I was so stunned by Sabuin's words that I couldn't react. Surrender? A walking natural disaster was surrendering? Only then did I realize that Sabuin's hostility had vanished, and in my shock, even my stance had relaxed.
(No. Calm down. This has to be a fake.)
A dragon that had lived for over three thousand years couldn't possibly surrender so easily. It had to be looking down on me, trying to deceive me. I couldn't fall for it. I needed to draw the truth out of its mouth.
I jumped onto Sabuin's back and searched for the spot I had struck earlier. The flesh beneath the scales was already visible. I reversed my grip on the sword, ready to stab the instant Sabuin made any strange move.
Then I questioned it.
"Why? You're not resisting?"
"Do you wish me to?"
"Of course not. I just find you suspicious. Weren't you acting all arrogant? You surrendered without even using a single magic."
From start to finish, it hadn't used magic at all—not even the stereotypical breath of fire. How was I supposed to believe this?
"Do you not know that a dragon without wings is but a cripple?"
"I didn't. Do dragons need wings to use magic?"
"Indeed. Having lost my wings, I am now inferior even to a modern dragon."
Modern dragons again. Sabuin had looked down on Dokamir earlier—so dragons really were divided into ranks. Were ancient dragons really that superior?
"You called Dokamir a modern dragon. What's the difference between modern dragon and ancient dragon?"
"Ancient dragon are born already immense, and after several months, their growth halts. Their scales harden with age, making them fine materials by human standards. Modern dragons are born small, but their bodies never stop growing. They grow every year, and after roughly 3,000 years, they reach a size comparable to mine."
So that was the difference. Still, size alone didn't seem like the reason Sabuin despised modern dragons.
"And the advantages and disadvantages? You clearly look down on modern dragons."
"Naturally. The magic of ancient dragons is far more powerful. I take great pride in being born an ancient dragon. Hahaha!"
Sabuin spoke with blatant pride, then burst into laughter. No wonder its nose practically pointed to the sky.
By now, I couldn't tell whether Sabuin's surrender was genuine or fake—but my thoughts were starting to lean toward believing it.
I glanced into the distance and saw Lina with Lanivia. The thought struck me that Lanivia would be living with us from now on. Dokamir had died before he could even teach his daughter magic.
If there were forms of magic unique to dragons, then Lanivia would never learn them. For her sake, I had to pry that knowledge out of Sabuin's mouth! …Well, honestly, I was also just curious.
"Sabuin, are there magics that only dragons can use?"
"For the sake of that modern dragon's child?"
"Yeah. You killed her father—you should at least compensate her somehow."
"Then bring the child here. Dragon magic is not something humans can comprehend."
"Then wait a bit. I still have something to ask you."
"Ask."
"Why did you surrender? Don't you feel unwilling?"
It had brushed me off with a question earlier and shifted the topic, so I asked again.
However, being killed by someone one looks down on would normally leave one full of resentment—yet Sabuin showed no dissatisfaction at all. Then, in a tone as if it had seen through everything, Sabuin said to me.
"Willing or not, the end is the same—death. What grieves me is that I lost without ever becoming serious. I meant to toy with you, yet in the end, it was you who toyed with me."
It seemed Sabuin truly wasn't lying. It had given up. And as I kept talking with it, I realized I was growing more relaxed, as if this were a conversation between friends.
"Don't said like that. We weren't toying with you—we were very serious. Also… do you hate humans?"
"I neither hate nor love them."
"Then why did you destroy places where humans lived?"
If no one had provoked Sabuin, then what was the reason? Sabuin answered in an excited tone.
"Because humans tremble in fear at my might, and that exhilarates me. Thus, whenever I saw one, I destroyed it."
So it was all to satisfy its own pleasure. What a scumbag—no, a dragon scumbag.
"So you're basically a psychopath."
"A psychopath?"
"Normally, who gets excited from killing? Only deranged bastards with mental issues do that."
After hearing my explanation, Sabuin fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a hint of resignation.
"...Perhaps I have lived too long and grown bored."
"Are you the only dragon who's lived over three thousand years? Didn't you make any friends?"
If it felt boredom, that meant it had spent a long time alone. But surely there were other dragons in the world—could it really have met none?
"Perhaps. My parents and friends left me long ago. I have traveled many lands, yet I have never met another of my kind who lived longer than I. And the dragons of this era do not welcome me."
Sabuin's words left me feeling heavy and gloomy. I even felt a flicker of pity—but I couldn't sympathize. The reason it wasn't welcome was obvious: it had slaughtered too many innocent people for its own pleasure and had been cast out by dragon society.
This topic was getting too heavy. I wanted to escape it—to go bring Lina and Laniwia over. I gently patted Sabuin's back and said:
"Alright, I'll go get them—"
I paused.
Just as I was about to get off Sabuin's back, I realized I wasn't standing. I was sitting. The sword in my hand was already back in its sheath.
What was wrong with me? Why didn't I remember doing that? Had I not been aware of it? Don't tell me this dragon scumbag was still deceiving me? Maybe all that talk about losing wings meaning losing magic was a lie. I really couldn't let my guard down—not until it was dead.
So I asked again.
"Wait. You are really surrendered? You're not going to resist anymore? You weren't just tricking me to buy time, right?"
After hearing that, Sabuin let out a sigh.
"You truly are suspicious. My wings are gone, my limbs cannot move—what could I possibly do?"
Sabuin continued explaining that it posed no threat, and even my "Detection" showed no hostility. Still, I stayed on guard, falling back on what I knew about western dragons.
