Days of Defending the Water Dragon Settlement

  A week had now passed since Shia, Serulis, and Nia had gone to the beastkin tribes.

  During this time, I spent the nights in the water dragon settlement.

  The lesser vampires continued to attack every night.

  But no matter how few there were, I always went to the scene of the fight.

  Of course, there were many times when the job was done by the time we arrived.

  When Grulf and I would reach the place, the water dragons would look at us apologetically.

  “Mister Ruck. Thank you for coming, but……”


  “Oh, so you already finished here. That’s good.”


  “I’m sorry that you wasted your time.”


  “No, no. I always come, just in case. And it’s better that nothing serious happens.”


  Water dragons were stronger than most dragons.

  Much stronger than wyverns and lesser dragons.

  And so lesser vampires were no match for them.

  “Still…… Why do they keep attacking us like this? If they were really just trying to find a weakness in the barrier, as you suggested……”


  “Yes, there are better ways of doing that.”


  “Indeed.”


  “Perhaps the greater vampires do not even include lessers as part of their fighting force. And they are completely disposable.”


  “Do you really think so? It would be a relief to know it doesn’t mean anything.”


  “Or perhaps they want us to get used to this?”


  “Used to it?”


  “So every time the alarm goes off, we will just assume that it’s lessers attacking again.”


  It was something I had been worried about.

  After all, lessers could bring in the magic machines.

  That would be incredibly dangerous.

  “I see. We will be careful.”


  “It will be hard to stay cautious at all times……but we must try.”


  “Yes!”


  And with that, Grulf and I returned to the water dragon palace and got some sleep.

  When we woke up the next morning, we had a light breakfast with Leea.

  And then I inspected the barrier before returning to the mansion.

  This meant taking Grulf and me walking around the settlement while checking the barrier.

  So it was also a walk for Grulf.

  Leea and some of the water dragons came with us.

  Even while in human form, Leea was very fast. She could easily keep pace with Grulf.

  “As always, please tell me if you notice that there is something strange.”


  “Okay, Ruck.”


  “Leave it to us!”


  “You too, Grulf.”


  “Groof!”


  Grulf had a sharp sense of smell.

  He would notice if there were any lesser vampires hidden here.

  Once I was sure that there was nothing strange about the barrier, I returned to the city.

  As always, Milka greeted me.

  “Welcome back Mister Locke! Are you going straight to bed today as well?”


  “Yeah, just for a little while.”


  “Should I wake you up for lunch?”


  “Yes, thanks. Good luck with your schoolwork.”


  “Thank you!”


  Milka and Luchila studied under Philly in the morning.

  I was a little worried about Nia, who was out adventuring instead of studying, but there was nothing that could be done about that.

  “Groof!”


  “You’re tired too? Alright.”


  Grulf pushed his nose into my hand as if to hurry me on.

  And so I went to my room with him and we rested for a short while.

  The midnight attacks were resulting in sleep-deprivation.

  And it would be no good if that affected my ability to fight when the time came.

  Grulf was still a pup, so sleeping was also important for him.

  “Mister Locke. It’s lunchtime.”


  Milka said as she woke me up.

  It felt so soon. I felt as if I had hardly slept at all.

  “Thank you, Milka.”


  “Grooooof.”


  Grulf stretched on top of the bed.

  “Serulis and the others are back!”


  “Ah, I see. I better hurry.”


  “Groof.”


  I hurried down to the drawing-room.

  “Mister Locke. We’re back.”


  Serulis, Shia and Nia had all come back safely.

  I was quite relieved.

  “I’m glad that you’re all well. How was the magic tool?”


  “Yes. It made things much easier! I was able to resist the Charm of a Lord.”


  “That’s wonderful.’


  Philly also nodded happily.

  “Well, it was made by Philly and Locke, so it’s no surprise that it was effective.”


  I then inspected Serulis and the others.

  Their armor was not broken. However, there were lots of scratches.

  They must have been through a lot of intense battles.

  I would have like to hear more about it.

  And all three seemed a little changed, but Nia seemed especially different.

  “Nia? Have you grown taller?”


  “I don’t think I have that much.”


  “I see. You seem different. You must have been through quite a battle.”


  I said, and she looked embarrassed.

  On the other hand, Serulis looked very serious.

  “Well, there is a reason that we have returned.”


  She declared boldly.

  “Did you find the enemy base then?”


  “We did! The beastkin wolves are really incredible!”


  “But we are not sure yet.”


  Shia reminded her.

  Even if the information wasn’t confirmed yet, it was very valuable.

  “Tell me about it.”


  Serulis nodded and began to talk.