“Look, I’m right,” Randolph spoke grumpily as he checked his mithril alloy breastplate, gauntlets, leggings, and falchions. He was fully armed as they were facing an opponent who the death knight couldn’t even compare to.
“First a warlock and now a dragon… When I’m with Young Master, I can meet all types of existences.”
Theo grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
Randolph grinned back. “You don’t have to apologize. As I said before, this is my choice, and I’ve always wanted to see a dragon at least once.”
Facing death always pushed a warrior to his limits, and Randolph knew that anyone who turned away from that wasn’t qualified to be a master.
Three days had passed, and it was time to visit Aquilo. The duo had desperately prepared countermeasures for her. They had armed themselves with the highest level of equipment on the island, as well as magic scrolls and consumables.
However, Theo’s brilliant mind was well aware of the odds.
We would be lucky if we had even a one in ten chance of beating her.
Despite everything the two people had done, their odds of victory didn’t exceed 1%. Gluttony had given him information about Dragon Words and prepared a secret destruction word, but there was no guarantee it would work properly.
If possible, it was best to avoid a fight. Theo gulped as he finished checking his own gear. 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎
“Well, don’t be too nervous.” At that moment, Randolph jostled him and said, “Isn’t a dragon famous for its fickleness? There is no point worrying about things with no answers. So, just think about it after we meet her.”
“… Surprisingly, you can sometimes say good words.”
“What are you talking about?!” Randolph demanded.
The bickering soothed Theo’s anxiety. The sea dragon was known for her unpredictable nature, so it was impossible to guess what would happen. He had been preparing for three days, so all that was left was to face her.
Theo opened his mouth with a faint smile. “Then let’s see what happens.”
Randolph laughed at his aggressive words. “Okay, let’s go!”
The two men left the inn filled with determination.
***
The Sea God Festival was a festival held once a year in the Pirate Archipelago. Even the rulers who separated the islands into four zones didn’t dare set a date for it, and Theo quickly guessed the reason.
It is probably at Aquilo’s whim.
The four rulers were just a smokescreen. The true owner of the Pirate Archipelago was Sea Dragon Aquilo, and the four rulers were just the lucky peasants who managed the islands according to her commands. It was just a guess, but there was a good chance that the four rulers only found out about this Sea God Festival three days ago. She had just come up with a convenient place to lure Theo to after talking to him.
He was convinced after seeing the Archipelago’s chaotic marina.
“Hey! You bastard, where are you looking?”
“Don’t make such a fuss when I am looking straight ahead!”
“What? Do you want to fight here?”
People were arguing, sometimes to the point of blows, as they crowded into the narrow marina. Unlike the other islands, the center of the Pirate Archipelago where the Sea God festival would take place wasn’t accessible by bridge. So everyone had to find a boat to take them, and naturally, there weren’t enough boats for everyone.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Theo and Randolph didn’t need to take part in the struggle for boats.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Theo.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, Randolph.”
As others fought for a spot, two people emerged from amongst them and approached Theo and Randolph. The boat behind them was decorated with a gold hull, and the flag that flew on its mat depicted a dragon on a black background, the symbol of the Pirate Archipelago. It was a privilege which couldn’t be enjoyed by normal executives or people from neighboring kingdoms.
And it’s not like I can choose not to ride it.
Theo’s eyebrow rose as he climbed onto the boat. He hadn’t wanted to attract any more attention to himself, but he had already realized what a bad idea it was to oppose Aquilo. Randolph followed the boatman into an adjacent boat. Once they pushed off, the current quickly dragged them along. The boatmen barely had to move their oars to send the gold boats gliding through the water.
Chwaaak!Chwaaak!
It wasn’t just the boats, the boatmen were also considerably more skilled than their counterparts on the other boats.
No, to be accurate, it isn’t normal.
Theo took a closer look at the boatmen and realized that their eyes were glowing faintly blue. They were being controlled by Aquilo’s Dragon Fear. In addition to that, it also looked like they possessed the divine blessing, so it was natural that they excelled. The most damning proof of Aquilo’s control was probably the casual use of Theo’s and Randolph’s real names.
After a while, hundreds of boats gradually clustered around the central island. Theo and Randolph gulped as they saw the altar of sacrifice to the sea god.
“T-This…!”
“… Amazing.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say there was a mountain of gold piled up in front of the altar. Gold coins, jewels, trinkets, weapons, and even food that could be eaten year round were stacked like a pile of autumn leaves.
The boatmen spoke at the same time.
“The Sea God Festival refers to the day once every year, when half the goods in the Pirate Archipelago are offered to the sea god. The greater the offerings, the better the blessing.”
Randolph stuttered, “W-What?”
“… Once a year.” Theo’s eyes flicked between the pile of gold and the boatmen. “Then how many years has the Sea God Festival been held?”
“Including this year, fifty-two times.”
Both Theo and Randolph couldn’t keep the disbelief from their faces. If this had been going on for half a century, how much gold and treasures were piled up in Aquilo’s lair? There was a reason why dragon slayers made their fortunes overnight. Some dragons liked to receive tributes like Aquilo, while others would simply plunder them. But most dragons enjoyed decorating their lairs with rare pieces.
