Chapter 70

Before any disaster strikes, there must be some signs.

Rooooooar!

The poison gas was released.

“Choke!”

“Gaaaah!”

The dwarves, suddenly exposed to the poison gas, clutched their throats in agony and one by one collapsed.

As befitting the strongest of creatures, the dragon’s flatulence boasted a toxicity akin to biochemical warfare.

This was no exception for Auto.

[Notice: Status Abnormality!]

[Notice: You have been afflicted with <Status Abnormality: Poisoning>!]

[Notice: Breathing is difficult!]

[Notice: Health has decreased!]

[Notice: Health has decreased!]

(omitted)

[Notice: Health has decreased!]

But this was only the beginning.

“P-please… not that… please….”

Auto pleaded with the dragon, but it did no good.

Squish!

“…Ah.”

Auto felt despair.

Squishhhhhhhhhh!

Then a great disaster unfolded, but it was not the end.

Splat! Splat-splat-splat!

The dragon’s tail thrashed about, sending excrement flying in all directions.

What was once a mere expression for dementia patients—“painting the walls with feces”—became a reality before his eyes.

“……”

Auto stood there, dazed and motionless, in the rain of excrement, for he had no way to resolve this horrific situation.

Thud!

In the midst of it, he even got a face full of excrement.

His face was smeared with feces.

- Ah! Baby dragon, I pooped! Ah!

The dragon turned to look at Auto with a “Did I do well?” expression.

“No….”

Auto spoke in a tone of utter despair.

“Being a dragon and painting the walls with feces….”

A mix of indignation, anger, absurdity, and shame poured out of Auto’s voice.

But that was as far as it went.

‘Ah.’

Auto, about to scream in frustration, suddenly clamped his mouth shut, a thought crossing his mind.

- Dojin, have you eaten? How can you be so skinny? Grandma will make you some food right away.

He thought of his grandmother, who had passed away long ago.

‘Right. Grandma also suffered from dementia.’

Grandma had suffered from dementia for about three years before she passed away, and during that time, Auto’s family went through a very difficult period.

The one who suffered the most was undoubtedly Grandma herself.

- I… I should die… What good is there in living to this age, enduring such a shameful state… I can’t even recognize my own grandchildren….

Grandma was in great pain when she realized she had dementia.

The family’s suffering was also immense.

- Why aren’t you giving me food, my child! Are you trying to starve me to death?

Every time Grandma exhibited strange behavior, the family, who watched by her side, felt an indescribable sense of despair.

- Who are you? Your face seems familiar.

Grandma’s condition worsened to the point where she could no longer recognize her beloved grandchildren.

Even on the day she passed away in the nursing home, she did not recognize them until the very end.

Although it didn’t reach the level of the dragon’s disaster of painting the walls with feces, it was a very painful and tragic time.

A time that could not be laughed off.

- Ah! Baby dragon, I pooped! Ah!

“……”

- Dad! I pooped!

“Y-yeah.”

Auto wiped the excrement from his face and forced a smile at the dragon.

He couldn’t bring himself to be angry, thinking of his grandmother who had passed away with dementia.

* * *

‘Still, it could be worse.’

Auto thought it was fortunate.

Why?

Because it was better than the dragon going berserk.

One of the typical symptoms of dementia is a sudden change in personality, becoming extremely violent and aggressive.

A dragon, the strongest creature in the world, going berserk?

Chilling!

Just imagining it was terrifying.

Everyone here would be wiped out, dozens of cities would be devastated, and millions would lose their lives.

Compared to a terrifying mad dragon that wreaks indiscriminate destruction and slaughter, a spoiled baby dragon was better, no question.

Painting the walls with feces was not ideal, but….

“Hey… did our baby poop well?”

- Ah! I did!

“Y-yeah! Good job! Oh! My baby! You pooped so nicely!”

- Giggles!

The dragon, pleased by Auto’s encouragement and praise, smiled like a child—though whether it could be called a smile was debatable.

‘I’m going crazy. After all this, I’m now taking care of a dragon with dementia. Oh, my fate.’

He spent a long time soothing and comforting the dragon, as if he were dealing with a real child.

Then.

“Is our baby hungry? How about I get an ogre for you….”

- What are you saying?

The dragon regained its senses.

- No, no! What… Ugh!

The dragon, now back to its senses, scowled at the sight of the room turned into a field of feces.

- No! What is this? Why is everything covered in feces all of a sudden!

“W-well… it’s….”

Seeing the dragon regain its senses, Auto cautiously explained the disaster that had occurred.

- What, what? I… I have dementia?

“It’s hard to accept, but….”

- Unbelievable! You dare to deceive a dragon like me!

“Please calm down and listen to me.”

Auto had to spend a full 10 hours trying to convince the dragon, repeating himself over and over.

