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Vur poked his head inside of a cave and shouted, “Grandpa Nova, are you awake?”
A green dragon’s head appeared in his view. It was smudged with paint of all colors. “Who’s shouting for me?”
Vur waved his hand, attracting Nova’s attention towards the ground. “Tafel and I bought you a present.”
“A present?” Nova asked and tilted his head. When was the last time he had ever received a present? “What is it?”
Tafel walked into the cave behind Vur and opened up a portal. She reached inside and took out a large jar, relative to her body, and held it up before frowning. She leaned over and whispered at Vur, “Isn’t this a little too small?”
Vur shrugged before grabbing the jar of greenish liquid. He walked over to Nova and placed it down in front of his grandpa. “This is glow-in-the-dark paint,” he said. “It glows in the dark.”
Nova blinked and picked up the jar, pinching it between two of his claws. He placed it in his left paw and covered it with his right. He made a tiny gap between his limbs and brought his eye close to inspect the glowing effect. “Interesting,” he said and lowered his paws. Before he could say anything else, a large shadow fell over Tafel and Vur.
“Hey-o! Where’s my gift? If you bought something for Nova, then you definitely got something for me as well, right?”
Vur and Tafel turned their heads to see Prika towering over them. Vur nodded and glanced at Tafel. The demon opened a portal and pulled out a stack of books. “Some cheesy romance novels,” Tafel said and passed them to Vur, who passed them to Prika.
Prika accepted them with her palm and eyed the covers of the books. “When Cottage Meets Cream? She Ricottaed His World? A Mouse’s Delight?” The red dragon’s face darkened. “I like cheesy romance novels, not novels about cheese!”
Vur pointed at the first book. “But there’s romance between the cheeses in that one.”
Prika sighed. “Where did you even find these books?”
“A bookstore,” Tafel said. “They were in the bargain section.”
“How surprising,” Prika said, her voice completely flat. She sighed again, and the shadow covering Tafel and Vur disappeared as the red dragon retreated. “Well, thanks, I suppose.”
Nova nodded. “Thank you for the gift as well,” he said. “Did you bring back something for your mom and dad too? Your mom is over at Sharda’s place again. As for your dad, I’m not sure where he went.”
Vur nodded. “We’re going to Grandma’s place next.”
“Alright,” Nova said and scratched his face, leaving more spots of paint on his green scales. “Tell her I said hi. Actually, can you deliver something to her for me?”
Vur glanced at Tafel. “If it’s not too big or mana-dense, then I can put it in a portal,” the demon said. “What is it?”
“Wait right here,” Nova said and went back inside his cave. A minute later, he came back out with a large slab of rock. A picture of a sunset was painted on it.
Tafel’s horns glowed silver as she opened up a portal, and Nova placed the slab inside. Tafel scratched her head as the portal closed. When she had learned time and space magic, she had never expected to become a delivery person for dragons. Well, if she ever retired from adventuring and was strapped for cash, at least she had a backup option. “Ready?” Tafel asked, turning towards Vur.
Vur shook his head. “You forgot Snuffles and Little Miss Floofykins,” he said.
“Oh, right,” Tafel said and furrowed her brow. “We even bought presents for them too. It’s probably because they didn’t come up to us like Prika did.”
Vur nodded and left Nova’s cave. He glanced at the side, where Prika was lying on a boulder with a tiny book spread out in front of her. Despite the red dragon’s initial reaction, it seemed like she still appreciated the gift.
***
Joseph grunted as he dropped a large ballista bolt into a wagon. The tip was made of orichalcum, and the shaft was made of mithril. At the butt of the bolt, there was a large ring that could be connected to a chain. Joseph glanced to the side where Mary was overseeing the transportation of machinery. “By the way, do you have the layout of the dragon’s roost?”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Joseph’s expression darkened. “Our weaponry is stationary,” he said. “We have to place them beforehand. Their angles of fire are also fixed. If we place them freely, it’s possible they’ll be completely useless when its time to hunt the dragon. To mitigate that risk, we can place them in strategic positions but only if we know the lay of the land.”
Mary didn’t respond. Upon seeing her blank expression, Joseph cleared his throat. “You do know where the dragon you’re trying to hunt is located, right…?”
“It’s a famous dragon, so it shouldn’t be hard to find,” Mary said, shifting her gaze to the side. After a moment, she fixed her expression. “Have you heard of the cursed dragon Grimmoldesser?”
Joseph gulped. “You’re trying to hunt a dragon that destroyed a continent?”
“Even if it destroyed a continent, isn’t it still a dragon in the end?” Mary asked. “You’ve slain dragons before. This should be no different.”
Joseph shook his head. “A peasant and an SSS-ranked adventurer are both humans, but there’s a major difference between them,” he said. “The dragons we killed can barely even be compared to a dragon like Grimmoldesser. A dragon has to be really strong or extremely respected to have its name remembered by people.”
Mary’s brow furrowed. “Are you trying to back out of our agreement?”
Sweat beaded on Joseph’s forehead. What agreement? In exchange for their lives, they had to help this crazy woman kill a dragon? That wasn’t an agreement: that was coercion! “No, no, we’re not backing out. It’s just that it’ll take a little more preparation time if this hunt is to end well especially if you have no idea where the dragon stays.”