Chapter 70

On the third day of entering the mountain.

The sun had risen completely, and it was already noon.

I stretched fully and let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m tired…”

The dragon that had flown off yesterday returned shortly after, grabbing a beast-type monster with its hind legs.

After gobbling it up, it soon fell asleep near the nest.

When it woke up in the evening, it flew off again, this time patrolling the surrounding sky before returning at night and falling asleep immediately.

Morning came, then noon. The dragon was still asleep.

It wasn’t dead.

It was just sleeping deeply.

While watching the dragon’s deep breathing, I thought.

It must have been tired.

Raising children is tough, not just for humans but for animals too. This one is a monster, but probably the same. It was clear that the land’s magic alone wasn’t enough to sustain its energy.

The lack of a mate must have made things difficult for it.

But…

“When will I be freed…?”

While the dragon was eating, patrolling the sky, and sleeping, I had been diligently taking care of the nest, rolling the eggs and heating the rocks.

When I got tired of it and tried to leave once, it growled angrily. If I had run, it might have chased me all the way to the town, so I couldn’t move.

I’m sure the eggs would be fine if left alone for a while, but I didn’t know how long. As a result, I stayed up all night.

Yuki also said, sounding annoyed.

“Really… Asking a human to raise its young, what a shameless monster!”

“…Tubes also do that, you know.”

“Ugh, no, tubes are, well, they serve humans…”

“Hmm… Well, probably, this is the only dragon that does this.”

This individual is special.

Or rather, dragons in general might have this trait…

“So, what are we going to do, Seika-sama?”

Yuki said.

“Surely we can’t just keep being a monster’s nanny, can we?”

“…I’m going back. Our food is running low anyway.”

I have to somehow persuade the dragon.

“Hey!! Wake up! It’s noon!!”

When I shouted loudly at the dragon, which was indulging in a deep sleep, its rough eyelids opened slightly.

It clearly looked annoyed.

I pointed towards the town, irritated, and said,

“I’m going back!!”

“Grrr!”

“Stop growling! I’m not your mate or anything!!”

After growling in dissatisfaction for a while, the dragon stood up with a sigh like a breath.

Then it walked over to me, lowered its large head, and touched its chin to the ground.

“?”

“Grrr…”

Seeing it flap its wings, I realized what it was doing.

“Are you… going to let me ride you?”

“Grrr”

“Yes, I appreciate the gesture, but… wait a minute.”

I realized the possibility.

I thought it was impossible to ride a winged creature, but maybe this one could do it.

I put my feet on the scales and climbed onto its head.

Fortunately, there were stiff hairs growing there, making it a comfortable seat.

“Grrr!”

The dragon spread its wings and flapped them.

The pressure magic activated, and the massive body lifted into the air with me on it.

A fierce wind blew around us, but it wasn’t so strong that I couldn’t stay on.

Most importantly, the ride was surprisingly smooth, just as I had hoped.

Holding onto the protrusions of the scales, I cheered in amazement.

The dragon circled the sky once and then glided slowly towards the town at the foot of the mountain.