Chapter 168

“Such a small village, huh.”

Dragon. No, Tia briefly commented after taking a look at our village.

Well, it’s a small mountain village, so of course it’s tiny. But for some reason, I feel a little choked up. Why?

I probably thought the village was small too. So why do I feel this way?

Hmm. I don’t know. Really.

“Then, first of all… let me give you a quick tour.”

There’s the small inn, the village chief’s house, a few residents’ homes, and the village’s only temple.

It didn’t take long to introduce the whole village since it was so small.

We just casually walked around once, and that was it.

However…

“Maybel? What are you doing here?”

“Huh?”

During the tour, one of the neighbor’s aunts saw me and was surprised.

She had a basket of vegetables on her head, probably returning from the fields, and said while looking at my face:

“Jonson said something big happened to you, so he told the elders, and everyone went to the cave at the foot of the back mountain…”

“Ah…”

After I fell into the ground, that idiot Jonson actually did something. He somehow gathered the adults and led them to the back mountain. Even though going to the back mountain alone would get them scolded.

I felt a slight sense of gratitude, but then remembered he pushed me into the crack saying I was the only one who could fit through. That fleeting gratitude disappeared instantly.

Anyway…

“It was a big deal. If it weren’t for Tia’s help…”

Really, who would have thought I’d see a dragon directly? I never expected to encounter dragons that only exist in stories.

“Goodness! An outsider?”

“Hmm. My name is Tia. I met this child by chance and came along.”

Tia spoke casually to the aunt as if it were natural.

Well, she is a dragon who slept for about 300 years. Humans probably seem like newborns to her, so it makes sense she talks this way.

Though she looks like a very pretty girl on the outside, talking to an adult so freely feels… quite disrespectful.

“Could you be… someone noble?”

Noble? No, she’s a dragon!

But… hmm. Someone noble might make sense.

Her brightly shining silver hair and extremely soft-looking clothes…

Completely different from my dull gray hair and rough cloth clothing.

That appearance must be created by magic too… Magic really is amazing.

I wonder if I could become prettier if I used magic?

I shook my head slightly. How could someone like me, a mouse from this rural area, ever become that beautiful? It would be impossible even with magic.

“Hmm. There are reasons I can’t disclose, but please treat me normally. Though I can’t help my speech manner.”

“Ahh, understood… Got it.”

The aunt tried awkwardly to speak normally, clearly thinking Tia was a noble.

The reality is much more incredible – she’s a dragon!

“By the way, if you’re here… the people who went to the back mountain must be wasting their time. Can you go call them back?”

At the aunt’s words, I nodded. Since I’ve already gotten out, it would be troublesome if everyone was trying to pass through that cave. It made sense.

“Just one thing. I asked this child to guide me, so could you please call the others instead? Would that be okay?”

“Eh, well… I have things to do…”

“Please.”

Tia pulled something from her sleeve and lightly tossed it to the aunt. The aunt caught it somewhat flustered.

“This is… silver?”

“A reward for this simple errand. Is it insufficient?”

The aunt looked between the silver in her hand and Tia, then smiled and nodded.

“It’s more than enough. Too much for such a simple task!”

“Since I’m asking, naturally. Then, I’ll leave your tasks to you.”

“Yes! Please leave it to me!”

With that, the aunt dropped the basket from her head onto the ground and headed toward the back mountain.

Auntie, your speech changed to honorifics after seeing the silver. Silver really does change people’s attitudes, huh?

“Then, please continue the tour.”

“No, there’s not much left to show. We’ve seen almost everything. Now there’s just the temple where I live.”

“Temple? Whose temple is it?”

Whose temple… Well, a small village like this can’t have multiple temples, so it’s a temple that worships many gods together.

The one with the largest share is the Mother of Life. Next is the Great Sky Lord… Father of the Sky.

Besides them, we also worship gods like Sacred Flame and Law & Justice together in the same temple.

It’s hard to call it a temple dedicated to any single deity.

“There’s a temple that worships many gods together. This countryside can hardly support multiple temples.”

“Indeed. Then, please lead the way.”

“Yes! This way!”

And so, I guided Tia to the temple where I lived.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Maybel! You’re safe…”

When we arrived at the temple, the priest who was cleaning the entrance greeted us.

Or rather, he froze when he saw Tia mid-greeting.

Then, the priest knelt down.

What’s going on? Did the priest realize she’s a dragon?

“Y-you are…?”

“Stand up.”

At Tia’s quiet words, the priest stood up as if it were completely natural to follow her command.

What’s happening? Why is the priest moving like a puppet at Tia’s single word?

Could Tia be something more than just a regular dragon?

“Sorry, sorry… I couldn’t help it…”

“Well, these things happen sometimes in life. Don’t worry about it.”

Or maybe the priest actually has great skills and somehow noticed Tia’s hidden identity despite her disguise?

Hmm… Doesn’t seem likely when I think about how the priest is usually somewhat absent-minded.

“Ah, we shouldn’t be doing this here. Let’s go inside.”

And so, Tia entered the temple following the priest’s guidance.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

After that, nothing particularly special happened.

The adults who went to the cave on the back mountain returned thanks to Jonson’s idiocy, and I got scolded for going to the back mountain without permission.

Later, even the adults seemed flustered when they saw Tia.

If I were an adult, I’d probably be flustered too seeing someone wearing such pure white and soft clothes in this rural village.

Not to mention how incredibly beautiful she is – almost inhumanly so.

Because she’s a dragon, it makes sense she’s not human.

“So, you’re traveling around the world, right?”

“Hmm, yes. The place I stayed before was extremely restricted in who could enter. Now that I have freedom, I want to see the world.”

Tia talking with the priest. I was secretly watching them.

What are they discussing?

“The restricted place… Could you possibly be the Dragon Priestess?”

Dragon Priestess? No, she’s just a dragon!

“Why do you think that?”

“Firstly… those horns. My knowledge isn’t extensive, but I’ve never heard of a female beastman growing horns like that. As for cow beastmen, I’ve heard females can grow horns, but they curl in a round shape.”

“Ho…”

No, she’s a dragon!

“And the overwhelming divine power I sensed when we first met… Even for a short moment, it was far beyond what a human body could contain.”

“Hmm. I tried hiding it, but you noticed.”

“I used to be sensitive to others’ divine power in my younger days.”

Why does a dragon have divine power? Could she really not be just a dragon?

I don’t know. There’s no god named Tiamat among the gods I know.

Is this a pseudonym?

Or… could the identity of the Dragon Priestess… be a dragon?

One who inherited the power of the Goddess of Life… isn’t human, but really a dragon transformed into human form?

Come to think of it. If she inherited the power of the Goddess of Life, why is she called the Dragon Priestess instead of something like a Holy Maiden?

If the reason is… because the true identity of the Dragon Priestess is really a dragon…

…No way. There’s no way the Dragon Priestess from old tales who brought peace to the world with the hero was actually a dragon.

Besides, dragons were supposed to be monsters defeated by heroes.

Unless the story is false. It doesn’t make sense. Yes.

“If it’s not the incarnation of a god in human form, the only thing that comes to mind is the Dragon Priestess.”

“Hmm… Not bad reasoning.”

Tia gave a small smile looking at the priest.

Her eyes briefly glanced at where I was eavesdropping.

Is that… a message to me?

Asking me to keep the dragon’s true identity a secret?

“If it’s not the incarnation of a god from the Divine Hall, then the only thing that comes to mind is the Dragon Priestess.”