I’m a humiliated, incompetent person, but I alone can talk to dragons, so I can choose all the SSS skills and loophole items I want to. I’m going to become famous and respected, so, to the people who humiliated me – Go die in a ditch - Chapter 3
Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse
The next day, instead of going to the government office to look for job postings, I went to the Dragon Market.
The Dragon Market was, as the name suggests, a place to buy and sell dragons.
There were two main schools of thought amongst dragon knights when it came to purchasing a dragon. One was that a dragon’s bloodline was the most important factor to consider, and there were people who made a business out of breeding and rearing dragons for this reason. The other school said that bloodlines were not important, and the most crucial element in a dragon’s quality was their training and the skills acquired therein. These people believed that any dragons could be trained to an elite level.
Incidentally, dragon knights were thoroughly divided on this subject with about half of the population falling into each school.
The Dragon Market was established to sell those in the “buy ‘em and train ‘em” school of thought. I was thinking that I would have to buy my own dragon soon enough, and I went to take a look in advance.
I, of course, could understand dragons and talk to them. So, just by listening closely, I could get an edge on selecting a good dragon that wasn’t available to the other dragon knights.
Dragons, unlike humans, weren’t always so eager to express themselves. I knew that if I were to start a conversation with one of them here, though, they would start talking to me with ulterior motives.
Humans can’t possibly understand anything we say.
That was what all dragons thought, and if I let them keep thinking that way, I would be able to glean a lot more information from them.
With that in mind, I started by looking over the advertisements for small-sized dragons displayed in some storefronts.
I skipped over the occasional medium-sized dragons, and since there were no large-sized dragons in the first place, that was not an issue.
The reason I limited myself to the small-sized ones was that things were pretty tight as far as my wallet went. I needed to start somewhere, so I was going to buy a small-sized dragon.
Once I took care of obtaining my own dragon, I could get to work, save up some money, and either stock up on more small-sized dragons, or upgrade to a medium-sized one.
As these plans for the future ran through my mind, I searched high and low for a good first dragon.
I should mention that the reason why I even decided to buy one in the first place was because when I looked at my situation in the long-term, I saw that the best move was to pay for my own dragon, immediately.
If I kept renting out a different dragon every day for jobs, it would end up being more expensive, anyways. On top of that, if I could spend my time with a dragon and build up trust with it, I’d be able to take on more difficult jobs.
Ah, I hope I can find a good little buddy.
“Huh?”
There was a block of four stores, and I stopped before one of them. There was an extremely cheap dragon on display. There were many price tags posted on the storefront, but this one price tag was older than the rest, and its edges were starting to peel.
It was for an adult Balaur-type.
There were other Balaur-types being offered at this store, but for some reason, this one was being advertised at a third of the price of the others.
Was it in the bargain bin because it had some kind of defect? Even so, a third of the market price was pretty ridiculous…
I had some money left over from my earnings at the guild. I wouldn’t be able to afford it if it was at full price, but at a third-price discount, if I splurged all my cash, it would be just enough to cover the cost.
Not only that, when I saw the peeling price tag, I couldn’t help but to feel a pang of sympathy.
The shopkeeper, a slender man with a beard, welcomed me as I stepped in.
“Ah, you’re a dragon knight, yes? What kind of thing are you looking for?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m interested in the cheap Balaur advertised out front. What’s with the price?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, that,” said the shopkeeper. Up until that point, he had maintained a salesman’s smile, but upon mentioning the Balaur, his face soured a bit, and some bitterness crept into his smile.
“Is there something physically wrong with it?” I asked.
“No, no, physically it’s completely healthy. It’s actually on the slightly stronger side, for a Balaur-type,” he said.
“Hmm,” I said.
Then why’s he practically giving it away at a third of the price?
“If I can be frank with you, sir, it just doesn’t want to work,” he said.
“Doesn’t want to work?”
“That’s right. Sometimes it listens to commands, and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s all over the place. Now, you could just try to force it to work, but that would its lower efficiency, no doubt.”
“I see,” I said. I imagined a little Balaur-type getting up to work, but then deciding it actually didn’t want to.
