"Before you take revenge, dig two graves"

These are the words of Confucius.

But in the book I was reading, only that phrase was written, but what he meant by it is not revealed.

Buy Book Bestsellers Online

 

What did Confucius really want to say?

About the importance of being prepared?

Or how self-destructive and dangerous revenge is?

For me, living in the 21st century, there was no way to find out, so I just chose the interpretation that moved me more.

Yes, Confucius knew that when you go to beat someone, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will also be beaten.

But she, apparently, did not know this.

I stared at the girl who had struck me personally at the first meeting. She stared dumbfounded into space.

"Those words... What do they mean? I don't understand...

There were no complicated words there, so what she couldn't understand had to be this situation, not my words.

Or maybe not?

"I have a mother!" The child shouted, looking at me.

I asked briefly:

"Do you have?"

"I mean, no, she's dead, but—" The girl shuddered and hesitated. To be honest, I was also a little confused.

I never thought she would say no to that question.

However, there were no problems.

— Of course.

I nodded, as if I already knew that this would happen.

Did she not have a mother? So what?

The same can be said about Björn Yandel, who grew up without a mother. Moreover, due to the nature of the dragon tribe, this girl was only young in appearance. In fact, she was most likely older than me, which meant there was no reason to stop punishing her for this preemptive attack.

"But how... did you find out...?

— This is obvious.

—… This is... obviously?

— Yes. If you had received a proper home education, you would not have lied.

When I replied that it was obvious, the girl gritted her teeth. While there is no abusive curse against parents in this world, one cannot help but be sensitive to family-related topics...

Or was I mistaken?

"Excuse me, barbarian!" Lied? I wasn't lying at all!

The girl, who to some extent recovered her psyche, burst out with an angry statement because she was accused of lying.

For some reason, as soon as I heard this, everything in my heart went cold.

I couldn't believe she was denying it so vehemently. To sincerely assert that I'm super ugly.

Björn Yandel would have been hurt by this, of course, but that was not a problem either. A civilized barbarian always pays for everything tenfold. So was I.

"You didn't even realize you were lying, did you?"

I looked at this girl with sympathetic eyes.

"How sad it is to think that you don't have a father-...

"Yes!" I have a father! You crazy bastard! The girl interrupted me with a scream.

At this point, I finished with her. This should have been enough for her to understand that a barbarian was not to be trifled with. It was also the home of the Dragon Tribe.

Wait, why is the elder still here?

Only then did I feel strange and looked around. I saw that the Dragon Elder was watching me with interest.

"Amazing.

And?

"I've never seen anyone so angry with Miss Penitaceauros.

Yes, to put it mildly, she is too emotional a child. Even at this moment, she was grunting and looking at me.

But I was focused on something else.

"Miss"?

The elder attached an honorable word to her name. This meant that this girl's status in the Dragon Tribe was very high.

Minute...

"Could she be the Virgin of the Sanctuary?"

Virgo held the same position as the only Barbarian Shaman. In other words, she was the only one who could give me the Blessing.

"Oh, didn't you know?"

— …

How could I know? You should have told me sooner.

When I slowly turned around, the girl looked at me even more intensely.

"What?" Do you already want to apologize?

Her lips were clearly mocking.

After thinking for a while, I decided to maintain my position.

"Kid, why should I apologize?"

— ... Don't you want to receive the Blessing?

That was true, but even the Maiden was inferior to Mr. Dragon, the chieftain. If he decided, this girl would have no choice but to cast the Blessing.

"That is for the ancient dragon to decide.

The girl grinned at these words.

"Oh, you mean my father?"

—…

My grin froze on my face. Was she Mr. Dragon's daughter?

***

A maiden of the tribe and the daughter of a dragon chieftain: indeed, she could not have had a higher status, but the thought of apologizing flew out of my mind like a champagne cork.

That would not be barbaric.

Moreover, if I apologized, I would admit that I am super ugly.

— ... What are you staring at?

"Nothing!" I don't stare at anything!

After the shocking revelation of this girl's identity, she and I waged a war of nerves in awkward silence. A long time passed, and the elder arranged a reconciliation.

"I think that's enough.

