Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 38: The Mechanic and the Dragons

Daniel walks calmly as Hekate hangs from his shoulders, shaking in frustration as she tries to convince him to turn back. "Daniel! You can't! This is treachery! Cheating! I won't let you!"

"Vaergraes is returning tomorrow, Hekate. I promised to revive the dragons for her, so long as they would agree to be contracted to our will."

"Graaaahhh! You like her, too! You meanie! You have me!"

"If Vaergraes was a man, would you be acting like this?"

"Would you!?" She chews on his shirt's collar, tugging with her jaws to try to annoy him without hurting him. Daniel sighs, "Hekate, it's business. You're letting your imagination run wild."

"Liar! You're making an entire harem! And, you won't even let me be part of it!"

"I'm keeping the peace, Hekate, not a harem."

They find Xyreko, Ryuogriar, and Reignleif waiting on them outside of the next candidate's cell; the young female orange dragon. The goal is to free dragons in order of agreeableness, in addition to which ones were only wounded, rather than slain. At present, Xyreko only has three of the revival potations and has golems searching for the ingredients for more.

The caretaker muses playfully, "I see Lady Hekate slept well."

The young feldrok girl points at Xyreko, commanding her, "Xyreko! I order you to stop Daniel! He's not allowed to talk to any more girls! Ever! Not even you!"

Xyreko stares at her, replying dryly, "My Lady Hekate, my highest loyalty is to Master. I cannot obey that order."

"Graaahhhh! Then... Then send all of the girl dragons out! Quickly!"

Daniel scratches her head, ruffling her hair and ears. "Hekate... Please, relax. You, yourself, chose Ryuogriar and Reignleif because they were kind. The rest of the dragons will likely leave with the Demon Queen. Alright?"

She points over his shoulder at the two mature dragons in human form, "Make them leave, too! They're evil temptresses!"

"I thought you were past this."

Hekate grunts indignantly, squirming on Daniel's back. She bites his shoulder, and he yelps, "Ow! Hekate! Come on!"

She pouts, putting her chin on his shoulder. "I'm supposed to be your wife... You have me for anything and everything you want..."

"Hekate; I promise I'm never going to abandon you, alright? Please just let me conduct business. Once the Devourer is dead, we can all settle down and go about our lives in peace. You and I will be stuck together for a long time after that, right?"

She hums, "Mm-hmm..."

"Then, what are you worried about right now?"

"Evil temptresses..."

He sighs. He murmurs, "Just behave yourself, please. We still have a lot of dragons prisoner, and I imagine not all of them will agree, which means we'll have to try to keep Vaergraes happy by offering her at least a few."

She nods, keeping her chin on his shoulder. "I'm not letting go."

"Fine. Just don't make any outbursts. That's all I ask."

"Don't flirt with her."

He ignores Hekate, nodding at Xyreko, and she opens the door. The five of them enter the chamber of the young orange dragon, who, like the others, tries to indignantly ignore their presence... until she notices Ryuogriar and Reignleif, instantly recognizing them as their true selves in human form.

Daniel says politely, "Good morning, Lady Orange. I'm Daniel, this is Hekate, that's Xyreko, and the two you know are now going by Ryuogriar and Reignleif, in order to keep their true names secret from anyone else. You probably also know me as the Feldrok Sorcerer or the Harbinger of Calamity."