Oh my god, Victor thought to himself as he watched the fireworks at the bottom of the mountain. The crater above appeared in a violent eruption, sending fireballs and foul-smelling clouds of smoke flying out and the earth shaking.
Although not religious, the adventurer prayed to the Twelve Gods to prevent Winkle from actually breaking out in his rage. "man……"
"Chief..." Red and the other kobolds cowered at the sight and hid behind the lead mountain that Wankel's treasure had turned into.
"I think it would be best not to mention this matter again near Wankel." The animals all nodded at once. "He will eventually calm down, but when he does, we will provide our beloved dragon ruler with full emotional support and be careful not to use the word 'leader' until the day we die. This is for everyone's good." "
Victor glanced at the chaos around him; he managed a barely decent emergency landing in the wasteland without Fankel's support and hid the treasure there. Not that he thought anyone was trying to steal it now.
Maybe they should consider becoming plumber adventurers? That would be great for Mario.
"Boss, what should we do?" Blue asked him in horror, seeking guidance.
"Now...well, you have family here, right?" The animals nodded. "Visit them, or practice your dance. Take some rest."
"But Chief," Pink protested, "we can't abandon Master Winkle in his time of need!"
The ground shook with another violent explosion. Victor looked back at the mountain and noticed the giant monster fleeing the volcano. It seems the local bad guys have wisely decided to flee the area. A giant worm flew over the edge of the crater, probably thrown by Winkel.
How long has Long been furious? Days? Or will he calm down if he kills Fuli Ben?
"Okay," Victor said. "You see, 'Master Vink' is too angry to act rationally, and he can't calm down for a while. Think of this as a vacation. You deserve it because you've done a great job so far."
As the kobolds and kobolds kept exchanging glances, Victor suddenly realized that these professional servants had no concept of vacation at all. They only serve larger creatures and do not understand life outside.
"Listen, Minions, I have a secret mission for you. Do you remember Winkle's glorious vision for V&V?" The mere mention of the name gave him cancer. "You said that the local slave job market is very crowded, and His Majesty is short of slaves. So, find us some more minions."
"Chief, you..." They seemed to be crying, even the undead were no exception. "Are you going to replace us?"
"No, in fact, you are no longer interns, or even new minions, but the minions' adjutants." Victor said impromptuly. "You will be my administrative staff, but above the new minions. The elite of our adventuring guild."
"We...we got promoted!" Tears quickly turned into joy, and Xiao Hong jumped up. "promote!"
"Then go find more interns." Victor made a dramatic gesture. "But it will be your responsibility, so only accept the best."
"Yes, sir!" They were running so fast that Victor's eyes could hardly keep up with them.
To be honest, Victor started to enjoy taking the minions everywhere. He mostly blamed it on Stockholm Syndrome and Winkel Syndrome, but it felt good to be obeyed rather than obeyed.
Damn it, he's going to turn into a dragon.
After the drama with the Duchess, Victor is almost trapped by Winkle. Without the protection of the dragon, he would not be able to set foot in Gadmani without being executed. More followers means fewer people to potentially fight him.
Now alone, Victor decided to check out a nearby village, maybe he could buy supplies. He knew the Minions' warnings about this place, but if he was careful, he might be able to handle it himself.
From a distance, the town appears to have fewer than 200 people living there. It was a small farming community, and Victor recognized olive groves, citrus groves, the odd orchard, and even a vineyard. The huge stone house could house an entire extended family and reminded Victor of an American ranch.
Furthermore, he noticed that they had many more sheep than they needed.
Apart from these details and the omnipresent dog scent, even if he couldn't see it, the village seemed relatively normal. Victor approached it cautiously, and two locals immediately came to greet him.
The two looked like a pair of farm bumpkins, one guy in his late 30s and one girl a little younger than Victor himself. Both had brown skin, the same eye color, and were so similar that Victor thought they must be members of the same family.
"Hello, traveler," the man shouted. He was a burly man with thick black hair and a dirty rancher outfit that made him look like Clint Eastwood.
t Eastwood) characters in western movies. "I'm the croissant and this is my sister chocolate. Welcome to the Land of Whispers."
"Hello, handsome guy," the girl said. She had long brown hair and was very beautiful in Little Red Riding Hood's clothes. "You are an adventurer who came to hunt dragons, right? Right?"
Victor had a strange feeling that many eyes were watching him. "Hunting dragons?"
Croissant points to the volcano. "There's a dragon that just dug a nest in our mountains and scared the livestock. If you could kill it, it would be a big help to us."
"No, I'm the leading businessman," Victor deadpanned.
"Leader?" Croissant said again, confused.
"Lead. I like lead. Are you all vampires?"
"What? Of course not! Vampires are despicable and tasteless things! No one likes them!" Tasteless...a strange word. "Why this sudden accusation against you, stranger?"
"My kobold intern told me there was a bad moon spell here and that you were a creepy village in the middle of nowhere. I've seen the movie and I can defend myself."
Victor suddenly realized that these words made no sense, but the two seemed to understand. Increasingly suspicious, the adventurers decided to use [Monster Insight] on them, just in case.
Croissants
Werewolf (humanoid/beast)
Powerful effects against the moon, beasts, madness and fairies.
Weak against Silver, Killer, and Beast Slayer.
Chocolate's brother, a werewolf; can transform into a giant hybrid wolf at will, but goes berserk when the moon is full. A bit rough, especially when you mention Gevaudan. God, if you mention Gevaudan, you're so beeping.
Chocolati
Werewolf (humanoid/beast)
Powerful effects against the moon, beasts, madness and fairies.
