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Dragons’ Cry Genesis (Part 21)
According to the comparison of the two maps, the Northwest of the North had undergone a huge change. After the mountains were blown up, the snow melted, which flooded many places in the Northwest. Fundamentally speaking, it was transformed into an area of lakes and rivers. Some had been completely drowned.
I let out a breath of relief upon seeing the ruins of the village. After all, the village was at the foot of the mountain back then. It wasn’t submerged; we could still find the ruins if we went there. With that said, the valley nearby had completely changed. I wasn’t certain if the valley had become a lake, because the newest map had yet to be updated. We hadn’t defined the land quality there yet. The mountains in the Northwest were still constantly changing owing to the temperature. Hence, while the valley wasn’t confirmed to be flooded, its state was a question mark.
My only choice was to head there. Dragons could fly, though, so even if the place was flooded, they could just fly away. Plus, I was certain the dragons wouldn’t approach our East or South, as those places were populated by elves, humans and anthropoids. The dragons were definitely averse to approaching us unless they wanted to wage war on us. The group of dragons there were certainly not a big group. There might only be a few of them for all we knew. In saying that, judging from Dragon Mom’s excited reaction, I think just a few dragons would make her happy. Of course, the fewer of them there were, the happier I’d be. That would allow Dragon Mom to be happy without me having to be concerned about them becoming a threat to us.
Dragon Mom sat in a chair and watched me examine the map. Bored, she asked, “Son, why can’t we just fly there…?”
I’d assume Dragon Mom would be smacking the floor with her tail if she had it out. While looking at the map, I shook my head and explained, “We can do that in the future, but not now. The dragon race is a secret I can’t publicise yet. Of course, if they’re willing to get along with us, I’d be very happy to be friends with them just as humans and elves.”
Dragon Mom leaned into the backrest and, with a soft laugh, asked, “Why does Mommy feel that elves and humans don’t get along?”
I smiled helplessly and nodded. I expounded, “Mommy Vyvyan and Mommy Elizabeth’s relationship isn’t bad, but elves and humans once fought a war against each other. Because both parties have some grudges against each other, their relationship, consequently, isn’t good.”
“Is that how it is…? I heard that the two of them started the war for you… How frightening it is to be a mom.”
“It’s just those two who are so frightening.”
I shook my head. Dragon Mom laughed. She seemed to have spaced out a little when she said, “If I were to wage a war against everyone for you, would I be able to have you? I could recruit other dragons and so forth… and then wage a war similar to the one ten years ago…”
I quickly responded, “I was ignorant back then, but I understand things now. I don’t want the people I love and those who love me getting hurt for my sake. I don’t want to ever see that. Therefore, Mom, don’t ever do that. Aren’t I always by your side even though you’ve never done that?”
I don’t think everything Dragon Mom said was a joke. I genuinely believe she’d do it, so I had to quickly nip such frightening ideas in the bud as soon as possible. Dragon Mom looked at me with a squint. Somewhat reassured, she nodded. Voice soft, she replied, “As long as you don’t leave me as early as your father did. Son, Mommy just wants you to always be with Mommy. Mommy will protect you on this journey.”
“I don’t feel I’m in any danger this time.”
Dragon Mom softly giggled.
I was serious. I didn’t feel I was in any danger this time. Dragons were impervious to blades, and that didn’t apply for just Dragon Mom. I had newfound might from the dragon blood in me; hence, I wasn’t worried about anything. The only person who could hurt me was training under Tanya’s guidance, so Dragon Mom and I would be safe together.
I placed the map down, and then stood up to stretch my back out. I then held Mom’s hand. With a smile, I said, “You’ve already waited until now, so be patient for just a while longer, Mom. If we fly here, we’ll be spotted. One we reach the centre, there won’t be so many people. That’s when we can fly over together… But to be frank, I’m not very fond of flying… It’s too cold…”
Dragon Mom softly laughed. Then, she touched my head: “That can’t be helped. You’re not a dragon, after all. It’ll be all right, though. Can’t you just wear some more clothes? Maybe Mommy can fly slightly lower.”
I smiled. It seemed that Mom wasn’t willing to pass up the chance to fly. Although it wasn’t too fair on the White Deer King, I suppose it would be happy to be able to run to its heart’s content.
