I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 165

CHAPTER 165

“I don’t know what you mean by that…….”

 The apprentice priest blinked, his words trailing off. 

I narrowed my eyes.

“Why pretend not to understand?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The apprentice priest shook his head despondently. 

Wrinkles creased his freckled nose.

“If I’ve made a mistake, please inform me, Your Highness.”

So this is how it’s going to be?

“Is that so?”

I sighed heavily, not forgetting to gesture as if in distress.

“Maybe I misjudged. I thought you were a red lizard, not human.”

“…”

“I guess I should contact the Dragon Lord-“

“Don’t.”

Look at that. 

Mention the Dragon Lord and they reveal their true colors right away.

“Ah.”

The apprentice priest, who had been pretending to be kind and innocent, straightened his bowed body. 

He began to grow taller.

I ran my hand through his hair, and his black locks slowly colored with my touch, then red, then lengthened.

The same went for the eyes that looked at me. 

Brown eyes that could be seen anywhere gradually brightened, turning golden.

“I thought I was hiding well.”

Vertical pupils faced me.

“Hardly hiding.”

I chuckled.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. It’s been a while, Pendrade.”

Returning fully to his usual form, he waved his hand. 

A thin shield was erected.

It seemed as if he was preparing in advance, in case someone was listening.

“Yeah, it has. It’s been a while.”

Responding vaguely to my words, Pendrade sat back in the chair and began tapping his shoulder with his fist.

“But what exactly are you doing here?”

I grinned.

“Weren’t you supposed to meet the Dragon Lord?”

He had flown off to meet the Dragon Lord himself, claiming to help me.

Why, then, did he suddenly show up as an apprentice priest at the Temple of the Lord?

“Well, you see.”

Pendrade groaned softly, his voice trailing off.

“I did meet the Dragon Lord, but…”

“You didn’t just meet the Dragon Lord.”

Pendrade’s body twitched.

“You met a marriage candidate too?”

Wasn’t the Dragon Lord planning to marry him off to secure a hostage?

“We did meet…”

That was the correct answer.

Pendrade sighed deeply and rubbed his face.

“We met behind bars…”

“…?”

Wait, what?

“I’m saying that Rod will do me a favor.”

Pendrade continued with a tired, worn-out look.

“So I followed him willingly into the depths of his rare. But suddenly, from above, bars… and even magic didn’t work…”

Perhaps memories of being captured suddenly came back, as Pendrade shivered.

“But she got caught too.”

Their first meeting was behind bars.

No, before that, he was about to catch one who could expand the race. 

I looked at Pendrade, who was still trembling with pity in my eyes.

“Still, he, uh, somehow escaped.”

Considering the Dragon Lord’s actions, it seemed like he would remain trapped and still manage to have a wedding ceremony.

“Oh? I’m not sure what happened, but the Dragon Lord and other dragons left their positions for a moment.”

“Really?”

“During that time, we escaped together! We broke through a barrier, so the Lord probably collapsed along with it!”

Was this a commendable action or something else? 

Unable to intervene in matters of other races’ reproduction, I simply nodded to conclude the conversation.

“Hey, I figured it out though. This isn’t it!”

Pendrade smiled with a gleam in his eyes.

“Even at the moment of my escape, I brought a map showing the location of the High Elves’ village!”

Oh, right.

He left with the request to the Dragon Lord to meet the High Elves.

“You should be grateful to have a friend like me, you know? Even while running from the Lord, I didn’t let go of the map.”

“…”

“I’ve got holes in my wings, want to see? No, wait, first take a look at the map. I looked at it earlier and surprisingly, this place is close by. Just a few days’ journey.”

“Well…”

I stopped Pendrade, who was excited to take out the map.

“I’ve met them.”

“Huh?”

“A few days ago… I met the High Elves.”

“How…?”

“Lionel somehow found out. I met the High Elves and accomplished what was necessary.”

