Chapter 94: The Emperor's Return

“Alright, the horns are also trimmed!”

After stopping Fluffy and the Golden Dragon from playing, I trimmed and tidied the Golden Dragon’s horns and scales.

“Grululuu…”

With its overgrown horns and scales tidied up, the Golden Dragon itself seemed to feel refreshed.

“That sounds like a sad cry…”

Eh? I don’t think so? It’s making the same sounds as when the Dragon Knights cleaned their horns and scales in my past life.

“Kyuu.”

Looking at it, Fluffy tapped the Golden Dragon’s foot lightly with its paw, as if saying, You look clean now.

“The Golden Dragon’s light is caused by the reaction between the luminous substances contained in the scales and horns on its body surface and its own magic power. That’s why cleaning them like this suppresses the luminescence.”

It was truly blindingly bright until a moment ago. But with the grooming, the Golden Dragon’s body is now limited to a moderate glow. Yeah, grooming is important. You could call it grooming the ‘scale-coat,’ not the ‘fur-coat.’

“Originally, the Golden Dragon’s body maintenance is something its parent would teach, but this Golden Dragon’s horns and scales were completely overgrown, and it doesn’t seem to have been taught how to groom itself by a parent.”

“Then, does this Golden Dragon not have a parent?”

“Whether it was an accident or lost a territorial fight with another monster, I don’t know the reason, but I believe that’s the case.”

“I see…”

Liliera and the others looked visibly relieved, for some reason.

“But in a sense, it might have been lucky. Golden Dragon materials are quite excellent, and because it wasn’t maintained, I managed to collect a decent amount of scales.”

In my past life, killing material dragons was prohibited in some regions, and a hunting rule was established where adventurers would defeat them, scrape off the materials without killing them, and then release them. I heard stories that adventurers at the time often returned empty-handed because the material dragons they encountered were already neatly trimmed. As a result, adventurers back then competed to hone their trimming skills to collect as many scales as possible while keeping the dragon’s appearance neat.

Considering that, dragons seem to have recovered in population in the modern era, making hunting easier.

“A dragon that appears in myths is being treated as mere convenient material.”

Well, they were actually called ‘Material Dragons.’

“That’s so typical of Rex. Also, the scraped-off scales are sparkly and very beautiful. They look just like gold lumps.”

For Meguri, the Golden Dragon’s scales are treated more like jewels than materials.

“Actually, Golden Dragon scales are made of gold.”

“Gold!?”

Hearing the word “gold,” everyone’s eyes widened.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not just ordinary gold, but a magical gold substance that acts as a magical catalyst, like Mithril.”

“In other words, amazing gold!”

“Haha, something like that.”

◆

Since the other dragons stopped attacking after the Golden Dragon was subdued, we immersed ourselves in the work of stuffing the dragons we had defeated into the magic bag. By the time the last dragon carcass was stored in the magic bag, the sun had already set considerably.

“Well, it’s getting dark, so I guess it’s time to head back.”

“Yes. I think I’ve fought dragons for a lifetime.” Liliera sighed, sounding utterly exhausted.

“Yeah, we really became Dragon Slayers…” Jairo muttered, still buzzing with excitement from Liliera‘s words. “And Big Bro even made a legendary Golden Dragon his minion! Big Bro is truly amazing!”

No, no, it’s not that grand an opponent. It’s only a Golden Dragon child, after all.

“Even so, we gathered an unbelievable amount of dragon materials.” Mina muttered, gazing at the magic bag with a look of astonishment.

“So much treasure! It’ll definitely be a huge amount of money!” Indeed, as Meguri says, for some reason, even Green Dragon materials are traded for a huge sum of several thousand gold coins in this era. Thanks to that, I’ve already become rich enough to buy a house.

It must be because the dragon hunting restrictions, which were being planned in my previous life, were actually implemented. Perhaps the reason everyone says dragons are so dangerous is just a convenient excuse spread by the nation to enforce hunting restrictions.

“Well, shall we go home?”

“Grulululoo…”

Just as we were about to leave, the Golden Dragon let out a low growl. Then it came up to me and pressed its head flat against the ground.

“Guow.”

“Are you offering to take us to town?”

“Grul.”

It seemed so. Perhaps it’s a thank you for tidying up its scales.

“Hmm, I’m not that tired, but everyone else seems exhausted, so since you’re offering, maybe we should ride you.”

“Eh!?”

“No, no, no, no! That’s a bad idea, Rex!!”

“R-right, Rex! Riding a dragon is dangerous!”

“It’s fine, you two. It’s just like a carriage.”

“No, it’s not a carriage. Absolutely not. The level of danger is completely different…” Meguri, who dislikes carriages, shook her head vehemently, a cold sweat breaking out. Ah, since dragons fly, is she saying it would be terrible if we fell?

“Don’t worry, Meguri. Everyone can use Flight Magic if needed, right?”

“Th-that’s not what I m-mean…”

“Woah! Using a legendary Golden Dragon as a taxi! As expected of Big Bro!!”

“You shut up, idiot!”

“Obough!?”

Wow, Mina delivered a sharp elbow strike to the side of Jairo‘s ribs as he excitedly raised his voice. She has good moves for a Mage. Mina might be good at hand-to-hand combat too.

“So, um… right! Dragons! Everyone will panic if a dragon comes to town!”

“R-that’s right. A dragon just attacked the town the other day, so if the Golden Dragon, the boss of the dragons, shows up… well, children might get surprised and hurt, right?”

I see, as expected of Norb. Even if the Golden Dragon child is harmless, small children wouldn’t know that. A large creature suddenly appearing in front of them might make them panic and try to run, causing them to fall and get hurt. That kind consideration for the safety of small children—truly worthy of a Priest who seeks to help many people even after becoming an adventurer!

