第二十一回：歌舞中談屠龍大業，笑中涅神傳粉發訊
"Working with black bandannas... strange times."
Ou Nyai downed a glass bottle of milk then slid down the back of the semi-circular couches where Daju and Zhangji are watching from.
"Gishishishi, you don't like it, old milkgirl?"
Daju gulps down a good half of her glass milk bottle, milk being the signature drink Madi-san decided on selling in this fine totally not-adult establishment, then passes the rest of it to Zhangji who tactfully put in a reed straw to drink from.
"Better this... than war everyday, any day, hic!"
Ying-onee bursts forth through the stage's red curtains to reveal her voluptuous figure wearing bright crimson. The tall and sisterly 【Jishi】 is the only isekai native wearing the bunnysuit, and every moment I cannot believe that she has been hiding her powerlevel for so long. Sachiko-senpai [1], you have a rival of sorts...! The (fake) dark fur boa she wraps around her shoulders sets her apart from the rest of the bunnygirls; so dazzling was her appearance that I took the chance to slip from Madi-san's daemonic influence and secretly sidle up next to Zhangji.
"Hmm hmm, what does our poster girl think?!"
"The fabric is surprisingly comfooooortable...! I would wear this outside as well...!"
Please don't. Ying-onee, please don't.
"Ooooooooh! Dragonocider...! Do not worry! You have plenty of rooooom to grow...!"
I gnash my teeth at Ying-onee to tell her that I am already fully grown, thank you very much! Its not my fault that I grew up in a poor fishing village back in the Old Continent!
"Ehehehe! What are you thinking Aya-chan!
Clearly, Zuixu is talking about your Dragonbxxn powers!"
Do you hear this slurping through the straw, Madi-san? That's the sound of me knowing when I am being mocked!
"But the 【Dao of Ryuu】 chose you as a vessel, 【Great Benefactor】." Zhangji had just popped open the paper cap on another bottle of milk, putting in a reed straw before slurping deeply, "All the 【Qi】that flowed into your body... that is no chance or coincidence. Now its a matter of cultivating it...!"
Are you guys deaf? I thought I told you guys on the ride back I don't feel any different! More preppy maybe, but I don't feel an urge to suddenly summon phantoms nor shoot sticky green fluid right now. Or do you guys want me to pull an Annalie and start shooting lightning from my fingers? That would be a real dark lord moment, wouldn't it?
"[Z]!"
Huh?
"Press [Z] to shouto!"
Madi-san is looking at me with expectant eyes, like a kid at a carnival looking forward to a fire-breathing act. She wants me to yell? Why? Now? Is there any significance to this?
"...Z!"
Nothing happened! I hide my face in shameful embarrassment, I can't believe I got led on to do that...!
"Yes!! You didn't steal the 「katton」 shout! Its still out there, somewhere!"
That was what you were concerned about?!
"It takes time to set forth on a Dao, little ooooone..."
"Or, you could open your inventory and equip it!"
『yamero』 you two...! I am quite sure that you both are thinking of two entirely different things, yet here you two are pretending like it is the same thing, in union, even! One of you wants (me) to be a mythical Dragonxxxn, the other wants me to be a Dragonocider Girl, make up your minds!
""Same, same, its the same~~""
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Madi-san and Ying-onee both spin around the gleaming central pole in a complex paired movement that ends with them leaning backwards while facing each other, one hand on the pole, the other hand outstretched in the air. Alright, when did you two get together to practice this?! You can't tell me that you two JUST happened to know how to pull this off on the spot! You barely even knew what a dance pole was this morning, Ying-onee!
image [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62cd15458bbca47144469710/12065e57-a7e0-4b40-bbe0-a2f109a12208/SAME+SAME+ITS+THE+SAME.png]
> "I... you two..." - Ayano Sane
Madi-san conspiratorially pulls Ying-onee close, whispering into her ear "This one needs more effort. Training arc when?" With Ying-onee nodding conspiratorially back in tow. You two... Don't just release your evil auras for this kind of purpose!
"It wouldn't be the first time Ayano gained some weird, dark power." Our Neko-tachi grunts, having recovered enough to speak. Oh no, not you too, Neko-chan! You were supposed to be the sole voice of reason, not join the crazies!
"There's one thing I don't understand. Annalie here did most of the damage." Neko-chan points the sheathed pommel of her blade behind at Annalie now massaging her shoulders, then shifts the pommel to me, "... but the person who gained the power is you. What gives?"
"Maybe Aya-chan's just the chosen one?"
Madi-san shrugs her shoulders, not getting the point of what Neko-chan was trying to make.
