Dragon Life - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The village and the village girl. And the truth.

It seemed like the rain was stopping already. 

Looking up, the dark gray sky seemed about to start crying at any moment, but the light streaks visible from a distance were pushing the clouds aside and were slowly heading our way. It appeared like it would clear up in a few hours. If it did, we could leave the village and join up with Lance and the others and aim for the southern country again. Our luggage got lost but it couldn’t be helped.

But where is this place?

And why am I sleeping on the ground?

“Nngh.”

It seemed like a gag was neatly placed in my mouth and I couldn’t say a word. Both of my hands and feet were also tied up with some simple rope, so it makes me want to say ‘in that case blindfold me, too,’ but I can’t shout. ‘It turned into something troublesome,’ I think calmly to myself. 

I managed to raise the upper half of my body and surveyed my surroundings. Apparently I was lying on top of some flat stones, which were artificially piled up, totally resembling an altar. I can see an animal trail up front, and the river which is flooded by the heavy rain flows right behind it. You would get caught up in the muddy stream if you take one wrong step. If so, it’d be horrible.

Nevertheless, why am I here? Even before, by the time I had noticed it I was inside a bad-taste bird cage, and it’s probably correct to assume that this was a kidnapping or abduction again. 

The heck, why?

There is no way I can understand why. If I was taken away from the place where I had been sleeping, no matter how tired I had said I was I would have woken up, and the Captain was there too. It wouldn’t be possible to bring me here unless I was given some sleep medication. Huh, sleep medication? I don’t want to think of that, but no way right? Hahaha, no way, there’s a limit in doubting people. There’s just no wa-

“Did you wake up?”

It was just that way.

“Nghh-mph…”

The auntie appeared from the animal trail with a short sword in hand. Wha-, what is she going to do with that? No way it’s to stab me with it…!?

“I’m sorry for you, but you see, I believe this was fated, too.”

Whawhawha-, what was fated?! I request an explanation!

“You see, this village is about to collapse. The residents are gone, and the town is dying out. You saw it, right? It is only a few people, including us, that live here. It was not like this a few years before. It’s all that girl’s, Anna’s fault. As you can see, this is an altar for rituals, and in this village, in exchange of guaranteeing the village’s prosperity, once every 50 years, we offer a virgin girl to Lord Water Dragon. It is rare for someone who is so well liked by the earth spirit to be seen, hence she was chosen.”

When I asked for an explanation, she fluently gave me one. I don’t know if I should be thankful or not.

‘But hey,’ the auntie continued.

“It was Anna’s parents who made that ceremony a mess, they probably loved their daughter, they broke through the midst of the ceremony, telling her to run away. That’s why we had no choice but to kill them. But, although Anna had escaped, everyone thought that the ceremony was successful as she fell into the river. We were wrong, though, the order of things was wrong. If she’s dead when she can’t escape the river afterwards. It was useless to throw her into the river while alive, so Lord Water Dragon got angry and the village began to decline. That’s why, we will make it succeed this time.”

She grasped the short sword in her hand and came closer to me.

“You look exactly the same as Anna, so if it’s you, you can become her substitue, hm?”

…Is that so, so that’s what happened. She was dragged over by the river. This is the Killuv River, and further away it continues into the big river that runs at the foot of Vizannu Mountains. And it’s no wonder she was that scared when she met me. She woke up and started wandering in the woods, but then she run into me; she possibly mistook me for the Water Dragon. Thinking up to this point, although it’s so late, I’m feeling like I did something inexcusable. However, I kind of remember that at the moment I ate her, she looked a little relieved. Perhaps it was because she thought that she would be reunited with her parents.

The woman was laughing, and it was the same smile as when I first came into her house. Maybe, from that time on?

“The prosperity of the village depends on that man. After accounting you as missing, we will make him marry a girl from the village. If you have any last words, tell them to me now, I will listen to you.”

The short sword was attached to my neck as the gag was removed. Then the sense of pressure in my mouth was gone, and it made me cough a little as the cold wind hit my cheeks.

— Oh, that ‘s right, people like these existed too. I’ve been very complacent lately, so I forgot.

I made a self-deprecating bitter smile and when I stared up at her, her own smile disappeared and she faltered. 

