Reunion with the Drakon

《Hmm…? Ah! If it isn’t Hikaru! Lavia and Paula too! What are you doing here?!》

Drake found them as soon as they turned off their Stealth. The drakon descended, producing strong winds that disturbed the miasma below. When he was in front of Hikaru’s party, the wind blew against them, along with clouds of dust.

《Long time no see! How have you been?!》

「……….」

Spitting out the sand from his mouth, Hikaru gazed at Drake. The drakon certainly looked like him. The white fur, the look of surprise. The only difference was his size. He was now as big as the Gray Noble Drakon. The Drake that Hikaru knew was so much smaller that he could hold him in his arms.

「Who are you?」

《What?! That’s so mean! It’s me, Drake!》

「The Drake I know is small. Just enough to fit in my arms. He didn’t blow winds and dust at us like this.」

《Oh, my bad. My body’s gotten bigger. I haven’t got perfect control of my strength yet.》

Grow big? You became gigantic. This is taking growth spurt to a whole new level. Hikaru kept his thoughts to himself. It wasn’t like human common sense applied to drakons as well.

「Is that really our little Drake?」

《That’s right, Lavia! I underwent evolution back in my hometown.》

「Evolution…」

「There’s another word I’m not sure I know the meaning of. So who’s the other guy?」Hikaru pointed at the other drakon. It was staring at the humans intently, studying them.

Slightly smaller than Drake, the mana stored in its body was enormous. Faint light spilled from the gaps between its purple scales, and there was profound wisdom in its watchful eyes.

「Hmm… Looks like some kind of big shot from your hometown, by the looks of it.」

《Lake White Drakon. Is this the human you were talking about?》

《Yup!》

《I see. This fellow killed the Gray Noble Drakon, eh?》

Sensing enmity from the drakon, Hikaru quickly pushed Lavia aside. He then jumped back, activated his Stealth and gripped his wakizashi.

《Yes. I can see how he managed to slay the Gray Noble Drakon.》

The drakon didn’t do anything. It felt like it was about to attack. Or he already did. But nothing happened.

《You can’t use your abilities from such an open space, can you? I was simply testing you just now.》

「Interesting hobby you got there.」

《E-Elder! What are you doing?!》

《Like I said, I was simply testing him.》

Hikaru deactivated his Stealth and walked towards the girls. Everything happened too fast that they could only stand still, their mouth open.

「You okay?」Hikaru asked.

「Uh, yeah. I couldn’t move…」

「The hostile aura it emitted must have frozen you on the spot. Sorry for pushing you.」

「It’s fine. It’s my fault for not being able to move.」

Lavia’s face was pale. Right now, Hikaru deemed the elder drakon to be an enemy.

《Come on… There are things you can and can’t do! Judging by the situation, they’re the ones who killed the Evil Drakon and dispelled the barrier.》

《No need to shout. There are things I want to confirm too.》

「What’s this about a barrier?」

《Hmm? Apparently the Evil Drakon put up a barrier across this continent. Not a physical one. More like it blocks perception so we wouldn’t find it.》

「I see…」

《We couldn’t get here because of it.》

Hikaru thought their timing was impeccable, arriving right after they killed the Evil Drakon. So that was the reason.

《Let’s clean this up first before we talk.》the Elder said.

「Clean up?」

《If left like this, monsters are bound to come here. They’ll turn savage if they inhale the miasma, and we wouldn’t want that.》

Hikaru was right in getting rid of the miasma, after all.

「How are you gonna do that?」

《Like this.》

The elder drakon spun around. Facing the pool of miasma, it took a deep breath and exhaled. The miasma dissipated the moment its Breath—a special kind, a mix of purple light and lightning—reached it.

「Wow…」

「That didn’t take long at all.」

The miasma disappeared so fast that Lavia and Paula were left flabbergasted.

「Looks like the flying dragons sniffed us out, though.」

More than ten figures were closing in on them.

《Lake White Dragon!》

《You got it, sir!》

Drake took off alone, rushing towards the incoming dragons.

「Drake!」

There was no time to stop him. Hikaru’s worries, however, were unfounded. Drake bit off the dragons one by one.

「Uh… was he always that violent?」Hikaru said.

「Drake grew up to be such a fine drakon.」

「You call that “fine”?」

The swarm of flying dragons was subdued in no time at all. There was blood all over Drake’s mouth when he returned, but Hikaru decided not to say anything.

《Disgusting!》

「You actually tried to eat them?」

《Lake White Drakon. Next is to the east.》

《You got it, sir!》

It was a group of Earth Dragons crawling on the ground this time. Drake killed them off one by one, with only a single blow each. There were several more attacks after that, but Drake managed all by himself.

