Strange Combination of Travelers (5)
Through the slightly open gap in Ergaduk's bag, something glossy and shiny caught my eye. Against a creamy beige background, chaotic black blotches were scattered all over it—an egg from some creature. Judging by how the bag bulged, I could roughly guess its size...
"Whoa, that's a wyvern egg!"
"Correct. It seems the innkeeper knows his monsters well?"
"Damn right I do. But what the hell are you doing carrying that around...? No, before that—where the hell did you even get it?"
Wyvern eggs were notoriously hard to obtain, for a bunch of reasons. First off, wyverns were the type that paired up for life. They nested in damn near inaccessible terrain, and the mother stuck to the nest practically 24/7 to guard the eggs. That was because wyvern hatchlings imprinted on the first thing they saw as their mother. Come hatching time, the female wouldn't eat or sleep—just obsess over those eggs. The male, meanwhile, kept hunting and bringing food back to feed her.
So how do you snag a wyvern egg? You take out the patrolling male, then haul your ass up some godforsaken rocky cliff. Kill the female—who's gone red-eyed berserk, fighting to the death to protect her clutch—and grab the egg. Problem was, once it hatched, what the fuck do you do with it? Wyverns were violent monsters by nature, impossible to tame. If that weren't the case, the skies would've been crawling with dragon cavalry instead of boring old horse knights. The process was pure hell, and even if you got one, it was useless—that's why wyvern eggs were so rare.
And the second reason? That was on me. To counter me, the Demon King's army had scraped together every monster they could find and folded them into their ranks. I'd wiped the lot of 'em, so now the continent was suffering a shortage of large carnivores. Back in the day, monsters popped up even in big cities, causing mawhan—demon plagues—that wrecked lives and property. Travelers got jumped all the time, and in bad cases, entire villages got wiped out. Hell, my backwater hometown saw monsters slinking down from the hills every so often. But after last summer, they were basically gone. That was right around when the Demon King's forces started crumbling under my repeated ass-kickings.
So wyvern eggs ended up as something nobody bothered hunting—and damn tough to get anyway. Monster hunters who lived off that trade took a massive hit too.
Why the hell was this dragon lugging around such a precious treasure like it was pocket change? And wrapped up nice and cozy in fur, no less.
"Found it in a wyvern nest, so I took it."
"A wyvern nest...? Any spots around here that could even host wyverns...?"
I paused, then remembered what Hardo had mentioned.
"No way... Tousenne Viscountcy...?"
"How did you know?"
"The city mercenary captain mentioned it. Said they found a beaten-to-hell wyvern corpse there. That your handiwork, Mr. Ergaduk?"
"Indeed. Come to think of it, we did meet that mercenary captain. Isn't that right, Liana?"
Liana nodded.
"Yeah. Rosens' mercenary captain. Lucky break. We were heading to the mercenary office anyway, and now we've got a connection."
"See? Everything's falling into place. Good call on the detour."
"You just accidentally stepped on a frog while backing up a cow, is all."
Ergaduk and Liana started bickering again. I cleared my throat politely and cut in.
"Mr. Ergaduk. Seriously, why'd you bring a wyvern egg? Planning to scramble it or something?"
"No. I intend to raise it properly and ride it."
"Ah... right...?"
Did this dragon have some compulsion to baffle everyone who opened their mouth? A dragon riding a wyvern?
"Raise it... to ride...? Uh, sorry, but... aren't you a dragon?"
"Yes. But circumstances beyond my control prevent me from returning to my true form."
"Hmm... I see. Well then, looks like you'll be incubating it for another half year or so."
"Likely."
Whatever. Dragons had Dragon's Roar—an insane ability that overwhelmed everything with sheer terror, flattening monsters to the ground. Use that, and yeah, he could probably cow a wyvern into submission. A few years from now, rumors might spread about some lord riding a wyvern. But... wait, something didn't add up.
"Mr. Ergaduk. Why bother raising a hatchling the hard way instead of just roaring down an adult?"
"Adult wyverns prioritize defending their eggs over fear. It doesn't work well."
