We now stood in front of a corpse of a dead dragon. Up close, it was even more impressive than before. It easily dwarfed our sizes combined together. If I were to compare it, its size was larger than my old house. To think that I actually managed to take down a beast like this…
"Milord, please, let me do all the work. It's the least I can do for not being of any help in your battle before."
"Wait, are you sure you can cut through its scales? It's really hard, you know."
"Oh, I have my ways."
Using her staff, she manifested what looked to be a bottle of liquid out of thin air, landing perfectly nicely within the grip of her left hand. Dimensional Storage, obviously. Conveniently for her, the dragon had died with its body resting sideways, allowing her easy access to its chest where its heart should be located.
"And here... we... go."
She poured the contents of the bottle on the chest of the beast. And then…
Shhhhhhhhhh…
My eyes widened. It melts! The scale layer where she poured the liquid on… it just melts!
"This, Milord, is a special kind of acid I concocted myself, designed to corrode even the sturdiest armor. And, as you can see, it can even melt dragon scales as well. Isn't it just wonderful?"
I gulped. That smile… am I really sure she's not some sort of a mad scientist?
She then summoned a big knife from her storage, before gutting through the now soft and exposed flesh of the dragon. Betraying her dainty look, she tore through it like a butcher, not even caring that some of the blood went onto her clothes and even her face. And then, she reached in, deep with both hands (she had thrown the big knife to the ground now), to the point that nearly her entire arms were swallowed by the dragon's corpse. She then gingerly pulled them out, carrying with them a giant-sized heart, around the size of a basketball. And not only that, but the thing was still beating as well. I don't know how that works, biologically speaking, but a dragon should not obey the normal laws of biology in the first place.
"Look, Milord. The heart of a dragon. Isn't it wonderful, how it still beats like this even though its owner is dead already?"
The way she tore through flesh with her knife like it was nothing. The way she wasn't bothered in the slightest from bathing in dragon blood. And the way she grinned in the most ominous manner as she proudly showed off the heart to me—there was no doubt about it. She is a mad alchemist, who probably enjoys dissecting animals and monsters for their body parts.
I should be more bothered by it, but for some odd reason, it… just made her become—I'm not sure what word I should use here—cooler? In my eyes? Yeah, that's probably it.
I remembered Sherry and how she would kill monsters with her bare hands just to relieve her stress. I remembered how I hugged her, even as she was bathed in their blood. Back then, I didn't see her as a monster. And now, with this alchemist woman, I didn't see her as one either. I mean, if you think about it, that kind of personality only makes it easier for her to do her job. A lot of alchemists just gave out requests to adventurers to get the materials they wanted. They don't want to get their hands dirty. But this lady, I have a hunch that she's the type to bravely go to faraway places and fight off dangerous monsters on her own, so that she can get her materials on her own. If she can make acids that strong, she can just throw it at monsters and she can probably kill them with it.
She's not a bad person. She's just a hardcore alchemist. And I kinda respect that.
"Y-yeah, that's pretty cool, I guess." I scratched my chin. Still pretty gross though.
Using her Dimensional Storage spell, she then made the heart vanish.
"So, Milord, what would you do with the rest of the dragon?"
"Eh? Well, we don't exactly have time to clean it up, do we? So I guess we'll just leave it here for those guys to take."
Her smile suddenly vanished into a frown.
"Those fools? You think they deserve this? After they denied us the heart without me giving my body?"
I gulped. I could sense her vindictiveness dripping with every word.
"I say they don't deserve anything. You're the one who won the fight. They should just be grateful that you have saved your lives."
Deep down however, as selfish as it was, I felt a little sense of relief, as this meant she wasn't the type of woman who would just easily sleep with anyone. She only accepted because people's lives were at stake, and I respected that.
"H-hey, I can't do that! And besides, I can't possibly carry everything back on my own," I retorted.
"Hmm, true enough…" She bit her lip, before returning to a smile. "Milord, you really are too kind. But at the very least, you should take everything from the dragon. You would find them extremely valuable in the market. In fact, an entire dragon corpse for a person would be enough for them to live comfortably without working for an entire year. Isn't it lovely?"
"With that size though, I don't think I'll be able to fit everything to be honest," I replied with a wry smile. "Isn't pretty every part of a dragon sellable?" I learned about it from a book about adventuring I read once.
"Well then, how about this? I'll buy everything from Milord. Every scale, every organs, every bodyparts. Then let me take care of this corpse. I can come back later and take it on my own."