“Son, if you’re worried about the White Deer King, Mommy can transform her into a human form. The only reason that she can’t take on human form is due to insufficient mana, but it’s possible if you provide her with a bit of mana.” Dragon Mom looked at me with a smile. She looked as though she wanted to give it a try…
I stopped to consider it, “If the White Deer King was to transform into a human… I’ll bet it’s identical to how Nier was initially. By that, I mean the proud nature and classic line, ‘please kill yourself,’ and those sorts of verbal attacks. Moreover, the White Deer King is aggressive. She wants to kick me or trip me for no rhyme or reason. If she was to take on a human form, how violent would she be…?”
“I-I think we can pass on that… I think this is quite good… This is quite good.”
Dragon Mom pursed her lips into a smile then wrapped her arm around mine. The two of us descended the stairs. We were at an inn. We didn’t head straight to the village; instead, we went to the outside of the Imperial City first. Frankly, we weren’t too fast. I had started to feel a little concerned, however. It was a long way from our location to the Northwest, but my North wasn’t a nation as powerful as the Rosvenor Empire. Consequently, only the Imperial Capital was flourishing. The further out we headed, the more desolate the land was, the fewer people there were, and the colder places were. Subsequently, there soon wouldn’t be inns available, meaning we’d have to sleep outdoors.
Having to sleep in the wild would be nasty. There was no tasty food, warm beds and we’d have to worry about wild beasts and so forth, not to mention the weather. Seriously, the less time we had to spend living that way, the better. That was why I planned to ask if Mom fly me there even if she didn’t bring it up…
We went down to the bottom floor of the hotel. On the top floor were the guest rooms. On the bottom floor was the bar. The hotel could be counted as a hotel in a small town. There was nothing to do at night, so the townsfolk come to the bar. They didn’t need any expensive wines or to hook up with women. They came just for a measly beer, and then bragged to the woman next to them. Then they’d go home to sleep with satisfaction before waking up to repeat another repetitive day.
When the two of us went downstairs, the customers scanned me with curiosity and Mom with surprise, since we were foreigners. I glanced at Mom out of concern. Dragon Mom wasn’t fond of wearing clothes. Though I was aware she had covered her body with her scales, she was always nude from my perspective… That caused me to feel awkward. I didn’t think the townsfolk had seen such a pretty woman before. They’d be wondering why such a beautiful flower was at the bar reeking of alcohol and foggy with smoke. Nevertheless, Dragon Mom didn’t concern herself with them. She, instead, sat down at a table with me.
Frankly, the stench of the stuff they smoked was repulsive. The people of the town hadn’t seen the King of the North before, so nobody recognised me. Mom picked up the menu by the side and curiously scanned it. I assumed she was wondering what the foods were. The variety of foods she had tried was very minimal.
Smiling, I said, “We’re not in the Imperial Palace today, so you don’t need to be concerned with so many rules or worry about anything. Eat however is convenient for you. Oh, right, there won’t be a basin for you to wash your hands or desserts afterwards, either.”
Dragon Mom had been restricted in the palace for so long, so it was fair to let her have some decent fun for the day. Dragon Mom lit up forthwith: “I can order anything?! I can eat however I like?!”
Apparently, desserts weren’t too alluring to Dragon Mom.
I chuckled and then made an, “as you please,” hand gesture. A pleasantly joyous smile immediately bloomed on Mom’s face. She stood up and waved the menu excitedly. I called a waiter over – which was the boss and man at the bar counter. The plump man showed surprise as he listened to Dragon Mom name the names of the dishes. All of the dishes she ordered were basically grilled mead, diced meat, meat stew, fried meat et cetera. In short, they were all meat dishes. Dragon Mom must’ve been fond of meat dishes.
When the people saw Mom wolf down big mouthfuls of meat and generously smash back beer, they were wowed. They raised their cups up to her to gesture a toast. After getting the nod of approval from me, Dragon Mom cheerfully assimilated into the crowd of townsfolk’s cheers and cups gaily went round.  I guess beer suited Dragon Mom’s palate.
They clinked their chipped wooden cups, swishing the yellow, foamy beer up. I guess Dragon Mom enjoys this sort of carnival type of environment with beer, meat and a bustling crowd. It must’ve alleviated her loneliness.
It wasn’t the sort of ball reeking with the stench of money and power, but a totally cheerful and carnival type of environment. It was no wonder Dragon Mom enjoyed it so much. I didn’t walk away with nothing.
Thanks to Dragon Mom’s big gut, she defeated all challengers and established her legend as the woman who doesn’t get drunk even after a thousand drinks. In the process, she managed to win the special entitlement to have the meal on the house. Of course, I got myself a completely drunk and limp dragon I had to lug onto the bed.