Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I’m Going to Sleep - Chapter 172

Tia’s words were…simpler and more drastic than I had thought.
“Of course, you need to be somewhat proficient in using it as a weapon. Originally, I planned to teach you calmly for about a year….”

A Rat and a Dragon. (6)

And so it was decided that I would leave the village with Tia.

Really…. How did things turn out like this?

It’s true that I wanted to leave this village, but I didn’t mean to leave so suddenly.

At least I thought I would leave after some preparation….

And to top it all off, I’m going to be fighting without knowing what kind of danger I’m in.

Well, if it’s Tia the dragon, it might actually be possible.

“Oh my back…. It’s so heavy after not lifting it for so long.”

After finishing the story, the priest went back to his room for a while and came back with a large box, groaning. He opened the lid of the box and showed me the hammer inside.

“Here. This hammer is the weapon your mother used. It was made by a dwarf who saved her when she was working as an adventurer.”

A huge hammer in a box. It was as tall as I was, and the hammer head at the end of it looked bigger than my head…. Is it okay to call this a hammer?

Honestly, this…. It doesn’t look like something made for a human. It’s like the kind of hammer a giant from a story would use.

Did my mother…. really use something so crude as a weapon? Really?

“Hoo…. This is a well-made item.”

Tia looked at the hammer with interest.

“It was made by forging a large lump of iron in one piece. It must have taken a lot of effort. Have the dwarves of today developed their skills to this extent?”

“Hoo. You can tell at a glance. It’s a hammer called the Earth Crusher. It was made by a skilled dwarf over a long period of time. Its value is beyond words.”

A hammer made of a lump of black iron. Earth Crusher. The priest held out the handle of the hammer to me.

“Try lifting it.”

“Huh, but….”

Can I lift something that looks so heavy?

There was no one stronger than me among my peers…. Honestly, I was stronger than the adult male priest….

Something this big for me…?

I reluctantly grabbed the handle of the large hammer that the priest handed me.

“Huh?”

It was lighter than I thought.

What the heck? I thought it would be really heavy…. Is it actually just a big show on the outside and empty on the inside?

No, if that were the case, the priest wouldn’t have been so heavy earlier. What the heck?

“As expected. You can lift it lightly. In fact, the hammer uses a special technique of the dwarves. It is said that the magic cast on it strengthens the user’s strength by using their magical power.”

“Indeed. It is a magical weapon that uses the blessings of the dwarves to increase strength. After all, it would not be easy to swing a hammer this heavy as a weapon with ordinary strength.”

“Thanks to that, Ella, who was already strong, became even stronger. Any monster would be dead if it was hit on the head.”

I moved the hammer in my hand around. Hmm…. It feels lighter than the ax I used to chop wood.

At this rate…. I might be able to swing it.

“Of course, you need to be proficient in using it as a weapon. Originally, I planned to teach you calmly for about a year….”

“What, wouldn’t it be okay if I accompanied you?”

Tia with a confident attitude. Certainly. If you’re accompanied by a dragon, what’s there to be afraid of?

But the dragon, Tia, is the one to be afraid of! Right now, she’s showing me such an intimate attitude!

The dragon in the story was a fearsome monster, so Tia, who may be the Dragon’s Maiden, is still scary!

“Even though I look like this, I have a knack for handling weapons. I’ll teach you from time to time while we’re traveling together.”

“If you do that, I’d be grateful. But do you know how to use weapons, Maiden?”

“Of course. If I didn’t know how to use weapons, I wouldn’t be able to teach you how to use that sword, would I?”

That sword…? Could it be, the Hero’s Sword?

The sword that I’ve only heard of in stories…. Tia has it?

Then, is Tia really the Dragon’s Maiden in the story?!

“Ti, Tia. By any chance…. Do you have the Hero’s Sword?”

“Mabel.”

“B, but Priest! The Hero’s Sword that I’ve only heard of in stories! Wouldn’t someone who grew up listening to stories of the Hero since childhood want to see it?”

The Priest who’s urging me on has a strangely excited face! He wants to see the Hero’s Sword too!!

The Priest who usually tells me to be honest with myself! Only at times like this! Seriously!!!

“Well, the story of the Hero is like a dream for all children. It’s a story I’ve heard since I was little too.”

See! He wants to see it too, right!

