Chapter 8: – Not Many People Who Say They’re Fine Are Ever Really Fine.
Dragons. It was a race that reigned at the top of all magical beasts. From their strong scales and huge bodies, they possessed overwhelming power and boasted bogus strength, which at the same time, allowed them to fly and breathe using their overflowing magical power. The higher species could even understand human language, making them truly literal monsters.
There was no glint of intelligence in his eyes, so he was probably a lower-ranking Lesser. Wait …. Why was there a dragon here in the first place?
“Hey Tia! Why are there dragons down here? Aren’t these things usually up in the mountains?”
Dragons …, especially the lower species, usually lived at the top of the mountains. It was said that immature dragons were unable to control the heat emitted from their huge bodies and So they regulated their body temperature by exposing their hard scales to the cold air, which was why they never liked to come to these humid forests.
But when Tia turned around, she threw out a different question in an impatient voice instead of the answer that I was looking for.
“Ed! Why did you come out here!?”
“Why, of course, when you hear screaming like this――”
“GYAOOOOOOO!”
“We’ll talk later! We have to take care of this guy first!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Despite the desperate look on Tia’s face, I replied calmly. Sure, dragons were formidable foes, but right now, a Lesser Dragon wasn’t much of a threat to me. I drew my sword from my waist and stepped in front of it as if to protect Tia.
“Then I’ll take this place――”
“The blade of the silver moon that twists and spins the wind is the blade of the green moon, and the feathers of the six pairs of spirits in three directions are the feathers that harden and drop the dull light! Gather together, surround yourself, and dance! In the name of Lunartia, manifest the [Tri-Edge Stream]!”
“GYAOOO――――”
Thump!
Before I could utter a nice line, the wind blade created by the spirit magic chanted by Tia easily cut off the neck of the extremely thick dragon.
“…? Seriously?”
As I cautiously approached the dragon, which was lying on the ground, spewing blood from its severed flesh and sending up a cloud of dust, I poked at its severed head with my sword.Mm, it is definitely dead.
“Hah … hah … hah …..”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Tia! How much stronger have you gotten since I’ve been gone!””
At least in the time I knew Tia, she wasn’t strong enough to instantly kill a dragon, no matter how lowly it was. Her breathing seemed to be erratic, but it was rather normal considering her power.
“Hah … hah … hah …..”
“Wow, what a cut! It’s So clear. Scary! Can this be prevented by [Invisible]? No, it’s magic, so I’d have to use [Magia Soap]? I don’t think I want to try either at all. ….”
“Hah …hah… hah … hah …”
“…………………… Tia?”
I was trying to be cheerful, but Tia’s breathing didn’t settle down for any length of time. I was a little worried and turned around to see that Tia, who had been standing there shakily, was about to collapse.
“Whoa!? Are you okay!?”
Tia’s body, which I supported, was frighteningly light. Even though many elves were skinny, this one far exceeded that limit.
“Tia? You …?”
“Ha…Ha…. sorry, Ed. I’m just a little tired. … Don’t worry, I’ll calm down soon. …….. Hah, hah …… Hah ………… Yeah, I’m fine now.”
With that, Tia pulled away from me and stood on her own feet. I couldn’t take Tia’s word for it because her face was still pale.
“Wait, you don’t look okay at all?”
“Mou~. It’s fine, It’s been a while since I’ve been in a battle, and I was a little overzealous because I was in front of Ed. …. I don’t care if that makes you worry about me, hehehe …”
“……………………”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’d really like to help you, but can I go rest in my room for a bit until the food is ready?”
“That’s fine. ….”
“Thanks. I’ll be looking forward to Ed’s home-cooked meal.”
As soon as she said that, Tia walked back to the house unsteadily. I couldn’t help but be worried about her, but if you ask me what I could do about it, there was nothing in particular.
“…………………… Ah, Mo~! I don’t have a choice!”
After a bit of pondering and scratching my head, I returned to Tia’s house and washed my hands thoroughly before standing in the kitchen. The dragon’s corpse was put away in my stranger’s box. If I left the corpse of a bleeding magical beast lying around, other magical beasts would gather around like idiots.
“But what was that all about, ……?”
I thought back to what had just happened as I cooked. Indeed, Tia’s symptoms were very similar to those of someone who had consumed a large amount of magic power in a short period of time. There should be nothing unnatural about it, since she used such a large amount of magic, but something inside me kept telling me that I should not underestimate it.
“But I don’t think I can get it out of her by asking her. … Then I have no choice but to get a little serious.”
With a wicked grin on my face, I started to change the ingredients in the stew. Personally, I liked large pieces of meat and vegetables in my stew, but she said she doesn’t have much of an appetite, so I think she’d rather have a thick soup-like stew that’s meltingly delicious.
The decisive factor was the milk. I put away the regular milk that I had originally planned to use and replaced it with a top quality one that I got on my tour of other worlds. Fufufu, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d have to break the seal on this thing. … I unanimously rejected the suggestion that I should drink it because it was an ingredient.
Oh, and by the way, I had some phoenix meat. If you cut it up into small pieces and cook it well, it won’t be too bad for digestion and should give you strength. I don’t know if it’s really a phoenix, but at least the meat would serve the purpose.
I added a good amount of other things that seemed to be good for nourishment, and cooked it thoroughly in a magic pot that could cook dozens of times faster than normal when the lid was closed. I sipped the resulting white stew….
“Muhaa!”
It was delicious. Overwhelmingly delicious. The heat that reached my stomach after passing through my throat spread throughout my body, and I could feel it warming up my entire body. It was not a magic potion, however, so it didn’t force your body to heal.
Magic potions could be dangerous in a very subtle way. There were many cases of weak people such as newborn children and elderly people who used powerful recovery medicines, only to find that their bodies couldn’t keep up with the effects of the medicines, making them even worse.
“Un, perfect! Hey, Tia! It’s ready!”
I called out to Tia as I stirred the contents of the pot, but she didn’t answer for some reason. Hmm?
“Tia? Hey, Tia?”
I walked up to the bedroom door and knocked lightly, but there was no response. Is it possible that she got tired and fell asleep? Then I could just let her sleep on it and reheat it when she wakes up. …
“… Tia, coming in?
I couldn’t get Tia’s dizzy face out of my head, so I said no and opened the bedroom door. There she was, in the middle of changing her clothes, wearing only her underwear.
“Tia …..”
“Eh!!? Kyaa! Ed no ecchi!!”
Tia, noticing my confused expression, turned around and let out a cute scream. But I didn’t care about that and stepped into the room.
“Wha-What!? Why are you entering my room? Isn’t that the part where you say, ‘Sorry!’ and leave?”
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“……………………”
Without answering Tia’s words, I slowly approached her, staring at her naked body.
“Ed? Hey, you look scary, okay? Please, get out of the …kyaa~!?”
As I closed in on Tia, I grabbed her wrist and stared at her body even more. I couldn’t take my eyes off the shocking sight.
“Tia ……”
“Ed……”
As if she had given up, Tia turned her face away from me with a sad look in her eyes. I fought back the urge to squeeze my hand and tried to formulate the next words.
“How the hell did this happen …?”
Her glistening white skin was etched with countless wrinkles and stains, and her bony body showed signs of impending death. About 120 years old… Tia’s body, which should still be quite young for an elf, had dried up like an old man just waiting to die.
(T/N: Started my membership for this novel. Get access to 2 advanced chapters every Sunday!)