Chapter 195
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Dragon-nim
"Huh?"
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.
A blue window in the corner of my vision. And a snow-white hand popping out right beside me.
Purple hair, purple eyes, and an outfit far more prim and proper than the maid uniform Lily usually wore, complete with layers of frills.
Just her presence alone made the surrounding mana surge like an explosion. And that was it?
No. The Luna who had just been launching attacks at me brimming with murderous intent was now slammed into the ground.
To be honest, it was a miracle her guts weren't spilling out.
To put it simply, think of Yamcha's "that pose."
I calmed my pounding heart and looked up at the purple-haired figure.
The maid with her stern gaze had her arms crossed, looking down at me with a smug "What do you think?" expression.
[Impressed? Surprised? How is it that even after waking up from a nap, nothing about you has changed? Hm? Wait, no. You've changed a little. To think you'd transform this much in just two months... Are you really human?]
"......"
[Well, whatever. At least you said thanks. Considering what you did for me. We help each other out, right? Yeah. Now that this body of mine is fully recovered— Hm? Why the long face?]
Was she seriously asking that? I kicked off the ground and stood, slowly approaching Benia.
She tilted her head at my silence but didn't stop me from coming closer.
I approached slowly. Very slowly—
"Why!! Why did you come out!!"
I grabbed the collar of her ridiculous outfit. Frills spilled from my fingers, but that didn't matter right now.
What mattered was—
[Hey!! What the hell are you doing!! You'll ruin the clothes!! Stop it!! I only have one outfit!!]
"Is that what's important right now?! Why?! Why did you come out?! Why?! Do you wanna die together? If you were gonna come out, at least deploy the lair first!! Showing yourself like this and using mana— you're basically begging the demonkin to kill me?!"
Of course, I was grateful she saved me. I probably would've died otherwise. But that's that, and this is this.
You've gotta separate personal favors from official business.
[What kind of nonsense is that? You were already being targeted by the demonkin anyway.]
"You and me are the same?! For me, it was just 'get rid of the nuisance!' But you're someone they absolutely have to kill!!"
[I'm fully recovered anyway. As long as I'm not charging back into hell, demonkin can't kill me.]
"What about me?! What about the guy right next to you?!"
[.........]
"Don't dodge my eyes!!!"
[W-Well, it's fine. I didn't use my own mana. I just struck with the ambient mana. To sense that level of power, you'd need another dragon—]
"So you're saying something annoying could still show up!!"
[............]
Why did she act without thinking ahead? Why was everything around me missing a few screws?
[W-Well? I had to come out anyway—]
"That's after we set up the magic circle at home—!!!"
[Argh!! Why do you talk so damn much!! I came out because I wanted to!! Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth!! No one under the sky is my match!!]
"You think you're the Buddha?! Don't think everything can be solved with brute force!!"
And so, while I was busy earning the title of [The Man Who Choked Out the World's First Dragon], locked in a fierce shouting match with Benia,
as our voices grew heated and spit flew,
a very small voice piped up from the scene.
Both Benia and I caught it.
We didn't miss that faint echo.
"D-Dragon-nim...?"
Luna looked up with her trembling body. What she saw was the black-haired man she'd just been fighting.
And the woman with violet eyes and violet hair.
She wore a ridiculous outfit and was fighting in a ridiculous way.
But she could feel it. Mana swirled around her like a vortex. The sheer density made it hard to breathe through her nose, forcing her to gasp through her mouth, and just looking at her made her body shake.
Being near her felt like stepping into a lair.
Even gazing upon her required permission. Defiance wasn't tolerated.
She possessed the power to kill with a mere glance down.
There was only one such being.
The master of magic. The source of mana that humans had bound. The existence closest to god.
'The one to whom I must return magic.'
Knowing it was blasphemous, Luna murmured her name.
[You. Do you revere dragons?!]
"Y-Yes, of course. I've always searched for you. To return the magic and mana that humans have bound."
[Hm? Humans bound it? I don't really get it, but I like the sound of that!!]
"Benia, don't ever go shopping with my money later. You'd buy out the whole store. The entire supermarket."
[What're you babbling about? I have plenty of money. My lair... Ah.]
