Retired Hero's Slow life

Chapter 12: I Want to Join The Hero's Fun

Rozalia's POV:

Waking up with a cramp in one's back is never a pleasant experience, especially for a dragon.

Thankfully, it passed quickly and I immediately got up to check my surroundings.

There was a log cabin right next to where I landed, seems like I just narrowly missed killing whoever lives inside this place.

That was when I began hearing the voices coming from inside the cabin.

"And that's a +2 to you, Ariel, pick up two cards." The voice of a man said.

"Aw, why do you always go after me!?" Another, more feminine voice shouted.

"Calm down, Ariel, it's just a game, right?" A third voice said.

Piquing my curiosity, I changed into my humanoid appearance and inspected the window, there I discovered an baffling yet amusing occurrence.

The man playing a game of sorts with the two women was none other than the novice hero I had a brief tussle with before.

"Truly, how frightening small the world truly is." I muttered in bafflement.

Just then, it seemed like the hero noticed my presence, but immediately withdrew his gaze.

"Did he see me, or not?" I wondered while continuing to watch them play and have fun.

Before I realized it, I was already intensely absorbed into their space, with my tail even wagging like a dogs

Then I heard the slow creaking of a door opening and it brought me back to reality.

"Well, aren't you gonna come on in and introduce yourself, dragon lady?" The hero said with a bright smile on his face.

Sitting there awkwardly, I introduced myself.

"I am Rozalia, the Dragon of Fire and Earth."

"Nice to meet, I'm Ariel!" A blue haired lady introduced herself.

"I'm Sylvia." A half-elf girl said as well.

"How unusual to see a half-elf." I said, curiously.

In response to that, the girl, Sylvia, her face went dark while Ariel gave me a look of someone who had just committed a big sin.

Even Elvin seemed a little uneasy when I mentioned it.

I wonder why, did I say something wrong?

"Rozalia, you shouldn't bring up Sylvia's heritage anymore, it's a sensitive topic." Elvin whispered into my ear.

I see, I wasn't aware of that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, and I had no idea that topic was taboo." I said sincerely.

Everyone simply looked at me funny.

"Is there another problem?" I asked.

"No, it's just, to think a dragon like this existed." The one called Ariel replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Did I say something odd for a dragon?

I didn't think so.

"Ah, that's right, I forgot about it until now, but remember last time we met? You gave me this. I think it's time to return it." The hero said as he brought out a familiar book.

Reading the cover of it, I confirmed it was the one I lent him a long time ago.

"This is, 'A Dragon's Guide to Living in a Village', right?" I replied.

"Yep, you said it was your family's only connection with your ancestor now, so I figured I'd give it back to you if we ever met again, and I'm glad we did, so what have you been up to?" He asked.

"Oh, this and that." I replied.

Soon, I found myself quite comfortable with the three of them, and before I knew it, the entire day had gone.

"By the way, how long was I asleep for?" I asked.

"About a week." Elvin answered.

"Huh, so only a week this time? That's quite short." I muttered.

"Having a long life span must warp ones sense of time, I suppose." Elvin said 

"Yawn~ No wonder I'm so tired, well, guess it's time to take a nap, night." I said while finding a comfy place to rest and quickly fell into a nice dream.

Elvin's POV:

"Ugh, this dragon doesn't seem to want to leave." Ariel said, annoyed.

"She literally just welcomed herself to sleep wherever, didn't she?" Sylvia said, exasperated.

I could only sigh as another headache was added with the other two.

Still, I enjoy their company, it's much less lonely this way.

Looking up to the brilliant night sky, I couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow might bring.