I Became a Raid Boss

Thud!

The night is cold.

With the sun that provided warmth now hidden below the horizon, it’s only natural. However, it doesn’t feel as chilly as one might expect, perhaps because the difference between day and night temperatures isn’t that great.

Thud!

On the continent of Laxia, which is covered by Magi, the sunlight never fully shines through. As a result, even during the day, it often feels cool.

Noticing that the fire’s once blazing flames had dwindled a bit, I threw in another log. The flames, which had momentarily hesitated, eagerly devoured the wood and flared up fiercely again. The warmth radiating from the fire gently enveloped the surroundings.

“Hmm…”

Celine stirred in her sleep. It seemed the sudden warmth in the air was unfamiliar to her. Still, she didn’t seem to dislike the cozy warmth wrapping around her, as she neither opened her eyes nor complained, returning instead to her peaceful breathing.

And Da-eun…

She was so deeply asleep, not moving an inch, that I reached out and placed a finger under her nose just to be sure. Feeling the faint breath tickle my finger, I withdrew my hand.

Thud!

“…No learning ability at all?”

As I checked on my companions, I heard a sound, as if something was banging against something else. After three failed attempts, you’d think it would stop by now…

I sighed and, without bothering to stand, drew my sword.

Wielding a sword in this position wouldn’t allow me to put my full strength into it. After all, I was swinging it using only my arms.

Not to mention, with my small frame, I already have to be careful to keep the sword from dragging on the ground when standing, so sitting made it even harder.

But despite knowing that, I didn’t bother getting up. It was enough to deal with the thing that kept annoyingly banging against the barrier Celine had created with her holy magic.

Swish

In an instant, a gust of wind, as sharp as a blade, swept through the campsite.

That was all it took to silence the pest that had been rudely banging on our door in the dead of night.

Disturbing my thoughts deserves the death penalty.

Honestly, I’d just been spacing out, staring at the fire, but words are all about how you spin them.

Yawn…

Watching the flames dance as they flickered in the fire naturally made me yawn. I felt strangely drowsy…

The night watch I’m familiar with has a more tense, alert atmosphere.

But thanks to Celine’s holy barrier, it felt more like we were on a peaceful getaway trip. In truth, there wasn’t even a real need to stay on watch. Most creatures wouldn’t be able to break through her barrier, and if something strong enough did, I’d wake up to it instinctively.

—”So why are you sitting here all alone, moping?” Grasid remarked.

‘I’m not moping. I’m just organizing my thoughts.’

—In my eyes, it looks the same.

‘Well, maybe that’s how lizard eyes see things. I’ll let it slide.’

—Tsk, that sharp tongue of yours…

‘If you don’t like it, you can leave.’

I wasn’t worried about something like, ‘What if it actually leaves?’

There’s no way Grasid would abandon me, and if it did, that would be exactly what I want—an opportunity to shake off this clingy perverted lizard.

Now that I think about it, maybe I’ve gotten used to Da-eun visiting me every day because of Grasid’s constant presence.

Not that I’m thankful for it, though.

—…Ahem! Not that I dislike it.

‘Then stay quiet.’

Just as I thought, my sharp words made Grasid back down quickly.

—If you have so many worries, why not share them with me?

‘…Me? Share my worries with you?’

—”I’ve lived long enough to offer some help. Trust me, you won’t lose anything by confiding in me.”

‘Nothing to lose? Of course, I’d lose something. I’d have to actually talk to you. Do you know how exhausting that is?’

—”…You’re the first and will likely be the last person to treat me like this.”

‘Old man, times have changed.’

Even as the years passed, dragons still remained revered, but the influence that Grasid once had was not what it used to be. No wonder those royal brats treated the Crimson Aegis with such disdain.

I didn’t really want to pour out my troubles to this perverted lizard, so I asked something that had just popped into my head.

‘Your kingdom fell. Do you regret it?’

—”I made a contract with Zigrid, not his descendants. Besides, didn’t I already do enough for them? Do you know how much effort I put into making that ring?”

‘You’re trying to say you worked hard on it, even putting off healing the injuries you got from fighting Krumo, right?’

I’d heard the story so many times that I could recite it in my sleep.

‘And yet, there weren’t many who could actually use it properly.’

—”…I got carried away while making it. I couldn’t help it. After all, it would’ve been embarrassing if some nobody used an artifact granted by a dragon.”

‘You’re so full of yourself.’

In the end, it means you made it thinking only about your own pride, without considering whether anyone could use it.

What’s the point of creating something more impressive than what the dwarves can craft if no one can wield it properly?

And to top it off, you added that annoying restriction—’royal blood must not taint it.’

