Rat and Dragon (6)
So, it was decided that I'd be leaving the village with Tia. Really... how the heck did this happen? Sure, I wanted to leave this place someday, but I wasn't planning to just bolt out of here on a whim. I figured I'd make some proper preparations first... And then she comes along and wrecks all my plans. Heading into who-knows-what dangers. Well, Tia is a dragon, so she could probably handle it.
"Aigoo, my back... It's so heavy hauling this thing after all this time."
Once we'd wrapped up the discussion, the priest headed back to his room for a moment, then returned grunting and heaving a massive box. He popped open the lid to reveal the hammer inside.
"Here. This hammer was your mother's weapon. A dwarf she saved during her adventuring days made it for her."
The enormous hammer in the box was about as long as I was tall, with a head bigger than my own... Could you even call this a hammer? Honestly, it didn't look like something made for humans. This was straight out of a story—something a giant would swing.
Mom... really used this brute as a weapon? For real?
"Hoo... This is quite the craftsmanship."
Tia peered at the hammer with sparkling, intrigued eyes.
"A solid iron ingot forged whole. Must've taken serious effort. Have dwarves advanced their skills this far these days?"
"Hoo. You can tell at a glance, huh? It's called Earthshatter. A master dwarf poured years into crafting it. Its value is beyond words."
A pitch-black lump of metal. Earthshatter.
The priest held out the handle toward me.
"Give it a lift."
"B-but..."
Could I even handle something that looked this heavy? I was the strongest kid my age around, sure—even stronger than the priest, a grown man—but this monster?
I reluctantly gripped the handle of the giant hammer he offered.
"Huh?"
It came up lighter than I'd expected. What? I thought it'd weigh a ton... Was it just for show, hollow inside? Nah, the priest had struggled with it earlier. So what gives?
"See? You lifted it without a hitch. That's because it uses special dwarf magic. It draws on the owner's mana to boost their strength."
"Impressive. A magic weapon channeling dwarf enchantments to amplify power. Makes sense—you couldn't swing something this hefty without monstrous strength."
"It made your mom, who was already a powerhouse, even stronger. Most monsters went straight to the afterlife from one smack to the head."
I swung the hammer around in my hands. Hmm... lighter than the axe I used for chopping firewood. At this weight... I might actually be able to wield it.
"Of course, you'd need practice to use it properly as a weapon. My original plan was to train you steadily for about a year..."
"Eh, I'll be traveling with her. Should be fine."
Tia oozed confidence. Fair point—with a dragon as company, what was there to fear? Except... the dragon herself was terrifying! She was all chummy with me now, but dragons in stories were monstrous killers. And if Tia was the Dragon Priestess, she could be just as scary!
"I've got some real skill with weapons myself. I'll teach her bits at a time on the road."
"If you'd do that, we'd be grateful, but... does the Priestess know how to use weapons?"
"Of course. How else could I teach swordplay without knowing weapons?"
That sword...? Did she mean the Hero's sword? The legendary blade from the tales?
"T-Tia... Do you, um... have the Hero's sword?"
"Maybel."
"B-but Priest! It's the Hero's sword from the stories! Who raised on those tales wouldn't wanna see it?!"
The priest scolding me had this weird excited glow on his face too! He wanted to see it just as bad!! The same guy who always preached being honest with yourself—and now he pulls this sneaky crap!
"Well, Hero tales are every kid's dream. I've heard 'em since I was little too."
See?! He totally wants to!
"Hm... No big deal showing it. No Hero around these days anyway."
"For real?!"
The priest looked happier than I was. Made sense, though. The Hero traveled the world on behalf of the Life Goddess. A priest of her temple had to be thrilled.
With the priest's eyes sparkling like stars, Tia reached into her bosom and pulled out... something. A tiny leather pouch. Way too small for a sword, no matter how you sliced it.
Tia calmly slipped her hand inside.
"Ta-da."
A massive greatsword emerged—one that couldn't possibly fit in there. What the—? Magic again? So cool!
"This is... no way, subspace magic?!"
"Subspace magic? What's that?"
"A legendary spell no one's ever replicated. The only user was... the Dragon Priestess from the tales. It sounded so outlandish everyone figured it was exaggeration, so it faded from most stories—only a few scholars know of it..."
Tia flashed a smug smile at the priest's words.
"No way they could copy it easy. Took me some serious pondering to invent. Trying to mimic that would be the real shocker."
"You... invented it?"
The priest froze, utterly dumbfounded, words failing him.
"Th-that is... if I may... Are you truly the Dragon Priestess from the Hero's story herself?"
"Yeah. You already pieced it together, right?"
"N-no, I thought... you were a new Dragon Priestess reborn or something... Wait, you actually traveled with the Hero?"
Tia gave a small nod by way of answer.
"H-how...? It's estimated to be hundreds of years ago... A human from that era still alive...?"
Ah, right... The priest didn't know Tia was a dragon. He'd assumed she was human. The Dragon Priestess from the legends, no less.
"Kinda curious how the story spread, but whatever—let's skip it. And yeah, it's me, so quit double-checking."
"My goddess... Life Goddess..."
Tia flinched a bit as the priest invoked the divine name. Made sense if the Dragon Priestess was like an avatar of the Life Goddess.
"Anyway, my identity's not a huge deal. Keep it under wraps, yeah? Word gets out, and it'll be a hassle."
"Y-yes, of course."
Tia tucked the pouch away and held the greatsword level.
"This is the Hero's sword. Cloud Solas. Only the chosen can wield it."
Silver and gold intertwined, a massive gem at the center—a huge greatsword that looked more like art than weapon at first glance. But the eerie gleam from its blade screamed it was no ordinary piece.
"This is... the Hero's sword..."
"To see the real thing... I'm overcome."
The priest produced a sheet of papyrus and a charcoal stub from somewhere.
"If it's alright... may I sketch the Hero's sword? I'd like to record its form."
"Hm. Knock yourself out."
"Thank you!"
Beaming, the priest spread the papyrus on the table and started sketching with the charcoal. Wow... Never knew the priest had this talent, but he was drawing it perfectly. The Hero's sword took shape almost flawlessly under his hand.
Hmm. Leave the priest to his art trance.
"So, when do we head out?"
"Hm. For a trip like this, the sooner the better."
The sooner...? That meant...
"Let's leave first thing tomorrow morning. If it weren't evening already, we'd go right now..."
Tia shook her head slightly.
"Traveling night roads lit only by starlight and moonlight... Fine solo, but annoying with company."
"Most folks use torches."
"I could teleport us across distances in a blink, but that'd ruin the travel vibe. Anyway."
Teleport...? Like how we blinked from deep cave to surface? Just how many spells did Tia know? A question bubbled up in my mind.