"Hypothetically, let's say I kill a dragon without Ayano's help, something weird happens to me. Does that make me a Dragonocider too? How many Dragonociders can there be? Where and how do dragons appear? How do we prepare for an attack if so many variables are..."
"Hypothetically, hypothetically! [GLOYW] training rotted your brain? Wakarimasen lol! Let's just kill ALL the dragons, then! Gold ones, diamond ones, challenger ones, doesn't matter! That wasn't like a unique encounter or anything right? It's MY turn to get a new shout!"
At this point, everyone in the room was far deep enough into this dragon slaying business that nobody really batted an eye at upending not one, but all the pillars of this world. Or maybe we were just tired from the whole nearly-eaten-by-a-dragon thing. A common understanding had been reached, but probably not one conducive for world peace!
"I want to know what's at the end of this road too." Daju finally speaks.
"We now know two things from this encounter.
First, killing a dragon grants you a yet unknown power.
Second... the first person to ever receive this power was Sister Ayano.
What happens if we kill all the dragons...?
What happens if we upend all the pillars of this world?
Upend Stability and end 【Cancellation of Humanity】...
The dragon-gods in the 【Celestián Palace】 won't ignore this..."
As she lays out each important point, she snaps her fingers to emphasize the danger we were hurtling ourselves towards. True, we had just killed a dragon, but what if that was a fluke? What if that was a one-off thing? How many of those scaly flying things are there anyway? Nobody knows, nobody asks either.
There is an uncomfortable moment of serious silence.
Which is broken by priestess Annalie choking on her milk and baguettes.
"You guys... you guys mean I just killed GOD?!"
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The inconsolable Annalie didn't quite understand why we were laughing at her. It took some time before Madi-san psy-opped [2] her into calming down by pointing out that 'Dinosaurs came AFTER Sherlyn!'. By some miracle of magick, it worked. That's Vespana cults for you. Not even once.
In any case, pre-opening night was a success.
As we were laughing, a small grey cat casually saunters into the VIP area. The bell she wears on her bowtie jingles slightly, announcing her presence to Daju, who lifts the little grey shorttail onto her lap.
"What news, scout?"
Miaow.
Neko-chan, who was in the middle of being grabbity grabbed by a milk-overdosed Ying-onee into wearing a bunnysuit, suddenly shoots straight up.
"[Faction Leader]... is alive."
What...? You got what message from a single 'miaow'? I'm as much a cat person as anyone in this room, but that one I didn't understand. While the detective's authority might be all-powerful and awesome, being able to understand feline speech was not part of the contract.
"Yeah! Ora-sis and I got herded into the same stone castle, then I got stuffed into a box!" Annalie pipes up, confirming the feline's story.
Daju is softly rubbing the shorttail's stomach as a reward, all the while rubbing the bottom of her cheek on its furry head. That coaxed more soft purrs and miaows from the scout, which Neko-chan interpreted accordingly.
"Annalie Tula! That's Oracion's location...! The scout says so! She's in a stone keep, north, beyond the river...!"
"We gotta hurry before Ora-sis gets moved! The raspberry-haired freako wanted something from her!"
The two [Trono Palido] members, having been completely stirred up, are really trying to make a move in the middle of the night, these harebrained idiots! At this point, even Madi-san, who is drawing posters on the bartop has more sense than them,
"Non non, you'll miss opening night tomorrow!"
Madi-san spreads out her arms to stop them from moving, with Neko-chan trying to bob and weave, trying to get past the big-breasted goalie.
"[Exposer], for once in your life...nyrymphft! " Neko-chan catches a mouthful of cleavage when she misses a QTE sequence, bumping into Madi-san's chest.
"Can't you two let piinku indulge in her weird princess-in-another-castle fetishes for an extra day?!"
Somewhere in a 【Rei Ditu】 prison cell, a pink-haired girl sneezes while chained up on the floor. She had a definite sense that she was being bad-mouthed somewhere!
With the two resolute, even Madi-san had to compromise somewhere. Taking off her purple bunny ears and putting her glasses (which she magickally extracted from her chest) back on...
"Fine!!
Daju, you have the run of the place!
I'm coming along too!
In one day, we bring Oracion back,
... and then we'll make her wear a bunnysuit too!"
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NEXT: We Shall Hang Its Head On The Wall As A Warning To Others, An Ancient Evil Heads Towards Our Lovely Little City
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TERMINOLOGY
[1] Sachiko-senpai - Madi-san's roommate (real) and accomplice before I came along. Used to livestream with Madi-san when they were young as the [Trabul Twins].
[2] Psy-op - Organized brainwashing through influence. For instance, if certain (personages):1.3 are elevated to a position of high influence when they had none to begin with, you might be a victim of a psy-op!