The Fourth Guest — The Former Guardian of the Dragon Vein (1)
Rain had been demoted to Guardian of the Dragon Vein the moment I became its master.
From a being who freely commanded the Vein’s power to one whose sole duty was to protect it.
And this was knowledge that had already been sitting in Rain’s mind.
So how, then, had Rain known about the Guardians of the Dragon Vein in the first place?
The answer was simple.
Before she herself became a Guardian—back when she was still the master of the Vein—there had been another Guardian serving under her.
“……”
“Greetings, Lady Garnet. As you can see, I have obtained my freedom.”
And the one who had held that post at the time was none other than the lizardman standing before us now—Sarluk.
“Um… what exactly did that gentleman just say?”
“I couldn’t make out the words at all…”
Eliona and Riaen clearly could not understand a single thing Sarluk was saying.
“That lizardman has a rather unusual skill. It lets only specific people hear the words he speaks…”
“It is also the reason I once served as Guardian of the Dragon Vein. When conversing in the presence of others, one cannot very well mention matters related to the Vein to those who know nothing of its existence.”
Those two neither knew of the Dragon Vein nor possessed the right to know of it, so he had simply made certain they could not hear.
That was how Sarluk put it.
In other words, only I and the dragons had properly understood what he said.
“You two, go inside. This is a conversation you shouldn’t be overhearing.”
“Mm… all right.”
“…Understood.”
Both of them looked distinctly uneasy, but they obeyed and headed up to their rooms on the second floor.
“…So, former Guardian of the Dragon Vein—what brings you here?”
“Nothing of great importance. I am no longer connected to the Vein, yet as one who was once involved with it, I merely came to pay my respects.”
Saying this, Sarluk glanced around for a moment before turning his gaze back to Rain.
“That said, this is rather unexpected. Never did I imagine I would see my former master wearing a maid uniform in an inn.”
“…Shut up…?”
Rain’s voice trembled as she forced the words out.
Wearing the maid uniform had never felt particularly awkward before, but standing in it before someone who had once been her subordinate was apparently mortifying.
“Incidentally… would it be possible for me to stay the night at this inn?”
Having finished teasing Rain, Sarluk asked the question almost casually.
Their relationship still made me a little uneasy, but Rain only looked embarrassed; she showed no sign of wanting to harm him. Nothing serious seemed likely to happen.
“Ah, however… I have no currency on hand…”
Instead, he wished to settle the bill with this.
“Let’s see it.”
The claim that he had no money did not strike me as particularly strange.
The most common currency in this world was the coinage minted by the Empire, and even the Demon King’s Territory—currently at war with that same Empire—used it. Even so, it was not accepted everywhere. In some regions, barter with goods was still perfectly ordinary.
Sarluk must have lived in one of those places.
Thinking that, I looked at the pouch he held out.
“Jewels?”
“Yes. Jewels. With the gems inside this pouch I hope to cover one night’s stay, meals for today and tomorrow, and the purchase of one of the horses in the stable out front.”
I knew next to nothing about the value of jewels.
Judgments like that were best left to Grace.
“…The quality isn’t particularly high, but the quantity should be more than enough. The horses in the stable aren’t thoroughbreds, after all.”
So this many jewels could buy an ordinary horse, at least.
And…
“……”
Through the Dragon’s Contract I could sense Grace’s thoughts, however faintly, and right now she was feeling a quiet little spark of anticipation.
Come to think of it, Gold Dragons—Grace’s race—are said to love gemstones.
The Gold Dragons who had previously completed commissions at our inn and received tiny jewel fragments had all worn expressions of pure bliss.
Perhaps Grace herself had a hobby of collecting stones like these.
“Your room will be 201 in the building just outside.”
“The guest rooms are not in this building, then.”
“The entire second floor here is for staff.”
“That entire spacious area…?”
Sarluk murmured, sounding mildly surprised as he looked toward the second floor.
Well…
The staff rooms are actually larger inside than they look from outside.
But from Sarluk’s perspective, even the exterior size alone must have seemed generous for employee quarters.
“…Ah. So several people share a single room. I understand.”
“…Right.”
They were private rooms, actually…
I simply did not bother correcting his misunderstanding.
Explaining everything would have been a hassle.
“Well then… hm?”
Having finished the transaction, Sarluk turned his head and his gaze locked onto the commission board.
“Oh… what an interesting board.”
Had the commission system’s mild mental suggestion taken hold?
He walked over, plucked a commission slip as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and tore it free.
“I shall complete the commission and return before dinner grows cold.”
It was the sort of line one expected from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Then again, unlike Guan Yu—who had promised to return before the wine already poured for him could cool—Sarluk was talking about a dinner that had not even been prepared yet.
