Chapter 48: Chapter 48: A Meal with The Dragon King

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

“So then, why is this guy here with us?”

“Haster, calling someone “this guy” at your first meeting doesn’t leave a good impression.”

A mildly high-strung, tense and high pitched boyish voice. I wonder where that low voice with the calm feeling to it went.

Haster didn’t have any bodily abnormalities when he awoke… I suppose that’s a slightly inaccurate way to put it, but he was rather hungry, so the four of us were having a meal together.

As a now young man, he’s appears to be about the same age as Alec, but he’s also shorter than Alec. He’s baby faced, and his voice isn’t deepened. He’s a young boy. ((shota))

Bahamut looks to be about the same age, so when someone gains “Eternal Youth” and “Immortality,” they probably return to that age.

“She’s riiiight, I’m not your enemy, seeee?”

“You’re making yourself sound suspicious on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, actually. I wanted to try putting on a patronizing air, though.”

This bastard seems to be the hedonistic type through and through. It doesn’t look like he’ll get along with the more serious type that Haster is.

I mixed together the pork that I bought and saved before the trip, along with some bear meat I had in storage to make a rather unique hamburg steak, which I then served on the table.

I’ve mentioned this before, but pork aside, beef is a luxury in Mareba. Because it takes more manpower.

That being the case, bear, boar, keratos and other vermin are our main sources of protein.

“So, why did you show up when you did? Isn’t your timing a little too perfect?”

“Fuhn? Fhell ahts fefaush…”

“Please, just eat or talk. Pick one.”

“Chew, chew”

“… So eating comes first, huh?!”

Does this bastard get off on teasing people?!

“Whoa, whoa, don’t get mad. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such human food, it was just so dream-like is all.”

“Prioritize talking, and answer me.”

“Hmm? Ah, I was just worried about how my nephew was doing.”

“Nephew? You mean Yig?”

So that short-tempered dragon was your relative? You poor thing. She must have been running riot with her private life.

As I send him a look of pity, he continued talking as if he was making an excuse.

“Not to say that we have a direct blood connection, but it’s more the feeling of it. That child’s mother was a bit of a radical so, I figured this would happen eventually. Well, also I figured a country or two would go down with her though.”

Surprisingly, I guess dragons have extremists among them too…? So is he actually more of a moderate?

A moderate type, but his personality is pretty twisted.

“Well yeah. Even dragons have individuality of course. Actually we have an extreme sense of individualism. We don’t give a damn what other people are doing.”

“In which case, the ones who get mixed up in their business are none of your concern.”

“Rather than that… Are you really okay, Master?”

Alec still hasn’t stopped being cautious around Bahamut. This should go without saying, but please don’t bring a great sword to the table. It’s a huge nuisance.

Haster hasn’t let go of the long sword at his side either, so the dining table is a savage place right now.

It’s hard to even taste the meal like this, you know?

“Probably, I guess.”

“Probably isn’t good enough!”

“Calm yourself, Alec. I’m perfectly fine at the moment.”

“Though you say that, it may be similar to my case, but the pattern is slightly different, and it’s also different from her case. We don’t have any other examples to go off of. One of the ancient dragon species being defeated is exceptional in the first place.”

“My apologies, for killing it.”

“And you, causing a sonic boom and firing an arrow at supersonic speed into her open mouth, straight into her brain; you think of some pretty gross things.”

“I only intended on scattering the breath attack.”

Those arrows are locked away of course. They don’t leave any meat behind, so they can’t even be used for hunting.

Another good point is they would be overkill on human opponents.

“Even so, I thought this event would happen more quickly. So the truth is, I’ve been monitoring this cottage from nearby. That’s why I could appear with such good timing.”

“Why did you think that?”

Haster turned a sharp eyed glare on Bahamut. It doesn’t have the heaviness it used to, but it looks like the young sharpness of it has increased… That gaze is chilling.

When he noticed it, he held his fork in his mouth and blankly stared back.

“Well, because of the “Demon Dragon’s Heart,” of course? Thoughtless folk like yourself are one thing, but those who carefully consider things like her would be quick to notice it. It would not be strange to eat it greedily right then and there.”

“It’s not as if an ancient dragon being defeated is unprecedented. Yet no immortals seem to have appeared from them.”

“Because those who ate it died on the spot. Among those who have defeated one of our level, there were no heroes who continued to live on, yes? It’s because they who devoured it died right then and there. That means you’re the rarest of the rare.”

“So that’s why so many heroes come to tragic ends…”

“She worried over it for a whole month. You’re quite loved, aren’t you, former sage?”

“Damn straight.”

He peeks over and gazes in my direction. I flap my hands in a panic.

Why are you acting like that’s totally obvious, and throwing out that embarrassing line?!

“Haster, please stop looking at me like that. It’s making me feel kinda weird.”

“I like what I’m hearing. I’ll keep making you feel even more weird, starting tonight.”

“What are saying?!”

