We Live in Dragon’s Peak – Chapter 104

We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.

Restarting the Journey

From the back of the flying tyrant, I had confirmed the road extending from the capital city to the first village of the Dragon Race.
So, first, I walked towards the road.
Soon after, I noticed the presence of someone tracking me, just like the first time.

Is it a pack of wolves?
The beginning of the journey was this tailing, and from there it was a series of failures.
I tightened my resolve.

I must not fail this time.

I refined my dragon energy, deliberately making my presence known to the pursuers.
If I run, I will only be chased and attacked during breaks.
In that case, it’s better to intimidate them from the start and let them know they’re no match for me.

As expected, the pursuers’ presence disappeared upon sensing my amplified dragon energy.

Dragon Peak is a harsh world of survival of the fittest. In such a world, if you hide and run, you’ll be seen as weak and attacked.
Powerful monsters and magic beasts do not hide their presence. And they are merciless to those who enter their territory.

To survive on Dragon Peak, I must be in a position of strength over other beings.

This time, I advanced with my dragon energy radiating outward, not concealing it, but rather flaunting my strength.
As a result, whether it was my imagination or not, I was able to reach a road with new track marks without encountering any monsters.

Now, let’s head towards the first village of the Dragon Race.

I had the option to return to the capital city, but returning might break my spirit. I decided it was better to restart my journey with my current drive.
For me, who had experienced the harsh mountain roads, the road, though rough, was easy to travel on as it was clearly there.

A large magic beast bird flew overhead. But I wasn’t attacked.
Looking at the large bird flying gracefully with its wings spread, I remembered the tyrant.

A cruel tyrant, living up to its name.

I don’t know, but it must have run rampant on Dragon Peak, committing all sorts of cruelties.
However, when its own kin were massacred. The tyrant seemed very sad.

I thought it was unfair back then. It committed massacres, but became sad when its own were harmed.
But perhaps that feeling is natural for any living being.
And perhaps it was precisely because I had that natural feeling that I helped the tyrant, I realize now.

The tyrant must have realized the cruelty of its actions, so I wish it would stop being cruel from now on.
A race that lives longer than humans and possesses immeasurable wisdom should at least do that.

Yes, yes, I nodded to myself.

Still.
It’s strange that such a tyrant, feared even by its own dragon kin, could find itself in a situation where it had to flee.

When the tyrant fled from the Dragon Knight, it was clearly terrified. It was flustered and confused, and fled in disarray.
I analyzed it calmly and thought that although severe injuries were consuming its life, that escape was not normal.

On Dragon Peak, even a terrifying tyrant can sometimes be overwhelmed by sudden fear.
In that case, I must be even more careful not to let my guard down.

I’ve always said I won’t let my guard down, and I’ve made up my mind, but I’ve been careless many times.
I might be careless again in the future.
However, I will engrave it in my heart that doing so could be fatal.

Strongly. Deeply.
I will develop the mental fortitude for sudden emergencies. I don’t know how to do it now, but I have to.
What I can do now is to not let my guard down.
I will not hold back my dragon power for surrounding vigilance. Even if I get exhausted, I can recover through meditation.

I spread my dragon energy, sending a message to my surroundings that I would show no mercy if approached, and proceeded.

On this day, I finished my journey long before sunset.
I meditated and replenished my lost dragon power.

I confirmed one negative effect of maintaining dragon energy throughout my body and being on alert.
While it was good that monsters and magic beasts did not appear for fear of me, other forest animals also disappeared.
Hmm. But of course. If magical beasts and beasts, which are superior species in nature, flee, other animals will flee too.

Feeling hungry, I took a nap.

Here’s an experiment.

If I were to turn off the dragon energy I had maintained while awake when I sleep, I might be attacked in my sleep. So, I tried to see if I could sleep while draped in dragon energy.

I asked Ares-chan to monitor the experiment and act as a bodyguard in case of failure.
I’ll overlook relying on Ares-chan for now. It’s unavoidable in my current state. I regret it.

I lay down in the bushes and fell asleep.

Then, I woke up around the time the sun had just set.

“Hey, how was it?”
When I asked Ares-chan about the experiment, she smiled brightly.

“Amazing, amazing!”
With her smile and words, I knew the experiment had succeeded.
Perhaps it was thanks to my familiarity with dragon energy. It seemed to have gone well even during sleep and unconsciously.

I meditated again after waking up and filled myself with dragon power.

Then, I resumed walking.

Attacks at night.
This is also something I learned from past failures.

Beasts and magic beasts become active at night. If I’m attacked during a break and have to run all night, only to be exhausted the next morning, it’s better to travel at night.
If I can sleep while maintaining dragon energy, this might not be necessary, but the forest is different between day and night.

Never let your guard down.
Do your best with what you can do.

Fortunately, with my dragon energy, I have night vision, so moving at night was not a significant hindrance.

And after dawn, I arrived at the easternmost village of Dragon Peak again.
The same Dragon Race people who were there the first time were still staying in the village.
The caravan that headed for the capital city had not yet returned.

“Oh my, what’s this?”
A woman who spotted me entering the village widened her eyes in surprise.

It’s no wonder. I, who left for the west, appeared from the east.

“Hahaha, did you get lost?”
An elderly man came over, laughing, and patted my shoulder.

“Well, something like that.”
I couldn’t possibly say that I was sent back to square one by the tyrant.
I offered a vague smile and greeted the people who had gathered.
As I was greeting them, my stomach rumbled.

“Haha, hungry?”
“What about the luggage you were carrying?”
“Uh, I lost it along the way.”
“Ah, that’s too bad.”
“Did you learn the harshness of Dragon Peak?”
“Yes, painfully so.”

