Chapter 20 : Whispers of the Dragon God

Creak.

As the village chief entered the hall, someone greeted him.

“Hmm? Chief! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I had to go somewhere.”

“Huh? Was Gaiser with you?”

“There was something to do.”

“So, what’s the matter, Dren?”

The man who approached the village chief was one of Estel Village’s farmers. He was the oldest among the farmers and a close friend of the hunting captain, Gaiser.

Dren wiped his face and sighed deeply.

“I think it’s going to be a tough year.”

“Farming… you mean?”

At this, the village chief’s expression darkened as well. Estel Village thrived on the great plains and the forest. They farmed on the plains and hunted in the forest, producing a considerable amount of supplies even within Craystist. But now, one of their main pillars—farming—was in a precarious state.

“In the past two months, it has only rained twice. And one of those was a storm. Soon, the ground won’t be able to absorb any more water.”

The village chief recalled the storm that had occurred during the red moon. That storm, which the Dragon God had created to deal with the red demons, had swept away the demons on the other side of the forest and brought rain to the surrounding land. But that rain had been far from enough to nourish the great plains.

“……”

“It’s not just us. It’s the same in nearby villages. No, in fact, the entire great plain is on the verge of drought.”

Of course, the village chief was aware of the situation. He had exchanged information with traveling merchants who visited the village and had spoken with the chiefs of other villages himself. But he hadn’t been able to focus on it for the past month. No, he hadn’t been able to care.

‘Because the red moon and the Dragon God’s affairs overlapped……’

Of course, he was relieved that both events had ended well. But there were still many problems left to address. Additionally, the task of informing the villagers about the Dragon God weighed heavily on him.

‘If I inform them recklessly, it might cause resentment.’

If rumors spread incorrectly, it could ruin the relationship with the Dragon God that he had barely managed to salvage. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one who knew about this.

“Dren, I understand your concerns. As the village chief, I’m not so ignorant that I don’t see the severity of the situation.”

“……Sigh, I’m sorry. I’ve just been so frustrated.”

“Sigh, I’ve heard that the river levels have dropped significantly too. It must be very difficult. So, can you wait a moment? Gaiser, come with me.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll be back soon, so just wait here.”

The village chief took Gaiser and stepped out of the hall. Fortunately, unlike with the Lester gang, no one was eavesdropping nearby.

“Gaiser.”

“Yes, Chief.”

When the village chief lowered his voice, Gaiser, realizing this was about the Dragon God, bowed his head and focused on his words.

“Regarding informing the villagers about the Dragon God, let’s start with Dren.”

“Start with Dren……”

“Don’t tell everyone at once. Inform them one by one, within the limits we can control. That way, the process will be slow, but we can properly convey the meaning.”

After a moment of thought, Gaiser agreed. He, too, had been struggling with how to tell the villagers as he returned to the village. He hadn’t been able to find a suitable approach, but the village chief’s plan seemed sound.

“I agree with the village chief’s idea. Dren holds sway over the farmers. If we can persuade him, it will be a great help.”

“Good. Then, let’s coordinate our words.”

When they returned to the hall, Dren was still holding his head, looking lost and unsure where to begin.

“Chief, no matter how I think about it, a drought of this scale is……”

“Dren, I need to talk to you for a moment.”

“……Yes?”

Gaiser glanced outside the door to ensure no one was eavesdropping, then locked it tightly. The village chief massaged Dren’s shoulders and guided him to sit in a chair.

“Why, why are you doing this? Chief? Gaiser? What’s going on?”

“Oh, Dren, haven’t you been having a hard time lately? I understand your struggles completely.”

“I understand too.”

“What are you talking about……”

“Dren, there’s a way to solve the drought.”

At those words, Dren, who had been momentarily embarrassed, looked at the village chief with a serious expression.

“What is it? What should I do?”

“Calm down. Even the fastest road must be taken step by step. Take a deep breath and relax.”

The village chief took a deep breath with Dren and carefully began his explanation.

“Do you know about the great Dragon God?”

Dren, listening to the village chief’s story, felt his head spin. He didn’t understand what the village chief was saying or why he had to hear it.

What was even more baffling was that Gaiser wasn’t stopping the village chief’s story.

“No, no, wait a minute, Chief!”

Finally, Dren had no choice but to interrupt the village chief himself. It was something he would never have done under normal circumstances, but the village chief’s words were too absurd.

“Why?”

“What are you talking about? Dragon God? What is this all of a sudden……!”

“Dren!”