“I understand.”

“You understand, then…”

“Then let’s have it drop us off near town.”

“You don’t understand!!”

“Now, now, hurry up and get on, everyone. Fluffy is already on.” Looking over, Fluffy was already on the Golden Dragon’s head, ready to go.

“But look, we can use Flight Magic…”

“No, that’s not allowed. None of you have experience flying in the night sky, right?”

Yes, flying in the night sky is dangerous.

“The night sky is dark, so there’s a risk of colliding with flying monsters, tall trees, or mountain peaks.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. That’s why night flight is dangerous unless you are an experienced person who has undergone specialized training. More importantly, it’s hard to distinguish the ground from the sky in a dark night sky, so there’s a risk of accidentally crashing into the ground if you speed up too much.”

In my past life, reckless Flight Magic users, known as the “Rogue Flight Gang,” often crashed into the ground and had to be taken to a doctor because of that.

“It’s tough to walk back to town from here, Big Bro.” Jairo grumbled unhappily, looking at the distant town.

“It might be painful to walk back after consecutive battles with dragons…” Meguri, who seemed reluctant to ride the dragon, groaned as she looked at the path back.

“That’s why it’s better to have the Golden Dragon carry us near town.”

“U~~~~~m”

Liliera and Mina furrowed their brows and groaned.

“Um, everyone, how about a compromise? How about having it drop us off a certain distance away from the town?” Norb suggested a compromise.

“W-well, if it’s that far…”

“If it’s a distance where people won’t know we were riding it, maybe…”

With Liliera and everyone finally somewhat convinced, we were finally going to ride the Golden Dragon back.

◆

The glowing Golden Dragon raced through the completely dark night sky.

“Woah! Awesome! It’s super fast!”

“Kyuu kyuu!”

Jairo shouted excitedly, and Fluffy, who was on the Golden Dragon’s head, also chirped happily.

“Gruloow!”

The Golden Dragon also roared happily, praised for its wings. And it flapped its wings, accelerating even more.

“Woah!? It can go even faster!?” Jairo cried out in surprise as the speed increased further.

“Kyu kyuu!?”

“Grul.”

When Fluffy let out a surprised cry, the Golden Dragon smirked and sped up even more.

“Hey, is it okay to go this fast? Isn’t flying at night dangerous?”

“Ah, it’s fine. The Golden Dragon is convenient for night flight because it illuminates the surroundings by shining itself.”

A Golden Dragon that doesn’t need a light, you see.

“Even if it’s a legendary dragon, being called a torch…”

Well, actually, in my previous life, dragons like the Red Dragon, which could provide their own light, were prized as night transport.

“By the way, we’re getting close to town, so shouldn’t we have it drop us off around here?” Liliera asked worriedly, so I signaled the Golden Dragon to land.

“Can you drop us off around here?”

“Gruloow!”

The Golden Dragon roared its affirmation, and its body descended towards the ground. However, although its four feet touched the ground, the Golden Dragon’s body didn’t stop, sliding forward while scraping the ground.

“Wait, is this okay!? It’s sliding!”

Yeah, this is caused by speeding too much.

“Or rather, the town! We’re going to hit the town!!”

Mina pointed to the town ahead and shouted in a panic. Indeed, at this rate, we’ll crash into the defensive wall protecting the town.

“It’s alright. Chain Aerial Cushion!!”

I generated multiple large, vertical air cushions in front and had the Golden Dragon plunge into them. Plunging into the air cushions significantly reduced the Golden Dragon’s speed. However, the force wasn’t enough to stop its massive body, and the Golden Dragon immediately burst through the air cushions. But the Golden Dragon’s body immediately hit the next cushion. By repeatedly colliding with air cushions that provided adequate resistance, the Golden Dragon gradually decelerated without us being flung off its back. And the Golden Dragon successfully stopped its massive body just before the town entrance.

“Yeah, it stopped at a perfect spot.”

The Golden Dragon crouched down, taking a position easy for us to dismount.

“Thank you for the ride.”

When I said that and patted its head, the Golden Dragon purred happily.

“Gruloow.”

“Well, let’s head back to the inn.”

We separated from the seemingly reluctant Golden Dragon and turned towards the town. And inside the town visible from the gate, for some reason, the townspeople were motionless, as if time had stopped.

“Huh? What’s wrong, everyone?”

It wasn’t just the townspeople; even the guards posted outside the gate were frozen. What is this? They’re stiff, as if struck by a Basilisk’s petrifying Evil Eye.

“Um, what’s wrong, guards?”

“…”

But the guards didn’t answer my question at all. Did they really suffer an attack from someone!? Something terrible might have happened while we were away!

“…Go”

Hmm? Did I just hear a voice?

“Go, go, gogo…”

Ah, the old man deep inside the gate spoke.

Good, it seems they weren’t rendered immobile by some attack. But if that’s the case, why aren’t the townspeople moving?

“Golden… Dragon… it’s the Golden Dragon!!”

“W-woaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Following the old man’s words, the townspeople cried out in unison.

“Ah, I knew this would happen.”

“This will be difficult to explain.”

For some reason, Liliera and the others muttered solemnly behind me.

“Everyone is incredibly excited, but are they happy because a valuable Material Dragon came to town?” A single Material Dragon is a fortune, after all.

“No, that’s not it!”

Eh? It’s not?

“It’s the Dragon Emperor! The Dragon Emperor has finally been resurrected!!”

“Eh? What’s that?”

The old man’s sudden words made us inadvertently speak in unison. Um, what? What does that mean? Why is the Dragon Emperor’s name coming up?