Horribly Awry

That man was strong, wise, and beautiful.

However, even if just by a little,

he was also too nice.

 

​[This is amazing…!]

​[Right?]

​Hearing my involuntary remark, the man—who appears to go by Darg—grinned with a laugh.

​What laid before my eyes was a remarkably different village than ours.

​Many triangular buildings were lined in a row. From their looks, they were pit-houses.

​Trails of smoke rose into the sky from here and there while women carrying earthenware and men carrying bows roamed about.

​There were at the very least a few dozen people living here, maybe even upwards of a hundred.

​It was a splendid village.

​My chest filled with hope at the thought that if we could merge with this village, our population issues could be solved all at once.

​[I'm back!]

​Hearing Darg's well-known voice in the village, the villagers gathered together.

​As expected, or rather as was natural, he was this village's leader.

​The villagers all had the same physique as Guy and the others. It was just Darg that was so abnormal.

​Given that I was somewhat insecure about what I'd do if a ton of men similar to him came out, I felt relieved.

​[Take it.]

​When Darg waved towards the behemoth's meat, the women grunted in response to show that they understood.

​I cocked my head to the side upon seeing that.

​[What're you doing? Follow.]

​[Ah, yeah. I'm coming.]

​My thoughts interrupted by Darg's voice, I followed behind him in a panic.

​Reaching the village's center, I saw a building constructed to be noticeably larger than the others.

​The floor was dug out slightly with the roof constructed in a pyramid-like shape. There was nothing that could be called furniture, only some straw spread out across the ground and a few earthenware items.

​[Hmm? Sit. A meal is on the way.]

​Saying that, Gar lowered himself onto the straw.

​The house might be this big simply to house his large build.

​Even I could sit down in it without feeling cramped.

​[Still though, what you did back there was amazing. For you to be able to sever the neck of such a large creature…]

​[It's nothing to fuss about.]

​[Can anyone else do the same thing then?]

​[Not likely, eh?]

​Darg answered my question along with a derisive smile.

​[Why are you the only one who's so big and strong?]

​[Because that's how it is.]

​As expected, he's similar to me and Nina in that he's a [Natural Magus].

​It's wasn't due to technology or study, it was due to his own talent.

​[What about you? Are there many big lizards that talk?]

​[No, that's just me.]

​To be precise, dragons do have their own language.

​But even so, I haven't met any dragons other than mother. So, at the very least, there being many of us isn't the case.

​Thinking about it more, it was natural. If there were so many over-engineered creatures in the same place, their surroundings would quickly be left bereft of food.

​Which is probably another reason why mother urged me into leaving the nest after ten years.

​[Heh.]

​Even though Darg was the one to ask, he simply responded halfheartedly.

​It was around that point that our food was brought to us.

​[Ooh… this is…]

​I started to speak out in admiration.

​Because it was a soup made out of various wild plants, mushrooms, and beast meat poured into a clay pot.

​This is the first time since I've come to this world that I feel like I've seen its [Cuisine].

​[It's delicious, try it.]

​[Yeah…]

​As he recommended me to do, I poured the soup into my mouth.

​I had a sensitive tongue when it came to heat in my previous life, so I was happy at being reborn as a red dragon, something that would never be burned by eating even the most steaming hot foods.

​"Ooh…!"

​Tasting it on my tongue, I let out a groan.

​Even while being so chewy, the wild plants weren't overpowering at all.

​The dried meat oozed flavor the more I chewed it, the mushrooms' ability to exude a mellow taste as they melted when they touched my tongue was mysterious.

​And the soup that was able to merge all of them together was delicious. Very delicious.

​As though nourishment permeated into my core the moment it touched my tongue, it was delicious enough that I trembled. I feel like I'd gulp down however much of this they could give me.

​Since they headed back to the village, I feel sorry for Guy and the others for not being able to try this.

​[You're just a lizard, but you can still tell it's delicious, eh?]

​Seeing me gulp it down and sigh in satisfaction, Darg made a comment.

​Now that he mentions it, it's true. It feels like it might be due to there being no recreational amusement besides meals, but in my previous life, I was rather uninterested when it came to food. Maybe it's because dragon tongues are better than human tongues?

​[Could you tell me how this is made?]

​I asked the woman who brought us the soup.

​However, she only looked back at me with a puzzled expression.

