A dragon’s lair was both the exclusive domain and the authority of the dragon race.
Most dragons were known for their obsession with collecting things, filling their lairs with all sorts of treasures and keeping them stored away.
Because of that, humans often referred to a dragon’s lair as a treasure vault overflowing with gold and jewels.
It was said that some adventurers in the past had spent decades of their lives searching for a dragon’s lair.
That alone gave a vague idea of just how valuable a lair truly was.
And precisely because of that—
Most dragons hid their lairs away from the world.
But it didn’t stop there. Some dragons even went as far as appointing gatekeepers to guard their lairs.
…Just like this person here.
“Hmm… Huh? What— Did I doze off for a second?”
An explosion of flame erupted from the severed neck.
Intense heat filled the inside of the building.
Before I knew it, the neck that had been cut clean off had regenerated completely.
The red-haired man rubbed his neck as he tilted his head in confusion.
Then he turned his gaze toward me.
“What’s this? Who are you? You here to buy a weapon or something?”
He pointed at me with the hammer in his hand as he asked.
His casual tone and loose mannerisms made him seem like some neighborhood thug, but I could tell right away.
Eyes that burned like that didn’t lie.
…He’s strong. Incredibly strong.
Well, of course he was.
He was the gatekeeper of a dragon’s lair. Not just any place.
If he wasn’t strong, that would’ve been far stranger.
Just from the faint energy I could sense from him, he was at least Master-rank or higher.
I swallowed unconsciously.
From this point on, I had to choose my words very carefully.
I couldn’t even count how many times I had died in the game because I picked the wrong dialogue option.
“Good day to you.”
“Huh? It’s not a good day for me. I’ve got no weapons to sell right now, so come back tomorrow.”
“I’m not here to buy weapons. I have business with you, Mr. Tarhen.”
“…What?”
Tarhen.
A name given to him by the Flame Dragon Ignis, who had appointed him as the gatekeeper.
Now that the Flame Dragon had disappeared from this world, there were very few people left who even knew that name.
Perhaps that was why. Tarhen’s burning gaze locked onto me like he was ready to devour me alive.
“You. Where did you hear that name?”
“I heard it from Lady Lily.”
“…Who?”
“I mean Lady Lily, the Space Dragon.”
“……”
Upon hearing my answer, the blazing intensity in his eyes gradually began to die down.
Then he gave an awkward cough and tried to clear the air.
Even the sweltering heat that had been radiating from him began to subside.
“What….so you were sent by her? You should’ve said that first.”
“Haha…”
“I thought I smelled her scent coming off you… What, are you her errand boy or something?”
“…Yeah, well. Something like that.”
I didn’t bother correcting his misunderstanding.
If I could make use of my connection with Lily, it would probably be much easier to enter the lair.
In the now brightened atmosphere, he spoke to me.
“By the way, what business does she have this time looking for me again? She came by just a week ago.”
“It wasn’t a week ago.”
“Huh?”
He was the gatekeeper who guarded the lair of Ignis, the Fire Dragon.
He was also a being born from the authority of the Fire Dragon.
But now, with the Fire Dragon gone from this world, his existence had been gradually fading.
“This year is 1143 by the Imperial Calendar.”
“……..”
“When is the last time you remember, Mr. Tarhen?”
“…Maybe around 600 years ago.”
Six hundred years.
It was a memory from fully five centuries in the past.
It was the time when his existence had come to a halt.
Such was the fate of a gatekeeper who had lost his master.
“As you probably know as well, Mr. Tarhen, ever since Sir Ignis disappeared, your existence has been fading.”
“…Yeah.”
“Before long, that flame of yours will likely go out completely.”
The more I spoke, the more I could feel the shadow deepening over his face.
And I knew the reason why.
He was a being created to manage his master’s lair.
No matter how long his master had been gone from this world… as long as he still existed, he would endure.
He must have wanted to keep guarding the lair until his master returned.
…If the gatekeeper disappeared, the location of the lair would be exposed to the outside.
That was the one thing he would want to avoid.
That was exactly what I had to take advantage of.
“And that’s why Lady Lily sent me here.”
“Did she actually find a way? She said back then it wasn’t possible, didn’t she?”
“We need a heart.”
“…What?”
“A Dragon Heart. Isn’t there one inside the lair?”
“Hey, wait, that’s…!”
His eyes widened like lanterns in utter shock.
It seemed he had figured out what I was about to say. And, just as I expected, he didn’t like it one bit.
“No matter what, isn’t using that going too far?!”
“I understand. It’s your master’s heart. Of course you wouldn’t want it used for yourself.”
“Of course not! Are you crazy?! You’re telling me to use my master’s heart just because my life’s in danger?!”
Tarhen was stubborn.
His mannerisms were half-hearted, and his way of speaking was a little rough, but —
When it came to loyalty and responsibility toward his master, he was the real deal.
“It won’t actually harm the heart. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.”
“What kind of nonsense is that supposed to be?”
“The Dragon Heart of Sir Ignis here in the lair… isn’t it practically an empty shell at this point?”
“…Well, that’s… true.”
“If we could somehow restore it to its original state, wouldn’t you be able to recover as well, Mr. Tarhen?”
Originally, the lair should have been exposed in this world.
