Chapter 48

“Y-you came to be protected by a human…!?”

“Haahhh…!”

Wait, wait, wait. What are you saying, Basilisk?

“Aren’t you a dragon species? You’re at the top of the monster hierarchy, right? Like, top-tier? So why are you asking to be protected by a human?”

“I-I don’t really get the whole ‘top-tier’ thing, but yeah, I used to be pretty formidable… Humans were just weaklings back then. But nowww…!”

She looked up at me with teary eyes, clutching her lower abdomen.

What are you doing…? Oh.

“Ah, I see… That vertical scar like a C-section… That’s what it’s from, huh?”

Thanks to my ‘Evil Dragon Brain Cells,’ which can store any memory, I finally remembered.

“Basilisk. I once stabbed you in the stomach with my claws, covered in the ‘Flames of Ruin,’ didn’t I?”

“Y-yes! It hurt so much! It was hot, and I felt like I was melting into nothing…!”

Ah, well, yeah. Those flames are the embodiment of destruction, capable of burning all existence. I mostly use them for brewing sake these days, though.

“Uh… sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s fine! I tried to kill you first, leading an army of tens of thousands of monsters…! If a strong male did that, I guess it’s just something that can’t be helped…!”

“Glad you’re okay with it.”

Basilisk here seems to have accepted it with monster logic.

In some ways, monsters are way less complicated than humans.

“So, what happened after that?”

“Ah, right! Well, I barely survived, but I was on the verge of death and ended up hibernating in a poisonous swamp for over ten years. It was only recently that I managed to move again, but… but thennn…!”

She started crying again!

What’s wrong, Basilisk? Tell me, your big bad evil dragon brother!

“Sniff…! I… I became so weak…!”

“Ah.”

So she survived, but my flames weakened her significantly.

“And now, even though I’m still huge, I’m super weak, so the other monsters were like, ‘You’re drawing too much attention, we don’t want to get targeted by humans, get lost!’ And they started throwing rocks at meee…!”

“Ehhh…”

Is this what it means to be a dragon species…?

“To make things worse, I got beaten up by this nasty noblewoman and her private army! They peeled off my scales while I was crying and running away… It was so terrifying…!”

“Ah, I see how it is now.”

That was almost certainly the work of the Marquis Viola, who tormented the knight Iris.

The scales were probably made into a whip, enchanted with a petrifying curse, and used to exile Iris to this town.

What a tangled web of connections this has turned out to be.

“Got it. So you came to seek my protection?”

“Y-yes… A dark elf who happened to rescue me said, ‘The Dark Dragon is a reasonable person. If you show proper respect and manners, he’ll surely help you.'”

Ah, that must’ve been Dar-san, the dark elf. He’s an old acquaintance who helped me when I first reincarnated in this world.

“That makes sense. Dar-san was the one who told you I was hiding in this town, huh?”

“Y-yes! He also taught me human customs and even gave me some money! He was so kind! And… and also…!”

“And also?”

Blushing, she nervously lifted the hem of her skimpy maid outfit, revealing a string-like black undergarment underneath.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!?

“H-he said if I wore clothes like this and did this sort of thing, His Majesty would be pleased…!”

“Stop it, you idiot!”

Dar-san, what lies have you been telling her!?

◆ ◇ ◆

And so…

“Attention, adventurer companions! This is Basilisk, my ‘sworn sister,’ and she’ll be accompanying us for a while. Feel free to call her Bazi-chan.”

“Don’t mess with us, Jade!!!”

Wow, everyone’s shouting in unison. Yeah, I figured this would happen.

“Are you kidding me?! You’ve already raised flags with so many girls, and now you’re introducing a little sister?!”

I didn’t raise any flags though!?

“And what’s with the maid outfit and the busty loli?! Is that your taste, you bastard!?”

No, she’s a natural creature, and now she’s super timid, so she doesn’t want to wear anything that doesn’t have her own scent on it…

“How many good deeds did you rack up in your past life, Jade?!”

Shut up! My past life was a boring corporate drone, okay!?

“Humans are so scaryyy…!”

Alright, alright, Bazi-chan, don’t be scared, okay? But when you cling to my back like that and press your estimated L-cup breasts against me, it just makes these guys’ killing intent skyrocket, you know?

“Ahem. Anyway, Bazi-chan is going to register as an adventurer. From today on, she’s part of the team.”

This will be good training for her, and it’ll give her an excuse to stick with me.

If I left her in the town to work, she’d probably be scammed or worse.

“I’ll mainly take care of her, but if anything happens, I’m counting on you guys to help.”

“A busty loli sister!?!?”

“Actually, I’ll handle everything…”

You guys are way too starved for women.

Also, just so you know, she’s actually a stone basilisk dragon, okay? She’s beyond what you could ever dream of reaching.

“That’s that. Now then, Miss Mistika at the reception desk, can you register Bazi-chan?”

“Understood.”

That cool response came from Mistika, the receptionist who works here.

She’s always expressionless and strictly business, but the weirdos love her for it. People from the future, I guess.

“Well then, Bazi-chan, please fill out this form. Can you write your name?”

“Y-yes! I worked hard to remember it! At first, I wasn’t used to holding a pen, but um…”

“That’s fine, just hurry and write it.”

“Y-yes!?”

Bazi-chan, already facing Mistika’s icy demeanor. Don’t worry, she’s softer in private.

“Um, I think I write it as ‘daji’… Ah, this makes it ‘Daji-chan’ instead of ‘Bazi-chan’!”

“Are you alright?”

Thus, the stone basilisk dragon unexpectedly joined our team.

Looks like this is going to cause some chaos, just like with Van, the scorching dragon.

“Ahhh, the pen broke!”

“Bazi. -chan, we’ll lend you our pens!!!”

…No, I take that back. These adventurers are completely smitten with Bazi-chan’s beauty and bust power.

She fit in with them three billion times faster than Van did. Truly, the power of breasts is amazing.

“Um…”

Hmm? What’s up, Mistika? Why are you staring at me?

“Jade.”

“What?”

“As you are well aware, I also have quite a considerable chest, don’t I?”

Pfft!?

“Mistika?!”

Whoa! Don’t say that in front of the other guys!!