The waitress started her story:
When the news of the Flame Dragon's appearance started to spread, Coda Village became as busy as a beehive. The blacksmith's wife next door had come over to tell Melissa about the news. It was noon and she was drying her clothes.
"Melissa! Melissa! Bad news!"
They often gossiped about the happenings in the small village and had become quite close. Even if there was no one in the house, she knew where Melissa would be as she went around back to where she dried her clothes to look for Melissa.
Melissa told her son who was taking in the dry clothes to inform her husband who was out in the fields, and then she ran into her home to start packing.
After a short while, her husband came back panting and shouting, "Is everything okay?!?!" Apparently, the way their son had described it made him think that the Flame Dragon had already attacked the village.
Seeing that his wife was safe and sound, the husband sat down on the floor in relief. Although she was safe, the real danger was still lurking around the corner. After explaining the situation to her husband, Melissa returned to packing their luggage.
After loading their food, water, some basic daily necessities, a few changes of clothes and their hard-earned savings onto their wagon which was used for farming, it was buckling under the weight of all their luggage.
They used a mule to pull the cart while her son and husband pushed it from behind, and then they started down the road towards the village. When they reached the center of the village, there were already many other villagers also in their wagons crowding the road.
Many wagons had broken down due to their heavy loads, blocking the street.
After wasting precious time waiting for the wagons to be cleared up, they were finally out of the village. By then, the sun was already beginning to set.
At night they set up camp. At daybreak, they proceeded with their journey. However, among the refugees, there were people who were slow and people who were fast.
Three days later, the villages who brought the elders and children along had fallen behind the caravan. The distance between each wagon was widening and those in the back could not see those in front anymore.
Sometimes a wagon's wheels would get stuck in the muddy ground and it would become immobile. Angry shouts of "Get out of the way!" and desperate cries of "Come help!" intertwined with each other, amplifying the frustrations of everyone present.
Scenes of people quarrelling, wagons overturned, luggage scattered all over, children crying loudly and women with obvious looks of despair on their faces could be seen everywhere.
But, in their time of need, their saviors came to their aid.
"They were the Men in Green. There were twelve of them, two of which were girls."
The waitress's voice not only could be heard by the Knights, but also by the other patrons. Unconsciously, the tavern had gone silent as Melissa described the exodus of the village as well as the presence of females among the people in green. No one in the tavern knew anything about them.
"What do the girls look like?"
Norma's question made Melissa "Hmph!" in annoyance.
"Men are pigs. Ugh, whatever. There was a tall female. During the day, she wore a helmet that covered her hair, but at night, when we broke for camp, I saw it clearly."
"When she untied her ponytail, even I, a fellow female, gasped in surprise. Her hair color was as black as a crow's feather. If there wasn't a language barrier between us, I would have asked for the secret to its vivid black colour. Her body was also slim. She was definitely an exotic beauty."
Hearing her description, the eyes of the men lit up with lust.
"Err, how about the other one?"
"That one was like a cat. Her hair was chestnut brown and she had a small body. Her hair was cut short like a boy's and she was full of spirit. She was also capable of taking care of others and instantly got along with the children. But even the most powerful men were afraid of her. When my husband got into a fight with Moyer's husband, she entered into the fight like thunder and used only her legs to beat down those two large men..."
The men surrounding them instantly lost their interest. A blank atmosphere had enveloped the scene. Such a boyish woman wasn't popular among the men.
"She's got a great figure. Although she was short, her breasts were like cow's udders. Even I grew jealous of those melons. Her waist was also very slim, it was unforgivable. However, her face was more cute than beautiful."
"UWAAAAA!"
"As expected..."
Melissa clicked her tongue in annoyance at the cheering men. Although the customers being excited was a good thing, as a woman, she could not be happy about that.
"Hmm. It was like that. Many things happened, but we still managed to move on. But that beast finally caught up with us."
There was not enough water for the villagers and they didn't have enough food to satiate them. Still, they did their best to endure in order to take another step forward, but they were nearing their limit.
Yet, they continued their difficult journey even as their supplies rapidly dwindled to nothing.
Alas, they finally reached their limit.
Those who could still move continued on, while those who couldn't sat down in fatigue.
The people in green's strange wagon which didn't need any horses to move carried the children and elders who couldn't move anymore. Still, it could not take all of them .
"I couldn't move anymore. Still, I wished for my son to live on. I prayed hard to God, but nothing happened. Those priests said that God exists, but why didn't God help us when we were in such dire straits? I won't do an idiotic thing like praying to God next time."
The bright sky above them suddenly turned dark. Expecting to see rain clouds, the villagers raised their heads and froze in place.
"It was a red Dragon. It had arms and legs, and it spread its wings like a bat. It was those large wings that covered the sky."