"Wait, you're serious? I thought you didn't have any money," I replied.
"Oh, I don't have it now. But I certainly can procure it later. So yes, you would have to trust me, Milord, to honor my word. And of course, I would need to return to the capital to obtain it, so you would be forced to wait for quite some time until I could pay you back, especially since I would be staying here for a bit. Need to make sure those mosquitoes don't bother the villagers anymore after all."
If I were strapped for cash, I would've rejected this obviously shady proposal. But I still have a decent amount of gold in my wallet, especially after completing that escort quest, so I guess it wouldn't be that big of a deal if she scammed me out of it.
...Then again, I don't think she's the type to do that, judging by how she has been this far. She might have an unsettling smile from time to time, but that's not enough reason to judge someone.
But there's still one problem though. I have no plans on staying in this place for long. I want to resume my journey and continue headindg northeast as soon as I can. Not just because it's the way to the Demon Continent, but also because—
"Milord, judging for your expression, could it be perhaps that you don't trust me?" She interrupted my thoughts, with a sad expression that I was pretty sure she was faking.
"Oh no, not that. It's just that… I want to go to the northeast as immediately as I can. I don't have the time to detour to the capital or to wait here."
"Oh?" See? Her sad face immediately vanished, replaced by a curious smile. "If I might ask, does Milord have some sort of an urgent business there that you have to take care of?"
"Mmm, not exactly," I answered. "I just want to get to the World Dungeon there, you see."
At the northeast end of the continent, near the port where one can take a ship to the Demon Continent, there's a World Dungeon named Serene Grotto. It was a seaside cave only accessible whenever the tide was at its lowest, which made it less popular than say, the Sky Tower, since that only occurred once every month, when the moon was at its newest.
Of course, my goal there was to get to its depths and get a Dream Orb, so that I could send a message back to Sherry. And if I get an extra, I'll also use it to send a message to Marina as well, telling her that I am fine and that she shouldn't worry.
...And I suppose I have to apologize as well. But I don't think it's appropriate to do it at a long distance like that. I'll need to go see her personally and beg her for her forgiveness. Her and Erika's. Yeah, I'll do that. I'll even prostrate myself before them.
For me to run away like that, it was unforgivable.
Her smile only grew as a response. "Ah, that makes sense. With the strength that you possess, you would be best doing your adventuring at dungeons like that. Would be a lot more lucrative than just doing normal quests. However, do you truly have to hurry that much? If I were to be honest, Milord, you have been the most pleasant company, and I would love to take you to the capital with me and show you around. It would be a date even. Wouldn't you be pleased by such an arrangement?"
Here, she fluttered her long and delicate eyelashes as she placed one arm just below her boobs. I was pretty sure she was intentionally pressing said arm downwards, just so said breasts would be pushed upwards, making them more notable.
Yep, she's flirting with me alright. Which kinda takes me off guard actually. Not that I don't appreciate such a beautiful woman doing it with me of course.
Wait, don't tell me that she's one of the shota-loving predatory onee-san that Marina warned me about (though I'm pretty sure she's amongst their ranks as well, at least towards me)?
Though, in my shameful opinion, it probably won't be that bad, being taken advantage by a beautiful older woman… W-wait, what am I thinking? I already have Sherry, you know! Sherry!
"I'm sorry," I answered apologetically. "The reason why I need to go there is to get myself a Dream Orb. I… have someone I really need to meet. And I don't know where they are exactly. So I need to send them a message on where to find me."
Her curious smile grew to its maximum smile, transforming fully into a grin.
"A Dream Orb?" She paused for a bit, biting her lip as she looked away.
"Do you know what that is?" I asked.
"Of course I do," she replied, looking a tad offended by my question. "I can't be a good alchemist if I don't know all sorts of magic items, can I?" She then walked back and forth a little, seemingly trying hard to remember something, until...
"Ah, good news, Milord! I believe I have met a person in the possession of such an item."
My heart skipped a beat while my expression brightened. "R-really?"
"It was a few months ago. She came to me, asking for my potions as she heard I was the best alchemist in the capital. Mind you, this was when I was at the royal palace, and yet, she managed to sneak through all the guards completely undetected."
I nodded, as I listened full-force to her story.
"She was a silver-haired elf, a high elf, perhaps, judging by how long her ears were, which was another peculiar thing about her."
