“Purple! A little help here!” Ryder exclaimed as he attempted to dodge the attacks of multiple assailants.
“And put your dancing show to a stop?” The dragon sitting atop of a tree spoke as he watched the grimy battle below.
“Purple!” The human raised his draconic arm and barely managed to block three swords aiming for his head.
Green used his vines to whip away the bandits surrounding Ryder. That created an opening for his rider to slam his draconic fist into the ground and turned the spot the bandits landed into sticky mud.
“Why is this bandit group so freaking large?!” The human twirled his sword and slashed against two other bandits who rushed toward him. The bandits, however, didn’t go down like cannon fodders. They skillfully dodged Ryder’s attack and enacted a pincer attack. Brown glanced in the direction of her rider and tossed two rocks toward the bandits’ faces with her tail. Then, she resumed her attacks on the bandits around her.
Without even looking at the bandits who were knocked out by the rocks, Ryder rushed toward Green and shot a series of restraining seeds to the bandits who got too close to the merchants’ carriages. A stone pillar suddenly protruded from the ground at an angle and propelled him into the air. That finally gave him the opportunity to catch the bandits’ leader off guard as he sliced the belly of the wyvern open. The bandits’ leader shouted in shock as he and his wyvern fell approximately 10 meters from the air.
Right as Ryder landed on the ground, he heard an additional scream coming from the spot the wyvern landed. The voice was unfamiliar to him, so he rushed over to the dead wyvern immediately. He was afraid that an innocent traveller somehow didn’t walk around the battlefield with three large carriages in the middle.
The bandits’ leader was alive, though he was squirming on the ground in agony. Not too far from him was a skinny individual with a cloth mask covering their entire face. The mask had an intricate design with a giant eye right in the middle.
When the leader noticed Ryder was making a beeline toward him, he crawled toward the fair-skinned traveller as he ordered his men to gather around him.
Right before the leader grabbed the terrified traveller’s foot, Ryder slid between the two of them and slashed the villain’s arm. The villain screamed in pain as the dragon rider dragged the traveller away by their robe-like apparel.
“Run away!” He couldn’t drag the traveller far enough because more than five bandits assaulted him at the same time. Punching into the ground, he summoned an earth wall, but it wouldn’t protect him for longer than five seconds.
“God fucking dammit Purple! Just do it already, you stupid lizard!” Ryder clamored exasperatedly.
“First, I want the merchants over there to promise they’ll give me all the high-quality meat they have in their carriages.”
“We promise! Ah!” The female merchant screamed as Green failed to fend off a bandit who attacked the plant barrier around the biggest carriage. “We promise we’ll give you the meat!”
“Good!” Purple smiled delightfully. “Second, you have to say ‘please’.”
“PLEASE SAVE US ALREADY!” Ryder gritted his teeth as he blocked the bandits’ swords with his chipped draconic arm.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Where are your manners?” The purple dragon unlatched his vicious mouth and roared.
All the bandits immediately covered their ears in anguish as they fell to their knees. Even though the “good guys” had their ears plugged already, they were still hurt by the dragon roar. As for the traveller, Ryder had to throw away his sword and to cover their ears.
Once all the bandits had collapsed on the ground, Purple slammed his mouth shut and jumped down from the tree, creating a large crack on the ground as he did.
“Juicy meat, here I come.” He licked his lips as Green and Brown bound all the bandits up.
Ryder crashed down to the grass and panted. He turned to look at the traveller and asked, “Hey, are you alright-”
The traveller fell backward to the ground as the bag on their back made a cracking sound.
The rider looked at them resignedly before standing up and walking back to his companions.
X
“Bleugh!” The traveller abruptly sat up as the tiny weights hanging off the lower corners of the mask ensured it still covered his face.
“Oh, you’re awake. Want some?” Ryder handed a stick of skewered meat to him as the dripping fat reflected the campfire light.
The traveller slowly grabbed the meat and curiously studied it. Then, he lowered his head, creating a space between their cloth mask and his mouth, before digging in like a wild animal.
