NOVEL WEB Chapter 10
Philoria Continent,
The largest nation on the continent, the Levant Empire, shines beneath the sun, which serves as its symbol. This vast land surrounded by the ocean is referred to as the Philoria Continent in the TBG Heroes world. Just like Earth is categorized into continents such as Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, the Tutorial Village is apparently a desolate area located at the northern end of the Philoria Continent.
As one moves further away from the empire, the exchange of resources naturally becomes more frequent. The youth of the village all leave for the capital, leaving the tribe leader and the remaining residents in a state of poverty. This means no one spends any money in the village. To make a living, funding is essential, but the only place to collect money is the Adventurer Guild, which is a gathering place for third-rate underlings, making it naturally weak.
“Hmm? Then why are you, Master, going to the guild…?” Eleina questioned, tilting her head with a puzzled look as she put her hands together to cover her mouth like someone who just made a mistake.
“…” Eleina nervously glanced around, appearing like a puppy waiting for its owner. She looked so pitiful. How much suffering must she have endured? How deep must her wounds be? I couldn’t gauge her feelings.
Keyal, having just woken up and shaken out her messy hair, gently caressed Eleina’s cheeks, making her smile. She grinned like a shy girl.
*
I returned my adventurer’s certificate to a woman seated at the guild counter. Meanwhile, a piercing gaze bearing down on me made my skin crawl with discomfort.
“Damn… I didn’t do anything…”
Of course, from a third-party perspective, I might have looked like the villain…
“…Please treat me kindly.”
That wasn’t the intention of our conversation.
With eyes that seemed to be devoid of light, Eleina stepped into the guild. Her pale eyes were sunken and void of their original charming mint hue, resembling grass that had withered away. She looked like she’d been living a hard life for over a month.
To anyone, she would appear as a poor woman suffering from a heartache after being abandoned by her lover. Or perhaps, seen as a woman deceived by her husband, living in harsh circumstances, struggling to get by.
She began to blow soft breaths, her blank expression giving away her uncertainty. From the employee’s viewpoint, I must have appeared as a rogue looking down on Eleina.
I shook off these thoughts as I examined an extensive map spread out before me.
“Eleina, look at this.”
I pointed to a cave on the map, addressing Eleina, who was still munching on her breakfast.
“Th-That place…”
Eleina’s expression soured abruptly.
“Huh…? Why…?”
She appeared to be neither relieved nor upset enough to shed a tear but instead displayed her dissatisfaction openly.
This cave I pointed to was known as the Dragon Lair of the Gold Mine Dragon.
*
The Gold Mine Dragon, Edric, was the second roundtable hero of the guild, a demigod-dragon who claimed to be the strongest. With golden scales that shone with a fiery glow, the dragon illuminated the world with each step, calling herself the Gold Mine Dragon—a manifestation of arrogance.
Not only was the dragon’s pride legendary, but she also bore the blood of transcendents—gods, making her haughty disposition even stronger.
The sun that shines upon the Levant Empire is not merely a metaphor for a king or ruler but is instead the brilliant light of the fires of the deity Natalya—a title unique to her magnificence.
The only living being related to Natalya was the Gold Mine Dragon herself.
However, Natlya had rejected her for the sinister aspects of her divine blood, and the Gold Mine Dragon despised her mother for this rejection.
Even though they shared the same blood, their bond was weaker than that of strangers… known as mother and daughter on paper, but essentially a relationship on the lookout for an opportune moment to turn against one another.
“I had a good relationship with Dad even though things were rocky with Mom…”
Recalling memories with her made tears nearly spill from my eyes… but they didn’t.
I could vividly see the precious little dragon girl performing antics on the screen, calling out to her foolish father and being adorable.
If Eleina hadn’t shown her displeasure, I would have rushed to go see that darling little dragon girl right away.
“She can be a bit demanding, but she’s actually a good girl.”
Confirming our next destination was the Dragon Lair, Eleina pouted, refusing to speak.