But the Fire Dragon’s lair was hidden away…. in a place only the gatekeeper could open.
…From what I had heard from Lily in the game, when Ignis created this lair, he had lent it his own authority.
Thanks to Lily’s Authority, the Fire Dragon’s lair existed in a space separated from this world.
Because of that, a medium was necessary.
And that medium was the Dragon Heart, imbued with the power of the Fire Dragon Ignis.
The Dragon Heart within the lair and Ignis who had existed in this world were connected to each other, allowing travel between the lair and the outside world.
But Ignis had disappeared from this world.
The Dragon Heart, with its link severed, must have gradually lost its power within the lair.
The power of Ignis that was once contained within it would have grown faint, and as a result, the lair itself would inevitably have started to deteriorate.
Most likely, the moment all the power within the heart was extinguished, the lair would collapse.
In reality, Tarhen’s problem wasn’t just about Ignis.
He too was not only the gatekeeper but also a being bound to the lair.
If the lair were to collapse, he would naturally die along with it.
It seemed like a grim situation.
But fortunately, this was actually an opportunity.
Two birds with one stone… no, make that three.
If the Dragon Heart could be restored, the lair wouldn’t collapse.
If the lair didn’t collapse, Tarhen would survive as well.
Ignis was still gone, but if the lair’s condition could be stabilized, it would buy them some time.
…And in the process, there’s plenty I could gain too.
The Dragon Heart. A heart… a heart, huh.
I had plenty of problems with that part of my body too.
Even now, it felt like someone was constantly pricking it with a needle in real time.
“…Restoring the heart to its original state, huh. Did she say that was actually possible?”
“Yes.”
“…Alright. I’ll put my faith in her.”
As if he had made up his mind, he soon got up from his seat.
“Alright then, let’s hurry up and head to the lair.”
After stretching for a moment, flames burst out from the hammer in his hand.
When he swung the flame-wrapped hammer through the air, a cracking sound rang out as fractures began to spread across that space.
Crack.
Craack!
Beyond the shattered space, a purple rift came into view.
From that rift, I could sense a very familiar energy.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
He stepped into the rift first.
After briefly taking in the sight before me, I followed him in as well.
***
As expected, this place feels familiar.
…It reminded me of the temporary lair where I had been trapped when I first met Lily.
The difference was that while Lily’s lair had been completely black, this place had other colors.
Blazing, burning flames.
True to its name as the Fire Dragon’s lair, this place was filled with burning heat and fire.
But how should I put it…
It feels kind of shabby.
It was certainly hot, but honestly, the space where I had been with Tarhen felt even hotter.
It didn’t quite feel like a place worthy of being called the Fire Dragon’s lair.
The flames that filled the surroundings were also rather small in size.
When I looked around a little more.
There were even spots where the flames had already died out, leaving behind nothing but black ashes.
…Not a good sign.
It meant that the heart sustaining the lair was nearing the end of its lifespan.
It was sooner than I had expected.
Good thing I came today.
Perhaps I had discovered an unexpected variable ahead of time.
Feeling like things were going surprisingly well for me so far, I continued following Tarhen who was walking ahead.
I walked along the path of flames while occasionally glancing at scattered objects that looked like ancient treasures.
And then, at some point, Tarhen came to a sudden stop.
There, in front of us, stood a large door.
It was a familiar door. A door I had seen several times in the game.
Beyond this door would be Ignis’s Dragon Heart.
But for some reason, instead of opening the door, Tarhen turned his body around.
Then, looking straight at me, he opened his mouth.
“Hey, what was your name again?”
“Ain.”
“Right, Ain. You said you were Lily… her underling, didn’t you?”
“…I did.”
“But doesn’t that seem strange?”
He pointed at me and continued.
“I may not look like it, but I’m pretty sharp, you know. I can tell when there’s something off in what someone says.”
“…….”
“…Well. Still, judging from the scent of that woman lingering on you, it does seem like you’ve met her in person.”
The more he spoke,
The stronger the sense of unease that crept over me. …Was it really impossible to just slip past him with a cheap trick?
“In fact, my master is actually pretty lenient when it comes to humans entering the lair. If someone wants to pass through me, he told me to give them a test.”
Tarhen dropped the hammer he was holding to the ground.
The surrounding flames flickered.
“In the past, there were a few who managed to pass the test and enter the lair. Some were good guys, some were bad, and plenty were somewhere in between.”
“…So what’s your point?”
“Honestly, how could I just trust your words so easily? I’m not some gullible fool. Who in their right mind would let you through just because you said so?”
…I thought I could get through with a little trickery while taking advantage of his muscle-brained personality I remembered from the game.
But I guess a gatekeeper is still a gatekeeper.
“Hey. You were just badmouthing me in your head, weren’t you?”
“…I wasn’t.”
“You totally were.”
To be honest, I kind of was.
The fact that he brought that up
It meant there was no avoiding it. I’d have to pass his test the proper way.
And that test was…
“Alright~ Just three hits. If you can withstand these attacks, I’ll let you through!”
“No, wait, give me a moment―”
“Hrrrgh―!”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
He took a deep breath and threw a punch.
His terrifying muscles shifted and soon produced an overwhelming force.
…A storm was coming.
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