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"Loot? Besides dragon meat, there's other loot… Ah!"
Sterin tilted his head as if asking what Raon meant, then his eyes widened.
"D-Don't tell me you're thinking about going to Matirus' lair?"
"It's not just a thought, I've already decided to go."
Raon shook his head slightly.
"It's natural to collect ownerless treasures."
Dragons, like crows who collect shiny objects, are known to collect gold bars and jewels. In ancient tales recorded in books, during the era when the Demon Dragon ruled the continent, humans and monsters offered gems and gold coins to dragons. If Matirus is a dragon of such stature, it's possible he's built a mountain of gold bars and jewels.
"Hmm, there could be treasures as you say."
Sterin cleared his throat and nodded.
"But as an elf, I'm not sure it's worth collecting."
"You're in a position to say that, Guardian."
If someone else had said something like that, they could be called a hypocrite, but Sterin was an exception. Despite holding the most noble position among the elves, he lived a frugal life.
"But humans need money. Besides, wouldn't it be fun?"
"Fun?"
Sterin tilted his head as if asking what Raon meant.
"Aren't you curious how they would react if we made weapons to kill other dragons using the gold bars and dragon bones of the dragon that attacked us?"
Raon smiled and shrugged.
"Even with dragon bones and teeth as materials, it would cost an astronomical amount to process the equipment. Raiding the dragon's lair will be a great help for future wars."
"Using dragon bones and money to make weapons to kill dragons..."
Sterin stroked his chin and smiled deeply.
"It's an excellent idea. I'd love to see their distorted expressions."
He nodded, saying he would like to participate in that fight even if he had to take care of his body.
"Yes, you'll be able to see it for sure. We'll also raid other dragon lairs and send equipment to Sepia."
Raon nodded calmly.
"Other dragon lairs?"
Sterin's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me you're planning to raid all three of their lairs?"
"Of course. We don't know the name of the Red Dragon, so we'll leave him aside for now, but the Black Dragon is a great dragon, so we need to know the location of his lair."
Considering the Black Dragon's anti-human behavior and his status as a great dragon, it's necessary to know the location of his lair. It would be right to reclaim it by sending other divisions or units, not just the Light Wind division.
"That's right! It's only natural for the victor to take the spoils!"
Martha cheered and stomped the ground enthusiastically.
"Is there also bead ice cream?"
Runaan licked her lips, seemingly uninterested in the money.
"There's no such thing..."
Kerin shook her head, insisting that there definitely wouldn't be any.
"Raiding lairs... Is that something a Zieghart swordsman should do? Isn't it robbery? Hmm, if it can save many people, it might be the right thing to do..."
Burren frowned and stroked his chin, lost in thought. He looked a lot like Karoon.
"I don't know about the others, but we have to go through Matirus' lair. I should inform the family beforehand."
Raon looked up at the sky and licked his lips. Perhaps due to the difficult battle, he remembered the faces of his family.
"I already sent a preliminary report."
Burren shook his head slightly.
"You reported?"
"Yes. I thought the Head of the House would be worried, so I sent it after confirming you had woken up."
He lowered his hand and said it could have been done later.
"I see. Good work."
Raon smiled slightly. Rimmer, who had been the vice division leader, never made those kinds of reports and always argued with him, so he found it strange that Burren had reported first.
"I definitely need to choose a new Vice Division Leader."
After dismissing Rimmer, he had been thinking about the vice division leader. In terms of strength, Runaan was the strongest, but she wasn't the type to take initiative. Martha had great drive and initiative, but her temper flared quickly, making it difficult for her to lead everyone.
No matter how he thought about it, only Burren could lead the Light Wind division in his place.
"Wow!"
Dorian dropped the dragon meat he had been diligently roasting and began to drool.
"Lair! Gold! Jewels! Supplies!"
His eyes shone gold as if he had already entered Matirus' lair.
"What are you doing?! Isn't the meat burning?!"
Wrath, on the contrary, quickly gestured to turn the meat over, seemingly uninterested in the gold bars.
"Ah!"
Dorian, as if he had heard Wrath's words, returned to reality and quickly turned the meat over.
"Hmm, this seems almost done, doesn't it?"
Kerin placed the Red Dragon meat, which had lost all its redness, on a plate.
"Whew! Division Leader, you said you wanted to eat it, so why don't you try it first?"
He pushed forward the steaming Red Dragon roast, as if saying Raon should eat first since he had ordered it.
"That's right. But..."
Raon smiled and used his fork to push the meat towards Kerin's mouth.
"In the Light Wind division, Kerin always goes first."
"Mmm!"
Krein wanted to refuse, but unable to resist Raon's superhuman strength, he ended up with the meat stuffed in his mouth.
"Chew."
"Ugh... Hm?"
He frowned as if he greatly disliked the dragon roast while chewing, but suddenly his eyes widened.
"W-What?! Why is it delicious?"
Kerin quickly chewed and swallowed the meat, then licked his lips.
"Really? Are you saying it's delicious?"
Martha laughed incredulously.
"If you're lying..."
"It's true! The fire flavor is incredible! I've never tasted anything like it before!"