With how you look right now, you just sound like a perverted brat!

… Come to think of it, I wonder if that has gotten smaller too?

“Yuuri, what are you looking at?”

“Yep, what inde… Uh, I mean, nothing at all, of course?”

“I know that’s not true!”

“Yes, yes, thanks for the treat. Both the lovers talk and the meal.”

“Did it meet your tastes?”

“Of course. You’re quite the cook. If the former sage hadn’t married you, I would have been glad to have you.”

“Leave. Now.”

His mood is gradually getting worse. Please don’t fan the flames any more. And take your hand off that sword, Haster!

Moreover, you wouldn’t even make my list of candidates. You’re way too fishy.

“When I consider that you’re Yig’s relative, I don’t mind cooking a meal for you… But could you please not go butting into our lives? We’re newlyweds after all.”

“Yep, newlyweds quickly scatter “hazardous substances” everywhere, which I want no part of, ‘kay?”

“The only thing scattered everywhere is carrots. I mixed them into the hamburg steak.”

“BUHHAH?!”

Bahamut makes a beeline for the toilet. I wonder… Where did this guy’s dignity as a hero go?

Haster’s not gonna turn into a character that always plays dumb like this, is he…? Uhh, come to think of it, I feel like I’ve seen bits and pieces of it hiding away in him lately.

After a short while, Bahamut comes back with a worn down face plastered on.

“Ueeeh… Is this your revenge then?”

“Anyway! He’s in exactly the condition I wanted him in now, right? He’s still human, and not a dragon or some other…”

“Do you think I’m human?”

“—h?! But you’re…”

When I heard him ask if he was human, “NO” is the only likely answer I could come to.

But doesn’t this progenitor of dragons, right before my eyes, clearly have a human appearance and human thoughts?

Calling him human would be no exaggeration. But if he isn’t, then even I…

“I am fully dragon. I have experience living as a person, but my values, lifespan, and even how I live are now very different from a person. Even this form is simply a [Transformation] into a person.”

“I’m… Not aware of having used any magic like that.”

“You were originally supposed to die. However, she continued healing you. Thanks to her, you could remain in a “Human form,” while you adapted to your “Eternal Youth” and “Immortality”.”

“But why did his age regress? Could he not stay as he was?”

The question I’ve kept holding in. I tried hitting him with it.

I’m still confused about his sudden change. About the appearance he’s had since we were married changing.

““Eternal Youth” and “Immortality” fixes a life to the time when it was most actively growing. For males, it’s around 13 to 15. For females it’s a little earlier, around 10 to 13 I suppose.”

“So that’s why he was brought back to this age? … In that case there’s no mistake that Haster has “Eternal Youth” and “Immortality,” right?”

“I guarantee it. If you doubt it, you could always remove his head and check.”

“As if I could do that.”

“All right, we have no more business with you, now leave.”

“Hey, do you see how your husband is treating me?”

“Please don’t look at me like you’re about to cry. You’ve been purposely agitating him this whole time.”

You reap what you sow. This is the result of letting your individualism run wild. Maybe he lost his ability to read the mood.

Seeing me glare at Bahamut’s his upturned eyes, Haster speaks out in warning.

“You seem dangerous, so I’ll put this out there right now. ‘This girl is mine. I’m not giving her to anyone.’ got it?”

His body that used to be big enough to wrap around me twice has shrunk, and now he’s only big enough to wrap around me about once. Even so, the pressure his gives off is unchanged.

Could this be him wanting to monopolize me? This is a pleasing discovery.

Auu, a completely charmed expression is showing on my face just by thinking about it.

—Aah, I’ve totally and completely become his, haven’t I…

When I wrote my dreams for the future as “spend a lazy, decadent, and dirty daily life with a cute wife,” I was called by my homeroom teacher for it. But now look at what’s happened to me… I’ve totally fallen into it.

When he sees me melt, and my expression loosen, Alec breathes out a sigh.

“Master and Yuuri are totally off in their own little paradise, but… I want to ask you one thing. You don’t intend on becoming our enemy, right? You’re not thinking about getting revenge for Fafnir or anything like that at all?”

“I’m sure I mentioned how individualistic we are. I’m not considering that aaaat all. But I don’t want you hurting the little one I suppose? We are basically from the same tribe after all.”

“Yig is already family to us.”

“It relieves me to hear that.”

Taking a moment, the dragon king sips his after meal tea, and lets out a quick breath.

“Well then, thank you for the meal. I never expected there to be a human who would actually feed me carrots.”

“You’re quite welcome. It looks like I was able to pay you back.”

“Next time I’ll treat you to some dragon cooking.”

“I’ll pass. I feel like it would just be some burnt meat or the like.”

“Haha, that’s certainly not far from the truth.”

Saying that, he stood from his seat, went through the entrance… And disappeared.

—It didn’t look like he [Teleported], but he disappeared from our view in an instant.

And then, passing by where Bahamut disappeared, another person came rushing in.