Benia trailed off mid-sentence, freezing like she'd lost a screw. Yeah, figures.
Your lair doesn't exist anymore. Your lair is my [Inventory] now, tenant.
I left the frozen Benia behind and crouched down in front of Luna.
As I approached the immobilized girl and removed her mask,
turquoise eyes stared back at me. A pretty face. Nowhere near Raphael's level, but she's the cheat code.
"You sure know how to survive, huh?"
[I held back.]
Oh, great job, Your Highness. Ignoring our superstar dragon, I kept talking to her.
The organization called "Half-Demon" was founded with the goal of liberating magic in the first place. If you think deeply about what "liberating magic" really means, you can figure out their true aim.
Dragons are the source of mana. Blessed by mana. And the masters of magic.
That's right. "Half-Demon" started with the motto of returning magic to dragons!
They teamed up with demonkin because their goals aligned somewhat. Though the dragons themselves don't care, and helping demonkin would only harm dragons.
They probably planned to betray them midway. Or maybe they genuinely believed magic would return to dragons that way.
"You... what are you? Together with Dragon-nim..."
I lean toward the latter. She's smart but has a dumb streak.
She saw Benia and me choking each other out, yet asks that?
"Me and her? Can't you guess? Think about it."
At my words, Luna's emerald eyes darted around frantically. She had no clue, apparently.
I couldn't bring myself to say "master" out loud, so I let her stew.
Leaving her to it, I dragged Benia to the corner and lowered my voice for a private chat.
Just loud enough for us two.
"Hey, Benia. One favor."
[What? Let's wrap this up quick and head back. Levatein must be waiting for me.]
"What? Don't talk nonsense. Levatein always waits for me."
[Heh, you wouldn't know. Levatein is head over heels for me.]
Oh, you wanna go? I pulled out my phone and showed her all the Levatein pics.
Levatein smiling brightly at me. Loves me more than the likes of you. Ever seen this cute side? And so on.
After a solid argument with Benia, we got back on track.
[Send the pics later.]
"Yeah, got it. Listen up. Let's use that girl."
[Use her? I can't do that. How could I exploit a cute kid?]
"Sacrifice a few for the greater good. Don't you know? Not in a bad way. For humanity's sake, as a spy."
[Spy?]
"She works with demonkin. They have meetings sometimes, share supplies. That kind of relationship."
[So?]
"What do you mean 'so?' Use her as a spy to learn demonkin plans and positions, then wipe 'em out."
[You're a genius.]
"Right? So go say a few words. 'I ask you, child.' or 'I hate demons.' Something like that. And sprinkle some mana to look holy."
[Weren't you just yelling not to use mana?]
"No, that's different. Just enough not to get caught."
[Hm. Good plan, but feels deceptive.]
"Listen up, Benia."
I raised a finger toward the pondering Benia and brought it close to her face.
"You've never lied once. You're guiding that child to the right path."
[Oh, the right path.]
"Yeah. The right path. And even if you did trick her, hypothetically. Still."
[Still?]
"The one who gets scammed is at fault."
[!!!!!!!!!]
With Benia's exclamation points ringing out, we secured one spy.
A few words from Benia, and Luna nodded eagerly.
—Yes!! I want to do it!!
—Here's my phone number!!
The enthusiasm was a bit much, but hey, no lies were told.
Yeah. None.
I told the crumpled-up girl to inform Park Shin-woo of her position and take her away.
As she limped off promising later contact, she muttered at the end,
—You. Friend of the dragon? That explains why you were weird. Or are you a dragonkin or something?
I didn't even bother replying. Friends with her? Never.
Just landlord and tenant. Nothing more. Misunderstand if you want—just get lost already.
After sending them off, I stowed the [Reaper's Robe], [Death Reaper], and various items in my [Inventory]. Then I laid Isia and Sophia out neatly and flopped down haphazardly beside them.
[What're you doing?]
What am I doing? Obvious. Admit I handled this mess? Crazy?
This raid falls on the one guy who was wandering around unscathed.
So I had one job.
"You get in the [Inventory] too. Gotta play passed out!!"
Ultimate technique: I was passed out too!!
[Sigh. Nothing's changed about you.]
I pretended not to hear the damn dragon's sigh.