Atelier Tanaka - Book 7: Chapter 3 (3)

Great Holy Land (2nd)

『Fufu~n, what a pathetic sight.』

The Dragon-san was relishing every moment of it.

The two of them have never got along with each other.

There was a sinister smile of satisfaction on her face.

『They’re right, you know? You should just leave already and go back to wherever you came from. Nobody wants you here.』

“Umm, t-this is the expected r-reaction….”

I wanted to speak up to console her, but I couldn’t think of what to say.

I have my own reasons for disliking being around the Goggoru-san, but it’s not as if I dislike her as a person. Besides, we’ve been together the last few days working alongside one another. I feel we’ve grown closer and I don’t want to let her go because I know how important she is to Tanaka-san.

『A goggoru will never be able to live with humans.』

“That’s…umm….”

The comments weren’t even directed at me but it still hurt to hear.

I’m sure most people are like me and choose to keep a distance from her. There are very few people in this world that would stand by her side.

Even now, there’s a good distance between us. An outsider watching this scene could easily interpret me being on the side of the angry crowd. My conscience is telling me to stand beside her, but my feet remained still and I held my place in the crowd with a growing pain in my chest.

I know if Tanaka-san was here, he’d already be beside her telling her everything will be alright.

But I’m not someone capable of doing that.

It’s only natural for someone to be scared of having their thoughts read.

“Goggorus aren’t welcome here!”

While I was worrying over what to do, someone shouted from the crowd before a stone came flying from somewhere within the crowd toward the Goggoru-san. It was a large stone, the size of a fist. Whoever threw it used all of their strength. The stone hit the Goggoru-san right in the face.

There was an audible thud.

It then fell to the ground at her feet.

There was a noticeable red mark on her cheek where it had hit her. The stone was thrown with such force that, if she had been a human, it easily would have cracked her bones.

I’ve heard from Tanaka-san that not only are goggorus sturdy people, this goggoru is special and even stronger than a normal member of her race. I doubt any normal human could do much to hurt her by throwing a stone. When the stone smashed into her face, she didn’t even move.

“….”

Still, she does have the appearance of a young girl and seeing someone throw a stone at her was heartbreaking. Her expression remained the same as she raised a hand to her cheek and slowly rubbed the red spot. This gave off a rather pitiable image.

Her childish appearance and reserved personality created a surreal image of a child who had abandoned all hope. The visual struck something deep down inside of me. The Goggoru-san remained silent throughout it all. She seemed to be staring at something in the distance that I couldn’t see.

What should I do?

Should we just sleep outside of town?

That sounds good.

Let’s do that.

I don’t mind sleeping outside for a night or two. This is near a resort area for the nobility and they selected this region for an idea. The temperature is agreeable throughout the year and it’s patrolled regularly so there is minimal fear of wild animals or bandits.

Now that I made up my mind, I turned to the Dragon-san to try to convince her.

“Umm, i-if you don’t mind….”

『Oi, who threw that rock!?』

Just as I had finally gathered the courage to approach the Dragon-san, she turned her attention to the crowd. Her sinister smile was gone and now her inhuman eyes and sharp teeth contorted into an expression that would terrify any human.

She walked toward the crowd without hesitating. She had a clear target in mind. One of the men in the crowd that had been particularly hard on the Goggoru-san and the same man that had thrown the stone.

『It was you, wasn’t it?』

“W-What’s the problem? Your dress suggests you’re a noble, so what quarrel do you have with me?”

『You were the one that threw that rock, right?』

“That goggoru is freely walking through town. As a true believer, it’s not only natural but expected of me to throw stones at it. I-I don’t see the problem. Don’t tell me, ojou-sama, you’re trying to show mercy to a goggoru?”

This man seems to have misjudged the Dragon-san as a noblewoman based on the dress she wore. It was given to her by Fahren-sama, so it is made from a high-quality, expensive material. As the maid responsible for cleaning it every time she got it dirty while building Dragon City, I can personally attest to the quality of it.

He couldn’t be more wrong. She’s not only not a noble, but she’s not even human. However, her position as mayor of Dragon City puts her at a higher rank than most low-ranking nobles. Not to mention the amount of gold that flows through that city is immense and it continues to grow with each passing day.

“…eh?”

The Dragon-san slowly raised her hand.

“….”

I don’t think this will end well.

I can already see the surrounding buildings and people stained in red.

“P-Please, wait!”

I rushed to her side and wrapped myself around her arm in an attempt to stop her.

『…g-get your hands off of me!』

“Hiii….”

I knew the Dragon-san would yell at me.

