I was sitting in a chair by the window of my bedroom, gazing outside at the Renard domain, which had been ravaged by the flood and monsters.
“We managed to get by this time, but it’ll be meaningless if this keeps happening every year,” I said with a sigh.
Although I’d managed to find Theo and gain his help, if the riparian works continued at this pace, everything would just get destroyed all over again next spring. His Highness Hodr might even show up once more under the pretext of bringing aid.
“Father said he’ll set aside a budget for the project, but we don’t have much money in the first place.”
In order to carry out construction work, we’d need to call on a large number of earth magic wielders. We’d also need machinery and equipment, but due to recent events, our public finances were deteriorating.
His Highness brought a lot of gold, but he’ll want to know how we’re using it. He might interfere if he finds out we’re trying to build a canal.
The royal family didn’t like the idea of the Renard domain becoming self-sufficient, which was why it had been left as an isolated territory in my past life until Hodr paved that large road. On the upside, thanks to the lack of roads, the domain was well fortified. We couldn’t lose that advantage this time.
If we had a canal, leaving the territory would be easier, but entering it would still be difficult because the ships would have to travel against the current. The canal would also strengthen our defenses, so I didn’t want to give up on the idea. I kept thinking things over until...
“Wait, I know! We have a vein of magical ore!” I shouted, my ears standing at attention. “Lord Reineke?”
The fox, who had been lying down, looked up when I called to him. He climbed onto my lap and I started petting him.
“What is it, Lune?” he asked, happily wagging his tail.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Of course I am. Ever since you started speaking in my name, more and more people have left offerings at my temple. My power is increasing.”
“But spirits like you don’t eat the offerings.”
“We spirits become more powerful as more people believe in us and earnestly wish for our aid. Even those who are suffering still look for beautiful flowers and edible fruit—their resolute hearts give us strength.”
“Thanks to Lady Kuzunoha, the people have been planting more soybeans, saying that they want to try making new offerings. And Lady Dakini told us about the koji oranges too.”
“Humph! As soon as you learned to control your mana better, they got to using you left and right! It’s outrageous!” Lord Reineke snapped.
“When it’s fall, I’ll make you your favorite wine,” I told him.
“Very good, very good,” he responded, instantly appeased.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you about, Lord Reineke.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s about the vein of magical ore.”
As soon as I brought that up, the spirit’s face soured.
“There’s one in our domain, right? Why hasn’t it been found yet?”
“Because a dragon lives there,” he said curtly.
“A dragon?!”
“A dragon lives in the sacred mountains. That’s why there are so many monsters, and why recklessly climbing the mountain is a terrible idea. That ore vein was only discovered because the dragon had died before the road was built through its mountains.”
“So it’s still alive right now?” I was dumbfounded. I’d never have imagined that a dragon was the reason. They were only ever spoken of in fables. I’d heard the legend of a dragon in the sacred mountains, but nobody thought of it as more than just some old story.
“The dragon is sick,” Lord Reineke went on. “In that state, it can’t eat its scales.”
“Eat its scales? What are you talking about?”
“Dragons hibernate before they mature—which means they sleep for a long time, sometimes for a hundred years. When they wake up, they molt, and then usually eat their shed scales. But if those scales are left to rot, they transform into monsters which flow into the river with the melting snow. This worsens the flooding and damages the lands.”
“So the recent increase in monsters is because of the dragon too?”
Lord Reineke nodded. In other words, the monsters that attacked me in my previous life were the offspring of the dragon.
“As long as the dragon is alive, nobody can go searching near its nest for the ore vein. However sick it may be, a human is still no match. Best to just wait until it dies. It won’t be long now.”
The spirit’s words gave me pause.
“So...a weakened dragon lives by the vein of magic ore, and its scales are turning into monsters...”
Lord Reineke watched with a smirk as I fell into deep thought.
Dragons were similar to spirits: powerful, long-lived, and wise. If we killed it, we’d not only gain a supply of magical ore, we’d also suppress the monster outbreaks. However, most humans weren’t capable of killing a dragon—anyone who managed to would be famous as a Dragonslayer. But in exchange for that fame, they were cursed by the dragon they killed and forever unable to make a spirit contract.
“Well, if you insist, I could lend you my help,” Lord Reineke said. The dark look in his narrowed eyes made me shudder.
I gulped. “Then please help me, Lord Reineke.”
“Oh? And what is your wish?”
I flinched at the sound of his low, icy voice. But I can’t give up now! I took a deep breath.
“I want to cure the dragon!” I yelled.
Lord Reineke burst into laughter.
“Cure the dragon, you say? Peculiar, but fascinating indeed...” he said, holding his stomach as he chortled.
“Why are you laughing?!” I asked, disturbed.
“Don’t you want to kill it?”
“Huh? You can kill a dragon?”
“All I can do is lend you my power. How you use it is up to you,” he responded with a smirk.
“Exactly. I don’t think I could kill a dragon, nor do I want to. If the dragon can’t eat its scales because it’s sick, then won’t our problem be solved if we cure it? In the worst-case scenario, we can just collect its scales and burn them before they turn into monsters.”
“Hmm. Good point. But what about the magical ore?”
“We can just leave it be. The dragon’s guarding it, right? That ore vein must be precious to it.”
Lord Reineke chuckled again. “I see. Then let me give you one piece of advice: When you cure the dragon, take its scales in exchange.”
“But won’t they turn into monsters?”
“If you process them properly, they will instead become magical ore.”
“What?”
“In fact, magical ore is the corpse wax of dead dragons. The same can happen with dragon scales; they will turn into magical ore so long as you stop them from decomposing. Though, their magical power isn’t as potent.”
“Wait, so a vein of magical ore is basically a dragon graveyard?! That must be why the dragon is protecting it.”
“Correct.”
If someone were to attack such a place and try to steal the ore, they’d no doubt incite the dragon’s fury. Even against a sick dragon, there was no way of knowing how such an encounter would turn out.
My ears and tail perked up at this load of information.
“Why didn’t you tell me anything sooner, Lord Reineke?” I asked. If I’d known about this, I would’ve never even considered killing the dragon.
The fox only smirked, causing me to shiver.
“Were you...testing me?”
“Perhaps. Now, I wonder if you’ll actually manage to cure the dragon?” Lord Reineke chuckled and buried his face into my lap.
What would he have done if I’d said I wanted to kill the dragon?
I felt cold sweat dripping down my back. I shakily leaned over Lord Reineke, my ears and tail drooping.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was time to start the climb up the sacred mountains to find the dragon’s lair. Liam, Bal, and all of Renard’s best knights were accompanying me.
At first, I had intended to go alone. I wasn’t planning on fighting the dragon, and I didn’t want to alert it by bringing a show of force. But of course, Liam was opposed to the idea, and father had summoned the most elite knights to escort me. So with Lord Reineke’s guidance, we headed toward the lair. He was in his giant form, leading the expedition with me upon his warm, fluffy back.
Though the mountains were infested with monsters, it was a serene day. I was sure it was because the fox spirit was with us. Everyone else must’ve thought so too, as golden light spilled from all of them into Lord Reineke’s forehead, putting him in a good mood. At his request, I had packed a bottle of gentian liqueur, named after the flower it was made from.
“I wanna ride Lord Reineke’s back too,” Bal remarked, gazing up at me with envy.
Liam also seemed to be in a bad mood.