter my true name—"
"Quiet."
I flicked my finger lightly.
Snap.
A hole punched through the black dragon's flank.
A man-sized crater where black scales had vanished whole. Black blood gushed out. The mountain quaked.
"Gaaarrrgh!!!"
The black dragon screamed, writhing its colossal body.
"Wh-What is this—! How! A mere human—!"
"Talky."
I raised my hand again.
"W-Wait a second?!"
The black dragon's tone flipped.
"Wait! Let's talk this out! I'm actually very docile usually—"
"Round two."
"Aaaah, wait!!!"
I snapped my fingers.
Snap.
The black dragon's massive body rocketed across the mountain, smashing into the far side. A chunk of the peak crumbled. The black mist scattered from the impact. Sunlight poured onto the mountainside for the first time.
"......"
Far off, the black dragon flailed its upside-down legs.
I glanced at Veritas.
Her mouth hung open, frozen. Her sword-grip loosened slowly. Her fanaticism gauge jumped two notches at once.
"Let's go."
I headed toward the black dragon.
I arrived before the upended black dragon.
It struggled to right its bulk, gave up, and just swiveled its massive head toward me while lying there.
And then.
Its body began to glow.
As the light faded, a single woman stood in its place. Long, lush black hair cascading to her waist.
Golden eyes. Two small black horns on her head. A pair of small, bat-like black wings on her back. Shorter than Veritas. Shorter than me. Apparent age around 18-20.
Clad in scant black fabric—barely qualifying as clothes.
The woman dropped to her knees.
"Master!!!"
Loud voice.
"Master master master!!!"
She shouted it three times. The mountain echoed.
"I was wrong!!! I've committed a mortal sin!!! This lowly lizard failed to recognize the great master!!!"
"......"
"Master!!! Punish me however you wish!!! Pluck out my scales! Take my heart?! The treasure vault too—all of it!!! What about my soul?!"
"...You're loud."
"Yes!!! I'll be quiet!!! Sorry!!!"
The woman clamped her mouth shut with both hands. But tiny "master master" murmurs leaked through her fingers.
A millennium-old black dragon.
At my feet.
No tail... but she was wagging her hips slightly. Like a puppy.
Veritas watched the scene from the side.
Deep tremor in her eyes. She always reacted like this.
She slowly dropped to one knee again.
"......My lord."
The word slipped from Veritas's lips for the first time. Not "young master," but lord.
Fanaticism level 2 achieved. Anyway.
"So, your name."
I looked at the kneeling black dragon woman.
"Nia, right?"
"Yes!!! Nia it is!!!"
"Forget your real name?"
"Yes!!! Forgotten!!! My real name means nothing now!!! The name master gave me is my true name!!!"
"...Right."
One noisier-than-expected fanatic added.
Sudden Quest Cleared: Calamity of Black Cloud Mountain
Familiarized black dragon 「Nebarisia」
Reward: EXP +0
Note: Target's level too low; no EXP awarded
Additional Reward: Ownership of black dragon's treasure vault transferred
"......"
EXP zero again.
A system that gave no EXP for slaying a black dragon. Annoying, but with my status at 999, whatever.
Treasure vault was nice, though.
"Nia."
"Yes!!! Master!!!"
"Where's your treasure vault."
"Deep inside this cave!!! Filled with a millennium's hoard!! Gold, jewels, magic weapons, grimoires, relics from the mythic age!! All master's now!!!"
"Sweet."
I eyed the cave.
"But hauling it sucks."
"I-I'll move it!!! Master!! I'll handle it all!!!"
Nia sprang up. Her small black horns glinted in the sunlight.
She dashed toward the cave, paused, and looked back.
"M-Master? You're really sparing me, right? Won't stab me in the back suddenly?"
"Won't stab."
"Waaaah, thank you!!!"
Nia bolted into the cave.
Veritas stared blankly at the scene, then slowly rose.
"......My lord."
"Yeah."
"By any chance."
"Yeah."
"......Is this your daily life?"
"Dunno."
I shrugged.
"Probably."
Veritas fell silent for a long moment, then let out a small sigh. She replied in a calm tone.
"...An honor."
At the same time. Central continent. Magic Tower's top floor.
Magic Tower Lord Cardin looked up from his book.
The magic orb on his desk suddenly vibrated wildly. It detected mana flows across the continent—a relic crafted by a great archmage 200 years ago.
Such a premium tool never shook like this. Not once in the 30 years Cardin had been lord.
"...What the hell."
He touched the orb.
The direction it indicated: eastern frontier of the continent. Berghart Viscountcy.
Something immense in the nearby mountain had vanished.
A millennium-old mana signature.
The black dragon's.
"...The black dragon?"
Cardin stood.
"Gone? By who? How?"
The orb vibrated again.
The black dragon's mana hadn't truly vanished. It was moving.
Down the mountain, toward the Berghart viscount's estate.
As if dragged by someone.
"......"
The Magic Tower Lord's hand trembled.