With Hibi and Baron on my back, I charge through the forest. Hibi is telling me the direction through [Telepathy].
I easily leap over the river. The shock of my impact shakes the surroundings, startling away monsters that appear from the mud and undergrowth. The monsters look like round mice or wolves. After she levels up a bit, perhaps the wight will be able to hunt them.
Part way through the journey, I sense a creepy presence behind me. Not wanting to slow down, I ask my partner to watch the path ahead so I can check behind.
Far behind us, I see five children sitting on a branch, faintly glowing with white light. They’re the same as the monster we saw before that my partner wanted to eat, the raran. They’re staring back at me from the slight cavities where their eyes should be. But they have no ill intent, right? They’re just looking, right? Somehow they’re super scary though.
『Tree, going to hit』
Recieving my partner’s warning, I quickly face forwards and dodge the oncoming obstacle.
『It seems the forest children are also pleased to see the return of dragon-god-sama. They must have been worried that the forest would be thoughtlessly destroyed.』
While I’m wondering about the rarans I saw, Hibi gives me an explanation by [Telepathy]. I-I see, those guys hate damage to the forest. That fits with how [God’s Voice] described them as living by sucking magic power out of trees… If they have the position of guardian deity of the forest, then I guess the dragon-god could well be a welcome existence for them.
I need to be careful not to mess up. If I were to mass produce treants, they might start looking at me with hateful eyes… Hmm? Could it be that I’ve already become a target of observation since I made treants? Th-that’s not the case, right? They’re just watching me because I was in the dragon-god’s shrine, right?
The journey continues without event, other than Baron stroking my back with strange hand movements, causing my partner to get more and more irritated.
『Baron, impossible. Get ‘im off me. 』
Isn’t it fine? It’s much better than cut up by a sword, that’s for sure. There was that time I got half-killed after rushing up to some humans in joy.
My partner looks back at Baron gloomily. Even though she’s not able to move it freely, she really does consider it her own body too.
Though she used a masculine turn of expression there. Because of the description of my species as a hermaphroditic double-headed dragon, I was convinced she was the female type. No, that line of hers could just have just been the result of my influence on her. Next time I humanise I’ll do it with two heads, so that way I’ll be able to tell. Though if a human sees us they’d see us as a youkai for sure.
After running for a while longer, I feel a large number of presences through [Presence Detection]. This feeling, they’re humans. We must be closing in on the village. I slow down and come to a stop in front of a wooden gate.
The gate is just barely small enough for me to pass under if I stoop. It seems that the Lithovar village is surrounded on all sides by a fence of stakes.
The fence is low enough for me to step over, but to avoid startling them I’ll enter through the gate. Compared to the sight of a dragon suddenly jumping over their fence, taking the time to enter through the gate should look much less threatening. If I’m going to be their guardian deity, then minding my manners is the least I can do. If I were to cause a panic that takes focus away from the traveller, it could be an obstacle to defeating the manticore.
Standing in the gateway is a spear-wielding man. A gatekeeper I guess.
“Dr-dragon-god-sama!? H-hibi-sama! What is…”
The gatekeeper looks up at me and drops his spear, unsteadily walking closer.
“Dragon-god-sama has expressed concern for the traveller. For that reason, we have accompanied him.”
Rather than concern, it’s more like animosity though… It would be great if I was worried for nothing, but if a traveller with a belly wound showed up with this timing, I can only think it’s the manticore. [Humanisation Technique] should use a ton of MP, so I could be wrong, but it seems all too unlikely to be a coincidence. There could be a skill I don’t know about. I won’t be able to feel relieved until I check with my own eyes.
I turn my neck to look at Hibi sitting on my back. Guessing I have something I want to say, Hibi closes her eyes.
Hibi, where is the traveler? Without alerting her, I’d like for everyone nearby to back laway. There’s a chance that the traveller is a transformed monster.
『…I see, so that’s why you hurried over here. I’ll make arrangements right away. However, the traveller is in the medical area, so evacuating people without raising her suspicion will be difficult.』
Having asked my question, I receive a reply through [Telepathy]. As soon as she finishes, Hibi jumps off my back. She bends her knees as she lands, neatly absorbing the impact. After lightly prodding the ground with the tips of her feet as if to test it, she moves in front of the gatekeeper.
“Gozu, please call out for the injured in the medical area to be taken to the meeting area. Without mentioning dragon-god-sama, please come up with a convincing reason. I don’t mind if you use my name. However, please tell the traveller to remain in bed. If she seems suspicious, then please immediately report back here.”
“I-I understand!”
It seems the gatekeeper’s name is Gozu. Without pausing to pick up the spear he dropped, he runs as fast as he can into the village.
“Guah!”
My partner stretches out her head and picks Baron up by his head, forcing him down to the ground. Having seen Hibi’s and Gozu’s exchange just now, she must have decided that there was no longer a need to have him on her back.
“Uowah!”
Baron crashes into the ground hard, raising up a cloud of dust. T-that’s overdoing it a bit.
“Guuah”
With her quiet cry, Baron is enveloped in light… At least she did use [Rest].
Looking up, I see brickwork buildings lined up in the distance. Cylindrical in shape, none of them are all that big.
From the shade of those buildings, I see a group of Lithovar children looking at me timidly. The three of them are standing side-by-side.
I crouch down on the spot so that I don’t intimidate them, lowering myself to the ground. All three of their faces light up, and they run over to me.
“It’s dragon-god-sama! It’s dragon-god-sama!”
“He really did come back!”
…The guardian deity route really might not be bad. What should I do, can I move in here permanently already?