The dragon refused to accept that it had dementia, and even when it seemed to understand, its mental state would fluctuate, making the conversation go in circles.

The result.

“…So my conclusion is that you have dementia.”

- Oh my… I… I have dementia… This Kurran has dementia….

The dragon, now aware of the truth.

No, the dementia-afflicted dragon Kurran, shed tears like chicken droppings.

“Ah.”

Thinking of his grandmother when she was diagnosed with dementia, Auto sighed in sympathy at the sight of Kurran.

But amidst this, there were those who couldn’t grasp the situation.

“Oh?”

“Ah!”

The dwarves, who were studying the dragon’s excrement for its potential value, rushed over when they saw Kurran crying.

They began to collect Kurran’s tears in buckets, wanting to study their potential value as well.

“Hey, you.”

Auto glared at the dwarves.

Dwarves, after all.

Creatures who only know creation.

Creatures who would do anything for creation.

Creatures who don’t care about time or place.

These clueless creatures….

- I’ve lived for too long. What good is there in living for over 9,900 years, enduring such a shameful state… Old age means death….

“Huh?!”

Auto was shocked to learn that Kurran was nearly 10,000 years old.

He thought it would be around a thousand years, but it was nearly ten thousand….

‘It’s really old.’

When he first saw Kurran, he was too surprised to notice, but now he could see that it was indeed an old dragon.

Its wings were torn and had holes.

It seemed to have experienced hair loss, as many of its scales had fallen off, revealing bare skin.

Its beard was drooping, giving it a strong elderly appearance.

‘No wonder it has dementia.’

Auto thought this as he comforted Kurran.

“Sir, please calm down. I know it’s painful, but… what can be done? It’s because of your age. You need to take it easy.”

- How can I take it easy after painting the walls with feces? How can I maintain this stubborn life after such disgrace? Old age… old age means death!

Kurran said this and began to bang its head on the ground, unable to bear the shame, contemplating an extreme action.

“Sir! Don’t do that! Sir!”

- Old age… means death….

“Please! Don’t do that! Old age isn’t a sin! It’s natural for living beings to age and get sick, isn’t it?”

- It’s natural to age and get sick….

“Exactly! Even for a dragon, you have a beating heart, don’t you? So aging and getting sick is natural. And I don’t know how long a dragon’s lifespan is, but… you’ve lived a long life, haven’t you?”

- That’s true. Even for a dragon, living over 9,000 years is not easy. I lived 900 years more, so I did live a long life.

“So it’s not strange to have dementia.”

- That’s true, but… what’s the point of living like this? With dementia, I can’t even take care of myself. So this stubborn life… I should end it myself….

“I’ll take care of you!”

- Hmm?

“I’ll take care of you. So please don’t be so distressed, and don’t blame yourself. Please don’t talk about ending your life.”

- Is that really true? You’ll take care of an old and sick dragon like me?

“It won’t be easy… but I’ll do my best. So please stop being sad.”

- Heh heh….

“Please.”

Auto’s words were sincere.

Seeing Kurran, who was suffering after being diagnosed with dementia, reminded him of his late grandmother, and he couldn’t bear to turn away.

“So please calm down and talk to me step by step.”

Kurran responded.

- Who… said that?

Auto wanted to bite his tongue.

* * *

In the end, after several hours of persuasion, Auto decided to take care of Kurran.

The conversation was often interrupted by Kurran’s dementia, but they eventually reached an agreement.

- Fine. From now on, I’ll rely on you. Take care of me well.

“…Thank you for understanding.”

Auto answered with a tired, hoarse voice.

- It won’t be easy for a human to take care of me. I’ll make it easier for you to take care of me.

“Y-yes…?”

Swoosh!

The dragon’s body glowed brightly and began to shrink.

A few seconds later.

“Now it won’t be so difficult to take care of me.”

A bent old man, looking like he was about to be put in a coffin, smiled at Auto with wrinkled skin.

“Oh? You can transform?”

“It’s not difficult for us dragons.”

“Oh!”

“Just in case I might turn into a mad dragon and go berserk, I’ve sealed most of my power. So you can take care of me without worry.”

“Alright.”

Thus, Auto became the caretaker of the dementia-afflicted dragon Kurran.

Although he had taken on a new responsibility, Auto did not regret it.

‘I should have taken better care of her back then.’

Auto thought of his grandmother, who had passed away with dementia, and regretted the past.

“You did well.”

Kairos praised Auto.

“I didn’t know you had such a commendable side.”

“What?”

“Good deeds always come back to you. This is also a connection. Think of it as accumulating merit and take good care of him from now on.”

“I will.”

In any case, the matter was settled, and Auto moved on to his original goal, the Book of Harmony, heading to where the Sage Eldoragon’s coffin was stored.