The Dragon's Relationship

In the dungeon [Flame Cavern] on Tsuia Mountain, an unusual presence had arrived.

A red dragon slithered through the passageway that dragon-form Redra could barely fit through, snacking on Magma Slimes like treats along the way.

It seemed to know the path well, proceeding without hesitation to the stairs and descending.

Then, taking the shortest route a dragon could use, it reached the boss room on the fifth floor in no time. Normally, the boss waiting there would be a Red Minotaur. However, today, the dungeon's last boss and Dungeon Master, the red dragon Redra, was sitting majestically there.

When the two red dragons faced each other, both naturally inhaled deeply. It was preparation for a breath attack—and a serious one at that. Then—

"" GAAAAAAAAAH!! ""

As if rehearsed, they simultaneously unleashed radiant, fiery breaths.

The white-hot breath beams clashed, exploding and instantly raising the boss room's temperature to its limit. After they finished exhaling, they walked toward each other, leaving dragon footprints in the stone floor that had softened from the heat.

Then, in high spirits, they bumped their snouts together with a clunk.

"You can breathe some decent flames now! You haven't been slacking on your training, have you, Igni!"

"Of course, Mama! Who do you think I am!"

"My daughter, obviously! Hahaha!"

The dragons roared at each other amiably. Their relationship was that of mother and daughter: Redra being the mother and the flame dragon Igni being the daughter. It was a reunion between mother and daughter after several decades.

There, the father—the salamander Dungeon Core Ittetsu—popped his head out.

"Oh, looking good there, Igni."

"Papa, I'm back! Feeling great!"

With her massive flame dragon body, Igni charged at Ittetsu.

Though there was a size difference like a bus versus a light truck, this was the dignity of a father. Ittetsu sank his hind legs into the floor and dispersed the impact with his tail while catching her firmly.

"You've gotten bigger again since I last saw you. Won't you pass Redra at this rate?"

"You think so? Maybe it's Mama who got smaller?"

"No way! Seriously, youngsters these days grow so fast! Well, I'm still young by dragon standards though!"

With Redra embracing her and nuzzling her head, Igni grinned childishly with a "hehe."

"Still, this area has changed quite a bit."

"Yeah, it's been about thirty years since you last came back, right? Of course it'd change. Uh, the town at the base of the mountain was already there, right?"

"That was there a hundred years ago too. Oh right, I teased some lesser beings on the way up the mountain! They panicked and ran around so much!"

As Igni laughed, Ittetsu's face stiffened.

"Uh, err. Where exactly on the mountain was this?"

"About halfway up, I think? Clothed monkeys that weren't even on fire. They had little huts too, so I burned those a little."

Even Redra realized what had happened.

"… Hey, 112Ittetsu, by lesser beings, could she mean…"

"Probably. Alriiight, come here for a sec, Igni. You haven't forgotten how to take human form, riiight?"

"Eh? What, Papa… ow ow ow!? Don't pull my wings!?"

Just then, a communication came from the neighboring dungeon, [Cave of Desires].

Ohhh no… Ittetsu and Redra both clutched their heads.

*

When I went to hear what Ittetsu had to say, there was also a child about Niku's age with him—with red scales in places, reptilian hands and feet, and an Ittetsu-like tail—looking like Redra in human form but more dragon-like and younger.

"Sorry, Kehma! Our idiot daughter caused trouble!"

And the first thing Ittetsu did was bow his reptilian head.

"Ittetsu, you really did have a kid, huh… Well, please raise your head."

"Yeah, she takes after Redra and her idiocy is kinda cute… no wait, her being an idiot is what caused this mess!"

He looked at me and scratched his head, then Ittetsu bowed again.

In other words, this child was the flame dragon that burned the fields, and Ittetsu's daughter.

"Papa!? Why are you bowing to such a lesser being!?"

"Shut up, you idiot daughter! He's my friend! When family causes trouble, of course I bow my head!"

"Papa's friend!? Papa has a friend!? I only ever knew you lounging deep in the nest or flirting with Mama!"

"That's what you focus on!? Papa's a Dungeon Core, so I can't just leave whenever!"

At any rate, the parent-child relationship seemed good.

"Just to confirm, Ittetsu, that one is the dragon that burned my village's fields, right?"

"Y-Yeah. If she'd actually killed any of your people, Kehma, all I could do is apologize endlessly… If possible, I'd like to settle this with DP. Igni—that's her name. I know it's a lot to ask, but… please spare her life."

"Ah, well, that's fine. On our side, some fields and houses got burned, but no one died. Taking a child's life would be way too heavy."

"Really? That's good. A blessing in disguise, then."

Ittetsu let out a relieved sigh. What a good father.

"If you compensate for the damages with DP, I have no problem at all—I really don't, but…"

"I'm not about to ask you to forgive it just because a kid did it. I'll properly compensate… but that hesitant way of talking, is there something else?"

"Something troublesome has come up."

Yes, troublesome. Even if I'm just a figurehead, I'm still the village chief.

"A dragon subjugation group will probably be formed."

"… If you're going to go after my family's lives, I'll kill you even if it's you, Kehma. She may be an idiot, but she's still my cute daughter."

"Of course. Anyone would do the same. I would too."

"What, Kehma, did you have a kid with Rokuko? Kukaka, kids are cute, aren't they?"

"No no, we haven't. We really haven't, okay?"

"Hm? That so? I thought humans reproduced quickly though."

I cleared my throat and got the conversation back on track.

"A dragon subjugation group will probably be formed."

"Why?"

In a word, it's to dispel anxiety.

I don't mind since I can communicate through Ittetsu, but humans naturally want to do something about a threat nearby.

And since I've been saddled with the title of village chief, I have to deal with threats to the village.

"… So that's how it is. It's all a hassle."

"Ah, well, humans are weak as individuals. Though there are exceptions."

"That's why I'll form the subjugation group… That way I'll have better control. Then I'll just say we drove off the flame dragon."

"I see."

"Hmph! No matter how many lesser beings gather, you can't beat me! I don't care if you're Papa's friend or whatever, don't you dare look down on me!"

Igni roared. Flames clung to her body, raising the room's temperature.

Ittetsu promptly smacked her on the head.

"Hey, Igni! Kehma doesn't have fire resistance, restrain yourself!"

"Agu! … Sowwy…"

Ah, yeah, please be careful. I'm currently using [Super Transformation] to turn into "myself," so I can revive once thanks to its effect, but I'd really rather not die.

"By the way, given the timing, there's a good chance a certain 'exception' will end up in the lineup."

"… Could it be that hero who came to our dungeon before? He might be joining too?"

"Moreover, he's powered up a bit since you last met."

"Seriously? … If they went all out, even Redra might be in danger."

"Eh, Mama might not win? … Isn't that bad?"

Igni finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

… Now then, shall we start planning?