Gaiser, who had been silently listening, shouted at Dren.

“What, what the hell, you b*stard.”

“What do you mean ‘what’!”

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’! It’s Him!”

“……??”

“Tsk, be careful. You’re still talking like an idiot. As expected, you haven’t seen Him directly.”

‘What the hell is this nonsense?’

Dren felt more and more confused. The village chief, understanding Dren’s feelings, ordered Gaiser to bring something.

“Dren, look at this. This is His appearance, drawn by my son with His permission.”

“……Why is there a worm in the sky, ow!”

Dren, who had been hit on the shoulder, looked at the village chief in bewilderment. The village chief, however, began to calmly explain about the Dragon God.

It was thanks to the Dragon God that the red demons hadn’t come during the last red moon. The storm that day, and the fact that it had only rained once in the past month, were all the Dragon God’s doing.

He was friendly to them, but they had nearly ruined the relationship through their mistakes. Fortunately, Jonan’s daughter, Rachel, had helped mend the relationship.

They wanted to serve Him to repay His help.

“……Yes?”

“So, I want you to help persuade the villagers, especially the farmers.”

“He really exists, Dren. I was late because I went to see Him with the village chief earlier.”

Dren grew increasingly frustrated as he listened to their story.

“No, no, wait a minute, please listen to me. Yes, that’s all well and good. But was it really necessary to serve this…… Dragon God? Can’t we just ignore each other?”

“That’s impossible. Stop talking nonsense.”

“Stop it, Gaiser. Honestly, I tried to understand because the village chief said it, but if you said it, I would’ve dismissed it outright.”

When Gaiser and Dren showed signs of arguing, the village chief intervened. He looked Dren in the eye and said:

“Dren, you know that’s impossible, don’t you? If we had done nothing, we might have been harmed someday.”

“Ha…… I understand. Then what do you mean by saying there’s a way to farm? Are you telling me to pray to Him forever?”

The village chief slowly nodded. Dren ruffled his hair and quietly said to the village chief:

“Chief, does that mean the Dragon God will make clouds?”

Rumble……

“……”

“……”

“……”

“I, it must be a coincidence. If He really favors us, He should make it rain at least once……”

Swoosh……

[It’s raining, it’s raining!]

[It’s raining! Let’s head to the fields first!]

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Co, coincidence……”

“It’s not. This is just the beginning.”

It was actually a coincidence. But the village chief believed even that was the Dragon God’s doing. No one in the village could dissuade the village chief, who had already developed faith in the Dragon God.

“……What should I do?”

In the end, Dren was gradually swayed by their words.

First of all, I rained all over the plain. The drought-stricken land couldn’t properly absorb the water, so I adjusted the rain to fall with a strength close to a drizzle.

As I looked down at the village from above the clouds, I could see some people hurrying to the fields. Fortunately, their eyes looked happy, so I was able to return to the cliff with peace of mind.

If I continue to rain regularly for a few days like this, the land will recover, and farming will be done properly. As someone with almost no knowledge of agriculture, this was all I could do.

Well, they’ll figure it out.

Come to think of it, I’ve become so attuned to water that I can now control it with my mind. I can move more water with my will than I can with psychokinesis.

So, I practiced steadily increasing my responsiveness, rolling a lump of water in my hand like I would with walnuts.

The difference between psychokinesis and responsiveness can be compared to the difference in how one handles clay.

Psychokinesis is like kneading the clay with a hand made of mental power, while responsiveness is like talking to the clay and coaxing it to change itself.

Honestly, the latter seemed a bit more insane, but it was much easier in many ways.

Most of the dragon abilities and skills I can use now consume mental power rather than stamina. In the meantime, responsiveness was better because it saved the mental power I would have used for psychokinesis.

Additionally, I tried to develop another ability while increasing my responsiveness to water.

Observation? Or perhaps artistic sense?

Simply put, I was attempting to imitate objects or creatures using a lump of water. This idea had also come to me when I was fighting red demons in the black storm.

It was based on the prediction that the power of the skill would be stronger if the precision of the blade or armor made from water was improved.

And that prediction was correct.

The blade I made with more concentration, over a longer period of time, dug deeper into the rock than the one I had made quickly. So, from then on, I changed my training to focus on manipulating the lump of water I carried around.

So, one afternoon, a week later…

The village chief and his party were coming to the cliff again.

[·········It seems like there are more of them this time.]

I’m not sure what they had done in the past week, but the number of people I could see through the trees was nearly three times greater than before.