It sounded like an overly human dragon.
“To tell you the truth, I really can’t recommend you buy it,” said the shopkeeper.
“Could I take a look, anyway?” I asked.
“Sure. This way, please.”
The shopkeeper led me to the back of his shop. Like the dragon rental store from yesterday, this shop had a spacious yard in the back, used as a dragon holding area.
There were many dragons there, and most of them were in cages.
The shopkeeper went over to one of these cages and opened it.
“Here you go,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“Well, take your time.”
With that, the shopkeeper walked off, and I was alone with the dragon.
This system was the same as it was at the rental store. Actually, this shopkeeper had given me even more space.
Compared to those looking to rent, dragon knights who were looking to buy would depend even more on their own special methods of selecting a dragon, and so the sellers were even more careful about making sure the buyers felt sure that their selection methods weren’t being spied on.
I stood by to watch the shopkeeper walk off, and then I turned to look inside the cage.
It was a young Balaur-type.
Among small-sized dragons, Balaur-types were one of the most commonly used for transporting goods. They weren’t very fast, but they had wide backs, good stamina, and were very patient. They were herbivores, which was a rare trait for dragons, and during long journeys, all they needed for sustenance were grass fields and rivers, so, conveniently, their riders could travel without having to carry food for them.
This little Balaur before me was… turned away, and keeping its eyes closed.
“Hey,” I said.
“…”
The Balaur looked up, and it didn’t even need to say anything to me. I could tell just by looking at its eyes that it considered me nothing but a nuisance.
“I heard about your situation,” I said, “Why don’t you want to work?”
“…”
“Talk to me, buddy.”
“There’s no point in talking to a human,” it said.
“Ah, so you’re a girl,” I said, “And come on, don’t say there’s no point. Give me a chance, at least.”
“…Wait, you’re saying you can understand me?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The little Balaur widened her eyes in surprise.
“How could a human understand my language?”
“Well, that’s besides the point, for now. Anyways, tell me about why you won’t work for anyone. Depending on the situation, I can probably help you out.”
“…”
“Come on,” I said, staring into its eyes.
After a while, she slowly opened her mouth to speak.
“I want to stay sleeping,” she said.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
“Stay sleeping?”
“I want to sleep for twelve hours a day. If I don’t sleep, I feel weak.”
“You want to sleep away half your day?”
“Yup.”
“Well, that’s unusual,” I said, stating my honest impression.
Dragons were, by human standards, extremely short sleepers. Two hours of sleep per day was plenty for most dragons, and some dragons could even move while they were asleep.
The medium-sized Yamatano-Orochi-type had the most extreme version of this trait, and it could travel while sleeping, making it a prized type for transporting goods over extremely long distances, and for guarding national borders.
Therefore, it was very abnormal for this little one to be saying she wanted to sleep for twelve hours.
Then again, there was nothing abnormal about this, at all.
Because I could talk to them, there was one thing that I could truly understand about dragons better than other dragon knights. This was the fact that dragons, like humans, always had their individual differences.
Of course, dragons all had their slight differences due to personality, and, like albino ravens, there were dragons that were physically different from other dragons of the same type. This really wasn’t all too uncommon.
Just like there were all kinds of humans, there were all kinds of dragons, as well.
“Ok, well how about this – If I let you sleep for a full twelve hours every day, will you work for me?” I asked.
“Stop lying,” she said.
“I’m not lying. If I wanted to trick a dragon into working for me, I’d just go choose some other hard working one to exploit,” I said.
“…You’ll really let me sleep half the day away?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure. But, I expect you to work hard after you get your fill.”
“Hmm… Alright, I’ll give you a chance,” said the little Baraul, nodding.
I turned around and called the shopkeeper over.
“Sell me this little one, please,” I said.
The shopkeeper came to a stop, slowly, and looked slightly taken aback.
“Are you sure? This kid really has no motivation to work, you know? It might be willing, now, but…”
“Well, a dragon knight’s skills are founded on being able to work something out with their dragon,” I said.