No, it would be more correct to say that she scolded us both.

Bjorn Yandel, your statements about Virgo were very rude. The place where you stand is the temple of our spirit. Even if you are a barbarian, you must show respect.

The elder calmly and logically pointed out my mistakes, then turned her gaze to the girl who was balding from ear to ear.

"The same goes for you, Virgo.

— ... Me too?

"Bjorn Yandel is a guest of the Ancient Dragon and a benefactor of our tribe. It was disrespectful to criticize his appearance during the first meeting.

"But I wasn't lying!"

— There are moments when you need to remain silent. Even if it's true.

The girl lowered her head despondently.

However, I did not feel any satisfaction.

What was it just now? Indirect insult?

To remain silent, even if it is true?

That meant she agreed that I was super ugly, but it wasn't right to say it out loud?

"I need to go to a meeting, so I'll go."

Soon the elder left me with my throbbing streak, and returned to where we came from.

It was uncomfortable to stand still, and I sat down on the floor. So there was a suffocating silence.

The girl was the first to speak.

"Talk to me."

— …?

"I heard you were an explorer. Any interesting stories?

—... Why should I tell you?

The girl stared at me with irritation in response to my question.

"Words have power. And I have the ability to feel the nature of that power.

"I don't understand.

"Phew, I need to get used to your wavelength so that I can engrave the Blessing on you later." Perhaps that's why my father sent you here ahead of time.

For the first time, I heard that words carry power and wavelength.

But my attention was more attracted by something else.

"You talk as if the decision has already been made.

"If it had been a refusal, you wouldn't have been brought into this room.

"Then what are they discussing?"

"I don't know. Perhaps they decided that otherwise they would look too simple.

Hmm, for some reason I thought that could really be the case.

"Anyway, say something." You have to keep talking so I can read your waves. This will put less strain on your body during the engraving.

I could not get used to such a logical attitude, because it was different from her first impression, but I listened to her.

— Is there anything specific that you are interested in?

— Why did you become a researcher?

"You're saying strange things. We are born warriors. If we don't fight, we die.

— So you had no choice because of taxes?

Well, to put it bluntly, yes.

"Our conditions are not as good as yours.

"Oh, I see...

The Dragon Tribe did not pay taxes. This was due to the fact that they had made a great contribution to the war of a thousand years ago.

On the other hand, other races struggled with taxes every day.

"I've heard that it's possible to borrow money on a racial level. Does this not apply to barbarians?

I smiled bitterly at the genuine curiosity behind her question.

"Yes, it's not for us.

Dwarves had their taxes reduced when they became blacksmiths.

Beastmen and elves gained financial leisure when they assisted in farming and animal husbandry in the Dwarven Tree due to their unique abilities. They were given interest-free loans until the 2nd year so that they would not experience death from taxes.

But what about the barbarians?

Well, they were given weapons.

And that's it.

As soon as I become the chief of the tribe, I will begin to collect donations and make things right.

To put it bluntly, the barbarians were the most backward.

Improvements were needed in many areas. But, apparently, my expression did not look the best.

—... Enough about that, now tell me about something else.

The girl was the first to change the subject.

"About what?"

"I heard you fought with your uncle... no, with the Dragon Slayer?

Oh, that.

It was my only point of contact with this child, so I told her a slightly embellished version of what had happened. Nothing special, just removed those moments that could be disadvantageous to me: how I got the Ogre essence, and what could make her suspect me of being an evil spirit. But even without this, the story was interesting.

"Riol Varb Dvalki... I will remember this name for a long time.

Like everyone who heard the story, the girl listened most attentively to the part that talked about Dvalki. I was pleased with this reaction, because I felt that others also recognized him.

"A sword... So that's where you got it from. You're really ignorant. And then? What happened next?

When the story of the Dragon Slayer ended, I naturally started talking about finding a new teammate. Here I heard something interesting.

"Do you know?" My sister could have joined the team.

She seemed to be talking about the two-year contract that Mr. Dragon had offered.

"What kind of person is your sister?"

"She's kind. But she's so busy that I rarely see her.

No, I'm asking how strong she is, not about her character.

I was intrigued and wanted to ask a few more questions, but I didn't have time.

