Dragonlord

Ep 191. Get Used To It. (3)

Ep 191. Get Used To It. (3)

“Really?”

“No.”

“…You really didn’t?”

“…No. I did not sell Aldrid.”

While Serenis and Patrick shared a rather pointless conversation at the door, Iris had hurriedly rushed back in to change back into her work attire – uniform, cloak, and hat and all – before coming back to the door to greet the dragonlord’s arrival.

Unfortunately, her previous state hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Dragonlord! Uh, long time no see.”

“Mm, it has been some time. Are you off to somewhere?”

“…No?”

“…Oh. Then why the change in attire?”

“Huh? Well, uh…we have a guest here, so…”

“Guest? According to Patrick, this is my home.”

“…”

Having talked herself into a corner, Iris immediately turned to Patrick with a pleading gaze.

Though, it quickly became apparent that her friend was NOT helping her out of this one. If anything, he was nodding in agreement with what the dragonlord had just said.

“R…right! What I meant is, uh…I…I am the guest! So, I should dress appropriately. Yes, that’s it.”

“? But you seemed perfectly content wearing much less in Patrick’s presence.”

“…Haha, what are you talking about? I’d never do that! I always dress like this.”

“…No, I distinctly remember you were-“

“Anyways, uh, how were your travels?! How was Astellion?!”

When bits of mocking laughter began to slip out of Patrick, Iris quickly shot him a death stare to silence her coworker.

Frowning, Serenis exchanged glances with the two enforcers in front of her.

She’d seen those expressions. Just yesterday, in fact.

It was Raizel glaring at Ilias all over again.

“…Seems you two have grown closer.”

“Actually, she kinda just started living h-“

Before Patrick could finish his sentence, Iris’ arms almost instantly wrapped around his neck, choking the rest of his sentence to oblivion.

And with an awkward smile, answered Serenis in Patrick’s stead.

“Haha, right! We’ve gotten a lot closer.”

Although Serenis’ frown momentarily deepened at the sudden chokehold, she quickly relaxed her expression. It wasn’t difficult to tell that they weren’t actually fighting.

Then, the dragnolord placed one hand over the black leather sack she’d brought.

“Anyhow…to answer your question, a number of things have happened. As I’ve told Patrick already, I did not sell Aldrid…I merely left her with her son for the time being. I visited the kin’s nest before coming here. What you see here are…gifts.”

Shortly after, Patrick freed himself of his boss’ hold, regaining his ability to speak after a few choked coughs.

“…Ugh, there we go. So wait, what is that exactly? It’s not an actual black slime, is it?”

“I told you. It’s treasure.”

“…That’s not funny. You have a door-tall sack, what kinda treasure is that big?”

“I thought it might be a bit much as well, but…Karas has said that you’d like it regardless, so I filled it to the brim.”

Fluttering her wings, Serenis quickly rose into the air over to the top of her baggage once more, undoing the knot that was keeping the sack sealed.

Following suit, the black veil fell down – revealing the brilliant glimmers of a pile of gold.

“Wh-?! Wait, you actually meant treasure when you said it?!”

“…I’ve told you twice already. Why do you seem so reluctant to believe what I say?”

“Because what you say is ridiculous! Who brings a pile of gold as a homecoming gift?!”

“…Is it not to your liking? If so, I can give them to Karas instead.”

“No no no no no, wait, wait…hold on a sec.”

Patrick gripped his aching head. Serenis’ return was already a surprise, but the ‘gift’ she’d shown up with was overloading his poor brain.

“So…you brought these from your ‘nest’…that’s Dragon’s Valley? Right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then, what about ownership? I know you’re a dragon…lord, but you didn’t go taking these willy-nilly from other dragons or something, did you?”

“…What exactly do you see me as?”

“My immature little brother who woke up and turned into a dragon?”

Without realizing, Serenis derisively rolled her eyes at her brother.

“…These do not belong to a particular individual. They’re tributes that were made unto the dragonkin hundreds and thousands of years ago. And while we may call them treasures, they’re nothing more than glittering pieces of stone to the kin.”

Iris frowned at the explanation. She still vividly remembered – with a pang of guilt, because it had been during work hours – what Ilias had told her while they were drinking together.

“Didn’t dragons like collecting treasures…? Ilias seemed to love gold.”

“That’s Ilias being peculiar.”

Plucking out a bar of gold from the pile, Serenis wove it a couple times in the air.

“What use would a bar of gold serve in an open valley? Such objects hardly possess any worth to dragons. Ilias would be the exception, as she’s indulged herself in mankind’s customs.”

“…”

“…”

For a while, Patrick remained frozen in place, blankly staring at his little sibling with widened eyes.

And if it weren’t for Iris’ hand that was placed on his shoulder, he may have stayed that way for far longer.

“See, Patrick? I told you. You still treat them like a kid, but you really need to realize who your sibling is.”

“…Realize shmearlize, you gotta at least TRY to be reasonable!”

“This is reasonable. She’s a dragonlord, a pile of gold is probably nothing to her.”

“Yeah, that…really doesn’t help.”

“What can I say? Get used to it.”

“…”

Snorting defiantly, Patrick then looked to his boss with a sly grin.

“…Fine. I’ll try getting used to it. Right now.”

“?...Okay?”

Patrick swiftly turned towards Serenis with crossed arms – and a rather evil expression.

“Serenis. You said these are gifts, right? For me?”

Despite her ongoing confusion, Serenis quietly nodded her head.

After the confirmation, Patrick darted his gaze back at Iris.

“With that much gold, I doubt I’ll be needing money anytime soon. Probably not for a lifetime, even.”

“…Where’re you going with this?”

“Where else? I’m quitting. It was nice working with ya, Ms. Alpid.”    

“…”

This time, it was Iris’ turn to give a blank stare.

Thankfully, unlike Patrick, she didn’t need help returning to her senses.

“Why would you quit?! You said you loved this job!”

“You believed that? Think about it. There’s always tons of work to do, my boss is a pain in the ass…the wage is kinda nice, but I don’t even need that anymore. So, I quit.”

“Wha…you can’t just quit! You’re Partivine’s enforcer, it’s your duty to see to the city’s well-being!”

“Uh huh. Not anymore.”

“…Patrick, come on. You can’t be serious-”

With that, Patrick completely turned his back on Iris. He stepped outside through the door, pushing Serenis along with him.

“Ignore our guest, she’s a bit crazy. It’s been a while, let’s get something nice to eat! You can tell me all about what happened over lunch.”

“…Why do you seem so caring all of a sudden?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“What are you talking about? I always took care of you. I used to teach you magic and everything, remember?”

“I…suppose…”

As the two began to walk outside, Iris reflexively shut the door behind her to follow the two.

“Patrick, wait! You’re actually just gonna leave me here? What if I steal all that?”

“…Are you going to? Enforcement sector representative, Iris Alpid?”

“…”

“You can come if you want to. But you’re buying.”

“…For heaven’s sake.”

Sighing, Iris spared a brief moment to cast a concealment spell on the dragonlord’s pile of gold before following after her…now-former coworker.

Of course, on the surface, there was no reason to follow the two at the expense of buying them an entire meal – but this was more than just a friendly meal. It was an opportunity to learn of the dragonlord’s ventures outside of their continent.

And, besides…Iris had a personal reason to improve the dragonlord’s impression of her.

They’d be seeing each other quite a bit, anyhow.