I even let out a little pee.

『You almost just had your arm ripped off! Do you understand how stupid that was!?』

“If you attack the townspeople, T-Tanaka-san will be angry with you! I’ll handle this, Christina-san. I’ll take care of it, so please, stay back! P-P-Please!”

『Gu….』

Bringing up Tanaka-san’s name had the desired effect.

The Dragon-san lowered her arm without any resistance.

This exchange left the man who had thrown the stone with a confused look on his face.

I put myself between the Dragon-san and him and tried to defuse the situation.

“I-I’d like to apologize on her behalf. This girl is the daughter of a powerful nobleman from the Penny Empire and that goggoru belongs to her house as well. If anything were to happen to her, your life would be in g-great danger, so we beg for your forgiveness for not abiding by your customs….”

“Eh….?”

『Oi, why would we ask for his forgiveness!?』

I may be stretching the truth a bit, but if he continues what he’s doing, the end result for this man would be the same, so it should be okay.

The man’s complexion slowly turned pale after hearing what I said. The distance we were keeping from the Goggoru-san gave off the impression that she was alone. This man never noticed us walking some distance ahead of her and didn’t even think that this noble-dressed girl and a maid would be accompanying this lone goggoru.

“No, even so, t-there’s no collar around its neck.”

“Ojou-sama has a very caring heart….”

“….”

I turned to the Dragon-san and lowered my head. The education I received at the dormitory to be a proper maid to the nobility was being put to full use here. I learned that a minor detail that carries a great significance is the angle of the waist when bowing to your master. It’s all about the angle.

『…gururururu』

I’m still worried that the Dragon-san will attack the man.

The man hesitated for a moment before taking a few steps back.

Before I knew it, he had dropped to his knees.

It was a textbook example of prostration. His forehead was even touching the ground.

“I didn’t realize she belonged to a noble. I beg for your forgiveness. P-P-Please, forgive me! I’ve learned my lesson and will never treat a goggoru like that again. Please, just show me mercy! I’ll do anything if you let me live….”

The relationship between commoners and the nobility remains the same even in the Great Holy Land.

I’d imagine a country like this gets many nobles visiting from various countries and interactions like this aren’t uncommon. However, when I think that one of the more serious incidents involved me, I had mixed feelings about it.

I won’t deny that I got a little pleasure from a grown man groveling at my feet.

“O-Oi, Oi, she’s the servant of a noble!” “T-They said it wasn’t a slave!” “I don’t want to get involved with this! It’s going to end horribly!” “Mama, goggoru! Goggoru!” “Don’t look at it!” “That man threw a rock at a nobleman’s servant. He’s as good as dead.” “That was close. I was about to throw one too….”

The surrounding crowd overheard me and they quickly scattered like cockroaches when a light is turned on. They saw this man cowering and knew that it was best to flee.

It only took a few seconds for the crowd to clear, leaving only me, the Dragon-san, the Goggoru-san, and the man who threw the stone. Anybody that passed by gave us a wide berth and ignored the strange sight of a grown man on his knees. This is what the power of the nobility is capable of.

The Dragon-san watched in silence with her cold eyes.

『…hmph, what a waste of breath. Let’s get going already.』

It looks like she’s calmed down.

Thank goodness.

I didn’t want to get thrown in jail.

I don’t think that would end well for me.

“…thank you.”

I let out a small sigh of relief before the Goggoru-san approached me to thank me. I can’t say why, but this small thanks sent a wave of warmth through my chest. It’s similar to a terrifying animal sharing a piece of its prey with a smaller pup.

It feels great.

I’m happy I did my best to defend her.

Maybe a day will come when the two of us could become friends.

I have my doubts, but I’d be happy if we do.

『I-It’s not like I did that for you!』

“I was only talking to Sophia.”

『Gu….』

“…that was a joke.”

『W-W-What the hell!? Haa!?』

“…thank you, dragon.”

『Shut up, shut up, shut up! Be quiet! Damn goggoru!』

She’s doing her best to hide her embarrassment.

The Dragon-san disregarded the bowing Goggoru-san and started marching ahead of us.

“Ah, w-wait up!”

I quickly hurried after her with the Goggoru-san following behind me. She remained a short distance behind us, a little further than the length of a spear. She might even be farther back than she was before. Maybe she’s doing it out of concern for us.

I think it might be a good idea to get her new clothes while she’s here. In her current outfit, any passerby can tell that she’s a goggoru. With something that covers a bit more skin, it might be possible for her to walk through the streets without being harassed. I’ll bring up this suggestion when we get to the inn.