Ryder was slightly taken aback since it didn’t fit with his overall elegant vibe, especially when he appeared to be an elf. He wasn't the first long-eared person he came across, but he was the first that also happened to have fair skin.
“Do you… want more of it?”
Purple low growled.
“You already ate a month’s worth of meat, Purple. No more for you.”
“Hmph, this scrawny mortal didn’t do anything to help out.” The dragon snorted.
“He’s hungry, okay?”
Purple rolled his eyes, stood up, and flew away, which almost blew everything around the campfire away.
Ryder sighed and grabbed another stick of meat for the traveller. “Do you want-”
The elf snatched the stick and gobbled the meat on it down as well.
“...You can take as many as you want.” The human pointed at the sticks around the campfire.
Five minutes later.
The traveller burped so loudly that his cloth mask flew upward for a second. He patted his stomach with satisfaction before his body froze up. Then, he started frantically looking around for something.
“Are you looking for your bag? It’s over there.” Ryder pointed at the mound of luggages sitting next to Brown.
“Whew!” The traveller let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest. Moments later, he stood up, kneeled in front of the human, and made a triangle gesture with both his hands before bowing. “Thank you for your help, Dragon Rider!”
“It’s no problem, Mr…?”
The traveller’s ears fluttered as he lifted his head. “Langis! You can call me Langis, Dragon Rider! Mhm-mhm!”
“Right. So, Langis, why were you passing by the battlefield earlier? I think you can see the battle that was going on from quite a distance away.”
“I can answer that! Mhm-mhm.” Langis nodded slightly. “I was drawn in by the majesty of your dragons, you see! I couldn’t help myself, so I decided to hide in a bush. No one noticed me until that wyvern dropped next to me. It was a terrible thing. I almost got squashed, which was scary. But! I know you’re only doing your job, Dragon Rider.”
“Ah-huh. You know you could’ve died, right? It’s not a good idea to put yourself in danger like that.”
“That is true, that is true, but an artist never backs off from an artistic challenge!” He ran toward his backpack, pulled out a piece of polished, whitened wood from within, and returned to his original spot. “Thankfully, I managed to draw the epic battle between the vicious bandits and the heroic Dragon Rider with his dragons! Mhm-mhm!” He nodded again.
Ryder examined the drawing on the wood board about the size of a laptop screen. The depiction of the battle drawn on the board was surprisingly detailed. In fact, the artstyle looked almost like… an anime?
“How… Where do you learn how to draw like this?”
Langis inched closer to the human and whispered, “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“I promise I won’t.”
He sat back down and began telling his tale. “A long time ago, when I was a kid, I stumbled upon a forbidden relic from another world. I found it in the woods next to a skeleton. It was a book I’ve never seen before, and its content opened my mind. I never thought art and drawings could be that exciting and beautiful. It made my heart race, and I wanted to recapture how I felt again. However, that alone isn't enough. No, no, no, no. I have to spread the greatness of such art to the rest of the world, so I ventured out of my village and became a travelling artist.”
“From another world, eh? Can I see it?” The human handed the board back.
“I’m afraid not, even for you, o Dragon Rider.” The elf shook his head and finger simultaneously before he took the board. He carefully ‘peeled’ a layer off of the board, rolled the drawing up, and stuffed it into his clothing. The surface of the wooden board became a blank white again.
“Why not?” Ryder was curious what manga it was that the dead world-voyager brought with them.
“Because!” Langis sat straight up before adjusting his posture and sat sideways. “I kept it in a secret location inside my village. Carrying the relic with me risks getting it damaged or destroyed.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Dragon Rider.”
“It’s-”
“However, I must repay a life debt, no matter what. If sir Dragon Rider doesn't mind, I’m more than willing to allow you to… sample me.” The elf gently lifted his “robe”, barely revealing the loincloth hidden beneath.
Green immediately raised his head, narrowed his eyes at the artist, and growled in a frequency that was barely audible.
Ryder’s cheeks burned up as he looked away. “Uhm, y-you shouldn’t do that, Langis.”
One second passed. Two second passed. Three second passed.
No words were uttered by the artist. The dragon rider turned his line of sight back to see what was going on.
