Chapter 113

Softhearted Phoenix Dragon

A few hours after departing from Pottery City Ceramics, Gise stood up from his horse’s saddle and saw a large black dot on the eastern horizon right before they were about to take a break for lunch.

“Something is coming this way!”

Following Gise’s warning, the Braves reigned in their horses and hid in the shade of some nearby rocks.

“Gray, over there!”

Gise pointed to where he had seen the black dot earlier, only now that black dot had become larger, taking the shape of a bird as it got closer. And it was coming close at a rapid rate.

“Dams, Peach, Cliff, hide with the horses! Gise, take a position over near those rocks and observe the situation. Worst case scenario we will intercept it!”

Everyone moved per Gray’s orders. Dams and the other two idiots stayed where they were, watching the horses and not getting in the way while Gise moved ahead acting as Gray’s eyes and ears.

The shadow continued to get larger as time passed, and soon the once black dot became a magnificent crimson bird. The Hero and thief both narrowed their eyes and became even more on-edge after confirming their target’s presence.

As the crimson bird got close, it began to slow itself until finally landing right in front of where the Braves were hiding. Upon closer inspection, the creature did resemble a combination of a dragon and a bird. Its head was clearly that of a dragon, but the body was that of a plump bird. The same could be said for its wings, but it did look like there were claws at the wings’ tips. The legs were exactly like a birds, and its whole body was dyed in crimson.

The Hero and thief observed it while still remaining in the cover of the rocks. The Hero stood in front of the thief, christening himself as a human shield while the thief used all his senses to distinguish the creature’s characteristics in case a fight breaks out.

Then suddenly, a voice spoke directly into each of their consciousnesses.

“Hey you over there, are you the Hero? Sorry if I’m mistaken.”

Gray and Gise shared a look, trying to communicate on what they should do next without saying anything, but before they could come to a consensus, Dams started shouting loudly.

“Ah, we are the party that follows the Hero!”

“That idiot!” Gray and Gise broke their silence at the same time, but they were at least able to regain their senses in time to not jump out and resumed their wait and see approach.

But then the voice began talking directly into their consciousness again.

“Ah yeah I thought that was the case. You guys hiding over by the rocks, I’m not a monster here to attack you. I have only one reason for coming out to you like this. I am not under the influence of the Demon Lord, so I would like to ask you to leave me alone.”

The crimson bird’s words disquieted the party, and Gray finally came out of his hiding place to stand before it.

“Are you perhaps a dragon?”

“Yes is there something wrong with that?”

“Why would you say what you said?”

“The Demon Lord has already started to move, but I don’t want to cooperate with him. You neither to be honest. I’d like to remain neutral.”

Gray was taken aback even more by the dragon’s opinion. But when his mind started to race and he began wondering what he was supposed to do, Gise came up to his side and whispered the King’s command into his ear.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. More than that! Please form a contract with us and become a Guardian Dragon!”

“What’s a Guardian Dragon?”

“Making a contract with a Dragon Maiden, we need you to become a guardian and protect the capitol Skycastle!”

This time it was the crimson dragon’s turn to be surprised. How did these humans know about the existence of Dragon Maidens?

“Where did you hear this story on Dragon Maidens Hero?”

“In a city to the west called Warren, the Land Dragon has already formed a contract and become the Guardian Dragon of there.”

This surprised the crimson dragon even more. A qualified person capable of forming a contract with a dragon was rare in this day and age. And to think they had made a contract with the Land Dragon, someone famous among even dragons for being extremely hard-headed.

“If what you speak is true, then bring forward a qualified person to me Hero.”

At the crimson dragon’s words Peach stepped out from behind the rocks and came forward.

“Crimson dragon. I will sign up with you.”

The dragon only had to take a glance at Peach before snorting and turning his head back on Gray.

“Hmph. You’re lying Hero. In what world is this decayed woman qualified?”

Being insulted like she wasn’t even there, Peach’s face turned red, but the dragon’s attention was focused squarely on the Hero as he began to speak once again.

“I will not attack you, nor will I oppose the Demon Lord. That should be fine.”

“Well then you better become a Guardian Dragon!” Dams started bellowing from his position behind the rock before yelling, “Gray, hold him down for now!”

Ever since his time as a farmer, Gray had a habit of impulsively following orders without thinking. So the instant that Dams tried to take charge and started yelling orders, Gray grabbed hold of the dragon’s foot with both his arms to prevent it from flying away.

“Please wait! At least try to perform the ritual!”

“What are you, stupid? I can’t form a contract with her, so let me go!”

The dragon had become truly disgusted with the people in front of him and tried his hardest to leave that place. But Gray was holding him down to the ground with all his strength, easily regaining every inch of progress the dragon made towards freedom.

“Please wait!”

However after one successful yank from Gray, he was able to completely counter the dragon’s attempt at flight, and the crimson dragon was swung like a bat into the hard ground. The dragon’s mind was a mixture of pain and confusion, unaware of what had just happened. But then he saw Peach in front of him. She declared to the dragon and for the whole world to hear.

“Your name from now on is ‘Gorgeous Peach’s Dragon,”

and then a kiss sealed the contract.

“Stop it! Please don’t!”

Ignoring the crimson dragon’s screams, Peach kissed the dragon’s nose without any hesitation.

And then………

*Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeegh………..*

A stream of ectoplasm started spewing from the dragon’s mouth before his eyes turned to the back of his head, and he fainted.

………….

“Peach, did the presence of the dragon carve itself into your mind?”

“No, nothing’s changed.”

Peach bitterly replied to Gise’s question. Even if you had no idea what the contract was supposed to be for you would know that it had just failed.

