"Master you can rest if you want, the food will still take some time, or you can look around the area, the sun is still up." we could barely see the sun anymore, but since the night still was far from falling, it was bright out.
"Since I sat around all day, I would like to see around the area. I wonder if I could find some good ingredients…" This was the outskirts of Treastein. The Dragon Lands were at the opposite side of the Empire.
I could only think how that damn black dragon was able to come so quickly to the empire. It had taken him probably 4 days. It seems that even if a male dragon that one was slightly superior among the dragons.
Selen and Selena here were more heavily towards physically capable dragons. Which meant they were physically strong and magically weaker or had lowered potential in magic, even that potential was staggering in terms of humans though, dragons were just that superior, as for their strong point, their physical strength was really stronger than normal dragons. that dragon I faced in the empire was towards magical potential, so I was actually a lot lucky, if Selena or Selen would have been the one to attack me.... the fight would have been a lot riskier.
Anyways, we were a long way away from the destination. Even after exiting the border of Treastein. We would still need to go a long way before we can enter the dragon lands.
The Dragon Lands was based on a large piece of land. I heard from Selena that they had desert like areas and even forest type areas. Also some mountains and hills make it a land with a lot of different areas.
Dragons were also divided in many classes. Selena and the dragons like her were of the highest class called themselves Dragon kin, they had intellectual abilities, could use magic freely, more over their life span was the longest in the world even rivaling some spirits.
Under them were the ones that were classed as helpers, they were born with dragon characteristics but they can't use magic freely. That was why, they always looked like dragons and only could breathe fire. Since they were much weaker than Selena and the others like her, they are called Sub-dragons. They tend to obey the Dragon kin's from birth, so they have a non aggression relationship.
Now, the lowest classes are the wyverns, usually they are treated as normal beasts. They can't compare to any dragons, they don't have any way to communicate and are as good as wild animals….
They are smaller in size and can breathe normal fire, their life span is little over 2 centuries but they die much sooner since they have no brains and tend to attack anyone approaching their territory.
"So you guys eat those dragons as wild game?" I ask Selena and Selen. We were walking around the area of our campsite.
"Yes, to tell you the truth, those beasts are like a wolf pack in human territories, they breed often too so even killing them in mass is not enough to eradicate them. Moreover, their meat is very tasty and goes well with any kind of cooking."
"Also these wyverns may look weak but in adventurers guild standards they tend to vary from class-B to class-C targets. Some even become class-A depending on how long it has lived." Selena and Selen gave a great summary of their territory.
It was also filled with many animals and monsters like human territory but they were at the bottom of the food chain. It was a fact that dragon kin were at the top of the food chain in this world. They only had limited numbers counting to not even a hundred thousand, still they had overwhelming abilities from birth. No wonder how they could manage such a huge territory.
"There are also some of us who live in the sea; they are in different shapes than us but they hold the same strength and intellectual abilities...."
"I see…. Hundred thousand…. Of you guys eh…." I was calculating if I could fend them off if Dragons like Selena and Selen came at me in hordes….. then...
"I feel like you are thinking something terrifying.." Selen said looking at me with a worried expression…. Their intuition was sharp once they actually got to know my strength.
"Nothing to worry about, if an all out war starts any time with you guys, I am going to run with my family to the Edge of the world!" That was the best Idea, dragons were extremely weak there because of a high Miasma zone. The miasma will suck the mana from them like a vacuum cleaner.
"..... Looking at how you said it… you might just do it…. But even I don't want to get in a war with you as an opponent…. I learned of your strength… Even if you look like this… you might still have a chance with Lady Ashvel. But apart from the royal family, I think other dragons would just be equal or weaker to you."
"Me too… I feel like even while running away you will take down half the army to slow down the war…" Selena and Selen shivered a bit…. Selen's estimates were true. I really would have done that so no one would come after me….
If I went all out with Amanori, I could probably bring out the new power that Amanori manifested long back when I first wielded her for real.
"Anyway, I certainly don't want that kind of outcome.." I said, patting both of them on the head. They were like good children now… so I unconsciously did that….
"Besides…. Not all dragons know how to fight, some of the Dragon Kin's are in the tribe so they could have the protections of the Stronger Dragons…. Also the Royal family is more like a God to all of us, even if the weaker dragons were to think of ways, they can never do that in hordes. It is because the Royal family will never allow it. They have a strict rule on it." Selens words brought a very nice feel to me… oh…. Peaceful dragons are the best!
