Chapter 222

Dragon (3)

Out of nowhere, Banir told me to eat the inner core she had vomited from her mouth.

I stared coldly at her.

Banir merely looked puzzled, as if she couldn’t understand what the problem was.

’I’m not a baby bird.’

I might eat almost anything, but even I wouldn’t eat something that had come out of someone else’s mouth.

Besides, this had come from much deeper than her mouth.

Its identity was suspicious too. Instead of having an ordinary color, it shimmered like a rainbow.

"What is this? Is it some kind of inner core?"

I cautiously asked.

The disgusting part aside, I wanted to know what it was first.

Banir stroked her chin, seemingly wondering how she should explain it, before speaking.

—It is not an inner core. It may be something even better.

"Better?"

—Because of our enormous bodies, digestion is extremely important to our kind. That does not change much even when we polymorph.

That made sense. Ordinary amounts of energy couldn’t possibly sustain a body far larger than a building.

Hadn’t humanity also maximized its ability to store energy in order to survive?

Of course, in the modern age, that ability led directly to obesity caused by excessive nutrition.

Considering their immense size, digestion must be extremely important to dragons.

—That is why we create something like this inside our stomachs. It facilitates digestion and makes energy absorption easier. It is similar to birds or lizards swallowing stones.

"I think I understand."

So it was something like a gastrolith.

The difference was that dragons created their own.

I hadn’t known they glowed with rainbow colors, but I trusted that it was beneficial.

"Do you occasionally vomit them up like this?"

—When they are no longer useful, we generally expel them from the body. Either through the front or the rear.

You didn’t need to tell me that much.

Still, I was glad this one hadn’t come out the rear.

"Then what effect does it have? If it’s dangerous, I would rather refuse."

—If swallowing it is too difficult, you may simply hold it in your mouth and absorb it. Its effects are simple.

"Does it increase the mana inside my body?"

Most inner cores had that effect.

The inner core I had obtained from Pumpkin Jack was somewhat unusual, but still.

However, calling this thing an inner core was questionable, so it probably had a different effect.

—It does that as well, but it will improve your body’s overall condition. In particular, your energy absorption efficiency will increase dramatically.

"Does that mean...?"

—You will produce noticeably less excrement than before. It converts nearly everything into energy.

It was an effect focused entirely on survival.

Excellent.

Although I had been steadily stockpiling food, the number of mouths I had to feed had increased.

As time passed, we would need even more food.

’Besides, I’ll continue exploring. I have to consider what happens if I run out of emergency rations.’

From now on, I would frequently have to camp or sleep outdoors, away from the shelter.

When that happened, I wouldn’t be able to eat as much as I did here.

I stared at the rainbow-colored object.

There wasn’t a single reason to refuse it.

However, there was one thing that concerned me.

"Are there any side effects?"

—I cannot say there are none. It may place a burden on your organs, particularly your heart. You should be fine once your body adapts.

"How long will that take?"

—That depends on how strong you are.

What an irresponsible answer.

Still, I understood.

Banir was a dragon, while I was an exceedingly frail human by comparison.

The difference in our strength was on an entirely different level, so it must have been difficult for her to establish a standard.

—There is no need to worry too much. A tiger ate one before, and it was fine.

"A tiger?"

—Indeed. I originally considered eating it, but I spared it because it was still young. If it successfully adapted, it should have become quite powerful.

"...Did it happen to have exceptionally long fangs?"

—How did you know that?

How did I know?

Because I had nearly died trying to capture the thing.

Banir seemed to infer the answer from my expression and said nothing more.

’Would eating this give me a Dragon Heart?’

That heart had practically been a biological bomb. The thought made me increasingly reluctant.

But when I recalled the regeneration displayed by the saber-toothed tiger, I became tempted.

Most of its wounds had healed almost immediately.

That was an enormous advantage.

Of course, there was no guarantee I would gain the same regenerative ability. I might develop something else entirely.

’Light already shines from my eyes. That makes me even more hesitant.’

Still, I would probably consume it eventually.

It was far too valuable to throw away.

As Banir had said, merely holding it in my mouth should be enough.

It was almost the size of a baseball, so swallowing it by force would be difficult anyway.

"...Wait. Even fitting this into my mouth would be a problem."

—Ah. You are right. Wait a moment. It has been so long since I transformed into a human that I forgot how the human jaw is structured.

Banir swallowed the object from the ground again.

A short while later, she spat it back out.

It was now much smaller, roughly the size of a marble.

As an added bonus, it was thoroughly coated in her saliva.

I should have simply waited for it to shrink on its own.

I would have washed it because of the dirt and dust anyway, but that didn’t make it any less disgusting.

—Cough. Cough. I truly must leave now. Is there anything else you wish to say?

"Another question... Ah, there is one more. It may actually be the thing I’m most curious about."

