Chapter Fifteen: "Big Brother Will Take You Dragon Hunting~"

Shaar was furious. He swung his hand back and slapped Bidaldo hard across the face. Bidaldo let out a miserable scream, two teeth flying from his mouth. Shaar shouted, "Do you think I'm so easily fooled? Treasure? Do you take me for a child? There are at least ten thousand legends about treasures on the Wildfire Plains—I've heard them for over ten years. These stories are only fit for children. In Wildfire Town's taverns, you can buy eighteen different versions of treasure maps for a single copper coin! Besides, I heard everything from the tree just now—you lot were planning to hunt a lion beast, weren't you!"

Clutching his mouth, Bidaldo silently cursed Shaar's ancestors, but dared not show a hint of anger on his face. He pleaded, "I'm telling the truth... Esteemed thief, actually, we're from the royal city. My companions are all sons of noble families. They hardly ever leave home; among themselves, they boast of being great warriors, but in truth, they have no real skill..."

"Oh? So you know your companions are all useless," Shaar said, a little curious.

Bidaldo covered his face and forced a bitter smile. "Of course I know. They're nobles—they don't need to understand the world. A few swings of a sword, and their family's servants and followers will fawn over them, so over time, they really believe they're masters. I, on the other hand, am a mage—officially certified by the church, even if only a first-level one. I know my own limits."

He paused, seeing Shaar grow impatient, and hurried on, "This time, I was the one who persuaded them to come out. I told them, since we're the 'Four Great Masters,' we should travel the world in earnest, spread our fame to the farthest corners of the continent, and become truly renowned. They were tempted, and that's how I tricked them into running away from home to go adventuring..." As he spoke, the mage's own face flushed red, and he gave a wry smile. "Of course, I had my reasons. As a low-level mage in the capital, where powerful people abound, who would care about someone like me? I have to trick these noble brats just to scrape by. But a few days ago, I got some news from the Mage's Guild—a source that's absolutely reliable!"

"My skills are limited, but my magic teacher is a genuine mid-level mage, quite famous in the capital. One day, I heard my senior say that the teacher was leaving for a while, apparently together with several other well-known mages from the capital. I pressed for more details, and after my senior got drunk, he told me that the teacher and the others were heading to the Wildfire Plains."

Bidaldo's eyes grew bright with excitement. "I heard there's been a major discovery on the Wildfire Plains! My teacher and those mages went together to investigate!"

Shaar grew impatient. "And all this—what does it have to do with getting rich?"

Seeing Shaar raise his hand again, Bidaldo quickly shielded his face. "No, don't hit me! I'm getting to the point!"

He felt terribly wronged—after all, a first-level mage is still a mage... He swallowed hard and hurried on, "Getting rich is real... because the major discovery on the Wildfire Plains is actually..."

He paused, then looked at Shaar with a smug expression, and finally revealed the answer:

"A dragon!"

A dragon?

Even Shaar's expression turned solemn. A dragon? There was actually a dragon?

He had never seen one himself—of course not; almost no one had seen a dragon, and those who had rarely lived to tell the tale.

On the continent, dragons were creatures of unimaginable power and mystery. Shaar had heard countless legendary tales in the taverns of Wildfire Town, and almost every story about legendary heroes included a cliché episode of a hero slaying a mighty evil dragon. In every story, the dragon was the ultimate boss.

But legends were just legends. In reality, dragons did exist, but their territory was in the far, unknown reaches of the extreme north, beyond the Odin Empire, and even farther north still. In any case, there were certainly no dragons in the Byzantine Empire, nor on the Wildfire Plains, nor, he suspected, in the Odin Empire either.

Thinking this, Shaar was skeptical—at least he knew enough to realize that there were no dragons in the Byzantine Empire or on the Wildfire Plains, and probably not in the Odin Empire either...

"I'm telling the truth!" Bidaldo lowered his voice. "Thief, think about it—I know how weak I am. I'm not like those other noble brats who don't know their own limits. If not for something extraordinary, why would I risk coming to such a dangerous place as the Wildfire Plains?"

This reasoning convinced Shaar.

Indeed, with the skills these fellows had, coming to the Wildfire Plains was like a hen walking into a wolf's den.

The only reason they hadn't already been robbed by someone in Wildfire Town was probably that their gear and outfits looked intimidating enough to scare people off.

"There really is a dragon on the Wildfire Plains! I got the news from my teacher! That's why my teacher and several powerful mages joined forces to come here—their goal is to hunt and kill the dragon!"

Slay a dragon?

Shaar's spirits lifted, as if he were back in the tavern listening to old stories.

"The dragon's power goes without saying. Normally, even though my teacher is a mid-level mage, a well-known master in the capital, he'd stand no chance against a dragon. That's why he joined forces with several other mages. More importantly, I've heard that this dragon on the Wildfire Plains is in a terribly weakened state due to some special circumstances—it's the perfect time to strike!" The mage grew more and more excited. "You must understand, to a mage, a dragon is a priceless treasure! Dragon hide, dragon scales, dragon bones, dragon teeth—even dragon sinew—all are top-grade magical materials! And if you can get the dragon's crystal core, you can refine its soul power... It could make a mage's strength leap by several levels at once!"

