"Hey, you puny human over there!"
"...….., Huh?"
I looked around hurriedly as I suddenly heard an unknown voice, but there was no one around who seemed to be the owner of the voice. It seemed that not only me but also Yuti and the others could hear it as well, and they all had puzzled expressions on their faces.
As we were all looking for the owner of the voice, we heard the voice again.
"As a puny human, how dare you ignore me?"
"Eh?"
I didn't think it was possible, but I looked up at the dragon's face. I was looking up towards the sky until my neck hurt.
"Could it be… you're speaking?"
"Indeed. I'm talking to you."
"The dragon is talkinnggggg!"
"What is it, you lot. Is it such a strange thing for me to speak?"
I wasn't expecting him to really be able to talk, so I reacted in this way.
"N-no, um… It's because this is the first time I've encountered a dragon, so…"
"Hmph. I don't want to be compared to those dragons around here, but I can certainly understand and speak your language. Do you know what that means?"
"Huh? …T-that means y-you've worked hard to learn the human language, right…?"
"What kind of apprehension is that?"
For some reason, the dragon was tsukomiing at my words. No, because… that's the only thing that comes to mind when being asked if I know what that means…
"Eei! That means that if I can understand your words, I can understand all the insulting things that you humans have said about me!"
"I-I see?"
"What a lack of response!"
Then, what should I say? Because I by no means have any intent to make fun of the dragon in front of me…
Seeing the exchange between the dragon and I, Kaori was shaken up. but for some reason, Yuti looked at me as if she wanted to say something to me. What? Is my reaction that strange?
It's not that I couldn't stand the stares by everyone, but for now, I'm going to ask the dragon a question.
"Um, can I ask you something…? I heard you were asleep at the beginning, but is there any reason why you woke up?"
"Where did that panic of yours earlier go?"
"I felt better after that conversation got derailed."
"So you're a big shot, huh?"
At first, I was surprised and thought it was all over, but when I found out that we could communicate with each other, I felt a lot better. If this dragon had intended to kill or eat us in the first place, we wouldn't be here talking right now.
"Well, that's okay. I was awakened by the annoying smell of the "Holy" and the "Evil"… And now, for the first time in my life… I, who have lived since the creation of the world… I never thought that there was a smell that I didn't even know existed. That smell has lured me here."
"A smell, you say?"
"You want to feign ignorance, huh? There's a pot lying near you. It's been drifting from there."
"Huh?"
I looked at the pot of curry that was miraculously safe from the dragon's roar earlier.
"Um, you mean this curry?"
"Curry, huh? What's that?"
"Erm, it's our meal…"
The dragon heard my words and, for some reason, frowned. Or rather, the expression on the dragon's face is so easy to understand.
"Hmph, don't talk nonsense. Isn't human food supposed to be either boiled or grilled? Do you think that seasoning it with plenty of salt and spices is acceptable?"
I nod my head at the dragon's words, which seem somewhat ridiculous. Could it be that he's been asleep for so many years that he doesn't know that human taste buds and seasonings have changed?
Sure, it may have been true in the past, but over the years, humans have also developed their own cooking methods and studied various cuisines. Well, in this world, the cooking techniques may not be that well developed yet.
"Hmm, in that case, since you are here, would you like to try it?"
"Eh, my curry…"
Then Yuti gave me a sad look at my remark.
"Aah, Yuti. I'll make another one right after giving this dragon the curry."
"Hoo? Do you think you're going to get home safely before me?"
"Eh? Aren't you gonna let us go?"
"…You are somewhat out of tune."
Why? I didn't do or say anything strange, didn't I?
"But even if I were to eat this thing, I wouldn't be satisfied with such a small and insignificant amount of food. What are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do, you said? If you said so…"
Indeed, the dragon was right; even if it were the size of a large pot, the amount would be completely lacking, considering the size of the dragon in front of me. In the first place, it's doubtful whether there is even enough for the dragon to taste it.
However, there's no better way to deal with this huge body──.
"Ah. That's it."
"Mu? What do you mean?"
"No, I just thought I'd found a way to reduce the size of dragon-san, so I thought that…"
"D-dragon-san? I mean, do you really think there's a way to do that?"
"Yes."
As I said that, I took out a certain thing from the item box. It was the [Pill of Large and Small Changes] that was dropped at the time when I got the equipment for Kaori's protection.
"What, that's… not poisonous or anything like that, right?"
"No, no, it's just a pill to make you smaller."
"A pill that could make me smaller?"
Dragon-san brought his huge face closer from the side and stared at the medicine with his big eyes.
"Hmph. How can such a thing make me small…"
"Well, well, don't say that; you just have to try it."
"Where's the attitude you had the first time you saw me?"
When you become too nervous, you become uncomfortable speaking, don't you think? Well, the reason why I've been able to be so carefree is that being nervous isn't practical. Besides, I'd really want to borrow Japanese companies' help and teach dragon-san that human food is wonderful too.
With that in mind, I threw the pill into the mouth of the still vigilant dragon. Incidentally, there were a lot of pills in the bottle, and to be honest, I didn't know how many pills it would take for the effect to appear. But as expected, I couldn't use more without knowing the effects, so I kept it to one. No, in the first place, if it's unused, I'm just saying that you should use it yourself first.
