The Second Dragonoid's Tale

Chapter 16: First Day In Dwargon

On Erebus' back, I rode the rest of the way to the capital of the kingdom. In front of us stood a large mountain range and at the foot of it was a vast grassland. To draw less attention, I had Erebus return to the shadows and wait for me to call him out. Walking toward the mountain, I saw the large gate that separated the city from the outside. At the bottom of it was a smaller gate where people were lined up to pass through. Some peddlers and adventuring types were waiting, along with some non-humans.

Despite having a letter for Kaijin's brother, I figured it was for the best that I wait my turn. Almost an hour went by as the line slowly moved. I heard people whispering behind me, but no one gave me trouble. When it became my turn, and the guard looked at me he almost seemed taken aback. I suppose the combination of the mask, giant sword, and traveling cloak, would make me look suspicious to someone in charge of protecting their home and kingdom.

"Name, occupation, and country of origin," He requested, not breaking his composure.

"F/N Dora, I'm here to deliver a letter to Kaijin's brother Kaidou," I slowly opened the cloak to bring out the letter, he appeared to relax mildly seeing it and not a weapon. "You can read it if you wish."

He took the letter, "There's no need for that, his letter then it's his business." He looked at me, "And what country are you from?"

"None, I have never had a residence in any country," I spoke the technical truth.

Since I was living in villages and not countries up until now, and Rimuru didn't bother to name the country of monsters, plus people haven't heard of it yet, it was best to leave out the Jura Forest. The more human I looked, the easier it would be to get into the country. That's what I was hoping. The man motioned for one of the other guards to come over.

"Is there a problem?" The man asked as he ran over.

"I need you to find the captain for me and deliver this," The guard with the letter said before handing it over to the man and addressing me again, "If you'll wait over there while he gets him, we can see about letting you in."

"Not a problem," I complied and stepped out of line to wait by the side, where he directed me.

It became boring fast. There simply wasn't anything to do. I didn't think it was wise to play with my skills, and I certainly couldn't call Erebus to play fetch. Not that I had a ball or a frisbee. Thinking about it, does this world have dogs as pets and toys for them to play with? Probably not, besides the kobolds in line, I haven't seen anything close to a dog. Stuck waiting, I was so relieved when he finally showed up that the others heard my sigh.

"I've read the letter and was told the situation," The man who appeared, the captain of the guards, Kaidou looked over to me. "You must be the situation."

"I actually go by F/N, your brother Kaijin told me about you, said you could help me get accustomed to Dwargon," I gestured to the letter in his hand.

Kaidou's eyes glanced over me a few times, "Alright, follow me. We'll talk at the station."

And so I managed to pass through the small gate without incident. The station part wasn't a joke, however, he did indeed bring me to what was basically an interrogation room. Minus the one-way mirror and partner to play bad cop. Seated across from each other, I put the mask to the side of my head so he could see my face. That reduced his anxiety somewhat toward the situation.

"So you're friends with the slime that was here looking for a smith," He stated, trying to get a conversation going after we had been quiet since he picked me up from the gate.

"Rimuru, yes, I was on business for the village your brother works at and-" Kaidou raised his hand, stopping me.

"It's pointless to be vague, my brother didn't spell it out, but I can read between the lines," Kaidou said, "I can tell he's been doing good and I get the gist that you're not human but not trouble. So why don't we get to why you're here?"