Chapter 500

An Attack?
On the seventh day of our voyage, where there wasn’t much to do besides exploring the ship, cooking, or lazing around in the cabin, the children started to grow a little restless.

"“Ah!”"

While basking in the sun on the deck, the children suddenly shouted as if they had spotted something.

"Is that... Oh! Isn’t that a Water Dragon!"
"“Ohhh~”"
"What!?"

It was, indeed, a mid-tier dragon known as a Water Dragon. I wish they wouldn’t look so excited about spotting a dragon.

"It’s a bit far. It would be easier to take it down if it came closer..."
"No, no, it shouldn’t come here! That would cause a commotion!"
"“Ehh~ We wanna to defeat it~”"

They were audaciously hoping the dragon would come closer to us.

"“Nnyu?”"

A crew member seemed slightly flustered and whispered something to another crew member.
The one who received the message looked alarmed and glanced out at the sea. Perhaps they had noticed the Water Dragon and were passing along a cautionary message.
Judging by how they weren’t panicking or shouting to alert the passengers, the quality of the crew was commendable.

"What’s the situation? Does it look like it’ll come this way?"

After a while, someone who seemed to be a senior crew member arrived along with people who appeared to be ship guards.

"No, the distance hasn’t changed. Hopefully, it will pass by without noticing us..."
"Should we restrict access to this side of the deck before the passengers notice and start panicking?"

One of the guards glanced at us, seemingly concerned that we might cause a fuss.

"Ah, we’re adventurers, so if the situation calls for it, we can lend a hand."

For now, I straightforwardly explained our status.
Otherwise, if this area were to be cordoned off, we’d likely be asked to leave. But I doubt our kids would obediently comply, given that they were still intently watching the Water Dragon.

"Adventurers, huh? Mind if I ask your rank?"
"I’m A-rank. This fella is not an adventurer, but he’s on par with me. The kids are C-rank, so they won’t be a hindrance."
"Oh, A-rank! That’s reassuring!"

Perhaps due to the opponent being a dragon, the guards were visibly relieved to hear about my A-rank status.

"“Uu~ It’s not coming.”"
"No, it doesn’t need to come!"

Our kids were still stubbornly hoping the dragon would approach.

"… What ominous children."
"Sorry about that. They admire dragons, so please ignore it."
"Ah, well, to kids, dragons are ‘cool.’ I used to admire them when I was little too."
"True. But please try not to let them say it out loud; it might cause unnecessary trouble depending on the situation."
"Understood, we’ll be careful."

The guards seemed to accept the explanation and didn’t get upset.

"Allen, Elena, let’s keep our thoughts about dragons to ourselves, okay?"
"“Got it~”"

For now, this should stop the kids from provoking the ship’s crew any further.

"… Dived into the sea."
"… Disappeared."
"Hmm, it’s gone from sight, and it’s hard to tell where it’s moved to."

At some point, the Water Dragon had dived underwater and disappeared from view.

"… Is the danger gone?"

The guards looked visibly relieved once the dragon was no longer in sight.
Most people wouldn’t want to fight a dragon, so their reaction was understandable—unlike our kids, who seemed disappointed.

"Mumu? It doesn’t seem like it’s heading our way."
"“It’s not coming~”"

It didn’t look like the dragon was swimming toward us underwater, which was a relief.

"If the three of them say so, it must be true."

With the kids’ wide sensing range and Kaiser’s beast instincts, we could safely say the danger had passed.
The guards seemed to relax their vigilance and, leaving only a lookout, returned to their posts.

"You really need to be proactive to find good ingredients."
"“Let’s be proactive~”"
"… Why does it always come to that?"

I had a feeling that once we left the ship, they’d be clamoring to hunt dragons again.
Are they already treating dragons like ingredients!?

"Our first priority is to return to the capital to deliver souvenirs."
"“After that, though!”"
"Indeed. I’ll return to my nest briefly, but I’ll come straight to the capital afterward. By then, you’ll all be free to go, won’t you?"
"“We think so!”"
"...…"

They’ve already planned their dragon-hunting expedition!?

"Fine, then. I’ll stay behind in the capital while the three of you go."
"“Eh!?”"
"“You’re not coming with us, Oniichan!?”"
"You’re not joining us, Takumi!?"

When I tried to take a firm stance, the three of them looked at me in a panic.

"If you need extra strength or mobility, I can check with Joule and the others to see who wants to join you."

Not all of them, but I was sure some of our contracted beasts would want to go.

"“But what about you, Oniichan?”"
"I don’t want to go."
"”“What!?””"

It might sound childish, but I was being honest about my feelings.
Today, I wouldn’t just let myself be swept along like always!

"“We want to be with you!”"
"If Allen and Elena aren’t going dragon-hunting, I’ll stay with you."
"“What about dragon-hunting?”"
"I won’t go with you for that."
"“Are you sure?”"
"Yes, I’m sure."
"“Ughhh~”"

The kids tried to persist, but I firmly held my ground.
Though their faces started to look like they might cry, I wouldn’t give in today!

"Takumi, are you really not coming?"
"Yeah, I’m not going."

Even Kaiser asked for confirmation, but I immediately shot him down.

"Dragon meat was delicious, wasn’t it?"
"Well, yeah, but you brought back plenty of Blue Dragon meat as a souvenir, so that’s enough for me."
"But surely the higher-tier ones would taste even better, and different dragons might have unique flavors! Aren’t you curious!?"
"I’m curious, but not enough to go hunting for it."
"“We wanna go!”"
"...…"

The kids, who had been trying to appeal to me emotionally, were now starting to look annoyed.
Was this… a tantrum?

"“You’re mean, Oniichan!”"
"Allen wants to go with Oniichan!"
"Elena wants to go with Oniichan"
"… Ehh~"

Since the dragon didn’t attack, I decided to try turning the tables on them.
But things started heading in a completely unexpected direction, and now I had no idea how to resolve this.

What do you think about this chapter?