《And that is it for the miasma.》

The elder drakon was breathing heavily. Hikaru could see that most of its mana went into its Breath.

The sun had already gone down, and it was getting dark. Even under the light of the moon, the Evil Drakon’s sinister aura remained.

《Hmm, yes. It really is dead. How did you kill it? No, never mind. It is a pointless question. Human, what do you wish to do with this corpse?》

「What do you mean? I just want it burned or something. Anything to get rid of it.」

《Burn? Get rid of it?》The elder drakon’s eyes widened, then it guffawed. 《You are one amusing human!》

Its laughter was so loud that they had to cover their ears.

「I have no idea why you’re laughing.」

《Why wouldn’t I be laughing? It might’ve been evil, but it’s still a drakon. Don’t humans want their bodies?》

「Not me, no.」

《You can craft powerful weapons with its parts. You can also brew it to make a concoction that will prolong your life.》

「I said I don’t want it.」

《Why not? I thought humans were greedy creatures.》

「For the record, I’m no saint. But materials from a drakon that breathes miasma? No thanks. That’s just gross.」

No matter how high-class a fish was, if it came out of the sludge of Tokyo Bay, he would not want to eat it.

《Bwahahahahaha!》

Hikaru covered his ears as the elder started laughing again. He’s an enemy, all right, he thought. Those who don’t care about others are threats.

《So you won’t mind if we dispose of this Evil Drakon’s corpse ourselves.》

「I couldn’t ask for anything better.」Hikaru replied.「And thanks Drake. For taking care of the monsters.」

《What? Did you just thank me? What’s next, flying pigs?》

You stupid drakon… Hikaru shot him a glare.

《It would seem your leaving home wasn’t all that bad, Lake White Drakon.》the elder said.《Very well. I and the Lake White Drakon will dispose of this corpse properly. But it will take some time and even though it’s dead, the Evil Drakon’s body still possesses an enormous amount of energy. There’s no telling what could happen.》

「Don’t tell me the whole continent’s gonna explode?」

If that happened, everything they had done would have been for naught.

《I will make sure it doesn’t release any destructive energy. But I can’t imagine what effect it will cause, so it’s best to be as far away as possible. There are a few things that come to mind. Perhaps a new rare material, some kind of a metal, will appear in this world. Or maybe a crystal filled with holy energy will be produced… Or… No, the odds for that are quite low.》

The elder drakon mumbled the rest of its words.

《Lake White Dragon, take these humans south. After that, we will dispose of the Evil Drakon’s corpse together.》

《You got it, sir!》

「Oh, you’re gonna carry us? Much appreciated.」

《Hehehe. You guys carried me all the time, so now it’s time I return the favor.》Drake was brimming with confidence.

「Isn’t disposing of the Evil Drakon’s corpse dangerous?」Lavia asked.

「I’m worried too.」Paula added.

《It is. But that is why the two of us will do it.》the elder drakon answered.《Now go. Quick.》

「O-Okay…」

《I’ll be fine.》Drake said.《I’ll eat it if anything happens.》

The drakon grinned, baring his sharp teeth. His smile looked menacing more than anything. That’s Drake, all right, Hikaru thought.

It only took them a few hours to get from the northern tip of the continent to Dream Maker. Many people on lookout spotted a white figure racing through the night skies, but no one from the city knew what it really was.

《I have to go back home once we’re done dealing with the corpse.》Drake said as they landed in the forest a little distance away from Dream Maker.

「Really?」

《Once things settle down, you should check the place out. I’m sure you’ll find something interesting.》

「Is this goodbye?」Lavia asked.

「We’ll miss you.」Paula said.

The girls hugged Drake from both sides. He looked awkward, yet also happy.

「I’ve become a little more aware of my role as a drakon—as a Rule Maker of this world. I might not see you guys ever again, but I’ll always be watching over you.」

Hikaru reached out to touch Drake’s nose.「That’s stupid. How can you call yourself a mediator if you can’t even visit those who you want to meet?」

If it weren’t for the tears welling up in Drake’s eyes, he wouldn’t have said that.

《Hehe. If you say so, we might actually see each other again sooner than expected.》

「I don’t give a damn about the rules of your hometown.」

《I believe you. You’re the kind of person who’d slay drakons, after all.》

Hikaru’s chest lit up a little, where his guild card was. When he looked at the card, he saw a new class.

【Drakon Killer God: Drakon Slayer】

《You better not equip that class and barge into my hometown.》

「……… 」

《Hey, Hikaru. You better promise me that! Don’t do it, okay?!》

「What, you think I’m some kind of a homicidal maniac?」

Filled with sorrow and regret, Drake left Hikaru and the girls, soaring into the night sky.