I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 82
The high autumn sky and the vibrantly tinted maple leaves.
Even that beauty would not last much longer.
The leaves were falling one by one, turning into a blanket that would soon cover the earth.
It was late autumn.
‘Beautiful.’
It felt fresh to look up at a landscape she had looked down upon thousands of times.
Perhaps that was why Valdrova could not bring herself to take another step.
The sensation of becoming a part of that scenery felt incredibly precious to her.
‘Going out….’
This wasn’t a campaign to hunt monsters; it was an outing, a stroll taken simply for the pleasure of it.
It was a small thing, yet she couldn’t suppress the fluttering in her chest.
What if she made a mistake?
She really shouldn’t make a mistake….
Repeating those words like a mantra, she took a deep breath and finally moved her feet.
‘I wonder what the village Ferda-ssi built looks like?’
After hundreds of years of seclusion, Valdrova was encountering a “village” for the first time.
It was none other than the village being built beneath Valdrova Castle.
‘Is this… a village?’
In Valdrova’s last memories, houses were made of stone, earth, and wood.
But what was this before her eyes?
There were only tents.
People were gathered around the tents, busy at work.
‘It has regressed so much in the meantime.’
Valdrova could not help but feel a sense of pity.
When she had heard from Ruri, she was sure the world was enjoying great prosperity….
Had Ruri lied to her so she wouldn’t worry?
“Hey, who might you be, mister?”
As she stood there staring blankly, someone approached her.
Valdrova jumped and turned her head.
It was a man in his thirties who looked like he had spent a fair share of time rolling around on rough ground.
Valdrova found herself overwhelmed by his presence.
It wasn’t because he looked particularly fierce.
‘A human talked to me.’
It was entirely a symptom of her social anxiety.
A human other than Ferda had approached her without hesitation and asked who she was.
For a moment, Valdrova felt as if time had stopped.
How should she answer? Should she run away?
“What’s the matter? Why the silence? Are you one of those fellows who took a vow of silence?”
A vow of silence?
She didn’t know what that was, but Valdrova gave a tentative nod.
At that, the man stopped pressing her and seemed satisfied.
“Ah, I see. A knight who took a vow to Alte, then. Are you a wanderer looking to earn a title at Valdrova Castle?”
Shake, shake.
“No? Then I guess you’re from a knightly family turned adventurer… but it looks like you’ve arrived a bit too early. We’re right in the middle of village construction. We need to get the houses up quickly, but man….”
The man clicked his tongue.
Valdrova tilted her head and pointed a finger toward the tents.
She was asking if those weren’t the houses.
“Huh? What are you talking about? Those are just places to stay until the village is finished—those aren’t houses!”
Ah, so those weren’t houses.
Valdrova scratched her head sheepishly.
“You really don’t know the ways of the world, do you? Well, I suppose that’s possible. Those are temporary barracks, and what we need right now are communal halls. Houses that can properly block the winter wind and let people warm their hands by a fire. We need to build them fast so everyone can stay warm before winter hits.”
“…….”
“They say they’re posting notices in the Empire to bring in more people, but damn if there’s any word of anyone applying. Do you know why?”
Shake, shake.
“It’s because people hate being dragged out to the front lines. I can’t say I blame them. Life inside the Wall is hard enough; imagine what it’s like outside. These youngsters today would rather shiver and die inside the Empire. No spirit, I tell you. No spirit.”
“…….”
“So, mister. By any chance, are you strong?”
Strength….
She was a woman who had nothing but strength.
That was why she was a dragon, known as the sovereign of fire and power.
Valdrova nodded with a lack of confidence.
“There are a few folks like you around already. I happen to be the foreman for this project. If you’ve got some muscle, wouldn’t you mind helping us out? I won’t stop you if you have somewhere else to go, but if you want to work in this Far East region, shouldn’t we get things built as fast as possible?”
The man offered Valdrova a labor contract.
Though her attire suggested she was a knight or an adventurer, he didn’t hesitate to ask, as they were desperate for manpower.
Valdrova listened to the offer and looked around once more.
The people living in tents.
They wore quilted clothes, but they still huddled their bodies against the biting wind.
‘It must be very cold.’
It would be even colder sleeping inside those tents.
‘Then, what I can do is….’
After a moment of thought, Valdrova nodded.
“As expected of adventurers… wait, you’ll do it?”
Nod, nod.
“Hah.”
The man stared at her with wide eyes, as if she were an oddity.
In fact, the foreman had made this offer to other adventurers several times, but this was the first time anyone had accepted.
