So, the question is .
　Is the dragon that lives near the city a good dragon or an evil dragon?

"Yes, brother!

　Oh, Rio, you're early.
　I pick him out, and he answers with pride.

"He's near the city, so he must be good, right?

"Hmm. What makes you say that?

"What, ......?　What, why ......?

　When I asked the question back, Rio slumped.

"Well, because ...... if it's near the city, doesn't that mean that the dragon is getting along ...... with the people of the city?

　Rio asked me with a worried look.

　I put my hand on Rio's head and patted it.
　I put my hand on his head and stroke it.

So that's it. The fact that they are in close physical proximity to each other means that there is some form of coexistence between them. So at least it's not a dragon that will try to destroy us as soon as it sees us. "Yes, Iris.

　Iris raised her hand slowly, so I nominate her.
　I'll nominate her.

But if the dragon is good, why the ...... moon ore?　If the dragon is good, why can't you go and collect it?　If you need it, why don't you just ask the dragon to let you collect it? ......

　Hmm, good question.
　I think Iris is a lucid girl, because she understands things and asks questions about the most important points.

　I'll answer the question while nudging Iris.

A good dragon is just as good as a good human being. Dragons can be territorial, too, and above all, dragons are generally known to be difficult. A normal person would not want to get close to someone who they can imagine might flatten them if they are in a bad mood.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

　In the meantime, Maifa will ask you a question.

I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's a good idea. ...... Does this mean that if we offend the dragon, we'll be roasted to a crisp by the flames coming out of his mouth?

　I'm sure you'll be able to understand why.

　I laughed at her reaction and replied.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's not impossible. So, Maifa, don't be too rude in front of the dragon.

I'm sure you're not the only one. ...... I don't want to get roasted for that either.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　However, even though she says so, she does not say, "I don't want to bend myself, so I'm going home.
　I don't mind that kind of attitude of Meifa.

But, bro, back to the beginning, how strong are dragons in the end?　Are they stronger than you?

　Rio asks again.
　The answer to this question is a bit tricky, isn't it?

The answer to this question is a bit difficult: "Oh, ......, as I said before, there are many different types of dragons. It depends on what kind of dragon it is, for example, a red dragon, a white dragon, or a ...... dragon. And more importantly, how long the dragon has lived can make a tremendous difference in its strength.

"Well, ......, are dragons that have lived longer stronger?

　I'm not sure.
　I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Human beings lose their fighting ability when they become grandparents, but dragons are different. The longer a dragon lives, the stronger it is. The current Rio, Iris, and Maifa could go toe-to-toe against a young dragon that has lived less than a hundred years, but an ancient dragon that has lived for more than a thousand years would be a match for all of us, including me. I'm sure you'll be able to understand.

「「「「Heeeee~」」」」

　The children scream.

　I'll add this to those girls.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

Is that so, ......?

That's right.

　I patted the Iris in my hand even more.
　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a fan of your work.

　Well, maybe it's the cute reaction that makes me want to pet it even when nothing is going on.
　It's addictive. .......

　Well, that's it for now.

　Most of the dragons we meet are young dragons, born less than a hundred years ago.

　In the rare cases that we meet dragons that are not young dragons, they are usually adult dragons that have lived for a hundred or so to a few hundred years.

　An ancient dragon that has lived for a thousand years is an ultra-rare monster that would be a miracle to encounter even once in a lifetime.

　And according to what I've heard from the heroes' guild in town, the one we're heading for is probably a young dragon.

　But even the youngest adult dragon is a huge monster, 15 meters from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, and if you're an ordinary hero, you're no match for it.

　But my children are already far beyond the realm of ordinary heroes, and of course I am not at that level.

　In other words, for us, the young dragon is not an opponent that we should be afraid of.

　And so, as we talked with the children, we continued on our way through the wilderness.

　Eventually we came to a hilly area with reddish brown rocks.

　We were now in dragon territory in the broadest sense of the word.
　Dragon territory usually stretches for several kilometers around their dens.

　By the way, the mining area where moon ore is extracted is just a short distance away from here, but I didn't want to get into trouble later because people would think I was trespassing in their territory, so I decided to head for the dragon's den that I had learned about from the heroes' guild.

　It is said that dragons recognize their own territory as their own territory in human society.



　It's a bit selfish of them to let us live here, but we can't help it if they know that, and we can't disrupt the harmony and understanding that exists between the town of Ravilton and the dragons.

　So, we continued on through the rugged hills for a while.
　As the night fell upon the world, we made our way by the light of the [Light], and eventually we saw a huge cave in the distance.

　Incidentally, Uru became a beast when he entered the hilly area, and proceeded in the form of a werewolf.

　The three of us, Rio, Iris, and Maifa, who were brave enough to go through the steep terrain, gave up and turned into a werewolf because the human form of Uru could not keep up with his physical strength and athletic ability.

　Uru was somewhat repelled by her werewolf form, but by the time she had gone through the hills in that form for a while, she was humming to herself, saying things like, "This form is useful sometimes.

　And so, with four brave men and a werewolf, we came to a cave that seemed to be a dragon's den.

　In the darkness of the night, the entrance to the cave, illuminated by the light of a [light], is so huge that it could hold a three-story house, suggesting the tremendous size of the owner of this cave.

　I took a deep breath in front of the entrance, and then shouted out.

"Excuse me!　Dragon, are you there?

　A few moments later, a loud voice came from the depths of the cave, echoing from the depths of the earth.

"Oh, is that a human?　This is unusual. Come on in, I don't care.

　The children who heard the voice looked at each other.
　Uru, in her werewolf form, did the same.

　Next, the four girls look at me.
　I nod to the four girls.

"You're welcome to visit the den. Let's go.

　I took the initiative to step into the cave with the light in my hand, and the children followed me with a sense of trepidation.