Kerin handed the dragon meat to Martha and told her to try it herself.
"Me first."
Runaan stepped forward bravely and ate the dragon roast first.
"Tasty."
She gave a thumbs up, showing her intense expression of flavor despite it not being ice cream.
"Mmm..."
Martha frowned and then, as if she didn't want to lose to Runaan, put the dragon meat in her mouth.
"Oh, the fire flavor is really good! It's different from beef!"
She exclaimed that it was truly delicious and continued to put meat in her mouth.
"It's really good."
"It's truly delicious!"
"I never thought dragon meat could be so tasty..."
Other Light Wind swordsmen also chewed and swallowed the Red Dragon and Gold Dragon meat, saying it was delicious.
"Keuh, it feels good to see them enjoying it so much!"
Wrath smiled brightly, seemingly pleased that everyone liked the dragon meat.
"But they're not going to eat that one."
Raon narrowed his eyes and looked at the pile of Black Dragon meat on the right. No one touched the Black Dragon meat for fear of being poisoned.
"What nonsense! The black lizard has strong poison resistance. It doesn't have poison in its body!"
Wrath shook his head and said that even if there was poison, it would have burned in the fire.
"If the others don't eat it, then you eat it! Even this king can't hold back anymore!"
He waved his hands frantically, telling Raon to stop holding back and eat quickly.
'Alright, alright.'
Raon nodded and put the untouched Black Dragon meat in his mouth. First, a salty flavor moistened his tongue, followed by a wave of meat juices. It felt as if a sticky breath of meat juice spread throughout his mouth.
"Kyaaaah!"
Wrath trembled with his fists and let out an exclamation.
"This is it! This is why we eat dragons!"
He began to dance in the air, shouting that the flavor exceeded expectations.
"Are you alright?"
Dorian looked down slightly, asking if there wasn't any poison.
"Yes. It seems all the poison has evaporated."
Only after Raon nodded with a smile did the other swordsmen begin to eat the Black Dragon meat.
"The handsome Raon fearlessly guided everyone into food as well..."
Siyana was hiding behind a tree, writing in her book again. Hearing the term "the handsome Raon" made her head ache.
"That book is scarier than dragons..."
Raon shook his head and was about to eat a whole piece of Black Dragon meat when:
[Trait <Gluttony> activated.]
[Trait <Poison Resistance> achievement increases.]
[Trait <Poison Resistance> rank increases.]
Suddenly, reward messages appeared.
"Eh?"
'Mmm?'
Raon and Wrath opened their eyes identically when they saw the messages.
"W-What is this?! Why are the traits increasing?"
Wrath opened his mouth wide, as if he hadn't imagined this at all.
'Ah, I thought it was strange that there wasn't a poison trait in the rewards, but it's increasing like this.'
Raon smiled slightly as he looked at the reward messages. It seemed that the power of Gluttony had been activated, applying the Black Dragon's strong poison resistance trait to himself.
'Then...'
He put down the Black Dragon meat and tried to eat the Red Dragon meat as well.
"Kuh! As expected, the Red Dragon is the best in terms of fire flavor. It's as if the meat itself contains flames!"
Wrath smiled, holding his chubby cheeks as if he had never been angry.
[Trait <Gluttony> activated.]
[Trait <Fire Resistance> achievement increases.]
This time it was the same. The Fire Resistance rank didn't increase, but a message appeared saying the achievement had increased.
"Puaj!"
Wrath, who was happily chewing, opened his eyes wide.
"D-Didn't it only happen with the Black Dragon?"
He trembled his jaw as if he couldn't believe it.
"Nothing happened with the blue lizard before!"
"That's because you didn't have Gluttony then."
"Argh!"
Wrath grabbed his head as if asking what all this was about.
'I wonder what will happen if I eat the Gold Dragon'
"W-Wait!"
Ignoring Wrath's words, Raon smiled brightly and put the Gold Dragon meat in his mouth.
"D-Delicious! The meat is so tender, it melts in your mouth like ice cream."
Wrath softened his gaze again, as if captivated by the dragon meat, and his anger subsided.
[Trait <Gluttony> activated.]
[Trait <Light Resistance> created.]
[Trait <Light Resistance> achievement increases.]
As befitting the Gold Dragon meat that uses light, a trait related to light resistance was created.
'So that's how it works?'
Raon curled his lips. It seemed he could raise all three resistances during tonight's dinner.
'I have to eat it all...'
"D-Don't eat!"
Wrath blocked Raon's path, telling him not to eat anymore.
'Really?'
Raon crossed his arms calmly, as if he didn't care.
"Oh..."
Wrath looked back. His eyes trembled as he saw the steaming meat.
"I don't mind, but are you sure?"
"Puaj!"
Wrath drooled and shook his head.
'Are you sure I shouldn't eat?'
"J-Just one..."
He raised one finger and said we should eat just one.
'Alright.'
Raon nodded and ate the Black Dragon meat.
"Whew! So delicious! And even more delicious because we can only eat it occasionally..."
While Wrath made a disgusted expression despite his ecstatic face, it happened.
[Trait <Gluttony> activated.]
[Trait <Poison Resistance> achievement increases.]
"Argh!"
