Chapter 121: A Dragon Joins the Party

"Um... Qiu Nuoya, unless I’m mistaken, the one standing behind you looks like a dragon..."

The moment Qiu Nuoya and the Tamer’s Guild employee returned from Elysium, the paradise of monsters, the employee immediately said, "We’re holding an emergency meeting with every guild employee! We’ll let you know what the guild decides later, so just give me your contact information!"

The employee practically snatched Qiu Nuoya’s contact information from him before hurriedly running off.

After being left alone in the room filled with cages containing monsters, Qiu Nuoya was wondering how he should introduce the dragon who had joined their group when Viktor who had been eagerly waiting for his return caught him.

And that led to the question at the beginning.

Well, of course Viktor would be surprised.

"Yes, he is a genuine dragon. He became my tamed monster under a one year contract."

"You made a dragon your tamed monster!? And only under a one year contract? What in the world happened!?"

"It’s a long story..." With that, Qiu Nuoya explained everything that had happened.

"So you was asked to take on such an important request in exchange for a one year contract with this dragon?"

"Well, that’s how it turned out."

"Why would you accept something like that without consulting anyone!? Dragons are calamities! They are not something you can simply persuade into behaving! I’ve confronted several dragons myself, and every single one of them was vicious and impossible to reason with! They cannot even speak human language in the first place!"

"Ah, well, I can communicate with dragons, and he said he would also cooperate in persuading them, so I thought we could somehow manage."

Viktor became furious at Qiu Nuoya’s words. "What do you mean, ’somehow manage’!?"

Qiu Nuoya wondered if it was really something worth getting so angry about. Perhaps dragons and humans only hated each other because they could not communicate properly. There might actually be dragons who would understand if they could simply talk things out.

[ You there, Elf? You’re awfully noisy. What is he to you? ]

"He’s my guardian and my teacher in magic. Oh, right. I should introduce you to everyone too... Wait, I just realized. What’s your name?"

[ Isn’t that something you are supposed to decide? ]

"Huh? It is?"

[ Even though it is only a one year contract, a contract is still a contract. That means you are the one who gives me my name. ]

"Hmm, so that’s how it works. But naming..." Qiu Nuoya was not exactly good at it. Even Mochi’s name had been called too random. Still, he could not give a dragon some ridiculous name.

Dragon... Doragon... Dora... Doraemon?

No, that doesn’t feel right.

Dragon... dragon...

Maybe "Long"? That’s the Chinese word for dragon.

Hmm, it actually sounds pretty cool.

Yeah, Long should work.

"Long!"

However, Qiu Nuoya then paused. Wait, isn’t "Long" simply the Chinese word for dragon? Well, I suppose that’s fitting enough.

[ Long, huh? I don’t really understand what it means, but I suppose it’ll do. ]

"Really?"

[ For the next year, you are my master, after all. ]

As soon as the dragon said that, its enormous body began to glow brightly. Qiu Nuoya remembered that the same thing had happened with Mochi. The tamed monster contract was probably complete now.

"Then, let me introduce my new tamed monster, Long! Please get along with him, everyone!"

"That would be fine, but Nuoya. We don’t have a yard large enough to keep a dragon. What are you planning to do?" Igor’s straightforward comment made Qiu Nuoya realize the problem.

His house was certainly spacious enough for four people to live comfortably, but where on earth could they possibly keep a dragon of this enormous size?

The yard was not particularly large either, and he could not simply leave Long outside exposed to the elements.

But he was huge. Far too huge.

Mochi could freely change its size, so even after growing, it had been able to live with them normally. But Qiu Nuoya was pretty sure a dragon could not shrink itself.

Wait, what was he supposed to do about this?

[ Master, what is wrong? ]

"Now that I think about it, we don’t have anywhere for you to sleep."

[ What!? And you actually wanted to make me your tamed monster without thinking about that!? A proper master should consider these things before taking in a tamed monster! You are unfit to be a master! ]

Whoa, he’s criticizing me already.

Still, there was no way around it. Qiu Nuoya had obviously failed to think things through. He could only admit his mistake.

"Nuoya, what has that dragon been saying this whole time?" Viktor spoke to Qiu Nuoya, who had become a little dejected after being told that he was unfit to be a master. "He said I’m unfit to be a master because I can’t even prepare a place for him to sleep..."

"That’s quite an impertinent tamed monster. How dare a tamed monster criticize its master? That’s completely unacceptable! Just put a collar around the tamed monster and let it sleep in some alley."

[ You would put a collar on me!? I’ve been listening quietly, but are you looking for a fight!? ]

"Viktor, stop saying things like that. You know I take good care of my tamed monsters, don’t you? And Long, calm down. No fighting!"

Ah, so this must be what happens when people and monsters cannot communicate with each other. Long understood their language, so naturally he would get angry when someone said something rude to him.

Basically, the term "monster" referred to creatures that could not communicate with humans. Perhaps there were monsters that could get along with humans if they were actually able to communicate properly.

The Tamer’s Guild was protecting such monsters, but to adventurers, monsters were probably nothing more than enemies.

"But this really is a problem. If Long were a little smaller, we might be able to manage somehow, but at this size..." Qiu Nuoya looked up at Long and gently stroked his rough bumpy arm.

Long then asked, "Would it help if I became smaller?"