Chapter 614 - The Earth Dragon's Bed
An overwhelming majesty. The crushing pressure of an extraordinary presence. Faced with this complete unknown—an entity about which we knew nothing save for the Name the world had granted it—Lux and I must have shared the same intuition.
"H-Har-kun!"
"I know!"
Which was this: getting too close would be a very bad idea.
In a virtual world, hunches and intuition are often more than just your imagination. It's a common, almost occult-like theory that people talk about, and I'm a firm believer myself, having had more personal experiences with it than I can count.
Furthermore, when my intuition aligned with that of a [Traveler]—someone whose danger sense, regardless of her personality, far surpasses anyone else's—it was no longer a hunch. It was a certainty.
And so,
"Sapphire!"
Before a Dragon, I called upon my own dragon. From the shadows emerged wings of starlight.
The massive body of the manifested tamed beast caught us in our fall... and for the moment, there was only one thing to do. I reinforced the shadow threads that were barely holding her and fully restrained Lux.
Why, you ask? Well, that's because—
"Wha-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh?!?!!"
"Your reaction is two months too late, you damn hermit...!"
I hadn't had a chance to meet her and tell her in person, but the fact that I'd successfully tamed Sapphire the dragon was made public a while after I conquered the Arena.
In other words, she was completely oblivious to public knowledge that she could have learned about at any time—on a level that rivaled me back in my high school days. It seemed Sora-san must have taken my comment about 'keeping it a secret' to heart and hadn't told her, either.
So, this was the grand unveiling.
And so, when she—a girl who has been passionately declaring 'I'm gonna tame a huge dragon!' ever since the first [Starry Paradise] event—finally came face-to-face with Sapphire...
"What the—?! That's so not fair! Not fair at all! Har-kun, you jerk, you were hiding this from me, weren't you?!"
"Shut up! Stop struggling and think about our situation, you...!"
Well, I suppose I should have expected she'd start thrashing around like this.
"I'll set up a meet-and-greet for you later! And I'll tell you everything then!"
"Whoaaaa, it's looking at me! It's flapping its wings! So coooooool! So biiiiiig! And soooooo cuuuuuuuuute!!!!"
"Are you even listening to me?!"
Meanwhile, my dear servant, Sapphire, suddenly summoned into this ridiculous environment, gave her master—who was currently dealing with a completely strange woman freaking out on her back—a look of utter bewilderment.
Well, she doesn't actually have a face, but I could guess her inner turmoil from the way she hesitantly bent her long neck to look back at us. Anyway—
This was by no means a situation where we could relax, and yet...
"I guess... we've escaped the immediate danger, for now?"
I looked up at the ceiling, now distant after our fall, toward the "hole" I had created.
I had expected the giant earth dragons that were chasing us to widen the entrance and come pouring in like an avalanche, but there was no sign of them.
Did they lose us? Give up? Or perhaps...
"..."
Ignoring the idiot who had completely forgotten our situation and was still chattering away at Sapphire, I shifted my gaze back "downward." Toward the colossal pupa—so immense it could be mistaken for the land itself, its overwhelming presence palpable even without looking directly at it. And yet, for some strange reason...
...while it was awe-inspiring, it didn't feel frightening.
[Novem, Dragon of the Earthen Decree]—an unknown entity about which I had zero information and zero clues, with absolutely no idea what it truly was. But now, as I faced the thing that was clearly pulsating with life, I felt that...
"It's not an enemy... is it...?"
At least, not right now.
I had a single, baseless conviction that as long as we didn't get any closer, this thing wouldn't just obliterate us. And apparently—I wasn't the only one.
"Lux—hey, how long are you gonna keep flirting with my tamed beast?! Get back here, you idiot!"
"Ow?! What was that for? There was no need to hit me! And calling me an idiot is so rude!"
Then again, the fact that the great [Traveler], with her peerless danger sense, had let her guard down completely and was acting like a total fool pretty much confirmed it.
"So what's the situation?"
"Ignored...! —Well, it's fine now. The 'path' forward is clear."
Once again, our intuitions had aligned.
"Good work, Har-kun. Aren't you glad I came to help you out?"
"I'll toss you off while you're still tied up."
"That's a death threat!"
I finally let the tension leave my body and slumped down onto Sapphire's back.
It had been a long time since I'd felt this utterly exhausted from a pure adventure. But still... as idiotic as she sounded, Lux's words were actually backed by solid proof.
And what was that proof? It was—
"That we can take that thing back with us without it getting angry, right?"
"No problem at all. My 'treasure' says so."
It was the brilliance of a "perfect ending" that went far beyond mere survival.
Atop the Dragon, riding a dragon of my own. We both relaxed, taking a momentary break, our gazes fixed on the center of the vast space's canopy.
From the pupa, [Novem, Dragon of the Earthen Decree], a visible 'something' wavered... a thin wisp of draconic aura rose upward, toward a massive crystal pillar formed like a stalactite or an icicle.
