The Scheming Oni

“That… actually looks troublesome.”

I took in the sight of the beast resting peacefully at the very core of the mountain. Unlike what I’d seen from most dragons, it had white, crystalline feathers that made it nearly impossible to spot in the snow. It had to be the second-biggest dragon I’d seen so far, the first being Charybdis.

“The Great Emperor of the [Winter Zone]! What a magnificent sight to behold!”

Of course, Julian was being Julian and idolising the grandeur of it all.

“Still, are you sure you want to do this?”

His tone suddenly got heavy.

I scratched the back of my neck, thinking back to the offer I’d made to Kanata-san.

I didn’t know how things worked here, in the [Winter Zone], but I got the gist of it from Kanata-san. True to the rumours, there was no proper organisation or hierarchy in this place. Strong eat weak. That was the best way to describe it.