Chapter 130: The Dragon’s Lair Part 5

Tondra who came out of the lair after such a long time yawned widely, stretched, touched its eyes, and enjoyed the outside fresh air.

This feels a bit like… walking a dog?

However, thinking such thoughts about the great dragon might result in me getting grilled on the spot, so it was best not to voice them.

"Master!!!"

El who had been waiting near the entrance came running while waving her arms. She stumbled and rolled in the snow. Ayla then grabbed El's clothes with her teeth and helped her up before they both came running towards me. I ended up falling backward due to their "double assault".

"Ouch, ouch… take it easy, you two."

I patted El and Ayla's heads while lying in the snow and laughing. Thanks to Tondra's healing magic, it didn't hurt much even after receiving the two's full-force charge.

El who had run towards me with a bright smile was now sniffling with her face buried in my chest. She must have been very worried. Well, things weren't looking good down there. This girl was ready to face Aquila with a sword at one moment… and yet when I look at her now, she's still just a child.

"It's all thanks to you, El. I survived because you bought me some time."

"Sob, sob, I-I didn't do anything, waaah!!"

"You did your part wonderfully. You worked hard."

El finally let out the tears she had been holding back.

-Sniffle!

And some snot too.

"What about Sir Khalid and Didier?"

"They're… sniff, recovering over there."

"I see. That's a relief."

-Kuun!

I stood up with El and Ayla's support. I saw Khalid and Didier leaning against a rock while recovering. They seemed very surprised to see Tondra.

"Tondra!"

"Tondra!"

Both of them shouted at the same time. Tondra who had been enjoying the cold air of the Silver Mountains bared its menacing teeth in a smile. That was probably its way of showing it was happy to see them.

[Oh, my old friends. Did you come all the way here to greet me?]

While Tondra; the wizard, and the witch were talking with each other, I went to find the goats I had sheltered with [Forest's Protection]. The trees, vines, and grass had perfectly protected them. Though, some of the inner vines had been nibbled on by the goats.

Not far away, there was a small hot spring area. We herded the goats towards the hot springs to prepare Tondra's meal. With Lloyd's help, I slaughtered the goats nearby. Ayla eagerly devoured the innards, and we tossed the cleanly butchered meat into the hot springs one by one.

Next, we added various grains that had been prepared in advance to the hot spring. We threw in sacks of wheat and barley, along with some snow peas. Then, we dropped in chunks of butter made from goat's milk and planted an olive tree, which I let grow before shaking all the olives into the water. After adding the green olives, Aquila and El threw in some snow cabbage they had gathered from the surrounding area. And then…

"Khalid, Didier. Please help me."

I asked the two of them to use powerful fire magic. The hot spring was already boiling hot like lava, but we needed more intense heat. They stared at me for a long moment, as if they couldn't believe I was asking them to use their fire for "cooking". Their eyes seemed to ask, "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I know. I'm well aware of how powerful wizards and witches you both are. But, when it came to entering the lair, you weren't much help, were you?"

"..."

"..."

"So, if you could help like this, both Tondra and I would be very grateful."

The two looked quite offended but began chanting spells. As Khalid's green flames and Didier's red flames surrounded and ignited the hot spring, it started bubbling furiously like lava. The ingredients began to boil together and soon released an unbelievably delicious aroma.

As expected, the most important thing in cooking is the heat!

I asked Lloyd to split the olive tree and create a giant ladle, then I began stirring the hot spring slowly, much like rowing a boat.

It would have been nice to add tomatoes; what a shame.

Goat meat, goat's milk butter, wheat, barley, snow peas, olives, and snow cabbage with the slightly salty hot spring water. Mixing all of these together and letting them simmer slowly for about an hour…

"…Phew! It's done."

A marvelous goat meat risotto was born.

With the refreshing broth from the bones, the hearty flavor from the grains, the fresh olives, and the sweet snow cabbage, it was the perfect hot risotto to soothe the stomach of a dragon just waking up. The fragrant aroma… I removed the olive tree ladle and shouted toward Tondra.

"Please, try it!"

[Hmm…]

Tondra licked its blue tongue in anticipation, then sniffed the giant risotto made specifically for dragons. After it was satisfied with the scent, it dipped its tongue lightly.

[...!]

"Does it suit your taste?"

[Excellent. It tastes similar to the dish the innkeeper of Ansgar Capital Inn used to make. Ah, such a nostalgic flavor.]

With a contented look, Tondra buried its snout and began devouring the goat meat risotto.