………….

“Perhaps your information that dragons prefer mature women was possibly incorrect?”

Gray brought up the possibility to Gise, but before he had even said anything, Gise had already realized that the only evidence he had to go by for that statement was his impression that the Land Dragon saw Aiful favorably. And even that impression was probably not reliable considering his own feelings.

“A young woman……?”¹

“Anyway, while the dragon’s still stunned let’s head back to Ceramics. We can grab a girl from town and have her perform the contract!”

Gise was becoming depressed as he realized his blunder, but Cliff had little interest in that. He just didn’t want to let this gold-making opportunity go.

“Yes, let’s restrain the dragon here so he can’t get away. We’ll grab a girl from Ceramics, but we should also consult the lord first before we come back.”

Grabbing some magical rope that they kept in their bags, the Braves got to work tying the dragon down to the ground making it impossible for him to move. Gray and Gise prepared to head back, and anticipating the fact that they might require additional materials depending on how the situation progressed, Cliff came as well to talk with the Merchant Guild. Dams and Peach decided to stay behind and do guard duty.

“All right. Securing the dragon will be our top priority for now.”

Leaving behind an unsatisfied Peach and bored Dams, Gray returned to the city on horseback.

Ellis’s group was informed about the dragon’s discovery after Su-chan spotted him, but seeing that it was on its way to meet with the Braves, he continued to keep his distance and watched their exchange instead of intercepting.

Although it was impossible for them to hear what they were saying, when the crimson dragon started spewing ectoplasm from his mouth, all three of the dragons immediately started giving him their sympathy without fail.

“That’s too bad.”

“It comes out my nose for me.”

“I honestly just wanted to die the last time it happened to me.”

The dragon looked like it had passed out, and soon after, the Hero, the thief, and one other person turned around and headed back to the city. The only two people left were the big oaf and the self-proclaimed diva.

“Hey Ellis, if it’s just those two, you and I could manage to put them to sleep.”

“Alright Claire. Let’s take care of those two and then negotiate with the dragon.”

Ellis let Claire take the lead in sneaking up on their two targets. Ellis took care of using Sleep on Dams while Claire used it on Peach. They collapsed in a heap right on the spot. Ellison did the dirty work of dragging them behind some nearby rocks.

“They sure did some terrible things to you.”

While stroking the fainted dragon’s head, Frau scowled while looking at the magical ropes that tied him down.

“Now, how do we wake you up.”

“Just leave it to me!”

Cassius took a step forward here. As he walked up along the crimson dragon’s throat, he began plucking a few feathers here and there. About halfway up its neck, Cassius found what he was looking for and gave the poor bird a few pats.

“Urya! Ultimate Uppercut!”

“Hya!”

The crimson dragon woke up with an ear-shattering scream. That was how Ellis and the others were able to meet the Phoenix Dragon.

Ellis took a stance before the dragon’s eyes who was still currently unable to move.

“Hey, what were you talking about with the Hero earlier? And why do your eyes look so terrible?”

The gentleness of the girl in front of him allowed the crimson dragon to calm himself. The feelings of fear and helplessness he had been driven in to were slowly melting away, and so he told her everything that had happened with the Hero.

And so Ellis asked

“Are you going to be seeking revenge on the Hero who did that to you?”

The Phoenix Dragon didn’t have an answer to this.

“Then are you going to join the Demon Lord’s faction and plan on taking over this continent?”

The Phoenix Dragon didn’t have an answer to this either.

“Then how about teaming up with us and harassing both the Hero and the Demon Lord?”

The Phoenix Dragon didn’t have an answer to this either, but for very different reasons. He never thought he’d receive an alternative offer. Then in front of the dragon, two new women and three men stepped forward.

Men? There was something off about these men. A fact that became even more apparent when they started to glow.

“Look! Behold my lovely style!”

“This is my cute style!”

“My pretty style is supreme!”

In front of the Phoenix Dragon, each of the dragons shed their human forms with a victorious cry. Unfortunately they made the mistake of taking their mini forms, so their big reveal wasn’t as dramatic as it might have been. They eventually did retake their normal dragon forms, but Ellis was starting to think she should have a talk with these guys. On behalf of the dragons though, Rchin took a step forward and pressed the invitation.

“How about it Phoenix Dragon? Won’t you come play with us?”

“I don’t have a Dragon Maiden.”

“Can’t I help with that?”

It was Frau who stepped in front of the Phoenix Dragon this time.

The Phoenix Dragon locked his eyes on her. He smelled her to find out if she was indeed worthy, but even more importantly, he thought that he recognized that smell. And then he remembered. This was the woman who had helped free him.

“If you form a contract with me, you will never be able to love a man. Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t care.”

The Phoenix Dragon stared into the Crimson Beauty’s eyes. And then, he closed them.

“Name, and then give me a kiss…..”

“Your name will be Fe-rin……”

And then Frau placed a kiss on the Phoenix Dragon. There was a flash of light, and like that, Fe-rin’s presence became ingrained in Frau’s consciousness.

“We’ve made a contract, so let’s completely free you from this!”

Ellis taught Frau how to properly use {Permission Size Change} to alter the size of Fe-rin’s body. With that, he was able to work his way out from under the magic ropes and freed himself from their spell. Fe-rin then worked his way up Frau’s should, hiding himself underneath her hair.

“All right, then let’s return to the Magical City right away!”

In accordance with Ellis’s instructions, each party member began making their preparations, and after half a day’s rest, they all got ready to leave.

A few minutes later, Gray and the other two returned to that spot finding Dams and Peach peacefully slumbering in the dirt.