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Chapter 168: Rat and Dragon (3)
Chapter 168: Rat and Dragon (3)
"It's a small village."
The dragon, no, Tia, made a brief comment after seeing our village.
Well, since it's a rural village in the mountains, it being small is only natural. But for some reason, I felt a slight pang.
I too would have thought this village was small. But why?
Hmm. I really don't know.
"Then let me give you a simple guide."
A small inn, the village chief's house, a few residents' houses. And the village's only shrine.
Introducing this small village, which was essentially all there was, did not take very long.
It was just a light stroll around.
However."Maybelle? Why are you here?"
"Huh?"
While I was introducing the village to Tia, the neighbor auntie who was returning from the vegetable garden was surprised to see me.
Carrying a basket of vegetables on her head, the neighbor auntie looked at my face and said,
"Jonson told the village elders that you were in grave trouble, and they all headed to the cave behind the mountain..."
"Ah..."
It seems that fool did not do nothing after I fell underground.
But that fool. He managed to summon the elders to the back mountain. Although the cave's location is at the entrance of the back mountain, just going into the back mountain would get him severely scolded by the elders.
A small amount of gratitude welled up, but that gratitude was quickly extinguished when I remembered that it was that fool pushed me into the small crack in the cave.
Anyway.
"I did go through a big ordeal. If it weren't for Tia's help here..."
It was truly a big ordeal. I never imagined I would get to see a dragon in person.
I never thought I would get to see a dragon, which I had only heard about in stories.
"Oh my. An outsider?"
"Yes, my name is Tia. I happened to meet this child and came here with her."
Tia spoke to the auntie casually, as if it were natural.
Well, since she's a dragon who has been napping for about 300 years, she must see adult humans as mere infants, so her casual attitude is understandable.
Her outward appearance is that of a very pretty young girl, but her rude way of speaking to the adult is... It feels very ill-mannered.
"Could it be... Are you a noble?"
A noble? No, she's a dragon.
But... Hmm. A noble. In other words, she looks like a noble.
With her brightly shining silver hair and her very soft-looking clothes.
Compared to my dull gray hair and rough cloth clothes, it's completely different.
Even that outward appearance must have been created by magic. Magic is truly amazing.
Can I also... become prettier by using magic?
I shook my head slightly. How could a country bumpkin like me become as pretty as her, even with magic? It's impossible.
"Hmm. I can't tell you the details, but just treat me normally. Ah, I can't help the way I speak, so I'll just continue like this."
"Ah, I see... I understand."
The auntie was making an awkward effort to speak to her normally. She must really think Tia is a noble.
But the reality is even more amazing. She's a dragon!
"In any case, if you're here, then the people who went to the back mountain must be wasting their efforts. Shall we go call them back?"
I nodded at the auntie's words. I've already escaped, so if everyone is still trying to get through that cave, it would be troublesome.
However.
"I'm sorry, but I've asked this child to guide me. If it's not too much trouble, could you go call the others?"
"Ah, well... I have some things to do..."
"I'm asking you."
Tia said that and pulled something out from her sleeve, lightly tossing it towards the auntie. The auntie, slightly flustered, caught what was thrown at her.
"This is... silver?"
"Consider it a small fee for the errand. Is it not enough?"
The auntie looked back and forth between the silver and Tia, then smiled and nodded.
"It's more than enough. More than enough for such a simple task."
"Since I'm the one asking, after all. Then, I'll leave that matter to you."
"Yes, leave it to me!"
The auntie put down the basket on her head as if tossing it aside, and headed towards the back mountain.
But auntie, your way of speaking has changed to polite language. It changed as soon as you saw the silver. Could it be that silver is an object that changes people's attitudes?
"Well then, I'd like to ask you to continue guiding me."
"No, even if you say continue... I've already shown you almost everything. The only thing left is the shrine where I live."
"A shrine? Whose shrine is it?"
Whose shrine is it, you ask... Since there can't be multiple shrines in such a small village, it's a shrine that houses multiple deities.
