Chapter 6 – Mistake
As soon as she opened the door, the looks of the others stabbed into her like daggers. While Salia was used to it, it was still annoying.
Even then, people had previously still talked to her, as if to maintain old friendships. But these days, it seemed like they only looked at her as if she was a disease.
“Oh, Saliashe. What form of entertainment have you prepared for us today?”
“I’m sorry. I am out of ideas. Perhaps it is time for you to come up with something instead. Like a song of sweet love and little else of value?”
She said as she rushed on. Leaving the god to grumble about fallen gods.
“Don’t be too harsh. That man seems to have had his pride severely wounded after being rejected by you. He’s been criticizing you for one thing or another since.”
Said the dragon god as she approached. it was currently lying comfortably on the grass and enjoying the sun.
“I do feel bad for him. I accidentally told him the truth. That he is a pampered boy who has nothing but his looks and songs.”
“Haha. Indeed. He is as bland as cabbage. I would need some dressing if I were to eat him.”
“That would not be wise. He has a habit of insulting women who have turned him down. I cannot imagine how someone like that would taste good.”
Salia said with a smile before turning back to the dragon god with a serious expression.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“As I’ve told you before, I do not participate in the games. And now that you are, you cannot ask for my help.”
“I know. And so, I was just wondering if you could give me a little glimpse of the treasures you’ve been hoarding.”
The others were looking at her now. Apparently, her brother was not present, but if he was, then he would surely say something.
“…We are attracting too much attention here. Let us go to my god seat.”
Realizing her intent, the dragon lifted its giant body lightly into the air and then landed by the west gate. Salia followed him, and they soon arrived at the seat where he lived.
It was a giant cave.
There were small holes in the walls, and even smaller holes inside of them.
However, each hole was filled with things.
Books. From different worlds, ages, of different sizes, languages. A library of great knowledge.
“Impressive as always.”
“Mmm. I acquired those recently.”
The dragon pointed to one part in the back of the cave. There were square metal boxes that looked out of place.
Some would recognize them as server machines for computers. Salia did not know much about them, but they were common technology in the more advanced worlds.
“Look at whatever you like. I use them for organizing information. Like this.”
There was a computer room with small dragons who faced the machines with serious expressions.
“They make records and compress the information that is getting too large. Paper has its own appeal, but it takes up so much space, and I have to rush around the cave to find what I want.”
“Haha. Even when you are a god, you still have a habit of collecting things.”
“The avarice of dragons can never be cured.”
It was said that the dragon god had seen the ends of the world. And when it did, its interest in treasure and magic tools shifted to an interest in knowledge.
However, he was one of the wisest among the gods, and it was said that there was nothing he did not know, concerning the other worlds.
“So, for what knowledge did you visit this cave today?”
“I want information regarding a monster that entered the world of the current game.”
“And I should show you?”
“It would not be against the rules. It is only something that the other gods already know. And most Heroes could defeat the lowly monsters without information on them.”
The dragon sighed.
“Salia. Why did you do something so foolish?”
“I’m very sorry, but if you wish to reprimand, I will listen to it later.”
“Did my proposal leave you discontent?”
“No, it was an honor too great for a fallen god.”
“Still…teaming up with such a monster. What made you want to join the games so bad?”
Salia bit her lip and kept silent.
“Well, well. Nevermind then.”
The dragon sighed and handed Salia a single board.
“There is some advice for the games there. Not very reliable, but you could take a look. Just give it back to one of them when you are done.”
“Th-thank you…?”
The transparent board had an image on it. She realized it was a device that allowed you to acquire information through touching the surface.
“I see. So this is the dragon god’s tabula smaragdina.”
“Well, something like that.”
Regardless, she then turned seriously towards the device, which was surely much too small for the dragon in the first place.
Salia tapped the screen and opened a page about monsters. There were rows of data on them. Everything from their appearance to characteristics.
She then found the section on kobolds.
[Kobolds]
Part of the beastkin category that is also known as the weakest of monsters. While their appearance varies between worlds, they often have heads that resemble dogs.
Aside from strength, they are also low in intelligence. And so they tend to be used as workers for other monsters.
As they are very cowardly, they often live in hiding.
Very few can use magic. Their average lifespan is about 30 years, but few ever reach that age.
She looked at the numbers and saw that the only thing they excelled at was speed.
Salia then looked through the other day, but she had trouble finding the monster that she was looking for.
As she furrowed her eyebrows, she heard a happy voice from above.
“Oh! A rare drop! Now I have completed the collection!”
“…I don’t know what you are talking about, but congratulations.”
“And how are things going with you? Did you find what you wanted?”
