The Elder's Visit (1)

It’s raining.

Strong rain showers fell across Greek City. The rain that started around lunchtime grew heavier as time went on. Even though it was still afternoon, the sky was dark as night. Dark clouds completely covered Greek City.

It was weather that made it hard to expect customers.

No one would come up the hill in such weather. Unless they were regulars.

But who knows, maybe someone would come up if they really craved my cooking.

When I woke Rurin, she complained that the bed was damp and the weather was bad, and surprisingly got up and came down to the first floor. She sipped beer while looking at the rain and soon slumped over the bar table, blinking her eyes.

“It’s weather that makes you not want to do anything, don’t you think? Uuu.”

“Yeah.”

I can’t argue with that. The weather is that draining.

But rain is important in this world.

You can control the weather with dragon magic, but unless lives are at stake, it’s not a good idea to defy the ways of nature.

So you can’t stop the rain just because you don’t like the dampness. This rain plays a big role in alleviating drought.

In the midst of this heavy rain, an unexpected guest came in. A slightly intense-looking handsome man. The man entered the restaurant and grumbled right away.

“Human cities always feel unpleasant whenever I come.”

A human city?

Annoyingly, he’s more handsome than I am. Damn, he’s so handsome that he doesn’t even seem human.

No, the more I looked, the less human he seemed. For starters, the man’s hair was black.

The handsome man had flowing jet-black hair.

Of course, it’s unreasonable to assume everyone with black hair is a Black Dragon.

But this man was openly exuding dragon fear, so there was no need to think further; he was definitely a dragon.

“Uh, uh! Isn’t that the Elder!”

Rurin was startled, jumped up from the bar table, and ran towards me.

If he’s the Elder of the Black Dragons, he’s definitely someone we know. I just didn’t recognize him in his polymorphed state.

“Surely, your name was Medidana, wasn’t it?”

Unlike Rurin, he’s an ancient dragon over three thousand years old. That’s why he’s an elder.

“It’s not a name to be spoken by a human.”

A dragon saying the exact same thing Rurin did when we first met.

Being called the strongest species, it’s natural to have such pride, but it’s surprising how similar they all are.

Despite the rain, the Elder of the Black Dragons wasn’t hit by a single drop.

Here, Elder refers to the leader of each dragon clan.

There could only be one reason for him to come here. Of course, it’s because of Rurin. I’ve never heard of an ancient dragon over three thousand years old coming for amusement.

“What brings you here now? I don’t think anyone can argue about me bringing Rurin.”

Some among the Black Dragons thought Rurin was captured by a human, namely me.

But of course, they lost to me. So they couldn’t openly resist.

“Even if you ate the heart of the Greatest Dragon among Dragons, the Dragon Lord, you are still just a human! Do you dare stand on equal footing with Dragons!”

The dragon fear rising enveloped Medidana’s entire body. It’s an incredible killing intent. A regular human without any abilities would have died dozens of times over already.

Of course, it doesn’t affect me.

“The fact that you lost to me. That fact is the only truth.”

As I spoke calmly, the dragon began to counter immediately.

“You certainly have the power to face several of our Dragons. But can you face and defeat the entire Black Dragon Clan at once?”

Medidana glared at me intently and spoke with overwhelming force.

You can’t win, so you plan to attack in groups? It’s a statement that rather raises my defiance.

“I’ll face you. If you intend to break your promise and take Rurin.”

“Elder! I’m on El’s side! I’ll fight with him! What are you trying to say after abandoning me once!”

At Medidana’s words, Rurin took a step forward. Come to think of it, this girl has firmly become my ally at some point.

To the point of turning her back on her clan.

I already knew it, but my endearment for the dragon in front of me felt renewed.

“Child. Who abandoned you? It was just delayed. You are one of the few among our Black Dragons… Well, that’s enough of that story.”

It’s definitely not a lie that her clan tried to abandon Rurin due to issues related to her parents.

But the Elder is trying to say that now. Dragons can’t lay eggs after 2000 years. The Black Dragon society has already significantly aged, so a young dragon like Rurin, under 1000 years old, is very rare. Of course, they aren’t entirely nonexistent. Just relatively scarce.

“Hmm, anyway, I didn’t come to be unreasonable. I have no intention of breaking our promise.”

“Then what brings you here today?”

“Human. Your hospitality is atrocious. Do you intend to just argue while leaving the Elder of the Black Dragons standing?”

I had nothing to say. Well, he’s right. Over 3000 years old is like a human over 70. I can’t just treat him poorly. If he didn’t come to fight, I should at least treat him properly. Although I feel like sprinkling salt.

“Rurin. It doesn’t seem like he came to fight, so stop glaring and seat him at the table.”

At my words, Rurin looked back and forth between me and Medidana. Then, with an expression of reluctance, she trudged over to the Elder.

“Elder, did you come alone?”

“Who else would I bring? I came alone, so you think I’m here to fight? This kid… As I’ve said repeatedly….”

“Stop nagging and sit here.”

Rurin shook her head and pointed to the bar table. Then the Elder looked around the restaurant and picked a fight.

“You’ve managed to live in such a small building. Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Yes.”

