Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

Chapter 19: Kleadan Village

“I don’t think I have ever seen Mira like that,” Liz said after we left the inn.

I let out a small laugh. “It looked like she deflated on the spot.”

“Can you blame her? First, you give her something like that and then tell her not to show it to anyone. I bet she had trouble sleeping from excitement thinking about showing it off to everyone at the guild.”

“I hope she can forgive me,” I grinned.

“She will probably forget about it the moment she goes out on a quest and gets to take it out.”

“That’s good then,” I said as I looked down both ways of the street we were standing on. “So which gate are we leaving from?”

Now that I think about it, I hardly know where we are going. There were no maps for sale that were better than rough sketches, probably to prevent information from falling into foreign hands. The only thing I know is that the capital is to the east of here.

“The fastest way to my village is from the east gate then follow the road northeast when it splits.”

“First time I will actually leave town the proper way. I can’t wait,” I said with a laugh.

It took around twenty minutes of walking before we arrived at the east gate. The checkpoint had some sort of device that you put your card against and got a ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ from a nearby guard if you were allowed to leave or enter if you came from the other way.

“Why did I even have to do that with my card?” I asked Liz as we walked out of town.

“To see if you are a criminal.”

“Huh, they can tell that from my card?” I asked, surprised.

“If you get convicted of a crime, your magic signature will get recorded. You did the same when you made your guild card, remember?”

“So if someone is convicted of a crime, they can’t enter or leave towns even if they manage to escape captivity?”

“Well, not unless they can sprout wings,” She said and smirked at me.

For all the technological inferiority this world has compared to Earth they suddenly slam me with a multi-card. Guild card, ID card, and credit card all in one. Will I be able to use it as a bus pass next?

After walking a short distance, I stopped and summoned my foxlings. I figured it would be better to do it a short distance from the gate in case someone would mistake them for monsters.

“I think I will start riding on Roxy today,” I said and hopped on.

“Kyun!”

“What about you?” I looked over at Liz.

“Uhm, I don’t know… Maybe Woxy?” She said while looking back and forth between them.

“Kyuuu~”

“Hey now Boxy, no need to sulk. We will swap on the way. Do you want to run or sit in my lap?”

“Kyun!” Boxy instantly became smaller and hopped up in my lap.

“Such a spoiled child,” I said and stroked his head, “Let's get going then. Can you run in whatever direction Liz points us towards?”

“Kyu!” They cried in unison and started darting along the road.

We occasionally ran past some travelers and got some curious looks, but that was about it.

“Is summoning used more in everyday life or just in combat?” I asked Liz.

“Most are used for combat, but there are some utility ones that are more common like mounts and birds used for scouting. There are also tamers that ride their pets.”

“So maybe we won’t stand out so much then?”

“Maybe? I doubt anyone has seen summons like these before. Also never seen anything that’s this fast. We will probably arrive at the village in less than half the time I predicted.”

“Of course,” I said with a smug face, “My foxlings are the best!”

“They certainly are, and so fluffy,” Liz said and leaned down against Woxy’s back.

We stopped by a river to have a snack and to let my foxlings rest, not that I know if they actually needed it. They seem to be just fine no matter how long they run. When we got ready to continue, I hopped on Boxy, Liz got on Roxy while Woxy jumped up in Liz’s lap.

Woxy, what is this betrayal? Is it because I didn’t summon you for over two thousand years? I'm sorry, I was asleep!

“Woxy seems to like you,” I said in a defeated tone.

“I like him too,” Liz said and snuggled her face into Woxy’s tails.

“How much farther to the village?” I asked as we started speeding down the road again.

“At the speed we are going, probably less than an hour. It usually takes a full day or longer to go home and we will arrive before midday…”

“Is it one of those common sense-shattering things again?” I asked with a smirk.

“At this point, I might as well just accept everything,” She said with a deep sigh.

“It would be better if you would,” I said and stuck my tongue out. “So who are we meeting in the village?”

“My uncle and his family. My parents passed away before I could remember, so I grew up with them.”

How am I supposed to respond to that?

“You don’t have to worry,” Liz said and looked at me, “I don’t remember my parents at all. For me, my uncle is my family.”

“Am I really that easy to read?”

Liz tapped a finger on her lips, “I’m getting better at it I think?”

“Oh yeah? Then what am I thinking now?” I asked and squinted at her.

She looked at me for a while. “That you want to stop and fool around.”

“... Lucky guess,” I grinned.

After a while, we came up to the outskirts of the village and dismounted from our foxlings.

Liz stretched her hands above her head, “Think it’s been a year since I came home last time.”

“Is it because of that guy?” I asked as I unsummoned my foxlings.

“Mostly yeah.”

“Want me to punch him?”.

“Maybe later,” Liz said and smirked. “Well, here we are. Welcome to Kleadan village.”

Kleadan was a small village by all accounts and everyone we met greeted Liz like they knew her. I felt like I got quite a lot of stares from the various villagers. They probably didn’t get many visitors.

“Liz! Have you finally decided to quit playing adventurer and settle down?” A man from behind yelled at us.

 “Marcus…” Liz muttered.

We turned around to see a man walking towards us. He was, what I would describe, as the absolute average of the most average Joes, a five out of ten, a background character.

“What a charmer,” I whispered.

“And who is this girl? A friend of yours?” He asked and looked me up and down.

“This is Luna.”

“Nice to meet you!” He said and put his hand out. “I’m Marcus, Liz’s fiancé.” 

Fiancé? Did he seriously just say, fiancé? Not only does he belittle her efforts as an adventurer, but he also has the audacity to say he is her fiancé even though she rejected him? Is this one of those people who are so dense they put a neutron star to shame? I thought those only appeared in manga. I want to punch him.