Who would want to do such grueling manual labor?
“All right then. I’ll let the administrator know. My name is Hanson. You can just call me Boss… ah, right, you took a vow of silence. I’ll give you a token later, so use that to call for me if you need anything regarding the work.”
Nod, nod.
“Now, before we start working… how about taking off that armor?”
“?”
Armor? This?
Valdrova pointed to her helmet.
“Yeah, that armor.”
Clatter!
Valdrova jumped in surprise and shook her head violently.
“How are you going to work wearing something like that?”
Shake, shake!
“It’s not like we’re trying to save face between men, so what, are you not allowed to show your face or something?”
Nod, nod!
“Hah, can’t show your face, took a vow of silence. You’re one mysterious fellow.”
Hanson tried to persuade her to take it off a few more times before giving up.
What did clothing matter?
As long as the person was strong, that was all that counted.
Hanson immediately put her to work.
He walked with Valdrova to the area where the timber was piled.
“See these logs here? You need to move all of them in front of the folks sawing over there. Simple, right?”
Nod, nod.
“Alright, then go to that end. We have to lift them together to load them onto the cart. Okay, on three… hup…?”
Strange.
He exerted force to stand up, but there was no resistance.
Unless these logs were made of bundled feathers, this was impossible.
Just in case, Hanson looked down at his hands.
The log was floating.
The knight standing on the other side had lifted it alone.
And with only one hand.
As if it were light as a feather.
The helmet stared blankly at the foreman.
Where do I put this?
“Uh, you can put it over… there.”
The casual “mister” vanished, replaced by a more respectful tone.
Valdrova moved as instructed and began transporting the logs.
She held the very end of the log and moved it.
Even someone who prided themselves on their strength wouldn’t be able to stay balanced while holding the end of a pillar like that.
“Is it… not heavy?”
Nod, nod.
Seeing Valdrova act as if it were nothing, Hanson asked her just in case.
“Could you perhaps carry two?”
Valdrova nodded and hoisted up two logs.
Again, with just one hand.
“Just how many more could you carry…?”
“?”
Valdrova tilted her head.
She didn’t know the answer to that herself.
But she could find out starting now, couldn’t she?
In that manner, she picked them up one by one until she was carrying a total of ten logs.
She was already carrying enough to fill two carts all by herself.
“…….”
Hanson stood there with his mouth agape, watching the spectacle.
He wasn’t the only one shocked by this display of strength.
“What is that?”
“He’s carrying all of those alone?”
Naturally, the attention of the other workers was drawn to her.
Seeing someone in full plate armor carrying ten logs at once caused quite a stir.
‘Is this not right?’
Frightened by the sudden attention, Valdrova reflexively dropped the logs.
At her reaction, Hanson snapped out of it and shouted at the crowd.
“What are you looking at, you lot! Get back to work!”
After growling and threatening them, the laborers returned to their posts.
Hanson approached Valdrova and consoled her.
“Aiyoo, Sir Knight. Don’t you worry. Anyone who treats you like a sideshow, I, Hanson, will personally knock some sense into their heads!”
Hanson made a chopping motion with his hand and whistled through his teeth.
To him, Valdrova was an indispensable, top-tier talent.
After being coaxed and soothed, Valdrova resumed her work.
Even if he hadn’t said all that, she had intended to continue.
‘Because the houses need to be built quickly.’
She wanted to help so people could sleep in warm houses before the northern chill descended.
So that, at least while sleeping, they could rest without worry.
That was the best she, in her simple way of thinking, could do for them.
“I guess we’ll call it a day here. Great work, Sir Knight!”
Valdrova followed the foreman’s lead and looked up at the sky.
The sun was sinking toward the west.
Thinking there was still time left, she made a move to keep working, but Hanson stopped her.
“Ah, you can stop now. See, the sun is setting. When the sun goes down, you sleep and look forward to tomorrow. Isn’t everyone tired?”
Ah, I see.
Valdrova nodded.
Hanson headed toward the gathering place.
It was the place to return the tokens and collect the day’s wages.
Hanson even submitted Valdrova’s share to get her paid.
Hanson grumbled as he brought back the coin pouch.
“Those damn bastards. You did the work of four men for a week all by yourself, and instead of fifteen shares, they’d only give ten. Aren’t they just filthy?”
She didn’t really know.
So she just nodded for now.
“It’s always the ones at the top that are the problem. I bet that Regent fellow, Ferda, was the one who told them to do that! Probably some young brat acting like a penny-pincher… hup!”
Hanson quickly shut his mouth.
