The 5000-year-old Herbivorous Dragon

*IF story has nothing to do with the setting of the main story

(There is some contradiction with the setting of the main story, but please don’t worry about that.)

***

「Food and medicine, and then maps…… This amount should be enough for them. 」

Peryudōna, one night after the demons’ attack.

Ariante had just finished procuring supplies from the burned down market, and was going to the hut where Rēvendia and Rēko were waiting.

The damage to the city is enormous but many merchants have already moved their goods to underground warehouses and other places, and were already trying to resume their business (though they were selling it at emergency prices.)

Others should follow their strong business spirit— while thinking about stuff like that, she arrived into the front of the hut. 𝙛𝔯𝒆e𝔀e𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃e𝚕.𝒄𝗼𝗺

「Well then, I prepared some luggage for your trip. Please check it for the time bein—」

Ariante, who entered the hut, saw Rēko sleeping comfortably in her bed.

And her alone.

There was no one else.

— Rēvendia, who should have been inside the hut, is not here.

「This is stupid. Even though he did get smaller with the medicine, I never would have thought that he is reckless enough to go out alone…… 」

Ariante was confused why he would do that, but she understood a little when she saw an empty bottle lying on the floor.

That bottle contains a “Liquid Humanizing Medicine” that is used by tamers to train animals.

Ariante wondered why such a thing was here, but she soon found out why.

Due to unavoidable circumstances, Ariante hit Rēvendia a few times last night.

And in order to get rid of the pain, Ariante borrowed a medicine box from a tamer she knew that has a lot of compresses for animals in it.

She is sure that the liquid medicine was inside of that medicine box.

「He was thirsty, and then misunderstood that for water and drank it……」

That medicine is quite valuable. That tamer is likely going to complain later.

However, the problem now is—the location of Rēvendia that disappeared.

「Well then, what place would be good for hiding now that you have a human figure? 」

Rēvendia wanted to escape from this whole situation in the first place. If he gets the chance to disguise himself, it’s no wonder that he would try to escape from here.

「This is bad, if Rēvendia wasn’t here when this kin girl woke up, she could have a tantrum that would destroy a city at worst. 」

Abandoned by the Evil Dragon—she will probably go wild from this.

I have to capture Rēvendia who has escaped by the time she wakes up.

Ariante jumped out of the hut and summoned the sentinels with an emergency whistle.

「Ariante-san, what happened! 」

「What did that Evil Dragon do!?」

Ariante cleared her throat and faced the warriors who had gathered.

「No, it doesn’t have any relation with the Evil Dragon. But I have to find a person this time. I can’t tell you who it is, but it is an important person that is vital for the survival of this city. Don’t let him get away. 」

「Then, should we close the city gates? 」

「Aa. Don’t let him get out of this city no matter what. 」

They ring a signal bell, and the entrance of the city that is surrounded by walls is temporarily blocked.

With this, Rēvendia can’t no longer escape.

「So, Ariante-san. What does this important person look like?

「That’s right……」

That liquid medicine reflects the nature of the animal that consumes it and transforms the animal into a human being. The color of the eyes doesn’t change, and the clothes are produced according to the body color.

In other words, black clothes with blue eyes is a definite matter.

Other than that, Rēvendia is old and also herbivorous.

「An old man. Find an old man in a black clothes and blue eyes. You certainly found him if you saw an old man that only eats salad in a restaurant. 」

「Understood! 」

「Or perhaps, if there is an old man eating weeds or digging up vegetables on the roadside, that is most certainly him too. Catch him too. 」

「Yes—but that important person sounds a little strange. 」

「Don’t think too deeply about it, now go quickly. 」

「Roger! 」

Last night, I gave Rēvendia some travelling expenses.

Because his wallet is gone, there is a good chance that he took it because he was hungry.

Given the appearance and Rēvendia’s personality, this reasoning must be correct—is what Ariante is convinced of, but she soon regretted that premature decision.

「We could not locate him! 」

Although they spent a lot of time searching, they couldn’t find that old man.

「Ariante-san, our apologies that we couldn’t find him. Maybe that person has already escaped from this city. 」

「No, he’s not a fast runner. Given the time that I left him, he shouldn’t have gone that far. 」

「Then, are they hiding? 」

「That’s unlikely. He’s not cunning enough to be able to escape the eyes of you guys. 」

In this case, it seems that what Ariante thinks he looks like is wrong. Rēvendia probably have a different appearance.

