Chapter 66

"Really, thank you very much."

Charles came out to the front of the mansion and saw us off.

Colette and I started walking, and he kept his head bowed until we turned the corner and were out of sight.

I thought to myself, once again, that this was indeed a big catch.

We walked through the streets of Saint Simon.

Colette, walking beside me, spoke up.

"Did you like it? He said he would take us to Perseron, but I declined."

"Yeah, since we came all the way to Saint Simon, I want to look around the town a bit."

I said this and gestured with my chin, indicating the whole town.

Saint Simon, the Dragon Capital, feels different from any other town.

It's true that I still haven't lost interest in this town.

"Besides, if everything is done for us, it can make you feel sick. What do you think, Colette?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be carried around like that anymore."

Colette said this clearly.

Charles had done it out of pure kindness—more like to flatter me, he also treated Colette well. But it seems that such treatment was not well-received by Colette, a dragon.

"If it's not that kind of special treatment, what kind of treatment would you like?"

I asked Colette as we walked.

I don't intend to go back and beg Charles for anything. I just want to know Colette's preferences so I can subtly cater to them.

One thing I learned from being able to understand dragon language and welcoming different dragons one after another is this:

Dragons don't try to convey all their feelings to humans.

They always keep something hidden deep inside.

It's not that they are hiding things, but rather that they can't or find it hard to express them.

Colette is the prime example of this.

Chris has noticed something. That Colette has something on her mind.

That's why she teases Colette, and the two of them always play around.

Everyone else, like Louise and Emma, also has something similar, to varying degrees.

So I thought it would be nice to hear it from their own mouths and subtly respond to it.

"Special treatment you want?"

"Yeah."

"Um, I want a room for eating."

"A room for eating?"

"Something normal would be fine, but if it's too noisy, sometimes the food goes into the wrong stomach."

"Is that the one we usually use for carrying things?"

"Yeah."

Colette nodded clearly.

"Is that a thing?"

"When that happens, I regurgitate it back to the original stomach, but it's food, right? The other stomach gets dirty, so I have to drink water to clean it, which is a hassle."

"Hmm, I see."

"That's why I want a quiet room for eating."

"I see, so you'd be okay with eating alone?"

"Much better than cleaning my stomach later."

"Got it. If that's the case, I'll have one built as soon as we get back to Perseron."

"Really?"

"Yeah, something like this. I wish you had told me sooner."

"Okay... Thank you."

"Uh-huh."

An unexpected worry of Colette's.

This is it.

This is what it is.

I can understand dragon language.

But that doesn't mean I understand everything.

Just because I can understand their words, it doesn't mean they will tell me everything.

So, I think it's important not to neglect the effort to communicate and understand each other.

Having learned one more thing about Colette, I walked through the streets of Saint Simon with her.

"There are a lot of dragon equipment stores, huh?"

"Yeah, seems like it. Makes sense, I guess."

Most of the "stores" we've seen so far are either dragon equipment shops or dragon merchants.

This area is definitely Saint Simon, a town completely specialized for dragons.

"Want to go into one? Maybe we'll find some dragon equipment we haven't seen before."

"Okay."

Since Colette didn't object, I decided to look for a suitable store to enter.

Suddenly, I stopped.

My eyes were drawn to a small store.

In a town where most buildings are gigantic, like a city for giants, there was one store that was subtly smaller.

Even though it was small, it would still be considered large in other towns, but in Saint Simon, it was on the smaller side.

Not only was it small, but it also looked old and unassuming.

That's what made it stand out.

For some reason, it really caught my attention.

"Let's go in here."

"Why? There are bigger and newer stores."

"…Just a feeling."

"Hmm, okay, if you say so."

Colette didn't press the issue and followed me into the store.

"Welcome…"

An old man with a hoarse voice sat in the back of the store.

The inside was cluttered with old-looking tools.

"Ugh, it's dirty. Hey, there's nothing here, let's go somewhere else."

Colette wanted to leave as soon as she entered.

But I calmed her down.

"Stay a little longer."

"Ugh."

Colette grumbled but reluctantly stayed when I smiled at her.

I approached the shopkeeper while looking around the store.

For some reason, I became even more curious.

There was something here, I felt it.

"What are you looking for?"

"Dragon equipment."

"Help yourself, they're all over the place."

"Hmm."

I stood in the middle of the store and looked around.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong?"

"My feet are tingling…"

"Your feet?"

I looked at my feet and checked my body's sensations.

It felt like a prick at the tip of a claw that didn't exist.

…That claw.

The image that came to my mind was the claw I found near the eggshell when I rescued the original Baraoul, Rea.

The claw that was absorbed into my body and greatly increased my dragon transformation speed.

It felt like it was attached, even though it wasn't, and I felt a pain at its tip.

It wasn't just pain; it felt like it was reacting to something.

I looked around and walked around.

Then, the pain intensified in a certain direction, like a heartbeat.

Following that, I stood in front of a piece of dragon equipment.

It was something like a saddle, but a large size for a dragon.

I touched it.

"This is… different from the others."

"Of course."

The shopkeeper, who had been silent, reacted to my words.

"Young man, you have a good nose."

For some reason, I was praised.

The shopkeeper's usually expressionless face showed a slight hint of amusement.

"That's a unique piece."

"Unique?"

"It's a one-of-a-kind piece of dragon equipment, made for a specific species."

"Unique…"

I stared at it.

"What is it?"

"It's for the Mushufushu species."

"Me?"

"It keeps you from getting bigger no matter how much you store in your stomach."

"Doesn't get bigger?"

"Yes, you stay the same size."

"I want it!"

Colette latched onto the shopkeeper's explanation.

When I turned to her, she blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

It keeps you from getting bigger.

The Mushufushu species has multiple stomachs that aren't used for digestion.

Dragon knights use these for transportation, but when they store things in their stomachs, the Mushufushu species inflate like balloons.

This "unique" piece prevents that.

I looked at the unique dragon equipment.

I had no proof, but I felt it was "real."

"Alright, I'll take it. How much is it?"

"5 million reals."

"Got it."

I nodded and approached the shopkeeper, taking out the church notes from my pocket and counting out 5 million reals.

"Wh-What? Is it okay?"

"Do you want it?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Then there's no problem."

"Thank you…"

Colette thanked me, half embarrassed and half happy.

"Are you sure, young man? You didn't even try it."

"Yeah, I can tell it's real."

"Hmm…"

The shopkeeper's eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, they seemed to sparkle.

"Why do you think so?"

"I can tell. I think it called to me."

"Hmm."

The shopkeeper nodded.

"Alright, then I'll give you a discount. Half price."

"Half price?"

"2.5 million reals."

"Are you sure?"

I was surprised.

Without me saying anything, he offered me a 50% discount.

"I like your eye for finding that in a pile of junk."

"But even so…"

"I'm not running a business. I could even give it to you for free, you know?"

"Th-That's a bit much."

That would be too much.

I hurriedly paid 2.5 million reals with church notes.

And that's how I got my first unique piece of dragon equipment.