Weak against Silver, Killer, and Beast Slayer.
Pretty Little Red Riding Hood, the enemy of grannies everywhere, the croissant's sister. She is the priestess of Isengrim, the beast god. She looks sweet and innocent, but she is anything but. Finds you attractive so is appetizing and wonders if she should cook you in stew or chili sauce.
"Ah, werewolves! Bad Moon, of course you will turn into werewolves."
"Wait, are you..." Croissant asked, then turned to his sister. "Is he one of us?"
Chocolate said a few words, clearly casting a spell on Victor. She immediately smiled happily. "It's okay bro, he's a monster too! "Humanoid/dragon-shaped!"
"Oh my gosh, I thought you were a homeless person and no one would miss you." "We avoided a terrible mistake. I'm so sorry."
"You want to kill me?"
"Not us," Croissant shrugged. "Some villagers often feed strangers to the Moon People's children, believing that the dragons are punishment for being late. I don't condone this behavior, but we are an open-minded community, you know? I hope you can forgive us misunderstanding."
Of course! It makes Victor feel better!
"Guys, it's okay!" Croissant shouted in the direction of the settlement. "He's a monster too!" You can take off your disguise!"
Victor heard a sigh of relief and watched in amazement as the locals walked out of their houses.
Half of them looked very human, but [Monster Insight] told him that most of them were werewolves or shapeshifters, such as doppelgangers; the other half did not. Victor noticed a horde of pale ghouls, a calm squid-human hybrid with a head, a rusty steel golem, and two dozen other creatures straight out of a bestiary.
The entire village is filled with humanoid monsters.
Victor blinked as he recognized a familiar figure among them, a tall lizard-man with sandy scales, fangs and long claws. This humanoid lizard has short swept horns and a spiny tail, but most of her muscular body is clad in brown and green traveling robes. As usual, she was carrying a belt full of potions and various spices, and she had the black sword of the Blade of Night tattooed on her left cheek. “Savou
euse?" Victor called her. "Sav, is that you?"
"Vic?" Beast took a few steps away from the crowd to get a better look at him. Aside from her slightly tanned skin, she looked exactly as he remembered her, with those warm, green reptilian eyes. "Hey, Vic!"
"Hey, sausage!" Victor waved to her. During his brief career as a professional thief, she was briefly his friend, teaching him the tricks of the trade. "Long time no see!" What are you doing here?"
"business". She winked at him. "We were talking to the locals about building a warehouse there, so the Night Blade's guild master sent me."
"Yeah, sounds like a nice vacation."
"Ah ha, it's nice to take a break from garbage collection sometimes. It's a shame you left us, Vic, you were a great recycler."
Ah, the old naming convention. Replace theft with "reclaim," replace assassination with "trash collection," and extortion with "community contribution." No wonder Victor left the crime syndicate as soon as he succeeded.
"By the way, Vic, why didn't you tell me you were a dragon in disguise?" I'm just insulted that you kept it from me. "
"This is a recent change," Victor replied. "So what is this, a secret community of humanoid monsters?"
"Yes and no, we disguised ourselves as humans to hide from the inquisitors and adventurers who often roam this area," Croisant explained. "They're always trying to get rid of us."
"So let's kill them while they sleep first," Chocolate chirped with a sweet, happy smile that sent shivers down Victor's spine.
"We also have a school for mimics and other shapeshifters so they can learn to integrate into a safe, family-friendly environment," Croisant said before shaking Victor's firm hand. "Victor, is that so? Nice to meet you, what kind of monster are you?"
"I'm Dragon's chief of staff," Victor explained as several locals whistled.
"That dragon?" Croissant glanced at the volcano.
"Yes. We came to take over the castle, but the current owner made a joke on my 'master' and he didn't take it well."
"Master? Fu
ibo
?" Victor couldn't help laughing at Croissant's silly joke. The werewolf's tone suggested that this wasn't the first time the Lich had caused trouble for them. "I heard he was very annoying, and there were A monster turned him into a cave troll, and then himself into a lich. He basically doesn't bother us, so we don't bother him, but he's very open to us offering up adventurers who try to challenge him. "
"I think he's bored and lonely in his castle," Chocolate said with a conspiratorial tone.
"So, Vic, is what I heard true?" Saulus asked. "You fed Duchess Yuska to a dragon?"
"What about you?" Chocolati
There are stars in e's eyes.
"I..." Well... Strictly speaking, he deceived Fankel and asked him to hunt the scorch oven monster instead of the sea monster, which indirectly caused the disaster. "you can say……"
Croissant frowned. "That's a bit much, isn't it?"
"I don't understand, Vic, have you left us or not?" Saulus asked. "Because in my opinion, feeding a noble to a dragon is too nightingale-like." "
“I guess my current job is not that different from my previous job,” Victor admits.
"Anyway," Croissant interjected. "We are excited to welcome you to our community. How long will you stay?"
"I don't know, as long as the dragon stays here. Maybe longer." If Winkle does kill Fuliben and gets the promised reward, then they may settle in the area. "Why do you ask this question?"
"Well, they're a small community and they want more people to avoid inbreeding," Savou
euse replied. "They have a great open-door policy for newcomers. Don't you, croissant?"
"Yes, we are recent immigrants too. We used to live in the Gevaudang Forest in Gadmagne. Ah, the times were wonderful. We had the best hunting grounds we've ever had, and there was so much food around."
forest……
"But that was before some stupid human and their pet red dragon burned it to ashes while hunting demons—"
Croissant stopped mid-sentence and glared at Victor suspiciously.
oh oh.