The one with the largest share is the Mother of Life. Next is the great Sky Lord...
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Besides that, there are also the sacred Flame Lord and the deity of law and justice, so it's a shrine that houses multiple deities.
It's hard to say it's the shrine of any single deity.
"It's a shrine that houses multiple deities. It's difficult to have multiple shrines in this rural area."
"I see. Then, please guide me there."
"Certainly. This way."
And so I went to the shrine where I live, together with Tia.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Maybelle! You're safe..."
Upon arriving at the shrine, the priest who was cleaning the shrine entrance greeted us.
No, he froze in the middle of greeting me after seeing Tia.
And then, the priest knelt down on his knees.
What's this? Why did the priest suddenly kneel down? Could it be that he realized she's a dragon?
"Y-you are...?"
Seeing the priest like that, Tia spoke softly.
"Stand up."
The priest then stood up as if it was only natural follow Tia's words.
What's this? Why is the priest moving like a puppet with just one word from Tia?
Could it be that Tia is not an ordinary dragon?
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Well, such things can happen in life. Don't worry about it."
Or is the priest actually a highly skilled one who can vaguely sense Tia's true identity?
Hmm... Doesn't seem like it. Considering the priest's slightly absent-minded demeanor.
"Ah, we shouldn't be doing this here. Please, come inside."
And so, Tia followed the priest's guidance and entered the shrine.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After that, there wasn't really anything special that happened.
The adults who had gone to the cave behind the mountain because of that fool Jonson all came back, and I also got scolded for Jonson's reckless act of going into the mountain.
The adults also seemed to be at a loss after seeing Tia.
Well, even if I were an adult, I'd be at a loss seeing Tia. It's unbelievable that someone wearing such pure white and soft clothes would come to this rural village.
And she's so beautiful, almost inhuman.
Even though she's a dragon and not human.
"So, you wish to explore the world?"
"Yes, that's right. The place I've been staying in has extremely limited access, so now that I've become free, I want to see the world."
Tia was talking with the priest. I was secretly peeking at the two of them.
I wonder what kind of conversation they're having?
"Limited access... Could it be that you are the Dragon's Priestess?"
Dragon's Priestess? No, she's just a dragon.
"Why do you think that?"
"First of all... that horn. I may not have a wide range of knowledge, but I am not aware of any beastfolk women with horns of that shape. At most, I've heard that even female beastfolk of the sheep variety can grow horns... but those are rounded, spiral-shaped horns."
"Hooou..."
No, she's a dragon.
"And the overwhelming divine power I felt when I first saw you... Even though I only sensed it briefly, it was an amount of divine power that a human body could not contain."
"Hmm. Even though I tried to hide it, you noticed, did you?"
"Thanks to the work I did in my younger days, I'm sensitive to the divine power of others, you see."
Why does a dragon have divine power? Could she not actually be just a dragon?
I don't know. But among the gods I know, there is no deity named Tiamat.
Could she be using an alias?
Or... is the true identity of the Dragon's Priestess... a dragon?
A human inheriting the power of the Mother of Life, not that, but actually a dragon transformed into a human?
Come to think of it, if she inherited the power of the Mother of Life, why is she called the Dragon's Priestess? Not a saint-like figure.
If the reason is... that the Dragon's Priestess is truly a dragon?
...No, that can't be. In the old stories, the Dragon's Priestess who worked with the hero to bring peace to the world was actually a dragon? That doesn't make sense.
Moreover, dragons were... one of the monsters the hero defeated.
Unless that story is false, it doesn't make sense. Yes.
"If the deities of the pantheon have not descended in human form, the only thing that comes to mind is the Dragon's Priestess."
"Hmm... You're quite sharp-witted, aren't you."
Tia smiled softly at the priest.
"For now, keep this a secret, alright?"
As she said that, her eyes glanced briefly in the direction where I was eavesdropping.
Was that... directed at me?
Is she asking me to keep the secret of her being a dragon?