Langis was furiously drawing on the board, as if he was completely isolated from the rest of the world. Ryder could see a figure blushing from the angle he was looking at the wood board.
“What…”
The drawing on the wooded board became more and more detailed with each passing second. The elf was drawing at such a superhuman speed that the human’s draconic eyes could barely keep up with his hand movement.
Three minutes later, the drawing was done. Langis lifted his head as if he was released from a trance. When he noticed Ryder was looking at him, he embarrassingly pressed the board against his chest as his ears fluttered.
“I couldn’t help myself, Dragon Rider. Your blush resembled that of the scene depicted in the relic. I had to capture the moment in my drawing. If, if you’re offended that I did that, I will destroy the drawing, Dragon Rider…”
“Uhh, it’s… fine. You should ask for permission next time, but it’s fine this time.”
The elf sat properly and performed the triangle gesture again. “Thank you, Dragon Rider.”
“It’s-”
“May I ask for permission to draw you in a lying position, Dragon Rider?” He asked excitedly with his hands close to his chest.
Ryder was very tempted to sigh resignedly, but he chose to shut his mouth and eyes and thought about how to respond in a polite manner.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
He opened his eyes again. “It’s getting late, so-”
“It’s okay, I’m not tired. Our race only needs to sleep for a couple hours per day. Mhm-mhm!” If the artist’s eyes were visible, they’d be sparkling with excitement.
“.....You can draw me if you take guard duty until the sun rises.”
The elf raised his little finger enthusiastically as his promise.
The human blinked resignedly and trudged toward Green. He pulled out his sleeping bag and slept next to the dragon.
X
“Oh!” Langis swiftly pressed his cloth mask down as a breeze forcefully lifted it.
Ryder and Green managed to catch a glimpse of his face before it was covered up again. It was one of the most beautiful faces both of them had ever seen, like a perfect sculpture carved by a divine being.
“Did you… see my face, Dragon Rider?” The elf spoke in a somber tone.
“Yes. You look-”
“Beautiful?” There was bitterness in his tone.
“Uh, yeah.”
An awkward silence ensued as they continued their journey on foot to the nearest town under the morning sun.
Green gave his rider a glance, to which the human gave Brown a glance, to which Brown shot a lazy glance back. Perhaps it was fortunate that Purple was still roaming the fields by himself, or else he would’ve said something that made the situation worse.
“A long time ago, my ancestors made a wish.” Langis spoke again with a tinge of melancholy. “They had won the favor of a god, and the god promised to grant them one wish. They wished for eternal beauty for their people and offsprings.”
He took a deep breath before continuing, “Despite my ancestors’ best intentions, the wish gave everyone, no matter their gender or age, an identical, perfectly beautiful face. All the men of our tribe eventually grew to have a petite, scrawny body while the women had busty, voluptuous bodies. It didn’t take long for our ancestors to realize they had brought a curse upon themselves.”
Ryder and Green glanced at each other. They didn’t expect the story to take such a dark turn.
“Other tribes started capturing us due to our beauty, while our tribe nearly collapsed due to everyone’s inability to discern who’s who. Our ancestors had to move deep into the forest to ensure our tribe’s survival. They were safe, but they were still distraught by the loss of their individually unique bodies and faces. One of our ancestors, Illoid, proposed everyone to wear a mask so we could tell each other apart. Since then, we were never allowed to show our bare face to anyone.”
“I… I’m sorry to hear that. I shouldn’t have looked at your face.”
“It’s fine! You shouldn’t feel bad, Dragon Rider. People rarely leave our tribe, and those who do rarely return. It’s only natural that other tribes aren’t aware of our history and taboo. Mhm-mhm.” Langis nodded.
“You aren’t afraid that you’ll get kidnapped?”
“I have my ways. If my fame isn’t enough to gain protection, I heed no mind to using my cursed body to gain safe passage.” He placed his hand on his chest and smiled.
“Ah…huh. Wait, you’re famous?” Ryder pulled out his papers as they arrived in front of the gates before looking at the artist.
