We Live in Dragon's Peak

"Kid. You want to die so badly that you're standing with your back to me?

I could feel the pressure coming from behind me. But I'm not wrong. It's not the person behind me that I should be facing right now, it's my precious Sephina.

"Sephina, put your fist in the air. It's still wrong. You gave your beloved hand armor to your grandpa so that you could have a choice not to rely on your fists, didn't you?　If that's the case, don't get into a fight with someone just because they want to, okay?

But there are times when you have to fight, you know?　See, that's what happened with Master Neelasha, isn't it?

No, things are different now than they were then.

It is true that just a few days ago, we fought in the northern mountains of the Kingdom of Jortenitos. But we had no choice but to defend ourselves. If Levalia had not fought back at any time, we would have been killed for nothing.

But this time was different.

The monster-like figure that kept pressuring me behind my back.

I felt uneasy about turning my back on him, but on the other hand, I felt confident that I would be okay.

Because even though I was under pressure, I didn't feel any strong killing intent despite my words, right?

This person just wants to die at the end of the fight. That's why he's looking for the right person to end his life. Whether it's a hexenbiest or us, if it's coming at him, he'll fight. But on the other hand, I don't think he'll fight if we don't.

That's a selfish thing to say, kid!

A low, intimidating voice echoed from behind me. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

He's the kind of person who gathers slain beasts like this to mourn them.　Then he's not a bad person. Why would someone like that want to die?　What we should do is not to give this person the death he wants, but to purge his mind of the desire to die.

If Luiseine or Madeline were here, they would definitely offer a helping hand. If so, then we, as a family, should follow the thoughts of the two maidens.

I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sure you'll understand.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. I'm glad to hear you say that.

"Sephina?

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea. I'm not sure what to make of it. But she didn't have the final push to make up her mind, did she? I made up for it.

As if to affirm my thoughts, Sephina-san said to me.

I regret the recklessness of my first attack. But thanks to that first attack, I immediately understood the darkness that the person was facing. But there was nothing I could do about it. Like I said, I've seen people who wanted to die before. And when I couldn't help them, I abandoned them. So this time too, I had no choice but to abandon those who wanted to die.

Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm sure you're not the only one.

So, I wanted a different answer. Ernea, you showed me the right way. Well, I haven't solved it yet, but I know that if you said so, you will achieve it. So I'm happy for you. After all, I can grow better with Ernea and the others than in isolation.

Argyildar's words were still lodged in your throat, weren't they?

"I see.

I'm sure you'll agree with me.

Then I finally turned around.

So we won't be fighting you anymore. So, what are you going to do?

Sephina, who had calmed her fighting spirit, asked the mysterious person. I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not sure what to do.　I don't care if you lose your will to fight. I don't care if you lose your will to fight, I don't care if you lose your will to fight.

"Oh, by the way?

I clapped my hands as if the force of the mysterious person's exhalation was nothing to me.

I'm not sure how you know that this forest, or rather the forbidden territory, is our land.　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

You're right, Ernea. If so, does that mean that anyone who comes into this place with someone's permission is our guest?

"Yes, that's right. So we can't fight with them, can we?

Then we have to entertain them, don't we?

But first. But first, we have to make sure that the slain animals are properly mourned.

I'll help you.

All right, let's do it together!

Let's do it! Let's do it!

I'm going to check the sky to see if there are any more carcasses. I'm going to check from the sky to see if there are any other corpses," said Neemia, flying in her small form.

We unloaded the carcasses from the pile to check the situation, and then reloaded them.

"...... Yeah, yeah, yeah!　You guys!

Suddenly, a mysterious figure shouted in anger.

In a fit of rage, he slammed his war hammer into the ground.

A shockwave was created and the forest shook.

"You have the nerve to ignore me!

The mysterious person was relentless in his anger.

But that won't work against us, will it?

I'm sure you're not the only one.

"Sephina-san. If you're talking about that, I'm more afraid of you when you're angry.

"Is that what you say?　But you're only angry with Ernea, aren't you?

He's a man!

I told you not to ignore him!

That's where Sephina and I finally reacted.

As I said before, I'm not going to fight someone who wants to die.

It's the decision of the patriarch, Ernea, and there is no one else in the land who will fight you.　I'm not sure how much pressure you can put on us, but it won't work. And no matter how much you try to pressure us, it won't work because we're only dragon people.

I'm sure you're not the only one.

But when you're with Ernea, you'll think those dragon people are cute.

And Mistral is even more awesome!

I'll tell them about it later, okay?

No, no, no. I'll do anything you want, but please don't do that, Lady Sefina.

Mmm-hmm. I got your word, didn't I?

Oh, no!　A trap.

You set the trap and you fell into it, didn't you, Ernea?

Hey, you guys. ......

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a great way to get a feel for what's going on.

You can help me, too. I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.

"Stick to .......

In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

The strategy of me and Sephina-san to demoralize the opponent by cutting off their will to fight with useless talk.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we were able to communicate well this time.

It's hard to say. It is our custom to burn the dead to ashes and return them to the earth.

Without burial?