The door opened just in time.

"I heard you had a fight, but I think you got along.

Mr. Dragon came in and smiled at the sight of our conversation. One thing I learned from this was that the elder hadn't told him what I had told her before. If he had learned about home education, he would not have made such a face.

"Well, are there any results?"

— Yes.

God, why not just start with this.

"And how did it go?"

"We have decided to grant your request.

- I see.

I nodded and looked at the girl. I realized that she might have hit the nail on the head. The result was already known, but the hour-long meeting was caused solely by pride.

Isn't that why they asked such strange questions?

When such reasonable doubts arose, Mr. Dragon muttered quietly:

"However, there is one condition.

"Condition?"

"Through the Church of Reatlas, I have confirmed that you have received the oracle. One day, at some point, you will be reunited with Regal Vagos, the Dragon Slayer.

"Yes, I know. Closer to the body.

"If you can kill him when the time comes, bring me his heart."

— ... Heart? Why do you need it?

Since this was a significant condition, I decided to ask about the reason first.

The answer came from the girl.

"It's because of me. When that event happened, I was the one who cursed my uncle.

"Damn it...

A curse that caused Regal Vagos, who belonged to the dragon tribe, to cease to be a dragon, which limited his use of the dragon language, and he couldn't even properly use the Dragon Slayer Sword that he stole, betraying his people.

"Wait, isn't this a curse left by the previous Ancient Dragon?"

"So the public knows it. But in fact, this curse was imposed by my daughter.

—... Got it.

I thought I had heard the secret history of the dragon tribe, but it didn't matter now.

"So what does the heart have to do with the curse?"

"As the price of the curse, my time is frozen, and I will not be able to set foot outside this temple for the rest of my life.

"So you can go back to normal if you have his heart?"

The girl did not answer my question. Mr. Dragon only muttered mournfully.

— At least, that's what we think.

Suddenly an idea occurred to me.

Perhaps that's why he offered to give me a partner for 2 years, so that she would follow me around and, as soon as the Dragon Slayer appears, kill him and bring her daughter a heart.

Then how old is she?

At first, I had thought that she was only a few years older than me, but now I realized that she was not a few years older, since the former Ancient Dragon had died more than 30 years ago.

Well, her words and actions still don't correspond to her age... But if she lived only in the temple, then this is quite logical.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Good. If I kill the Dragon Slayer, I will definitely get his heart and bring it to you.

"Then it's all right.

This was not a particularly difficult condition, so I skipped further negotiations and accepted the offer. So, now it's time to get the reward upfront.

"When can the Blessing be engraved?"

"If you want, you can do it tonight," the girl said in response to my question. "But first, I have to ask you this. What Blessing do you want to receive? I need to know this in order to prepare.

"And what are the Blessings?" I asked, just to clarify, believing that there might be a difference from the game.

"Don't you know?" I thought you asked him because you knew.

— I know only one thing for sure.

"Really?" Then I guess I'll have to explain the others.

The girl looked annoyed, but still spoke in detail about each of them.

Listening to it, you could notice that there were no significant differences from the game.

"The first is the [Earth Dragon Blessing].

When engraving, the additional indicators obtained from the essence increased by 20%. It has a very good synergy for a tank with high performance.

In truth, there were no options with bad synergies.

"The second is [Blessing of the Volcanic Dragon].

If the former had to do with performance, it was the type that increased the effectiveness of all skills. As far as I remember, it was about 30%. If I choose this type, then the size of my [Gigantization] will increase even more, and the effectiveness of [Iron Skin] and [Sweep] will also increase significantly.

"And finally, [Sea Dragon's Blessing].

Unlike other Blessings, this was the only one that added a fixed value of the indicator. Effect [Soul Power +100].

Considering that Soul Force increases by 10 every time you level up to level 5, you can understand how high this figure is. If I had chosen this option, the duration of [Gigantization] would have increased several times at once. Until I absorb a few more core essences, I won't even run out of Soul Power.

"Okay, that's the end of the explanations. Then which one will you choose?

Which of the three options will I choose? The girl even kindly offered me more time to think, but I resolutely refused.

"I'll choose this one."

I already had something on my mind.