My... Secret Plan...

"Oi, Kehmaaa, what're you doing, getting my daughter drunk like that?"

"Sorry. She said she was confident about handling her alcohol so I prepared some good stuff, but I never expected her to drink herself unconscious."

Before me was an empty barrel, a flame dragon lying on her back drunk out of her mind, and a certain salamander. Ittetsu came out when I called for him. Thanks for that.

As it happens, I seem to have proven that the dragon-slaying method from Japanese myth (getting them drunk and killing them) is also practical in this world. Hahaha, Japanese myth is an isekai cheat… or something.

"… Well, I tried stopping her, but there was no way I could stop her in her flame dragon form."

"Yeeeah… Maybe if she'd been in her human form… Oh, Kehma. Are you sturdier than a minotaur?"

"No? Wait, why are you suddenly asking that?"

"Ah, then maybe it was actually for the best. Even in her human form, Igni tears minotaurs apart like nothing."

That's terrifying. So I could've been torn apart if things went wrong.

"Still though, Kehma. What're you gonna do? She's not gonna wake up till morning if you leave her alone. And if you try to wake her carelessly, she'll go on a rampage."

"… If she goes on a rampage, there's a chance the hero will come after her… hmm."

"Should I ask Redra to be a stand-in? Humans can't tell the fine differences between dragons, can they?"

"… Red dragons and flame dragons look pretty different from the outside, so they'd definitely notice."

"Really? Ahhh, well, maybe so. But they're really similar, y'know, like in their mannerisms. Yesterday, after they bathed in the magma, the way they scraped off the hardened bits was just like mother and daughter."

"Save the boasting about your wife and daughter for later."

Him telling me about how they wipe off after bathing in the same way is troubling. In multiple ways.

… So, what should I do? Should I wait until she sobers up?

Or should I call for Gozoh and the others expecting her to wake up in the meantime?

If I wait until she sobers up, the smell of alcohol will fade too.

Hmmm. I feel bad waking her when she looks so comfortable, but I guess I have to…?

"I might get crushed if I try to wake her, so you wake her, Ittetsu."

"Yeah… well, guess there's no other way. Oi, Igni, wake up."

Ittetsu shook Igni's body with his foreleg.

Gwong! Her tail, thicker than a log, whipped around and struck Ittetsu.

"Ouch, come on. Wake up, Igni."

"Ugyaoo… three more… hours…"

However, Ittetsu caught the tail with his body without batting an eye.

Yeah, I couldn't have shaken her awake even if I tried. And taking that tail hit and still calmly trying to wake her? No way.

I glanced at Niku beside me… Maybe she could pull it off? No, probably not. It'd be risking her life, and I'm not about to test that.

"More like, are you okay, Ittetsu?"

"This… I'm actually toughing it out here, y'know? Gotta show some fatherly dignity."

"That doesn't match your usual image though. Igni thought you were always just lazing around at home or flirting with Redra."

"… Oof… don't mention that…"

Igni rolled over, even breathing fire. Despite that, Ittetsu kept earnestly trying to wake her while Niku and I watched from the corner of the room. We sat hugging our knees, trying not to get in the way.

… The boss room's floor was getting carved up with claw marks and scorched with breath attacks from the half-asleep Igni. It was like Ittetsu's hardships being etched into the ground.

Yeah. It would've been bad if Ittetsu weren't here. Niku and I could never have woken her. Would we even have bones left after getting hit by one of those breaths?

"Hey, won't this turn into damage to the Dungeon Core if it goes bad? Are you really okay?"

"Don't be stupid! What kind of father dies from his adorable daughter's tossing and turning!? Well, most of the wounds on my body are from her, but… time to wake up already!"

"Migyah!?"

Being a father must be rough…

As I was thinking that, godzun! A punch that would turn a human's head into tomato ketchup landed on Igni's head.

"Ueh… that hurt, daddy… uuu…"

"Alright, you up? Still look pretty drunk, but are you okay?"

"Nn… my head's all spinny… uhh, what was it again…?"

"Pretend to be drunk—well, that's fine as is. Pretend you got captured, then escape."

"Ummm… oh, oh yeah, I had to escape, right?"

"Oooi, Kehmaaa! Looks like we're good!"

Really? I'm still really anxious about this though.

"Let's see… alright, Niku. Please get the cart and rope out of your [Storage]."

"Yes, Goshujin-sama."

With that, Niku took a collapsible platform cart and rope out of her [Storage].

Now I just had to get Igni set up on this, but…

Come to think of it, Igni can't move on her own to get on the cart… and Niku and I couldn't lift her giant body.

… I'm also worried about the thing's carrying capacity. Rather, can we even pull her outside on it? Maybe Wataru could manage it somehow?

"Igni, please get on the platform cart. Your body's way too big for us to carry."

"Aaah, is that so? Then I'll just… go to my human form…"

"Oh, no, just get on normally—"

Igni went to her human form as she spoke. It was the little human-dragon girl form I saw during our meeting.

"Fuaaah… okay then, niiiight…"

And then she curled up on the cart and fell asleep. Without turning back into a dragon.

"… Umm. Ittetsu. Is this okay…?"

"I hate to say it, but… probably not?"

Ittetsu tried tapping her on the head, but Igni didn't even stir.

"… Looks like it'd take a while to wake her up this time too."

"Yeah…"

"Should I ask Redra to substitute in after all?"

"No, I'm telling you that definitely won't work."

What should I do with this?

Just then, Niku opened her mouth.

"… Goshujin-sama. How about just calling Ichika and the others in like this?"

"As is, you mean… like how she is now? With her looking like a little girl sleeping on a cart?"

"Yes… her strength should be obvious just by looking. That she's a real dragon, too. And, well, Wataru is naive, so…"

I see, I get what Niku's trying to say.

Hero Wataru is naive. After all, he wouldn't even take down Rin—the black wolf that had occupied our dungeon for a time—just because he could communicate with it.

She looks human and she looks like a child. There's no way he'd just kill her on the spot.

He'd surely say they should wait for her to wake up and negotiate. And if Wataru didn't say it, I would.

Then we can just have Igni surrender or escape…

"… Can they really tell how strong she is just by looking? She's totally wasted and barely conscious."

"Wataru definitely can. I think Gozoh, Roppu, and Ichika can too."

I can't sense it at all, but if Niku says they can, they probably can.

"Hmm, well, that means Igni probably won't end up dead."

"Sounds good then. In that case, I'll head back. Kehma, I'm counting on you, yeah?"

Saying that, Ittetsu lumbered off to leave. I tapped him on the shoulder (?) to stop him.

"Wait, Ittetsu… there's still one concern. Igni might blurt out something she shouldn't when she wakes up…"

"… Yeah… Can't you just smooth things over if it happens, Kehma?"

"Depends on what she says. That's why I want to prepare for it… help me out, Ittetsu."

"If it's for my daughter, I don't mind. Whaddya need me to do?"

"Set up a few traps that can smack her to shut her up. Switch-activated ones. And in case of emergency—"

I held a thorough planning session with Ittetsu (for the second time that day) before calling Wataru and the others in.

… Seriously, nothing ever goes according to plan. Sheesh.