Chapter: 168
“It’s a small village.”
The dragon—no, Tia—made a brief comment upon seeing our village.
Well, being a little village in the middle of the mountains, that’s only natural. But for some reason, I felt a lump in my throat.
I would’ve thought this village was small too. But why?
Hmm. I really don’t know.
“Then let me give you a quick tour.”
A small inn, the village chief’s house, a few houses of the residents, and the village’s only shrine.
It didn’t take long to introduce this small village, which was basically all it had to offer.
It was just a light stroll.
However.
“Maybelle? Why are you here?”
“Huh?”
While I was showing Tia around the village, the neighbor lady was startled to see me as she returned from her vegetable patch.
Carrying a basket of vegetables on her head, she looked at my face and exclaimed,
“Jonson told the village elders you were in big trouble, and they all headed off to the cave behind the mountain…”
“Ah…”
So it turns out that fool didn’t just sit around doing nothing after I fell underground.
But that fool. Somehow managed to gather the elders to go to the back mountain. Even though the cave is at the foot of the mountain, just stepping into the back mountain would’ve gotten him a serious scolding.
A tiny bit of gratitude bubbled up, but it vanished when I remembered he shoved me into the small opening in the cave.
Anyway.
“I did go through a pretty big ordeal. If it weren’t for Tia’s help here…”
It was genuinely a huge ordeal. Who would’ve thought I’d actually get to see a dragon?
I never imagined I would witness a dragon, something I’ve only heard about in stories.
“Oh my. An outsider?”
“Uh, yes. I’m Tia. I happened to meet this child and came here with her.”
Tia casually talked to the lady, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
Well, considering she’s a dragon who’s been snoozing for about 300 years, she probably thinks of adult humans like babies, so her casualness makes sense.
She looked like an incredibly pretty young girl, but talking so freely with an adult… it feels very rude, in an oddly charming way, I guess?
“Are you… a noble, perhaps?”
A noble? No, she’s a dragon.
But… Hmm. A noble. In other words, she might look like a noble.
With her shiny silver hair and super soft-looking clothes.
Totally different from my dull gray hair and coarse fabric attire.
Her looks must be enchanted… Magic really is something else.
Can I get prettier using magic too?
I shook my head slightly. A country bumpkin like me couldn’t pull off looking like her, even with magic! It’s just impossible.
“Hmm. I can’t tell you the details, so just treat me normally. Oh, and I have no choice but to keep speaking like this.”
“Ah, I see… Got it.”
The lady was trying awkwardly to talk normally. She really thinks Tia is some noble, doesn’t she?
But the reality is even more mind-blowing. She’s a dragon!
“Anyway, if you’re here, then the folks who went to the back mountain must be wasting their time. Shouldn’t we go call them back?”
I nodded at the lady’s words. I’ve already escaped, so if everyone is still trying to make it through that cave, it would be a hassle. Only logical!
However.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve asked this child to guide me, so if it’s not too much trouble, could you go round up the others?”
“Uh, well… I have some things to do…”
“I’m asking you.”
Tia said that and pulled something from her sleeve, tossing it lightly at the auntie. The auntie caught what landed in her hands, albeit slightly flustered.
“This is… silver?”
“Just a little fee for the errand. Is it not enough?”
The auntie looked back and forth between the silver and Tia, pondering, then smiled and nodded.
“It’s more than enough. More than enough for such a simple task!”
“Since I’m the one asking, I’ll leave it in your capable hands.”
“Yes! I’ll take care of it!”
The auntie said that and casually tossed her basket aside like it was a toy, and off she marched toward the back mountain.
But wait, Auntie, your way of speaking suddenly got all proper. It changed the moment you saw the silver! Is silver like magic to change people’s attitudes?
“Now, can you please continue guiding me?”
“No, I mean, continue? I’ve already shown you pretty much everything. The only thing left is the shrine where I live.”
“A shrine? Whose shrine is it?”
Whose shrine, you ask…? Well, there can’t be multiple shrines in such a tiny village, so it’s a shrine for multiple deities.