"Don't dragons breathe fire? For all I know, the moment I walk closer, you'll blast me with flames. I wouldn't survive that."
"Not every dragon breathes fire. I do so only because I am aligned with the fire elemnet—and even breathing fire requires mana."
"I see. I thought fire-breathing was something all dragons were born with. Fine. I'm watching you, so don't try anything funny."
I stood up, jumped down from Sabuin's back, and moved to the side of its head. I widened my eyes and stared straight at it, not allowing Sabuin to make a single move.
Then I began backing away, never taking my eyes off Sabuin. I even kept my finger pointed at it, a clear warning not to pull any tricks.
"Oh my, you are far too suspicious."
Seeing how wary I was, Sabuin sighed again. Hearing that, I complained silently in my heart.
(Do you think I want to be like this? If you weren't dangerous, why would I go this far?)
I wanted to believe Sabuin. But because I couldn't grasp the full extent of its power or limits, I had no choice but to stay on high alert, ready for it to bite back at any moment.
I didn't know anything about dragon magic either. There might be recovery magics, and I still hadn't fully accepted the claim that magic couldn't be used without wings.
As I continued backing away while watching Sabuin, I also kept an eye on the trees behind me, careful not to trip. I knew roughly where lina was, but not how far I had gone, so I turned my hand toward her direction and waved.
"Lina, it's okay now. Come over."
A moment later, I heard lina's worried voice, followed by a barrage of questions.
"Karen! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?! Does it hurt?! Why were you sitting on Samidoride's back for so long?! Is it dead?!"
Although I didn't look at her, I could feel lina circling around me, checking my body for injuries. I waved my hand at the air, signaling her to calm down.
"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. Sabuin is still alive. It can't move and can't use magic right now, but its level of danger is still under observation."
"Then why didn't you kill it? It's a bad dragon that killed little Lani's father!"
After hearing that, Lina scolded me angrily. I kept my eyes on Sabuin as I explained.
"I made Sabuin tell me about dragon magic, so it can be taught to Lanivia. But Sabuin says humans can't understand dragon magic—it has to convey it directly to Lanivia."
"So that's why you didn't kill it?"
"You could say it just happened naturally. I'll explain everything later. Let's go over there first."
The way lina said that made it sound like I'd planned all this from the start. That definitely wasn't the case, but explaining right now would be troublesome. I'd been staring at Sabuin for so long that my eyes were tired—I needed to look at something pleasant instead.
"Mm. I'm going to punch it a few times. Little Lani, go to punch the bad dragon with big sister, do you want?"
"Ya!"
Lina gently asked Lanivia, and Lanivia responded, clearly agreeing. That was terrible for a child's upbringing, so I quickly stopped her.
"Lina, don't teach children bad things."
"Mm."
I hadn't expected Lina to say something like that. She really must have been furious at Sabuin. Still, she looked just like an older sister playing with her little sibling.
Probably this was the first time Lina had met someone she could treat like a younger sister, and it made her happy.
Eventually, we reached the side of Sabuin's head. We made sure never to stand directly in front of its mouth while talking. And at last, I was able to take my eyes off Sabuin and quickly look at lina instead, soothing my eyes.
(Lina holding Lanivia is really cute.)
My dry eyes were thoroughly refreshed. Next came Lanivia's magic lesson. I ordered Sabuin.
"Sabuin, hurry up and teach Lanivia magic."
"So small it wouldn't even fill the gap between my teeth."
Sabuin looked at Lanivia and said something that sounded like it was eyeing food. Lina immediately hugged Lanivia tighter and took a few steps back.
"Karen, listen to what it's saying. Hit it!"
Honestly… my enhancement magic still hadn't worn off. If I kept wasting time, I'd end up sleeping even longer afterward. Annoyed, I snapped at Sabuin.
"Sabuin, hurry up and teach her. Don't waste time."
"Hahaha, I was merely jesting. Human little girl, press this child's head against mine."
Huh? Not verbal instruction? Why did they have to press foreheads together? Was it some kind of mental transfer? I asked Sabuin.
"Is it transmitted through the head?"
"Yes. That is how I learned dragon magic as well."
I see. That was convenient—I'd thought it would take a long time. But there was a downside.
"You're only transmitting magic, not thoughts, right?"
"Thou need not worry. My parents were good dragons."
Sabuin understood what I was getting at. So its parents were good dragons—then how did they end up raising something like this? Too much free-range parenting?
"But you're a bad dragon, you do not deny that thoughts might be transferred too, right?"
I was worried that Sabuin's twisted mindset might affect Lanivia, so I needed to confirm the possibility. Even if it were true, we couldn't stop the transfer now. We'd just have to educate Lanivia properly afterward and make sure she didn't go down the wrong path.
"I told thee not to worry. I am quite friendly toward my own kind."
"What you say and what you do are completely different… whatever. Lina, take Lanivia up there."
The more I listened to Sabuin, the more speechless I became. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. Let's just finish this and go home to sleep.
"Mm. You bad dragon—later I'm punching you."
"Please show mercy."
Lina clearly still wanted to hit Sabuin, gave me a headache. When did I raise lina like this? Was it my fault? I'd need to seriously reflect on where I went wrong.
Lina carried Lanivia up onto Sabuin's back, walked to its head, and pressed Lanivia's forehead against Sabuin's. A green light flashed—and vanished in an instant.
"It is done. I have conveyed all the magic to the little one."
So fast. The entire transfer really happened in a single moment. After that, lina punched Sabuin once, then jumped down from its head.