Hearing this, Shaar sneered at Bidaldo. "So you got greedy and came here to hunt a dragon? Using your little rabbit-transformation spell?"

Bidaldo blushed. "I... I wouldn't dream of slaying a dragon. Even if I went mad, I'd know I could never do it—not in a hundred years. No, I'm here for the money."

Money?

"Dragons love shiny things, so they collect all kinds of treasures. Any dragon's lair is like a mountain of riches, filled with the gems, crystals, and gold the dragon has hoarded—heaps and heaps of it!"

Bidaldo took a breath. "These treasures are tempting for ordinary people, but to powerful mages, they're just trinkets. True masters don't care about wealth, and I doubt my teacher or the others with him would bother with it. Their goal is to kill the dragon. As for the hoard, if all goes well, they might just leave it behind..."

Shaar understood and let out a cold chuckle. "So you're planning to sneak after them, wait for your teacher and his friends to kill the dragon, and then pick up whatever treasure they leave behind?"

"...Yes," Bidaldo admitted, nodding. "I'm a lowly mage, and not very talented. I have no hope of ever becoming truly powerful. So money is very important to me—otherwise, why would I hang around with those useless noble kids? But... I'm so poor, I couldn't even afford the trip from the capital to the Wildfire Plains, so I had to..."

"So you made up a story to trick those rich brats into coming with you, pretending it was all about traveling the continent?" Shaar shook his head, then glared at him. "Enough talk. Tell me—where are those mages going to slay the dragon? You came this far; you must know where it is!"

Bidaldo sighed, helplessly pulling a piece of sheepskin parchment from his pocket, along with a piece of charcoal, and sketched a map.

"Head west from here, over two mountain ridges and across a marsh, and you'll arrive."

Shaar glanced at the map, then grinned. "How do I know you didn't draw me a fake map?"

Bidaldo protested, "I wouldn't dare! My life is in your hands... Wealth is tempting, but you have to stay alive to enjoy it. I'm a coward—I wouldn't risk my own life."

Shaar gave him a long, deep look, then smiled and pulled him to his feet, pointing. "All right, you're clever enough. Now go join your friends and get lost."

Bidaldo, as if granted amnesty, scrambled to his feet, limped over to his three companions, and whispered something to them. How this cunning man managed to mollify his three foolish friends was no longer Shaar's concern.

As expected, the other three "young lions of the capital" glanced fearfully at Shaar, hurried to their feet, supported each other, and fled in a panic.

Standing beneath the tree, Shaar watched the four of them vanish into the distance before looking up and calling out with a smile, "Hey, poor soul, you can jump down now!"

The poor wretch in the tree had been sitting so long his legs were numb, but he hardly dared jump. Shaar glared at him. "Jump down and I'll catch you! If you don't, I'll chop down the tree!"

The poor fellow was terrified—this brute was strong enough to uproot the tree, and rough to boot; if he said it, he'd do it. He had no choice but to shut his eyes and leap.

Shaar, to his credit, caught him and dropped him gently to the ground.

"You heard everything from the tree just now?" Shaar stroked his chin, looking him up and down.

"...Yes, I heard," the poor fellow nodded. But then, suddenly, he shrieked and stared at Shaar in terror. "Hey! You—you aren't going to kill me to keep your secret, are you?! I—I don't care about any dragon's treasure!!"

"I'm not particularly interested in killing people," Shaar shook his head. "But do you think that mage was telling the truth?"

The poor soul hesitated. "I think... it's plausible, but..."

He sat on the ground, looking up at Shaar. "Are you planning to look for the dragon's treasure?"

"Of course. Who doesn't love mountains of gold and silver?" Shaar snorted.

"Then... what about me?"

"You have two choices. Either make your way back to Wildfire Town alone, or come with me. When we find the treasure, you can help me carry the gold." Shaar grinned.

Make it back to Wildfire Town alone? With his sense of direction, he'd likely wander straight into a dwarven den without this bumpkin to guide the way!

"Do I really have a choice?" he grumbled.

"Good. When we find the treasure, I'll give you a third," Shaar said happily. "I won't harm you; you're no threat to me."

"Why do I feel like you're up to something—why agree so easily to take me with you?" the poor wretch eyed Shaar warily.

"Fine, I'll be honest," Shaar said, his expression forthright. "No need for secrets! If we get there and the mages fail to kill the dragon and get killed themselves... then of course, I'll just run for it." He explained, "When I was a boy cutting wood in the hills, I'd always bring a live rabbit. I'd break its leg, and if I ran into a wolf, I'd throw the rabbit down to distract it and escape myself. So, taking you along is the same idea."

The poor fellow could only sputter incoherently.