Welcome to Hell! - Chapter 259: Leo’s Thoughts

The spectacle of the battle had come to an end. As King Carl and his entourage made their exit, I remained kneeling with one knee on the ground with my head bowed, waiting for them to leave. I only stood up after confirming that all the high-ranking people had departed, one by one.

At that moment, I softened my exoskeleton to make it resemble normal skin. Initially, softening even a single finger was difficult, but now I could do so without much thought and even maintain the softness effortlessly. I grew up too.

“Well done, Boss.”

“There might be others like Zald or Tigar who could take down a fire dragon alone. But to do it like this…”

“Yeah, only Boss could pull that off.”

“…Why is this lizard the reward, though?”

When I stood up, my comrades who had arrived at the arena began to praise me, though one seemed a bit disgruntled. I wasn’t seeking any reward. Under the supervision of Lieselotte, any necessary supplies for our journey to the southern part of the continent would be arranged by her. I had no desire for anything else, so I asked for the freedom of the fire dragon who was in the same situation I was in once.

Yes, I intended to set this fire dragon free. I didn’t know where its home was, but that was a question for later. It couldn’t be too far from the kingdom.

“Umm, sensei? There’s something I’d like to ask…”

“What is it, Chirik?”

“I’d like to touch the fire dragon! Would that be alright?”

While I was thinking about the process of releasing the fire dragon, Chirik, who had been silent until now, said that he wanted to touch the dragon. Ah, maybe this is the reason why he has been nervous ever since we met up; it was due to this curiosity. He must have understood that fire dragons were dangerous and ferocious creatures, but that was probably why he wanted to touch it. It seemed to be a case of curiosity piqued by fear.

When I glanced at the fire dragon, I saw that it was lying motionless with its eyelids closed. Initially, its spirit blazed like a fierce fire at the start of the battle, but upon defeat, it neither trembled in fear nor cowered but simply lay in silence. I had thought it was merely a wild beast at first but perhaps there was more to it.

“It should be safe if I’m beside you. Go ahead and touch it.”

“Yes!”

“Rrrrrrrr…”

When I led Chirik towards the dragon, he hesitantly reached out to touch it. Though his vision was weak, he must have had some sense of the dragon’s size through his hearing, but only by touching could his curiosity be satisfied. Driven by a strong intellectual curiosity, Chirik couldn’t resist the urge to feel it for himself.

Meanwhile, the fire dragon, half-opening its eyes and growling, did not refuse Chirik’s touch. The growl seemed to convey not discomfort or fear but merely confusion. It was convenient that it wasn’t showing any signs of dislike, but… perhaps it was time to ask.

[Hey, can you hear me?]

[..…?!]

When I established telepathic communication, the fire dragon’s eyes widened in surprise. The sudden presence of a voice in its mind must have startled it, yet it managed to contain its agitation by simply opening its eyes wide. In my mind, I elevated my opinion of the fire dragon even further.

[Responding telepathically…seems difficult for you. I was like that too.]

Just as it had been for me when I first received telepathic messages from Woodsorrel, mastering telepathy to allow for two-way communication required practice. Especially since it took me a long time to learn telepathy, I felt an affinity for the fire dragon’s reactions.

However, this made communication difficult. What should I do in times like this? I drew on what I had learned from my interactions with Woodsorrel.

[Blink once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand?]

(Blink)

Good, the message was received. This fire dragon was not just a mere brute. Perhaps it just didn’t have to use its brain so far, and it’s actually more intelligent?

It was unclear whether this was a characteristic of all dragon species or unique to this fire dragon. But I believed that at least basic communication was now possible.

[Don’t harm this child and my comrades. It seems you had no intention to do so from the start, but I’ll say it just in case.]

(Blink)

[Good. Did you calm down because you accepted defeat?]

(Blink)

[I see. You truly are intelligent. Then, you must understand. I have settled matters with the Furu people here, and you will be set free. I will send you back to your homeland.]

(…Blink, blink)

Hmm? I thought conveying the news of freedom would be met with joy, but the reaction was not as expected. In fact, it seemed to be a denial. What could this mean?

“Do you not wish to return to your homeland?”

(Blink, blink)

[You wish to return, yet you do not desire freedom…Could it be that you prefer to remain under the care of the Furu people here?]

(Blink, blink)

It didn’t want to be kept here, but it also didn’t want to go back to its hometown. I found myself becoming increasingly confused. I gazed back into the eyes of the fire dragon who was staring intently at me. The emotions in those eyes… they almost reminded me of Lappy when she had a favor to ask.

[Could it be that you wish to come with us?”

(Blink)

It seems that my guess, which I thought was impossible, was the correct one. I placed my hand on my forehead and looked up at the sky. I never thought that a fire dragon would want to join the ranks of those who had defeated it.

I thought about the implications of traveling with the fire dragon. I had no idea how much food it would require, but it was almost certain to eat far more than even a glutton like Gora. Moreover, the horses and cattle pulling the wagons would certainly be frightened. Taking it along didn’t seem like a wise decision.

