Ackster's head instantly whipped around to the source of the voice. He might have been distracted by his own idle thoughts, but he couldn't believe he hadn't even sensed the person approaching him. He hadn't heard any footsteps or anything. All of a sudden, a man's voice had just sounded out behind him.
Ackster tilted his head back since the person was behind him and looked at the person upside down. But even while his head was upside down, Ackster could clearly see the brown, relatively short, but still wild hair, a simple red shirt, and jeans. And, most importantly, a leather scabbard as long as the man's arm. The scabbard also looked like it was wider than what an ordinary sword required.
Jeans weren't something Ackster had expected to see in a fantasy world of swords and magic, at least not yet.
"Dra– Hi?"
Ackster hurriedly stopped himself from revealing that he knew who he was talking to.
Although it was mentioned that jeans were something that a previous Calamitous Cycle left behind and passed on through the havoc wreaked by that Cycle's calamity, it was only one character that appeared in the original story who wore jeans.
Sure, it could be someone else who also wore jeans. It was far from impossible. But, given the circumstances, the man's appearance, the look of his scabbard, and the rock lizard lying on Ackster's leg, the man behind Ackter could only have one identity.
Ackster didn't want to believe he would run into him this quickly before he had even learned mana, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only hope that Dragon Slayer Kargas would move on after confirming that the rock lizard, the most probable reason for his appearance, was dead.
"I heard there was an earth dragon nearby, so I decided to head over. But is this the one?"
Dragon Slayer Kargas looked like a somewhat ordinary adventurer, but he was the only one who eagerly jumped at the chance to find a dragon and who would look disappointed to find a dead rock lizard instead.
Ackster mustered all of his poker-playing skills, even if they might be useless in front of someone on Kargas' level, and decided to act like the character he had given Jim and the other guards at Ilto.
"Um, I was told it was a rock lizard...?"
Ackster dragged out the end of his sentence while looking meaningfully at Kargas as if he was asking for the latter's name. But Kargas ignored that and looked at Ackster.
"Did you kill it?"
"Yes…? It took some effort, but yes, I killed it. And I would appreciate it if you didn't let greed–"
"Tch."
Kargas clicked his tongue right as Ackster was about to ask him not to take the rock lizard's corpse and kill him.
"What?"
"Nothing. Anyways, you didn't see any other dragons around?"
"Uh, no. I don't think I would have been alive if I had."
Kargas looked at Ackster suspiciously.
"Maybe it let you off the hook in return for not talking about it?"
"..."
Ackster didn't know what to say in response to the Dragon Slayer's suspicions. For some reason, he also found it difficult to talk when the Dragon Slayer was looking at him so intently.
"You know, looking at you now, don't you have some draconic properties?"
Ackster didn't even blink, but he still couldn't see when Kargas appeared right above his head and leaned down to take a closer look at Ackster.
"U-um, I am not a dragon."
"Nonsense."
Kargas didn't care about what Ackster had to say.
'Fucking psycho.'
Kargas' attitude toward dragons and non-dragons alike was exactly why Ackster only wanted to deal with the Dragon Slayer after he was strong enough to establish equal communication before offering him a deal that he wouldn't be able to resist.
"You're a pretty weak dragon, huh?"
Ackster held back a sigh. Kargas probably wouldn't kill him, even if he decided Ackster was a dragon. But that wasn't how someone who didn't know who Kargas was would act.
"I told you. I'm not a dragon."
"You want to know something, dragon who has just left their egg by the looks of it? Do you want to know the thing I've heard the most from dragons all my years of hunting dragons?"
As injured as he was, even if Ackster wasn't up against the Dragon Slayer, he still wouldn't be able to do anything but hope this madman didn't take advantage of his injuries. So, even if he didn't try to resist or fight off Kargas, he wouldn't raise any suspicion.
"Once again. I'm not a dragon."
"It's 'Grrr.' Many dragons growl, even when they can talk. Do you know what's second on the list I've heard dragons say the most?"
"Meow?"
"No. Don't be ridiculous. Why would a dragon meow? Well, there is a kind of dragon that does meow. They also purr now and then. Actually, a lot of dragons purr, but only very few of them meow. If you had guessed hissing, you would be pretty close. That's in place fourteen of the things I've heard dragons say the most."
"..."
The more Kargas rambled, the more time Ackster would have to come up with something to say that wouldn't encourage the Dragon Slayer to slay the dragon he had identified Ackster as.
The Dragon Slayer rambling on also made Ackster realize just how much of the man's head was filled with dragons. He was already slightly aware of it since the Dragon Slayer had been the same in the original story. But it was different experiencing it himself when he could get a direct feeling for how powerless he was in front of the Dragon Slayer, especially now that Kargas had started looking at him like he was a dragon.
"Where was I? Right! The second most common thing for dragons to say is that they aren't dragons. Can you believe it? No matter where I go, what kind of dragon it is, how old it is, or in which situation I encounter them, dragons almost always claim they aren't dragons."
"Umm…?"
"Yes?"
Since it looked like Ackster wanted to say something, Kargas motioned for him to do so.
"Wouldn't it be entirely possible for beings who aren't dragons to also say they aren't dragons?"
"I guess that could be possible. But what does that have to do with this?"
Kargas tilted his head as if he couldn't wrap it around what Ackster was trying to say.
"If your only proof of someone being a dragon is the fact that they say they aren't one and that non-dragons can say they aren't dragons, isn't it possible that you've been wrong? That you are wrong?"
"Don't speak nonsense. That's impossible."
Kargas didn't even consider Ackster's carefully laid out argument. Ackster hadn't had any high hopes in the first place. If Kargas was that easily convinced, he wouldn't be the Dragon Slayer and Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild.
"Alright. What can I do to make you believe I am not a dragon?"
"Oh, wow. That's line number five! I knew I was right. You are a dragon, aren't you? Those sharp eyes, glistening teeth, and your attempts at sophistry are all things that point to you being a dragon!"
'Fucking psycho.'
Ackster cursed Kargas in his mind as he started reconsidering his plan to bring him along for his anti-Hero plan. But since he really needed Kargas's skills for the Dragon of Life, he couldn't give up just yet.
However, he could find Kargas later when he had gotten some strength and managed to convince Kargas he wasn't a dragon. Well, if he couldn't convince Kargas, it didn't really matter how much stronger he was.
"So, what if I'm a dragon? Are you going to kill me?"
"Oh! That's a niner!"