​I suddenly recalled that sense of incompatibility I felt when I arrived at this village.

​Could it be…

​[This person doesn't know the language?]

​[Yeah, that's right.]

​Darg shouldn't be the only one that knows how to speak.

​At the very least, the men that went with him were able to follow his orders.

​Which means they understood what he was saying.

​[You didn't teach the women language?]

​[Of course not?]

​Darg frowned, his brows knit in confusion.

​What's this guy talking about?

​That's what his expression seemed to say.

​[What meaning is there in teaching women how to speak?]

​I somehow managed to keep myself from grimacing.

​I kept telling myself that there's nothing I could do about it.

​This world and the era it's in dictates that that line of thought was mostly reasonable.

​[Seeing how you like eating that, what do you think of this?]

 

 

​As I was thinking about a few depressing things, Darg showed me a large pot with something that smelled good in it.

​[What's this?]

​Smelling a mysterious scent I hadn't smelled before, I sniffed it.

​It was like fruit, yet far more potent. However, it was a different kind of sweetness than what candies had. It was more rich and had more of a depth to it.

​[Try drinking it.]

​Urged on, I slowly stretched my tongue out to it and licked it despite the anxiety and anticipation to this unknown substance.

​Immediately after, lightning coursed through my body.

​"Th-this is…"

​The first thing I experienced was the mellow and rich sweetness of berries. Not just on my tongue, but within my nasal cavity as well.

​Then, a moment after that, a stinging stimulation tickled my throat.

​But it wasn't something that felt unpleasant.

​No, it actually felt like I wanted to have more. I inclined the pot towards me.

​It felt as though my throat grew hot and like vitality was bursting from my belly.

​"This… is alcohol?"

​By the time that wound up drinking enough to fill a cup, I finally realized it.

​I hardly enjoyed drinking alcohol at all in my previous life. I didn't much like its taste and just one or two cups was enough to make my face redden.

​But what about this promising flavor? I even felt comfortable simple by exhaling in this pleasant aftertaste. It's so good that I'm suddenly feeling bad about not being able to enjoy this in my previous life.

​[It's a good drink, isn't it? Come now, have more.]

​[No, I couldn't possibly…]

​Even while saying that, my gaze unintentionally drifted towards the alcohol.

​It wasn't just that it was delicious. It felt like my whole body longed for it.

​[Don't hold yourself back. A man's generosity includes how much alcohol he offers.]

​Darg spoke, he himself drinking some alcohol.

​[Maybe just one more…]

​I lost to the temptation and took an additional cup.

​It goes without saying that it didn't end at just one cup.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

​"Mm…"

​Raising my head up, I realized that I had fallen asleep.

​"Crap."

​When I jumped to my feet, I wasn't in my usual house, but in Darg's.

​Fortunately, I could still remember everything.

​I got drunk and didn't fight my drowsiness, instead listening to Darg's encouragement and wound up falling asleep.

​He wasn't in the house, so I reluctantly left the building.

​"Wow, it's already this late…"

​With the sun high up in the blue sky, I realized that I'd slept till noon.

​Had Darg already left for hunting?

​I didn't see any men nearby to send him a message and the women wouldn't be able to understand me.

​Oh well, Ai and the others are probably worrying about me right now, so let's head back.

​Suddenly coming up with an idea, I took off a scale and left it inside Darg's house.

​It stung, but it was only about as bad as pulling out a beard hair.

​Flapping my wings, I took off into the air. It shouldn't take long to get back if I went through the air.

​All things said, I guess I'm still weak against alcohol.

​Well, I don't think that drinking four of those large pots could be considered weak, so let's say that I'm weak when it comes to resisting its temptation. But now that I think about it, be it eastern or western myths, dragons being weak against alcohol was basically a standard. I should be more careful.

​Nina's probably angry, huh. Ai will be worrying…

​Soaring through the sky while thinking about that, I reached Ai and the others' village surprisingly quickly and descended. Now then, time to listen to Nina's scolding…

​"Mentor!"

​Those thoughts vanished immediately upon seeing Guy and the others' injuries and the look on Ken's face.

​"Nina, Ai, they—!"

​"What's happened?"

​Seeing that it obviously wasn't something trivial, my heart started beating rapidly.

​"Take away, left!"

​It felt as though the ground beneath my feet had collapsed.