Having to make more stops than usual due to picking up two unexpected guests, Dum arrives back at the makeshift camp with dinner over his shoulder. Dee is stoking the fire and their guests take a seat on a felled trunk nearby.
Their guests, Lord Edward Gorn and his first minister Herald Bent have barely said a word since they were rescued from death by dragon fire. Neither Assassin can blame the men. They are only men after all and regular ones at that. They could barely even see through the woods. Both their eyes widen when they see the boar dropped in front of the fire.
"I take it you're hungry?" Dee laughs as the Lord's stomach grumbles hungrily at the sight of food.
"D-Do not speak to my Lord in s-such a casual tone." Minister Herard tries to reprimand the fire-stoking Assassin as the other begins to cut into the Boar next to the open flame causing both humans to flinch.
It's not that easy to calm one's nerves after almost dying and at the hands -or claws- of a Dragon.
"It's okay, Herald. Regrettably, it's probably correct to assume that Gorn is no more. With it also goes my status and title. The one consolation is that the citizens were not caught up in this." Edward smiles somberly.
"Gorn? I think I've heard of that place before, you know?" Dee looks at the Lord while trying to remember how he knows that name.
"Isn't that the place by the water?" Dum asks, and all three stare at him.
"You saved us from Gorn. Remember?" The Lord informs the slow-thinking Assassin.
"Yeah. It was the city the Dragon reduced to dust." Dee adds, knowing his partner has a better chance at remembering the Dragon than where they picked up the two men.
"Oh! That one. That was Gorn, huh?" The tense of his sentence saddens Edward further as he knows there's no chance of returning home. Even if there was, the King of Imperia wouldn't stand for that. Once you became his enemy he wouldn't stop until you were dead.
Silence falls over the camp save for the crackling of the fire and the butchery of their dinner. Edward and Herard are still reeling over the loss of their home whereas Dum and Dee feel slightly awkward having extra traveling companions. This mission will mark the first time they've brought back people to the dungeon themselves.
As they cook the meat over the open fire, both Assassins try to imagine what their master will say upon their return. Surely she will praise their efforts for saving the two men from their doom. Thoughts akin to that float around inside their heads until the food is ready.
"Oh! Isn't Gorn where all those refugees came from?" Dum exclaims as he hands a stupefied Edward a skewer.
"Y-You know of my citizens? I mean... my people?" Written across his face is sheer disbelief.
Dee lets out a laugh at his friend's expense. "That's the one. Yeah the citizens of Varona are all refugees from Gorn. I remember now. How did you remember that before me, though? That's a first!"
"Hey! I'm not dumb, you know!?"
A few seconds pass as the Assassins stare at each blankly before they both burst out into laughter.
"Varona? That was the name of the city that merchant was talking about, my Lord." Even for his age, Herald likes to believe his memory is his best asset.
"That's right, Herald." Not wanting to be rude, or to interrupt the two howling men, Edward Gorn waits desperately to find out what has become of his people.
"Excuse me, but... is everyone safe? I mean, are they okay?" He asks the two men who have moved on from rolling around in laughter to wrestling in the dirt. Fortunately, the two now dirty Assassins heard him and stopped messing around.
"Yeah. Everyone who came to Varona is. We can't speak for those who went elsewhere."
"Is that where you're taking us? To Varona?" Herald asks.
"Yes. We were on our way home anyway and saw the Dragon as we were passing by. You were really lucky, to be honest, and for more reasons than one."
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Dee's words give the Lord pause. Luck really had been on their side, no doubt about it. If more people had remained behind with the Lord and Herald, would the two passing men have been able to save them also? A terrible thought but one that will never come to pass as history played out differently.
The Dragon attack is now history. How long has it been since the last one was last recorded? 100 years? 200? Any records the Lord had on such information have surely gone up in flames, much like the rest of his city.
Dum and Dee
Saviours of the Lord
----------------------------------------
"That was delicious!" The Dragon child shouts from her seat.
"Indoor voice, please." Anya reminds the catastrophe class monster hidden inside the child's body. I don't know when, but at some point, Anya started to take a real liking to the still unnamed Black Dragon. Who in turn has also taken a liking to her as well.
"Okay, big sister Anya," she beams a bright smile back at my Rainbow Mage, her teeth still showing remnants of her dessert.
