The fight was over.
The dragon's body was completely frozen.
However, its face did not freeze, probably due to the heat from its breath.
The dragon lay there motionless, its face peeking out from its frozen body.
Rie looked intently at the dragon, then shifted her gaze.
"What are we going to do with it now?"
"We have to kill it, what else?"
Priscilla was maintaining the freeze, but we couldn't just leave it like this forever.
If we don’t pay attention, the ice might melt, and the dragon could break free.
Rie responded to my words, licking her lips.
"How are we going to kill it?"
"..."
I was deep in thought about this.
I had thought about capturing it, but not about killing it.
Maybe I should keep hitting it on the head.
But then, I shook my head.
Even with a mana-infused fist, it wouldn't be enough to penetrate the dragon's scales.
It didn't seem like that would kill the dragon.
"I'll try piercing its head."
Locke approached us, drawing his sword.
"Is that even possible?"
"I did it once before with its tail, why not a second time?"
Having pierced its tail with his sword earlier, he thought there was a possibility.
"Hiccup..."
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the dragon's direction.
The dragon, which had been arrogant, thinking we couldn’t kill it, now had its pupils shaking wildly.
I looked at Locke.
"Let's try it once."
"Okay, then..."
"Hey, hey!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The dragon called out to us urgently.
We quietly looked at the dragon.
It hesitated and then spoke softly.
"Please spare me."
Even a dragon, a symbol of arrogance, did not want to die.
I looked at the dragon and smiled.
"I don't think so."
There was no reason to spare it.
Its entire body was a huge magic artifact.
The dragon's heart, scales, and claws were items worth a territory's budget.
These days, dragons are nearly extinct, and these items are hard to come by.
I didn’t have enough generosity to give that up for a stranger lizard.
Also, I wouldn't get points if I didn't kill it.
It's about the evaluation and the money.
There was no benefit for me in sparing it.
Instead, it could be a future nuisance.
"Locke."
"Please, really, I'll be good. I won't bother humans, I'll live quietly in the mountains. I won't do anything, I'll do as humans say. Just spare me, please... Sob..."
The dragon spoke rapidly, pleading for its life.
With a desperate voice and tears streaming down, the dragon pleaded.
Rie looked at the dragon with a look of disbelief.
"...Do dragons usually do this?"
"...I wouldn't know."
The dragon was pathetically begging for its life in front of me.
I felt as if my image of dragons was shattering into pieces.
"Hmm..."
I pondered internally, calculating the situation.
Is there any benefit to sparing its life?
How can I ensure it doesn't betray us if we let it live?
I decided to think it over slowly.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Rudy! Is it over?"
Then, from a distance, Luna and Emily approached.
"Sort of?"
"Wow... when you look at it closely, it's really big."
Luna looked up at the dragon, then tilted her head in confusion.
"...Is the dragon crying?"
"Sob... Sob..."
"...It's crying for its life."
Luna covered her mouth with a shocked and sympathetic expression.
I felt like this was going to be a real headache.
"Rudy..."
"No."
I cut off Luna's words, responding firmly.
But Luna puffed up her cheeks in response.
"It's pitiful. It's just asking to be spared!"
"How many people has it killed?"
"...I, I've never killed anyone."
The dragon spoke softly.
"See, it says it hasn't killed anyone."
"...We don't know if that's a lie or not."
"It's not a lie! I'm a young hatchling! My mother was also friendly with humans!"
"...A dragon friendly with humans?"
I had never heard such a thing.
If there had been a dragon trying to befriend humans, it would have been a topic of discussion in the magical beast studies.
But there was no such record.
"When I was in my mother's lair, I befriended a few humans! It's true!"
The dragon said this and then quietly bowed its head.
"However... my mother was killed by those humans."
I looked at the dragon skeptically.
I wondered if it was lying, trying to exploit Luna's sympathy.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But that wasn't the important part.
"If we don't kill it, we won't get any points."
We had wasted a lot of time trying to capture the dragon.
Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, so we could still fight others, but catching up with others' scores would be difficult.
"Are we going to settle for a low rank?"
"...If we get the points, will you spare it?"
Luna glanced at me, asking cautiously.
"...I'll think about it."
Then Luna raised her hand high.
"Teaching assistant! You're watching, right?"
Luna shouted into the void.
"Please come out for a moment!"
A few seconds after shouting, a teaching assistant emerged from the forest and walked towards us.
