Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 7

The black dragon stretched his wings to the ground, and Nana and the younger kids slid down them into the flower garden below.

Liza and Lulu were still latched on to me, so I carried them down to earth with “Skyrunning,” then sat them gently among the flowers.

The sleeping potions I’d given to the horses and runosaurs to keep them from getting frightened didn’t seem to have worn off yet, so I used the Magic Hands supporting them to lay them down on the ground.

“…M-master, I apologize for my shameful behavior.”

“I’m sorry, master.”

“No need to apologize. It was your first time traveling by air, after all. Anyway, would you help me get the party ready?”

“Understood!”

“Yes!”

Liza and Lulu still looked somewhat pale, but they perked up a little when I gave them jobs to do.

Next, I took out the gifts I’d procured for Hei Long.

Namely, several barrels of liquor and thirty freshly slaughtered goats.

I’d bought these in the old capital in the dead of night. It would’ve looked strange if I’d suddenly shown up there, so I’d disguised myself, of course.

“<Ooh! You brought goats! How considerate you are!>”

The black dragon roared excitedly. Goat was apparently one of his favorite foods.

Everyone else flinched at the black dragon’s roar, but they calmed down once I explained that he was just excited.

Pochi’s tail was still between her legs, but Tama was gazing up at the black dragon with great interest.

“<And these barrels must contain sake! Then I shall call forth some dragonspring liquor!>”

Hei Long gleefully created a spring of the delicious liquor, then picked up a goat and skillfully roasted it with a small fiery breath.

“<Gah-ha-ha-ha! Goat is so delicious!>”

The black dragon proceeded to chomp on the goat from the head down, bones, horns, and all.

“Yummyyy?”

“I-it does look tasty, sir.”

Tama and Pochi started drooling as they watched the black dragon eat.

He certainly knew how to make food look tasty.

The goat wouldn’t last long at this rate, so I decided to bring out some whale meat, too.

I produced from Storage several pieces of whale that I’d divided into two-hundred-pound chunks, cutting them into giant skewers for the black dragon and barbecue-ready pieces for us.

We’d gathered other monster ingredients on the way, too, like land urchins, monster mushrooms, and rocket bamboo.

“Meeeat?”

“The skewers are bigger than I am, sir!”

“What a wonderfully large cut of meat.”

The beastfolk girls smiled brightly when they saw the skewers for the black dragon. I guess they didn’t particularly care whether they got whole-roasted goat or not.

“<What are you cooking down there, Kuro?>”

Taking a break from chowing down on goats, the black dragon peered at the giant skewers with interest.

“<Giant-monster-fish meat.>”

“<G-giant monster fish?! Those gluttonous creatures?!>”

Hei Long’s long neck recoiled in surprise.

“<I hunted them a good while ago. Would you like to try some?>”

“<C-certainly, yes.>”

The black dragon eagerly dug in to the three chunks of meat on the skewer.

“<D-delicioooous!>”

I’m glad you like it, but please stop firing breath attacks into the sky to express your happiness.

“Yummyyyy!”

Tama bit into a regular-size skewer and imitated the black dragon.

“Dangerlicious!”

“Dragons certainly are lively.”

Pochi and Liza didn’t seem to be quite as relaxed as Tama.

Pochi’s comment was probably a combination of dangerous and delicious, although I wasn’t entirely sure whether that was on purpose.

It took a while for everyone to get used to the black dragon, but eventually they followed suit after Tama and me.

“<What in the world is that?>”

“Th-this is called mustard mayonnaise…”

I interpreted for Lulu.

Lulu put some of her freshly made mustard mayonnaise on one of the giant skewers, and the black dragon gleefully popped it into his mouth.

“<This is especially delicious! The spiciness is rather addictive.>”

As it turned out, dragons were big fans of mayo. Who knew?

“Hmm? What’s this glass-looking thing?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Dodging Arisa’s question lightly, I used Magic Mold to make an instant kiln, spread some tomato sauce on some thinly stretched dough, and sprinkled shredded cheese and various toppings over it from above.

“N-no way… Could it be?!”

Arisa opened her mouth to guess, but I stopped her by putting a finger over her lips, then slid the covered dough into the flame-filled oven.

As the scent of bubbling cheese filled the air, even the beastfolk girls stopped eating meat long enough to look over curiously.

I took out the finished product with a huge wooden spatula, then cut it into fan-shaped slices.

“All right, it’s ready.”

“I knew it! Pizzaaaaa!”

Arisa shrieked and grabbed a slice with both hands.

I made two kinds to start: a standard pizza with bacon and salami and a veggie pizza with plenty of sliced tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, paprika, and other toppings.

“Careful—it’s hot.”

“Stretchyyy?”

“So hot, sir.”

“Oh my God, this is so freakin’ good!”

