8 – Discarding Method (5)
Xia fell into a fever.
Part of it was due to her excessive use of holy power.
“I was scared.”
The fear of death.
It was her first time encountering the fear of possibly losing someone. And she was only sixteen.
‘I didn’t know she’d be this scared.’
Sion couldn’t help but comfort crying Xia with all his might.
‘It would’ve been quite a profit if we’d met a dragon.’
To Lucien, a dragon is like a snake caught in the road. He had cut down many more grotesque monsters in his previous life. That’s why he didn’t predict how Xia, who had just turned sixteen, would react to a dragon.
He wanted to have a varied meal for the first time in ages, but Xia collapsed. That’s why they had to leave the body of the dragon behind.
‘I did leave Howl behind.’
A fellow who runs away on instinct when in danger.
It’s typically a loss to worry about Howl.
He’s a beast that won’t be hunted with ease.
“We’re here.”
Upon returning to the tent, he carefully set Shia down. His vision blurred due to the considerable drain of his holy power. Even Lucien found it difficult to control the explosive force of Shia’s buffs, which were extraordinarily powerful. ‘She’s stronger than I thought, slaying the dragon instantly.’ He had planned to play around for at least five minutes. But Shia’s buffs were too potent. The consumption was accordingly immense.
“Are you okay?”
“…A bit dizzy.”
“Let’s rest for a while.”
He wouldn’t usually let her rest for long. Normally, he would tell her not to be a baby. But it was her first battle, so he was allowing her this much convenience. Shia didn’t bother to hide the laughter that was bubbling up from her. It was a rare moment of rest.
“It seems like you’re being unusually kind today, Sion?”
If he was being kind anyway,
Then might as well be even kinder.
Such a thought occurred, but whenever he saw the smile on Shia’s face, it brought up memories of her traumatic past. The image of her severed head rolling to his feet haunted him. Sion erased the recount and spoke coldly.
“It’s just for today. Get up now.”
At Sion’s sudden change, Shia started to tense, sucking in her breath. Her dizziness instantly faded.
The mood that was soaring just moments ago fell in an instant. But it wasn’t visible from the outside. Zion often showed such a demeanor, even if he had a brusque personality and an inability to form attachments.
‘He’s a liar.’
In Shia’s eyes, Zion’s divinity was visible – its color, its form, and what it sought to do.
‘He’s mad.’
Divinity cannot harbor evil. This was a fact that Shia confirmed through numerous tests. Yet ‘anger’ was not classified as evil. She had once been slightly furious when a squirrel stole her acorn. The repeated offenses eventually made her express her anger. Her divine power had moved in the same way then.
‘It’s burning intensely.’
White heat was burning without pause. Lucion was so angry it seemed he could burn up the whole world. The awoken divinity dyed the world so bright it hurt the eyes.
Despite that, the divinity around Shia was as calm as flowing water, and carried the sweetness of an afternoon breeze.
Therefore, even if Zion was angry, Shia could not be scared of him. Of course, Zion’s face was incredibly scary.
#
Shia flipped the blanket over and fell asleep.
‘What to do with the body of the Azure Dragon.’
They had left it behind, but if left unattended, it could lead to serious trouble.
Leaving the day untended is a remarkably careless act.
If demons discover it, they could transform into fairly strong undead.
Zion was already anticipating that demons would be lurking all over the kingdom.
It’s been quite some time since the Demon King appeared.
‘Did Howld eat it?’
But how much would that tiny creature eat?
It’s a creature that’s a hundred times his size.
‘Should I go and check for a moment?’
Within the limit of my holy power, there is no entity that threatens Shia.
What worries him is the fact that he might not be by Shia’s side when she opens her eyes.
‘Maybe I need to decrease the intimacy a little.’
His absence when she wakes.
‘It’s beyond decreasing, I might be completely out.’
Rejected.
Then, what to do with the corpse of the dragon?
Being indecisive, in the end, Zion chose a method that accelerated Shia’s recovery.
Zion was a clergyman.
He was capable of emotional and physical healing.
Right now, he was even better than Shia.
Placing his hand on the sleeping Shia’s forehead, he murmured briefly.
“【You fool. This time, I will not leave you to die. So, don’t be in pain.】”
The holy power is amplified by strong wishes.
The one who is actually causing pain to Shia is Zion himself.
But it is true that he feels uneasy.
#
Sia had a dream.
It was quite a frightening dream.
Lucien grew black wings and pointed his sword at her.