Yeah, if I remembered correctly, high elves are supposed to be really rare, since most of them are cooped up inside that Forbidden Land of theirs at the far north of the continent. They were so rare to the point that there were all sorts of baseless myths about them, from how seeing one of them was said to bring you good luck to how a high elf's beauty/handsomeness would instantly make anyone fall in love with them if they ever caught a glimpse at his/her face. However, I imagine it would also lead to terrible stuff like how slave hunters would go to elven lands and hunt for high elves, only to mistake ordinary elves with slightly longer ears as one. After all, the rarer it is, the more pricey it would be.
"So, she was the one who had the Dream Orb?" I asked.
"Yes. She came to me offering that Dream Orb in exchange of me making potions for her."
"Wait, so did you accept it? That means you got the—"
"Do not rush, Milord. Let me finish my tale first."
"A-alright." Oops, got a bit too excited there.
"So, I did not end up accepting it. Why? Because the things she asked would not cost nowhere near the value of selling said orb would provide. And so I refused, telling her that the orb was too much for a payment. She insisted however, saying that she didn't care about money."
"So, did you—"
"No, I did not. You see, for someone to eagerly give a valuable item like that… I couldn't help but be suspicious. What if she stole it from somewhere? If she could sneak into the palace like it was nothing, she could be a master thief for all I know, even if she carried a staff with her. I don't want that kind of trouble later down the line. So I also insisted that she should pay in another manner."
"And then?"
"And then, I offered her an alternative. I asked her permission for a short examination on her body. You see, Milord, I have some interest in elf biology. I want to know what makes them live for so long compared to us humans. She accepted, and then, after performing said examination, she left. I never saw her again since."
Umm, did she just say that she performed an "examination" on her body? That could mean something terrifying or something lewd. And with that ominous smile, I'm not sure which. Judging by how she had flirted with me, she might just be one of those perverted women who like admiring other women's bodies.
Well, not like it's a bad thing of course...
"Fortunately for you, Milord," she continued. "I know for a fact where she most likely went. She asked me of a certain extremely rare plant that could only grow in said region. And since it's so rare, you might have a good chance of catching up to her before she left."
Well, that doesn't sound too promising. I'll probably have to be lucky to be able to meet her in time.
You know, I never considered myself as someone who has good luck. In fact, I often think of myself as someone plagued by misfortune. However, that's all in the past. I am now fortunate enough to be reborn as this good-looking kid who is a genius in magic by this world's standards. I may have suffered some calamities in the way but hey, a real life reincarnation like this can't be ideal like in those novels where the MC would get cheat powers immediately right from the start. So I can no longer wallow in self-pity as an unlucky person. I can only move forward with determination, and change my fortune with my own hands.
Then again, I do need the Orb, one way or another. I know Sherry said that she would be late in leaving her village, but what if she ends up leaving early anyways? And besides, who knows how far it would take for me to get there? I don't even know where her village is. And the Demon Continent is actually larger than the Holy Continent.
There's one other matter that would be an obstacle, and that is language. The demons mostly used their own language, separate from us humans. I would have to learn some of it beforehand before I get there.
Another way to do it if I spread my name around openly. My real name. That way, she will know that I'm around.
Of course, I'll draw attention to myself that way. Am I really ready to fight against any Magocracy assassins that will come after me?
...Maybe I am. I just won against a dragon after all, the strongest monster on the Holy Continent.
"Milord?"
"W-what? Uh, yeah, thanks" I forced a grin. Flameu's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. "I'll go there and try my luck. If she's a high elf, then it shouldn't be that hard to find her. Really long ears, silver hair, right?"
She smiled, almost to a laugh. "Correct. And she's actually pretty short too, but not as short as a gnome. Looks young as well, like an adolescent just a few years older than you."
Let me guess, flat-chested?
"And yes, she doesn't have the same adult charm as I do. So if you're expecting a busty elf woman like that girl you just rescued, you'd be on the wrong track, Milord." She smirked.
...Dammit, how did she read my mind like that?
"Got it." I nodded. "Though I would need for you to pay for this dragon first. I imagine after you told her the value of the orb, she would ask for quite a lot of gold for it."
She paused for a moment, looking away as she put one finger on her chin.
"That's a good point, Milord. Hmm, I suppose I'll have to rely on her after all."
Her?
She turned back to face me with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Milord, what do you think of paying a visit to this country's princess?"
...What.