A Misunderstood Mentor - Chapter 6 - Past Nightmares Will Come Back to Haunt You

“The varied dragon kings all served under the rule of grandpa Ancient Dragon. As he retired after the fight against you, my father the Black Dragon King succeeded that title.”

Noiria spoke with utmost seriousness, but she ignored the most important part.

What the f*ck did this have to do with me?

I literally had nothing to do with the dragon race.

“However, my father wished to pass the throne to the person whose strength far eclipsed the Ancient Dragon, or in other words, you.”

Leftovers from yesterday’s lavi stew, with some rice added into the mixture, were being heated over a fire. I lightly cracked a pair of eggs and tossed the yolks into the boiling stew. A tiny dash of salt later, I was done.

I could visibly hear Reia’s gulp.

“I expected no less. The timing of putting the eggs in, the perfect amount of salt. This could only be described as an act of God. I can no longer hold myself back.”

“It’s not done yet. Just wait a little bit. It’ll only be a tiny bit longer before the eggs are soft-boiled.”

I expertly put down the fire at the perfect timing.

“I opposed my father when I first heard of it. What foolishness was to give the throne to a human that he had never seen before? I came here to see if you were worthy…hey, are you even listening?”

“Nope, I’m really busy right now, black lizard.”

“Did you only listen to the first thing I said, the part where I said I had something to report to you?”

“I totally, definitely did not hear a single thing, okay?”

Noiria looked like she was about to cry.

I wondered if she was really going to.

To suddenly become the king of the dragon race despite living peacefully for the past few years was nothing short of a nightmare.

“Oh, it’s finished. Let’s leave the conversation at this and eat.”

Reia’s stomached cried in agreement.

I doled out portions of the rice-and-lavi stew to the two ladies.

Reia’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as she stuffed the meal into the mouth.

“T-Takumi, it’s shoo good. The egg is just… is just… I can’t… it’s too good…”

I thought that the conversation would be over with, but unlike yesterday, Noiria didn’t take the bowl.

“…We of the dragon race follow the rule of the strong. Despite having overwhelming strength at the level of my grandpa, you hide your power and live a humble and quiet life. Takumi, I can see the future of the dragon race in you.”

Well, she was right in that she saw the future in me. A very horrible future.

“Please, please, become the king of us dragons and lead us.”

That was impossible. I didn’t want to either. I was sorry, but too bad.

However, I was having troubles thinking of a way to refuse her. Reia answered in my stead.

“Well, calm down, black lizard. Takumi never said that she wasn’t going to become your king.”

No, I totally did.

The scene was edited out, but I totally said that I wouldn’t become king.

“Really, are you really going to become our king!?”

Reia replied once again. “Don’t be mistaken. Now is not the time. That has been said.”

What? Now is not the time?

“And when will that be?” asked Noiria.

Reia replied, “That’s obvious. He will ascend the throne after he has conquered every single race on this planet. Takumi is not merely satisfied with just being the Dragon King, for he will become the King of the World.”

I nodded and said, “Yes. Good that you get… Wait, you didn’t get a single thing!”

T-That was close.

I’ve been getting used to just agreeing to whatever this nuthead said.

“Wait, I’m wrong?”

“Yes. I have no plans of ever leaving this place, let alone become the King of the World.”

Ten years ago, when I was kicked from my party, I decided to never go back to being an adventurer.

I tied up all my loose ends and lived by myself ever since.

“Noiria, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to become your king. I already have everything I want living here. Everything I will ever need is given to me by this mountain.”

Well, maybe that last part wasn’t exactly true seeing how most of my potatoes were… It’d be too sad to continue.

“Eat up. You only need sunlight, the earth, and food to live.”

Noiria finally took a bite of the food.

“Hahhh, a warm something is wrapping up my body.”

Reia smugly replied, “Yes, exactly. You finally understand, black lizard.”

“Becoming the Dragon King is certainly a lot. However, you have already been chosen. You don’t have to lead us. Just, at least, please keep the dragon race in a corner of your heart.”

“A-Alright. I’ll think about it.”

And just like that, I was put into a situation where I couldn’t really refuse. After getting a disciple, I now had an entire dragon army. Why were these things happening to me?

“Thinking about it, how did the two of you find out this place? I never told a soul.”

It all started when the two girls first visited my place. For the ten years I’ve lived here, not a single person has visited me once. Which begs the question. Just how exactly did they know I was living here?

“Alice[note]Back in c1, Reia was saying “Alice-sama.” Now she switches it to “Alice-shishou.” I’m not sure if this is intentional or not, but I think it’s a mistake. I’ll keep my translation as Alice instead of Master Alice. Why not Alice-sama? I never put honorifics in novels that aren’t set in Japan. If you actually care, Reia calls Takumi Takumi-san, and Noiria opts for a more respectful dono.[/note] told me. She closed her eyes and thought of you, and a clear picture of where you were came into mind, or something like that.”

Scary.

What was that horror-esque power.

Is this what stalkers look like these days?

I had no words.

“N-Noiria, what about you? How’d you find this place?”

“Ah, I heard about this place from the adventurer guild. I was asking about the location of the top ranked person.”

“Huh? The guild knows where I live?”

“No, they won’t tell me even if they did.”

Thank god. If they made it public, who knows what kind of weirdoes would come.

“However, in the guild, I coincidentally met someone else who was also looking for you.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Someone in the guild looking for me.

“No matter where you go, I will definitely find you!”

A memory I tried hard to bury surfaced in my mind.

“They had something of yours on them, and I followed your smell here.”

With the soft ring of a bell, Noiria took out the item for me to see.

I instantly recognized it.

A magic bell given to me by a certain woman.

“Noiria, take that bell and leave. Throw it somewhere far away!”

“Huh, why… The bell!”

Light started to pour out of the bell Noiria was holding.

I was too slow. I should’ve dealt with it earlier.

Teleportation magic.

The person who I least wanted be found by had found me. She hadn’t changed at all in these ten years.

One of the original members of my old party, which later kicked me out.

An elven sorceress, possessing an immortal body, the former rank one.

The Grand Sage Nerissa had come.