The dragon landed. In an instant, Moyer and her husband disappeared before Melissa's eyes.
Only the lower halves of their bodies were left.
Before the people even understood the situation, their natural instinct took over as each of them ran. Carrying their children, they abandoned their luggage as they tried to get away from the monster.
The wagons overturned, crushing many villagers under them.
While everyone was escaping, the Flame Dragon spewed fire all around it. After thoroughly roasting the humans, it swallowed them whole.
They scampered around like baby spiders as they tried to escape. Like a child destroying an ant's nest, the Flame Dragon squashed the escaping villagers under its foot and ate them.
"In that instant, the Men in Green appeared."
Melissa said with a tone of admiration.
"They rode on their wagons, which were faster than horses. On the two wagons, the Men in Green raised their magic staffs and attacked the Flame Dragon with spells.
However, the dragon remained unscathed. Even their magic was unable to pierce the dragon scales. But, they didn't give up.
They circled around the dragon repeatedly and kept attacking to buy time for the villagers to escape.
Thanks to them, many of the the villagers survived.
The Flame Dragon turned around to attack the Men in Green. But, the beast could not catch up with their frightening speed. By moving around, they kept themselves safe from the scorching flames of the dragon.
But soon, the dragon got used to their tactics. The people in green who could only cast magic from afar were at a disadvantage.
"At that moment, the leader of the people in green shouted something and they took out that thing."
"What thing?"
"A giant magic staff. We call it the Divine Rod of Steel. We even heard the incantations. It was 'Baku-Burasuto-Kuria'. After that, there was a loud bang and the Flame Dragon's whole left arm was blown off."
It was that moment when the so-called invincible Flame Dragon was defeated.
After getting injured, the dragon let out an earth-shaking roar and rapidly flew off.
After finishing the story, the people present were silenced by the magnanimity of her tale.
"Divine...Divine Rod of Steel?"
Such an exaggerated name awed them into shocked silence.
After a moment of quiet contemplation, the Knights began discussing their thoughts on this. The tavern also returned to its rowdy atmosphere.
"In-In a nutshell, they were very powerful. Although they look like foreign mercenaries, they had such amazing skills. I think we should employ them. What do you think, Your Highness?"
The vermillion-haired female knight who was about to eat the Ma Nuga meat in her hands was asked a question. She then put the meat back onto her plate on the table to reply to the knight.
Ma Nuga meat was made by wrapping the a long bone from livestock with smoked meat. To people from Earth, it looked like a type of sausage or turkey leg. The meat was roasted and eaten directly without being cut. It tasted magnificent when one bit into it.
Stretching her hands towards her wine cup, Piña Co Lada replied, "I'm quite interested in the weapons used by those people who repelled the dragon."
Despair filled the villagers' hearts.
Senator Godasen had said it before. "The enemy infantry's weapon made a sound of 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' A moment later, our troops had fallen."
Based on these words, it seemed to fit the bill with the Coda villagers' descriptions. The Coalition Army's defeat at Arnus hill must be related to that magic weapon.
Piña called the waitress to ask her a question.
"Woman, you have seen the weapons of those people. What do they look like?"
Melissa tilted her head as she told her what she had seen.
Although being addressed as 'woman' made her unhappy, because of the presence of the young female knight who gave her tips, she decided to tell her the truth.
"In other words, those people used staffs that looked like steel. They made an exploding sound, as well as spitting fire?"
"In my opinion, it is a magic weapon."
"Then, the staff they used to repel the Slither Wyrm....it's called the Divine Rod of Steel, right? What does it look like? Try with the best of your abilities to describe it."
"Didn't I say that it was a Flame Dragon, not a Slither Wyrm?" the waitress insisted. With a wicked smile, she glanced at the men around her.
"You're being rhetorical. The Divine Rod is good stuff…...Well, I can't blame you, seeing that you were born in an overprotective environment. But, why don't you ask the girls who have husbands? It's the same as a man's thing. Of course, it's so large that you can hug it. I don't think any man here has a thing that's as big or as black as it..."
The waitress laughed crudely as she went to the other table to take orders.
Confused, Piña looked to the male knights for an explanation.
As if on cue, all of them averted their faces from Piña's gaze.
She finally set her sights on Hamilton.
"You...you have a fiancee, right?"
She must have thought that she was safe from the line of fire.
The prim and proper Knight, Hamilton Uno Ro, who was drinking soup, sprayed it out in surprise. Her messy short hair shook with her head as she protested, "I-I do…...but I am still a maiden! How would I know about such a things…...ah."
The men's eyes landed on Hamilton. "Hmm, that kind of thing, eh?"
Piña's suspicious gaze pierced her.
Hamilton could only blush furiously as she cowered down in her seat.