Rurin nodded without hesitation. The Elder’s eyes had something that seemed like genuine concern for Rurin. Something like.

“Of course, it’s true that your parents committed great sins against the Clan and others mistreated you, but that’s all in the past. Child.”

“…Mom didn’t commit any sins.”

At the Elder’s words, Rurin shook her head several times. Medidana saw this and sighed.

“Enough. I didn’t come to talk about that either. By the way, human, what will you offer a guest who has come a long way? If you offer something inadequate, be prepared to be ridiculed.”

“Then, it’s got to be alcohol.”

The Black Dragon clan unusually liked alcohol a lot. Rurin didn’t cling to beer for no reason. However, in Rurin’s case, she was weak to alcohol itself, considering how much she liked it.

But that’s just Rurin’s uniqueness, and most Black Dragons are known to have strong tolerance to alcohol.

“Oh, alcohol. If there’s one thing I like about human culture, it’s alcohol. But are you sure? I have high standards. How many times do you think I’ve indulged in human amusements?”

Medidana provoked me with a look that suggested he was testing something.

“Well, you’ve probably done it a lot.”

“If you can’t provide satisfying alcohol, I’ll take Rurin.”

“I’m not going!”

Rurin shouted loudly.

“Hahaha. I was just kidding. I can’t break a promise over something like that. Not over something like that.”

The Elder laughed meaningfully and looked at me again.

“I don’t know your intentions, but since you came all the way here, I’ll serve you a drink that will surprise you. So much so that you’ll realize you’ve only had strange drinks until now.”

“Oh, human, you’re confident? This isn’t some Imperial Palace, you know? For your information, I was once the Emperor of humans. I wouldn’t have even glanced at such a restaurant during my amusement days. Indeed…?”

An emperor, huh? You’ve enjoyed various amusements. If you provoke, I’ll accept the provocation. I don’t know your ultimate goal in seeking out Rurin and me, but it doesn’t seem to be for good intentions. So, I want to thoroughly dishearten you before getting to the point. Of course I’m confident.

The alcohol in this world consists of distilled and fermented drinks. That’s the same here as in the modern world I came from.

Among them, a drink that can satisfy a dragon.

There’s a major weakness in this world’s alcohol. There’s no aging. The technique for aging distilled drinks hasn’t developed at all.

So, no matter how much he reigned as an emperor, he wouldn’t have tasted aged liquor. Dragons can’t use dimensional travel magic either, so even more so.

Even though the restaurant sells cheap, mass-produced diluted soju that can be summoned by the box, there’s a special drink I can bring out for special occasions.

Due to the limitations of summoning magic, the quantity is too small to sell openly in the restaurant, but it’s a summonable item I can bring out in situations like this.

Even for the sake of Rurin, who was shifting her eyes anxiously.

I took my prized drink out and spoke.

“Rurin, come here.”

“Got it!”

Rurin dashed back to the kitchen. She looked up at me from that position. She had a fierce look in her eyes, probably feeling the same as me, urging me to do something.

Let’s see.

The drink I’m bringing out is aged distilled liquor. Among distilled liquors, single malt whiskey. If he’s boasting about his confidence in alcohol, he shouldn’t get drunk easily.

A typical feature of distilled liquors is that the longer they age, the deeper their flavor becomes.

In the case of wine, a typical fermented drink, it doesn’t necessarily taste better with age. After a certain point, it starts to spoil.

But distilled liquor is different. Its taste changes with the length of time it ages in oak casks. Distilled liquor, which has a high alcohol content from the start, doesn’t spoil over time.

In this world, there is no aging method using oak barrels at all. No one has tried it. They say the taste of whiskey is controlled by the oak barrels.

The brown color of whiskey is also a result of aging in oak casks. Naturally, there’s no such drink in this world.

I took out The Macallan whiskey. I plan to increase the aging years gradually to leave him speechless. The first choice is an 18-year-old The Macallan whiskey aged in sherry oak casks made of Spanish oak.

I poured the whiskey straight and handed it to Medidana.

Medidana then raised his glass with a look that asked if a mere human could satisfy someone who has lived for 3000 years.

And he drank it. The Elder’s face as he was astonished was a sight to behold.

It’s natural if you think about it.

It’s 18 years old.

After aging for about 18 years, it’s incomparable to other non-aged distilled liquors.

“Human…! What did you do to this alcohol?”

“What did I do? It’s my pride and joy. I can’t just offer any alcohol to the Elder of the Black Dragons.”

“…….”

That whiskey glass is also a top-notch glass crafted by Dwarves. It enhances the taste of the alcohol. It’s the academic opinion that the glass for such aged drinks affects the taste.

Of course, only beings who can discern subtle differences in taste would notice.

“This fragrance and rich density… I’ve never tasted anything like this even in the Imperial Palace, how…?”

I ignored the confused dragon and prepared the next drink.

This time, it’s a 30-year-old whiskey.

Here, 30 years means it has aged for 30 years in oak casks, not that it’s been in the bottle for 30 years. It’s a matured drink that has absorbed the aroma of the oak barrels, with a subtle fruit aroma and refreshing taste. Once again, I confidently held the glass out to Medidana.