“It seems like I am very bad with machines.”
The dragon god then tapped his own device and brought up the data.
“In other words, You are searching for a monster that kobolds can defeat? If that is the case, you should search for ‘kobold’ and ‘level,’ as well as ‘weak attributes’ etcetera.”
“Hmm. I see.”
The dragon touched the screen a few times and the data appeared. Their eyes then landed on one monster.
“What about this one? It is not very dangerous, so your monster should be able to manage it.”
“…Indeed.”
Salia felt as if she was looking at a mountain of treasure.
And so she wasted no time in finding a path to guide the kobold there.
“No, no. Not that page. You should use this app.”
“No, I…”
“Do not be modest. Here, push this.”
“Tha…thank you.”
The dragon was rather caring, and so Salia chuckled and decided to obey.
“Rust Eaters?”
A few days after leaving his home, Sheto’s journey had come to an end for the time being. In order to search for a monster that he could defeat, he had passed several mountains.
During that time, he had encountered several monsters and beasts.
He had even managed to hunt a few mountain urchins. Though, he had also nearly died from poison.
Already, this forest of broadleaf trees smelled nothing like what he had known. It probably made little difference to most humans and monsters. But as someone who lived in a forest, it was important to him.
It was the scent that let him know what was dangerous and what was not.
‘That’s right. There is an abandoned mine nearby. And that is where they are.’
“Rust Eater. Have heard of them. But never seen.”
‘Your weapons are all made of wood. So there should be no problem if you hit them.’
“But they will eat my hatchet?”
The hatchet was his lifeline, and it had sentimental value. It was given to him by his father. And he did not want to let it go so easily.
‘I suppose you will have to hide it somewhere then. Bury in a campsite. You should leave your bow as well.’
“Why!? I cannot fight without it!”
‘You are good at long distance attacks, but you are not very good at close quarters. I think you should make a wooden spear and practice.’
He protested for a while, but eventually agreed. After that, he searched for a place to camp while also sniffing the surrounding area.
Amongst the beech wood, he smelled the scent of moisture. It seemed that there was a nest with chicks that had just recently hatched in the treetop. And on some of the lower trees, there were red and purple berries.
There was little influence of monsters, and normal animals lived here. If he searched a little more, he would likely find deer, rabbits and foxes.
“Good forest. But, do not want to stay long.”
‘Why? The mine is abandoned, you know? No humans will…’
“Probably come some time. To pick up fallen ore.”
‘I see. A professional would not bother, but there are some people who may think they can make money through scavenging…’
“Also…monsters come to mines.”
‘I see. Yes, they do like to live in dark and damp places. But do not worry. They know not to stay around Rust Eaters.”
“And I am going to fight them.”
‘Hahaha…’
He thought he could see her smiling at his words.
In fact, through the water, he had seen her face earlier. As expected, she looked like a human. He could not bother to determine whether she would be considered to be beautiful or not. He was not some degenerate who could feel attractions towards human creatures.
After some searching, Sheto decided to hide his equipment at the roots of a tree that grew over a moss-covered boulder. There was a small hole that he could just fit inside of. And he could easily disguise the entrance with some grass and dirt.
‘Still. I’m surprised you could find such a place without having been here before.’
“Not really. This was just the best place. Otherwise, would have chosen the tree over there.”
‘Ah. I did think you were going to choose it.’
“That one too big. More likely to be found. The fallen tree a little earlier. That was also hollowed.”
‘But that one had bugs…’
The goddess said with disgust. The kobold chuckled as he began to trim a branch for a spear.
“You are all like this?”
‘Oh, I am not overly squeamish. It’s just…I hate bugs.’
“If you are like that, then humans are too. For me, I get house to hide and good food. The best.”
The fallen tree with the juicy grubs. It was a good hiding place. After all, humans were disgusted and were less likely to look inside.
“Salia. You, what is favorite food?”
‘Unlike you, we gods do not need to eat all of the time. It is just a very small part of our existence.’
“Hmm?”
‘That being said, I am quite happy to eat food from the surface world. Mountain grapes and peaches are delicious.’
“Should I make offering later?”
‘That would be nice. After this battle is over, perhaps you can build a shrine for me.’
Salia said with a laugh.
If he was being honest, she was a useless goddess, who made him uncertain about the future.
But he liked to hear her laugh.
Naturally, they seemed to talk more. And telling Salia various things had become part of his daily routine.
“Finished.”
It was a crude thing. Just a carved tree branch. It would have been ideal to make it out of more durable wood materials, but he could not complain now.
‘Well, let’s go then.’
“Yes.”