The time was nearing evening, and the sky was gradually turning red as the scenery shifted. We had finally reached a point where our destination was visible, and with Tifereth leading the way, we headed towards the village where the Dragon people lived.
The Dragon people near the entrance to the village—unlike the Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals, they hadn’t fully humanized, retaining their half-dragon, half-human forms with horns, wings, and tails—noticed our presence and observed us from a distance.
However, one of them ran towards us with a cheerful expression. It was a Dragon person in the form of a boy, no older than ten years old in human terms.
“Sister Tifereth! I thought you weren’t coming for a while this year!”
The Dragon person boy, carried by his momentum, hugged Tifereth. Tifereth received him and chuckled heartily.
“Yo, you been doing well? I had a little business to attend to. Is the elder here?”
“The elder? I think they’re at home… And who are these people? I’ve never seen them before. Are they from another village? Can they humanize like you, Sister?”
The Dragon person boy directed inquisitive eyes towards us. Tifereth casually replied,
“Ah, no, no. These are not Dragon people who can humanize. They are humans.”
“Huh? Humans? I’ve never met a human before… Wait, humans!? Why!?”
Hearing the boy’s exclamation, a murmur of surprise arose from within the village. It was the Dragon people who had been watching us from afar.
The one who appeared to be the eldest among them gave some instructions to a young Dragon person nearby, then called out to us in a loud voice.
“Lady Tifereth, what is the meaning of this? Why have you brought humans to our village? Surely you know what humans have done to us Dragon people in the past.”
Meanwhile, a young Dragon person hurried into the depths of the village. The remaining dozen or so Dragon people directed wary and fearful glances at us.
…Yeah, that’s understandable. This is sort of what I expected.
Tifereth, on the other hand, responded nonchalantly.
“They want to hear more about that. It seems it’s not recorded in human history. And you’d best abandon any thoughts of using force against them. This axe wielder here is the man who defeated me.”
Her words sent another wave of shock through the crowd. The boy who had hugged Tifereth looked particularly flustered.
“N-no way… Sister Tifereth lost to a human…? It’s a lie…”
“It’s no lie. And he turned me into a woman and enslaved me. It was the first time I had ever moaned like that, but it was quite something.”
“Sh-such a thing…”
The Dragon person boy slumped to the ground, his face blank.
*Sorry about that, kid. And Tifereth, please don’t say things that make a conversation so complicated so casually.*
Incidentally, another person showed surprise upon hearing Tifereth’s words. It was Liese, who had dismounted from my back and was now beside me.
The scholar girl, muttering “Huh? …Huh?” she looked back and forth between Tifereth and me, then at Elen and the others, and froze as if her thought process had stopped.
*I haven’t told Liese about turning Tifereth into a woman, enslaving her, or even about how Tifereth has probably killed a lot of humans…*
*Liese might be seeing me as an utterly irredeemable womanizer right now. Well, it’s not entirely wrong, I guess.*
To Liese, Miina placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “I’ll explain that later, nya.” *Please, Miina, handle this smoothly.*
Well, anyway. If I left this to Tifereth, things would only get more troublesome.
I raised my hands towards the Dragon people of the village, intending to show I meant no harm.
“What Tifereth said is true. We are indeed human, but we have no intention of harming the Dragon people of this village, nor do we intend to reveal this location to other humans unnecessarily. We came here to hear from the village elder.”
I said this, but the reaction was not particularly favorable. *As expected…*
As I pondered what to do—Tifereth, unfazed, began walking towards the village.
“The elder’s house is deeper in the village. Follow me.”
“Wait a minute. We can’t just do that. We haven’t been granted permission to enter the village yet.”
When I said this, Tifereth frowned and looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.
“Permission…? What do you need that for? Let me tell you, you’re far stronger than everyone in this village combined. Even if they don’t give you permission, no one can stop you.”
“No, that might be true, but…”
*Forget it. I thought she was somewhat normal, but I retract that statement. She really has no common sense.*
It’s true that with my strength, capable of defeating even Tifereth, one of the strongest among the Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals, an ordinary Dragon person wouldn’t stand a chance.
However, that doesn’t mean I can trample over the will of the Dragon people of this village.
Tifereth pouted, put her hands on her hips, and said with a look of exasperation.
“What’s wrong, looking so displeased? So what? If they don’t permit you to enter the village, will you just turn back? You came all this way, taking two days to get here.”
“No, I don’t want to do that either, but if negotiations fail, we’ll have no choice. Tifereth, we were fools to trust you and come this far.”
“Hmm, I don’t know. With the power you possess, what is it you’re afraid of?”
“It’s not about being afraid, it’s just that…”
*It’s no use. Our values are too different; we can’t even have a basic conversation.*
*If only I had checked thoroughly before departing, but it’s too late now.*
As I was pondering what to do again—at that moment.
From the depths of the village, a familiar Dragon person approached us. The young Dragon person who had rushed into the village earlier was with her, so she must have called him.
Even so, “familiar” doesn’t mean I’m that acquainted with her, given her half-dragon, half-human form with horns, wings, and tail.
I’ve only met her twice before, including the first time I used [Enslavement] in this world.
As she approached, she greeted us with a surprised expression.
“Tifereth-chan brought humans? I wondered who it was, but it’s Douglas-san and the others! It’s been a while. Do you remember me?”
Appearing before us was a Dragon person girl with ice-blue hair and eyes. She carried a bow and arrows on her back. Around her neck, like Tifereth’s, was a golden collar, the mark of the [Enslavement] I had used.
“Ah. It’s been a while, Biner. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
I smiled at the Dragon person who had appeared from the depths of the village and replied.
The Dragon person was Biner, one of the “Ten Dragons Divine Artifact Generals” I had defeated in the past, a skilled archer.
