NOVEL NEXT chapter 27
27 – It became a village with no roots (2)
“It’s a female.”
“…… What. This egg?”
“Yes. She is completely female.”
“Oh, when you say that, the tone is a bit strange, right?”
Yongbak was indeed different.
A roar rang out once, but Pirhak calmly neutralized even that and immediately finished his judgment about the existence beyond the wall.
“What is strange? It must be strange in your head.”
“Anyway, the gold dragon is also right?”
“Yes. It seems to have been neglected for quite some time.”
“Where is the mother going?”
“…… Don’t know Gold dragons are so rare that even my wife and I don’t know about them.”
“Eh? Your wife?”
Xianne, who was standing behind her, tilted her head and asked.
“This friend’s wife is a red dragon.”
“Yes!?”
“What…… Thanks to that, he earned the name of such an adventurer. I went all over the place looking for her wife.”
Pirhaq was the person I met at the beginning of the great expedition, ‘the polluted sea on the other side’.
Even in the novel, he was a person who played an active role as a named supporting actor rather than as a lead actor, so he immediately became acquainted with him.
Even after the great expedition was safely completed, they continued to maintain that relationship.
“So what now?”
“What are you doing? You have to wait patiently Don’t think about expanding the mine for nothing. The shape of the roar indicates that it is threatening.”
Pirhaq looked at the small hole and said.
This means that if the egg is stimulated more than now, the intensity of the roar may increase, and even if it hatches later, it may develop hostility towards humans.
“If you find the entrance to the nest directly from the mountain range, I don’t know… ….”
“That’s too risky.”
“I agree.”
Still, it wasn’t a black dragon that was stuck in that cave. The fact that I didn’t have a mother was also reassuring.
It is normal for black dragons to be hostile to life in the first place.
Even other dragons, if they had a mother, wouldn’t have stood by and watched the invasion of the nest protecting the eggs.
“Then what about these people after all?”
“These are unfortunate people who happened to come into contact with rare.”
At my reply, Xianne looked at the statues erected here and there with pitiful eyes.
We can roughly infer what happened to this mine.
I don’t know if this was a gold mine from the beginning, but as they slowly developed the mine, they came into contact with the rare gold dragon at this end.
Since the nest was invaded, all the people working in the mine turned into golden statues due to the roar of the egg along with the dragon magic protecting it.
It must have evaporated without even having manpower to rectify the mine.
‘What a tragedy.’
But what if, as I said earlier, the gold dragon mother had been left in the burrow, and more of the nest had been damaged by the miners developing this mine?
A cataclysm must have occurred that the emperor as well as the lord would have to know about.
It’s a pity for the unknown victims, but I can’t help but be thankful that the case has been concluded at this level.
“Now is the active period. It will probably go back to sleep in about two months.”
“Possibility of hatching?”
“Okay. I can’t even say that much. Usually, a dragon’s incubation period lasts from at least 10 years to as many as 30 years.”
“It’s completely unlucky.”
“Yes.”
Other times, it would have been a real headache.
But not now.
Because we have our great Dragonbak, Pyrhak.
“Does your sister-in-law sleep?”
I asked him as I was leaving the mine again with the two of them.
“I came out because I was sleeping. The next three months are free.”
“Sister-in-law? 3 Months free…… ?”
When she saw the red dragon as her sister-in-law, and her husband, who was in a sleep phase, was free for 3 months, seeing her smiling brightly, Xi’an looked so ridiculous.
It must be absurd. Dragons are, in fact, fantastical creatures that are talked about as legends.
“Anyway, you should keep them with people of the same race. If you leave it to us for nothing, you might get in trouble.”
“That’s right. I’ll tell you later when my wife wakes up.”
Let’s go back to the village while chatting about the future.
Unlike when I first entered, the atmosphere in the village was complicated.
“Huh?”
A procession of wagons lined up at the entrance of the village.
At first, I thought it was the Gypsum Flower Headquarters I talked about with Xianne last time, but the structure of the wagon is also quite different.
General transport wagons should have the back compartment covered with a cloth, but instead of having a cloth, the wagons had something like pillars rising up.
I feel like it’s irrelevant even if I put a roof on it.
And the colors of the wagons are also different. Red, yellow, green.
Wagons decorated with colorful colors are clearly visible even from a distance.
There was only one type of people in this world who formed a group and drew aggro like that.
“The minstrels.”
***
“Nice to meet you. I am ‘Wolfgang El Reiga’, the leader of the Sleepywood Wanderers. We have come to this small village led by spirits.”