He felt a gaze piercing through him from behind the shadow of that helmet.
“Ah, sorry. You’re a knight, after all; it was out of line for me to insult a noble, wasn’t it? Please understand. It’s just a middle-aged man who’s achieved nothing venting his frustrations.”
“…….”
“If I could, I’d empty my own pockets for you, but please accept this for now. Instead, I’ll make sure to be a good connection for you later so it helps your adventuring career. How about it?”
If she had even the slightest knowledge of the adventuring trade, she would have known how useless that offer was.
However, Valdrova had no idea what the man was talking about.
Therefore, she simply nodded.
“Haha! You truly have a generous spirit! Here, take this.”
Hanson handed a heavy pouch to Valdrova.
The jingle from inside the pouch sounded familiar.
‘It sounds like the gold coins piled in the vault.’
It was similar to the sound made when she tapped the piles with her claws.
Valdrova took the pouch.
“By the way, Sir Knight, since it’s your first time here, do you have a place to stay? If not, I could arrange a cot for you….”
While experiencing life as a human was fun, she couldn’t stay here.
Valdrova nodded and instinctively pointed toward the Lonely Mountain.
Then, realizing her mistake, she quickly pointed in the opposite direction.
“Are you leaving for good?”
Hanson asked with a troubled expression.
When Valdrova shook her head, his complexion cleared.
“Ah, so you’re just planning to stay somewhere else. Understood. Come back whenever you want to help with the construction. Having someone like you around is such a huge help!”
Since Valdrova couldn’t reply, she just kept nodding her head.
I should leave this place quickly.
With that thought, she turned to walk away.
“Sir Knight?”
“?”
“Didn’t you say you were going home? Where are you going?”
Valdrova’s feet were heading toward the Lonely Mountain.
Oops.
That wasn’t the way.
Bashfully, Valdrova turned around and walked in the direction she had previously pointed.
Seeing that, Hanson burst into laughter.
“Get home safe! Don’t run into any monsters!”
After the farewell, she moved away from the village.
Once the village was no longer in sight, Valdrova made a wide circle and headed for the Lair.
The return journey took only three seconds—an instant.
Pushing open the massive iron doors and returning to her sanctuary, Valdrova lay down.
Still in her armor, she stared up at the pitch-black ceiling.
‘What was that?’
It was a strange day.
Truly, the day had flown by in the blink of an eye.
It wasn’t exhausting, but she wasn’t even sure what had happened.
She had just repeated the same movements, and people had been amazed.
‘Was I… helpful?’
The dazed feeling that that alone was enough.
Valdrova unwrapped the bundle she had placed on her chest.
Ten copper coins per worker.
For ten people, a total of 100 coins.
She piled them up neatly and stared at them.
Money given to her by humans.
‘Money given to me as a thank you.’
They were grateful to her.
‘They said they’d see me again tomorrow.’
Their faces were vividly drawn in Valdrova’s mind.
Not trembling in fear, but smiling brightly.
‘Humans want me.’
She didn’t know how to express this overwhelming emotion.
She just wanted to share this joy that felt like it would burst her heart.
“Ruri….”
The first one she thought of was the girl who knew her best.
The kind-hearted child who had served her for a long time.
“…I can’t tell her.”
Valdrova reflexively covered her mouth.
Ruri was loyal, but when she got angry, she was scarier than anyone.
She would surely nag her about the “dignity of a dragon” or something of the sort.
It would only increase their mutual heartache, so she decided to keep it a secret.
She needed someone other than Ruri to share this with.
“Then… Ferda-ssi?”
The kind man.
She always needed a topic to talk about with him.
This was a good topic, even among topics.
Her heart felt ticklish.
She found herself smiling foolishly, her body moving restlessly as if it didn’t know what to do with itself.
She wanted Ferda to soothe this feeling.
‘No, not yet.’
Valdrova hugged the pouch of copper coins tightly.
She wanted to tell Ferda, but not now.
This village was being built by Ferda’s will.
She wanted to save up bit by bit and give him a surprise gift.
One day, when this village prospered, she would tell him that she was the one who set its foundation.
That it was built with her own hands.
That destruction wasn’t the only thing she was capable of.
She wanted to see the expression he would make.
She wanted to hear what kind of praise he would give.
So, she decided to hide it deep inside.
Still, it was too precious to keep only in her heart, and the words slipped out of her mouth.
“Ferda-ssi….”
Valdrova breathed the name affectionately.
“I… was helpful to Ferda-ssi.”
That was the step Valdrova took.
It was the beginning of a small change.
