Some Bizarre Business Plan (2)
All eyes turned northward to where he was pointing. Then, screams erupted from here and there all at once.
"It's a dragon!!"
There, in the middle of the Vurn Mountains to the north, Red Dragon Aterugar spread her wings and glided toward them. From a distance, she cut quite the impressive figure. Her scales blazed fiery red, gleaming under the crisp late-autumn sun, while heat haze danced behind her heated wing membranes. Black and white smoke mingled and rose from between her bared fangs, trailing along her crest, down her back, and along her long tail. It was an overwhelmingly intimidating sight, like a volcano on the verge of eruption soaring through the sky.
A few faint-hearted folk bolted immediately, but most rushed toward the inn's backyard, jostling to get a better look at Aterugar.
Aterugar swiftly descended, skimming so low over the Buren River that her claws nearly touched the water. As her talons brushed the surface, steam exploded in a burst that enveloped her for a moment. With one mighty flap, she tore through the cloud of vapor and reemerged in majestic glory.
As she reached the spot directly behind the inn, she raked the river with her claw tips, sending droplets spraying outward like a misty drizzle. She shot through the vivid rainbows formed by sunlight refracting through the water. As Aterugar flapped her wings and climbed sharply upon clearing the rainbows, gasps of awe burst from the crowd.
Soon, she vanished southward, her long tail whipping behind her.
"My god... To think I'd see a dragon right before my eyes..."
"Is that the Aterugar who hunted down Lurtjog?"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck!"
Those who had witnessed Aterugar up close were buzzing with excitement.
Good. Just as I predicted.
Even with a dragon flying in, they didn't run—they charged closer. Plenty of room to sell some merchandise here.
I thought folks who liked monsters were just nuts, but turns out they're my potential customer base?
"Hero... Wasn't that dragon just now Aterugar? And that thing hanging on the inn wall... Lurtjog...?!"
Ammugar stammered in utter disbelief.
"Yeah. Let's get down first and talk. Can't stand this cramped ride anymore."
We clambered awkwardly off the Hell Horse. Pelle, who had been watching us from beyond the stone wall, dashed over but halted a few meters away, staring silently at me and the demons.
"Pelle. You been well?"
"Why are you here?"
Pelle brushed off Ammugar's greeting with a cold question, though her eyes were growing misty, on the verge of tears.
"The hero said we should work together."
"Work?"
"Let's sort things out first and talk calmly."
Orkog grinned, hefting a wooden crate packed with sculptures.
"Check this out, Pelle. Stuff we made."
"Not curious at all."
She shot back icily, but her eyes flicked over the crate's contents anyway.
"So, have you eaten?"
Ammugar and Orkog exchanged uneasy glances at the question. Probably remembering how Pelle had once raged over skimpy meals.
"Not... yet..."
"I told you to eat properly, regularly..."
Fortunately, she didn't snap this time.
"Come on. We'll eat and I'll tell you about the dragon too."
I led the demons toward the inn. The onlookers were still lost in the thrill of the sighting, debating heatedly and forgetting the chill.
The demons gawked around the inn's hall in wonder upon entering.
"Hero, sir. Had no idea you ran such a grand establishment."
"If you're gonna do it, might as well do it big."
I sheathed the Holy Sword, which had begun glowing upon sensing the demons.
The demons murmured, pointing at the troll trophy mounted on the first-floor wall.
"Look at that, Orkog. A troll skull. Bigger than average."
"A fine specimen, sir. Likely the herd leader."
The sudden appearance of demons in their "full demonic form" startled the hall's patrons, tension rippling through the room. I raised a hand to calm them.
"No worries. They're registered special-managed demons. Friends of our employee Pelle here."
I guided them to the most secluded table. Pelle brought three glasses of mulled wine and set them down. The demons' eyes widened in delight at the first sip.
"Pelle, sit. Better to explain it all at once."