"Did you hear our conversation?"
"Yes... I did hear it."
The assistant scratched their head.
It must have been a tricky situation for the academy as well.
"The dragon is begging so desperately, don't you feel sorry for it?... If we can reform the dragon, it's essentially the same as dealing with a magical beast, so shouldn't we receive points?"
"...Firstly, I don't think it's my place to decide. I'll ask Professor Cromwell."
The assistant pulled out a square box from their pocket and brought it to their ear.
A light emitted from the box, and they spoke.
"...Yes, Professor. Yes. Have you seen the situation? Yes. Uh-huh... Understood."
The assistant nodded several times and closed the box.
"Professor Cromwell says that it's not about killing the magical beast, but assessing if we can handle one, so points will be awarded. However, the management of the dragon is up to the students. If you can't manage it, legal punishments may apply."
"Really!"
Luna clapped her hands happily.
She then looked triumphantly at me.
"So, we're good now?"
"I can... live?"
I looked sharply at the dragon.
Leaving such a treasure alive...
And we are to manage it?
On the other hand, there was also the question of whether we could even kill the dragon.
We didn't know for sure if it was possible.
Would the dragon still be so compliant after we attempted to kill it and decided it wasn't possible?
We also might lose the points if we aren't able to tame it.
After much thought, I looked at the others.
"What do you all think?"
Rie then spoke up.
"There's no need to kill unnecessarily. We are humans, not magical beasts."
Her words seemed exemplary, but her expression was one of annoyance.
She probably found it difficult to kill the dragon and wanted to finish the matter quickly.
Yuni looked at Rie, then turned to me and raised her hand.
"But if we spare it, how do we manage it? If we release it and it just flies away, we'll be penalized."
"We'll need to cast a restricting spell."
It could be done in the same way Principal McDowell placed a restraint on Yeniel.
Thinking it best to strike while the iron is hot, I looked at the assistant.
"Assistant, could you ask Professor Cromwell to prepare a contract tool for imposing a restraint?"
"Yes, I'll arrange it."
It would be too late if we waited until after the assessment, so this much help should be possible.
"Does this mean we are sparing the dragon?"
"Yes."
It was a pity that we couldn't replace its heart or other important parts with magical tools, but there was no other option.
More importantly, I wondered how we could utilize the dragon.
If we put a magical restraint on it, we would have to find a way to make use of it...
I looked at the dragon, licking my lips.
"Then, you're going to spare me?"
"Yes! Dragon, you're going to be spared!"
"Thank you... Thank you so much."
"Ah, but before that."
I extended my hand towards the dragon, realizing I had forgotten something.
"…Yes?"
"Thinking about it, I recall the words you said earlier?"
"…"
"What were they again? Deceitful? Petty? And something about being nothing on your own…?"
"I'm sorry... I spoke thoughtlessly to the humans..."
I crossed my arms and looked at the dragon, curious to see how far it would go with its words.
The dragon, sensing my gaze, continued.
"…Jumping around aimlessly, even less than a mere bug, a worthless lizard... Don't mind the words of this trash-like dragon. I spoke those words due to my far inferior knowledge compared to humans... Sob..."
Seeing the dragon, known for its pride, utter such words made me smile.
As I smiled broadly, Rie and Yuni glared at me.
"Are you a pervert?"
"Hmm~? Senior, do you like that sort of thing?"
I coughed at their comments.
"Cough, I'm just accepting the apology I'm owed."
And so, we decided to spare the dragon.
After the contract was completed, the dragon, having sustained significant injuries, entered its lair and fell asleep.
We slowly started packing up the gear we had prepared for capturing the dragon.
Luna, while gathering her things, stopped and looked at me sitting quietly.
"What are you going to do now, Rudy?"
"I plan to stay around here."
Having captured the dragon, we had amassed a substantial amount of points.
Apart from Luna, Rie, and Locke who were here with me, my score was incomparable to the others.
Additionally, I had run into many students before arriving here, creating a significant gap in points between me and the others present.
Thus, I was just waiting for one person.
I was certain he would come here.
The fact that there was a dragon at the mountain's peak was known to all the students.
Only a few could actually capture this dragon.
He would know.
He would know that I had fought the dragon.
Curiosity alone would bring him here to see what kind of battle had taken place.
I looked at everyone and smiled.
"I'll be waiting here for Evan."
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