“That’s true, but… This one’s a problem dragon, so I’ll warn you – I won’t give you a refund,” said the shopkeeper.
“No problem,” I said, with clear confidence on the matter.
He seemed to see I was serious about the conditions of the purchase, and so after that, he said no more.
I went home to go get the money and came back to pay up pretty much all the money that I had.
For the first time since I had been banished, I now had myself my own dragon.
☆
I walked down the city streets with a dragon by my side. I decided I would bring her home to my house on the outskirts of town, first.
Many low-level dragon knights owned their own dragons, and they often rented houses on the outskirts of town, where there was lots of land to keep a dragon. High-level dragon knights usually had money, so they could keep a luxurious mansion with a yard in the city, or a large warehouse for their multiple dragons to live in.
I, too, imagined I would have a house like that when I first came to the city but ended up in a run-down old house on the outskirts of town. There was nothing good about it except for the fact that it came with lots of space.
I decided I would go there with my dragon, first.
It was common for dragon knights to walk the city streets with their dragon, and so no one looked at us strangely for it. Some children smiled at us, though, brimming with admiration.
I had a sudden thought, and said to my new dragon, “By the way, do you have a name?”
“Nope,” she said.
“Can I give you one, then? It’ll be more convenient for both of us.”
“That’s fine, but you’re a strange human, aren’t you? Don’t humans usually call us by numbers?”
“I can’t call you a number. I can talk to you. It would be weird,” I said.
“All right,” the little Baraul-type said, satisfied with my response.
I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed my chin in thought.
“How about Louise?” I asked.
“Louise…”
“No good?”
“No, it’s just that I’ve never been named before, so it feels unusual,” she said.
“Does it?”
“It’s not a bad feeling, though.”
“That’s good,” I said. Apparently, she had accepted the name I gave her.
As we walked and chatted, the people around us thinned out, and we got to my house on the outskirts of town.
“This is my house,” I said.
“Where am I supposed to sleep?” asked Louise.
“There’s a backyard behind the house. You can sleep outside, or under a roof, in the shed. Sleep wherever you want.”
“All right,” she said.
Before I did anything else, I led Louise to the yard behind the house.
I called it a yard, but there was no fence surrounding it. It was really just an overgrown plot of land.
“Sorry we’re all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere,” I said.
“I don’t care, as long as I can sleep.”
“You really love sleeping, don’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Well, in that case, you can go to sleep, now, if you want. It’s already getting late, and we don’t have any work to do today.”
“…Hey,” she said.
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Is it really okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, and nodded in clear assent, “I welcomed you into my house, knowing full well that you’re that kind of kid, Louise. It’s fine,” I said.
“…What a weirdo human,” she said.
“I get that a lot.”
I really did hear that often.
Since I could talk to dragons, I was treated like a weirdo time and time again, from a young age.
I mean, that’s exactly why I’m banished right now, as a matter of fact.
I was used to it.
“Hey, master,” said Louise.
“Mas… Oh, yeah, master,” I said. It wasn’t a word I was used to hearing, so for a moment, I didn’t know what she was talking about.
“What’s up? Why’d you call me that?” I asked.
“That’s what you’re supposed to call humans, isn’t it?” asked Louise.
“Well, yes, I guess that’s a thing.”
“I’ll show you something I don’t show other people.”
“Show me what?”
“My secret,” said Louise.
Louise turned in the opposite direction of where the city was and looked out towards empty fields.
Then, suddenly, her eyes flashed open wide.
In the next moment, three spears of light shot out of her and flew forward.
“…Whoa,” I muttered.
“I can do stuff like that, too.”
“Uh, yeah, I see that. How?”
“I’m a weirdo, too, compared to other Barauls.”
I laughed and said, “Ah, ok.”
All I could do was keep laughing softly to myself, and nod.
“I’ll use that move whenever you need me to, master,” said Louise.
“Really. Well, don’t do anything that might hurt you,” I said.
“Okay,” said Louise.
And that’s how Louise became my first dragon.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
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Heh~ just the right start for a lovely relationship~