I pulled the sword out of Valerian’s scabbard, and swung it a couple of times to test how it handles.

From a side it must’ve looked like an idiot construction worker on his first day would try to hit a nail with a hammer.

“What are you doing?!” Valerian immediately tried to take the sword back, but I jumped away.

“Sorry, I need it for things.” I glanced at the dragon.

The previously dreadful creature pathetically crawled towards its nest.

It was clear as day that if I do something great, the people would feel less suspicious of me.

A dragonslayer. A hero.

And definitely not a wicked underground manhunting parasite monster.

If I were to present a dragon head… An actual dragon head. If I were to present it to a king, they might give me a piece of land somewhere hell-knows-where, far away from people.

And then I can just throw the wretched hive of villainous monsters in there, and pretend like I am a normal flesh and not-acidic-blood creature. Live like a normal human, in comfort and content…

No more overworking… No more 11 hours of everyday report writing…

No more living on scraps between salary after the bank takes the due…

‘Why is she giggling like this…?’ (P)

‘No idea… Eww…’ (J)

I walked towards the lizard at its last breath, and raised the sword above my head.

“Amelia?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Valerian shouted.

“What’s your problem?” I grumbled back.

“IT IS ALREADY DEAD, LEAVE THE DAMNED THING ALONE!” (V)

“DOES IT MATTER?! YOU WERE GOING TO KILL IT REGARDLESS!” I shouted.

The man grimaced, but could not retort.

“Consider this giving me a mercy to it. At least it won’t suffer further.” I turned back at the dragon.

It was looking at me. It was still trying to move its weakened limbs, but its eyes gazed at me holding the sword.

I have no idea if it was trying to make puppy eyes, but the dragon infant was definitely trying to make me pity it.

‘Ufff… Ufff…’

It whimpered and desperately stretched out its paw towards the carriage.

The ruined carriage was just a bunch of broken wood scraps with a rag over it. Bones and skeletons of the dragon’s victims lied around, and the dragon couldn’t choose an even better idea than to try to make me pity it by pointing there.

But the adrenaline in my blood already subsided, and the battle frenzy was gone. I was more or less able to calmly consider what the f*ck I was doing here, standing like a coat hanger with a sword above my head, over a half-dead lizard that whimpered like a beaten cub.

I couldn’t understand why the hell I was here to begin with. Like some sort of a moronic being made me come here and stand like a clown.

“Ah, f*ck it all.”

‘Slice’

‘REWWuuuuufffuuu…’

And the sword cut off the dragon’s head I felt…

…like a piece of s*it.

There was no sense of achievement.

I just did like something beckoned me to satisfy its bloodlust desires, all while it is drinking beer and eating chips.

I have no idea what the f*ck did I achieve here…

I headed to the carriage to look if there’s anything valuable left, after all, I can’t become a bigger scumbag than I already became.

I glanced around the carriage, but nothing of note was there. Then I lifted the rag, and saw it…

An egg. A huge cracked egg, with another one near it. The second egg was successfully hatched, while the first was cracked and its contents leaked out.

‘Pom-pom’

I cautiously hit the crack, and through the widened hole I saw a rotten mummified fetus of a dragon.

Shivers ran down my spine.

[Was it just trying to die by its unborn sibling…?]

“F*ck it all…” I grumbled, and headed back to the party.

I silently shoved the sword into Valerian’s hands, and walked past them.

Only Jeanne cautiously followed me.

“W-want to… t-talk about any-thing…?” She cautiously tried to start a conversation.

“[Negative] Um.”

“W-want to lis-ten…? I… you know… did some stuff back then too…” She spoke even more cautiously.

“[Positive] Um.”

The rest of the party followed us in an awkward silence.