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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 31 - The Ones Who Stay and the Ones Who Want to Leave (3)
The dragon stared down at Clyden for a while before finally speaking.
"Hmm... is that a Darth Vader cosplay? That’s pathetic…"
"What the hell! How does this look anything like Darth Vader?! Darth Vader is—wait, hold on! How do you even know about Darth Vader?!"
"Well, he's famous, isn't he?"
"...Huh?"
Clyden stared at the dragon.
The dragon slumped to the ground, clearly too lazy to keep standing.
With a loud thud, he sprawled out and craned his long neck.
"Hmm… since you know about Darth Vader, you must be from over there, right?"
"Wait… what do you mean by that?"
Clyden cautiously glanced at Lydis and the others.
"Don't worry, they can’t hear what we’re saying right now. So feel free to talk."
"So by ‘over there’… You mean where?"
"Well, Korea. Hmm… aren’t you Korean?"
"Ah… yeah, I am, but… I guess I was expecting a more dramatic or something…"
"I’ve met a few people who crossed over here. Even recently, I think I met one. A few days ago? Or… was it years ago?"
"There were others? I had suspicions since this world feels a bit too much like the one I came from. Who else crossed over? And more importantly, why are we ending up here in the first place?"
"Hmm… no idea."
“…If a dragon doesn’t know, who would?!”
"Hmm… I just woke up one day and I was a hatchling. You have no idea how ridiculous
it felt…"
"You mean… you woke up in this insane world too?"
"Yeah…"
"Hah… now we’ve got reincarnated dragons…"
Clyden let out a hollow laugh, then cleared his throat and glanced at the dragon again.
"Ahem, so… how old are you, if I may ask?"
"I don’t keep track of days, but I’m past the hatchling stage, so I guess over 500 years."
"I meant in Korean age?"
"I think I was born in ‘88."
Clyden let out a huge sigh of relief, leaned against the dragon’s snout.
"Oh, ‘88? Nice! You’re younger than me! Good to meet ya, kid!"
"I may be from ‘88, but I’ve lived over 500 years here, you know?"
"Wow! Listen to this guy—don’t you get it? While you were still flipping through dictionaries in high school, I was digging trenches in the military! You didn’t even serve, did you? We’re from the same neighborhood, don’t sweat the small stuff!"
"Hmm… doesn’t feel like such a small thing…"
"Hey! I said forget the small stuff!"
“Hmm…”
“Let’s cut to the chase. You said there are others like me?”
“Hmm, quite a few. Not just Koreans but people from other countries too.”
“Huh… Then there should be rumors or something, but I haven’t heard a thing.”
“Well… aside from the Koreans, most of them went insane.”
“…Insane? You mean there are side effects or something?”
“Not like that. It’s just that Koreans seem to handle the shock better than others. Most foreigners can't handle the fact that they’ve crossed into another world. A lot of them either go mad or end up taking their own lives.”
“Yeah, I guess if you’ve been raised on isekai stories, you’d be more prepared… Wait, if you’re from ’88, does that mean you came over here in high school?”
“No. I was at my university’s freshman orientation. Had a few drinks, passed out, and next thing I knew—bam, I was here.”
“Tch, always the booze!”
Clyden tapped the dragon’s snout by his palm.
His casual attitude toward the enormous creature made everyone else turn pale and tremble.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Lydis called out but Clyden ignored her.
“Anyway, can you remove it from my face?”
“The mask looks cool.”
“Mask? Do you have any idea how suffocating this thing is?!”
“Hmm.”
The plunger mask that had been clinging to Clyden’s face popped off without a sound.
“Whew! I can breathe again! The world looks different already. It’s like stepping out of a gas chamber after wearing a military-issue gas mask. But seriously, what’s with all the plants
growing out of your body?”
“Hmm?”
The dragon craned his neck and looked at himself then plopped back down.
“You’re right. Guess I slept too long.”
“No kidding. How long do you have to be out for a whole tree to grow on you?”
“I played around a bit after my hatchling phase then just conked out, so it’s probably been a long time.”
“Wait… don’t tell me you’re the dragon named Alphaid?”
“Alphaid… yeah, I think that’s me.”
“Hahaha! Hey, he says he’s Alphaid!”
Clyden turned to the others who had been watching in stunned silence, aware that he was having some kind of conversation with the dragon.
Everyone’s jaws dropped as they stared at the dragon in disbelief.
“Uh, O Great Being… may I ask a question?”
“Sure.”
“I was under the impression that dragons typically live in their lairs. Especially during vulnerable times like hibernation… Why are you here?”
“I couldn’t be bothered.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Flying makes me sleepy, and flying while sleepy is annoying. Building a lair’s a hassle too. So I just landed somewhere and fell asleep.”
“That’s—!”
The group looked at Alphaid in total disbelief, their faces frozen in shock.
Clyden simply nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, I get that.”
Everyone wanted to scream but no one had the guts to raise their voice in front of Alphaid.
He might not have acted like the dragons they knew from stories but a dragon was still a dragon.
He could turn dangerous at any moment.
The group stayed tense and on edge.
“Anyway, who were these other people you said you met?”
“Hmm… it was a long time ago, so my memory’s fuzzy… Oh! But I think one of them knew a
way to get back.”
“Oh! Really?”
“Yeah but the method was a bit…”
“What was it?”
“If I remember right, it had something to do with killing others who crossed over to this world. Supposedly, their souls would be absorbed and once you gather enough of them, you can return.”
“What the hell? How do you even know all this?”
“Hmm… we met when I was still a hatchling. People who’ve crossed over have a distinct soul wavelength. That guy tracked me down using some kind of necklace.”
“…And yet, here you are alive and well?”
