Chapter 8: New Friends

Warning: The following is an original novel authored by me. It was originally written in Spanish and translated into English, so it may contain spelling errors. I would appreciate it if you could point out any errors in the comments. Thank you.

We followed the Book-Eating Dragon and her group on their odyssey to reach the war zone in Amster.

When we arrived in Zhanty, even with everything that had happened in that human village a few weeks ago, I was still reluctant to get involved in human conflicts. I mean, it's not a dragon's problem to take care of humans... although I'm not opposed to making occasional exceptions.

After the long journey, my current companions were tired and went straight to the Zhanty harbor inn to sleep. They didn't even go to the guild or the town hall to announce their presence, just like in the other towns we visited on the way to this city.

Well, it's not my problem.

My real problem is that I don't have any money, but I prepared a set of 5 scales and a dragon tooth to sell to some foolish craftsman. It's a strange feeling knowing that my dandruff can be so expensive, but in these cases, being a dragon in a human land is very useful.

When we arrived in Zhanty, it was still very early, and on a Sunday, I doubted I'd find a buyer at this time of day. But I saw a beautiful woman exercising on the dock. She had a hat covering her ears and sportswear that covered her entire body. That piqued my curiosity.

With no excuse to speak, I approached the woman and said:

"Good morning, my name is Shiva. I'm a tourist and looking for a blacksmith's workshop; I want to sell some materials."

The girl glanced at me and said, "Let me guess, you want to sell dragon scales."

Keeping my composure, I replied, "And if that were the case, would you recommend any buyer?"

The woman took me to a small workshop that was under renovation. I think they were expanding the place, but it wasn't my problem. The woman introduced me to a dwarf who owned the workshop and said:

"Ellen, I brought you a customer who wants to sell dragon materials. Try not to scam her; I'll go back to my morning walk."

The dwarf responded somewhat angrily, "Who are you calling a scammer, you idiot?... Anyway, sorry for the sorry sight, let me see your materials."

I pulled out the 5 scales and the giant tooth I had just shed from a backpack. When these things leave my body in human form, they regain their original size, so I decided to keep them to make some money.

The dwarf took out his abacus and began weighing the pieces and calculating their value.

"After calculating, the value of these materials is 20 gold coins and 5 silver coins. I would normally buy them, but I just invested in renovating my business and only have 10 gold coins. I think I could keep the tooth and 2 scales," said the dwarf.

I thought that 10 gold coins would be more than enough to pay for several books. I noticed that behind the counter, the dwarf had a small shelf with books and asked him:

"I could leave all the materials for 10 gold coins if you give me some books worth that amount."

Seeing my intentions, the dwarf placed all his books on the counter, except for one.

I asked about that single book, and the dwarf told me:

"I'm sorry, little girl, but that book is a memento from my late father. He was one of the soldiers who fought in the Zhanty invasion on the foreign side. He didn't die in battle, but he was quite old, and all I have left is this book that tells our family history to remember him."

That piqued my curiosity, and I said I only wanted 2 of the 10 books he put on the counter and asked if I could read the book about his family's history. I told him it would only take me 20 minutes and I would return it intact.

Since it was a favorable deal for the dwarf, he handed me the book to read.

The book was mildly interesting. It talked about how the dwarves arrived on this continent from a completely different one. It had very explicit details with highly detailed images. It was fascinating.

I really wanted that book, but I gave my word to return it, so I just kept reading.

Then I heard a voice calling the dwarf from inside the back room: "Ellen, breakfast is ready," and the dwarf replied:

"Give me a second, priest, I'm in the middle of a negotiation."

Their conversation caught my attention, but reading the book was my priority.

Once I finished reading the book, my curiosity was satisfied. I took my gold coins and 2 books and left. Now that I have money, I should buy some women's clothing. I'm tired of wearing the old clothes from the musclehead... and I have a craving for some fish.

...

Today I woke up with a lot of energy.

I, the priest and professional chef Ester, got up wanting to cook. Yesterday, I bought some chickens and felt like making wine-soaked chicken because I know Ellen's house has plenty of cheap alcohol and wine.

I took a bottle and some vegetables, and after using some magic in the kitchen, I finished my dish.

I prepared a lot since we need to continue our journey today.

Our goal is to reach the war zone in the Amster kingdom.

This is the country where the war between humans and demons is currently being fought, but before that...

We have to cross the lowlands of the north. That's going to be difficult since the border between the lowlands and Zhanty is a monster-filled area.

We could go by boat, but I think it would be more dangerous due to the conditions of the seas in the Low Countries, as they border the Demon King's territory, so it's not safe to approach the sea.

I also think that's why the port of Zhanty is so prosperous, being practically the only destination for trading foreign materials.

Anyway, after finishing the chicken, I called Ellen since Raiza had gone out to exercise. It's clear that she's still getting used to the prosthetic arm.

Ellen responded by shouting that she was buying dragon materials, so I set the table.

Once the work was finished, the dwarf approached the table, sat down, and tried my food.

"This chicken is delicious. Are you sure you don't want to stay and help me in the workshop?"

I replied that I appreciated the offer, but I had some matters to attend to, and if she wanted to hire me when I was done, I would gladly accept.

Ellen smiled and said she would hire me without problems. Then I asked her about the dragon materials.

"I bought them from that girl for 10 gold coins and 2 books from my personal collection."

Then Raiza interrupted Ellen: "I told you not to scam her, you damn thieving dwarf."

Raiza was returning from exercising. She looked very sweaty and somewhat flushed; I admit it made my heart race to see her like that.

