C310: A Visit to the Strongest Dragon’s Home

Alexander, the Grauglintz Dragon, is the strongest dragon.

He is also known as the Crown Prince Dragon, which means he’s the leading Dragon Archon candidate.
In terms of magic and strength, a young Crown Prince Dragon can sometimes surpass the old Dragon Emperor, and the relationship between him and his father, the Geyser Dragon, was exactly like that.

Alexander, however, has an unusual trait no other dragon has—he’s fond of humans, or rather, mankind.

Using the word “humans” can be ambiguous because there are many different races in this world. But he has compassion for all of them.
He even allows them to enter his dungeon and loot stuff.

His dungeon, the Mountain of the Sacred White Maiden, is famed in the former Human Kingdom.
The human race worships him like a god there.

…Or so Ritheseus, a human student studying at our farm, told me.

“Wow, he’s that incredible of a dragon, huh?”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see Lord Alexander in the flesh! This place really is out of this world…” he says, trembling.

“I don’t understand why only Alexander gets all the attention. Shouldn’t I, a local of this place, be worshipped as much as him?” says Veil, jealous of the strongest dragon’s fame.

I wish she was more aware that she’s not respected because of her behavior.

“…Oh, wait, you have your own dungeon too, Alexander?”
“Yes. The Mountain of the Sacred White Maiden is in the area mankind used to call the Human Kingdom. People often come visit.”

…Ritheseus, an explanation, please.

“But of course! Lord Alexander’s dungeon is the only one where you can freely enter and leave! Other guardians would attack you just by taking one step into their territory!”

One can easily tell how tolerant a dungeon guardian is by that act alone.

Speaking of which, I remember Veil yelling at me the first time we met and finding out I’d been hunting in her dungeon without permission.

“Lord Alexander manages his dungeon well, so we get a steady supply of loot and monsters. He himself encourages adventurers to enter his dungeon, so we risk nothing. No doubt it’s the best in the world!”

Dungeon guardians are usually either dragons or Lifeless Kings, so being attacked by them is the most fearsome risk.

“Alexander, my dungeon’s actually nearby if you want to take a look.”

Is Veil trying to compete with her brother?!

“Hm, since I’m already here, I suppose I shall. In fact, visiting other dungeons is my hobby.”
“That’s a hobby?!”
“I adopt anything I can possibly learn and apply them to my dungeon so that people will be more encouraged to conquer it.”

He’s so industrious!

“Cool! In that case, I invite you to my dungeon so you can enjoy the various setups I’ve prepared!”

And so we went with our visitor, Alexander, to Veil’s mountain dungeon.

Meanwhile, Ardheg sighs heavily as he stares at his siblings’ backs.

“Must be nice having your own dungeons…”
“You mean to say you don’t have a dungeon, Ardheg?”
“Only the best of dragons can become dungeon guardians. Yet here I am, Geyser Dragon with no dungeon to call his own…”

It seems he still hasn’t recovered from the shock earlier.

“What are you talking about? Now that you’re the Geyser Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Castle will be your dungeon.”
“Oh… You’re right…!”

He went from a nomad to a castle owner real quick.

Here we are at Veil’s dungeon.

“This here’s my dungeon!”

We and the people back at the farm often come here to hunt monsters.
We are also accompanied by Orkubo and Gobukichi, who are excitedly preparing for the hunt.

“It’s divided into four main areas, spring, summer, fall, winter, and winter, and is color-coded in various distinctive ways! Each stratum has a completely different feel to it!” boasts Veil.

“I see… I didn’t know one could incorporate such visual entertainment into a dungeon. That’s unexpected. I’d like to apply this concept to my dungeon too.”
“Yeah! You’re free to do the same, Alexander!”
“Hmm?”

Veil’s excitement aside, Alexander’s attention turned to something else.

“…Hey, Veil, what are those?” he asks, pointing at an orderly line of trees.

The mountain dungeon is a different dimension that takes the form of a mountain range, so it’s abundant with luscious trees.
However, since the trees are naturally grown, their placement around the mountain is at random.

The orchard Alexander saw must have caught his attention because of the identical trees growing in a neat line.

“That’s the dungeon orchard,” I reply. I’m the orchard’s originator and caretaker, after all.
“The dungeon orchard?!”

“I took advantage of the constant climate here to grow fruit trees. Their fruits are pretty delicious too. Would you like to try some?”
“S-Sure…”

I found a ripe-enough fruit plucked it, wiped its surface clean, and offered it to him.
It’s a bit crude, but Alexander is a dragon. Even if I offered him a pineapple as is, he’d probably still take a clean bite out of it, so no problems there.

The fruit, by the way, is a pear from the Autumn Area.

Alexander bites straight into the pear and…

“…?!”

His eyes widen.

“I didn’t know a fruit like this existed! Did you grow this with magic?!”
“Oh, no, it’s just a fruit from my hometown.”

I didn’t tell him my “hometown” is a different world because it might complicate things.

“Marvelous! The dungeon is not only a place where materials can be found, but also where people can grow their own food.”
“Hah-hah-ha, are you surprised, brother?!” says Veil proudly. “My dungeon has become a one-of-a-kind farming dungeon thanks to my and Master’s collaborative efforts! Bet your dungeon doesn’t have an orchard, Alexander!”

She brags as if it’s her achievement, but it was me and Orkubo who planted and grew those trees.

“It’s a lot of work managing the fruit trees, but thanks to the tree spirits possessing them, it has become more tolerable…”

Speak of the devil, various tree spirits noticed me and started gathering around.

There’s King Kaka the cacao spirit, Perciemon the persimmon spirit, Ringo the apple spirit, Arumikan the mikan spirit, Mamalemon the lemon spirit, Strong the Budo the grape spirit, and Das Bananas the banana spirit.

They really have grown in number and variety.

“Lord Saint!”
“Good day, Lord Saint!”
“My fruits are ripening very well today! You’re free to come harvest them anytime you like!”

For some reason, they all rush to me, not noticing Veil, their dungeon guardian, one bit.

“Hey!!! Have you forgotten who the dungeon guardian here is?!”

She’s been busy babysitting Junior that her dungeon reformation hasn’t progressed.
She was supposed to brag to her brother, but it seemed things didn’t end well.

Alexander, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to mind her.
Instead…

“Human… No, Saint.”
“Yes?”
“Can you do me a favor and help remodel my dungeon?”

tl/n: das bananas is a liberal take on the original name ‘sonna banana’ which is probably a pun on ‘sonna baka na,’ as in, thats impossible/no way/it cant be/preposterous… you get the idea haha