“Mm, yummy.”

The pizza proved especially popular with the younger crowd. Tama and Pochi were dripping with cheese, so I’d have to make sure they washed their faces later.

“Master, I have been burned by the pizza, I report.”

I comforted the teary-eyed Nana with some Healing Magic.

“Master, this would go well with teriyaki chicken, would it not?”

“I think the dwarves’ sausages would be good, too.”

Liza and Lulu correctly guessed some classic pizza toppings.

Those two really were good at cooking.

“<Kuro! I would like to try that dish as well.>”

“<Sure, no problem.>”

I had figured the curious black dragon would want to try it, so I made plenty of pizza dough in advance.

And since the oven was made with Magic Mold instead of physical materials, I could resize it however I wanted.

I used Magic Hand to spin the pizza dough in the air, stretching it to thirty feet in diameter.

“So thiiin?”

“The sunlight goes through it, sir!”

Tama and Pochi gleefully ran around the circumference of the giant pizza.

“Make sure you don’t hit the dough, please.”

“Don’t worry, be happyyy!”

“We won’t, sir.”

The pair barely looked back as they chased the fluttering pizza through the air.

Just then, a mischievous wind blew through, flipping up a few girls’ skirts, like Lulu’s and Nana’s.

And of course, it did more than just that.

“Pochiii!”

Tama’s warning came a little too late: The wind knocked Pochi off her feet, and she tumbled right into the pizza dough.

“Waaah, sir!”

“Yaaargh!”

The impact sent the pizza dough flying around, engulfing the nearby Arisa in the process.

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Ugh, my hair’s all sticky now…”

I collected the unsullied dough with Magic Hand and used the Soft Wash spell to clean the dough off the two girls.

“Arisa, I’m sorry, sir.”

“As long as you know better now. If you bring me a reeeeally tasty skewer, I’ll forgive you, Pochi.”

“Roger, sir!”

Watching the pair out of the corner of my eye, I finished up the black dragon’s pizza.

“<Mm, quite the peculiar delicacy. Perhaps not as delicious as the goat or the giant monster fish, but it’s certainly tastier than wyvern meat.>”

At first, I thought this meant the dragon didn’t really like it, but then he added, “<By the way, is the next one ready yet?>” so I guess he did find it pretty good after all.

We weren’t exactly eating from the same pot, but after spending the party enjoying delicious food together, we all ended up being great friends with Hei Long.

Once the festivities had concluded, we rode dragonback again to cross the Black Dragon Mountains, coming down to earth at the base of the mountains on the Bolenan Forest side.

“<Kuro, my friend, this is as far as I can take you. Though I would like to help you go farther into the forest, that wretched high-elf woman becomes cross whenever I venture too close.>”

The black dragon grimaced.

I’d gotten the hang of reading the dragon’s expressions over the course of the day.

“<The last time I got too close, she rained lightning down upon me and broke half my scales. It hurt for a hundred years till next I molted. Kuro, you would be wise to refrain from approaching by air.>”

Wow, so the elves’ defenses were strong enough to repel a dragon.

“<Thank you. You’ve done more than enough by bringing us this far.>”

Before we parted ways, I wanted to make sure of something.

“<Are you sure it’s all right for me to take the leftover dragonspring liquor and your broken fang?>”

“<I have no further use for them. Consider them thanks for the delicious goat and giant m—erm, proof of our friendship.>”

Was he about to say it was payment for the food?

The black dragon carefully looked away, so I decided not to press the matter.

“Bye-bye, Hei Looong.”

“<Yes, let us fly together again someday!>”

Tama hugged the black dragon’s nose sorrowfully.

“Tama! Don’t be rude to Sir Hei Long! …Please pardon us, and I pray that you shall triumph in all your battles.”

This dramatic greeting was apparently a common saying in Liza’s tribe.

“Good-bye for now, sir.”

“I am saddened to part with such a good friend, I report.”

“See you.”

Pochi, Nana, and Mia all gave friendly farewells.

“E-erm, Sir Hei Long, please take this pot. It’s the mustard mayonnaise that you liked from before.”

“<Ooh! A splendid gift for a mayonnaise enthusiast such as myself. Take this spike, child. It will make a fine staff.>”

“Th-thank you.”

Lulu gingerly accepted the spike, which looked like an iron spear.

Seeing this, Arisa and Mia seemed a little envious.

“<Until we meet again, Hei Long. I’ll stock up on goats and sake for our next party.>”

“<Indeed. And do not forget the giant-monster-fish meat and mustard mayonnaise.>”

With these casual parting words, the black dragon took to the air.

He circled around us a few times as we waved, then headed back toward the peak of the Black Dragon Mountains.

I’d set up a few seal slates at the peak and the plateau there, so I could visit anytime with the use of a Return spell or two.

Magic really was convenient.