“Um…. Well, I don’t really mind showing it to you. There’s no Hero now anyway.”

“Really?!”

The Priest is happier than me. Well, it’s a natural reaction.

The Hero is a hero who traveled the world on behalf of the Goddess of Life. As a priest of the Temple of Life, it’s only natural that he would like it.

In front of the Priest whose eyes were sparkling, Tia took something out of her arms.

A small leather pouch. No matter how I look at it, it’s a small pouch that doesn’t look big enough to fit the Hero’s Sword.

Tia calmly put her hand into the pouch.

“Ta-da.”

A huge greatsword that shouldn’t fit inside the pouch came out of it.

What is this? Is this magic too? It’s amazing!

“This is…. Could it be, subspace magic?!”

“Subspace magic? What’s that?”

“It’s said to be a legendary magic that no one has ever succeeded in reproducing. The only user…. was the Dragon’s Maiden in the story. It’s such an absurd magic that it’s considered an exaggeration in the story, so it’s hidden in most stories, and only a few researchers would know about it….”

At the Priest’s words, Tia smiled confidently.

“You can’t easily imitate this. It’s magic that I created through my own efforts. If you try to imitate this, that would be even more amazing.”

“To think that this is actually possible magic…. Wait. Did you say you created this magic through your own efforts?”

“Yeah. I made it myself.”

At Tia’s words, the Priest couldn’t say anything, and his expression hardened.

“Th, th, that is…. Ex, excuse me…. Are you…. The Dragon’s Priestess…. from the hero’s tale?”

“Hmm. Yes? Didn’t you already notice?”

“No, I…. That is…. I thought you were the newly born Dragon’s Priestess…. No, that is…. Are you really the Dragon’s Priestess who journeyed with the hero?”

Tia answered the priest’s question with a small nod.

“H, how…. It is said that it happened hundreds of years ago…. How can a human from that time still be alive….”

Ah, hmm…. I see. The priest didn’t know that Tia’s true identity was a dragon.

Did he just think that she was a human? And the Dragon’s Priestess from the tale at that.

“I am somewhat interested in how that story is being passed down, but let’s leave that for now. And stop confirming my identity over and over again.”

“Oh my…. Oh Goddess of Life….”

Tia flinched slightly when the priest called out to the name of a god. Was it because she was the Dragon’s Priestess, an avatar of the Goddess of Life?

“Anyway. My identity is not that important, so keep it a secret. It would be annoying if news of it spread.”

“Ah, I understand.”

After hearing the priest’s answer, Tia put the pouch back inside her bosom and held the greatsword horizontally.

“This is the hero’s sword. Claíomh Solais. A sword that only the chosen can wield.”

A gigantic greatsword with silver and gold intertwined, and a large jewel embedded in the center. At first glance, it felt more like a work of art than a weapon, but the eerie light emanating from its blade told that this greatsword was no ordinary object.

“This is…. The hero’s sword….”

“To think that I would get to see the real thing…. I am moved.”

The priest who said that held a papyrus and a small piece of charcoal in his hand from somewhere.

“I, if it is alright, may I draw the hero’s sword? I would like to record this form and leave it behind.”

“Hmm. Do as you please.”

“Thank you!”

With Tia’s permission, the priest joyfully spread out the papyrus he was holding on the table and began to draw on the papyrus with the piece of charcoal.

Hmm. Priest…. I didn’t know you had such a talent, but you draw quite well.

The charcoal held in the priest’s hand was almost perfectly drawing the form of the hero’s sword.

Hmm…. The priest who is engrossed in drawing can be left alone.

“Then, when do you plan to depart?”

“Hmm. The sooner the better for a journey like this.”

The sooner the better…?

Does that mean….

“Let’s depart tomorrow morning. If it wasn’t evening right now, I would have left right away….”

Tia shook her head slightly and said.

“Traveling on a night road with nothing but starlight and moonlight…. If it was just me, it would be fine, but it’s a bit annoying when I’m with someone else.”

“Normally, people travel while lighting something like a torch.”

“I can also travel a long distance in an instant with spatial movement, but I can’t fully enjoy the mood of the journey that way. Anyway.”

Spatial movement…? Is it the same kind of magic as coming up to the surface from deep inside a cave in the blink of an eye?

Tia… exactly how much magic does she know? A question arose in her mind.