Satou's here. Newcomer's welcome party, year-end party, and new year's party. There are various types of feasts, but I feel that they're lubricant for communications. Drunkards who don't know their own drinking tolerances are troubling though.
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"Whoa!"
Just before the fang thrusts into my shoulders, I drive my fist onto it without holding back. The broken fang injures the black dragon's mouth and blood overflow from it. Well, it should be healed immediately since it's a dragon. Probably.
I twist my body using that momentum, and hit the side of the black dragon's head with a roundhouse kick.
However, carelessness really is one's greatest enemy. I didn't think that the flexible shield and the flexible armor could be smashed that easily. I was thinking of countering it when the fang was to be stopped by the flexible shield, but since it was easily drilled through, I lost my composure.
I look at the black dragon who has fainted right beside me.
Did I kick it a bit too hard? I think that there was feeling of the skull cracking, but a dragon will probably be cured immediately. They're the strongest creatures after all.
However, after waiting for nearly one hour, and even after the [Fainted] status has disappeared, the black dragon isn't waking up.
Is it playing dead?
Come to think of it, the dragons that are depicted on the picture books all like to drink. There are a lot of dragons that are heavy drinkers too in my world, I guess I should try it. If it's a non-drinker dragon, we can just fight once again. I won't let my guard down this time.
I put a barrel of liquor near the tip of the black dragon's nose. It's a strong liquor even among the breweries at duchy capital called [Dragon Slayer]. The strong drink here (this world) is different even though the alcohol strength matches, this one is famous to be severe from the first taste.
I use the broken fang to break the liquor barrel's lid, rich liquor odor spread to the surrounding. The black dragon's nasal cavity has expanded before I knew it.
The black dragon peeks, but it quickly closes its eyes in panic when it meets mine.
Err, you're too late.
"You've awoken right? Why don't we exchange cups of liquor in praises of our good fight?"
"Uuumuuu, very well, I'll make an exception for this special draw. However, this amount isn't enough for exchanging cups."
While keeping up begrudging attitude, the black dragon gets up. I understand that you're trying to keep your dignity, but it's a fail if you stare at the liquor barrel so fixatedly like that.
I'm being tactful here, and urge the dragon to go ahead and then, it begins to taste the liquor. It's surprisingly obedient.
"Umumwu, excellent. Liquor that humans made really are tasty. But, dragon liquor won't lose to it y'know? I'm returning the cup, now taste the dragon liquor--"
The black dragon howls for very long like it's singing. It is a fantastical magic that summons a spring which gushes out liquor called [Liquor Spring (Soul Well)].
Since it doesn't feel right with just drinking, I add a roasted whole wyvern, and 200 kilograms of grilled whale meat on skewers as appetizers to accompany the drink. I use the whale's small bones for the skewers. For heating, I use furnace flame (Forge).
During the feast, when I was cooking the food, I contacted Arisa with [Telephone] magic. Since there were howls and sounds of destructions like it was some kind of kaijuu great battle at the mountain where I was heading, this was to put them to ease. Arisa and Liza seems to have been worried although not to the degree like before.
And, I've told Arisa and the others that I will be back after I clean up the mess, but--
"Umu, good, good, nectar indeed."
"The liquor from this spring is also delicious. How should I say, it really goes well with meat."
--This has become a simple drinking party.
We exchange cups while I'm listening to the black dragon's stories that are mainly about its battle journey.
I'm most relieved to hear about the dragons among the stories of the black dragon.
There were only 70% of the whole dragons in the dragon valley, while the remaining 30% are located in other continents. I'm glad that they're not on the verge of extinction or something.
The dragons on this continent--except the ones that were on the dragon valley--are the black dragon in front of me, the heavenly dragons that reside on the sacred mountain to the west, and several young dragons, beside those, there are only lower dragons.
Lower dragons are more or less dragons, but they don't have clear intellect, and are no different than beasts. According to the black dragon, likening lower dragons to dragons is like lumping goats and humans together because they are both mammals. Using goats in analogies seem to be the black dragon's favorite. I wonder if he really likes goat meat, it often comes out in his stories. Unfortunately, I don't have goat meat left in the storage, so I can't treat him with it.
While feeling relieved, I put another cup of the transparent green liquor from the spring on my lips. Drinking ginjoushu-like liquor in the depth of a forest, it's a mysterious flavor.