The Elder's Visit (2)

“This time, it’s the same liquor yet different. I’m curious if you can feel the difference.”

As expected, provoking.

Medidana then took the proffered liquor with a puzzled expression. Then, with a mesmerized look, he let the whiskey flow into his mouth.

The Elder’s face changes every moment. It’s a face that seems like he doesn’t want to admit it but can’t help but do so. A face that says the taste of the liquor is so blissful he could die.

It’s a face mixed with two beliefs.

Seeing this, Rurin subtly reached out for the whiskey bottle. It’s the instinct of a Black Dragon to crave alcohol. I mercilessly slapped her hand away.

“That hurts!”

She looked up at me with a resentful face and started to threaten me.

“This is not allowed. If you put this in your mouth, I’ll really kick you out. It’s incredibly strong, so at least in a situation like this, it’s really not allowed.”

Rurin looked at the bottle regretfully. I definitely need to hide it. I can’t even imagine what kind of drunken antics she might get up to if she drank this.

I can’t afford to have her clinging to me and yelling while we’re having a serious conversation.

Meanwhile, Medidana savored the taste of the liquor and emptied his glass. He looked happy.

Every time he swallowed, a subtle fragrance would spread, and he wouldn’t be able to resist it.

I pulled out my final weapon. A whiskey aged in the best oak casks for the longest period in the industry.

Yes, this one has been aged for over 70 years. Naturally, it’s very expensive. Extremely expensive.

It’s worth more than a decent car.

Of course, when summoning items from the modern world, they don’t come for free. It’s the law of equivalent exchange.

I pay the equivalent price. I push in a chunk of gold worth the same amount as soon as I summon it. It’s a gold bar from my treasure hoard.

That gold far exceeds the value of the item, so it should be sufficient compensation.

“This is the last one.”

I poured the whiskey into a new glass again. The brown color is so beautiful. The beauty of the brown color that seeped from the oak barrel cannot be compared to the 30-year-old one. Compared to this, the 30-year-old one is a rookie.

“The last one means, it’s better than the one we just had…?”

Medidana looked at me with an incredulous face. His voice was trembling. The voice of a 3,000-year-old ancient dragon was trembling.

It seems I’ve won the pride contest.

Medidana, understanding the meaning in my expression but seemingly unable to resist, brought his hand to the glass with a flushed face.

The liquor flowed into the dragon’s mouth and slowly slid down his throat. After taking a sip, the dragon momentarily lost himself.

He rolled the liquor around in his mouth, savoring it, and remained silent.

After a moment of silence, the dragon reluctantly swallowed the whiskey and murmured.

“This is… like a spring breeze with the scent of flowers, soft… yet intense and refreshing… it’s good, very good….”

The aged distillate, mellowed over many years, would spread a fruity scent like a spring breeze and leave a very deep, chocolate-like flavor and aftertaste with each swallow.

The dragon didn’t say anything else after that murmur. He just stared blankly at the glass.

Then, after a long while, he slapped his cheek hard.

But this is a summoned item. It’s so rare that it can’t be summoned in large quantities.

One of my small wishes is to make aged liquor myself in this world. After all, distillates exist here, so it’s not a difficult problem. It’s just the aging that’s an issue.

The first task is to find a wood that surpasses oak and make barrels from it.

A new type of oak barrel, not made from oak.

Because there are no trees of the same species as oak in this world.

The fact that aged distillates also work in this world is being confirmed by the Black Dragon in front of me right now.

So, with a wood similar to or better than oak, and some magic, I can make aged liquor with my own hands.

If I succeed, an enormous amount of money will roll in.

“That’s the end of that liquor. Even if I wanted to give you more, I can’t. But if you come next time, I’ll let you experience an even deeper flavor. How about we postpone the greater enjoyment for the next time and call it a day? It means I hope you stop playing around with Rurin.”

At my words, the Black Dragon raised his eyes and spoke.

“There exists a liquor better than this…. Human, how in the world did you make this liquor?”

“Well, it’s called aging, but it’s my secret, so I can’t explain further.”

“Aging… aging… hahaha! I have to admit. This liquor is certainly the best I’ve ever had.”

The dragon laughed loudly and then looked around at me and Rurin again.

“But you see, this and the purpose of my visit here are separate matters.”

I knew it. These dragons are always so self-centered. He was surprised by the taste of the liquor but didn’t forget his purpose. But it was true that his momentum had diminished slightly. Should I be satisfied with that?

“So, what’s your purpose? I’ve entertained you in my own way, so now please tell me.”

At my words, Medidana wiped off his smile and spoke with a serious face. It was a look that said the joke ends here.

“I certainly remember the promise to entrust Rurin to you. At that time, I had no choice but to give in to your threat. But.”

“But?”

“A problem has arisen.”

“A problem?”

“A promise is a promise, so there’s no choice, but there’s a rule among the Dragon clan that can offset that promise. Breaking this rule means going against the entire Black Dragon clan! No one can escape it if they’re a Black Dragon.”

