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Volume 9 Chapter 245

Ryuushin’s Intentions

The following day, as the Magic Academy was still on break, I brought Hinata and the villagers to the cave of the wicked dragon.
It was to collect the remains of the villagers slain by the wicked dragon.
Presumably, Hinata’s parents’ bones were also here. I heard about her parents from her yesterday.
As it was the cave where a dragon tainted by evil resided, monsters would frequently spawn until it was cleansed.
Waiting for natural purification would take hundreds of years.
Furthermore, due to the influence of the magic of the wicked dragon, which was originally an elemental dragon, monsters of up to Rank B were appearing.
There were no residents in Hinata’s village capable of defeating Rank B monsters.
So, while staying in the village, I decided to help with the collection of remains as much as possible.
I had brought about twenty villagers, including Hinata, but it seemed impossible to carry out all the remains of hundreds of people in one day.
However, bringing more than twenty people would make it difficult to protect them from monsters.
Although I didn’t want to bring Hinata because it was dangerous, she insisted on coming with me, so she had come this far under the condition of not leaving my side.
All the clothing on the bodies had been worn out by the wicked dragon’s miasma, and it was impossible to identify whose remains were whose.
So, all we could do was carry out all the remains and give them proper rites.
When the villagers saw the piles of bones, they were speechless.
Fewer shed tears at the sight of the dreadful scene.
Afterward, everyone started working in silence.
While we were working—
「V-Village chief! Ryuushin-sama! S-Something terrible has happened!!」
A villager from Hinata’s village ran into the cave.
She was the girl who had brought me food several times during last night’s banquet.
She had been shuttling between the deepest part of the cave and the entrance, carrying out remains, and happened to come outside at that moment.
「What’s wrong? Why are you so flustered?」
「Did something happen?」
「T-The extermination party, the dragon extermination party is coming here!」
The breathless girl blurted out.
「Extermination party? But I already defeated the wicked dragon, didn’t I?」
「That’s why it’s bad! People from outside our village went ahead and requested the Adventurer’s Guild for the extermination of the wicked dragon!」
「W-What!?」
The village chief’s expression changed.
「What’s wrong with that? Since the dragon is already gone, they should just go back as soon as possible」
「Well……」
「Ryuushin-sama, when requesting assistance from the Adventurer’s Guild, a deposit is required at that time. And since the request is for wicked dragon extermination… an enormous amount of funds will be required」
The village chief explained.
Hinata’s village and the surrounding four villages had long operated as a single community. When powerful monsters appeared, the five villages pooled their funds to hire adventurers for extermination.
This agreement of the community was still valid to this day as an ancient contract.
Since they were contracted using a magical contract, it was impossible to disregard the agreement.
Even if Hinata’s village claimed not to have requested dragon extermination from the Adventurer’s Guild, they would still have to pay the deposit. It could easily be imagined that the cost of gathering formidable individuals capable of defeating a dragon, even if the extermination reward was waived, would be exorbitantly high.
「Worse, our village has hardly any funds. All we have is—」
The village chief looked awkwardly at Hinata and the girl who had run to us.
Could it be……?
「In our village, we have a higher number of young girls compared to other villages. We’ve been told that, instead of financial aid, other villages have been demanding girls…… In the worst-case scenario, we’ll have no choice but to marry them off」
Of course, the village chiefs also plan to work, but the amount they can earn from that is questionable.
Most of the young people who could earn through physical labor had been devoured by the wicked dragon.
Hinata, in particular, was said to be popular among men from other villages, and if she were to be married off, a considerable amount of money would be provided as assistance.
Hinata had a very gloomy expression.
Don’t be ridiculous!
There’s no way I’d allow something like selling off the girl I have chosen!
I saved her from being killed by the wicked dragon, didn’t I!?
「…..Hey」
「Y-Yes, Ryuushin-sama, what is it?」
I spoke to the girl who had come to inform us of the approaching extermination party.
「Do you know how many people are in the extermination party?」
「U-Um, I saw three people. Probably, it’s a reconnaissance unit, grandma told me」
It seemed that the reconnaissance unit was guided by the men from the four villages and heading towards us.
The girl who informed us knew the shortcut from Hinata’s village to this cave.
Although it was farther from Hinata’s village to this cave than from any other village, using that shortcut would allow us to arrive the fastest.
Thanks to that, I had a little time to think.
「Thanks for letting me know. I’ll figure something out from here」
While saying that, I gently patted the girl’s head.
「Ryuushin-sama, what do you intend to do?」
「I’ll tell the reconnaissance team that I’ve already defeated the wicked dragon. Then, I’ll declare Hinata’s village to be under my control」
There is no way that I can recover the funds from the village under the control of the Black Dragon without going through me.
「W-Won’t Ryuushin-sama be attacked by the extermination party!?」
Hinata expressed her concern.
That made me incredibly happy.
「It’s okay. I’m really strong. You saw that, didn’t you, Hinata?」
Right now, with this appearance, I could defeat the wicked dragon with just a punch thrown as a feint.
Even if forces capable of defeating the wicked dragon were to arrive, I didn’t feel like I would lose.
And besides—
「If I appear like this I’m sure the extermination team will run away」
I turned into a Black Dragon.
「Oh!」
「T-This is… …so fierce」
「……Cool」
「Ryuushin-sama, a-amazing!」
Cheers erupted from Hinata, the village chief, and the villagers around me.
It felt really good.
When I’m with Haruto, no one would be impressed even if I turned into a black dragon.
Being praised like this really boosts my spirits.
「Everyone, hide inside the cave. I might just intimidate them a bit, just in case」
I wanted to show Hinata a bit of my strength.
Even if it might not be necessary, I’ll scare the hell out of the extermination team with my roar.
「B-be careful…… Ryuushin-sama, okay?」
「Yeah. Don’t worry」
I would do anything to protect Hinata, even if it meant being a little reckless.
But well, I should be fine.
No one can beat me now that I’ve become a black dragon.
There are some exceptions, but they’re monsters, not humans.
By the way, those monsters aren’t adventurers, so there’s no reason for them to come here as part of the extermination party.
So it’ll be fine.
Hinata and the village chiefs hid near the entrance of the cave.
Monsters won’t come near the entrance, and just in case, I’ve instructed the shadow dragons to be vigilant of the surroundings.
Now, extermination party, come if you dare!!
「Haruto-sama, isn’t that—」
「Yeah. There’s no mistaking it」
—-Huh!? W-Why!?
The monster that could easily beat me, a black dragon, with just its bare hands, was walking towards me.