I Have a Task Log

"Dragon claws and teeth are good materials for making weapons, while the bones, scales, and hide can be used to make armor."

"But to be honest, this dragon wasn’t in very good shape," Dorn added. "I think these materials are enough for one set of armor, at most. As for weapons... it depends on the size, but we should be able to get a Great Sword out of it."

"Looks like there’s quite a lot of stuff here, though?" Kase asked from the side.

"Not all of the bones can be used for crafting, Colin."

Dorn perked up at the topic. "When you’re crafting gear from monster parts, you have to consider the state of the Magic Power in each piece. If a part’s in bad shape, you have to patch things together with other bits."

"For example, say we have seventy liters of dragon blood. It has to be distilled, refined, and go through a whole series of other processes before you get the materials for a Potion. In the end, you might only get a few vials of Dragon Blood Magic Potion out of it."

Colin nodded silently.

He finally understood why they could only get a single bone Long Sword from the corpse of that massive Green Dragon.

"Why else do you think dragon materials are so expensive? If they’re not preserved properly, the Magic Power in them will slowly fade away. A lot of ancient Dragon Species remains have turned into worthless junk because of it."

Dorn continued, "Of course, part of the problem is that the way you took down this Giant Dragon was a little too... wild. You destroyed some of the Dragon Scales and the wings."

"I didn’t have much of a choice," Colin said.

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you," Dorn said with a shrug. "I’m just worried that Elf Princess over there is going to get mad. I don’t want to be watching my back in the middle of a fight."

"I would never attack you from behind," Ale said, her tone cold. "Tell me, why are Dwarves so good with muskets and Heavy Crossbows, but not with a Bow and Arrow?"

The topic changed so abruptly that a bewildered Orelia asked blankly, "Is it because those two are more powerful?"

"It’s because their arms are too short to draw a Longbow’s string."

"Hey, what kind of bullshit is that!" Dorn retorted, fuming. "You know why you Elves like to live in the deep mountains and ancient forests these days, practicing your so-called isolationism?"

"Why’s that?" Kase asked, confused.

Dorn said smugly, "Because they’re so fickle, no one but an idiot would trust them with their back."

"That’s true enough," Ale said.

Dorn was struck dumb by her reply. He then launched into a tirade of anti-Elf jokes, and Ale fired back with anti-Dwarf jokes.

As a neutral human, Colin found the whole exchange rather amusing.

After bickering playfully for a while longer, they all went back to their respective rooms to sleep.

Perhaps because he’d slept too much during the day while listening to novels about Knights, Colin found he couldn’t fall asleep. He could only close his eyes and pray for slumber to come quickly.

"Hey, hey, Colin, kid? Colin, kid."

’This is a strange way to fall asleep,’ Colin thought. ’I feel wide awake, but it sounds like I’m hearing Dorn’s voice.’

Suddenly, Colin felt a pat on his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, and Dorn’s face filled his vision.

Dorn whispered, a little annoyed, "You weren’t asleep. Why’d you pretend you couldn’t hear me?"

"Probably because I thought I was having a nightmare."

"Cut the crap. Let’s go, I’m taking you to get something good to eat," Dorn said, grabbing Colin’s crutch for him.

’Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do,’ Colin thought. He got dressed, stood up, and followed Dorn outside.

Dorn led him out of the cottage’s yard and toward the village.

"So what exactly are we going to eat?" Colin asked.

"You just need to know it’s delicious," Dorn said.

The two of them followed an alley to a house and went inside.

Pushing the door open, they saw Kase sitting at a square table, eating nuts. A small keg and a few mugs sat on the table beside him. Meanwhile, a cast-iron pot hung over the fireplace, its lid sealed tight.

"What are you two eating?" Colin asked.

Dorn said mysteriously, "If it’s good enough to get us out here at this hour, you can be sure it’s delicious. Don’t you worry about that."

Leaning on his crutch, Colin sat down heavily at the table. Kase immediately poured him a full mug of beer.

Seeing how things were, he resigned himself to it, nibbling on some nuts and taking a few sips of beer.

After a little while, Dorn and Kase walked over to the fireplace.

Since both of them only had one good hand, Kase held the ladle while Dorn held the bowls. Working together, they managed to fill three bowls with stew and carry them to the table.

Colin looked closely at the bowl of stew before him. It was bright red, filled with chunks of meat and vegetables, and he could faintly make out bits of chopped onion.

He picked up his spoon and scooped up some of the meat. As he lifted the spoon, he saw that the broth underneath was actually white; the red color was just floating on the surface.

Colin put the meat in his mouth and took a bite.

Strangely, apart from a salty, sour flavor mixed with the aroma of onion, he couldn’t taste any meatiness at all. The meat itself was very firm, with a texture like tougher beef, or maybe like hand-pounded beef balls where you can feel the muscle fibers.

After swallowing the piece of meat, Colin asked, "Aren’t Ale and the others coming?"

"Forget about them," Dorn said. "When I told those Rangers to carve off the meat, you should have seen the look on her face. It was like she thought we were cannibals. I don’t want any trouble. And that little Orelia is too much of a stickler for the rules. I’m afraid she’d rat us out."

"So this is..."

"That’s right. Dragon meat," Dorn confirmed with a nod.

’Dragon meat?’

The moment he heard the words, Colin couldn’t help but swallow hard.

If someone had asked him before he was transported to this world what he most wanted to eat in a fantasy realm, Colin would have almost certainly said dragon meat. He never expected he’d end up eating it without even realizing it.

Colin scooped up another piece of meat and examined it. ’It doesn’t seem that special,’ he thought.

He thought for a moment. ’Yeah, inviting Ale to eat this would be a terrible idea. But asking Orelia to come and telling her not to mention it to Ale... that wouldn’t feel right either.’

’Looks like the only thing to do for now is eat up.’

"This is a recipe from the Shield Dwarves of the Northern Lands," Dorn explained. "It uses tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, and goat’s milk. Those fellows live in the eastern mountains of the World’s Roof, and they clash with White Dragons from time to time. They even hold grand dragon-hunting ceremonies every so often."

"Sounds amazing," Kase said, looking excited.

"Amazing? It’s more than amazing, it’s legendary!"

As he spoke, Dorn brought over two plates from the fireside, one large and one small. The large one held thin slices of pinkish-white meat, and the small one held a little pile of white powder.