“…”
Rather than coaxing her, it seemed I would have to convince Eleina before we could head to the Dragon Lair.
She truly is sweet and lovely…
*
We boarded the carriage towards the Dragon Lair.
It would take at least three days, so we needed to stock up on water and food along the way.
The Dragon Lair is a territory inhabited by dragons, naturally surrounded by ferocious monsters that even Eleina and I would find challenging.
“So we need to prepare thoroughly…”
My stats are rather decent, and as a 6-star hero, Eleina is undoubtedly much stronger than me.
If I were to quantify Eleina’s stats, they would likely exceed mine by about 30%.
Her basic specs alone were three times better.
By now, having even a powerful spirit as her companion, Eleina’s accumulated experience must have transformed her into a more advanced being.
Keyal grinned savagely.
I had never intentionally sought to enhance her growth.
However, seeing her becoming stronger and more resilient for my sake today made me feel more impressed than ever.
“Good things are good….”
Even while setting up the tent, Keyal stepped away from his position.
Then, he began to stroke Eleina’s hair.
“Hmm… mmm…”
With pure, lovely reactions, she leaned into me like a quivering little cat.
“Just a bit more… mmm… just a little bit more…”
Eventually, becoming increasingly pliable, she grabbed my hand firmly, pulling it closer to her head.
As we embraced intimately, I could sense her warmth and fragrant breath.
Her dreamy eyes met mine, and our skin brushed against each other.
The sudden closeness startled me—maybe it was intentional.
Whip!
I quickly pulled away from her.
“…”
“…Damn, that was dangerous…”
I realized I had gotten a bit too flustered.
I nearly crossed the line with this character I’ve been nurturing like a child.
After a brief pause, I lowered my gaze.
There, looming below, was another presence greeting me.
With a flared climax, another biological entity waved cheerily.
“Wahh…! I’m a baby… a male organ…!”
Trying to fit that comically grotesque appendage into the picture took a bit of effort.
“Damn, go inside… crazy thing.”
I coaxed, yelled, but couldn’t bring myself to retaliate.
“How do I even deal with this…?”
Sighing, I left my son to deal with his own business, feeling a deep sigh of relief at the end.
With an “Adios” to this amusing, over-the-top version of my son, he oddly looked even more charming today.
“…Thank you, Ent Smith.”
*
After packing the pre-prepared supplies into my backpack, we resumed our journey in our carriage.
“I’m sorry… Master.”
Was she apologizing for yesterday’s incident?
Eleina bowed her head deeply.
“Uh..? No, it’s okay, Eleina.”
I made a gesture to reassure the self-reproaching Eleina.
“Is it because of what happened yesterday? If that’s the case, it’s fine. Since time immemorial, there’s a saying that when a man and a woman draw closer, they cross a taboo line—”
“Ah… no, that’s… it’s fine… about that…”
Trying to ease the atmosphere, I spoke only to be interrupted midway, as Eleina averted her gaze downward, fiddling with a ragged pouch.
“Ah… don’t tell me…”
Connecting the dots, I realized that her gaze was fixed on the shabby pouch in her hand.
Without delay, I threw a question her way.
“Is it weighing on your mind that I spent gold because of you…?”
Nodding,
Silent, Eleina weakly bobbed her head.
“…”
A brief silence fell within the carriage.
“…”
The truth is, I don’t have enough funds to spend freely.
However…
“Elf silver coins are different from the silver coins humans use.”
An average adventurer would have to cash out an entire day’s wage just to hire a carriage.
Thank goodness I used up all the bounty I earned from taking out goblins…
Otherwise, I would have been bankrupt long ago.
“Don’t worry too much. Money will come back quickly.”
Feeling merry, I flicked a silver coin from my pocket.
Ting!
The coin bounced out,
“Are you suggesting…”
Eleina watched with uncertainty but quickly adjusted her posture.
“Ah, no. I don’t want to earn it the hard way; I already have something in mind.”
“Our destination is the Dragon Lair, right?”
With a cordial smile, I pointed to the distant landmark that indicated our next destination.