「He is probably in disguise. Blue eyes and black clothes—that part is not wrong. But there may have been a mistake in thinking that he is an old man. 」

If you think about it carefully, Rēvendia is a super old person that is around 5000 years old. And although he talks like an old person, it is uncertain that he is actually old.

Maybe he is a race that lives for tens of thousands of years, and even 5000 years old is still in the category of young people.

「Come to think of it, Ariante-san. Just in case, I checked all “men with blue eyes in black clothing” regardless of age. However, all of the people I found were long-time residents with guild registration. We found no one with an unknown identity. 」

「What? 」

Ariante starts biting her nails.

Don’t tell me that lizards are able to escape from here. I don’t think that he is smart enough to disguise himself after he is humanized.

However, to fool the investigation network so well—

「Wait. 」

Ariante noticed one thing.

「Did you say that you checked all “men with blue eyes in black clothing”? 」

「Yes. From old people to children. 」

「Then, how about “women with blue eyes and black clothes”? 」

「That—no, we didn’t check that. 」

It was a blind spot.

I was completely fooled by his old tone. I didn’t actually confirm that Rēvendia is a male dragon.

—There is more than enough possibility that he is actually a female dragon.

「Start searching again! This time, target women! Regardless of age of course! 」

「Yes! 」

Maybe Rēvendia actually looks like a little girl.

It would be awkward if she started to speak with that old tone, but no one would notice if she simply kept silent.

「I beg you. Find her soon……」

Ariante stands with her back to the entrance of the hut, looking up at the sun that has begun to rise.

If Rēko that is sleeping inside woke up, I must be able to somehow deceive her with a reason for Rēvendia’s absence until we found her.

—then suddenly.

「Female knight, what are you doing over there? 」

Suddenly, Rēko’s voice was heard.

However, it did not come from the entrance of the hut, but from the sky.

Rēko is fluttering with wings spread on her back and a shopping bag in hand.

「Evil Dragon-sama wanted fruits, so I carefully bought them at the market. I have to put them on his bedside by the time he wakes up. Now move. It’s a hindrance for me to get in and out. 」

「……wait. 」

Ariante held her head.

「Did you sleep inside of the hut? Did you get out without me knowing? 」

「Fu……how stupid. Whatever, it’s fine. Now, open the door. 」

Ariante opens the door of the hut while feeling a headache.

Then, there was a figure of Rēko who was asleep on the bed—wait.

At the same time, Rēko, who brought the fruit, snapped her finger.

Then the Rēko in bed made a popping sound, and became Rēvendia(mini).

Because he returned into a dragon, his breath that was quiet just now became a slightly loud snoring.

「……what does this mean? 」

「When Evil Dragon-sama was sleeping, he said that he was thirsty in his sleep. And when I gave him water, he suddenly changed into a human. He must be playing around in his dream—I have no doubts about that so I decided to take advantage of it. 」

「Take advantage? 」

「I and Evil Dragon-sama are one and the same. That’s why, when Evil Dragon-sama becomes a human, my figure must be the most suitable for him. That’s why I interfered with the design of the humanization and made it look like me. This figure must have been the best for Evil Dragon-sama. Now look, at that gentle sleeping face……」

「Isn’t he always sleeping with that face? 」

Sure, Rēvendia sleeps with a peaceful face all right. He probably didn’t notice that he has been humanized in the first place.

However, all of that left a single, big question for Ariante.

「Kin girl. 」

「What? 」

「Before you interfere with it, what does Rēvendia look like? 」

Fufu, Rēko laughed daringly.

「Female knight, do you want to know about that so much? 」

「Well, I am pretty curious about it to be honest. 」

「I wonder…… well it’s fine. I will just tell you with honesty. 」

Then, with overemphasis attached, Rēko said with full confidence.

「The emperor of this world—perhaps that is the only way to describe it? 」

Unfortunately, it was a testimony with subjectivity too strong to be attested.

This girl would evaluate Rēvendia highly no matter what he looks like.

After all that, from that time till today, Ariante is still uncertain of what Rēvendia looks like as a human being.