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Vur dropped out of the sky and landed on the ground with a loud thump. He tilted his head to the side, forcing the Recordkeeper to slide off. He stood up on his hindlegs as his body shrank, his blue scales retracting into his body. “This is the place?” he asked and looked around.
The Recordkeeper climbed onto her feet and glared at Vur. Couldn’t he drop her off normally like a polite dragon? Then again, polite dragons didn’t let people ride on their heads. “Yes,” the Recordkeeper said. “This should be the place. The host of the auction sends out invitations to wealthy people from all over the world, and this island is the location of this time’s auction. You’re really lucky; the timing for the auction is random and sometimes doesn’t occur for years.” The Recordkeeper frowned. “We’re a bit early though; the auction begins in a week. Who knew that the one time a dragon was punctual, he’d be punished for it?”
“Punished? More like rewarded.” Vur yawned. “A week is perfect for a quick nap.”
The Recordkeeper blinked when Vur simply sat on the ground and patted the dirt, causing a mound of earth to rise up to use as a pillow. “Wait,” the Recordkeeper said. “Just because we’re early doesn’t mean the island doesn’t have any facilities set up. Most people tend to arrive early to mingle and network with each other. There’s a small town just beyond the horizon. You saw it while flying here.”
By the time the Recordkeeper was done speaking, Vur was already lying down with both eyes closed. “So?” he asked, not bothering to open his eyes.
“So, there are restaurants you can eat it, inns you can sleep in,” the Recordkeeper said. “I know you’re more comfortable sleeping outside than inside of a building, and I know you’re also quite inconsiderate to people who aren’t close to you, but shouldn’t you still think about my situation? If you sleep here for a week, won’t I dehydrate and starve if you leave me to fend for myself?”
“Deedee, give her some money,” Vur said and rolled over onto his side. He slid his arm underneath the mound of earth as if it were actually a pillow.
The Recordkeeper stared with a blank expression as nuggets of gold sprang out of the ground, rising up like growing mushrooms. “If I go into that town by myself, what do you think will happen to me? Wealthy people are quite twisted in the mind, and if they see a unique woman with wings like myself, they won’t be able to help themselves. I’ll be abducted and sold to the highest bidder.”
Vur patted his stomach. “Bless her.”
Silver mist surged out of Vur’s skin and enveloped the Recordkeeper. Animals appeared in the mist before charging into the winged woman’s body. Her expression stiffened as her muscles bulged, threatening to burst out of her skin. “Even if I have the strength of a bear and swiftness of an elk and all these other attributes of these other animals, it isn’t enough for me to protect myself. I’m just an ordinary individual with no combat experience. These wealthy people aren’t just nobles and merchants. They’re also the high-ranked adventurers who’re capable of even defeating dragons if they work together.”
Vur’s eyes opened, and he sat up. He stared at the Recordkeeper. “I don’t believe adventurers can defeat dragons.”
“Just because you haven’t seen it happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true,” the Recordkeeper said. “In fact, there’s a party—aptly named the Dragon Slayers—who’re in the town right now. Over the course of the past decade, they’ve slain three dragons. Ack!” Before the Recordkeeper even knew what was happening, she was pressed to the ground by an invisible force.
Vur stood up and clenched his fists. He narrowed his eyes at the Recordkeeper. “Which dragons?”
The Recordkeeper turned her face to the side, freeing her nose and mouth. “Rahu, Lahu, and Ralahu. You don’t know them, and they aren’t related to any of the dragons you know.” Seeing as Vur didn’t say anything or relieve the pressure on her, the Recordkeeper continued speaking. “They were dragons that lived in the northern continent, the place you adventurers refer to as Fuselage.”
Vur tilted his head. “I thought everything was infected by worms up there,” he said. “Everything fled because of the worms. Even the phoenixes had to leave.”
“What kind of worms are we talking about?” Stella asked and poked her head out of Vur’s chest. She blinked her large eyes. “Are they cute? Can I raise them?”
“No,” Vur said and put his palm on Stella’s head. He pressed down, forcing her back inside of his chest.
“When the worm outbreak occurred, some phoenixes and dragons stayed. Don’t think it’s weird. Some people refuse to believe natural disasters will affect them, and by the time they realize it can affect them, they’re already too late,” the Recordkeeper said. “Rahu, Lahu, and Ralahu thought they could resist the worms, but in the end, they were infected as well. They did what infected do, and eventually, the Dragon Slayers killed them, thus earning their new party name.”
“Wow, those worms must’ve been super strong to parasitize dragons,” Stella said, her head popping out from Vur’s chest again. “Where’d they come from?”
Vur didn’t respond and stuffed the protesting fairy queen back inside of himself. “Even if Rahu, Lahu, and Ralahu were infected, and even if I didn’t know them, only a dragon is allowed to kill another dragon,” Vur said and snorted. The pressure lifted off of the Recordkeeper, and she sat up but didn’t stand lest Vur force her back onto the ground again. Vur placed his hands on his hips and stared at the winged woman. “Take me to the Dragon Slayers.”
The Recordkeeper blinked. “What are you going to do? Are you going to kill them?”
“No,” Vur said and snorted. “I’m not irresponsible; Grimmy taught me better. What if they come back to life after they die? I’m going to beat them up and put them in the evil-sealing tower; that way, they’ll never break the balance of the world by killing a dragon again.”