Chapter 110

Ch 110 — And the Number of Contracted Monsters Increases

Wh- what's this? It looks like a Dragon? But it's so small . Was it a baby Dragon? It was only about 50 cms from its nose (muzzle?) to the tip of its tail . It didn't look like it was going to attack . . . what should I do?

It hovered, wings fluttering almost invisibly, its eyes . . . were nailed to the gyoza I was holding in disposable chopsticks . I moved the chopsticks experimentally and sure enough the head of the mini-Dragon tracked the gyoza like a laser-guided missile . Did it want to eat the gyoza?

"Oh, a Pixie Dragon . They're very rare . " Fer said, obviously recognising the type of Dragon hovering in front of me .

"A Pixie Dragon?" I asked, moving the chopsticks again and watched, fascinated as the small Dragon's gaze followed the gyoza's movements exactly .

"Yeah . They're a special breed of small Dragon . I last saw one about 500 years ago . " That long ago?

"Kyuu, kyuu-" Did it want the gyoza?

I proffered the gyoza in my chopsticks to the Pixie Dragon . "Here you are!" I said, hoping it would take the hint . It swooped in and snatched the gyoza away in its jaws before gulping it down .

"Kyuu, kyuu, kyuu-" It seemed to be saying it wanted some more . I guess I had no choice . I was pretty much full up now, the rice was finished and the remaining gyoza were leftovers so . . . "Here, you can eat this," I said, pushing the dish towards the Pixie Dragon which settled down on the ground, folded its wings and started to eat the leftover gyoza .

"So, they must be rare if the last one you saw was 500 years ago?" I asked, watching the Pixie Dragon gobbling up the gyoza in a manner that reminded me of two other gluttons of my close acquaintance .

"Yeah . There aren't a lot of them around . " Fer was also closely observing the Pixie Dragon's actions .

"A Dragon this size is kinda cute . " I mused . The Earth Dragon in my Item Box was the opposite of cute but it was 5 metres long . And dead too whereas this Pixie Dragon's antics were entertaining, like a puppy or kitten .

Fer looked at me . "Are you crazy? Don't think it's harmless just because it's small . A Pixie Dragon is quite a strong monster . "

Oh, really? Something that small can be strong, that didn't seem right . Fer went on to explain .

"To start with a Pixie Dragon is really nimble and quick, very agile . It's got a lot of magical power in that small body, it can use fire magic, water magic, wind magic and earth magic as well as ice magic, lightning magic and recovery magic . What's more they're strong too, getting in close and punching hard and fast repeatedly then escaping out of range before you can hit back . " Fer squinted at the Pixie Dragon which was taking no notice of the level-1000 Fenris monster studying it closely as it finished off the remaining gyoza on the plate . "The Pixie Dragon I encountered 500 years ago, it was a closer fight than I expected but I won, of course . "

So it can fire off powerful magic like cannonballs? That's an impressive attack for such a small creature . Even Fer seemed to think a Pixie Dragon was a worthy opponent .

"Kyuu, KYUU-" Splat . Something was stuck on my face . The Pixie Dragon? "What the hell is it doing!?" It was clinging to my head for some reason . "Hey, hey, let go already . . . " I shook my head to dislodge it but it wasn't budging .

"Hey you, that tasted great . I'm still hungry . Gimme more of that stuff . " A voice came in my head .

"I can't give you any more, I'd have to cook another batch of gyoza . . . hold on, who said that?"

"Well . . . that Pixie Dragon said it . " Fer explained . "He's wanting to make a contract with you . "

"What?" A contract?

"If you cook more food like this I'll be your contracted monster . " The Pixie Dragon's voice sounded again in my head .

"Good idea . The food made by this guy is delicious . For long-lived species like us there's no problems contracting with a human being for a few decades . " Fer explained telepathically to the Pixie Dragon — for some reason I overheard them .

"Well yeah, if eating food like that is part of a contract then sign me up like the big Fenris guy . " Are you just deciding such a thing without asking me? Is every strong monster in this world a glutton? Will I ever get a chance to eat my own cooking ever again?

"You know, your voice sounds different to what I was expecting . " I said .

"What did you imagine I'd sound like?"

"Well, a childish voice like Sui maybe?" The Pixie Dragon was so small it had to be young, like Sui .

"That Pixie Dragon is not that young . Okay, it's not that old either but it's definitely not a kid . " Fer explained .

"The big guy's got that right . Pixie Dragons like me are all small but that's just how we are even when we're fully grown . "

"Is- is that so?" So this Pixie Dragon is not a child then?

"Now that's out of the way I want to make a contract with you so gimme a name please . " The Pixie Dragon was insistent, as insistent as Fer had been months ago . I gave in .