With that, he took the commission slip and his harpoon-like weapon and left the inn.
“…Master. What commission did that lizardman take?”
“No idea. I didn’t get a good look…”
Still, he must have been confident enough to take it.
“He’ll probably be fine. He’s not on our level, but his skill is quite respectable.”
Rain spoke after overhearing Grace and me muttering.
Fair enough. Anyone who walked alone into an inn sitting in the middle of the Dragon Canyon—and who had once been a Guardian of the Dragon Vein—had to be formidable.
Sarluk returned exactly as he had declared—before dinner could grow cold.
In fact, he arrived before dinner had even been prepared.
“Calamity Drake. Subjugation complete.”
He dragged a massive reptilian monster back to the inn.
Well…
“It’s huge.”
“Yes… Calamity Drakes are exceptionally large even among drakes. Ordinary drakes are relatively safe as long as they have no interest in hunting humans, but this one is different. Simply by moving it leaves enormous destruction in its wake…”
Riaen explained with a distant look in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Did your kingdom ever suffer damage from a Calamity Drake?”
“No… I just always thought they only existed in fairy tales.”
As Riaen stared at the corpse with trembling eyes, Silver murmured as if remembering old times.
“Ah, that takes me back. These things used to eat so many living creatures around them that we had to organize large-scale culls.”
Grace and Rain both nodded in agreement.
“Given their size, the meat yield was enormous, and it went perfectly with drinks.”
“It was delicious…”
Riaen clapped her hands over her ears, refusing to hear any more.
Eliona silently did the same.
“……”
Meanwhile, Sarluk was already examining a blue orb that had appeared in his hand.
That must have been the commission reward.
“If I may be so bold, would you appraise this artifact for me?”
He directed the question at Silver.
“Hm…? You seem to know who I am.”
“I do not know the name you use now, but did you not once operate as an appraiser under the name Ern?”
“Well now… you know that name?”
Interesting.
She had not played that particular game for very long.
“Lady Rain informed me. She said Lady Diamond had once amused herself under that name…”
Sarluk said this, yet Rain was nowhere beside him.
She and Grace were already butchering the Calamity Drake and hauling the pieces into the kitchen.
“Well, how you learned about me doesn’t matter. Since you came looking for Ern, I’ll charge you the same way I did back then.”
“Here you are.”
As if he had expected exactly that, Sarluk produced another jewel of the same type he had used earlier.
“This is plenty. You want an appraisal of the artifact you just obtained, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s see… oh?”
Silver sounded mildly surprised.
“This is a perfect artifact for a lizardman. The energy radiating from the orb supplies the owner with water-attribute mana.”
“I thought as much. My condition has improved ever since it came into my possession.”
“However, it’s a consumable. You’ll get about a year out of it at most.”
“That is unfortunate, but still sufficient.”
Replacing it once a year would be enough, he murmured, then turned to me.
“Master of the Dragon Vein. Forgive the imposition, but I wish to extend my stay.”
“Extend your stay? You want to remain here longer?”
“Yes. For the time being I would like to stay and gather more artifacts to bring back to my people.”
He wished to use the funds originally set aside for the horse, plus the other jewels he still carried, to stretch his lodging as far as possible.
“Well… go ahead.”
There was no reason to refuse.
A long-term guest who would diligently complete commissions? I welcomed it.
It meant another source of Inn Tokens besides the Gold Dragons.
And it also meant more monster carcasses from completed commissions, just like the Calamity Drake he had just brought in.
It had felt so natural that I had never really thought about it, but Grace’s father and every Gold Dragon he had introduced had likewise dragged their commission targets all the way back to the inn after hunting them.
The carcasses then became the inn’s property as a matter of course: the meat went to Grace’s kitchen, while bones and sinew went to Silver’s forge.
Commissions to hunt specific monsters probably aren’t finished until the carcass is delivered to the client.
I was still turning that over in my mind when Sarluk spoke again.
“Incidentally, I would like to hone the edge of my harpoon… Is that building over there a smithy?”
He pointed toward Silver’s forge.
“Oh, yes. That’s my smithy.”
“Lady Diamond’s forge… Would it be possible to entrust the sharpening of my harpoon to you?”
Wait—don’t do that.
Considering Silver’s skill level, it would be better if he didn’t—
“! Of course! I’m in a good mood, so I’ll do it for free!”
“Oh! You have my thanks!”
But Silver, apparently deciding that Sarluk was the forge’s first customer, accepted the request with pure delight.
“Ah…”
“Ahh…”
Eliona and Riaen, realizing the situation a moment too late, looked at Sarluk with eyes full of pity.