Chapter 289

289th Episode

Dragon of the Hearth 289 ? Dragon of the Hearth #1

Village Chief.

The leader of the village.

A symbol of village power.

Indeed, he was a man who lived in probably the largest house in the village. The man in his twilight years, with just a hint of white hair beginning to show, guided us into the reception room attached to his grand house.

“What are you doing, Sati. Instead of just standing there, please bring some food and drink for our guests.”

“Yes, Master.”

Even issuing patriarchal orders to a young and rather pretty blonde maid with freckles near her eyes? Judging by the peculiar-looking choker around her neck, it seemed she was likely a purchased slave.

Swish.

Suddenly, my vision went dark, and a thought struck me—had I chosen the wrong career path? In fact, hadn’t I always secretly aspired to be a village chief instead? Whether it’s a dragon’s head or a snake’s head, heads are undeniably powerful.

Village Chief Hassan.

I tried engraving that majestic name into my mind. A statue of me in the village center, gradually collecting taxes from the villagers to build a colossal palace of my own.

It would be named Hassan’s Sun Palace, perhaps?

While I was simulating these thoughts in my head, someone poked me in the back. It was Luna.

“Hassan! You’re daydreaming about useless things again.”

“That’s true.”

Thanks to Luna’s words, I snapped back from my never-ending imperialist reverie. Whether one becomes a village chief or holds some other position of power, there are inevitably many things to consider that cannot simply be dismissed.

I, a commoner who stresses out even after taking charge of a group project, can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it would be to take on the role of a village chief.

Clack, clack-.

Shortly after, a simple meal and a decanter, what seemed like filled with wine, appeared in front of us seated at the table.

To us who had only been eating dry rations on the carriage, the freshly prepared warm food looked especially delicious.

However, we hesitated to move our hands to the table, except for Paranoi. She acted as if no reason should matter and started eating first.

Seeing her tearing into what appeared to be either a chicken leg or turkey leg, we couldn’t help but follow her lead.

If we’re not careful, Paranoi might eat all the legs herself.

Of course, unlike Paranoi, who just lives, we all knew that whatever goodwill was being extended was anything but selfless.

As I’ve said many times before, in this cruel world, when someone offers goodwill, they usually expect something in return.

“Nymph Lady, if there’s anything wanting, please let us know. We can bring more.”

“Oh, what an excellent attitude! So, bring more of these large roast chickens!”

The village chief kept observing Paranoi’s expression. It seemed that he had some favor to ask from her.

This shrewd-looking businessman-like village chief meeting the nymph Paranoi for the first time today made the situation increasingly mysterious.

Then, when we’d finished eating roughly, Hippolyte emptied her glass and slapped the table.

“So, Village Chief-.”

“Gardeman, actually.”

“Village Chief Gardeman, it seems you have something to say to us. We’ve eaten, so we’ll hear you out.”

“Indeed, fitting of a hero wearing a golden necklace. I was wondering if I could proceed to the matter at hand. I assume you’ve noticed the dragon’s hearth placed at the center of the village.”

At the village chief’s question, Luna responded, “That blue flame?”

With a nod, the chief continued calmly.

“Yes. As you’ve observed, blessed flame at the center of our village serves as a guard against monsters and beasts.”

“The flame is weakening, and thus you want to ask us for help solving this problem, right.”

Hippolyte’s concise summary made the chief’s expression brighten significantly.

“That’s exactly it. After a long winter, the flame has gradually diminished to the point it’s barely maintaining a small hearth.”

Hippolyte, being a seasoned adventurer, seemed to have a pretty good sense. Likewise, the chief spared us the long explanation.

“If things continue like this, the flame itself might go out, and who knows what will happen to our village’s reputation which relies on this flame.”

Yet, Hippolyte merely murmured, “Hmm.”

Myself, and Luna, glanced at each other with confused eyes. If the flame is dying, how exactly do they expect us to fix it?

Luna finally said,

“Isn’t it simple? Just add more firewood!”

This was a wisdom not even Antoinette could have rivalled. Luna, indeed, is incredibly smart—truly a worthy future wife.

However, the village chief shook his head.

“That’s not just any common flame. Therefore, it’s not something that can be maintained with regular firewood. That’s why-.”

Swish.

The village chief suddenly rose from his chair and bowed before us.