It seems they’ve found an excuse to break the promise and take Rurin away.

“What kind of rule is that?”

Even Rurin looked puzzled, as if she had no idea.

“The age at which a dragon is recognized as an adult is 800 years. But if a dragon doesn’t have a lair by the time they turn 800, they can’t be recognized as an independent entity. It means they haven’t done anything for 800 years. Rurin was using her deceased mother’s lair, but it was destroyed by the Red Dragons in the last war. According to the rules, until she’s recognized as an independent entity, she must stay in Brun under the protection of the Clan!”

Brun is a sacred place deep in the world where Black Dragons who are nearing their death gather after leaving their lairs. Are they planning to take Rurin to such a place now?

They’re doing whatever they want.

“Again, the rules of the Dragon clan must be followed as long as you’re born a Black Dragon. According to our promise, you must have a lair to stay with Rurin. So, if you don’t have a lair, you must return her immediately. Or do you choose to go to war with our Black Dragon clan?”

It’s an absurd rule. The Elder lightly ignored my probably rotten expression and spoke to Rurin.

“Rurin, you must have heard of it too? That’s why you’re not saying anything and just trembling, right?”

“Elder, but! I, this is my lair!”

“Are you calling a place where a Dragon’s body can’t even fit a lair?”

“Ugh. You…”

Rurin looked at me with a flustered face. She shook her head vigorously. It meant she didn’t want to go. She always said she never wanted to return to her clan. The conclusion was always that she wanted to live with me.

It’s her habit to say she’ll stay with me until I die.

She said she was severely bullied because of her parents.

For various reasons, I don’t want to let go of Rurin. I can’t stand the thought of her disappearing.

She has become a part of my life.

But these Black Dragon clan members. Bringing out some old rules like cowards.

When they were asking for my help, they promised to give me anything.

It’s funny that not only humans change their attitude completely before and after going to the bathroom.

“What will you do, human? Will you fight us? Or?”

The Elder looked at me with a cunning face. In the end, there’s only one answer.

“Well, fine. I’ll just make a lair, won’t I?”

At my words, the Elder gave a strange smile.

“You’ll make a lair?”

“Yes.”

“There’s still time until Rurin becomes an adult.”

“Yes, there is. It’s one year. Human, do you mean to make a lair in just one year?”

“I’ve received the Dragon Lord’s treasure. There’s enough treasure to fill a lair.”

“Oh?”

The Elder made an interested expression. I have no intention of responding to that interest. I have no intention of leaving here.

“However, I can’t leave here. So I’m thinking of making the area under this hill into a lair.”

“You… really? You’re really going to make a lair?”

Rurin looked at me with a blank face.

“Yes, if I leave you to make it alone, it might take hundreds of years to gather the treasure from scratch. I can’t help it if I don’t want you to be taken away. It wasn’t part of the plan, though.”

“Really? Really?”

Rurin’s face, which had been dying at the thought of being taken away, began to bloom.

If there’s no treasure in a dragon’s lair, it can’t be recognized as a lair. A dragon’s love for treasure starts from there.

“Yes, I’ll make it. Using all my wealth, connections, and magic, I’ll excavate the entire area under the hill where the restaurant is located and make a lair big enough for your original body. Think of it as making the house a bit bigger.”

If I compare the hill where the restaurant is located to a steamed bun, it’s like digging out all the filling inside and protecting it with a magic barrier to prevent it from collapsing, and then turning it into a lair. The hill where the restaurant is located is that big.

“Can you really make it in a year?”

“With my magic, Rurin’s magic, and the treasure, there’s nothing we can’t do. A promise to the Elder is a promise, but the promise I made with Rurin is also important, so I can’t send her back.”

“I don’t care about those circumstances. But a rule is a rule. According to the rules, you do have a year. If you say you’ll make it, it must be a magnificent lair that I can recognize. The responsibility for causing Rurin’s mother to die. Since we couldn’t even protect the lair she left, we must make it again. And if the lair is completed, I will declare this area as Rurin’s territory.”

The Elder said that and then stood up abruptly. The way he stood up was just like Rurin.

“When I come to check the lair in a year, I’ll taste that liquor again.”

Leaving just those words, the Elder disappeared via teleportation without giving time to respond. Watching that, a sense of incongruity exploded.

It feels contradictory. The Elder definitely said we must make it again.

Is that it?

Rurin without a lair is pitiful. So she needs a lair, but it’s troublesome to do it herself. So if he’s trying to use me and my treasure? While mentioning the rules.

Have I been tricked by a 3,000-year-old snake? No, not a snake, but a dragon evolved from a snake.

It seems I’ve been baited.

I looked at Rurin. She was beaming with joy. Well, she would be excited.

“If you build a lair under this land, will you also live with me in my lair!”

Judging by her words, it was the Elder’s solo act.

But no matter what, the important thing is the restaurant.

When I have free time, I can just dig a tunnel as a pastime and move my treasure to the lair. But still, I was too quick with my mouth. Too quick.