Chapter 8

Returning from the Millleaf Mountains to my house in Boalcel, Louise was already back, snoring softly in her favorite slime bed.

"This is my home."

"Hmm, there's another one here."

Colette looked at Louise.

"Yeah, her name is Louise—I'll introduce you later."

"Later?"

"It seems she needs to sleep for twelve hours a day to have energy, so I don't think she'll wake up today."

"Strange kid."

"That's just the kind of kid she is."

"That's fine, then."

"Yeah."

I nodded slightly.

After all, it's a promise with Louise.

"Still, it's pretty small, huh?"

"Yeah."

I smiled wryly.

The garden, while technically there, isn't exactly spacious.

With two small dragons, it feels quite cramped.

"We'll move eventually, once we save up some money."

"Hmph, it's not that bad. So, I can use this place, right?"

"Yeah, feel free to use whatever you like. You can come inside the house too, but don't try to kick me out, okay?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't do that."

"That's good to hear."

It was a bit of banter.

Still... I looked around the garden.

Louise and Colette.

With both of them here, it really does feel cramped.

For now, this is fine, but any more would be too much...

☆

The next day, I went to the dragon market alone, to a familiar shop.

As I stepped inside,

"Welcome, sir."

The thin shopkeeper, who had become quite familiar with me, smiled with a hint of increased warmth.

"Welcome, Sir Cyril."

"Hello. Is Colette here?"

"Yes, she was here. She left this."

The shopkeeper said this and pulled out a small leather pouch from under the counter.

The pouch, heavy and misshapen, indicated it contained a fair amount of coins.

This was Colette's earnings.

I had told Colette to bring her first day's earnings to this shop, and she had done so.

"It's not much, but it's part of the installment payment. From now on, I'll have Colette bring it here."

"Understood—still, you're quite impressive, Sir Cyril."

"Huh?"

"To be able to give such complex instructions to a dragon on the very next day. Not many dragon knights can make their dragons perform complex tasks independently."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it's quite remarkable."

The shopkeeper heaped praise on me.

"Do you have any special techniques?"

"Dragon First, I guess."

"Dragon First?"

The shopkeeper repeated the phrase as if carefully considering it.

"If you talk to them and show them you care, they'll listen to your requests properly."

"I see, that's deep."

I hadn't said anything particularly profound, but I guess it sounds deep if you don't know that I can understand dragon language.

"Also, you're not just a transcendent dragon knight, but also a person of character, which is surprising."

"Person of character?"

"Yes, I didn't expect you to repay so quickly."

"Is that surprising?"

"I offered the installment plan for a reason, which you might have guessed."

"Yeah, I get it."

It was because of the princess's handkerchief.

He was trying to curry favor with me, hoping to eventually connect with the princess.

I had thought this before, so I understood immediately.

"In such cases, most people would take advantage of the situation and delay payment until we ask for it."

Of course, we wouldn't ask for it, the shopkeeper added.

"We consider it a way to build a connection."

"I see."

"That's why you're the first to repay even after understanding the situation."

"I'll pay the installments, so don't worry."

"Thank you."

"Business is business. Of course, I'm grateful for the installments, as they've really helped me out."

I emphasized that I was grateful.

I was declaring that I would pay the installments but also wanted to connect with the princess if possible.

"Also, I want to maintain a long-term relationship with this shop."

"That's an honor."

"It's a good shop. You treat dragons better than others."

"Dragons are important merchandise."

The shopkeeper smiled and replied.

"I can tell it's not just that."

Dragon merchants vary.

Even if they treat dragons as "merchandise," some handle them with care, while others don't.

This shop is one of the former.

If a dragon merchant treats dragons with care, even if we meet as merchandise, it's worth maintaining a long-term relationship.

"By the way,"

"Hmm?"

"You've bought two dragons from us. Isn't your living space getting a bit cramped?"

"You noticed."

"In this town, properties that can accommodate dragons are either very small or very large. There are only two types."

"Oh..."

I smiled wryly.

If those were the only two options, it would be obvious that someone paying in installments would choose the smaller one.

"Actually, we have a house with a larger dragon stable. Would you like me to introduce it to you?"

"That's very kind, but it's a bit too much for us."

I smiled wryly.

"Colette's installment payments aren't even finished yet, so a larger house is out of the question."

Buying or renting would be too much of a stretch.

"But it's a special case."

"Really?"

Hearing it was a special case, my interest was piqued.

