Chapter 17: The Long Road to the Imperial Capital – 27
The Village Chief’s residence resembled a workshop, and near the entrance stood a dwarf man, likely a craftsman.
When the Marquis’s knight called out to the dwarf, the craftsman hurriedly entered the building.
Shortly after, a large dwarf man appeared from the entrance. His bearded face obscured his age, but he appeared to be around fifty in human years. Dressed as if he had just been forging, it seemed that dwarves were indeed indifferent to appearances, just as one would expect.
Marquis Zanzagir stepped forward and bowed to the dwarf, who was presumably the Village Chief.
“I apologize for the sudden visit, Lianos. I have come to request your assistance today.”
“It’s rare for you to come directly with a request, Katsumaru. However, I am quite busy at the moment. I may not be able to start right away.”
“I must insist. The matter involves the savior of my daughter. Moreover, they are adventurers known as ‘heroes’ in the kingdom.”
“Oh? If they are your daughter’s saviors, then I certainly cannot dismiss them. But calling them ‘heroes’ might be a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
“They are individuals recognized by the Grand Master of the Adventurers’ Guild. It is no exaggeration. Soushi, come here.”
Called by the Marquis, I stepped forward before the Village Chief.
“Nice to meet you, I am Soushi Okuno. I am an A-Rank adventurer and the leader of ‘Soul’s Guidance.'”
“Ah, I am Lianos. Hmmm…”
Village Chief Lianos looked up at me with a scrutinizing gaze, snorting through his nose.
“Well, you certainly don’t seem like an ordinary person. However, I would like to see proof of your status as a hero. Depending on that, our response may change.”
“And what do you mean by ‘response’?”
“The most significant factor is who will take on the request. Even among dwarves, there are differences in craftsmanship. Naturally, I am the best.”
With that, Lianos grinned widely. It seemed he was straightforward and not one for deceit or trickery.
“That is indeed important. However, the title of ‘hero’ is merely a name, an intangible honor, so proof might be…”
“Soushi, how about the dragon we discussed earlier?”
At the Marquis’s words, Lianos’s eyes sparkled.
“A dragon? What do you mean?”
“Actually, we recently defeated a dragon in the south of the Empire, and I can show you the evidence.”
“You can show me a dragon? Do you have its magic stone or materials?”
“No, that’s… it would be quicker to show you. Unfortunately, it’s too large to take out in the village. We’ll need to step outside the castle gates…”
“Hmmm, that sounds interesting. Very well, let’s go! Hey! You lot, follow me!”
Lianos shouted loudly toward the workshop, and about ten dwarf craftsmen emerged. They all wore puzzled expressions, but their silence suggested this was a common occurrence.
Leading the way, Lianos and a procession of forty dwarves made their way through the streets and out of the castle gates.
As the Village Chief called out, “It seems we’re about to see something interesting,” I turned back to find around two hundred onlookers following us. It seemed dwarves had a penchant for festivities, just as one would expect. This was turning into a bigger event than I had anticipated.
Since we couldn’t bring the dragon too close to the main road, we moved to a slightly more distant location.
“How about here?” Lianos stopped and turned to face me.
“This should be fine. Now then…”
I activated my Item Box. I hesitated for a moment on how to present it, but ultimately decided to open a large vertical hole in the ground and pulled out the dragon’s tail.
With a slithering sound, the massive black body of the Chaos Flare Dragon emerged.
I could see the eyes of Marquis Zanzagir and Lianos widening in astonishment.
The mouths of the gathered onlookers dropped open in shock. Some even seemed to collapse to the ground in disbelief.
Meanwhile, the members of ‘Soul’s Guidance’ and Lady Dorozitte wore oddly proud expressions, which made me feel a bit bashful.
Once I finished pulling out the dragon’s massive body, I deactivated my Item Box and returned to the Marquis and the others.
“This is the Chaos Flare Dragon we defeated the other day. We plan to present it to His Majesty the Emperor later.”
“This is… simply magnificent… And from the looks of it, it has hardly any wounds. So it’s true that you defeated it barehanded… No, more importantly, what kind of Item Box can carry such a massive dragon…?”
The Marquis stood there, dumbfounded, gazing up at the mountain-like dragon. The knights surrounding him shared the same astonished reaction.
As for Lianos, he exclaimed—
“Bring me ale! We’re having a festival today!!”
“Uoooooohhh!!!”
The Village Chief’s roar was met with the enthusiastic response of the dwarves.
Before I could even comprehend what was happening, barrels of ale and platters of food quickly surrounded the dragon, and a festive uproar began.