[che! and here I thougth we could enjoy some more dragon blood...!] Amanori is very thirsty for blood.... always...
"Well I only thought that dragons were all battle junky and they fight to death just to test their strength, and the winner gets the respect. While the loser dies with a smile, a satisfied life of fighting…."
"Wh-what kind of barbarians do you think we are?!" as I was slapped in the back of my head, Selena looked red in the face…. My knowledge of anime was not true it seems…. But they did do an oath, so some of it was true at least.
"Sorry… I am still a kid you know? Don't take my words so seriously."
"There are battle hungry dragons sure, but they are very diligent and cool minded, they don't go on rampage or duels like that, the Royal family has lots of strong individuals but I never saw them rampage." Selen said.
Hearing them I can say that these two were more like idiots who attacked me for food.
"Still, don't they fight to see who is stronger?" there had to be a way to set the hierarchy…..
"That does happen, but not so seriously….. I guess?" Selena said so looking unsure… so the dragons did like fighting….
"It looks like the sun is nearly down, we should head back."
"Yeah." After our little walk and some information exchange, we went back to our camp. By now a wide mat was placed on the ground. I didn't get any table or chair, this was enough, we could all sit on the mat and have a nice long dinner.
"The food smells great." I said as I arrived at the campsite.
"Sadly, there was nothing around here so we came back empty handed.." Selena said while sitting down on the mat.
"No worries, master has enough food in storage to last us a year." Seri said while she was cooking.
I saw Sarah preparing a gallon of water. Or should I say she was filling it? Mila was getting the plate ready. Today's dinner was a meat and potato stew with some plain bread. The bread was already in my storage, so we only made the stew. It was a simple recipe.
"But really, when did human food become so tasty…?" Selen said while smelling the stew.
"Well, after the heroes just debuted, many people's lives got easier, so many improvements happened in the last 50 years or so, then after Master came, he constantly improved our cooking ingredients. He has made many spices with the help of Mistress Acadia and now those spices are selling in the market at low prices too, we can say that it has improved our food cooking skills by leaps." Mila, who said all this in a nonchalant way, finished setting up our plates and glasses…
"It hasn't even been a year since you came out in the world and you already did all that?" Selena looked like she couldn't even calculate how that all came to be in such a short time…
"It was easy, I told Acadia what to find, then she searched for it, I tested the found ingredients and then after approving it, we put out a free for all request at the adventurers guilds all over the nation. As soon as the ingredients started coming in, we started the factory that could make the raw materials into cooking spices. Since the traveling to and collecting the ingredients was handled by me, it was fast work."
"And now we are having nice food everyday and everywhere." My goal was to make good and affordable foods. And it was achieved because of Cadia's great merchant intuition.
"You humans really move fast…" Selen heaved a sigh… if you have the correct personnel it doesn't take time.
Also, I got a boatload of money… Money really does make the world spin. Very soon we are also going to start growing our own spices too. After that we can look into different things.
Once we can eat well, we can also grow better. Food is something that motivates us the most, and that motivation goes a long way to strengthen your resolve for strength.
After chatting around a bit longer, the food was ready and served to us. The dinner was fun under the sky filled with stars, the summer heat was cooled at night.
We ate our food leisurely. It was a good time. Befriending Selena and Selen was a good idea. They were really understandable. They even talk to the maids with a friendly manner now. I was really pleased.
But this also made me realize that apart from power, one's own sense of how they handle themselves plays a big role. I can't just show my power like I want. The empire was a once in a lifetime thing… I don't think another incident would let me be free anymore...
I brought out some desserts. It was a normal pudding, but in this world where sugar was scarce, this was very valuable too. And everyone who tasted pudding looked like they were in heaven…
"I could sell my soul for food like this…" Seri said and everyone nodded…. These girls were too obsessed with desserts.
"Aaaah…. This is the best…." Ridge, who was on my head all along, was sleeping just until now. She didn't need to eat, still she never missed a chance to eat desserts…
"Don't get any on my head okay?" I said keeping my head still…
"Never! I will lick it off if any gets on your head." she said with a serious voice.
"If you do that, I'm taking you off my head and never letting you on again." I seriously don't want my head licked…. It felt wrong…. I know we licked a lot of places on one another… but head licking just felt wrong.
"... I-I will not get any on your head then.." It looks like Ridge took my words seriously….
[I wonder what that spirit is like inside it's head….]
