Chapter 18 : The Bond of the Reverse Scale

“……Rachel?”

Jonan looked at his daughter with a bewildered expression. Why was Rachel here? Then, something that had happened a few weeks ago came to Jonan’s mind.

[Jonan, Rachel was caught trying to go into the forest this morning. Give her a good scolding; the red moon is coming soon.]

‘Could it be to see the dragon……?’

But there was no way she could have come here. From the beginning, he had firmly told Sophie to keep a close eye on Rachel until tomorrow. He couldn’t imagine that his beloved Sophie would neglect their daughter. And as expected, Jonan’s daughter confessed her misdeed.

“Oh right, I came out secretly without Mom knowing……!”

Rachel looked at Jonan and the village chief alternately with a desperate expression. Then she retreated into the forest and covered her face with two twigs.

“I, I’m not Rachel.”

“……”

The village chief decided that he could no longer tolerate the disrespect and shouted at Rachel.

“Rachel, you little rascal! What are you doing here? Go back to the village right now!”

Rachel was embarrassed. The village chief was like the person who cared for her the most, aside from Jonan and Sophie. But when someone like that scolded her with such an angry face, tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it.

“I’m, sniff, sorry……”

“Go back quickly……! Hurry……! And……”

‘Tell the villagers to evacuate.’

Rachel was smart, so she must have understood his meaning. The village chief judged so. He tried to prevent the dragon’s wrath as much as possible, even if it meant sacrificing his life. But Rachel did not follow the village chief’s words.

“Waaaaah, Dragon, Grandpa, Grandpa is……!”

“Wha, what?”

Rachel cried and started running somewhere. It was neither toward the village nor toward Jonan, but toward the dragon.

“Ra, Rachel……”

Jonan was also unable to cope with the sudden situation. The premise that the dragon was friendly to him and his daughter had been abandoned long ago. He had been thinking only of informing the village and evacuating the residents. But suddenly, his precious daughter appeared here and ran toward the dragon.

Jonan fell into despair, imagining the fate that might befall his daughter.

[……]

“Dragon, sniff, sniff, sob…… Grandpa scolded me……”

[……Rachel.]

But the next moment, something unbelievable happened.

‘What is this?’

The dragon responded to Rachel’s cry. At the same time, the storm that had gathered in the sky began to weaken. The thunder that filled the sky diminished, and the strong wind that had been battering them stopped.

The dragon slowly descended from the sky and sat down next to Rachel. It settled beside the girl, who was rubbing her tear-filled eyes, and looked at her with benevolent eyes, as if caring for a small animal.

It was like a scene from a myth.

……

I had lost my reason. To be precise, I was on the brink of losing it.

When I came to my senses, Rachel was in front of me. Jonan and the village chief were lying nearby, and the men who had attacked me were dead, their faces twisted in pain. It was an uncharacteristic response.

Of course, I had intended to show intimidation to establish a proper relationship with Estel Village.

If you don’t take control during the first meeting, there’s a high probability of being taken advantage of or betrayed later. This was something I had prepared for, knowing how humans in myths often tried to exploit sacred beasts and higher beings.

But I hadn’t intended to go this far.

There was a reason for my extreme reaction.

It was the arrow that one of the gang members had fired at the base of my neck. The moment the arrow touched my body, all my nerves were set on edge as if I had been electrocuted. In an instant, tremendous fatigue and stress overwhelmed me, and anger erupted from the depths of my mind. All my focus zeroed in on the man who had shot the arrow, and I crushed him with psychokinesis.

It wasn’t that the arrow had caused fatal damage. The scale it had struck was actually harder than the others. But the mere fact that someone’s attack had touched that scale caused immense stress.

This scale was likely the reverse scale.

In legends, dragons often have a reverse scale—a single, sensitive spot that, if struck, could provoke their wrath. In Western myths, heroes target this scale to slay dragons. But the reverse scale is also a place that must never be touched if one wishes to survive. Anyone who attacks it cannot escape the dragon’s pursuit until death. That’s why I killed the man who shot the arrow.

Fortunately, the first attack I received was a weak arrow. If it had been more severe, I might have devastated the entire area. As proof of that, the heat of anger still burned within me.