“I was still a hatchling and a dragon at that so maybe I was too hard to kill. We talked for a bit, and I guess he gave up and left.”
“So… did that guy make it back?”
“Haven’t heard anything about him since.”
“Hm… trying to find a necklace I’ve never even seen sounds impossible. I still miss the comics and web novels I didn’t finish, but I’m not about to go killing people to get home. Wait a sec—why did you even wake up? All this chaos is pretty much your fault, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… now that you mention it, someone came by recently with that necklace.”
“Wait, are you saying someone woke you up?”
“Yeah. They showed up with the necklace, saw me sleeping and woke me up by force. I got pissed because I was half-asleep and told them I didn’t want to fight. They gave up and went off to find someone else.”
“Goddammit! That means someone’s out there, killing people who crossed over to get back home?! That’s insane! So I’m a target too now? At least tell me the maniac’s name!”
“Hmm… I think he said it was ‘Questin’ or something like that.”
“Great! Like military life wasn’t hellish enough, now I’ve got a psycho trying to murder me?!
Unbelievable!”
Clyden flailed and raged while Alphaid watched him through sleepy eyes.
“I’m getting drowsy again.”
Clyden suddenly grinned and leaned against the dragon’s snout.
“Hey, as you can see your buddy here’s in a real life-or-death situation. You got anything for me?”
“Huh… like what?”
“Come on, you’re a dragon! You must have some badass weapon or something!”
“I don’t.”
“Seriously?! Why not?”
“I went straight to sleep after my hatchling phase. Never really cared about stuff like that.”
“Damn it! Then what about magic? You do know at least some magic? Come on, teach me a spell or something!”
“I only learned basic telepathy and a couple of minor tricks because everything else felt like a hassle.”
“You gotta be kidding me! Just give me money then!”
“I don’t even have a lair. Where would I keep money?”
“So let me get this straight. No weapons, barely any magic, and no money?”
“… yeah.”
“Damn it! Are you really a dragon?!”
Clyden kicked Alphaid’s massive head furiously.
“Wait sir! What are you doing?!”
The group who had been anxiously watching Clyden’s private conversation with the dragon collectively panicked the moment he exploded and started kicking Alphaid.
Kaysis fainted standing up and Lydis collapsed with a hand over her forehead.
Eres quickly jumped in and restrained Clyden but even that didn’t do much to calm him down.
“Damn it, you bum! How can you not have anything?! I get being lazy but no magic, no weapons, no money?! Even professional slackers would be ashamed of you!”
“Hmm… yawn…”
Alphaid yawned loudly in response, utterly unfazed but still incredibly intimidating.
Eres immediately drew his sword and stepped in front of Clyden.
“Sir! I’ll hold him off! Please, take the commander and get to safety!”
“What the hell are you talking about?! Go sit in a corner or something!”
Clyden smacked the back of Eres’s head who stumbled away groaning and clutching his skull.
Clyden turned back to Alphaid.
“Alright! Just give me something! I gotta survive somehow!”
“Why does this feel like I’m getting mugged…”
“Whoa—mugged?! You wound me! I’m not that kinda guy! You don’t trust me, huh?”
“Hmm… then I’ll give you a ring that can summon me. Just call me in an emergency.”
“A ring?! What kind of guy gives out rings?!”
“So what should I give you?”
“I dunno, something manly! Like… a fist!”
“Hmm… then I’ll engrave it on your fist.”
“Yeah, there we—wait, engrave what?”
“A magic seal, of course.”
“…Huh?”
Alphaid blinked a couple of times and Clyden’s right fist began to glow.
“Whoa, what the—ow, hot! hot!!”
Clyden flailed wildly while waving his hand around.
“Huff… You could’ve warned me that it’d burn!”
“I added a power amplification enchantment along with the summoning spell but maybe I overdid it?”
“Overdid what?”
“The mana. I was too lazy to measure, so I just shoved in a bunch. If you punch something hard enough, you could probably shatter a boulder.”
“Ooh! So I’m a munchkin now?!”
“There’s so much mana in your hand now, holy spells won’t even work on it. You probably won’t be able to take medicine either. But your body should heal on its own faster…”
“Are you kidding me?! If you’re gonna give something, at least make it usable!”
“Are we done now? Yawn… I’m sleepy again…”
“What about you? Don’t you wanna go back? A dragon of your level could probably return easily.”
“I like it here. I can sleep as much as I want and no one bugs me.”
“What about your family?”
“Didn’t I say? Most people who end up here don’t have family.”
“I see. I guess I didn’t have anyone I’d call family either.”
“Mmh… that’s it, right? I’m gonna go to sleep now.”
“Hey! You might not know a lot of magic but you do know teleportation, right?”
“Mm, yeah.”
“Then send us off already!”
“To where?”
“Where do you think?! The imperial capital!”
“ I don’t know where that is.”
“Son of a—then just send us somewhere with people.”
“Mm… okay.”
Alphaid muttered with the clear weariness of someone being dragged into chores.
Clyden grinned and turned to the group.
“Let’s go home!”
“Vice Commander, what did you say to him? What happened to your hand?!”
“Eh, don’t worry about it.”
“So we’re leaving now?!”
Eres still clearly confused but Clyden just brushed it off.
The moment he said they were going, Kaysis frantically looked up.
“He’s gonna teleport us? Everyone gather up!”
At Clyden’s command, the group rushed to his side with joy and relief spreading over their faces.
Clyden could keep calm around a dragon but the rest of them were still shaking in their boots just being near one.
“Mmh… bye.”
With Alphaid’s drowsy farewell, the group was engulfed in light and vanished.
After sending them off, Alphaid stretched into a massive yawn.
“Mmh… now that I think of it, that ‘Questin’ guy… he wasn’t human, was he? Well, they’ll figure it out.”
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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