Thump, thump!
Two ancient dragons landed in front of Crimson Vow and the wolves, who were waiting outside the cave.
It seemed they were flying quite low, perhaps to avoid causing a commotion among the humans.
When the ancient dragon came over the forest, they had intended to either fire a fireball or ask the nanomachines to let them know of their location, but for some reason they flew straight towards them without any hesitation, so they ended up not having to do anything.
And for some reason, the wolves didn't seem too perturbed.
Normally, monsters and animals would panic and run for their lives if an ancient dragon suddenly landed in front of them, but...
"...Are they using some kind of exploration magic?" (Mile)
Mile wondered, but since it was something she had thought of, it was not surprising that an ancient dragon, who was smarter than humans, had a magic authority level of at least 2, and had lived a long life, could come up with such a spell.
Then, the slightly larger of the two - presumably the more important one - spoke to Mile.
"YOU MUST BE MILE. ACCORDING TO KRAGON-DONO, YOU FOLLOWED THE CREATOR'S ORDERS, SO I'M WILLING TO GRANT YOUR REQUEST. …BUT IN EXCHANGE…"
"In exchange?" (Mile)
"CARVE ORNAMENTS ON MY CLAWS AND HORNS..."
"Even you too?! Is that what you came here?!" (All CV)
Unlike the ancient dragons of the Old Continent, this ancient dragon did not raise Mile to an extreme level.
That's not surprising.
The ancient dragons of the Old Continent had seen Mile's strength with their own eyes, and Mile had become their driving force in fulfilling the mission given to them by their creator... and he had proven himself to be an apostle of God in front of everyone.
In response to this Ancient Dragon, Mile, a young girl who was an emissary of a clan from another continent, spoke passionately and explained the situation to him. No matter how you looked at it, she was just inferior creatures (a human) who had been forced to listen to some nonsense that seemed completely insane.
Therefore, she hadn't thought that he, an ancient dragon, should act subserviently, let alone show any consideration or respect.
...Yes, Mile was just a pet creature that the other clans had taken a liking to for some reason, and so the members of the clan half-jokingly bestowed on her the title of "honorary ancient dragon" so that he would be able to act freely among her own kind (humans) without being harmed, and told the lesser creatures as well to "Respect her, she fought alongside us ancient dragons"...
But the young messenger's horns and claws.
...Well, how cool!
And the young man said, "I'm too popular with the ladies, it's a problem," and although he pretended to be troubled, he was clearly proud with that playful, smug look on his face.
It seemed that this ancient dragon was unable to ignore what he was saying.
And in fact, the females were in a frenzy at the sight of the youngster's horns and claws.
There was no way he could miss such an opportunity.
...Of course.
"I understand, if that's the case, I'll accept it. …Um, is he too?" (Mile)
Mile said as he turned towards the slightly smaller ancient dragon. The larger one thought for a moment before speaking.
"...YES, YOU SHOULD CARVE HIM TOO."
For a moment, the idea crossed his mind that he could be the only one to get tattooed and monopolize all the popularity with the women, but it turned out he wasn't that narrow-minded.
Well, since he used her as his attendant, he probably treated her as a favorite.
This kind of consideration would surely help to increase the loyalty of your subordinates.
"I understand. Now, regarding the matter I asked you..." (Mile)
"YES. ZALM WILL HANDLE THAT."
Apparently, he left the menial tasks to the lower ranks.
Well, that was only natural. That's probably why he brought his subordinates along...
And, hearing the words of the larger one, the smaller one stepped forward... Zalm.
"IT'S ZALM. I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO ACT AS AN INTERPRETER FOR SILVA AND THE OTHERS?"
"...Ah, yes, nice to meet you... Wait, Silva and the others? Is that the name of the species of these wolves, this 'Silva'..." (Mile)
Zalm explained to Mile and her group, who had question marks floating above their heads.
"THAT WHITE ONE OVER THERE IS SILVA."
"……eh?"
"Huh?"
"Whaaaaaaat?!" (All CV)
"How, how do you know the names of these wolves, Zalm-san?!" (Mile)
Mile was confused and upset, but...
"AH, NO, IT’S NOT THE NAME OF AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT THE NAME OF THE LEADER OF THIS PACK, OR MAYBE THE TITLE OF THEIR POSITION… ANYWAY, THAT’S WHAT WE CALL SOMEONE IN A REPRESENTATIVE POSITION.
THE CURRENT GENERATION SEEMS TO STILL BE IN THEIR JUVENILE STAGES. PERHAPS THEIR PARENTS DIED YOUNG..."
"No, it's the same thing! How did you know that...? Ah, that's not relevant right now. Let's put that aside for now, and for now, I'd like you to interpret." (Mile)
"WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR."
The larger ancient dragon left all the chores to Zalm and took a completely hands-off attitude.
Therefore, Mile ignored them and focuses on her conversation with Zalm.
"So, let me ask this. Did you go to the human village in the east and attack their livestock?" (Mile)
"……EH?"
Hearing this, Zalm looked puzzled.
It was difficult for humans to read the expressions of ancient dragons, but Mile seemed to be able to tell somehow from their atmosphere.
...Even though he was ignorant of the subtleties of human emotions...
However, Mile didn't seem particularly worried, as she was probably just wondering because the information was unexpected.
"VERY WELL. WAIT A MOMENT."
And the ancient dragon and the wolf each spoke in their own language.
In reality, the translation was done through brainwave analysis and eardrum vibrations via nanomachines, so the words that came out of the mouth were irrelevant and there was no problem.
"They haven't. They have a promise with God. They say that there are plenty of things to eat here, so they don't need to go far..."
"As I thought……" (All CV)
Mile and her group somehow felt that way.
"...So, what is this 'promise with God'?! And now, a new character has appeared!? Creator, have the people of a prehistoric civilization been in cold sleep and then resurrected?!" (Mile)
Mile shouted that, but the answer came quickly.
"THE 'GODS' THESE PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE US, THE ANCIENT DRAGONS."
"Ah, is that so...?" (Mile)
"I knew it……" (Other 3)
Mile was disappointed, while Reina and the others made sour complaints.
And Mile, of course, hadn't missed it.
"...So, what is this promise?" (Mile)
Yes.
If she didn't hear it, nothing would begin.
Author's Note
This is an announcement. (^^)/
...