Chapter 166

Daniela and I visited the guild on the next day. The parts were to be examined and then sold.

Once again, I found myself lining up at the Conversion counter. There were a few people glancing nervously at me, but I didn’t mind as long as we were left alone. I just wanted to live in peace.

“This guild seems awfully quiet…”

“Hm? Yeah. Probably because it’s early morning?”

Daniela muttered that the morning was usually the loudest. Well, maybe it depended on the guild?

“You can come forward now.”

“Thank you.”

The Adventurer in front of us was finished, and so we moved up to the counter. It was the same person who was here yesterday.

“Good morning, Mister Asagi.”

“Good morning. …Umm…”

“I am Seine. You may call me that from now on.”

“Yes, thank you. This is Daniela.”

“A pleasure.”

“It’s nice to meet you. As for the dragon you brought in yesterday, the work has been completed. If you could just come with me and confirm that everything is right.”

It sure felt good when things go smoothly… And so we followed Seine to the place where the dragon had been dismembered.

The door opened and we stepped out into the wide area. This place was used for butchering large monsters. The usual places wouldn’t be able to handle anything larger than an orc. So, about two meters. If I remember correctly, Mordred was at least two and a half. So anything bigger than that was in the heavy class. Lesser wyverns were about four meters. That is, in wingspan. From head to tail they are about six meters. Half of their length is tail.

In any case, wind dragons were heavy. Ten meters in wingspan. And about ten meters long as well. The tail alone was six meters, which made the body seem a little small. But they say that that’s what made wind dragons distinct. But I’ve never seen a normal dragon, so I had to take their word for it. I guess they were especially great at flying? The long, lithe tail looked like it would be conducive for flight.

“Actually, the water dragons have the longest tails. The tail makes up as much as eighty percent of their bodies.”

Said Master Daniela.

I see.

Well, we had a wind dragon on our hands now, so we might as well look at it.

I had killed it by taking its head off. And according to the good folks who took it apart, it was in excellent condition, without much outside damage. I guess they wouldn’t have been too impressed had I brought in something that was battered and falling apart.

Cutting through the bones of the neck had also allowed it to bleed, which helped keep the flesh and organs in good condition. They were especially pleased that I had stored it in the hollow bag to prevent it from rotting. This had ensured that its condition was identical to when I had just killed it, and they said that it almost felt like it was still alive.

It had taken many guild workers to remove the scales and skin. When I heard about how much effort they had put into removing everything from the neck to the tail, I felt nothing but the utmost respect for their hard work.

The membrane of the wings were used as a luxury material for clothes and shoes. Fangs and claws became accessories or weapons. Or even used to decorate armor. Parts of the tail were somehow used as medicine…

Speaking of medicine, that’s what the organs were often used for, as well as a medium for magic tools. Eyes, heart and liver were also medicine. The organ that allowed the dragon to do its breathing attack was used as a weapon. Something like a gun… But if it was anything like the breath that I saw, it would practically be a laser rifle.

There were many parts and many uses. Too many to remember them all. Even the bones were used. Nothing was wasted.

Though, we would only be taking a small portion of it with us. Just enough for Daniela’s clothes and armor. Also…a matching pair of accessories. Heh. Dragon claw necklaces. Daniela’s fear of dragons was starting to weaken, so the timing was good. I think…

“Now, Mister Asagi. Here it is. What do you think?”

“I’m a complete novice. So…I don’t really know.”

“I doubt a novice would go around hunting dragons…”

That may be, but really, the only observation I could offer was, ‘uh, nicely dismembered.’ But that made me sound like a psychopath.

“Asagi may not be able to appreciate your good work, but I am very impressed. You have done a most excellent job with the dragon.”

“So you understand, Miss Daniela.”

They started to nod at each other knowingly. I was nothing but an outsider now…

“Alright, we will be taking just enough of these materials for some clothes and armor. The rest will be sold. I am sure they will do well in the market.”

“Certainly. I will make the preparations. I suppose you will be needing some scales, hide, wing membrane and several claws and fangs then.”

“Yes, that is right.”

“I will have them collected at once.”

Seine was quick to shout out the instructions to the workers.

“I’m gonna look around.”

“Hm? Well, it is not the most common of sights. You might learn something.”

Daniela nodded with folded arms. And so I moved over to where the butchers were working.

“…Uh, excuse me.”

“Eh? Ah, the dragon hunter himself. Can I help ya?”

“I have a little request…”

I turned my back towards Seine and Daniela and pretended to question him about the materials. He seemed to get the hint and leaned closer to me.

“The thing is, I want to give my partner a gift…”

“Oh? Oh-hoho?”

“Yeah, exactly. So if I could get some materials in secret.”

“Ahaha? You’re a sneaky one aren’t ya?”

“If you say so, ahaha.”

“Alright then. I will help ya!”

I followed him as he moved away, pretending to explain to me what he was doing.

“So, what ya goin’ to give her?”

“A necklace. I want a matching pair, actually.”

“Then you’ll be wantin’ scales and fangs! I’d give ya some claws as well, but they are large and too easy to count…”

He said in a hushed voice as he slipped me a few scales from the dragon’s tail and a number of fangs.

“Thank you. I’m in your debt.”

“Don’t you mention it! And good luck!”

He whispered with a thumbs up. I nodded and returned the gesture. And then I quietly hid the materials in my pocket and bowed before moving away.

“Learn anything interesting?”

Daniela asked me with a grin.

“Hm? Oh, a little.”

“Hmm?”

There was something suspicious about her smile, but I decided to pretend like I hadn’t noticed.

□ □ □ □

I put the materials in a small leather pouch and placed it in the hollow bag with the other materials I had collected. Seine would take care of the rest and see that they were sold.

“It is a wind dragon, after all. I am sure that it will all be sold by tomorrow.”

She told us. And so we decided to return the next day as well.

After that was finished, Daniela and I discussed what we should do next, and decided that we should go on a quest while the sun was still high in the sky. We would start acquiring Daniela’s new clothes and armor once the money came in the next day.

A quest… it felt like we hadn’t been on one in a very long time.

We stood side-by-side in front of the quest board.

As this was after the great quest war that occurred every morning, the thing looked rather bare.

“We could just think of it as going on a stroll?”

“Yes, I agree. And we are expecting to make quite enough money already.”

And so I took one of the acceptance sheets.

“‘Monster Investigation of the Usk Territories.’ …This one should do.”

“Hmm… We will only need to hunt whatever we see. The materials we gather will tell them how many monsters there were. Seems like a useful enough quest.”

Seemed boring and unpopular too. But that was kind of perfect when you just wanted a short distraction or to play around.

And so I took the sheet and went to the Quest counter. As there were not many people here at this hour, I didn’t have to wait. It felt good to not have to wait in a line!

“Now, which way do we go to leave the town?”

“Ah… It is over there. That sign.”

There was a sign hanging from pillar-like log that read ‘Eastern Gate’ and had an arrow pointing in that direction. There were people from all over in this town, and it was easy to get lost. Especially if you were someone like me.

And so we followed the friendly sign until we were outside.

Now, I had gotten a peek in the guild’s library, but what monsters were really living in this area? I wondered with some excitement.