"You want me to just think up a name for you? I'm no good at this . . . okay, since you're a Dragon I'll call you Dora-chan . "

"Hey, come up with something cooler than that dorky name will ya?" The Pixie Dragon demanded .

"Well, I think Dora-chan's a perfect name for you . " I retorted . You want to make a contract with me, I get to choose the name, that's the rules . Dora-chan . Do-ra-chan . Do-ra-chaaaaan .

"You're kidding me! I'm not a Dora-chan!" Dora-chan said furiously . I ignored the angry Dora-chan for a moment to use my Appraisal skill on the Pixie Dragon .

[ Name] Dora-chan

[ Age ] 116

[ Type ] Pixie Dragon

[ Level ] 126

[ Stamina ] 895

[ Magic Power ] 2879

[ Attack Power ] 2652

[ Defence Power ] 865

[ Agility ] 3269

[ Skill ] Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, Ice Magic, Lightning Magic, Recovery Magic, Bombardment

Oh, it's now officially "Dora-chan" . It looks like a Dragon so Dora-chan it is . Do-ra-chan . That's settled . Heh . Looking at its level it's a lot higher than Sui but then again it is a real Dragon even if it's kinda small . Its magical power and agility are high as Fer said and it's got plenty of magical skills .

"Dora-chan is 116 years old . " I noted . "It doesn't look that old . "

"My name's not Dora-chan, you idiot . " Dora-chan didn't seem to like its name for some reason . Do-ra-chan .

"Give it up, kid . " said Fer . "Dora-chan is already listed as your name in your Status . As long as you're contracted to this guy you're going to be Dora-chan . "

"What?!" Dora-chan looked downcast . "I wanted a cooler name than that . . . "

"You're a Dragon so Dora is cool, what's wrong with that as a name?" I asked, puzzled . Was there a problem?

"This guy's naming sense is terrible . " Fer commiserated . "I'm a Fenrir so I got called Fer . You're a Dragon so Dora for the same reason . " Fer grinned . "Think yourself lucky, kid, he actually tried to name me Pochi and Koro before I agreed to accept Fer . "

"Pochi, Koro . . . it sounds like he's an idiot . " Hey, I'm right here you know, Dora-chan .

"You're not wrong . Dora is a lot better than anything else he would have come up with . " Hey, I'm right here you know, Fer .

"You might be right there . " The Pixie Dragon shuddered . "At least I'm not Pochi or Koro now . "

"By the way he's also got another contracted monster . It's a Slime so he called it Sui . "

"I never should have asked this idiot to give me a name in the first place, should I?" Dora-chan asked . Fer shook his head .

. . . calling me an idiot wasn't making me feel any better, guys . Ah well . I decided to check my own status, thinking that Dora-chan should be included in my contracted monsters now .

[ Name ] Mukouda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

[ Age ] 27

[ Job ] A person from a different world who got caught

[ Level ] 13

[ Stamina ] 229

[ Magic Power ] 223

[ Attack Power ] 206

[ Defence Power ] 205

[ Agility ] 200

[ Skill ] Appraisal Item Box Fire Magic Earth Magic Familiar

[ Contracted Monsters ] Fenrir Big Slime Pixie Dragon

[ Unique Skill ] Net Super

[ Protection ] Wind Goddess Ninril's blessing (small) Fire Goddess Agni's blessing (small)

Earth Goddess Kishar's blessing (small)

Oh, my level has gone up a bit, yay! but . . . I'm still the weakest of all four of us . Well, everyone else is strong so it can't be helped, I suppose . And yes, I've got a Pixie Dragon listed as a contracted monster . Fer, Sui, Dora-chan, they're a strong bunch of monsters .

"Hey boss, I'm hungry . " Dora-chan announced .

"Ah, right right . " Dora-chan was saying it wanted to eat more gyoza . I had made a contract so I cooked more gyoza . Fortunately Dora-chan did not eat as much as Fer or Sui so I only needed to cook one hanetsuki serving of gyoza before it was satisfied .

"Right then shall we go back to the city?" I asked . It wasn't dark yet and if we hurried we'd be there before nightfall .

"I suppose so . " said Fer .

"Can you fly all the way there by yourself, Dora-chan?" It was a very small Dragon after all and I still thought of it as a young child .

"Who do you think I am?" Dora-chan said derisively . "I'm a Pixie Dragon, the fastest-flying Dragon there is . I can fly anywhere in a single day . Hah!"

"Really? Anyway we're headed back to the city . Sui, my contracted monster Slime is sleeping in this bag right now . I'll introduce you later . "

"Okay, I gotcha . " Dora-chan said .

"Right then, let's get going . " Fer said, slinging me onto his back and starting to run toward the city .