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Translator: penny
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: The Hearth Dragon #2
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Back when I was still in college, there was a time my little sister had some school project or whatever, so we went to the city zoo together.
In a world where the internet and YouTube are so advanced, zoos are really just field trips for little kids or a dating spot for couples—
Surprisingly, even as an adult, I was pretty impressed by the animals at the zoo.
Sheesh, that squirrel, and the elephant is fucking huge.
Animals like giraffes and elephants, with their massive builds, were way bigger than I'd imagined. Even the horses were pretty tall. The wolves were big too.
That subtle sense of intimidation and dissonance from beasts even larger than I'd realized was downright shocking.
Why am I bringing this up? Because the dragon emerging from the cave was way bigger than I'd pictured.
I'd seen my Wyvern Agumon, which was about the size of a large sedan, so I figured a dragon would be around the same or maybe a bit bigger, like a van.
The wind carried the scent of nymphs mixed in—
In reality, the size of this colossal being slowly revealing itself from outside the cave was about the length of a city bus.
Sheesh, is a city bus talking to me right now?
Normal people don't think about fighting a bus, or winning against one. You ride a bus, not fight it and beat it.
Even I, upon seeing this enormous red body, instantly lost any thought of battling it.
This must be exactly how a mouse feels in front of a cat or a snake. That's when someone grabbed my arm—it was Luna.
Seeing Luna trembling like a leaf made her look pretty pitiful. I checked on Paranoia, wondering if she was okay, but surprisingly, she seemed calm. I figured she'd scream or something.
“...”
No, on closer look, she'd passed out standing up. She must've frozen solid before she could make a sound.
“Are you Vesta's Fire Dragon, Gesbalam? I am Mars's daughter, Hippolyte.”
But Hippolyte wasn't intimidated at all by the massive Fire Dragon's presence. Hippolyte was the kind of incredible person who could fight trucks or buses.
Come to think of it, back in Kalan's swamp, she'd cleaved that Bone Dragon the cult created right in half. Thinking about that made me feel a lot more secure.
Mars's daughter, Hippolyte. No wonder I sensed such intense divine auras—. My name is Da.
The dragon opened its massive maw and tried to explain its name, but the pronunciation was so garbled and full of weird growling sounds that it was hard to catch on the first try. What did it say?
Humans probably can't understand its language anyway. Just call me Gesbalam. So, what brings you to this cave?
“Gesbalam. I have something to say to you.”
Indeed, something to say to me. It's been ages since anyone's spoken to me so boldly. Mars's daughter, Hippolyte. I'll respect your courage and hear you out.
This Gesbalam guy was surprisingly gentlemanly for his enormous size.
Hippolyte had said that dragons serving as minions to the Hearth Goddess's followers weren't all that ferocious or cruel, and it looked like that was true.
With my mind at ease, I could finally get a good look at this massive Fire Dragon Gesbalam.
Huge claws, wings on its back. Scales that gleamed brilliantly.
Four horns on its head, and fangs protruding recklessly from its closed mouth, looking almost like a briar patch. Kinda cool. Felt like it had 3000 attack and 2500 defense.
The surprising part was the massive scar over its eyes?
“Hassan, looks like this dragon's blind.”
Luna must've noticed too, whispering to me. Just like she said, where eyes should be on both sides, there were only huge scars.
What on earth could have blinded such a massive, gentlemanly dragon?
So, what is this thing you have to say to me? Daughter of Mars—.
“I request passage through the cave you're occupying. Also, the hearth in Dragonscale Village has lost its fire. Can't you breathe some into it?”
Of course, that's possible. Reigniting hearth fires is part of my duties. But first, I have a request of my own.
Suuuuuh—.
Whoooosh—.
A massive wind-like force swirled around our bodies. It was this huge Fire Dragon Gesbalam inhaling through its nose.
It felt like my soul was about to get sucked into its nostrils, which was eerie, when it opened its enormous maw and spoke.
One of you is a nymph. Put that one inside my mouth. Then I'll grant what you ask.
The moment it said that, someone let out a shrill “Eeeeek—!” that echoed through the cave. Paranoia, who'd been passed out, woke up and gaped.
“Th-this monster's saying it's gonna eat me...! It's a very, very naughty dragon...!”
Paranoia practically had a meltdown, screaming her head off.
I got it, though—keeping calm with a monster demanding you as food right in front of you was impossible.
Such a vibrant nymph. How fortunate. So, what'll it be? Will you put the little nymph in my mouth?
“J-just looking at that huge body, you can tell how many nymphs it's devoured...! I can hear my fellow nymphs crying from its belly, even from here...!”
No need to worry, I won't eat it. Nymphs are all friends of Goddess Vesta. I'll just have you put it in my mouth.
“It's tricking us with clever words...! Even if it's sworn to Hypnos's gods, it's still a Titan's lackey! A filthy monster...! Disguising itself as a Vesta follower to devour innocent nymphs like me...!”
That hurts a bit. I just want someone to remove the thorn stuck in my throat.
“Thorn?”
Luna flinched at the dragon's listless words.
“A thorn in your throat?”
Yes, juvenile.
“My name isn't juvenile, it's Luna Noxdotia!”
Very well, juvenile Noxdotia. Anyway, there's a huge thorn stuck in my throat. It's a powerful curse that's even preventing me from breathing fire.
Preventing it from breathing fire, huh. Yeah, a thorn in the throat would make all sorts of things inconvenient.
As I pieced together the puzzle, the giant blind dragon added a few more words.
