Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I’m Going to Sleep

The next day.

After packing a small amount of luggage, I finished preparing to set out on a journey with Tia.

Leaving with the letter from Mom, with many anxieties in my heart.

To be honest, I keep wondering if it will really be okay? But... I have no choice but to leave.

When I was young, I resented being abandoned and left behind... But if Mom had no choice, if it was to ensure my safety... It must have been an unavoidable decision.

If that Mom is in danger now... It's my turn to help her.

Although I'm just a country girl who has never properly wielded a weapon...

The Dragon's Priestess, a huge dragon and the hero's partner from the story. With Tia... I think I can save Mom.

So I forcibly mustered up courage in my heart.

I took a step forward.

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I woke up to a small sound during my centuries-long hibernation, and a small mouse-kin was there in front of me, frightened.

Through this somewhat webnovel-like event, I ended up accompanying the gray-haired small mouse-kin, Maybelle.

To be honest, I didn't really need to accompany her... But when you hibernate for centuries, you tend to want to take a look around and see how the world has changed.

While I was hibernating, the tasks I had to do were taken care of by others. Thanks to that, nothing was left behind.

So I have the leisure to leisurely explore the world, you see.

And... I've become a little interested in the story related to Maybelle and her Mom.

The way they build up various stories on their own, even without my involvement... is quite fascinating.

But Maybelle's Mom... I think her name was Ella, Ella Cinder.

No matter how you look at it, she has a Cinderella-like feel, doesn't she? Being persecuted by her stepmother and two sisters, just like the original.

Well, without glass slippers or a ball, she reclaimed her inheritance through her own power. There was no magic that dissolved at midnight either.

Hmm. Anyway, let's move on from her story.

"Phew... Haa..."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm..., fine..."

Maybelle, carrying a huge backpack, trudging along the rugged mountain path.

"But thanks to my increased strength, I can manage it somehow."

"Is that so?"

Maybelle's figure, carrying a backpack bigger than her own body, looked very unbalanced.

Honestly, if she were an ordinary human, she wouldn't have been able to walk for long with such a heavy bag.

Even when doing military marches, they don't carry bags that heavy.

"Shall I help you carry it?"

"No. It's fine. It's my luggage."

Maybelle, using a large hammer as a walking stick, stepping on the ground. Hmm. She's small and cute, but her strength feels unbalanced, which is kind of charming.

But... It's clear that she's struggling, and I can't just leave her be.

So.

"Then let me help you for a bit."

"Huh? No, it's really fine! It's my luggage, so I have to carry it!"

"I'm not trying to carry your luggage or anything. I just want to take a look at that hammer for a moment."

"The hammer? The Earth Smasher?"

I nodded slightly, and Maybelle, though somewhat reluctant, handed me the Earth Smasher.

Hmm. I've been a bit curious about it since I first saw it. I wonder how the dwarven enchantment method has changed compared to the past.

So I examined the Earth Smasher closely.

"It's well-made, but there's a bit of a rough feel in the part where magic is used for the transformation."

If it works this way, then with 10 units of magic, the efficiency of the 4 units of enhancement would be quite low.

If I say it roughly increases strength by 40%, it's not a small amount, but if I maximize the efficiency, I can refine it to be more sophisticated.

To the point where 8 units of enhancement are achieved with 10 units of magic. About twice the previous effect, you see.

"There, I've done a simple adjustment. You should feel a bit more power now."

"Hmm... Really?"

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Maybelle took the Earth Smasher that I had slightly modified in her hands, and her expression changed to a slightly surprised one.

"Wow? It really got stronger? How did you do it?"

"I just made a minor adjustment to the dwarven technique. I reduced the unnecessary consumption of magic and made it smoother. Just by optimizing like that, the difference in performance comes out to this extent."

"It doesn't seem as simple as you say..."

Well, there's no one who can handle magic as skillfully as I can.

I know magic like the back of my hand.

"Th-thank you."

Maybelle bowed her head to me in gratitude, then began to examine the hammer she held in her hands.

Seeing that she could clearly feel the increased strength, a smile appeared on her lips.

Satisfied with the improved hammer, Maybelle took her gaze off it and opened her mouth to look at me.

"But... why is Tia helping people like this?"

"Hmm?"

"Tia is... a dragon, right? A dragon as huge as a mountain. From the perspective of such a dragon, wouldn't humans be no different from crawling insects on the ground? Why is Tia helping humans like this?"

Hmm. Why help humans, huh?

Come to think of it, I don't really need to help humans... Hmm.

If it weren't for the believers who regard me as the Goddess of Life and send me their faith... would I have ignored humans?

No, I wouldn't. Since I was originally human, as long as I have those memories, I cannot turn a blind eye to humans.

Of course, I can't say that fact out loud. That the dragon's previous life was human. Who would believe that? No one would.

Even my own children wouldn't believe me if I said that.

"Is it because of the Goddess of Life? Is it because she told you to look after humans?"

I am actually that Goddess of Life. I wouldn't be giving orders to myself, would I?

I'm just doing it because I want to.

"I'm just doing it because I want to."

"But I don't understand. Isn't it normal for dragons to not care about the plight of humans, just as humans don't care about the plight of insects?"

Hmm... That may be true, but.

I'm just doing it because I want to. If I didn't care about life and all that, I wouldn't have created this world in the first place.

In that sense... am I taking some responsibility for the things I've created?

"It could be, or it couldn't be. If a small animal is shivering from the cold, some may hunt it, some may leave it be, and some may even help the animal. I'm just like the humans who help the animal, helping humans."

Well, that doesn't mean I'm equating humans to animals, but I do have a sense of compassion, since we're all the same, in a way.

"You're right... There are people who take in and raise orphaned animals. I can understand it roughly the same way."

Strictly speaking, it's different, but anyway.

"Just understand it roughly like that."

I'm too lazy to explain it in detail.

"Alright, let's keep going. We need to reach the village before the sun sets today."

Honestly, I could get there instantly with spatial movement, but that would be too convenient.

I'd like to be able to instantly teleport to the other side of the continent if I wanted to, but that wouldn't give me the feeling of traveling, would it?

"Okay, okay. We need to reach the next village before sunset."

And so, Tia and Maybelle continued on the treacherous mountain path.

The place we arrived at was a village of a suitable size.

The village was situated next to a small river. It seemed to have wheat farming as its main industry, as golden wheat fields swaying in the wind were spread out around the village.

In that village.

"So, where should we go now?"

"Well, since we've arrived at a new village, we should go to an inn first, don't you think?"

It's basic that wherever you go, you need to secure lodging first. If you don't arrange for a place to stay, the trip will become tiring. Having a space to rest well is important, you see.

"An inn, you say? Coincidentally, I've heard about a place from the priest, so I'll guide you there."

"You've heard about it, have you? So you know the exact location, I take it?"

"Yes! I've heard plenty about this village from the priest. If I just organize the information I've heard, I'll be well-versed about this village!"

"Then, please guide the way."

It would be fine to ask the villagers about it as well, but since Maybelle is speaking so confidently,

it wouldn't be bad to entrust it to her.

And so, I started walking behind Maybelle through the village.

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