"Y-you! You really made me eat it!"
The next moment, however, the dragon's body began to glow.
"What is this? What's happening!"
"Who knows…?"
"Who knows?!"
Well, maybe it's like a sign that it's going to start shrinking now.
When dragon-san is panicked at the strange phenomenon of his body, Kaori, who has been watching the course of events until now, asked anxiously.
"W-what an amazing light… but is it okay?"
"I think it's going to be okay. When I got the item, the description didn't mention anything that looked like a side effect."
Yes, that was one of the main reasons why I used it on dragon-san without hesitation.
With the [Identification] skill, if there are any side effects, they should be properly explained to me. After all, when I examined the [Ichikoro grass] that Akatsuki brought me when I was collecting medicinal herbs with Lexia-san and Luna, I was properly informed that it was dangerous.
Eventually, the light subsided, and there was a small dragon there, about the size that I could carry in my two hands.
"I-is it done…? Why do you people look down on me?"
"It's because dragon-san is now small."
"What?!"
Dragon-san received my words and immediately looked over at his body and was stunned.
"T-this is ridiculous… my body is really smaller…"
"Now, you can really taste the curry."
"U-umu… No, I mean, that's not it! It's true that if I get smaller, it will let me try the curry, but I can't have it like this!"
"That's okay too. Perhaps, from now on, dragon-san will be able to change the size of his body at will."
"What?!"
The dragon's eyes widened as if to say that he couldn't believe my words, but his body began to glow again as he looked up at the sky as if he had decided on something.
And when the light subsided, dragon-san in his original size was present.
"I-I really turned back…"
"You really did it."
"You weren't sure about this?"
I knew that it was possible to change the body's size thanks to the [Identification] skill, so I didn't think it was impossible to do so. Dragon-san was astonished by my reaction, but soon, when his body glowed again, he changed into a smaller body.
"…Well, fine. No, it's not actually good, but let's not worry about it at this time. Now what's in the pot there? Give it to me quickly."
Saying that, dragon-san snatched the pot of curry I was holding. Then he opened the pot and took in a full breath.
"Suuuhh… U-umu, as I thought, it's an indescribable smell. But from the color, I can't imagine it's very good."
"Disagree. Then give it to me."
"What is it, little girl? This is mine now! I won't give it to you!"
At this point, Yuti aimed for the curry, but dragon-san finally stuck his face into the pot!
"….."
I wasn't expecting him to shove his whole face into the pot, so I was a little worried about him──.
"Zugogogo!"
"Eh."
I heard what sounded like something being sucked in at an incredible rate.
And then…
"Delicious! This is so good? What is this, what the hell is this?"
This was a victory for the Japanese companies.
I answered with a few words with a proud expression, "This is human food. It's curry."
"T-this is…!"
Dragon-san froze for a bit, looking greatly surprised, but then began to eat again in earnest.
While looking at that figure, I suddenly thought back to my conversation with dragon-san earlier and decided to ask him.
"Um… speaking of which, earlier you said something about the smell of "Holy" and "Evil," what do you mean by that?'"
"Haguhagu… Mm? Apparently… it means nothing. The disgusting smell of "Holy" and "Evil" began to fill the world, so my nose woke me up even though I didn't want to. They're spreading disgusting smells…"
Could it be that Master and the others are causing this…!
I'm not sure what to say to that fact, and as he ate, he moved his nose around and smelled us as well.
"I think I can sense some of that smell from the little girl there and from you as well… Mm? You guys have a bit of a strange smell. The little girl smells like a mixture of "Holy" and "Evil." And from you, it's…"
As he was about to say that much, dragon-san stopped eating his curry and opened his eyes.
"R-ridiculous… why do you smell like that guy!?"
"T-that guy?"
"Stop playing dumb! If I say that guy, it's that guy!"
"No, wait, that doesn't make sense to me…"
"Why is it so hard getting through to you? Didn't the humans call him the Sage?"
"Eh!?"
I was so surprised by dragon-san's words that my eyes widened.
"Sage, you said? You know sage-san?"
"Huh? I know what he knows, and he should know what I know, too."
"No, there's a lot of things happening with me at the moment…"
While telling him about the Earth, I explained to dragon-san that I became the new master of Sage-san's house and that I had inherited Sage-san's magic circuit.
Then, dragon-san snorted loudly.
"U-umu, I see… But I must admit that I've never heard of the existence of a different world… even though I've been living since the creation of this world… this is the first time I've heard of it. And to create a connection with it… As expected of the Sage."
Dragon-san muttered with a somewhat distant look in his eyes.
"Um… what's the relationship between dragon-san and Sage-san?"
"Hm? That's right… I thought we were friends."
"Eh?"
"But I failed to understand his suffering. I had no concept of life span and thought it was foolish to die of old age. But I didn't think that it was his only salvation…"
With a somewhat sad look on his face, dragon-san says so.
Sage-san's book said that he didn't have any close friends, but there were still those who were worried about him like this…
As I was feeling sad about that misunderstanding, dragon-san finally finished his curry.
"Puhah! That was good!"
"Oh, yes. That's good to know──."
The moment I was about to say that much, a message appeared in front of me.
You have succeeded in taming the [Genesis Dragon]