But it was Rachel who stopped me.

She halted my rampage, which had been triggered by the stress of the reverse scale attack. When I heard her voice and looked down at her, I realized something.

She was holding something shining. I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell that it connected me to Rachel.

Something beyond the bond of our first meeting in Artera existed between us.

Otherwise, it would be absurd for the dragon’s wrath to subside simply because a girl I had just met called out to me. The anger I had felt moments ago was not so easily quelled.

What was it? What was that shining thing that bound me and Rachel?

I couldn’t be sure. But one thing was clear.

I needed Rachel.

“Sniff, sniff.”

The little girl was crying. She leaned against me, making a cute request to scold the village chief who had reprimanded her.

[……Rachel.]

“Sniff, yes……”

[Behave and accept the scolding.]

“……?!”

Rachel’s face instantly betrayed her shock. Her absurd expression melted away the remnants of my anger.

[You said you were the village chief.]

“……! Yes, that, that’s right! Great Dragon……”

[Withdraw.]

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean……”

[Prepare and come to greet me again. I will wait.]

“……!!! Yes, I understand! I will surely not disappoint you!”

It didn’t have to be so dramatic.

But I didn’t have the strength to respond further due to my fatigue. I wanted to sleep now.

[Jonan.]

“I’m sorry, Dragon……”

[Don’t apologize. I already know your innocence.]

After regaining my senses, I gathered the corpses of the humans who had attacked me and threw them far out to sea. I didn’t want Rachel to see such grotesque sights. I assumed sharks and other sea creatures would take care of them.

[Instead.]

“……?”

[Bring Rachel with you next time. There is something I want to show you.]

“Yes, yes! Of course!”

[……Rachel.]

“……Hmph!”

“Rachel, you little rascal……!”

[From now on, come whenever you want, with the permission of the adults. I will welcome you anytime.]

“……Mom won’t allow it.”

Then Jonan and the village chief quickly intervened.

“I’ll talk to Sophie, so don’t worry and go play!”

“Th, that’s right. Daddy will tell Mom too.”

“……”

Rachel grinned, realizing that both the village authority and her family supported her. Crying, sulking, laughing—she was a very busy girl.

“Then, Dragon God, when would be a good time for the next greeting……?”

[Do as you please.]

“Yes, I understand. Then…… rest well.”

After that, the village chief took Jonan and Rachel and quickly left the cliff. He glanced at me, seemingly sensing my fatigue. As expected, someone who had lived a long time had the experience and insight to read the situation.

Thanks to that, I was able to rest early.

As I slowly entered the sea, I noticed that the movement of the surrounding water had changed.

Come to think of it, the elements had also reacted when I was struck on the reverse scale. Even the wind and lightning, which I hadn’t tried to communicate with yet, had gathered into a storm out of anger. Even the storm I had created during the red moon had been formed with the help of water, so this was the first time they had acted on their own.

[Yes, yes, thank you. You’re all I have.]

I could feel the waves on the surface growing rougher. The wind and lightning seemed agitated by my words. I laughed at their reactions, which reminded me of cats or dogs, and slowly fell asleep.

About a week passed. During that time, I did nothing but sleep, wake up, and eat. I slept so soundly that I was glad I had made a pillow out of rock earlier. The water covered me like a blanket, which also helped. And the fish? They provided me with the best cuts of meat from their group.

Well, I had chased and caught them myself, but still, they made my meals abundant.

After a few days of doing nothing, all my fatigue was completely gone, and my mind was clear again.

When I climbed up to the cliff for the first time in a week, I noticed something strange.

[……What is this?]

In the middle of the semicircular cliff stood a structure I hadn’t seen before. It was a simple wooden staircase.

I’m sure I’ve seen this somewhere……

Ah, I remember. It was an altar.

[But why is this……?]

Before I could figure out the answer, I heard a voice calling me from the forest.

“……niim!! Dragon!”

It was Rachel. But unlike usual, she was dressed in a more neat and luxurious outfit. Behind her were Jonan, the village chief, and two men and a woman I had never seen before.

It seemed the first formal greeting had arrived.