It was a scene she didn’t want to see again, even though such a thing was impossible.
Even knowing that it was a dream, it was still terrifying.
A dream so scary it felt like she might start crying at any minute.
“This is a dream!”
She struggled to wake up.
Just as Lucien was about to strike her with his sword, Sia’s eyes flashed open.
“Huh?”
What she saw before her was a golden saint.
From Noble mtl dot com
He had something like white wings behind him, and a circle was floating above his head.
It was a blue-eyed man, strikingly similar to Lucien.
This couldn’t be.
Feeling a little better, Sia fell back to sleep.
#
Thanks to Sion’s wishes, Sia woke up faster.
She actually felt even more refreshed than before.
Although she still felt nauseous, she managed to move as long as she held on.
“Are you awake?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Should we go for a recovery, then?”
“Um. Recovery?”
Sia asked with a sleepy face.
“Why do we need to do this?” Sion shrugged his shoulders as if the answer was obvious.
“The Dragon. We left it back there. We also need to find Kyle.”
“Ahh.” She starts to recall the image of the dragon.
The evil beast with dark crimson aura, especially the terrifying eyes of the dragon; they were going to retrieve its carcass.
“Can’t we just leave it there?”
“No, we can’t.”
“Ugh.” She really didn’t want to go.
But there was no way around it.
“You know I have a weak stomach.”
“Sia, you’re an adult now, aren’t you? You can’t be picky forever. Plus… we couldn’t just leave Kyle behind, could we?”
Ah. There was Kyle to think about.
She couldn’t just abandon him in less than a day.
“Alright.”
“Good.”
Sion stood up first, but hesitated in reaching out his hand to Sia.
Sia looked up at Lucion.
As expected, the boy was ticking on purpose.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Sia nodded and followed Sion.
#
By the time it was noon, Lucion, who had reached the top of the mountain, had to hide his surprise.
‘What’s with this thing?’
Having been a clergyman in the past, he’d firmly resolved not to curse anymore.
To keep himself from blurting out, ‘What the hell are you doing….,’ he had to keep his mouth shut.
“King?”
The four-legged beast wagged its tail at the sight of its master who had come to find it.
It seemed to have grown even bigger than when it had left. Noticeably so.
‘The bigger the better. But…’
One of its front legs had vanished without a trace. What the hell sort of digestive system did this creature have?
‘It seems at least 20% bigger.’
It had only been two hours since it had left.
Lucien lifted Hauld with a look of disbelief.
And then he sighed heavily.
“Turns out, you just ate too much and got bloated.”
It was nothing.
It was no different from having a protruding belly. It just ate too much.
‘Well, be that as it may.’
Feeling disappointed, Lucien found the arm that the dragon had torn off. It was laid underneath the dragon’s body.
“At least it’s a good thing there wasn’t an accident.”
He couldn’t help but want to punch someone for raising his expectations in vain.
‘What expectations did I have.’
Lucien handed off Kyle he was carrying over to Sia.
“Sia, take care of Kyle. I’ll carry the dragon.”
“And what are you planning to do…?”
“Hey, it wasn’t as injured as I thought. I’ll steam and eat a bit of it, and I’ll have to sell the rest.”
“Are we supposed to eat this…?”
Sia’s expression twisted.
“Don’t eat it and ask for more.”
“I don’t think I will.”
Watching Sia assertively express her opinion, Sion thought to herself,
‘We’ll have to wait and see.’
#
Without a doubt,
the flying dragon is the most delicious among the creatures man can hunt and eat.
If you butcher the front legs, removing the meat and then boiling it with vegetables in water, a stew similar to pollack soup is made.
Contrary to the firmer scales, the inner flesh provides a chewy texture.
‘Hunting it, finding it and preparing it is the real work.’
When you put a piece of the flat-boiled meat in your mouth, you’re relieved to be alive.
Even Sia doesn’t seem to mind the completed dish.
After hesitantly scooping up a spoonful an placing in her mouth, she began to chew the meat, then started moving her spoon without stopping.
“More?”
As if she couldn’t bring herself to ask for more, Sia just nodded.
“There’s plenty. Eat slowly.”
When you catch a flying dragon, ordinarily, one person can eat for 100 days. Plus, it doesn’t even easily spoil. The dragon’s oil is also used as a natural preservative.
In other words, this creature,
is only scary in appearance.
To hunters, it’s like a flying jewel.
rather than jewel, more like a flying food preservation