"Seriously, child," Anya tuts, "we can see your food. Rinse your mouth out, please."
"Okay." Following Anya's instruction she swills some water round her mouth before swallowing down.
I'm just sitting here, acting like an unneeded third wheel.
How did this happen?
Then again, how does anything happen around here? I made a decision. Still, the Dragon did exactly what it said in the description. My city has quietened down and you wouldn't even think we had been on the subject of a dragon invasion less than two hours ago. The power of peace-inducing Dragons -or Dragon in this case- sure is something else.
That said, what do I actually do about her now that she's transformed into a person? It's a bit cruel to make her go live on the mountain by herself. Should I summon more Dragons?
No, not yet. I'll summon more over the next few days as I keep pushing toward Tune. That way she won't be lonely when she does go up there. But for now, I'll wait.
"Anya, you have a spare room at your place, right?"
"What!? Yes, but..." Ready to refuse, as she knows what I'm about to suggest, Anya looks at the heart-melting smile on the small child next to her. "Never mind. It will not be a problem. What do you think about coming to live with Big Sister Anya, hmm?"
"Oh. You can give her a name as well. It will be awkward if she stays without one." I said to Anya.
"I was just thinking the same thing," she says to me before turning turning to the Dragon child. "Okay then, Lola. What do think about living with me?"
"Lola!? Is that my name?" She asks, full of excitement and energy. To which my Rainbow Mage nods in response.
"Oh, I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. Thank you big sister Anya. And I definitely want to live with you instead of on the mountain where Master suggested." Anya stares at me as though I'm some type of evil villain.
Hey! I said that before I knew she could transform into a human. Even though most of my monsters end up that way. But still! Harsh.
"It will be lonely up there all by myself. I don't mind if Master orders it, but I'd much rather live with you instead." Anya's brows furrow at that and her gaze intensifies.
Seriously! I didn't mean it!
"I was going to summon more Dragons in a few days..." I trail off knowing when to stop with Rainbow Mage.
Yep. Shouldn't have said anything.
With a quick "Good luck," to Anya and Lola, I throw a bright smile to Ali as I dash out of the door away from another one of my problems. I know I said I wasn't going to skirt around them anymore, but Anya's a confident and clever woman. She can handle Lola. It's not like our latest family member comes baring any ill will toward the dungeon.
With the Dragon delegated to my bestie and a full stomach after just having a late dinner at Ali's, I head back to my tower. The evening sun is setting over Varona and all I can think is 'what a day!'
It's a good thing I kept that 10,000DP back from today’s land acquisitions. We wouldn't have been able to start populating the forest with monsters otherwise. Well, we could have started tomorrow, but who knows what problems might creep up out of nowhere. There's always something.
I still can't believe Light killed a Dragon with a single attack. Wait a minute! What level is he?
Pulling up the dungeon menu and searching for their names, which takes a lot longer now that there are so many Assassins in their group, I see that not only Light has also reached Level 100, but so has Dropper. Even though she didn't play a part in the killing, unless one of them is being untruthful -which I highly doubt- then she earned experience just for being with her party member.
What's strange is neither one of them had the usual I'm-ready-to-rank-up glow. So far, every 20 levels a new tier has unlocked, so why hasn't it now? Is it because they're level 100?
After further navigating the menu to no joy, I'm about to give up when my world turns dark. Which is extremely unsettling because I didn't turn out the lights. My temporary blindness lasts for the briefest of moments before I find myself sitting on a leather chair in a plain, white room. The floor, ceiling and walls are all the same colour and across from me is a man sitting on a chair identical to mine.
I'm not sure why, but my heart is beating so fast I'm scared it's going to jump out of my chest. I'm not sure how I got here or how I'm supposed to go about leaving, but that's not what's frightening me. No. Without a doubt, the one causing my palms to sweat for the first time since acquiring a body is the man sitting across from me.
He has sandy-colored short hair, and bright, blue eyes. Wearing a strange bath robe, the design of which is something I've never seen before, his legs are crossed and he has his arms folded inside the sleeves. Oh, and he's staring directly at me.
What the fuck is going on here? Who's this guy and why aren't I in my tower? Where are my futon and my cuddlies?
"So..." One word captivates my attention and compels me to listen. "... I hear you have been calling me a Lazy God?"
Oh Shit.
It was bound to come and bite me in the ass at some point, right?