Wrath shouted again after seeing the message.
"S-Stop eating!"
Wrath shook his head and told Raon not to eat anymore.
'Alright.'
Raon left the meat without any remorse.
"Then are we going back?"
He actually thought he had received enough rewards, so he didn't care either way.
"Hey!"
Wrath waved his hands in panic.
"J-Just one more..."
'Okay.'
"No, don't eat!"
'Okay.'
"Just eat! Don't eat!"
He pulled his hair, with tears of frustration in his eyes and drool of appetite dripping from his mouth.
'What am I supposed to do...?'
"System! Angelic bastard!"
* * *
At the entrance of a small cave, barely large enough to fit one or two people.
"Mmm..."
An old goblin named Bobor let out a soft moan in front of the cave entrance.
"Why hasn't he returned?"
Matirus, who had said he would destroy Sepia and return, hadn't shown up for two days, and the Great Forest in the distance was only slightly scorched, not completely erased.
"What could have happened..."
As Bobor walked in front of the cave with a frown, it happened.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, it is."
Along with an expectant voice, a black-haired woman and an elf appeared.
"H-Humans?"
Bobor stepped back, shocked. It was the first time in hundreds of years that humans had entered this area known as Matirus' lair.
"It's the first time I've seen a talking goblin."
The black-haired woman smiled as she looked at Bobor.
"How dare you set foot here with your lowly feet! This is the lair of Matirus, the master of the mountains..."
"Yes, I know."
She smiled as if she obviously knew and drew her sword.
"Did you know and still come? If you wield that sword in this land, you will face the wrath of Matirus!"
Bobor shook his head. Now that Matirus was gone and most of the guardians had left with him, he could only bluster.
"How can a dead man express wrath?"
The black-haired woman shrugged with a smile.
"D-Dead? Matirus?"
The old goblin's jaw trembled.
"Yes, he was delicious."
The black-haired woman licked her lips and said she had started to like dragon meat.
"D-Don't lie! There's no way he could have died at the hands of humans..."
"Enough. You can follow your master."
She raised her sword, saying she would cut him down painlessly.
"I can't help it."
The reason he was chosen to protect this lair was because he spoke several languages fluently and was relatively intelligent. He had no way to block that brightly glowing sword with force, as he couldn't even match the lowest-ranking guardian.
"Oh..."
"Stop."
As Bobor closed his eyes, imagining death, a low voice was heard from the bottom of the hill. When he looked up in fear, a golden-haired, red-eyed human had already approached.
"It would be good to have someone to guide us."
"Ah..."
Bobor's jaw trembled. This human emitted an aura that didn't seem less than Matirus's.
"You will, right?"
The golden-haired, red-eyed human smiled coldly as if asking for cooperation.
"Y-Yes..."
Bobor could only nod.
* * *
Unlike its narrow entrance, Matirus' lair was enormous, as if the entire mountain range had been excavated. Its scale alone surpassed that of Sepia. However, there were no objects or treasures visible inside. It was just an empty cavern.
"What! There's nothing here!"
Martha frowned as she looked at Matirus' lair, which was large and empty.
"No ice cream..."
Runaan also shook her head, seemingly disappointed.
"I told you there wouldn't be any!"
Kerin pounded his chest in frustration.
"Hmm... was he frugal?"
Burren stroked his chin as if that could be the case.
"T-That's true..."
The old goblin who introduced himself as Bobor nodded.
"Matirus used to be frugal and only focused on sleeping, not particularly on accumulating wealth."
He shook his head and said that Matirus, unlike other dragons, didn't collect human treasures.
"Is that so?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Bobor.
"It seems a bit strange."
It seemed like an act, but being a goblin face instead of human, it was difficult to tell. It was also difficult to torture him, as being a common goblin, he would probably die quickly.
"Although it seems plausible."
He extended his Aura Perception throughout the lair, but couldn't sense any empty spaces.
"That's why this king said we should roast more meat!"
Wrath frowned as if suggesting they should return and eat more meat.
'Can I really eat?'
"Ah..."
His lips trembled as if he remembered the rewards after eating the meat.
"D-Don't eat! No, eat! Ugh..."
Wrath collapsed on the ground after struggling with himself as if he was playing rock, paper, scissors in front of a mirror.
'Should we look for the others then?'
While Raon was considering whether to search for the Black Dragon's lair or the Red Dragon's lair, Dorian began to sniff the ground with his head down.
"The smell! I smell supplies!"
Dorian, with his eyes half-twisted, pulled out a pickaxe and began to hit the floor of the lair.
"What are you doing?"
Martha frowned as she looked at Dorian.
"It's here! I'm sure of it!"
When the floor didn't crack, Dorian threw away the pickaxe and struck with his astral-powered sword. With a thunderous sound, the cave shook and the floor was excavated deep. Then, a faint golden light flickered in the dark cave. There were gold bars like marble beneath the broken floor.
"..."
"..."
Raon and Bobor's eyes met.
"Ah, this is..."
"So it was here?"
Raon smiled as if everything was alright and stomped his foot. With a thunderous sound, the thick floor shattered completely, filling the lair with a bright golden glow.
-
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