"What's so special about it?"

"It's a new house built with a dragon stable, but for some reason, the dragons don't want to enter the stable."

"They don't want to enter?"

"Yes. Of course, it's a larger stable, and the dragon knights who decided to move in were all very skilled."

"Of course."

"Even so, the dragons refuse to enter, no matter what."

"That is a special case."

I thought for a moment.

"The reason—"

"Of course, we don't know. The stable itself is built the same as others."

"Hmm."

"That's why no one wants to rent or buy it."

"Understandable."

I smiled wryly.

A house with a larger dragon stable.

If the stable can't be used, no dragon knight would want to rent it.

"But we can offer it at a very low price. Of course—"

"Sure, I'll take a look."

If neither Louise nor Colette wanted to enter, it would be pointless, but I was different from other dragon knights.

I could understand dragon language and communicate with them.

Even if they didn't want to enter, I could ask them why.

There might be a way to solve the problem.

☆

I brought Louise and Colette to the north of the town.

The house with the larger dragon stable that was introduced to me.

We stood in front of the house.

The property was spacious, with a human house and a dragon stable.

The dragon stable was twice the size of the human house.

It was a property designed primarily for the dragon stable.

If the stable couldn't be used, it would be completely useless.

"Still, it's a really nice house. The stable too."

"Are we going to live here?"

Louise asked.

"Yeah, if you two like it."

"Why us? Why here?"

"Let's go see the stable."

I said this and led them into the property.

We headed straight for the dragon stable.

We stopped in front of the stable and turned to the two of them.

"Come on, let's go inside."

"..."

"Ugh..."

"Louise? Colette?"

"I don't like it here."

"Me neither."

"Hmm."

I nodded slightly.

I knew that no dragon wanted to enter this stable, so I wasn't surprised.

In fact, I knew this was just the beginning.

So I asked.

"Why don't you like it?"

"There's a bad smell."

"Yeah... what is it, a strange smell?"

"Smell?"

I sniffed the air, but I couldn't detect any bad smell.

I couldn't even tell the difference between the inside and outside of the stable.

But I remembered that Louise had once tracked the princess by smell.

Dragons have a much sharper sense of smell than humans and can detect odors that humans can't.

"Can you tell where the smell is coming from?"

"Hmm..."

"Maybe from the floor?"

"Let's see... you're right, it's from the floor."

"The floor."

I squatted down and touched the floor.

It was an earthen floor.

Most dragon stables have earthen floors.

Wooden floors are prone to damage, and stone floors can be cold and bad for dragons.

So, earthen floors are the norm for dragon stables.

I picked up some soil and sniffed it.

I still couldn't detect anything.

"Louise, can you dig up some soil in different spots?"

"Okay."

Louise nodded and fired her light spear.

The light spears pierced the floor, digging it up.

The neatly leveled floor suddenly became uneven.

"Ugh..."

"..."

Louise and Colette winced.

"Is the smell strong?"

"Yeah..."

"I can't stay in here anymore."

They both went outside.

I stayed inside the stable, where the soil was flying around, to check things out before going outside.

I asked the two who had gone out first.

"Are you okay?"

"It's fine outside."

"I don't want to go back inside."

"I see. There's nothing buried, so it might be a problem with the soil."

I thought for a moment and continued.

"Then, let's replace the soil. We'll see how it goes."

"Replace the soil?"

"Yeah."

I nodded clearly and looked at Colette.

"Colette, can you bring some new soil? From the wild, whatever soil you think is good."

"Can I carry it in my stomach?"

"That's right."

"Got it."

"What about me?"

"Louise, you can rest if you want."

"Really?"

"The smell of the soil bothers you, right? I'd like you to help move the dug-up soil, but since it's too strong, you can take a break."

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, it's not a big deal."

With that, Colette and I got to work.

Still... because of the smell, huh?

If I couldn't understand their language, I wouldn't have known this.

☆

It took a whole day to dig out the soil from the dragon stable and replace it with new soil from Colette's stomach.

Since the soil itself was emitting a bad smell, we replaced a significant amount of it.

After replacing the soil, the new dragon stable was a stark contrast to the previous day.

Louise and Colette were visibly relaxed.

I knew it would be fine, but I asked just to be sure.

"How is it?"

"Yeah, this is fine."

"Me too."

"Good to hear."

It was indeed the soil causing the problem.

And so, we moved into the new house with the dragon stable.

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