Not only that, this thorn is gradually eating away at my sanity. The moment I leave this hot volcano full of heat, I might lose my reason and turn into a monster.
Suuuuh—.
It then flattened its head to the ground and opened its massive maw wide. Creaaak—it gaped open, its throat looking like another cave blooming inside the cave.
A nymph's small size should slip easily into my throat and pull out the thorn. Come on, put the nymph in my mouth. And have it remove the thorn.
At its words, we all looked at each other. No words, but our eyes asked, what now?
Our wandering gazes soon settled on the crimson short-haired nymph with small pointed ears.
“It's a lie...! The moment Paranoia goes into that mouth, it'll snap shut and swallow me into its belly...!”
Paranoia apparently couldn't trust this huge gentlemanly dragon. She grabbed my arm and spoke firmly.
“You have to believe me completely...! I think I saw this exact situation in my dream...! If I go into that mouth, I'll become its meal...!”
“You said you forgot your dream and couldn't remember.”
“For some reason, it's coming back to me now...!”
Sheesh, for real? Sounds like bullshit.
I pondered whether the giant dragon or Paranoia was lying.
It didn't take long to conclude Paranoia was the liar. This one's lied and betrayed like it was breakfast every day when it suited her.
“Paranoia, if we handle this well, I'll bump your share up to 10%.”
“Y-you mean it...?”
“Yeah.”
“B-but I don't wanna...!”
What—!? Even offering more shares and she says no. She really hates it that much? Now I had no way to convince Paranoia.
If she dug in her heels and refused to go even if it killed her, we had no options, so we fell silent for a moment. Then Luna spoke.
“Then should I go? I'm bigger than Paranoia, but still the second smallest among us.”
Luna had a point. But didn't this Gesbalam want a nymph in its throat? Sensing our dilemma, the Fire Dragon spoke.
Anyone will do, so I'd appreciate it if someone removed the thorn. Doesn't have to be a nymph. My throat might hurt more, but whatever.
“Oh, if that's it, I'll go.”
Hippolyte, who'd been listening quietly, spoke up. Talk about fearless. Makes me wanna call her big sis.
But Luna seemed worried about Hippolyte volunteering for such a dangerous task, raising her eyebrows.
“Hippolyte, you're going into a dragon's mouth—are you sure?”
“That's exactly why I'm doing it. It'll build up some serious karma in my body. My growth has been stagnant lately; something this reckless is just right.”
Hippolyte seemed bored with life and itching for thrills, crawling into a dragon's mouth. Must be like a mouse tired of safety, sneaking in and out of a cat's mouth.
Creaaak—.
Hippolyte marched straight into the widely opened maw and squeezed her body inside. No time for us to even talk her out of it—pure boldness.
Swish, suuuuh—.
Hippolyte was over 170 cm with a model figure, so it looked tough squeezing into that huge throat.
But dragons have maws and throats big enough to tear and swallow bulls whole, so she soon vanished into the pitch-black depths without issue.
Now what happens?
The Fire Dragon Gesbalam, with Hippolyte in its mouth, closed its jaws.
Those massive jaws.
Slowly, but unmistakably, shut tight.
We froze at the sight.
Only Paranoia opened her mouth.
“I-I knew it...! Paranoia saw right through this blind dragon's trick to eat us...! Didn't like the name Gesbalam from the start...!”
Just like Paranoia said. It shut its mouth the instant Hippolyte entered its throat.
Isn't that classic predator behavior? We all panicked in unison when the dragon opened its mouth again.
Ah, almost swallowed her. Hurry and pull the thorn, then get out. Haven't eaten in ages because of it—might swallow reflexively.
What the, sheesh.
As we debated if that was true, Hippolyte reemerged from the gaping maw.
“Definitely, there's something powerful lodged inside. So firmly that even I can't pull it out.”
“Hippolyte, you can't pull it out?”
Luna jumped, stunned like she'd heard the impossible. If our highest-level, highest-tier Hippolyte couldn't, who could?
But Hippolyte was looking at me.
“Hassan, you're the one with the purest raw strength among us now. No one else. You should go in and try yanking out whatever's stuck in there.”
Sheesh, like this.
Guess it came to this.
Hoo—.
I took a small deep breath and slowly approached the dragon's mouth. The closer I got, the more immense its presence felt.
I'd compared it to a bus or truck earlier, but up close, it seemed even bigger.
Maintaining a body this huge must require eating a ton. Even someone my size might just be a snack for it.
The one entering my mouth this time is you, juvenile Noxdotia?
“No, I'm Hassan.”
Ah, mixed you up. Your eerie magic had me mistaken.
Suuuuuh—.
The dragon's nostril wind pierced through me. Felt like every corner of me was flying on that breeze.
More than that, you have a bizarre scent. The living and the dead. Life and death, spring and winter. Two incompatible existences swirling inside you. So rare that—I almost want to swallow you.
“Urgh, sheesh, don't swallow me.”
I'll try.
Knowing full well this was insane, I slowly pushed my body into its mouth.
Figured a beast's mouth would stink, but it was surprisingly pleasant. Of course, venturing deep into that throat was another matter.
I wriggled slowly into its esophagus. Activating my Grace, Shining Hand, lit up the dark interior decently.
It was tight enough for barely one of me, so I had no choice but to crawl like swimming.
Grrrrr—.
Must be torture for the dragon too, forcing me through its esophagus. But the real pain was what lay ahead in its throat—not me passing through.
Wait, was that even a thorn?
I stared at the object firmly embedded in its throat.
It was some kind of sword.