“What-, what’s with your eyes?”

Did they become reptile-like again?

“Thank you for your polite explanation, but if you had that much time it would have been better for you to kill me.”

As she was making an expression that said, ‘What are you talking about,’ a slender sword appeared and cut through a strip of leather around the base of her neck.

“- – Pull that hand away.”

“Eek!”

Instinctively feeling a life-threatening crisis the lady dropped the sword held in her hand onto the ground as she trembled. Her body was knocked down with the back of the sword, and once she fell a figure emerged behind her.

It was the Captain.

He was probably angry, his eyes were unusually firm. 

“Why are you here!? You should be with that girl…!!!”

While disregarding her screams he undid my restrains and raised my body.

“That girl?”

Perhaps it was the partner whom she said that they would have him marry. It made me a little worried.

“I was in an unknown room when I woke up, and there was a strange woman.”

“Did she do anything to you?”

“…Before she could, I interrogated her with my sword and made her tell me where you were.”

“Captain, people call that ‘threatening,’ you know.”

I’m glad she didn’t do anything to him. Well, it’s the Captain we are talking about here so he’d surely be all right, but anyway to be attacked by a woman is sweet!! Ah, I’m a woman myself, but would the gentlemen of the world let go of such a tasty opportunity? No, it can not be let go! I’m a woman though.

Perhaps my thinking of worthless stuff was noticed, because I was laughed at with a bitter smile while my hand was grabbed.

“Let’s go, Vito.”

—Yes I apologize. It was I the one who was thinking strange things. So why don’t you hold down the power you are grasping my hand with a bit. It hurts. 

“Wa-, wait!”

At some point, the lady stood up while holding the short sword.

“…So troublesome.”

With that, the Captain directed the tip of his sword at her. His cold eyes were full of motivation, but hey he surely didn’t have that intention at all. N-, no you can’t!

“Please leave this to me”

‘But,’ I stopped the Captain who was retorting so and stepped in front of the lady. I would like to end this without a fuss. No matter how evil this lady seems, she has her own circumstances. Even if she had taken human lives while wishing for the prosperity of the village, this is something that had come from long ago. I don’t know if the village had declined because the ceremony failed or it’s just a coincidence, but I feel that such a thing is useless as things are now. They say that sickness and health start with the mind, right?¹ If they manage to sort out their feelings then everything can return to normal. That’s what I believe.

“Whawhawha-, if you’re gonna come at me then come—… Hyaa!?”

I slowly took a deep breath and suddenly returned to my Dragon form, at which she pulled back from me and once again her buttocks fell to the ground.

“Lord, Lord Water Dragon!?”

No matter what the color of the Dragon is, when suddenly a human transforms into a Dragon, there will surely be an intensity that will make you believe it’s possible to be the Lord Water Dragon. Indeed, the lady was so astonished that she went from sitting on her buttocks to sitting in seiza. I lowered my neck, and looked down at the lady speaking in the lowest voice possible.

[I prohibit the ritual from now on. This is also the last time you shall impose trouble into unrelated people.]

“Y-, yes!”

[That’s fine then, I will go now. If you attempt to imitate these mistakes any further, then I’ll eat every single one of the remaining villagers. “

“Ye-, yessss!!”

There is no such thing as a Lord Water Dragon in this river. If the river becomes muddy when heavy rain falls, animals can not live in it, and even if it was a spirit, the presence of a strong water spirit isn’t present here. I bet this Lord Water Dragon was made up by the humans’ misconceptions. The idea that the village had declined because the ritual might have failed was caused by those thoughs. Even if there was a Water Dragon here before, there isn’t one now, this, I can affirm.

[Please get on.]

I let the Captain, who was by my side, ride on my back and spread my wings in order to fly away.

“Plea-, please wait! Lor Water Dragon! Save, save the village please!!”

[…That’s up to you to determine. Why don’t you stop relying on the power of others and start believing in your own power a little?]

“Our own, power?”

[Humans are strong.]

They are strong, kind and sensitive creatures.

And.

And, they are my favourite creatures.

I spread my wings out wide and launched into the air while creating air gusts, flying away to a high altitude in one go.