My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Chapter 226 – The Story From Then On – Part 4

After that…

Invited by the aroma of roasting meat, I moved to where it was.

…

Even Zett, who has faced various dangers such as brawls, disputes, assassins, and unexpected attacks, was speechless with astonishment.

… It’s a dragon.

At first glance, I thought it was a rather large lizard.

But upon closer observation, it seemed to have horns and even wings.

The dragon, curled up and sleeping, was basking near the campfire where the skewered meat was being roasted.

Though I’ve seen dragons flying in the distance before, it’s the first time I’ve seen one at such close range.

Compared to the dragon I saw in the distance, this one seemed smaller.

I’ve never heard of dragons living in this forest, so it must be resting during its journey or perhaps drifted here.

What’s going on?

Is the dragon really using fire to roast meat?

… Well, it doesn’t matter.

Having come deep into the forest chasing monsters and stumbling upon a dragon on the way back, there’s no reason not to hunt it.

Even if it’s small, a dragon is still a dragon.

If I hunt it, I’ll meet the conditions for the hunting festival. I might even aim for victory.

And it’s lying there, practically inviting me to attack it.

In a situation like this, anyone who doesn’t aim for it isn’t a resident of Krozheit.

And Zett—committed his third folly, picking a fight with a dragon without much thought.

“So, what happened?”

The eyepatch-wearing woman, despite finding the dangerous man’s dubious tale amusing in its own way, urged the tattooed man on.

Adventurers are creatures who are thrilled by monsters like dragons.

The tattooed man, nicknamed Corpse-Drunk Zombie Ram for his fondness for cheap booze, eagerly ordered crispy bacon and cheese platters, along with roasted hexagonal deer—four servings!

In the midst of conversation and consumption, the busy meat woman took the opportunity to attend to other matters.

Meanwhile, pouring copious amounts of the rough liquor from the bottle into oversized cups, the tattooed man continued with a grin.

“I played dead.”

… At that moment.

After a brief hesitation, Zett launched into the attack… no, he attempted to, but suddenly the dragon, which had been pretending to sleep, turned its head forward and unleashed a gust of wind that sent Zett flying.

“I was sent flying and hit a tree. I hit my head hard and blacked out for a moment. At that moment, I was tied up by… its owner.”

Looking back now, it was a trap.

While Zett’s attention was focused on the dragon in front of him, its owner… lurked behind or around him, waiting to strike.

“And then, when I came to, I was already airborne.”

By the time he regained consciousness and understood the situation, he was bound tightly with rope and being held by the dragon’s body, flying through the sky.

Fragmentedly, he remembered being expertly bound by the dragonkin man. It seemed that was the case.

Despite having experienced various dangers, this was Zett’s first time flying through the air.

Certainly, if he were to recklessly struggle and fall from here, he might die.

Moreover, the ropes binding him couldn’t be cut. He attempted to use the knife hidden on his body to cut them, but they were too sturdy to be severed.

“You were done in by a dragonkin, huh?”

The archer woman, who seemed to be enjoying her drink and taking Zett’s story with a grain of salt, unexpectedly spoke up, and Zett nodded.

By the way, it’s explained that he used a concealed knife rather than saying he produced a blade. He also doesn’t mention Krozheit by name.

“Well, maybe the rope was woven with dragon tendons.”

She speculated.

“Tendons?”

“Simply put, it’s like muscle fibers or threads, like strings or cords. Dragon bodies are said to have no waste parts and are utilized for weapons and tools. Tendons are one of them. It’s rumored to be an unbreakable thread, a sought-after item for archers.”

… Since his knife couldn’t cut it, it’s not unreasonable to consider that possibility.

But anyway…

“Couldn’t cut the rope, would die if I fell, so I figured there was no choice but to sleep, and I woke up this morning after being dropped.”

“You slept through it?”

He answered proudly, for some reason, to the eyepatch woman’s disbelief.

“Yeah. I totally slept through it.”

Since he couldn’t move anyway, conserving energy was the priority.

If he wasn’t going to be killed immediately, Zett figured he wouldn’t be killed later either, so he prevented exhaustion to be able to move when the time came.

He slept several times, woke up several times.

He looked around to assess the situation, then slept again.

Exposed to the strong wind, his chilled body maintained the bare minimum by circulating the heat of the Heat Steam Stone within him and endured it anyway.

And finally, this morning, he was dropped.

He had somewhat anticipated it.

Zett had thought, “They probably won’t kill me.”

And indeed, as he fell from a low altitude where he wouldn’t die, he was dropped onto the grassland. … Well, he was asleep at the time, so he couldn’t be sure if it was from a low altitude or not.

No, since he was alive, it must have been from a low altitude after all.

… Looking back calmly, it was quite thrilling and fun.

He hadn’t encountered any seemingly dangerous situations lately.

The only time he felt threatened recently was for a moment when he fought the maid with glasses. And if he wished for a rematch, he’d likely be rejected.

Occasionally, unexpected events like this weren’t so bad— that’s why he’s laughing now.

“You didn’t see which direction the dragon went?”

“It was still dark in the sky, so I couldn’t see.”

And he was still groggy right after being dropped.

“Well, I think I got the gist of it.”

Although there were parts he didn’t explain and details he didn’t confirm deliberately, she understood the flow of the story.

The eyepatch woman— Veronica, asked one last question.

“Zett. You said you’re going to earn money and return to your hometown, right? How do you plan to earn it?”

After hearing the situation in a corner of the tavern, it turned out he was truly abandoned with nothing but the clothes on his back.

The tattooed man– Zett, to be frank, had nothing but his pants and trousers.

No money.

No identification.

And he wasn’t even from this country.

The escort of the caravan— the vice leader of the adventurer team Black Swan of Dawn, a woman with a red hood named Anemoa, deemed it dangerous to leave Zett alone as he was and brought him to the royal capital, Nastiara.

Then she reported the situation to the leader, Rickstein, and left to seek instructions regarding the unexpected find— Zett was left in the care of Veronica and the others.

Although it wasn’t a situation that elicited much sympathy when heard—

Veronica herself, being primarily a monster hunter to make a living as an adventurer, couldn’t easily say it was entirely his own fault either.

Simply put, it was a story of attacking a monster and getting a beating from someone’s property in return.

It’s fortunate to survive even after getting beaten up, but that’s all part of the deal when it comes to life.

As an adventurer in trouble, you want to help as much as possible.

After all, Zett himself had been helped by various people before.

Well, this man doesn’t seem to be an adventurer.

Rather, he seems more like a thief or a bandit.

“You can decide what to do with me.”

“Huh? Are you planning to kill me?”

“Hahaha. You’re quite straightforward.”

He laughed as if he found it amusing, and Zett directed a sinister gaze.

“You got it right. I’m not a decent person. Frankly, I’m a villain. It’s only natural to be wary.”

Zett said, trampling on the consideration that had deliberately avoided asking about that aspect.

“But you know, even villains have principles, and I understand the reasoning behind sticking to them, you know? You guys gave me food, let me drink, and even let me into the city without asking too many questions. Even if it wasn’t out of kindness or goodwill, I still got help.”

“I may be someone who accepts charity even if it’s forced, but I don’t like owing debts. Especially ones that accumulate interest.”

“You hunters… no, adventurers, right? Let me help. That can be my way of earning money. Until I repay my debt, I’ll follow your instructions.”

And so, the villain who had been abandoned in a distant land after his follies piled up became a temporary member of the Black Swan of Dawn team.