“I have told you time and time again to stop saying that!” Liz shouted.

“You know, girls don’t like the persistent type that never listens,” I said, looking at the hand he was holding out.

Marcus, seemingly realising what my look meant, pulled back his hand. “I just want what's best for Liz.”

“On what authority do you decide what’s best for Liz?” I asked, clearly agitated.

“I have known her since we were kids,” Marcus said as if that would hold any importance in the matter.

“I fail to see how that lets you ignore what Liz wants.”

“Look, this is between me and Liz. It’s not something that an outsider should butt in on,” Markus said with an annoyed tone.

“Agreed, this is not something that an outsider should butt in on,” I said and turned to Liz, kissed her on her cheek and grabbed her hand. “Shall we get going? I would like to meet your uncle.”

Liz, who had mostly been observing the conversation, was left shocked and blushing and simply walked away with me, hand in hand, towards her uncle's house. A dumbfounded Marcus was left staring at us as we walked away.

“I didn’t expect you to do that,” Liz said after walking for a moment.

“It was either that or punching him,” I said with a smirk. “Jokes aside though, did you see his face?”

“I think you broke him.”

“He deserved it. He truly was obnoxious.”

“He has been like that for as long as I can remember. I don't know in what world he thinks I would want to be with him when he acts like that.”

“Also what is up with this whole looking down on you as an adventurer? You are by far the strongest person I have met so far in this village.”

“That meathead only thinks physical strength matters.”

“As someone who specializes in magic, I take offense to that.”

Liz looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “As someone with 78000 strength, I don’t think you have the right to be offended.”

“Fair point,” I laughed. 

We walked through the village until we reached a house close to the edge of the village. A woman was outside hanging up laundry on some ropes. She saw us walking towards the house and put the basket down on the ground. When she noticed us holding hands, a massive grin appeared on her lips..

“Oh Liz, it's so good to see you! Have you finally brought home a wife? Me and your uncle have been so worried about you!” She said and ran towards the door of the house before either of us even had time to react. “Darling! Liz is home and she brought a lover!”

We both were left standing in front of the house. “She… She was a lot.”

“That was my uncle's wife, Maria. She has always been like that.” She said with a deep sigh.

When we entered, we were greeted by a pleasant house, by no means big, but comfortable. Maria, who was still grinning, was standing next to a man who sat at a table.

“Uncle, I’m home,” Liz said, and walked over to the table. “This is Luna. Luna, this is my uncle, Klaus.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” I said and gave him my friendliest smile.

“And I’m Maria, his wife,” The grinning woman said.

I could hear fast thudding footsteps coming closer before a door flung open. “Liiiiz!” A small girl yelled as she jumped into her arms.

“Hi Colette, I’m home.”

“You haven’t been home in forever! See how big I am now!” Colette said and stretched out her arms.

“Wow, you are so tall now!” Said Liz, who had gone into full sister mode. “Colette, this is Luna.”

“Luna?” She tilted her head.

“That would be me,” I said with a smile.

“Pretty!” She blurted.

“Oh, aren’t you just too cute,” I said and ruffled her hair.

“So what brings you home?” Maria asked and motioned for us to sit down.

“Can’t I just come home to say hi?” Liz asked as she sat down on a chair. I sat down next to her.

“Of course you can, but you haven’t been home in over a year. We were worried something might have happened.”

She did almost die a few days ago. Does that count?

“You know who to blame for that.”

“He has actually been behaving better lately.”

“You mean he used to be worse?!” I blurted out, “Ahem, sorry, I mean, we already met him…”

Maria laughed heartily. “The poor boy just doesn't know what to do when he is in love.”

“The poor boy was lucky he didn’t get punched in the face,” Liz said and smirked at me.

“Can you please say that in a way that doesn't portray me as some violent thug,” I said with a pout.

“Fighting for love? Oh, how romantic,” Maria said and clasped her hands.

Liz had a faint blush on her face as she cleared her throat. “Ahem, anyway, we were on our way to the capital and decided to take a detour so I could come home and say hi.”

“Eloping to the capital? Oh, to be young!” Maria continued.

“Is she always like that?” I whispered to Liz. 

“That’s pretty much her everyday personality,” Liz said and sighed.

“Well I think it’s refreshing,” I said and smiled at Maria.

Maria served us tea while I pulled out some of the cookies I had bought in Baruda.

“Are you an adventurer as well, Luna?” Maria asked as she saw the cookies appear from the void.

“That’s right.”

“Aren’t your parents worried about you being an adventurer at such a young age? I still worry about Liz all the time,” Maria said and looked over at Liz.

I didn’t even have time to think about what to answer before Liz said, “It’s pointless to worry about Luna. She is crazy strong. The whole reason we are going to the capital is because they aren’t allowed to increase her rank anymore anywhere else.”

“Oh darling, to think that the day would come when our little Liz brags about a lover she brought home,” Maria said and put her hand on Klaus’ shoulder.

“I guess this is what I get for not coming home for a year,” Liz muttered and rolled her eyes.

“Do try to come home more often.”

“So how are things in the village?” Liz asked, trying to change the topic.

“Same old, same old,” Klaus said, “Nothing ever happens in this remote place.”

We spent a few hours in the village talking with Maria and Klaus about various things. I even managed to get some funny stories about when Liz was a kid despite her protests, like how she ran around pretending to cast spells at the age of five after she got her citizen ID card. 

Since it was still just afternoon we decided to keep going towards the capital instead of spending the night, even though they offered. We said our goodbyes and walked towards the entrance to the village.

“Look ahead to the right,” Liz whispered to me. “Marcus is staring daggers at you.” 

“I can’t imagine why,” I said and shot a big smile his way.