Chapter 21

When they got out of the forest and back to the village, they found people fleeing in every direction. “What’s going on?!” “The dragon has come to the village!!” “!!” Things couldn’t be worse. “Where are the soldiers from the palace?” “They went to Hans’s house!” “Why there?” Kaito couldn’t understand. Was the dragon after the woodcutter? “Whatever. I’m going to go help him. Lilia, you get back to the mansion and evacuate with your family!” “No!” Lilia said firmly. “I’m your wife, Lord Kaito, and I’m going to stay at your side and protect you!” The conviction in her voice made her seem awfully brave and dependable. She’s not wrong, though. She does know how to use a bow, and that makes her a lot tougher than the “High-Calorie Hero.” “All right! Let’s go save Hans!” Kaito and Lilia threaded their way through the panicked crowd. “Oh!” They could see the huge dragon in the distance. The tallest buildings in the village were just two or three stories, so the monster was easily visible. He was a classic dragon, covered in dark-green scales, and he was standing right in front of Hans’s house. “Hans—please, please be all right!” Kaito could see two people who looked like soldiers facing the creature down with their spears. “Wh-where’s Hans?!” “Inside!” “Can you handle the dragon?” “No, sir! We were just asked to keep watch! We don’t have anything but our spears and our swords!” Well, that didn’t inspire much confidence. But it was true; those spears didn’t look like much to kill a dragon with. “Can you at least chase him away?” “We’ve been beating everything metal we could get our hands on ever since he arrived, but it doesn’t seem to bother him at all!” That was when Kaito registered that the villagers who had assembled to help Hans were carrying pots and kettles. “What is the dragon doing?” “We don’t know, sir. He’s just staring at the house…” Then Hans stuck his head out the window. “Lord Kaito!” “Hans!” What to do, what to do? Kaito wasn’t having any flashes of inspiration. The panic seemed to be all he could focus on. At that moment, the dragon noticed the open window and brought his head very, very close to it. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!” Hans tumbled backward. “Hans!” But the woodcutter did something entirely unexpected: He took one of his omnipresent jars of honey and flung it straight at the dragon’s face. “Oh!” The jar connected with the monster’s snout and then bounced into the front yard. “Stop!” one of the soldiers called, his face pale. “Don’t antagonize him!” Slowly, ploddingly, the dragon began moving. It brought its face down to the jar of honey in the yard. The jar had broken open, and the honey had poured out. Now the creature began slurping it up. Grrrrrrrrrrrummmmbllle. A great noise could be heard from the dragon’s stomach. “Huh?” Now that he took a closer look, Kaito could see how thin the dragon was. The poor creature was all skin and bones. “Is he…just hungry?” Could the dragon have chased Hans through the woods, all the way to his house, just because he wanted some of that honey? “Hans, wait right there!” Kaito dashed off to his pizza parlor as fast as he could, Lilia close behind him. He burst in the door and pulled out some dough. “Lilia, shape this, quick!” “Right!” The elf girl had been by Kaito’s side throughout his career, and she worked the dough now as if she had been doing it her entire life. Kaito put toppings on the prepared crust at top speed. “Done!” Kaito baked the pizza, dropped it on a tray, and rushed back to Hans’s house. The dragon was still lapping up the honey in the yard. Kaito swallowed heavily. He was making a dangerous gamble. But I’m the High-Calorie Hero! And this is how I’m going to save Hans! He crept closer to the dragon. Everyone watching him gulped. Kaito delicately set the plate down next to the creature. The food gave off a wonderful aroma. The dragon turned toward it with intense interest. “Whoa!!” “Lord Kaito!” Lilia grabbed him protectively. “Lilia! It’s too dangerous—stay back!” Sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff. The dragon was smelling the pizza intently. It looked like he was being cautious; he had never seen this food before. But then his appetite won out, and he gulped the pizza down in a single bite. “!!” Immediately, the dragon’s tail went up. His scales, which had been a drab green color, grew brighter before their eyes, regaining their richness and luster. “You want some more?” Maybe the dragon could understand human speech, because he nodded eagerly. “Then wait right there!!” After the dragon had eaten no fewer than twenty pizzas as fast as Kaito could make them, he closed his eyes in contentment. His once gaunt stomach was now bulging. “If you get hungry again, feel free to come back any time.” The dragon looked at Kaito with boundless gratitude. Then he gave one great flap of his wings and flew off toward the mountain. “Phew…” Kaito breathed. At the same time, a raucous cheer went up. “Huh?!” The villagers came up to him one after another, smiling broadly. “Lord Kaito!” “That was brilliant! That’s our hero for you!” “You sent the dragon on his way, and no one was so much as hurt!” “Thank you so much!” Kaito wasn’t quite sure what to do, surrounded by the grateful populace. “Lorb… Lorb Gaitooo!” Hans came pushing through the crowd, his face tear-streaked and his nose snotty. “Dank you sooo buuuchhh!” There was a rather unpleasant squelching sound as the woodsman embraced the chef. Hans buried his face in Kaito’s shoulder, smearing the young man with tears and snot. Uh…I guess I can always have my clothes washed when I get home. “I’m so glad you’re safe, Hans!” He patted the woodsman on the back. Perhaps Hans found this reassuring, because he began weeping in earnest. “Ha… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Kaito, however, found himself laughing as he rubbed Hans’s back. I really was kinda a hero there! When he’d arrived in this world, he had never imagined he might find such satisfaction here. He smiled at Lilia, who had worked her way up next to him. “That was wonderful, Kaito!” “Queen Eleonora!” He turned as he heard someone behind him call his name. He found the queen accompanied by a battalion of soldiers. “Wh-what are you doing here…?” “I got a little worried. I came here to back you up, but I see you handled everything yourself!” “Well, thank you.” “Indeed. A true hero… You might even be fit to be my husband, perhaps.” “I’m sorry? Come again? I didn’t quite catch that last part.” “Er, it’s nothing. Just thinking about the future.” “?” “Anyway, bravo, High-Calorie Hero!” This elicited fresh excitement from the villagers, who broke into applause. “Whoa!!” The next morning as he was heading for the pizza shop, Kaito was startled to find the dragon sitting outside the door. “Wh-what’s up? Hungry again?” The dragon dropped the shining golden sword it had been holding in its mouth square at Kaito’s feet.