Yes. We live in hard rock mountains. We live in hard, rocky mountains, where they dig holes and fill them with rocks and stones. Isn't that a pity for the dead?

"You are a good man after all. Not many people can think of the dead after they die.

If you're a human being, the clergy will continue to think of you, but it's rare for other races without religious beliefs.

I mean, what race is this person?

A human race?

Nimir and Oz didn't mention anything about it, though?

"Oh, Oz?

You forgot about me, didn't you?

It was your imagination, wasn't it?

Bullshit!

Oz was helping me.

Oz glared at me as he brushed the dirt from the carcass with his two tails.

Next to Oz, Ares was also helping out in a very worthwhile way.

She's so cute.

"There were no more corpses in the forest.

Nimir came back and landed on my head.

"Well, then, as is the custom of this man, ....... Well, what's your name?

'Lourdes.

Thank you, Mr. Lourdes. Thank you, Mr. Lourdes. On behalf of all those who live in the forbidden territory, I would like to thank you. We're .......

I know. The little boy is Elnea, and the little girl is Sephina. The little dragon is Nirmir, the little hexenbiest there is Oz, and the little spirit girl is Ares.

"Oh, you knew about us, didn't you?

No!　It's because you've been talking about us a lot.

"Yes, you did!

In response to my dumb reaction, Lourdes dropped her shoulders and let out a big sigh.

It's a bit of a letdown. I'm not sure what to make of this. I had hoped that these men might be worthy of my end. ......

I'm sure you'll be able to understand what I mean.　I'm not sure what to make of this.　What was the technique that stopped Sephina-san's attack?　Why are you wearing the skin of a beast like Momo-chan?　That carcass in your hand, you're sure it's the hexenbiest that was rampaging around here, right?　In the first place, what kind of race is your uncle!

What kind of race is your uncle? What do you mean, "uncle"?

What?　You're not?　I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I'm not sure.

She may be short in height, but from her thick voice and the way she talks, I thought she was an older person.

Then, Sephina's eyes widened in surprise.

I thought you were a dirty, hairy old man, too.

What a mouthful!

Uncle Lourdes was beyond stunned and aghast.

But he's got his face covered.

Yes. Isn't it selfish of you to resent speculation when your face is hidden?

Goddamn it. All right, all right. I'll take you up on your offer. Let's see. I'll show you what I look like, the beautiful gem of a man!

And then Uncle Lourdes vigorously wiped away the gray beast's head that he was wearing.

"!

And then we were all speechless.

It was Uncle Lourdes.

It was definitely a hairy uncle!

His reddish-black eyebrows were thick and bushy. The beard around his mouth looked as if it would hurt just to touch. His long, bushy hair was in disarray. Deeply chiseled face lurking behind the shaggy hair.

In addition, even though he was small, he was still an uncle in terms of his overall appearance, which was oddly muscular.

What in the world is so beautiful about him? ......

"Nyan. Mountain people.

Mountain people?

I didn't recognize you before because of your rhinoceros beast fur. But my uncle is a mountain man.

"Oh, so that's what you are?

Yes.

It seems that the hexenbiest fur that I was wearing was preventing me from recognizing the race that Neemiah and Oz had.

But I've never heard of a mountain tribe, have you?

According to Neemiah's explanation, the mountain people are smaller in height than human children, even as adults. However, it seems that they have great muscular strength, and even children and women are so muscular that they can lift large rocks with ease.

Looking at Uncle Lourdes' muscular body, Sephina and I agreed with Nimir's explanation.

It's said that he moves slowly but has the strength of a dragon.

It's amazing!

"Yeah, it's embarrassing to be on the receiving end of all that!　We've collected the carcasses. Let's get the fire going.

So, how do we start the fire?

Well, the normal procedure is to make a fire, right?

But it's very difficult to light a fire in a pile of dead animals. At any rate, the blood and flesh had not yet dried, so the fire would not spread to the entire pile of carcasses unless it was extremely hot.

Uncle Lourdes looked a little troubled, but he didn't stop.

We'll just have to burn them steadily.

I guess that's what you'll have to do. Then, can you leave it to me?

Are you going to use magic? But you can't start a fire with magic, can you?

There, see?

Yonder, yonder?

Ares, who had been helping me, or rather playing in Oz's way, came running up to me.

"Hmmm. So, this spirit is really a fire spirit?

No, it's not. But Ares-chan can do it, right?

"I'll leave it to you.

Then, Ares-chan calls out for the fire spirit. Then, he asks for it.

"The Fire Spirit. Can you sprout it and sprout it?

"Leave it to me.

"Leave it to me.

In the depths of the forest, several fireballs appeared.

The bright red fireball slowly descended on the pile of corpses and began to quietly burn the corpses of the beasts.

The fire of the spirits will not spread to the forest, and it can purify the impurities.

You're a little boy who uses spirit magic even though you're a man.

No, I didn't use a spirit, you know.　I just asked Ares to do it.

And then Ares-chan, the spirit of the spiritual tree, asked the lower flame spirits and lit the fire.

"Hmm. As I've heard, you're an interesting little fellow and your friends.

I wonder who told them that!

In front of the mourning fire, we tilted our heads at what Uncle Lourdes had said.