An object likely formed not by dripping liquid, but by this rising energy.
And at its tip was a single point of light, a radiance that captivated the eye even from this distance.
"Alright then, Har-kun."
Still trussed up, the [Traveler] stood, turned to me, and grinned smugly.
"Let's go claim our treasure and head home!"
"...I'm hoping for a peaceful route on the way back..."
Her golden eyes sparkled at the sight of the undeniable Dragon's Treasure.
◇◆◇◆◇
They say the journey out is easy, but the return is fraught with peril. However, aside from the 'interlude' where we ran into some trouble, this adventure was easy on both the way in and the way out.
Perhaps the authority of Treasure Hunter finally decided to smile upon us, because we made it back to the surface without encountering a single giant earth dragon. There were a couple of extra scenes along the way, like the three of us having to console a mysteriously dejected Nia who kept muttering about how she'd messed up...
"—Heh... I'm starting to find this funny."
"Nngh...!"
What was supposed to be a short adventure turned into an unexpectedly grand one, and since everyone, myself included, was exhausted to some degree, we ended the party for the time being. We decided to share our spoils and hold a review session later... and with that pretense, we officially disbanded. A short while later...
Excluding Lux, whom I'd warned on the way back, and Nia, with whom I had already coordinated, there was one person left out. Thus, by lying to my adorable partner, I made my way to the atelier alone.
The jewel crafter was endlessly moping as she appraised the "item." When I chuckled and asked her, "What happened to your usual quick recovery?", the response I got wasn't a complaint, but a death rattle.
"'Don't worry about it.' I already told you, this isn't about anyone being at fault, right? I'm not just trying to be nice; it's a simple fact. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for putting you through that."
"I-I know, but..."
"If you know, then there's no need to be so down about it."
It's the same with Kagura-san, but I wonder if high-level artisans are just the type of people who become extremely self-deprecating once they decide something is 'their fault.'
I can't say I don't understand how she feels, but I wish she'd consider my side of things, too. Seeing her look so uncharacteristically dejected for so long... it stirs my protective instincts... I mean, it makes me worry.
"If anything, I'm the one who should be bowing his head to you for a million different reasons right now. So please, just lean back in your chair and deign to instruct me, sensei."
"That's... not a problem, I already agreed to it... Ugh, fine, I get it."
She closed her eyes, which had been single-mindedly focused on the appraisal as if to avoid my gaze, and lightly slapped her cheeks before taking a deep breath. When Nia opened her eyes again,
"...Nn...!"
she spread her arms wide toward me, as if asking for something.
I could guess what she was asking for, of course. But doing that with her—someone with whom I couldn't just excuse my actions as 'being partners'—was a serious strain on my self-control, so—
"Um, please make do with this."
"...I suppose this will have to do."
"She's suddenly acting all high-and-mighty..."
I moved behind her, patted her head a few times, then mustered up my courage and gently combed my fingers through her hair.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but for me, doing something this simple was far more difficult and heart-pounding than facing a giant dragon by myself.
I just have a tendency to get flustered by Nia's more girly, vulnerable side.
"S-So, with all that awkwardness out of the way—let's get down to the 'request.' How's the 'item' looking?"
I pulled my hand away and quickly changed the subject.
It's not that I was running away. It was a strategic, mutual consideration to protect both our hearts—including Nia's, whose ears I could see were red even from behind.
"Ahem... Y-Yeah, right. Well, to put it simply—"
While constantly fiddling with her hair, Nia, trying to maintain a composed expression despite her red cheeks, poked the "item" on the desk—a fist-sized, transparently glittering raw gemstone—with her fingertip.
"As far as naturally-sourced gems from the field go... I don't think I've ever seen a jewel-chan better than this one. Excluding, of course, special-grade unique items from dungeons, like a certain someone's hair ornament."
"...Which means..."
I hadn't doubted it for a second, given that she'd been muttering things like 'Whoa...' and 'No way...' and 'Seriously...?' the whole time she was moping, but the 'treasure' Lux and I had brought back—the [Novemheart Diamond (Crystal Stone of the Earth Dragon's Heart and Soul)]—was, without a doubt...
"Ahaha... It's the kind of monster that I'm almost afraid to work on. Congratulations."
...exactly what I had been searching for: a truly one-of-a-kind, genuine unique item.
[Novemheart Diamond (Crystal Stone of the Earth Dragon's Heart and Soul)] — This draconic crystal stone is the core, the life, and the "treetop" of a great crystal pillar that grows by absorbing the draconic aura emitted by an earth dragon sleeping deep underground. The crystal pillar is a type of life form that grows by feeding on the dragon's aura, rather than simply extending downward layer by layer. Therefore, this, the tip and the original seed, is the finest part, having bathed in the "power" the longest.
Frankly, it's basically a first-discovery reward for a super-duper-hidden area. The next one will bear fruit in a few years, a few decades, or a few centuries in Arcadia time...
If you want one, go find another Dragon.