The man patted my back as if to encourage me.

“It can’t be helped. It must be hard for humans. Now, if you’re hungry, eat.”
“Hey, give him something to eat,” the man called out, and the old woman who had made breakfast for me earlier beckoned me over.

“Come here. I’ll make you something warm.”
I accepted her offer and entered the building where the old woman was staying.
And I was treated to a pot of well-simmered stew with meat and freshly baked bread.

I relaxed my tense demeanor slightly.
This is a village of the Dragon Race, so it should be okay to relax a little.

“You’ve changed.”
I tilted my head at the old woman’s words.

“You’ve become splendid in this short time.”
The old woman smiled.

“When you first came to this village, you seemed a bit unreliable. Your dragon power was immense, but somehow you didn’t seem grounded.”
I could only give a wry smile at the old woman’s words.
That was exactly it.

“You showed strong will, saying you were going to the Dragon Princess’s village, so no one stopped you, but inwardly, everyone probably thought it was impossible.”
The old woman’s honest words pained me.

“But seeing you now, I think you can do it. You said you got lost, but you must have experienced a lot in the meantime.”
“It was nothing but failures.”
The Dragon Race people who had warmly sent me off had also seen me as incapable. That’s how reckless I was.

“So. You lost your luggage, but are you heading to the Dragon Princess’s village again?”
“Yes. This time, I will definitely reach it.”
I nodded firmly.

I wonder if my luggage is still at the Chicken Dragon’s nest.
I need to somehow get there and check if my luggage is there.
However, what about water and food until then?
Should I ask the villagers for some extra supplies? Or should I stay here for a few days and secure the necessary provisions myself before resuming my journey?

Speaking of which, the suspension bridge had fallen. I need to report that.

After being treated to a meal, I went outside and gathered the people remaining in the village to talk about the suspension bridge.
I’m sorry for breaking it.

“Hahaha. That tattered suspension bridge? Don’t worry about it. Only the weak use that. It’s not necessary for those chosen for the caravan, so they can rebuild it when they feel like it.”
What a surprise.
Not a single person considered the collapse of the suspension bridge a problem.
This means, in other words, that the Dragon Race has another way to cross it.

Hmm.

“Don’t worry about the suspension bridge. However, it must be difficult for you, a human, isn’t it?”
“Yes. How do you all cross it?”
The thought of expecting an answer was crushed.

“We are the Dragon Race. That’s how we cross it, but it’s an absolute impossibility for you, a human. Figure out how to cross it yourself.”
Questions.
Although I have many questions, it seems I still have to break through that valley on my own.
What should I do? Should I just keep walking on the rocky path until the valley breaks?
As I was agonizing over this, someone shouted.

“It’s the Tyrant! Hide!”
“What a guy! He’s been wandering around here since yesterday!”
As the Dragon Race people hurried to take shelter inside the buildings, I looked up at the giant wyvern I could see in the distance.

“Hey, what are you doing? Even we Dragon Race fear that wyvern!”
“We’ll be found and killed!”
The Dragon Race people shouted warnings at me from inside the buildings.
But I didn’t move.

I felt like I should let the Tyrant know that I was here.

The Tyrant, flying at terrifying speed, flew past over the village and headed east.
However, it turned and flew back towards the village.
The Dragon Race people inside the buildings screamed.

As I thought, the Tyrant is indeed a terrifying existence for those living on Dragon Peak. And I apologize for making them tremble in fear.
The Tyrant circled over the village several times and slowly descended.
The screams from inside the buildings stopped, and the presence of the Dragon Race people disappeared. They must have hidden so as not to be discovered by the Tyrant.

The Tyrant landed in an open area of the village and glared at me.

“What did you come back for?”
When I asked, the Tyrant snorted.

From behind the glaring Tyrant, a young dragon took flight and came towards me. In its hand was the backpack I had lost at the Chicken Dragon’s nest.

“Uwah. Did you perhaps come to deliver my luggage? Thank you.”
In response to my thanks, the young dragon chirped happily.

“Was the Chicken Dragon still there?”
“It was. It fled in a panic when Revalia arrived.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“But it didn’t do anything bad.”
“Did you apologize properly?”
“No.”
“Hey, you!”
When I glared at the Tyrant, it averted its gaze.
Well, in this case, I’ll consider it good that it didn’t cause any more trouble.

“By the way, why did you go out of your way to deliver my luggage?”
The Tyrant carried it to the capital city for me because I am human, right? Wouldn’t it think it doesn’t need the luggage anymore?

“Revalia is keeping its promise to you.”
I tilted my head at the smiling young dragon.

“Summon the villagers. I know they’re hiding.”
Ugh. What a guy. To be able to detect the hidden presence of the Dragon Race.

Reluctantly, I called out to the Dragon Race people hiding in the buildings to come out.
But no one came out.
That’s natural, isn’t it? A terrifying Tyrant had landed in the village.
As I persistently called out, one woman emerged from the building.
She was visibly trembling and terrified.

“Who are you? Why are you so calm in front of the Tyrant?”
The woman was trembling so much she could barely stand. But she was brave.
No one else, not even the men, had shown themselves.

The Tyrant looked at the woman who had appeared from the building.
The woman covered her mouth with both hands, holding back a scream.

“Tell that one that a Shōjō has appeared in the mountains ahead.”
I couldn’t understand the Tyrant’s words. However, as instructed, I conveyed the Tyrant’s words to the woman.

“A Shōjō!?”
The woman shouted in a loud voice and finally fainted.