“…”

“…”

Pendrade, who had endured so much, suddenly shook his head, and I silently patted his shoulder.

Cheer up.

“Show me your wings later, I’ll heal them cleanly.”

He has holes in them, and I’ll treat them nicely.

“…”

“I’ll buy you delicious things and let you spend money as much as you want. And if you need any medicine, just tell me. I’ll make it for you.”

“Really?”

Finally, he raised his head slightly and met my eyes. 

Oh, was he crying?

“Yes, really.”

I smiled broadly and started bargaining energetically.

“I’ll buy you that sword and armor you wanted last time! Why, you said it would make you look like a knight from legends.”

As I thought about whether that armor could defend or attack, not to mention make someone look like a knight from legends…

“Really?”

Energy returned to Pendrade’s face.

“Yeah! It’s only natural to give you that much since you’ve worked hard.”

Alright, alright. I nodded while smiling.

“But, Pendrade, why were you here? Wasn’t the Dragon Lord’s rare the opposite of this place?”

“Hmm? You know where the Dragon Lord’s rare is?”

“I have a rough idea.”

I only knew it was in a mountain range. 

Wasn’t the small problem that it spanned five countries and was as long and wide as a mountain range?

“Anyway, why were you here as an apprentice priest of the temple? You should have returned as soon as the job was done.”

“Well…”

Pendrade scanned the surroundings with a vigilant gaze.

What’s going on?

The most likely eavesdropper in the room, busy tidying up her belongings, was Betty. 

But Pendrade didn’t even glance toward Betty’s room.

‘Hmm.’

I glanced upwards, beyond the ceiling.

“Shu.”

<Baah.>

I softly called out, shaping my lips into a “Shu”, and Shu responded, mimicking me softly.

“Put up a water shield.”

Upon my command, Shu flew up immediately. 

A thin protective shield spread out over the barrier Pendrade had erected.

“The power of the spirits is nature itself. By overlaying Shu’s power over yours like this, it won’t be noticeable.”

Finally, seeming slightly relieved by my words, he nodded.

“So, what do you want to say?”

“…I, uh, saw something in the Dragon Lord’s rare.”

“What was it, then?”

“That…”

Pendrade hesitated again, scratching his head.

To speak or not to speak, and if he did, whether it would be articulate.

His face was troubled.

‘What’s up?’

I crossed my arms, waiting for Pendrade to speak again.

How much time passed like that?

“I was bringing back a map showing the location of the High Elf village, right? It felt weird, so I brought it with me.”

Pendrade took something out from his bosom. 

It was something the length of his hand, wrapped tightly in leather.

“You should take a look yourself. You might know better than I do.”

Taking the item hesitantly, I undid the cords and checked inside.

“What is this, a blade?”

What came out from under the leather was in a bad condition.

The blade that emerged from what seemed like a sword was corroded and weathered, losing its color and shape, and appearing ancient.

What was somewhat fortunate, however, was that it still maintained its general shape.

“What on earth is this?”

Where did he get such an antique?

Wait a minute.

This blade is too curved to be called a sword.

I cautiously traced my finger along the top of the blade. 

The line curved smoothly.

Yeah, this isn’t a blade of a sword. 

But it’s not a shape you’d see in any other weapon either.

‘Even though it’s very weak, I can feel a divine power.’

For a very long time, perhaps unimaginably long, could this be an artifact disconnected from the gods?

If this is an artifact, which god does it belong to?

A dagger, a longsword.

If I knew what kind of item it was, I could figure out which god it was related to.

I examined the corroded blade more closely, concentrating even harder.

‘It seems more like a tool closely related to life than a weapon. Yeah, something you’d use during farming…’

Farming tool?

A blade with a curve, a farming tool.

There was only one thing that came to mind.

A sickle.

And when you think of a sickle, there’s one god that comes to mind.

“Could it be… is this the relic of Gaia?”

Gaia, the mother of all, the beginning of everything.