Chapter 107: Blood of the Dragon

In a forest where crimson maple leaves bloomed profusely.

At first glance, it seemed like a peaceful place, but this land was also inhabited by monsters.

Of course, the monsters in this land looked slightly different from the ones I knew.

The maple-tinted thicket rustled noisily. The monsters, sensing Nightmare’s presence, scurried away, causing a commotion.

Walking along the dirt path naturally formed by people coming and going, I often encountered various individuals.

There seemed to be quite a few mages traveling through this land like me, so the beastmen didn’t find me strange.

Except for Nightmare, of course.

A week after setting out aimlessly, I finally discovered a new city.

This was my first solo journey in a strange land. Recalling the day I ran away from home, I approached the large main gate.

“Halt!”

The moment I approached the gate, two soldiers with large horns on their heads blocked my path with their spears.

Judging by their non-hostile expressions, they seemed accustomed to visits from strangers like me.

They cautiously questioned me, eyeing Nightmare’s massive size.

“Purpose of visit…?”

I lowered my gaze to examine the soldiers’ attire.

The scale armor made by connecting monster scales and the blue-glowing spear blades were impressive.

“I’m a tourist.”

I took out the magic tower’s emblem from my pocket and waved it lightly.

Wendy had told me that showing the magic tower’s emblem while traveling through this land would grant me decent treatment.

Her words were true.

“Hmm, mages, I see. Very well. Enter.”

I nodded and entered the city.

Aside from the slightly different clothing and building styles, the residents’ way of life had many similarities to what I was used to.

Street stalls spread out wide, puppet shows captivating children’s attention, and pubs reeking of alcohol and makeup.

The name of this place was Giru, wasn’t it?

I shifted my feet, gazing up at the towering buildings.

Finding an inn with a stable wasn’t too difficult.

I waved at the employee who was blankly exclaiming in admiration at Nightmare.

“Feed it meat, and I’d like a room and a meal.”

If I had rushed into this world without studying for a week, I would have suffered greatly.

I recalled my time in the savage land of Greenpole and stepped into the inn.

The rich aroma of broth stimulated my appetite.

I smacked my lips and followed the employee’s guidance to a seat.

There was one problem. Even after looking at the food menu on the wall, I couldn’t tell what was delicious.

Of course, there was a solution for times like these: getting a recommendation from the employee.

“The most delicious thing here, please.”

That’s when it happened, as I was waiting for the food to arrive.

A tall man staggered over and plopped down in the seat across from me.

“Here for sightseeing?”

I frowned and scanned the man’s appearance.

The subtle scent of alcohol and the calmly settled hair created a strange harmony.

Silver ears, pointed on top of his head, and a long, swaying tail were alluring. The man resembled a fox.

“And you are?”

“Baek Gwang. I’m a guide who shows strangers around this city, or a guide, as you people say?”

“I don’t need a guide…”

“Hmm. You don’t know much, do you? Is this your first time in this land?”

I didn’t answer and kept my mouth shut. If his body didn’t smell of alcohol, I would have continued the conversation.

After a considerable amount of time, the food I had been waiting for was placed on the table.

Pork braised in black sauce and spicy stir-fried vegetables. Looking around, most people were eating this dish.

As I picked up the food with my chopsticks, I had to endure Baek Gwang’s strange gaze.

He hadn’t left his seat even though I had refused to talk to him.

“What are you looking at?”

“You’re strangely informal… Are you not familiar with honorifics?”

“You’re informal too.”

“Hmm…”

Baek Gwang let out a light laugh at my remark. The weak sound of air escaping was strangely irritating.

“It’s clear that it’s your first time here, but you seem familiar with chopsticks… Did you practice or something?”

At Baek Gwang’s words, I looked down at my hands.

Without realizing it, my hands were using the chopsticks as if they were familiar.

It was definitely the first time I was holding these tools with this body. But what did it matter? I didn’t answer this time either.

“Well, don’t be so on edge. You might end up getting into a fight for no reason.”

Eventually, Baek Gwang let out a small sigh and got up from his seat.

It was an earlier surrender than I had expected.

After unpacking my luggage in my room and coming out to look around the market, beastmen doing similar work to Baek Gwang kept sticking to me.

Looking around, I noticed that other mages besides me also had beastmen acting as guides.

Since everything was unfamiliar, it would be convenient to have a guide.

But I wanted to fully experience the excitement that came from the unknown.

The fun of learning new things one by one couldn’t be replaced by anything else.

I refused all the beastmen who volunteered to be my guide.

But it wasn’t up to me. The beastmen didn’t just leave strangers wandering around alone.

Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, I stopped looking around the market and returned to my room, having bought some hair dye.

The bright red dye was reminiscent of the maple leaves coloring the mountains around here.

I poured the bright red dye over my blonde hair.

The pungent chemical smell bothered my nose, but I endured it to get rid of the annoying beastmen.