Why?
[well, I was wondering why she likes to sit on your head so much…]
Me too…..
"I will never tell."
Spirits were weird in their own way I guess….
As the night got darker and our dinner was over, we cleaned out everything and headed for bed.
A nice long journey was waiting for us, so rest was mandatory.
...…..
"Master, I will surely not let you down!" Seri who looked pumped for some reason was looking at me with a sparkling face, behind her Sarah was blushing like crazy…. Mila… was normal or like always with a serene expression with no changes there….
I was wondering why… then I looked at the carriage…. We could only make 2 separate rooms there. Although the rooms were big and had a big bed, there were only 2 beds… which meant one would go to the dragon sisters and the other would go to our group….
I think these girls are hoping to give me service tonight…..
[On the road~ in the wild~….. You humans have a lot of sex drive at least ku ku ku…..]
"I don't mind too, after a long day it would be nice!" Ridge sounded like she would undress and let me do the things I want without restraint...
Sorry to break it to them…. But I do not want to have that kinda time on the road… that too in the carriage…. Now, how do I break it to them… they looked like they had hardened their hearts for just tonight…..
"I hope you guys are not thinking about what I think you are thinking…."
"Absolutely master, tonight our bodies will be in your care, please do as you like." Mila who doesn't even hold back the shame to say such things made even Seri look embarrassed….
"That kind of thing is absolutely not happening tonight….." I said, holding my hands in a cross…
"N-not even a little?" for some reason Sarah who was so embarrassed that her eyes were closed said so hiding behind Seri… isn't Sarah the older one?
"No, you can sleep with me but I am not gonna do that while on the road." If I were to get too much into it I wouldn't even be able to heal them….
"But master, at least let us…. Um….."
"Seri, whatever you want to do is not happening…." I was not gonna move on that subject.
"Why? Doesn't it excite you master? The feeling on the road, nobody in sight ....?" Mila tried to elaborate…
"If you guys are so eager then at least after we reach the Dragon tribes land, I will take you up on that offer…." man... why am I saying something like this? I should have just said after we get back home!
"Oh…. Master, I see your plan, you are trying to keep us on hold and when our excitement is at its peak you will…."
"Please… Mila, I am not into that… lets just go and sleep… I am tired just from your thinking…."
The dragon Sisters looked at us and sighed…. I wonder what their trouble was….
"I thought we could see how the hero keeps on going all night…" Selen…. I thought you were a good girl….
"..." ignoring those words, I took Ridge who was nodding already in the carriage. She was as carefree as ever.
It seems that she will stay in her small form so I put her beside my pillow. And before I knew it, I was in sleep.
....
"Mila what are you doing!" Seri said in a whisper…
"Seri, I am of the smallest body type here, in that case I will take up the center, Sarah has a soft and curvy body so she can have the right and Seri can have the left." As she said so, she lied down on Rekka who was in a dead sleep.
"Wha-what boldness! Big sis we have to be like her too!" As Seri said so, she took the left hand of Rekka and positioned it as her pillow then quickly slept as if she had been training for this for a long time… althogh Rekka's hands weren't nearly as soft as a pillow, she looked delighted to have that for her.
"The real one is the best!" Seri said as she drifted off to sleep in no time. It seems that Rekka modeled plushy was still raging on the market.
".... I will try this too…." although it was only a murmur, she also took the plunge and Sarah hugged Rekka's arms and slept in the blink of an eye….
...…..
"I should take a shower…. The ac should have been cool enough but I woke up and it looked like it was really hot last night.." I was dripping in sweat. Well not so much now but I know that I sweated…. I think….
"Here master, Your bath is already ready!" Seri who was unusually perked up with a somewhat blushing face said, directing me to the portable bathroom that had been brought out from storage…
"Thanks, I'll get done in a minute….. You guys took a shower too?" the 3 maids looked like they had just gotten out of the shower… they looked really attractive for some reason too… I shook my head and went to take a bath….
...…..
"I am glad Master Rekka didn't wake up…." Seri said, heaving a small sigh…
"H-how can I have done that…..! I can't even look at my master today.." Sarah was…. Too shy to even look at Rekka….
"It is normal to crave for the one you like" Mila was…. Serene as always….
They will be glad that their night of shame would never be told to anyone… and it will die with them… in the end, just sleeping in close proximity to him made them let loose. it wasn't that Rekka sweated that night, it was the maids who just couldn't cool down.