What do dragons eat?

"Hey, soldier-san. My dragon here says there was a smell on that guy like he'd been exposed to some kind of aphrodisiac."

"Aphrodisiac?"

"Like maybe someone forced him into heat or something? I dunno though."

"… Wait, you can understand dragon speech!?"

Well, yeah. Dragons can understand human language, so anyone could learn it if a dragon taught them, right? I even figured out yes and no on my own, you know?

"Normally, it's super rare for a dragon to teach a human their language. It's kinda weird for me to say this, but dragons are basically arrogant and act all high and mighty toward weaklings. Plus, loser dragons that've been pets since birth don't even know Draconic."

So they wouldn't deign to teach their language to mere weakling humans. That tracks.

"Well, I've got a skill that lets me understand dragon speech. The details are a secret though."

"Such a specialized skill exists…? The world sure is vast."

"Thanks to it, I can have conversations with this guy."

No real need to be weird about hiding it, so I told him honestly.

"I see. So you're making use of a niche skill. Splendid."

"With that in mind though, it's possible someone drugged an innocent dragon and made it go on a rampage, you know? Just the other day in Karkassa, Empire agents tried to destroy a Dungeon and failed. Seems kinda suspicious to me."

"…! Is that true!?"

"Yeah, it's real. I came from Karkassa. You can ask other people about it too."

"The Empire, making strange moves… I'll include that in the letter as well."

With that, the dwarf soldier finished writing up his report and handed me the letter.

"I'll pay you one silver coin as an advance. I've written that the remainder should be paid at the gate, so collect it there."

"Got it. Much obliged."

"Then we shall patrol this area for a while. Thank you for your cooperation."

I accepted the silver coin and letter, then saw off the dwarves riding their flat turtles.

Phew, what a relief. Somehow worked out.

"You saved me, Anego! I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it."

I kinda implied that the adventurer he trampled was an Empire agent or something, but it's probably not entirely wrong. Unless this guy was lying to me, anyway.

"Still, you actually had a dragon fang on you. Kinda feel bad about that."

"Oh, then can I have a few of your scales? I've been getting into potion making lately, and I've been curious what kind of material Thunder Dragon scales are."

"Hehe! If it's for you, Anego, no problem!"

And just like that, he used his mouth to pluck out two or three scales from spots where they were ready to come loose and passed them over.

"Actually, I'll give you scales regularly from now on, so can I tag along with you, Anego? I mean, if I'm not around, you'll look suspicious at the gate and stuff, right? Sorry about that."

"Oh yeah, good point. Alright then, looking forward to it."

"Yes ma'am! Pleasure to be working with you!"

Now that he mentions it, if the letter says I have a dragon with me, I'd be in trouble without him. This guy's smarter than I thought.

The dragon wagged his tail happily from side to side.

"What do dragons eat anyway?"

"Anything that's not poison, really. I do need a decent amount, but I can just hunt in the nearby forest or wherever on my own."

"Hmm. Oh, I should introduce you to my companions then. Tell them I decided to get a new pet."

"Yes! I'm a pet!… Wait, companions? D-don't tell me there are multiple people like you, Anego!?"

The dragon, immediately accepting his position as a pet, tilted his head while trembling nervously.

"… Well, strength-wise I'm the strongest. But if you hurt or look down on my companions, you're getting put down, got it?"

"Eek!? I-it's fine! I'm a docile dragon who got his fang broken by Anego!!"

A light threat and he curled up hugging his tail.

Yep yep, looks like I can introduce him to everyone without any problems!!