Chapter 7: Dragon

The dragon that charged at me probably never imagined that a scrawny kid like me could block its attack.

Even after being repelled once, it charged again. And again. Over and over.

And each time, my cheat ability bounced it back.

“If you want to defeat me, you’ll need to be ten times stronger.”

Even with my cheat ability, having a massive dragon repeatedly lunge at me was terrifying.

I was so scared my heart felt like it was going to explode, so I deliberately goaded the dragon to hide my fear.

“A-Ao, were you always this strong…? As expected of a hero.”

Behind me, Liluria had collapsed in fear, staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Damn it. Here I am barely holding myself together, and she’s just letting her legs go limp on her own!

The dragon finally seemed to realize that its attacks weren’t working on me and ceased its assault.

Then, it slowly opened its mouth.

『Small one. Why is it that you can speak the language of my kind?』

…The dragon spoke!?

Sure, dragons talking is a common trope in stories, but hearing it in real life was downright bizarre.

“Is it… talking to us?”

However, Liluria didn’t seem to understand a word the dragon was saying.

She tilted her head, repeating the sounds in confusion.

“Gya? Gyoa? Gyaooon?”

…Yeah, that probably isn’t getting anywhere.

But why could I understand the dragon’s language while Liluria couldn’t?

Could it be… that some hidden power within me had awakened?

Maybe in my past life, I was actually a legendary dragon!

—…Wait. That’s not it!

I had completely forgotten that the mysterious person had given me something before—a cheat ability that lets me understand languages!

Come to think of it, that was definitely a cheat too.

So that’s why I could naturally understand and speak the dragon’s language.

Knowing it was just my cheat ability at work, I felt a mix of understanding and… a touch of disappointment.

“I was taught your language by someone.”

…Well, more like it was implanted in me rather than actually taught.

That “someone” was, of course, the mysterious figure.

They were strange, too.

I never saw their face, but everything they did was practically godlike.

『Hmm… It has been 500 years since a human has spoken our tongue. Normally, the structure of your kind’s vocal cords is so different from ours that even producing these sounds should be impossible. I do not know who taught you, but our Elders have decreed: if we ever encounter an outsider who speaks our language, we must bring them to our village. Small one, from this moment forth, I shall take you to our home.』

…They’re taking me to their village!?

Oh, come on, give me a break.

I’m already terrified just talking to you alone!

And now you want to drag me to where all your kind live? Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?

“Sorry, but I’ve got something else to take care of right now. Once I’m done, I’ll be sure to drop by.”

…That was a lie.

I had no other business.

And I definitely had no intention of visiting a dragon village.

All I wanted was to live a peaceful, lazy NEET life.

『I see, that can’t be helped. Then, so be it. Here, take one of my scales. With this in hand, when you visit our village, you’ll be granted entry without any trouble.』

With that, the dragon snapped off one of its scales with a crack and dropped it right before my eyes.

“I see. Thanks. Then I’ll drop by sometime.”

Dragons are basically the embodiment of longevity. For them, “sometime” probably means several hundred years from now—and by then, I’ll already be dead of old age.

So even if I conveniently “forget” to visit the village, there won’t be any problems at all.

“By the way, why did you attack us?”

The only reason I even ended up fighting monsters and having this conversation with a dragon is because this very dragon attacked us in the first place.

But would a dragon this intelligent really attack people for no reason?

Thinking there must be something more to it, I asked.

『Hmph, I simply sensed the presence of someone strong. My kind loves strength. We seek to fight the strong and, if possible, bear their offspring.』

…What kind of reason is that?

So we were nearly wiped out for something like that?

I mean, I can maybe understand wanting to fight strong opponents, but what’s this about bearing children?

Are you in heat or something?

“So, how did she do? Looked like she put up a decent fight.”

I pointed at the gal adventurer, who was standing off to the side with a dumbfounded expression.

It seems that when she saw the dragon and me stop fighting and start talking, she abandoned whatever “big move” she had been preparing.

『Hmm, she was quite impressive. If it were her, I wouldn’t mind bearing her child.』

Oh! That’s quite the high praise.

The gal adventurer should be thrilled to have a dragon acknowledge her strength.

I’ll definitely make sure to let her know.

But… she’s a girl, right?

How does that even work?

“Wait, are you female? Or can male dragons also bear children?”

『Hah! We dragons are not bound by such weak concepts as gender. Any of us can bear children if we so desire. …Hmm, in that sense, you could say we are all female.』

Huh.

I guess dragons really are built different.

“Hey, Ao! Stop hogging the conversation and translate for me! And what the hell is going on—how can you even talk to a dragon?!”

Liluria, who had been cowering behind me this whole time, finally managed to speak.

She grabbed my shoulder and shook me violently, demanding an explanation.

“Yeah! I wanna know too! I can understand you, but I have no idea what the dragon’s saying!”

The gal adventurer, still wary, cautiously approached us.

So from their perspective, it looks like my words are understood by both dragons and humans alike.

As expected of a cheat ability—totally overpowered.

“To sum it up, the dragon’s in love with your strength and wants to have your baby.”

I casually relayed the message.

“Ch—C-Child!?”

“Yeah, apparently, even though she seems female, she can still bear children, so you don’t have to worry about that part.”

“Sh-She’s a girl too!? W-Wait! I’ve never even had a boyfriend, and now I’m suddenly getting a proposal…?! From a dragon?!”

It seems the gal adventurer is struggling to process this sudden turn of events.

“And what about me? Didn’t the dragon say anything to me? Like, ‘I’m captivated by your beauty. Here, take this treasure.’”

Does a dragon even understand human beauty?

Even if it does, I doubt it’d just randomly hand over treasure.

“Nope, nothing in particular.”

“Whaaaaat!? Grrr! I wanted dragon treasure!”

Just a moment ago, she was terrified of this dragon, and now she’s throwing a fit over treasure?

Girls sure are strong.

『Well, I have had my battle with a strong warrior, and I am satisfied. I shall return to my village. Small one, do not forget to visit. …Oh, and tell that strong one over there—if she ever wishes to bear my child, she should come with you to our village.』

With that, the dragon took off into the sky.

“Do not forget to visit the village.”

Yeah, no. I’ll just erase this entire event from my memory.

When you really think about it, this whole thing makes no sense.

Chatting with a dragon? Getting invited to its village?

This has to be a dream. Or maybe a hallucination.

If this ever turns into a real problem, I’ll deal with it then.

Future me can handle it.

I turned to the two still staring blankly at the sky where the dragon had disappeared.

“Shall we head back to the carriage? With all these interruptions, we haven’t made any progress since we left.”

“‘Don’t just brush off a dragon attack like that!’”