“And so, please help us! You must be the party of firewood mentioned in the prophecy!”

His sudden deep bow was extremely disconcerting, but Gardeman the Village Chief acted as if it was the most crucial opportunity of his life, throwing everything into it.

“The prophecy says, a woman with pointed ears shall appear and revive the flame!”

To which someone, likely Luna, asked:

“Pointed ears?”

“Pointed ears mean nymphs!—The dragon of the hearth, Gesvalam, is a dragon known to favor nymphs! Isn’t this the revelation that by offering a nymph, we can persuade the dragon to breathe fire again!?”

“Ah-!!”

The Paranoi who’d just begun tearing another leg apart froze her hand.

“Dare, dare you suggest offering me Paranoi as the dragon’s sacrifice? This, this food was meant to fatten me up for slaughter?! This is utterly unacceptable!”

But even the village chief, who had abandoned his dignity and all reservations, was not to be easily swayed.

“I hear you’re headed to Delphi! The shortest route to Delphi requires passing through a cavern occupied by the dragon Gesvalam! Whether willingly or not, you’ll have to settle the matter with Gesvalam to proceed!”

“We cannot heed the schemes of this man…”

“Perhaps you could even ride on the dragon’s back to shorten your journey to Delphi!”

Shorten the journey to Delphi?

We all fell quiet, deep in thought.

*

“The gentleman’s room is that way.”

Satria, the village chief’s maidservant, guided me to one of the rooms in the village chief’s house.

Apparently, due to the strict religious principles of this village centered around the hearth, unmarried men and women are forbidden to share a room, necessitating separate accommodations.

Because of this, I had quite a spacious room all to myself. The women were settled in the room next door, and even without placing my ear against the wall, I could clearly hear their high-pitched chit-chat.

It’s really not a good idea to consider sacrificing Paranoi! I’ve warned you!

Still, as Chief Gardeman mentioned, the shortest route to Delphi goes through the cave of Mt. Carmos occupied by the fiery dragon Gesvalam. If we go around, our journey may be extended by at least a week or even half a month.

So we ultimately have no choice but to confront whatever dragon is occupying that cave? Paranoi, this is your turn to shine.

Ah, now I understand why they were so pleased to see a nymph in the village.

I faintly heard Luna and Hippolyte agreeing to something, followed by Paranoi’s incoherent screams.

Dragon, huh…

Dragon.

A giant reptile with four legs and two wings. Truly an iconic symbol of fear, a king among monsters.

It was said that a dragon was as different from Wyvern as a chicken was from a chick.

Swoosh. That dragons actually exist in this world is downright terrifying; I’ve personally witnessed a dragon flying over the skies of Kolkata.

They were truly enormous, their voices thunderous, roaring so powerfully I thought it was the sound of lightning.

Their terrifying trait lies in their ability to spit devastating breath from their mouths, demolishing everything easily, while they themselves were protected by impenetrable scales that nullified all incoming attacks.

If that isn’t an outright evil setup—my attacks are effective, but yours aren’t.

Kaiiba’s Battle City rules might be slightly less stringent compared to this.

Because of their incredible durability against ordinary blades, arrows, and spears, defeating a dragon was said to be almost impossible unless by a mage. In fact, the dragon that flew over Kolkata was driven away by a coalition of mages.

Hippolyte, can’t you just take down the dragon?

Even if it takes several days battling the dragon, it might be possible to overcome it. However, isn’t Gesvalam the “Dragon of the Hearth”? While you might defeat a wild dragon, challenging a dragon consecrated to the hearth’s god would be considered a grave sacrilege.

What, then, is there no other option but to sacrifice Paranoi to the dragon?

Ah, there must be some other methods!

At that moment, someone knocked on the wall.

Hassan, did you hear that conversation? What are your thoughts?

Indeed, Luna seemed to know me quite well. She had immediately figured out that I was eavesdropping on their discussion.

I answered.

“I don’t know. For now, we’ll head to the cave tomorrow, and talk to the dragon. Asking the dragon to come back to the village and breathe some fire for the hearth, and move out of our way—that ought to do it, right?”

Though spoken lightly, the truth is, I wasn’t really sure how to handle it. Honestly, I hadn’t anticipated having to have a conversation with a dragon during this carriage journey.