"Oof... rough."
After Ergaduk and Liana headed up to their room, Pelle came over and asked what the deal was. I took her to the kitchen and filled in Francois too. When I explained it was a black dragon aspiring to be a lord, neither seemed to buy it right away.
"Anyway, he doesn't seem totally unhinged, so treat 'em like normal guests. That human woman tagging along keeps him in check."
I reassured them and was just stepping out of the kitchen when I caught a flash of red peeking around the stairs. On closer look, it was Aterugar's head, snooping around the hall.
"What're you doing?"
"Where is he?"
"Up in the room."
Aterugar bolted down the stairs and scurried across the hall.
"What'd he say?"
"Traveling to become a lord."
"Lord...? Like, landowner? See?! Told you, total psycho! Dragon as a lord?! Boot his ass out now!"
As Aterugar threw her tantrum, the guests in the hall turned to stare.
"Keep it down, for fuck's sake...!"
"Get rid of him quick! If he shifts back, we're screwed—no dragon can stop him!"
Watching her stomp and rage... god, I seriously wanted to flick her forehead a solid hundred times. I grabbed her by the waist, hoisted her up, and strode up the stairs.
"Hey! Hands off! Where you dragging me?! What're you gonna do?! Nooo! Don't wanna do that stuff!"
It looked for all the world like some grown-ass dude kidnapping a bratty girl, but nobody intervened. Her rep as the rude, crazy red bitch was already infamous around town. Ungrateful Myanfeld orphan who bit the hand that saved her, yadda yadda.
Aigoo, what a headache. Our inn wasn't some dragon trap—why were they swarming us?
The next day, the pair came down early, grabbed a quick bite, and headed out to the mercenary office. Hardo's outfit was always swamped with requests and short on hands, so a guy like Ergaduk should've landed work easy. Dragons were beasts even in polymorph form.
They didn't roll back in till late evening.
"Any luck? They hook you up with a request?"
"No. No open jobs. Said they'd hired more mercenaries lately."
Hmm... must've expanded big-time on the success. Last time I checked, they were barely half a platoon. Now pushing thirty...? Felt like yesterday they started with four.
Damn, I'd sent him there and he came back empty-handed. Felt bad.
"Shit, my bad. I vouched for the place."
"No issue. Found something else on the city hall job board."
"What kinda gig?"
"Er... what was it again?"
Ergaduk glanced back; Liana jumped in.
"Big construction project on the other side of town. Signed on for a short stint there."
"Construction site? No skills... day laborer type thing...?"
"Erga's got insane strength, and I'm no slouch either."
"Plenty of other jobs, though... why that?"
"Best daily pay going."
Liana beamed innocently; Ergaduk smiled at her. Made my stomach twist. Needing cash was one thing, but a dragon—hell, a black dragon—hauling rocks on a site?
After a beat, I made them an offer.
"Forget that. Work here at the inn."
"Here...?"
"Pay you better than the site."
Not pure charity. People were everything—networks turned no's into yeses. Hooking up with a powerhouse like a rare black dragon? Pure upside. And if he actually became a lord? Who knew the perks.
Not sure if he could pull it off, but it was a dragon. Never seen one gunning for lordship, but if he set his mind to it, he'd crush it.
"Erga. What do you say? Offering us jobs here."
Liana looked up at him. Ergaduk pondered, then nodded solemnly.
"Hmm... much obliged. Though, if I may—what sort of work?"
"Heard of the Monster Zoo?"
"Indeed. Saw the flyers on the way in."
"Work there. As a dragon, it'll be a breeze."
Aterugar was around, sure—but that red pest hated everything. Truding duki for carnivore chow through dimensional gates? Too much hassle. Patrols to sort monsters by pen? Half-assed. So far, only one dragon, so I'd coaxed her along. Not anymore. Ergaduk was temporary, but perfect chance to straighten out that lizard's attitude. Show her there were dragons who'd work—and she could get canned anytime. Time for some crisis motivation.
Hahaha. Dumbass red lizard. Let's see you sweat.