As I started washing my hair with warm water, the water turned red.

I dried my hair with a soft towel and checked my appearance in the large mirror.

Could changing my hair color change my aura this much?

I ran my fingers through the red hair that scattered between my fingers and began to circulate mana.

As the rapidly rotating circle sent mana coursing through my body, traces of a dragon gradually began to appear on my human body.

Horns sprouted from the red hair, and my pupils became sharp like those of a reptile.

Red scales appeared on the back of my fair hands.

It was an appearance not much different from the beastmen commonly seen outside.

If someone who didn’t know me saw me, they would definitely see me as a beastman.

At this point, I could understand Rain’s misunderstanding.

The red robe I recently bought from the market suited me quite well.

The gold embroidery added to the splendor, further enhancing my appearance.

With this, the basic work was done. Now it was time to test whether my appearance would work on real beastmen.

I fluttered the red robe, opened the door, and headed to the first floor of the inn.

Even though lunchtime had passed, the first floor of the inn was bustling.

Many customers had come to eat a late lunch.

That’s when it happened, the moment I stepped onto the first floor.

Someone who was happily chatting and raising a glass in conversation dropped their glass in surprise.

Clang-!

With the sound of the glass breaking, the eyes of everyone on the first floor of the inn focused on me.

Immediately after, silence spread. Only the mages tilted their heads, as if they didn’t know what was going on.

Turning my head, I saw the beastmen averting their gaze with strange expressions.

As if they shouldn’t make eye contact with me.

“Hmm…”

I examined the beastmen’s reactions, touching the horns on my head and the scales on the back of my hands.

There was nothing particularly strange, so was I that strange?

At that moment, the receptionist who was walking out from the back was startled and spilled the food she was carrying.

The floor of the inn became a mess, but no one pointed out the problem.

I approached the employee who was lowering her head and avoiding my gaze.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes…!”

The employee answered with a stiff voice, extremely nervous at my call.

I tilted my head at the sight.

She seemed to have spoken to me quite comfortably when she first greeted me… Could there be something wrong with this appearance?

“Am I strange?”

“N-no! You’re not strange at all!”

The employee shouted loudly like a soldier at attention.

I frowned at the rather loud noise, and she was startled and quickly lowered her head.

At that moment, a middle-aged man appeared from inside the inn.

He was a beastman with traces of a deer all over his body.

“Oh, my…!”

He rushed to me in an instant and bowed so low that he almost touched the ground.

“W-welcome! It is an honor to serve a Dragon Blood!”

I crossed my arms and tilted my head. It seemed that my appearance didn’t look like an ordinary beastman.

At this point, even someone with no sense could tell what was going on.

Beastmen with dragon features revealed outside their bodies were definitely of high status.

“Is there anything… uncomfortable?”

“No. There isn’t.”

He seemed to feel uneasy as I remained silent without saying anything.

I gave the middle-aged man, who was looking up at me with a pale face, a small smile and continued.

“I’ll be back in a bit. Oh, the food was delicious.”

“P-please, have a good time! I’m so honored that you enjoyed the food!”

That’s when I turned around and was about to leave the inn.

I heard the conversation between the employee and the innkeeper from behind.

“H-huh… He was definitely a stranger…”

“You idiot…! Don’t you know! Those who are born with strong Dragon Blood can hide their dragon features at will…!”

“H-how would I know that…?”

Indeed, when I walked around the market in this form, no beastmen stuck to me.

Rather, there were even those who lowered their heads and kept their distance when I approached.

It was as if they were clearing the way for me to pass.

It felt like I had become a king. I fluttered the red robe and walked freely down the main street.

The sight of everyone bowing their heads to me felt strangely good.

“Hmm…”

They even gave me the food they were selling on the street for free.

What could I do when they stubbornly refused to take the money? I had no choice but to accept it.

I bought two skewers of meat of unknown origin and cheap alcohol that was readily available and watched the people.

As the cheap alcohol with a high alcohol content entered my body, my vision began to blur.

My senses had also dulled, but I felt good.

At that moment, a group wearing blue uniforms approached me.

As I stared at the swords hanging from their waists, a middle-aged man came to me, clasped his fist with his hand, and bowed his head briefly.

“… We… are honored…”

The man’s face was not clearly visible due to the blurry vision.

His voice was also only scattering vaguely.

A continuous string of difficult words.

The language of this country, which I had not yet learned, was spewing out.

At that moment, a breeze brushed past the tip of my nose.

“Achoo!”

With a small sneeze, a hot flame soared into the sky from my mouth.

Whoosh-!

As I touched the tip of my nose and frowned, the middle-aged man was greatly flustered and bowed his head to me before quietly retreating, along with the group he had brought.

What a strange man.

I tilted my head and moved my staggering steps.

Was it because of the alcohol?

Flames occasionally rose along with the breath flowing out of my mouth. I kept spitting out flames and returned to the inn.

Whoosh-