"I told her the cost of the materials was 20 gold coins, but she only had 10 and said she wanted the 2 books as compensation for the remaining 10 gold coins," Ellen replied.

Raiza asked, "Did she ask for anything else?"

Ellen thought for a moment and said, "Well, she also read the book of my family history. She seemed very interested in that book, but I couldn't sell it… it's a family heirloom."

Raiza said, "I suspected as much. That woman must be the Dragon of Wisdom. Only that idiot would be so interested in books."

I didn't quite understand their conversation, so I just listened silently while eating some of my chicken, which, by the way, was very good. Just to note that.

After they finished their conversation, the three of us had the marinated chicken for breakfast, and by the afternoon of that same day, we were setting off in our newly purchased cart. This wasn't being pulled by a horse, but by a small earth dragon.

An earth dragon is basically a combat horse used to cross the border between Zhanty and the Low Countries in the north, whose border is divided by a Monster Zone. Because, you might ask...

The famous Monster Zones are vast territories on the Yamatory continent. They are areas with such a harsh environment that only the strongest beasts can survive the climate. Even the insects in those places are enormous and terrifying.

In those places, anything can kill you, and being exposed to the miasma emitted by those zones is not for just anyone. You need some training to cross those areas, which practically divide the borders of the countries.

That's why this earth dragon is so useful for crossing those territories.

Once we finished the preparations, we said goodbye to Ellen and the city of Zhanty. I will miss this city; it was somewhat small but a very comfortable place to live. At least I managed to take some smoked fish preserves; we'll eat well on our trip.

I was dressed in my priest's outfit; the only new things were my spider silk gloves and my military boots for better combat mobility.

On the other hand, Raiza... looks completely different with that adamantine and orichalcum armor. She looks battle-ready, especially since she now has her prosthetic arm, though she still has to get used to it.

I think hunting the monsters we'll encounter at the border might help her.

...

…

…

Shortly after, we are in an inn following a young elemental mage named Amelia.

Today I woke up very late. My hair was frizzy, and I was starving.

My roommate, Shiva, was very comfortably in bed with a bunch of books. I swear they weren't there before. She was also wearing a very elegant outfit with fine fabrics, a combat suit focused on appearance.

She noticed I was awake and with a silly smile said to me:

"Amelia... you've woken up, sleepyhead. Look at my new books; I love the stories written by human races. History, fantasy, science, or their memoirs, I love learning."

Noting her interest, I went to my backpack and searched the bottom of it.

I said, "Look, this is an old book of spells and incantations with some history about its creators."

With an indifferent look, Shiva said, "I already have that book in my nest; I'm not very interested."

I put on my superior expression and said, "I suspected it, but this is the corrected version of my master's book. When I learned magic from him, he showed me the original book, but as I continued learning magic and researched its creators, I noticed that the original book is full of mistakes."

Well, it was my master who noticed it, but these are my notes and this is my book.

This managed to catch Shiva's attention, who had a look on her face that clearly indicated she wanted to take the book from me.

"It's a pity you told me you weren't interested. I suppose I'll put it away again."

Then Shiva threw a gold coin at me and said, "Go have something nice to eat while I look at that book."

I told her I couldn't sell it; it has a lot of sentimental value, but Shiva responded that she already knew that and was just renting it.

I felt somewhat uncomfortable accepting so much money from her, but I didn't say anything.

I dressed and went out to eat something. I wanted to go out with Shiva, but she wanted to read in peace, and since I knew she loved reading so much, I left her alone while I went out of our room on my own.

I went to knock on Yubel and Eduard's room door since it was closed. I guess they are still sleeping. Anyway, I'll have lunch alone today.

Before arriving in Zhanty, I wanted to eat at the restaurants by the dock. I saw that the food was very expensive; even though I had the money thanks to Shiva, I don't like indulging in such luxuries for myself alone.

So I decided to buy some food at the inn and took it in a small basket to the beach. I had been to the beach before, but this beach was incredibly beautiful.

There were some people on the beach renting tents and chairs with tables. The price wasn't cheap, but it was much cheaper than eating at a restaurant.

I ended up renting a chair with a table and ate my snack on the beach, accompanied by the sound of the ocean waves and watching the moon reflected on the water.

For a moment, I felt a great peace in my heart.

Then I heard a child's voice: "Don't you feel a little lonely?"

I realized the child was in front of me, sitting on the sand. She had her back to me while also looking at the moon's reflection in the sea. She turned around and looked me in the eyes.

I didn't notice when the child moved, but she quickly stood in front of me and said:

"You smell just like him. It's curious to meet two of you in such a short time."

I felt uncomfortable, but all my calm was shattered when I saw...

When I saw the child's gloves, I recognized them. I had woven those gloves with magic when I was younger. I shouted:

"Where did you get those gloves? What did you do to the owner of those gloves?"

The child, with an incredulous look, responded:

"These are just a memento from a man who piqued my interest. Once I dealt with him, I took these gloves as a keepsake."

At that moment, I saw red, all my emotions shut down.

When I realized, I was attacking that child with water magic. I truly wanted to kill her, but I lost sight of the child and heard:

"I think it will be impossible to make a deal with you. As for the four-eyed priest, don't worry, Raiza is taking good care of him."

No matter how much I searched for the child, I couldn't find anything. I almost thought I was crazy, but her footprints were still in the sand. What I saw was real; those were Ester's gloves. But my biggest question is...

Who is Raiza and where have I heard that name before?