A man in a rugged robe bowed his head politely.
As it communicates with the spirits, and the word ‘El’ is inserted between the surname and the name, it is definitely an elf.
They were children of the forest who made the western great forest their home and lived their whole lives taking care of nature there.
Occasionally those who were too adventurous or fascinated by humans used to live in this way on human lands.
And most of them are because of their beautiful looks, sweet voices, and bubbly personalities.
Rather than settling in a single city, they often acted as wandering troupes wandering around various places.
Those who wander around, spread stories, and invigorate boring daily life.
In addition, there is a superstitious belief that if you treat elves carelessly, you will be hated by the spirits and suffer a great disaster.
Unlike other fantasy worlds, elves here are treated fairly respectfully.
“Welcome to Rupel Manor.”
Although she looks shabby, Xianne accepted Wolfgang’s greeting with the utmost respect.
Currently, the only person who can represent the lord in this village is Xianne, the leader of the knights under the direct control of the lord.
After Xianne’s greeting ended, Pir Haq and I, who were standing behind her, exchanged light voices with Wolfgang.
“This is Lubern Alroy.”
“My name is Pirhak.”
Wolfgang’s eyes wide open.
“I think I know why the spirits led me to this village. The two heroes of the expedition were together here.”
Well, bards are people who are well-informed in rumors, so it seemed like I had no choice but to know right away.
But Wolfgang didn’t stop there.
Suddenly, he took out a lute that he didn’t know where he kept it inside his robe, and started playing after diring it.
“There, in the plain where the power of darkness has succumbed, a black fox digs a hole and hides—.”
“Ah! Hey, don’t do that! Just relax and go…….”
I hurriedly interrupted Wolfgang’s performance and ran away.
You should do it in moderation.
I’m going to die of embarrassment for something like that!
***
Wolfgang and the minstrels were completely fascinated by Tiffen Village, where not only me and Firhak, but also the goblins were playing together.
“Could you please let me stay here for a while? The camp will be set up a bit far from the village.”
At Wolfgang’s request, Xianne pondered for a while before speaking.
“What…… Wouldn’t it matter? The villagers seem to be welcoming too.”
“Me too! Bard! Let’s recite the stories of heroes!!”
Of course, Lonz, the other remaining knight, was rather welcoming.
Lonz was a bit of a jerk when he saw goblins getting along with people, but he also seemed interested in the heroic tales of the minstrels.
There’s nothing to be gained by ostracizing the elven troupe.
The Wandering Troupe also gives free concerts to the villagers and sells strange items brought from all over the world at low prices.
The Knights just decided to accept the offer.
So the Sleepywood troupe set up camp on a hill slightly away from Tiffin Village.
The bards’ camp caught the ankles of merchants and travelers who came and went naturally.
They, like Wolfgang’s party, couldn’t take their eyes off the unusual way of life in the village.
Some stayed in the village for a while, just like the Sleepywood troupe.
That’s how rumors about Tiffen Village grew. It spreads through peddlers to neighboring villages, from neighboring villages to neighboring cities, and from neighboring cities to neighboring territories.
On top of that, let’s add the fact that a huge gold mine was discovered in Tiffen Village.
Even in this rural manor, the village of Kkangchon, where you don’t even know where it is located, has become the talk of the town.
Originally, people are obsessed with unusual stories.
In the first week, at most about a dozen outside visitors.
By the third week after the Wandering Troupe had settled down, there were more than a dozen members.
Wandering cook, writer, adventurer, ecologist.
People of different ages, with different occupations.
And among them, there were those Luvern could never pass by hastily.
“Do you really need to bring ore and sell it? If you prepare the right equipment here, I can smelt it into gold of the highest purity right away!”
A dwarf artisan with a thick beard.
“With so many people, it’s only three knights and a corps! Why don’t you invest a little more and hire our mercenary corps, who are excellent at anything?”
Speaking of beastman mercenaries with fluffy tails.
“Hmm~ That’s interesting. The ecology of the goblins living in this village is very interesting.”
From lizardman scholars.
It didn’t take long for Tiffen Village to become crowded with people of all races, including humans and goblins, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and lizardmen.
It has become a village with no real roots.
And the real Hwaryong Peak.
“……Honey?!”
“Someone told me to leave the nest without cleaning it. I don’t care about leaving, but I told you to clean up the things you live in!!”
“Mi, I’m sorry… I forgot to stop…”
Red Dragon sister-in-law.
It was ‘Yong-in (polymorphic dragon)’.