The biggest one is the Mother of Life. Then there’s the Great Sky Lord…
Besides these, we also have the Sacred Flame Lord and the God of Law and Justice, making it quite a mashup of divine beings.
Honestly, it’s hard to say it belongs to just one deity.
“It’s a shrine for several deities. It’s tough to have multiple shrines in a rural area like this.”
“I see. Then please lead the way.”
“Of course. This way.”
And so, I headed toward the shrine where I reside with Tia.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Maybelle! You’re safe…”
Upon arriving at the shrine, the priest cleaning the entrance greeted us.
Well, he froze mid-greeting the moment he spotted Tia.
Then, the priest knelt down.
What’s happening? Why did the priest suddenly bow down like that? Could it be he realized she’s a dragon?
“Y-you are…?”
Seeing the priest’s reaction, Tia calmly said,
“Stand up.”
The priest stood up as if it was the most natural thing to do.
What is going on here? Why is he acting like a puppet at Tia’s command?
Could it be that Tia isn’t just some ordinary dragon?
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”
“Well, stuff like this happens. Don’t worry about it.”
Or is the priest actually some super-skilled dude who can vaguely sense Tia’s true identity?
Hmm… Doesn’t feel like it. When I think of the slightly dazed priest’s demeanor…
“Ah, oh right, we shouldn’t be doing this here. Please, come inside.”
And so, Tia entered the shrine with the priest leading the way.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
After that, nothing particularly memorable happened.
The adults who went to the make-believe cave because of that idiot Jonson returned, and I ended up getting scolded too for the miserable state of affairs Jonson caused.
The adults seemed a bit flustered upon setting their eyes on Tia.
Honestly, if I were an adult, I’d be baffled too. It’s outlandish to see such a beautiful person clad in pure white and soft clothing in a rural village like this.
And incredibly pretty! Almost feels inhuman.
I know she’s not human because she’s a dragon, but…
“So, you’re here to see the world?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Where I was living had strict access, so now that I’ve become free, I want to take a look around.”
Tia was chatting with the priest while I was secretly eavesdropping.
I wonder what sort of conversation they’re having?
“Strict access… Could you perhaps be the Dragon’s Priestess?”
A Dragon’s Priestess? No, she’s just a dragon.
“Why do you think that?”
“First of all… that horn. My knowledge isn’t vast, but I’ve never seen a beastwoman grow horns in that shape. I’ve heard female beastfolk can grow horns, but those are round and spiral-shaped.”
“Hoo…”
No, she’s a dragon.
“And the overwhelming divine power I sensed when I first saw you… even though it was only for a moment, it wasn’t something a human could contain.”
“Hmm. I tried to hide it, but you caught on, huh?”
“Thanks to my former job, I’m sensitive to the divine power of others.”
Why does a dragon have divine power? Is she not actually just a dragon?
I don’t know. But among the gods I’m aware of, there’s no one named Tiamat.
Could this be a pseudonym?
Or… is the true identity of the Dragon’s Priestess… a dragon?
A human inheriting the Mother of Life’s power? No, maybe she is a dragon transformed into human form?
Thinking about it, if she inherited the power of the Mother of Life, why is she referred to as the Dragon’s Priestess? Not as a saint or anything.
What if the reality is that the Dragon’s Priestess is indeed a dragon?
…No, that can’t be right. In old stories, the Dragon’s Priestess who brought peace to the world alongside the hero was actually a dragon? That’s just nonsense.
Moreover, dragons were… among the monsters vanquished by the hero.
Unless that story is a lie, it just doesn’t add up. Right?
“If the divine beings of the pantheon haven’t descended in human form, the only possibility I can think of is the Dragon’s Priestess.”
“Hmm… You’ve got quite a sharp mind.”
Tia smiled softly at the priest.
“For now, let’s keep this a secret, alright?”
While saying that, her gaze flickered briefly to where I was eavesdropping.
Was that… meant for me?
Is she asking me to keep her dragon identity a secret?
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