With Hibi and Baron on my back, I charge through the forest. Hibi is telling me the direction through [Telepathy].
I easily leap over the river. The shock of my impact shakes the surroundings, startling away monsters that appear from the mud and undergrowth. The monsters look like round mice or wolves. After she levels up a bit, perhaps the wight will be able to hunt them.
Part way through the journey, I sense a creepy presence behind me. Not wanting to slow down, I ask my partner to watch the path ahead so I can check behind.
Far behind us, I see five children sitting on a branch, faintly glowing with white light. They’re the same as the monster we saw before that my partner wanted to eat, the raran. They’re staring back at me from the slight cavities where their eyes should be. But they have no ill intent, right? They’re just looking, right? Somehow they’re super scary though.
『Tree, going to hit』
Recieving my partner’s warning, I quickly face forwards and dodge the oncoming obstacle.
『It seems the forest children are also pleased to see the return of dragon-god-sama. They must have been worried that the forest would be thoughtlessly destroyed.』
While I’m wondering about the rarans I saw, Hibi gives me an explanation by [Telepathy]. I-I see, those guys hate damage to the forest. That fits with how [God’s Voice] described them as living by sucking magic power out of trees… If they have the position of guardian deity of the forest, then I guess the dragon-god could well be a welcome existence for them.
I need to be careful not to mess up. If I were to mass produce treants, they might start looking at me with hateful eyes… Hmm? Could it be that I’ve already become a target of observation since I made treants? Th-that’s not the case, right? They’re just watching me because I was in the dragon-god’s shrine, right?
The journey continues without event, other than Baron stroking my back with strange hand movements, causing my partner to get more and more irritated.
『Baron, impossible. Get ‘im off me. 』
Isn’t it fine? It’s much better than cut up by a sword, that’s for sure. There was that time I got half-killed after rushing up to some humans in joy.
My partner looks back at Baron gloomily. Even though she’s not able to move it freely, she really does consider it her own body too.
Though she used a masculine turn of expression there. Because of the description of my species as a hermaphroditic double-headed dragon, I was convinced she was the female type. No, that line of hers could just have just been the result of my influence on her. Next time I humanise I’ll do it with two heads, so that way I’ll be able to tell. Though if a human sees us they’d see us as a youkai for sure.
After running for a while longer, I feel a large number of presences through [Presence Detection]. This feeling, they’re humans. We must be closing in on the village. I slow down and come to a stop in front of a wooden gate.
The gate is just barely small enough for me to pass under if I stoop. It seems that the Lithovar village is surrounded on all sides by a fence of stakes.
The fence is low enough for me to step over, but to avoid startling them I’ll enter through the gate. Compared to the sight of a dragon suddenly jumping over their fence, taking the time to enter through the gate should look much less threatening. If I’m going to be their guardian deity, then minding my manners is the least I can do. If I were to cause a panic that takes focus away from the traveller, it could be an obstacle to defeating the manticore.
Standing in the gateway is a spear-wielding man. A gatekeeper I guess.
“Dr-dragon-god-sama!? H-hibi-sama! What is…”
The gatekeeper looks up at me and drops his spear, unsteadily walking closer.
“Dragon-god-sama has expressed concern for the traveller. For that reason, we have accompanied him.”
Rather than concern, it’s more like animosity though… It would be great if I was worried for nothing, but if a traveller with a belly wound showed up with this timing, I can only think it’s the manticore. [Humanisation Technique] should use a ton of MP, so I could be wrong, but it seems all too unlikely to be a coincidence. There could be a skill I don’t know about. I won’t be able to feel relieved until I check with my own eyes.
I turn my neck to look at Hibi sitting on my back. Guessing I have something I want to say, Hibi closes her eyes.
Hibi, where is the traveler? Without alerting her, I’d like for everyone nearby to back laway. There’s a chance that the traveller is a transformed monster.
『…I see, so that’s why you hurried over here. I’ll make arrangements right away. However, the traveller is in the medical area, so evacuating people without raising her suspicion will be difficult.』
Having asked my question, I receive a reply through [Telepathy]. As soon as she finishes, Hibi jumps off my back. She bends her knees as she lands, neatly absorbing the impact. After lightly prodding the ground with the tips of her feet as if to test it, she moves in front of the gatekeeper.
“Gozu, please call out for the injured in the medical area to be taken to the meeting area. Without mentioning dragon-god-sama, please come up with a convincing reason. I don’t mind if you use my name. However, please tell the traveller to remain in bed. If she seems suspicious, then please immediately report back here.”
“I-I understand!”
It seems the gatekeeper’s name is Gozu. Without pausing to pick up the spear he dropped, he runs as fast as he can into the village.
“Guah!”
My partner stretches out her head and picks Baron up by his head, forcing him down to the ground. Having seen Hibi’s and Gozu’s exchange just now, she must have decided that there was no longer a need to have him on her back.
“Uowah!”
Baron crashes into the ground hard, raising up a cloud of dust. T-that’s overdoing it a bit.
“Guuah”
With her quiet cry, Baron is enveloped in light… At least she did use [Rest].
Looking up, I see brickwork buildings lined up in the distance. Cylindrical in shape, none of them are all that big.
From the shade of those buildings, I see a group of Lithovar children looking at me timidly. The three of them are standing side-by-side.
I crouch down on the spot so that I don’t intimidate them, lowering myself to the ground. All three of their faces light up, and they run over to me.
“It’s dragon-god-sama! It’s dragon-god-sama!”
“He really did come back!”
…The guardian deity route really might not be bad. What should I do, can I move in here permanently already?