“You’ll see, ehehehe.” Langis pulled out his papers too.
The guards checked their papers and stamped it with blue, vanishing ink before allowing them to pass. The dragon rider warned the guards that, if a purple dragon who looked like the incarnation of destruction itself arrived, they should call for him. The guards exchanged a look with their yellow eyes before nodding with a hint of anxiety. He gave the guards a reassuring smile before heading into the town.
“Would you like to explore the town first? Or perhaps you’ll be interested to see how I utilize the knowledge I gained from the relic to make a living for myself?” The elf grinned with anticipation.
“I would love to!” Even though Ryder couldn’t read the relic, he would have a better idea of what it is if he could see the art that was inspired directly from the book.
“Your dragons may not be able to follow us to the place where I'll be selling my merchandise. Sorry, sorry.” Langis lowered his head and did the triangle gesture again.
“I’ll head to the guild once we’re done.” The dragon rider announced to his dragons before they split off into two groups.
Their first destination was, strangely enough, a shop that sold wood. The elf asked for multiple long blocks of wood with different width and length. Ryder was puzzled, but the shop owner didn’t give a damn and handed the blocks of wood to him as it was too heavy for the petite man to carry it. He constructed a barebone container made of vines with plant magic and carried the wood blocks on his back. Since the artist didn’t want to elaborate on the usage of the wooden blocks until they arrived at their destination, Ryder made a wild guess that it had something to do with the wooden boards he saw yesterday.
Then they made their way to the furthest point they possibly could from the entrance. The more they walked into the shady side of town, the more Ryder’s suspicions rose about the true nature of the “relic”. Eventually, they arrived at the part of town where there were only adults, and the realization dawned on Ryder as he saw the first brothel.
Finally, they arrived at a single-storey building that bore the insignia of the Oriza Trade Association. Technically, it was just four wooden stalls connected to each other. The last one was a personalized stall for the Association’s employee, who takes care of all matters related to renting a stall. Langis approached the employee in charge, showed her a badge, and entered the only empty stall left in the building.
While the dragon rider placed wooden blocks down on the ground, the artist picked out a dozen of his wooden boards, all of which were in different sizes, and placed them on the counter. After that, he pulled out a collection of book-sized wooden boards, carefully stacked them on top of each other, and pressed it down to combine all of them into a single, thick board.
He peeled off a layer from all the wooden boards, placed them carefully on the counter, and put a rock on it as paperweight. As for that last combined wooden board, he peeled off an extremely thin-sized book from the surface and placed it on the counter too. Lastly, he placed all of the wooden boards on the bottom of the blocks that fit its sizes. Seconds later, the drawings on the boards appeared on the surface of the blocks.
Ryder was naturally impressed by this unique magic, though he couldn’t help but gulp and blush a little when he saw the lewd drawings on the boards. There was no doubt in his mind that the relic Langis found was-
“Master Artist Langis’ Arousing Drawings - Hentai! Come and buy now before it’s sold out!!” A recording of Langis’ voice started blasting at the street once he placed his badge into a socket on the left end of the counter. There was even a hologram of the elf’s cloth mask design slowly rotating in a circle on top of the stall.
70% of the people passing the street immediately turned their attention to the stall when they heard Langis or saw him standing there.
“It’s Master Langis’! He’s back!”
“Shit! Why didn’t anyone tell me Master Langis is visiting today? I just spent all my spare money earlier!”
“Oh my! It’s sir Langis~ I wonder what his new drawings look like~”
Ryder thought all of the customers would be men, but there was a surprising amount of women too. Although, some of the customers seemed to be more interested in Langis himself than his artwork.
The human couldn’t bear to watch the elf trying to run the stall on his own, so he decided to help out by peeling layers off of the wooden blocks. He didn’t know how to do it at first, but when he directed a tiny amount of mana to his finger tips, he could peel the layers off as fast as he could.
There were some… inappropriate words directed at Langis and his work. While the elf dealt with the lewd comments calmly and politely, Ryder could tell from his body language that he wasn’t wholly comfortable with it. However, he would instantly become chirpy whenever someone showed genuine appreciation of his art and was willing to exchange a few words with him about his craft.