—What is it?

"The animals living here are very different from the ones I know. Is that because this forest is unusual?"

This wasn’t something only I had noticed. It applied to Ludwig and the people outside as well.

There was a gorilla that spoke like a human, an impossibly fast sloth, wrestling kangaroos, and so on.

Not only were these animals far stronger and larger than normal, but they had evolved in bizarre and unpredictable directions.

There were even giraffes, creatures that should only have existed on Earth.

This place was hiding many secrets.

—I do not know either. This place is closer to an enclosure constructed by the invaders. It would be easier simply to accept it for what it is.

"Hmm... Understood."

—That sloth over there is quite capable, though.

A dragon herself had personally certified Fast Sloth’s strength.

I gave a wry smile and looked at Fast Sloth.

He remained perfectly still, wearing his usual relaxed expression.

Just how much more help would I receive from him in the future?

He truly was dependable.

—However, remember this. There are many beings more dangerous than that creature—and even more dangerous than me.

"I’ll be careful."

Fwoosh!

The instant I finished speaking, a pair of enormous wings unfolded from Banir’s back.

She flapped them and rose into the sky.

It was quite the magnificent sight.

—My child.

"Piiik!"

—Listen carefully to your teacher and do not cause him trouble. Your mother will return soon.

"Piiiii!"

When did I become his teacher?

I smiled wryly.

After saying goodbye to Tyrano, Banir looked at me and bowed her head.

I politely bowed in return.

There was no harm in showing respect.

Flap!

Before long, Banir soared high into the sky and disappeared.

The moment she took flight, she undid her polymorph and transformed back into an enormous dragon.

The sight of a dragon soaring through the air on wings far larger than her own body was truly spectacular.

"Hmm..."

Banir’s arrival had swept through the shelter like a storm.

As soon as she disappeared, I picked up the rainbow-colored marble from the ground.

’I should store this for the time being.’

I had no idea what might happen if I consumed it recklessly.

It was a gastrolith capable of significantly affecting my internal organs.

If something went seriously wrong with them, even an elixir might have difficulty healing me.

’I suffered enough after the guardian hit me.’

I put the gastrolith in my pocket, then looked around.

Ludwig and the others were all staring at me with expressions that seemed to ask, What do we do now?

I felt the same way.

Banir’s appearance had made it difficult to continue with everything we had planned for the day.

"Let’s eat first."

Even though it was late, we should begin with breakfast.

Banir’s wingbeats had blown away all the pollen-laden yellow dust.

At my command, everyone swiftly began preparing breakfast.

No one said anything, but they must have been hungry.

"Mwooo."

"Ah. You were still here too."

Now that winter had passed, the deer seemed ready to leave and had come to say goodbye.

I wanted to feed it breakfast before it went, but it firmly refused.

What a well-mannered creature.

I saw the deer off.

"Goodbye. Come back if you ever feel like visiting."

"Mwooo."

Fwish!

Then it disappeared right before my eyes.

Fast Sloth at least left behind an afterimage, but the deer didn’t even do that.

It vanished as though it had literally teleported, without leaving the slightest trace.

’...Is its ability teleportation?’

No wonder it had appeared here, there, and everywhere.

I had thought something was strange ever since it brought me the golden apple.

Could an animal capable of teleportation exist?

I could confidently say there probably wasn’t one.

Teleportation belonged to the realm of magic.

One could essentially say that the deer used magic.

’I don’t know anymore. This is the Forest of Four Seasons. I should just accept it.’

Breakfast was more important right now.

Today’s breakfast consisted of meat we had stockpiled in advance and various vegetables.

It was a plentiful meal.

However, we would begin exploring tomorrow, so our supplies would soon start running low.

"Kyuuuu..."

"Wonmo, are you awake?"

While I was at it, I prepared food for Wonmo, who had awakened from hibernation.

He still looked half asleep, but he made no attempt to hide his appetite.

After finishing our plentiful breakfast, I returned to the cave.

[There is an enormous owlbear over there! Let us fight it together!]

"Piiiiiik!"

"K-Kyuu?"

Outside, Cain was playing well with the little ones.

In the meantime, I accessed the gallery.

I had a great deal to say.

I hadn’t told Banir, but I had taken a photo of her polymorphed form.

"I also need to tell Let’sGrowTrees what happened to the World Tree sapling."

How would Let’sGrowTrees react?

If I had to guess, they would undoubtedly fly into a rage.

They loved trees, so it would be an entirely natural reaction.

Most of the users would probably say it served them right.

They had accumulated plenty of reasons for people to dislike them.

