[January 7, Lost Era 1001, Giant Hills.
A stretch of lava had inexplicably opened up between the hills and ravines, its heat melting away the winter winds. Fortunately, we called in the Gulu Family to help lash the earth dragon and red dragon corpses to the giant turtle, allowing us to drag them all the way back to Wilderness Village. The value of these two corpses was incalculable, especially the red dragon. Almost every part of its body was a treasure.
Armor made from dragon scales was harder than steel, daggers ground from dragon bones were sharper than Nordic steel, and dragon eyes were more precious than star sapphires. Even their meat could serve as a premium ingredient—
Dragging them inevitably slowed our journey, but perhaps Merlin's "rebirth" had stabilized the tide of chaos. We ran into no trouble.]
[January 16, Uhaha Basin.
Echoes still lingered around our ears, but they were no longer coded laughter.
Every inch of the basin the giant turtle crossed, every trail left by the corpses it dragged, turned the laughter echoing around us into terror.
"That's a terrifying monster. It can even slaughter an overlord. We should stay away from him."
That was the lizardmen's instinctive choice.
When I returned to the lizardman tribe, I couldn't see a single soul. Only black smoke rose from the enormous bonfire rack in the center of the settlement, carrying the remnants of the embers they had left behind in their hurried evacuation. Fortunately, I could find them through the echoes.
Soon, Short Tail emerged from a cave behind the settlement with a group of lizardmen.
I told them the truth: the red dragon was Spitfire—
"Looks like I won't have to worry about eating his meat anymore."
That was Short Tail's answer.
He showed no surprise, nor