Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Sloth

On the western coast of the Northern Continent, where shipwrecks littered the shoreline, several Drow Elves with lips purpled from the cold knelt in desperation:

“Boss, the water at the wreck is just too deep. We’ve tried for days, but we still can’t find those Dragon Eggs. Truly, we can’t dive any deeper; if we do, we’ll really die.”

“Then go die! Let me see just how useless you bunch of believers can be.”

Drow leader Hiatt kicked them all away and took deep, furrowed breaths, her brow tightly creased.

Even so, her face was still marked by strong indignation.

Three years, a full three years.

She had led this bunch of failures, risking their lives on this perilous Old Continent.

The ship had drifted at sea for three years as well.

All their worldly possessions had been wagered, playing hide-and-seek with the mother Dragons day after day, only to barely scrape together these few Dragon Eggs!

Yet they had capsized just as they set sail on the return journey!

It’s over…

It’s all over…

Hiatt’s complexion turned dejected as she slumped to the ground, her fingers threading through her hair and tugging backward in a vain attempt to banish the pain and regret flooding her mind.

Her luck was just too bad.

They were often adrift at sea; it was impossible not to prepare for this, such as methods for diving into the sea to salvage important goods.

Whether it was the third-circle Water Breathing and Water Walking spells, or the Aquatic Lung Herb Potion stored in sealed containers on the escape boat, they had solutions.

But the problem was, the priest who knew those spells had been turned into fireworks by the mother Dragon.

The other Spellcaster on board, along with the storage box containing the potion, the escape boat, and the whole ship, had been sunk by the accursed Red Hatchling with a fiery fart.

According to the surviving Wanderer, it was that stupid, damned wastrel. Why hadn’t he immediately pinned the creature down with the Hatchling capturer according to the manual? Why did he have to check its gender?

Is the gender really that important? Huh? Motherfucker!

On her wrist, Hiatt indeed had a Magical Item called the Diving Bracelet.

But there was only one!

It was for her to escape at sea.

And how could she alone lift the Dragon Eggs, which were as heavy as millstones, from the seabed?

Wasn’t that like joking around with the Spider Queen’s holy name?

Plus, she was certain that if she went down alone, these scoundrels would surely flee.

After all, everyone knew that the situation was irretrievable; since they were no longer getting paid, it was better to run away sooner rather than later.

They could always find a way back to the New Continent, Granyel, and dare to return.

After all, who else among them owed as much debt and had as many enemies as she did?

“AH! Damn it! Damn it all! Why me? Why does it always have to be me!?”

Hiatt pounded the ground with fist after fist, appearing almost mad.

“AH!”

“AH!”

“AH AH AH AH AH!”

This neurotic behavior immediately began to make the few remaining subordinates surreptitiously exchange looks.

The boss is really getting into it. The big one must be coming…

As expected, leader Hiatt got back on her feet and made that decisive announcement to them:

“Set out with me; we’re going to find that damned Red Hatchling.”

She surveyed the group.

“If we find that creature, we can still make something out of this trip.”

“…HUH?” The Drow began to feel uneasy, their apprehension obvious.

“Boss, are you really sure you’re not joking?”

“There are only a few of us left.”

“Exactly…”

They hesitated, wondering if, should the boss insist on this foolish plan, they should just team up and deal with her… well, maybe wait for her to fall asleep and then run away together.

After all, considering the threat level displayed by that Red Hatchling, it was already as intimidating as the force wielded by the boss herself.

The most crucial point was that they were also well aware of the value of the Hatchling capable of breathing fire from its rear.

But the biggest problem now was… the ship was gone!

Until they found or awaited the arrival of the next sea vessel they could board or stow away on, they could only struggle for survival on the dangerous Old Continent.

Having spent so many years under her command, Hiatt knew exactly what these fools were thinking. She knew them so well, she could tell what crap they were about to pull just by looking at them.

However, she chose not to expose them on the spot.

Instead, she looked at them with contempt and laughed, “Do you really think that by not finding that Red Dragon, you can smoothly return to Granyel and continue living your rotten, muddy lives?”

The Drow fell silent, understanding perfectly well what she meant.

“Dream on!” Hiatt exclaimed with conviction, “If nothing unexpected happens, he’s now entering his first deep slumber. This is the weakest moment in his life as a Dragon.

