Gyua

I tossed the broken fang into my Storage and observed the dragon that had collapsed from a single blow.

… Oh? It's twitching, but still breathing just fine.

"As expected of a dragon, surviving my invincibility-state punch."

First off, it was a bit bigger than our magitech car. Its whole body was covered in ocher, yellowish-brown scales. The torso had a triangular silhouette with a slightly pudgy belly. An elongated neck topped with a dragon head. The two conical horns looked pretty cool.

Its limbs were short and stubby. Like a lizard… no, more like a crocodile. Crocodile-like legs. The rough scales running from its back to its tail also had that crocodile vibe going on.

The wings on its back were bat-style membrane wings about as big as its body. Aerodynamically speaking, I couldn't imagine it flying with those, but it was probably using magic or something.

"So this is what dragons are like in this world, huh. Overall, it's properly dragon-like, which is pretty nice. Maybe I should try making it into a stuffed specimen? No idea how to do that, though."

As for the scale size… when I peeled one off, it was about 8 centimeters. It was flexible up to a point when bent, but then suddenly became rigid. Good for armor, maybe? Seems like it'd make excellent material.

Come to think of it, the scales didn't crack when I punched it. Though I think I broke its jaw.

"Gyua!"

"Oh, you're awake."

The dragon sprang up and put some distance between us, facing me down… Alright, time for round two!

"Gyugaaa…!"

"Mmm…!?"

Just as I was getting pumped up, the dragon raised its head and then flopped onto its back with a splat. Well, since it's about the size of a car, maybe "thud" would be more accurate. Thud.

"… What's with this guy? Does it have some kind of finishing move it can only use from that position?"

"Gyuagu…"

"Huh, what? You're not doing anything?"

"Gyua."

The Thunder Dragon was nodding repeatedly while still lying on its back.

"Wait, are you actually surrendering?"

"Gyua."

It kept nodding away.

Wait, can this thing actually understand what I'm saying? Huh. So it's the type of dragon that understands human speech.

"Very well, let's have a little chat then. Depending on the outcome, I might spare your life."

"Gyua!"

"Have you ever killed a human?"

"… Gyua."

Oh, it honestly nodded?

"Gi, gii gii! Gyagya, gago!"

"Hm? Sounds like you're making excuses, but I don't understand Dragon at all. What, like you didn't attack first or something?"

"Gyua!"

Well, if it was attacked first, fighting back is understandable. You can't exactly just let yourself get killed when someone's trying to take your life.

"Then why were you chasing that carriage we passed earlier? Well, it wasn't a horse pulling it but something iguana-ish…"

"Gya, gyau. Gyaoon."

The dragon cried out while covering its face with its claws in embarrassment.

"… Ah, I can't understand unless it's a yes-or-no question… I've figured out that 'Gyua' means yes and 'Gii gii' means no, at least."

"Gyua…"

Actually, if it understands our language, maybe it can write letters or something… Nah, that's probably asking too much.

"Karina-chan… Karina-chan… It's the Goddess."

"Huh!? That voice… Goddess!?"

A divine message suddenly descended upon me. Right in the middle of the highway! I looked around, but of course there wasn't a shrine anywhere nearby. The voice sounding distant was probably because of that.

"There's a Draconic skill in the Catalog, so I figured I'd recommend it while I had the chance…!"

"For real. Um… thanks, I guess?"

When she mentioned it, I opened the SP Catalog and sure enough, there it was: "Skill: Draconic (50 SP)." … Well, I've saved up quite a bit, so spending 50 SP should be fine.

It's a bit annoying to play into the Goddess's plans, but interrogating the dragon with nothing but yes and no questions would be a pain anyway.