Title: A Dragon Polymorphed

Wild Grylls

(A photo of the polymorphed dragon)

(A video of me conversing with the dragon)

(A photo of the World Tree sapling that the dragon incinerated with her breath)

But then she saw the World Tree and called it an evil tree before burning it to ashes. ;;

└ Heavenly Demon: Is that truly a dragon? It appears as though someone attached a lizard’s head to a human torso.

└ Wild Grylls: I was pretty shocked too.

└ SwordMaster: Huh...? Aren’t polymorphed dragons usually all handsome men and beautiful women? No, before that, dragons can actually polymorph?

└ Wild Grylls: Apparently, she’s a dragon who lived during the Age of Myth.

└ SwordMaster: You expect me to believe that?

└ Wild Grylls: We already have a sky whale. This isn’t any harder to believe.

└ SwordMaster: Ah. That is certainly true.

└ W-Where did my fantasy go...? The myths weren’t like this...!

└ That’s why they’re called "myths." The very fact that a dragon capable of polymorphing exists is already shocking, hahahahaha.

└ At this point... I wouldn’t be surprised no matter what else appeared, hahaha.

└ Aren’t the scholars going to break down crying?

└ The theologians will be crying too, damn it. They’ll have to reconstruct the entire mythology.

└ Cain descended less than a week ago, and now we have a dragon from the Age of Myth, hahahahaha.

└ All-Father: Oh. Does the dragon communicate by projecting her thoughts? It seems as though her voice is echoing directly within your mind.

└ Wild Grylls: Exactly. It was truly fascinating.

└ All-Father: Hohohoho! Excellent. Absolutely excellent! The longstanding debate over how dragons communicated can finally be put to rest!

└ Wild Grylls: Was that important enough to become a scholarly debate?

└ Dude, we’re talking about the Age of Myth. The Age of Myth!

└ Almost nothing from that era has been confirmed. Even the information we do have is mostly hearsay.

└ I guess everyone will have to accept it now, hahaha. A polymorphed dragon communicated by projecting her thoughts.

└ Wild Grylls: Hmm. I see.

└ "Hmm. I see," he says, hahahahaha.

└ Every time this guy makes a post, he drops another bombshell. ;;

└ But why is that dragon inside the Forest of Four Seasons?

└ Wild Grylls: Apparently, the gods won during the Age of Myth and drove all the dragons into it.

└ Oh, if that’s what happened, then it makes sense.

└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: Did that dragon happen to say anything disparaging about the gods?!

└ Wild Grylls: She called them invaders, but she also admitted that her people had done enough to deserve being driven out.

└ That’s true. They killed people whenever they had the chance, hahaha.

└ So what? Hahaha. That worked out great for us.

└ Come to think of it, that means the dragon can’t escape the Forest of Four Seasons either, right?

└ Wild Grylls: Shut up. I’m already depressed about that.

The reactions I had expected began pouring in.

Everyone was repeatedly shocked.

The most noticeable subject among them was the World Tree sapling.

Each user reacted differently to the fact that a dragon had personally incinerated it with her breath.

└ You’re going to live there forever, hahahahaha.

└ Dragon: I can’t escape either, lol.

└ Wait, the dragon burned the World Tree sapling?

└ Wild Grylls: Yeah. You see that charred thing? Apparently, it was a World Tree sapling. Let’sGrowTrees gave it to me.

└ It’s already absurd that someone gave you a World Tree sapling, but the fact that it was immediately incinerated is hilarious, hahahaha.

└ Even dragons hate elves, hahahahaha.

└ Hatred of elves is justified! The dragon has delivered her verdict!

└ More importantly, who the hell is the bastard who gave you a World Tree sapling? ;;

└ Do World Tree saplings even exist in the first place?

└ They do. But they normally grow only near the World Tree.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: A dragon burned it?! What a truly wicked dragon!

└ Wicked? She was intelligent, lol.

└ Isn’t this going to make people hate elves even more?

└ Definitely. Things are already chaotic enough lately.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: No! I see it in precisely the opposite way! The dragon personally proved the World Tree’s nobility!

└ Is that bastard’s brain wired backward?

└ What kind of nonsense is that?

However, Let’sGrowTrees reacted in the exact opposite way I had expected.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: Dragons have been renowned as evil beings since ancient times. And such a dragon burned the World Tree!

└ So you’re saying it must be a good tree because an evil dragon personally destroyed it?

└ Let’sGrowTrees: Precisely! This will allow us to promote tree planting even more enthusiastically—with trees from Alfheim that even dragons regard as a threat!

└ Am I the only one who feels like this somehow made everything even more screwed?

└ I have a bad feeling about this too, hahaha.

└ How did the conversation end up there?

└ The bigger problem is that the logic actually makes sense. ;;

"Wow."

All I could do was marvel.

Their way of thinking was completely different.

’If someone like this were a leader, we’d be in serious trouble.’

Their madness was evident even through text.

How much worse would it be if I met them in person?