She nodded and took the empty seat beside me. Glasses-wearing middle-aged demon Ammugar, red-skinned muscle-bound Orkog, and sleek, icy Pelle. The three horned demons fixed their gazes on me.
I started by filling Ammugar and Orkog in on Aterugar and Lurtjog—from the blue dragon's twisted perversions predating her exile to the seas, to his severed head now mounted on the inn wall. The demons' faces twisted throughout, clearly no pleasant tale.
As I finished, Ammugar spoke up.
"Lurtjog was infamous for... those proclivities you know well, hero sir."
"Then why do dragons leave him be? The bastard was doing his... sick shit to their hatchlings."
"Dragons don't rear hatchlings, sir. They emerge from the egg with immense power already. And dragons aren't cannibals toward kin. Hatchlings have no natural predators from birth."
"I get the gist. They leave the nest right after hatching to build their own."
"That's ingrained species instinct over eons, sir. Their innate arrogance and individualism play a part too. They don't interfere with another dragon's actions unless it harms them directly."
"I see... Damn."
I clicked my tongue, and Ammugar nodded sympathetically.
"We tried endlessly to conscript dragons into the Demon King's forces, but failed. For that reason."
"If we'd had dragons, we wouldn't have crumbled so pathetically..."
Orkog muttered. I snorted.
"It just would've padded my kill count a bit more. Anyway..."
I was about to wrap up the dragon talk and pivot to business when the inn door opened. Polymorphed Aterugar strolled in alone. True to their monster affinity, Ammugar and Orkog's faces hardened instantly—the same reaction Pelle had at first sight.
Ammugar whispered as low as possible.
"That little girl... is Aterugar...?"
"Yeah. She's staying at our inn."
"At the inn?!"
Aterugar, passing our table, glanced at Ammugar and Orkog. It was a casual look, but the demons froze like dogs spotting the ragman, utterly cowed.
"What? You brought more horn-heads? These ones look all buff and scary! Eek, scary scary. Crazy hero. First the big-titted girls, now muscle-pig demons... Eek...! Total pervert freak...!"
Yet from that majestic dragon's mouth spewed childish slang and crude insults. The sheer mismatch left the demons flustered, mouths agape, speechless. I felt secondhand embarrassment...
Is this what parents feel when their kid acts up?
"Quiet! That's no way to talk to guests! Go upstairs and play with your bunny doll!"
Aterugar snorted flames from her nostrils and stomped upstairs.
"That... that's really a dragon, sir...?"
"No matter how you look at it... she seems like some ill-mannered brat from a dirt-poor family, Legate sir..."
Listening to their murmurs, my face burned.
"Ahem... Uh... Sorry about that. She's rough around the edges, but soft and kind inside..."
I had no idea why I was apologizing, but it felt necessary.
Just then, Francois arrived personally with food.
"Hello, demons. Here's your meal."
"Whoa! What's this?!"
It was crab curry—whole crabs chopped shell and all, stir-fried with veggies, then simmered in spices and coconut milk. A rare dish hard to find locally, mainly from eastern coastal cities. The demons beamed, chomping whole crabs with gusto. Pelle watched them fondly.
First time seeing that look on her.
Our eyes met, and she iced over instantly. I chuckled and spoke.
"Anyway... Having Aterugar show up around the inn ties into our business plan."
"Please explain, hero sir."
"Word's already spreading about dragons fighting and one getting killed. From head-hunters to your workshop's 'monster enthusiasts,' folks will flock here."
"Indeed."
"Now, imagine if rumors spread that the Red Dragon who did the killing—the one whose Blue Dragon foe's head hangs here—pops in irregularly?"
Ammugar nodded in realization.
"It'd be chaos, sir. People from the whole kingdom—no, neighboring countries too—would come to spot the Red Dragon. Monster enthusiasts may be few, but they're obsessed."
"Exactly. And wouldn't it be a shame if they came all this way, saw the dragon, and left empty-handed?"
"Y-Yes. Then... Ah...? Wait... no way...?"