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Chapter 485: Getting Involved

『Should I return this black dragon’s manastone to you, too? 』
I asked about the black dragon just to make sure.

The dragon’s jewel probably either got tainted by the black spirit, or perhaps it somehow fused with it. I mean, this manastone is the only jewel-like thing that I got from the black dragon, after all.

『No need. It’s no longer a dragon’s jewel, so no need. 』
I guess the dragon’s reply makes sense. It’d just be trouble if she ended up spawning some sort of monster.

Besides, it seems like she’s only attached to her own child, or should I say she’s obsessed about the dragon’s jewel itself. Once the jewel changed into something else, the dragon completely lost interest — kind of like how she didn’t care about the dead body anymore after getting the gem.

『Won’t fewer dragon’s jewels mean fewer dragons eventually? 』
『A dragon doesn’t only have one jewel. We don’t have only one jewel, but no dragon holds more than one jewel at a time. When my child gains his own consciousness, the jewel separates from me, and I gain a new one. Still, many dragons perish during mating. When the time comes, I too will give my all in deciding my mate. 』

Huh? So when she said, ‘when the time comes’ maybe she’s talking about all dragons in general? Do they fight each other to find the strongest mate they’re going to pair with?

『The victor obtains the dragon’s jewel. The victor obtains the dragon’s jewel of their opponent and lays the egg. 』
『…I see, so that’s how it goes? 』
Dragon marriage rituals sure sound complicated for humans, you know!? Ah, no, maybe it’s actually simple and direct to the point? I’ll ask Hauron about this later.

『There are many kinds, there are many kinds of dragons. Those who live long and gain self-awareness mostly follow this pattern. 』
『Thanks. It’s a relief to know that the population of dragons won’t go down to the point that they’ll just become extinct. 』
During one of my chats with Khan about the state of the country, he made it sound like the dragon population was getting a lot less compared to the past, so I’d been a little worried.

『Wish. Do you have a wish, child of man? 』
『No, I already received this dragon body, so I’m good ー Oh, actually, can you take a peek inside those blue-roofed buildings on the island when you head back? 』
『Blue? 』
Among the orange-tiled roofs of unglazed ceramic, the buildings of the Merchant Guild and Maritime Guild recently switched to colorful glazed tiles. Both are blue now because vibrant blue is trendy and expensive ー all thanks to Soleil. The tiles aren’t super bright, but they really stand out against the orange.

『The big buildings near all the ships. Can you check them out? 』
『Is that all? Is that your only request? 』
『Yep. Just try not to break anything, okay? 』

Gotta make sure the guild folks know they got a little dragon inspection.

『Then I’ll do that, I’ll do as you say. There’s also a reason for this. By an ancient pact, I cannot fly over the northern continent for no reason, but isolated islands are fair game. Here, take one of my scales. If you need me, call. 』
With that, the dragon dropped a scale and flew off toward Nalluahdid.

She’s so fast. Waves rose as she flew by, kinda like how the sea ripples in the wake of a moving ship. I sure hope everything’s fine. Oh, good, no wrecked ships—or should I say it’s like the wind spirit envelops her body and keeps it afloat even at that speed.

Alrighty, now I just hope the guild leaders don’t throw their backs out from shock. Oh well, even if they do, I’ve got healing charms, so it’s fine.

By the way, dragons can’t fly over the mainland where my 『House』 and towns like Canum are huh?

I picked up the dropped scale ー it had a small wind spirit clinging to it. Ah, so that’s how it is, she’ll know I’m calling her through this shell because of this spirit. So even wind spirits have multiplying types, huh?

I 【Teleport】 to the tower, figuring things might be a bit chaotic…. I opened the door.

「Whoa! 」
Soleil’s collapsed figure greeted me as soon as the door opened.

There was a cushion under her head, probably placed there by Faramir, but yeah, she was lying flat on the ground.

Around the tower, the cobblestones are laid out in decorative patterns under the trellises of climbing roses, but the area in front of the storage building is just dirt for the carts. Cobblestones make the wheels slip. Though, we don’t really use carts anymore since we’re hauling more than just firewood and wheat these days.

Forget transporting everything at once, and the stuff absolutely can’t be shaken up ー Soleil’s gonna yell her head off if things weren’t carried by hand.

「So you still made it out alive, huh. What the heck was that! Explain! 」
「MiLord, I had no idea you were acquainted with dragons. 」
Kiel and Auro.

「Uwuwu 」
Soleil.

「I wasn’t, but we just kind of became friends just now. Anyway, I don’t think she’ll be back anytime soon, and it seems like she checked out both the Merchant and Maritime Guilds in Nalluahdid, so… 」
Yup, the dragon didn’t come to this place only, she also dropped by over there, so please direct your queries to that side.

「Uwuwu 」
「…I already sent everyone else away, saying we’d explain later, but they’ve got no clue what’s going on. So, no more sudden dragon visits, right? 」
Kiel asked on Soleil’s behalf because she’s too busy groaning.

「The dragons seem to have their own territories, so yeah, I doubt she’ll come abruptly like that again, I guess. 」
She’ll come if summoned, but she won’t just drop by suddenly. Probably.

「Okay, cheer up, I’ll give you this carved piece. 」
I said, placing the black dragon’s carapace beside Soleil’s head.

「Oh, this is truly remarkable. 」
Auro said, clearly impressed.

「It’s the black dragon’s carapace. The Earthkins did some beautiful carving on it. 」
「Uwuwuuwuwuwuw!! 」

Just when I thought she was rummaging for something without lifting her head and lying completely flat, Soleil reached out, grabbed a blue handkerchief ー it’s actually from our dye shop ー and donned gloves. Gently, she moved the carapace onto the cloth.

『This is too much…』
Then she buried her face in the cushion again.

Guess she’s not getting up anytime soon.