Leveling the Ground

After a rest, we decided to help restore the land around the area devastated by the Dragon Zombie fight.

We'd done enough in the battle itself that no one would have faulted us for sitting it out, but watching everyone else work while I sat around didn't feel right.

People noticed these things more than you'd think.

Let's keep it between us that Alexia-san alone got more done than all the soldiers and me combined.

She was leveling the ground more smoothly than before, and traces of the battle vanished in no time.

The Dragon Zombie's bones had been completely destroyed by Elza-san's purification, but the rotting flesh that had sloughed off along the way still remained, contaminating the soil.

There was nowhere to store it, so the plan was to burn it on the spot, purify the ashes with holy water, and bury it.

Ramiza-san quietly collected a small sample.

Could rotting flesh, even from a Dragon, really be useful for something…?

After noon, the viscount sent word for us to come to his manor.

The work wasn't finished, but we left the rest to the soldiers and headed over.

My clothes had gotten dirty from the fighting, so I changed again.

I was glad I'd packed enough for a few extra days…

The mountain of laundry waiting at home was something I'd worry about later.

We arrived at the viscount's manor and were shown to a parlor.

The viscount was already seated, laboring over documents that covered nearly every inch of the desk.

It all appeared to pertain to the recent incident.

Master was always like that whenever something happened, buried in paperwork afterward. So I understood.

He noticed us and gestured for us to sit.

Then he began.

"You saved us. My men told me everything. That there were no civilian casualties against a Dragon Zombie, that's entirely thanks to you."

"It's not something we could have just ignored."

"We burned through almost all of our magic stone reserves, but if a partial breach in the wall is all the damage we took, I'd say we came out ahead."

The viscount let out a long breath.

"I've canceled the request for reinforcements from the capital, but my soldiers are in no shape to fight. I've arranged for a contingent of royal troops to be stationed here until they've recovered."

"I see."

We needed some form of defense against monsters and bandits.

That wasn't really our concern, though.

And I certainly hoped he wasn't about to ask us to stay for that.

"Some residents fell ill from the drifting poison, but the alchemist's medicine kept it from becoming serious. They should recover quickly."

"That's good to hear."

"… Now, about, well…"

The viscount faltered. Whatever he was about to say clearly didn't come easily.

"The Dragon Zombie was destroyed without a trace. The result of the priestess's purification, no doubt. Well, materials can't typically be salvaged from reanimated monsters anyway. No magic stone was recovered, either."

"I didn't see anything like one myself."

Right. This battle had yielded nothing.

It had been a defensive action, and since the enemy was undead, everything had been obliterated.

I'd assumed there would at least be a magic stone, but apparently not.

"My territory is not destitute, but neither is it flush with wealth. And as I said, we've exhausted our magic stone reserves."

"Okay…"

Where was he going with this?

"That said, to send you off empty-handed after you risked your lives… that would be a stain on my family name."

"Oh, is that what this is about?"

The viscount was struggling to put together an additional reward for slaying the Dragon Zombie.

He'd been so long-winded and roundabout that I hadn't been able to tell what he was getting at.

Hmm. Personally, I wouldn't have minded walking away with nothing, but if word got around that our party worked for free, that would be a problem. The viscount moved in salon circles, after all.

That would be very bad.

People might try to push unreasonable demands on us.

I'd watched and learned a lot by now. We needed to accept something.

"My soldiers found this while patrolling the area after the battle. I'd like to offer it as your reward."

The viscount clapped his hands, and soldiers carried something in.

It was wrapped in cloth and quite large.

Four men to carry it, so it had to be heavy.

"A weapon found in the rotting flesh. It's been purified with holy water."

They pulled away the cloth to reveal an axe.

It closely resembled Alexia-san's battleaxe… her halberd.

The axe head was a bit larger, though.

The whole thing was rusted and dull.

Weapons turned up inside monsters from time to time, so perhaps that was how this one ended up there.

"May I pick it up?"

"Of course."

"It's heavy, so please be careful."

"Understood."

Alexia-san stood and gripped the tarnished axe in her right hand.

The soldiers let go.

"Hm…"

"It may not look like much, but I believe it's a fine piece of craftsmanship. Would you accept it as payment?"

"Alexia-san, what do you think?"

"It'll do."

I heard her murmur under her breath, something about not being able to squeeze blood from a stone.

"Good, it's settled then. I'll also give Yohane-kun the right to purchase our lumber at a slight discount."

And that was that. We were ushered outside the manor before we knew it.

Probably wanted us gone before we changed our minds.

Very noble-like of him.

At last, we could head home.

"So what's the verdict on this thing?"

"As it is now, it's scrap. But with proper restoration, it could be quite a weapon. I can feel a strong power inside it."

"Let's hope it's not cursed."

"If it is, Elza can deal with it. Cursed weapons are always powerful. That's just how it works."

"Azu-chan, Alexia-chan is fully planning to run me ragged over this."

"Give up. If you can be useful, you should be."

Elza-san broke into theatrical sobs.

"Let's head home. I don't want to stay another night and get dragged into something else."

"Agreed. My body's sore, but I'd rather rest at home…"

"Still, I wonder where that Dragon came from."

We talked as we walked, heading for the road home.

That was the real question.

I agreed with Ramiza-san.

"Dragons are rare enough. This is only our second encounter."

"Only my second too. The first time, I just glimpsed a Wind Dragon from a distance. For one to turn into a zombie and attack us… It's a horror, I tell you, a horror."

"Its behavior was strange, too. The fact that there was no magic stone…"

Elza-san cut in. "The Church of the Sun God probably used it as a test subject, I think."

"They probably tried to make it an apostle's vessel and failed. A Dragon apostle would be an incredible asset. But it didn't take."

"They do things like that?"

"It wouldn't surprise me."

Yupe-sama had been subjected to something similar, after all.

Though in her case, she was strangely fine, even coming back from the dead.

"Dragons were created by the Creator King, so it's only natural they wouldn't become apostles of the Sun God. But the forced infusion of power killed it, and they just… left it."

"And it woke up and came after us?"

Hard to say. But here and there, I felt like I'd caught glimpses of the Church of the Sun God's power that we'd fought against before.