One million gold? Ten million gold? Maybe there was a hundred million gold inside the lair. Theo had no desire for riches, but even he felt his breath hitching. There was a reason kingdoms bankrupted themselves to hunt a dragon.
Human greed has no end, and they always repeat the same mistakes.
Theo sighed as he saw the greed in the eyes of the crowd. Maybe this was Aquilo’s intention. For a dragon who loved blood and destruction, this was enough to administer punishment.
Waaaaaah-!
The Sea God Festival started with the tribute. Nearly naked dancers shimmied and spun in front of the gold, silver, and treasures, while the spectators cheered them on. The combination of gold, alcohol, and naked beauty was enough to seduce any male eye.
Only Theo seemed unconcerned as he scanned the crowd. It didn’t take long for the voice he was waiting for to reach his ear.
[Ah, I’m bored. It has been decades since I started this, so I’m becoming bored.]
The voice appeared directly in Theo’s mind. It was a sweet poison which melted his senses like when he first heard it.
“… Aquilo.”
[Can you relieve my boredom?]
Theo’s boat started to slowly change directions as only the current flowing around Theo’s ship moved in the other direction. The movement was so natural that Randolph didn’t realize that Theo was moving away.
Theo couldn’t feel any magic power, so it must be the inherent power of a dragon who controlled natural phenomena.
Theo didn’t resist as he asked, “Didn’t you ask me to come with my companion?”
[It doesn’t matter if you want to come together, but I might feel a little worse.]
“… I will go alone.”
He’d expected something similar, so he decided to go along with it. His aim was to avoid a fight, and he didn’t want to drag Randolph into this. Anyway, there was nothing to lose in trying to hold a conversation first, until Aquilo changed her mind.
Chwaaaaak!
Theo’s boat was pulled through a crack in the cliff. The water was gradually getting shallower until the boat ran aground.
The boatman put down the oars and pointed inside the cave. “Enter.”
Theo stepped off the boat silently.
Um, this scent?
A curious scent coming from the cave tickled his nose, but it wasn’t toxic. Theo calmly walked inside while clearing the scent with magic. Stalactites grew everywhere, almost like a natural cave. However, the torches protruding from the wall at regular intervals were clearly unnatural.
I’m getting closer to the source of the scent. Ten more steps…
Theo took one more step forward, convinced that he was nearly on top of the origin of the scent.
Chill.
His foot touched the ground, and his five senses started screaming. Death. There were no gaps to escape. He didn’t know what attack was coming, but Theodore Miller would die here.
Even with his nerves sharpened to the extreme, he didn’t even see the attack coming. It was miniscule, similar in size to a grain seed. It was like Alfred’s Magic Bullet, but it wasn’t a magic projectile.
Puk!
It punched straight through Theo and continued. There was so much power packed into it that it only stopped after penetrating halfway through a stone wall that was tens of meters thick. It wasn’t a power which could be defeated by 6th Circle defense magic.
However, Theo survived that blow.
Was that… a water droplet shot at ultra-high pressure?
Theo’s neck was sweating as he barely escaped the crisis. He didn’t even realize how he’d survived until he saw Umbra shining on his right arm. If he hadn’t instinctively activated Fluidization, the water droplet would’ve bored a hole straight through his skull.
He might’ve been able to react faster if the water bullet had been accompanied by aura or magic power, but this had been a purely physical attack. In some ways, it was the superiority of a dragon.
Theo breathed out and glared into the dark room beyond. It was definitely the source of the strange fragrance, which also contained the one who shot the water droplet at him.
“Ara, you survived?”
The sultry voice filled Theo’s ears. Theo barely managed to ignore the instinct which was telling him to bow his head and lick this woman’s feet.
“… Can I ask for the meaning of that attack?” Theo’s blue eyes shone as he prepared to rip his teleport scroll.
However, Aquilo replied to Theo’s question in a voice of deep boredom, with absolutely no hostility felt at all. “It isn’t a big deal. I just wanted to see what would happen.”
“Like this? A surprise attack?”
“No. I wanted to see if you would survive or die. You did very well avoiding it. I honestly didn’t think you could avoid it, so you’re more interesting than I thought.” Aquilo snapped her fingers.
Clack!
The torches around the room lit up, revealing Aquilo lazily lying in the center of the room.
“Uh!” Simultaneously, Theo’s body stiffened.
With hair as blue as seawater, fluorescent eyes which glowed with a bewitching light, two horns which sprouted from between the blue hair, and gorgeous white shoulders which were exposed by the luxurious cloak… Any man would feel a surge of lust, including Theo.
He had met beautiful women before, but none of them seemed to overflow with sensuality like her. Aquilo was stunning, even with her chest and lower body covered by the long cloak. Even the extravagant gold accessories, which might seem tacky on any other woman, were nothing but subtle decorations for her.
As she held a strange looking pipe in her mouth, Aquilo examined Theo with gently curved eyes.
“Now, let’s start the story.”