More and more customers visited the stall as news spread until it caused a legitimate disturbance at the street. Authorities had to step in to force all the customers to stand in line. Ryder thought the stall owners next door would be jealous or angry at the business Langis was getting, but that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, they were pretty happy since it unintentionally attracted more attention to what they were selling.
When the wooden blocks had been reduced to ⅖ of its original height, the dragon rider received a call on his draconic arm. Green reminded him that he still needs to buy supplies and deal with some paperwork regarding the bandit attack yesterday at the guild.
“I’m sorry, Langis, but I have to head back to my dragons now.”
“It’s okay, Dragon Rider! There aren’t that many customers anymore, so I can handle the rest by myself! Mhm-mhm!” The elf spoke as he munched on his late lunch.
“Alright.” Ryder placed his finger on his chin. “I think by the time I’m done with my matters, it’ll be time for dinner. How about we meet up at the big restaurant we saw in front of the gate?”
“Sounds very goody!”
They bade goodbye and the human returned to his dragons to deal with paperwork. Oh, joy.
X
“Say, how did you come up with the name for your art?” Ryder asked after all of them finished ordering their food. They were sitting with Brown in human form next to an opened window, which Green was on the opposite side of.
“The skeleton had a diary on it. I had to read it multiple times before I realized that was the name of the relic. Mhm-mhm.”
“Ah huh.” Initially, Ryder didn’t understand why Langis mentioned the diary and not the relic itself. A few seconds of thinking later, he realized the Goddess’ universal language spell would only translate the word as is if it was written in English. It’s the only explanation he could think of.
“I feel like I should apologize for not believing you when you said you’re famous yesterday. I really didn’t expect so many customers to swarm to your stall.”
“A-ha! It’s all about branding, my dear Dragon Rider! When I started travelling the world, I noticed my mask stood out a lot wherever I went. So, I decided to associate it with my work. It took me 20 years, but I’m finally the famous artist I always wanted to be. Mhm-mhm!” Langis started tilting his head left and right playfully.
Blink. Blink. Ryder froze for a few seconds when he heard that. He completely forgot about the elf’s curse. Even though the person in front of him looked like an effeminate teenager, it was entirely possible that he was a 30- or maybe even 40-year-old-man. That revelation made him even more unsure of how he should feel about the elf’s offer yesterday.
Their food arrived and just as they were about to dig in, the elf spoke up again.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Please stretch your arm out, Dragon Rider.” He pulled his long sleeve back and revealed the back of his hand.
The human looked at him puzzlingly.
“I want to thank you for saving my life yesterday and helping me out earlier, Dragon Rider.” Numbers subtly glowed on the back.
“Ah. Thank you for your generosity, Langis.” Ryder stretched out the back of his right hand and hovered it above the elf’s. The number on the elf’s hand went down while the number on the human’s hand went up. When the transfer was complete, they retracted their hands.
“My offer from yesterday still stands if you change your mind, Dragon Rider.” The artist grinned.
Ryder chuckled awkwardly and started eating his meal in silence. As for Langis, his torso swayed slightly, as if his upper body was dancing to a tune in his head, while he eats. Green was amused by how odd the elf was acting.
“Do you mind if I ask you a sensitive question, Langis?” The human wiped his mouth and placed his utensils next to the empty plate.
“I’ll answer any question you have, o Dragon Rider. Mhm-mhm!” The elf was still chewing on his food.
“Why do you keep drawing these lewd paintings, and offering your body to me for that matter, when you don’t seem comfortable whenever the customers from earlier made lewd remarks about your art and your body?” Ryder was aware it was an uncouth question, but his curiosity got the better of him.
Langis stared at him in silence as he slowly chewed his food and gulped it down. The silence lasted a few more seconds before he spoke up.
“Everyone in our tribe is forced to cover their bodies in unique clothing and masks until the day they die, even when they try to conceive children. We are never allowed to see even our loved ones' bare bodies, despite the fact that we experience the same lust and need for touch as most other races. I never thought there was beauty to be appreciated in a person’s naked body until I read the relic. My worldview was shattered that day, and no matter what I did, I cannot suppress my desire to create and read art that displayed the elegance of a body as well as how it interacts with another in an intimate manner.”