The journey to Delphi was initially estimated to take between two to three weeks. But considering the high probability of unforeseen events occurring while passing through villages, roads, and caves, they estimated about a month-long journey.

Swish, I felt the significance of that reason firsthand now.

Fiery Dragon Gesvalam?

What kind of creature is that?

Well, then sleep well, Hassan.

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Then they decided to have a pyjama party! Hmph! Bring out the snacks you’ve prepared!

This is a girl’s time?!

What is that?

I want to join too.

Thus, the following day came.

We headed towards the volcano, a half-day’s travel from the village.

When we mentioned it as a volcano, it wasn’t bubbling or arid like what you’d expect. Instead, it was a regular mountain with lush greenery and a pleasant landscape. Was it an extinct or dormant volcano?

Or maybe it was an active volcano that had ceased activity for a long time? Thinking about it, it felt slightly odd that a dragon would inhabit such a place.

Dragon.

As I stood by the mouth of the cave carved into the mountain, I hesitated and strained my ears.

Gruhh…

And from within, a considerably large breathing sound reached my ears.

Looking down at the ground, I saw scorched rocks. Not only blackened, but also flattened, the kind of peculiar stones you’d typically find near a volcano.

It wasn’t just that. Turning around, I saw large claw marks on the rocks and trees, and broken branches and felled trees where something enormous must have sprawled.

Swish, this was truly the dragon’s nest.

A sudden wave of wisdom overtook me, making me question why I was here in the first place.

The massive cave before me felt like a giant’s or a monster’s open throat, yawning deep and dark.

“Hassan, I have an ominous premonition from my sorcery! It’s warning me of something dangerous.”

It seemed that even Luna was gripped with fear. I couldn’t stop trembling.

However, neither Hippolyte nor Elpride appeared bothered. They were calmly inspecting the fallen stones and dry bones around the area.

After running her palm along a claw mark, Hippolyte said,

“It’s a pretty large dragon. However, fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be an ancient dragon.”

At this, Elpride, who’d been sifting through the scattered bones on the ground, replied,

“Even so, it’s an adult. Caution is warranted. Dragons that have just reached adulthood are often more brimming with bloodlust and more dangerous than ancient dragons.”

“Oh, Elpride the Elf Mage. You must have slain a dragon before?”

“It wasn’t quite a true dragon, something akin to a juvenile dragon. It was huge, but it couldn’t speak and didn’t understand the draconic incantations. It was like a large wyvern.”

“Even so, battling a dragon isn’t common. Indeed, a mage—you give us confidence.”

Witnessing the veteran adventurers Hippolyte and Elpride sharing their experiences filled me with immense pride. If Elpride and Hippolyte hadn’t been with us in the carriage?

If the carriage had only carried myself, Luna, Paranoi the Nymph of Ditch Water, and Doris the Nymph of Honey Water?

Who knows, we might have been drawing lots to decide which Nymph would be sacrificed to the dragon.

In that sense, it was fortunate that Doris decided to stay back with Antiope to take up beekeeping.

“We’re going in.”

Hippolyte was the first to step deep into the dark cave. Was she fearless?

“What are you doing? There’s no use hesitating. It’s better to face the problem head-on. Moreover, this is not a wild dragon but the Dragon of the Hearth. There’s no reason for it to be excessively hostile.”

Pushed by Hippolyte, we had no choice but to enter the cave.

“Master Hassan! Then I shall wait here… I will pray for your safe return!”

“What? Swish, why won’t you come?”

Screams filled with terror erupted as I tried to drag Paranoi into the cave against her will.

And then—WHOOOOSH—a large gust of wind swept towards us from within.

BOOM. BOOM.

The tremors shook the ground.

And finally, a low growl echoed.

The scent of flowers and wind. A faint smell of fairies. Ah—finally! So the nymphs have arrived. I’ve waited for so long.

And then from within, two glowing red eyes—

[Author’s Note] Many supporters have made generous donations to the Nymph Relief Fund!

In these difficult times, your valuable donations to the Nymph Relief Fund mean so much!

Each time a certain amount of coupons is reached, the relief fund will provide settlement funds to well-socialized nymphs, allowing them to reintegrate into society!

Increasing the population of nymphs in the Gaia Continent.

The kind influence of the nymphs enhances the benefits of donors!

Your support creates a virtuous cycle!

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