As I wrestled with this dilemma, Lieselotte and the others appeared in the arena. She was accompanied by Chris, Hilda, Leo, and Lappy. While we had continued to exchange letters through Acht, it had been a long time since I had seen Leo and Lappy in person.

“You’ve done well. It was an indisputable show of strength.’

“I’m honored by your praise, but… an unexpected problem has occurred. You see…”

I shared with everyone how I had managed to establish telepathic communication with the fire dragon and how it now wished to join us. Chirik and Leo’s eyes sparkled with excitement but the others wore expressions of concern.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that others had arrived at the same conclusion as I had. However, I had already told the king that I would take responsibility for this fire dragon. I didn’t want to act irresponsibly… but what should I do?

“In that case, how about I take care of it in my territory? Of course, this would be under the condition that it obeys me….”

“I appreciate that, but we would need a convincing reason to persuade it. Does anyone have a good excuse?”

“Hmm, how about this? It’s still too weak to accompany us, so we say it needs training.”

Chris proposed the idea as if it were simple, but even if it were weaker than us, the creature in question was a fire dragon. Finding someone capable of training it would be no small feat as very few would be up to the task. Where would we even find such a person?

“…Perfect. Then I’ll be the one to train it.”

“Leo?”

“I’ll stay behind and take care of it. Leave it to me, big brother.”

◆◇◆◇◆◇

The day after our battle in the arena, Leo and I returned alone to our comrades’ hidden camp. I explained what happened in the royal capital to my comrades who were surprised that there were only two of us and that we didn’t have any luggage.

“Such things happened? Even so, the boss always seems to get caught up in trouble, doesn’t he?”

“It’s not something to laugh about. The boss didn’t get involved by choice, you know.”

It was Tuhru, Linardo’s wife, who scolded him for finding amusement in the situation. She cradled their son, Lawqum, the first second-generation demon in her arms. He reached out his hands toward me when he saw me.

It seemed that he found me unusual because he hadn’t seen me for a long time. I extended my tail towards him, and Lawqum quickly grabbed the tip and squeezed it. What was surprising was that the squeaks and creaks of my exoskeleton had become noticeably louder. It seems that his monstrous strength, which didn’t befit a baby of his age, was growing.

“No doubt about it. So, the option is to stay under the young lady’s protection? I don’t dislike her, but…”

“I’m not too keen on it either. Lawqum might end up having a hard time.”

Linardo and Tuhru clearly had no intention of staying under Lieselotte’s protection. We were demons, beings created by merging humans with other creatures. Furthermore, many of the humans used as materials were criminals, and the demons mass-produced by Karelvo were prone to violence. As a result, the majority held a negative view of demons.

It’s important to remember that Lieselotte and King Carl were rare exceptions. Even if we were to go to Lieselotte’s territory, discrimination was almost certain. With a small child in their care, they preferred to seek a new land rather than remain in such a place.

This idea wasn’t unique to Linardo and his family; it was, in fact, the majority opinion, with very few expressing their wish to stay. As of now, only Leo and Bolts have expressed their intention to stay. However, even Leo’s idea was uncertain, because…

“There’s no way that’s going to happen!”

The camp was echoed with Tigar’s angry shouts. Leo had suggested he could stay behind for Lieselotte and the fire dragon, but I couldn’t just allow that. I knew without a doubt that Tigar would oppose it.

He opposed because he was worried about his son, Leo, and Leo understood that concern. That’s why I made convincing Tigar a condition for Leo’s desire to stay. I had brought him here for that purpose, but it seemed to be a failure.

“Listen to me, Dad! I’ve thought this through…”

“You don’t understand anything! What can you possibly do by staying behind alone?!”

“I want to show them we’re not a threat! For that, someone has to stay behind, right?!”

Leo’s argument had merit. The only way for others to understand us was through direct communication, but few were willing to engage with us. Without that, the number of people who understood us would never increase.

If they wouldn’t approach us, then we had to make the first move. Despite the inevitable exposure to malice… Leo was willing to stay and fight for our cause, understanding the risks.

He would have probably chosen to stay even without the fire dragon’s involvement. He must have been harboring these thoughts alone for a while, though I wish he had consulted with someone. That might have helped in convincing Tigar…

“There’s no need for that! It’s bound to be impossible anyway!”

“How would you know without trying?!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, you half-baked brat!”

However, Tigar was outright dismissing Leo’s arguments. While he claimed to value his son’s safety, calling Leo half-baked was too much. Leo had thought things through and arrived at his own conclusions.

Just when Tigar was heating up and both Sharl and I were about to calm him down, Leo narrowed his eyes and began to increase his fighting spirit and spiritual power, as if he was facing an enemy.

Tigar responded in kind and increased his own fighting spirit and spiritual power. The energy leaking from their heightened emotions clashed in the space between them, sending electric shocks through the surrounding area.

“So, I just need to prove I’m fully capable, right?”

“You’ll have to convince me!”

The moment they drew their swords and lunged at each other was perfectly synchronized. Thus began the serious showdown between Tigar, the Thunder Tiger demon, and Leo, the Radiant Lion demon. It was a true father-son confrontation.