Twilight Alchemist 26.1

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26.1. Birth, Isn't It?

Thanks to the Healing Potion and Stamina Potion, no one got injured, and the thrill of victory still lingers. 

Despite our triumphant return, everyone in the Golden Dawn Village turned pale at the sight of us. 

I wondered why, but upon closer inspection, each and every one of us looked far from victorious in terms of both equipment and appearance.

The Mithril armor had melted from the heat, the cloak was burnt and torn, and our faces got covered in soot. 

Not a single person who used a weapon or wore armor returned unscathed. 

It's quite a miracle that no one died. There was truly no way to revive someone if they died.

"Craft! Craft-kun!?"

"Craft-san!!"

"Wow! You're back!"

"Look at that appearance..."

"I guess we couldn't defeat the dragon after all..."

"How many managed to return alive...?"

"Huh? Isn't the number a bit high?"

"Wait? Everyone looks beat up, but it doesn't seem much different from when we left?"

Leafan and Kyle rushed out, and Alphard hurriedly followed. Myrna? Oh, Alphard was piggybacking her.

"Craft-san!"

"Hey. I'm back."

"Thank goodness... truly, thank goodness... cough! Cough!"

"You fool. Running like that all of a sudden."

"I-I'm sorry. When we heard everyone had returned, I couldn't contain myself..."

"I understand your feelings, but don't push yourself."

"What do you mean, push myself! Everyone came back! That's more than enough!"

"Huh?"

"They returned alive after facing a dragon... that alone is sufficient, more than enough honor for adventurers, I'm sure."

"Yeah, yeah. Judging by the looks of it, it seems like not many were lost. It's amazing to be able to give the order to retreat!"

For some reason, Kyle and Leafan were vigorously emphasizing something, assuming defeat was inevitable. 

Raidoc and I exchanged glances silently and smiled.

"Well, take a look at this."

I took the dragon's head out of the spatial storage and placed it in the center of the square. 

A sudden appearance of a dragon head, just like Kyle's mansion but in the same size. Moreover, it was battered, covered in blood, and filled with resentment.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Uwaaaa!"

"Hiiiiii!"

Adults flipped over, screaming. Children cried and ran away in despair. Jitaro clung to Solar and got punched. The village turned into a hellish scene of chaos in an instant.

Yeah, sorry.

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"Craft-kun! Sit properly!"

"Yes..."

I obediently sat in the living room of Kyle's mansion, and for some reason, Myrna sat on my lap.

Um, it gets numb quickly, so... No, it's nothing.

"Uh, Leafan-san. That's enough..."

"What's the matter, Lord Kyle?"

"It's nothing! Sorry, Craft-san..."

"No... don't worry about it."

Raidoc and Persia, who were called with me, just smiled wryly.

"Regain your composure, and please give us the report."

"Oh, right. First, a rough overview. As you can see, the dragon subjugation was successful. No casualties. However, there was catastrophic damage to equipment-related items."

"No casualties... incredible... against a dragon like that..."

Leafan groaned as she looked outside the window—or rather, at the dragon's head almost right next to her.

The villagers had already started decorating and preparing for the overnight festival.

Tonight would be a sleepless celebration.

"We successfully secured a substantial amount of Ambrosia flowers, which was our main objective. We also obtained several rare herbs and minerals."

"As expected, the main objective was..."

"Oh, right, the main objective was to eliminate the dragon. As a side note."

"Absolutely, Craft-san..."

"Continue. Since it was a dragon on the plains, I completely forgot about it, but that lizard had hidden a considerable amount of treasure."

"Huh?"

The story of dragons hoarding treasures is quite well-known. However, we had completely overlooked the possibility because we were fixated on the idea that they usually hoard treasures in nests or caves.

"I briefly spoke with the head of the Adventurer's Guild. As expected, they are claiming ownership."

"I see."

The Adventurer's Guild isn't greedy. Obtaining items by risking danger is generally the adventurer's share. However, in this case, the reward for subjugation had already been paid in advance, and dragon meat, scales, and skin were allocated as success rewards. This should amount to a considerable sum by itself.

"That's right... Let's hand over everything except items usable for alchemy."

"If you want, we can even use gold and silver, right?"

"That would be stretching it. Let's hand over precious metals."

"Right... We had some valuable ores, and there are some magical items available for purchase."

"Let's give the ores to us and hand over magical items, precious metals, and general armaments to the guild. Does that work for negotiation?"

"I think it's okay."

Leafan nodded. As a compromise, it's more like we're conceding to them.

"That's settled then. Leave the negotiation to Leafan. Raidoc, please handle the details of the battle."

"Understood."

Raidoc narrated the details of the dragon battle, while Kyle turned red or blue in the face. 

Myrna seemed to be enjoying herself, swinging her legs happily.

Um, that's quite numb.

After finishing all the reports, I was finally released from the formal sitting position.

But for more than ten minutes, I couldn't move from the spot, enduring Myrna's teasing. I'll make a note of that here.

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