-Gulp~.

-Gulp~!

-Gulp!!!

"…Well then, shall we fill our bellies too?"

While making Tondra's risotto, I scooped out the risotto from a separate pot and distributed it to my companions. Unlike Tondra's risotto, which was made with an entire goat, the human version which was made with only rib meat was much more tender and rich.

"…Eating makes me feel a bit more alive."

When engaged in the mundane act of eating, I found myself unconsciously reassured. It allowed me to relax and let my guard down. I enjoyed that sense of comfort while eating.

After all, we do all of this to "survive".

[Phew, that was an excellent meal.]

The hot spring emptied in an instant. Tondra smacked its lips and smiled broadly; its sharp teeth sparkled in the light. It was a chilling sight, enough to make me worry that if I hadn't prepared the meal, I might have ended up between those teeth.

"I'm really glad you enjoyed it."

[It's been a long time since I've experienced the pleasure of eating.]

The higher the being, the pickier they become about "eating". It becomes increasingly difficult to enjoy the pleasures of a meal. Just as I had sought out the joy of gourmet dining in this pseudo-medieval land, Tondra must have felt the same.

That's why I prepared this meal.

Having finished the meal happily, Tondra looked quite pleased for a dragon that had just awakened from a long sleep. I had a good feeling that the upcoming conversation would go well.

Maybe I should bring up the topic while we have dessert.

I placed the pot over the still-heated campfire and boiled it with the sap of the ice moss tree, frozen red currants, and wild snow mountain raspberries. Soon, a sweet syrup was ready.

I collected clean snow from the silver mountains, piled it on plates, and poured the syrup over it to create a simple shaved ice dessert. Cold, white snow with sweet, bright red syrup. It had a simple yet distinctive flavor. We sat around and started to eat the shaved ice. At first everyone hesitated at the thought of eating "snow", but once I started they quickly followed suit. Even Tondra who was eating from a large pot of shaved ice seemed to enjoy it.

[It's truly amazing. A druid entered my lair and awakened me. Didier, if anyone were to wake me, I thought it would be you. Or perhaps a witch as skilled as you.]

"Hearing that makes this druid a bit disappointed."

[Take it as a compliment. You know my lair was protected by powerful spells and considerable magical knowledge was needed to break through them. Even wizards blessed by Kerion would struggle with it…]

"With enough wisdom, one could easily solve those traps."

[…Ho.]

"Of course, luck played a part as well."

I gave Tondra a cheerful smile. Without the space ring, I wouldn't have been able to break the spatial magic, so it wasn't entirely untrue. Tondra looked down at me with an amused expression.

[I see. Now it's time to ask, 'wise' and 'lucky' druid, why have you come to find me?]

"Well…"

I hesitated for a moment.

"…Please, don't be surprised."

When I opened the bag I had carefully carried all along, Tondra's eyes sparkled with curiosity. I took out the dragon egg that was tightly bound with magic chains.

-Clink.

As the magic chains unraveled, the dragon egg with a smooth ivory or opal-like shell was revealed. Despite everything that had happened, the dragon egg was completely clean, without a single crack or scratch.

[…!]

Tondra was clearly shocked; it didn't seem to expect me to pull out a dragon egg. It was understandable since it had probably been a very long time since Tondra had last seen a dragon egg, perhaps so long that he might not even remember.

"I found this dragon egg in the Swamp of Death. There were dragon bones with it, but I couldn't retrieve them."

[The Swamp of Death?]

"Yes. It seems they were planning to use this egg as a sacrifice."

[…]

Tondra lowered its head carefully, brought its nose close to the dragon egg, and took a deep breath. I could feel the gentle ripple of magical waves surrounding the egg. Tondra whispered something to the egg. Then the egg vibrated slightly and again sent out a steady wave of magical power.

[Aha, oh ho. Hmm…]

The conversation between Tondra and the egg continued. Tondra's expression shifted from serious to sad, then to amused, repeatedly. We watched in silence and I was wondering what they could be discussing. Could the egg be saying it didn't want to be born?

Tondra chuckled to itself and whispered something to the egg again. The egg gave a significant twitch. Unable to hold back any longer, I asked Tondra,

"Lord Tondra, what are you talking about…?"

[Shh.]

"..."

[Yes, I see. If that's your wish…]

Tondra grinned while showing its teeth and nudged the egg with its nose. The egg rolled towards me.

[That child wants to say something to you.]

"…What?"

['I will choose my own godparent.']