“Once he awakens from this slumber, he’ll be coming for us!

“Don’t forget who we’ve provoked! That’s a Dragon! The most vengeful of creatures—a Dragon!

“And not just any Dragon, but the foremost of the Evil Dragons—the vindictive Red Dragon!”

She silenced an underling who was about to interject with her icy, deathly gaze, “Maybe you all want to say it’s just a Hatchling that’s broken out of its shell for a few days?

“But now…

“Can we leave?

“Idiots?”

The Drow were finally forced to accept this cruel reality.

The reality was that with their ship burned by that Dragon, they could only fight for survival in this desolate place.

As for waiting for the next ship that could traverse the High Elves’ blockade and the perilous North Sea to reach the Old Continent…

Would it be this year?

Next year?

Or the next three years? Or even a more distant five years?

If they really had to wait five years, by then the Dragon would reach its juvenile stage.

What they would have to face then would be a red Monster bigger than all of them put together, chasing them across the Continent and breathing fire!

The scene fell silent for a moment.

“Boss, we’ll follow your lead.”

Hiatt clenched her fists. She had won the bet.

These guys might be dumb, but they were all she had left to play with.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s move out!”

But just as Hiatt had managed to persuade her scattered troops to follow her, and they were about to reach David’s position along the charred remains of the forest, even having sighted the ’Ashes Hot Springs’ littered with skeletons where he was, a wave of unprecedented fatigue overwhelmed them.

Hiatt waved her hand dismissively. “Forget it. Let’s head back to the shoreline and plan again.”

“OH…” the Drow replied weakly.

An hour later, at the beach, Hiatt stared blankly at her subordinates lying around like sloths, too lazy to even speak, her face a mask of confusion.

What the hell am I even doing?

Unwilling to accept defeat, she scolded her subordinates, who were lying flat, looking up at the starry sky, beginning to question their lives, and roused them.

She decided to take them there once more.

What in the world!

Two hours later, they returned to the shipwreck with the same sentiment.

Another two hours passed, and Hiatt tossed her scimitar aside, lay on the beach, closed her eyes, and started to snore.

Dragon hunting? Turning things around? Vengeance?

To hell with all of it.

Right now, she just wanted to indulge in Sloth for a while.

Just for a little while…

「…」

In the deep forest, among the Highland Barbarians of the Rosinde tribe.

A Barbarian with beautiful leg hair took the familiar bone ornament from the Winter Wolf’s mouth, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

It was the bone decoration he had personally handed to his wife, Monado, on the night of their wedding bonfire, which she cherished and never took off.

And this young Winter Wolf was the pet that followed Monado when she went hunting.

The Winter Wolf whimpered with its tail tucked in as it brought back the bone decoration but didn’t actively lead him back to find Monado. This only meant one possibility.

His Ogre wife was most likely gone.

“Monado! I, Rosinde, swear to avenge you!”

“Rest in peace, my love!!!”

Rosinde crushed the bone decoration, stuffed it into the Winter Wolf’s muzzle, and then kicked the animal flying out of the cave.

“Go! Lead me to Monado.

“Whatever it takes, I must bring her remains back to her tribe.

“This is a man’s promise!”

Two days later, Rosinde and the Winter Wolf finally reached the scene. The Winter Wolf, its tongue practically smoking from exhaustion after their rapid journey, suddenly lay down and refused to move.

This time the young Barbarian didn’t kick it; he bowed his head, deep in thought, reflecting.

He felt as though he had gradually calmed down from the initial surge of extreme grief and anger.

His mind was no longer filled with explosive thoughts.

The memories of his time with Monado didn’t hurt as much anymore.

That’s right… My relationship with Monado was, at best, just a political marriage.

It was just that he had once been infatuated with the almost inhuman ampleness of her bosom.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a bit tired.

Forget it. I’m done with love…

「…」

Meanwhile, as both groups searched for David, they had, for various reasons, succumbed to Sloth.

“Wow… you ran so far! I finally found you… It nearly killed me.”

PLOP.

A figure leaped into the warm pool.

Diving all the way down.

Until it reached the Ashes Gate at the bottom of the pool.

Then, it fell into a silence, as if its mind had crashed.

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