—”To be precise, not just any royal blood, but only ‘royal blood of Zigrid’s lineage.'”

‘Same difference.’

—”Imagine creating a sword for someone only for that sword to end up hurting them. Wouldn’t that be ridiculous? I was preventing such a tragedy.”

‘So, in the end, it’s all about your pride again.’

As expected, a dragon is the embodiment of vanity.

From the start, Grasid never cared about the Grasis or Zigrid.

As I conveyed that thought, Grasid began to yap again, trying to justify himself. But since my intention was to provoke him, I just pretended to pick my ears and let his words go in one ear and out the other.

If you’re going to speak freely inside someone’s mind, you should at least pay a price, right? That’s how I see it.

—”…But I wouldn’t have done so much if I didn’t care. I took it seriously—”

‘—Hold on. Be quiet.’

—”….”

The chatter in my head stopped, and silence fell over the area.

Not that it was noisy to begin with since we were communicating telepathically. But in the quiet night, between the crackling of the campfire and the occasional gust of wind, a foreign sound slipped in.

…Creeeak, creeeak.

It was the sound of something dragging across the ground.

Could it be a monster?

‘No.’

I immediately shook my head. It didn’t feel like a monster’s presence.

Besides, if it were a monster, it would’ve charged at us by now, or approached more stealthily instead of making noise like that.

And this wasn’t the first time I’d sensed this kind of presence. It was a feeling I often encountered in people who were injured and struggling to move.

Which meant the approaching figure was…

“Human.”

It was probably one of the Demonic Race, specifically from the Purifier Clan.

Sure enough, emerging from the thick darkness into the firelight was a figure with pale skin—a member of the Demonic Race.

The man staggered forward, and when his eyes met mine, he froze in shock. It seemed he hadn’t come looking for us intentionally.

Of course, he could be acting, but even if that surprised look was fake, I wouldn’t be too upset.

There was no helping it, after all.

“You people—”

“Shh.”

I raised a finger to my lips, gesturing toward my sleeping companions. The man quickly shut his mouth.

At least he had good sense.

The man cautiously approached the campsite without much warning, coming closer to where I sat.

Thunk.

“Ah…!”

The man let out a short breath, whether it was a gasp of amazement or a sigh, I couldn’t tell, as he collided with the divine barrier that Celine had erected. His trembling hand reached out to trace the barrier, feeling its surface.

“The divine power of Lady Edel… I never thought I’d feel it again in my lifetime…”

He was so overcome with emotion that tears began to fall from his eyes. Watching this scene, I blinked in mild disbelief.

‘He looks like a fanatic…’

I understood the significance of Edel to these people, so I refrained from making any snarky comments, but I had to admit it was quite something to see someone react this emotionally to divine power. It wasn’t something you’d see often on the Ardina Continent. It was refreshing in its own way.

The man continued to sob quietly, overwhelmed by the divine power, and after some time, he finally stopped his silent weeping. Without even wiping his swollen eyes, he spoke in a cracked voice.

“I see… You must be from the Ardina Continent.”

“That’s right.”

There was no reason to hide it, so I answered him without hesitation.

“Do you know Artisha?”

“Oh! Have you met her?”

“Yes, she brought us here.”

“I see… Her condition must be poor…”

Mentioning Artisha’s name along with the divine power seemed to lower the man’s guard even more. If I were lying, he’d be falling right into a trap—he seemed like the kind of person easy to scam.

And speaking of which…

“You don’t seem to be in the best shape yourself. For a second, I thought a corpse was walking toward us.”

“…Haha, you can tell.”

“You’re practically reeking of death. If you’re planning to die, do it somewhere else. I don’t want to deal with a body here.”

I didn’t want to wake anyone up, but the way this man looked, I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up with a corpse to deal with by morning. Reluctantly, despite all my efforts to keep things quiet, I had to wake Celine up myself.

“Celine. Wake up.”

“Mm… Kana? Is something wrong?”

“Is there a monster attack?”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Celine asked me, to which I shook my head. That sort of thing was always happening anyway.

If a monster strong enough to warrant waking her had appeared, the whole area would’ve already been in chaos.

“No, I need you, Celine.”

“That’s quite an exciting statement. Are you confessing?”

“…No. I get that you’re still groggy, but pull yourself together.”

“Hehe.”

Due to the language barrier, I often ended up talking mostly with Da-eun, unintentionally leaving Celine out. It had bothered me for a while, so I was glad we could communicate now, but…

For some reason, ever since she started understanding me, Celine seemed to be picking up some of Da-eun’s quirks.

The once gentle and compassionate Celine had changed. Should I be happy that we were closer now, or lament that she had been influenced by Da-eun?

Feeling a mix of emotions, I guided Celine toward the man.

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