He took a deep breath before continuing. “I said I made a decision to travel the world, but it would be more appropriate to say I was exiled for expressing my desire as it was seen as taboo. When I made my way into the world, I quickly realized the way I see the art in the relic was different from how the rest of the world did. Their eyes were often filled with hungry lust when they gaze upon my art. It wasn’t wholly unexpected as I do experience lust too. However, whenever they talked to me about what they saw, I was disappointed and even occasionally disgusted by their perspective.”
“But, there are times when people appreciated my drawings the way I appreciated the relic.” His tone started becoming lighter. “It fills me with boundless joy when I successfully share that excitement and appreciation for a body’s beauty with someone else. That same excitement and appreciation extend to real bodies as well. I want to see my body not as a result of a foolish wish that led to centuries of suffering, but as a piece of art that can be admired and enjoyed by others. I offered my body to you, Dragon Rider, because I believe you’ll be able to savor my body in an artistic and sexual manner while I do the same. That’s why I continue my journey to draw, even though only one in a hundred will appreciate the relic as I did.”
“...Wow. That’s… quite complicated.” Ryder had no idea what to say. Green was similarly overwhelmed by Langis’ response too, though Brown only showed minimal interest.
“I usually don’t like answering this kind of question because it makes me sound serious! I don’t want to be a boring old man like my father. Bleughhhhh.” The elf scowled with great exaggeration before finishing up his meal.
The human couldn’t help but chuckle. He thought for a while and offered sincerely, “Even though I still don’t really want to have sex with you, I’m willing to pose for you if you want to draw more of me.”
“Really?! Hooray! Hooray! Let’s go to the nearest inn right now! I can’t wait! Mhm-mhm!” The artist’s ears started fluttering like crazy.
“All right, all right.” Ryder smirked.
After they paid for their meals, they went to the closest inn and did what Ryder offered. He was initially pretty reluctant for Langis to draw him nude, but he compromised by covering his genitals with a wooden board.
The drawing session continued until midnight. Ryder unintentionally fell asleep because he was pretty tired. When he woke up the next day, he almost yelped when he saw Langis sleeping next to him with only his cloth mask on. It was still pretty weird for him, but he could tell the elf bore no malicious or purely sexual intent.
Once they were all dressed up and had their breakfast, it was time to part ways, though not before they exchanged their address cards.
The first thing Purple said to Ryder when he touched down next to him was, “How was the night, Ryder?” before cackling. The dragon always knew how to embarrass his rider.
“I’m going to miss you, Dragon Rider.” Langis spoke as he hugged the human. “Hopefully our path will cross with each other again. Mhm-mhm!”
“You can just call me Ryder, Langis.” Ryder grinned when the elf let go of him.
“Okie!”
“By the way, what’s the name of your race?”
“Oh! It’s-” What followed was 10 seconds of incomprehensible noises coming out from his mouth.
“Uhh, wow. That’s quite the long name.”
“Is it? Other tribes have longer names, mhm-mhm.”
“You know, your overall appearance resembles a race back in my home. They’re called elves, or elf, singular.”
“Elf. That sounds nice-nice! Elf. It does sound easier to say.”
Suddenly, Langis approached Ryder’s face, lifted his mask up, and kissed Ryder’s cheek. He then smiled with his bare face fully visible for the dragon rider to see.
“Thank you for being so kind to me, Dragon Rider.”
After that, he let his mask down again and left.
Ryder held his cheek in shock as Green was, well, green with envy, though he tried to hide it.
When the human returned to his senses, he noticed his other hand was holding something. It was a scroll. When he opened it up, he saw a drawing of Langis smiling brightly with a face that didn’t resemble his actual appearance. His iconic cloth mask was lying on the ground next to him, which was accompanied by the words “Something to remember me by”.
Ryder smirked and stashed the drawing into his pouch before heading to their next destination.